Recording material confining means for a recording apparatus

Abstract: A recording apparatus for effecting recording by recording means carried on a carriage (19) movable along a recording material (2) includes a platen (17) for supporting the recording material (2) in a recording region in which the recording means effects the recording on the recording material (2); a confining member (33) for confining the recording material on the platen (17); a supporting member (34) mounted on the carriage (17) to support the carriage for movement thereof along the recording material (2) and in contact with the confining member (33), wherein the supporting member (34) engages to and disengages from an elastically deformable portion of the confining member (33) outside the recording region.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material by a recording mechanism according to the patent claims 1 or 2. A known recording apparatus having a function of printer, copying machine, facsimile machine or the like, or a known recording apparatus usable as an output device for a combined electronic machine or a work station including a computer and a word processor, is designed such that an image (including characters or the like) is recorded on a recording material in the form of a sheet of paper or in plastic sheet or the like in accordance with image information (character information). Such recording machines are classified, on the basis of the recording systems, into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type or the like. In a serial type recording apparatus in which the main scan occurs in a direction crossing with the heat material feeding direction (sub-scan direction), the recording material is set at a recording position, and thereafter, the recording material is scanned in the main scan direction by recording means carried on a carriage movable along the recording material. After the recording for one line is completed, the sheet is fed through a predetermined distance, and the sheet is stopped there. Then, the recording for the next line (main scan) is carried out. By repeating these operations, the recording is effected all over the recording material. On the other hand in a line type recording apparatus in which only the sub-scan is effected during the recording operation, the recording material is set at the predetermined recording position, and the recording is effected simultaneously for the one line, and the recording material is continuously fed to effect the recording all over the recording material. In the ink jet type recording apparatus, the ink is ejected onto the recording material from a recording means (recording head) in accordance with an image signal. It is advantageous in that the size of the recording means can be reduced, that fine images can be recorded at high speed, that plain paper is usable without special treatment, that the running cost is low, that the noise is small because it is non-impact type, and that it is easy to effect the color image recording with the use of a number of different color inks. Among them, a full-multiple recording means having a great number of ejection outlets arranged in the direction of the width of the sheet, is advantageous because the recording speed can be further increased. Particularly, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) which ejects the ink using thermal energy can be easily manufactured with high density liquid passages (ejection outlets), since it can be manufactured by etching, evaporation, sputtering or another semiconductor manufacturing process to manufacture electrothermal transducers, electrodes, liquid passages and top plate, the electrothermal transducers and electrodes are formed as films on a substrate. In addition, a high resolution image can be recorded at a high speed with simple and compact structure. On the other hand, various materials for the recording material are desired to be used. Recently, in addition to the usual plain paper or resin thin sheet (OHP sheet or the like), thin sheet of paper or processed sheet (the sheet having perforations for the filing, the sheets with cutting perforations, or non-rectangular sheet), are desired to be used with printers. In the serial type recording apparatus using the recording head movable along the recording material the recording head is supported on the carriage (movable member) by rotatably supporting the carriage on a guide rail, and a rolling member (contact portion) in the form of rollers mounted on the carriage, or the like, is urged to the recording material, so that the clearance between the recording head and the recording material is maintained constant. In this case, the recording material is supported on a platen in the recording region including the contact portion. The contact portion including the rolling members such as rollers, may be directly press-contacted to the recording material, they may be urged through a confining member (sheet confining plate or the like). In such a carriage supporting method, the recording head moves up and down in accordance with the thickness of the recording material, and therefore, the clearance between the recording head and the recording surface of the