JP2006205727A - Inkjet recorder and ink processing method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recorder that does not need a large space to contain a liquid supplied to this mechanism and not compel users to take a complicated operation and an increase of running cost while not being influenced by environment, and ink processing method for the same. <P>SOLUTION: Wiping is made to be performed after installing a cooling section 8 capable of generating water by cooling atmospheric air and making the water generated by driving the cooling section and then transferring the water by making a wiping member 9 into contact with the water. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer from an industrial level to a household level that uses water-based inks that are generally put into practical use (inks containing color materials such as dyes, pigments, dye pigment mixtures, and the like). The present invention particularly relates to an ink jet recording apparatus effective as a printer and an ink processing method of the apparatus, and further relates to a technique suitable for application to ink processing during maintenance of the recording apparatus.

  An ink jet recording system that can be preferably applied to printers from the industrial level to the household level using the water-based ink is a system that converts input image data into an output image through liquid ink. On the other hand, the maintenance technology for the recording head that ejects ink is an important element from the viewpoint of print reliability, and is adopted for the following reasons.

  (A) A recording head for ink discharge is a collective term for fine nozzles (hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, generically referred to as discharge ports, liquid passages communicating therewith, and elements for generating energy used for ink discharge). ) To directly eject ink onto a recording medium. Accordingly, the ejected ink may hit the recording medium and bounce off, or when ink is ejected, fine ink droplets (satellite) may be ejected in addition to the main ink involved in recording and drift in the atmosphere. Then, these may become ink mist and adhere around the ink discharge port of the recording head. In addition, dust or the like drifting in the air may adhere. As a result, the attached ink pulls the ejected main ink droplets, thereby changing the ink ejection direction, that is, preventing the straight travel of the main ink droplets.

  (B) In general, a plurality of nozzles are arranged in the recording head for the purpose of high-speed recording and high resolution, but depending on the input image data, nozzles that are not used for ink ejection during recording May occur. In such a nozzle, the ink solvent evaporates from the discharge port, and the ink viscosity in the nozzle increases accordingly. Therefore, after that, when the nozzle is used, even if energy for normal ink discharge is applied, stable ink discharge cannot be performed, and discharge failure occurs. In addition, if bubbles are present in the ink reservoir inside the recording head, that is, the liquid path inside the ejection port or a common liquid chamber communicating with the liquid path, the gas that has permeated through the material constituting the ejection port or the recording head May grow in the bubbles. Further, the bubbles may expand due to the temperature rise during recording. As a result, the ink supply from the ink supply source is hindered, resulting in an ink ejection failure.

Therefore, as a maintenance technique for solving the problems (a) and (b), the following is adopted in the ink jet recording apparatus.
(A) At a predetermined timing, a surface (hereinafter referred to as an ejection surface) on which the ejection port of the recording head is formed is wiped with a wiping member made of an elastic material such as rubber to remove the deposits (hereinafter, this operation is performed). Called wiping).
(B) A predetermined amount of ink is ejected separately from the ink ejection when forming an image on a recording medium in accordance with the time or environment when ink ejection is not performed, and the ink with increased viscosity is discharged (hereinafter, referred to as “ink ejection”). This operation is called preliminary discharge). In addition, at a predetermined timing, for example, a suction force is applied to the ejection surface using a pump, and the ink is sucked out from the ejection port, thereby performing a recovery operation for forcibly discharging the ink inside the ejection port (hereinafter, this operation is aspirated). Called recovery). The discharged or discharged ink (hereinafter referred to as waste ink) is received by a cap or the like that can form a sealed space facing the discharge surface or around the discharge port, and is further received by a member such as an absorber provided at a predetermined portion. Transported and held.

  On the other hand, among the water-based inks that have been put into practical use in recent years (one that contains a coloring material such as dyes, pigments, dye pigment mixtures, etc., or an ink that does not contain these), as one that meets the demand for further image fastness, The use of an ink containing a pigment in the color material (pigment-based ink) can be mentioned. In pigment-based inks, compared to dye-based inks (dye-based inks), the colorant is inferior in redispersibility after evaporation, and is a polymer compound used to disperse pigments in solvents. Is easily attracted to the ejection surface.

  For this reason, in a recording apparatus using pigment-based ink, even if wiping is performed, wiping residue is generated on the ejection surface, and the ink thickened by evaporation of the ink solvent remains, and the above problem (a) is caused. There is a fear that it will not be improved. The pigment-based ink is obtained by dispersing a color material that is originally solid in water by introducing a functional group on the surface of the pigment or the pigment. Therefore, the dried pigment ink, which is dried by evaporation of the water in the ink on the ejection surface, causes more damage to the ejection surface than the dry fixed matter of the dye-based ink in which the coloring material itself is dissolved at the molecular level. . Moreover, the property that the high molecular compound used in order to disperse | distribute a pigment in a solvent is easy to be adsorb | sucked with respect to a discharge surface is seen. This is a problem that occurs in addition to pigment-based inks when a high molecular compound is present in the ink as a result of adding a reaction liquid to the ink for the purpose of adjusting the viscosity of the ink, improving light resistance, or the like.

  With respect to these problems, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a technique for applying a liquid for a head to an ejection surface when wiping a recording head. As a result, the wear of the wiper is reduced, the ink residue accumulated in the recording head is dissolved to remove the accumulated matter, and further, a thin film of liquid for the head is formed on the recording head to thereby prevent the foreign matter from being recorded on the recording head. It prevents adhesion. And the wiping off property by wiping improves by these. Further, the head liquid used at the time of wiping is configured to be stored inside the printer body. Further, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 include a cleaning step by moving the wiper relative to the discharge surface, and a step of supplying a non-volatile solvent as a head liquid to the discharge surface before this step. It is disclosed. However, there are very few disclosures about the non-volatile solvent. That is, Patent Document 1 only discloses polyethylene glycol (PEG) having a molecular weight of 200 to 600, and Patent Document 2 only discloses polyethylene glycol (PEG 300) having a molecular weight of 300.

  Examples of usage of the cooling means in the inkjet recording technology include the following. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique using a Peltier element in order to form nucleate boiling bubbles and perform cooling for extinguishing the bubbles in microseconds in an extremely short time. However, such a Peltier element is only an idea level even if it sees the balance between heat dissipation and cooling and the products on the market. On the other hand, in Patent Document 4, there is a sealing empty portion opened on the nozzle surface (ejection surface) side of the recording head for the purpose of preventing clogging of the nozzle group arranged on the recording head of the ink jet recording apparatus. A Peltier element provided outside the provided cap member is disclosed. Patent Document 4 is an invention that improves the humidity in the cap and prevents nozzle clogging. However, this technical content cannot improve the humidity in the cap even if cooling is performed in the cap state. On the other hand, even if the cap is cooled before the cap, the cap has a connecting tube for discharging ink, so that not only the response but also the absolute humidity level that can prevent clogging of the head cannot be obtained. .

