JP2001341327A - Ink-jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the influence of ink minute droplets scattered at the time of burst of bubbles by effectively surrounding the bubbles generated in a waste liquid tank part. SOLUTION: A waste liquid absorbing material, 35 stored in a waste tank 31 is formed in a sheet-like shape, with the upper part of a discharge opening 21a elongating horizontally covered with the waste liquid absorbing material 35. Therefore, bubbles generated by the air discharged with the ink waste liquid for example by a cleaning operation, or the like can be surrounded effectively by the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material 35 disposed thereabove. Thereby, pollution of a driving mechanism part, or the like by the ink minute droplets scattered at the time of burst of the bubbles can be avoided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a component for discharging ink waste liquid discharged from a recording head to a waste liquid tank containing a waste liquid absorbing material so that a part of the ink waste liquid can be prevented from scattering around. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus having the structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet recording apparatus,
In order to prevent the recording head from being filled with ink and preventing the nozzle openings from being clogged due to the evaporation of the ink solvent, a process of recovering the ink ejection capability for forcibly sucking and discharging ink from the recording head is executed. Such a process of forcibly discharging the ink for eliminating clogging of the recording head or when bubbles remain in the recording head is called a cleaning operation, and is performed after a long period of suspension of the recording apparatus. This process is executed when printing is restarted, or when the user operates a cleaning switch after recognizing a print quality defect such as blurred print.

In this cleaning operation, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by a capping unit, and a negative pressure is applied by a suction pump to discharge ink from the nozzle opening of the recording head and to release the ink inside the capping unit. Is discharged to a waste liquid tank, and an operation of wiping (wiping) the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by a wiping member formed of an elastic plate made of a rubber material or the like is involved.

[0004]

The above-described suction pump for applying a negative pressure to the capping means includes:
Relatively simple structure, easy to miniaturize, and does not cause contamination in the ink suction and discharge mechanism
A so-called tube pump is used. The discharge port of the tube pump is disposed so as to face a waste liquid tank containing an ink absorbing material therein, so that the ink waste liquid sent out by the tube pump is absorbed and held by the ink absorbing material. ing.

In many conventional ink jet recording apparatuses, an ink absorbing material is stored in a box-shaped waste liquid tank having an open upper surface, and a cutout portion is provided in a part of the ink absorbing material. The outlet of the tube pump is inserted from above. Therefore, for example, by performing the cleaning operation, the ink waste liquid sent out from the pump is discharged into the cutout portion of the ink absorbing material, and a portion of the waste liquid instantaneously overflows into the insertion portion of the tube, but the ink absorbing material gradually disappears. It is made to be absorbed by.

However, when the above-described cleaning operation is performed, a large amount of air is discharged from the pump together with the ink waste liquid, so that a large amount of bubbles are generated at a portion where the tube is inserted in the ink absorbing material. Although this bubble pops and disappears with time, as is well known, there is a problem that a minute ink droplet scatters around at the moment when the bubble pops. Therefore, depending on the long-term use of the recording apparatus, solidified ink droplets may accumulate in the drive mechanism and hinder the normal operation of the drive mechanism, causing a problem in the printing operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and effectively prevents the above-mentioned troubles caused by bubbles generated when discharging ink waste liquid to a waste liquid tank. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet type recording apparatus which can perform the above.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an ink jet recording head for discharging ink droplets corresponding to print data; A suction pump for applying a negative pressure to the nozzle forming surface and sucking the ink waste liquid discharged from the recording head, and a waste liquid tank containing a waste liquid absorbing material for absorbing and holding the ink waste liquid sucked and discharged by the suction pump. In the ink jet recording apparatus provided, the waste liquid absorbing material accommodated in the waste liquid tank is formed in a sheet shape, and the upper part of a discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is formed in a sheet shape. The structure is concealed by the waste liquid absorbing material.

In this case, preferably, the discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is located between the lower bottom portion of the waste liquid tank and the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material covered on the upper portion. Be composed. Further, a configuration in which the discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is located between the waste liquid absorbing materials in the form of a polymerized sheet can also be suitably employed.

