Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Controller
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-05
2003-11-11
Vo, Anh T. N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Controller
C347S037000, C400S055000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06644765
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of Korean No. 2001-78484, filed Dec. 12, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printer, and more particularly to an apparatus for and a method of adjusting a position of a printing head mounted in a head carrier of an inkjet printer by adjusting a position of a parallel adjustment shaft contacting a fixing surface of the printing head to be parallel to a carrier shaft of the head carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, data or files generated from a computer are changed in a written form by being printed on printing paper through a printer. In changing data or files in the written form, various types of printers are used. For example, an inkjet printer performs a printing operation by heating ink stored in a cartridge to generate bubbles and ejecting the ink by the generated bubbles in a given form on the paper through an ink ejection nozzle.
Usually, an inkjet printer
10
, as shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, includes a paper feeder
20
containing printing paper P, a paper transporter
30
transporting the paper P from the paper feeder
20
, a printing part
40
printing data on the paper P transported through the paper transporter
30
by moving a head carrier
46
mounted with the printing head
41
therein in right and left directions along a carrier shaft
42
, and a paper-discharging part
60
discharging the paper P printed by the printing part
40
to an outside of the inkjet printer
10
.
As shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, to correctly eject ink on the printing paper P when the printing head
41
is moved to the right and left directions along the carrier shaft
42
to print data on the paper P, the inkjet printer
10
has a parallel adjustment shaft
44
formed at a lower part of the head carrier
46
to position and fix (mount) the printing head
41
on a lower supporter
45
of the head carrier
46
at a predetermined position, for example the position in which a lower fixing surface
23
of the printing head
41
is maintained to be parallel to the carrier shaft
42
.
In an operation, as shown in
FIG. 2
, the printing paper P contained in the paper feeder
20
is elastically supported by a lockup spring
21
and picked up by a pickup roller
22
and then moved to the paper transporter
30
.
At the paper transporter
30
, the paper P is transported to the printing part
40
by a rotation of a feed roller
31
and a friction roller
32
. Thus, as the paper P is transported from the paper transporter
30
to the printing part
40
, a motor
45
driving a head carrier assembly operates to drive a belt
43
. Consequently, the printing head
41
having an ink ejection nozzle
41
a
, which is mounted in the head carrier
46
, is moved in the left and right directions along the carrier shaft
42
and ejects ink on the paper P transported by the paper transporter
30
to print pictures or letters thereon.
As the paper P is gradually moved along a base frame
50
after printing by the nozzle
41
a
of the printing head
41
, the printing paper P arrives at the paper-discharging part
60
. At the paper-discharging part
60
, the paper P is discharged to the outside through paper-discharging rollers
61
and star-shaped wheels
62
.
However, in the inkjet printer
10
, when due to manufacturing and assembling errors, the lower fixing surface
23
of the printing head
41
is not maintained to be parallel to the parallel adjustment shaft
44
fixed in the head carrier
46
, or when the parallel adjustment shaft
44
itself is not maintained to be parallel to the carrier shaft
42
, there was no way to adjust a position of the parallel adjustment shaft
44
, i.e., an arrangement or orientation of the printing head
41
with respect to carrier shaft
42
or the parallel adjustment shaft
44
, since the parallel adjustment shaft
44
positioning the printing head
41
at the predetermined position is fixed to be unmovable at the lower part of the head carrier
46
.
Also, even though the printing head
41
is first positioned at a correct position, it can be deviated from the first position by mechanical frictions or loads in the printing operation ever a long period of time, and thereby the first position becomes changed or varying so as not to be parallel to the parallel adjustment shaft
44
or the carrier shaft
42
.
If the printing head
41
is not maintained to be parallel to the parallel adjustment shaft
44
or the carrier shaft
42
, a “switching” problem occurs in which ink is unevenly ejected on the paper from the ink injection nozzle
41
a
of the printing head
41
, thereby a printing quality may deteriorate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for and a method of adjusting a position of a printing head mounted in a head carrier of an inkjet printer, the apparatus controlling an arrangement or orientation of the printing head with respect to the head carrier.
It is another object to provide an improved apparatus for and a method of adjusting a position of a printing head in an inkjet printer by adjusting a position of a parallel adjustment shaft having a fixing surface of the printing head mounted in a head carrier to be parallel to a carrier shaft guiding a movement of the head carrier.
Additional objects and advantageous of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learded by practice of the invention.
These and other objects according to an embodiment of the present invention may be achieved by providing an apparatus adjusting a position of a printing head in an inkjet printer having the printing head ejecting ink to perform a printing operation, and a head carrier mounted with the printing head and moving along a carrier shaft. The apparatus includes a device disposed in the head carrier to adjust an arrangement or orientation of the printing head with respect to the head carrier. The adjusting device includes a positioning member disposed in the head carrier to position and mount the printing head in a predetermined position, and a positioning member adjuster to adjust a position of the positioning member to control the arrangement or orientation of the printing head.
The positioning member includes a parallel adjustment shaft positioning and mounting a fixing surface of the printing head to be parallel to the carrier shaft at a lower part of the head carrier.
The positioning member adjuster includes a first receiving hole formed at the head carrier to receive and support the parallel adjustment shaft moving in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the parallel adjustment shaft, an eccentric cam disposed at the head carrier in the vicinity of the first receiving hole to be in contact with the parallel adjustment shaft, an actuation lever formed at one side of the eccentric cam to rotate the eccentric cam, and a pressing part pushing the parallel adjustment shaft to come in contact with the eccentric cam. Preferably, the pressing part includes a first elastic spring disposed in a first mounting groove formed in a wall defining the first receiving hole to push the parallel adjustment shaft toward the eccentric cam.
Also, the positioning member adjuster may be disposed at the head carrier in relation to one end of the parallel adjustment shaft. In this case, a pressing device can be disposed at the head carrier in relation to the other end of the parallel adjustment shaft without an additional positioning member adjuster to push the other end of the parallel adjustment shaft toward the fixing surface of the printing head. The other end of the parallel adjustment shaft is disposed within an adjusting range of the positioning member adjuster without overly moving away from the fixing surface of the printing head. The pressing device may include a se
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Vo Anh T. N.
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