JP2005219334A - Cleaning system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten time to be spent for an operation to replenish and discharge a cleaning liquid and restrain a manufacturing cost. <P>SOLUTION: This cleaning system comprises not less than two units of a cleaning device for cleaning a recording head 4 and a conveyance belt 6 with water 14 as a cleaning liquid; not less than two units of a supply device for supplying water 14 to a treatment tank 28 for the recording head 4 and a treatment tank 13 for the conveyance belt 6 using pumps 21 and 22; and not less than two units of a control device which detect the water 14 accumulated in the treatment tank 28 for the recording head 4 and the treatment tank 13 for the conveyance belt 6 using detectors 18 and 29 and switch a supply ductwork by actuating change-over valves 20 and 27. When the water 14 is supplied to both tanks 28 and 13 simultaneously with the help of not less than two units of a supply mechanism, the control devices detect the state that either of the treatment tanks 28 and 13 has reached a specified capacity with the help of the detectors 18 and 29, and automatically switch the water supply to the ductwork arranged in the treatment tank 28 or 13 wherein the water 14 has not reached the specified capacity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning system, and more particularly, to a cleaning system for cleaning a recording head and a conveyance belt included in an ink jet recording apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus is known as a recording apparatus capable of printing on various recording media represented by plain paper. An ink jet recording apparatus ejects ink, which is a coloring material, directly from a nozzle provided on a surface of a recording head that faces the recording medium to the recording medium, thereby landing, penetrating, or fixing on the recording medium. It is a recording apparatus for forming an image on top, and has very excellent characteristics in terms of process simplicity, quietness and printing at the time of printing, and printing quality.

  These ink jet recording apparatuses can also be printed on fabrics. Inkjet recording apparatuses for printed woven fabrics that print on fabrics and the like are provided with a transport belt for transporting a recording medium to a recording region, and by transporting a thin fabric having stretch properties by the transport belt, Distortion and wrinkles caused by uneven tension due to conveyance can be prevented. In addition, in order to prevent the fabric from shifting from the transport belt, the fabric is transported to the printing area while being stuck to the transport belt by being in close contact with the transport belt coated with the adhesive. Stable image formation is performed.

  However, in the ink jet recording apparatus using such a conveyor belt, the adhesive force of the adhesive applied to the belt is reduced while the image formation is repeated. Therefore, the adhesive is temporarily removed from the belt periodically, A new pressure-sensitive adhesive had to be applied again, and a large cost and labor had to be spent on maintenance. In addition, since the ink adheres to the thin fabric that is in close contact with the conveyance belt, the ink oozes out to the back side of the fabric and adheres to the conveyance belt, and the fabric on which the ink adhered to the conveyance belt is newly conveyed There was a problem of contamination.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to carry out the maintenance of the conveyor belt frequently, and in order to prevent ink adhering to the conveyor belt from contaminating the recording medium, the conveyor belt to which the ink has adhered is washed with a cleaning liquid and dried. A transport apparatus that transports the recording medium again has been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Also, the ink used in the inkjet recording apparatus for printed woven fabrics has a higher dye concentration than the ink used in the ordinary inkjet recording apparatus, and the dye precipitates as the water in the ink evaporates. Since it has easy characteristics, when ink remains in the discharge port (hereinafter referred to as nozzle), it becomes impossible to perform proper discharge, thereby causing a problem of lowering printing and printing quality.

  Accordingly, a cleaning device has been developed that can perform stable cleaning without cleaning unevenness by wiping off ink adhering to the recording head by a wiping means immersed in a cleaning liquid stored in a processing tank (for example, Patent Documents). 2).

