JPH07246742A - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Prevents contact of the paper pressing member with the recording head by always holding it parallel to the platen even when pressing the paper pressing member arranged in the recording section at an uneven position. Prevents damage to the recording head and defective ejection of ink. [Structure] A plate-shaped paper pressing member 30 for closely adhering the recording paper 1 to the platen 14 is provided with a transport side roller 26 of the carriage 19.
And the transport-side pressing surface 42 that is pressed by the paper-discharging-side roller 27
Further, the sheet discharge side pressing surface 43 is integrally formed, and the sheet pressing member 30 is attached by the spring means 31 and 32 so as to be elastically displaced in the separating and contacting direction in a posture substantially always parallel to the platen 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means onto a recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine and a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a multifunction machine or a workstation including a computer, a word processor, etc., is a sheet or a plastic thin plate based on image information. An image (including characters and symbols) is recorded on a recording material (recording medium) such as (OHP). The recording device can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a heat sensitive type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type and the like depending on the recording system of the recording means used.

In a serial type recording apparatus which employs a recording system in which a main scanning is performed in a direction intersecting a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position and then the recording material is set. An image (including characters, symbols, etc.) is recorded by a recording unit (recording head) mounted on a carriage that moves (main scanning) along, and after one line of recording is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (sub-scan). An image is recorded in a desired range of the recording material by repeating the operation of performing (scanning) and then recording (main scanning) the image of the next row. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records a recording material only in the sub-scanning direction in which the recording material is fed in the transport direction, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and one line of recording is continuously performed at one time. A predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch feed) is performed, and an image is recorded on the entire recording material.

Among them, the ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus) is a means for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material, and it is easy to make the recording means compact and high definition. Images can be recorded at high speed, plain paper can be recorded without requiring special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise and uses multicolor inks. Therefore, it has an advantage that it is easy to record a color image. Above all, a line type recording apparatus using a line type recording means in which a large number of ejection ports are arranged in the paper width direction can further speed up recording.

In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for ejecting ink by utilizing heat energy,
Through the semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering, the electrothermal converter formed on the substrate, the electrode,
By forming the liquid passage wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a liquid discharge device having a high-density liquid passage arrangement (ejection port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. Further, by utilizing the advantages of IC technology and micro processing technology, it is easy to make the recording means long and planar (two-dimensional), and it is also easy to make the recording means full-multi and high-density mounting. is there.

In an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink droplets from a discharge port formed in a recording head onto a recording material, an appropriate gap is accurately maintained between the recording head and the recording material during recording. Therefore, in the recording section (the area facing the recording head), the platen guides and supports the back surface of the recording material, and
A paper pressing mechanism is used in which a recording material is brought into close contact with the platen by a paper pressing member during recording. Further, as a recording material conveying mechanism (paper feeding mechanism), a constitution is used in which a conveying roller is arranged on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the platen and a discharge roller is arranged on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the platen. ing.

As a concrete example of the paper pressing mechanism, the paper pressing member is formed by two separate members, a paper pressing member on the conveying side and a paper pressing member on the discharge side, and these two paper pressing members are formed on the conveying roller and the paper pressing member. A carriage-side roller and a discharge-side roller are provided on a carriage that is reciprocally mounted with a recording head, rotatably supporting a shaft of each discharge roller in a direction biased from a platen in a direction away from the platen. These rollers are used to individually press the transport-side paper pressing member and the discharge-side paper pressing member against the platen. The transport-side rollers and the paper-discharging-side rollers are provided one by one at the front and rear portions in the moving direction of the carriage, and the rollers as a whole are disposed at a total of four locations on the bottom, front, rear, left and right of the carriage.

[0008]

However, in such a conventional paper pressing mechanism, when the carriage is moved and the recording operation is started, the paper ejection side roller at the front portion in the carriage traveling direction is ejected. Although the side paper pressing member is pressed to press the recording material, the paper discharging side roller at the rear of the carriage traveling direction does not press the paper discharging side paper pressing member, and one end of the paper discharging side paper pressing member ( The end on the rear side in the carriage movement direction) is a free end, and a spring biasing force acting in a direction separating from the platen acts on the paper discharge side paper pressing member. The free end may approach the ejection port surface of the recording head, and the gap between them may be extremely small.

