JP2003341105A - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer in which ink adhering to a member being used repeatedly can be removed sufficiently even if preliminary ejection is performed from a recording head toward that member. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet printer 1 comprises means 4 and 5 for carrying a recording medium R, a line head 2 ejecting ink, a roller member 3 supporting the recording medium R, members 6 and 7 for guiding carriage of the recording medium R, and a means 8 abutting constantly against the outer circumferential surface 3a of the roller member 3 and removing ink adhering thereto. At the time of non-recording when the recording medium R is not present between the line head 2 and the roller member 3, ink ejected preliminarily from the line head 2 toward the outer circumferential surface 3a of the roller member 3 and adhered to the roller member 3 is removed by the removing means 8 as the roller member 3 rotates. <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 an ink jet printer that ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium to record an image on the recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet printer, so-called "preliminary ejection" is performed during non-recording in order to maintain good ink droplet ejection accuracy in a recording head. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-127
Japanese Patent No. 362 discloses a technique relating to preliminary ejection of a so-called "line head" that is fixedly provided over substantially the entire width of the recording medium. In this publication, a plurality of line heads are arranged along the conveyance direction of the recording medium, preliminary ejection is performed from each line head toward a conveyance belt that conveys the recording medium, and a line provided behind each line head in the conveyance direction. The ink on the conveyor belt is wiped by bringing the same number of belt wiping members as the heads into contact with the conveyor belt.

More specifically, in each of a plurality of recording media to be recorded, each line head is moved toward the exposed portion of the conveyor belt between the recording medium which is first conveyed and the recording medium which is conveyed next. With preliminary discharge,
A belt wiping member is brought into contact with the exposed portion to wipe off the ink on the conveyor belt. The belt wiping member is movable up and down, and when not recording, moves downward to contact the conveyor belt for cleaning the conveyor belt as described above, but conveys the recording medium during recording so as not to interfere with the conveyance. It is designed to be separated upward from the belt.

[0004]

However, in the technique disclosed in the above publication, when images are continuously and rapidly recorded on a plurality of recording media, the recording medium to be conveyed first and the next recording medium are conveyed. The belt wiping member must be brought into contact with the conveyor belt during a short period of time during which a part of the conveyor belt is exposed to the recording medium conveyed to the conveyor belt, and the ink on the conveyor belt cannot be sufficiently wiped off. . Even if the belt wiping member is provided with a sufficient time to contact the conveyor belt, when the belt wiping member is moved upward, ink remains along the contact line between the belt wiping member and the conveyor belt, Ink may be left on the belt.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer capable of sufficiently removing the ink adhering to a member such as the above-mentioned transport belt, which is repeatedly ejected from the recording head even if the member is repeatedly ejected. That is.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a recording medium which conveys a recording medium and extends along a direction intersecting with the recording medium conveying direction. A line head having a plurality of ejection openings for ejecting ink onto the medium is provided, and ink is ejected from each ejection opening of the line head toward the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means to record an image on the recording medium. An inkjet printer, which rotates about an axis along the line head at a position facing the line head, and
A roller member that receives the ink preliminarily ejected from each of the ejection ports on its outer peripheral surface, and is provided on the front side and the rear side of the roller member in the transport direction, and a part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller member and a recording medium. A guide member that guides the conveyance of the recording medium in a state of being in contact with the roller member, and is always in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller member at a position away from the contact position between the recording medium and a part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller member, A removing unit that removes ink that has been preliminarily ejected from each ejection port and adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the roller member.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the recording medium is interposed between the line head and the roller member, the recording medium comes into contact with a part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller member and a part of the outer peripheral surface. Is conveyed by being guided by a guide member while being supported by. Here, when the recording medium is not interposed between the line head and the roller member, the line head and the roller member are directly opposed to each other. Preliminary discharge is performed toward the outer peripheral surface. The ink attached to the roller member is removed from the position attached to the roller member as the roller member rotates, and then removed by the removing unit at a position away from the contact position between the roller member and the recording medium. That is, the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the roller member to which the ink has been preliminarily ejected and which has adhered the ink passes through the contact position between the roller member and the removing means as the roller member rotates, and the pre-ejection portion having no ink adhered to it Return to the original state. Therefore, in consideration of the fact that the removing means always contacts the outer peripheral surface of the roller member, the removing means adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the roller member without repeating the operation of bringing the removing means into contact with or separating from the roller member. The roller member can be repeatedly used while removing the ink. Therefore, even if the recording head performs preliminary ejection toward a member that is repeatedly used, such as the roller member according to the present invention, the ink attached to the member can be sufficiently removed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer according to the first aspect, the peripheral speed of the roller member is substantially the same as the conveying speed of the recording medium.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the peripheral speed of the roller member is substantially the same as the conveying speed of the recording medium, there is a difference in speed between the peripheral speed of the roller member and the conveying speed of the recording medium. The gap disappears. As a result, the recording medium that contacts a part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller member is not bent or sagged, or the recording medium is not excessively stretched, and the recording medium can be smoothly conveyed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer according to the first or second aspect, the surface layer of the outer peripheral portion of the roller member is in a substantially homogeneous state without voids for absorbing ink. And

