JPH09314862A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Problem] Even when performing multicolor recording using a plurality of heads,
Provided is an ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by using a common head even when performing monochrome recording. In a recording apparatus in which a plurality of inkjet heads 2 and a replaceable ink tank 4 are mounted on a carriage 1 and recording is performed while moving the carriage 1, a hollow needle to be inserted into the ink tank 4 and the needle. By the relay member 6 having a plurality of communicating ink passages,
The ink tank 4 and the inkjet head 4 communicate with each other.
Both the distributed type and the non-distributed type can be used as the relay member.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device, and more particularly to a recording device having a plurality of ink jet heads.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording apparatus which mounts a plurality of ink jet heads and replaceable ink tanks on a carriage for recording while moving the carriage is suitable for multicolor recording, single-color high-density / high-speed recording, and ink replacement. Since it is easy, it has been widely used in recent years. Here, in the case of a recording apparatus having one head, a hollow needle having an ink through hole at its tip is integrally formed with the head, or is formed as a part of an ink passage which is separate and inseparable from the head. Then, by inserting the needle into a replaceable ink tank, it is customary to connect the ink tank and the head to form a passage for supplying ink to the head. And in this type of recording apparatus having a plurality of heads, as in a recording apparatus having one head, a hollow needle to be inserted into the ink tank is integrated with the head,
Or even if it is a separate body, it is customary to form it as a part of the ink passage that is inseparable from this. That is, in the case of multi-color recording, a plurality of needles that respectively communicate with the heads for ejecting the inks of Y, M, and C, respectively, are provided integrally or substantially integrally with the heads, and each of the needles is provided with Y, It is customary to insert them into the ink tanks for the M and C inks.

When recording a single color by using a plurality of heads, the plurality of heads are integrally formed and a common ink passage communicating with all of them is provided, and a common needle communicating with the common passage. Is generally provided as one body or substantially as one body, and this common needle is inserted into one single color ink tank. For this reason, the structure of a plurality of heads is different between the case of performing multicolor recording and the case of performing monochrome recording, and it is necessary to prepare different types of heads, although the plurality of heads are used.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a plurality of ink jet heads and replaceable ink tanks are mounted on a carriage and recording is performed while moving the carriage, and multicolor recording is performed using the plurality of heads. In this case, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that can perform recording using a common head without preparing different types of heads even when performing monochrome recording using a plurality of heads.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a plurality of ink jet heads and replaceable ink tanks are mounted on a carriage and recording is performed while moving the carriage, and a hollow needle to be inserted into the ink tank,
The ink tank and the inkjet head are communicated with each other by a relay member having a plurality of ink passages communicating with the needle.

The present invention is also directed to a recording apparatus in which a plurality of ink jet heads and replaceable ink tanks are mounted on a carriage and recording is performed while moving the carriage,
With a hollow needle to be inserted into the ink tank, and a relay member having a plurality of ink passages communicating with the needle,
The ink tank and the inkjet head are communicated with each other, and the relay member is a distribution type in which one needle communicates with a plurality of passages, and a non-distribution type in which each needle communicates only with an individual passage corresponding to each individual ink jet head. It is characterized in that any of the above can be selected and attached.

According to the present invention, in the recording apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, a plurality of ink jet heads and replaceable ink tanks are mounted on the carriage and recording is performed while moving the carriage, the non-distributive type recording apparatus is used when multicolor recording is performed. By the relay member, it is possible to connect the ink tanks respectively storing the inks of colors Y, M, C and the corresponding heads in a one-to-one relationship. When a single-color recording such as black is performed using a plurality of heads, the distribution type relay member is used to store the single-color ink such as black by using the head having the same structure as in the case of the multi-color recording described above. The individual ink tanks and the respective heads can be communicated with each other. Therefore, the head can be shared.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the mechanical portion of the recording apparatus of this embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage on which a head holder 3 holding a plurality of heads 2, a plurality of ink tanks 4, a non-distribution type relay member 5 connecting the heads 2 and the ink tanks 4, and a circuit board 7 are mounted. . Here, the plurality of ink tanks 4 hold inks of different colors such as Y, M, and C, and communicate with the corresponding heads 2. A carriage motor (not shown) drives the carriage 1 via the timing belt 8 and reciprocates left and right along the guide rail 9 in the figure. FPC10
Connects a drive circuit (not shown) to the circuit board 7. on the other hand,
A paper feed motor (not shown) drives the paper feed roller 11 and the paper discharge roller 12, draws the recording paper 13 onto the platen 14, and moves the recording paper 13 in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage. In this way, while moving the carriage 1 and the recording paper 13, the positions of the heads 2 on the recording paper 13 are two-dimensionally changed, and the respective heads 2 respond to the recording signal by known means such as piezoelectric driving. By ejecting the inks of the respective colors, it is possible to record a recording pattern such as a multicolor image or a character on the recording paper 13.

