JPH10166679A - Serial type recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the collision of a carriage with a side wall caused by the stepping-out of a stepping motor by stopping the carriage when the pulse rate of the stepping motor is beyond a preset specified value while the carriage passes through a given position. SOLUTION: The pulse rate of a stepping motor (main operation motor) 8 when a carriage 5 passes through a given position is monitored, and whether a measured pulse rate f2 is beyond a pulse rate f1 of the preset specified value or not (f2>f1) is judged. When the pulse rate is not beyond f1 (f1>=f2), the normal operation is continued. When it is beyond f1 (f2>f1), decelerating profile is provided for the drive of the carriage 5 to control the carriage 5 to stop forcibly in any case. The collision of the carriage with a side plate (side wall component) can be avoided by the arrangement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a serial recording apparatus for recording by transporting a recording medium in a sub-scanning direction while moving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted in a main scanning direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A serial type recording apparatus includes a recording head having a plurality of dot forming means for forming a plurality of dots on a recording medium, for example, an ink jet head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets, and a plurality of heating elements. A carriage equipped with a recording head such as a thermal head provided with a moving head, and moving the carriage in the main scanning direction.
A recording medium (meaning a medium on which an image is recorded) is transported in the sub-scanning direction, and an image is recorded on the recording medium. In particular, an ink jet recording apparatus using an ink jet head has almost no vibration and noise at the time of recording and is easy to colorize. Therefore, in addition to a printer for outputting data of a digital processing device such as a computer, it is used for facsimile and copying. Has also been used.

In such a serial type recording apparatus, as a method of moving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted in a main scanning direction, a method of controlling a DC motor in a closed loop, and a driving force transmitting means such as a stepping motor and a timing belt. There is a method in which control is performed in an open loop (open loop) by using the control method. Generally, the latter open loop control method, which has a simple configuration and is inexpensive, is employed.

[0004] When control is performed in an open loop by using a stepping motor, it is necessary to determine a reference position of the carriage and not to lose synchronization with the stepping motor in order to record a normal image. That is, if the stepping motor loses synchronism, the recording result is disturbed and the recording position shifts, which causes an image misalignment. If the carriage normally moves in the backward direction after stepping out in the forward direction while moving, the carriage will collide with a side wall member or the like of the recording apparatus, and the collision may damage the carriage or the recording head. is there.

[0005] Therefore, if the stepping motor is driven under the driving condition for preventing the step-out even in the worst condition in consideration of the variation of the motor torque, the variation of the mechanical load for moving the carriage, and the like, when the motor torque is large, When the mechanical load is light, the drive conditions of the carriage become excessive, and as a result, the motor drive system,
Alternatively, vibration noise is generated from the motor itself, and annoying mechanical noise increases when the carriage accelerates from a stopped state to a constant speed state and decelerates from the constant speed state to a stopped state.

Therefore, as a conventional serial type recording apparatus, detecting means for detecting a step out of a carriage motor, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-14595,
A means has been proposed which includes means for changing the driving condition of the carriage motor based on the detection result of the detecting means.

[0007] In addition, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-138951, a method of preventing a stepping motor from stepping out by avoiding collision between a carriage and a recording medium is disclosed. A recording means for performing recording on a recording medium, a means for holding a recording medium conveyed between the recording means and the recording means, and a conveyance means between the recording means. Suction means for adsorbing the held recording medium to the holding means, and detection means for detecting a state in which at least a portion of the recording medium adsorbed to the holding means by the suction means is floating from the holding means,
There has been proposed an apparatus including a stop unit for stopping a recording operation by the recording unit when a state where at least a part of the recording medium is lifted from the holding unit is detected by the detection unit. The purpose of this device is to prevent a collision between the recording medium and the recording means due to the lifting of the recording medium.

As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-218936, it is possible to prevent the stepping motor from stepping out of the motor by preventing the carriage from being moved artificially. Detecting means for detecting an open / close state of an openable / closable cover portion covering the movable portion is provided. When the cover portion is opened during the recording operation, the recording operation is stopped, the recording device is returned to the home position, and the recording device is returned. Ink capping of an ink discharge section is proposed. The purpose of this apparatus is to prevent a movable part from touching a user when a cover is opened during a printing operation, and to prevent clogging of an ink discharge unit of a printing unit.

[0009]

However, even when the step-out of the carriage motor is detected and the driving condition is changed as in the above-described recording apparatus, for example, the recording apparatus may be rapidly moved during printing, If the carriage is forcibly stopped while the carriage is moving, or if the recording medium jams and gets caught on the carriage, the stepping motor will lose synchronism, no matter how much torque margin is secured, and the carriage will move. May collide with sidewalls.