recording material can be maintained constant irrespective of the material of the recording material used. Generally, in the ink jet recording apparatus, if the clearance between the recording head and the recording material increases, the positions of the ink droplet deposition varies more with the result of the deterioration of the image quality. If the clearance is too small, the image may be disturbed or contaminated by the contact between the recording head and the recording material, since the recording material having absorbed the ink droplet may wave. Therefore, it is desirable that the clearance between the recording head and the recording material is accurately maintained at constant by the carriage. On the other hand, in the structure in which the recording material is directly confined by the rollers or other rolling members, the carriage may swing due to an impact attributable to the step provided by the thickness of the sheet, at the instance when the carriage rides on the recording material. If this occurs, the recording is disturbed. Therefore in the carriage supporting method described above, the recording material is indirectly confined by the rolling members such as rollers through a confining member such as sheet confining plate. When the recording material is confined through the confining member, there is a necessity for releasing the confining member when the recording material is jammed or the like. Because it confines the recording material at the position close to the image forming position, and therefore, the sheet confining member can be provided only in the region outside the recording head recovery means disposed in the non-recording region. For this reason, it is not possible to use a confining member covering the entirety of the carriage movable range. Therefore, existence of a part (contact and non-contact portion) where the contact portion of the carriage (confining and rolling members such as rollers) and the confining members are contacted to each other or separated from each other, is not avoidable. At this portion, the impact occurs at the time of the carriage movement, and the record is disturbed by the carriage movement by the contact portion. However, the present invention proceeds from a state of the art as is described in the EP-A-472 218. According to this state of the art the recording apparatus comprises a platen for supporting a sheet at a recording area, feeding means for feeding the sheet to the platen, recording means carried by a carrier for recording an image on the sheet at the recording area, and a confining member disposed at a downstream side of the recording area and adapted to urge the sheet against the platen. A roller fixed to the carrier is in contact with the confining means which is provided with an inclined end portion for facilitating the riding of the roller. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus which is compact and in which the impact or shock during carriage movement can be suppressed in order to form a high quality image. The present invention provides a recording apparatus having the features according to claim 1 or 2. According to claim 1 the recording apparatus for effecting recording by recording means carried on a carriage movable along a recording material, comprises: a platen for supporting the recording material in a recording region in which said recording means effects the recording on the recording material; a confining member for confining the recording material on said platen; a supporting member provided on said carriage to support said carriage for movement thereof along the recording material and in contact with said confining member wherein said supporting member engages to and disengages from an elastically deformable portion of said confining member outside the recording region, wherein the platen is provided with an escape permitting the elastic deformation of the confining member. According to claim 2 the recording apparatus for effecting recording by recording means carried on a carriage movable along a recording material, comprises: a platen for supporting the recording material in a recording region in which said recording means effects the recording on the recording material; a confining member for confining the recording material on said platen; a supporting member provided on said carriage through an elastic member to support said carriage for movement along the recording material in contact with said confining member, wherein said supporting member engages to and disengages from said confining member with elastic deformation of said elastic member outside the recording region, wherein said supporting member is rotatably supported on a lever which is mounted for swinging movement about a shaft mounted on said carriage wherein said lever is urged toward said confining member by said elastic member. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the recording apparatus of Figure 1, wherein some parts are omitted. Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the ink ejection outlet of the recording mechanism. Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of a major part of the recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a side view of a parts of the structure of Figure 4 when the carriage and the confining member are going to be contacted to each other. Figure 6 is a side view of a recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention when the carriage and the confining member are going to be contacted. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described. Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a major part of the recording apparatus of Figure 1. In Figures 1 and 2, the sheets of paper or plastic material thin sheets or the like (the recording materials) 2 are contained in a sheet feeding cassette 1, and are fed out one-by-one by rotation of a pick-up roller 3 to between an upper guide 4 and a lower guide 5. When the pick-up roller 3 rotates through one full turn, it returns to the shown position and stops there. Before that, a lower feeding roller 9 has been started by a pulse motor (recording material feeding motor) 8, so that a leading end portion of the supplied recording material 2 is caught by a nip formed between the lower feeding roller 9 and an upper feeding roller 10 rotated by the lower roller 9. Therefore, the recording material is subsequently fed by the pair of feeding rollers 9 and 10. The feeding rollers 9 and 10 (lower feeding roller 9) are driven by the pulse motor 8 by way of a belt 6 and a pulley 7. The recording material 2 is further fed by the pair of rollers 9 and 10, and the leading end portion is nipped by discharging rollers 11 and 12. The lower discharging roller 11 is driven by the pulse motor 8 used also to drive the lower roller 9, through gears 14, 15 and 16. Here, a peripheral speed of the lower discharging roller 11 is higher than the peripheral speed of the lower feeding roller 9 by a predetermined amount (2 %, for example), by which the recording material 2 is stretched with a predetermined tension to provide a recording surface (the portion supported on the platen 17). The upper feeding roller 10 is rotatably supported on a pressing plate 27 about a shaft 26, and is press-contacted to the lower feeding roller 9 by a spring 28, so that it is rotated by the lower feeding roller 9. When it is detected that the recording material 2 is fed out by an unshown sensor, the lower feeding roller 9 is started to rotate, by which the recording material 2 is intermittently fed at predetermined timing during the recording operation. In Figure 2, an arrow A indicates the recording material feeding direction (sheet feeding direction). The lower sheet discharging roller 11 and the upper sheet discharging roller 12, are disposed downstream of the platen 17 to nip the recording material 2 fed onto the platen 17. The upper sheet discharging roller 12 is rotatably supported on a pressing plate 30 about a shaft 29, and is press-contacted to the lower sheet discharging roller 11 by a spring 31, so that it is rotated by the rotation of the lower sheet discharging roller 11. The lower sheet discharging roller 11, as described hereinbefore, rotates in synchronism with the lower feeding roller 9, and the peripheral speed thereof is higher by a few % than the peripheral speed of the feeding roller 9, by which the recording material 2 on the platen 17 is given a proper tension, so that the recording material is not slacked. Above the platen 17, there is a carriage 19 which is reciprocable along a guide rail 20 extending in a direction crossing with a direction along which the recording material 2 is fed. A driving belt 46 for reciprocating the carriage 19 in a direction P is fixed to the carriage at a belt fixing portion 45. In the recording region, the carriage 19 moves in the direction P while it is supported by the guide rail 20 and a roller 34 which will be detailed hereinafter. When the carriage 19 is in the non-recording region which is the region of a taper 36 of a confining member 33 which will be described hereinafter and the region outside thereof, the carriage 19 is supported by the guide rail 20 and a carriage supporting member 47. The carriage supporting member 47 functions to support the carriage at a position slightly lower than the height of the carriage in the recording region. The carriage 19 carries a recording head 18 (recording mechanism). The recording material feeding through a predetermined amount (sub scan) and one line recording (main scan recording) of the recording head 18, are alternately repeated to effect the recording over the entire range of the recording material 2. The recording material 2 on which the recording is completed, is discharged to the discharge tray 21 by the pair of sheet discharging rollers 11 and 12. In this manner, a series of recording operation is accomplished. The recording head 18 is an ink jet recording means for ejecting the ink using thermal energy, and is provided with an electrothermal transducers for producing thermal energy. The recording head 18 eject the ink using pressure change caused by expansion and collapse of a bubble due to film boiling of the ink caused by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. By the ejected ink, the recording is effected. Figure 3 is a perspective view of an ink ejection outlet of the recording head 18. The surface having the ejection outlet 51 is faced to the recording material 2 with a predetermined clearance (approx. 