JP2005246879A - Color inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively prevent a color mixing accompanying an ink suction to an integrated type multiple color recording head 23 from occurring by a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: Ink guiding sections 41a and 42a which increase the fluidity on the suction side of a color ink being sucked out from respective color ink nozzles 23A and 23B of the integrated type multiple color recording head 23 are provided on cap members 41 and 42 of a suction recovery means 40. By the guiding action of the ink guiding sections 41a and 42a, the flowing of the color ink in the cap members 41 and 42 is made regular, and this color inkjet recording device is constituted in such a manner that the occurrence of an image color mixture can be avoided by effectively preventing the mixing with the ink nozzle side of other colors from occurring. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a color ink jet recording apparatus having a multi-color integrated recording head in which a plurality of ink nozzles for discharging color ink on a recording medium are arranged in rows for each color.

  As one of output devices of computers and workstations, a color ink jet recording apparatus that forms color images by discharging color ink onto a recording medium such as recording paper is widely used. In this color ink jet recording apparatus, a recording head is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in the main scanning direction, and color ink as a recording liquid is supplied from a plurality of color ink nozzles provided in the recording head at an appropriate timing. It is made the structure discharged.

  This color ink jet recording apparatus can realize multi-color printing relatively easily by adopting a configuration in which only a single color recording head is used for the number of colors. Only the number of colors is necessary, and it is difficult to downsize the entire apparatus. For this reason, multi-color integrated recording heads capable of printing a plurality of colors with a single recording head are being adopted. In this multi-color integrated recording head, a plurality of ink nozzles that discharge color ink for each color are arranged in a single recording head so as to form a line for each color.

  On the other hand, as a problem peculiar to the ink jet recording apparatus, when the ink is left unused for a long time, the water component of the ink in the ink nozzle and other volatile components evaporate to increase the viscosity. Bubbles may be mixed in the ink supply path and a good discharge state may not be obtained. Therefore, conventionally, a suction recovery means for supplying new ink from the tank side while sucking ink from the ink nozzle is often provided.

  In the suction recovery means, the device is left for a predetermined time or longer, or at an appropriate timing after reaching a predetermined printing amount, immediately before the start of the printing operation, etc., for each color ink nozzle of the recording head. The cap member is pressed against the lower side, the ink in each color ink nozzle is sucked out by the suction force of the pump, the ink in the ink nozzle is discharged to the outside, and the recovery operation is performed. ing. At this time, the cap member is mounted with an ink absorber 1 made of a sponge-like member as shown in FIG. 6, and the lower face side face surface of the recording head with respect to the ink absorber 1. Are absorbed in close proximity to each other.

  However, when suction is performed using the suction recovery means for the multi-color integrated recording head described above, the color inks of the respective colors sucked out from the ink nozzles of the respective colors are sucked inside the cap member. There is a problem that the ink flows into the ink nozzles of other colors and mixes with each other due to an irregular flow. As a result, in an image formed immediately after the recovery operation, a color change phenomenon is likely to occur at the beginning of writing of each color, and so-called image color mixture often occurs. In order to eliminate such color mixture of images, conventionally, after the suction recovery, each color ink nozzle is preliminarily ejected, and thereby, the ink having the color mixture is discharged to the outside. However, in order to completely eliminate color mixing, for example, several thousand preliminary ejections may be required, and the amount of ink discarded in the preliminary ejection tends to increase rapidly.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a color inkjet recording apparatus having a simple configuration and capable of satisfactorily preventing color mixing in an ink suction operation with respect to a multicolor integrated recording head. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, a plurality of ink nozzles each provided with a plurality of ink nozzles for discharging color ink on the recording medium are arranged in a line for each color. Each of the above-described recording heads has an integrated recording head, and sucks the ink nozzles of each of the multi-color integrated recording heads while pressing the cap member of the suction recovery means so as to be in close contact with the lower side. In the color inkjet recording apparatus configured to perform the recovery operation of the ink nozzles, the cap member of the suction recovery means has fluidity toward the suction side of the color ink at a portion facing the respective color ink nozzles. An enhanced ink guide is provided.