Further, in the recording apparatus, even if step-out due to collision between the carriage and the recording medium can be prevented, step-out due to other causes cannot be dealt with. further,
Although the recording apparatus described above can prevent artificial step-out when the cover is opened, it cannot cope with step-out caused by the carriage and the recording medium being entangled by a recording medium jam or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to prevent a collision with a side wall of a carriage due to step-out of a stepping motor with a simple configuration.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a serial type recording apparatus in which a carriage having a recording head mounted thereon is moved in a main scanning direction by using a stepping motor as a driving source, and a recording medium is moved. In a serial recording apparatus that performs recording by conveying in the sub-scanning direction, the carriage is stopped when the pulse rate of the stepping motor exceeds a predetermined value when the carriage passes a predetermined position. The apparatus is provided with means for controlling the stepping motor.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the serial recording apparatus of the first aspect, the predetermined position is a home position of the carriage.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the serial recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the detecting means for detecting that the carriage has reached a predetermined position and the side wall members on both sides in the main scanning direction. The distance from the side wall member on the side closer to the detection means is longer than the distance required for the stopping operation of the carriage.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the serial recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising a recording head comprising an ink jet head, and capping means for capping the recording head. Detecting means for detecting that the carriage has come to a predetermined position is provided closer to the capping means than the center of the main scanning area of the carriage, and the distance between the detecting means and the capping position by the capping means is equal to the distance of the carriage. The configuration is longer than the distance required for the stop operation.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the serial recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a detecting means for detecting that the carriage has reached a predetermined position and side walls on both sides in the main scanning direction. An elastic member is provided at a position where the carriage can abut on a side wall member farther from the detection unit among the members.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a serial recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising a plurality of detecting means for detecting that the carriage has come to a plurality of different predetermined positions. Configuration.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the serial recording apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, after stopping the carriage, guiding the carriage to the predetermined position and stopping the carriage. The recording device itself is configured to perform a stop operation.

The serial recording apparatus according to claim 8 is the serial recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the carriage cannot be stopped at a predetermined position within a predetermined time, the predetermined time has elapsed. The post-recording apparatus itself is configured to stop.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the serial recording apparatus according to the seventh or eighth aspect, a message for displaying the message for removing the recording medium after performing the stop operation of the recording apparatus itself. Was provided.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of a main part of FIG.

In this ink jet recording apparatus, the carriage 5 is moved in the main scanning direction (indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 2) by a guide rod 3 and a guide plate 4 which are suspended between the left and right side plates 1 and 2 (see FIG. 2).
Direction), a recording head 6 composed of an inkjet head is mounted on the lower surface side of the carriage 5 with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward, and ink is applied to the recording head 6 on the upper surface side of the carriage 5. An ink cartridge 7 for supply is mounted.

The recording heads 6 each have a yellow (Y)
Ink, magenta (M) ink, cyan (C) ink,
It consists of four heads that respectively discharge black (Bk) ink. Similarly, the ink cartridge 7 also includes four cartridges for supplying each color ink. The recording head 6 is a multi-nozzle inkjet head having a plurality of nozzle holes, and uses an independent head for each color. However, the recording head 6 includes a plurality of nozzle rows for ejecting ink droplets of each color on one head. It may be something.

The carriage 5 is driven by a driving pulley 9 rotated by a main scanning motor 8 comprising a stepping motor.
Belt 1 stretched between the motor and the driven pulley 10
1, the carriage 5, that is, the recording head 6, is moved in the main scanning direction by controlling the driving of the main scanning motor 8.

On the other hand, a sheet 14 which is a recording sheet (recording medium)
15, a paper feed roller 16, 17 and a paper pressing roller 18, which are disposed by pressing against the peripheral surface of the platen 15, for transporting the paper in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2).
A guide plate 19 on which the recording head 6 is opposed;
0 and a spur roller 21 for holding the sheet in contact with the sheet discharge roller 20.

The rotation of the sub-scanning motor 23, which is a stepping motor, is transmitted to the platen 15 via the gears 24-26 and the platen gear 27, and the platen 15 is driven to rotate.
4 is fed between the recording head 6 and the guide plate 19 through the platen 15, the paper feed rollers 16, 17 and the paper pressing roller 18, and the platen 15 feeds the paper 14 by a predetermined amount, and the gear meshes with the platen gear 27. The paper 14 is fed in the paper discharging direction by a paper discharging roller 20 and a paper holding spur roller 21 rotated via 29.

