JP2005103849A - Inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a burden on maintenance of an apparatus by facilitating recovery processing of waste ink. <P>SOLUTION: A first ink receiving part 7, which is provided on the downside of a platen 2 for receiving ink not impacting on a recording medium P, and a second ink receiving part 8, which is provided on the undersurface side of a maintenance area 4 for receiving the ink idly ejected from a recording head 1 in a maintenance area 4, are made to communicate with each other; and a waste ink tank 9, which is provided near the receiving part 8 so as to store the waste ink, is connected via a connecting pipe 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly, to an ink jet recording apparatus including an ink receiving portion for collecting waste ink.

  In recent inkjet recording apparatuses, inkjet recording apparatuses that can perform recording with a reduced margin of a recording medium by an easy operation and configuration have become widespread. However, if an image is to be printed up to the edge of the recording medium in the ink jet recording apparatus, the recording medium transport accuracy error, the recording head landing accuracy error, or in the case of a serial ink jet recording system, the recording head is connected to the recording medium. Due to the scanning accuracy error of the main scanning drive mechanism that is moved along the direction of the ink, the ink has landed on the platen that holds the recording medium.

In order to solve such a problem, a technique has been developed in which an ink absorbing layer is provided as an ink receiving portion in a portion scanned by a platen recording head (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-128964

  However, in the ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, although ink that has landed on the platen without landing on the recording medium can be received by the ink absorption layer, ink reception by the ink absorption layer is possible. A large capacity cannot be secured, and therefore, there is a problem that the ink absorption layer must be frequently replaced.

  Further, in an ink jet recording apparatus having a head maintenance mechanism for preventing or recovering clogging of the recording head or ink ejection bending, an ink receiving portion for receiving waste ink at the time of performing head maintenance is usually provided. However, it is necessary to separately process the waste ink received in the ink absorption layer and the waste ink received in the ink receiving portion in the head maintenance mechanism, and the waste ink recovery process is complicated. It also has the problem of becoming.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an ink jet recording apparatus that can appropriately and efficiently recover waste ink and reduce a burden on maintenance of the apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the invention described in claim 1 includes a recording head formed with nozzles for ejecting ink, and the recording medium disposed opposite to the recording head. In an ink jet recording apparatus including a platen supported from a non-recording surface and a maintenance mechanism that performs maintenance of the recording head, an ink transmission unit formed at a position corresponding to at least a recording region of the platen, and the ink transmission unit A first ink receiving portion disposed below the second ink receiving portion, and a second ink receiving portion that receives ink that is idlely ejected from the head maintenance mechanism, wherein the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are It is characterized by being in communication with each other.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the second ink receiving portion provided below the maintenance mechanism and the first ink receiving portion provided below the ink transmitting portion of the platen are communicated with each other. Therefore, it is possible to greatly increase the ink receiving amount of the first ink receiving portion that receives ink that does not land on the recording medium.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head in which nozzles for ejecting ink are formed, a platen disposed to face the recording head and supporting the recording medium from a non-recording surface, and maintenance of the recording head. In the ink jet recording apparatus provided with a maintenance mechanism for performing the above, an ink transmission part formed at a position corresponding to at least a recording area of the platen, a first ink receiving part disposed below the ink transmission part, And a second ink receiving portion for receiving ink ejected from the head maintenance mechanism, wherein the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are communicated with a waste ink tank.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the second ink receiving portion provided below the maintenance mechanism and the first ink receiving portion provided below the ink transmitting portion of the platen communicate with the waste ink tank. Therefore, the ink received in the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion can be properly collected by the waste ink tank.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, at least one of the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion includes an ink absorber that absorbs ink. And

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the ink absorber is provided in at least one of the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion, the ink passed from the ink transmitting portion or the maintenance mechanism The ink can be absorbed by the absorber, and a predetermined amount of ink can be efficiently received by the absorber.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects, the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are arranged so as to be inclined so that one end side is at a low level. And

