JP2004050406A - Inkjet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recorder in which printing reliability can be enhanced by preventing contamination of a recording medium during print operation. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recorder comprises a carriage 1 reciprocating between a print area and a nonprint area, a recording head 12 being carried on the carriage 1 and having a nozzle forming face 12a for ejecting ink, and a sheet guide stage 51 disposed below the moving passage of the recording head 12 and guiding a recording sheet 6 in the direction perpendicular to the reciprocal direction of the carriage 1. In the vicinity of the sheet guide stage 51, a rotating roller 52 having a face 52a for receiving ink from the nozzle forming face 12a under a state printing at the upper and lower fringes and the left and right fringes of the recording sheet 6 is disposed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus including a recording head that discharges ink droplets based on print data.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art There is known an ink jet recording apparatus capable of executing printing (marginless printing) by eliminating margins at both upper and lower edges and left and right edges of a recording medium.
In such an ink jet recording apparatus, the scanning range of the recording head and the transport range of the recording medium during printing are set to be smaller than those in normal printing (margined printing) so that borderless printing of the recording medium is performed. Are both considered to be a wide range.
[0003]
Therefore, at the time of printing, the recording head is moved in the main scanning direction between two positions protruding outward from the left and right end edges of the recording medium in the head moving direction. On the other hand, in the recording medium, the sub-scanning direction (main scanning direction and the main scanning direction) is performed from when the upper edge reaches the ink receiving position (the area below the recording head) to when the lower edge passes the ink receiving position. (Right angle direction).
[0004]
Since the guide member for guiding the recording medium is not contaminated by the ink droplets protruding outward from the upper and lower edges and the left and right edges of the recording medium, ink droplet receiving holes are provided at predetermined positions of the guide member. In addition, an ink absorbing member as an ink receiver is arranged in the receiving hole.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the above-mentioned ink jet type recording apparatus, when borderless printing is frequently used, a large amount of ink is accumulated on the ink absorbing member in the receiving hole, and the ink absorbing member has a limit in absorbing ink droplets.
As described above, when the ink drop absorbing capacity is limited, ink is accumulated on the ink absorbing member, thereby contaminating the recording medium (entire back surface) at the time of printing, and reducing printing reliability. There were challenges.
[0006]
This is particularly remarkable when a pigment ink is used as the printing ink. That is, since the particle size of the coloring material in the pigment ink is larger than that of the dye ink, when the pigment ink is accumulated on the ink absorbing member, the ink pool is more likely to be generated as compared with the dye ink.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve such a technical problem, and provides an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing a recording medium from being contaminated at the time of printing and thereby improving reliability in printing. The purpose is to do.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above-described object, has a carriage that reciprocates between a print area and a non-print area, and a nozzle forming surface that is mounted on the carriage and ejects ink. An ink jet type recording head, and a guide member disposed below a moving path of the recording head and having a guide portion for guiding a recording medium in a direction perpendicular to a reciprocating direction of the carriage, and near a guide portion of the guide member. An ink receiver having an ink receiving surface for receiving ink from the nozzle forming surface in a printing state on both upper and lower edges and left and right edges of a recording medium, wherein the ink receiver is formed by a moving member. And
[0009]
With this configuration, ink from the recording head can be received on the ink receiving surface of the ink receiver. In this case, when the ink receiver is moved, the ink receiving position on the ink receiving surface is changed.
Therefore, since ink accumulation on the ink receiver can be avoided, contamination of the recording medium during printing can be prevented, and reliability in printing can be improved.
[0010]
Here, it is preferable that the ink receiver is formed of a rotating roller or a moving belt.
With this configuration, it is possible to receive ink from the recording head on each ink receiving surface while rotating the rotating roller or moving the moving belt.
[0011]
It is preferable that the ink receiving surface is parallel to the nozzle forming surface.
With this configuration, the occurrence of scattering of ink mist due to receiving ink from the recording head is reliably prevented.
[0012]
Further, the ink receiver is constituted by two first ink receivers arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the recording medium and two second ink receivers interposed between the two first ink receivers. It is preferable that two ink receivers are arranged in parallel in the moving direction of the recording head via an auxiliary guide member for guiding a recording medium together with the guide member.
With this configuration, even when the recording medium is a material having poor elasticity, it is possible to print the upper and lower edges and the left and right edges of the recording medium while guiding the recording medium with the auxiliary guide member. it can.
