JP2003326745A - Waste ink storing device of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste ink storing device of a printer which can efficiently absorb a waste ink by the whole of an ink absorber even when the waste ink is continuously discharged from a recording head. <P>SOLUTION: The waste ink storing device of the printer has the waste ink absorber set movably up and down in a container which accepts the waste ink generated from the recording head. The waste ink is absorbed at a position where the absorber is moved down, and the ink absorber is prevented from being in touch with the waste ink at a position where the ink absorber is moved up. The continuously discharged waste ink is smoothly and fully scattered at a bottom wall face of the container without coming in touch with the absorber at the up position of the ink absorber. The waste ink in a state while scattered is absorbed by an absorber face of a wide range without an absorption point of the absorber limited at the down position of the absorber. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waste ink storage device for a printer, and more particularly to a waste ink storage device for storing waste ink generated in a print head of an inkjet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet printers are designed to suck ink from a print head prior to a printing operation during cleaning or maintenance to prevent clogging due to drying or the like. The waste ink sucked from the print is received by the head cap, guided by the waste ink pump to the waste ink storage device including the waste ink container and the waste ink absorber housed therein, and stored therein.

In the conventional waste ink storage device, the lower half part of the waste ink container is divided into a plurality of ink storage layers by a plurality of partition walls standing from the bottom surface of the waste ink container and is supported by the plurality of partition walls. There is one in which a waste ink absorber is housed in the upper half (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-76529). In this case, since the target waste ink has a relatively low viscosity, it is dropped from the upper side of the waste ink absorber, absorbed by the waste ink absorber, and when the waste ink absorber becomes saturated, the waste ink is discarded. It passes through the ink absorber and collects in the ink reservoir layer. As a result, a sufficient amount of waste ink corresponding to the service life of the inkjet printer can be stored in a relatively small container.

Recently, in a waste ink storage device having a relatively high viscosity, a plurality of protrusions for supporting the waste ink absorber are provided on the bottom wall surface of the container to form a gap in the bottom wall surface, and the waste ink bottom wall surface is formed. There has been proposed a waste ink storage device that diffuses and flows the ink (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-127454). In such a conventional waste ink storage device, when the waste ink is discharged to the container, the waste ink is diffused from the dropping position on the bottom wall surface of the container, but when the waste ink is discharged to the diffusion space or more, the waste ink is discarded. Absorption of the waste ink begins with the position closest to the dropping position of the ink absorber as the absorption point. The waste ink absorbed in the ink absorber propagates in the absorber and is diffused.

However, when the waste ink is continuously discharged and the waste ink is continuously concentrated on the absorption point of the absorber, the propagation speed of the waste ink inside the absorber becomes slow. Therefore, the absorption speed of the waste ink at the absorption point of the absorber also becomes slow. When the absorption speed at the waste ink absorption point is lower than the discharge speed of the waste ink, the discharged waste ink travels on the bottom wall surface of the container and moves from the first absorption point to a new absorption point.
At this time, the waste ink always passes through the first waste ink absorption point before being absorbed in the absorber. The first absorption point is immersed in the waste ink without absorbing the waste ink until the discharged waste ink is absorbed from a new absorption point.

In such a case, depending on the performance of the ink, the viscosity of the ink may increase, the ink flow path may be blocked near the first ink absorption point, or the ink may stick to the absorber to hinder the absorption of waste ink. Can be seen. It is also possible to provide a protrusion of a diffusion space that exceeds the above discharging speed, but if the amount of waste ink discharged is small on the contrary, it may remain on the bottom wall surface without being absorbed by the absorber and harden.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention is directed to a waste ink storage device of a printer which can efficiently absorb the waste ink by the entire ink absorber even if the waste ink is continuously discharged from the recording head. Is intended to provide.

As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present invention lowered the absorber by providing the absorber vertically movable in a container for receiving waste ink generated from the recording head. If the waste ink is absorbed at the position and the waste ink is not contacted at the raised position, the waste ink that is continuously discharged at the raised position of the absorber does not touch the absorber and the bottom of the container It was found that the waste ink that diffuses smoothly and sufficiently on the wall surface and is diffused at the descending position of the absorber absorbs the absorption point of the absorber on a wide range of the ink absorber surface without being limited, and the present invention is realized. It has come.

