JP2003246083A - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer that can always maintain an adequate ejection condition of ink without creating defective ejection due to drying of a recording head or the like even when the printing on a plurality of recording media is concurrently performed. <P>SOLUTION: This inkjet printer 100 concurrently performs the printing on a plurality of recording media by ejecting ink toward a platen 33 from a recording head 31. An idling ejection receiver 800 where the recording head 31 performs idling ejection is provided to at least one portion K on the platen 33 between the plurality of recording media. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to prevent ink ejection defects such as clogging, which are caused by ink drying or dust adhesion in the recording head, an ink jet printer has been used to eject ink from the recording head by a maintenance mechanism or the like. Is supposed to do. By performing this idle ejection, the recording head can always maintain a normal ink ejection state. The maintenance mechanism is often provided near the end of the recording head in the main scanning direction. Conventionally, there is an inkjet printer in which a plurality of recording media are arranged and printing is performed on the plurality of recording media in parallel at the same time.

[0003]

However, as described above, when printing is performed in parallel on a plurality of recording media, the range of movement of the recording head is likely to be wide. Therefore, after the idle discharge by the maintenance mechanism, the interval until the recording head returns to the maintenance mechanism and performs the idle discharge becomes long, and the recording heads of the colors that were not ejected during that time are dried and the ejection failure occurs. May cause.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent ejection failure due to drying of the recording head even when printing is performed on a plurality of recording media simultaneously in parallel.
An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer that can always maintain a normal ink ejection state.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
An inkjet printer that ejects ink from a recording head on a platen to print on a plurality of recording media in parallel at the same time, wherein the recording head ejects ink blank at least at one position between the plurality of recording media. It is characterized in that it is provided with an idle discharge receiver.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the recording head is provided with an idle ejection receiver for performing idle ejection of the ink at least at one place between the plurality of recording media on the platen, the recording head is not ejecting the ink. The interval from one discharge to the next empty discharge can be shortened, and as a result,
It is possible to always maintain a normal ink ejection state without causing ejection failure due to the recording head drying or the like.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the ink jet printer according to the first aspect, in addition to the space between the recording media in the platen, at least one of both side ends of the platen is provided with an idle discharge receiver. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the space between the recording media in the platen, at least one of the outer sides of the platen is provided with an idle ejection receiver. It is possible to further shorten the interval between performing one and the next empty discharge, and as a result,
It is possible to more reliably prevent ejection failure due to drying of the recording head or the like, and it is possible to always reliably and reliably maintain a normal ink ejection state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer according to the first aspect, the platen is provided with ink receivers for borderless printing at positions where both side edges of each of the plurality of recording media are located. The ink receiver also functions as the idle discharge receiver.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the ink receiver for borderless printing also serves as the idle discharge receiver, it is not necessary to provide a separate device for the idle discharge of ink, and the manufacturing efficiency and cost can be reduced. It can be made excellent.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The inkjet printer 100 exemplified in this embodiment forms an image by ejecting ink from the recording head 31 onto a long (continuous form) recording medium (for example, roll paper) P. Images can be formed on a plurality of (here, two) recording media simultaneously in parallel.

The ink jet printer 100, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
A recording medium supply unit 2 that supplies a recording medium P (hereinafter, P and Pb are collectively referred to as P) to the image forming unit 3 and the like during printing.
An image forming unit 3 that ejects and lands ink on the recording medium P to form an image, a cutting unit 4 that cuts the recording medium P on which the image is formed, and the cut recording medium P to the ink fixing unit. It is generally configured by including a continuous transport section 5 that constantly transports at a constant speed, and an ink fixing section (fixing unit) 6 that fixes ink to the recording medium P.

The recording medium P in this embodiment is, for example, an ink receiving layer containing thermoplastic resin particles constituting the surface layer (image forming surface side), and a pigment ink solvent absorbing layer provided below the ink receiving layer. Has a two-layer structure. The recording medium P having such a configuration imparts gloss to the surface of the recording medium P by performing a fixing process after an image is formed using a pigment ink containing a dispersant,
It is possible to prevent bleeding due to contact between the printed image and water and improve scratch resistance.

In this embodiment, it is possible to print on a plurality of recording media in parallel at the same time. Here, two recording media Pa and Pb arranged in parallel are provided. There is. As described above, when it becomes possible to print a plurality of pieces at the same time, it is possible to shorten the printing time and improve the printing efficiency.

