JPH0263746A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always obtain recording of high quality without making the moving speed of a carriage unstable while the volume of a sub-tank is kept relatively small by automatically replenishing ink from an ink tank to the sub-tank by an automatic ink replenishing device. CONSTITUTION:A main tank 118 is driven by a motor 121 to engage an ink lead-out part 116 with the ink suction part 102 of a recording head 50. When the ink of the main tank 118 is supplied to the sub-tank 103, the solenoid valve 111 connected to a nozzle is closed while a solenoid valve 112 is brought to an open state and a pump 113 is operated to reduce the pressure in the hollow part 50a of the recording head 50 and the atmospheric pressure in the sub-tank 103 is lowered to allow the ink to flow in the sub-tank 103 from the main tank 118. The inflow of the ink is continued until the sub-tank is expanded to reach the outer wall 104 of the sub-tank to stop the ink flow.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and particularly to an improvement in an ink replenishment method in an inkjet recording type recording apparatus.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, various inkjet recording systems have been proposed and attempts have been made to put them into practical use, depending on their principles, configurations, etc. Among these, the so-called on-demand method, in which ink droplets are timely ejected during recording to obtain a desired recorded image, is becoming mainstream among inkjet recording methods because it is suitable for downsizing and simplifying the apparatus. Furthermore, as a recent trend, the rise of color inkjet recording devices that realize recording of color images by combining the use of multiple nozzles and the use of color ink has become remarkable.

Inkjet recording devices like this have a relatively large sub-tank in the recording head to replenish ink, which is a consumable item, and when the ink runs out, the operator must stop the device and replenish the ink. In some cases, ink is supplied by connecting sub-tanks within the recording head with a tube or the like.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, with this ink replenishment method, the following problems have been pointed out. In other words, a recording head with a relatively large sub-tank has a large weight.
Therefore, since the inertia when moving the recording head increases, a large motor is required for driving the carriage, which results in an increase in the size and cost of the apparatus itself.

Furthermore, in the case where the main tank and the sub-tank are connected by a tube or the like, the moving load of the carriage changes due to the rigidity of the tube, making it difficult to keep the traveling speed of the carriage constant, and stable image recording cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made by focusing on these conventional problems, and eliminates the need for the device to become unnecessarily large, the carriage to run unstable, and the need for frequent ink replenishment. The purpose is to always provide stable image recording without requiring complicated work.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned object, and the recording apparatus of the present invention includes an inkjet recording head whose drive is controlled based on a recording signal, and the recording head. The apparatus is characterized in that it includes a sub-tank integrally provided with the recording head, a cap mechanism that covers and protects the recording head when not recording, an ink tank, and an automatic ink replenishment mechanism.

[Operation] In such a configuration, when the amount of ink in the sub-tank of the recording head decreases, ink is automatically replenished from the ink tank to the sub-tank by the automatic ink replenishing device.

[Example code] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main mechanism of a recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

Note 8 The frame structure of the R7 position is composed of a base frame 1, a left side plate 2, and a right side plate 3.

The carriage mechanism section includes a recording head 50 and a recording head 50.
Carriage 20. main shaft 30,
F for supplying recording signals to the DC motor 31 that drives the carriage 20, the drive belt 32, and the recording head 50;
It is composed of parts such as a PC 33, a driving pulley 34, and a driven pulley 35.

The recording head 50 is attached to the carriage 20 and is movable between the left side plate 2 and the right side plate 3 as the carriage 20 moves. The carriage 20 slides on the main shaft 30 via an integrally configured bearing with high sliding properties.

The power source at this time is a DC motor 31, which has a drive pulley 34 attached to its shaft by press-fitting and a toothed drive belt 3 that engages with the drive pulley 34.
2, power is transmitted to the carriage 20. The driven pulley 35 is provided at a position facing the drive pulley 34, and applies appropriate tension to the drive belt 32 by a belt tension biasing means 36. In this example, the case where a toothed belt is used as the power transmission member has been explained, but there will be no problem if a transmission system such as a wire or rack and pinion that can transmit power is used instead of the toothed belt. There isn't.

Next, the recording medium feeding mechanism unit moves the rolled recording medium 6
0, platen 70, recording medium presser 71, LF motor 8
0, LF power transmission system 81 and other parts.