Therefore, the end of the paper pressing member on the paper discharge side may come into contact with the ejection port surface of the recording head due to variations in parts accuracy and assembly accuracy. The paper pressing member is made of a hard material such as metal. Therefore, when the carriage moves while the paper pressing member is in contact with the ejection opening surface as described above, the ejection opening surface is damaged by the end portion (end surface) of the paper pressing member, resulting in defective ejection of ink (non-ejection). (Including) was generated, and it became impossible to record.
It should be noted that, when both the paper discharge side rollers before and after the carriage movement direction are located on the paper discharge side paper pressing member and the front and rear rollers press the paper pressing member, the above-mentioned problems do not occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and an object of the present invention is that the recording means is provided at one end of the paper pressing member when the carriage is moved and the recording operation is started. Even when the paper pressing member is pressed only by the pressing portion on the front side in the carriage advancing direction in the state of being positioned at, the surface of the paper pressing member facing the recording means can be held parallel to the platen. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet recording apparatus capable of reliably preventing the end portion of a pressing member from coming into contact with a recording unit, and preventing damage to the recording unit and defective ejection of ink.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording material, a platen for guiding and supporting a back surface of the recording material in a recording section, A paper pressing member that can be pressed against the platen via a recording material, and the paper pressing member is integrally formed with the platen on both the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording means with respect to the platen. The above-described object is achieved by adopting a structure in which it is displaced in the pressure contact / separation direction.

In addition to the configuration of claim 1, the invention of claims 2 to 5 is configured such that the paper pressing member is integrally formed with the upstream side portion and the downstream side portion in the transport direction of the recording means. A configuration in which an upstream side portion in the transport direction of the paper pressing member is pressed by a transport side roller provided in the carriage, and a downstream side portion in the transport direction of the paper pressing member is pressed by a discharge side roller provided in the carriage, The paper pressing member is elastically supported in the recess of the platen via a spring, or the paper pressing member is elastically supported in the recess of the platen via the bent portion, The above object is achieved more efficiently.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding portions. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part configuration of an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a part of FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner, and FIG. 1 and 2 are schematic cross-sectional views taken along the line 3-3 when the carriage is at the position of the alternate long and two short dashes line during recording, and FIG. 4 shows the carriage and the platen when the carriage is at the recording operation start position. It is a typical partial front view seen from the paper discharge side. The inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 intermittently feeds a recording material in a predetermined direction by a conveying (sub-scanning) mechanism, and moves (main scanning) a recording unit (recording head) in a direction intersecting with the recording material. It is configured to record while. Further, the illustrated inkjet recording apparatus shows a case of color recording using four recording means for recording with inks of different colors.

1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a sheet-shaped recording material (recording paper or recording paper, which is stacked in a paper cassette (not shown) and is supplied to the recording unit one by one by a paper feeding device (not shown) during recording. 2 is fixed to the bottom plate 17 and is disposed between the paper cassette (not shown) and the transport roller 6, and 3 is fixed to the bottom plate 17 with the proper spacing from the lower paper guide 2. The upper paper guides 4, 5 are conveying-side bearings that pivotally support the conveying roller 6 and the sub-conveying roller 7. The carrier bearings 4 and 5 are also fixed to the bottom plate 17, respectively.

The sub-conveyance roller 7 has a structure in which an outer peripheral portion of a rubber-like elastic body and a central portion composed of a metal cored bar shaft 23 are fixed to each other and integrated. The sub-conveyance roller 7 is pressed against the conveyance roller 6 by a pressing mechanism (not shown), and as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the transport roller 6 receives the rotational driving force by the drive mechanism described later and rotates, the secondary transport roller 7 also rotates, and its rotation direction is as shown in FIG.
It becomes the direction of the arrow P and the arrow Q in the inside. At this time, when the recording material 1 is fed between the conveying roller 6 and the sub-conveying roller 7, the recording material 1 is fed in the direction of arrow A.

1 to 4, 8 and 9 are platens 1.
4 is a sheet discharge side bearing fixed to the bottom plate 17 at a position opposed to each of the conveyance side bearings 4 and 5 with the sheet No. 4 interposed therebetween. A paper ejection roller 10 and a sub paper ejection roller 11 are axially supported by these bearings 8 and 9. Similarly to the sub-conveyance roller 7, the sub-ejection roller 11 also has a structure in which an outer peripheral portion of a rubber-like elastic body and a central portion formed of a metal cored bar shaft 24 are fixed to each other and integrated.

