EP4620682A1

EP4620682A1 - Maintenance apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP4620682A1
Application number: EP25162688.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kenta UCHIDA; Ryosuke Nishikawa; Kazuo YAGAI; Yasuhiro Katada
Original assignee: Riso Kagaku Corp
Current assignee: Riso Kagaku Corp
Priority date: 2024-03-18
Filing date: 2025-03-10
Publication date: 2025-09-24

Abstract

A maintenance apparatus (1, 2) includes: a wiper (11, 91) configured to wipe an inkjet head (111) that ejects ink (IK) in an ink ejection direction (D2) different from a vertical direction; and a wiper drive unit (20) configured to move the wiper (11, 91) so as to wipe the inkjet head (111) in a wipe direction (D1) upward from a horizontal direction.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a maintenance apparatus including a wiper that wipes an inkjet head.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Conventionally, in order to remove attached substances such as ink droplets and paper dust attached to an ink ejection surface of the inkjet head, for example, a method of pushing out ink in the inkjet head with pressure (purge operation) and then wiping the inkjet head with the wiper is known.
Many inkjet heads eject ink vertically downward, but some inkjet heads eject the ink horizontally. In order to wipe the inkjet head that ejects the ink in a horizontal direction as described above, there is a method of allowing the wiper to wipe vertically downward (see, for example, JP 2012-183664 A ).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As described above, in the inkjet head that ejects the ink in the horizontal direction, purged ink may not remain on the ink ejection surface by flowing vertically downward. Therefore, when the inkjet head is wiped while moving the wiper vertically downward as described above, the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head may be damaged and deteriorated.
In order to wipe the inkjet head that ejects the ink in the horizontal direction, it is also conceivable to move the inkjet head so as to face vertically downward and wipe it while moving the wiper horizontally in the same manner as the inkjet head that ejects the ink vertically downward. However, when direction of the inkjet head is made variable in this way, an occupied area of a space where the inkjet head moves is large, and a drive mechanism for making the direction of the inkjet head variable is necessary.
An object of the present invention is to provide a maintenance apparatus capable of wiping an inkjet head that ejects the ink in a lateral direction with a simple configuration without causing deterioration.
In one aspect, a maintenance apparatus includes: a wiper configured to wipe an inkjet head that ejects ink in an ink ejection direction different from a vertical direction; and a wiper drive unit configured to move the wiper so as to wipe the inkjet head in a wipe direction upward from a horizontal direction.
According to the above aspect, it is possible to wipe the inkjet head that ejects the ink in the lateral direction with a simple configuration without causing deterioration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a main control configuration of an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the inkjet printing apparatus and the like according to the embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating an internal structure of a maintenance apparatus according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a rear view illustrating a wiper unit according to the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the wiper unit according to the embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a right side view illustrating the wiper unit according to the embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a view of FIG. 5 as viewed from a direction VII;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating a waste liquid storage unit according to the embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a view of FIG. 5 as viewed from a direction IX according to a first modification of the embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating the internal structure of the maintenance apparatus according to a second modification of the embodiment;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view illustrating the internal structure of the maintenance apparatus according to another embodiment;
FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating a wiper and waste liquid guide members according to a modification of the other embodiment; and
FIG. 13 is a right side view illustrating the wiper unit according to the modification of the other embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a maintenance apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a maintenance apparatus 2 according to another embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a main control configuration of an inkjet printing apparatus 100.
FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the inkjet printing apparatus 100 and the like.
Note that front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3 to 10 described later, and FIGS. 11 to 13 according to another embodiment are horizontal in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, vertical in the up-down direction, and orthogonal to each other. These directions are an example of a case where an ink ejection direction D2 of the head unit 110 is a horizontal forward direction.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the inkjet printing apparatus 100 includes the maintenance apparatus 1, a head unit 110, a control unit 120, a storage unit 130, an input unit 140, a display unit 150, an interface unit 160, an apparatus moving mechanism 170, and a waste liquid storage unit 180 illustrated in FIG. 8.
The head unit 110 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a plurality of inkjet heads 111 and a head holding member 112 that holds the inkjet heads 111.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, for example, the inkjet head 111 ejects an ink IK (only the ink IK at the time of purging is illustrated by a broken line) in the ink ejection direction D2 (forward direction) in the horizontal direction from a nozzle row (for example, two rows) provided on an ink ejection surface 111a in a front surface. The horizontal direction of the ink ejection direction D2 is an example of a direction different from the vertical direction. The ink ejection direction D2 may be another direction as long as the direction intersects the vertical direction and a transport direction (right direction) of a printing target B, for example, a cardboard box illustrated in FIG. 2.
As an example, the ink ejection surface 111a includes a nozzle surface formed of polyimide resin and provided with a nozzle row, and a front surface of a mask plate positioned around the nozzle surface and protecting the nozzle surface. When the ink ejection surface 111a of the inkjet head 111 is wiped, it can be said that both the nozzle surface and the front surface of the mask plate are wiped. Note that the nozzle surface is preferably subjected to an ink repellent treatment such as coating with an oil repellent film.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, there are 12 inkjet heads 111 of two sets of six inkjet heads 111 arranged in a staggered manner and in a main scanning direction (the up-down direction) orthogonal to the transport direction (right direction) of the printing target B. That is, the set of six inkjet heads 111 arranged in the up-down direction are arranged with their positions in the left-right direction alternately shifted. As an example, one set of six inkjet heads 111 eject inks IK of two colors (for example, black (K) and cyan (C)), and the other set of six inkjet heads 111 eject inks IK of two colors (for example, magenta (M) and yellow (Y)) different from the one set.
