JP2006297651A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet printer which can prevent idling of nozzles and ejection defects of ink by carrying out maintenance of nozzles and a nozzle face with the use of an ink absorber, and also by forming a proper meniscus. <P>SOLUTION: An ink wiping device 12 which carries out cleaning of the nozzles 8 and nozzle face 9 of a recording head 5 and formation of the proper meniscus is set at an outside end of a recording region which is a movable range of a carriage 4. A control part 32 drives a support driving mechanism 31 of the ink wiping device 12, thereby pressing a forcing member 23 from a rear face of the ink absorber 15 and pushing the ink absorber 15 against the nozzle face 9 of the recording head 5. The control part 32 makes the nozzle 8 in contact with the ink absorber 15 eject the ink by operating the recording head 5 when the ink absorber 15 is in contact with the nozzle face 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, and more particularly to maintenance of a recording head provided in the ink jet printer.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many image recording apparatuses using an ink jet method have been used as image recording means capable of recording an image simply and inexpensively. An image recording apparatus using an inkjet method (hereinafter referred to as an “inkjet printer”) uses, for example, a piezoelectric element such as a piezoelectric element, a heater, or the like to record paper or the like as fine droplets from a nozzle of a recording head. The ink is ejected toward the medium, and an image is recorded on the recording medium while ink is permeated or fixed on the recording medium.

  Furthermore, in recent years, a photocurable ink jet printer has been known as a means for forming an image even on a recording medium such as a resin film having poor ink absorbability (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This uses photocurable ink containing a photoinitiator having a predetermined sensitivity to light having a specific wavelength, such as ultraviolet rays, and irradiates light having a specific wavelength on the ink landed on the recording medium. By doing so, the ink is cured and fixed on the recording medium, and printing can be easily performed even on a transparent or opaque packaging material.

  However, when the recording operation is continuously performed in such an ink jet printer, the ink that is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head and becomes atomized may adhere to and accumulate near the nozzles, resulting in clogging. In particular, in a photocurable ink jet printer, the ink adhering to the vicinity of the nozzle may be cured by reflected light from an ultraviolet light source or the like. And when an image is recorded in such a state, even if the nozzle performs a discharging operation by the action of a piezo element or the like, a so-called nozzle lack in which ink droplets are not discharged, a so-called discharge curve in which ink droplets are not discharged in the correct direction, etc. There is a possibility that a discharge failure may occur and a defect may occur in image recording.

  In addition, in order to normally eject ink from the nozzle, it is necessary to form an appropriate meniscus at the tip portion in the nozzle. However, for example, when ink is deposited near the nozzles by performing a continuous recording operation and the adhered ink is cured by light irradiation, the shape of the meniscus may collapse and the ink may be ejected normally. It is not possible to perform high-definition image recording.

  For this reason, in order to perform normal image recording, it is necessary to appropriately perform a maintenance operation of the recording head. As a recording head maintenance operation, a technique is disclosed in which ink is ejected from a nozzle of a recording head to an ink absorber to eliminate clogging of the nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

In addition, as a maintenance device that performs a maintenance operation of the recording head, a maintenance device that wipes ink using a blade made of silicon rubber or the like is generally known. However, photocurable inks such as the ultraviolet curable ink described above are difficult to wipe off with a blade because of their high viscosity and high wettability. For this reason, as a maintenance device in an ink jet printer that uses photocurable ink, a sheet-like ink absorber such as paper that absorbs ink is brought into contact with the recording head to absorb ink adhering to the vicinity of the nozzle of the recording head. A technique for removal is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 3).
JP 2001-310454 A JP 2004-345174 A Japanese Patent No. 2705756

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that an appropriate meniscus cannot be formed at the tip of the nozzle because the nozzle of the recording head and the ink absorber are not in contact with each other. Yes.

  Moreover, the technique described in Patent Document 3 has a problem that ink cannot be sufficiently wiped off due to the unevenness of the nozzles and nozzle surfaces, and the ink attached to the nozzles and nozzle surfaces cannot be completely removed. Yes.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and by performing maintenance of the nozzle and the nozzle surface using an ink absorber and forming an appropriate meniscus, An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer that can prevent ink ejection failure.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1
In an inkjet printer comprising a recording head having a nozzle surface provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink,
An ink absorber that is provided in contact with the nozzle surface and absorbs at least the ink;
And a control unit that controls to eject the ink from the nozzle when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, in the ink jet printer according to the first aspect of the invention, an ink absorber contact device provided with a pressing member that presses the ink absorber against the nozzle surface is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer according to the first or second aspect, the control unit drives and controls the recording head to discharge the ink.

