JP2001179999A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder in which an image is prevented from being disturbed by preventing oil, leaked through a cap part and adhering to a nozzle plate, from spreading to contaminate the nozzle opening. SOLUTION: The ink jet recorder comprises an ink jet recording head for printing on a recording medium by ejecting ink drops from nozzle openings 49 made in a nozzle plate 41, a capping member 38 having a cap part 16 abutting on the nozzle plate 41, and a wiper for cleaning off foreign matters adhering to the surface of the nozzle plate 41 wherein an oil spread blocking means for receiving oil adhering to the nozzle plate 41 is provided in the region of the nozzle plate 41 abutting on the cap part 16 or between the nozzle opening 49 and the abutting region.

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 capping a recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus, and more specifically, to an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing ink contamination at nozzle openings of a head. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of personal computers, graphic processing has become relatively easy to execute. Therefore, there is a demand for a recording apparatus capable of outputting a hard copy of, for example, a color image displayed on a display with high quality. In order to meet such a demand, a recording apparatus equipped with an ink jet recording head has been provided. This ink jet recording apparatus is used for many printings including color printing because the noise at the time of printing is relatively small and small dots can be formed at a high density.

[0003] Such an ink jet recording apparatus is
An ink jet recording head that receives supply of ink from the ink storage unit, and a paper feeding unit that moves the recording paper relatively to the recording head, wherein the recording head is perpendicular to the paper feeding direction according to a print signal. While moving to
Print recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets on recording paper to form dots. Since a common head holder (carriage) is provided with a recording head capable of ejecting black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks, the ejection ratio of each ink is changed as well as text printing using black ink. This enables full-color printing.

In such an ink jet recording head, the ink pressurized in the pressure generating chamber is ejected as ink droplets from a nozzle opening onto recording paper to perform printing. There is a problem that nozzle openings are clogged due to an increase in viscosity, solidification of ink, non-adhesion of dust, and mixing of air bubbles, resulting in poor printing. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus usually includes a capping device for sealing the nozzle openings of the recording head during non-printing, and a cleaning device for cleaning the nozzle plate.

Among these, the capping device not only functions as a lid for preventing the ink from being dried at the nozzle opening, but also when the nozzle opening becomes clogged, the capping member causes the nozzle opening of the ink jet type recording head to be clogged. And a function of sucking ink from the nozzle opening by negative pressure from the suction pump to eliminate clogging of the nozzle opening. The process of forcibly discharging ink to clear the clogging of the printhead is usually called a cleaning operation, and is used when printing is resumed after a long pause or when the user clears the clogged printhead. This process is performed when a cleaning switch on the operation panel is operated, and involves a process of wiping a nozzle plate by a cleaning member formed of an elastic plate such as rubber after discharging ink droplets by negative pressure.

[0006] The ink jet recording apparatus also has a function of ejecting ink droplets by applying a drive signal unrelated to printing to a recording head, which is usually called a flushing operation, and is mainly performed during printing. This operation is performed at regular intervals in order to prevent clogging of the nozzle opening where ejection of ink droplets is small. During such a cleaning operation or a flushing operation, the capping member that receives the discharged ink is generally provided with a holder portion that forms the exterior portion, and a cap that is disposed in the holder portion and that can contact the nozzle plate of the recording head. Unit. In particular, the cap portion is made of, for example, butyl rubber or ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) or the like in order to secure adhesion to the recording head during a cleaning operation, and these are generally formed using a compression molding method. ing. A capping member is formed by fitting these molded rubbers into a holder molded as a separate member.

By the way, the butyl rubber or EPDM constituting the above-mentioned cap portion requires not only a step of adding a vulcanizing agent at the time of molding, but also a step of washing a molded article because the vulcanizing agent emits an odor. It is. Further, butyl rubber or EPDM is not always chemically stable with various inks, and may cause dissatisfaction with corrosion resistance with various inks. Also, butyl rubber or E
Since PDM materials are generally molded by a compression molding method, dimensional accuracy is not constant due to variations in the thickness of the material, and at present, it is required to confirm all finishes from the viewpoint of quality assurance.