Furthermore, in the case of a recording apparatus provided with a cleaning device provided with a processing tank for storing a cleaning liquid used when performing a cleaning process of the recording head or the conveyance belt, after installation, when cleaning liquid is changed, and after being left for a long time When starting up, it is necessary to supply a large amount of cleaning liquid to the processing tank for maintenance of the equipment, and switching to switch to a circulation pump with high supply capacity in order to shorten the work time until printing and printing are possible An ink jet recording apparatus having a means has been developed (for example, see Patent Document 3).
JP 2003-205658 A Japanese Patent No. 3118153 JP-A-8-114904

  However, in the ink jet recording apparatus provided with the above-described cleaning device, the circulation pump provided in the cleaning device is expensive, which causes a problem that the manufacturing cost of the ink jet recording apparatus increases.

  In addition, when supplying the cleaning liquid to the treatment tank using a normal pump, a pump with a low supply capacity is sufficient for normal use, but when supplying a large amount of cleaning liquid, the supply capacity may be insufficient. is there. Specifically, when a processing tank having a small capacity first reaches a predetermined capacity, the pump provided in the supply pipe connected to the processing tank stops operating, and on the other hand, reaches a predetermined capacity. The remaining capacity must be supplied only to the pump provided in the supply pipe connected from the beginning to the large-capacity treatment tank, which reduces the supply efficiency and the time required for the supply work. There has been a problem of becoming longer. The same problem has occurred when the cleaning liquid is discharged from the treatment tank.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning system capable of reducing the time required for replenishing and discharging the cleaning liquid and suppressing the manufacturing cost.

In order to solve the above problems, a cleaning system according to the invention described in claim 1 includes:
Two or more cleaning devices for cleaning the recording head and the transport belt with the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the transport belt;
Two or more supply devices for supplying the cleaning liquid with a pump from a supply tank to the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt through a supply pipe;
Two or more control devices that detect the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyance belt by a detector and operate a switching valve to switch the supply line;
When the control device supplies the cleaning liquid to two or more of the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt at the same time using two or more of the supply devices, The detector detects that the capacity has been reached, and automatically switches to a supply pipe disposed in a processing tank in which the cleaning liquid does not reach a predetermined capacity.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid stored in one of the processing tanks is changed when the cleaning liquid is supplied simultaneously to two or more of the recording tank processing tank and the transport belt processing tank. Supply efficiency is improved by automatically switching to a supply pipe installed in a processing tank that has not reached the specified capacity by a control device consisting of a detector and a switching valve when the specified capacity is reached. Can be achieved.

A cleaning system according to the invention of claim 2
The supply tank is provided for storing different types of cleaning liquid in two or more supply tanks;
When the control device supplies two or more of the different types of cleaning liquids simultaneously to two or more of the recording head processing tank and the transport belt processing tank using two or more of the supply apparatuses, The detector senses that one cleaning liquid has reached a predetermined capacity in step 1, and automatically supplies a supply pipe that connects a processing tank that has not reached the predetermined capacity to a supply tank in which another cleaning liquid is stored. It is characterized by switching.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, a large amount of cleaning liquid is simultaneously supplied to two or more of the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt from two or more supply tanks storing different types of cleaning liquid. When one cleaning liquid reaches a predetermined capacity in one processing tank at the time of cleaning liquid replacement, a processing tank that does not reach the predetermined capacity and another cleaning liquid are detected by a control device including a detector and a switching valve. By automatically switching to a supply pipe that connects the stored supply tank, it is possible to improve supply efficiency.