The printing target B is, for example, a three-dimensional body such as a rectangular parallelepiped shape like the cardboard box, and printing is performed by the head unit 110 on a side surface (any one of front, rear, left, and right surfaces). Note that for example, when the printing target B is conveyed while being clamped in the front-rear direction, a shape of the printing target B may be a plate shape extending in the vertical direction or a sheet shape such as a paper.
The head holding member 112 is, for example, a plate provided with a hole in a region where the inkjet head 111 is disposed.
The control unit 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a processor (for example, a central processing unit (CPU)) functioning as an arithmetic processing device that controls an operation of the entire inkjet printing apparatus 100, and controls an operation of each unit of the inkjet printing apparatus 100 such as the head unit 110 (inkjet head 111).
The storage unit 130 is, for example, a memory such as a read only memory (ROM) that is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, and a random access memory (RAM) that is a semiconductor memory that can be written and read at any time and is used as a working storage area as necessary when the processor executes various control programs, a hard disk device, or the like.
The input unit 140 is an operation key, a touch panel, or the like that receives information input by a user.
The display unit 150 is a display that displays various types of information.
The interface unit 160 transmits and receives various types of information to and from an external device such as a transport device having a conveyor 200 that conveys the printing target B. Here, a system including the transport device having the conveyor 200 and the inkjet printing apparatus 100 can be referred to as a printing system.
The apparatus moving mechanism 170 includes, for example, a drive unit that is an actuator such as a motor and a holding unit that holds the maintenance apparatus 1, and moves the maintenance apparatus 1 to a retracted position (illustrated by a solid line) on the right side of the head unit 110 and a maintenance position (illustrated by a two-dot chain line) during maintenance facing the head unit 110 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Note that the retracted position of the maintenance apparatus 1 is not limited to the right side of the inkjet printing apparatus 100, and may be another position.
The waste liquid storage unit 180 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a container 181 and a receiving portion 182 and is, for example, disposed at a position lower than the maintenance apparatus 1.
The container 181 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and stores waste liquid W discharged from the maintenance apparatus 1 (a waste liquid collection unit 30 described later).
The receiving portion 182 receives the waste liquid W discharged from a discharge portion 31a of the waste liquid collection unit 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 through a flexible hose (not illustrated). The receiving portion 182 has, for example, a tubular portion extending upward from an opening provided on an upper surface of the container 181 and to which the hose is attached.
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the maintenance apparatus 1 includes a wiper unit 10, a wiper drive unit 20, the waste liquid collection unit 30, a guide unit 40, and a control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the wiper unit 10 includes four wipers 11, a single wiper holding member 12, and eight wiper fixing members 13.
The wiper 11 is, for example, a wiper blade including an elastic body made of rubber. The wiper 11 is disposed at a position where it can contact the ink ejection surface 111a, which is the front surface of the inkjet head 111, at the above-described maintenance position of the maintenance apparatus 1. Although the wiper 11 is illustrated in a state of not being bent in FIG. 3, the wiper may wipe the inkjet head 111 while contacting the inkjet head 111 and bending.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the wiper 11 wipes the inkjet head 111 in a wipe direction D1 that is a vertically upward direction (the wiper unit 10 at a position in the vertically upward direction after movement is illustrated by a broken line). The vertically upward direction that is the wipe direction D1 is an example of a direction upward from the horizontal direction. The wipe direction D1 is desirably a direction orthogonal to the ink ejection direction D2.
As described above, since the two sets of six inkjet heads 111 are arranged in a staggered manner, the inkjet heads 111 are arranged in four rows in a width direction D3 (the left-right direction) of the wiper 11 as illustrated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4. Therefore, the four wipers 11 are arranged to wipe ink ejection surfaces 111a of the four rows of inkjet heads 111. Note that the width direction D3 (left-right direction) is a direction intersecting the wipe direction D1 (upward direction) and the ink ejection direction D2 (forward direction).
From the viewpoint of wiping while storing the wiped ink IK (waste liquid W), the wiper 11 is desirably recessed vertically downward from both ends 11b to a center (valley) 11c in the width direction D3 (left-right direction), and preferably has a V-shaped plate shape as illustrated in FIG. 5.
From the viewpoint of allowing the wiped ink IK (waste liquid W) to flow, the wiper 11 is desirably inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction D2 (forward direction) as illustrated in FIG. 6, and preferably extends obliquely upward from the wiper holding member 12 side toward a tip 11a. Note that since the wiper 11 extends obliquely upward, a contact portion with the inkjet head 111 can be only a corner at a rear end in the tip 11a of the wiper 11. In order to avoid contact with the inkjet head 111 at only the corner of the tip 11a of the wiper 11, it is desirable that a cutout portion C (illustrated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 6) be provided so that the contact portion with the inkjet head 111 is a vertical surface.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the wiper holding member 12 extends in the width direction D3 of the wiper 11 and holds the four wipers 11. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the wiper holding member 12 has a plate shape bent into a horizontal portion 12a and an inclined portion 12b. In order to hold the wiper 11 extending obliquely upward toward the tip 11a as described above, the inclined portion 12b is not a vertical surface but is an inclined surface inclined to form an angle greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees with the horizontal portion 12a. That is, an extending direction of the inclined portion 12b is orthogonal to an extending direction of the wiper 11 (obliquely upward toward the rear).
As illustrated in FIG. 7 (a view of FIG. 5 as viewed from a direction VII), it is desirable that a lower end of the inclined portion 12b of the wiper holding member 12 is positioned at a position vertically above the center 11c of the wiper 11 in the width direction D3, thereby providing a gap G between the lower end of the inclined portion 12b and the center 11c of the wiper 11. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the wiper 11 flows down from the gap G.