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the outer layer of the roller member is in a substantially homogeneous state with no voids for absorbing ink. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface of the roller member does not absorb the ink. Therefore, the ink adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the roller member can be reliably removed easily by the removing device.

Further, as in the ink jet printer of the fourth aspect of the invention, a recovery means for recovering the ink removed by the removal means may be provided. in this case,
The ink removed by the removing means can be collected.

Further, like the ink jet printer of the fifth aspect of the invention, a storage means for storing the ink recovered by the recovery means may be provided. In this case, the ink collected by the collecting means can be stored.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an ink jet printer of the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as "printer") will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a printer according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a recording head 2 that ejects ink as droplets toward a recording surface of a recording medium R, and a left-right direction at a position facing the recording head 2 (from the front side to the back side on the paper surface of FIG. A roller member 3 that extends in a direction from the back side to the front side (the same applies hereinafter) and rotates, two transport units 4 and 5 that transport the recording medium R from the rear side to the front side, and the roller member 3.
A rear guide member 6 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “rear guide member 6”) provided on the rear side of the recording medium R and guiding the conveyance of the recording medium R, and a recording medium R provided on the front side of the roller member 3.
Front guide member 7 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "front guide member 7") for guiding the conveyance of the sheet, and the outer peripheral surface 3 of the roller member 3.
a removing means 8 for constantly removing the ink adhering to the outer peripheral surface 3a by constantly contacting a, a collecting means 9 for collecting the ink removed by the removing means 8, and a storing means for storing the ink collected by the collecting means 9. 10 is provided.

The recording head 2 is a so-called "line head" which extends in the left-right direction so as to cover substantially the entire width of the recording medium R. The lower portion 2a of the recording head 2 is provided with a plurality of (for example, 256) ejection ports (not shown) arranged in a line along the left-right direction, and the recording head 2 starts from each ejection port to the recording medium R. Ink droplets are ejected toward the recording surface of. Note that, in the present embodiment, an example in which the recording head 2 is applied as a line head as described above is shown, but instead of the recording head 2, a plurality of recording heads are arranged in the left-right direction so as to cover substantially the entire width of the recording medium R. May be arranged side by side. In this case, since there is a region where ink droplets are not ejected between the print heads, it is necessary to arrange the end portions of the print heads so as to overlap each other in the front and rear.