  Further, in a field different from ink jet recording, Patent Document 5 discloses that a temperature of −15 ° C. to −20 ° C. is used by using a Peltier element in order to cool a pen tip that contacts a recording medium that develops color by cooling. It is disclosed. This Patent Document 5 suggests that dew condensation should rather be avoided because there is a description that if a condensation layer or water droplets adhere to the tip of the pen, the object to be thermally denatured is altered.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-138503 JP 2000-203037 A JP 54-51837 A JP 2003-276214 A Utility Model Registration No. 2547929

  However, the print head cleaning device described in Patent Document 1 is a non-volatile solvent reservoir that can store a sufficient amount of non-volatile solvent that is applied to the wiper, that is, provided for a wiping operation performed until the end of the life of the printer body. Must be prepared. Therefore, there is a problem that the printer becomes large. In addition, it may be possible to reduce the size of the printer by periodically replenishing the non-volatile solvent. However, if the user is forced to perform complicated processing, a commercially available processing solution should be used. Running costs can also increase. Furthermore, moisture absorption and drying of the non-volatile solvent occurs depending on the environment in which the printer is used, and the physical properties of the non-volatile solvent change, resulting in variations in the amount of coating on the wiper, and the desired wiping performance cannot be demonstrated. Is also a concern.

  Furthermore, Patent Document 1 focuses on the application of a non-volatile solvent to the wiper. Therefore, there is no recognition of the problem that the waste ink introduction portion of the absorber is blocked with the thickened ink or the solidified ink and the diffusion to the inside of the absorber is prevented, and the problem of solving the problem is naturally solved. No means are suggested.

  On the other hand, regarding the problem (b), when the waste ink is introduced into the absorber, the thickened ink is gradually accumulated at the introduction site, and in a severe case, the solidified ink is gradually accumulated. Then, the introduction part is blocked by this, and there is a possibility that waste ink overflows by preventing diffusion into the absorber.

  The main problem of the present invention is that water is effectively applied directly or indirectly to the liquid or thickened state of ink (excluding image formation) coming out of the ink recording head, and this state is achieved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel mechanism and method for alleviating the problem and making it easy to process. Another object of the present invention is to maintain a desired ink processing performance while satisfying the following matters regarding a maintenance mechanism such as a wiping mechanism in an ink jet recording apparatus and a mechanism for processing ink discharged from a recording head. There is. That is, it does not require a large space for storing the liquid provided to this mechanism, does not impose a complicated operation and an increase in running cost on the user, and does not depend on the environment.

Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, in an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that ejects ink,
A cooling means capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere is provided, and the water is supplied to the ink discharged from the recording head.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, in an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that ejects ink,
A cooling means capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere;
Processing means for supplying the water to the ink generated by causing the recording head to perform an ink ejection operation other than the recording operation or forcibly discharging the ink by applying a pressure to the recording head When,
With
The processing means has a cap for receiving the ink, an absorber for absorbing and holding the ink, and a path for transferring the ink from the cap toward the absorber,
The cooling means is provided in an ink introduction portion of the absorber to which the path is connected, and mixes the water with the transferred ink.

In a third aspect of the present invention, in an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that ejects ink,
A cooling means capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere;
Processing means for supplying the water to the ink ejected from the edge when performing recording without leaving a margin on the edge of the recording medium;
With
The processing means has an ink receiving portion for receiving the ejected ink, and an absorber for absorbing and holding the ink,
The cooling means mixes the water with the ink ejected at the ink receiving portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the step of generating ice by cooling the atmosphere to below the freezing point temperature, melting the ice to generate water, and using the water to exit the ink jet recording head And an ink processing method for an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: supplying the water to the ink.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of generating water by cooling the air to a dew point temperature of −10 ° C. or lower, or by raising the temperature after the dew point temperature of −10 ° C. or lower, and using the water And an ink processing method for an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising the step of supplying the water to the ink discharged from the ink jet recording head.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, in an ink recording apparatus that performs recording using water-based ink supplied from a recording head,
A cooling means capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere is provided, and the water is supplied to the water-based ink discharged from the recording head.

  The present invention according to the first to sixth embodiments performs recording without leaving margins at the edge of the recording medium, the ink that comes out of the recording head and adheres to the ejection surface, the ink generated by preliminary ejection or suction recovery, or the recording medium. Therefore, the present invention relates to the processing of the ink ejected from the edge portion. Then, at the time of ink processing or the preparation stage, water is generated by cooling the atmosphere, and the water itself is directly used. Accordingly, it is possible to maintain a desired ink processing performance without requiring a large space for storing the maintenance liquid, forcing the user to increase complicated operations and running costs, and regardless of the environment.

Prior to specific embodiments of the present invention, the basic concept of the present invention will be described first.
Regardless of whether it is dye-based or pigment-based, the main component of the solvent of the ink is water, so the present inventors can achieve considerable effects even if maintenance such as wiping is performed while supplying water Focused on the fact that there is. This is because, by adding water to the thickened ink on the ejection surface and mixing it, the fluidity is improved and wiping without wiping is performed. Further, the present inventors considered that if water can be generated and supplied in a timely manner, a large-sized reservoir or a recording apparatus that does not impose complicated processing on the user as in Patent Document 1 can be provided.

  From the above, the present inventors have conceived that water is obtained from water vapor by cooling the atmosphere, and the water is directly provided to the maintenance mechanism to function. More specifically, if a cooling means having a cooling surface in contact with the atmosphere is used and the atmosphere is cooled below the dew point temperature to cause condensation on the cooling surface, and the water is used, the problem relating to Patent Document 1 I came up with the idea of being able to solve the problem.

  The basic concept of the present invention is different from the technical ideas in the conventional patent documents 1 to 4, wherein water is generated by cooling, and the water itself is positively or indirectly positively or indirectly supplied to a maintenance mechanism or the like. It is in the composition to use. Hereinafter, specific embodiments for achieving the above-described object by efficiently generating and providing water will be described.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the illustrated ink jet recording apparatus, the carriage 100 is fixed to the endless belt 5 and is movable along the guide shaft 3. The endless belt 5 is wound around a pair of pulleys 503, and one pulley 503 is connected to a drive shaft of a carriage drive motor (not shown). Therefore, the carriage 100 is reciprocally main-scanned in the left-right direction in the drawing along the guide shaft 3 as the motor is driven to rotate.

  On the carriage 100 is mounted a recording head 1 that detachably holds the ink tank 2. Here, in the recording head 1, the ink ejection port array faces the paper P as the recording medium, and the arrangement direction coincides with a direction different from the main scanning direction (for example, the sub-scanning direction that is the conveyance direction of the recording medium 6). It is mounted on the carriage 100 as described above. Note that the number of ink ejection port arrays and ink tanks 2 can be provided in a number corresponding to the ink color to be used, and in the example shown in the figure, four sets corresponding to four colors (for example, black, yellow, magenta, and cyan). Is provided.

  The recording medium 6 is intermittently conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the carriage 100. The recording medium 6 is supported by a pair of roller units (not shown) provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction, and is transported in a state where a certain tension is applied and flatness with respect to the ink ejection port is ensured. Then, recording on the entire recording medium 6 is performed while alternately repeating the recording of the width corresponding to the array width of the ejection ports of the recording head 1 accompanying the movement of the carriage 100 and the conveyance of the recording medium 6. The illustrated apparatus is provided with a linear encoder 4 for the purpose of detecting the movement position of the carriage in the main scanning direction.

  The carriage 100 stops at the home position as necessary at the start of recording or during recording. In the vicinity of the home position, a maintenance mechanism including a cap 7, a cooling unit 8, and a wiper blade 9 is installed. The cap 7 is supported by an elevating mechanism (not shown) so as to be movable up and down, and in the raised position, the ejection surface of the recording head 1 is capped to protect it during non-recording operation or to recover suction. Is possible. During the recording operation, it is set at a lowered position that avoids interference with the recording head 1 and can receive preliminary ejection by facing the ejection surface.