As an alternative to butyl rubber or EPDM having the above-mentioned drawbacks, a thermoplastic elastomer which exhibits rubber elasticity at room temperature and is plasticized and moldable at high temperature can be considered. Thermoplastic elastomers are
Since molding can be performed by a general injection molding method, the dimensional accuracy is stable, and the above-described vulcanizing agent addition step and cleaning step are not required.

[0009]

However, usually,
Since the thermoplastic elastomer contains oil as a component other than the polymer for the purpose of adjusting the rubber hardness, when the thermoplastic elastomer is applied to the capping member, the oil in the thermoplastic elastomer oozes out. This causes a problem that the nozzle plate surface in contact with the cap is wet with oil. as a result,
In the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the oil is diffused by the wiping operation of the nozzle plate, the nozzle opening is contaminated with the oil, and it becomes impossible to perform stable ink discharge, and the image is disturbed. .

Also, in the case where the above-mentioned cap portion using butyl rubber or EPDM is used, oil may ooze out of the cap portion similarly to the case where a thermoplastic elastomer is used, and the nozzle opening oozes out of the cap portion. There is a problem that the image is disturbed by being stained by the oil.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent oil that oozes out of a cap portion and adheres to a nozzle plate from diffusing. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing a nozzle opening from being soiled and preventing image disturbance.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings formed in a nozzle plate to print on a recording medium; In an ink jet recording apparatus including a capping member having a cap portion that abuts and a wiper for cleaning foreign matter attached to the surface of the nozzle plate, a contact area of the nozzle plate that abuts the cap portion, or Between the nozzle opening and the contact area,
An oil diffusion preventing means for receiving oil adhering to the nozzle plate is provided (claim 1), whereby the above object can be achieved.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, oil adhering to the nozzle plate when the nozzle plate is at the standby position prevents the oil diffusion when the nozzle plate moves relative to the wiper. The cap portion is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer containing oil (Claim 3), and the oil diffusion preventing means is formed of a nozzle plate. (Claim 4), wherein the oil diffusion preventing means is a groove or projection formed on a nozzle plate and extending along a row of nozzle openings (claim 5). Wherein the oil diffusion preventing means is a groove capable of accommodating the cap portion (Claim 6).
Thereby, the above object can be achieved.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the oil oozing out of the cap and adhering to the nozzle plate is diffused to the nozzle opening by the oil diffusion preventing means for receiving the oil adhering to the nozzle plate. Therefore, the nozzle opening can be prevented from being contaminated by oil.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, in particular, when the nozzle plate and the wiper move relative to each other, the oil adhering to the nozzle plate is diffused to the nozzle opening by the oil diffusion preventing means. Since this can be prevented, the nozzle opening can be reliably prevented from being contaminated by oil.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect, when the thermoplastic elastomer containing oil is used for the cap, the cap can be molded by a general injection molding method. Accuracy can be stabilized, and the cost can be reduced without requiring a vulcanizing agent addition step and a washing step.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, when the oil diffusion preventing means formed on the nozzle plate is a groove, the oil carried by the wiper is conveyed by the edge of the groove on the side of the nozzle opening. It is scraped and received in the groove. Further, when the oil diffusion preventing means formed on the nozzle plate is a projection, the oil carried by the wiper is scraped off at the tip of the projection and is received in a region of the projection opposite to the nozzle opening side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the nozzle opening from being contaminated with oil.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the oil diffusion preventing means is formed in the nozzle plate and is a concave groove or a projection extending along the row of the nozzle openings. When the nozzle opening row and the relative movement direction are substantially perpendicular to each other, the oil carried by the wiper can be reliably received by the oil diffusion preventing means, and the nozzle opening is It can be prevented from being stained with oil.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, since the oil diffusion preventing means is a groove capable of accommodating the cap portion, the oil adheres to the surface of the nozzle plate only by adhering to the oil in the groove. Thus, the nozzle opening can be prevented from being contaminated with oil by the wiper.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be exemplified below, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and features of the present invention are described below. It can be changed as appropriate within the scope (items specifying the invention).