That is, the waste ink storage device of the printer according to the present invention is characterized by having the following configuration or structure. A waste ink storage device of a printer according to the present invention stores waste ink generated by sucking a recording head in order to eliminate clogging of ink during cleaning or flushing.
The waste ink storage device is usually a container that temporarily receives the waste ink with a flat bottom wall, and is housed above the container.
And a waste ink absorber that absorbs and stores the waste ink in contact with the waste ink received on the bottom wall surface. The waste ink storage device of the printer according to the present invention is characterized in that the absorber is provided so as to be vertically movable. Then, the lower position of the absorber absorbs the waste ink, and the higher position of the absorber does not contact the waste ink received on the bottom wall surface of the container.

The waste ink storage device for a printer according to the present invention also has a structure in which a convex portion or a convex strip portion is formed on the bottom wall surface, and a lid member and a pressing means for covering the upper surface of the absorber are provided. It can be a feature. Then, the absorber is moved downward by the pressing means via the lid member, and is brought into contact with the waste ink surface, in some cases, the bottom wall surface while being compressed by the projection or the projection. In such a configuration, the ink absorber is pressed uniformly by the pressing means via the lid member over the substantially entire upper surface of the absorber. When such a pressure is applied, the absorber having a certain amount of elasticity and deformable is compressed so as to bite into the convex portion or the convex rib portion (rib), and only the convex portion or the contact portion with the convex rib portion is compressed. Ensure contact with the waste ink surface that has diffused to the bottom wall surface.

Therefore, when the lid member is moved up and down, almost the entire surface of the ink absorber can be compressed and released, and at the elevated position of the absorber, there is a sufficient height between the bottom wall surface and the absorber surface. It can be sufficiently secured by the convex portion or the convex stripe portion. A diffusion channel is secured on the bottom wall surface of the waste ink, and particularly when the bottom wall surface is a fine ridge (rib), diffusion of the waste ink is promoted by a capillary phenomenon. On the other hand, in the descending position of the absorber, the absorber contacts the diffused waste ink surface at the same time and uniformly. The projections or ridges are the bottom wall surfaces viewed with reference to the positions of the bases such as the projections, but when the tops of the projections are the bottom wall surfaces, the projections or ridges become recesses or recessed stripes. Such mere difference in expression is included in the present invention.

Further, it is desirable that the pressing surface of the lid member is formed with a convex portion or a convex stripe portion, and the convex portion or convex stripe portion of the pressing surface and the convex portion or convex stripe portion of the bottom wall surface. When the absorbers are located at a lowered position, the positions of and are arranged so as to be out of alignment with each other, between the protrusions or the protrusions on the bottom wall surface of the container,
The convex portion or the convex streak portion of the pressing surface bites into, and the absorber can be surely brought into close contact with the waste ink surface. In addition, it is desirable that the boundary portion between the side wall surface and the bottom wall surface of the container and the side wall surface of the convex portion or the convex ridge portion have an inclination. It is possible to eliminate the waste ink that collects in the corners where the effect of the streak does not reach, and improve the absorption rate of the waste ink of the absorber.

In the waste ink storage device according to the present invention, the waste ink is forcibly sucked from the recording head, and pump driving means or the like is used for the forcible suction. Then, the sucked waste ink is allowed to flow from the head portion to the bottom wall surface of the container, and a tube or the like can be used as the flow passage member. In this case, the tube serving as the flow passage member can be directly communicated with the bottom wall surface of the container, but it can be communicated with the bottom wall surface by forming a through hole in the lid member and the absorber.

The lid member of the waste ink storage device according to the present invention has a ring-shaped ridge portion around the opening on the upper surface of the through hole.
For example, a ring-shaped rib may be formed. By forming such ring-shaped ribs,
It is possible to prevent the tube and the like from coming off from the through-hole of the lid member and the absorber that can be moved up and down.

The lid member of the waste ink storage device according to the present invention is
The waste ink may be formed to be permeable to volatile components, and such a lid material is characterized in that at least a part thereof is made of a material that is permeable to liquids and permeable to gas. You can In such a configuration, the volatile component of the waste ink absorbed by the absorber smoothly diffuses, so that a larger amount of waste ink can be stored in the absorber.