  Wiper blades 9 and 9 ′ made of an elastic member such as rubber are fixed to the wiper holder 10. The wiper holder 10 is movable along the guide 10 'in the front-rear direction in the figure (a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction of the recording head 1). Then, when the recording head 1 reaches the home position, the wiper holder 10 moves to the front side in the figure, whereby the ejection surface of the recording head 1 can be wiped. When the wiping is completed, the recording head 1 is moved away from the home position, and then the wiper holder 10 moves to the back side in the drawing to prepare for the next wiping operation.

  FIG. 2 is a view of a part of the recording head 1 (ejection port array for a certain color ink) viewed from the ejection surface side in order to explain the wiping operation. Here, 11 is an ejection surface, 1103 is an ink ejection port arranged on the ejection surface 11 in a direction different from the main scanning direction (for example, a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction), and corresponds to one color ink in the figure. Things are shown. Reference numeral 1104 denotes attached ink that may hinder the straight movement of the ejected ink, and 1105 denotes a wiping direction. The wiping is performed by moving the wiper blades 9 and 9 ′ in the direction indicated by the arrow 1105 (in this example, the direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction) while contacting the ejection surface 11 as shown in the drawing, and the attached ink 1104 is wiped. This is an operation of wiping from the discharge surface 11 by the blades 9 and 9 '. As will be described later, the wiper blades 9 and 9 ′ have different heights, and the former is bent to a relatively large extent when sliding with the ejection surface 11 of the recording head 1, and the latter is relatively long. The tip is in contact with a small bend.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the cooling unit 8 of the present embodiment and each of the parts related thereto, as viewed from the direction of the arrow in FIG. The cooling unit 8 of this example uses a Peltier element, and is connected to the DC power supply unit 80 so that the lower surface 12 on which the wiper blade 9 can be slidably contacted is a cooling surface and the upper surface 13 is a heat dissipation surface. Prior to the wiping of the recording head 1, the lower surface 12 of the cooling unit 8 is cooled, and when the atmosphere in contact with the lower surface 12 falls below the dew point temperature, moisture in the air condenses or forms frost. When the recording head 1 reaches the home position, the wiper holder 10 is moved in the front direction in FIG. 1 (left direction in FIG. 3) to wipe the ejection surface 11. At this time, water generated by condensation on the lower surface 12 of the cooling unit 8 or water generated by melting of ice formed by frost is transferred to the wiper blades 9 and 9 ′ and discharged using the water. Surface 11 is wiped.

  A heat radiating mechanism 14 is arranged on the upper surface 13 which is a heat radiating surface, and is designed so that heat generated on the upper surface 13 can be efficiently wasted. The heat dissipation mechanism 14 may be made of a material having high thermal conductivity, may have a fin structure with a large surface area, or may have a configuration combined with a fan. It is also possible to obtain a heat dissipation effect by vaporization by storing water or an organic solvent having a large heat capacity in a container having high thermal conductivity. In the illustrated example, a heat sink 14h having fins and a fan 14f are combined.

  4 (a) to 4 (c), 5 (a) to 5 (d) and FIG. 6 are schematic side views for explaining the operation during wiping of the present embodiment. Viewed from the direction of the arrow.

  In FIG. 4A, moisture in the atmosphere condenses (or forms frost) on the lower surface 12 by cooling the lower surface 12 of the cooling unit 8 prior to wiping of the recording head 1, and water (or ice) 15 is generated. A control mode for obtaining the surface temperature of the cooling surface 12 and a desired amount of water will be described later. FIG. 4B shows a state where the wiper blades 9 and 9 ′ are in sliding contact with the cooling unit lower surface 12 in the process in which the wiper holder 10 moves in the direction of the recording head 1. At this time, a part of water 15 (due to condensation or melted ice) sufficiently generated on the lower surface 12 of the cooling part is transferred to the wiper blades 9 and 9 '. In order to perform this transition efficiently, when the wiper blades 9 and 9 'move along the guide 10' in FIG. What is necessary is just to position the cooling part 8 so that it may have. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, in the state where no external force is applied to the wiper blades 9 and 9 ′, the tip position of the wiper blades 9 and 9 ′ is relatively protruded by an appropriate amount from the plane formed by the cooling unit lower surface 12. The position of the cooling unit 8 may be determined.

  FIG. 4C shows a state in which the wiper holder 10 further moves to the recording head 1 side and passes through the cooling unit 8. The wiper blades 9 and 9 ′ are attached with water 16 to which a part of the water 15 generated on the cooling unit lower surface 12 is transferred.

  FIG. 5A shows a state where the wiper holder 10 has moved below the ejection surface 11 of the recording head 1. The recording head 1 and the wiper blades 9, 9 ′ are arranged so that the wiper blades 9, 9 ′ have a positive constant approach amount with respect to the ejection surface 11 when the wiper blade 9 moves along the guide 10 ′ in FIG. 1. Is positioned relative to the That is, the relative position is determined so that the tip position of the wiper blade 9 protrudes by an appropriate amount from the plane formed by the discharge surface 11 in a state where no external force is applied to the wiper blade 9. Further, the wiper blades 9 and 9 'have different heights, and when sliding with the ejection surface 11 of the recording head 1, the former is bent relatively large and the side portion is bent relatively, and the latter is bent relatively small and the tip is bent. The parts abut. In the course of the movement, first, the relatively long wiper blade 9 first comes into sliding contact with the discharge surface 11, and the relatively short wiper blade 9 'follows.

  On the ejection surface 11, there is a case where the attached ink 1104 having increased viscosity as shown in FIG. 2 is present. When pigment-based ink is used, a polymer compound used for dispersing the pigment may be adsorbed on the ejection surface. Therefore, in addition to physical cleaning of scraping off these deposits, chemical cleaning is also performed in this example. That is, in this example, by wiping the ejection surface 11 with the water 16 carried on the wiper blade 9, the thickened ink is re-dissolved (re-dispersed) with water and the polymer compound is wiped with water. Thereby, an extremely excellent cleaning effect of the ejection surface 11 can be obtained. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 5B to 5D, the wiper blade 9 </ b> A is relatively greatly bent so that the side portion thereof is in sliding contact with the discharge surface 11, and the water 16 is efficiently transferred to the discharge surface 11. . Even if the adhered ink 1104 is present on the ejection surface 11, it is dissolved or peeled off by application of water 16. Or it absorbs water and softens. In this state, the tip (edge) of the wiper blade 9 ′ contacts the ejection surface 11, so that the adhering ink 1104 dissolved, peeled off or softened is efficiently scraped, and the recording head is cleaned.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing a state where the wiper holder 10 has completely passed through the recording head 1. As a result of the above wiping, water 16 ′ (or containing an ink deposit that has been peeled off or softened) is partly adhered on the wiper blade 9. When the water 16 ′ flows down along the wiper blade 9 according to the action of gravity, a member for receiving the water 16 ′ can be provided below the position of the illustrated wiper holder 10. However, a means (sponge, scraper, etc.) or a process for positively receiving the water 16 ′ from the wiper blade 9 by contacting the wiper blade 9 in the vicinity of the position shown in FIG. Is desirable.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, ink adhering to the ejection surface that cannot be wiped off only by a normal wiping operation is diluted with water, and wiping performance is improved. In this example, water generated by cooling the atmosphere (or water obtained by melting ice generated by cooling the atmosphere) is directly used for wiping the discharge surface. Therefore, it is not necessary to specially prepare a cleaning liquid for the discharge surface, or to particularly secure a space for storing the cleaning liquid, and to dramatically improve the discharge surface without depending on the surrounding environment. It became possible to improve the cleaning property. That is, good wiping can be performed semipermanently with space saving and no noise.