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are arranged so as to be inclined so that the one end side is lower. In addition, it is possible to efficiently collect at one end side of the second ink receiving portion, and when the waste ink tank is connected, the ink collected by the inclination can be efficiently collected.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, a heating device for heating the first ink receiving portion is provided on a lower surface side of the first ink receiving portion.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the first ink receiving portion is heated by the heating device, for example, even when ink having high viscosity at room temperature or ink that becomes solid at room temperature is received. The viscosity of the ink can be reduced by the heating device and recovered.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first to fifth aspects, the ink is an ultraviolet curable ink.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, these ultraviolet curable inks are not limited to paper, and the ink droplets adhere to various types of recording media having no ink absorbency, thereby forming an image. Can do.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the ink receiving amount of the first ink receiving portion can be significantly increased by communicating the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion, the printing margin Even when recording is performed without ink, ink that does not land on the recording medium can be reliably received by the first ink receiving portion and efficiently collected, and the burden on maintenance of the apparatus can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are communicated with the waste ink tank, and the ink received in the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion is discarded. Since ink can be properly collected by the ink tank, even when recording without a print margin is performed, ink that does not land on the recording medium can be reliably received by the first ink receiving portion and efficiently recovered. The burden on maintenance can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ink passed through the ink transmission part or the ink from the maintenance mechanism is absorbed by the absorber, so that a predetermined amount of ink can be efficiently received. The collection can be performed efficiently, and the burden on the maintenance of the apparatus can be reduced.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, by arranging the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion so as to be inclined at one end side, the received ink can be efficiently collected. Ink can be collected efficiently, and the burden on the maintenance of the apparatus can be reduced.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, by heating the first ink receiving portion with the heating device, the viscosity of the ink can be reduced and recovered. For example, the ink is highly viscous at room temperature or at room temperature. Even when solid ink is received, ink can be collected efficiently.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, it is possible to target a recording medium made of a material that is more stretchable than before, and even with such a recording medium, the influence of expansion and contraction is reduced, High-quality image formation can be performed.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, although various technically preferable limitations for implementing the present invention are given to the embodiments described below, the scope of the invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

  1 and 2 show an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. The ink jet recording apparatus in the present embodiment is an ink jet recording apparatus of a serial system.

  The reciprocating direction of the recording head 1 is defined as a main scanning direction X, and the conveying direction of the recording medium P orthogonal to the main scanning direction X by a recording medium conveying mechanism (not shown) is defined as a sub-scanning direction Y.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment has a flat platen 2 that supports a recording medium from the non-recording surface side, and an ink transmission part 3 is formed in a portion corresponding to the recording area of the platen 2. ing. The ink transmitting portion 3 is, for example, a mesh shape in which a metal wire is knitted, a punching shape in which a large number of fine holes are formed in a metal plate, or a slit shape in which a large number of linear holes are formed. It is supposed to be formed. Further, the width of the platen 2 in the main scanning direction X is set to be larger than the paper width of the maximum recording medium P that can be used in the ink jet recording apparatus. It is formed up to the maintenance area 4 formed on one side of the main scanning direction X.

  Above the recording area of the platen 2, a carriage (not shown) that is reciprocally movable along the main scanning direction X by a carriage rail (not shown) extending along the main scanning direction X is arranged. For example, four recording heads 1 corresponding to yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk) inks are mounted side by side in the main scanning direction X on the carriage. A plurality of nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink are arranged along the sub-scanning direction Y on the surface of each recording head 1 facing the platen 2. The ink jet apparatus is provided with a recording medium transport mechanism (not shown) for transporting the recording medium P in the sub-scanning direction Y.

  Further, an ultraviolet irradiation device 5 for irradiating the ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 1 with ultraviolet rays is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream side of the recording head 1 in the sub-scanning direction Y. A cover member (not shown) having an open surface facing the platen 2 is provided. Inside the cover member, a plurality of ultraviolet light sources 6 having a rod shape are arranged side by side. As the ultraviolet light source 6, a light source such as a high pressure mercury lamp, a metal halide lamp, a hot cathode tube, a cold cathode tube, or an LED is used.

  In the maintenance area 4, a maintenance mechanism for performing maintenance work such as prevention or recovery of nozzle clogging and ink ejection bending of the recording head 1 is disposed.

