JP2006057477A - Tube pump and ink jet recording device using the pump - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce manufacturing cost of a suction tube and assembly cost by reducing processes for accurately marking on the suction tube by making positioning marking in a length direction formed on the suction tube for determining length laid along an inner circumference of a pressurizing guide for drawing the suction tube completed by doing at one section. <P>SOLUTION: The suction tubes 32, 33 are fixed with aligning the marking 34 provided on the suction tubes 32, 33 with suction side guides 30c, 30e of the tube pump 110, a delivery side tip of the suction tube is fixed with aligning with tip guide parts 13a, 13b of delivery side guides 12a, 12b of the tube pump. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a tube pump for generating a negative pressure in a suction tube connected to a cap for capping a recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus, and an ink jet recording apparatus using the tube pump.

  In an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording head to a recording medium, recording is performed by ejecting ink from a fine ejection port. In addition, there may be a case where ejection failure occurs due to adhesion of dust such as ink or paper dust to the ejection port surface, and further, generation of bubbles in the ink in the ejection port or mixing of bubbles. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a conventional ink jet recording apparatus. In FIG. 10, a recovery mechanism unit 104 is provided for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection performance of the recording head 5 in a good state. As recovery processing means provided in the recovery mechanism section 104, suction recovery means for eliminating clogging by sucking ink from the discharge port, or wiper and wiper surface are wiped by rubbing the wiper and the discharge port surface. A wiping means is generally used.

The suction recovery means covers a discharge port of the recording head 5 with a cap connected to a suction pump located behind a wiping means (not shown) and operates the suction pump to generate a negative pressure in the cap. The negative pressure discharges foreign matter such as thickened ink and bubbles from the ejection port together with the ink. According to this suction recovery means, new ink can be injected into the discharge port, whereby the ink discharge performance of the recording head 5 can be maintained and recovered.
In addition, the wiping means wipes and removes foreign matters such as ink and dust attached to the ejection port surface by causing the ejection port surface of the recording head 5 and the wiper of the recovery mechanism unit 104 to move relative to each other and contact each other. Is.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional tube pump. A tube pump as shown in FIG. 11 may be used as a suction pump of the recovery mechanism unit 104 in FIG. As a drive source of the recovery mechanism unit 104, a transport motor that drives a transport roller that transports the recording medium is also used. The recording head 5 is provided with an ejection port array (usually a plurality of rows) for ejecting color ink and an ejection port array for ejecting black ink. Corresponding to this, a cap for color (cap in FIG. 11) is provided. 39) and a black cap (cap 40 in FIG. 11). The color suction tube 32 is connected to the color cap 39, and the black suction tube 33 is connected to the black cap 40.

  In FIG. 11, when the tube pump 110 is driven via a gear (not shown) by driving from the conveyance motor, a color suction tube 32 for sucking color ink and a black for sucking black ink are used. The suction tube 33 is pressed and crushed between the pressure guides 30 a and 30 b of the recovery system base 30 by the rollers 41 and 42 held by the support members 44 and 45. As the support members 44 and 45 rotate in this pressed state, the suction tubes 32 and 33 are squeezed. The support members 44 and 45 are rotatably supported by the recovery system base 30 of the recovery mechanism unit 104. The suction tubes 32 and 33 are guided and swung between the support members 44 and 45 and the pressure guides 30a and 30b.

  That is, when the support members 44 and 45 rotate, the suction tubes 32 and 33 are crushed between the pressure guides 30a and 30b of the recovery system base 30 and the rollers 41 and 42 pivotally supported by the support members 44 and 45. As a result, a negative pressure is generated in the suction tubes 32 and 33. This negative pressure acts in the caps 39 and 40 that are in contact with the recording head 5. The range of the pressure guides 30a and 30b of the recovery system base 30 is about half a circle (180 degrees), and the suction tubes 32 and 33 are pressed in the same range as the range of the pressure guide. The ink sucked through the suction tubes 32 and 33 is discharged from the other end to an absorber (not shown) and held.