The recording medium supply unit 2 stores a long (continuous) recording medium P (Pa, Pb) in a rolled-up form, and the recording medium P is passed through an intermittent transport unit 21. Image forming unit 3, cutting unit 4, continuous transport unit 5
To supply to. Here, the intermittent transport unit 21 includes an intermittent transport roller 211 connected to an intermittent transport motor 213, and a driven roller 212 (212) that is arranged to face the intermittent transport roller 211 with the recording medium P (Pa, Pb) interposed therebetween.
a, 212b) and the like. Then, the intermittent conveyance motor is driven in synchronization with the progress of image formation in the image forming section 3 to convey the recording medium P intermittently. In addition, here, the recording medium supply unit 2 can arrange two roll-shaped recording media Pa and Pb side by side on the same axis, and the intermittent transport unit 21 intermittently connects the two recording media Pa and Pb. It is designed to be conveyed.

The image forming section 3 includes a plurality of recording heads 31 for ejecting ink toward the recording medium P, and a plurality of recording heads 31 according to the number of colors used for image formation, the ink ejection ports (not shown). Carriage 3 which arranges and mounts on the lower side
2, and a platen 33 for sucking and supporting the lower surface of the recording medium P within a predetermined range by driving suction means (not shown). Of these, the carriage 32 reciprocates along a carriage rail 35 within a predetermined range in the width direction (main scanning direction) of the recording medium P by driving a carriage moving unit (recording head moving unit) 34 controlled by a control unit described later. It is movable, and the recording head 31 is scanned by repeating this reciprocating movement. here,
As the ink, a pigment ink containing a dispersant is used. The platen 33 is, for example, arranged substantially horizontally, and the carriage 32 is provided above the platen 33. In this embodiment, the intermittent transport unit 21 transports the two storage media Pa and Pb onto the platen 33, and the recording head 31 transfers the two storage media Pa and Pb onto the platen. It is possible to print in parallel at the same time.

In this embodiment, a plurality of recording media (here, two recording media Pa, P) on the platen 33 are used.
An empty discharge receiver 800 is provided at K during b). The blank discharge receiver 800 is a portion where the print head 31 performs blank discharge of ink, and at least one of the discharge ports of the print head 31.
The recesses are larger than the number of rows (one row in the sub-scanning direction) and the like, and are provided with a receiving portion for receiving the ink that has been ejected in an idle manner and a flow path for discharging the accumulated ink. As described above, when the idle discharge receiver 800 is provided between the recording media K, the recording head 31 reaches the idle discharge receiver 800 when the carriage 32 reciprocates once on the recording medium Pa or the recording medium Pb. It is possible to perform idle ejection of ink before 31 is dried, and it is possible to always maintain a normal ink ejection state.

Further, here, the idle discharge receivers 800 are also provided outside the both side ends of the platen 33. This allows
The carriage 32 moves over the recording medium Pa or the recording medium Pb 1
Since the recording head 31 reaches the idle ejection receiver 800 each time the recording head 31 passes, it is possible to reliably perform idle ejection of the ink before the recording head 31 dries, and it is possible to more reliably maintain a normal ink ejection state. it can.

It should be noted that when the carriage 32 reaches the above-mentioned idle discharge receiver 800, the idle discharge may always be performed, but if the carriage 32 passes over the idle discharge receiver 800 a predetermined number of times,
Alternatively, the idle discharge may be performed at appropriate intervals or conditions such as every predetermined time or when the sensor detects that the recording head 31 has dried.

The cutting unit 4 is, for example, a main body 41 elongated in the width direction of the recording medium P (left and right direction in FIG. 2), a cutter unit 42 for cutting the recording medium P on which image formation is completed, and a cutter unit 42 for cutting the recording medium P. Cutter part drive motor (not shown) for reciprocating the cutter part 42 in the longitudinal direction of the main body part 41
It has and.

A fan 7 for drying the inside of the ink jet printer 100 is provided above the cutting unit 4. The fan 7 is adapted to rotate by the drive of a fan driving unit (not shown) when printing an image on the recording medium P, and the inkjet printer 100 is provided.
The interior of the ink fixing section 6 can be dried to improve the fixability of the image.