  In the present embodiment, it is possible to perform water transfer to the wiper blade 9 more efficiently by performing water repellent treatment on the lower surface of the cooling unit.

(Second Embodiment)
A maintenance mechanism to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to a wiper blade that performs wiping by directly contacting the ejection surface 11 of the recording head 1 as in the above example. The present invention can also be applied to a portion that holds waste ink that is discharged along with preliminary ejection or suction recovery.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of an ink jet printer according to another embodiment of the present invention. This example also has substantially the same configuration as that of FIG. 1, and portions that can be configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment (FIG. 1) are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the following embodiments, only one wiper blade (shown by reference numeral 9) is shown, but it is needless to say that two wiper blades may be provided as in the first embodiment.

  8A and 8B are schematic side views of the main part of the present embodiment, as viewed from the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  Two tubes 21 are connected to the cap 7 of this example, one of which is a leak valve 18 and the other is a suction pump 19 inserted in each tube path. Here, the leak valve 18 is an on-off valve capable of communicating the inside of the cap 7 with the atmosphere, and is normally set in a closed state. The leak valve 7 is opened immediately before each operation when the cap 7 is joined to the discharge surface 11 to obtain a sealed state, and when the cap 7 is released from the discharge surface 11 to release the sealed state, and the space inside the cap is opened. To communicate with the atmosphere. This prevents sudden pressure fluctuations in the cap inner space that occur when the cap 7 made of an elastic member such as rubber joins / disengages from the discharge surface 11, and pushes air into / from the nozzle. Ink suction can be prevented. In addition, what is shown with the code | symbol 23 is the absorber arrange | positioned inside the cap 7. FIG.

  The suction pump 19 generates negative pressure in a state where the cap 7 is joined to the discharge surface 11 and a sealed space is formed therein as shown in FIG. As a result, the ink in the recording head 1 is sucked into the cap 7 and further discharged from the cap 7 through one tube 21.

  As the suction pump 19, for example, a tube pump type is used. This is a member formed with a curved surface for holding (at least a part of) the tube 21 (which is flexible), a roller capable of pressing the flexible tube toward the member, And a roller support portion that can rotate while supporting the roller. That is, by rotating the roller support portion in a predetermined direction, the roller rolls while crushing the flexible tube on the curved surface forming member. Along with this, negative pressure is generated in the sealed space formed by the cap 7, and ink is sucked from the discharge port and drawn from the cap 7 to the tube or the suction pump, while the drawn ink further includes an appropriate member (waste ink). It is transported towards the absorber 17).

  The suction pump 19 not only recovers such suction, but also receives ink received in the cap 7 by a preliminary ejection operation performed with the cap 7 facing the ejection surface 11 as shown in FIG. It can also be activated to drain. That is, by operating the suction pump 19 when the pre-discharged ink held in the cap 7 reaches a predetermined amount, the ink held in the cap 7 is discharged via the tube 21 to the waste ink absorber 17. Can be transferred to.

  The outlet of the tube 21 connected to the tube pump 19 is disposed in a waste ink introduction cavity 17 </ b> A formed in the waste ink absorber 17. And in this embodiment, the cooling part 20 is installed in the bottom face of the cavity part 17A.

  The cooling unit 20 can use a Peltier element as in the cooling unit 8 of the first embodiment. In this example, the cooling unit 20 is disposed in the cavity 17A facing the upper surface 24, that is, the outlet of the tube 21. It is connected to a power supply unit (not shown) such that the surface to be cooled is the cooling surface and the lower surface 25 is the heat dissipation surface. Moreover, the heat dissipation mechanism 26 is arranged in a form in which a part is connected to the heat dissipation surface, and is designed so that heat can be efficiently exhausted. The heat dissipating mechanism 26 is wound inside the structural material 28 of the printer in a form covered with a heat insulating material 27, and comes into contact with the atmosphere at the end opposite to the cooling unit 20. The heat dissipating mechanism 26 is made of a material having high heat conductivity, and a part of the heat dissipating mechanism 26 may have a fin structure with a large surface area, or a structure combined with a fan, like the heat dissipating mechanism 14 of the first embodiment. You may take. Moreover, it is good also as a form which accommodated the organic solvent with a large heat capacity in the container with high heat conductivity.

  FIG. 9A to FIG. 9D are enlarged views of the vicinity of the waste ink introduction portion of the waste ink absorber 17 and show a change in the state with time when the cooling unit 20 is operated.

  FIG. 9A shows a state in which water 34 is generated on the cooling surface 24 by operating the cooling unit 20 before the ink 30 is discharged from the tube 21.

  In the case of this example, when the ink 30 dripped from the tube 21 lands on the water 34 on the cooling surface 24, the ink spreads over the entire surface of the cooling unit 20 due to the action of surface tension and is mixed with water. The mixed ink 35 shown in FIG. Since at least a part of the mixed ink 35 is in contact with the waste ink absorber 17, the mixed ink 35 is absorbed by the waste ink absorber 17 as indicated by reference numeral 33 in FIG. Even in this state, if the operation of the cooling unit 20 is continued, water is generated at the interface between the mixed ink 35 and the atmosphere or the cooling surface 24 not covered with the mixed ink, and the water concentration of the mixed ink 35 increases and the viscosity decreases. To do. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9D, the absorption / diffusion of the mixed ink 35 into the absorber 17 is promoted. By repeating this, most of the components contained in the ink 30 move to the absorber 17, and even after the operation of the cooling unit 20 is stopped, thickening or solidified ink is deposited on the cooling surface 24 or in the cavity 17A. Almost no longer occurs. When the operation of the cooling unit 20 is continued, it is preferable that the surface temperature of the cooling surface 24 is not less than the temperature at which the mixed ink 35 does not freeze and not more than + 5 ° C.

  When it is assumed that the cooling unit 20 in this embodiment is not operated, it is assumed that the cooling unit 20 does not exist or that an absorber is also present at the dropping portion of the ink 30. Then, the ink droplet simply thickens, aggregates, and solidifies, and the absorption capacity of the absorber decreases. In contrast, in this example, even if the viscosity of the ink droplet increases immediately or to some extent, water is actively generated in the dropping portion and mixed with the ink to reduce its viscosity. Therefore, the absorption to the absorber 17 can be promoted, and there is no possibility that the thickened ink or the solidified ink gradually accumulates at the dripping site and the ink introduction site of the waste ink absorber is blocked.

  Accordingly, the invention disclosed herein uses the water generated by cooling the atmosphere at the waste ink introduction portion as it is, and mixes with the ink at that portion to reduce its viscosity, thereby reducing the viscosity to the waste ink absorber 17. It can be moved efficiently. In other words, the waste ink absorber in the vicinity of the ink introduction part is blocked with thickened ink or solidified ink, and there is a risk of inconveniences such as reduction in ink absorption / diffusion efficiency or overflow of waste ink. Can be reduced.