A cleaning system according to the invention of claim 3 is
Two or more cleaning devices for cleaning the recording head and the transport belt with the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the transport belt;
Two or more discharge devices for discharging the cleaning liquid by a pump from the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt to a waste liquid tank via a discharge pipe;
Two or more control devices that sense the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the transport belt by a detector and operate the switching valve to switch the discharge line;
When the control device discharges the cleaning liquid from two or more of the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt using two or more of the discharge devices, one of the processing tanks is emptied. This is detected by the detector and is automatically switched to a discharge pipe connected to the treatment tank in which the cleaning liquid remains.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid stored in one of the processing tanks is replaced when the cleaning liquid is discharged from two or more of the recording head processing tank and the transport belt processing tank at the same time. When it becomes empty, it is possible to improve the discharge efficiency by automatically switching to the discharge pipe connected to the treatment tank where the cleaning liquid remains by the control device consisting of the detector and the switching valve. it can.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid stored in one of the processing tanks is changed when the cleaning liquid is supplied simultaneously to two or more of the recording tank processing tank and the transport belt processing tank. Supply efficiency is improved by automatically switching to a supply pipe installed in a processing tank that has not reached the specified capacity by a control device consisting of a detector and a switching valve when the specified capacity is reached. This makes it possible to reduce the time required for supplying the cleaning liquid. In addition, it is not necessary to separately provide an expensive supply pump having a high supply capacity, so that manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, a large amount of cleaning liquid is simultaneously supplied to two or more of the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt from two or more supply tanks storing different types of cleaning liquid. When one cleaning liquid reaches a predetermined capacity in one processing tank at the time of cleaning liquid replacement, a processing tank that does not reach the predetermined capacity and another cleaning liquid are detected by a control device including a detector and a switching valve. By automatically switching to the supply pipe that connects the stored supply tank, it becomes possible to supply the same cleaning liquid from two or more supply devices to the treatment tank that has not reached the predetermined capacity, A cleaning liquid according to the purpose of the treatment tank can be supplied to improve the cleaning efficiency. In addition, it is possible to shorten the time required for supplying the cleaning liquid by improving the supply efficiency.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid stored in one of the processing tanks is replaced when the cleaning liquid is discharged from two or more of the recording head processing tank and the transport belt processing tank at the same time. When it becomes empty, it is possible to improve the discharge efficiency by automatically switching to the discharge pipe connected to the treatment tank where the cleaning liquid remains by the control device consisting of the detector and the switching valve. This makes it possible to shorten the time required for discharging the cleaning liquid. In addition, since it is not necessary to separately provide an expensive discharge pump having a high discharge capacity, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  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.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 including the cleaning system according to the present invention, each constituent member is covered with a casing (not shown). A long guide rail 2 is disposed inside the housing. Here, the direction in which the guide rail 2 extends is defined as a main scanning direction X. A carriage 3 is supported on the guide rail 2 and can reciprocate in the main scanning direction X while being guided by the guide rail 2.

  The carriage 3 temporarily stores ink supplied from an ink tank (not shown) that stores ink of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). An ink tank (not shown) and four or eight recording heads 4 for ejecting ink toward the recording medium P are mounted. Further, in the carriage 3, the sub ink tank and each recording head 4 are connected to each other via a connection pipe (not shown).

  Each recording head 4 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the recording head 4 is parallel to a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction X. Here, a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction X is defined as a sub-scanning direction Y. Each recording head 4 has a lower surface serving as an ejection surface, and a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink are arranged in a line in the longitudinal direction. In addition, each recording head 4 is provided with an element for applying pressure to the internal ink for each nozzle by, for example, a piezo element or a heating element, and the ink is individually dropped from each nozzle by the operation of these elements. It is comprised so that it may discharge.

  A planar platen 5 that supports the recording medium P from the non-recording surface is disposed below the recording head 4 and at a position facing each nozzle of the recording head 4. As shown in FIG. 1, a driving roller 7 for rotating the conveyor belt 6 is disposed on the upstream side of the platen 5, and a guide roller 8 for guiding the conveyor belt 6 in a substantially horizontal direction is disposed on the downstream side. It is installed.

  A cleaning device for cleaning ink adhering to the ejection surface is provided on one side of the platen 5 in the main scanning direction X. In the cleaning device, a wipe member (not shown) formed of an elastic body made of a porous material such as sponge can be moved up and down so as to come into contact with the ejection surface of the recording head 4 opposed by scanning of the carriage 3. Further, it is configured to be reciprocated in the sub-scanning direction Y by a driving mechanism (not shown).

