Recording device

Abstract

To provide a recording device which surely connects a recording head and a liquid supply part and can achieve stable discharge from the recording head.SOLUTION: A recording device includes a carriage mounted with a recording head, a liquid supply part which is connected to a liquid inflow part of the recording head and supplies a liquid, an elastic member for sealing the connection of the liquid inflow part and the liquid supply part, a first operation member which shifts the liquid inflow part and the liquid supply part to a connection state by being operated in a first direction, and shifts the liquid inflow part and the liquid supply part to a non-connection state where the parts are separated from one another by being operated in a second direction, and a lock member which enables switching between a lock state of restricting shift of the first operation member from the connection state to the non-connection state, and a release state of permitting shift of the first operation member from the connection state to the non-connection state, wherein the lock member offsets a force of rotating the first operation member in the second direction acting on the first operation member by the elastic member in the lock state, and maintains the first operation member in the connection state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known an inkjet recording device in which a recording head that ejects ink and an ink tank that contains the ink to be supplied to the recording head are connected by a tube. In this configuration, when it becomes necessary to replace the recording head, it is necessary to once disconnect the joint between the recording head and the tube, and then reconnect it after replacing the recording head. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which the joint between the recording head and the tube is operated by a joint lever. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-51146 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventionally, when the joint part of the recording head and the tube are connected, the joint lever moves due to the repulsion caused by the elasticity of the joint, which causes the insertion amount of the joint to change. If the insertion amount of the joint changes, leakage occurs at the joint, ink cannot be supplied normally from the ink tank to the recording head, and there is a risk of ink ejection failure from the recording head.

[0005] To address this issue, the technology described in Patent Document 1 reduces the fluctuation in the insertion amount of the joint part by providing a locking mechanism that can hold the joint lever in a connected state. In this case, the locking mechanism must be provided with a spring member to maintain the holding force, and the device may become larger in size in order to secure space for the spring.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a printing apparatus that can reliably connect a print head and a liquid supply unit and achieve stable ejection from the print head. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] a first operating member which is rotatably attached to the carriage and which, when operated in a first direction, transitions the liquid inlet and the liquid supply unit to a connected state in which they are connected, and which, when operated in a second direction, transitions the liquid inlet and the liquid supply unit to a disconnected state in which they are separated; and a locking member which is connected to the first operating member and engages with an engaging portion of the carriage to restrict the first operating member from transitioning from the connected state to the disconnected state, and which, when separated from the engaging portion, is switchable between a locked state which prevents the first operating member from transitioning from the connected state to the disconnected state, and a released state which allows the first operating member to transition from the connected state to the disconnected state, the carriage includes a base portion on which the recording head is mounted, and a second operating member that fixes the recording head mounted on the base portion to the base portion, the locking member engages with the carriage via the second operating member, The above First operating member In the locked state, the elastic member The first operating member is A force that rotates in the second direction In addition to receiving , A force for rotating the first operating member in the first direction is received from the engaging portion. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably connect the recording head and the liquid supply unit, and to realize stable ejection from the recording head. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 5A to 5C are perspective views showing a procedure for mounting the recording head. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of a joint portion of the carriage. [Diagram 5] A diagram showing the headset lever and joint lever. [Figure 6] 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the joint lever when the joint part is inserted into the recording head. [Figure 7] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing forces acting on a joint lever in a locked state. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing a locked state of the head set lever and the joint lever in the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional joint lever. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0011] In the following description of the embodiments, "recording" (sometimes called "printing") refers not only to the formation of meaningful information such as characters or figures, but also to the formation of images, designs, patterns, etc. on a recording medium or the processing of the medium, regardless of whether the information is meaningful or insignificant, and regardless of whether it is visible to humans or not.

[0012] In addition, the term "recording medium (sheet)" refers not only to the recording paper used in general image forming devices, but also broadly to any transportable medium, such as cloth, plastic film (OHP), metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, etc.

