JP2003266664A - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder, more commonly a liquid ejector, in which ink ejected idly by flushing operation can be prevented from depositing and growing on the surface of an absorber. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid ejector comprises a head member 4 having a first nozzle opening and a second nozzle opening, a passage for supplying liquid to the first nozzle opening, a passage for supplying a moisture holding agent to the second nozzle opening, a first ejection means for ejecting liquid at the first nozzle opening part, a second ejection means for ejecting the moisture holding agent at the second nozzle opening part, and a control body section for driving the first ejection means and the second ejection means based on ejection data. <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 a liquid ejecting apparatus having a head member for ejecting a liquid from a nozzle opening, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus having a recording head for ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle opening for recording. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet type recording apparatus such as an ink jet type printer or an ink jet type plotter moves a recording head along a main scanning direction and a recording paper (a kind of print recording medium) along a sub scanning direction. An image (character) is recorded on the recording paper by ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle openings of the recording head in conjunction with this movement. The ejection of the ink droplets is performed, for example, by expanding and contracting the pressure generating chamber that communicates with the nozzle openings.

By the way, since the ink is exposed to the air at the nozzle opening portion of the recording head, the ink solvent (for example, water) is gradually evaporated. The evaporation of the ink solvent increases the viscosity of the ink at the nozzle openings, deteriorating the quality of the recorded image. That is, when the ink viscosity of the portion increases, the ejected ink droplet may fly in a direction deviated from the normal direction.

For this reason, in the ink jet recording apparatus, measures are taken to prevent thickening of the ink in the nozzle openings. As a countermeasure against this thickening, there is a flushing operation for forcibly ejecting the thickened ink outside the recording area.
Generally, an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with an absorbing material for absorbing ink ejected by the flushing operation.

[0005]

By the way, in recent years, pigment inks are increasingly used as inks having excellent light resistance.

However, since the pigment ink is apt to increase in viscosity, the ink ejected by the flushing operation may be deposited and grown on the surface of the absorber of the liquid receiving mechanism.

In recent years, when ink printing is performed on a recording medium such as a recording sheet, "edgeless printing" is widely used in which the margin of the edge is zero. For example, the recording medium is supported by a platen or the like, and ink is ejected to a region including the edge of the recording medium and protruding from the edge. A platen is usually present in the area portion protruding from the edge, and the ink ejected in the area portion is absorbed by the platen.

However, particularly when a pigment ink is used as the ink, the ink ejected onto the platen in the "rimless printing" may be accumulated and grown on the platen.

The ink lumps thus deposited and grown on the platen may come into contact with the recording head and the recording medium, which may lead to deterioration of print quality.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and it is possible to prevent the ink that has been ejected by idle in the flushing operation from accumulating and growing on the surface of the absorbent material. In general, it is intended to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus. Alternatively,
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus, which is a liquid ejecting apparatus in general, capable of preventing the ink ejected on the upper surface of a platen or the like from being accumulated and grown in the “borderless printing”.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a head member having a first nozzle opening and a second nozzle opening, a liquid supply path for supplying a liquid to the first nozzle opening, and a moisturizing agent at the second nozzle opening. A solvent supply path for supplying, a first ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the first nozzle opening portion, a second ejecting means for ejecting the moisturizing agent in the second nozzle opening portion, a first ejecting means based on the ejection data, A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a control main body that drives a second ejecting unit.

According to the present invention, a second moisturizing agent is injected.
Since the spraying means is provided, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and accumulating and growing by spraying the moisturizing agent to an appropriate place. This is because the moisturizer suppresses the drying of the liquid itself due to the function of suppressing the evaporation of water in the liquid and / or the function of absorbing the water in the liquid.

The moisturizer contains, for example, glycerin.

The present invention also provides a first nozzle opening and a second nozzle opening.
A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid supply path for supplying a liquid to the first nozzle opening, a solvent supply path for supplying a penetrant of the liquid to the second nozzle opening, and a liquid in the first nozzle opening portion is ejected. A first jetting unit, a second jetting unit for jetting the penetrant at the opening of the second nozzle, and a control body for driving the first jetting unit and the second jetting unit based on the discharge data. A characteristic liquid ejecting apparatus.

According to the present invention, the second step of injecting the penetrant
Since the injection unit is provided, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and accumulating and growing by injecting the penetrant into an appropriate place. Because the penetrant facilitates soaking of the liquid at the place where the penetrant is sprayed, preferably the absorber, so that the liquid is not left on the surface of the place, and the fixed growth of the liquid at the place. This is because it suppresses

The penetrant includes, for example, a surfactant.

The surfactant preferably contains at least one of a 1,2-alkanediol, a modified polysiloxane compound and TEGmBE (triethylene glycol monobutyl ether).