The continuous transport section 5 has, for example, a carry-in entrance 51 for carrying in the recording medium P carried out from the cutting section 4, and a downward direction of the recording medium P from the carry-in entrance 51 to a transport path switching section (described later) 55. A first transport path 52 which is a transport path of
A second transport path 53, which is an upward transport path of the recording medium P from the transport path switching section 55 to the ink fixing section 6, and a recording medium transport section 54 for transporting the recording medium P along each transport path. ing.

The ink fixing unit 6 heats and pressurizes the recording medium P carried in through the carry-in port 611 to fix the image on the recording medium P and to photograph the surface of the recording medium P. A fixing process for imparting such gloss is performed. The ink fixing section 6 is provided above (higher than) the cutting section 4. Specifically, at the lowermost end of the ink fixing section 6, there is provided a carry-in entrance 611 for carrying in the recording medium P from the continuous carrying section 5, and the carry-in entrance 611 is a rotary cutter and a fixed blade of the cutting section 4. Is provided above a portion where the recording medium P contacts, that is, a portion where the recording medium P is cut.

Specifically, the ink fixing section 6 is covered by, for example, the case 61, and a carry-in inlet 611 provided at the lowermost end of the case 61 and an inside of the case 61, for example, a carried-in recording. Heating unit 62 for heating the medium P
And a pressurizing unit 63 for pressurizing the recording medium P. In addition, at the uppermost end of the case 61,
An ejection port 612 is provided for ejecting the recording medium P on which the fixing process has been performed from the ink fixing unit 6.

The control means is, for example, a CPU (Cent
ral Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memor)
y), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an interface, and the like, and controls each component of the inkjet printer 100.

Although not shown, a maintenance mechanism is provided near the end portion in the main scanning direction in which the carriage 32 reciprocates. The maintenance mechanism is the recording head 3
A suction cap that covers the nozzle surface having the first discharge port and sucks ink from the discharge port; and a blade portion that wipes ink remaining on the nozzle surface of the recording head 31 after the suction cap sucks the ink. A blade cleaner section for cleaning the blade section and an idle ejection section for performing idle ejection of the ink by the recording head 31 after wiping ink off the nozzle surface by the blade section are provided.

Next, the operation of printing an image on the recording medium P (Pa, Pb) by the ink jet printer 100 will be described.

When printing is started, first, the recording medium P (here, two recording media Pa and Pb) stored in a roll form in the recording medium supply unit 2 is transferred to the image forming unit 3 via the intermittent transport unit 21. Transport. In the image forming unit 3, printing is performed on the recording medium P by ejecting ink onto the recording medium P based on the image data under the control of the control unit (here, the two recording media Pa and Pb are printed). Form images in parallel). It should be noted that the recording medium P (Pa, Pb) is conveyed by the intermittent conveyance unit 21 by an appropriate length (intermittently) every time an image is formed in a certain area thereof, and is synchronized with the progress of image formation. The cutting section 4 and the continuous conveyance section 5 are sequentially conveyed.

Here, when the carriage 32 including the recording head 31 in the image forming section 3 reaches the idle ejection receiver 800 while satisfying a predetermined condition during printing, the recording head performs idle ejection of ink. Therefore, the recording head 31 always maintains a normal ink ejection state.

Then, when the image forming portion of the recording medium P on which the image formation has been completed has finished passing under the rotary cutter here, the cutting means 4 is operated by the control means, and the recording medium on which the image has been formed. P is cut from the long recording medium P. When the cutting of the recording medium P is completed, the control unit controls the continuous transport unit 5 to continuously transport the recording medium P to the ink fixing unit 6. The ink fixing section 6 heats and pressurizes the carried-in recording medium P to melt and smooth the thermoplastic resin of the ink receiving layer to fix the image on the recording medium P, and at the same time, to the surface of the recording medium P. It is conveyed continuously so that unevenness such as gloss does not occur.
Then, the recording medium P on which the fixing process has been performed is carried out from the ink fixing section 6 and accumulated on the tray 11 on the upper surface of the case 1.

As described above, according to the ink jet printer 100 of this embodiment, the blank head 800 is provided with the blank jet receiver 800 for blank jetting of ink at at least one location between the plurality of print media K on the platen 33. Since the recording head 31 is provided, it is possible to shorten the interval from when the recording head 31 performs the idle ejection of ink to the next idle ejection,
As a result, it is possible to maintain a normal ink ejection state without causing ejection failure due to the recording head 31 drying or the like.