[0013] In addition, "ink (sometimes called "liquid")" should be interpreted broadly in the same way as the definition of "recording (printing)" above, and refers to a liquid that can be applied to a recording medium to form an image, design, pattern, etc., or to process the recording medium, or to process the ink (for example, to solidify or insolubilize the coloring material in the ink applied to the recording medium).

[0014] [First embodiment] <General configuration of inkjet recording device> Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an inkjet recording apparatus 1 (hereinafter, recording apparatus 1) as an example of a liquid ejection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1(a) shows a state in which a carriage 13, which will be described later, is located at a standby position 13a. Fig. 1(b) shows a state in which the carriage 13 has moved to a recording head replacement position 13b.

[0015] 1, the recording device 1 includes a recording head 14 (see FIG. 3) that ejects ink onto a recording medium, and an ink tank 17 as a container that contains the ink to be supplied to the recording head 14. The recording device 1 also includes a supply tube 15 that forms an ink supply path for supplying ink from the ink tank 17 to the recording head 14. The recording device 1 also includes a carriage 13 that reciprocates and has the recording head 14 detachably mounted thereon.

[0016] The recording device 1 also has a plurality of rollers (conveying means) that feed a sheet-like recording medium, and these rollers transport the recording medium in a transport direction perpendicular to the moving direction (main scanning direction) of the carriage 13 (recording head 14). A platen 22 is provided below the range in which the recording head 14 moves so as to face the recording head 14. The platen 22 supports the lower surface of the recording medium on which recording is performed by the recording head 14.

[0017] In addition, a housing 11 is provided so as to cover all of these internal components. The housing 11 includes a main body 111 having an opening 114, and a cover member 112 that covers the opening 114. The cover member 112 is supported so as to be openable and closable relative to the main body 111. The cover member 112 is provided with a panel section 113 for operating the recording device 1. When the user opens the cover member 112, the carriage 13 remains in a standby position 13a (see FIG. 1(a)) in order to prevent ink leakage. When the head replacement mode is selected on the panel section 113, the carriage 13 is moved to a head replacement position 13b (see FIG. 1(b)) in a state in which a flow passage closing mechanism provided in the ink supply passage closes the ink supply passage to prevent ink leakage.

[0018] FIG. 1(b) shows the recording device 1 in a state where the recording head 14 has been removed after the carriage 13 has moved to the head replacement position 13b. The carriage 13 has a carriage base (base portion) 134 (see FIG. 2) on which the recording head is mounted, and a head set lever (second operating member) 131 rotatably supported by the carriage 13. A joint portion 18 (see FIG. 2) configured to be insertable into and removable from the recording head 14 is connected to the supply tube 15. The actual insertion and removal operation of the joint portion 18 is performed by a joint lever (first operating member) 19. To replace the recording head 14, the joint portion 18 is removed from the recording head 14 by the joint lever 19, the head set lever 131 is rotated, and then the recording head 14 is removed. After that, the recording head 14 to be installed is reattached.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the procedure for mounting the recording head 14. FIG. 2(a) shows the carriage 13 with the recording head 14 removed. At this time, both the head set lever 131 and the joint lever 19 are in an open state. The recording head 14 is inserted from the front in the direction indicated by the arrow 14a, and moves to a position where it can be mounted on the carriage 13. FIG. 2(b) shows the carriage 13 after the recording head 14 has been inserted. At this time, the recording head 14 has not yet been fixed. After that, the head set lever 131 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 131a to fix the recording head 14 to the carriage 13 (FIG. 2(c)). After that, the joint lever 19 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 19a to connect the recording head 14 to the joint portion 18 (FIG. 2(d)).

[0020] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the recording head 14. The recording head 14 performs recording by ejecting ink from an ejection section 145. The recording head 14 is fixed to the carriage 13 by pressing the head inclined surface 143 with the head set lever 131 and abutting the recording head 14 against the positioning surface of the carriage 13. A joint rubber 142, which is an elastic member, is attached to each of the four ink inflow sections (liquid inflow sections) 146 of the recording head 14. The number of ink inflow sections 146 corresponds to the number of ink types that can be ejected from the recording head 14. The joint rubber 142 receives the joint needle 182 (see FIG. 4) of the joint section 18 and seals the connection (connected state) between the ink inflow section 146 and the joint needle 182. The recording head 14 and the joint section 18 are positioned by the head positioning hole 141.