The invention according to claim 4 is the inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A liquid feed pump for feeding the ink to the recording head;
The control unit drives and controls the liquid feeding pump to discharge the ink from the recording head when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ink absorber is a high-density fiber woven with a fineness of 0.5 denier or less. In addition, the high-density fiber is characterized in that it is formed of a material of any one of polyester, acron, nylon, or a combination thereof.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the ink is an ultraviolet curable ink.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to form an appropriate meniscus on the nozzle surface while removing ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface. In addition, since the ink absorber causes ink to be ejected from the nozzle by a capillary phenomenon, the amount of ink ejected from the nozzle can be reduced. Furthermore, since the amount of ink discharged from the nozzles is reduced, there is no need to wipe the nozzle surface a plurality of times, and the maintenance time can be shortened.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the ink absorber can be brought into close contact with the nozzle surface, and the effect of cleaning the nozzle and the nozzle surface and forming an appropriate meniscus can be enhanced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet printer that ejects ink by controlling the nozzles, an effect of removing an ink adhering to the nozzles and the nozzle surface and simultaneously forming an appropriate meniscus on the nozzle surface. Play. In addition, the ink adhering to each nozzle can be removed and an appropriate meniscus can be formed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet printer having an ink tank, the liquid feed pump is driven to eject ink from the nozzles, thereby removing ink adhering to the nozzles and nozzle surfaces and at the same time suitable for the nozzle surfaces. An effect that can form a simple meniscus is produced.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in the ink jet printer using the ink having high viscosity and high wettability, it is possible to remove the ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface and simultaneously form an appropriate meniscus on the nozzle surface. There is an effect.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in the ink jet printer using the ultraviolet curable ink, there is an effect that an appropriate meniscus can be formed on the nozzle surface at the same time that the ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface is removed.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an ink jet printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the ink jet printer is a serial head type ink jet printer, and includes a printer main body 1 and a support base 2 that supports the printer main body 1 from below. A platen 11 that supports the recording medium P from the non-recording surface is disposed in the printer main body 1 so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the printer main body 1. The area where the platen 11 is provided is a recording area where image recording is performed, and the recording medium P is moved over the platen 11 in the sub-scanning direction B which is a predetermined conveying direction by the recording medium conveying mechanism 28 (see FIG. 4). It is designed to be transported.

  A bar-shaped guide rail 3 extending in the longitudinal direction of the printer main body 1 is provided above the platen 11 and upstream of the recording medium P in the sub-scanning direction B. A carriage 4 is supported on the guide rail 3, and the carriage 4 reciprocates along the guide rail 3 in the main scanning direction A perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction B by a carriage driving mechanism 29 (see FIG. 4). It has become.

  On the carriage 4, ink of each color (for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K)) used in the ink jet printer according to this embodiment is ejected to the recording medium P. A recording head 5 is mounted. Head units 6 and 7 are composed of four recording heads 5 of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and in this embodiment, two head units 6 are used. , 7 are arranged with their positions shifted in the sub-scanning direction B. The ink used in the ink jet printer is not limited to those illustrated, and for example, light yellow (LY), light magenta (LM), light cyan (LC), and other colors such as white ink and transparent ink are used. You can also In this case, a recording head corresponding to each color is mounted on the carriage. The number of recording heads 5 and the number of head units are not limited to those exemplified here, and a larger number of recording heads and head units may be mounted on the carriage.

  In the recording head 5, a plurality of nozzles 8 (see FIG. 3) that eject ink are arranged along the sub-scanning direction B, and the surface of the recording head 5 that faces the recording medium P on which the nozzles 8 are formed is It is set as the nozzle surface 9 (refer FIG. 3). The nozzle surface 9 is preferably subjected to an ink repellent treatment such as a fluorine processing treatment using FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene resin) or the like so that the ink does not easily adhere.

  Inside each recording head 5, for example, a piezoelectric element (not shown) as a piezoelectric element that is deformed by applying a voltage as an actuator is disposed. By applying a driving voltage to the piezo element, the piezo element is deformed, and ink is ejected from the nozzle 8.

  Ink is drawn into the inside of the nozzle 8 at the tip of the nozzle 8 to form a curved surface shape (hereinafter referred to as a meniscus). When this proper meniscus is formed, normal ink discharge Can be done.

  Here, the ink used in this embodiment will be described. When the ink is cured, the polymerizable compound contained in the ink is subjected to a polymerization reaction. In the present embodiment, the ink used for image recording contains an activated energy ray-curable compound as the polymerizable compound, and the polymerization reaction is performed. It is an ultraviolet curable ink using ultraviolet rays as an activation energy for starting the ink.

  The ultraviolet curable ink is roughly classified into a radical curable ink containing a radical polymerizable compound and a cation curable ink containing a cationic polymerizable compound as a polymerizable compound. It can be applied as the ink used. Further, a hybrid ink in which a radical curable ink and a cationic curable ink are combined may be applied as the ink used in this embodiment.

  However, since a cationic curable ink that has little or no inhibition of polymerization reaction by oxygen is superior in functionality and versatility, in this embodiment, a cationic curable ink is used in particular. The cation curable ink used in the present embodiment is specifically a mixture containing at least a cation polymerizable compound such as an oxetane compound, an epoxy compound, and a vinyl ether compound, a photo cation initiator, and a coloring material. It has the property of being cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays.

  On both sides of the recording head 5 of the carriage 4 in the main scanning direction A, there are provided ultraviolet irradiation devices 10 for irradiating the ink discharged from the nozzles 8 to the recording medium P and curing the ink.