The conveying means 4 provided on the rear side of the roller member 3 (hereinafter simply referred to as "rear conveying means 4") comprises two conveying rollers 4a and 4b. Two transport rollers 4
a and 4b are arranged adjacent to each other. These two transport rollers 4a and 4b rotate in opposite directions with the recording medium R sandwiched therebetween and transport the recording medium R from the rear side to the front side. In addition, of the two transport rollers 4a and 4b, one of the transport rollers 4a (or 4
b) is driven to rotate, and the other conveying roller 4b (or 4)
a) may be configured to follow the rotation of the one transport roller 4a (or 4b), or both transport rollers 4a and 4b may be rotationally driven. In addition, the roller member 3
The transporting means 5 (hereinafter simply referred to as "front transporting means 5") provided on the front side of the is provided with two transport rollers 5a and 5b, and has the same configuration as the rear transporting means 4. Is.

The rear guide member 6 is disposed between the rear conveying means 4 and the roller member 3, and conveys the recording medium R that has passed between the two conveying rollers 4a and 4b of the rear conveying means 4 after conveying. It guides from the means 4 side to the roller member 3 side. The rear end portion 6a of the rear guide member 6 moves from a position lower than the conveying surface of the recording medium R so that the front side edge portion of the recording medium R sent by the two conveying rollers 4a and 4b rides on the rear guide member 6. It is slightly inclined toward the same level as the transport surface. On the other hand, the front guide member 7
It is arranged between the roller member 3 and the front conveying means 5,
The conveyance of the recording medium R passing between the recording head 2 and the roller member 3 is guided from the roller member 3 side to the front conveying means 5 side. Similarly to the rear end portion 6a of the rear guide member 6, the rear end portion 7a of the front guide member 7 is also slightly inclined from a position lower than the conveyance surface of the recording medium R toward a position at the same height as the conveyance surface.

The rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7 may be separated in the front and rear with the roller member 3 interposed therebetween, or at least the left and right end portions of the roller member 3 may be formed. It may be configured such that one end portion is connected to be integrated. When applying a configuration in which the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7 are separated in the front and rear, the rear guide member 6
A predetermined slit-like space is provided between the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7, and the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7 are arranged so that a part of the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3 is exposed from this predetermined space. . Further, when the configuration in which the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7 are connected to each other at both left and right ends of the roller member 3 and integrated is applied, the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7 are applied.
A slit-shaped opening is provided between the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7 so that a part of the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3 is exposed from this opening.

The roller member 3 is a member that rotates around an axis along the recording head 2 at a position facing the recording head 2, and is arranged between the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7. The roller member 3 is arranged such that a part of the outer peripheral surface 3 a of the roller member 3 is exposed from between the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7. Of the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3, a portion 3b exposed from between the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7 (hereinafter referred to as "exposed portion 3b").
Has substantially the same height as the upper portions of the rear guide member 6 and the front guide member 7. The roller member 3 contacts the non-recording surface of the recording medium R conveyed at the exposed portion 3b to support the non-recording surface, and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 to the rear side of the recording medium R. From the front to the front side. That is, the roller member 3 has a function as a so-called “platen”.

Although the roller member 3 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 as described above, the peripheral speed of the roller member 3 is set to the recording medium R.
It is preferable that the conveyance speed is substantially the same. in this case,
Since there is no difference in speed difference between the peripheral speed of the roller member 3 and the conveying speed of the recording medium R, the outer peripheral surface 3 of the roller member 3 is eliminated.
The recording medium R that contacts a part of a is not bent or sagged, or the recording medium R is not excessively stretched, and the recording medium R can be conveyed smoothly.

At the lower part of the roller member 3, there is provided a removing means 8 which is always in contact with the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3. The removing means 8 includes a blade 8a and a removing roller 8b.
And. The blade 8a is a member made of rubber or resin and extends in the left-right direction over substantially the entire width of the roller member 3. The tip portion 8c of the blade 8a is always in contact with the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3, and the blade 8a collects the ink attached to the outer peripheral surface 3a with the tip portion 8c as the roller member 3 rotates. Then, the ink is removed.