0.5 - 2.0 mm, for example) therebetween. The surface 51 is provided with a plurality of ejection outlets 52 arranged at a predetermined pitch. On a wall of each or liquid passages 54 for communicating a common liquid chamber 53 and the respective ejection outlets 52, an electrothermal transducer (heat generating resistor, for example) 55 for producing the ink ejection energy is mounted. The recording head 18 is carried on the carriage 19 so that the ejection outlets 52 are arranged in a direction crossing with the movement direction (main scan direction) of the carriage 19. The electrothermal transducers 55 are driven or energized in accordance with image signal or ejection signal, by which the ink in the passage 54 is film-boiled, and the ink is ejected through the ejection outlet 52 by the pressure produced thereby, in the recording mechanism (recording head) 18. If an ejection outlet 52 of the recording head 18 is clogged during the series of recording operation, the ink is not ejected through the ejection outlet 52, so that the proper recording operation may not be effected. Such a situation can be recovered by a recovery mechanism In the recording apparatus of Figures 1 and 2, a sucking recovery mechanism 13 is disposed at a predetermined position outside the recording region. The sucking recovery mechanism 13 functions to seal the ejection outlet 52 of the recording head 18 by a cap 22, and a vacuum is produced in the cap 22 through a tube 23 by a sucking pump 24, so as to suck out through the ejection outlet 52 the foreign matter (solidified ink, bubble, dust or the like) together with the ink. Referring back to Figures 1 and 2, the carriage 19 is rotatably guided and supported about the guide rail 20 which is mounted on a frame of the apparatus. On the other hand, above the platen 17 for supporting the recording material 2, there is provided a confining member (sheet confining plate) 33 to confine the recording material 2 on the platen 17. The carriage 19 is provided with rollers 34 capable of rolling on the confining member 33. The rollers 34 are provided at two positions along the movement direction of the carriage 19. The confining member 33 and the rollers 34 may be provided at both sides of the ejection side surface 51 with respect to the feeding direction of the recording material. The rollers 34, during rolling motion on the confining member 33, function to form a press-contact portion effective to urge the confining member 33 and therefore the recording material 2 to the platen 17, and also functions to support the carriage 19 with a constant clearance between the recording head 18 and the recording material 2. Adjacent an end of the confining member 33, more particularly, adjacent to the end near the recovery mechanism 13 in the shown embodiment, there is an engagement and disengagement part where the roller 34 engages with and disengages from the confining member 33. Referring to Figure 4, there is shown the engaging and disengaging portion 35 in a partial perspective view. Figure 5 is a side view in which the roller is in contact with the confining member 33 in the engaging and disengaging portion 35. In Figures 2, 4 and 5, a tapered surface 36 is formed at an end of the confining member 33, the tapered surface 36 functioning to guide the rollers 34. In a part of the platen 17 which corresponds to the engaging and disengaging portion 35, an escape 37 is formed to accommodate the elastic deformation of the tapered (guide) surface 36 of the confining member 33. The escape 37 is formed by drawing the sheet confining plate 33 up to the part corresponding to an end of the recording material 2. In Figure 5, when the carriage 19 moves from the right position (the position of the recovery mechanism 13, for example) to the left (B direction), the roller 34 is brought into contact with the tapered portion 36, and thereafter, the tapered portion 36 starts to elastic deformation in the direction C (downward). At this time, as long as a reaction force f 1 acting on the roller 34 is smaller than the weight of the carriage 19, the carriage 19 moves in the direction B while maintaining the height shown in Figure 5, with the carriage 19 being supported by the guide rail 20 and the carriage supporting member 47. By the increase of the elastic deformation of the tapered portion 36 due to the motion of the carriage in the direction B, the reaction force f 1 increases, and the carriage 19 is gradually raised from a point D where the reaction force is balanced with the weight of the carriage 19. By the gradual rising of the carriage 19, the impact or shock at the time of the contact can be significantly reduced. When the carriage 19 moves in the direction which is opposite from the direction B, the opposite actions occur. More particularly, the reaction force f 1 acting on the roller 34 gradually decreases while the carriage 19 is being moved away from the confining member 33, and therefore, the shock at the time of the carriage 19 disengagement can be significantly reduced. In the above-described structure, the material of the confining member 33 may be that for a spring (stainless steel for