JP2006326912A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder where a recording head is attached to a carriage, capable of solving a problem resulting from a space generated in the carriage when printing is performed while removing the recording head. <P>SOLUTION: A maintenance cartridge having no recording head is loaded in a space generated in the carriage by removing the recording head. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a carriage that can be mounted along a carriage scanning axis, on which a plurality of recording head cartridges can be mounted, a recording head that is supported by the carriage and that ejects ink droplets from nozzles, and an ink that supplies ink to the recording head The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs printing on a print medium using a cartridge.

  An ink jet recording apparatus in which a recording head is mounted on a carriage is a recording apparatus that can print a plurality of dot rows by scanning a carriage mounted with a recording head only once across a print medium. The carriage mounted on the recording head of the recording apparatus usually includes a plurality of printing elements (for example, ink jet nozzles) installed in the moving direction of the medium so that a plurality of dot rows can be printed. It can be unidirectional or bidirectional.

  In the case where the carriage of the recording apparatus is provided with a recording head mounting portion that can mount a plurality of recording heads, printing is possible even with only one recording head mounted on the carriage. For example, when printing is performed using only color ink, printing can be performed with the black recording head removed.

  In addition, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a capping unit for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head during non-printing. This capping means not only has a function of pressing the cap against the nozzle forming surface to prevent ink from drying at the nozzle opening and sealing the inside of the cap, but also when the nozzle opening is clogged, The nozzle forming surface is sealed by a capping unit, and a maintenance function is provided to eliminate clogging of the nozzle port by sucking and discharging ink from the nozzle port by a negative pressure from the suction pump.

  In order to eliminate the clogging of the recording head, the ink is forcibly sucked and discharged. After the ink is discharged from the recording head, the recording head is formed by, for example, a wiping member in which a rubber material is formed in a strip shape. This is accompanied by wiping to wipe the nozzle forming surface.

Wiping includes a method of wiping in the main scanning direction and a method of wiping in the sub-scanning direction.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-220951 JP 2000-135794 A (paragraph [0023], FIG. 4)

  In the recording apparatus, when printing is performed with one recording head removed, the contact for electrical connection between the recording head and the main body is exposed in the removed recording head side carriage, which occurs during printing. There is concern that ink mist may adhere and cause contact failure.

  When the wiping direction is the main scanning direction, there is a configuration in which the carriage is wiped simultaneously with the nozzle formation surface of the recording head. In this case, if wiping is performed with the recording head removed, only the carriage is wiped because there is no recording head, the wiping member bounces off, and the ink attached to the wiping member may scatter. is there. As a result, the scattered ink adheres to the contact, which may cause contact failure.

  In addition, when the edge of the print medium is warped, the recording head itself does not exist, so that the edge of the print medium is not restrained by the nozzle formation surface of the recording head during printing and enters the space where the recording head is mounted. There is a concern that a paper jam error will occur. As described above, when printing is not performed with the recording head, a printing failure may occur.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described problems, and is generated due to a space generated in the carriage when printing with the recording head removed in an ink jet recording apparatus in which the recording head is mounted on the carriage. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can solve the problem.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus having a configuration in which a maintenance cartridge having no recording head is mounted on a carriage from which the recording head has been removed.

  When the maintenance cartridge is mounted, the maintenance cartridge has a configuration capable of preventing contact failure due to ink mist adhering to the contact and ink scattering during wiping.

  Further, during printing when the edge of the print medium is warped, the edge of the print medium is suppressed by the surface of the maintenance cartridge corresponding to the nozzle formation surface of the recording head, and without entering the space where the recording head is mounted. A configuration capable of printing is provided.

  In addition, since there is a concern that the surface of the maintenance cartridge corresponding to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head contacts the cap at the time of capping and a large load is generated at the time of the recovery operation, The configuration is such that a large load does not occur due to the relationship between the nozzle formation surface of the recording head and the cap. In addition, the edge of the print medium can be suppressed during printing when the edge of the print medium is warped.