  FIG. 12 is a front view of a suction tube used in a conventional tube pump. In FIG. 12, in order to generate a preset negative pressure in the suction tubes 32 and 33, the surfaces of the suction tubes 32 and 33 are pressed to press the suction tubes 32 and 33 without expansion and contraction. Marking is given. That is, the markings 34 and 35 in the direction perpendicular to the tube longitudinal direction are provided at predetermined intervals (two locations) in the longitudinal direction on the surfaces of the suction tubes 32 and 33.

The suction side marking 34 is formed to be fixed in accordance with a suction side guide 37 provided upstream of the pressure guide of the recovery system base 30, and the discharge side marking 35 is added to the recovery system base 30. It is formed to be fixed in accordance with the discharge side guide 38 provided downstream of the pressure guide. Each suction tube 32, 33 is also formed with a marking 36 in the longitudinal direction. This longitudinal marking 36 is for preventing twisting of the suction tube during assembly.
JP 2000-127450 A

  However, the tube pump 110 is configured such that the suction tubes 32 and 33 are spirally wound with respect to the cylindrical pressure guides 30a and 30b in order to continuously generate a set negative pressure. Therefore, the suction tubes 32 and 33 need to be marked to prevent incorporation in the stretched state, and therefore, it is necessary to form the markings at two locations separated by a certain length. Since these markings 34 and 35 are added to define the length of the suction tube, the distance between the two markings 34 and 35 in the manufacturing process of the suction tubes 32 and 33 is highly accurate. It was necessary to index, and it was necessary to position the markings at two locations by high-precision and precise work. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the suction tubes 32 and 33 is high.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to determine a lengthwise positioning marking for determining the length of a portion that is wound around a pressure guide of a suction tube. The present invention provides a tube pump capable of reducing the manufacturing cost and assembly cost of a suction tube, and an ink jet recording apparatus using the tube pump.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a pressure guide that guides the scooping of the suction tube, a roller that presses the suction tube against the pressure guide, and a support member that pivotally supports the roller. In the tube pump that squeezes the suction tube by rotating the support member to generate a negative pressure in the suction tube, the suction pipe is aligned with a marking provided on the suction tube, and the suction is performed. The tube is fixed, and the tip on the discharge side of the suction tube is fixed according to the discharge side guide of the tube pump.

  According to the present invention, the tip of the suction tube on the discharge side is aligned and fixed to the guide on the discharge side. Positioning can be performed to determine the length of the portion that is wound along the pressure guide, and the manufacturing cost and assembly cost of the suction tube can be reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recovery mechanism portion of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the tube pump of the recovery mechanism portion of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the tube pump of FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of a suction tube used in the tube pump according to the present invention. 6 is a perspective view showing a tube guide mechanism of a tube pump according to the present invention, FIG. 7 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a discharge side of the tube guide mechanism of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a configuration of FIG. FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view showing the suction tube excluding the suction tube, and FIG. 9 is a partial side view showing the structure of the discharge side of the tube guide mechanism of FIG.

  In FIG. 1, a carriage 6 is guided and supported by the recording apparatus so as to be reciprocally movable in the left-right direction (main scanning direction), and a recording head 5 is mounted on the carriage 6. A recovery mechanism 104 for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection performance of the recording head 5 is disposed at the home position of the carriage 6 set to a position outside the recording area of the recording apparatus (the right position in the illustrated example). Has been. The recovery mechanism unit 104 usually includes a capping unit 105 (FIG. 2) for covering the ejection port of the recording head 5, a wiping unit 106 for wiping and removing deposits such as ink on the ejection port surface, and the capping unit. It comprises a suction pump 110 (not shown) connected to the means. The capping unit 105 and the suction pump 110 constitute a suction recovery unit that maintains and recovers the properties of the ink near the ejection port by sucking ink from the ejection port of the recording head 5.