In the ink jet recording apparatus thus configured, the paper 14 is transported in the sub-scanning direction while the recording head 6 (carriage 5) is moved and scanned in the main scanning direction, and the ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6. Is ejected to record a required color image on the paper 14.

In this ink jet recording apparatus, a capping mechanism 3 serving as a mechanism for maintaining and recovering the reliability of the recording head 6 is provided on the right side of the main scanning area of the carriage 5.
1 to remove stains on the nozzle surface and nozzles of the recording head 6 when print data is not transferred from the host for a predetermined time or at a predetermined time interval. Is determined to be required to be maintained and recovered, the carriage 5 is moved to the capping mechanism 31 side to perform the reliability maintenance / recovery operation.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A home position sensor 32 composed of a transmissive photo sensor for determining the reference position of the carriage 5 is provided.
, The carriage 5 is detected to be at the reference position or to have passed. In this embodiment, the home position sensor 32 is used as detecting means for detecting that the carriage has reached a predetermined position.

The home position sensor 32 is provided on the side closer to the side plate 2 of the side plates 1 and 2 which are side wall members on both sides in the main scanning direction with respect to the center of the scanning area of the carriage 5. When the shortest distance printing is performed, the carriage 5 may be moved to the next line printing position without returning to the home position. Therefore, the "home position" means a reference position for positioning the carriage 5, and is not limited to a position where the carriage 5 is always returned during printing or during printing standby.

Next, a control section of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit includes a microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as a “CPU”) 40 that also controls the stepping motor according to the present invention and controls the entire recording apparatus, and a ROM 41 that stores necessary fixed information. A RAM 42 used as a working memory, a parallel input / output (PIO) port 43, an input buffer 44, a character generator 45, a line feed counter 46, a direct memory access controller (DMAC) 47, and a one-line output buffer. 48 and a parallel input / output (PIO) port 49.

The control section includes a common (Com) driver 50 for applying a drive waveform (charge / discharge waveform) to a plurality of energy generating means of the recording head 6 in common, and a plurality of energy generating means of the recording head 6. A driver 51 for providing a selection signal for selecting a unit in accordance with a recording signal; a motor driver 52 for controlling the driving of the main scanning motor 8 and the sub-scanning motor 23; A panel (operation panel) 53 is connected. The parallel input / output port (PI
O) A gate array (GA) can be used instead of 49.

Here, various instructions and selection signals given from the operation panel 53 are input to the PIO port 43, and various display signals and the like are output from the PIO port 43 to the operation panel 53. Also, PIO port 4
3, print data from the host side, mode selection data in the bidirectional print mode according to the present invention, recording paper type data indicating the type of recording paper, and other data are input,
Various signals are output to the host via the PIO port 43. Further, the PIO port 43 receives a detection signal from a paper presence / absence sensor for detecting the start and end of the paper, a signal from various sensors such as a home position sensor 32 for detecting a home position (reference position) of the carriage 5, and the like. Is done.

The input buffer 44 temporarily stores print data received from the host via the PIO port 43. The character generator 45 converts the print data into image data when receiving the print data as code data. The line feed counter 46 counts the number of line feeds. D
The MAC 47 reads out the print data temporarily stored in the input buffer 44, converts the print data into image data if necessary, and transfers the print data for one line to the output buffer 48, if necessary. do.

Further, the recording data stored in the output buffer 48 is read out at a required timing, sent to the PIO port 49 as a recording signal, supplied to the driver 51 from the PIO port 49, and supplied from the driver 51 to the driving signal ( The selection signal is sent to the recording head 6. Further, a drive control signal is output to the motor driver 52 via the PIO port 49 to move and scan the carriage 5 in a predetermined direction, rotate the platen 15 and convey the paper 14 by a predetermined amount.

Next, the operation relating to the movement control of the carriage in the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in this ink jet recording apparatus, the main scanning motor 8 for moving the carriage 5 is controlled in an open loop using a stepping motor. The driving conditions of the stepping motor are set so as not to lose synchronism with the driving load of the carriage 5, and the driving curve of the carriage 5 at this time is different between the acceleration region and the constant speed region as shown in FIG. It will have a deceleration area.