Two wiper fixing members 13 are arranged for each wiper 11, and fix the wiper 11 to the wiper holding member 12. The two wiper fixing members 13 each have an L-shaped plate shape including a portion fixed to a lower portion of each of both pieces across the center 11c of the wiper 11 in the width direction D3 and a portion fixed to the inclined portion 12b of the wiper holding member 12.
The wiper drive unit 20 is the actuator such as a motor that moves the wiper 11 (wiper unit 10) so as to wipe the inkjet head 111 (ink ejection surface 111a) in the upward wipe direction D1 as described above.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the wiper drive unit 20 moves the wiper holding member 12 (wiper unit 10) meshing with the guide unit 40 in the vertical direction by rotating the guide unit 40, which is, for example, a ball screw, in both directions. Note that when the maintenance apparatus 1 is at the maintenance position described above, the wiper drive unit 20 allows the wiper 11 to perform wiping operation while moving the wiper unit 10 in the vertically upward direction, and when the maintenance apparatus 1 is at the retracted position described above, the wiper drive unit 20 moves the wiper unit 10 vertically downward to prepare for the next wiping operation.
The waste liquid collection unit 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 covers a periphery of the inkjet head 111 and collects the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the wiper 11. The waste liquid collection unit 30 includes a waste liquid receiver 31 and a cover 32, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape opened rearward.
The waste liquid receiver 31 is wiped by the wiper 11, and receives the waste liquid W in which the ink IK falls together with paper dust, dust, and the like. Therefore, the waste liquid receiver 31 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape opened upward.
A discharge portion 31a for discharging the waste liquid W is provided in a lower portion of the waste liquid receiver 31. The waste liquid W discharged from the discharge portion 31a flows into the receiving portion 182 of the waste liquid storage unit 180 through the above-described flexible hose (not illustrated). The discharge portion 31a has, for example, a tubular portion extending downward from the waste liquid receiver 31 and to which the hose is attached.
The waste liquid receiver 31 includes a bearing 31b that rotatably supports a lower portion of the guide unit 40 described later.
The cover 32 covers the periphery (at least one of the forward direction, the upward direction, and the left-right direction) of the inkjet head 111 to prevent the ink IK (waste liquid W) from spattering when the inkjet head 111 is wiped by the wiper 11. The cover 32 is disposed on top of the waste liquid receiver 31, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape opened rearward together with the waste liquid receiver 31. The waste liquid receiver 31 and the cover 32 may be provided integrally.
The guide unit 40 is a ball screw (screw shaft) extending in the vertical direction, and is disposed to mesh with the wiper holding member 12 of the wiper unit 10 and penetrate the wiper holding member 12. Therefore, the wiper unit 10 moves vertically upward (in the wipe direction D1) or vertically downward (in a return direction) according to a rotation direction of the guide unit 40.
As described above, the lower portion of the guide unit 40 is supported by the bearing 31b of the waste liquid receiver 31. The above-described wiper drive unit 20 is disposed at an upper end of the guide unit 40, and the guide unit 40 is rotated by driving of the wiper drive unit 20. Note that the wiper drive unit 20 is fixed to the top (an upper surface) of the waste liquid receiver 31 (waste liquid collection unit 30), and the guide unit 40 is rotatably supported on the top of the waste liquid receiver 31.
The control unit 50 of the maintenance apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a processor (for example, the central processing unit (CPU)) functioning as the arithmetic processing device that controls an operation of the maintenance apparatus 1, and controls an operation of the wiper drive unit 20. Note that control of the maintenance apparatus 1 by the control unit 50 may be performed by the control unit 120 of the inkjet printing apparatus 100. In this case, the control unit 120 of the inkjet printing apparatus 100 can be regarded as the control unit 50 of the maintenance apparatus 1.
Next, the wiping operation using the wiper 11 will be described while omitting matters overlapping with the above description as appropriate. The wiping operation is performed, for example, every predetermined number of times of printing or every elapsed time, performed when the inkjet head 111 is clogged, or performed based on a user operation on the input unit 140 illustrated in FIG. 1.
First, the apparatus moving mechanism 170 illustrated in FIG. 1 moves the maintenance apparatus 1 at the retracted position (illustrated by the solid line) on the right side of the head unit 110 in FIG. 2 to the maintenance position (illustrated by the two-dot chain line) facing the head unit 110 during maintenance.
When the maintenance apparatus 1 is moved, the maintenance apparatus 1 is positioned to cover the inkjet head 111 during maintenance as illustrated in FIG. 3, and thus the apparatus moving mechanism 170 moves the maintenance apparatus 1 to a position in the forward direction of the head unit 110 facing the head unit 110, and then moves the maintenance apparatus 1 rearward to bring the maintenance apparatus 1 and the head unit 110 into contact with or close to each other. When the maintenance apparatus 1 and the head unit 110 come into contact with each other, it is desirable that the waste liquid collection unit 30 of the maintenance apparatus 1 and the head holding member 112 of the head unit 110 come into contact with each other.
When the maintenance apparatus 1 moves to the maintenance position, the wiper drive unit 20 moves the wiper unit 10 to a standby position in the downward direction in advance so that the wiper 11 is located at a position lower than the inkjet head 111 in the vertical direction.
Then, the inkjet head 111 ejects a purge ink (the ink IK) from the ink ejection surface 111a (nozzle row). The purged ink IK moves vertically downward by its own weight. Note that in FIG. 3, the purged ink IK is illustrated by a broken line only in a lowermost inkjet head 111.
Thereafter, the wiper 11 moves in the wipe direction D1. Thus, the waste liquid W (for example, the purged ink IK, the ink IK originally attached to the ink ejection surface 111a, the paper dust, dust, and the like included in these inks IK) wiped by the wiper 11 flows along the wiper 11 and flows down from the gap G below the wiper holding member 12 illustrated in FIG. 7 to the waste liquid receiver 31 of the waste liquid collection unit 30.
After the four wipers 11 wipe the ink ejection surfaces 111a of all the inkjet heads 111, color mixing of the ink IK in the nozzle row (ink ejection surface 111a) can be improved by a flushing operation in which the inkjet head 111 drives a piezoelectric element to eject the ink IK from the nozzle row.
Thereafter, the apparatus moving mechanism 170 moves the maintenance apparatus 1 to the retracted position illustrated by the solid line in FIG. 2. Then, at the retracted position of the maintenance apparatus 1, the wiper drive unit 20 returns the wiper unit 10 (wiper 11) to the standby position vertically below the inkjet head 111 to prepare for the next wiping operation.