[0021] In the above description, the joint rubber 142 is disposed in the ink inlet portion 146 of the recording head 14, but the joint rubber may be disposed on the joint needle 182 side. Also, the joint rubber may be disposed on both the ink inlet portion 146 and the joint needle 182. In other words, it is sufficient that the joint rubber is disposed on at least one of the ink inlet portion 146 of the recording head 14 and the connection portion of the joint needle 182.

[0022] 4 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of the joint portion 18. The joint portion 18 supplies the ink that has passed through the supply tube 15 to the recording head 14 through a joint needle (liquid supply portion) 182. The joint portion 18 has a joint positioning pin 181, and the joint needle 182 and the joint rubber 142 are aligned by inserting the joint positioning pin 181 into the head positioning hole 141. Here, the carriage 13 is provided with a joint link 20 that inserts and removes the joint portion 18 with respect to the recording head 14 by the rotational movement of the joint lever 19. The carriage 13 is provided with a guide rail 132 that supports the joint link 20 in the insertion and removal direction of the joint portion 18. The guide rail 132 is arranged approximately parallel to the insertion and removal direction of the joint portion 18.

[0023] Fig. 5(a) is a perspective view showing the configuration of the joint lever 19. Fig. 5(b) is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the head set lever 131 and the joint lever 19 are engaged with each other.

[0024] In FIG. 5(a), the joint lever 19 is attached to the carriage 13 so as to be rotatable around a joint lever rotation center 191. A locking member 196 is attached to the joint lever 19 so as to be rotatable around a rotation center shaft 196a. The locking member 196 is engaged with an engagement surface 135 of the head set lever 131 to fix the joint lever 19 to the recording head 14 (FIG. 5(b)). In this embodiment, the locking member 196 engages with the head set lever 131, but the operation of the joint lever 19 may be restricted by directly engaging with the carriage 13.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operation of the joint lever 19 when the joint portion 18 is inserted into the recording head 14. As shown in FIG.

[0026] 6(a) is a cross-sectional view (recording head 14 is not shown) showing the state of the carriage 13 when the recording head 14 is fixed. At this point, the joint lever 19 is in an open state, and the joint rubber 142 (see FIG. 3) and the joint needle 182 are separated (disconnected state).

[0027] Next, the joint lever 19 is rotated in the first direction 19a by holding the vicinity of the lock member 196 (FIG. 6(b)). By this operation, the joint positioning pin 181 is inserted into the head positioning hole 141 of the recording head 14, and the joint needle 182 is moved to a connected state with the ink inlet portion 146 (joint rubber 142) of the recording head 14. At this time, a second force 19d in the +Y direction is applied to the joint needle 182 by the elastic force of the joint rubber 142, and the joint lever 19 tries to open in the second direction 19b opposite to the first direction 19a. This causes a problem that the insertion amount of the joint needle 182 into the joint rubber 142 changes.

[0028] To address this issue, in the prior art, as shown in Figure 9, a lever engagement member 920 attached to needle insertion / removal lever 90 is engaged with a hook portion 718 formed on carriage 710 to reduce fluctuations in the amount of joint insertion. However, a biasing spring 929 is required to maintain the engagement state of lever engagement member 920 with carriage 710, which leads to an increase in the number of parts and an increase in the size of the device.

[0029] To solve this problem, in this embodiment, the lock member 196 is engaged with the engagement surface 135 of the head set lever 131 to fix the joint lever 19 to the carriage 13 .