In a preferred embodiment, the sheet-shaped waste liquid absorbing material is provided with a cutout in a horizontal direction so as to be vertically separated from an end portion toward a center portion, and extends in a horizontal direction. The cut-out portion of the suction pump is located between the waste liquid absorbents separated vertically by the cut portion.

Further, the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material includes:
A cut portion is provided in the horizontal direction so as to be separated vertically in a substantially central portion, and a discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is located between the waste liquid absorbing materials separated vertically by the cut portion. In some cases. As the above-described suction pump, a tube pump that generates a negative pressure by sequentially crushing flexible tubes arranged in an arc shape with a roller is preferably employed.

On the other hand, it is desirable that the waste liquid tank is provided with a holding mechanism for holding a discharge port side of a tube constituting a tube pump and extending the discharge port in a horizontal direction. In this case, in a preferred embodiment, the holding mechanism is constituted by a cutout recess formed in a wall surface of a waste liquid tank formed in a box shape, and a discharge port side of a flexible tube is fitted into the cutout recess. It is configured to hold the tube by inserting. The waste liquid tank is preferably formed in a box shape having an open top.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus constructed as described above, the waste liquid absorbing material contained in the waste liquid tank is formed in a sheet shape. And
The upper part of the discharge port of the suction pump extended in the horizontal direction is concealed by the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material. Therefore, bubbles generated by air discharged together with the ink waste liquid due to the cleaning operation and the like are surrounded by the sheet-like waste liquid absorbent material disposed on the upper portion thereof, and thus the bubbles may blow out to the upper surface of the waste liquid absorbent material. Can be avoided. Therefore, it is possible to avoid contamination of the drive mechanism and the like due to the generation of bubbles, and to provide a recording apparatus capable of guaranteeing a high-precision printing operation for a long time.

On the other hand, the outlet of the suction pump is
It is fixed in a state of being extended in the horizontal direction by a holding mechanism formed in the waste liquid tank. In this case, a simple configuration in which a cutout recess is formed on the wall surface of the waste liquid tank is used as the holding mechanism, and the holding can be performed by using the elasticity of the tube. Also, there is no problem of increasing the number of assembling steps.

The waste liquid tank in which the waste liquid absorbing material is stored is formed in a box shape having an open top, whereby the ink wiped off from the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by the wiping member described above. Can be configured to be absorbed and held by the waste liquid absorbing material by inducing and dropping. Further, with the configuration in which the upper portion of the waste liquid tank is opened, the solvent of the ink waste liquid absorbed by the waste liquid absorbing material is positively evaporated, so that the ability to absorb the ink waste liquid can be maintained.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage. The carriage 1 is configured to be reciprocated in the axial direction of a platen 5 while being guided by a guide member 4 via a timing belt 3 driven by a carriage motor 2. .

An ink jet recording head (not shown) is mounted on a surface (lower side) of the carriage 1 which faces the recording paper 6, and a black ink for supplying ink to the recording head is provided above the ink jet recording head. A cartridge 7 and a color ink cartridge 8 are removably mounted.

In the drawing, reference numeral 9 denotes a capping means disposed in a non-printing area (home position), which rises when the recording head mounted on the carriage 1 moves directly upward, and moves up the nozzle forming surface of the recording head. Is configured to be sealed. Below the capping unit 9, a tube pump 10 described later as a suction pump for applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the capping unit 9 is arranged.

The capping means 9 functions as a lid for preventing the nozzle openings of the recording head from drying during the idle period of the recording apparatus. In addition, the capping means 9 applies a drive signal irrelevant to printing to the recording head to apply ink droplets. Functioning as an ink receiver at the time of a flushing operation for idly discharging the ink, and also have a function as a cleaning means for suctioning and discharging the ink by applying a negative pressure from the tube pump 10 to the recording head.

