JP2004066735A - Inkjet head cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet head cleaning device which reduces a work load, fully cleans, requires a small amount of cleaning liquid and prevents the cleaning liquid from scattering. <P>SOLUTION: The device has a cleaning liquid container coupled to a switching valve by a first pipe for storing the cleaning liquid and supplying the cleaning liquid, a waste liquid container coupled to a filter by a fourth pipe for receiving a waste liquid jetted from an inkjet head and supplying the waste liquid, the filter coupled to a fifth pipe for filtering the waste liquid supplied from the fourth pipe to regenerate the cleaning liquid and supplying the cleaning liquid, the switching valve coupled to a pump by a second pipe for exclusively selecting the cleaning liquid supplied from one of the first pipe and the fifth pipe and supplying the selected cleaning liquid, and the pump coupled to the inkjet head by a third pipe for pressuring the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe and supplying the pressured cleaning liquid. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention belongs to the technical field of preventing or recovering clogging of an ink jet head. In particular, the present invention relates to an inkjet head cleaning apparatus for cleaning an inkjet head by supplying and discharging a cleaning liquid.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When an ink jet head is used, the nozzle plate, the piezo housing, and the like are stained with ink. If the ink jet head is left in that state, the ink is fixed in the ink flow path and near the nozzle holes. As a result, there are problems such as that ink is not ejected from the nozzle hole, ink does not go straight down from the nozzle hole, satellites and the like are generated. For this reason, it is necessary to clean the nozzles so that the nozzles can be reliably used after the use has been stopped for a certain period or more.
[0003]
Conventionally, there has been performed a method of manually supplying a cleaning liquid (solvent) capable of dissolving and flowing the fixed ink to an ink jet head for cleaning. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a cleaning liquid 120 is injected and stored in a syringe-like container 101 having a piston 102, and the piston 102 is pressed to pressurize the cleaning liquid 120, whereby a mixed liquid of the ink and the cleaning liquid is discharged from a nozzle hole. Run off and wash.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
This cleaning is a manual operation of injecting the cleaning liquid 120 into the container and pressurizing the piston 102. Since the cleaning needs to be performed repeatedly until the color of the ink disappears from the flowing liquid, the work load is large. In addition, since it is easy for an operator to give up on repeated cleaning, cleaning may be insufficient. Further, the cleaning liquid 120 is used up and requires a large amount of the cleaning liquid 120 for one cleaning. Normally, since the cleaning is performed in an open system, the cleaning liquid 120 flowing out of the nozzle is scattered in the form of a mist, and there is a danger that an operator may inhale the mist.
[0005]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the work load, perform cleaning sufficiently, use a small amount of cleaning liquid, and prevent the cleaning liquid from scattering, and thus an inkjet head cleaning apparatus. Is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is,
An inkjet head cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is an inkjet head cleaning apparatus including a cleaning liquid container, a waste liquid container, a filter, a switching valve, and a pump, wherein the cleaning liquid container stores the cleaning liquid. A first pipe for supplying the cleaning liquid connected to the switching valve, the waste liquid container receives waste liquid discharged from the inkjet head, and a fourth pipe for supplying the waste liquid connected to the filter; A filter is connected to a fifth pipe for filtering the waste liquid supplied from the fourth pipe to regenerate the cleaning liquid and supplying the cleaning liquid, and the switching valve is connected to one of the first pipe or the fifth pipe. A second line for exclusively selecting the cleaning liquid supplied from the pipe and supplying the selected cleaning liquid. And the pump pressurizes the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe, and is connected to the inkjet head by a third pipe for supplying the pressurized cleaning liquid. It is.
[0007]
According to the present invention, the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid container is discharged as waste liquid from the inkjet head via the first pipe, the switching valve, the second pipe, the pump, and the third pipe, and the waste liquid is received by the waste liquid container. . When the switching valve is switched when a considerable amount of waste liquid is accumulated in the waste liquid container, the waste liquid accumulated in the waste liquid container is discharged to the fourth pipe, the filter, the fifth pipe, the switching valve, the second pipe, the pump, and the third pipe. And discharged from the inkjet head as waste liquid, and the waste liquid is received by the waste liquid container. That is, the ink jet head can be cleaned by a circulation system that regenerates the waste liquid into the cleaning liquid by the filter. Accordingly, the present invention provides an inkjet head cleaning apparatus in which the work load is reduced, the cleaning is sufficiently performed, the required amount of the cleaning liquid is small, and the cleaning liquid is not scattered.
