JP2002187289A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording device that can prevent defective wiping movement and defective capping due to ink eliminated from a head side by wiping to restrain defective printing due to dusts and ink residues on an ink jet head. SOLUTION: The ink jet recording device is provided with an ink jet head 13 reciprocating to a scanning direction and a wiper 20 fixed in a holder 17 reciprocating to an orthogonal direction toward the scanning direction. The wiper 20 is designated to wipe the ink jet head 13 by the reciprocating movement of the holder 17 wherein an ink storing concave part 19 possible to store the ink wiped by the wiper 20 is installed. It prevents the ink wiped by the wiper 20 from adhering to a wiper guide rail 16 through the holder 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with an ink discharge head that can reciprocate in a scanning direction and a wiper that reciprocates for wiping the head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an ink jet recording apparatus reciprocates in a scanning direction and discharges ink supplied from an ink cartridge toward a recording medium, and the recording medium is moved in the scanning direction of the head. And a medium feeding mechanism for moving the medium in a direction orthogonal to the medium. The ink discharge head is configured to discharge ink droplets through nozzles formed in the head. Therefore, there is a possibility that the viscosity of the ink may be increased or the ink may be solidified due to evaporation of the ink solvent from the nozzle opening. Further, there is a possibility that dust adheres to the nozzle opening. These cause printing failure.

[0005] In order to suppress printing defects due to the above-described causes, this type of ink jet recording apparatus employs, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. The ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 5 includes a carriage 53 which is provided on the apparatus main body so as to be able to reciprocate and has an ink ejection head 52 provided at the lower end. Ink ejection head 5
The nozzle opening is formed on the lower surface side of 2.

Below the carriage 53, a lever 55 having a cap 54 fixed to the distal end thereof is rotatably provided on the apparatus main body side. When the ink discharge head 52 is located at the print standby position, the cap 54 is closed. Is adapted to close (cap) the nozzle opening. By the capping, the evaporation of the ink solvent and the adhesion of dust to the nozzle openings are suppressed.

[0005] A wiper 56 is provided on the apparatus main body side.
Is provided so as to be able to reciprocate along a guide rail 58. When the ink ejection head 52 is located at the wiping standby position, the wiper 56
The sliding movement of the holder 57 wipes the lower surface of the ink discharge head 52 including the nozzle openings. By this wiping, the ink residue and dust adhering to the above-described nozzle openings are removed.

As described above, by the capping of the nozzle opening by the cap 54 and the wiping by the wiper 56, the printing failure caused by the above-mentioned cause is suppressed.

[0007]

However, the above configuration has a problem that the ink adhered from the ink ejection head 52 to the wiper 56 by wiping adheres to the guide rail 58 through the holder 57.
The ink adhered to the guide rail 58 is transferred to the holder 57
, And may cause a malfunction of the wiper 56. Further, the ink removed by the wiping may adhere to the cap 54 depending on the arrangement state of the cap 54, which may cause the capping failure of the nozzle opening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to prevent a wiping operation defect and a capping defect caused by ink removed from a head side by wiping for suppressing a printing defect due to adhesion of dust or ink residue to an ink discharge head. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing the above.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet head provided on a carriage provided in a main body of the apparatus so as to be reciprocally movable in a scanning direction. An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a wiper fixed to a holder which is reciprocally movable in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the carriage in the apparatus main body, and wiping the ink discharge head by the reciprocating movement. In the apparatus, it is preferable that an ink storage recess capable of storing the ink wiped by the wiper is provided in the holder.

According to the present invention, the wiper removes ink residue, dust and the like adhering to the ink ejection head. The ink wiped by the wiper is stored in an ink storage recess provided in the holder. This prevents the ink adhered to the wiper by the wiping from traveling along the holder and attaching to components for reciprocating the holder (for example, rails for guiding the holder) and the like. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a reciprocating operation failure of the holder, that is, a wiping operation failure, based on the adhesion of ink to a component for reciprocating the holder.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the ink in the ink storage recess is introduced into a waste liquid storage section provided in the apparatus main body. .

According to the present invention, even if the capacity of the ink storage recess is small, it is possible to prevent the ink from overflowing from the recess. That is, it is possible to wipe the ink having a capacity exceeding the allowable storage capacity of the ink storage recess from the ink discharge head without overflowing the ink from the ink storage recess. This configuration is particularly useful in an ink jet recording apparatus in which the product life is set longer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, after the ink in the ink storage recess is absorbed by an absorbing material, the ink passes through an ink guide path provided in the apparatus main body. Therefore, the gist is introduced into the waste liquid storage section.