  An ink wiping device 12 that cleans the nozzle 8 and the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 and forms an appropriate meniscus (hereinafter referred to as a maintenance operation) is located at the outer end of the recording area, which is a movable range of the carriage 4. Is provided. Here, in the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment, when a predetermined number of image recordings are performed, the carriage 4 is moved to a predetermined position of the ink wiping device 12 to perform a maintenance operation. The timing for shifting to the maintenance operation is not limited to the predetermined number of image recordings. For example, the maintenance operation is performed when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of image recording or every time a predetermined number of image recordings are performed. May be. Further, the timing at which the user performs the maintenance operation of the recording head 5 may be arbitrarily set.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ink wiping device 12 has a polygonal box-shaped member 13, and an opening 14 is formed at the center of the upper surface of the box-shaped member 13. An ink absorber 15 that absorbs ink is exposed from the opening 14.

  Inside the box-shaped member 13 and at both ends in the sub-scanning direction B, the ink absorber 15 is wound up by being rotationally driven by a feed shaft 16 that feeds the ink absorber 15 and a roll shaft drive mechanism 30 (see FIG. 4). Winding shafts 17 are arranged so as to extend in the main scanning direction A, respectively. A long sheet-like ink absorber 15 is wound around the feed shaft 16 in a roll shape. The ink absorber 15 is guided by a plurality of guide rollers 18 and exposed from the opening 14, and is further guided by the plurality of guide rollers 18 to be wound around the winding shaft 17. The ink absorber 15 exposed from the opening 14 faces the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 during the maintenance operation. The ink absorber 15, the feed shaft 16, the take-up shaft 17, the guide roller 18, and the roll shaft driving mechanism 30 constitute an ink absorber moving device 19.

  In addition, the ink absorber 15 is large enough to cover at least the entire nozzle surfaces 9 of the plurality of recording heads 5 constituting each head unit 6, 7, that is, in the present embodiment, each head unit 6, 6. 7, the width dimension is larger than the width dimension of the nozzle surface 9 in the main scanning direction A.

  The ink absorber 15 is formed of high-density fibers that are ultrafine fibers having a fineness of 0.5 denier or less, and the high-density fibers are any one of polyester, acrylic, nylon, or the like. It is comprised with the material which combined. As described above, since the ink absorber 15 is formed of high-density fibers, the ink absorber 15 easily adsorbs the material that contacts the surface, and the ink from the tip of the nozzle 8 of the recording head 5 regardless of the viscosity or wettability of the ink. Can be absorbed quickly. That is, the ink absorber 15 in the present embodiment is, for example, an ultraviolet curable ink, or other inks having higher viscosity and higher wettability than commonly used inks such as oil-based and solvent-based inks. The ink ejected from the tip of the ink can be reliably absorbed.

  A support table 20 is provided between the feed shaft 16 and the take-up shaft 17 and below the ink absorber 15, and extends in the main scanning direction A at the lower end of the support table 20. The supporting shaft 21 is attached so that the supporting base 20 is rotatable in the scanning direction B. Above both side surfaces of the box-shaped member 13 parallel to the sub-scanning direction B, as shown in FIG. 2, the side surfaces of the box-shaped member 13 parallel to the sub-scanning direction B are centered corresponding to the recording head 5. A guide hole 22 is formed which extends in the horizontal direction so that the portion is substantially parallel to the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 and has a shape in which both ends are bent downward. As shown in FIG. 3, both end portions of the guide hole 22 are set as a retreat area C, and the carriage 4 is moved when the ink wiping device 12 is not operated or when the ink wiping device is operated. When the carriage 4 is moved, the tip of the recording head 5 does not directly contact the pressing member 23 when the carriage 4 is moved.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a pressing member 23 that presses the ink absorber 15 against the nozzle surface 9 is attached to the upper end portion of the support base 20 so as to be movable up and down. A guide shaft 24 is engaged with and attached to the guide hole 22. When the support table 20 is swung by the support table driving mechanism 31 (see FIG. 4), the pressing member 23 is swung in accordance with the swing operation of the support table 20. As a result, the guide shaft 24 of the pressing member 23 is guided to the guide hole 22, and the back surface of the ink absorber 15 moves along the sub-scanning direction B while the pressing member 23 moves up and down with respect to the support base 20. It is supposed to be. In the present embodiment, the support base moving contact device 25 includes the support base 20, the support shaft 21, the guide hole 22, the guide shaft 24, and the support base drive mechanism 31.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pressing member 23 is formed in a cross-sectional arc shape by curving a thin plate-like member, and the pressing member 23 has a plurality of slits 26 having a width. It is formed with a predetermined interval in the direction. Further, the width dimension of the pressing member 23 is at least equal to or larger than the width dimension of the ink absorber 15, and the ink absorber 15 is pressed against the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 with an appropriate pressure. And the support 20 is swung and the pressing member 23 is reciprocated once in the sub-scanning direction B, whereby the pressing member 23 causes the ink absorber 15 to move to the nozzle surface. 9 can be contacted over the entire area. Here, since the ink wiping device 12 includes the pressing member 23 that presses the ink absorber 15 against the nozzle surface 9, it is also referred to as an ink absorber contact device. The pressing member 23 only needs to be able to uniformly press the ink absorber 15 against the nozzle surface 9, and the shape and the like are not limited to those exemplified here.