Therefore, during printing, the recording medium (paper) 1
If the paper jams on the carriage 5 due to jamming, the carriage 5 is manually forcibly stopped, or the recording apparatus is suddenly moved, the stepping motor may step out. As a result, the number of pulses of the step motor and the actual movement amount of the carriage 5 are different. Since the position of the carriage 5 is not recognized by the control unit by feedback, the carriage 5 is a side plate 1 or a side wall member. There is a risk of collision with the side plate 2.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the carriage 5 is moved between the side plates 1 and 2 (main scanning),
After moving from the left side to the right side (return direction) in the same figure, the stepping motor (main scanning motor 8) loses synchronism while moving from the right side to the left side (forward direction) as shown in FIG. Assume that it has occurred.

At this time, the stepping motor is provided with the necessary number of pulses for moving the carriage 5 by the required distance, but the actual moving distance of the carriage 5 in the forward direction becomes shorter. Therefore, when the carriage 5 is thereafter moved in the backward direction from this position, the carriage 5 collides with the side plate 2 because the moving distance in the forward direction is insufficient as shown in FIG.

Therefore, in this ink jet recording apparatus, the pulse rate of the stepping motor (main scanning motor 8) when the carriage 5 passes a predetermined position is monitored, and when the pulse rate exceeds a predetermined value, A process for controlling the stepping motor to forcibly stop the carriage 5 is performed. Note that "forcibly stopping" means that at least the stepping motor is driven in the deceleration mode, and is not limited to stopping by applying an external force to the carriage.

This process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. The CPU 40 of the control unit checks the detection signal of the home position sensor 32 or interrupts the detection signal of the home position sensor 32. Then, it is determined whether or not the carriage 5 has passed the home position which is a predetermined position. When the carriage 5 has passed the home position, the pulse rate f2 of the stepping motor which is the main scanning motor 8 at that time is measured.

Then, the measured pulse rate f2 exceeds the pulse rate f1 of a predetermined value (f2>
f1) is determined. Here, the specified pulse rate f1 is the pulse rate of the stepping motor when passing through the home position when the carriage 5 is operating normally.

At this time, if the measured pulse rate f2 does not exceed the specified pulse rate f1 (f1 ≧ f
2), the normal operation is continued as it is. On the other hand, if the measured pulse rate f2 exceeds the specified pulse rate f1 (if f2> f1), a deceleration profile is immediately given to the driving of the carriage 5, and in any case, the carriage 5 Stop 5 (forced stop)
Let it.

That is, in the case of a serial recording apparatus normally controlled by an open loop, the home position of the carriage is set in an area where the carriage does not move at high speed, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the right or left end of the carriage in the main scanning direction. Is set at the position of the home position sensor HP or HP ', and the operation (movement) range of the carriage during the printing operation in this case is between the carriages CC'. Therefore, the pulse rate of the stepping motor when the carriage passes through the home position is sufficiently lower than the maximum pulse rate. However, when the stepping motor loses synchronism, the carriage passes through the home position sensor at a higher speed than usual.

Therefore, as described above, the pulse rate of the stepping motor when the carriage passes the position of the home position sensor, which is the predetermined position, is monitored, and the pulse rate is set to a predetermined value (normal pulse rate). By controlling the stepping motor so that the carriage is forcibly stopped when the distance exceeds the limit, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the carriage collides with the side plate (side wall member).

In this case, by setting a predetermined position for monitoring the pulse rate of the carriage to a home position (reference position), an existing home position sensor is used as detecting means for detecting that the carriage has passed the predetermined position. Can also be used, and the configuration is simplified.

Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the distance between the home position sensor HP and the side plate 2 is L1, the distance between the home position sensor HP and the side plate 2 is L1, and the distance between the home position sensor HP and the side wall member (side plate 2) is L1. Assuming that the distance required for deceleration of C is L2, it is possible to reliably avoid collision of the carriage C with the side plate 2 by configuring so that L1 ≧ L2.

When the serial recording apparatus is an ink jet recording apparatus, a capping mechanism 31 for maintaining and recovering the reliability of the recording head is provided as in this embodiment, and the home position sensor 32 is scanned by the carriage 5. It may be arranged closer to the capping mechanism 31 side than the center of the area. That is, when this is schematically represented, FIG.
As shown in (1), the capping mechanism 31 is provided at the right end of the scanning area of the carriage 5, and the home position sensor 32 is provided near the left end of the capping mechanism 31.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, when the distance between the home position sensor 32 and the capping position cp by the capping mechanism 31 is L3, and the distance required for deceleration of the carriage 5 is L2, the relationship of L3 ≧ L2 is satisfied. With such a configuration, not only can the collision of the carriage 5 against the side plate 2 be reliably avoided, but also the collision with the capping mechanism 31 can be avoided, and head damage due to the collision of the cap member of the recording head can be prevented. Can be prevented.