When the above-mentioned recording operation is not performed, the carriage is moved to the area on the left side out of the platen 14,
Suction device 16 with cap 15 and blade 1
The wiping means 18 having a number 7 performs the recovery operation of each head by a known method.

Next, the above-mentioned members mounted on the carriage 1 in this embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the individual structure of each member mounted on the carriage 1 and the assembling method thereof, excluding the ink tank. As shown in FIG. 2, the common head holder 3 holds a plurality of heads 2. Here, each head 2 has a plurality of pressure chambers for ejecting ink, as described later. Each head 2 also has an ink supply port 23.
6 is one hollow needle 25 to be inserted into the ink tank
And a distribution-type relay member including a branched ink passage 26 that communicates with the needle and branches into a plurality of branches. An ink outlet 27 is provided at the outlet of the branch ink passage 26. Needle 2
A filter 21 is disposed between the hollow portion 20 of FIG. Reference numeral 5 is a non-distributive relay member having a plurality of hollow needles 25 and an ink passage 28 that does not branch and communicates with the hollow needles 25. The filter 21 is arranged between the hollow portion 20 of each needle 25 and the corresponding ink passage 28. Each of the relay members 5 and 6 includes a guide portion 24 that guides the mounting of the ink tank. An ink outlet 27 is also provided at the outlet of the ink passage 28.

Reference numeral 7 is a circuit board. The head holder 3 and the distribution type relay member 6 are opposed to each other with the circuit board 7 interposed therebetween,
The ink supply port 23 of the head 2 and the ink outlet 27 of the relay member 6 are butted against each other, a pipe-shaped sealing member 29 seals the connecting portion, and a screw 30 serves to seal the head holder 3
Also, the relay member 6 is pressed against and fixed to the circuit board 7 from both sides. The circuit board 7 is connected to the carriage 1 by a connecting means such as a screw (not shown). In this case, one needle 25 of the distribution type relay member 6 communicates with all of the plurality of heads 2 through the branch ink passage 26. Therefore, if a single color ink tank is attached to the guide portion 24 of the relay portion 6, the needle 25 Ink flows in through the through hole 31 provided at the tip of the nozzle 25, and monochromatic ink is supplied to all the heads, enabling monochromatic recording. Similarly, the non-distribution type relay member 5 can be connected to a plurality of heads with the circuit board 7 interposed therebetween.

In this case, since the plurality of needles 25 of the non-distributive relay member 5 communicate with the corresponding heads through the respective ink passages 28 in a one-to-one relationship, the plurality of needles 25 of the relay member 5 are connected. On the other hand, if ink tanks of different colors such as Y, M, and C are connected and attached, inks of different colors are supplied to each of the plurality of heads 2, and as shown in FIG. Color recording is possible.

In this way, the recording apparatus of this embodiment can perform both single-color recording and multi-color recording by using the head 2 and the head holder 3 having the same structure. On the other hand, as already explained, in the past,
The structure of the head is different between the case of performing multicolor recording and the case of performing monochrome recording, and it is necessary to prepare different types of heads. That is, conventionally, each of the tip portions of the heads used for multicolor recording, that is, the portions corresponding to the heads of this embodiment, has an ink intake port that communicates with each needle at the rear portion of the head. That is, the head 2 shown in FIG. 2 and the non-distributive type relay member 5 are integrated to form a head dedicated to multicolor recording. On the contrary, the front end of the head used for monochromatic recording, that is, the part corresponding to the head of the present embodiment, has only one common intake port communicating with one needle at the rear part of the head as a whole, The passage for distributing the ink to the portion that hits the head is provided inside the head end portion that forms the aggregate.
That is, the head 2 dedicated to single-color recording is configured in such a manner that the head 2 shown in FIG. 2 and the distribution type relay member 6 are integrated.