  According to the color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 having such a configuration, the color ink sucked from the ink nozzles of each color by being sucked by the suction recovery means from the multicolor integrated recording head is used as the cap member. As a result, the ink guide portion regularly flows toward the suction side by the guide action of the ink guide portion, so that mixing with the ink nozzle side of other colors is well prevented and the occurrence of color mixture in the image is avoided. It has become.

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In the color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention, the ink guide portion according to claim 1 is provided so as to extend in a plurality of rows along the arrangement of each color ink nozzle. According to the color ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect having the configuration, the guiding action of the ink guiding portion is suitably obtained for each color ink nozzle row.

  Furthermore, in the color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention, the ink guide portion according to claim 2 is formed from through long holes extending in a plurality of rows along the arrangement of each color ink nozzle. In the color ink jet recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the ink guide portion according to the second aspect is formed by a concave long groove extending in a plurality of rows along the arrangement of each color ink nozzle.

  According to the color ink jet recording apparatus of the third or fourth aspect having such a configuration, an ink guide having a good function can be formed easily and with high accuracy.

  Furthermore, in the color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention, the ink guide portion according to claim 1 is provided in an ink absorber attached to the cap member, and the color according to claim 6 of the present invention. In the ink jet recording apparatus, the ink guide portion according to claim 5 is provided by forming the density of the ink absorber roughly.

  Also with the color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4 or claim 5 having such a configuration, an ink guide having a good function can be formed easily and with high accuracy.

  As described above, the color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention improves the suction side fluidity of the color ink sucked from the ink nozzles of the respective colors of the multicolor integrated recording head in the cap member of the suction recovery means. An ink guide is provided, and the color ink flow inside the cap member is made regular by the guide action of the ink guide, and mixing with the ink nozzles of other colors is prevented well and image color mixing occurs. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent color mixing due to ink suction with respect to the multi-color integrated recording head, and to greatly improve the reliability of the color ink jet recording apparatus. be able to.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the color ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with the ink guide portion according to the first aspect of the invention so as to extend in a plurality of rows along the arrangement of each color ink nozzle. Since the guide action is suitably obtained for each color ink nozzle row, the above-described effects can be obtained more reliably.

  Furthermore, a color ink jet recording apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is such that the ink guide portion according to the second aspect is formed from through long holes extending in a plurality of rows along the arrangement of each color ink nozzle. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4 is an ink guide having a good function by forming the ink guide portion according to claim 2 from concave long grooves extending in a plurality of rows along the arrangement of each color ink nozzle. Since the portion is configured to be molded easily and with high accuracy, productivity can be improved in addition to the above-described effects.

  Furthermore, a color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention is provided with the ink guide portion according to claim 1 provided in an ink absorber attached to a cap member, and color ink jet recording according to claim 6 of the present invention. The apparatus is configured such that an ink guide having a good function can be easily and accurately formed by providing the ink guide according to claim 5 by forming the density of the ink absorber roughly. Therefore, productivity can be improved in addition to the effects described above.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Prior to that, the overall structure of a plotter as a color ink jet recording apparatus will be outlined.

  On the platen 12 of the plotter 10 shown in FIG. 1, a recording paper P as a recording medium conveyed in the arrow X direction (sub-scanning direction) while being sandwiched between a conveying roller 13 and a pinch roller 14 is provided. A scanning rail (guide rail) 15 that extends substantially horizontally is stretched over the platen 12 in the direction of the arrow Y (main scanning direction). A carriage 16 is reciprocally mounted on the scanning rail 15 via a slide bearing. The carriage 16 is reciprocated in the arrow Y direction (main scanning direction) by a belt 17 using a motor (not shown) as a drive source. And scanning.

  The carriage 16 is mounted with a multi-color integrated recording head 23 having an ink tank 22 via a head holder 21 formed in a frame shape. The multi-color integrated recording head 23 is configured to reciprocate in the print forming area together with the carriage 16, and the recording head 23 is provided with a large number of ink nozzles. Color ink is ejected from the nozzle toward the lower recording paper P.

