US 7,591,518 B2
Image forming apparatus
Shunji Murai, Toukai (Japan); Masatoshi Yamada, Nakashima-gun (Japan); and Kenji Samoto, Inuyama (Japan)
Assigned to Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Nagoya (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/486,990
PCT Filed Aug. 22, 2002, PCT No. PCT/JP02/08483
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date May 19, 2004,
PCT Pub. No. WO03/018322, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 06, 2003.
Claims priority of application No. 2001-251633 (JP), filed on Aug. 22, 2001; application No. 2001-251635 (JP), filed on Aug. 22, 2001; and application No. 2001-259701 (JP), filed on Aug. 29, 2001.
Prior Publication US 2004/0246284 A1, Dec. 09, 2004
Int. Cl. B41J 29/38 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 347—8  [347/5; 347/37] 34 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a frame extending in a direction crossing a conveying direction of a recording medium;
a guide shaft provided in parallel with the frame;
a carriage reciprocating along the guide shaft, the carriage being mounted with a recording head; and
a gap adjustment mechanism adjusting a gap between the recording head and the recording medium,
wherein the gap adjustment mechanism is provided with a plurality of abutment portions which come into slide contact with the frame to move in parallel with the frame together with the carriage, the plurality of abutment portions being rotatable about a rotation axis extending toward the frame, the plurality of abutment portions having different heights projecting in an axial direction of the rotation axis, the gap adjustment mechanism switches one of the plurality of abutment portions to another according to movement of the carriage to a predetermined position in one direction parallel with the frame and another movement of the carriage to another predetermined position in another direction to adjust the gap between the recording head and the recording medium.