Therefore, in the past, even in the same type of recording apparatus having almost the same overall structure and parts, heads are separately developed and manufactured and repaired depending on the purpose of single-color recording or multi-color recording. It is necessary to separately prepare the parts for. However, as shown in the present embodiment, according to the present invention, single-color recording and multi-color recording can be performed by using one type of head, which reduces the labor of head development, manufacturing, and maintenance. The manufacturing cost and after-sales service cost can be reduced. Further, the head used in the present invention has no passage for distribution or the like in the head itself, which is advantageous for downsizing the head. The space of the head of the present invention is the same in both multicolor recording and monochromatic recording, of course, but in particular, the head occupation space can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional head dedicated to monochromatic recording.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of the apparatus of this embodiment for performing the recording operation. The head 2 and the distribution type relay member 6 are connected with the circuit board 7 interposed therebetween, a single color ink tank is mounted on the relay member 6, and the tip of the head 2 is opposed to the recording paper 13 with a slight distance, A carriage (not shown) to which the circuit board 7 is attached is driven to move the head in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Reference numeral 32 is a paper pressing roller which is provided close to the head 2 and is provided in the front and rear of the paper feeding direction. The ink tank is a known one, and the monochrome ink in the ink tank flows into the needle through the through hole 31 provided at the tip of the needle according to a known principle, and further, the branched ink passage 26
And so on into each head. Filling when replacing the ink tank is performed by a known method using the suction device 16 shown in FIG. The plurality of heads 2 are aligned in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and each head 2 is provided with a plurality of pressure chambers 19. The pressure chambers are pressurized by a known means, and a single color ink is ejected from a nozzle hole (not shown) toward the recording paper. Discharge and perform monochrome recording.

Here, the dotted line in the figure shows the increase in the occupied space when the conventional dedicated head for monochromatic recording is used.
This increase is the space required for the distribution passages in the head already described. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the head, and particularly to reduce the size in the paper feeding direction. It can be pressed by the paper pressing roller 32 and the spur-shaped second paper pressing roller 33, and the landing accuracy of ink ejection is improved. In the above, the case where the single-color recording is performed according to the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, but the same cross-sectional view is used, and the single-color ink tank is changed to the multi-color ink tank.
It can be understood that multicolor printing is performed according to the same principle by replacing the distribution type relay member 6 with the non-distribution type relay member 5.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main part of the recording apparatus of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows a needle 25 used in the recording apparatus of this embodiment. This embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for the needle 25. The ink tank 38 may be of a single color or of a plurality of colors, but it is a known one and has a case 40 having a hollow protrusion 39.
A seal 41, a filter 42, a felt A, and a felt B are attached to the inside of the sheet, and a sheet 43 is attached to an end surface of the protrusion 39.
Attach. The hollow portion 44 of the protruding portion 39 is filled with ink, and the felt A and the felt B are soaked with ink.
The pressure of the ink in the hollow portion 44 of the protruding portion 39 is kept at a constant pressure slightly lower than the atmospheric pressure by a known operation principle.

When the protruding portion 39 of the ink tank 38 is inserted into the guide portion 24 provided at the rear portion of the distribution type relay member 6 or the non-distribution type relay member 5, the tip of the needle 25 is seated on the seat 43.
And enters the hollow portion 44 while being in pressure contact with the seal 41 provided in the protruding portion 39 of the ink tank 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the needle of this embodiment is formed so that the cone tip angle is smaller than 90 degrees. This is because it is necessary to break through the sheet 43 welded to the protrusion 39 of the ink tank 38 to prevent ink leakage. In this conical portion, four ribs 46 form a cross shape, and the thickness and width of the rib 46 are formed in the vicinity of the thickness of the needle 25. By doing so, a communication space 47 is secured inside the rib 46, and resistance to the flow of ink supplied into the needle is extremely reduced.