The secondary paper discharge roller 11 is pressed against the paper discharge roller 10 by a pressure mechanism (not shown), and as shown in FIG. Therefore, the discharge roller 10 is driven by the drive mechanism described later.
When the paper sheet is rotated by obtaining the rotational driving force, the paper discharge roller 11 is also rotated, and the rotation direction is the direction of arrow R and arrow S in FIG. Here, since the recording material 1 is nipped by the conveying roller 6 and the sub-conveying roller 7, and the discharge roller 10 and the sub-discharging roller 11, the conveying roller 6 and the discharging roller 10 are rotationally driven by a driving mechanism described later. Then, the recording material 1 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A.

1 to 4, 14 is a platen, 1
5 is a paper ejection guide, 16 is a conveyance motor, 18 is a guide shaft,
19 is a carriage. The platen 14 is arranged between the transport roller 6 and the paper discharge roller 10 and fixed to the bottom plate 17. The paper discharge guide 15 is arranged near the paper discharge roller 10 and is fixed to the bottom plate 17. The conveyance motor 16 is fixed to the bottom plate 17 and is arranged so as to supply a rotational driving force to the conveyance roller 6 and the paper discharge roller 10. The guide shaft 18 is installed at a position closer to the paper cassette than the transport roller 6 and parallel to the axial direction of the transport roller. The carriage 19 is inserted into the guide shaft 18 and guided and supported so as to be reciprocally movable along the guide shaft.

The carriage 19 has four recording means (head cartridges) 2 for recording in four different colors.
0a, 20b, 20c and 20d are attached. Incidentally, these recording means 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d
When referring to the whole or any one of them, it is simply indicated by the recording means (recording head or head cartridge) 20. The platen 1 of each head cartridge 20
An ejection port surface in which ejection ports are arranged is formed on the surface (the lower surface in the illustrated example) opposed to No. 4 so that ink droplets can be ejected to the recording material 1 on the platen 14 through the opening at the bottom of the carriage 19. Is configured.

The recording means (head cartridge) 20
Is an ink jet recording means for ejecting ink by utilizing thermal energy, which is provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Further, the recording head 20 performs recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port by utilizing a pressure change caused by growth and contraction of bubbles caused by film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter. Is.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejection portion of the recording head 20. In FIG.
A discharge port surface 8 that faces the recording material (recording paper or the like) 1 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm).
1, a plurality of discharge ports 82 are formed at a predetermined pitch,
An electrothermal converter (heat-generating resistor, etc.) 85 for generating energy for ejecting ink is arranged along the wall surface of each liquid passage 84 that connects the common liquid chamber 83 and each ejection port 82. In the present example, the recording head 20 has a positional relationship such that the plurality of ejection openings 82 are arranged in a direction intersecting the moving direction (main scanning direction) of the carriage 19.
It is installed in. In this way, the corresponding electrothermal converter 85 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid passage 84 to film-boil, and the ink generated from the ejection port 82 is ejected by the pressure generated at that time. Recording means 20 is configured.

1 to 4, just below the pre-recording standby position (home position) of the carriage 19, the ejection ports 82 of each head cartridge 20 are maintained in a good state or in a good state during recording. A recovery unit (not shown) for recovering is provided. This recovery unit is also fixed to the bottom plate 17. The carriage 19 receives the driving force from the main scanning motor 22 and reciprocates along the guide shaft 18.

The upper surface of the platen 14 (recording head 20
Side surface) and the recording material 1 between the upper surface of the platen and
A paper pressing member 30 for pinching (pressing) the paper is disposed. A plurality of rollers for pressing (pressing) the paper pressing member 30 onto the platen 14 via the recording material 1 by rolling the carriage 19 along the upper surface of the paper pressing member 30. Is attached. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the plurality of rollers are two transport-side rollers 2 attached at the front and rear positions of the carriage 19 on the transport roller 6 side in the carriage movement direction.
6 and 26, and two paper ejection side rollers 27 and 27 attached to the front and rear positions of the carriage 19 in the carriage movement direction on the paper ejection roller 10 side.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of the paper pressing member 30 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the paper pressing member 30 is formed of a single plate material, and an opening 41 is formed in the center thereof. The opening 41 has such a size and position as to cover (include) the recording area of the recording head 20 (the image forming area for one line by the main scanning of the recording head 20). Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, on the side of the conveyance roller 6 of the opening 41, the conveyance side roller 2 of the carriage 19 is provided.
A conveyance-side pressing surface 42 is provided which is pressed by rolling the rollers 6 and 26. The discharge-side rollers 27 and 2 of the carriage 19 are provided on the discharge roller 10 side of the opening 41.
A paper discharge side pressing surface 43 that is pressed by rolling 7 is provided.