FIG. 9 is a view of FIG. 5 as viewed from a direction IX according to a first modification. Note that in FIG. 9, an upper portion of the wiper 11 and the wiper fixing members 13, which are hidden by the wiper holding member 12, are illustrated by broken lines.
An adjustment mechanism 60 illustrated in FIG. 9 adjusts directions of the both pieces across the center 11c in the width direction D3 of the wiper 11. The adjustment mechanism 60 includes an adjustment drive unit 61 and transmission gears 62 to 64.
The adjustment drive unit 61 is the actuator such as a motor that meshes with the transmission gears 62 and 64 at a drive shaft to rotate the transmission gears 62 to 64, and drive control is performed by the control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 1.
The transmission gear 62 penetrates the wiper holding member 12 and is fixed to the wiper fixing member 13 on the right piece. Therefore, when the transmission gear 62 rotates in a direction opposite to the adjustment drive unit 61, the wiper fixing member 13 rotates, and a direction of a right piece of the wiper 11 fixed to the wiper fixing member 13 is adjusted.
A power of the adjustment drive unit 61 is transmitted to the transmission gear 63 via the transmission gear 64. Then, the transmission gear 63 penetrates the wiper holding member 12 and is fixed to the wiper fixing member 13 on the left piece. Therefore, when the transmission gear 63 rotates, the wiper fixing member 13 rotates, and a direction of a left piece of the wiper 11 fixed to the wiper fixing member 13 is adjusted.
As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the adjustment drive unit 61 rotates counterclockwise, the transmission gear 62 rotates clockwise, and the transmission gear 63 rotates counterclockwise. As a result, the directions of the both pieces of the wiper 11 are adjusted in a direction in which an angle formed by the both pieces is widened. Further, in contrast to an example of FIG. 9, when the adjustment drive unit 61 rotates clockwise, the transmission gear 62 rotates counterclockwise, and the transmission gear 63 rotates clockwise. In this case, the directions of the both pieces of the wiper 11 are adjusted so that the angle formed by the both pieces is narrowed.
Here, the control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 1 controls the adjustment mechanism 60 (adjustment drive unit 61) so as to adjust directions of both pieces of the wiper 11 based on at least one of physical properties (viscosity and surface tension) of the ink IK ejected by the inkjet head 111 and an ejection amount of the ink IK (purge ink) during maintenance.
For example, when the viscosity of the ink IK is high or the ejection amount is large (for example, when nozzle clogging occurs), the control unit 50 preferably adjusts the directions of the both pieces of the wiper 11 in a direction in which the angle formed by the both pieces is narrowed, and when the viscosity of the ink IK is low or the ejection amount is small, the control unit 50 preferably adjusts the directions of the both pieces of the wiper 11 in a direction in which the angle formed by the both pieces is widened (up to 180 degrees).
Alternatively, the control unit 50 may control the adjustment mechanism 60 (adjustment drive unit 61) so as to adjust the directions of the both pieces of the wiper 11 based on operation of the user on the input unit 140 illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating an internal structure of the maintenance apparatus 1 according to a second modification.
The structure of the maintenance apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 10 can be the same as the structure of the maintenance apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 3 described above. In the second modification, as described above, the wiper 11 can switch between a case of wiping the inkjet head 111 in the wipe direction D1 that is the vertically upward direction (an example of an upward direction from the horizontal direction) and a case of wiping the inkjet head 111 in a vertically downward direction (an example of a downward direction from the horizontal direction) (the wiper unit 10 at a position in the downward direction after the movement is illustrated by a broken line).
As in the above-described embodiment, when the ejection amount of the ink IK (ejection amount of the purge ink) during maintenance of the inkjet head 111 is small and an amount of the ink IK remaining on the ink ejection surface 111a is small, when the wiper 11 wipes the inkjet head 111 in the vertically downward direction, there is a possibility that the ink ejection surface is damaged and deteriorated as described above, and thus the control unit 50 controls the wiper drive unit 20 to move the wiper unit 10 in the vertically upward direction.
On the other hand, for example, when a degree of fall at which the ink IK purged from the inkjet head 111 moves downward by its own weight is low (when the ink IK remains at an upper portion of the ink ejection surface 111a) based on the physical properties (viscosity, surface tension, and the like) of the ink IK, there is no risk of the above-described deterioration, and thus the control unit 50 controls the wiper drive unit 20 to move the wiper unit 10 in the vertically downward direction. However, when the ejection amount of the ink IK (ejection amount of the purge ink) during maintenance of the inkjet head 111 is large and the amount of the ink IK remaining on the ink ejection surface 111a is large, the wiper 11 may wipe the inkjet head 111 in the wipe direction D1 that is the vertically upward direction, and when the ink IK overflows from the wiper 11, the control unit 50 may prioritize prevention of overflow and control the wiper drive unit 20 to move the wiper unit 10 in the vertically downward direction.