  The pressing member 23 is made of any one material selected from polypropylene, polyethylene, 4-fluorinated ethylene, and 4,6-fluorinated propylene. When the pressing member 23 using such a material is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 9, the pressing member 23 may swell even if ink containing an organic solvent such as a cationic ultraviolet curable ink adheres thereto. It can be used for many years without dissolving.

  In addition, an ink tank 27 that supplies ink of each color to the recording head 5 via an ink supply path (not shown) is provided at the other outer end of the recording area, which is a movable range of the carriage 4. A liquid feed pump 34 (not shown) for feeding ink from the ink tank 27 to the recording head 5 is provided in the middle of the ink supply path. As a result, even a highly viscous ink having high wettability as used in this embodiment can be reliably fed from the ink tank 27 to the recording head 5.

As the recording medium P used in the present embodiment, various papers such as plain paper, recycled paper and glossy paper, various fabrics, various non-woven fabrics, resin, metal, glass, etc., which are applied to ordinary inkjet printers. Can be applied. Moreover, as a form of the recording medium P, a roll shape, a cut sheet shape, a plate shape, or the like is applicable.
Furthermore, as the recording medium P used in the present embodiment, known recording media such as various papers whose surfaces are coated with a resin, a film containing a pigment, and a foam film can be applied.

  Next, the control configuration of the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The ink jet printer includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various processing programs, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores various data (none of which are shown). And a control unit 32 for controlling each part of the ink jet printer. The control unit 32 develops the processing program recorded in the ROM in the work area of the RAM and executes the processing program by the CPU. In the present embodiment, the control unit 32 also serves as a maintenance control unit that controls the ink wiping device 12, as will be described later.

  A power supply (not shown) that supplies power to the inkjet printer is connected to the control unit 32.

  Further, the ink jet printer has an input unit 33 as setting means for setting and inputting a timing for performing a maintenance operation of the recording head 5, image recording conditions, and the like, and information input from the input unit 33 is stored in the control unit. 32. The input unit 33 is a keyboard or an operation panel, for example, and the user can perform various settings by operating the input unit 33.

  Further, the control unit 32 controls the carriage drive mechanism 29 to reciprocate the carriage 4 in the main scanning direction A, and repeats conveyance and stop of the recording medium P in accordance with the operation of the carriage 4, so that the recording medium P is moved. The recording medium conveyance mechanism 28 is controlled so as to be intermittently conveyed in the sub-scanning direction B.

  Further, the control unit 32 operates the recording head 5 to discharge a predetermined amount of ink from the recording head 5 onto the recording medium P, and controls the ultraviolet irradiation device 8 to apply the ink landed on the recording medium P. A predetermined image is formed by irradiating ultraviolet rays from an ultraviolet light source to cure and fix the ink.

  Specifically, the control unit 32 outputs a drive waveform based on image information input from an external device (not shown), the input unit 33, or the like to the recording head 5. The control unit 32 applies drive voltage to the recording head 5 based on this drive waveform to control drive. Here, the drive waveform is a waveform in which a voltage is applied to the piezo element and ink is ejected from the nozzle 8, an on waveform in which the inside of the nozzle 8 is in a negative pressure state and a meniscus is formed at the tip of the nozzle 8; It has an off waveform in which the ink inside is pressed and ink is ejected from the tip of the nozzle 8. FIG. 5A shows an example of drive waveforms.

  Further, the control unit 32 controls the carriage driving mechanism 29 to move the carriage 4 to the ink wiping device 12 and perform the maintenance operation of the recording head 5. The maintenance operation in this embodiment will be described below.

  The control unit 32 drives the support base drive mechanism 31 of the ink wiping device 12 to press the pressing member 23 from the back surface of the ink absorber 15 and press the ink absorber 15 against the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5. Then, when the ink absorber 15 is in contact with the nozzle surface 9, the control unit 32 operates the recording head 5 to eject ink from the nozzle 8 that is in contact with the ink absorber 15. The ink ejected from the tip of the nozzle 8 is reliably absorbed by the ink absorber 15 together with the ink adhering to the nozzle surface 9 due to the capillary action of the ink absorber 15. Thus, cleaning for removing ink adhering to the nozzle 8 and the nozzle surface 9 is performed, and an appropriate meniscus can be formed at the tip of the nozzle 8.

  Further, the control unit 32 moves the pressing member 23 in the sub-scanning direction B while pressing the pressing member 23 against the nozzle surface 9 from the back surface of the ink absorber 15, repeats the maintenance operation, cleans the nozzle surface 9 and the nozzle 8, and performs an appropriate meniscus. The formation of.