In order to make part of the lid material gas-permeable, it is necessary to form the lid material while maintaining a state in which the lid material can uniformly press the entire surface of the absorber. For this reason, for example, it is preferable that the lid member is formed to have a plurality of openings in a blind shape, a grid shape, a frame shape, or the like. In addition, in such a frame or lattice lid material, it is desirable to attach a non-liquid permeable and non-gas permeable material such as GORE-TEX to the opening surface.

The waste ink storage device according to the present invention has an operating mechanism that also uses pump driving means for sucking the waste ink and flowing it to the bottom wall surface of the container, also for driving the pressing means of the lid member. It can be characterized by comprising.
As described above, the waste ink storage device is provided with the pump driving means, but in the present invention, the lid material pressing means is further provided. Although the driving means for the pressing means can be provided separately, it is possible to provide an operating mechanism for efficiently using the pump driving means for driving the pressing means for the lid member at a good timing. By providing such an operation mechanism, linking with the maintenance operation can be facilitated and control can be facilitated.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a waste ink storage device according to the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The waste ink storage device according to the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing apparatus provided with a waste ink storage device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the waste ink storage device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a vertical movement mechanism portion of the head cap of the waste ink storage device shown in FIG. Figure 5
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the vertical movement mechanism shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lid member used in the waste ink storage device shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an absorber used in the waste ink storage device shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a container for receiving waste ink used in the waste ink storage device shown in FIG. FIGS. 9A and 9B are partial cross-sectional views showing states of the waste ink storage device shown in FIG. 3 when the absorption pad is in the raised position and the lowered position. 10A to 10D are schematic cross-sectional views showing the operating state of each mechanical member in the vertical movement mechanism of the waste ink storage device shown in FIG.
11 (a) to 11 (d) are cross-sectional views showing the compressed state and the like of the absorbent body in each container according to the operation state shown in FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (d). FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the lid member used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the ribs showing the arrangement state of the ribs of the lid member and the container shown in FIG. 14
(A) And (b) is a part which shows the state when it is in the raising position and the lowering position of the absorption pad using the modification of the rib of the container and lid material in the waste ink storage device of the present invention shown in FIG. FIG. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the lid member used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a gas-permeable and liquid-impermeable sheet used for the lid member shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the absorption pad when the tip of the tube used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention is arranged in the through hole of the absorption pad.

First, before describing the waste ink device of the present invention, the configuration of a printing device (ink jet printer) 11 including the waste ink device as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. The printer 11 prints by ejecting ink onto the sheet (recording paper) 12. Printer 11
Is a paper supply unit 14 for supplying the recording paper 12 to the printer,
A transport unit 16 that transports the recording paper 12 and a recording unit (hereinafter, a recording head or a print head) that prints on the recording paper 12 1
8 and a discharge section 20 for discharging the printed recording paper 12.

The paper feeding section 14 includes a paper feeding tray 22 and a separating plate 2.
4. It has a paper feed roller 26. The paper feed tray 22 stores and feeds the recording paper 12. The separation plate 24 and the paper feed roller 26 separate the recording papers 12 accommodated in the paper feed tray 22 one by one and supply the recording papers 12 to the transport unit 16.
The transport unit 16 has a guide plate 28 and a transport roller 30,
The guide plate 28 guides the recording paper 12 fed from the paper feed roller 26 to the print head 18. Transport roller 30
Is to convey the recording paper 12 that has passed over the guide plate 28 to the print head 18. The recording unit of the print head 18 includes the ink carriage 32, the shaft 34, and the platen 3.
It consists of 6 mag.

A shaft 34 is inserted through the ink carriage 32, and the ink carriage 32 is moved along the axis of the shaft 34. A maintenance unit 38 is provided at the position of the end of the shaft 34, and the ink carriage 32 is movable in the maintenance unit 38.

