JPH07314728A - Ink jet recorder and electronic equipment with the recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect equipment from getting soiled by waste ink overflowed from a waste ink tank and confirm easily the overflow of waste ink. CONSTITUTION:A recorder comprises a waste ink tank 17 with a hole 17a for storing waste ink from a suction pump 16 of a function recovery means for recovering and retaining the ink jet function of a recording head 1, a rib 19c for preventing the flowing of waste ink overflowing from a waste ink tank 17 by encircling the periphery of the waste ink tank 17 and a cover for covering the waste ink tank 17 which can be opened and closed, and an ink absorber is built in the waste ink tank 17.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink to a recording member such as a sheet for recording and a computer equipped with the ink jet recording apparatus, a word processor, a facsimile machine, a copying machine and the like. It relates to electronic devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In various devices such as a computer, a word processor, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine, an ink jet recording apparatus capable of high-speed recording without noise is widely used as a means for recording on a recording material. is there.

An example of an ink jet recording apparatus is one in which the ink is ejected from a recording head facing a recording medium by utilizing heat energy, and the ink jet recording apparatus is housed in a separate device case to form a single unit. , And various electronic devices that create and input recorded information, such as word processors, personal computers, etc.
Alternatively, there is an example in which it is built in a device case such as a facsimile device for inputting recorded information from the outside and integrated with an electronic device.

In the ink jet recording apparatus, in order to remove the ink staying in the ink flow path of the recording head or at the ejection opening portion of the recording head and to make it possible to eject fresh ink cleanly, the recording target is recorded. An excellent recording function can be normally restored / maintained by providing a function recovery means such as ejecting ink from a recording head without recording on a member or wiping the surface of an ejection nozzle portion with a cleaning material. .

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the conventional ink jet recording apparatus.

In FIG. 5, 1 is a recording head, and 16 is a pump for sucking ink from the recording head 1. And 1
7 is a box-shaped waste ink tank, and waste ink tank 1
Ink enters the waste ink tank 17 from the pump 16 through the hole 17a of No. 7. Then, a cotton-like ink absorber (not shown) is contained in the waste ink tank 17 and holds the ink by a capillary phenomenon or the like.

The same or corresponding parts as those of the embodiment of the present invention described later are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be omitted.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, as shown in FIG. 5, since the lower surface of the waste ink tank 17 is covered with the outer bottom cover 19, the life of the product is greatly exceeded. When the user uses the pump 16 or intentionally operates the pump 16 many times, the ink is discharged to the waste ink tank 1
There is a drawback that it overflows from No. 7 and enters an electric part arranged in the vicinity like the power source 18 in the figure, causing ignition and smoke, and polluting the inside of the device.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems of the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, and prevents the equipment from being contaminated by the waste ink overflowing from the waste ink tank, and the waste ink It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet recording apparatus that can easily confirm overflow and an electronic apparatus including a recording apparatus having the same operation and effect.

[0010]

Therefore, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink from a recording head onto a recording medium to perform recording, and the ink ejected from the recording head. The ink tank containing the ink, the waste ink tank containing the waste ink from the function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink discharge function of the recording head, and the member surrounding the waste ink tank. Is to achieve the purpose of.

In addition to the above structure, a lid for opening and closing the waste ink tank, or a waste ink discharge hole portion for discharging the waste ink, which is prevented from being diffused by a member surrounding the circumference of the waste ink tank, to the outside of the apparatus. It is intended to achieve the above-mentioned object by a configuration characterized by including.

An electronic apparatus equipped with the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by including the ink jet recording apparatus having the above-mentioned structure and ejecting ink to a recording member based on image information for recording. Depending on the configuration
It is intended to achieve the above purpose.

[0013]

With the above construction, the waste ink tank provided in the ink jet recording apparatus can contain and hold the waste ink from the function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink ejection function of the recording head, and further, the waste ink tank. Even if the waste ink overflows, the member surrounding the waste ink tank can prevent the waste ink from flowing to other parts of the device, and prevent the waste ink from becoming dirty or impairing its function. . Further, the user can easily confirm that the waste ink overflows from the waste ink tank.

Further, by the structure provided with the waste ink discharge hole portion for discharging the waste ink, which is prevented from being diffused by the member surrounding the waste ink tank, the above-mentioned action can be more effectively exhibited and the recording head The function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink ejection function can be operated for a long period of time.

In the electronic apparatus equipped with the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink ejection function of the recording head is repeatedly used for a long period of time again by the action of the waste ink tank portion. It is possible to recover the ink discharge function to a complete state and use it for a long time.