According to the present invention, after the ink in the ink storing recess is absorbed by the absorbing material, the ink is introduced into the waste liquid storing section via the ink guiding path, so that the effect of the second aspect of the present invention is obtained. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the absorbing member and the ink guiding path are provided with a cap for capping the ink ejection head and fixed on the apparatus body side. The gist is that it is provided on a rotatably provided lever.

According to the present invention, the evaporation of the ink solvent from the ink ejection head and the adhesion of dust to the head are suppressed by the cap. Therefore, it is possible to suppress printing failure due to adhesion of dust to the ink ejection head, an increase in viscosity and solidification of the ink, and the like. In addition, since the absorbing material is provided on a lever rotatably provided on the apparatus main body side, the rotation enables the absorbing material to be movably installed. That is, when it is not necessary to absorb the ink in the ink storage recess by the absorbing material, the absorbing material can be moved to a position where it does not contact the holder. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the damage of both due to the contact between them.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the ink in the ink storage recess is introduced into the waste liquid storage after being sucked by a suction pump.

According to the present invention, the effect of the second aspect is obtained by introducing the ink in the ink storage concave portion into the waste liquid storage portion after being sucked by the suction pump. Further, since the ink is positively sucked by the suction pump, the ink in the ink storing recess can be efficiently sucked.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording apparatus scans along a guide shaft (not shown) fixed to the apparatus main body side (in the figure, a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper).
The carriage 12 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate.
The carriage 12 is driven by a motor (not shown) via a timing belt (not shown). An ink ejection head 13 is provided at the lower end of the carriage 12.
Are arranged. On the lower surface side of the ink ejection head 13, a nozzle opening (not shown) serving as an ink ejection port is formed. An ink cartridge 14 containing ink to be supplied to the ink ejection head 13 is detachably mounted on the upper portion of the carriage 12.

A printing medium (not shown, for example, paper) is arranged below the ink ejection head 13 in a printing area (for example, a center area in a reciprocating direction (scanning direction) of the carriage 12). ing. This print medium is moved in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction by a medium feeding mechanism (not shown). The reciprocating movement of the carriage 12 in the scanning direction, the movement of the printing medium in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction, and the ejection of ink from the ink ejection head 13 cause a recording operation (printing) on the printing medium. ) Is performed.

Below the carriage 12 in a non-printing area (for example, an area at one end in the reciprocating direction of the carriage 12), a frame 15 is fixed to the apparatus main body side. A wiper guide rail 16 extending along a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction is provided on the frame 15.
Has been fixed. A holder 17 is engaged with the wiper guide rail 16 so as to be reciprocally slidable along the rail 16. The holder 17 is driven by a motor (not shown) via a timing belt (not shown). The holder 17 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a wiper guide rail 16 is inserted into a through hole 18 formed in the holder 17. In the upper part of the holder 17, an ink storage recess 19 having an opening upward is formed. Holder 1
A wiper 20 for wiping the lower surface side of the ink ejection head 13 is provided on the upper part of the upper part 7 so as to extend upward from substantially the center of the bottom of the ink storage recess 19. The wiper 20 is formed of a plate-like member made of an elastic body such as rubber.

When commanded by a user,
When wiping of the ink ejection head 13 is required by a control device (not shown), the ink ejection head 13 is wiped by the wiper 20. This wiping is performed by the holder 17 reciprocatingly sliding along the wiper guide rail 16 in a state where the ink ejection head 13 is arranged at the wiping standby position above the wiper guide rail 16. By this wiping, ink residue, dust, and the like adhering to the nozzle openings of the ink ejection head 13 are removed. At this time, the ink ejection head 1
The ink wiped together with the ink residue and dust from 3 flows down the wiper 20 to the holder 17 side and is stored in the ink storage recess 19. The size of the ink storage recess 19 is determined by considering the total life of the wiping ink in consideration of the product life of the ink jet recording apparatus (the wiper 20 is removed from the ink discharge head 13 by wiping and then flows down the wiper 20. Is set so as to have a capacity equal to or more than the total amount of the ink over the product life.

In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The wiper 20 removes ink residue, dust, and the like adhering to the nozzle openings of the ink ejection head 13. This makes it possible to suppress printing defects caused by ink residue, dust, and the like adhering to the nozzle openings.

(2) The holder 17 is provided with an ink storage recess 19 in which the ink wiped by the wiper 20 can be stored. Thereby, the wiper 20 is
The ink that has adhered to is stored in the ink storage recess 19 along the wiper 20. For this reason, the adhesion of the ink adhered to the wiper 20 by the wiping to the wiper guide rail 16 along the holder 17 is prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a malfunction of sliding movement of the holder 17 due to the adhesion of the ink to the wiper guide rail 16, that is, a malfunction of the wiping operation.