In FIG. 6, bent portions 44 and 45 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the recording material of the paper pressing member 30 in which the transport side pressing surface 42 and the paper discharge side pressing surface 43 are integrated.
Is provided. In addition, the concave portion 3 is provided in the vicinity of both ends of the platen 14 corresponding to both ends of the paper pressing member 30.
5 and 36 are formed, and the transport side spring 31 and the paper discharge side spring 32 are fixed to the recesses 35 and 36, respectively. The paper pressing member 30 is coupled to the upper end surfaces of the transport side springs 31 and 31 at both end portions on the transport side, and is connected to the upper end surfaces of the sheet discharge side springs 32 and 32 at both end portions on the paper discharge side. Are combined.

The depth of each recess 35, 36 of the platen 14 is set to a value deeper than the contact height of each spring 31, 32. When the paper 27 rolls (moves), the paper pressing member 30 can be brought into close contact with the platen 14. That is, the paper pressing member 30 is provided with the springs 31, 31, 32, 32 at the four corners thereof so that the platen 1
4 while maintaining a state substantially parallel to the upper surface of the platen 14
It is elastically supported on the upper surface of the sheet so as to be movable between a separated position during recording standby and a pressing contact position during recording.

The operation of the ink jet recording apparatus having the above structure will be described below. In FIG. 1, a recording material 1 is fed in a direction of an arrow A by a feeding mechanism (not shown), and a lower paper guide 2
And is guided between the top paper guides 3. Further, the recording material 1 is sent out by a sheet feeding mechanism (not shown) to the nip portion between the conveying roller 6 and the sub-conveying roller 7 which are rotatably supported by the conveying side bearings 4 and 5 until the leading end thereof reaches. When the recording material 1 reaches the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers 6 and 7 by a sheet feeding mechanism (not shown), the rotational driving force is transmitted from the conveying motor 16 to the conveying roller 6. Then, the transport roller 6 that is rotationally driven
The recording material 1 is sent out in the direction of arrow A by the sub-conveying roller 7.

The recording material 1 sent out passes between the paper pressing member 30 and the platen 14 while being guided by the platen 14 fixed to the bottom plate 17. As described above, since the paper pressing member 30 is biased upward by the springs 31 and 32, it is set so that the recording material 1 can easily pass therethrough. With the further rotation of the conveyance motor 16, the recording material 1 is guided to the nip portion between the paper discharge roller 10 and the secondary paper discharge roller 11 which are axially supported by the paper discharge side bearings 8 and 9.

In the series of operations described above, the transport roller 6
When the paper is rotated, at the same time, the rotational force is transmitted from the conveyance motor 16 to the paper ejection roller 10, and the transmitted rotational force causes the paper ejection roller 10 and the sub paper ejection roller 11 to move in the arrow direction. The recording material 1 is fed in the arrow A direction by rotating in the R direction and the arrow S direction. Then, the recording material 1 is stopped at a position where it is fed by a predetermined amount by the conveyance roller 6, the sub-conveyance roller 7, the paper ejection roller 10, and the sub-paper ejection roller 11, and is in a recording standby state. After this paper feeding operation, the carriage 19 is moved in the direction of arrow C by the main scanning motor 22 in accordance with the input signal, and printing is performed.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, this carriage 1
The positional relationship and operation of the recording head 20, the platen 14, the recording material 1, and the paper pressing member 30 when 9 moves to the position of the chain double-dashed line will be described. In FIG. 3, the recording material 1 is sandwiched by the transport roller 6 and the secondary transport roller 7, and also sandwiched by the paper discharge roller 10 and the secondary paper discharge roller 11. Further, the lower surface of the recording material 1 is guided and supported by the platen 14, and when the carriage 19 reaches the recording position, the conveyance side roller 26 and the paper discharge side roller 27 provided on the carriage 19 are moved to the spring 3.
By pressing the paper pressing member 30 against 1 and 32, a part of the recording material 1 is pressed in close contact with the upper surface of the platen 14.