  The suction recovery means removes a cause of clogging of the discharge port or a discharge failure due to dust mixing or drying of the ink by applying a negative pressure to the discharge port of the recording head 5 to suck and discharge the ink. In addition, the ink is used to fill the ink in the ink tank to the vicinity of the discharge port by applying a negative pressure to the discharge port. In FIG. 1, a recording medium such as recording paper is fed one by one from the paper feed mechanism unit 101 to the recording unit 103 including the recording head 5 and the carriage 6, and the fed recording medium is conveyed. The image is recorded by the recording head 5 while being conveyed through the recording paper unit 103 by the conveying mechanism unit 102 composed of a roller or the like.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the recovery mechanism 104 of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described. In FIG. 2, the recovery mechanism unit 104 includes a color cap 39 and a black cap 40 corresponding to the color ink discharge port array and the black ink discharge port array provided in the recording head 5. Means are provided. These caps 39 and 40 are supported by a cap holder 43. The recovery mechanism section 104 is provided with a tube pump 110 for generating a negative pressure when performing a suction recovery process or an empty suction process.

  3 to 9, the color cap 39 and the black cap 40 communicate with the suction tubes 32 and 33 via the cap holder 43. The tube pump 110 is used to generate a negative pressure during a suction recovery process for sucking ink from the ejection port of the recording head 5 by operating the recording head 5 with the capping unit 105 capped.

  The basic structure of the tube pump 110 according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the conventional tube pump of FIG. 11, and includes a color suction tube 32 and a black suction tube 33, a color support member 44, and the like. A black support member 45, a color roller 41 and a black roller 42, a color pressure guide 30 a and a black pressure guide 30 b formed on the inner peripheral surface of the recovery system base 30, It has. The support members 44 and 45 are pivotally supported by the recovery system base 30 so as to be rotationally driven.

Cam portions (cam surfaces) 44a are formed on both side portions (inside and outside) of the support member 44 so that the shaft portion of the roller 41 slides while rolling. A cam portion (cam surface) 45a on which the shaft portion of the roller 42 slides is formed on the outside. The support member 44 incorporates a roller 41 slidable along the cam portion 44a, and the support member 45 incorporates a roller 42 slidable along the cam portion 45a.
When the collar support member 44 is rotationally driven by a drive from a transport motor (not shown) via a pump gear (not shown), this driving force is also transmitted to the black support member 45 which is coaxially fitted and connected. Both of these support members 44 and 45 are simultaneously driven to rotate.

  Next, a specific operation of the tube pump 110 according to this embodiment will be described. The suction tubes 32 and 33 are spirally wound over the entire circumference along the pressure guides 30a and 30b formed on the inner peripheral surface of the recovery system base 30, respectively. Each suction tube 32, 33 is formed with a marking 34 for positioning and fixing the tube with respect to the suction side guides 30 c, 30 e of the tube pump 110. The markings 34 are used to align the longitudinal positions of the suction tubes 32 and 33 with the guides 30c and 30e on the suction side. As shown in FIG. 5, the markings 34 are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. It is formed with. In the present embodiment as well, the suction tubes 32 and 33 are formed with markings 36 in the longitudinal direction for preventing twisting when the pump is assembled.

  In assembling the tube pump 110, the markings 34 formed on the suction tubes 32 and 33 are positioned and fixed in accordance with the guides 30c and 30e of the recovery system base 30, so that the suction tubes 32 and 33 on the pump suction side are fixed. Positioning of the suction tubes 32 and 33 in the length direction with respect to the recovery system base 30 is performed. On the other hand, on the pump discharge side, positioning in the length direction is performed by fixing the discharge side end portions of the suction tubes 32 and 33 according to the discharge side guides 12 a and 12 b of the pump base 30. In the present embodiment, the tube guide mechanism for positioning and fixing the suction tubes 32 and 33 to the recovery system base 30 in the length direction by the suction side guides 30c and 30e and the discharge side guides 12a and 12b. 10 is configured.