The platen 70 has a cylindrical pipe shape made of aluminum or the like, and is supported by two rings 73a at each end provided on the base frame 1 and a biasing means such as a spring. This is achieved by holding the outer diameter of the ring 73b, one at each end, which presses the ring 73b against the base frame. The power transmission mechanism transmits the power of an LF motor 80 such as a stepping motor to L.
The torque is increased through the deceleration mechanism of the F power transmission system 81, the feed step is subdivided, and then transmitted to the LF drive pulley (not shown). After this, the LF
Power is transmitted to a plurality of LF belts (toothed) 74 that engage with the drive pulley, and the LF belt 74 is connected to the platen 70.
The recording medium 60 is fed by a predetermined amount by being driven in the form of a wand that fits in a groove provided on the outer periphery of the recording medium 60 . As the recording medium 60, various media such as paper, cloth, film sheets, etc. can be mounted. The recording medium presser 71 is formed of a thin steel plate such as stainless steel, and is held between the right side plate 3 and the LF side plate 4 by a holding member 72, and holds the recording medium 60a against the platen 70 by a biasing means (not shown). The recording medium 60a is biased in the direction of pressing against the recording medium 60a, and plays the role of suppressing floating of the recording medium 60a near the recording position. In the figure, reference numeral 75 denotes a rotating roller contacting member installed on an extension of the recording medium presser 7e, and the rotating roller contacting member 75 is made of a highly rigid steel material. It is held fixed with. 100 is a recovery mechanism for the recording head 50 provided outside the print area, and by operating the recovery mechanism 100 as necessary, cleaning the nozzle surface of the recording head 50, supplying ink, recovering from non-discharge, and preventing nozzle drying. etc. will be done.

On the opposite side of the Q-recovery mechanism 100 and the recording head 50, an automatic ink replenishment mechanism mainly consisting of a main tank 118 is provided. This automatic ink replenishment mechanism
The ink tank 118 has an ink groove inside it, and the ink tank 118 has a groove when the recording head 50 comes to this position.
8 and a drive motor 121 for driving the motor 8. Note that 120 is a gear for transmitting the driving force of the drive motor 121 to the ink tank 118, and when the drive signal drives the drive motor 121, this driving force is transmitted to the ink tank 118 via the gear 120. , the ink tank 118 slides on the rail 122 to move toward and away from the back surface of the recording head 50 .

The recording apparatus having the above configuration operates as follows. When trying to obtain desired characters or images, a recording signal is sent to the recording head 50 via the FPC 33, and at the same time
The C motor 31 is driven to cause the carriage 20 to reciprocate. At this time, by feeding the recording medium 60a at a predetermined pitch in synchronization with the reciprocating movement of the carriage, characters, images, etc. are formed on the recording medium as a collection of dots.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the ink replenishment mechanism of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. The recording head 50 is
When a predetermined amount of image recording is completed, it is automatically returned to the home position. At the home position, the cap 1o8 is driven by a motor (not shown), and its engaging portion 108a covers the tip of the groove 10 of the recording head 50. Note that 119 is a head substrate consisting of an ink flow path, an ejection port, and a piezoelectric element. At this time, the opening 108b of the cap 108, which is located at the position where it is connected to the opening 50b of the hollow part 50a of the recording head 50, is also brought into close contact and connected. A tube 109 for sucking out ink from the orifice of the nozzle 107 and a tube 110 for reducing pressure in the opening of the recording head 50 are connected to the cap 108, and each is connected to a pump 113 via a solenoid valve 11L112. ing. A tube 114 is connected to the pump 113, and the sucked ink is stored in a waste liquid tank 115. Next, inside the recording head 50 is a flexible bag-shaped sub-tank 103 that has two connection parts, one on the suction side and the other on the supply side. It is connected to a hole 107a of a nozzle plate 107 via a rubber connecting member 106. On the other hand, on the suction side, a check valve 101 is installed on the outside and is connected to an ink outlet section 116 at the tip of an ink supply pipe 117 provided in a part of the main tank 118.

Next, the main tank 118 is connected to the motor 121 (not shown).
to engage the ink outlet section 116 and the ink suction section 102 of the recording head 50. When the above connections are completed, in order to supply ink from the main tank 118 to the sub tank 103, first the solenoid valve 1 connected to the nozzle must be
11 to close the valve. The solenoid valve 112 is left open. In this state, when the pump 113 is operated to reduce the pressure in the hollow portion 50a of the recording head 50, the air in the sub-tank 103 expands and the pressure decreases. For this reason, main tank 11
Ink flows into the sub tank from 8. The ink continues to flow until the sub-tank swells and hits the outer wall 104 of the sub-tank, at which point the ink stops flowing. In this state, the pressure inside the sub-tank is reduced, but when the cap 108 is opened, the pressure becomes atmospheric.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, ink is automatically replenished from the ink tank to the sub-tank as needed, so the capacity of the sub-tank in the print head is relatively small. Only a small amount is required, and as a result, the recording head can be made lightweight, and the motor for driving the carriage can be made smaller. Furthermore, since the ink is automatically replenished, there is no need for the operator to have to replenish the ink frequently. In addition, since there is no tube for supplying ink, there are no problems such as load fluctuations when the carriage moves (therefore, the carriage movement speed is always high quality without becoming unstable). Another advantage is that records can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the overall configuration of a recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of essential parts for explaining the ink replenishment mechanism. Main tank 20 -m-carriage 50 -m-recording head cap~

Claims (1)

[Claims] Equipped with an inkjet recording head whose drive is controlled based on a recording signal, a sub tank provided integrally with the recording head, a cap mechanism that covers and protects the recording head when not recording, an ink tank, and an automatic ink replenishment mechanism. A recording device.