The printer 11 uses inks of three colors (yellow, magenta, cyan) different from each other, and the ink carriage 32 is provided with a print head 18 although not shown. Contains one cartridge (ink cartridge). The cartridge stores (accumulates) ink and supplies the ink to the print head 18.
It is attached to the upper part of 8. Therefore, the print head 18 is arranged in the ink carriage 32, and the print head 1
8 can be moved along the axis of the shaft 34 according to the ink carriage 32 and can be located in the maintenance unit 38. The discharge unit 20 includes the discharge roller 4
0, a paper discharge tray 42. The discharge roller 40 is
The recording paper 12 printed by the print head 18 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 42.

Next, the printing operation of the printer 11 will be briefly described. First, the recording paper 12 is placed on the paper feed tray 22 of the printer 11. When the printer 11 receives a print request from a computer or the like, the separation plate 24 and the paper feed roller 26 feed the recording papers 12 one by one to the transport unit 16. The recording sheet 12 is conveyed to the print head 18 by the conveying roller 30 while being supported by the guide plate 28.
Next, the print head 18 prints ink by ejecting ink onto the recording paper 12. When printing, the ink carriage 32
Are moved along the axis of the shaft 34 (along the scanning direction). At the start, that is, ink carriage 3
2 is one end in the scanning direction (end of the shaft)
The start position (maintenance unit 38
Inside).

Then, according to the print request, the shaft 34
Is moved along the scanning direction to a stop position provided at the other end of the. And during this move,
The print head 18 ejects ink onto the recording paper 12 in response to a print request. As a result, the print head 18 prints an image for one line (line image). The width of the line image corresponds to the vertical width of the ink head (width in the sheet conveyance direction). In addition, after one line image is printed, the transport roller 30 moves the recording paper 12 on the platen 36.
Are conveyed by the width of the line image. Also, during this conveyance, the ink carriage 32 returns to the start position. (Print scan). Then, in the printer 21, by repeating such print scanning, the print head 13
Thus, the information corresponding to the print request is printed on the recording paper 12. Finally, the recording paper 12 is ejected to the paper ejection tray 42 via the paper ejection rollers 40 and provided to the user as a document (printed matter).

The waste ink storage device 51 according to the present invention is arranged below the maintenance unit 38 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the waste ink storage device 51 is arranged below the print head 18 in the maintenance unit 38. The waste ink storage device 51 includes a head cap 52, and the head cap 52 serves as a suction port for sucking the waste ink from the print head 18. The head cap 52 is supported by a support frame (not shown) so as to be movable up and down. As shown in FIG.
4 is attached, and the upper end of the arm 54 is rotatably attached to the head cap 52 via a protruding rod 56. A rotating plate 58 is rotatably attached to the lower end of the arm 54 via a protruding rod 60, and the protruding rod 60 is provided near the peripheral edge of the rotating plate 58.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rotary plate 58 is attached to a pump drive (or transmission) shaft 62, and the drive shaft 62 is shown in FIG.
When rotating in the direction of arrow B shown in, the rotating plate 58 is rotated. However, when the pump drive shaft 62 rotates in the direction of arrow A, the rotary plate 58 idles. That is, the rotary plate 58 has a one-way clutch function that does not transmit rotation when the pump that drives the pump drive shaft 62 rotates in the suction operation direction, but transmits rotation only when it rotates in the non-operation direction. When the ink is rotated in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG.
When rotated in the direction of, the structure is such that only the rotary plate 58 operates and the suction operation of the waste ink is not performed.

Each time the rotary plate 58 makes one revolution, the head cap 52 is moved up and down. That is, when the protrusion bar 60 reaches the highest position on the rotary plate 58, the head cap 52 is in the highest raised position, and when the protrusion rod 60 reaches the lowest position on the rotary plate 58, the head cap 52. Is in the lowest position.

As shown in FIG. 3, an upper end of a pressing bar 64 is attached to the head cap 52, and the pressing bar 64 is moved up and down while interlocking with the head cap 52. The lower end of the pressing bar 64 is provided so as to press the upper surface of the lid material 66,
An ink absorber (hereinafter, absorption pad) 68 is arranged on the lower surface (pressing surface) of the lid material 66. Lid 66 and absorbent pad 6
8 is formed in a rectangular shape having substantially the same size, and the absorbent pad 68 is pressed by the pressing surface of the lid member 66 that does not deform with a substantially uniform force. The lid member 66 and the absorbent pad 68 are housed in a container 70, which will be described later, so as to be vertically movable.