The capping position cp is related to the configuration of the capping mechanism 31. For example, the carriage 5 comes into contact with a member holding a cap member for capping the recording head 6 by moving the carriage 5 in the main scanning direction.
In the case of a mechanism that raises the cap member via a link or the like, the position of the member that contacts the carriage 5 is the capping position cp.

As described above, in this embodiment, an example is described in which the carriage is prevented from colliding with the side wall member (side plate 2) closer to the home position sensor. It is also necessary to avoid colliding with the member (side plate 1). Therefore, an embodiment for that purpose will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the position of the left end of the movement range of the carriage 5 during the printing operation is set as the predetermined position, and the carriage 5 also reaches the predetermined position (the left end position of the movement range) on the side plate 1 side. A position sensor 34 is disposed as a detecting means for detecting the position, and the pulse rate when the carriage 5 is detected by the position sensor 34 is measured in the same manner as in the above embodiment, and this is compared with a normal pulse rate (specified value). When the measured pulse rate is larger than the specified value, the carriage 5 is stopped immediately. Therefore, also in this case, in order to reliably avoid the collision between the carriage 5 and the side plate 1, the position sensor 34 detects the side plate 1.
Is preferably set to be equal to or longer than the distance required for deceleration of the carriage 5.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, an elastic member 35 such as rubber or a porous body is provided on the side plate 1 at a position where the carriage 5 can abut. In this example, when the carriage 5 steps out so as to collide with the side plate 1, it comes into contact with the elastic member 35, so that the collision of the carriage 5 directly with the side plate 1 can be avoided. In this case, a considerable impact is applied to the carriage 5 due to the collision with the elastic member 35, and the recording device cannot be immediately stopped because the step-out cannot be detected at that moment.
There is an advantage that it is not necessary to increase the number of sensors as in the above.

Next, the operation of the entire recording apparatus system for the operation of stopping the carriage 5 will be described with reference to FIG. First, after the carriage forcible stop processing is started as described above, since the carriage 5 is not at the regular position, the position of the carriage 5 must be normalized. Therefore, in order to initialize the carriage position, Then, the home position detection operation is started.

If it is detected that the carriage 5 has been at the home position within the preset time t1, the carriage 5 is moved to the standby position (capping mechanism 3).
After that, the operation of the printer system (recording apparatus) is stopped.

On the other hand, after entering the home position detecting operation, if it is not detected that the carry 5 is located at the home position within the set time t1, the operation of the printer system is immediately stopped.

That is, the home position detection operation takes the longest time when the carriage 5 is at the position farthest from the home position sensor 32. If this time is set to the set time t1, the home position is detected within the set time t1. When the carriage 5 cannot be detected, it can be estimated that the carriage 5 is stuck due to the jammed paper or the like, and in such a case, if the moving operation of the carriage 5 is continued, an abnormal noise is generated or the recording head and the paper are not moved. The possibility of the recording head being damaged by contact increases.

Therefore, if the home position cannot be detected within the set time t1, the home position detection operation is terminated and the printer system is immediately stopped, so that further inconvenience can be prevented.

After stopping the operation of the printer system, it is unlikely that the image printed on the recording medium is normal, the recording medium may be jammed, and it is unlikely that printing can be resumed as it is. Therefore, it is necessary to discharge the recording medium during printing. Therefore, a message urging the user to remove the recording medium being printed is displayed on the operation panel 43 or the like.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an ink jet recording apparatus has been described.
The present invention can be applied to all other serial recording apparatuses such as a thermal transfer recording apparatus.

[0061]

As described above, according to the serial recording apparatus of the first aspect, when the pulse rate of the stepping motor exceeds a predetermined value when the carriage passes a predetermined position, the carriage is moved. Since the stepping motor is controlled to stop, the carriage can be prevented from colliding with the side wall member with a simple configuration.

According to the serial type recording apparatus of the second aspect,
In the serial recording apparatus of the first aspect, since the predetermined position is the home position of the carriage, the collision of the carriage with the side wall member can be prevented with a simple configuration.

According to the serial recording apparatus of the third aspect,
In the serial recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the distance between the detecting means for detecting that the carriage has reached the predetermined position and the side wall member on the side closer to the detecting means among the side wall members on both sides in the main scanning direction is: Since the configuration is longer than the distance required for the carriage stop operation, it is possible to reliably prevent the carriage from colliding with the side wall member with a simple configuration.