(3) The running direction of the wiper 20 (the reciprocating direction of the holder 17) is set to a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the ink discharge head 13. This makes it possible to reduce the outer dimensions of the inkjet recording device in the scanning direction (the width of the inkjet recording device).

(4) Move the wiper 20 to the ink storage recess 1
9 was provided almost at the center. According to this, the ink wiped from the ink discharge head 13 is transferred to the ink storage recess 1.
9 can be easily introduced.

(Second Embodiment) Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The ink jet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a structure for introducing the ink stored in the ink storage recess 19 into the waste liquid storage section 21 is added. In other respects, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and redundant description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, an absorbent 22 made of fibrous material such as felt is fixed to the frame 15. The absorbent 22 is formed so as to have a protruding portion 23 on the holder 17 side. The tip of the protrusion 23 is located at the bottom of the ink storage recess 19 when the holder 17 is located at a standby position (for example, a position at one end in the reciprocating direction of the holder 17; a position at the right end in the drawing). It is arranged at the position where it touches.

The frame 15 is provided with an ink guide tube 24 as an ink guide path below the base end of the absorber 22. The inlet side of the ink guide tube 24 is
2 is connected to the base end. The outlet side of the ink guide tube 24 has a smaller inner diameter than the inlet side, and is arranged below the inlet side.

Below the outlet of the ink guide tube 24, a waste liquid storage section 21 is provided. The waste liquid storage unit 21 includes a tray 25 fixed to the apparatus main body and a waste liquid absorbing material 26 stored in the tray 25.

When the protrusion 23 of the absorbing member 22 comes into contact with the ink in the ink storing recess 19 while the holder 17 is located at the standby position, the ink is absorbed by the absorbing member 22 by capillary action. When the ink reaches the base end side of the absorbing material 22 by permeation, it is dropped into the waste liquid storage unit 21 via the ink guide tube 24. The ink dropped into the waste liquid storage unit 21 is absorbed and held by the waste liquid absorbing material 26.

In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects (1) to (4).

(5) The ink stored in the ink storage recess 19 is introduced into the waste liquid storage 21 provided in the apparatus main body. According to this, the ink storage recess 1
Even if the capacity of 9 is small, it is possible to prevent the overflow of the ink from the concave portion 19. That is, without causing ink to overflow from the ink storage recess 19, the ink storage recess 1
It is possible to wipe the ink having a capacity exceeding the allowable storage capacity of 9 from the ink ejection head 13. This configuration is particularly useful in an ink jet recording apparatus in which the product life is set longer.

(6) The ink dripped from the ink guide tube 24 side is absorbed and held by the waste liquid absorbing material 26 of the waste liquid storage part 21. According to this, even if the ink jet recording apparatus is tilted or shaken, it does not spill from the waste liquid storage unit 21 or scatter.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The ink jet recording apparatus according to the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that a lever 28 to which a cap 27 for capping the ink discharge head 13 is fixed is added, and is stored in the ink storage recess 19. The configuration for introducing the ink into the waste liquid storage unit 21 is provided on the lever 28 side. In other respects, the second
Since the configuration is the same as that of the second embodiment, the same components as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and redundant description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
, A lever 28 having a cap 27 fixed to the distal end side is provided rotatably with respect to the frame 15. In the lever 28, the cap 27 is
3 is provided on the side opposite to. On the side of the lever 28 opposite to the side on which the cap 27 is provided, a vacuum nozzle 29 having a through-hole (also not shown) communicating with a vacuum hole (not shown) formed through the cap 27. Are formed to protrude.

When the ink ejection head 13 moves to the non-printing area and enters a printing standby state, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the lever 28 moves upward so that the cap 27 caps the ink ejection head 13. Has become. This capping closes the nozzle openings of the ink discharge head 13. When a command operation is performed by a user, or when the control device needs to perform an ink suction process in the nozzles of the ink discharge head 13,
The ink on the nozzle side is supplied to a vacuum pump (not shown) through the vacuum hole and the through hole and a tube (not shown) connected to the vacuum nozzle 29.
Forcibly sucked.

At the base end of the lever 28 as viewed from the cap 27, an absorbing material 30 for absorbing the ink stored in the ink storing recess 19 is fixed. Absorbent 3
Numeral 0 stands on the side of the lever 28 facing the ink ejection head 13. A lever 28 is provided on the tip side of the absorbing material 30.
A protruding portion 31 is formed to protrude toward the tip end side. At the tip of the lever 28, a projection 32 is formed which projects to the side where the vacuum nozzle 29 is formed. The lever 28 is formed with an ink guide groove 33 as an ink guide path for introducing the ink absorbed by the absorbing material 30 to the tip of the projection 32.