(Third embodiment)
The present invention relates not only to a maintenance mechanism for maintaining the ink ejection operation of the recording head 1 in a good state as described in the first and second embodiments, but also to other methods for processing ink discharged from the recording head 1. It can also be applied to means.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of an ink jet printer according to still another embodiment of the present invention. This example also has substantially the same configuration as that of FIG. 1, and portions that can be configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment (FIG. 1) are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional side view of the main part of the present embodiment, viewed from the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  In these drawings, 38 and 39 are a pair of conveying rollers provided on the upstream side of the conveying path of the recording medium 6, and 36 is a platen for supporting the recording medium 6 in a region facing the ejection surface 11 of the recording head 1. It is. The platen 36 is provided with an opening 36A, for example, for receiving ink ejected from the front and rear ends of the recording medium 6 and the portions protruding from the side edges when recording on the entire surface of the recording medium 6 (edgeless recording). It is like that. In the case of this example, the cooling unit 37 is disposed in the opening 36 </ b> A in an inclined state with respect to the recording medium conveyance surface, and ink droplets ejected from the recording medium 6 when performing borderless recording are cooled by the cooling unit 37. It is supposed to land on top. A range indicated by reference numeral 41 in the figure is a range in which ink can be ejected.

  Similarly to the cooling unit 8 of the first embodiment, the cooling unit 20 can use a Peltier element, and the upper surface 42, that is, the surface that receives ink ejected from the recording medium 6 is the cooling surface and the lower surface 25. Is connected to a power supply unit (not shown) so as to be a heat radiation surface. In addition, the heat dissipation mechanism 40 is arranged in a form in which at least a part is connected to the heat dissipation surface, and is designed to efficiently exhaust heat. The heat dissipating mechanism 40 is covered with a heat insulating material 44 on the contact surface with the platen 36 and the surface facing the waste ink absorber 17, and is configured to be in contact with the atmosphere only at the front side of the printer. Note that the waste ink absorber 17 may be integrated with the waste ink absorber that absorbs and holds the waste ink generated in association with the preliminary discharge and suction recovery described in relation to the second embodiment. It may be. The heat dissipating mechanism 40 is made of a material having high heat conductivity, and a part of the heat dissipating mechanism 40 may have a fin structure with a large surface area, or a structure combined with a fan, like the heat dissipating mechanism 14 of the first embodiment. You may take. Moreover, it is good also as a form which accommodated the organic solvent with a large heat capacity in the container with high heat conductivity.

  FIG. 12A to FIG. 12F are enlarged views of the vicinity of the waste ink introduction portion generated in connection with the borderless recording, and show a change in the state with time when the cooling portion 37 is operated.

  FIG. 12A shows that the cooling unit 37 is actuated before the ink droplet 46 is deposited on the upper surface (cooling surface) 42 of the cooling unit 37 from the ejection port of the ejection surface 11. The state where water 34 is generated is shown in FIG.

  When the ink droplet 46 is deposited on the water 49, the ink spreads to the entire surface of the upper surface 42 of the cooling unit 37 and the side surface of the cooling unit 37 by the action of surface tension, and is mixed with water, and the mixed ink shown in FIG. There are 50 states. Since the mixed ink 50 has a low viscosity and a high surface tension when mixed with water, a relatively large portion flows along the inclination of the cooling surface 42 and falls onto the waste ink absorber 17 by its own weight (FIG. 12 ( c)). In addition, after this state, it is assumed that ejection of ink droplets is suspended.

  The mixed ink deposited on the waste ink absorber 17 penetrates into the absorber 17 as indicated by reference numeral 48 in FIG. 12 (d), but a part thereof may remain as the thickened ink 46. Even in this state, when the operation of the cooling unit 37 is continued, water is generated at the interface between the mixed ink 59 and the atmosphere, or the upper surface 42 of the cooling unit 37 that is not covered with the mixed ink, and the mixed ink amount on the upper surface 42 of the cooling unit 37 is increased. Will increase. Here, it is preferable that the surface temperature of the cooling surface 24 when the operation of the cooling unit 37 is continued is not less than the temperature at which the mixed ink 35 is not frozen and not more than + 5 ° C. The mixed ink 50 in this state has a larger amount of water, a lower viscosity, and a higher surface tension than the mixed ink 50 shown in FIG. 12B, so that a larger portion falls onto the waste ink absorber 17. (FIG. 12E). Since the dropped mixed ink 50 has a large amount of water, it has a strong action of re-dissolving (re-dispersing) the thickened ink 46 generated on the waste ink absorber 17. Accordingly, the absorption / diffusion of the mixed ink 50 to the absorber 17 is promoted, and the volume of the thickened ink 46 remaining after the mixed ink 50 has permeated or dried into the waste ink absorber 17 is shown in FIG. It is smaller than the volume (FIG. 12 (f)). By repeating this, the mixed ink on the upper surface 42 of the cooling unit 37 has a composition very close to water, and unless new ink droplets are applied, the operation of the cooling unit 37 is stopped or solid ink is almost always deposited. Disappear.

  When the above embodiment is not used, the ink ejected on the inclined surface corresponding to the upper surface 42 of the cooling unit 37 stays and accumulates by thickening, aggregating and solidifying. There is a risk that it will be higher than the plane formed by. As a result, the back surface of the recording medium is soiled, the recording medium conveyance path is blocked, and ink leakage occurs in a direction other than the direction toward the absorber 17. Further, even if an absorber is provided in the opening 36A, a situation in which thickened ink or solidified ink gradually accumulates cannot be avoided. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, water is generated by cooling the atmosphere at a portion that receives ink ejected to the outside of the recording medium during borderless recording. And it can be efficiently moved to the waste ink absorber 17 by using it as it is and mixing it with the ink at that site to reduce its viscosity. In the present embodiment, the opening 36A or the cooling unit 37 having a cooling surface can be provided only in a portion necessary for receiving ink that can be ejected out of the recording medium during borderless recording. .

(Embodiment of cooling unit control)
The inventors of the present invention have studied the amount of water that is preferable for use in the above-described wiping in the discharge surface configuration as shown in FIG. In the examination, a recording head in which 320 nozzles having a discharge port diameter of 22 μm are arranged at 600 DPI (number of dots / inch) and arranged in the 1105 direction is used. In addition, an ink using a self-dispersing pigment (a pigment having an ionic functional group directly bonded to the pigment surface and dispersible in water without using a polymer dispersant) was used. In this case, even if the thickened attached ink 1104 is present in a total amount of about 0.2 mg, it is satisfactory if water of 0.1 mg / cm or more per unit length in the lateral direction of the wiper blade 9 is attached. It was confirmed that wiping performance can be demonstrated. As for the ink using a pigment that can be dispersed in water using a polymer dispersant, the relationship between the amount of adhered ink that can exhibit good wiping performance and the amount of water adhered on the wiper has not been investigated yet, It is assumed that there is a similar relationship.

Further, in the configuration around the waste ink as shown in FIG. 7, a preferable amount of water for achieving the above effect was examined. As a result, when 3 mg of the ink 30 discharged from the tube 21 is applied every 5 minutes, 0.5 mg / cm ² or more of water per unit area on the cooling surface 24 adheres prior to the application. In this case, it was possible to move the waste ink to the absorber 17 satisfactorily.