The ejection port 8 of the recording head 20 described above is also used.
2 must be arranged as close to the recording material 1 as possible in order to ensure the accuracy of the ejected ink landing on the recording material 1, and is arranged adjacent to the platen 14 as shown in FIG. . As a result, the distance between the paper pressing member 30 and the ejection port surface 81 becomes extremely small. In this state, the carriage 19 comes into contact with the paper pressing member 30 via the transport side roller 26 and the paper discharging side roller 27, and the carriage 19 is pressed while the recording material 1 is pressed against the platen 14 by the paper pressing member 30. Recording is performed while moving in the direction of arrow C.

When the main scanning of the carriage 19 is performed to record one line in this way, the moving direction of the carriage 19 is reversed, and the carriage 19 is moved in the direction of arrow B to return to the home position. After that, the recording material 1 is fed by a predetermined pitch in the direction of arrow A by the rotation of the conveying roller 6, the sub-conveying roller 7, the paper discharging roller 10, and the sub-paper discharging roller 11, and is stopped. Recording is performed by repeating this series of operations for each line, and when recording according to the input signal is completed, the recording material 1 is ejected through the ejection guide 15, and recording and ejection are completed.

In FIG. 3, the carriage 19 is in a recording position, and at this time, the recording material 1 is nipped by the conveying roller 6, the sub-conveying roller 7, the sheet discharging roller 10 and the sub sheet discharging roller 11 as described above. ing. Further, the lower surface (rear surface) of the recording material 1 is guided and supported by the platen 14, and the transport side roller 26 of the carriage 19 presses the transport side pressing surface 42 of the paper pressing member 30 against the spring 31. A part of the recording material 1 is held down. At the same time, the paper discharge side roller 27 of the carriage 19 presses the paper discharge side pressing surface 43 of the paper pressing member 30 against the spring 32 to press another portion of the recording material 1.

During the recording operation, normal recording is performed with the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 20 and the surface (upper surface shown in the drawing) of the paper pressing member 30 facing the ejection port surface maintained in a parallel positional relationship. Done. Therefore, even if the carriage 19 moves at the start of the recording operation, the paper pressing member 30 does not come into contact with the ejection opening surface 81 and the ejection opening surface 81 is not damaged.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the paper pressing member 30 according to the present invention. In FIG. 7, the paper pressing member 30 of this embodiment is also formed of a single plate material, and an opening 41 is formed in the center thereof. The opening 41 has such a size and position as to cover (include) the recording area of the recording head 20 (the image forming area for one line by the main scanning of the recording head 20). A transport-side pressing surface 42, which is pressed by rolling of the transport-side rollers 26 of the carriage 19, is provided on the transport roller 6 side of the opening 41. On the 10 side, the carriage 1
A sheet discharge side pressing surface 43 that is pressed by rolling the sheet discharge side rollers 27 of 27 is provided.

In FIG. 7, at both ends in the width direction of the recording material of the paper pressing member 30 in which the conveying side pressing surface 42 and the discharge side pressing surface 43 are integrated, there is an appropriate angle in the platen 14 direction. Bent portions 46 and 47 having a predetermined length are formed. The paper pressing member 30 is formed of a sheet-like elastic member such as a metal plate, and the bent portions 46 and 47 are the transport side springs 31 and 31 and the paper discharge side spring 32 in the case of the first embodiment of FIG. , 32 to have the same spring function.

Further, the paper pressing member 3 of the platen 14
In the vicinity of both ends corresponding to both ends of 0, the recesses 35, 3
6 is formed, and the tip portions of the bent portions 46 and 47 are fixed (connected) to the recesses 35 and 36, respectively. Then, each recess 35 of the platen 14,
The depth of 36 is selected to be deeper than the contact height of the bent portions 46 and 47, and when the transport-side roller 26 and the discharge-side roller 27 roll (move) on the paper pressing member 30,
The paper pressing member 30 is configured so that it can be brought into close contact with the platen 14. That is, the paper pressing member 30 has spring-like bent portions 46, 4 integrally formed at both end edges thereof.
By means of 7, the elastic member is elastically supported on the upper surface of the platen 14 so as to be movable between a separation position during recording standby and a pressing contact position during recording while maintaining a state substantially parallel to the upper surface of the platen 14.