The head cap 52 has a head cap 5
A tube 72 communicating with the inside of the container 2 is attached, and the lower end of the tube 72 is arranged near the bottom wall surface 70 a of the container 70. The tube 72 is the pump drive shaft 62 described above.
Is connected to the attached pump, and the drive shaft 62 rotates forward in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 3, whereby the suction in the head cap 52 is possible. For this reason, the tube 72 serves as a suction passage for the waste ink of the print head 18, and the waste ink serves as a flow passage member for the tube 7.
2 is discharged to the bottom wall surface 70a of the container.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each of the above-mentioned lid member 66 and absorbent pad 68 is formed in a rectangular shape having substantially the same shape, and through holes 74 and 76 are formed in substantially the center thereof.
The tube 72 is inserted through the through holes 74 and 76.
A ring-shaped rib (projection) 78 is formed upward on the upper surface of the through hole 74 of the lid member 66, and the rib 78 is formed at a height that prevents the tube 72 from being pulled out. .

That is, with the above structure, the absorbent pad 6
Since 8 and the tube 72 move up and down at the same time, the removal does not occur. However, by fixing the end of the tube 72 to the lid material 66,
In the case where the tube 72 has a structure with play, when the lid member 66 and the absorbent pad 68 move to the lowered position, the position of the tube 72 in the depth direction becomes relatively shallow with respect to the lid member 66 and the absorbent pad 68. This is because the tube 72 may come out of the through hole 76. In particular, FIG.
If the tube 72 is arranged in the through hole 76 of the absorbent pad 68 as shown in FIG. 7, such removal is likely to occur. In addition, as shown in FIG.
Since the waste ink 90 may be discharged together with the bubbles from the end portion of the drip tube 72 by disposing it inside, the rib 78 prevents the ink from scattering when the bubbles are burst by the waste ink 90. It is also effective.

As shown in FIG. 7, the absorbent pad 68 has a shape having a through hole 76 for accommodating the tube 72. The absorbing pad 68 is an ink absorbing material that has a certain degree of elasticity and can contract, and is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that has a restoring force that substantially returns to the original shape after absorbing the waste ink. Therefore, in the normal state without maintenance, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the absorption pad 68 is in a raised position supported by ribs (projections) 80 in a container 70, which will be described later, and is retained in a state where a sufficient flow path space for waste ink is secured in the lower portion. It Therefore, the absorbent surface of the absorbent pad 68 can be kept dry during normal times. On the other hand, the lid material 66
9B, the absorbent pad 68 is compressed by the ribs 80 and the bottom wall surface 70 is pressed.
a and the waste ink 90.

As shown in FIG. 8, the above-described ribs 80 are formed on the bottom wall surface 70a of the container 70 that receives the waste ink at regular intervals. The height of the rib 80 is preferably 1 mm or more, and is preferably formed in the range of 1: 100 to 1:10 (height: thickness) with respect to the thickness of the absorbent pad 68. If the height of the rib 80 is less than 1 mm, a sufficient passage space for the waste ink 90 may not be secured in the bottom wall surface 70a. Further, if the height of the absorption pad 68 is the above ratio, the absorption pad 68 can surely contact the waste ink surface even if the absorption pad 68 is not so elastic or deformable, and the performance of the absorption pad does not deteriorate.

Next, the operation of the waste ink storage device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (d) and 11 (a) to (d). 10 (a) and 11
As shown in (a), when the printer 11 is in the normal printing state, the print head 18 is located above the head cap 52 of the waste ink storage device 51 and is located above the maintenance unit 38. is there. At this time,
The lower end of the arm 54 is located at substantially the same height as the center O of the rotary plate 58. Then, the pressing bar 64 is the lid member 66.
However, the absorbent pad 68 is in a state where no compression pressure is applied.

When the print head 18 needs maintenance, the print head 18 moves to the position of the maintenance unit 38. As shown in FIG. 10B, the print head 1
When 8 reaches the maintenance position, the motor drives the pump drive shaft 62 to rotate in the direction of arrow B as shown in FIG. By this rotation, the rotary plate 58 is rotated by 90 ° and the lower end of the arm 54 is positioned at the uppermost part of the rotary plate 58. The head cap 52 is pushed up by the arm 54 and comes into close contact with the print head 18. At this time, the pressing bar 64 rises together with the head cap 52 and is not in contact with the lid member 66.