In the above description, a case where the wiper 11 has a V-shaped plate shape has been described as an example, but the wiper 11 may have another shape such as a U-shaped plate shape as a shape recessed vertically downward from the both ends 11b to the center 11c in the width direction D3 of the wiper 11. In addition, the wiper 11 may have another shape such as a flat plate shape that is not recessed vertically downward from the both ends 11b to the center 11c.
The wiper 11 may have a shape such as a V-shaped plate shape recessed vertically downward from the both ends 11b to the center 11c by combining two wiper pieces.
In the above description, the wiper 11 is inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction D2 that is a lateral direction, but the wiper 11 may extend parallel to the ink ejection direction D2. Further, the wiper 11 described above extends in a straight line inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction D2, but may be inclined downward from the horizontal direction while being curved or bent. Furthermore, regardless of a direction of the wiper 11, a groove for allowing the ink IK (waste liquid W) to flow forward or toward the center 11c is preferably provided on an upper surface (particularly, a part on the tip 11a side) of the wiper 11.
Although the wiper holding member 12 holds the four wipers 11 in the above description, the maintenance apparatus 1 may include a single wiper 11, for example, when only one inkjet head 111 is disposed. In addition, a plurality of wiper holding members 12 may be arranged up and down, and the wipers 11 held by the respective wiper holding members 12 may be arranged side by side in the vertical direction.
In the above description, the waste liquid storage unit 180 is disposed in the inkjet printing apparatus 100, but can be regarded as a part of the maintenance apparatus 1.
In the above description, the single guide unit 40 is disposed, but a plurality of the guide units 40 may be arranged in parallel, and the single wiper drive unit 20 may, for example, rotate the plurality of guide units 40 by rotating a drive belt. In this case, the plurality of guide units 40 penetrate the single wiper holding member 12. Alternatively, if synchronization control can be performed, a plurality of the wiper drive units 20 each driving a separate guide unit 40 may be arranged.
In the present embodiment described above, the maintenance apparatus 1 includes the wiper 11 configured to wipe the inkjet head 111 ejecting the ink IK in the ink ejection direction D2 (forward direction) different from the vertical direction, and the wiper drive unit 20 configured to move the wiper 11 so as to wipe the inkjet head 111 in the wipe direction D1 upward from the horizontal direction.
Meanwhile, in the inkjet head 111 that ejects the ink IK in the ink ejection direction D2 in the horizontal direction, the purged ink IK may not remain on the ink ejection surface 111a by flowing vertically downward. Therefore, when the inkjet head 111 is wiped while moving the wiper 11 vertically downward, the ink ejection surface 111a may be damaged and deteriorated. Further, the wiped ink IK may adhere to the inkjet head 111 moved in the downward direction. In contrast, in the present embodiment, since the inkjet head 111 is wiped while moving the wiper 11 in the wipe direction D1 upward (for example, in the vertically upward direction) from the horizontal direction, the wiping operation can be performed while storing the ink IK in the wiper 11. Thus, the ink IK stored in the wiper 11 protects the ink ejection surface 111a, and deterioration of the ink ejection surface 111a can be prevented. Further, the wiped ink IK can be prevented from falling and adhering to the inkjet head 111 located in the vertically downward direction. Furthermore, as compared with an aspect in which the wiping operation is performed after a direction of the inkjet head 111 is changed so that the ink ejection surface 111a is directed vertically downward, a driving mechanism for making an occupied area of a space where the inkjet head 111 moves and the direction of the inkjet head 111 variable can be omitted. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to wipe the inkjet head 111 that ejects the ink IK in the lateral direction with a simple configuration without causing deterioration.
In the present embodiment, the maintenance apparatus 1 further includes the waste liquid collection unit 30 that covers the periphery of the inkjet head 111 and collects the waste liquid W (ink IK) wiped by the wiper 11.
Thus, it is possible to prevent scattering of the ink IK due to the wiping operation in the wipe direction D1 that is the vertically upward direction by the wiper 11 while collecting the waste liquid W.
In the present embodiment, the wiper 11 is inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction D2.
Thus, the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the wiper 11 flows downward from the horizontal direction, and the ink IK can be prevented from overflowing from the wiper 11 in the width direction D3.
In the present embodiment, the wiper 11 is recessed vertically downward from the both ends 11b to the center 11c (for example, V-shaped plate shape) in the width direction D3 (horizontal direction) intersecting, for example, the wipe direction D1 that is the vertically upward direction and, for example, the ink ejection direction D2 in the horizontal direction.
Thus, the wiping operation can be performed while storing the ink IK in the wiper 11. Therefore, the ink IK can be prevented from overflowing from the wiper 11 in the width direction D3.
In the first modification of the present embodiment, the maintenance apparatus 1 further includes the adjustment mechanism 60 that adjusts the directions of the both pieces across the center 11c in the width direction D3 of the wiper 11.
Thus, the amount of the ink IK stored in the wiper 11 can be adjusted. Therefore, the ink IK can be prevented from overflowing from the wiper 11 in the width direction D3. Further, when a possibility that the ink IK overflows from the wiper 11 is low, by allowing the ink IK to flow without unnecessarily storing the ink IK in the center 11c of the wiper 11, the ink IK can be suppressed from remaining in the inkjet head 111 after the wiping operation.
In the first modification of the present embodiment, the maintenance apparatus 1 includes the control unit 50 that controls the adjustment mechanism 60 so as to adjust the directions of the both pieces across the center 11c in the width direction D3 of the wiper 11 based on at least one of the physical properties of the ink IK ejected by the inkjet head 111 and the ejection amount during maintenance.
Thus, for example, when the viscosity of the ink IK is high or the ejection amount is large, the direction of the wiper 11 can be adjusted so that the angle formed by the both pieces of the wiper 11 is narrowed, and the amount of the ink IK stored in the wiper 11 can be increased. Therefore, the ink IK can be more reliably prevented from overflowing from the wiper 11 in the width direction D3.
In the second modification of the present embodiment, the wiper 11 can switch between a case of wiping the inkjet head 111 in the wipe direction D1 that is the vertically upward direction, which is the example of the upward direction from the horizontal direction, and a case of wiping the inkjet head 111 in the vertically downward direction (a direction opposite to the wipe direction D1), which is the example of the downward direction from the horizontal direction.
Meanwhile, when a remaining amount of the purged ink IK on the ink ejection surface 111a is large, when the wiper 11 wipes the inkjet head 111 in the wipe direction D1 that is the vertically upper direction, the ink IK easily overflows from the wiper 11. Therefore, when the remaining amount of the ink IK on the ink ejection surface 111a increases based on at least one of the physical properties of the ink IK ejected by the inkjet head 111 and the ejection amount during maintenance, the control unit 50 can prevent the ink IK from overflowing from the wiper 11 in the width direction D3 by causing the wiper 11 to wipe the inkjet head 111 in the vertically downward direction.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view illustrating the internal structure of the maintenance apparatus 2 according to another embodiment.