spring, for example) in consideration of the fact that the bending is repeated. According to this embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising a supporting member (platen) 17 for supporting the recording material 2 at the recording position, a confining member 33 for confining the recording material 2 on the supporting member 17, a reciprocable carriage 19 for carrying a recording head 18, a rolling member (contact portion) 34 on the carriage 19 for urging the confining member 33 to the supporting member 17, and an escape 37 for accommodating the elastic deformation of the confining member 33 at a position corresponding to a portion (tapered surface) 36 where the rolling member (contact portion) 34 engages with and disengages from the confining member 33. Therefore, the resiliency of the confining member 33 is used in the engagement and disengagement between the rolling member (contact portion) 34 and the confining member 33, by which the shock during the reciprocal movement of the carriage 19 can be minimized. Accordingly, the disturbance to the recording attributable to the vibration of the recording head 18 caused by the shock or impact. In addition, the engaging and disengaging portion 35 of the rolling member (contact portion) 34 and the confining member 33 can be accommodated in the same space as before, and therefore, the size of the recording apparatus is not increased. Referring to Figure 6, there is shown a recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, as a method for the resilient engagement and disengagement between the confining member (sheet confining plate) 33 and a rolling member (contacting portion) (rollers) 34, the rolling member (contact portion) 34 is urged to the sheet confining member 33 by an elastic or resilient means (spring). More particularly, in Figure 6, the rolling member (contact portion, roller) 34 engageable with and disengageable from the confining member 33 is rotatably supported on a holder 40, and the holder 40 is mounted for swinging movement about a shaft 41 mounted on the carriage 19. The holder 40 is urged toward the confining member 33 by a spring (resilient means) 42 mounted between the carriage 19. The carriage 19 is provided with an abutment surface (stopper) 43 for limiting projection position (bottommost position) of the holder 40 and an abutment surface (stopper) 44 for limiting a retracted position (topmost position) of the holder 40. At an end portion (region of the engaging and disengaging portion 35) of the confining member (sheet confining plate) 33, a tapered surface 36 is formed. In this embodiment, there is no need of the provision of the escape 37 at the end of the platen 17, as contrasted to Figure 5 embodiment. When the rolling member (roller) 34 is not in contact with the confining member 33, the holder 40 is abutted to the lower abutment surface 43 by the spring 42. When the carriage 19 moves from the right (the position of the recovery mechanism 13, for example) to the left (direction B), the rolling member (roller) 34 is brought into contact with the tapered portion 36, and then the rolling member (roller) 34 starts to go up the tapered surface 36 with the elastic deformation (compression) of the spring 42. Here, the maximum spring force of the spring 42, that is, the spring force when the holder 40 abuts the upper contact surface 44, is set to be smaller than the weight of the carriage 19. Therefore, together with the movement of the carriage 19 in the direction B, the holder 40 swings in the direction E (upward) to abut the upper abutment surface 44. Thereafter, the carriage 19 is raised along the tapered surface 36. The other parts of this embodiment are substantially the same as in the foregoing embodiment as has been described in conjunction with Figures 1 - 5, and the detailed description thereof are omitted for the sake of simplicity by assigning the same reference numerals to the elements having the corresponding functions. According to Figure 6 embodiment, the rolling member (roller) 34 constituting the contact portion is resiliently supported by the spring 42, and therefore, the rolling member (roller) 34 is prevented from receiving large load at the instance when the rolling member (roller) 34 is contacted to the confining member 33. Therefore, similarly to the foregoing embodiment, the shock at the time of the carriage movement 19 can be significantly reduced. When the carriage 19 moves in the direction opposite from the direction B, the opposite operation takes place, and the elastic force (resilient urging force) on the rolling member (roller) 34 is gradually decreased, and thereafter, the carriage 19 is disengaged from the confining member 33, and therefore, the shock at the time of the disengagement is significantly reduced. As will be understood from the foregoing, according to the embodiment of Figure 6, similarly to the foregoing embodiment, the shock at the time of the carriage 19 reciprocation can be significantly reduced, and therefore, the disturbance to the record attributable to the vibration of the recording head 18 due to the shock can be prevented. Additionally, the engaging and disengaging portion 35 between the rolling member (contact portion) 34 