A wiping member 11 formed of a rubber material in a strip shape is arranged adjacent to the printing area side of the capping means 9 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the horizontal direction. When reciprocating to the side, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head can be wiped. Thus, for example, after the cleaning operation, the ink adhering to the nozzle forming surface can be scraped off, and the ink can be prevented from dropping from the recording head and contaminating the recording paper and the like. I have.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing an example of a tube pump as a suction pump for applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the capping means 9 described above. 2 shows a state in which the pump is driven to rotate forward to perform the pumping operation, and FIG. 3 shows a case in which the pump is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to be in the release state. The tube pump 10 includes a pump frame 23 having a tube support surface 22 for regulating the outer shape of a flexible tube 21 in an arc shape, a pump wheel 24 rotated by power from a drive motor, and a pump wheel 24. The pair of roller support grooves 25a, 25b formed with a gradient in the radial direction between the axial center direction and the outer circumferential direction of the roller support grooves 25a, 25b.
b. Rollers 26a and 26b are provided so as to be movable and rotatable in the longitudinal direction of b.

L-shaped engaging grooves 27a and 27b are formed in the pump frame 23 at positions facing the tube support surface 22 formed in the pump frame 23. Guide members 28a and 28b made of an elastic material are fitted into these locking grooves 27a and 27b, respectively.
The tip of b is in a state of protruding in the axial direction of the pump wheel 24.

In such a tube pump, as shown in FIG. 2, the guide wheels 28a, 28 are rotated by rotating the pump wheel 24 in the forward direction (the direction of arrow A).
b, the rollers 26a and 26b supported by the support grooves 25a and 25b act to guide the rollers 26a and 26b in the retreating direction of the support grooves 25a and 25b. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the rotation of the pump wheel 24 in the direction of arrow A causes the rollers 26a and 26b to be pushed back by the guide members 28a and 28b made of an elastic material. The tube 21 is moved in the outer peripheral direction of the support groove to sequentially crush the tube 21.

Thus, a negative pressure is generated in the tube 21 to apply a negative pressure to the capping means 9. Then, the ink is forcibly discharged from the recording head by the negative pressure, and the ink discharged into the capping unit 9 is further suctioned and sent to a waste ink tank described later.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Is rotated in the reverse direction (the direction of arrow B), the rollers 43a and 43b receive the action of being pushed back by the guide members 28a and 28b.
Each of the rollers is moved in the inner circumferential direction of the roller support groove, whereby the roller is kept in a release state in which the roller is slightly in contact with the tube, so that a failure such as sticking of the tube can be prevented. 2 and 3
Reference numerals 29a and 29b in the figure indicate insertion openings of the roller shaft, and when assembling the tube pump described above,
After inserting each roller shaft into the insertion openings 29a and 29b,
It is used for moving a roller in each of the support grooves 25a and 25b.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the tube pump described above,
FIG. 5 is a top view illustrating an arrangement of a waste liquid tank that stores the ink waste liquid discharged by the tube pump, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state viewed from the line XX in FIG. is there. The tube pump 10 is disposed on a member 32 constituting a lower bottom portion of the waste liquid tank 31, and the waste liquid tank 31 is composed of a main tank 33 and a sub tank 34 each having a box shape. As shown in FIG. 4, the main tank 33 has a side wall 33 surrounding three sides.
a, 33b and 33c.

In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, four waste liquid absorbing materials 35 formed in a sheet shape are accommodated in a main tank 33 in a superposed state. The upper portion is opened and the surface of the waste liquid absorbing material 35 is exposed. The waste liquid absorbing members 35 are held by opposed rib members 36 integrally formed on the side walls 33a and 33c, respectively.

On the other hand, the sub-tank 34 is constituted by side walls 34a, 34b and 34c surrounding three sides as shown in FIG. 4, and is formed to be slightly smaller in depth than the main tank 33. . A rectangular portion 38 is formed in a part of a side wall 34 a formed on the tube pump 10 side arranged adjacent to the sub tank 34 so as to bite into the sub tank 34. A holding mechanism 39 for holding the discharge port 21a side of the tube constituting the tube pump and extending the discharge port 21a in the horizontal direction is formed. The holding mechanism 39 is constituted by, for example, a U-shaped notch concave portion provided on a wall surface forming the rectangular portion 38, and is provided with a flexible tube outlet 21a.
The side of the tube 2 is fitted into the cutout recess.
1 is configured to be held therebetween.

