Liquid ejecting head unit and liquid ejecting apparatus

Abstract

A recording head includes flange portions to which spacers are anchored on both sides of the recording head with a head case therebetween. Spacer attachment holes are provided in the flange portions in the center of the width direction orthogonal to a nozzle row in the recording head, and a round hole and an oblong hole relative to the spacers are provided in the flange portions in positions that are distanced from a center line in the width direction. Positioning holes for the flange portions are provided in the spacers in positions that correspond to the round hole and the oblong hole in the flange portions, and the spacers are anchored to the flange portions on both sides so as to be oriented symmetrically to each other, in a positioned state in which the positions of the positioning holes are aligned with the round hole and the oblong hole.

Description

[0001]The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No: 2010-233391, filed Oct. 18, 2010 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Technical Field[0003]The present invention relates to liquid ejecting head units used in liquid ejecting apparatuses such as ink jet recording apparatuses and to liquid ejecting apparatuses, and particularly relates to liquid ejecting head units and liquid ejecting apparatuses in which a plurality of liquid ejecting heads can be attached to a head anchoring member in a removable state.[0004]2. Related Art[0005]A liquid ejecting apparatus is an apparatus that includes a liquid ejecting head capable of ejecting a liquid as droplets, and that ejects various types of liquid from this liquid ejecting head. An image recording apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus (a printer) that includes an ink jet recording head (called simply a “recording head” hereinafter) and carries out recording by ejecting ink in liquid form thr...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]It is an advantage of some aspects of the invention to provide a liquid ejecting head unit in which a liquid ejecting head can be attached with high positional accuracy to a head anchoring member with an intermediate member provided therebetween, and to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus that includes such a liquid ejecting head unit.

[0013]According to this configuration, the liquid ejecting head includes the intermediate member anchoring portions to which the intermediate members are anchored on both sides thereof with the main head unit therebetween, the intermediate member attachment holes for attaching the intermediate members are provided in intermediate member anchoring portions in the center of the width direction orthogonal to the nozzle row in the liquid ejecting head and the head-side positioning holes that serve as a reference for positioning relative to the intermediate members are provided in the intermediate member anchoring portions in positions that are distanced from the center line in the width direction, the intermediate member-side positioning holes that serve as a reference for positioning relative to the intermediate member anchoring portions are provided in the intermediate members in positions that correspond to the head-side positioning holes in the intermediate member anchoring portions, and the intermediate members are anchored to the intermediate member anchoring portions on both sides so as to be oriented symmetrically to each other, in a positioned state in which the positions of the intermediate member-side positioning holes are aligned with the head-side positioning holes; accordingly, the intermediate members anchored to the respective intermediate member anchoring portions on both sides of the liquid ejecting head can be configured in the same shape. As a result, tilting of the liquid ejecting head that has been positioned on the head anchoring member can be suppressed to the greatest extent possible. Furthermore, because the intermediate member-side positioning holes are provided in a total of two locations in the intermediate members in correspondence to the head-side positioning holes in the intermediate member anchoring portions on both sides of the liquid ejecting head, it is possible to commonalize the intermediate members on both sides even in a configuration in which positioning holes are provided in positions distanced from the center line in the width direction of the intermediate member anchoring portion by necessity due to the relationship between reducing to the greatest extent possible the size of the intermediate members and providing the intermediate member attachment holes in the center of the intermediate member anchoring portions. Through this, variation in the shapes and dimensions of the intermediate members can be reduced.

[0015]According to this configuration, each of the intermediate members anchored to the same liquid ejecting head are manufactured from the same metal mold, and thus variation in the shapes and dimensions of the intermediate members is reduced even further. Accordingly, tilting of the liquid ejecting head that has been positioned on the head anchoring member can be suppressed with even greater certainty.

[0017]According to this configuration, the width of the intermediate members in the direction orthogonal to the nozzle row is narrower than the width of the liquid ejecting head in the direction orthogonal to the nozzle row, and thus in the case where a plurality of liquid ejecting heads have been disposed in a row upon the head anchoring member, interference among intermediate members between adjacent liquid ejecting heads is prevented. Accordingly, the pitch of the liquid ejecting heads can be reduced, which can contribute to a reduction in the size of the liquid ejecting head unit.

[0022]According to this configuration, a wrapping process is carried out simultaneously on contact surfaces, in the intermediate members anchored to the same liquid ejecting head, with which the intermediate member anchoring portions come into contact, and thus error in the shapes and dimensions of the intermediate members is reduced further. Accordingly, tilting of the liquid ejecting head that has been positioned on the head anchoring member can be suppressed with an even higher level certainty.

Problems solved by technology

When carrying out such temporary anchoring using an adhesive, however, it is difficult to remove the recording heads that have been anchored to the sub-carriage in order to repair or replace those recording heads.

For this reason, there has been a problem in that the dimension of the sub-carriage in the direction in which the heads are arranged is increased, which makes it difficult to reduce the size of the head unit, the printer, and so on.

It should be noted that this type of problem is not limited to ink jet recording apparatuses provided with recording heads that eject ink; the same problem can occur in other liquid ejecting head units, and liquid ejecting apparatuses provided therewith, that employ a configuration in which liquid ejecting heads are anchored to a head anchoring member such as the aforementioned sub-carriage with an intermediate member such as a spacer provided therebetween.