  In addition, the control unit 32 drives the roll shaft driving mechanism 30 so that the ink absorber 15 is appropriately wound around the winding shaft 17. In the present embodiment, when the pressing member 23 moves from the back surface of the ink absorber 15 exposed from the opening 14 while pressing once, the ink unabsorbed portion of the ink absorber 15 is exposed from the opening 14. Yes.

  Next, the operation in this embodiment will be described.

  When the power of the ink jet printer is turned on, power is supplied from the power source to each part of the ink jet printer. When predetermined image information is sent to the ink jet printer and the recording medium P is conveyed to a predetermined position in the recording area, the carriage 4 reciprocates along the guide rail 3 directly above the recording medium P.

  During the movement of the carriage 4, the control unit 32 outputs a drive waveform based on image information input from an external device (not shown), the input unit 33, and the like to the recording head 5 to drive and control the recording head 5. Ink is ejected from each nozzle 8 toward the recording medium P.

  Further, the control unit 32 controls the ultraviolet irradiation device 10 to irradiate the ink landed on the recording medium P from the ultraviolet irradiation device 10 with ultraviolet rays. At this time, each head unit 6, 7 is configured by ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet irradiation device 10 on the downstream side of the recording head 5 constituting each head unit 6, 7 in the moving direction of the carriage 4. The ink ejected from the recording head 5 is quickly cured and fixed on the recording medium P.

  Thereafter, the image is recorded on the recording medium P by the ink jet printer repeating the above operations.

  When the image recording is performed a predetermined number of times, the control unit 32 moves the carriage 4 to a predetermined position of the ink wiping device 12. Then, the control unit 32 performs maintenance operations on the nozzles 8 and the nozzle surfaces 9 of the recording head 5 by operating the respective units of the ink wiping device 12.

  Specifically, the control unit 32 moves the carriage 4 above the ink wiping device 12 so that the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 constituting the head unit 6 is positioned at a position facing the ink absorber 15. Control. And the control part 32 operates the support stand drive mechanism 31, and moves the pressing member 23 along the guide hole 22 from a retracted position, as shown in FIG. At a position where the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 and the pressing member 23 face each other, the pressing member 23 comes into contact with the ink absorber 15 from the back surface, so that the ink absorber 15 is in close contact with one end portion of the nozzle surface 9. . At this time, the control unit 32 ejects ink from the nozzle 8 that is in contact with the ink absorber 15, causes the ink absorber 15 to absorb the ink adhering to the nozzle 8 and the nozzle surface 9, and the tip of the nozzle 8. A proper meniscus is formed.

  The control unit 32 controls to eject ink from the nozzle 8 when the ink absorber 15 is in contact with the nozzle surface 9. However, the control unit 32 is not limited to this, and the control unit 32 controls the recording head. Alternatively, a preliminary drive waveform may be input to 5 to oscillate the ink at the tip of the nozzle. Here, the preliminary drive waveform refers to an on waveform and an off waveform that oscillate the ink at the tip of the nozzle but do not lead to ejection. When a preliminary drive waveform is input to the recording head 5, the ink at the tip of the nozzle swings and comes into contact with the ink absorber, and the ink that has come into contact by capillary action is absorbed by the ink absorber.

  FIG. 5B shows an example of the preliminary drive waveform. Similar to the drive waveform, the preliminary drive waveform is an ON waveform in which the inside of the nozzle 8 is in a negative pressure state to form a meniscus at the tip of the nozzle 8, and the ink in the nozzle 8 is pressed to eject ink from the tip of the nozzle 8. It consists of an off waveform. The pre-drive ON waveform is the same as the drive waveform ON waveform, and a meniscus is formed at the tip of the nozzle 8 in the same manner as when ink is ejected. On the other hand, the off waveform of the preliminary drive is set to be longer than the time when ink is ejected after the meniscus is formed at the tip of the nozzle 8 because the rise timing is later than the off waveform of the drive waveform. In addition, since the time for applying the voltage is short, the time for pressing the ink in the nozzle 8 is set to be shorter than the time for discharging the ink.

  The control unit 32 moves the portion where the ink absorber 15 and the nozzle surface 9 are in close contact with each other by moving the pressing member 23 back and forth along the guide hole 22, and the nozzle 8 in contact with the ink absorber 15. Ink is ejected from the ink. The control unit 32 repeats the above maintenance operation to perform maintenance of the entire nozzle surface 9 and nozzle 8.

  Thereafter, the control unit 32 separates the ink absorber 15 and the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 with the pressing member 23 positioned at the retracted position C. Further, when the control unit 32 operates the roll shaft driving mechanism 30, the ink absorber 15 is wound around the winding shaft 17. As a result, the unabsorbed portion of the ink absorber 15 is exposed from the opening 14.

  Subsequently, the control unit 32 moves the carriage 4 by the width of the head unit 6 in accordance with the position of the ink absorber 15, and similarly performs a maintenance operation by the ink wiping device 12 on the head unit 7. In this way, the maintenance operation by the ink wiping device 12 is completed by repeating the operation of sequentially moving the pressing member 23, the ink absorber 15 and the carriage 4 for each of the head units 6 and 7.