The outlet 21 is held by the holding mechanism 39 described above.
tube 2 held in a state where a is extended in the horizontal direction
Reference numeral 1 denotes a state in which the upper portion of the discharge port 21a is concealed by a sheet-like waste liquid absorbent 35. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the discharge port 21a of the tube pump is located between the lower bottom portion 32 of the sub-tank 34 and the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material 35 covering the upper portion. Is configured. This waste liquid absorbing material 35
Are held in a sub-tank 34 and are retained by a plurality of rib members 36 formed integrally with the side wall 34c in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. A substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction constitutes a curved portion 40 curved upward, and the discharge port 21 a of the tube 21 is located in a space 41 between the curved portion 40 and the lower bottom portion 32. It is configured to be.

With this configuration, the ink waste liquid discharged from the recording head by the cleaning operation is led out to the discharge port 21 a via the tube pump 10, and the space 41 formed by the waste liquid absorbing material 35 in the sub tank 34. Is discharged into Therefore, the ink waste liquid is absorbed by the waste liquid absorbing material 35 in the sub tank 34 and also permeates the waste liquid absorbing material 35 stored in the main tank 33 with the passage of time, and stored in these main and sub tanks. It is held by each of the waste liquid absorbing materials 35 that have been used. Since the upper surfaces of the main tank 33 and the sub tank 34 are open, the solvent of the ink waste liquid absorbed by each waste liquid absorbing material evaporates, and the ability to absorb the ink waste liquid can be maintained.

On the other hand, a large amount of air is discharged from the discharge port 21a of the tube 21 together with the ink waste liquid by the cleaning operation, thereby generating bubbles. However, since this bubble is surrounded in the space 41 formed by the curved portion 40 formed by the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material 35, it is possible to effectively prevent the fine droplets of the ink from scattering outside when the bubble disappears. it can. Therefore, it is possible to avoid contamination of the drive mechanism and the like due to the generation of bubbles, and it is possible to guarantee a high-precision printing operation for a long time.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the tube pump 10 and the auxiliary tank 34 are shown in a sectional view. In this embodiment, two waste liquid absorbers 35 are superposed and stored in the sub tank 34. The outlet 21a of the suction pump 10 is configured to be located between the waste liquid absorbers 35 polymerized. A substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the upper waste liquid absorbing material 35 is
A curved portion 40 curved upward is formed, and the curved portion 40 forms a space 41 between the waste liquid absorbing material 35 and the lower portion.
Are formed.

According to this configuration, the waste ink discharged from the outlet 21a of the tube pump 10 is discharged into the space 41 formed by the upper and lower waste liquid absorbers 35. The ink waste liquid is absorbed by the upper and lower two waste liquid absorbers 35 in the sub tank 34, and penetrates into the waste liquid absorber 35 stored in the main tank 33 with the passage of time. It is held by each waste liquid absorbing material 35 stored in the tank. Also in this configuration, bubbles are generated by the air discharged from the outlet 21a of the tube 21, but the bubbles are surrounded in the space 41 by the curved portion 40 formed by the two upper and lower waste liquid absorbing materials 35. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the fine droplets of the ink from scattering to the outside when the bubbles disappear.

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and similarly shows a tube pump 10 and a sub tank 34 in a sectional view. In this embodiment, a cut portion 42 is formed in the waste liquid absorbing material 35 stored in the sub tank 34 in a horizontal direction so as to be vertically separated from an end portion toward a center portion. And the discharge port 21a in the suction pump is
It is configured so as to be located between the waste liquid absorbing materials 35 separated vertically by the cutout portions 42.

Thus, the waste liquid absorbing material separated upward forms a curved portion 40 that is curved upward due to the presence of the tube 21, and is interposed between the waste liquid absorbing material separated downward by the curved portion 40. A space 41 is formed. In the configuration shown in FIG. 7, the same operation and effect as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be obtained.

FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Similarly, FIG.
0 and a portion of the sub tank 34 are shown by sectional views. In this embodiment, the cut portion 43 is formed in the waste liquid absorbing material 35 stored in the sub-tank 34 in the horizontal direction so as to be vertically separated at a substantially central portion. The discharge port 21a of the suction pump is inserted between the waste liquid absorbents 35 separated vertically by the cutout.

Thus, due to the presence of the tube 21 inserted into the cut portion 43 in the horizontal direction, a space portion 41 is formed at a substantially central portion of the waste liquid absorbing material 35 which is vertically separated. In the configuration shown in FIG. 8, the same operation and effect as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 can be obtained.

[0038]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the waste liquid absorbing material accommodated in the waste liquid tank is formed in a sheet shape and extends in the horizontal direction. Since the upper part of the discharge port in the suction pump is concealed by the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material, for example, bubbles generated by air discharged together with the ink waste liquid by a cleaning operation or the like are generated by the sheet disposed on the upper part. It can be effectively surrounded by a waste liquid absorber in the form of a solid. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the drive mechanism and the like from being contaminated by the minute droplets of ink scattered when the bubbles disappear, and it is possible to provide a recording apparatus capable of guaranteeing a high-precision printing operation for a long time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a tube pump provided in the recording apparatus is driven to rotate forward.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the tube pump is reversely driven.

FIG. 4 is a top view showing a first embodiment showing an arrangement configuration of a tube pump and a waste liquid tank.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state viewed from the line XX in FIG. 4 in an arrow direction.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment showing an arrangement of a tube pump and a waste liquid tank.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment showing an arrangement of a tube pump and a waste liquid tank.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a fourth embodiment showing an arrangement of a tube pump and a waste liquid tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 2 Carriage motor 6 Recording paper 7, 8 Ink cartridge 9 Capping means 10 Suction pump (tube pump) 11 Wiping means 21 Flexible tube 21a Tube outlet 31 Waste liquid tank 33 Main tank 34 Secondary tank 35 Waste liquid absorbing material 39 Tube Holding mechanism 40 Curved section 41 Space section 42, 43 Notch section

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Yoshida 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano F-term in Seiko Epson Corporation (reference) 2C056 EA27 FA10 JA13 JC08 JC11 JC13 JC20 KC01

Claims (9)

[Claims] An ink-jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets corresponding to print data, a suction pump for applying a negative pressure to a nozzle forming surface of the recording head and sucking ink waste liquid discharged from the recording head; A waste liquid tank containing a waste liquid absorbing material that absorbs and retains ink waste liquid sucked and discharged by the suction pump, wherein the waste liquid absorbing material stored in the waste liquid tank is a sheet-like material. And an upper portion of a discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is concealed by the sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material. 2. The discharge pump according to claim 1, wherein a discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is located between a lower bottom portion of the waste liquid tank and a sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material covering the upper portion. Item 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to item 1. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is located between the superposed waste liquid absorbing materials in a sheet form. 4. The sheet-shaped waste liquid absorbing material is provided with a cut portion in a horizontal direction so as to be vertically separated from an end portion toward a center portion, and the suction pump extended in the horizontal direction. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port is located between the waste liquid absorbents separated vertically by the cut portion. 5. The sheet-like waste liquid absorbing material is provided with a cutout in a horizontal direction so as to be vertically separated at a substantially central portion, and a discharge port of the suction pump extending in the horizontal direction is provided with a cutout. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is configured to be located between the waste liquid absorbing materials vertically separated by the cut portion. 6. The suction pump sequentially crushes a flexible tube arranged in an arc shape with a roller,
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus is a tube pump that generates a negative pressure. 7. The ink jet printer according to claim 6, wherein the waste liquid tank has a holding mechanism for holding a discharge port side of a tube constituting the tube pump and extending the discharge port in a horizontal direction. Expression recording device. 8. The holding mechanism is constituted by a notch recess formed on a wall surface of a waste liquid tank formed in a box shape,
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the discharge port side of the flexible tube is fitted into the notch recess to hold the tube. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste liquid tank is formed in a box shape having an open upper part.