FIG. 1 shows an ink jet type recording apparatus 10 to which the present invention is applied. A carriage 1 is guided by a guide member 4 via a timing belt 2 reciprocatingly driven by a carriage motor 3, and is guided by a platen. 5 so as to be reciprocated in the axial direction. A black recording head 7 and a color recording head 8 are mounted on the side of the carriage 1 facing the recording medium 6, and a black ink cartridge that supplies ink to the recording heads 7 and 8 above the black recording head 7 and the color recording head 8. 9A and a color ink cartridge 9B are detachably mounted.

At the right end of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 in the figure, a capping device 11 is provided at a position where the recording heads 7 and 8 wait. The capping device 11 includes a capping member 37 corresponding to the black recording head 7, a capping member 38 corresponding to the color recording head 8, and a recording head 7 when moving from the standby position to the printing position. A wiper 53 is provided for cleaning foreign substances such as dust attached to the outer surface of the nozzle plate 41 (FIG. 3). And capping device 11
Below, a suction pump 12 for applying a negative pressure to the capping device 11 is arranged.

The capping members 37 and 38 function as cap means for preventing drying of the nozzle openings 49 (FIG. 3) of the recording heads 7 and 8, and also function as ink receivers during brushing operation. Suction pump 12
The recording heads 7 and 8 are acted upon by applying a negative pressure from the ink jet head, and also have a function as a means for sucking ink.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an actuator unit in the above-described color recording head 8, and three actuator units 13 are attached to a flow path unit 14. More specifically, the channel unit 14 and the actuator unit 13 are each configured by laminating a plurality of plates, as shown in FIG. That is, the actuator unit 13 is configured by sequentially laminating the sealing substrate 61, the pressure chamber forming substrate 62, and the vibration plate 63.

On the vibrating plate 63, pressure generating means corresponding to each pressure chamber 75 are formed. The pressure generating means of the present embodiment includes a piezoelectric element 64, and a lower electrode 65 and an upper electrode 66 are provided so as to sandwich the piezoelectric element 64 in order to supply a driving voltage to the piezoelectric element 64. Each of these electrodes 65 and 66 is connected to a plurality of piezoelectric elements 64.
The crotch is formed. That is, an individual drive signal for selectively driving the individual piezoelectric elements 64 is applied to the lower electrode 65. An upper electrode 66 that is a common electrode;
The lower electrode 65, which is an individual electrode, is connected to the connection terminal 67 formed on the diaphragm 63 and the flexible printed circuit board (FP).
C) 76 and connected to an external drive circuit.

The pressure chambers 75 for generating the ink pressure required for ink droplet ejection are arranged in a plane by the elongated holes formed in the pressure chamber forming substrate 62. It is divided into rooms. Sealing substrate 61
Is hermetically joined to the side wall to seal the pressure chamber 75 and forms a bottom wall of the pressure chamber. Each pressure chamber 75 is provided in the sealing substrate 61.
An elongated supply communication passage 68 for supplying ink from outside the actuator unit 13 and a nozzle communication passage 69 for connecting to a nozzle opening 49 for discharging ink droplets are perforated for each pressure chamber 75. Is connected to the nozzle communication passage 69 in the vicinity of one end, and is connected to one end of the supply communication passage 68 at the other end. In addition, the flow path unit 14
Are a nozzle plate 41 and a reservoir chamber forming substrate 42
And the ink supply diaphragm forming substrate 43 are sequentially laminated. The reservoir chamber forming substrate 42 has a through hole for defining the reservoir chamber 46, and one of the through holes is sealed with the nozzle plate 41 and the other is sealed with the ink supply throttle forming substrate 43, thereby forming the reservoir chamber 46. Is composed.

