JP2007015318A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recorder which prevents ink stuck on a conveyor belt near both end parts of a recording medium by frame-less printing from remaining without being wiped, has no need of upsizing of the apparatus, and also does not spoil the durability of the conveyor belt. <P>SOLUTION: A cleaning member which wipes the ink stuck on the conveyor belt near the both end parts of the recording medium is set together with a cleaning part which carries out cleaning of the whole conveyor belt. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus.

  In recent years, the wave of digitization has been rapidly rushing in the field of image recording. In particular, in the textile printing industry, attention is focused on an ink jet type image recording apparatus suitable for quick response, small lots, and various types of products rather than the conventional screen printing method. Similarly, in the sign display industry, there is an expectation for an ink jet type image recording apparatus that can form an image more easily and inexpensively than conventional screen printing or gravure printing.

  In the textile printing industry, a fabric having low rigidity is used as a main recording medium. In the sign display industry, a material woven with a plastic material (vinyl chloride) is used in addition to paper. When such a low-rigidity material is used as a recording medium, generally, the recording medium is transported to an image recording unit such as a recording head by an endless transport belt. In such an image recording apparatus, when the image is recorded by ejecting ink from the recording head, the ink ejected from the recording head may adhere to the conveyance belt, and the recording medium is caused by the adhered ink or the like. The problem of getting dirty arises. In particular, when borderless printing is performed on a recording medium, the conveyance belt outside both ends of the recording medium is always stained with ink. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the conveyor belt.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image recording apparatus that cleans a transport belt, an image recording apparatus that scrapes off ink adhered to a belt with a wiper and sucks the scraped ink with an absorbent material is known. (For example, Patent Document 1)
Japanese Patent No. 2705922

  However, there is a problem in that the amount of ink adhering to the borderless printing is too large to cause wiping. Further, if the cleaning force is increased in order to clean a portion with much dirt, it is necessary to increase the size of the apparatus, and the durability of the belt may be impaired in order to increase the cleaning force.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides an image recording apparatus that does not leave ink adhering to the conveyance belt outside both ends of the recording medium by borderless printing, and that does not require an increase in size of the apparatus and does not impair the durability of the conveyance belt. With the goal.

  The object of the present invention can be achieved by the following constitution.

The invention according to claim 1
In an image recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by discharging ink from a recording head,
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium by a belt;
An image recording apparatus comprising: a cleaning member for cleaning a portion where the vicinity of both ends of the recording medium is placed upstream of the position where the recording medium is placed on the belt.

The invention according to claim 2
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that presses and separates the cleaning member from a belt.

The invention according to claim 3
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus moves the cleaning member in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording medium.

The invention according to claim 4
The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image recording apparatus moves the cleaning member based on a width of the recording medium.

The invention according to claim 5
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning unit that cleans the entire width of the belt.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in an image recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by discharging ink from a recording head,
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium by a belt;
A cleaning member for cleaning a portion where the vicinity of both ends of the recording medium is placed upstream of the position where the recording medium is placed on the belt. It becomes possible to remove dirt in the vicinity of both ends.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the image recording apparatus includes means for pressing and separating the cleaning member against the belt, so that cleaning can be performed in a predetermined sequence and belt conveyance is performed. When it is not, it is possible to carry out the operation without making a mistake such as separating them to avoid welding of the cleaning member and the belt.

  According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the image recording apparatus moves the cleaning member in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium based on the recording medium width, thereby different recording media. It becomes possible to clean the belt in the vicinity of both ends with respect to the width by the cleaning member.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the image recording apparatus includes a cleaning unit that cleans the entire width of the belt, so that not only the edge of the belt but also the entire surface including the center can be cleaned. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a conveying device of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

  The transport apparatus 1 is provided in an ink jet printer that performs printing on a recording medium by ejecting ink onto a recording medium (for example, the fabric 3) by a recording head 2 that ejects ink. The transport device 1 is configured to pull out and transport the fabric 3 wound in a roll shape to the print area A (ink discharge range) of the recording head 2, and overlaps the fabric 3 so that the fabric 3 is printed in the print area. An annular conveying belt 4 that conveys to A, a drive unit 5 that drives and guides the conveying belt 4, a flat unit 6 that supports the fabric 3 conveyed to the printing area A together with the conveying belt 4 from the back side, Below the flat part 6, a cleaning part 7 (cleaning means) for cleaning the conveyor belt 4, a support part 8 for supporting the cloth 3 before printing, a cloth drying part 9 for drying the printed cloth 3, and printing A take-up portion 10 for taking up the cloth 3 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the driving unit 5 includes a driving roller 11 that drives the conveying belt 4 behind the printing area A (right side in the drawing), a pressing roller 12 that presses the conveying belt 4 against the driving roller 11, and A first guide roller 13 that guides the conveyor belt 4 from the cleaning section 7 to the driving roller 11 while conveying the conveyor belt 4 to the discharge port of the recording head 2, a conveyor A tension roller 16 that maintains the tension state of the belt 4 is provided.