and the confining member 33, can be accommodated in the same space as in the conventional apparatus, and therefore, the size increase of the apparatus can be avoided. If the structure of Figure 6 in which the rolling member (roller) 34 is supported by the elastic member 42 is incorporated in the elastically deformable taper portion 36 of Figure 5, it is possible to further reduce the shock at the time of engagement and disengagement between the carriage 19 and the confining member 33. In the foregoing embodiment, an ink jet recording apparatus has been taken. However, the present invention is applicable to another ink jet type, wire dot time, thermal type, laser beam type or another recording apparatus for an output device for a computer, word processor or another combined type electronic machines, work station or the like, including a printer, copying machine, facsimile machine and the like. When the recording apparatus is of an ink jet recording type, the present invention is applicable where the recording means (recording head) is a cartridge type having an integral ink container, where they are separate and are connected by ink supply tube with each other, and where another system is used. In the embodiments, a single recording head 18 is used in the recording apparatus. However, the present invention is applicable to a color recording apparatus using a plurality of recording heads for effecting the recording with different colors, a recording apparatus using a plurality of recording heads capable of effecting different density recordings with the same color. That is, the present invention is applicable irrespective of the number of recording heads or number of colors used. An ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention applicable may comprise a recording head using electromechanical converters such as piezoelectric elements. However, an ink jet recording apparatus ejecting the ink using thermal energy is most applicable. In this case, a high density and fine image can be produced. The present invention is particularly suitably usable in an ink jet recording head and recording apparatus wherein thermal energy by an electrothermal transducer, laser beam or the like is used to cause a change of state of the ink to eject or discharge the ink. This is because the high density of the picture elements and the high resolution of the recording are possible.

Claims: A recording apparatus for effecting recording by recording means (18) carried on a carriage (19) movable along a recording material (2), comprising: a platen (17) for supporting the recording material (2) in a recording region in which said recording means (18) effects the recording on the recording material (2); a confining member (33) for confining the recording material (2) on said platen (17); a rolling member (34) provided on said carriage (19) to support said carriage (19) for movement thereof along the recording material (2) and in contact with said confining member (33) characterized in that said rolling member (34) engages to and disengages from an elastically deformable portion (35) of said confining member (33) outside the recording region, wherein the platen (17) is provided with an escape (37) permitting the elastic deformation of the confining member. A recording apparatus for effecting recording by recording means (18) carried on a carriage (19) movable along a recording material (2), comprising: a platen (17) for supporting the recording material (2) in a recording region in which said recording means (18) effects the recording on the recording material (2); a confining member (33) for, confining the recording material (2) on said platen (17); a rolling member (34) provided on said carriage (19) through an elastic member (42) to support said carriage (19) for movement along the recording material (2) in contact with said confining member (33), characterized in that said rolling member (34) engages to and disengages from said confining member (33) with elastic deformation of said elastic member (42) outside the recording region, and said rolling member (34) is rotatably supported on a lever (40) which is mounted for swinging movement about a shaft (41) mounted on said carriage (19) wherein said lever (40) is urged toward said confining member (33) by said elastic member (42). An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said elastic member (42) is accommodated in said carriage (19). An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said recording means (18) includes an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink through an ejection outlet (52) onto the recording material (2) to effect the recording. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said recording means (18) includes an ink jet recording head provided with an electrothermal transducer (55) for producing thermal energy for ejecting the ink. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the thermal energy produces film boiling of the ink to eject the ink.

Inventors: KANEMITSU SHINJI, KANEMITSU, SHINJI, KANEMITSU, SHINJI, C/O CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicants: CANON KK, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B41J13
IPC codes: B41J13, B41J11