The reservoir chamber 46 has a function as a manifold for branching the ink from the ink storage section into the respective pressure chambers. It is formed over a portion that does not overlap the unit 13 in a plane. In the reservoir chamber 46, the ink supply throttle forming substrate 43
Is provided with an ink supply throttle 47 connecting the reservoir chamber 46 and one end of each of the elongated supply communication passages 68.
A reservoir hole 48 for guiding ink from the ink storage unit to the reservoir chamber 46 is formed in the ink supply diaphragm forming substrate 43 at a portion not overlapping the actuator unit 13 in plan view. In the nozzle plate 41, a nozzle opening 49 for discharging ink droplets is formed so as to correspond to the pressure chamber 75. In order to connect the nozzle opening 49 and the corresponding pressure chamber 75, nozzle communication passages 44 and 45 are formed in the ink supply aperture forming substrate 43 and the reservoir chamber forming substrate 42 in correspondence with the nozzle opening 49.

In order to discharge inks of different colors from the 49 rows of nozzle openings formed in the nozzle plate 41 of the flow channel unit 14, a space between each actuator unit 13 and the flow channel unit 14 is provided as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, independent ink supply channels 20a to 20f are provided for each row of the nozzle openings 49 (FIG. 3). When a print control signal is applied to each actuator unit 13, the yellow, cyan, and magenta inks supplied to the ink supply channels 20 a to 20 f are supplied to the nozzle openings 4.
The ink is discharged from each of the nine rows, and color printing is performed on the recording medium 6 (FIG. 1).

Further, in the present invention, two concave grooves 51, 51 are formed on the outer surface of the nozzle plate 41 as oil diffusion preventing means as shown in FIG. The concave groove 51 is formed between a region where the outermost nozzle row 49 is in contact with a cap portion 16 (FIG. 8) described later.
The concave groove 51 is substantially parallel to the row of the nozzle openings 49, and the length thereof is the same as or slightly longer than the length of the nozzle opening row 49. FIG. 5 shows the entire configuration of the capping device 11, and FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the capping device 11 as viewed from one direction, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view as seen from the arrow B in FIG. The slider 22 of the capping device 11 is connected to the base 21 by a freely rotating arm 23 and a spring 31. When the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side and contacts the flag piece 25, the carriage 22 1 to move. A valve unit 28 is fixed to the slider 22, and a valve 29 for opening and closing the valve unit 28 is fixed to the base 21 via a compression spring 30.

The flag piece 25 has a convex piece 26 at the lower end, and is configured to abut on the inclined guide surface 24 formed on the base 21 and slide on the surface thereof. Also,
A guide surface 32 is also provided on the side on the printing area side,
A protrusion 33 projecting horizontally from the slider 22 is configured to slide on the surface thereof. By the operation of these two guide surfaces 24 and 32, the slider 22 can move up and down while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture.

That is, when the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side, the slider 22 moves obliquely upward in conjunction with the movement of the carriage 1, and thereby the capping device 11 moves.
It is configured such that a capping operation in which the vicinity of the nozzle opening 49 (FIG. 3) and the vicinity thereof are in close contact is performed. Slider 22
The cap unit mounting portion 36 includes a spring 34 and a projection 35
And is connected to the slider 22, and can be slightly rotated about the protrusion 35. Capping member 3
7 and 38 are slides 2 via compression springs 39, respectively.
It is fixed to 2. Therefore, in the capping operation, the adhesion between the cap portion and the nozzle plate is always kept good.

Each of the capping members 37 and 38 has an ink suction port 18 formed at the lower bottom thereof, and the suction pump 12 (FIG. 1) is connected via a tube (not shown) having excellent ink resistance. It is connected to the. At the bottom of each of the capping members 37 and 38, an atmosphere opening port 19 (FIG. 6) to be described later is arranged, and the other end of the tube 27 having one end connected to these atmosphere opening ports is connected to the valve unit 28. Connected to each other.

With the above arrangement, when the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side, the carriage 1 comes into contact with the flag piece 25 as described above, whereby the slider 22 moves obliquely upward, and the capping member 37, Reference numeral 38 denotes a capping state in which the nozzle plates 41 of the recording heads 7 and 8 are closed.

