JPH0429557B2 - - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recording device, and more particularly to a recording device configured such that the distance between a print head and a print surface can be easily adjusted.

Prior Art In conventional recording devices, there are two methods for adjusting the distance between the print head and the print surface.

One type has a mechanism that allows the entire paper feeding system to be moved.

In this case, the paper feeding system has the disadvantage of being large-scale because it has to move many parts such as the printing platen, platen drive motor, gear system, platen support side plates, etc., and is vulnerable to vibrations, shocks, etc. There is.

Others have a mechanism that allows the print head system to be moved.

An example of this is a wire dot printer.

In this case, the accuracy of the parallelism between the print platen and the print head must be ensured during assembly, and this has the disadvantage of requiring a design that is resistant to vibrations, shocks, and the like.

Furthermore, once the print head is removed, the distance between the print head and the print image must be measured again using a thickness gauge, which has the disadvantage of poor workability.

On the other hand, in a recording device in which a print position detection mechanism consisting of, for example, a slit and a photo sensor is arranged along the moving direction of the print head, there is no mechanism that can move the position of the print head and adjust the distance between it and the platen. Not proposed.

The reason for this is that the head side and the print position detection mechanism are provided separately, so even if only the head side is moved, the print position detection mechanism does not move in conjunction with this, and the head and print position detection mechanism are This is because there is no point in moving the print head side if the print head is misaligned.

However, in order to adjust the distance between the print head and the platen, the head side must be moved, regardless of the structure of the print position detection means.

In particular, in inkjet printers and the like, ink is ejected while the head on which the inkjet nozzle is mounted moves back and forth.
In order to maintain good print quality, it is necessary to maintain a constant distance between the inkjet nozzle and the platen, that is, the recording paper.

In addition, inkjet printers have slits that are used as a print position detection mechanism arranged in high density in order to increase the recording resolution, so as the print head moves, the slits are installed in the carriage where the print head is installed. It is necessary that the relative positional relationship with the existing photo sensor does not shift.

Therefore, the head and the printing position detection means must be in an interlocking relationship while maintaining a relative positional relationship.

Purpose The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of arbitrarily adjusting the distance between the head and the platen while maintaining the relative positional relationship between the head and the print position detection means. The object of the present invention is to provide a recording device configured as follows.

Embodiments Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be explained based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

The embodiment described below is equipped with a print head,
A recording device that performs printing while moving in parallel along a platen, and has a carriage that is provided with at least a portion of a print position detection means, and is configured to be able to approach and separate the carriage and the platen. In addition, this recording apparatus is characterized in that it is configured such that other components of the printing position detection means can be moved in conjunction with the carriage.

FIG. 1 and subsequent figures illustrate one embodiment of the present invention. In the figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage, on which an inkjet nozzle device 2 is mounted.

The carriage 1 is slidably fitted to two guide shafts 3 and 4, and one guide shaft 4 is slidably fitted to the carriage 1 through the elongated hole 1a.

The carriage 1 passes through the recording paper 5 to the platen 6.
is facing. The carriage 1 is fixed to a part of a timing belt 7 that is driven by a drive device (not shown), and is moved back and forth along the platen 6 in accordance with a printing command.

Furthermore, a protrusion 8 extends downward from a part of the carriage 1, and a notch 8a of a predetermined width is formed in the protrusion 8 along the vertical direction. An elongated slit plate 9 is provided in this notch 8a.
is inserted. A light emitting element 10 such as a light emitting diode and a light receiving element 11 such as a phototransistor are placed facing each other on both sides of the notch 8a.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the slit plate 9 has a large number of slits 9a formed at predetermined intervals on the upper side, and elongated slits 9b on the lower side.

Therefore, when these slits 9a and 9b are detected by the light emitting element 10 and the light receiving element 11, the detection outputs are as shown by symbols E1 and E2 in FIG. 5B.

The light emitting and light receiving elements 10 and 11 constitute a head position recognition section, and together with the slit plate 9 constitute recording position detection means.

Both ends of the slit plate 9 are fixed to support members 12 and 13 located beyond the left and right side plates of the device, respectively.

Further, both ends of the guide shaft 4 are connected to left and right side plates 1.
It is fixed at 4,15.

Incidentally, one end of the guide shaft 3 located on the platen 6 side is also rotatably supported by the support member 12 of the slit plate 9.

By the way, at one end of the guide shaft 3, there is an eccentric disk 16.
is fixed in an eccentric position. The eccentric disk 16 is rotatably supported on the side plate 14.

A control lever 18 is fixed to the eccentric disk 16, and when turned, the eccentric disk 16 and therefore the guide shaft 3 can be rotated.

