JPS61222748A - Ink jet type line recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always maintain the ink absorbing function of the ink absorber of a cap device by providing an ink-squeezing mechanism by which to squeeze out ink by pressing an ink absorber following an ink recovery action. CONSTITUTION:When a drive shaft is turned and a connecting bar 14 is rotatably moved to the solid-line direction, an ink absorber 21 moves forwards and is pressed on a recording head 9. Under the condition B, the recovery action of ink is performed. Furthermore, when the drive shaft is turned and the ink absorber 21 is separated from the head 9 as the condition C, the tip of a squeezer 19 is raised to press the ink absorber 21, and thereby ink is squeezed out. Since the squeezing action of ink and wiping action of the head 9 are involved in the serial action of the cap device 5 as mentioned above, the ink absorbing performance of the ink absorber can be always maintained, and the outlet portion of ink can be kept clean.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a CGR (color graphic recorder) equipped with a full multi-recording head, etc., in which ink is ejected from the ink ejection opening on the front of the head unit and recording is performed while feeding and scanning the paper. This invention relates to an inkjet type line recording device.

[Prior art]

Some recording apparatuses of the above type are equipped with a mechanism that caps the front surface of a recording head in which ink discharge ports are formed by applying an ink absorber, and performs an ink recovery operation by discharging ink during camping.

Conventional mechanisms of this kind simply press the ink absorber against the front surface of the recording head, so the amount of waste ink contained in the ink absorber increases rapidly every time an ink recovery operation is performed, and the amount of waste ink contained in the ink absorber increases during capping. There are problems in that the ink ejection ports may be contaminated with thickened or solidified waste ink, and that the ink absorber must be replaced frequently.

〔the purpose〕

An object of the present invention is to be able to solve such problems in the prior art, maintain the amount of waste ink contained in the ink absorber below a set value or in a state where it does not exist even when the ink recovery operation is repeated, and thereby reduce the amount of ink discharge port. An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet type line recording device that can prevent adverse effects on.

〔overview〕

The present invention achieves the above object by providing a squeezing mechanism that squeezes the ink absorber and squeezes out the ink following the ink recovery operation.

In this case, it is preferable to provide a wiping mechanism that wipes the front surface of the recording head with the ink absorber before squeezing the ink absorber, in conjunction with the squeezing mechanism.

〔Example〕

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings, taking as an example a case where the present invention is applied to a color inkjet recording apparatus having a full multi-recording head, that is, a CGR (color graphic recorder).

FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a CGR, which includes a recording section 1, a controller 2, and a paper feeding section 3, and the paper feeding section 3 can be opened as shown.

Inside the recording section 1, a full multi-recording head 4 and a vertically movable cap device 5 are provided.

The controller 2 is provided with a power supply device, a card rack for storing control circuit boards, and the like.

The paper feed section 3 is provided with a paper deck 6, a lower feed roller 7, and an upper feed roller 8.

The full multi-recording head 4 has a structure in which a plurality of head units, for example head units 9 of four colors, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, are arranged in the paper feeding direction.

In addition to each head unit 9 having a large number (for example, 1792) of ink ejection ports formed in one horizontal row,
For example, a head element having 128 ink ejection ports arranged in a staggered manner in two stages, seven each in upper and lower stages, is used.

The cap device 5 is for capping (sealing) the front surface of the recording head in which ink ejection ports are formed, that is, each of the illustrated head units 9, when no recording operation is performed. This camping prevents or suppresses the thickening of the ink, the adhesion of lumps, or the generation of bubbles in the ink due to evaporation of the ink solvent. Further, this capping is performed by pressing the ink absorber against the ink ejection port.

Further, when the capping device 5 is capping the pad 4 for recording (usually before the start of the recording operation), an ink recovery operation is performed to eject ink from each ink ejection port as necessary. This ink recovery operation is an operation for removing causes of clogging of the ink ejection port, such as thickened ink, dust, or air bubbles, thereby maintaining print quality.