[0013]
And it is desirable to have a blade for scraping off the ink adhering to the ink receiving surface.
With this configuration, the ink on the ink receiving surface of the ink receiver is scraped off by the blade, and the occurrence of ink accumulation on the ink receiving surface can be reliably prevented.
[0014]
Further, it is preferable that the driving means of the ink receiver is a paper feeding means for conveying a recording medium.
With such a configuration, a dedicated driving unit for moving the ink receiver is not required, and the number of components can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.
[0015]
Further, it is desirable that the ink receiver is formed by an ink absorbing member.
With this configuration, when ink is received from the recording head on the ink receiving surface, the ink is absorbed by the ink receiver.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus.
In FIG. 1, a carriage denoted by reference numeral 1 is configured to be reciprocated in the axial direction of a platen 5 by being guided by a guide rod 4 via a timing belt 3 driven by a carriage motor 2.
[0017]
The guide rod 4 is supported on two left and right frames 31 and 32 facing each other. Both frames 31, 32 are connected by a back plate 33 and a bottom plate.
[0018]
An ink jet recording head 12 is mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 1 (the side facing the recording paper 6), and a black ink cartridge 7 and a color ink cartridge 8 for supplying ink to the recording head 12 are mounted on the upper surface thereof. Are detachably held.
[0019]
A capping unit 9 is disposed in a non-printing area (home position) of the carriage 1. The capping means 9 (cap) rises when the recording head 12 moves right above, and is configured to seal the nozzle forming surface 12a of the recording head 12. A suction pump (tube pump) 10 serving as a pump unit for applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the cap is disposed below (to the side of) the capping means 9.
[0020]
The capping unit 9 has a function as a lid for preventing the nozzle openings of the recording head 12 from drying during the idle period of the ink jet recording apparatus. Further, a function as an ink receiver at the time of a flushing operation for applying a drive signal irrelevant to printing to the recording head 12 to discharge the ink droplets idly, and a negative pressure from the tube pump 10 are applied to the recording head 12. It also has a function as a cleaning unit for sucking and discharging the ink by acting.
[0021]
In the vicinity of the printing area side of the capping unit 9, the wiping unit 11 is arranged so as to be able to advance and retreat in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the movement path of the recording head 12.
The driving force of a paper feed motor (not shown) that conveys the recording paper 6 is used for the movement operation of the wiping unit 11 and the suction operation of the tube pump 10.
[0022]
Next, a main part of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the overall configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a guide member of a recording medium used in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. FIGS. 4A and 4B are a sectional view showing a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a perspective view showing an ink receiver thereof.
In FIG. 2, the carriage denoted by reference numeral 1 is guided by the guide rod 4 as described above, and is configured to be able to reciprocate between the print area and the non-print area in parallel to the paper guide table 51. ing.
[0023]
Note that printing is performed by the recording head 12 in the main scanning (reciprocating operation) of the carriage 1, and an area on the paper guide table 51 where this printing is performed is referred to as a “print area”. On the other hand, an area where printing is not performed is called a “non-print area”.
[0024]
The paper guide table 51 is formed of a rectangular box that opens downward, and is disposed below the moving path of the recording head 12. The recording paper 6 is configured to be guided in the sub-scanning direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the paper guide table 51 is provided with a plurality of guide portions 21 and 22 projecting along the main scanning direction.
[0025]
The guide section 21 is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording paper 6. Each of the guide portions 21 has an inclined surface 21 a that rises along the transport direction of the recording paper 6. On the other hand, the guide section 22 is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording paper 6 (downstream side of the guide section 21). Each of the guide portions 22 has an inclined surface 22a that rises in the transport direction of the recording paper 6 and a top surface 22b that is connected to the inclined surface 22a. As a result, the recording paper 6 supplied from the upstream side is configured to scan on the top surface 22b of each guide portion 22 so that a predetermined paper gap is formed between the recording paper 6 and the recording head 12. I have. In the vicinity of the guide portions 21 and 22, through holes (receiving holes) 20A, 20B1 and 20B2 for receiving ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 are provided.