In this state, the pump driving motor rotates in the ink suction rotation direction. Start sucking waste ink.
The waste ink 90 is transferred to the waste ink container 70 via the tube 72.
Is discharged to the bottom wall of the. Ribs 80 are provided on the bottom wall surface 70 a of the container 70, and diffuse along the wall surfaces of the ribs 80. After performing a constant suction, the pump drive shaft 62 is stopped.

The drive motor is again rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the pump drive shaft 62 in the direction of arrow B by 90 °. The state at that time is shown in FIGS. 10 (c) and 11 (c).
The rotation of the rotary plate 58 causes the arm 54 to move to the head cap 5.
2 down to match the movement of the head cap 52,
The pressure bar 64 is lowered. The lower end of the arm 54 is the rotating plate 58.
When the pressure bar 64 comes to a position equivalent to the center O, the pressure bar 64 comes into contact with the lid member 66 and stops at the same height as in FIG. During this time, the waste ink continues to diffuse on the bottom wall surface 70a of the container 70.

Further, the pump drive shaft 62 is rotated by 90 ° in the direction of arrow B, and the head cap 52 is moved through the arm 54.
And the pressing bar 64 is pushed down. The state at this time is shown in FIGS. 10D and 11D. Pressure bar 6
4 further pushes down the lid material 66. Cover material 6 pushed down
6 applies a compressive pressure to the absorbent pad 68, the absorbent pad 68 is deformed, and as shown in FIG.
The waste ink 90 on the bottom wall surface 70a is absorbed in such a manner that it enters between the ribs 80 on the bottom wall surface 70a of 0.

At this time, the waste ink discharged to the bottom wall surface 70a of the container 70 is sufficiently diffused on the bottom wall surface and the absorption pad 6
Absorption of the waste ink occurs in almost the entire area of the surface contacting the bottom wall surface of No. 8. After absorbing the waste ink, the pump drive shaft 62 is rotated by 90 ° in the direction of arrow B, and the head cap 52 and the pressing bar 64 are raised via the arm 54. Figure 10 (a)
The state returns to the state shown in, and the absorbing operation of the waste ink 90 is completed.

In such a structure, the discharged waste ink 90 travels on the bottom wall surface 70a of the container 70, and the rib 80 is formed.
The bottom wall surface is smoothly diffused from the first dropping position via the flow passage between them. Therefore, even if the waste ink 90 is continuously discharged from the print head 18, the waste ink 90 is absorbed by the absorption pad 68.
Can be efficiently absorbed as a whole. In the above-described embodiment, the ring-shaped rib 78 is provided in the through hole 74 of the lid member 66 to prevent the tube 72 from being pulled out. However, in the waste ink storage device according to the present invention, such a lid member is used. 66
It is not always necessary to provide the rib 78 of. Further, although the through holes 74 and 76 are provided in the lid member 66 and the absorbent pad 68, the through holes 74 and 76 are not limited to such through holes, and a cutout or the like may be formed as long as the flow passage member can be inserted. Alternatively, the tube 72 may be directly guided to the container bottom wall surface 70a. Further, although the rib 80 is formed on the container 70 in the above-described embodiment, it may be a convex portion having a plurality of predetermined heights.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a preferred modification of the lid member used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention. 12
As shown in, it is desirable that a plurality of ribs (projections) 92 be formed on the pressing surface 91a of the lid member 91. When the ribs 92 of the pressing surface 91a and the ribs 80 of the bottom wall surface 70a are arranged out of alignment with each other as shown in FIG. 13, when the absorbent pad 68 is in the lowered position, the container bottom wall surface 70a. The ribs 92 of the pressing surface 91a bite between the ribs 80, and the absorber can be surely brought into close contact with the surface of the waste ink 90. That is, with respect to the rib 80 of the bottom wall surface 70a, as shown in FIG.
When the rib 92 of No. 1 is set up, not only the rigidity of the lid member 91 is increased, but also the absorbent pad 68 is easily deformed along the container bottom wall surface 70a when the absorbent pad 68 is compressed, and the contact area with the waste ink 90 is increased. And the absorption state of the waste ink 90 is also improved.

