Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1995-07-25
2001-11-06
Fuller, Benjamin R. (Department: 2855)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C074S435000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06312095
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus having recording means for outputting input information such as character, image and so on onto the recording medium, a recording system as an information processing system, such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, a word processor, or a personal computer, comprising said recording apparatus as output means, and a drive switching method for use with said recording apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
The recording apparatus performs the recording by driving recording means having a plurality of recording elements for outputting the input information such as character, image and so on onto the recording medium (such as a paper, a cloth, a plastic sheet, etc.) under control of control means. The recording apparatuses can be classified into an ink jet system, a wire dot system, a thermal system, a thermal transfer system, and a laser beam system, depending on the recording system of recording means to be used. Among these recording apparatuses, in a serial type recording apparatus which takes a recording method of effecting recording by causing recording means to scan in a direction crosswise to the conveying direction (sub-scan direction) of recording medium, the image recording over the entire area of recording medium is accomplished in such a way that after setting the recording medium at a predetermined recording position, the image recording (main scanning) operation by recording means (recording head) mounted on a carriage moving along the recording medium is carried out by repeatedly performing paper feeding (sub-scanning) by a predetermined amount after one line of recording, and then recording (main scanning) of image at the next line.
Typically, in the serial type recording apparatus, a step motor is mostly used as a carriage drive motor for driving a carriage useful for the main scanning (scanning for recording) of a recording head. Also, as a drive motor for feeding the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to a movement direction of carriage, a step motor is also mostly used. Further, an apparatus has been developed in which only one drive source is used to perform plural operations to reduce the motors for the purposes of lower costs and saved space.
One such serial type recording apparatus is known in which the drive transmission path for paper feed driving is switched by the use of the movement of carriage outside the recording area, as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 59-145175, for example. Also, one way of switching such drive path is known in which the disconnecting/switching of drive transmission path is effected by the use of a missing teeth portion of a gear in a drive transmission system, as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-288264, for example.
By applying such technologies, an ink jet recording apparatus was manufactured having a drive transmission path for transmitting the drive which is switched by selecting a paper feeding and a recovery pump by means of a gear with an untoothed portion by the use of the movement of carriage outside the recording area, but there was observed a phenomenon that the unnatural sound occurred from near the gear with the untoothed portion. Analyzing its cause, it has been found that the sound was produced by the contact between the untoothed end portion of the gear with untoothed portion and the tooth of a gear opposite the gear with untoothed portion, without regard to the drive transmission.
Also, because such abnormal contact condition between gears caused a defect in the gear, there was a risk that normal drive transmission might be hampered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the aforementioned problems with he conventional arts, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus with the reduced occurrence of noise.
It is another object of the invention to provide a recording apparatus with less occurrence of noise In which an untoothed portion of a gear of a drive transmission system and a toothed portion of a gear opposite said untoothed portion is made out of contact in non-rotating transmission state.
It is another object of the invention to provide a recording apparatus comprising,
a first gear,
a second gear meshable with said first gear,
a third gear meshable with both said first gear and said second gear, said third gear having a peripheral surface on which a toothed portion meshable with said first gear and an untoothed portion not meshable with a toothed portion of said first gear are disposed opposable to said first gear, and a peripheral surface on which a toothed portion meshable with said second gear is disposed opposable to said second gear, and
a gear drive switching control unit in which when the toothed portion adjacent the untoothed portion of said third gear comes into contact with said first gear, said second gear and said third gear are meshed to rotate said third gear to oppose the untoothed portion of said third gear to said first gear, thereby releasing the contact between the first gear and said third gear.
It is another object of the invention to provide a recording apparatus for switching transmission of a driving force from a single driving source to different driven mechanisms, comprising,
a recording medium conveying mechanism as a driven mechanism to convey a recording medium,
a gear for transmitting the driving force from said single driving source to said recording medium conveying mechanism,
a pump mechanism as a driven mechanism to effect an ink discharge recovery,
a toothed wheel for receiving the driving force driving said pump mechanism, and
a switching auxiliary member for receiving the driving force of said gear to drive said toothed wheel to enable transmission of the driving force from said gear to said toothed wheel, when switching the transmission of the driving force from said gear to said toothed wheel,
wherein said switching auxiliary member drives said toothed wheel to bring said toothed wheel out of contact with said gear, when releasing the driving transmission to said pump mechanism;
It is another object of the invention to provide a drive switching method for a recording apparatus comprising a first gear, a second gear engageable with said first gear, a third gear engageable with said first gear and being brought out of engagement with said first gear due to an untoothed portion formed on a peripheral edge thereof, wherein said second gear and said third gear are engaged at least when said first gear and said third gear are out of engagement, including,
a first step of bringing said first gear out of engagement with said third gear by means of the untoothed portion of said third gear by rotating said first gear in a fixed direction,
a second step of bringing said first gear in engagement with said second gear after said first step, and
a third step of rotating said first gear in the same direction to rotate said third gear engaged with said second gear to bring said first gear out of contact with the untoothed portion of said third gear after said second step.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2679357 (1954-05-01), Rosenberger
patent: 5168291 (1992-12-01), Hiramatsu et al.
patent: 5276466 (1994-01-01), Tsukada et al.
patent: 5291224 (1994-03-01), Asano et al.
patent: 5416395 (1995-05-01), Hiramatsu et al.
patent: 825 928 (1951-12-01), None
patent: 0482356 (1992-04-01), None
patent: 0540344 (1993-05-01), None
patent: 0549989 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 59-145175 (1984-08-01), None
patent: 10-82962 (1989-03-01), None
patent: 4-288264 (1992-10-01), None
Hiramatsu Soichi
Inoue Hiroyuki
Iwasaki Takeshi
Kawakami Hideaki
Kida Akira
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Dickens C.
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Fuller Benjamin R.
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