The action and effect of the paper pressing member 30 are substantially the same in the first embodiment of FIG. 6 and the second embodiment of FIG. 7, and the outline thereof is as follows. When the recording operation is started, as shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 19 is at the recording position, and the recording material 1 is the conveying roller 6, the sub-conveying roller 7, the paper discharging roller 10, the sub-paper discharging as described above. It is sandwiched by rollers 11. The lower surface (back surface) of the recording material 1 is guided and supported by the platen 14, and the carriage 19
The transport side roller 26 and the paper discharge side roller 27 of the paper pressing member 3 resist the elastic force (spring force) of the bent portions 46 and 47.
A part of the recording material 1 is pressed by pressing the transport-side pressing surface 42 and the discharge-side pressing surface 43 of 0.

During the recording operation, the recording head 20
Ordinary recording is performed in a state where the ejection opening surface 81 and the surface (upper surface in the drawing) of the paper pressing member 30 that faces the ejection opening surface are parallel to each other. Therefore, even if the carriage 19 moves at the start of the recording operation, the paper pressing member 30 does not come into contact with the ejection opening surface 81 and the ejection opening surface 81 is not damaged.

According to the embodiment described above, the integrated paper pressing member 30 having the transport side pressing surface 42 and the paper discharge side pressing surface 43 is used, and the paper pressing member 30 serves as the platen surface of the platen 14. Since the platen 14 is assembled so as to be elastically displaced in the separation and contact directions while always maintaining a substantially parallel state, the paper is pressed by a part of the plurality of pressing rollers 26, 27 on the carriage 19 side. Even when the member 30 is pressed, the entire paper pressing member 30 can be surely uniformly displaced (moved) to the close contact position with the platen 14 or a position close thereto, whereby the end surface of the paper pressing member 30 can be moved. It is possible to eliminate such a problem that the discharge port surface 81 comes into contact with the discharge port surface 81, and damage to the discharge port surface 81 can be prevented.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the case of the serial recording method in which the recording means (recording head) is moved in the main scanning direction has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the full width or one width of the recording material. Even in the case of a line recording method for recording only by sub-scanning using a line recording means having a length that covers a portion,
The same can be applied and the same effect can be achieved. Further, the present invention provides a color recording apparatus using a plurality of recording means for recording in different colors, a single color recording apparatus for recording by one recording means, or a plurality of recording means for recording with the same color but different densities. Gradation recording device used,
Furthermore, in the case of a recording device that combines these,
The same can be applied and the same effect can be achieved.

Further, according to the present invention, when a replaceable head cartridge in which a recording head and an ink tank are integrated is used, or when the recording head and the ink tank are provided separately and the space between them is connected by an ink supply tube or the like. The same can be applied to any arrangement of the recording head and the ink tank, and similar effects can be obtained.

The present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, but among them, thermal energy is used. Then, an excellent effect is brought about in an ink jet recording apparatus which uses a recording means of a method of ejecting ink. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
This is preferably done using the basic principles disclosed in 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type, but particularly in the case of the on-demand type, a liquid (ink) is used.
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling. , Generates heat energy in the electrothermal converter to cause film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording means (recording head), and as a result, bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. So effective.

Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make the driving signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be ejected. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,633,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Incidentally, US Pat. No. 43131 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface
If the conditions described in the specification of No. 24 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a structure based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 138461/1984, which discloses a structure in which the discharge section is associated with the discharge section. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, as described above, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording material (recording medium) which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. . As such a recording head,
Either a structure that satisfies the length by combining a plurality of recording heads or a structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used. In addition, even with the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the device main body,
Alternatively, a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be electrically connected to the device body and supply ink from the device body when mounted on the device body, or an ink tank is integrally provided on the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when the cartridge type recording head described above is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means or preliminary auxiliary means to the recording head provided as a constitution of the recording apparatus in the present invention because the effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, in addition to the above-mentioned capping means, cleaning means, and suction recovery means for the recording head, a pressure-type recovery means, an electrothermal converter, or a heating other than this. It is also effective to perform stable recording by performing a preliminary heating means using an element or a combination thereof and a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection different from recording.