The removing roller 8b is a member extending in the left-right direction over substantially the entire width of the roller member 3, and is always in contact with the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3 at a position above the blade 8a. The removing roller 8b rotates so as to follow the rotation of the roller member 3 while being in constant contact with the roller member 3. The outer peripheral surface 8d of the removing roller 8b
Is made of a material such as felt capable of absorbing the ink adhering to the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3, and the removing roller 8b removes the ink that cannot be completely removed by the blade 8a. That is, the removal roller 8b
As a result, the ink remaining on the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3 can be reliably removed.

A recovering means 9 is provided below the blade 8a of the removing means 8. The collecting means 9 is a blade 8a
The ink receiving member 9a receives ink that has been collected by the tip portion 8c and dropped downward, and an ink absorber 9b laid inside the ink receiving member 9a. The ink absorber 9b is a member formed of a continuous porous member, and prevents the ink from scattering due to splashing of the dropped ink. By this collecting means 9, the roller member 3
The ink adhering to the outer peripheral surface 3a can be collected.

Below the ink receiving member 9a of the collecting means 9, a discharge tube 9c communicating with the storing means 10 such as a waste ink bottle is provided. When the absorbing ability of the ink absorber 9b of the collecting means 9 is saturated, the ink collected by the collecting means 9 is stored in the storing means 1 through the discharge tube 9c.
0, and is stored in the storage means 10. The storage means 10 can store a predetermined amount of ink inside the main body of the printer 1.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 having the above configuration will be described. During the recording operation of the printer 1, the non-recording surface of the recording medium R is supported by the exposed portion 3b of the roller member 3, and the two guide members 6 and 7 are used.
The sheet is conveyed from the rear side to the front side by the two conveying means 4 and 5 while being guided by. At this time, the roller member 3
1 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 and assists the conveyance of the recording medium R in a state of being in contact with the non-recording surface of the recording medium R. In this state, the roller member 3 of the recording medium R is
Ink droplets are ejected from each ejection port of the recording head 2 toward the recording surface of the portion supported by, and images are sequentially recorded on the recording medium R.

Here, when an image is recorded on a plurality of recording media R, a predetermined interval is provided between the recording medium R which is first conveyed and the recording medium which is conveyed next. The recording media R are conveyed one by one. In this case, when the area between the rear side edge of the recording medium R conveyed first and the front side edge of the recording medium R subsequently conveyed is located at the exposed portion 3b of the roller member 3, the roller member 3 The exposed portion 3b is exposed to each ejection port of the recording head 2, and there is a period in which the recording medium R is not present between the exposed portion 3b and the recording head 2. During this period, preliminary ejection is performed from all ejection ports of the recording head 2 toward the exposed portion 3b of the roller member 3.

The ink attached to the exposed portion 3b is
As the roller member 3 rotates, it moves to a lower position away from the position where it is attached to the roller member 3, is scraped by the blade 8a of the removing means 8 and drops on the ink receiving member 9a of the collecting means 9. The ink that cannot be completely removed by the blade 8a is reliably removed from the roller member 3 by the removing roller 8b of the removing means 8. The portion of the outer peripheral surface of the roller member 3 from which the ink has been removed is again exposed from between the two guide members 6 and 7 as the roller member 3 rotates.

Thereafter, an image recording operation for recording an image on the recording medium R by ejecting ink droplets from the recording head 2 to the recording medium R, and from the recording head 2 to the exposed portion 3b of the roller member 3. The preliminary ejection operation of preliminarily ejecting ink droplets is sequentially repeated to continuously record images on the plurality of recording media R. Although not mentioned above, it is preferable that the surface layer of the outer peripheral portion of the roller member 3 is in a substantially homogeneous state without voids that absorb ink. Further, the surface layer may be made of a material such as a fluororesin that repels ink. In this case, the roller member 3 does not absorb the ink, and the ink attached to the roller member 3 is easily removed by the removing unit 8.

