Carriage Unit; Carriage Functions - Canon W6200 Service Manual

Part 4: Technical Reference

3.3 Carriage Unit

3.3.1 Carriage functions

a) Printhead mounting
The carriage mechanically locks the printhead and connects them to the terminals
on the head relay PCB.
b) Control
A carriage relay PCB and encoder are installed on the carriage. The carriage relay
PCB communicates the drive signal of the printhead, and the encoder detects the
carriage position and generates print timing signals. The carriage relay PCB is
connected to the engine controller by flexible cable.
c) Carriage drive
The carriage belt moves the carriage back and forth on the platen. The carriage belt
is driven by the power from the carriage motor.
d) Printhead maintenance
This printer has a cleaning function that performs wiping and suction of the printhead
when the carriage is stopped at the carriage homeposition.
e) Media thickness adjustment
The gap between the bottom face of the printhead and the media surface can be
adjusted according to the media thickness. Although the print quality is higher when
the gap is narrow, ink blots may form on the print surface due to contact of the
media with the printhead face, or the printhead nozzles may be damaged. In this
printer, the user can use the printhead height adjustment lever to select the gap
width according to the media thickness (3 positions).
f) Paper width/skew detection
A media sensor is installed at the bottom left of the carriage for detecting the paper
width and skewing of the paper on the platen.
g) Internal temperature detection
Thermistors installed in the printhead relay PCBs are used to detect the internal
temperature in the vicinity of the printhead.
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W6200