[0008]
An ink jet head cleaning apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the ink jet head cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a control unit, and the control unit controls at least the first cleaning step and the second cleaning step. Performing, in the first cleaning step, the control unit controls the switching valve so that the cleaning liquid supplied from the first pipe is supplied to the second pipe, and controls the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe. While pressurizing, the pump controls the pump so as to supply the pressurized cleaning liquid to the third pipe, and the control unit starts the first cleaning step when the predetermined amount of the waste liquid is accumulated in the waste liquid container. In the second cleaning step, the control unit controls the switching valve so that the cleaning liquid supplied from the fifth pipe is supplied to the second pipe in the second cleaning step. And also with pressurized cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe is the pressurized cleaning liquid that is adapted to control the pump so as to supply to said third pipe.
[0009]
According to the present invention, the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid container is discharged as waste liquid from the inkjet head via the first pipe, the switching valve, the second pipe, the pump, and the third pipe, and the waste liquid is received by the waste liquid container. The control of the cleaning process is performed by the control unit. Further, when a considerable amount of waste liquid is accumulated in the waste liquid container, control for switching the switching valve is performed by the control unit. Further, the waste liquid stored in the waste liquid container is discharged as waste liquid from the inkjet head via the fourth pipe, the filter, the fifth pipe, the switching valve, the second pipe, the pump, and the third pipe, and the waste liquid is received by the waste liquid container. The control of the second cleaning process is performed by the control unit. Accordingly, there is provided an ink jet head cleaning apparatus for automatically cleaning the ink jet head which reduces the work load, performs sufficient cleaning, requires a small amount of the cleaning liquid, and does not scatter the cleaning liquid.
[0010]
In the inkjet head cleaning apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the inkjet head cleaning apparatus according to the second aspect, the control unit performs control to repeat the first cleaning step and the second cleaning step. The last step of the repetition is set as the first cleaning step, and the control for terminating the entire cleaning step is performed.
[0011]
According to the present invention, the control section performs control for repeating the first cleaning step and the second cleaning step, and performs control for terminating the entire cleaning step with the last step of the repetition as the first cleaning step. . That is, the final cleaning of the ink jet head is performed not with the waste liquid but with the cleaning liquid. Therefore, a high degree of cleaning can be obtained.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 1 is a cleaning liquid container, 2 is a first pipe, 3 is a switching valve, 4 is a second pipe, 5 is a pump, 6 is a third pipe, 7 is a waste liquid container, 8 is a fourth pipe, and 9 is a filter. Reference numeral 10 denotes a fifth pipe, 20 denotes a cleaning liquid, 30 denotes a waste liquid, and 100 denotes an inkjet head.
[0013]
The cleaning container 1 stores the cleaning liquid 20 and is connected to the switching valve 3 by a first pipe 2 for supplying the cleaning liquid 20.
The cleaning liquid 20 may be any liquid that dissolves the ink, and is not particularly limited in the present invention. Water can be used as a washing liquid for an aqueous ink, and an organic solvent can be used for an organic solvent-based ink. Further, in the case of a solvent-free ink such as a radiation curable ink, a solvent capable of dissolving the solvent-free ink can be used as the cleaning liquid.
[0014]
The switching valve 3 exclusively selects the cleaning liquid supplied from one of the first pipe 5 and the fifth pipe 10, and is connected to the pump 5 by a second pipe 4 for supplying the selected cleaning liquid.
The cleaning liquid 20 stored in the cleaning container 1 is supplied to the switching valve 3 from the first pipe 2. When the switching valve 3 selects the first pipe 2, a flow path of the cleaning liquid 20 communicating from the first pipe 2 to the second pipe 4 is formed. The cleaning liquid obtained by filtering the waste liquid through the filter 9 is supplied to the switching valve 3 from the fifth pipe 10. When the switching valve 3 selects the fifth pipe 10, a flow path of the cleaning liquid 20 communicating from the fifth pipe 10 to the second pipe 4 is formed. The second pipe 4 is connected to the pump 5, and one of the cleaning liquids is supplied to the pump 5 by switching the pipe to be selected by the switching valve 3.
[0015]
As the switching valve 3, a manually switching valve can be used. Further, the switching can be performed by using an electromagnetic valve using a solenoid or the like. In the present invention, a known type and configuration of the switching valve can be applied, and there is no particular limitation. However, it is possible to automatically control the cleaning process by using a switching valve that can be automatically switched by a signal input.