As described above, regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of recording heads having different recording colors and densities are provided. A plurality of inks may be provided corresponding to the ink. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be either the recording head is integrally configured or a combination of a plurality of recording heads may be used. The present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of color colors or full colors by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet. In the method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It may be in a liquid form. in addition,
To prevent the temperature rise due to the thermal energy from being positively used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or to use the ink that solidifies in the standing state for the purpose of preventing the evaporation of the ink. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying the thermal energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink is ejected,
The present invention is also applicable to the case of using an ink that has a property of being liquefied only by thermal energy, such as one that has already started to solidify when it reaches the recording medium.

The ink in such a case is described in JP-A-54-
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a mode in which it is held as a liquid or a solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet and faces the electrothermal converter. May be In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, besides being used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. And the like may be used.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the invention of claim 1, in the ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from the recording means to the recording material, the back surface of the recording material is recorded in the recording portion. A platen for guiding and supporting the platen, and a paper pressing member that can be pressed against the platen via a recording material. Since it is configured to be integrally displaced in the pressure contact and separation direction on both the downstream side,
Even when the carriage is moved and the recording operation is started, even when the recording means is located at one end of the paper pressing member and the paper pressing member is pressed only by the pressing portion on the front side in the carriage traveling direction, the paper pressing member The surface facing the recording means can be held parallel to the platen, whereby the end of the paper pressing member can be surely prevented from coming into contact with the recording means, and damage to the recording means and ink ejection failure. An inkjet recording device capable of preventing the above is provided.

According to the inventions of claims 2 to 5, in addition to the constitution of claim 1, the paper pressing member is integrally formed with the upstream side portion and the downstream side portion in the transport direction of the recording means. In the configuration, the upstream side portion of the paper pressing member in the transport direction is pressed by the transport side roller provided on the carriage, and the downstream side portion of the paper pressing member in the transport direction is pressed by the discharge side roller provided on the carriage. Since the paper pressing member is elastically supported in the recess of the platen via a spring, or the paper pressing member is elastically supported in the recess of the platen via the bent portion. When the carriage moves and the recording operation starts, etc., when the recording means is located at one end of the paper pressing member, the paper pressing is performed only by the pressing portion on the front side in the carriage traveling direction. Even when pressing the material, the surface of the paper pressing member facing the recording means can be held parallel to the platen, whereby the end portion of the paper pressing member can be kept in contact with the recording means. (EN) Provided is an ink jet recording apparatus which can surely prevent damage to recording means and ink ejection failure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part configuration of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a part of FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 when the carriage is at the position of the alternate long and two short dashes line during recording in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial front view of the carriage and the platen when the carriage is at the recording operation start position in FIGS. 1 to 3 as viewed from the sheet discharge side.

5 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection portion of the recording unit in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of the paper pressing member according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the paper pressing member according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Material 2 Lower Paper Guide 3 Upper Paper Guide 6 Conveying Roller 7 Secondary Conveying Roller 10 Discharging Roller 11 Secondary Discharging Roller 14 Platen 15 Discharging Guide 16 Conveying Motor 17 Bottom Plate 18 Guide Shaft 19 Carriage 20 Recording Means (Recording Head) ) 26 Transport side roller 27 Paper discharge side roller 30 Paper pressing member 31 Transport side spring 32 Paper discharge side spring 35 Recess 36 Recess 36 Opening 42 Transport side pressing surface 43 Paper ejecting side pressing surface 46 Bending part (spring part) 47 Bending part (Spring part) 81 Discharge port surface 82 Discharge port 84 Liquid path 85 Electrothermal converter

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording material, and a platen for guiding and supporting a back surface of the recording material in a recording section, and a recording material for the platen via the recording material. A paper pressing member capable of press contact, and during recording, the paper pressing member is integrally displaced in the press contact and separation direction with respect to the platen on both the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveying direction of the recording means. Inkjet recording device. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper pressing member is integrally formed with an upstream side portion and a downstream side portion in the transport direction of the recording means. 3. The upstream side portion of the paper pressing member in the transport direction is pressed by a transport side roller provided on the carriage, and the downstream side portion of the paper pressing member in the transport direction is pressed by a paper discharge side roller provided on the carriage. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper pressing member is elastically supported by the recess of the platen via a spring. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper pressing member is elastically supported by the concave portion of the platen via a bent portion thereof. 6. The ink jet recording means according to claim 1, wherein the recording means is an ink jet recording means provided with an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used for ejecting ink. Any inkjet recording device. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the recording unit ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter. .