[0026]
The plurality of through holes 20A are arranged at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction so as to correspond to printing on both right and left edges of the recording paper 6. Then, when performing right-and-left overprinting (marginless printing) of the recording paper 6, a substantially central portion of the through hole 20A on the home position side (right side in FIG. 3) shown in FIG. 6 are configured to match the right end. At the same time, the left end of the recording paper 6 is configured to match the substantially center position of the through hole 20A on the left side in FIG. The left through-hole 20 </ b> A is determined according to the width of the recording paper 6.
[0027]
On the other hand, the through holes 20B1 and 20B2 correspond to the printing of both upper and lower edges of the recording paper 6, and are arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction and the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording paper 6 in the through hole 20A. Then, when the printing of the recording paper 6 in the vertical direction is performed, the upper end of the recording paper 6 is made to coincide with the substantially center position of the through hole 20B1 arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording paper 6. At the same time, the lower end of the recording paper 6 is configured to match the substantially center position of the through hole 20B2 arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording paper 6.
[0028]
In the paper guide table 51, a rotating roller 52 as an ink receiver is arranged rotatably in the direction of arrow m (shown in FIG. 4A). The rotating roller 52 has an ink receiving surface 52a partially facing the through holes 20A, 20B1, 20B2. Then, when performing printing that extends over the recording paper 6 vertically and horizontally, ink droplets from the nozzle forming surface 12a (nozzle openings) are received on the ink receiving surface 52a. In other words, the ink receiving surface 52a that partially faces the through hole 20A is configured to receive ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 at positions protruding left and right of the recording paper 6. On the other hand, the ink receiving surface 52a partially facing the through hole 20B1 is configured to receive ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 at a position protruding from the upper edge when the upper edge of the recording paper 6 passes. You. In addition, the ink receiving surface 52a partially facing the through hole 20B2 is adapted to receive ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 at a position protruding from the lower edge when the lower edge of the recording paper 6 passes. You.
[0029]
The rotating roller 52 is formed of an ink absorber made of a porous member such as urethane foam. The ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 are received and absorbed by the ink receiving surface 52a.
[0030]
A paper feed motor (not shown) is used as a drive unit of the rotating roller 52, similarly to the drive unit of the suction pump 10 and the wiping unit 11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A, the rotation roller 52 is connected to the paper feed roller 35 via a transmission belt 36, and is configured to rotate in synchronization with the paper feed roller 35 by a paper feed motor. Have been. This eliminates the need for a dedicated driving unit for rotating the rotating roller 52, thereby reducing the number of components and reducing costs.
[0031]
In FIG. 4A, a pressing roller 37 is disposed near the paper feeding roller 35. Thus, the paper feed roller 35 rotates while being attached to the paper feed roller 35 at the time of paper feeding, and the recording paper 6 is supplied while being pressed together with the paper feed roller 35.
[0032]
Further, a blade 53 is provided in the paper guide table 51 so as to press the leading end of the paper guide table 51 into contact with the ink receiving surface 52a. The blade 53 is arranged near a position (ink scraping position) separated from the ink receiving position by a predetermined interval in the rotation direction of the rotary roller 52. Then, the ink adhering to the ink receiving surface 52a is scraped off. Thus, the ink on the ink receiving surface 52a is scraped off at the ink scraping position, and the occurrence of ink accumulation (ink accumulation) can be reliably prevented.
[0033]
Further, on the paper guide table 51, as shown in FIG. 3, a drive roller 23 and a driven roller 24 constituting a paper discharge roller unit are rotatably arranged.
Thus, the recording sheet 6 conveyed along the upper surface of the sheet guide table 51 can be discharged while being pressed.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 2, a waste liquid tank 54 connected via a pump tube 10a of the suction pump 10 is disposed below the paper guide table 51. Further, it is configured to contain the ink from the rotating roller 52 and the capping unit 9. As a result, the waste ink from the capping unit 9 and the rotating roller 52 is discharged to the common waste liquid tank 54, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. In the waste liquid tank 54, an ink absorbing and retaining member 55 made of a porous member such as urethane foam for absorbing and retaining the ink is accommodated.
[0035]
With the above configuration, when performing marginless printing on the upper and lower sides of the recording paper, when the upper edge of the recording paper 6 passes above the through hole 20B1, the ink droplets from the recording head 12 are located at positions protruding from the upper edge. Discharged. In this case, the ink droplet from the recording head 12 flies toward the ink receiving surface 52a facing the through hole 20B1. When the lower edge of the recording paper 6 passes above the through-hole 20B2, ink droplets are ejected from the recording head 12 to a position protruding from the lower edge. In this case, the ink droplet from the recording head 12 flies toward the ink receiving surface 52a facing the through hole 20B2.