  In the multi-color integrated recording head 23 in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, ink nozzles for each color of yellow 23a1, magenta 23a2, light magenta 23a3, cyan 23b1, light cyan 23b2, and black 23b3 are provided. A total of 1280 are provided, and the pitch (resolution) of each ink nozzle is set to 1200 dpi. More specifically, the ink nozzles for each color are arranged in a row along the sub-scanning direction (Y direction) for each color, and each of these color ink nozzles has two nozzle groups 23A, 23B, that is, a nozzle group 23A on the right side of FIG. 2 consisting of yellow 23a1, magenta 23a2 and light magenta 23a3 and a nozzle group 23B on the left side of FIG. 2 consisting of cyan 23b1, light cyan 23b2 and black 23b3.

  The recording paper P is intermittently transported by the above-described transport roller 13 and pinch roller 14 in accordance with image data sent from another personal computer or work station (not shown), and at the same time, the multi-color integrated type The recording head 23 is scanned. An image signal is sent to the multi-color integrated recording head 23, and appropriate color ink is ejected from each color ink nozzle selected based on the image signal toward the recording paper P. By repeating this, a desired color ink is discharged. An image is formed.

  Returning to FIG. 1 again, the non-ejection detection means 30 and the suction recovery device 40 are arranged on the side of the recording paper P, that is, outside the print image area. Of these, the non-ejection detection means 30 detects the presence or absence of color ink ejected from each color ink nozzle of the multi-color integrated recording head 23. The non-ejection detection means 30 is a well-known configuration. Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  On the other hand, when the predetermined amount of printing is performed, when a predetermined time elapses, or when designated by the user, the suction recovery device 40 performs the above-described multicolor printing at an appropriate timing such as immediately before the start of printing. The ink is sucked from each color ink nozzle of the body-type recording head 23, and thereby the recovery operation is performed on each color ink nozzle. In addition, although the well-known structure which performs wiping of a face surface etc. is also provided, suppose that description here is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the suction recovery device 40 includes a pair of cap members 41 and 42 corresponding to the respective color ink nozzles of the multi-color integrated recording head 23 described above. The cap members 41 and 42 are pressed so as to be in close contact with the face surface on the lower surface side of the multicolor integrated recording head 23 when the multicolor integrated recording head 23 is lowered. The multi-color integrated recording head 23 is arranged corresponding to the two nozzle groups 23A and 23B of each color ink nozzle.

  In other words, the cap member 41 on the right side of the figure is disposed so as to face the color ink nozzles 23a1, 23a2, and 23a3 included in the nozzle group 23A of the multi-color integrated recording head 23, and the cap member 42 on the left side of the figure. Are arranged so as to face the respective color ink nozzles 23b1, 23b2, and 23b3 included in the nozzle group 23B of the multi-color integrated recording head 23. The negative pressure from the suction tubes 43 and 44 connected to the cap members 41 and 42 is appropriately applied to the ink nozzles of the multi-color integrated recording head 23 through the cap members 41 and 42. It is designed to be given as a suction force.

  Here, the cap members 41 and 42 are respectively provided with plate-like main body container portions 41a and 42a each having a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and the inner side of the main body container portions 41a and 42a is also illustrated in FIG. Ink absorbers 45 and 46 made of sponge-like members as shown are mounted. Since the sponge-like members constituting the ink absorbers 45 and 46 are provided with communication holes from the original material, the color ink is sucked through the communication holes.

  Further, each of these ink absorbers 45 and 46 is provided with ink guide portions 45a and 46a at portions facing the respective color ink nozzles of the multi-color integrated recording head 23 described above. These ink guide portions 45a and 46a are configured to improve the fluidity in the color ink suction direction, and extend along the arrangement direction (sub-scanning Y direction) for each color ink nozzle. As shown in FIG. That is, the ink guide portions 45a and 46a in the present embodiment are provided corresponding to the nozzle groups 23A and 23B of the color ink nozzles described above, respectively, and the three rows of the color ink nozzles in the nozzle groups 23A and 23B. Corresponding to the columns, each of the ink guide portions 45a and 46a is provided over three columns.