Further, FIGS. 14A and 14B are the same as FIG.
FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the absorbent pad is in the raised position and the lowered position when the lid member and the container shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, it is desirable that the boundary portion 94a between the side wall surface and the bottom wall surface of the container 94 and the side wall surfaces 80a and 92a of the ribs 80 and 92 of the above-described lid member and the bottom wall surface have an inclination, Due to such inclination, as described above, the rib 8 such as the bottom wall surface 70a as shown in FIG. 9B is formed.
It is possible to eliminate the waste ink 90 accumulated in the corners where the effect of 0 does not reach and to improve the absorption rate of the waste ink 90 of the absorption pad 68. That is, when the ribs 80 on the bottom wall surface and the container wall surface are perpendicular to the bottom wall surface 70a as shown in FIG. 9, when the compression pressure by the lid material 66 is applied, the absorption pad 68 is as shown in FIG. 9 (b). However, there is a possibility that the waste ink 90 may remain between the bottom wall surface and the side wall surface and between the bottom wall surface and the corner portion of the side wall surface of the rib 80, although the amount is extremely small. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, when the corner portion between the container bottom wall surface 94a and the ribs 92 and the wall surface is formed by an inclined surface, the shape of the absorbent pad 68 during compression and the cross-sectional shape of the bottom wall surface 94a match. Therefore, the waste ink 90 does not remain.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing another modification of the lid member used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention. 16
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an easily gas-permeable and liquid-pervious sheet used for the lid member shown in FIG. 15. The lid member 98 of the waste ink storage device according to the present invention has a structure that allows the volatile components of the waste ink 90 to pass therethrough as shown in FIG. 15, and the lid member 98 is formed in a lattice shape. With such a configuration,
Since the volatile components of the waste ink absorbed by the absorber are smoothly dispersed, a large amount of waste ink 90 can be stored in the absorber 68.

In order to make part of the lid material gas-permeable, it is necessary to form the lid material while maintaining a state in which the entire surface of the absorbent pad 68 can be pressed uniformly. Therefore, for example, the lid member 66 is formed on the lid member 98 having a plurality of grid-shaped openings. Further, in such a grid-shaped lid member 98, it is desirable to attach a sheet 100 such as GORE-TEX or the like, which is hardly liquid permeable and is permeable to gas, to the opening surface thereof.

In general, the ink component contains a volatile component, and when the volatile component is stored in the container 70, the volatile component is also volatilized, and an important point is that the processed waste ink 90 is stored in the container 70 as much as possible. Is. For this reason, the lid member 66 is left in the minimum necessary area, and the excess meat is cut in a grid pattern to form the lid member 98. As a result, the volatile component in the waste ink has a large contact area with the atmosphere and can be volatilized. However, the waste ink 90 absorbed by the absorbent pad 68 may overflow from the grid openings. Therefore, it is preferable to attach a sheet 100, such as GORE-TEX, which allows gas to pass but does not allow liquid to pass, to the lid member 98, whereby the waste ink 90 from the container 70 is discharged.
Can be prevented from leaking.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the tube 72 is arranged in the through hole 76 of the absorbing pad, the air sucked at the same time when the waste ink 90 is sucked from the print head 18 is sucked from the end of the tube 72. It is ejected, but when it is ejected together with the waste ink, air bubbles are generated, and the scattering material of the waste ink 90 when the air bubbles burst can be received by the absorbing pad 68.

[0047]

As described above, the waste ink storage device of the printer stores the waste ink generated by sucking the recording head in order to eliminate clogging of ink during cleaning or flushing. In the waste ink storage device, an absorber is provided so as to be movable up and down so that the waste ink is absorbed at a position where the absorber is lowered and the waste ink is not contacted at a position where the absorber is raised. Therefore, at the rising position of the absorber, the waste ink continuously discharged spreads smoothly and sufficiently on the bottom wall surface of the container without touching the absorber, and at the descending position of the absorber,
The waste ink in a diffused state can be absorbed by a wide range of absorber surfaces without limiting the absorption point of the absorber. Therefore, even if the waste ink is continuously discharged from the recording head, the waste ink can be efficiently absorbed by the entire ink absorber.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing apparatus provided with a waste ink storage device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a waste ink storage device according to the present invention.