As described above, in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment,
An area between the recording medium R conveyed first and the recording medium R conveyed next is located between the recording head 2 and the exposed portion 3b of the roller member 3, and recording of an image by the recording head 2 is performed. During non-printing that is not performed, preliminary ejection is performed from the recording head 2 toward the exposed portion 3b of the roller member 3. Then, the ink attached to the exposed portion 3b passes between the roller member 3 and the front guide member 7 as the roller member 3 rotates, and then leaves the position attached to the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3. It is adapted to be removed at a position by the removing means 8.

In this case, since the blade 8a and the removing roller 8b of the removing means 8 always remove the ink adhering to the roller member 3 while being in contact with the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3, the conveyance described in the prior art. It is not necessary to provide a moving mechanism for contacting and separating the removing means with respect to a member such as a belt that is repeatedly used, and the ink adhered to the roller member 3 after the preliminary ejection can be removed. .
Further, as described above, the blade 8a and the removing roller 8b
Since it is always in contact with the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller member 3, it is possible to prevent ink from remaining on the portion of the roller member 3 that has passed the position where the removing means 8 is provided. For these reasons, even if preliminary ejection is performed from the recording head 2 toward a member that is repeatedly used, such as the roller member 3, the ink attached to the member can be sufficiently removed.

Further, in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, after the recording head 2 performs the preliminary ejection to the exposed portion 3b of the roller member 3, the exposed portion 3b to which the ink adheres is formed.
Moves immediately below the recording area by the recording head 2 as the roller member 3 rotates, so that there is a very large gap between the recording medium R that is conveyed first and the recording medium R that is conveyed next. It is possible to increase the number of recording media R capable of recording an image per unit time without the need for opening. That is, it is possible to continuously and faster record images on the plurality of recording media R.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements and design changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the printer 1 according to this embodiment, ink is ejected from all ejection ports when performing preliminary ejection from the recording head 2, but it is not always necessary to eject ink from all ejection ports. Based on the image data of the image related to the recording on the recording medium R that has been conveyed to the recording medium R, the preliminary ejection may be performed only from the ejection port having a small number of ink ejections or the ejection port not ejecting the ink. .

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if the recording head preliminarily ejects a member that is repeatedly used, the ink attached to the member can be sufficiently removed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the recording medium can be transported smoothly.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the ink attached to the roller member can be easily removed.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the ink removed by the removing means can be recovered.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the ink collected by the collecting means can be stored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an inkjet printer according to an embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 inkjet printer 2 Recording head (line head) 3 Roller member 3a outer peripheral surface 3b Exposed part 4, 5 Transport means 6,7 guide member 8 Removal means 9 Collection means 10 Storage means

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A conveyance head for conveying a recording medium, and a line head having a plurality of ejection ports extending along a direction intersecting a conveyance direction of the recording medium and ejecting ink onto the recording medium, An inkjet printer that ejects ink from each ejection port of the line head toward a recording medium that is conveyed by a conveying unit to record an image on the recording medium. A roller member that rotates around an axis and that receives on the outer peripheral surface the ink that has been preliminarily ejected from each ejection port; and a roller member that is provided on the front side and the rear side of the roller member in the transport direction, and that A guide member for guiding the conveyance of the recording medium in a state where a part of the outer peripheral surface and the recording medium are in contact with each other, and a contact position between the recording medium and a part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller member. A removing unit that is always in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller member at a position apart from the outer peripheral surface of the roller member, and that removes ink that has been preliminarily ejected from the ejection ports and adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the roller member. Inkjet printer to do. 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral speed of the roller member is substantially the same as the conveying speed of the recording medium. 3. The ink jet printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface layer of the outer peripheral portion of the roller member is in a substantially homogeneous state without voids for absorbing ink. 4. The ink jet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a collecting unit that collects the ink removed by the removing unit. 5. The ink jet printer according to claim 4, further comprising a storage unit that stores the ink recovered by the recovery unit.