[0036]
On the other hand, when performing borderless printing on the left and right sides of the recording paper, ink droplets are ejected from the recording head 12 at positions protruding from the left and right edges of the recording paper 6. In this case, the ink droplets from the recording head 12 enter the right through-hole 20A located on the home position side and the left through-hole 20A (the through-hole determined by the width size of the recording paper 6) in the through-hole 20A. It flies toward the facing ink receiving surface 52a.
[0037]
Therefore, the ink from the recording head 12 can be received on the ink receiving surface 52 a of the rotating roller 52 at a position protruding outside the upper and lower edges and the left and right edges of the recording paper 6. In this case, when each rotating roller 52 is moved, the ink receiving position on the ink receiving surface 52a is changed.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, since ink accumulation on the ink receiver (rotary roller 52) can be avoided, it is possible to prevent the recording paper 6 from being contaminated at the time of printing, and to enhance the reliability in printing. it can.
[0038]
Note that, in the present embodiment, a description has been given of a case where borderless printing is executed by associating a single rotating roller 52 with each of the through holes 20A, 20B1, and 20B2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, borderless printing can be performed similarly to the embodiment even when a plurality of rotating rollers are used.
[0039]
In this case, as the ink receiver (rotating roller), two first rotating rollers 61 and 62 arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the recording paper 6 and two second rotating rollers 61 and 62 interposed between the two rotating rollers 61 and 62 are used. It is constituted by rotating rollers 63 and 64. The second rotating rollers 63 and 64 are arranged in the moving direction of the recording head 12 via an auxiliary guide member 65 for guiding the recording paper 6 together with the paper guide table 51. Thus, while the recording paper 6 (recording paper having relatively low elasticity) is guided by the auxiliary guide member 65, printing of the upper and lower edges and the left and right edges of the recording paper 6 (marginless printing) can be executed. .
[0040]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 are a side view and a perspective view showing a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In these drawings, the same members as those in FIGS. And detailed description is omitted.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a moving belt 72 as an ink receiver is movably arranged in the paper guide table 51 in the direction of arrow n (shown in FIG. 6).
The moving belt 72 is formed by an endless belt stretched over the fixed shafts 73 a to 73 d and the transmission roller 74, and is configured to move by the rotation of the transmission roller 74.
[0041]
The fixed shafts 73a to 73d are arranged in parallel with the movement path of the recording head 12. The fixed shafts 73a and 73b are arranged near the moving path of the recording head 12 and at the same height. The fixed shafts 73c and 73d are arranged at predetermined intervals below the fixed shafts 73a and 73b. The transmission roller 74 is disposed below an intermediate position between the fixed shafts 73c and 73d. The rotation force from the paper feed roller 35 is transmitted through a transmission belt 75.
[0042]
The moving belt 72 faces the through holes 20A, 20B1, 20B2 (the through holes 20B1, 20B2 are shown in FIG. 3) and has an ink receiving surface 72a parallel to the nozzle forming surface 12a. . Thus, the ink mist is prevented from scattering due to receiving the ink from the recording head 12.
[0043]
Then, when performing printing that extends over the recording paper 6 vertically and horizontally, ink droplets from the nozzle forming surface 12a are received on the ink receiving surface 52a. In other words, the ink receiving surface 72a facing the through hole 20A is configured to receive ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 at positions protruding left and right of the recording paper 6. On the other hand, when the upper edge of the recording paper 6 passes through the ink receiving surface 72a facing the through hole 20B1, the ink receiving surface 72a receives ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 at a position protruding from the upper edge. The ink receiving surface 72a facing the inside of the through hole 20B2 is configured to receive ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12 at a position protruding from the lower edge when the lower edge of the recording paper 6 passes.
[0044]
Further, the moving belt 72 is formed of an ink absorber made of a porous member such as urethane foam. The ink receiving surface 72a receives and absorbs ink droplets ejected from the recording head 12.