The maintenance apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment can be configured similarly to the maintenance apparatus 1 except that the maintenance apparatus 2 further includes a waste liquid guide member 70 and a movable waste liquid receiver 80 in addition to configuration of the maintenance apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only matters different from the above-described embodiment will be described.
The waste liquid guide member 70 illustrated in FIG. 11 allows the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the wiper 11 to flow from the wiper 11 along the waste liquid guide member 70. The waste liquid guide member 70 extends, for example, from a front end at the center 11c (see FIG. 6) of the wiper 11 to an inside of the movable waste liquid receiver 80 described later. Four waste liquid guide members 70 as many as the wipers 11 are preferably arranged. As the waste liquid guide member 70, for example, a columnar or polygonal columnar bar (rod, stick), a string, an elongated strip-shaped sheet, an elongated strip-shaped plate, or a chain that allows the ink IK to flow along an outer peripheral surface thereof, or a tube (pipe) having a flow path of the ink IK therein, or the like can be used. When a plate is used as the waste liquid guide member 70, it is preferable that a groove serving as the flow path of the ink IK is provided in the plate, or the plate is formed in a U-shape or a V-shape as a whole.
The movable waste liquid receiver 80 moves with the wiper 11 and receives the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the wiper 11. Four movable waste liquid receivers 80 as many as the wipers 11 are preferably arranged. As described above, when the waste liquid guide member 70 that allows the ink IK wiped by the wiper 11 to flow is disposed, the movable waste liquid receiver 80 receives the ink IK wiped by the wiper 11 and flowing along the waste liquid guide member 70.
The movable waste liquid receiver 80 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape opened upward. The movable waste liquid receiver 80 is meshed with the guide unit 40 below the wiper holding member 12 of the wiper unit 10 in the same manner as the wiper holding member 12. That is, the guide unit 40 penetrates the movable waste liquid receiver 80. The movable waste liquid receiver 80 moves up and down integrally with the wiper 11 (wiper unit 10) as the above-described guide unit 40 rotates. A region where the guide unit 40 penetrates the movable waste liquid receiver 80 is preferably a storage region of the ink IK in the movable waste liquid receiver 80.
For example, it is preferable that the ink IK stored in the movable waste liquid receiver 80 flows to the above-described movable waste liquid receiver 31 from a gap between a screw of the guide unit 40 and the waste liquid receiver 80 along the guide unit 40, or flows to the waste liquid receiver 31 through a flexible hose connecting the movable waste liquid receiver 80 and the waste liquid receiver 31.
In the other embodiment described above, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment, that is, an effect that the inkjet head 111 that ejects ink IK in the lateral direction can be wiped with a simple configuration and without causing deterioration, and the like can be obtained.
In the present embodiment, the maintenance apparatus 2 further includes the waste liquid guide member 70. The waste liquid guide member 70 allows the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the wiper 11 to flow from the wiper 11 along the waste liquid guide member 70.
Thus, since the waste liquid W wiped by the wiper 11 can be guided to an intended region such as the movable waste liquid receiver 80, it is possible to suppress the waste liquid W from directly falling from the wiper 11. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the head unit 110 from being defaced, for example, by the waste liquid W bouncing back on a bottom surface of the waste liquid receiver 31 and adhering to the vicinity of the inkjet head 111 (head unit 110).
In the present embodiment, the maintenance apparatus 2 further includes the movable waste liquid receiver 80. The movable waste liquid receiver 80 moves with the wiper 11 and receives the waste liquid W (ink IK) wiped by the wiper 11.
Thus, even if the wiper 11 moves upward along with wiping, the movable waste liquid receiver 80 moves upward together with the wiper 11, so that it is possible to suppress an increase in fall distance of the waste liquid W falling from the wiper 11 (or the waste liquid guide member 70). Therefore, it is possible to suppress the head unit 110 from being defaced, for example, by the waste liquid W bouncing back on the bottom surface of the waste liquid receiver 31 and adhering to the vicinity of the inkjet head 111 (head unit 110).
Note that in the above description, the waste liquid guide member 70 extends from the front end of the wiper 11, but preferably contacts the front end of the wiper 11 while being fixed to the wiper holding member 12 or the like. Further, the waste liquid guide member 70 may be directly fixed to the wiper 11 or may be fixed to the wiper fixing member 13. Note that even when there is a gap between the wiper 11 and the waste liquid guide member 70 or when the ink IK flows from the wiper 11 to the waste liquid guide member 70 via another member (for example, the wiper holding member 12), the waste liquid guide member 70 can allow the ink IK to flow from the wiper 11 along the waste liquid guide member 70.
In the above description, the waste liquid guide member 70 allows the ink IK to flow from the front end of the wiper 11 to the inside of the movable waste liquid receiver 80, but the waste liquid guide member 70 may extend toward the guide unit 40 so that the ink IK flows from the wiper 11 to the guide unit 40, or may extend to above the movable waste liquid receiver 80 and allow the ink IK to slightly fall from the waste liquid guide member 70 to the movable waste liquid receiver 80.
The waste liquid guide member 70 described above extends, for example, straight up and down while being inclined forward as it goes downward from above, but a direction in which the waste liquid guide member 70 extends is desirably vertically downward or a direction inclined from vertically downward to the ink ejection direction D2 (forward) so as to be away from the inkjet head 111, but may extend horizontally, and the extending direction is not particularly limited. Further, the waste liquid guide member 70 may extend in a curved manner. For example, when the wiper 11 is inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction D2 (forward direction) (see FIG. 6), the waste liquid guide member 70 may have an upper portion extending in a direction in which the wiper 11 is inclined and a lower portion extending vertically downward and be curved between the upper portion and the lower portion.
In the above description, the movable waste liquid receiver 80 moves up and down with rotation of the guide unit 40, but can move together with the wiper 11 even if it is fixed to the wiper unit 10. Alternatively, the wiper unit 10 may be connected to the movable waste liquid receiver 80 that meshes with the guide unit 40, and the wiper unit 10 may not mesh with the guide unit 40. Further, the single movable waste liquid receiver 80 may receive the waste liquid W from the plurality of (for example, four) waste liquid guide members 70.
In the above description, both the waste liquid guide member 70 and the movable waste liquid receiver 80 are arranged, but one may be omitted. When the waste liquid guide member 70 is omitted, if the ink IK wiped by the wiper 11 falls into the movable waste liquid receiver 80, the fall distance can be shortened. When the movable waste liquid receiver 80 is omitted, the waste liquid guide member 70 allows the ink IK to flow along the waste liquid guide member 70, so that the fall distance can be made shorter than when the ink IK directly falls from the wiper 11.

FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating a wiper 91 and waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 according to a modification of the other embodiment.
As illustrated in FIG. 12, unlike the wiper 11 described above, the wiper 91 of the present modification has a downward inverted V-shaped plate shape by being inclined vertically downward from a center 91c (an adjacent portion between a left piece 91-1 and a right piece 91-2) to both ends 91b in the width direction D3 (left-right direction). The wiper 91 includes, for example, two separate left piece 91-1 and right piece 91-2. In FIG. 12, the left piece 91-1 is illustrated to be slightly higher than the right piece 91-2, but these heights may be the same.
The two waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 of the present modification are arranged, and one waste liquid guide member 71 is fixed to a left front end of the left piece 91-1 of the wiper 91, and allows the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the left piece 91-1 to flow from the left piece 91-1 to the movable waste liquid receiver 80 along the left piece 91-1. Further, the other waste liquid guide member 72 is fixed to a right front end of the right piece 91-2 of the wiper 91, and allows the ink IK (waste liquid W) wiped by the right piece 91-2 to flow from the right piece 91-2 to the movable waste liquid receiver 80 along the left piece 91-2. It is preferable that the waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 are curved between an upper portion and a lower portion such that the upper portion extends obliquely downward in a direction in which the wiper 91 (the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2) extends in a front view (FIG. 12) and the lower portion extends vertically downward. The waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 are, for example, columnar or polygonal columnar bars that allow the ink IK to flow along outer peripheral surfaces, and can have the same structure as the waste liquid guide member 70 illustrated in FIG. 11 described above.
As illustrated in FIG. 13, from the viewpoint of allowing the wiped ink IK (waste liquid W) to flow, the wiper 91 is desirably inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction D2 (forward direction), and preferably extends obliquely upward from a wiper holding member 92 side toward a tip 91a. Similarly to the wiper unit 10 illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6 described above, a wiper unit 90 in the present modification includes, for example, four wipers 91, a single wiper holding member 92 having a horizontal portion 92a and an inclined portion 92b, and eight wiper fixing members 93. Since the wiper 91 extends obliquely upward, a contact portion with the inkjet head 111 may be only a corner at a rear end in the tip 91a of the wiper 91. In order to avoid contact with the inkjet head 111 at only the corner of the tip 91a of the wiper 91, it is desirable that the cutout portion C (illustrated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 13) be provided so that the contact portion with the inkjet head 111 is the vertical surface. Note that in FIG. 13, the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 are illustrated as being integrated. In this manner, the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 may be provided integrally.
Two wiper fixing members 93 illustrated in FIG. 13 are arranged for each wiper 91, and fix the wiper 91 to the wiper holding member 92 (only the wiper fixing member 93 fixing the right piece 91-2 to the wiper holding member 92 is illustrated in FIG. 13). Similarly to the wiper fixing member 13 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the two wiper fixing members 93 each have an L-shaped plate shape including a portion (in FIG. 13, since it is hidden by the wiper 91, it is illustrated by a broken line which is a hidden line) fixed to a lower surface of each of the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 and a portion fixed to the inclined portion 92b of the wiper holding member 92.
Note that the waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 are preferably provided at the front end of the wiper 91 particularly when the wiper 91 is inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction D2 (forward direction), however, the ink IK may flow from any position in the ink ejection direction D2 of the wiper 91 without being limited to the front end of the wiper 91.
Directions of the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 of the wiper 91 are also preferably adjusted by the adjustment mechanism 60 illustrated in FIG. 9. Then, the control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 1 controls the adjustment mechanism 60 so as to adjust the directions of the both pieces of the wiper 11 based on at least one of the physical properties (viscosity and surface tension) of the ink IK ejected by the inkjet head 111 and the ejection amount of the ink IK (purge ink) during maintenance.
The direction of the wiper 91 is preferably adjusted in a direction in which an angle formed by the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 is narrowed when the viscosity of the ink IK is high or the ejection amount is large (for example, when the nozzle clogging occurs), and is preferably adjusted in a direction in which the angle formed by the both pieces of the wiper 11 is widened (up to 180 degrees) when the viscosity of the ink IK is low or the ejection amount is small. Alternatively, the control unit 50 may control the adjustment mechanism 60 so as to adjust the directions of the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 based on the operation of the user on the input unit 140 illustrated in FIG. 1.
In the modification of the other embodiment described above, the wiper 91 is inclined vertically downward from the center 91c to the both ends 91b (for example, downward inverted V-shaped plate shape) in the width direction D3 (horizontal direction) intersecting, for example, the wipe direction D1 that is the vertically upper direction and, for example, the ink ejection direction D2 in the horizontal direction.
Meanwhile, in the wiper 11 having a V-shaped plate shape illustrated in FIG. 5 and the like described above, when the wiper 11 wipes the inkjet head 111 in the upward wipe direction D1 particularly when the ejection amount of the ink IK is large, the ink IK may overflow from the wiper 11 in the width direction D3 or toward the inkjet head 111. In contrast, in the present modification, the ink IK is dispersed from the center 91c of the wiper 91 to the both ends 91b, and the ink IK can flow, for example, toward the intended region such as a region where the waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 are provided, and thus the ink IK is less likely to overflow from the wiper 91. Further, in the present modification, the center 91c (apex of the inverted V shape), which is an upper end of the wiper 91, is located at a center in the width direction D3 of the ink ejection surface 111a of the inkjet head 111, and the wiping of the ink ejection surface 111a can be started upward from the center. Therefore, the wiped ink IK in the vicinity of the center 91c of the wiper 91 can continue to flow toward the waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 through the nozzle row of the ink ejection surface 111a by gravity. Thus, the deterioration of the ink ejection surface 111a can be prevented similarly to a case where the above-described wiper 11 having the V-shaped plate shape stores the ink IK to prevent the deterioration (empty wipe) of the ink ejection surface 111a.
Also in the present modification, the adjustment mechanism 60 adjusts the directions of the both pieces across the center 91c in the width direction D3 of the wiper 91. Further, the control unit 50 controls the adjustment mechanism 60 so as to adjust the directions of the both pieces across the center 11c in the width direction D3 of the wiper 11 based on at least one of the physical properties of the ink IK ejected by the inkjet head 111 and the ejection amount during maintenance.
Thus, for example, when the viscosity of the ink IK is high or the ejection amount is large, by adjusting the directions of the both pieces in a direction in which the angle formed by the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 of the wiper 91 of the inverted V-shaped plate shape is narrowed, the waste liquid W can be allowed to flow quickly from the ink ejection surface 111a of the inkjet head 111 to each of the left piece 91-1 side and the right piece 91-2 side. Further, on the contrary, by adjusting the directions of the both pieces in a direction in which the angle formed by the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 is widened, the waste liquid W can be kept relatively long on the ink ejection surface 111a.
In the description of the modification of the other embodiment described above, the wiper 91 (the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2) has the downward inverted V-shaped plate shape, but may be provided horizontally. Further, in particular when the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 are separate bodies as in the present modification, since a degree of freedom of adjustment of the angle formed by the left piece 91-1 and the right piece 91-2 increases, it is easy to perform adjustment of changing the wiper 91 between the inverted V-shaped plate shape, a horizontal plate shape, and the V-shaped plate shape.
In the present modification, at least one of the waste liquid guide members 71 and 72 and the movable waste liquid receiver 80 is disposed, and the wiper 91 has the downward inverted V-shaped plate shape, however, as in the above-described embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 10, when the waste liquid guide members 70 to 72 and the movable waste liquid receiver 80 are not arranged, the wiper 11 (wiper 91) may have the downward inverted V-shaped plate shape.
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and constituent elements can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist thereof at an implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, all the constituent elements shown in the embodiments may be appropriately combined. It is a matter of course that various modifications and applications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Hereinafter, the invention described in the specification and drawings of the present application will be additionally described.