[0030] Fig. 6(c) is a cross-sectional view showing a locked state in which the locking member 196 is engaged with the engagement surface 135. When the joint lever 19 receives the second force 19d, the joint lever 19 tries to open in the second direction 19b, but at this time the locking member 196 receives a force 19g from the engagement surface 135 in the opposite direction to the second force 19d, and urges the joint lever 19 in the first direction 19a. The relationship of the acting forces in the locked state will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 7.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the forces acting on the joint lever 19 in the locked state. In the locked state, the joint lever 19 receives a second force 19d from the joint rubber 142 and a first force (locking force) 19c from the locking member 196. When these forces 19d and 19c are resolved into a direction q of a line connecting the point of application of each of the forces and the joint lever rotation center 191 and a direction p perpendicular to the direction q, the second force 19d is resolved into forces 19dp and 19dq, and the first force 19c is resolved into forces 19cp and 19cq. Here, attention is paid to the moment acting on the joint lever 19 about the joint lever rotation center 191. At this time, the component force 19dp of the second force 19d generates a moment that rotates the joint lever in the second direction 19b, and the component force 19cp of the first force 19c generates a moment that rotates the joint lever in the first direction 19a. The rotation moment due to the force component 19dp and the rotation moment due to the force component 19cp are in a balanced relationship. The lock member 196 receives a reaction force 19h of the first force 19c from the joint lever 19 and a force 19g from the engagement surface 135 of the carriage 13. The forces 19h and 19g applied to the lock member 196 are in a balanced relationship.

[0032] That is, in the locked state, due to the balance of the forces received by the joint lever 19 and the locking member 196, there is a correlation between the second force 19d received from the joint rubber 142 and the force 19g received by the locking member 196 from the engagement surface 135. For example, the larger the second force 19d, the larger the first force 19c becomes, and the reaction force 19h and the holding force 19g of the locking member also become larger. As a result, regardless of the magnitude of the elastic force of the joint rubber 142, the insertion amount of the joint part 18 into the recording head 14 can be stabilized, and air leakage from the joint part 18 can be prevented, enabling stable ink ejection from the recording head 14. In addition, in the case of this embodiment, since no new spring parts are required to apply the force to fix the joint lever 19, the cost and size of the entire device can be reduced.

[0033] In addition, in the released state where the lock member 196 is disengaged from the engagement surface 135, the joint lever 19 allows the ink inlet portion 146 and the joint needle 182 to move from the connected state to the unconnected state.

[0034] In this embodiment, the first distance 19e from the rotation center 191 of the joint lever 19 to the point of application of the first force 19c received by the joint lever is longer than the second distance 19f from the rotation center 191 of the joint lever 19 to the point of application of the second force 19d received by the joint lever. With this configuration, in the locked state, the first force 19c is smaller than the second force 19d. Therefore, the force applied to the attachment portion of the lock member 196 of the joint lever 19 and the lock member 196 itself can be made smaller relative to the elastic force of the joint rubber 142. This reduces the amount of dimensional change due to creep or the like of the parts, and allows the parts to be configured in a small size and at a low cost.

[0035] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a lock member 196 is engaged with the head set lever 131. This allows the joint lever 19 to be shorter than the conventional configuration, thereby reducing the area required for inserting and removing the joint part 18. This allows the carriage 13 to be made smaller, and therefore the entire device to be made smaller.

[0036] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the engagement surface 135 of the headset lever 131 is disposed approximately coaxially with a rotation center axis 131b (see FIG. 5B) of the headset lever 131 relative to the carriage 13. As a result, even if a force is applied to the headset lever 131 when the joint lever 19 is in the locked state, no rotational force is applied to the headset lever 131, and the headset lever 131 can maintain the fixed state of the recording head 14 to the carriage 13.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the lock member 196 is attached to the joint lever 19 so as to be rotatable around the rotation center axis 196a. However, the joint lever 19 may be made of an elastic resin or the like, and the lock member 196 may be molded integrally with the joint lever 19.

[0038] [Second embodiment] Fig. 8 is a side cross-sectional view showing a locked state of a head set lever 131 and a joint lever 19 in a second embodiment of the present invention. The structure shown in Fig. 8 is almost the same as the structure in Fig. 7 showing the first embodiment, so only the different parts will be described.