The solvent supply passage preferably supplies a solvent containing both the liquid penetrant and the humectant to the second nozzle opening. In particular, it is preferable that the humectant containing glycerin is combined with the surfactant containing at least one of 1,2-alkanediol, modified polysiloxane compound and TEGmBE (triethylene glycol monobutyl ether).

Preferably, a supporting member for supporting the liquid ejecting medium, a scanning mechanism for relatively scanning the head member with respect to the liquid ejecting medium, and a nozzle opening provided in a scanning region of the head member. And a liquid receiving mechanism capable of facing each other, wherein the control main body is capable of driving the first ejecting unit when the first nozzle opening is opposed by the liquid receiving mechanism, and the second nozzle opening is It is possible to drive the second ejecting means when facing the liquid receiving mechanism.

In this case, since the moisturizer or penetrant is sprayed from the second nozzle opening into the liquid receiving mechanism, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and depositing and growing in the liquid receiving mechanism.

Further, preferably, a support member for supporting the flat liquid jet medium and a scanning mechanism for scanning the head member relative to the liquid jet medium are further provided.
The support member has a protruding portion that at least partially protrudes from the outer edge portion of the liquid-jetted medium supported by the support member, and the control main body portion has an outer edge portion of the liquid-jetted medium and a protruding portion of the support member. The first ejection means is driven so that the liquid is ejected onto at least a part thereof.

In this case, so-called "rimless ejection" can be realized for the liquid jet medium. In this case, in general, the liquid ejected medium has a supported position such that the protruding portion at least partially protrudes from the outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium, and the outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium extends from the protruding portion. It can be moved between an unsupported position separated by a predetermined distance or more.

[0023] In this case, preferably, the control main body section performs the second injection so that the humectant or penetrant is injected to at least a part of the protruding portion of the support member when the liquid injection medium is in the non-supporting position. It is adapted to drive the means.

According to this, the second ejecting means for ejecting the moisturizing agent or penetrating agent ejects the moisturizing agent or penetrating agent to at least a part of the protruding portion of the support member, so that the liquid is fixed to the protruding portion. It is possible to prevent deposition growth.

The liquid is, for example, ink. In particular, the liquid is a pigment ink.

Further, according to the present invention, a head member having a plurality of first nozzle openings and a plurality of second nozzle openings, and each first member.
A liquid supply path for supplying a liquid to the nozzle opening, a solvent supply path for supplying a moisturizing agent to each second nozzle opening, a plurality of first ejecting means for respectively ejecting the liquid in each first nozzle opening portion, and each first Each of the first nozzles is provided with a plurality of second ejecting means for respectively ejecting the moisturizing agent in the opening portions of the two nozzles, and a control main body portion for driving each of the first ejecting means and each of the second ejecting means based on the ejection data. The liquid ejecting apparatus is characterized in that the openings and the respective second nozzle openings have a one-to-one correspondence.

According to the present invention, a second moisturizing agent is injected.
Since the spraying means is provided, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and accumulating and growing by spraying the moisturizing agent to an appropriate place. In particular, according to the invention,
Since each of the first nozzle openings and each of the second nozzle openings have a one-to-one correspondence, it is possible to make the second nozzle openings correspond to the respective liquid ejection points from the first nozzle openings, and the moisturizing agent. Can be injected very effectively.

The present invention also provides a head member having a plurality of first nozzle openings and a plurality of second nozzle openings, and each first member.
A liquid supply path for supplying the liquid to the nozzle openings, a solvent supply path for supplying the liquid penetrant to each of the second nozzle openings, and a plurality of first spraying means for spraying the liquid of each of the first nozzle openings. A plurality of second injection means for respectively injecting the penetrant of each second nozzle opening portion, and a control main body section for driving each first injection means and each second injection means based on the ejection data, In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the first nozzle openings and the respective second nozzle openings have a one-to-one correspondence.

According to the present invention, the second step of injecting the penetrant
Since the injection unit is provided, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and accumulating and growing by injecting the penetrant into an appropriate place. In particular, according to the invention,
Since each of the first nozzle openings and each of the second nozzle openings have a one-to-one correspondence, it is possible to make the second nozzle openings correspond to the respective liquid jetting locations from the first nozzle openings, and the penetrant Can be injected very effectively.

Preferably, a supporting member for supporting the liquid ejecting medium, a scanning mechanism for relatively scanning the head member with respect to the liquid ejecting medium, and a nozzle opening provided in a scanning region of the head member. And a liquid receiving mechanism capable of facing each other, and the control main body can drive the first ejecting unit corresponding to the first nozzle opening when the first nozzle opening is opposed by the liquid receiving mechanism. In addition, when the second nozzle opening is opposed by the liquid receiving mechanism, it is possible to drive the second ejection unit corresponding to the second nozzle opening.

In this case, since the moisturizer or penetrant is sprayed from the second nozzle opening into the liquid receiving mechanism, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and depositing and growing in the liquid receiving mechanism.