  Below the ink transmission part 3 of the platen 2, a first ink receiving part 7 is provided for receiving ink ejected from the recording head 1 and not landed on the recording medium. Is provided with a second ink receiving portion 8 for receiving ink ejected from the recording head 1 during maintenance of the recording head 1 by the maintenance mechanism.

  In the present embodiment, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are integrally connected to each other, and the second ink receiving portion 8 includes the first ink receiving portion 7 and the first ink receiving portion 7. A waste ink tank 9 for collecting the ink received in the two ink receiving portion 8 is connected via a connecting pipe 10.

  Ink absorption such as felt and nonwoven fabric that absorbs the ink received in the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 inside at least one of the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8. You may make it accommodate a body.

  The ink in the present embodiment is an ultraviolet curable ink that is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet curable ink is roughly classified into a radical polymerization ink containing a radical polymerizable compound as a polymerizable compound and a cation polymerization ink containing a cationic polymerizable compound. Both inks are used in this embodiment. Each of these can be applied as an ink, and a hybrid ink in which a radical polymerization ink and a cation polymerization ink are combined may be applied as an ink used in this embodiment. However, it is particularly preferable to use a cationic polymerization ink because a cationic polymerization ink that has little or no inhibitory action on the polymerization reaction due to oxygen is superior in functionality and versatility.

  As the recording medium P, a recording medium made of various papers such as plain paper, recycled paper, glossy paper, various fabrics, various non-woven fabrics, resin, metal, glass and the like is applicable. In particular, as the recording medium P used in the present embodiment, a transparent or opaque non-absorbent resin film used for so-called soft packaging can be applied.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the predetermined image information is sent, the recording medium is transported in the sub-scanning direction Y by the recording medium transport mechanism, and the recording head 1 is operated based on the predetermined image information while driving the carriage in the main scanning direction X. Then, ink of a required color is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 1 to the recording medium. Thereby, a desired image is formed on the recording surface of the recording medium, and the recording medium is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y, whereby the recording medium is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet light source 6 of the ultraviolet irradiation device 5, The ink is cured and the image is fixed.

  At this time, for example, ink that is ejected from the recording head 1 and does not land properly on the recording medium is printed from the ink transmitting portion 3 of the platen 2 to the platen 2 as in the case of performing borderless recording without providing a margin around the recording medium. And is received by the first ink receiving portion 7. Further, the ink ejected from the recording head 1 by the idle ejection associated with the maintenance work similarly passes through the ink transmitting portion 3 and is received by the second ink receiving portion 8. The ink received in the first ink receiving portion 7 moves to the second ink receiving portion 8 that communicates therewith and is stored in the waste ink tank 9 via the connection pipe 10.

  In addition, when the first ink receiving unit 7 or the second ink receiving unit 8 is provided with an absorber, the ink that has passed from the ink transmitting unit 3 is absorbed by the absorber, and is absorbed by the absorber. A predetermined amount of ink can be received. Then, excess ink that can no longer be absorbed by the absorber is stored in the waste ink tank 9 via the connection pipe 10. However, when an absorber is provided as described above, a certain amount of ink can be received by this absorber, so if the absorber is replaced every predetermined period, the first ink receiving portion It is also possible not to connect the 7 or the second ink receiving portion 8 to the waste ink tank 9.

  As described above, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, since the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are communicated with each other, the ink receiving amount of the first ink receiving portion 7 is greatly increased. In addition, since the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 and the waste ink tank 9 are connected, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are connected to each other. The received ink can be properly collected by the waste ink tank 9. As a result, even when recording with no printing margin is performed, ink that does not land on the recording medium can be reliably received by the first ink receiving portion 7 and efficiently collected, and the burden on maintenance of the apparatus can be reduced. Can do.

  In addition, by using ultraviolet curable ink, it is possible to form an image on a wide variety of recording media that are not limited to paper and have no ink absorption, and recording of a material that is more stretchable than before. The medium can also be a target, and even with such a recording medium, the influence of expansion and contraction can be reduced and high-quality image formation can be performed.

  FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment as well, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are the same as in the first embodiment. Are integrally formed to communicate with each other, and are connected to the waste ink tank 9 through the connecting pipe 10 to the second ink receiving portion 8. Further, in the present embodiment, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are disposed so as to be inclined so that the waste ink tank 9 side becomes lower. On the lower surface of the two ink receiving portion 8, for example, a heating device 11 configured by a sheet heater or the like for heating the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 from the lower surface side is disposed.

  Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same parts as those of the ink jet recording apparatus in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
Also in the present embodiment, when the predetermined image information is sent, the recording medium is transported, and the recording head 1 is operated based on the predetermined image information while driving the carriage in the main scanning direction X. In contrast, after the ink is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 1, the recording medium is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, whereby the ink is cured and the image is fixed.

  At this time, ink ejected from the recording head 1 and not properly landed on the recording medium is received by the first ink receiving portion 7, and ink ejected in accordance with maintenance work is also received by the second ink receiving portion 8. Is done. The ink received in the first ink receiving portion 7 moves to the second ink receiving portion 8 that communicates therewith and is stored in the waste ink tank 9 via the connection pipe 10.

  In this case, in the present embodiment, since the heating device 11 is operated to heat the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion are used. The viscosity of the ink received in the portion 8 can be reduced, and the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are inclined, so that the first ink receiving portion 7 and The ink received in the second ink receiving portion 8 can be smoothly guided to the connecting tube 10 and ink can be collected efficiently.

  As described above, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are communicated with each other as in the first embodiment. It is possible to greatly increase the ink receiving amount of the portion 7, and the first ink receiving portion 7, the second ink receiving portion 8 and the waste ink tank 9 are connected, so that the first ink receiving portion 7 and the ink received in the second ink receiving portion 8 can be properly collected by the waste ink tank 9. As a result, even when recording with no printing margin is performed, ink that does not land on the recording medium can be reliably received by the first ink receiving portion 7 and efficiently collected, and the burden on maintenance of the apparatus can be reduced. Can do.

  Moreover, since the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are inclined and the received ink can be heated by the heating device 11, the ink having a high viscosity at room temperature, such as an ultraviolet curable ink. Even when ink that is solid at room temperature is received, the ink received by the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 can be collected more efficiently.

  In the first and second embodiments, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 are configured to communicate with each other. However, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion are configured to communicate with each other. 8 may be provided separately. In this case, the first ink receiving portion 7 and the second ink receiving portion 8 may be independently connected to the waste ink tank 9.

It is a top view which shows the principal part of 1st embodiment of the inkjet recording device which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of 2nd embodiment of the inkjet recording device which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 2 Platen 3 Ink permeation | transmission part 4 Maintenance area | region 7 1st ink receiving part 8 Second ink receiving part 9 Waste ink tank 11 Heating apparatus P Recording medium

Claims (6)

Inkjet equipped with a recording head formed with nozzles for ejecting ink, a platen arranged to face the recording head and supporting the recording medium from a non-recording surface, and a maintenance mechanism for maintaining the recording head In the recording device,
An ink transmission portion formed at a position corresponding to at least a recording area of the platen;
A first ink receiving portion disposed below the ink transmitting portion;
A second ink receiving portion for receiving ink ejected idle from the head maintenance mechanism,
The inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are in communication with each other. Inkjet equipped with a recording head formed with nozzles for ejecting ink, a platen arranged to face the recording head and supporting the recording medium from a non-recording surface, and a maintenance mechanism for maintaining the recording head In the recording device,
An ink transmission portion formed at a position corresponding to at least a recording area of the platen;
A first ink receiving portion disposed below the ink transmitting portion;
A second ink receiving portion for receiving ink ejected idle from the head maintenance mechanism,
The inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are communicated with a waste ink tank.   3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion includes an ink absorber that absorbs ink. 4.   The inkjet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first ink receiving portion and the second ink receiving portion are disposed so as to be inclined so that one end side thereof is at a low level. Recording device.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a heating device that heats the first ink receiving portion is provided on a lower surface side of the first ink receiving portion.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink is an ultraviolet curable ink.

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