  Therefore, further, the amount of water generated in the cooling unit 8 and the control mode of the cooling unit 8 that can obtain such an adhesion amount were examined. In the examination, first use Peltier element TM-31-1.0-2.5 (cooling surface dimensions 1.5cm x 1.5cm) manufactured by Chori Co., Ltd., and two heat sinks W15-10W manufactured by Alpha Co., Ltd. are used on the heat radiation surface. Glued. The heat sink was submerged in water to enhance the cooling effect. A thermocouple was bonded to the cooling surface, and the temperature was measured.

  In an environment of an air temperature of 25 ° C. and a relative humidity of 40% RH, voltages of 1 V, 2 V, and 3 V were applied to the Peltier device for 1 minute and 2 minutes, respectively. When the applied voltage was 1 V, 2 V, and 3 V, the ultimate temperatures (cooling surface temperatures) were about + 2 ° C., −15 ° C., and −20 ° C., respectively. It took about 40 seconds to reach the temperature from the start of energization. Then, immediately after the application time had elapsed, the cooling surface was wiped off using a Kimwipe manufactured by Crecia Co., Ltd., the amount of water generated was measured, and the average value of the two times was calculated. The following results were obtained. However, when the applied voltage was 2 V and 3 V, frost (freezing) occurred, and therefore, the wiping was performed after waiting for several seconds until melting. In the table below, blanks are not measured because trends can be estimated from other experimental results.

  Next, the amount of water generated when different from the environment was also examined. Three Peltier elements TM-31-1.0-2.5 (cooling surface dimensions: 1.5 cm × 1.5 cm) manufactured by Chori Co., Ltd. were used, two on the lower stage and one on the upper stage, and installed on the pyramid. Three of them were connected in series so that the lower surface (heat dissipating surface) of the upper Peltier element could be cooled by the upper surfaces (cooling surfaces) of the two lower Peltier elements. The heat sink made by Alpha Co., Ltd. is arranged on the lower surface (heat dissipation surface) of the two lower Peltier elements, and by attaching heat conductive double-sided tape to the upper and lower surfaces of the two lower Peltier elements The upper Peltier element, the lower Peltier element and the heat sink were bonded. In addition, the heat sink was submerged in water or glycerin in some cases in order to enhance the heat dissipation effect. The cooling surface temperature was measured by applying a thermocouple to the upper surface (cooling surface) of the upper Peltier and attaching it with a 4 mm × 9 mm heat conductive tape from above.

  There were three environmental levels: 15.5 ° C./17% RH, 30 ° C./23% RH, and 30 ° C./79% RH (temperature and humidity measured with an Earthman ventilation temperature and humidity meter). In an environment of 15.5 ° C / 17% RH, consider immersing the heat sink in the air and in water. In an environment of 30 ° C / 23% RH / 30 ° C / 79% RH, consider immersing the heat sink in glycerin. did.

  Tables 2 to 5 show the results of measuring the cooling surface temperature and the amount of water generated in the above three environments when the voltage and energization time applied to the Peltier elements (three in series) are changed. In addition, the cooling surface of the area | regions other than the tape for thermocouple fixation was wiped off using the Kim wipes made from Crecia Co., Ltd., the amount of water generation was measured, and the average value of twice was calculated. However, frosting (freezing) occurred when the cooling surface temperature was 0 ° C. or lower, and therefore, the wiping was performed after waiting for several seconds until melting. It should be noted that the surface temperature becomes substantially constant after 40 to 60 seconds have elapsed from the start of energization, but the temperature may gradually increase due to a lack of heat dissipation capability. In this case, the average value from the time when the surface temperature became constant until the time when the energization was stopped was defined as the cooling surface temperature.

  From the above results, when using the first embodiment in various environments where the printer can be used, it is sufficient to attach 0.1 mg / cm or more of water per unit length in the lateral direction of the wiper blade 9. It has been found that an amount of water can be generated. Further, the surface temperature of the cooling surface only needs to be equal to or lower than the dew point temperature, but is preferably set to be 10 ° C. lower than the printer dew point temperature. By controlling in this way, it is possible to generate more water in a short time.

  Moreover, it may be desired to increase the amount of water. When the horizontal length of the wiper blade is increased because a plurality of ejection port arrays are provided for many colors of ink, when considering the efficiency of water transfer due to sliding contact with the cooling surface, or wiping This is a case corresponding to the usage pattern as in the second or third embodiment. In these cases as well, it is sufficient to design the Peltier element and the related structure based on the above examination results and to perform preferable control.

  From the above results, it can be considered that evaporation is less likely to occur due to the low initial temperature of the cooling surface. However, the cooling surface is bonded in an environment of air temperature 25 ° C., relative humidity 40% RH, and 30 ° C./79% RH. It was confirmed that more water could be secured by generating frost (freezing). That is, in the environment of an air temperature of 25 ° C. and a relative humidity of 40% RH, the amount of water generated is clearly greater in the latter when the voltage application time is the same when the surface temperature of the cooling surface is 0 ° C. and −15 ° C. In the former case, it is also possible to increase the amount of generated water by increasing the voltage application time. However, since a relatively large amount of water can be obtained in a short time and the degree of freedom in controlling the timing for operating the cooling unit can be expected, cooling to below the freezing point or freezing or condensation of condensed water can be expected. More preferably, frost is generated. Here, when cooling below freezing point, in the first embodiment, the energization to the cooling unit 8 is stopped at an appropriate timing before the sliding contact of the wiper blade 9 is started. What is necessary is just to produce a phase change in a certain water. Alternatively, the direction of the current supplied from the power supply unit 80 may be reversed to melt the ice generated on the cooling unit lower surface 12 and change the phase to water that is a liquid phase.

  FIGS. 13A to 13D are schematic side views for explaining a control mode at the time of wiping when the lower surface of the cooling unit is cooled below the freezing point to cause frost formation.

  The lower surface 12 of the cooling unit 8, which is a Peltier element, is controlled to, for example, −15 ° C. so that icing (15I) of condensed water occurs (or frost formation occurs) (FIG. 13A). Then, the cooling unit lower surface 12 is heated immediately before the wiper blade 9 moves, and the generated ice 15I is melted and changed into water 15W (FIG. 13B). Examples of the heating means include those by stopping energization and those in which the direction of the current is reversed so that the lower surface of the cooling unit becomes the heat radiating surface. In the former case, melting is performed by heat conduction from the cooling unit upper surface (heat radiating surface) 13, but a sufficient amount of heat may be transmitted thereto. In the latter case, the energization is stopped at the same time that the ice is melted to prevent the melted water from evaporating before transferring to the wiper blade 9. Next, as the wiper blade 9 moves, at least a part of the melted water is transferred to the wiper blade 9 (FIG. 13C). Thereby, wiping as described above can be performed. Further, when the wiper blade 9 passes through the cooling unit 8, the energization is started again, the cooling of the lower surface of the cooling unit is resumed, and a sufficient amount of frost can be formed for the next wiping operation (FIG. 13). (D)).

  In the present embodiment, since the water is frozen on the cooling surface, it is not necessary to have an absorber for holding water before the wiper blade 9 is in sliding contact. Further, as shown in the above examination result, since a large amount of water can be generated, the amount of water transferred to the wiper blade 9 is increased, and therefore the wiping property of the ink adhering to the ejection surface is further improved.