  Then, with the pressing member 23 positioned at the retreat position C, the ink absorber 15 and the nozzle surface 9 of the recording head 5 are separated from each other. In this state, the roll shaft driving mechanism 30 is operated, and the ink absorber 15 Is taken up by the take-up shaft 17 and the unabsorbed portion of the ink absorber 15 is exposed from the opening 14.

  Thus, when a series of maintenance in the ink wiping device 12 is completed, the carriage 4 returns to the recording area again, and image recording is resumed.

  As described above, in the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment, ink is ejected in a state where the ink absorber 15 is in close contact with the nozzle 8 by the pressing member. As a result, even when the ink has high viscosity and high wettability, the ink adhering to the nozzle 8 and the nozzle surface 9 is absorbed by the ink absorber 15 and removed, and an appropriate meniscus is formed at the tip of the nozzle 8. Can do. As a result, ink can be normally ejected from each nozzle 8 of the recording head 5, and high-definition image recording can be performed.

  In addition, since an appropriate meniscus can be formed in the nozzle 8 by causing the ink absorber 15 of the ink wiping device 12 to absorb the ink at the tip of the nozzle 8, it is not necessary to eject the ink in an idle manner and the ink consumption amount Can be suppressed. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a tray for empty ejection of ink, the number of members can be reduced, and the ink jet printer can be reduced in size and cost.

  In the present embodiment, the support drive mechanism 31 is provided and the pressing member 23 is used to eject ink from the nozzles and absorb it by the ink absorber 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pressing member Instead of using the nozzle 23, ink may be ejected from the nozzle and absorbed by the ink absorber. Even if ink is ejected from the nozzle when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface, the ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface is absorbed by the ink absorber, and an appropriate meniscus is formed at the tip of the nozzle. Is done.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the support base driving mechanism 31 is provided, and the ink is ejected from the nozzles and absorbed by the ink absorber 15 using the pressing member 23. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pressing member Instead of using the nozzle 23, ink may be ejected from the nozzle and absorbed by the ink absorber. Even if ink is ejected from the nozzle when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface, the ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface is absorbed by the ink absorber, and an appropriate meniscus is formed at the tip of the nozzle. Is done.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which ink is ejected from the nozzle 8 to the ink absorber 15 is shown only once, but the present invention is not limited to this number. For example, the nozzle missing state may be detected in advance by a nozzle missing sensor, and ink may be ejected from the nozzles a plurality of times according to the nozzle state. When ink is ejected from the nozzles to the ink absorber 15 a plurality of times, the ink absorber 15 may not be taken up during that time. In the second and subsequent ink discharges, only a small amount of ink adheres to the ink absorber 15, so that the ink reattaches to the nozzles 8 and the like without having to take up each time the ink is discharged. It does not occur. And the consumption of the ink absorber 15 can be suppressed by reducing the number of windings in this way.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, once the maintenance operation is performed, the ink absorber 15 is wound around the winding shaft 17. However, the timing at which the ink absorber 15 is wound is not limited to the example illustrated here. The ink absorber 15 may be wound up after several maintenance operations. Thus, the consumption of the ink absorber 15 can be suppressed by reducing the number of windings of the ink absorber 15.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 32 that controls each unit of the inkjet printer also serves as a maintenance control unit that controls the maintenance operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, only the maintenance operation is separately controlled. It is good also as a structure which provides a maintenance control part.

  In this embodiment, the serial type recording head 5 is used, but the present invention can also be applied to a line type recording head 5. In that case, the arrangement direction when the ink wiping device 12 is arranged in the printer main body 1 may be changed, and if the direction in which the nozzle rows are formed is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the ink absorber 15. Good.

In this embodiment, image recording is performed using ink that is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays. However, the ink is not necessarily limited to this, and for example, ultraviolet rays, electron beams, X-rays, and visible rays. The ink may be cured by irradiating light other than ultraviolet rays such as electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays. In this case, a polymerizable compound that is polymerized and cured with light other than ultraviolet light and a photoinitiator that initiates a polymerization reaction between the polymerizable compounds with light other than ultraviolet light are applied to the ink. In the case of using a photocurable ink that is cured by light other than ultraviolet light, a light source that emits the light is applied instead of the ultraviolet light source.
Further, image recording may be performed using ink that is cured without being irradiated with light. In this case, it is not necessary to provide an apparatus for irradiating light, and the apparatus configuration can be simplified.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the ink jet printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In the following, differences from the first embodiment will be particularly described.

  In the present embodiment, the ink jet printer includes a recording head 5 in which a piezo element (not shown) that deforms when a voltage is applied is provided as an actuator, as in the first embodiment. The recording head 5 is provided with a nozzle surface on which nozzles for ejecting ink are formed. The ink jet printer includes an ink wiping device 12 that performs a maintenance operation on the nozzles and nozzle surfaces of the recording head 5.