Further, preferably, a support member for supporting the flat liquid jet medium and a scanning mechanism for scanning the head member relative to the liquid jet medium are further provided.
The support member has a protruding portion that at least partially protrudes from the outer edge portion of the liquid-jetted medium supported by the support member, and the control main body portion has an outer edge portion of the liquid-jetted medium and a protruding portion of the support member. Each of the first ejection means is driven so that the liquid is ejected onto at least a part thereof.

In this case, so-called "rimless ejection" for the liquid jet medium can be realized. In this case, in general, the liquid ejected medium has a supported position such that the protruding portion at least partially protrudes from the outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium, and the outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium extends from the protruding portion. It can be moved between an unsupported position separated by a predetermined distance or more.

In this case, preferably, the control main body portion is configured such that the moisturizer or penetrant is sprayed onto at least a part of the protruding portion of the support member when the liquid jet medium is in the non-support position. The injection means is driven.

According to this, the second ejecting means for ejecting the moisturizing agent or penetrating agent ejects the moisturizing agent or penetrating agent to at least a part of the protruding portion of the supporting member, so that the liquid adheres to the protruding portion. It is possible to prevent deposition growth. In particular, according to the present invention, each first nozzle opening and each second nozzle opening have a one-to-one correspondence,
The second nozzle opening can be made to correspond to each of the liquid ejection locations from the first nozzle opening, and the moisturizer or penetrant can be extremely effectively ejected.

[0036]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet type recording apparatus (an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus) of the present embodiment is an ink jet type printer 1, and a cartridge holder portion capable of holding an ink cartridge 2 and a special solvent cartridge 102. A carriage 5 having a recording head 3 and a recording head 4 (head member) is provided. The carriage 5 is reciprocally moved in the main scanning direction by a head scanning mechanism.

In the present embodiment, the ink cartridge 2
Contains a pigment-based ink. On the other hand, the special solvent cartridge 102 contains a solvent containing glycerin which is a moisturizing agent and a surfactant which is a penetrating agent.

More specifically, 2% by weight of 1,2-hexanediol as 1,2-alkanediol is contained,
A solvent containing 0.3% by weight of BYK348 as a modified polysiloxane, 5% by weight of glycerin, and a residual amount of pure water is mainly used in the special solvent cartridge 102.

The head scanning mechanism includes a guide member 6 which is installed in the left and right direction of the housing, a pulse motor 7 which is provided on one side of the housing, and a drive pulley which is connected to the rotary shaft of the pulse motor 7 and is rotationally driven. 8, a free-running pulley 9 mounted on the other side of the housing, a timing belt 10 hung between the drive pulley 8 and the free-running pulley 9 and connected to the carriage 5, and the rotation of the pulse motor 7 is controlled. Control unit 11 (see FIG. 6)
It consists of and. As a result, the pulse motor 7
Is operated, the carriage 5, that is, the recording head 4 can be reciprocated in the main scanning direction, which is the width direction of the recording paper 12.

Further, the printer 1 has a paper feeding mechanism for feeding the recording medium such as the recording paper 12 in the paper feeding direction (sub scanning direction). This paper feed mechanism is composed of a paper feed motor 13, a paper feed roller 14, and the like. The recording medium such as the recording paper 12 is sequentially sent out in association with the recording operation.

The printer 1 of the present embodiment executes a recording operation when the recording head 4 moves forward (performs unidirectional recording).
It is like this.

A home position and a standby position of the recording head 4 (carriage 5) are set in an end region outside the recording region within the movement range of the carriage 5. As shown in FIG. 2A, the home position is set at one end (right side in the drawing) of the head movement range in which the recording head 4 can move. The standby position is set to be adjacent to the home position on the recording area side.

The present invention can also be applied to a printer configured to execute a recording operation (perform bidirectional recording) both when the recording head 4 moves forward and when it moves backward. In such a printer, as shown in FIG. 2B, in addition to the first standby position WP1 substantially adjacent to the home position, a second standby position WP2 is provided at the end opposite to the home position. Can be done.

The home position is a place where the recording head 4 moves and stays when the power is off or the recording is not performed for a long time. When the recording head 4 is located at the home position, the cap member 15 of the capping mechanism is moved to the nozzle plate 16 as shown in FIG.
It abuts (see FIG. 5) to seal the nozzle opening 17 (see FIG. 5). The cap member 15 is a member formed by molding an elastic member such as rubber into a substantially rectangular tray shape with an open top surface.
Moisturizing absorbent such as felt is installed inside. By sealing the recording head 4 with the cap member 15, the inside of the cap is kept at high humidity, and the evaporation of the ink solvent from the nozzle openings 17 is alleviated.