In this state, when the ink is sucked by the known suction device 16 shown in FIG. 1 by the known method, the ink in the ink tank flows into the needle through the communication space 47 between the ribs. In addition, the branch ink passage 2
6 and the like to flow into each head to fill the pressure chamber 19 of the head 2. Next, recording is performed by alternately performing the discharge operation and the suction operation of the pressure chamber 19 by a known means. In conjunction with this suction operation, the ink in the ink tank 38 passes through the communication space 47 between the ribs 46 and flows into the needle 25 without receiving any resistance, so that the suction operation of the pressure chamber 19 is smooth and sufficient. To be able to do it. As a result,
The droplet size of the ejected ink becomes more uniform, and the recording quality is improved. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, R is provided between the roots of the ribs 46 to prevent the sheet 43 and the seal 41 of the ink tank 38 from being caught when the ribs 46 are inserted into the ink tank.

The needle of this embodiment is manufactured by an integral molding method.
It can be easily manufactured. In this respect, it is superior to a conventional needle having several communicating holes with a diameter of 0.1 to 0.4 mm on the tip slope portion. This is because it is quite difficult to form the shape of these conventional needles, and the resistance to ink flow is also a concern. The needle of this embodiment can be used not only in a recording apparatus having a plurality of heads but also in a normal recording apparatus having one ink jet head, and of course, it has the same effect.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment relates to an improvement of the relay member described above in the recording apparatus of the present invention. When the pigment ink is left in the air, it has a property of being dried and cured, and when left as it is attached to a needle or the like, there is a problem that it will not recover in a state of causing eye clogging.
The present embodiment is intended to solve such a problem caused by the needle. FIG. 6 shows the first and second
7 is a view showing a main part of a recording apparatus provided with a cap device for the needle 25 to solve the problem of FIG. 6, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the needle 25 is not inserted in the ink tank 38, and FIG. The state inserted in the tank 38 is shown. FIG. 8 is a view showing the distribution type relay member 6 to which the cap device of the needle 25 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 6, the distribution type relay member 6 or the non-distribution type relay member 5 is provided with a cap side wall 51 formed integrally with the passage portion 50. The needle 25 is arranged in the surrounding of the cap side wall 51. A compression spring 52 is arranged between the needle 25 and the cap side wall 51, and a rubber plate 53, a ring-shaped plate 54, and a cap-shaped guide cap 55 having a guide hole are sequentially stacked on the compression spring 52. Attach to the cap side wall 51. In this way, the cap device of the needle 25 is configured.
Here, in the case of the non-distribution type relay member 5, the cap side wall 51
The planar shape of the guide cap 55 is a track shape or an ellipse shape, and a plurality of needles 25 are arranged in the enclosure of the cap side wall 51. The compression spring 52, the rubber plate 53, and the ring-shaped plate 54 corresponding to each needle 25. To place. In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the compression spring 52
The rubber plate 53 and the ring-shaped plate 54 are pressed upward by the pressure of, and the tip of the needle 25 is slightly separated from the rubber plate 53.

At the center of the rubber plate 53, as shown in FIG.
A book or a plurality of cuts 56 are provided. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the ink tank 38 is not attached, the inner space of the cap side wall 51 is in a sealed state. When the protrusion 39 of the ink tank 38 is inserted into the cap side wall 51 as shown in FIG.
The ring-shaped plate 54 is provided on the protrusion 39 of the ink tank 38.
The needle 25 is pushed down by the notch 56 of the rubber plate 53 and the face of the needle 25 is exposed to communicate with the ink tank 38.
In this way, the ink tank 3 is
When 8 is not installed, shut off the needle from the outside air,
When the ink tank 38 is attached, the supply of ink to the needle 25 can be prevented from being obstructed.
As a result, it is possible to prevent or effectively reduce the drying of the ink in the ink passage such as in the needle. Further, since dust is not mixed from the needle, the filter 21 used in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 can be eliminated, the flow of ink is improved, and bubbles are not attached. The needle cap device of the present embodiment can be used not only in a recording device having a plurality of heads but also in a recording device having one ink jet head, and of course, has the same effect.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of ink jet heads and replaceable ink tanks are mounted on a carriage, and a recording apparatus for recording while moving the carriage uses one type of head. Since both single-color recording and multi-color recording can be performed, the labor of head development, manufacturing, and maintenance can be reduced, and manufacturing costs and after-sales service costs can be reduced. According to the present invention, it is also possible to reduce the size of the head, especially in the paper feeding direction, so that the front and rear of the paper feeding direction can be pressed against the head by the paper pressing roller in a narrow range. The landing accuracy of ejection is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, since the needle which is inserted into and communicates with the ink tank has a space by the rib at the tip thereof, it is easy to manufacture, and the resistance against the ink flow is reduced, and the ink during the recording operation is Smooths replenishment and contributes to improved recording quality.