[Supplementary note 1]

A maintenance apparatus including:

a wiper configured to wipe an inkjet head that ejects ink in an ink ejection direction different from a vertical direction; and
a wiper drive unit configured to move the wiper so as to wipe the inkjet head in a wipe direction upward from a horizontal direction.

[Supplementary note 2]

The maintenance apparatus according to supplementary note 1, further including
a waste liquid collection unit that covers a periphery of the inkjet head and collects waste liquid wiped by the wiper.

[Supplementary note 3]

The maintenance apparatus according to supplementary note 1 or 2, in which
the wiper is inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction.

[Supplementary note 4]

The maintenance apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 3, in which
the wiper is recessed vertically downward from both ends to a center of the wiper, in a width direction intersecting the wipe direction and the ink ejection direction.

[Supplementary note 5]

The maintenance apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 3, in which
the wiper is inclined vertically downward from a center to both ends of the wiper, in a width direction intersecting the wipe direction and the ink ejection direction.

[Supplementary note 6]

The maintenance apparatus according to supplementary note 4 or 5, further including
an adjustment mechanism that adjusts directions of both pieces across the center in the width direction of the wiper.

[Supplementary note 7]

The maintenance apparatus according to supplementary note 6, further including
a control unit that controls the adjustment mechanism so as to adjust the directions based on at least one of physical properties of the ink ejected by the inkjet head and an ejection amount during maintenance.

[Supplementary note 8]

The maintenance apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 7, further including
a waste liquid guide member that allows the waste liquid wiped by the wiper to flow from the wiper along the waste liquid guide member.

[Supplementary note 9]

The maintenance apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 8, further including
a movable waste liquid receiver that moves with the wiper and receives the waste liquid wiped by the wiper.

Claims

A maintenance apparatus (1, 2) comprising:
a wiper (11, 91) configured to wipe an inkjet head (111) that ejects ink (IK) in an ink ejection direction (D2) different from a vertical direction; and

a wiper drive unit (20) configured to move the wiper (11, 91) so as to wipe the inkjet head (111) in a wipe direction (D1) upward from a horizontal direction.
The maintenance apparatus (1, 2) according to claim 1, further comprising
a waste liquid collection unit (30) that covers a periphery of the inkjet head (111) and collects waste liquid (W) wiped by the wiper (11, 91).
The maintenance apparatus (1, 2) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
the wiper (11, 91) is inclined downward from the horizontal direction in the ink ejection direction (D2).
The maintenance apparatus (1, 2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
the wiper (11) is recessed vertically downward from both ends (11b) to a center (11c) of the wiper (11), in a width direction (D3) intersecting the wipe direction (D1) and the ink ejection direction (D2).
The maintenance apparatus (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
the wiper (91) is inclined vertically downward from a center (91c) to both ends (91b) of the wiper (91), in a width direction (D3) intersecting the wipe direction (D1) and the ink ejection direction (D2).
The maintenance apparatus (1, 2) according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising
an adjustment mechanism (60) that adjusts directions of both pieces across the center (11c, 91c) in the width direction (D3) of the wiper (11, 91).
The maintenance apparatus (1, 2) according to claim 6, further comprising
a control unit (50) that controls the adjustment mechanism (60) so as to adjust the directions based on at least one of physical properties of the ink (IK) ejected by the inkjet head (111) and an ejection amount during maintenance.
The maintenance apparatus (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising
a waste liquid guide member (70, 71, 72) that allows the waste liquid (W) wiped by the wiper (11, 91) to flow from the wiper (11, 91) along the waste liquid guide member (70, 71, 72).
The maintenance apparatus (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising
a movable waste liquid receiver (80) that moves with the wiper (11, 91) and receives the waste liquid (W) wiped by the wiper (11, 91).