The standby position is a starting point when the recording head 4 is scanned. That is, the recording head 4
Normally, the printer waits at this standby position, is scanned from the standby position to the recording area side during the recording operation, and returns to the standby position when the recording operation is completed.

In the case of a printer for bidirectional recording, FIG.
Referring to (b), the recording head 4 scans from the state of standing by at the first standby position WP1 to the side of the second standby position WP2 and performs the recording operation at the time of forward movement. When this recording operation is completed, it waits at the second waiting position WP2. Next, the recording head 4 scans from the state of waiting at the second standby position WP2 to the first standby position WP1 side and performs the recording operation at the time of the backward movement. When this recording operation is completed, it waits at the first waiting position WP1. After that, the recording operation for the forward movement and the recording operation for the backward movement are alternately repeated.

At the standby position, an ink receiving member for collecting the ink discharged from the recording head 4 by the flushing operation (a kind of maintenance operation) is provided. In the present embodiment, the cap member 15 is
Also serves as an ink receiving member. That is, the cap member 15
As shown in FIG. 3 (a), it is usually arranged at a position below the standby position of the recording head 4 (a position slightly below the nozzle plate 16). Then, as the recording head 4 moves to the home position, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), the nozzle opening 17 is moved to an obliquely upper side (home position side and nozzle plate 16 side).
Is sealed.

In the case of a printer for bidirectional recording, as shown in FIG. 2B, the ink receiving member 18 is also arranged at the second standby position WP2. The ink receiving member 18 may be configured by, for example, a box-shaped flushing box having an open surface facing the recording head 4.

Further, in this embodiment, the acceleration area is set between the standby position and the recording area. The acceleration area is an area for accelerating the scanning speed of the recording head 4 to a predetermined speed.

Next, the recording head 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4A, the recording head 4 includes a black head unit 141 capable of ejecting black ink, a cyan head unit 142 capable of ejecting cyan ink, and
Magenta head unit 1 that can eject magenta ink
43, a yellow head unit 144 capable of ejecting yellow ink, and an ejection solvent head unit 145 capable of ejecting a special solvent. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the bottom surface of each head unit 141 to 145 has
A plurality of nozzle openings 17 are formed along the sub-scanning direction. The nozzle openings 17 of each of the head units 141 to 145 have the same number and are aligned in the main scanning direction in a one-to-one correspondence with each other.

Next, each head unit will be described with reference to FIG. Each head unit has a common structure, and as shown in FIG. 5, a comb-shaped piezoelectric vibrator 21 is provided in one opening in a storage chamber 72 of a box-shaped case 71 made of, for example, plastic. And the comb-teeth end 21a faces the other opening. The flow path unit 74 is joined to the surface (lower surface) of the case 71 on the other opening side, and the comb-teeth-shaped tip portions 21a are respectively connected to the flow path unit 7.
It is abutted and fixed to a predetermined portion of No. 4.

In the piezoelectric vibrator 21, a plate-shaped vibrator plate in which the common internal electrodes 21c and the individual internal electrodes 21d are alternately laminated with the piezoelectric body 21b interposed therebetween is cut into a comb shape corresponding to the dot formation density. Is configured. Then, by applying a potential difference between the common internal electrode 21c and the individual internal electrode 21d, each piezoelectric vibrator 21 expands and contracts in the vibrator longitudinal direction orthogonal to the stacking direction.

The flow path unit 74 is constructed by laminating the nozzle plate 16 and the elastic plate 77 on both sides with the flow path forming plate 75 interposed therebetween.

The flow path forming plate 75 communicates with a plurality of nozzle openings 17 formed in the nozzle plate 16, and a plurality of pressure generating chambers 22 are arranged in a row with a pressure generating chamber partition wall therebetween.
A plurality of supply parts 82 communicating with at least one end of each pressure generating chamber 22, and an elongated common chamber 83 with which all the supply parts 82 communicate with each other.
And are formed plate materials. For example, by etching a silicon wafer, an elongated common chamber 83
The pressure generating chambers 22 are formed along the longitudinal direction of the common chamber 83 in accordance with the pitch of the nozzle openings 17, and the groove-shaped supply portion 82 is provided between each pressure generating chamber 22 and the common chamber 83.
Can be formed. In this case, the supply unit 82 is connected to one end of the pressure generating chamber 22, and the nozzle opening 17 is arranged near the end opposite to the supply unit 82. Further, the common chamber 83 is a chamber for supplying the ink or the special solvent stored in the ink cartridge 2 or the special solvent cartridge 102 to the pressure generating chamber 22, and the supply pipe 84 communicates with substantially the center in the longitudinal direction thereof. ing.

The elastic plate 77 is laminated on the surface of the flow path forming plate 75 on the side opposite to the nozzle plate 16, and the stainless plate 8
A polymer film such as PPS is provided on the lower surface side of the elastic film 8
8 is a laminated double structure. And
The stainless plate 87 in a portion corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 22 is etched to form an island portion 89 for abutting and fixing the piezoelectric vibrator 21.