4 is a perspective view showing a vertical movement mechanism portion of a head cap of the waste ink storage device shown in FIG.

5 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the vertical movement mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lid member used in the waste ink storage device shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an absorber used in the waste ink storage device shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a container for receiving waste ink used in the waste ink storage device shown in FIG.

9 (a) and 9 (b) are partial cross-sectional views showing the states of the waste ink storage device shown in FIG. 3 when the absorbent pad is in the raised position and the lowered position.

10A to 10D are schematic cross-sectional views showing the operating state of each mechanical member in the vertical movement mechanism of the waste ink storage device shown in FIG.

11 (a) to 11 (d) are cross-sectional views showing a compressed state and the like of the absorbent body in each container according to the operating state shown in FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (d).

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the lid member used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of each rib showing an arrangement state of each rib of the lid member and the container shown in FIG.

14 (a) and 14 (b) are a rising position and a descending position of an absorption pad using a modified example of the rib of the container and the lid member in the waste ink storage device of the present invention shown in FIG. It is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state at the time.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing another modification of the lid member used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention.

16 is a perspective view of a gas-permeable and liquid-impermeable sheet used for the lid member shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the absorption pad when the tip of the tube used in the waste ink storage device of the present invention is arranged in the through hole of the absorption pad.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Printer 12 Recording paper 14 Paper feeder 16 Transport section 18 print head 20 discharge part 32 ink carriage 34 shaft 38 Maintenance unit 51 Waste Ink Storage Device 52 head cap 54 Arm 62 Pump drive shaft 64 pressure bar 66 Lid 68 Absorption pad 70 containers 70 Bottom wall 70 Waste ink container 72 tubes 72 Drop tube

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Naozumi Ueno             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company (72) Inventor Tomo Tanaka             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company (72) Inventor Masaki Matsushita             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company (72) Inventor Hirokazu Nakamura             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company F-term (reference) 2C056 EA27 FA02 FA10 JA13 JC06                       JC10 JC13 JC21 JC23 JC25

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A container for receiving a waste ink generated from a recording head on a bottom wall surface thereof, and an absorber housed above the container and contacting the waste ink received on the bottom wall surface to absorb the waste ink. In a waste ink storage device of a printer having the absorber, the absorber is provided so as to be movable up and down, the absorber contacts the waste ink received on the bottom wall surface at the descending position of the absorber, and the bottom wall surface at the rising position of the absorber. A waste ink storage device for a printer, which does not come into contact with the waste ink received by the printer. 2. The bottom wall surface is provided with a convex portion or a convex streak portion, and a lid member for covering the upper surface of the absorber and a pressing means for pushing the lid member are provided. 2. The waste ink storage device according to claim 1, wherein the waste ink storage device is moved downward by the pressing means through the lid member and abuts while being compressed by the convex portion or the convex streak portion. 3. A convex portion or a convex streak portion is formed on a pressing surface of the lid member that presses the absorber, and a convex portion or a convex streak portion of the pressing surface and a convex portion or a convex streak portion of the bottom wall surface are provided. 3. The waste ink storage device according to claim 2, wherein the two are arranged so that their positions are deviated from each other. 4. A through hole for arranging a flow passage member for sucking the waste ink of the head and circulating the waste ink of the head to the bottom wall surface of the container is formed in the lid member, and the through hole of the lid member is formed. The waste ink storage device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a ring-shaped convex strip is formed around the opening on the upper surface. 5. A boundary surface between a side wall surface and a bottom wall surface of the container,
The waste ink storage device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the convex portion of the bottom wall surface or the side wall surface of the convex streak portion is inclined. 6. The waste ink storage device according to claim 2, wherein the lid member is formed to allow the volatile components of the waste ink to pass therethrough. 7. The waste ink storage device according to claim 6, wherein at least a part of the lid member is made of a material that is impervious to liquid and impervious to gas. 8. An operating mechanism is also provided, wherein pump driving means for sucking the waste ink and circulating it to the bottom wall surface of the container is also used as driving means for pressing the lid member. The waste ink storage device according to any one of claims 2 to 7.