(Control system configuration)
A configuration of a control system and a control procedure that can be preferably applied in carrying out the present invention will be described. In the following, an example corresponding to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control system of the ink jet printer.
In the figure, reference numeral 1005 denotes a control unit. The control unit 1005 includes an MPU 1000 that controls each unit when a control procedure described later with reference to FIG. 15 is executed. A ROM 1001 stores a program corresponding to the control procedure, other fixed data, and the like, and is a table for determining the driving conditions of the cooling unit 8 according to the environment, particularly the temperature and humidity of the surrounding environment of the cooling unit 48. Store T data. The control unit 1005 includes a RAM 1002 used as a work area when executing a control procedure executed by the MPU 1000.

  An operation unit 1107 is connected to the control unit 1010, and the operation unit 1107 includes a switch that receives a user operation, a display unit for presenting information to the user, and the like. In addition, a host device 1200 such as a computer or a digital camera is connected to the control unit 1010. From the host device 1200, a recording information signal including a recording command signal (command) and recording data can be received. Further, status information on the recording device side can be sent to the host device 1200 as necessary.

  A printer unit 1023 is connected to the control unit 1005 via an interface unit 1003. The printer unit 1023 includes each part of the recording apparatus shown in FIGS. In the printer unit 1023, reference numeral 1025 denotes a head driver for driving the recording head 1. Reference numeral 1010 denotes a carriage motor serving as a driving source for movement (main scanning) of the carriage 100, and 1027 denotes a motor driver for driving the carriage motor. Reference numeral 1011 denotes a conveyance motor serving as a driving source for conveyance (sub-scanning) of the recording medium, and 1028 denotes a motor driver for driving the conveyance motor. A maintenance mechanism 1029 includes a cap 7, a cooling unit 8, a heat dissipation mechanism 14, and wiper blades 9 and 9 '. Reference numeral 1030 denotes a drive unit for driving each part of the maintenance mechanism 1029. Reference numeral 1032 denotes a temperature / humidity sensor, which detects the temperature and humidity of the environment, particularly the surrounding environment of the cooling unit 48.

  Note that FIG. 14 shows only main parts related to the processing of this embodiment described later. In practice, however, it is of course possible to include a sensor group such as a carriage home position sensor and a capping sensor which are used as a reference when controlling each part, and other necessary means.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a wiping process procedure applicable to the first embodiment. This procedure can be started at an appropriate timing. For example, it may be activated every predetermined time, or may be activated when the recording operation is continued for a predetermined time or longer, or when a predetermined amount of ink is ejected. Further, it may be performed in accordance with a user instruction, or may be performed accompanying suction recovery or preliminary discharge.

  When this procedure is started, first, the temperature and humidity of the environment are detected by the temperature / humidity sensor 1032 (step S1). Based on the temperature / humidity information, the table T provided in the ROM 1002 is referred to, and the driving conditions of the cooling unit 8 for obtaining the amount of water necessary for wiping under the temperature / humidity conditions in the shortest time, that is, to the Peltier element An applied voltage and a voltage application time are determined (step S3).

  Subsequently, the driving of the cooling unit 8 is started under the determined driving condition (step S5), and when the determined application time has elapsed (step S7), the driving of the cooling unit 8 is stopped. In addition, when frost forms on the surface of the cooling unit 8, after the driving of the cooling unit 8 is stopped, standby until the ice melts or driving for promoting melting can be performed.

  When the amount of moisture necessary for wiping is secured by the above processing, wiping is executed (step S9). In this wiping process, as described above, water is transferred to the wiper blade and cleaning is performed by wiping the discharge surface using the water.

  In this procedure, the driving condition of the cooling unit 8 is obtained by referring to the table, but may be obtained by calculation based on a predetermined calculation formula. In this procedure, after the wiping process is started, the driving condition is determined and the cooling unit 8 is driven based on the determination. However, it takes a relatively long time to obtain the amount of water necessary for wiping. In this case, another process can be executed using the interval. For example, when an event of a wiping process occurs in the middle of recording, the recording can be continued at least until a necessary amount of water is secured. If the recording operation is not in progress, suction recovery or preliminary ejection may be executed as necessary.

  Further, since the amount of ink mist adhering to the ejection surface correlates with the number of ejection operations, that is, the amount of recording data, it is also possible to predict the timing at which an event of wiping processing occurs. Therefore, it is possible to predict the timing based on data to be recorded, and to start driving the cooling unit a required time before the timing. According to this, the wiping operation can be executed immediately.

  Further, in order to enable the wiping operation to be executed immediately in this manner, the cooling unit 8 always has a necessary and sufficient amount of water (an amount that is preferable for wiping and does not cause dripping from the cooling unit). It is also possible to make it.

  For this purpose, the cooling unit can be energized at all times after the printer is turned on or a recording start signal is input, or pulse driving may be performed. Alternatively, on / off driving may be performed using a timer or the like. Further, feedback control is performed so that a necessary and sufficient amount of ink is secured so that the driving conditions (applied voltage and voltage applying time) are appropriately changed based on detection information of the temperature / humidity sensor 1032. May be.

(Other)
In the first embodiment, in order to perform wiping, water is appropriately generated and used directly. In the second embodiment, water is appropriately generated and used directly at the site of introduction of waste ink that occurs during preliminary discharge or suction recovery. In the third embodiment, it is assumed that water is appropriately generated and used directly at a portion that receives ink ejected from the recording medium with marginless recording. However, it is also possible to combine these embodiments as appropriate, and to generate water appropriately in other parts, for example, means for cleaning the wiper blade 9 (sponge, scraper, etc.) and use it directly. You can also Furthermore, when water is used in a plurality of parts, cooling units for generating water can be provided, respectively, or several cooling units can be used together and an appropriate water guide path can be added. You can also.

  In the above-described embodiments, the Peltier element is used as the cooling unit, but a heat pump or the like may be used. Although depending on the size of the printer determined according to the purpose, when the present invention is applied to a relatively large printer such as an industrial purpose, it may be possible to cool the air using a compressor, a refrigeration cycle, or the like.

  Further, heat generated while cooling (heat generation on the heat sink side in the first embodiment) is guided to, for example, a platen portion through a heat pipe or a member having good thermal conductivity to promote fixing and drying of the recorded matter. It is also possible to make effective use as a means.

  In addition, the amount of water obtained by driving the cooling unit, or the time required to obtain the required amount of water varies depending on the ambient conditions of the cooling unit, particularly relative humidity. That is, if the relative humidity is high, the necessary amount of water can be efficiently secured. Therefore, it is possible to positively increase the relative humidity around the cooling unit. This can be realized by adding an appropriate means to the apparatus, but it is preferable not to increase the number of components added and increase the size of the apparatus. For this purpose, for example, a part of the heat sink 14h of the heat radiating section 14 is extended to be led to the waste ink absorber, and the waste ink absorbed in the waste ink absorber is evaporated using the waste heat. It can be constituted as follows. Since the printer is usually covered with a housing, and therefore the inside thereof is close to a sealed environment, it is possible to increase the relative humidity by causing the water evaporation.

  In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the water generated by the cooling unit is directly supplied to the ink discharged from the recording head to perform a predetermined process. However, the water generated by the cooling unit is not supplied as it is, but may be supplied after being mixed with another liquid, for example.