  That is, the present invention provides a carriage driven along a carriage scanning axis, to which a plurality of recording head cartridges can be mounted, a recording head supported by the carriage and ejecting ink droplets from nozzles, and ink to the recording head. In an ink jet recording apparatus capable of printing on a print medium with an ink cartridge supplied to the carriage, when the carriage is driven without mounting the recording head in any of a plurality of recording head mounting portions of the carriage The operation is possible if at least one of the recording heads is mounted, and a maintenance cartridge having no recording head is mounted on the recording head mounting portion of the carriage on which the recording head is not mounted. An ink jet recording apparatus.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus in which the recording head is mounted on the carriage, it is obvious that a large space is generated in the carriage when printing is performed with one recording head removed. The ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is characterized by having a configuration in which a maintenance cartridge having no recording head is mounted on the carriage in order to solve the problem caused by the space.

  Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the main part of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. A carriage 1 in the figure is configured to reciprocate in the main scanning direction by being guided by a chassis rail 4 by driving a carriage motor 2 via a carriage belt 3.

  An ink jet recording head cartridge in which a recording head and an ink cartridge are integrated is mounted on the carriage 1 so as to be detachable. The ink jet recording head cartridge includes a black ink recording head cartridge 6 and a color ink recording head cartridge 7.

  Further, a cap slider 9 provided with caps 8a and 8b is arranged as a capping unit at a standby position outside the printing area, and the cap slider 9 moves to the standby position along with the movement of the carriage 1 at the time of capping. Caps 8a and 8b each have a mechanism for sealing the nozzle formation surfaces of the recording head cartridges 6 and 7 (FIG. 2). A suction pump 10 that can apply a negative pressure to the internal spaces of the caps 8a and 8b at the time of capping is disposed in the vicinity of the standby position of the carriage 1.

  Caps 8a and 8b function as a lid for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the ink jet recording head cartridge to prevent the nozzle opening from being dried during capping when the recording apparatus is idle, and the negative pressure from the suction pump 10 Is also acted on the nozzle forming surface of the ink jet recording head cartridge to serve as a cleaning means for sucking and discharging ink from the ink jet recording head cartridge. A wiping member 11 in which an elastic material such as rubber is formed in a strip shape is disposed in the vicinity of the print area side of the cap slider 9. As shown in FIG. 3, the wiping member 11 is configured to be in sliding contact with the nozzle formation surface of the ink jet recording head cartridge so as to remove dust such as paper dust and ink adhering to the nozzle formation surface. Has been.

  Next, FIG. 4 shows an external configuration of an ink jet recording head cartridge that is detachably mounted on the carriage 1 in the ink jet recording apparatus described above. This ink jet recording head cartridge is an example of the black ink recording head cartridge 6 described above. FIG. 5 shows a maintenance cartridge 12 having the same external configuration as the ink jet recording head cartridge. The configuration for mounting the maintenance cartridge on the carriage is the same as the configuration for mounting the ink jet recording head cartridge on the carriage. Further, in order to easily distinguish between the maintenance cartridge and the ink jet recording head cartridge, a maintenance cartridge 121 having a shape as shown in the figure is also conceivable.

  FIG. 7 shows the configuration when only the color ink recording head cartridge 7 is mounted on the carriage 1. FIG. 8 shows the configuration when the color ink recording head cartridge 7 and the maintenance cartridge 12 are mounted on the carriage 1. The structure of time is shown.

  In an ink jet recording apparatus, ink mist is generated during printing. The maintenance cartridge 12 is configured to cover the contact portion 13 so that the generated ink mist does not adhere to the contact portion 13 of the carriage 1 (FIG. 9).

  Further, the maintenance cartridge 12 shown in FIG. 10 is configured so as not to come into contact with the cap at the time of capping at a position corresponding to the nozzle forming surface of the ink jet recording head cartridge. This eliminates the concern that the driving load when the carriage 1 moves to the print area side increases due to the cap 8a sticking to the surface 12a of the maintenance cartridge 12 corresponding to the nozzle formation surface of the recording head during capping. It is the structure for doing.

  However, if the configuration is such that the surface 12a of the maintenance cartridge does not simply contact the cap 8a, the end of the print medium is not suppressed when printing the print medium with the bent end. There is a concern that a paper jam error may occur due to entering the space in which the recording head cartridge is mounted. Therefore, in addition to the configuration in which the maintenance cartridge surface 12a and the cap 8a do not come into contact with each other when capping, a configuration in which a tapered surface 12b and a flat surface 12c are provided at the end of the surface 12a of the maintenance cartridge as shown in FIG. Has been made. The flat surface 12c has a role of restraining the paper, and the tapered surface 12b has a role of preventing the paper from being caught.