When the slider 22 is positioned on the non-printing area side, the valve unit 28 comes into contact with the valve 29, and the air opening is closed. By supplying a negative pressure from the suction pump 12 to the inside of the cap in this state, suction of ink from the nozzle openings 49 of the recording heads 7 and 8 becomes possible.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a capping member 38 corresponding to the color recording head 8 among the capping members of the recording head as viewed from above. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 6 and 7, the capping member 38 includes a rectangular holder 40 having an open upper surface,
The cap portion 16 is integrally formed in the holder portion 40,
It is composed of Then, the cap portion 16
Is formed in a state where its upper edge slightly protrudes from the holder portion 40.

In addition, an ink absorbing material 17 made of a porous material such as a non-woven fabric and having excellent ink resistance and ink absorbing properties is accommodated in the inner bottom of the cap portion 16. Although not shown in the drawing, the ink absorbing material 17 is configured to be held in the cap portion 16 by an appropriate holding body.

Further, the holder 40 and the cap 1 are provided at the lower bottom of the holder 40 and the cap 16.
An ink suction port 18 and an atmosphere opening port 19 are arranged so as to penetrate through the ink suction port 6. The ink suction port 18 and the atmosphere opening port 19 are arranged so as to be located at a predetermined interval from each other along substantially the center in the longitudinal direction of the capping member 38 when the capping device is viewed from above.

Next, FIG. 8 shows the above-described capping member 3.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a state in which the nozzle openings 49 of the flow path unit 14 of the color recording head 8 are sealed. The recording head 8 is disposed above a capping member 38, and the channel unit 14 is capped from below by the capping member 38. Nozzle openings 49 are formed in the nozzle plate 41 of the flow path unit 14, and yellow, cyan, and magenta inks are formed by the action of the piezoelectric vibrators 63 (FIG. 3) arranged corresponding to the respective nozzle openings 49. It is configured to be ejected. or,
The groove 51 provided in the nozzle plate 41 as described above
Is located between the contact area of the capping member 38 with the cap portion 16 and the outermost row of the nozzle openings 49.

In the above configuration, the ink suction action for eliminating the clogging of the nozzle openings 49 is performed by bringing the tip end surface of the cap portion 16 into close contact with the nozzle plate 41 of the recording head 8 as shown in FIG. Then, the cap part 1
This is performed by operating the suction pump 12 (FIG. 1) connected to the ink suction port 18 of FIG. 6 to apply a negative pressure to the inside of the cap. Then, when the ink is appropriately discharged from the nozzle opening 49 and the negative pressure inside the cap has decreased to some extent, the valve connected to the air opening port 19 is opened to allow the inflow of the atmospheric air, and the negative pressure inside the cap member is released. Are all released.

In the ink jet recording apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention which operates as described above, the cap portions 16 of the capping members 37 and 38 are formed of a thermoplastic elastomer. This thermoplastic elastomer is added with oil in order to adjust the rubber height, but is excellent in moldability.

As the oil contained in the thermoplastic elastomer, any oil can be used as long as it does not chemically modify the thermoplastic elastomer. Specifically, paraffin oil, polybutene oil and silicone oil And the like, and preferred is paraffin oil. In the capping members 37, 38 of the recording heads 7, 8, the rubber hardness of the cap portion 16 is 4
Since the temperature is preferably 0 to 46 degrees (A), the oil is preferably present at 30 to 40% by weight based on the total weight of the thermoplastic elastomer. The weight ratio of oil / SEPS is preferably in the range of 0.70 to 1.25. This is because if the weight ratio is less than 0.70, it becomes difficult to mold the thermoplastic elastomer, and if the weight ratio is more than 1.25, the oil in the thermoplastic elastomer tends to exude.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, a description will be given of the holder portion 40 forming the exterior portion. The molding material of the holder portion 40 is, for example, a homopolymer composed of a thermoplastic polymer component such as a polyoxymethylene (POM) component, a modified polyphenylene ether (PPE) component, a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) component, or a polystyrene (PS) component. Examples include a polymer or a copolymer composed of two or more of these.