Each head unit 14 having the above structure
In 1 to 145, by extending the piezoelectric vibrator 21 in the vibrator longitudinal direction, the island portion 89 is pressed toward the nozzle plate 16 side, the elastic film 88 around the island portion 89 is deformed, and the pressure generating chamber 22 is formed. Contract. When the piezoelectric vibrator 21 is contracted in the longitudinal direction from the contracted state of the pressure generation chamber 22, the elasticity of the elastic film 88 causes the pressure generation chamber 2 to be compressed.
2 expands. By temporarily expanding and then contracting the pressure generating chamber 22, the pressure of the ink or the special solvent in the pressure generating chamber 22 increases, and ink droplets or special solvent droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings 17.

That is, the head units 141 to 145
Then, as the piezoelectric vibrator 21 is charged and discharged, the capacity of the corresponding pressure chamber 22 changes. Such a pressure chamber 22
It is possible to eject ink droplets or special solvent droplets from the nozzle openings 17 or to slightly vibrate the meniscus (the free surface of the ink exposed at the nozzle openings 17) by utilizing the pressure fluctuation of the above.

It is also possible to use a so-called flexural vibration mode piezoelectric vibrator in place of the longitudinal vibration vibration mode piezoelectric vibrator 21 described above. The flexural vibration mode piezoelectric vibrator is a piezoelectric vibrator that contracts the pressure chamber by deformation due to charging and expands the pressure chamber by deformation due to discharging.

Next, the electrical configuration of the printer 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the inkjet printer 1 includes a printer controller 30 and a print engine 31.

The printer controller 30 includes an external interface (external I / F) 32, a RAM 33 for temporarily storing various data, a ROM 34 for storing control programs and the like, a control section 11 including a CPU and the like.
An oscillation circuit 35 for generating a clock signal, a drive signal generation circuit 36 for generating a drive signal for supplying each head unit of the recording head 4 and the like, a dot developed based on the drive signal and print data. An internal interface (internal I / F) 37 for transmitting pattern data (bitmap data) and the like to the print engine 31.

The external I / F 32 receives print data composed of, for example, a character code, a graphic function, image data, etc. from a host computer (not shown) or the like. In addition, the busy signal (BUSY) and the acknowledge signal (ACK) are transmitted through the external I / F 32.
It is output to the host computer or the like.

The RAM 33 has a reception buffer, an intermediate buffer, an output buffer and a work memory (not shown). The receiving buffer temporarily stores the print data received via the external I / F 32, the intermediate buffer stores the intermediate code data converted by the control unit 11, and the output buffer stores the dot pattern data. Memorize Here, the dot pattern data is print data obtained by decoding (translating) intermediate code data (for example, gradation data).

The ROM 34 stores font data, graphic functions, etc. in addition to a control program (control routine) for performing various data processing. Further, the ROM 34 serves as maintenance information holding means.
It also stores setting data for maintenance operations.

The control unit 11 performs various controls according to the control program stored in the ROM 34. For example, the print data in the reception buffer is read, the print data is converted into intermediate code data, and the intermediate code data is stored in the intermediate buffer. In addition, the control unit 11
Analyzes the intermediate code data read from the intermediate buffer, and develops (decodes) the dot pattern data by referring to the font data and the graphic function stored in the ROM 34. Then, the control unit 11 stores the dot pattern data in the output buffer after performing the necessary decoration processing.

If dot pattern data for one line which can be printed is obtained by one main scan of the print head 4,
The dot pattern data for one line is sequentially output from the output buffer through the internal I / F 37 to the electric drive system 39 of each ink head unit of the recording head 4, and the carriage 5 is scanned to print one line. . When one line of dot pattern data is output from the output buffer,
The expanded intermediate code data is erased from the intermediate buffer, and the expansion process for the next intermediate code data is performed.

Further, the control section 11 controls a maintenance operation (recovery operation) which is carried out separately from the recording operation by the recording head 4.

The print engine 31 includes a paper feed motor 13 as a paper feed mechanism, a pulse motor 7 as a head scanning mechanism, and an electric drive system 39 for the recording head 4.

Next, the electric drive system 39 of the recording head 4 will be described. The electric drive system 39, as shown in FIG.
A shift register circuit 40, a latch circuit 41, a level shifter circuit 42, and a switch circuit 43 which are electrically connected in order.
And a piezoelectric vibrator 21. These shift register circuit 40, latch circuit 41, level shifter circuit 4
2, the switch circuit 43, and the piezoelectric vibrator 21 are provided for each nozzle opening 17 of each head unit 141-145 of the recording head 4.