  6 to 9, stepped-shaped tip guide portions 13a and 13b having step portions that do not contact the tips of the suction tubes 32 and 33 at the tip portions of the discharge side guides 12a and 12b as shown in FIG. Is formed. Then, the alignment in the length direction on the discharge side of the suction tubes 32 and 33 is performed by positioning and fixing the length direction position of the tube tip in accordance with the tip guide portions 13a and 13b (or its alignment markings). .

  According to the configuration of the discharge side guides 12a and 12b, the tip guide portions 13a and 13b located at the positions corresponding to the tips of the suction tubes 32 and 33 are provided with a stepped portion so as to contact each other. Since the ink discharged from the suction tubes 32 and 33 comes into contact with the discharge side guides 12a and 12b on the pump base 30 side, the space between the suction tubes 32 and 33 and the discharge side guides 12a and 12b. In other words, it is possible to prevent ink from being collected and ink from entering the pressure guides 30a and 30b.

  In addition, because of the stepped shape (the shape having a stepped portion) of the tip guide portions 13a and 13b on the recovery system base 30 side, it is incorporated in the pressure guides 30a and 30b of the pump base 30 of the suction tubes 32 and 33. It can be easily determined whether or not the length is within an allowable error. Furthermore, by fixing the tip guide portions 13a and 13b to a stepped shape, the fixing range of the tip portions of the suction tubes 32 and 33 can be easily confirmed visually. As a result, even when the positioning markings in the length direction of the suction tubes 32 and 33 are only at one place on the suction side, the operation of easily aligning and incorporating the suction tubes 32 and 33 without expanding and contracting is easily performed. It becomes possible.

The discharge side guides 12a and 12b are provided with clamp portions 30d and 30f for fixing the suction tubes 32 and 33, respectively. The suction tubes 32 and 33 are fixed by the clamp portions 30d and 30f in a range from the position of the clamp portion to the pressure guides 30a and 30b of the recovery system base 30.
Further, in the range of the black pressure guide 30 b, the black suction tube 33 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface (pressure guide) 30 b of the recovery system base 30, and at the flange portion of the support member 45. It is positioned so as to contact with 42 within a predetermined range.
Similarly, within the range of the pressure guide 30a for the collar, the suction tube 32 for the collar contacts the inner peripheral surface 30a of the recovery system base 30 and also contacts the flange side surface of the support member 44, thereby supporting the support member 44. It is positioned by being guided by the inner surface of the flange portion.

  Then, when the support members 44 and 45 are rotated in the suction direction by driving a conveyance motor (not shown), the suction tubes 32 and 33 are cam portions of the support members 44 and 45 corresponding to the corresponding pressure guides 30a and 30b. It is squeezed in the longitudinal direction while being crushed by the rollers 41 and 42 positioned at 44a and 45a. As a result, a negative pressure is generated in the suction tubes 32 and 33, and the generated negative pressure is introduced into the caps 39 and 40. At this time, if the caps 39 and 40 are in the capping state in contact with the ejection port surface of the recording head 5, the corresponding color ejection port array and / or black ejection port due to the negative pressure generated in the caps 39 and 40. Ink is sucked from the column, and the above-described suction recovery process is executed. The ink sucked from each discharge port array by the tube pump 110 described above is disposed at a desired position such as the recovery system base 30 from the discharge-side end of each of the suction tubes 32 and 33. And is held in the absorber.