Further, according to the present invention, by providing the needle cap device, it is possible to prevent or effectively reduce the drying of the ink in the ink passage such as in the cap, and
It is possible to prevent dust from entering the cap.

The present invention can be widely applied not only to the piezoelectric driving method but also to other methods such as a bubble jet as long as it is a recording apparatus using an ink jet head.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a mechanism of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of each member mounted on a carriage of the recording apparatus of the present invention and an assembling method thereof.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a recording apparatus using a needle of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the shape of a needle of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a main part of a recording apparatus using the needle cap device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a main part of a recording apparatus using the needle cap device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a relay member including the needle cap device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Carriage 2 Head 3 Head Holder 4 Ink Tank 5 Non-Distribution Relay Member 6 Distribution Relay Member 7 Circuit Board 8 Timing Belt 9 Guide Rail 10 FPC 11 Paper Feed Roller 12 Paper Ejection Roller 13 Recording Paper 14 Platen 15 Cap 16 Suction Device 17 Blade 18 Wiping Means 19 Pressure Chamber 20 Hollow Part 21 Filter 23 Ink Supply Port 24 Guide Part 25 Needle 26 Branch Ink Passage 27 Ink Outlet 28 Ink Passage 29 Sealing Member 30 Screw 31 Through Hole 32 First Paper Pressing Roller 33 Second Paper pressing roller 38 Ink tank 39 Projection portion 40 Case 41 Seal 42 Filter 43 Sheet 44 Hollow portion 46 Rib 47 Communication space 50 Passage portion 51 Cap side wall 52 Compression spring 53 Rubber plate 54 Ring plate 5 Guide cap 56 cuts

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuya Yamamoto 6-12 Hommachi, Tanashi City, Tokyo Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Tanashi Factory (72) Inventor Takeo Komiyama Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture 840 Takeno Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Technical Research Center

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. In a recording apparatus in which a plurality of ink jet heads and replaceable ink tanks are mounted on a carriage and recording is performed while moving the carriage, a hollow needle to be inserted into the ink tank and a plurality of needles communicating with the needles. A recording apparatus characterized in that an ink tank and an inkjet head are communicated with each other by a relay member having an ink passage. 2. The relay member is selected from both a distribution type in which one needle communicates with a plurality of passages and a non-distribution type in which one needle communicates with only one passage. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the recording device is capable. 3. An aggregate of a plurality of ink jet heads is one type, and a distribution type relay member is attached to the one type of aggregate to perform monochromatic recording, and a non-distribution type relay member is attached to perform multicolor recording. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 4. The tip of the needle is formed so that the conical tip angle is smaller than 90 degrees, and an inner and outer communication means constituted by a plurality of ribs is provided at the tip portion. The recording device described in. 5. An ink jet head, a replaceable ink tank and a needle communicating with the ink tank and the ink jet head are mounted on a carriage, and in a recording apparatus for recording while moving the carriage, the tip of the needle has a conical tip angle. A recording apparatus, characterized in that it is formed to be smaller than 90 degrees, and an inner and outer communication means constituted by a plurality of ribs is provided at the tip portion. 6. A needle or a tip portion thereof is attached to a central portion of the needle.
It is arranged inside a cap device having a book or a shield member made of an elastic material such as rubber having a plurality of cuts, and when the ink tank is not mounted, the opening of the cap device is closed by the shield member to seal the inside, 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the ink tank is connected to the needle, the needle penetrates through the cut of the shielding member and projects into the inside of the ink tank. 7. In a recording apparatus in which an ink jet head, a replaceable ink tank and a needle communicating with the ink tank and the ink jet head are mounted on a carriage, and recording is performed while moving the carriage, the needle or a tip portion thereof is a central portion. Is placed inside a cap device having a shield member made of an elastic material such as rubber and having one or a plurality of cuts, and when the ink tank is not attached, the shield member closes the opening of the cap device to seal the inside. Then, when the ink tank is connected to the needle, the needle penetrates through the cut of the shielding member and projects into the inside of the ink tank.