  Below the platen 5, a tension roller 9 is provided in parallel with the drive roller 7 and the guide roller 8 to guide the conveyance belt 6 that has passed through the guide roller 8 downward and apply tension to the conveyance belt 6. . Each of the rollers 7, 8, and 9 rotates in the same direction, and specifically, rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. As the rollers 7, 8, 9 rotate, the recording medium P is conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side, that is, in the sub-scanning direction Y, with the non-recording surface supported by the platen 5. It has become.

  A cleaning device for cleaning the transport belt 6 is provided below one side of the tension roller 9. In the cleaning apparatus, a cleaning roller 10 formed of an elastic body made of a porous material such as sponge is provided so as to be able to press against the transport belt 6, and the cleaning roller 10 is in the same direction as the transport direction of the transport belt 6. It is configured to rotate. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning roller 10 is configured to be driven to rotate clockwise with respect to the conveying direction of the conveying belt 6 when the tension roller 9 rotates counterclockwise.

  The cleaning device for the conveyor belt is preferably provided with two or more cleaning rollers 10, and the cleaning roller 10 has a speed at the pressure contact position with the conveyor belt 6 that is equal to the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt 6. It is preferable that each rotation speed is adjusted so as to be about 2 to 3 times faster.

  A contact / separation mechanism 11 for moving the cleaning roller 10 toward and away from the conveyor belt 6 is attached to a shaft portion (not shown) of the cleaning roller 10. A cylindrical squeezing roller 12 is disposed in contact with the cleaning roller 10 on the upstream side of the pressure contact position between the cleaning roller 10 and the conveyor belt 6.

  Below the cleaning roller 10 is provided a box-shaped transport belt processing tank 13 having an open upper surface, in which water 14 as a cleaning liquid is stored. Further, on the inner wall of the transport belt processing tank 13, a supply detector 18 that senses the displacement of the level of the water 14 when the cleaning liquid is supplied, and the displacement of the level of the water 14 when the cleaning liquid is discharged are sensed. A discharge detector 15 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a first supply pipe 16 and a second supply pipe 17 for supplying water 14 are opened above the transport belt processing tank 13 so as to open inside the transport belt processing tank 13. Is arranged. Switching valves 19 and 20 and pumps 21 and 22 are provided in the middle of the first supply pipe 16 and the second supply pipe 17, and the other ends of the first supply pipe 16 and the second supply pipe 17. Is connected to a supply tank 23. A third supply pipe 24 and a fourth supply pipe 25 are connected between the switching valves 19 and 20 provided in the first supply pipe 16 and the second supply pipe 17 and the pumps 21 and 22. . In the middle of the third supply pipe 24 and the fourth supply pipe 25, switching valves 26 and 27 are provided, and the other ends of the third supply pipe 24 and the fourth supply pipe 25 have a box shape whose upper surface is open. The recording head processing tank 28 is located above and is open to the inside.

  The recording head processing tank 28 is disposed below the wipe member, and water 14 is stored inside the recording head processing tank 28 to such an extent that the entire wipe member is immersed when the wipe member is lowered. . Further, on the inner wall of the recording head processing tank 28, a supply detector 29 for detecting the displacement of the level of the water 14 when the cleaning liquid is supplied, and the displacement of the level of the water 31 when the cleaning liquid is discharged are detected. A discharge detector 30 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a first discharge pipe 32 and a second discharge pipe 33 are connected to the wall surface of the conveyance belt processing tank 13 in order to discharge the water 31 mixed with ink. In the middle of the first discharge pipe 32 and the second discharge pipe 33, switching valves 34 and 35 and pumps 36 and 37 are provided, and the other end of the first discharge pipe 32 and the second discharge pipe 33 is a waste liquid tank. 38. The third discharge pipe 39 and the fourth discharge pipe 40 are connected between the switching valves 34 and 35 provided in the first discharge pipe 32 and the second discharge pipe 33 and the pumps 36 and 37. . Switching valves 41 and 42 are provided in the middle of the third discharge pipe 39 and the fourth discharge pipe 40, and the other end of the third discharge pipe 39 and the fourth discharge pipe 40 has water mixed with ink. 31 is connected to the wall surface of the processing tank 28 for the recording head.