  The ink wiping device 12 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and includes an ink absorber that absorbs ink and a pressing member that presses the ink absorber from the back surface. Further, the ink wiping device 12 includes a support base drive mechanism 31, and the support base drive mechanism 31 presses the pressing member against the nozzle surface of the recording head 5, so that the ink absorber and the nozzle surface are in contact with each other from the nozzle. By discharging the ink, the ink adsorbed on the nozzle and the nozzle surface is absorbed by the ink absorber, and an appropriate meniscus is formed at the tip of the nozzle. The ink wiping device 12 includes a roll shaft driving mechanism 30 that winds up the ink absorber, and appropriately winds up the ink absorber that has absorbed the ink.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the ink jet printer is provided with an ink tank 27 that supplies ink of each color to the recording head 5 via an ink supply path 35. A liquid feed pump 34 that feeds ink from the ink tank 27 to the recording head 5 by being driven is provided in the middle of the ink supply path 35. As a result, even high viscosity and high wettability ink as used in this embodiment can be reliably fed from the ink tank 27 to the recording head 5.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the ink jet printer includes a control unit 32 similar to that of the first embodiment. Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the control unit 32 also serves as a maintenance control unit that controls the maintenance operation. Various information input from the input unit 33 is sent to the control unit 32.

  The control unit 32 controls the recording head 5 to apply a driving voltage to the piezo element, thereby deforming the piezo element and ejecting ink from the nozzle. An image is formed on the recording medium P by the discharge of the ink.

  In this embodiment, the control unit 32 performs a pressurizing operation for driving the liquid feed pump 34 to forcibly send ink to the recording head 5 when performing a maintenance operation by the ink wiping device 12. . When the liquid feed pump 34 is driven, the nozzles of the recording head 5 are filled with ink, and when the liquid feed pump 34 is further driven, ink is ejected from the nozzles.

  Specifically, the control unit 32 drives the support base drive mechanism 31 of the ink wiping device 12 to press the pressing member from the back surface of the ink absorber and press the ink absorber against the nozzle surface of the recording head 5. Then, when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface, the control unit 32 drives the liquid feed pump 34 to eject ink from the nozzle. The ink ejected from the tip of the nozzle is reliably absorbed by the ink absorber together with the ink adhering to the nozzle surface due to the capillary phenomenon of the ink absorber. Thus, cleaning for removing ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface can be performed, and an appropriate meniscus can be formed at the tip of the nozzle.

  Further, the controller 32 moves the pressing member in the sub-scanning direction B while pressing the pressing member against the nozzle surface from the back surface of the ink absorber, repeats the maintenance operation, and performs cleaning of the nozzle surface and nozzles and formation of an appropriate meniscus. It has become.

  Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the operation in this embodiment will be described.

  When the image recording is performed a predetermined number of times, the control unit 32 moves the carriage to a predetermined position of the ink wiping device 12. The control unit 32 performs a pressurizing operation for driving the liquid feeding pump 34 to apply pressure to the recording head 5. As a result, all nozzles are filled with ink.

  Further, the control unit 32 performs a maintenance operation by moving the carriage above the ink wiping device 12 and operating the ink wiping device 12.

  Specifically, the control unit 32 moves the carriage above the ink wiping device 12 and performs control so that the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 constituting the head unit is positioned at a position facing the ink absorber. And the control part 32 operates the support stand drive mechanism 31, and moves a pressing member from a retracted position along a guide hole. At a position where the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 and the pressing member face each other, the pressing member comes into contact with the ink absorber from the back surface so that the ink absorber is in close contact with one end portion of the nozzle surface. At this time, the control unit 32 drives the liquid feed pump 34 to eject ink from the nozzles that are in contact with the ink absorber, and causes the ink absorber to absorb the ink adhering to the nozzles and the nozzle surface. An appropriate meniscus is formed at the tip.

  When a series of maintenance operations for operating the ink wiping device 12 is completed, the carriage returns to the recording area again and image recording is resumed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the maintenance operation is performed, the liquid feeding pump 34 is driven to pressurize the recording head 5, so that ink is discharged from all the nozzles to wipe off the ink. Maintenance operation by the device 12 can be performed. For this reason, the ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface can be absorbed, and an appropriate meniscus can be easily formed at the tip of the nozzle.

  In addition, it is the same as that of 1st embodiment that this invention is not limited to this Embodiment.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the ink jet printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following, differences from the second embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the ink jet printer is provided with an ink tank 27 that supplies ink of each color to the recording head 5 via an ink supply path 35. In the middle of the ink supply path 35, a sub ink tank 36 for temporarily storing ink from the ink tank 27 is provided. When the ben 37 provided closer to the ink tank than the sub ink tank 36 is open, the ink is supplied. Ink is fed from the tank 27 to the recording head 5 through the sub ink tank 36. Further, the sub ink tank 36 is provided with a liquid feed pump 34. When the ben 37 is closed and the sub ink tank 36 to the recording head 5 are in a closed system, the liquid feed pump 34 is driven to drive the sub ink tank 36. Ink can be fed from the ink tank 36 to the recording head 5.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the ink jet printer includes a control unit 32 similar to that of the second embodiment. Also in the present embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the control unit 32 also serves as a maintenance control unit that controls the maintenance operation. Various information input from the input unit 33 is sent to the control unit 32.