[0039] In this embodiment, the joint lever 19 engages with the engagement surface 136 of the carriage base 134 of the carriage 13. Even in this embodiment, there is a risk that the insertion amount of the joint 18 may vary due to the elastic force of the joint rubber 142. Even in this case, the joint lever 19 can obtain the same effect by the lock member 196. That is, when the joint lever 19 receives the second force 19d, the joint lever 19 tries to open in the second direction 19b, and at this time the lock member 196 receives a force 19g from the engagement surface 136 on the carriage base 134 and a force 19h from the joint lever 19.

[0040] With this configuration, the same action as in the first embodiment works, and the second force 19d due to the elasticity of the joint rubber 142 and the first force 19c due to the restricting force of the lock member 196 of the joint lever 19 cancel each other out. Therefore, also in this embodiment, the joint lever 19 can stabilize the insertion amount of the joint part 18. Therefore, in this embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0041] In contrast to the configuration of this embodiment, in the first embodiment, the locking member 196 engages with the head set lever 131. In this case, it may be impossible to position the engagement surface 135 near the central axis of rotation of the head set lever 131. If this happens, the reaction force of the holding force 19g of the locking member may bias the head set lever 131 in the direction of opening, and it may become impossible to maintain the fixed state of the recording head 14 to the carriage 13.

[0042] In this embodiment, since the locking member 196 engages with the carriage base 134, the locking member 196 does not apply force to the head set lever 131, and it is possible to stabilize the insertion amount of the joint portion 18 without changing the fixed position of the recording head 14.

[0043] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1: recording device, 13: carriage, 14: recording head, 15: supply tube, 17: ink tank, 19: joint lever, 131: head set lever, 132: guide rail, 134: carriage base, 135: engagement surface, 141: joint positioning hole, 142: joint rubber, 145: discharge portion

Claims

1. a carriage carrying a recording head that ejects liquid; a liquid supply section connected to a liquid inlet section of the recording head and supplying liquid to the recording head; an elastic member disposed at a connection between the liquid inlet and the liquid supply unit to seal the connection between the liquid inlet and the liquid supply unit; a first operating member rotatably attached to the carriage, and configured to transition the liquid inlet portion and the liquid supply portion to a connected state in which they are connected when operated in a first direction, and to transition the liquid inlet portion and the liquid supply portion to a non-connected state in which they are separated when operated in a second direction; a locking member that is connected to the first operating member and that is switchable between a locked state in which the first operating member is prevented from transitioning from the connected state to the unconnected state by engaging with an engaging portion of the carriage, and a released state in which the first operating member is allowed to transition from the connected state to the unconnected state by moving away from the engaging portion; the carriage includes a base portion on which the recording head is mounted, and a second operating member that fixes the recording head mounted on the base portion to the base portion, the locking member engages with the carriage via the second operating member, A recording device characterized in that, in the locked state, the first operating member receives a force from the elastic member to rotate the first operating member in the second direction, and receives a force from the engagement portion to rotate the first operating member in the first direction.

2. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lock member is attached to the first operation member so as to be rotatable about a central axis.

3. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the locking member is switched between the locked state and the released state by being rotated about the central axis relative to the first operating member.

4. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lock member is integrally formed with the first operation member.

5. A recording device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the distance from the position of a first rotation center of the first operating member relative to the carriage to the position where it receives a force rotating it in the second direction by the elastic member is smaller than the distance from the position of the first rotation center to the position where the locking force by the locking member acts.

6. A recording device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the second operating member is rotatably attached to the base portion around a second center of rotation, and in the locked state, the locking member engages with the second operating member at approximately the position of the second center of rotation.

7. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage detachably mounts the recording head.

8. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is disposed in at least one of the liquid inlet section and the liquid supply section.

9. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply portion is a needle that is inserted into the elastic member disposed in the liquid inlet portion.

10. a container for containing a liquid to be supplied to the recording head; a supply path for supplying liquid from the container to the recording head, 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply unit constitutes a joint unit that connects the recording head and the supply path.

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