  Each switching valve 19, 20, 26, 27, 34, 35, 41, 42 is operated by a motor or a solenoid, and each detector 15, via a control unit (not shown) for inputting and outputting electrical signals. 18, 29, 30. Based on the electrical signal from the detector, the control unit determines that the water has reached a predetermined capacity or the capacity has become empty.

  In the present embodiment, the discharge detectors 15 and 30 and the supply detectors 18 and 29 are floating sensors that detect displacement of the liquid surface by using a magnetic field generated by the vertical movement of a magnet provided in the float. Note that the discharge detectors 15 and 30 and the supply detectors 18 and 29 include an electrode type sensor using conductivity between electrodes through water as a cleaning liquid, and a difference in refractive index of light emitted from the light emitting element. It is also possible to apply an optical sensor that uses

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the predetermined image information is sent, the guide roller 8 and the tension roller 9 repeat predetermined rotation and stop following the driving of the driving roller 7 as shown in FIG. The upper surface of the platen 5 is intermittently conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y while the recording surface is supported.

  Each time the rollers 7, 8, 9 are stopped, the carriage 3 operates to reciprocate in the main scanning direction X directly above the recording medium P. Along with this, the sub ink tank and the recording head 4 provided on the carriage 3 also reciprocate immediately above the recording medium P so as to follow the movement of the carriage 3, and a required amount from the nozzles of the recording head 4 to the recording medium P. The color ink is ejected. As a result, a desired image is formed on the recording surface of the recording medium P.

  When ink remains on the ejection surface as the ink is ejected, a cleaning operation is performed on the ejection surface where the ink remains by a cleaning device. Specifically, the wipe member immersed in the water 14 stored in the processing tank 28 for the recording head is raised, and the wipe member is reciprocated in the sub-scanning direction Y by a driving mechanism (not shown) to sequentially record the wipe members. Touch the ejection surface of the head. As a result, the remaining ink is mixed with the moisture in the wipe member, and is adsorbed to the wipe member and removed from the ejection surface. The wipe member that has adsorbed the ink descends again into the recording head processing tank 28 and is immersed in the water 14, whereby the ink adsorbed on the wipe member is removed.

  In addition, when ink passes through the recording medium P and adheres to the transport belt 6, the transport belt 6 to which the ink has adhered presses against the cleaning roller 10 that has absorbed the water 14, so that the attached ink contacts the cleaning roller 10. It is adsorbed and removed from the conveyor belt 6. Specifically, after the cleaning roller 10 absorbs the water 14 stored in the transport belt processing tank 13 provided below, the cleaning roller 10 rotates to the contact position with the squeezing roller 12, thereby cleaning the squeezing roller 12. Excess water in the roller 10 is squeezed out. Thereafter, since the cleaning roller 10 is pressed against the conveyance belt 6 supported from the back side by the tension roller 9, the cleaning roller 10 is in contact between the contact position of the squeezing roller 12 and the pressure contact position with the conveyance belt 6. When the transport belt 6 and the cleaning roller 10 are in pressure contact with each other, the water 14 included in the cleaning roller 10 is mixed with the ink attached to the surface of the transport belt 6. Finally, the cleaning roller 10 containing the water 14 mixed with ink is immersed in the water 14 stored in the transport belt processing tank 13 by the rotation of the cleaning roller 10, whereby the ink is removed from the cleaning roller 10. .

  When the water 31 mixed with the ink stored in the recording head processing tank 28 and the transport belt processing tank 13 is discharged, the first discharge pipe 32 and the fourth discharge pipe as shown in FIG. 40, the liquid 31 is discharged to the waste liquid tank 38. When the cleaning liquid is replaced and started after being left for a long time, all the water 31 stored in the recording head processing tank 28 and the transport belt processing tank 13 is discharged. When the discharge operation of the water 31 stored in the recording head processing tank 28 and the transport belt processing tank 13 is started at the same time, the water 31 stored in the recording head processing tank 28 having a small capacity is first. Disappear.