  The tension roller 16 is provided between the first guide roller 13 and the second guide roller 14, and is pushed toward the outside of the region surrounded by the conveyor belt 4 by a predetermined urging force by an elastic member such as a spring. Thus, the conveyor belt 4 operates so as to maintain a constant tension.

  The cleaning unit 7 is provided between a position where the fabric 3 printed in the printing region A is peeled off from the conveyance belt 4 and a position where the cloth 3 before printing newly contacts the conveyance belt 4. 4, the dewatering unit 18 for dewatering the washed transport belt 4 on the downstream side of the cleaning unit 17, and the dehydrated transport belt 4 on the downstream side of the dewatering unit 18. A belt drying unit 19;

  The cleaning unit 17 is provided in the second guide roller 14 portion, and includes a cleaning water tank 17a for storing water used for cleaning the conveyor belt 4, and a cleaning sponge 17b formed of a material having high water absorption such as sponge. Prepare. The cleaning sponge 17b is formed in a roller shape and is rotatable. One end of the cleaning sponge 17b is immersed in water in the cleaning water tank 17a, and the other end is sandwiched between the cleaning sponge 17b and the second guide roller 14 to sandwich the conveyor belt 4. It is installed so that it touches. In this embodiment, water is used for cleaning, but not limited to water, any liquid that can clean ink can be used.

  The dewatering unit 18 includes a dewatering belt 18a, a roller 18b, a squeezing machine 18c, and a drain tank 18d. The dewatering belt 18a is formed of a material having high water absorption, is disposed so as to be in contact with the transport belt 4, and is rotatably provided by a roller 18c. A squeezing machine 18c is attached to the dewatering belt 18a, and water contained in the dewatering belt 18a is squeezed by the squeezing machine 18c and discharged to the drainage tank 18d.

  The belt drying unit 19 is provided with a blower, and blows air to the conveyor belt 4.

  The cleaning member 15 has a roller shape and is disposed to face the driving roller 11 with the belt 4 interposed therebetween, and is pressed, separated, and moved.

  The support portion 8 is formed of two opposing cylindrical shaft portions 20 and is provided between the belt drying portion 19 and the drive roller 11. The fabric wound in a roll shape by the shaft portion 20. 3 is supported. Further, on the left and right sides of the shaft portion 20, there are provided restriction members (not shown) for restricting the movement of the fabric 3 wound in a roll shape to the left and right.

  The winding unit 10 is set to have a rotation speed so that the conveyance belt 4 can be wound at the same speed as the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt 4 by the driving roller 11.

  The operation of the transport device 1 will be described.

  Prior to printing, the fabric 3 is set in a printable state in advance. Here, the printable state means that the fabric 3 wound in a roll shape is set on the support portion 8, the fabric 3 is placed on the transport belt 4, arranged in the printing area A, and the fabric 3 is wound up after printing. In this state, one end of the fabric 3 is set on the winding unit 10 so as to be wound by the unit 10.

  When printing is started, in the printing area, ink is ejected from the recording head 2 to the fabric 3, printing is performed on the fabric 3, and driving is performed so as to convey the fabric 3 corresponding to the printing. The roller 11 rotates counterclockwise to drive the transport belt 4. At the same time, the winding unit 10 starts to rotate so as to wind the fabric 3.

  At this time, the fabric 3 before printing wound in a roll shape is conveyed along the arrows G and H while rotating counterclockwise (arrow F). When the belt 4 is peeled off near the first guide roller 13, the printed image is dried by the fabric drying unit 9 and taken up by the winding unit 10.

  The ink that has permeated from the fabric 3 adheres to the conveyor belt 4 that has passed through the printing area A. In the cleaning unit 17 of the cleaning unit 7, the cleaning sponge 17 b is installed so as to sandwich the transport belt 4 together with the second guide rail 14, so that the transport belt 4 to which ink is attached contacts the cleaning sponge 17 b. The cleaning sponge 17b absorbs water from the cleaning water tank 17a and gets wet, and since the ink used here is a water-based ink, the ink attached to the surface of the transport belt 4 is removed by contact with the cleaning sponge 17b. it can. Further, since the cleaning sponge 17b is formed in a roller shape and is rotatable, the surface of the cleaning sponge 17b on which the ink is attached is immersed in the water of the cleaning water tank 17a by the rotation, so that the ink is removed. . Therefore, the cleaning sponge 17b can always come into contact with the transport belt 4 on the surface that has been cleaned and has no ink attached thereto, and the transport belt 4 can be cleaned more effectively.