In the holder part 40 forming the exterior part,
By using the synthetic polymer resin material described above, injection molding can be performed similarly to the cap portion 16, and in particular, the cap portion 16 can be integrally formed with the holder portion 40 by well-known insert molding means. is there. That is, the holder portion 40 is previously formed by injection molding, inserted into a mold (not shown) for insert molding, and the thermoplastic elastomer is injected into the mold with the holder portion 40 as a reference position. Thus, the integrated capping member 38 can be obtained.

A more preferable molding method is a method of integrally molding the cap portion 16 with the holder portion 40 by a well-known two-color molding means. That is, using the synthetic resin material for molding the holder portion 40, the holder portion 40 is first molded, and a cap member made of a thermoplastic elastomer is integrally formed in a cap case by a rotary or sliding two-color molding machine. Is what you do. In this case, since the process for simultaneously forming the next cap portion 16 is performed, it is possible to take advantage of the characteristic that the time of the molding cycle can be reduced.

Next, the ink jet recording apparatus 10
The operation of will be described. At the time of non-printing, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the recording heads 7 and 8 is at the standby position, that is, above the capping members 37 and 38,
The nozzle member 49 is sealed with the cap member 16 in contact with the outer surface of the nozzle 1. Thereby, the nozzle opening 49
Ink does not dry. However, at this time, oil that has oozed from the cap member 16 may adhere to the outer surface of the nozzle plate 41. When the printing mode is set from this state, the recording heads 7 and 8 move to the printing position as shown in FIG. At this time, since the outer surfaces of the nozzle plates 41 of the recording heads 7 and 8 are relatively rubbed by the wipers 53, the oil that has adhered to the nozzle plates 41 as it is is diffused by the wipers 53 and the nozzle openings 49 are opened. It will be contaminated with oil.

However, in the ink jet recording apparatus 10 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle plate 41 is provided between the contact area of the nozzle plate 41 with the cap portion 16 and the outermost 49 rows of nozzle openings. Since the groove 51 is provided as oil diffusion preventing means for receiving the oil adhering to the plate 41, the oil to be diffused by the wiper 53 is dropped into the groove 51, where the diffusion is stopped. Will be done. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the oil from contaminating the nozzle opening 49, thereby avoiding an unexpected change in the wettability of the nozzle opening 49. As a result, disturbance of the flying of the ink droplets is prevented, and the image is prevented from being disturbed. it can.

Further, even if oil adheres to the nozzle plate 41 as described above, the diffusion can be prevented, so that a thermoplastic elastomer containing oil but having good moldability can be used as the material of the cap portion 16. Thereby, since the cap portion 16 can be formed by a general injection molding method, the dimensional accuracy can be stabilized, and the cost can be reduced without requiring a vulcanizing agent addition step and a cleaning step. it can.

Further, since the oil diffusion preventing means is the concave groove 51, the structure is simple and the processing is extremely easy.
The oil diffusion preventing means may be a projection instead of the concave groove 51.

The oil diffusion preventing means is preferably a groove or a protrusion extending along the row of the nozzle openings 49 like the groove 51, whereby the nozzle plate 41 and the wiper 53 are relatively rubbed against each other. When the nozzle opening 49 is arranged to move and the row of the nozzle openings 49 and the relative movement direction are almost perpendicular to each other, the oil carried by the wiper 53 can be reliably received by the oil diffusion preventing means, and the nozzle opening 49 is made of oil. You can prevent being polluted. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the oil diffusion preventing means is the concave groove 51 having a fixed length parallel to the row of the nozzle openings 49. However, as shown in FIG. Oil diffusion preventing means can be used.

The groove 52 is provided so as to surround the periphery of the nozzle opening 49 as shown in FIG. In this case, the oil that has oozed out of the cap portion 16 adheres only to the inside of the groove 52 from the beginning. With such a configuration, since oil does not adhere to the surface of the nozzle plate 41, even if the surface of the nozzle plate 41 is rubbed by the wiper 53, oil is not diffused to the surface of the nozzle plate 41. Therefore, the nozzle opening 4
9 can be reliably prevented from being contaminated with oil, the ink droplets can be prevented from being disturbed, and the image can be prevented from being disturbed.