  At this time, when the discharge detector 30 provided in the recording head processing tank 28 senses that the liquid surface of the water 31 has fallen below a predetermined height, the control unit empties the recording head processing tank 28. 5, the electric signal is output, and the switching valve 42 provided in the fourth discharge pipe 40 is closed as shown in FIG. 5, the flow path is shut off, and at the same time, the second discharge pipe 33 is provided. The switching valve 35 is opened and a new flow path is opened. As a result, the water 31 remaining in the large-capacity conveyance belt processing tank 13 is discharged through the first discharge pipe 32 and the second discharge pipe 33, and the discharge efficiency is improved.

  On the other hand, in the case of supplying water 14 to the recording head processing tank 28 and the conveyance belt processing tank 13, during normal use, as shown in FIG. 2, for the recording head, the water 14 is supplied via the first supply pipe 16 and the fourth supply pipe 25. The water 14 is supplied to the processing tank 28 and the transport belt processing tank 13, but it is necessary to supply water 14 to the empty recording head processing tank 28 and the transport belt processing tank 13 when installing the ink jet recording apparatus and replacing the cleaning liquid. When the operation of supplying the water 14 to the recording head processing tank 28 and the conveyance belt processing tank 13 is started at the same time, the recording head processing tank 28 having a small capacity is filled to a predetermined capacity first.

  At this time, when the supply detector 29 provided in the recording head processing tank 28 senses that the liquid level of the water 14 has reached a predetermined height, the control unit sets the recording head processing tank 28 in the predetermined level. And the electric signal is output, and the switching valve 27 provided in the fourth supply pipe 25 is closed as shown in FIG. The provided switching valve 20 is opened and a new flow path is opened. Thereby, the water 14 is supplied to the processing belt 13 having a large capacity that does not reach the predetermined capacity through the first supply pipe 16 and the second supply pipe 17, thereby improving the supply efficiency. Is done.

  As described above, according to the cleaning system of the present embodiment, when supplying a large amount of water 14 simultaneously to the recording head processing tank 28 and the conveyance belt processing tank 13, the supply detectors 18 and 29 and the switching valves 19 and 20. , 26, and 27 by the control device configured to have a large capacity that has not reached the predetermined capacity from the fourth supply pipe 25 disposed in the recording head processing tank 28 having a small capacity that has previously reached the predetermined capacity. By switching to the second supply pipe 17 disposed in the conveyance belt processing tank 13, it becomes possible to improve the supply efficiency, and thereby it is possible to shorten the time required for the water 14 supply operation. . In addition, it is not necessary to separately provide an expensive supply pump having a high supply capacity, so that manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  Further, when a large amount of water 31 is discharged simultaneously from the recording tank processing tank 28 and the conveyance belt processing tank 13, it is controlled by a control device including the discharge detectors 15 and 30 and the switching valves 34, 35, 41, and 42. The second discharge pipe connected to the large-capacity conveying belt processing tank 13 where the water 31 remains from the fourth discharge pipe 40 connected to the recording-capacity processing tank 28 having a small capacity previously emptied. By switching to 33, it becomes possible to improve the discharge efficiency, and thereby it is possible to shorten the time taken for the water 31 to be discharged. In addition, since it is not necessary to separately provide an expensive discharge pump having a high discharge capacity, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. However, the present embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the configuration of the cleaning liquid, the supply device, and the control device, and other configurations including the ink and the recording medium P are the first embodiment. It is the same. Therefore, in the present embodiment, description will be made with a focus on the cleaning liquid, the supply device, and the control device, and the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning system in the present embodiment includes two supply tanks, and a first supply pipe 16 and a second supply pipe 17 are connected to each supply tank. Here, the supply tank to which the first supply pipe 16 is connected is referred to as a first supply tank 101, and the supply tank to which the second supply pipe 17 is connected is referred to as a second supply tank 102.