Incidentally, during the recording operation, the camping device 5 moves to the lowered position shown in FIG. 1 to open the recording head 4.

However, the capping device includes a squeezing mechanism that squeezes the ink absorber to squeeze out the ink following the ink recovery operation, and a squeezing mechanism that squeezes the ink absorber before squeezing the ink absorber. A wiping mechanism is provided to wipe the front surface of the recording head with your body.

FIG. 2 shows the drive system of the squeezing mechanism and wiping mechanism, and FIG. 3 shows the operation of the squeezing mechanism and wiping mechanism for one head unit 9.

In FIG. 2, an eccentric cam 1) having a circumferential cam surface lIA is provided on a drive shaft 10 that is rotationally driven by a squeeze motor, and a connecting member 12 is slidably fitted on the circumferential cam surface.
A lever tree 13 is connected with a pin. Therefore, when the drive shaft 10 rotates in the direction of arrow A, the lever tree 1
3 moves up and down in the direction of arrow B.

On the other hand, the frame of the cap device 5 has (4)
Four connecting rods 14 are rotatably supported in correspondence with the head unit 9, and the tips of pressurizing levers 15 fixed to each connecting rod are connected to the lever tree 13 via a bottle.

Therefore, when the lever tree 13 moves up and down, each connecting rod 14 swings as shown by arrow C.

Sensors 16 and 17 are provided on the sides of the lever tree 13 to detect the home position and pressing position of the cap device 5 from the upper and lower positions of the lever tree.

The four sets of mechanisms driven by each of the four connecting rods 14, that is, the squeezing and wiping mechanisms of each head unit 9, all operate in the same way.

FIG. 3 shows the operation of one of the four sets of squeezing and wiping mechanisms. In FIG. Arm 18
An absorbent body holding member 20 guided in the lateral direction (front-back direction) is also connected with a pin.

The ink absorber 21 is held between the squeezing member 19 and the holding member 20.

Note that the number 22 in FIG. 3 indicates an operation adjustment pin for adjusting the position of the squeeze member 19.

FIG. 2 shows the position of the drive system corresponding to the home position of the capping device 5. At this home position, the ink absorber 21 is held at a position slightly away from the head unit 9 as shown in FIG. 3(A). ing.

When the drive shaft 10 rotates and the connecting rod 14 rotates in the direction of the solid line, the ink absorber 21 advances and is pressed against the recording head 9, resulting in a state as shown in FIG. 3(B). The ink recovery operation is performed under the pressing condition shown in FIG. 3(B).

When the drive shaft 10 further rotates, as shown in FIG. 3(C), as the ink absorber 21 moves away from the recording/displacement 9, the tip of the squeezing member 19 rises, causing the ink absorber 21 to move away from the recording position 9.
1 is squeezed out to squeeze out the ink contained therein.

The squeezed out ink is collected by appropriate means and led to a waste ink container.

Home position in Figure 3 (A) - Pressing position in Figure 3 (B) (ink recovery operation at this time) - Squeezing operation in Figure 3 (C) - Home position in Figure 3 (A) The change is made in one revolution (one cycle) of the drive shaft 10.

Note that before and after the pressing position shown in FIG. 3(B), the ink absorber 21 moves relative to the recording head 9 in the vertical direction, so a wiping operation of wiping the ink ejection port surface with the ink absorber is also performed at the same time. be exposed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing, in circular arc coordinates, one cycle operation of the squeezing mechanism explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

In FIG. 4, the arrow indicates the rotation direction of the drive shaft 10, and the ink absorber 21 is at the home position 23 when the power is turned on.
is set to . The ink absorber 21 is away from the recording pad 9 on the right side of the vertical line E in FIG. 4, and is in contact with the recording pad 9 on the left side.

The squeeze motor that drives the drive shaft 10 is controlled by a home position sensor 16, and the pressing motor is controlled by a position sensor 17.

An angular range F indicates an area where the home position sensor 16 is on, and an angular range G indicates an area where the pressing position sensor 17 is on.