[0045]
Further, a blade 76 is provided in the paper guide table 51 so as to press the leading end of the paper guide table 51 into contact with the ink receiving surface 72a. The blade 76 is arranged near the transmission roller 75. Then, the ink adhering to the ink receiving surface 72a is scraped off. Thus, the ink on the ink receiving surface 72a is scraped off at the ink scraping position, and the occurrence of the ink pool can be reliably prevented.
[0046]
With the above configuration, borderless printing on the upper and lower sides of the recording paper is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In this case, the ink droplet from the recording head 12 flies toward the ink receiving surface 72a facing each of the through holes 20B1 and 20B2.
On the other hand, the borderless printing on the left and right sides of the recording paper is also executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In this case, the ink droplets from the recording head 12 pass through the right through-hole 20A (FIG. 3) located on the home position side and the left through-hole 20A in the through-hole 20A (the through-hole determined by the width size of the recording paper 6). It flies toward the ink receiving surface 72a facing the hole (hole).
[0047]
Therefore, the ink from the recording head 12 can be received on the ink receiving surface 72a of the moving belt 72 at a position protruding outside the upper and lower edges and the left and right edges of the recording paper 6. In this case, when each moving belt 72 is moved, the ink receiving position on the ink receiving surface 72a is changed.
Therefore, also in the present embodiment, since ink accumulation on the ink receiver (moving belt 72) can be avoided, contamination of the recording paper 6 at the time of printing can be prevented, and the reliability in printing can be improved. it can.
[0048]
In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which borderless printing is executed by associating a single moving belt 72 with each of the through holes 20A, 20B1, and 20B2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Even when a plurality of moving belts are associated with each other as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, marginless printing can be executed as in each embodiment.
[0049]
In this case, as the ink receiver (moving belt), two first moving belts 81 and 82 arranged in parallel in the transport direction of the recording paper 6 at a predetermined interval, and two second moving belts 81 interposed between the two moving belts 81 and 82 are used. It is constituted by moving belts 83 and 84. The second moving belts 83 and 84 are arranged in the moving direction of the recording head 12 via an auxiliary guide member 85 for guiding the recording paper 6 together with the paper guide table 51. Thus, while the recording paper 6 (recording paper having relatively poor elasticity) is guided by the auxiliary guide member 85, printing of the upper and lower edges and the left and right edges of the recording paper 6 (marginless printing) can be performed. .
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
As apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being contaminated at the time of printing, and to enhance the reliability in printing.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an overall configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a guide member of a recording medium used in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are a sectional view showing a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a perspective view showing an ink receiver thereof.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a perspective view showing the ink receiver.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a side view showing a modified example of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a modification of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 2 Carriage motor 3 Timing belt 4 Guide rod 5 Platen 6 Recording paper 7 Black ink cartridge 8 Color ink cartridge 9 Capping means 10 Suction pump 11 Wiping means 12 Recording head 12a Nozzle formation surface 20A, 20B1, 20B2 Through hole 21 Guide part 21a inclined surface 22 guide portion 22a inclined surface 22b top surface 23 drive roller 24 driven roller 35 paper feed roller 36 transmission belt 37 holding roller 51 paper guide table 52 rotating roller 52a ink receiving surface 53 Blade 54 Waste liquid tank 55 Ink absorption holder

Claims (8)

A carriage reciprocating between a print area and a non-print area,
An ink-jet recording head mounted on the carriage and having a nozzle forming surface for discharging ink,
A guide member disposed below the movement path of the recording head and having a guide portion for guiding a recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the carriage.
In the vicinity of the guide portion of the guide member, an ink receiver having an ink receiving surface for receiving ink from the nozzle forming surface in a printing state with respect to the upper and lower edges and the left and right edges of the recording medium is arranged,
The ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the ink receiver is formed by a moving member. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink receiver comprises a rotating roller. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink receiver comprises a moving belt. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ink receiving surface is parallel to the nozzle forming surface. The ink receiver is constituted by two first ink receivers and two second ink receivers interposed between the two first ink receivers arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the recording medium,
5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two ink receivers are arranged side by side in the moving direction of the print head via an auxiliary guide member that guides a print medium together with the guide member. 6. Or an ink jet recording apparatus. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a blade for scraping off the ink attached to the ink receiving surface. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving means for driving the ink receiver is a paper feeding means for conveying a recording medium. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink receiver is formed by an ink absorbing member.

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