  Different types of cleaning liquids are stored in the first supply tank 101 and the second supply tank 102. In the present embodiment, pure water 103 is stored in the first supply tank 101, and water 14 similar to that in the first embodiment is stored in the second supply tank 102.

  Note that pure water to which a surface active agent or the like is added can be applied to the pure water 103. However, the pure water 103 does not aggregate even if mixed with the ink, and increases the viscosity or surface tension of the ink. It is preferable to apply a liquid that does not change, and it is more preferable to apply a liquid containing the same components as the ink ejected from the recording head. Further, a preservative or the like may be added from the viewpoint of long-term storage of the pure water 103.

  The other ends of the first supply pipe 16 and the second supply pipe 17 are located above the transport belt processing tank 13 and open to the inside. The first supply pipe 16 and the second supply pipe In the middle of 17, switching valves 19 and 20 and pumps 21 and 22 are provided. A third supply pipe 24 and a fourth supply pipe 25 are connected between the switching valves 19 and 20 provided in the first supply pipe 16 and the second supply pipe 17 and the pumps 21 and 22. . Switching valves 26 and 27 are provided in the middle of the third supply pipe 24 and the fourth supply pipe 25, and the other end of the third supply pipe 24 and the fourth supply pipe 25 is a recording head processing tank 28. It is located above and is open to the inside.

  Further, the first supply pipe 16 is provided with a switching valve 104 between the pump 21 provided in the middle portion and the first supply tank 101 which is a connection destination. The switching valve 104 and the pump 21 are provided. The fifth connection pipe 105 is connected between the two. A switching valve 106 is provided in the middle of the fifth connection pipe 105, and the other end of the fifth connection pipe 105 is connected to the second supply tank 102.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When pure water 103 and water 14 are supplied from the first supply tank 101 and the second supply tank 102 to the recording head processing tank 28 and the conveyance belt processing tank 13, respectively, as shown in FIG. 3 is supplied to the recording head processing tank 28 and the conveyance belt processing tank 13 through the supply pipe 24 and the second supply pipe 17. However, when the ink jet recording apparatus is installed and when the cleaning liquid is replaced, it is necessary to supply the pure water 103 and the water 14 to the empty recording head processing tank 28 and the transport belt processing tank 13, respectively. When the supply of pure water 103 and water 14 to the processing tank 28 and the conveyor belt processing tank 13 is started simultaneously, the recording head processing tank 28 having a small capacity is filled with the pure water 103 having a predetermined capacity first.

  At this time, when the supply detector 29 provided in the recording head processing tank 28 senses that the liquid level of the pure water 103 has reached a predetermined height, the control unit detects that the recording head processing tank 28 It is determined that the predetermined capacity has been reached and an electric signal is output. As shown in FIG. 7, the switching valve 26 provided in the third supply pipe 24 is closed and the flow path is shut off, and at the same time, the first supply pipe 16 The switching valve 19 provided in is opened.

  Furthermore, the switching valve 104 provided in the first supply pipe 16 is closed and the flow path is shut off, and at the same time, the switching valve 106 provided in the fifth supply pipe 105 is opened and a new flow path is opened, The supply tank of the supply destination is switched. As a result, the ink can be efficiently removed via the third supply pipe 24 in the recording head processing tank 28 for cleaning the recording head 4 in which nozzles that are likely to be clogged with ink are arranged. Pure water 103 is supplied, and water 14 is supplied to the transport belt processing tank 13 through the first supply pipe 16, the second supply pipe 17, and the fifth supply pipe 105, so that the cleaning efficiency is improved. In addition, the supply efficiency is improved.