  According to the embodiment described above, one marking 34 of the suction tubes 32 and 33 is arranged in accordance with the suction side guides 30c and 30e of the pump, and the discharge side tips of the suction tubes 32 and 33 are disposed on the discharge side guide of the pump. Since it is configured to be arranged in accordance with 12a, 12b, the scooping length along the pressure guides 30a, 30b of the suction tubes 32, 33 can be increased by only one positioning marking on the surface of the suction tubes 32, 33. Therefore, the suction tubes 32 and 33 can be accurately integrated in the lengthwise direction without expansion and contraction throughout the pump. This not only reduces marking ink and work by reducing the number of marking steps in manufacturing the suction tube, but also increases the height required to form two markings at precise positions and intervals. Accurate positioning operation can be eliminated, and the cost of manufacturing the tube can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the case of a serial recording apparatus that performs recording by main scanning of the recording head and sub-scanning of the recording medium has been exemplified. However, the present invention also applies to a line recording apparatus that performs recording by only sub-scanning. The present invention can be applied in the same manner and has the same effects. Further, the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus that uses a single recording head for recording in a single color or a plurality of colors, a color recording apparatus that uses a plurality of recording heads for recording with different color inks, or the same color. In the case of a gradation recording apparatus that uses a plurality of recording heads that record at different densities, and also a recording apparatus that combines these recording heads, the present invention can be applied in the same manner, and the same effect can be achieved. The present invention relates to a recording head and an ink tank, such as a configuration using a replaceable ink cartridge in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated, a configuration in which the recording head and the ink tank are separated and connected between them by an ink supply tube or the like. The present invention can be similarly applied to any arrangement configuration, and the same effect can be obtained.

1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recovery mechanism unit of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the tube pump of the recovery mechanism part of FIG. It is a center part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the internal structure of the tube pump of FIG. It is a front view of the suction tube used with the tube pump by this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the tube guide mechanism in one Embodiment of the tube pump of the recovery mechanism part of the inkjet recording device by this invention. It is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-section which shows the structure by the side of discharge of the tube guide mechanism of FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the structure of FIG. 6 except a suction tube. It is a partial side view which shows the structure by the side of discharge of the tube guide mechanism of FIG. It is a perspective view of the conventional inkjet recording device. It is typical sectional drawing of the conventional tube pump. It is a front view of the suction tube used with the conventional tube pump.

Explanation of symbols

5 Recording Head 6 Carriage 10 Tube Guide Mechanism 12a Color Ejection Guide 12b Black Ejection Guide 13a Tip Guide 13b Tip Guide 30 Recovery System Base 30a Color Tube Pressurization Guide 30b Black Tube Pressurization Guide 30c Suction side guide for collar 30e Suction side guide for black 30d, 30f Clamp part 32 Suction tube for color 33 Suction tube for black 34 Positioning marking in length direction on suction side of suction tube 35 Suction tube discharge side Positioning marking 36 for suction tube twist prevention 37 Positioning guide for suction side of suction tube 38 Positioning guide for suction side of suction tube 39 Cap for color 40 Cap for black 41 Roller 43 cap holder 44 supporting member 101 paper feed mechanism section 102 conveying mechanism 103 recording unit 104 recovery mechanism portion 110 tube pump of the support member 45 black for color for rollers 42 black for chromatography

Claims (5)

A pressure guide that guides scooping of the suction tube; a roller that presses the suction tube against the pressure guide; and a support member that pivotally supports the roller; and the suction member by rotating the support member In a tube pump that squeezes a tube and generates a negative pressure in the suction tube,
Align the marking provided on the suction tube with the suction side guide of the tube pump to fix the suction tube,
A tube pump characterized in that a discharge-side tip of the suction tube is fixed in accordance with a discharge-side guide of the tube pump.   2. The tube pump according to claim 1, wherein a step portion is provided at a tip of the discharge side guide, and a discharge side tip of the suction tube is fitted and fixed within a range formed by the step portion.   The tube pump according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the set length portion of the suction tube is wound along the inner peripheral surface of the pressure guide.   The tube pump according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the discharge side tube guide is provided with a clamp portion for fixing the suction tube. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a tube pump for generating a negative pressure in a suction tube connected to a cap for capping a recording head,
An inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the tube pump is the tube pump according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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