[0051]

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, the oil oozing out of the cap and adhering to the nozzle plate is diffused to the nozzle opening by the oil diffusion preventing means for receiving the oil adhering to the nozzle plate. Therefore, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can prevent the nozzle opening from being stained by oil, and can prevent image disturbance.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, particularly when the nozzle plate and the wiper move relative to each other, the oil adhering to the nozzle plate is diffused to the nozzle opening by the oil diffusion preventing means. Since this can be prevented, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can surely prevent the nozzle opening from being contaminated with oil and can reliably prevent image disturbance.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect, when the thermoplastic elastomer containing oil is used for the cap, the cap can be molded by a general injection molding method. It is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can stabilize the accuracy and can reduce the cost without requiring a vulcanizing agent addition step and a cleaning step.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the fourth aspect, when the oil diffusion preventing means formed on the nozzle plate is a concave groove, the oil carried by the wiper is at the edge of the concave groove on the nozzle opening side. If the oil diffusion preventing means formed in the nozzle plate is received by being scraped off and formed in the nozzle plate as a projection, the oil carried by the wiper is scraped off at the tip end of the projection by the nozzle opening side of the projection. Therefore, the nozzle opening can be reliably prevented from being contaminated with oil. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can reliably prevent the nozzle opening from being contaminated with oil and can reliably prevent image disturbance.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the fifth aspect, the oil diffusion preventing means is formed in the nozzle plate and is a concave groove or a projection extending along the row of nozzle openings. Are arranged so as to rub against each other, and when the row of nozzle openings and the direction of relative movement are substantially perpendicular to each other, the oil carried by the wiper can be reliably received by the oil diffusion preventing means, and the nozzle opening Can be prevented from being contaminated with oil. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can reliably prevent the nozzle opening from being contaminated with oil and can reliably prevent image disturbance.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, since the oil diffusion preventing means is a groove capable of accommodating the cap portion, the oil adheres only to the inside of the groove and adheres to the surface of the nozzle plate. Thus, the nozzle opening can be prevented from being contaminated with oil by the wiper. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can reliably prevent the nozzle opening from being contaminated with oil and can reliably prevent image disturbance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an actuator unit and a flow path unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an actuator unit and a flow channel unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a nozzle opening of a nozzle plate and oil diffusion preventing means according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a capping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view showing a capping member according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a groove serving as oil diffusion preventing means according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the oil diffusion preventing means according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a nozzle plate having oil diffusion preventing means according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 6 recording medium 7, 8 ink jet recording head 10 ink jet recording apparatus 16 cap unit 37, 38 capping member 41 nozzle plate 49 nozzle opening 51 concave groove 52 groove 53 wiper

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kiyoshi Yanagisawa 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano Seiko Epson Corporation F-term (reference) 2C056 EA16 EA17 HA03 HA19 JA02 JA10 JA13 JA16 JA17 JB04 JC06 JC20 KB11

Claims (6)

[Claims] An ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings formed in a nozzle plate to print on a recording medium; a capping member having a cap portion in contact with the nozzle plate; In an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a wiper for cleaning foreign substances attached to the surface, a contact area of the nozzle plate contacting the cap portion, or between the nozzle opening and the contact area,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising an oil diffusion preventing means for receiving oil attached to a nozzle plate. 2. A structure in which oil adhering to said nozzle plate when said nozzle plate is at a standby position is received by said oil diffusion preventing means when said nozzle plate and said wiper move relative to each other. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cap portion is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer containing oil. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said oil diffusion preventing means is a concave groove or a protrusion formed on a nozzle plate. 5. The ink jet type according to claim 1, wherein said oil diffusion preventing means is a concave groove or a protrusion formed on a nozzle plate and extending along a row of nozzle openings. Recording device. 6. The oil diffusion preventing means is a groove capable of accommodating the cap portion.
5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of items 5.