In this electric drive system 39, the switch circuit 4
When the selection data added to 3 is "1", the switch circuit 4
In the state of 3, the drive signal is directly applied to the piezoelectric vibrators 21, and each piezoelectric vibrator 21 is deformed according to the signal waveform of the drive signal. On the other hand, when the selection data applied to the switch circuit 43 is “0”, the switch circuit 43 is disconnected and the supply of the drive signal to the piezoelectric vibrator 21 is cut off.

As described above, the drive signal can be selectively supplied to each piezoelectric vibrator 21 based on the selection data.
Therefore, depending on the selection data given, the nozzle opening 1
Ink droplets or special solvent droplets can be ejected from 7, and the meniscus can be vibrated slightly.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the power is turned on, the necessary initialization operation is first performed. After that, the recording head 4 stands by at the standby position (state of FIG. 3A). When the print data for one line is output from the output buffer of the RAM 33, the recording head 4 performs the maintenance operation (recovery operation) before the recording operation.

This maintenance operation is performed in order to maintain the ink droplet ejection capability of the recording head 4.
For example, there are a flushing operation and a micro-vibration operation, which are appropriately selected and implemented.

Specifically, the flushing operation is an operation for forcibly discharging the ink from the recording head 4 toward the ink receiving member (cap member 15) outside the recording area. The flushing operation is performed while stopped at the standby position. When the flushing operation is performed, the thickened ink near the nozzle openings 17 is discharged to the outside of the recording head 4 and replaced with the ink in a good state.

The micro-vibration operation is, as described above, an operation of vibrating the meniscus by vibrating the pressure chamber 22 to the extent that ink droplets are not ejected. In the present embodiment,
This is performed while the recording head 4 is stopped at the standby position and moving in the acceleration region.

Then, the printer 1 of this embodiment ejects the special solvent toward the ink receiving member (cap member 15) when the flushing operation is repeated. This allows the moisturizer in the special solvent to
Since the dried and solidified ink can be dissolved on the ink receiving member, the ink absorbing effect on the ink receiving member is restored. Further, the penetrant in the special solvent enhances the ink absorbing effect of the ink receiving member. As a result, it is possible to prevent the ink from sticking and accumulating and growing in the ink receiving member.

In particular, according to the present embodiment, the nozzle openings 17 of the ink head units 141 to 144 and the nozzle openings 17 of the special solvent head unit 145 have a one-to-one correspondence, so that the ink ejection locations are different. It is possible to spray a special solvent on each. Therefore, the enhancement of the ink absorption effect of the ink receiving member is more effectively realized.

The printer 1 according to the present embodiment can be configured to perform so-called "borderless printing". That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the platen 150 can be provided as a supporting member that supports the recording paper 12 that is a flat liquid jet medium. In this case, platen 1
The reference numeral 50 has a protruding portion 150 a that protrudes at least partially from the outer edge (edge) of the recording paper 12.

Further, the recording paper 12 has a supported position at which the protruding portion 150a at least partially protrudes from the outer edge portion of the recording paper 12, and the outer edge portion of the recording paper 12 has a predetermined distance from the protruding portion 150a. It can be moved between an unsupported position separated from the above.

Then, the control section 11 can drive each piezoelectric vibrator 21 so that the ink is ejected to the outer edge portion of the recording paper 12 and the protruding portion 150a of the platen 150.

Here, a specific operation example of the "borderless printing" will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 7, the leading end 12 of the recording paper 12 is
When “a” reaches below the recording head 4, pigment ink of each color is ejected from the ink head units 141 to 144 of the recording head 4, and printing on the recording paper 12 is started.
At this time, in order to perform printing with the margin of the edge 12a of the recording paper 12 set to zero, the ink is ejected in such a positional relationship that the ink protrudes from the edge 12a of the recording paper 12 to the outside.

Next, when the recording paper 12 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 8, the margins of the edges 12b and 12c of the recording paper 12 are set to zero for printing. The ink is ejected in such a positional relationship that the ink protrudes from the edges 12b and 12c of the recording paper 12 to the outside.

Further, when the recording paper 12 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 9, in order to perform printing with the margin 12d of the recording paper 12 set to zero, printing is performed on the recording paper 12. The ink is ejected in such a positional relationship that the ink protrudes from the end edge 12d of 12 to the outside.

The front edge 12a, side edges 12b, 1 of the recording paper 12
The ink that is ejected outward from 2c and the rear end 12d is absorbed by each protrusion 150a of the platen 150.

When the borderless printing is repeatedly performed, for example, when the borderless printing is performed on a predetermined number of recording sheets 12, the recording sheet 12 is ejected (at the non-supporting position). Then, the special solvent is sprayed toward each protruding portion 150a of the platen 150. This allows
The humectant in the special solvent may dissolve the dried and solidified ink in the protruding portion 150a, so that the ink absorbing effect in the protruding portion 150a is restored. Furthermore, the penetrant in the special solvent enhances the ink absorption effect of the protruding portion 150a. As a result, it is possible to prevent the ink from sticking to the protruding portion 150a and accumulating and growing.