  In order to eliminate damage to the wiping member 11 during wiping, the surfaces 12a, 12b, and 12c of the maintenance cartridge are configured to eliminate edges and smoothly wipe the surface on which the wiping member is wiped.

  Further, it has a configuration that prevents the ink adhering to the wiping member 11 from being scattered to the contact portion 13 due to the presence of the surfaces 12a, 12b and 12c of the maintenance cartridge by wiping.

  In the present invention, in the recovery operation, the method of wiping in the main scanning direction by sliding the cap has been described. However, the method for wiping in the sub scanning direction by moving the cap up and down has the same configuration. Is possible.

  Furthermore, although the ink jet recording apparatus in which the recording head cartridge in which the recording head and the ink cartridge are integrated is mounted on the carriage has been described, the ink jet recording apparatus in which the recording head and the ink cartridge are separately mounted on the carriage is also described. A similar configuration can be provided.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a basic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the positions of an ink jet recording head cartridge, a cap, and a wiping member during capping. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram when a wiping member is wiping a nozzle forming surface of an ink jet recording head cartridge. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a black ink recording head cartridge that is detachably mounted on a carriage of the recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a maintenance cartridge that is detachably mounted on a carriage of the recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a proposed example of a maintenance cartridge external configuration for distinguishing between an inkjet recording head cartridge and a maintenance cartridge that does not have a recording head. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where only the black ink recording head cartridge shown in FIG. 4 is mounted on a carriage. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the black ink recording head cartridge shown in FIG. 4 and the maintenance cartridge shown in FIG. 5 are mounted on a carriage. It is a side view of the maintenance cartridge provided with the structure which covers the contact part of a carriage. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a maintenance cartridge having a configuration in which a cap and a surface of a maintenance cartridge do not contact each other when capping and a configuration for suppressing warping of an end of a print medium.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 2 Carriage motor 3 Carriage belt 4 Chassis rail 6 Black ink recording head cartridge 7 Color ink recording head cartridge 8a Black side cap 8b Color side cap 9 Cap slider 10 Suction pump 11 Wiping member 12 Maintenance cartridge 121 Maintenance cartridge (shape) Change type)
12a Surface 12b of maintenance cartridge corresponding to nozzle formation surface 12b Tapered surface 12c of maintenance cartridge provided on surface corresponding to nozzle formation surface Surface 13 of maintenance cartridge provided to suppress paper 13 Contact portion

Claims (7)

A carriage driven along a carriage scanning axis, on which a plurality of recording head cartridges can be mounted, a recording head supported by the carriage and ejecting ink droplets from nozzles, and an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head In an ink jet recording apparatus capable of printing on a print medium,
When the recording head is not attached to any of the plurality of recording head attachment portions of the carriage and the carriage is driven, the carriage can be operated if at least one of the recording heads is attached, and the recording head is attached. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a maintenance cartridge having no recording head is mounted on a recording head mounting portion of a carriage that is not provided.   It has means for covering the contact for electrically connecting the recording head and the main body of the recording head mounting portion of the carriage where the recording head is not mounted by attaching the maintenance cartridge to the carriage. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for suppressing an end of the print medium from entering a space in which the recording head is mounted during printing by providing a surface corresponding to the nozzle formation surface of the recording head in the maintenance cartridge. Alternatively, an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2.   4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for suppressing an end of the print medium by a surface corresponding to a nozzle formation surface of the recording head of the maintenance cartridge when printing the print medium. Inkjet recording apparatus. The recording head includes a capping unit that seals the nozzle formation surface of the recording head with a cap outside the printing area when not printing, a suction pump that sucks and discharges ink from the nozzle port during capping, and a wiping member that is formed in a strip shape of an elastic material. With wiping to wipe the nozzle forming surface of
The inkjet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising means for preventing the cap at the time of capping from contacting a surface of the maintenance cartridge corresponding to a nozzle forming surface of the recording head. Type recording device.   6. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for holding the end of the print medium with a taper surface when printing the print medium on a surface corresponding to the nozzle formation surface of the recording head of the maintenance cartridge. Inkjet recording device.   6. A means for eliminating damage to the wiping member by making a portion of the maintenance cartridge corresponding to the nozzle formation surface of the recording head into a smooth shape at the time of wiping. Alternatively, an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6.

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