  For example, there is a technique in which a head liquid for efficiently removing ink residue and the like attached to the ejection surface is separately prepared and applied when wiping the recording head. The head liquid used in wiping is stored in the printer body.

  As the head liquid, a non-volatile solvent such as polyethylene glycol or glycerin is preferably used. However, the non-volatile solvent contains a large amount of moisture due to moisture absorption in a high-humidity environment, while the composition changes due to environmental changes such as evaporation when it becomes a low-humidity environment. This change in the composition of the head liquid may cause a change in physical properties, which may make it impossible to sufficiently exhibit the head cleaning effect intended for the head liquid.

  Therefore, the present invention can be preferably applied to suppress the composition change of the head liquid.

  FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing an embodiment for that purpose. In the figure, reference numeral 2003 denotes a reservoir tank for storing a head liquid 2005 mainly composed of a non-volatile solvent, and 2006 denotes a communication port for communicating the inside of the tank with the atmosphere. Reference numeral 2004 denotes a sensor that detects the temperature and conductivity of the head liquid 2005. By knowing the temperature and the conductivity with the sensor 2004, the degree of moisture absorption and drying of the head liquid 2005 can be known. Reference numeral 2002 denotes a cooling unit using a Peltier element, and energization is controlled so that one surface (lower surface) faces the reservoir tank 2002, the other surface (upper surface) faces the atmosphere, one is a cooling surface, and the other is a heat dissipation surface. The Reference numeral 2007 denotes a stirring means for stirring the head liquid.

  In such a configuration, when the sensor 2004 detects that the head liquid 2005 has been dried from a state where the intended cleaning effect can be sufficiently exerted, energization is performed so that the lower surface of the cooling unit 2002 becomes the cooling surface. I do. As a result, water is generated in the same manner as described above, and the water is dropped into the head liquid 2005 and stirred by the stirring means 2007 to return the head liquid 2005 to a preferred composition. On the other hand, when the head liquid 2005 absorbs moisture from a state where the desired cleaning effect can be sufficiently exerted, energization is performed so that the lower surface of the cooling unit 2002 becomes the heat radiating surface. As a result, the relative humidity in the reservoir tank 2003 is lowered, and the water is evaporated from the head liquid 2005, thereby returning the head liquid 2005 to a preferred composition. Then, the wiping can be performed after the wiping member 9 is appropriately brought into contact and transferred using the head liquid maintained in such a preferable performance.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the water generated by the cooling unit is not supplied as it is to the ink discharged from the recording head, but is supplied indirectly after being mixed with other liquids. The present invention is also applicable when performing predetermined processing.

It is a typical perspective view of the principal part of the inkjet printer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram of a part of a recording head viewed from the ejection surface side in order to explain a wiping operation. It is a typical sectional side view of the cooling unit of 1st Embodiment and each part relevant to it, and is seen from the arrow direction of FIG. (A)-(c) is a typical side view for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of wiping of 1st Embodiment, and is seen from the arrow direction of FIG. (A)-(d) is a typical side view for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of wiping of 1st Embodiment, and is seen from the arrow direction of FIG. These are typical side views for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of wiping of 1st Embodiment, and are seen from the arrow direction of FIG. It is a typical perspective view of the principal part of the inkjet printer which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a typical side view of the principal part of 2nd Embodiment, and is seen from the arrow direction of FIG. (A)-(d) is an enlarged view of the waste ink introduction part vicinity of 2nd Embodiment, and has shown the time-dependent state change at the time of operating a cooling part. It is a typical perspective view of the principal part of the inkjet printer which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical sectional side view of the principal part of 3rd Embodiment, and is seen from the arrow direction of FIG. (A)-(f) is an enlarged view near the introduction part of the waste ink which arises with borderless recording, and shows the time-dependent state change at the time of operating the cooling part which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. . (A)-(d) is a typical side view for demonstrating the control aspect at the time of wiping in the case of cooling a cooling surface below freezing point and producing frost. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the control system of the inkjet printer applicable to 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the wiping process procedure applicable to 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating another embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording head 2 Ink tank 3 Guide shaft 4 Linear encoder 5 Belt 6 Recording medium 7 Cap 8, 20, 37, 2002 Cooling part 9, 9 'Wiper blade 10 Wiper holder 10' Wiper holder guide 11 Discharge surface 12, 24, 42 Cooling surface 13, 25, 43 Heat radiation surface 14, 26, 40 Heat radiation mechanism 15, 34, 49 Water (or ice)
17 Waste ink absorber 31 Thickened ink 35 Mixed ink 36 Platen 1005 Control unit 1023 Printer unit 1029 Maintenance mechanism 1032 Temperature / humidity sensor 2003 Reservoir tank 2004 Temperature / conductivity sensor 2005 Liquid for head

Claims (13)

In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that ejects ink,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a cooling unit capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere, and supplying the water to ink ejected from the recording head.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is included in a processing unit that makes the ink ejection performance of the recording head in a good state.   The ink ejected from the recording head is ink attached to an ejection surface provided with an ink ejection port of the recording head, and the processing means is a member that contacts the ejection surface and is generated by the cooling means. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the water is supplied. In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that ejects ink,
A cooling means capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere;
Processing means for supplying the water to the ink generated by causing the recording head to perform an ink ejection operation other than the recording operation or forcibly discharging the ink by applying a pressure to the recording head When,
With
The processing means has a cap for receiving the ink, an absorber for absorbing and holding the ink, and a path for transferring the ink from the cap toward the absorber,
The ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the cooling means is provided in an ink introduction portion of the absorber to which the path is connected and mixes the water with the transferred ink. In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that ejects ink,
A cooling means capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere;
Processing means for supplying the water to the ink ejected from the edge when performing recording without leaving a margin on the edge of the recording medium;
With
The processing means has an ink receiving portion for receiving the ejected ink, and an absorber for absorbing and holding the ink,
The inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the cooling unit mixes the water with the ink ejected at the ink receiving portion.   6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit includes a Peltier element.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the cooling unit is formed by melting the ice after the water is set to a freezing point temperature or lower.   2. The cooling means according to claim 1, wherein the water is produced by cooling the air to a dew point temperature of −10 ° C. or lower, or by increasing the temperature after the dew point temperature is −10 ° C. or lower. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5.   6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink contains a pigment component as a coloring material. A storage unit that stores the head liquid that can be supplied to the ejection surface; and a detection unit that detects a state of drying and moisture absorption of the stored head liquid.
The cooling unit has a Peltier element arranged so that one surface faces in the storage means,
According to the state of the liquid for the head, the detecting means drives the Peltier element so that the one surface becomes a cooling surface or a heat radiating surface, thereby supplying water to the head liquid or from the head liquid. 3. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein water is evaporated.   A step of generating ice by cooling the atmosphere below the freezing point temperature and melting the ice to generate water, and using the water to supply the water to the ink discharged from the ink jet recording head And an ink processing method for an ink jet recording apparatus.   The step of cooling the air to -10 ° C. or lower of the dew point temperature, or generating the water by raising the temperature after the temperature of the dew point temperature of −10 ° C. or lower, and using the water, exited the inkjet recording head An ink processing method for an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: supplying the water to the ink. In an ink recording apparatus that performs recording using water-based ink supplied from a recording head,
An ink recording apparatus comprising: a cooling unit capable of generating water by cooling the atmosphere, and supplying the water to water-based ink discharged from the recording head.

Images