[0016]

EXAMPLES An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described by way of examples.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, A is a reading unit that optically reads an original, B is a recording unit that is an inkjet recording device, C is a recording paper cassette and recording paper that is cut sheets stacked on the recording paper cassette are separated and supplied to the recording unit. It is a paper feeding unit.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a flow of recording paper will be briefly described. A series of recording paper conveyance paths is indicated by arrow G.
First, the recording paper 12 stacked in the recording paper cassette 50 is picked up by the paper feed roller 51 and the separation claw 52, conveyed by the conveyance roller 5, and sent to the recording unit B. In the recording unit B, recording is performed by the recording head 1 reciprocating in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and performing main scanning, and after recording within the apparatus for a certain distance, the paper is discharged to the paper output stacker 53 by the paper output roller 9. Loaded. A photo sensor 13 is arranged on the shaft of the paper discharge roller 9, and the sensor is configured to detect the absence of ink in the recording head 1 and a recording paper jam near the paper discharge roller. Further, the cover 14 is rotatable around the hinge 14a, and if the cover 14 is opened, the recording head 1 can be exchanged as described below.

Next, the construction of the recording portion of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the perspective view of the main portion of FIG. Reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 2 denotes a recording head. In this embodiment, an ink tank is built in, and a cartridge-type inkjet recording head that can be replaced with a new recording head when the ink is exhausted is mounted.

The recording head 1 used in this embodiment
Is a recording head of an ink jet system, has a resolution of 360 DPI, has 64 nozzles, and the ejection port at the tip of the nozzle due to the pressure of film boiling generated in the ink by the heat generation of the electrothermal conversion element provided in the nozzle. More ink is ejected.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a carriage for holding the recording head 1 with high precision and reciprocating in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording paper 12, that is, the main scanning direction. It is slidably held by the contact portion 2a. The reciprocating movement of the carriage 2 is performed by a pulley 4 and a timing belt 3 driven by a carriage motor 32, which will be described later. At this time, a print signal and power supplied to the recording head 1 are supplied from an electric circuit of the main body by a flexible cable 7. Has been done.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a cap which functions as an ink receiving means, which is arranged in correspondence with a position (home position) where the carriage 2 stands by, moves up and down as necessary, and when it rises, comes into close contact with the recording head 1 and nozzles. The part is covered to prevent evaporation of ink and adhesion of dust.

In this embodiment, in order to position the recording head 1 and the cap 15 so as to be relatively opposed to each other, the carriage home sensor 10 and the carriage 2 provided in the main body of the recording apparatus are provided. Light shield 2
b is used. The carriage home sensor 10 is composed of a transmissive photo interrupter, and when the carriage 2 moves to the standby position, the carriage home sensor 10
The fact that the light emitted from a part of the above is blocked by the light shielding plate 2b is used to detect that the recording head 1 and the cap 15 are relatively opposed to each other.

The recording paper 12 is fed upward from the lower side of FIG. 2, bent in the horizontal direction by the carrying roller 5 and the paper guide 6, and carried in the direction indicated by the arrow H (sub-scanning direction). The transport roller 5 and the paper discharge roller 9 are each driven by a drive system (not shown), and if necessary, interlock with the reciprocal movement of the carriage 2 to accurately transport the recording paper 12 in the sub-scanning direction. Reference numeral 8 is a spur, which is made of a highly water-repellent material and is configured to contact the recording paper 12 only at the blade-shaped circumferential portion. The recording paper 12 is provided and guided and conveyed without affecting the image even if it contacts unfixed ink on the recording paper immediately after printing. Reference numeral 13 denotes a photo sensor, which is a reflection type photo interrupter disposed on the shaft of the paper discharge roller 9 and optically detecting the presence or absence of a predetermined pattern (black mark) printed on the recording paper, and there is no ink in the recording head. The recording paper jam can be determined from the black mark output and the recording paper white output. Further, the discharge roller 9 has a black rubber opposite portion to the photo sensor so that black output is performed when there is no recording paper.

A suction pump 16 is hermetically connected to the cap 15 so that the nozzles of the recording head 1 suck ink through the cap 15. Then, the ink sucked by the suction pump 16 is discharged from the communication hole in the pump 16 (not shown) by the pump 16 and discharged into the hole 17a of the waste ink tank 17.

The timing at which the pump 16 operates is such that when the head 1 is replaced, or when the printing operation is not performed for a long time, or when the user operates the apparatus from the outside, the power source of the apparatus is changed from OFF to ON. When I set it.

Inside the waste ink tank 17, there is a cotton-like ink absorber (not shown) so that the ink does not spill from the hole 17a even when the apparatus is tilted or turned over. The exterior bottom cover 19 is a member formed of plastic or the like that supports the above-described components and the like and is isolated from the user, and has a rib 19a formed so as to surround the waste ink tank 17. A switching power supply 18 supplies a required voltage to each unit.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the rib 19a is provided on the bottom cover 19, even if the waste ink overflows from the waste ink tank 17 through the hole 17a, the overflowed ink is removed by the rib 19a. Accumulation around the tank 17 prevents the device from catching fire and smoke, and prevents the inside of the device from becoming dirty. Further, if the cover 14 is opened, the user can easily recognize that the waste ink has overflowed, and the user can easily know when to replace the waste ink tank 17.