The timing of spraying the special solvent toward each protruding portion 150a may be set before the start of the borderless printing. In this case, the special solvent can be impregnated into the protruding portion 150a of the platen 150 to prevent the ink from being fixed and deposited thereafter.

The platen 150 (at least the protruding portion 150a of the platen 150) is preferably made of a suitable absorbing material in advance. In that case, the platen 150 can be used as an ink receiving member for the flushing operation.

Further, the printer 1 of the present embodiment may be capable of performing the cleaning operation of sucking the ink from the nozzle opening 17. In this case, since the special solvent can be simultaneously sucked from the nozzle opening 17 of the special solvent head unit 145, it is possible to prevent ink from accumulating in the cleaning mechanism. In particular, when the cleaning mechanism has a cap member having a moisturizing sheet, clogging of the moisturizing sheet can be prevented.

Further, with respect to the above embodiment, various additions and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described above.

For example, the pressure generating element that changes the volume of the pressure chamber 22 is not limited to the piezoelectric vibrator 21. For example, a magnetostrictive element may be used as a pressure generating element, and the pressure chamber 22 may be expanded / contracted by the magnetostrictive element to generate a pressure fluctuation. Alternatively, a heating element may be used as a pressure generating element and The pressure may be changed in the pressure chamber 22 by the bubbles that expand and contract due to heat.

As the special solvent, in addition to the above examples,
Solvent A containing 5% by weight of 1,2-hexanediol as a 1,2-alkanediol and 0.5% by weight of a solvent A which is pure water and BYK348 as a modified polysiloxane.
Solvent B containing the remaining amount of pure water and BYK348 is less than 0.
It contains 5% by weight and 10% by weight of glycerin, and the remaining amount is pure water such as solvent C and 1,2-hexanediol.
% By weight and 0.3% by weight of BYK348, and the remaining amount is pure water such as solvent D, 5% by weight of 1,2-hexanediol and 5% by weight of glycerin, and the remaining amount is pure water. Solvent E and glycerin 15% by weight, TEG
mBE (triethylene glycol monobutyl ether)
5% by weight, Olfine E1010 (acetylene glycol-based surfactant: manufactured by Nisshin Chemical Co., Ltd.) 1% by weight,
It has been confirmed by experiments that the solvent F containing 1% by weight of triethanolamine and having a pure residual amount has the same effect as the above solvent.

Other humectants are water-soluble low-boiling organic solvents such as methanol, ethanol, n-propyl alcohol, iso-propyl alcohol, n-butanol, sec-butanol, tert-butanol,
Examples include iso-butanol and n-pentanol. A monohydric alcohol is particularly preferable.

Alternatively, the humectant may be a high boiling organic solvent such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, thioglycol, Hexylene glycol, glycerin, trimethylolethane, polyhydric alcohols such as trimethylolpropane, urea, 2-pyrrolidone, N-
Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone and the like can be mentioned, and these can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds. Among these, glycerin, 2-pyrrolidone, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and urea are preferable.

Regarding the ink, the effect of the present invention is remarkable not only in the pigment ink but also in a high concentration dye-based ink.

With respect to the compatibility between the special solvent and the ink, the special solvent preferably contains a large amount of components used as a solvent (thin component) for the color components in the ink.

Although the above description has been made with respect to the ink jet recording apparatus, the present invention is broadly applicable to all liquid ejecting apparatuses. As an example of the liquid, glue, nail polish, or the like can be used in addition to the ink. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus for manufacturing a color filter in a display body such as a liquid crystal.

[0099]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the second ejecting means for ejecting the moisturizing agent is provided, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and accumulating and growing by ejecting the moisturizing agent to an appropriate place.

Alternatively, according to the present invention, since the second spraying means for spraying the penetrant is provided, it is possible to prevent the liquid from sticking and depositing and growing by spraying the penetrant to an appropriate place. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scanning range of a recording head, in which (a) is a scanning range of a printer that performs unidirectional recording
(B) shows the scanning range of the printer for bidirectional recording.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the recording head,
(A) shows the state of being in the standby position, (b)
Is the state of moving from the standby position to the recording area side,
(C) shows the state when returning from the recording area side to the standby position, and (d) shows the state where it is located at the home position.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a recording head,
(A) is a schematic sectional drawing, (b) is a schematic bottom view.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a head unit.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a recording head.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating borderless printing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating borderless printing.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating borderless printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Inkjet printer 2 ink cartridge 3 Cartridge holder 4 recording head 5 carriage 6 Guide member 7 pulse motor 8 drive pulley 9 Reverse pulley 10 Timing belt 11 Control unit 12 Recording paper 12a front end 12b, 12c side end 12d rear end 13 Paper feed motor 14 Paper feed roller 15 Cap member 16 nozzle plate 17 nozzle opening 18 Ink receiving member 21 Piezoelectric vibrator 21a Comb-shaped tip 22 Pressure generation chamber 30 Printer controller 31 print engine 32 external interface 33 RAM 34 ROM 35 oscillator circuit 36 Drive signal generation circuit 37 Internal interface 39 Electric drive system for recording head 40 shift register circuit 41 Latch circuit 42 level shifter circuit 43 switch circuit 71 cases 72 storage room 74 Channel unit 75 Flow path forming plate 77 Elastic plate 80 nozzle openings 82 Supply Department 83 common room 84 supply pipe 87 stainless steel plate 88 Elastic membrane 89 Island section 102 Special solvent cartridge 141-144 ink head unit 145 Special solvent head unit 150 platen 150a protruding portion