Further, here, in addition to the space K between the recording mediums in the platen 33, the idle heads 800 are provided on at least one of the outer sides of the platen, so that the recording head 31 idles the ink. It is possible to further shorten the interval from the start to the next blank ejection, and as a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent ejection failure due to the recording head 31 drying, etc.
It is possible to maintain a normal ink ejection state.

The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and may be an ink jet printer provided with an idle discharge receiver having another structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink receiver 800A for borderless printing may also be used as an idle discharge receiver. That is, in the inkjet printer 100 capable of the borderless printing described above, the platen 3
Ink receivers 800A are provided at both ends of each recording medium Pa and Pb in 3A. This is because in the borderless printing, printing is performed reliably up to the end portions of the recording media Pa and Pb.
Ink is ejected over a wider area than the recording medium, and the ink receiver 800A is provided to receive the ink ejected outside the recording medium.
Note that, in FIG. 3, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, when the ink receiver for borderless printing also serves as the idle discharge receiver, it is not necessary to provide a separate device for the idle discharge of ink, and the manufacturing efficiency and cost are excellent. Can be

In the above-described embodiment, it is possible to print on two recording media at the same time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more recording media, for example, three roll papers can be used. An inkjet printer having a configuration capable of printing at the same time may be used. In an inkjet printer having a configuration capable of printing on three rolls of paper at the same time, at least one of the two recording media may be provided with an idle ejection receiver. Similarly, when the number of recording media becomes 4 or more,
At least one idle discharge receiver is provided between the recording media. It should be noted that the number, shape, size, etc. of the idle discharge receivers may be appropriately set according to the inkjet printer provided.

Further, the ink jet printer according to this embodiment has a constitution of using the pigment ink for fixing the ink in the fixing portion, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a dye portion without a fixing portion is used. It may be applied to an inkjet printer using ink. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a long (continuous form) recording medium, particularly roll paper, has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the case of using roll paper, and recording other than roll paper is possible. It can also be applied to an inkjet printer that uses a medium (for example, a piece of paper).

It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed this time are exemplifications in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope.

[0038]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the recording head is provided with the idle discharge receiver for performing the idle discharge of the ink at least at one position between the plurality of recording media in the platen, the recording head is provided with the ink. It is possible to shorten the interval from one blank ejection to the next blank ejection, and as a result, ejection defects do not occur due to the recording head drying, etc., and a normal ink ejection state is always maintained. be able to.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the space between the recording media in the platen, at least one of both side edges of the platen is provided with an idle ejection receiver, so that the recording head ejects idle ink. It is possible to further shorten the interval between performing one and the next empty discharge, and as a result,
It is possible to more reliably prevent ejection failure due to drying of the recording head or the like, and it is possible to always reliably and reliably maintain a normal ink ejection state.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the ink receiver for marginless printing also serves as the idle ejection receiver, it is not necessary to provide a separate device for the idle ejection of ink, and the manufacturing efficiency and cost are reduced. It can be made excellent.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the inkjet printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an inkjet printer according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 inkjet printer 31 recording head 33,33A Platen 800 empty discharge receiver 800A ink receiver (empty discharge receiver) Between K recording media P, Pa, Pb recording medium

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Satoshi Aoki             Konica Stock, 1 Sakura-cho, Hino City, Tokyo             In the company (72) Inventor Osamu Murata             Konica Stock, 1 Sakura-cho, Hino City, Tokyo             In the company F-term (reference) 2C056 EA14 EA17 EA24 EB11 EB36                       EC54 FA10 HA60 JB04 JC23

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet printer which ejects ink from a recording head on a platen to print on a plurality of recording media simultaneously in parallel, wherein at least one of the plurality of recording media on the platen is provided.
An inkjet printer characterized in that a recording head is provided with an idle discharge receiver for performing idle discharge of ink at a position. 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein an idle discharge receiver is provided on at least one of both sides of the platen, in addition to between the recording media on the platen. 3. A platen is provided with an ink receiver for borderless printing at a position where both ends of each of the plurality of recording media are located, and the ink receiver also serves as the idle discharge receiver. Item 2. The inkjet printer according to Item 1.