In a state where the holder 17 is located at the standby position for ink absorption by the absorbing material 30, the distal end side of the lever 28 moves downward as shown in FIG.
When 1 contacts the ink in the ink storage recess 19, the ink is absorbed by the absorbing material 30. When the ink reaches the base end side of the absorbent material 30 by permeation, the ink guide groove 33 is formed.
Is dropped into the waste liquid storage unit 21 via the. Waste liquid storage unit 21
Is absorbed and held by the waste liquid absorber 26.

In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects (1) to (6).

(7) The nozzle opening of the ink discharge head 13 is closed by the cap 27 in the printing standby state. This suppresses evaporation of the ink solvent from the nozzle opening and adhesion of dust to the nozzle opening. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress printing failure due to adhesion of dust to the ink ejection head 13 and increase or solidification of the viscosity of the ink.

(8) The ink on the nozzle side of the ink ejection head 13 is forcibly forced by the vacuum pump through the vacuum hole formed in the cap 27, the through hole formed on the vacuum nozzle 29 side, and the tube connected to the vacuum nozzle 29. It was made to suck. This eliminates any clogging of the nozzles, etc., and prevents such clogging.

(9) The absorbing member 30 is provided on the lever 28 rotatably provided on the frame 15. This allows
The absorbing material 30 can be moved with the rotation of the lever 28. That is, when it is not necessary to absorb the ink in the ink storage recess 19 with the absorbing material 30, the absorbing material 30 can be moved to a position where it does not contact the holder 17. Therefore, as compared with the configuration in the second embodiment (the configuration in which the protrusion 23 contacts the holder 17 when the absorbing material 22 enters the ink storage recess 19), both of the two by the contact between the absorbing material 30 and the holder 17. Can be suppressed.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be, for example, in the following mode.

Instead of using the absorbing materials 22 and 30 to absorb the ink in the ink storage recess 19, the suction pump may be used to forcibly suck the ink in the ink storage recess 19. The sucked ink may be configured to be introduced into the waste liquid storage unit 21 or may be configured to be introduced into the storage unit provided in the pump.

The reciprocating direction of the holder 17 may not be orthogonal as long as it intersects the scanning direction of the ink discharge head 13.

The protrusions 23, 31 of the absorbers 22, 30 need not be in contact with the bottom of the ink storage recess 19 during ink absorption. What is necessary is just to be comprised so that the ink in the ink storage recessed part 19 can be contacted with the ink.

In addition to the absorbing materials 22 and 30, an absorbing material capable of absorbing the ink flowing down to the ink storing concave portion 19 may be provided in the ink storing concave portion 19. According to this, the ink in the ink storage recess 19 is prevented from spilling or scattering due to the swing of the holder 17 due to the reciprocating operation and the tilt and swing of the ink jet recording apparatus.

In the third embodiment, the configuration is provided in which the ink on the nozzle side of the ink discharge head 13 is forcibly sucked by the vacuum pump, but this configuration may not be provided.

[0054]

As described in detail above, according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus,
By performing wiping for suppressing printing failure due to dust or ink residue adhering to the ink ejection head, wiping operation failure and capping failure caused by ink removed from the head side can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a main part of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a third embodiment (in a state where an absorbing material has entered an ink storage recess).

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an essential part of the ink jet recording apparatus (in a state where an absorbing material is arranged outside an ink storing recess and an ink ejection head is capped).

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Carriage 13 Ink discharge head 17 Holder 19 Ink storing recess 20 Wiper 21 Waste liquid storing part 22, 30 Absorbent material 24 Ink guide pipe as ink guide path 27 Cap 28 Lever 33 Ink guide groove as ink guide path

Claims (5)

[Claims] An ink discharge head disposed on a carriage provided in the apparatus main body so as to be capable of reciprocating in a scanning direction; And a wiper for wiping the ink ejection head by the reciprocating motion, wherein the ink storage recess capable of storing the ink wiped by the wiper is provided in the holder. An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink in the ink storing recess is introduced into a waste liquid storing section provided in the apparatus main body. 3. The ink in the ink storage concave portion is introduced into the waste liquid storage portion via an ink guide path provided in the apparatus main body after being absorbed by an absorbing material.
3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the absorbing material and the ink guiding path include:
4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a cap for capping the ink discharge head is fixed and provided on a lever rotatably provided on the apparatus main body side. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink in the ink storage recess is introduced into the waste liquid storage after being sucked by a suction pump.