  In addition, the ink guide portions 45a and 46a in the present embodiment are formed from through-holes, and the longitudinal direction (sub-scanning Y direction) of the through-holes is the arrangement direction of the ink nozzles described above. Is set to As a result, the fluidity of the color ink is made better in the ink guide portions 45a and 46a than in other portions, and the color ink sucked out from the color ink nozzles has priority in the ink guide portions 45a and 46a. It is configured to flow in.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the color ink sucked out by the suction recovery means 40 from the ink nozzles of the respective colors of the multi-color integrated recording head 23 is supplied to the ink guides 45a, 45a provided on the ink absorbers 45, 46, respectively. The guide action along the shape of the long hole 46a is received, and flows into the ink guide portions 45a and 46a preferentially. As a result, the color inks sucked into the cap members 41 and 42 regularly flow along the ink guide portions 45a and 46a provided corresponding to the color inks, and are divided for each color ink nozzle row. It will be sucked separately. Therefore, mutual mixing with the color ink sucked out from the ink nozzles of other colors is prevented satisfactorily, and the occurrence of color mixing in the image is avoided.

  At this time, particularly in the present embodiment, since the ink guide portions 45a and 46a are formed from through-holes extending along the respective color ink nozzle rows, the ink guide portions 45a and 46a having good functions are provided. It is designed to be molded easily and with high accuracy.

On the other hand, the ink absorbers 55 and 56 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 are respectively formed with ink guide portions 55a and 56a composed of concave long grooves extending along the respective color ink nozzle rows. Further, the ink absorbers 65 and 66 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 are respectively formed with ink guide portions 65a and 66a having a rough molding density at portions corresponding to the respective color ink nozzle rows.
In each of such embodiments, the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

  The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the ink guide portion is provided for the ink absorber. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the ink guide portion is provided for the cap member without providing the ink absorber. It can also be configured to form directly.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a plotter. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and is similarly applied to various other color ink jet recording apparatuses. It is something that can be done.

  The color ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention described above can be widely applied to a wide variety of apparatuses including a plotter.

1 is an external perspective view illustrating a schematic structure of a plotter as an example of a color ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an external perspective explanatory view schematically showing the structure of suction recovery means mounted on the plotter shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an external perspective explanatory view schematically showing the structure of an ink absorber used in the suction recovery means shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is an external appearance perspective explanatory view showing the structure of the ink absorber in other embodiments of the present invention roughly. It is an external appearance perspective explanatory drawing which represented the structure of the ink absorber in other embodiment of this invention roughly. . It is an external perspective explanatory view schematically showing the structure of an ink absorber used in a general suction recovery means.

Explanation of symbols

10 Plotter P Recording paper (recording medium)
23 Multi-color Integrated Recording Head 23a1 Yellow Ink Nozzle 23a2 Magenta Ink Nozzle 23a3 Light Magenta Ink Nozzle 23b1 Cyan Ink Nozzle 23b2 Light Cyan Ink Nozzle 23b3 Black Ink Nozzle 23A, 23B Nozzle Group 40 Suction Recovery Device 41, 42 Cap Member 41a, 42a Main Body Container part 45, 46 Ink absorber 45a, 46a Ink guide part 55, 56 Ink absorber 55a, 56a Ink guide part 65, 66 Ink absorber 65a, 66a Ink guide part

Claims (6)

A plurality of ink nozzles for discharging color ink on a recording medium have a multi-color integrated recording head provided in a row for each color,
The color ink nozzles of the multi-color integrated recording head are configured to perform suction while pressing the cap member of the suction recovery means so as to be in close contact with the lower side, and to perform recovery operation of the color ink nozzles. In the color ink jet recording apparatus,
The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cap member of the suction recovery means is provided with an ink guide for increasing fluidity of the color ink toward the suction side at a portion facing the ink nozzles of the respective colors.   The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink guide portion is provided so as to extend in a plurality of rows along the arrangement of each color ink nozzle.   3. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink guide part is formed of a through hole extending in a plurality of rows along the arrangement for each color ink nozzle.   3. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink guide portion is formed of a concave long groove extending in a plurality of rows along the arrangement for each color ink nozzle.   The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink guide portion is provided in an ink absorber mounted inside the cap member.   6. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ink guide portion is provided by forming a density of the ink absorber roughly.

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