According to the serial recording apparatus of the fourth aspect,
The serial recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recording head comprises an inkjet head.
Capping means for capping the recording head, and detecting means for detecting that the carriage has reached a predetermined position is provided on the side of the capping means relative to the center of the main scanning area of the carriage, and capping by the detecting means and the capping means is provided. Since the distance from the position is longer than the distance required for the carriage stopping operation, it is possible to reliably prevent the carriage from colliding with the capping means with a simple configuration in the ink jet recording apparatus.

According to the serial recording apparatus of the fifth aspect,
5. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means for detecting that the carriage has come to a predetermined position and the side wall member farthest from the detecting means among the side wall members on both sides in the main scanning direction. , The elastic member is provided at a position where the carriage can abut, so that the carriage can be prevented from directly colliding with the side wall member without the detecting means without increasing the number of detecting means for detecting the predetermined position. it can.

According to the serial type recording apparatus of claim 6,
The serial recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a plurality of detecting means for detecting that the carriage has come to a plurality of different predetermined positions, so that the carriage collides with the side wall members on both sides. Can be prevented,
It is possible to prevent the recording head from being damaged due to the collision.

According to the serial recording apparatus of the seventh aspect,
7. The serial type printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after stopping the carriage, the carriage is guided to a predetermined position and stopped, and then the stopping operation of the printing apparatus itself is performed. And the preparation for removing the recording medium can be performed.

According to the serial recording apparatus of the eighth aspect,
If the carriage cannot be stopped at a predetermined position within a predetermined period of time, the recording device itself is stopped after a predetermined period of time. The recording device can be stopped even when the recording medium cannot be moved, and preparation for removing the recording medium can be performed.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a serial recording apparatus.
9. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising means for displaying a message for removing the recording medium after the recording apparatus itself is stopped, so that the recording medium can be quickly removed. Can be prompted to restart printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control unit of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a change in the speed of a carriage;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining step-out of a stepping motor and collision of a carriage with a side wall surface;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a pulse rate monitoring process performed by a control unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a relationship between a carriage and a home position;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a distance between a home position and a side wall surface;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a case in which a capping mechanism is provided.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an interval between a home position and a capping position by a capping mechanism;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining processing after the carriage stop processing performed by the control unit;

[Explanation of symbols]

5 carriage, 6 print head, 8 main scanning motor,
14 paper (recording medium), 15 platen, 23 sub-scanning motor, 31 capping mechanism, 32 home position sensor, 34 position sensor, 35 elastic member.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B41J 19/30 B41J 3/04 102N H02P 8/38 H02P 8/00 R

Claims (9)

[Claims] A carriage on which a recording head is mounted is moved in a main scanning direction by using a stepping motor as a driving source;
In a serial recording apparatus that performs recording by conveying a recording medium in a sub-scanning direction, the carriage is stopped when the pulse rate of the stepping motor exceeds a predetermined value when the carriage passes a predetermined position. A means for controlling the stepping motor so as to cause the stepping motor to rotate. 2. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined position is a home position of the carriage. 3. The serial type recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection means for detecting that the carriage has reached a predetermined position and a side of the side wall members on both sides in the main scanning direction which is closer to the detection means. Wherein the distance from the side wall member is longer than the distance required for the carriage to stop. 4. The serial type recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a recording head comprising an ink jet head; and capping means for capping the recording head, wherein the carriage comes to a predetermined position. Detecting means for detecting that the capping means side than the center of the main scanning area of the carriage,
A distance between the detecting means and a capping position by the capping means is longer than a distance required for a stop operation of the carriage. 5. A serial recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detection means detects that said carriage has reached a predetermined position, and said detection means is one of side wall members on both sides in the main scanning direction. An elastic member is provided on a side wall member on a side farther away from the serial recording apparatus, at a position where the carriage can abut. 6. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of detecting means for detecting that the carriage has reached a plurality of different predetermined positions. Type recording device. 7. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after stopping the carriage, guiding the carriage to the predetermined position and stopping the carriage, the stopping operation of the recording apparatus itself. A serial recording apparatus. 8. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the carriage cannot be stopped at a predetermined position within a predetermined time, a stop operation of the recording apparatus itself after the predetermined time has elapsed. A serial recording apparatus. 9. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein after performing a stop operation of the recording apparatus itself,
A serial type recording apparatus comprising means for displaying a message for removing said recording medium.