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A head member having a first nozzle opening and a second nozzle opening, a liquid supply path for supplying a liquid to the first nozzle opening, and a penetrant and a moisturizer for the liquid in the second nozzle opening. A solvent supply path for supplying a solvent containing at least one of them, a first ejection means for ejecting the liquid in the first nozzle opening portion, a second ejection means for ejecting the solvent in the second nozzle opening portion, based on ejection data A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a control main body that drives the first ejecting unit and the second ejecting unit. 2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solvent supply passage is adapted to supply the solvent containing both the liquid penetrant and the moisturizing agent to the second nozzle opening. . 3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the penetrant includes a surfactant. 4. The surfactant according to claim 3, wherein the surfactant contains at least one of a 1,2-alkanediol, a modified polysiloxane compound and TEGmBE (triethylene glycol monobutyl ether). Liquid ejector. 5. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moisturizing agent contains glycerin. 6. A support member for supporting a liquid jetting medium, a scanning mechanism for relatively scanning a head member with respect to the liquid jetting medium, and a nozzle opening provided in a scanning region of the head member. And a liquid receiving mechanism capable of driving the first jetting means when the first nozzle opening is opposed by the liquid receiving mechanism, and the second nozzle opening is a liquid The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second ejecting unit can be driven when the second ejecting unit is opposed by the receiving mechanism. 7. A support member for supporting a planar liquid ejecting medium, and a scanning mechanism for relatively scanning a head member with respect to the liquid ejecting medium. The control main body has a protruding portion that at least partially protrudes from the outer edge portion of the liquid ejection target medium to be supported. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first ejecting unit is driven as described above. 8. The liquid ejected medium has a supported position at which the protruding portion at least partially protrudes from an outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium, and an outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium is predetermined from the protruding portion. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus can be moved between an unsupported position separated by a distance or more. 9. The control main body portion drives the second jetting means so that the solvent is jetted to at least a part of the protruding portion of the supporting member when the liquid jetted medium is in the unsupported position. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: 10. The head member has a plurality of first nozzle openings and a plurality of second nozzle openings, and a liquid supply path is adapted to supply the liquid to each first nozzle opening, The solvent supply path is configured to supply the solvent to each second nozzle opening, and the plurality of first ejection units are configured to eject the liquid in each first nozzle opening portion, respectively. Second injection means for injecting the solvent in each second nozzle opening portion, and the control main body section drives each first injection means and each second injection means based on the ejection data. 6. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first nozzle openings and each of the second nozzle openings have a one-to-one correspondence. 11. A support member for supporting a liquid jetting medium, a scanning mechanism for relatively scanning a head member with respect to the liquid jetting medium, and a nozzle opening provided in a scanning region of the head member. And a liquid receiving mechanism capable of controlling the liquid ejection mechanism, wherein the control main body can drive the first ejection unit corresponding to the first nozzle opening when the first nozzle opening is opposed by the liquid receiving mechanism. With, second
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when the nozzle openings are opposed to each other by the liquid receiving mechanism, it is possible to drive the second ejecting means corresponding to the second nozzle openings. 12. A support member for supporting a flat liquid ejecting medium, and a scanning mechanism for scanning a head member relative to the liquid ejecting medium, wherein the supporting member is The control main body has a protruding portion that at least partially protrudes from the outer edge portion of the liquid ejecting medium to be supported, and the control main body portion ejects liquid onto at least a part of the outer edge portion of the liquid ejecting medium and the protruding portion of the supporting member. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, wherein each of the first ejecting means is driven as described above. 13. The liquid ejected medium has a supported position at which the protruding portion at least partially protrudes from an outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium, and an outer edge portion of the liquid ejected medium is predetermined from the protruding portion. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus can be moved between an unsupported position that is separated by a distance or more. 14. The control main body portion drives each second jetting means so that the solvent is jetted to at least a part of the protruding portion of the supporting member when the liquid jetted medium is in the unsupported position. 14. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 13, wherein