  The control unit 32 opens the vent 37 and controls the recording head 5 to apply a driving voltage to the piezo element when ink is being fed from the ink tank 27 to the recording head 5 via the sub ink tank 36. Thus, the piezo element is deformed, and ink is ejected from the nozzle. An image is formed on the recording medium P by the discharge of the ink.

  When the maintenance operation by the ink wiping device 12 is performed in the present embodiment, the control unit 32 closes the ben 37 and sets the sub ink tank 36 to the recording head 5 as a closed system, and drives the liquid feed pump 34 to drive the recording head. The pressurizing operation for forcibly sending the ink to 5 is performed. When the liquid feed pump 34 is driven, the nozzles of the recording head 5 are filled with ink, and when the liquid feed pump 34 is further driven, ink is ejected from the nozzles.

  Specifically, the control unit 32 drives the support base drive mechanism 31 of the ink wiping device 12 to press the pressing member from the back surface of the ink absorber, thereby pressing the ink absorber against the nozzle surface of the recording head 5. Then, when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface, the control unit 32 drives the liquid feed pump 34 to eject ink from the nozzle. The ink ejected from the tip of the nozzle is reliably absorbed by the ink absorber together with the ink adhering to the nozzle surface due to the capillary phenomenon of the ink absorber. Thus, cleaning for removing ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface can be performed, and an appropriate meniscus can be formed at the tip of the nozzle.

  Further, the control unit 32 moves the pressing member in the sub-scanning direction B while pressing the pressing member against the nozzle surface from the back surface of the ink absorber, repeats the maintenance operation, and cleans the nozzle surface and nozzles and forms an appropriate meniscus. It has become.

  Since other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the operation in this embodiment will be described.

  When the predetermined number of times of image recording has been performed, the control unit 32 closes the ben 37 to make the sub-ink tank 36 to the recording head 5 a closed system, and moves the carriage to a predetermined position of the ink wiping device 12. Perform maintenance operations.

  Specifically, the control unit 32 moves the carriage above the ink wiping device 12 and performs control so that the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 constituting the head unit is positioned at a position facing the ink absorber. And the control part 32 operates the support stand drive mechanism 31, and moves a pressing member from a retracted position along a guide hole. At the position where the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 and the pressing member face each other, the pressing member comes into contact with the ink absorber from the back surface so that the ink absorber is in close contact with one end portion of the nozzle surface. At this time, the control unit 32 drives the liquid feeding pump 34 to eject ink from the nozzles that are in contact with the ink absorber, cause the ink absorber to absorb the ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface, An appropriate meniscus is formed at the tip.

  When a series of maintenance operations for operating the ink wiping device 12 is completed, the carriage returns to the recording area again and image recording is resumed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the maintenance operation is performed, the ben 37 is closed and the sub ink tank 36 to the recording head 5 are closed, and the liquid feed pump 34 is driven to connect the recording head 5 to the recording head 5. On the other hand, by pressurizing, the ink can be discharged from the nozzle and the maintenance operation by the ink wiping device 12 can be performed. For this reason, the ink adhering to the nozzle and the nozzle surface can be absorbed, and an appropriate meniscus can be easily formed at the tip of the nozzle.

  In addition, it is the same as that of 2nd Embodiment that this invention is not limited to this Embodiment.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of an inkjet printer according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the ink wiping apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a front view showing operation | movement of the pressing member of the ink wiping apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the outline of the control structure of 1st embodiment of the inkjet printer which concerns on this invention. FIG. 5A is a timing chart of the drive waveform according to the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a timing chart of the preliminary drive waveform according to the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows schematic structure from the ink tank of 2nd embodiment of the inkjet printer which concerns on this invention to a recording head. It is the block diagram which showed the outline of the control structure of 2nd embodiment of the inkjet printer which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows schematic structure from the ink tank of 3rd embodiment of the inkjet printer which concerns on this invention to a recording head. It is the block diagram which showed the outline of the control structure of 3rd embodiment of the inkjet printer which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer main body 8 Nozzle 9 Nozzle surface 12 Ink wiping off device 15 Ink absorber 23 Pressing member 32 Control part 34 Liquid feeding pump

Claims (6)

In an inkjet printer comprising a recording head having a nozzle surface provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink,
An ink absorber that is provided in contact with the nozzle surface and absorbs at least the ink;
An ink jet printer comprising: a control unit that controls to eject the ink from the nozzle when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface.   The inkjet printer according to claim 1, further comprising an ink absorber contact device provided with a pressing member that presses the ink absorber against the nozzle surface.   The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drives and controls the recording head to discharge the ink. A liquid feed pump for feeding the ink to the recording head;
The control unit drives and controls the liquid feeding pump to discharge the ink from the recording head when the ink absorber is in contact with the nozzle surface. The inkjet printer as described in any one of.   The ink absorber is a high density fiber woven with a fineness of 0.5 denier or less, and the high density fiber is formed of a material of any one of polyester, acron, nylon, or a combination thereof. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inkjet printer is provided.   The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink is an ultraviolet curable ink.

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