The squeezing operation of the ink absorber 21 is performed in region H. Further, the wiping operation of the recording head 9 by this ink absorber is performed within the area J.

FIG. 5 shows a control system for the operation of the cap device 5 including the squeezing and wiping operations shown in FIGS. 2-4.

In FIG. 5, when the power switch 31 is turned on, the power source 3
2 is the microprocessor unit 1. It is connected to the port 33 and the driver circuit 34.

The driver circuit 34 controls the vertical drive DC motor 35 and the squeeze drive DC motor 36 of the cap device 5 based on a command signal S1 from the MPU 33.

Various detection signals S2 are transmitted to the MPU 33 through the sensor port 37.

This detection signal S2 includes a home position (retreat position) sensor 38 of the recording head 4, an upper position sensor 3 of the cap device 5,
9. Detection signals from the lower position sensor 40 of the camping device 5, the home position sensor 16 of the ink absorber 21, and the position sensor 17 for pressing the ink absorber 21 are included.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation sequence of the inkjet type line recording apparatus described above.

Step 101: Retract the recording head 4 to the home position.

Step 102: Raise the camping device 5 by the cap device driving morph.

Step 103: Detect whether the cap device 5 has reached the raised position (sensor 39).

Step 104: Stop the motor when the cap device reaches the raised position.

Step 105: Advance the recording head 4 to a position where capping is possible.

Step 106: Turn on the L lift drive motor.

Step 107: Detect (sensor 17) whether or not the ink absorber 21 is in the position to be pressed.

Step 108: Stop the motor when the press is in position.

Step 109I It is checked whether it is necessary to eject ink from the ink ejection port to supply ink to the ink absorber 21 or to perform an ink recovery operation.

Step 1) 0: Sends an ink supply (or ink recovery operation) command to the MPU if necessary.

Step 1) 1: Perform ink ejection.

Step 1) 2: When ink ejection is completed, turn on the squeezing drive motor.

Step 1) 3: Ink absorber 21 by L-bending mechanism
A squeezing operation and an operation of wiping the front surface of the recording head by a wiping mechanism are performed.

The series of operations ends when the squeezing operation is completed.

According to the above embodiment, since the series of operations of the capping device 5 includes the squeezing operation of the ink absorber 21 and the wiping operation of the recording head by the ink absorber, even when the ink recovery operation is repeated, the ink absorption It has become possible to maintain the body's ink absorbing ability at all times and to keep the ink ejection port in a clean and prone state.

In the illustrated embodiment, the case of a CGR having a four-color head unit 9 has been described, but the present invention can be similarly implemented in a monochrome inkjet type line recording apparatus.

〔effect〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in an inkjet line recording device, the ink absorbing ability of the ink absorber of the cap device can be maintained at all times, and the ink ejection port becomes dirty due to thickened ink, etc. The prevention effect can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a CGR suitable for applying the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the mechanism of a drive system of a cap device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the operation of the squeezing mechanism of the cap device shown in FIG. 2;
5 is a block diagram illustrating the control system of the cap device shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the cycle operation of the cap device shown in FIGS. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation sequence of the cap device of FIG. 5. FIG. 4---recording head (full multi-recording head), 5
-------Cap device, 9-----Head unit (recording head), 10--Drive shaft, 14-
-・Series connecting rod, 19-... Squeezing member, 21-・
- Ink absorber. Agent Patent Attorney Yasushi OotoFigure 3ztFigure 4Figure 1 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an inkjet line recording device that applies an ink absorber to the front surface of a recording head in which ink ejection ports are formed to cap it, and performs an ink recovery operation by ejecting ink during capping, following the ink recovery operation, A recording apparatus characterized by comprising a squeezing mechanism that squeezes out the ink by squeezing the ink absorber. (2) The inkjet according to claim 1, further comprising a wiping mechanism that wipes the front surface of the recording head with the ink absorber before squeezing the ink absorber, in conjunction with the squeezing mechanism. Expression line recording device.