[0016]
The pump 5 pressurizes the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe 4 and is connected to the inkjet head by a third pipe for supplying the pressurized cleaning liquid. As the pump 5, a diaphragm pump capable of intermittently supplying a cleaning liquid can be used. When priority is given to the cleaning speed, a rotary pump having a large flow rate can be used. In the present invention, well-known types and configurations of the pump can be applied, and there is no particular limitation.
[0017]
The inkjet head 100 is an object to be cleaned by the inkjet head cleaning device of the present invention. A heating element or a piezoelectric element is provided in a flow path communicating with the nozzle hole of the inkjet head 100. Then, a bubble is generated in the flow path by the heating element, or a mechanical deformation is generated in the flow path by the compression element. This generation is instantaneous, so that the ink in the flow path is impacted. In response to the impact, the ink in the flow path is ejected from the nozzle holes as ink droplets. If the ink is left in this flow path while being left, clogging occurs near the nozzle hole due to drying or the like, and it becomes impossible to discharge the ink droplets normally.
[0018]
The waste liquid container 7 receives the waste liquid 30 discharged from the inkjet head and is connected to the filter 9 by a fourth pipe 8 for supplying the waste liquid 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the waste liquid container 7 has a substantially closed structure. The waste liquid 30 ejected from the ink jet head is scattered and volatilized easily because it is in fine droplets. By sealing the waste liquid container 7, scattering and volatilization of the waste liquid 30 are prevented or suppressed, and a good working environment is maintained.
[0019]
The waste liquid 30 is a cleaning liquid that has passed through the inkjet head 100 to be cleaned. Since the amount of ink remaining in the flow path of the ink jet head 100 is generally small compared to the amount of the cleaning liquid, the waste liquid 30 does not contain many components of the ink. Have the ability. Therefore, it can be reused as a cleaning liquid.
[0020]
The filter 9 filters the waste liquid 30 supplied from the fourth pipe 8, regenerates the cleaning liquid, and connects with the fifth pipe 10 for supplying the cleaning liquid. The filter 9 removes undissolved dry ink, mixed foreign substances, and the like contained in the waste liquid 30. Of course, when the waste liquid 30 is reused as the cleaning liquid, it is to prevent clogging of the nozzle holes of the inkjet head 100 and the like.
[0021]
In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 1 described above, the inkjet head cleaning device of the present invention has a control unit (not shown). The control unit performs at least switching control of the switching valve 3 and start / stop control of the pump 5. As the control unit, a known control device such as a programmable sequence control device can be used. The control operation performed by the control unit will be described in the operation of the inkjet head cleaning apparatus described below.
[0022]
Next, the operation of the inkjet head cleaning apparatus of the present invention in the above configuration will be described. In the inkjet head cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the entire cleaning process is configured by combining the two processes of the first cleaning process and the second cleaning process. The first cleaning step is a step of performing cleaning by supplying the cleaning liquid 20 stored in the cleaning liquid container 1 to the inkjet head 100. The second cleaning step is a step of cleaning the waste liquid stored in the waste liquid container 7 by passing the waste liquid through the filter 9 to regenerate the cleaning liquid and supplying the cleaning liquid to the inkjet head 100.
[0023]
In the first cleaning process, the control unit controls the switching valve 3 so that the cleaning liquid 20 supplied from the first pipe 2 is supplied to the second pipe 4. The control unit pressurizes the cleaning liquid 20 supplied from the second pipe 4 and controls the pump 5 so as to supply the pressurized cleaning liquid to the third pipe 6. When this control is performed, the cleaning liquid 20 stored in the cleaning liquid container 1 passes through the first pipe 2, the switching valve 3, the second pipe 4, the pump 5, and the third pipe 6, and becomes the waste liquid 30 from the inkjet head 100. The waste liquid 30 is discharged and the waste liquid container 7 receives the waste liquid 30.
[0024]
The controller performs control to shift from the first cleaning process to the second cleaning process when a predetermined amount of the waste liquid 30 has accumulated in the waste liquid container 7. The determination as to whether or not the predetermined amount of the waste liquid 30 has accumulated is made, for example, by detecting whether or not the level of the liquid level of the waste liquid 30 stored in the waste liquid container 7 has exceeded a predetermined position by a photoelectric sensor or the like. The detection signal is input by the control unit.
[0025]
In the second cleaning process, the control unit controls the switching valve 3 so that the cleaning liquid supplied from the fifth pipe 10 is supplied to the second pipe 4. This washing liquid is a washing liquid in which the waste liquid 30 is filtered through the filter 9 and regenerated. The control unit pressurizes the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe 4 and controls the pump 5 so as to supply the pressurized cleaning liquid to the third pipe 6.