The other eccentric disk 17 is rotatably supported at the other end of the guide shaft 3. And this eccentric disk 1
7 is rotatably supported on the side plate 15.

The eccentric disk 17 has a shaft 19 facing outward on the same axis as the guide shaft 3, an operating lever 20 is fixed to this shaft 19, and the shaft 19 is rotatably supported on the support member 13. ing.

In addition, the eccentric discs 16, 17, the operating lever 18,
20 constitutes means for changing the position of the head in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the head along the platen.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as above will be explained.

During printing, the carriage 1 is driven by a timing belt 7 that runs in accordance with a printing command, and the printing position is detected by a recording position detection means consisting of a light emitting element 10, a light receiving element 11, and a slit plate 9. When the printing position is reached, the inkjet nozzle device 2 is activated, ink is ejected from the nozzle according to the printing command, and recording is performed.

On the other hand, in order to adjust the distance between the inkjet nozzle device 2 and the platen, the following procedure is used.

First, the operation lever 18 located on the left side is rotated. The direction of rotation differs depending on whether the head is moved toward or away from the platen.

When the operating lever 18 is rotated, the eccentric disc 16 integrated therewith is rotated.

Since the eccentric disk 16 is rotatably attached to the side plate 14, the position of the eccentric disk 16 itself does not change, but is merely rotated.

When the eccentric disk 16 is rotated, the guide shaft 3 is also rotated, and the rotation radius of the guide shaft 3 at this time is equal to the eccentric distance of the guide shaft 3 from the center of the eccentric disk 16. As a result, the guide shaft 3 and therefore the carriage approach the platen 6 side with this rotation radius at the maximum.
separated.

At this time, the position of the eccentric disk 16 rotated by the operating lever 18 is between the supporting member 12 and the operating lever 1.
This is maintained by the frictional force between the flange 16a of the eccentric disk 16 and the side plate 14, which is generated by the pressing force of the spring S loaded between the eccentric disk 16 and the side plate 14.

When the guide shaft 3 moves, the support member 12 also moves,
Since the slit plate 9 integrated with the support member 12 also moves, the relative positional relationship between the light emitting element and the light receiving elements 10 and 11 provided on the carriage 1 remains maintained.

During this operation, since the other end of the guide shaft 3 is rotatably supported by the eccentric disk 17, the eccentric disk 17 does not displace.

On the other hand, as described above, the left operating lever 1
After the adjustment in step 8 is completed, adjustment is performed using the right operating lever 20.

When the operating lever 20 is rotated, the eccentric disk 17 integrated through the shaft 19 is rotated, and the guide shaft 3 is rotated according to the eccentric distance with respect to the eccentric disk 17. As a result, the distance between the guide shaft 3 and therefore the carriage or head and the platen 6 is adjusted.

In this way, the distance between the platen and the left and right sides is adjusted, and since the slit plate 9 also moves in conjunction with this adjustment operation via the support members 12 and 13, the light emitting and light receiving elements and the slit plate This has no effect on the recording position detection means consisting of the following, and good recording quality can be maintained.

In the embodiments described above, an inkjet nozzle was used as an example of the print head, but the present invention can of course be applied to print heads of other structures.

Effects As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the position of the recording position detection means can be changed in conjunction with the change in the position of the head. For example, by making it possible to adjust the distance between the print head and the platen independently on the left and right sides, end users can easily adjust the distance between the print head and the platen. By changing the distance between the platens, it is possible to obtain the effect that normal recording without printing errors can always be obtained in response to changes in paper thickness.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 illustrate one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recording device, and FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are respectively A-- A line, B
5A and 5B are enlarged views of the slit portion and output waveform diagrams. 1...Carriage, 3, 4...Guide shaft, 6...
platen, 7... timing belt, 9... slit plate, 10... light emitting element, 11... light receiving element,
12, 13... Support member, 14, 15... Side plate,
16, 17... Eccentric disc, 18, 20... Operation lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A recording device for recording on a recording medium, comprising: a platen; a head; and a guide shaft provided along the platen to move the head in a direction along the platen. a carriage that can be moved, a changing means provided at each end of the guide shaft for changing the position of the head in a direction intersecting the direction of movement of the head, and a support member that supports both ends of the guide shaft; recording position detecting means comprising a member provided on the recording head and a head position recognition section provided on the carriage for recognizing the position of the head via the member; A recording device characterized in that the position of recording position detection means is changed. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position recognition section includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element. 3. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the member is a plate provided with a plurality of slits at predetermined intervals. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head is a head that performs recording by ejecting ink from nozzles.