  As described above, according to the cleaning system of the present embodiment, a large amount of cleaning liquid is transferred from the first supply tank 101 in which the pure water 103 is stored and the second supply tank 102 in which the water 14 is stored, to the recording head processing tank 28 and the transport. When the cleaning liquid supplied simultaneously to the belt processing tank 13 is replaced, a capacity that has previously reached a predetermined capacity by the control device including the detectors 18 and 29 and the switching valves 19, 20, 26, 27, 104, and 106. The transport belt processing tank 13 having a large capacity that does not reach a predetermined capacity is connected to the second supply tank 102 in which water 14 is stored through a third supply pipe 24 disposed in the recording head processing tank 28 having a small size. By automatically switching to the first supply pipe and the fifth supply pipe, the pure water 103 is supplied to the processing tank 28 for the recording head and the water 14 is supplied to the processing tank 13 for the conveyor belt. DOO are possible, thereby, the cleaning liquid supply in accordance with the purpose of each processing tank, it is possible to improve the cleaning efficiency. In addition, it is possible to shorten the time required for supplying the cleaning liquid by improving the supply efficiency.

1 is a schematic side view of an ink jet recording apparatus including a cleaning system according to the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the flow path of the supply system at the normal time in 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the flow path of the supply system at the time of cleaning liquid replacement | exchange in 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the flow path of the discharge system at the normal time in 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the flow path of the discharge system at the time of cleaning liquid replacement | exchange in 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the flow path of the normal supply system in 2nd Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the flow path of the supply system at the time of cleaning liquid replacement | exchange in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording device 3 Carriage 4 Recording head 6 Conveying belt 13 Conveying belt processing tank 14, 31 Water 15, 30 Discharge detector 16 First supply pipe 17 Second supply pipe 18, 29 Supply detectors 19, 20, 26, 27, 34, 35, 41, 42, 104, 106 Switching valve 21, 22, 36, 37 Pump 23 Supply tank 24 Third supply pipe 25 Fourth supply pipe 28 Recording head processing tank 32 First discharge pipe 33 Second discharge pipe 38 Waste liquid tank 39 Third discharge pipe 40 Fourth discharge pipe 101 First supply tank 102 Second supply tank 103 Pure water 105 Fifth supply pipe

Claims (3)

In a cleaning system provided in an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head that discharges ink to a recording medium; and a transport belt that transports the recording medium to a recording area that discharges the ink.
Two or more cleaning devices for cleaning the recording head and the transport belt with the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the transport belt;
Two or more supply devices for supplying the cleaning liquid with a pump from a supply tank to the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt through a supply pipe;
Two or more control devices that detect the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyance belt by a detector and operate a switching valve to switch the supply line;
When the control device supplies the cleaning liquid to two or more of the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt at the same time using two or more of the supply devices, A cleaning system which senses that the capacity has been reached by the detector and automatically switches to a supply pipe disposed in a processing tank in which the cleaning liquid does not reach a predetermined capacity. The supply tank is provided for storing different types of cleaning liquid in two or more supply tanks,
When the control device supplies two or more of the different types of cleaning liquids simultaneously to two or more of the recording head processing tank and the transport belt processing tank using two or more of the supply apparatuses, The detector senses that one cleaning liquid has reached a predetermined capacity in step 1, and automatically supplies a supply pipe that connects a processing tank that has not reached the predetermined capacity to a supply tank in which another cleaning liquid is stored. The cleaning system according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning system is switched. In a cleaning system provided in an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head that discharges ink to a recording medium; and a transport belt that transports the recording medium to a recording area that discharges the ink.
Two or more cleaning devices for cleaning the recording head and the transport belt with the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the transport belt;
Two or more discharge devices for discharging the cleaning liquid by a pump from the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt to a waste liquid tank via a discharge pipe;
Two or more control devices that sense the cleaning liquid stored in the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the transport belt by a detector and operate the switching valve to switch the discharge line;
When the control device discharges the cleaning liquid from two or more of the processing tank for the recording head and the processing tank for the conveyor belt using two or more of the discharge devices, one of the processing tanks is emptied. The cleaning system is characterized in that it is detected by the detector and automatically switched to a discharge pipe connected to the treatment tank in which the cleaning liquid remains.

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