[0026]
When this control is performed, the waste liquid 30 stored in the waste liquid container 7 passes through the fourth pipe 8, the filter 9, the fifth pipe 10, the switching valve 3, the second pipe 4, the pump 5, and the third pipe 6. And discharged from the inkjet head 100 as a waste liquid, and the waste liquid 30 is received by the waste liquid container 7. That is, the ink jet head can be cleaned by the circulation system that regenerates the waste liquid 30 into the cleaning liquid by the filter 9.
[0027]
The basics of the cleaning process are to perform the cleaning by shifting from the first cleaning process to the second cleaning process as described above. However, as described above, in the inkjet head cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the entire cleaning process can be configured by combining these two processes. For example, the control unit performs control of repeating the first cleaning process and the second cleaning process, and performs control of terminating the entire cleaning process with the last process of the repetition as the first cleaning process.
[0028]
More specifically, for example, the processes as in the following Examples 1 and 2 are defined as the entire cleaning process.
Example 1
(First cleaning process) → (Transition) → (Second cleaning process) → (Transition) → (First cleaning process) → (End)
Example 2.
(First cleaning process) → (Transition) → (Second cleaning process) → (Transition) → (First cleaning process) → (Second cleaning process) → (Transition) → (First cleaning process) → (End)
[0029]
By repeating the two washing processes in this manner, and by performing the finishing washing with a new washing solution instead of the washing solution obtained by filtering and regenerating the waste liquid, a high washing degree can be obtained.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the inkjet head cleaning apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the work load is reduced, the cleaning is sufficiently performed, the required amount of the cleaning liquid is small, and the cleaning of the inkjet head is not scattered. An apparatus is provided.
Further, according to the inkjet head cleaning apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, the work load is reduced, the cleaning is sufficiently performed, the required amount of the cleaning liquid is small, and the cleaning of the ink jet head that does not scatter the cleaning liquid is automatically controlled. An apparatus for cleaning an inkjet head is provided.
According to the inkjet head cleaning apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, a high degree of cleaning can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an inkjet head cleaning apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a conventional inkjet head cleaning method.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning liquid container 2 1st piping 3 Switching valve 4 2nd piping 5 Pump 6 3rd piping 7 Waste liquid container 8 4th piping 9 Filter 10 5th piping 20 Cleaning liquid 30, 130 Waste liquid 100 Ink-jet head 101 Syringe-shaped container 102 Piston 103 Piping 107 Waste liquid container 130 Waste liquid

Claims (3)

A cleaning liquid container, a waste liquid container, a filter, a switching valve, an inkjet head cleaning device including a pump,
The cleaning liquid container is connected to the switching valve by a first pipe for storing the cleaning liquid and supplying the cleaning liquid,
The waste liquid container receives the waste liquid discharged from the ink jet head and is connected to the filter by a fourth pipe for supplying the waste liquid,
The filter is connected to a fifth pipe for supplying the cleaning liquid while filtering the waste liquid supplied from the fourth pipe to regenerate the cleaning liquid,
The switching valve exclusively selects a cleaning liquid supplied from one of the first pipe and the fifth pipe, and is connected to the pump by a second pipe for supplying the selected cleaning liquid,
The pump pressurizes the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe, and is connected to the inkjet head by a third pipe for supplying the pressurized cleaning liquid,
An ink-jet head cleaning device, characterized in that: The inkjet head cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit controls at least a first cleaning process and a second cleaning process,
In the first cleaning process, the control unit controls the switching valve so that the cleaning liquid supplied from the first pipe is supplied to the second pipe, and pressurizes the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe. And controlling the pump to supply the pressurized cleaning liquid to the third pipe,
The control unit shifts from the first cleaning step to the second cleaning step when a predetermined amount of the waste liquid is accumulated in the waste liquid container,
In the second cleaning process, the control unit controls the switching valve so that the cleaning liquid supplied from the fifth pipe is supplied to the second pipe, and pressurizes the cleaning liquid supplied from the second pipe. And controlling the pump to supply the pressurized cleaning liquid to the third pipe,
An ink-jet head cleaning device, characterized in that: 3. The ink jet head cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls to repeat the first cleaning step and the second cleaning step, and sets a final step of the repetition as the first cleaning step to perform the entire cleaning. An ink-jet head cleaning device, which performs control to end the process.

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