(Other Embodiments) A facsimile apparatus according to another embodiment has the same main structure as that of the sectional view of the above embodiment shown in FIG. The recording unit will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the recording section. The same or corresponding parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be omitted.

Inside the waste ink tank 17, there is a cotton-like ink absorber (not shown) so that the ink does not spill from the hole 17a even when the apparatus is tilted or tumbled. The exterior bottom cover 19 is a member formed of plastic or the like that supports the above-described components and the like and is isolated from the user, and has a rib 19a formed so as to surround the waste ink tank 17.

In this embodiment, a hole 19b communicating with the outside of the device is formed at the bottom of the portion surrounded by the rib 19a. A switching power supply 18 supplies a required voltage to each unit.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view as seen from the direction of arrow G in FIG. 3, showing the outside of the hole portion 19b of the bottom cover 19 in the apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, a rib 19c for guiding the discharge of ink from the hole 19b partially surrounds the hole 19b of the bottom cover 19 on the lower surface of the bottom cover 19 of the apparatus. Is formed.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the bottom cover 19 is provided with the rib 19a and the hole portion 19b is further provided, even if the waste ink overflows from the waste ink tank 17 through the hole portion 17a, it overflows. The ink is guided to the hole 19b by the rib 19a and discharged to the outside of the apparatus, which prevents the apparatus from being ignited and emits smoke and does not stain the inside of the apparatus.

Further, in this embodiment, the hole portion 1 of the bottom cover 19 is provided.
By providing the rib 19c on the discharge side of 9b, it becomes possible to guide the ink discharged to the outside of the apparatus, the user can easily confirm that the waste ink has overflowed, and the replacement of the waste ink tank. There is an effect that the time can be easily known.

(Embodiment of Electronic Equipment Equipped with Inkjet Recording Device) This embodiment is various electronic equipment equipped with any of the ink jet recording devices of the above-described embodiments in a computer, a word processor, a facsimile machine, a copying machine or the like. The configuration of the electronic device part conforms to the conventional configuration.

In the electronic apparatus equipped with the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, the function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink ejection function of the recording head can be repeatedly used again and again for a long time by the action of the waste ink tank portion. Therefore, the ink ejection function can be restored to a perfect state and can be used for a long time.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In the waste ink tank provided in the inkjet recording device,
The waste ink from the function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink ejection function of the recording head can be accommodated and held, and even if the waste ink overflows from the waste ink tank, the waste ink tank is surrounded. It is possible to prevent the member from flowing to the other parts of the apparatus, and it is possible to prevent the waste ink from being contaminated or impairing its function. Further, the user can easily confirm that the waste ink overflows from the waste ink tank.

Further, by the construction provided with the waste ink discharge hole portion for discharging the waste ink, which is prevented from being diffused by the member surrounding the waste ink tank, the above-mentioned action can be more effectively exerted, and the recording head The function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink ejection function can be operated for a long period of time.

Further, in the electronic equipment provided with the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the function recovery means for recovering and maintaining the ink ejection function of the recording head by the action of the waste ink tank portion is repeatedly used again for a long time. Can
The ink ejection function can be restored to a complete state and can be used for a long time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an essential part of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of a facsimile apparatus according to another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional inkjet recording device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Head 2 Carriage 14 Cover 15 Cap for Ink Receiving Unit 16 Suction Pump 17 Waste Ink Tank 17a Waste Ink Tank Hole 19 Bottom Cover 19a Rib 19b Bottom Cover Hole 19c Rib

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Keizo Sasai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Shigeyuki Sugiyama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Katsumi Obana 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Ikeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by ejecting ink from a recording head onto a recording member, wherein an ink tank containing ink ejected from the recording head and an ink ejection function of the recording head are restored. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a waste ink tank for containing waste ink from the function recovery means to maintain; a member surrounding the waste ink tank; and an openable / closable lid for covering the waste ink tank. . 2. An ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by ejecting ink from a recording head onto a recording member, wherein an ink tank containing ink ejected from the recording head and an ink ejection function of the recording head are restored. A waste ink tank for containing waste ink from the function recovery means for maintaining, a member surrounding the periphery of the waste ink tank, and a waste ink discharge hole portion for discharging the waste ink whose diffusion is prevented by the member to the outside of the apparatus. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the waste ink discharge hole portion has a guide member on the outer surface side of the apparatus for determining the outflow direction of the waste ink to be discharged. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste ink tank contains an ink absorber that absorbs and holds ink. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste ink tank is provided so as to be replaceable. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head ejects ink by thermal energy generated by an electrothermal converter. 7. An electronic apparatus comprising the inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein ink is ejected onto a recording member based on image information to perform recording.