  Moisture adhering to the surface of the conveyor belt 4 due to the cleaning in the cleaning unit 17 is dehydrated by being absorbed by the dehydrating belt 18a of the dehydrating unit 18 in contact with the conveyor belt 4. Since the dewatering belt 18a is rotatably installed by the roller 18b, the dewatering belt 18a rotates due to friction caused by contact with the conveyance of the conveyance belt 4. The surface of the dewatering belt 18a that has absorbed the moisture of the transport belt 4 is moved to the squeezing machine 18c by rotation, and the absorbed moisture is squeezed and drained into the waste water tank 18d. Further, the surface of the dewatering belt 18a that comes into contact with the dewatering belt 4 by rotation again keeps the surface of the dewatering belt 18a that is in contact with the conveying belt 4 in a constantly squeezed state, and maintains a sufficient water absorption capacity. can do. The conveying belt 4 dehydrated by the dehydrating unit 18 is not completely dried, and moisture that has not been absorbed by the dehydrating belt 18a still remains on the surface. The remaining trace amount of moisture is completely dried by blowing air with a blower provided in the belt drying unit 19. The belt drying unit 19 may be provided with a heater to blow hot air.

  Further, the ink remaining after being cleaned by the cleaning unit 7 is wiped off by pressing the cleaning member 15 at the end of the conveyor belt 4.

  FIG. 2 (a) schematically showing the main part of the transport device of the present embodiment is a top view, and FIG. 2 (b) is cut along the KK cross section in FIG. 2 (a) and FIG. 2 (a). FIG.

  An example of the pressure contact, separation and movement operations of the cleaning member 15 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).

  In FIG. 2, the conveyance belt 4 and the recording medium (for example, the fabric 3) are conveyed in the direction of arrow G.

  In FIG. 2B, the cleaning member 15 is in pressure contact with the driving roller 11 via the conveyance belt 4. The cleaning member 15 is moved in the direction of arrow H by a cleaning member driving means 36 (not shown) and is separated from the transport belt 4. When it moves in the opposite direction, it comes into pressure contact with the conveyor belt 4. The cleaning member 15 rotates following the conveyance of the conveyance belt 4 and sucks ink adhering to the conveyance belt 4. The cleaning member 15 may be rotated in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the conveying belt 4 to wipe off ink adhering to the conveying belt 4.

  In FIG. 2A, the cleaning member 15 is in pressure contact with the driving roller 11 via the conveyance belt 4. Based on the width of the recording medium, the cleaning member 15 moves in the direction of arrows I, J, or vice versa. For example, when the recording medium 3 narrower than the recording medium 3 shown in FIG. 2A is used, the cleaning member 15 moves in the directions of arrows I and J, and in the case of a wide recording paper, I, J Move in the opposite direction. In this way, the conveyance belt 4 in the vicinity of both ends of the recording medium is cleaned.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional structure of the control means 30 of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

  The control unit 30 includes, for example, a CPU 31, a RAM 32, and a ROM 33. The RAM 32 is used as a buffer memory, and the CPU 31 executes a processing program stored in the ROM 33.

  This control means 30 is in accordance with the processing program described above, and includes the carriage mechanism 34, the recording head 2, the drive unit 5, the cleaning unit 7, the fabric drying unit 9, the support unit 8, the winding unit 10, the dehydrating unit 18, and the belt drying unit 19. And the operation of each part is controlled based on the status such as the operation status of the cleaning member driving means 36.

  The control means 30 drives the cleaning member driving means 36 to control the operation of pressing, separating and moving the cleaning member 15 of the present invention.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the cleaning member 15 by the control means 30. The process will be described with reference to FIG.

  This flowchart starts with the control unit 30 receiving a print command as a trigger.

  In step S <b> 1, the cleaning member driving unit 36 is driven to separate the cleaning member 15 from the transport belt 4.

  In step S <b> 2, the cleaning member 15 is moved to a position based on the width of the recording medium set on the conveyance belt 4. If the cleaning member 15 is already at a position based on the recording medium width, it does not move and remains as it is.

  In step S3, it is confirmed whether or not a transfer start command is issued from the control means 30. If it is issued (step S3: YES), the process proceeds to step S4. When it is not emitted (step S3: NO), it waits at step S3.

  In step S <b> 4, the cleaning member driving unit 36 is driven to bring the cleaning member 15 into pressure contact with the transport belt 4.

  In step S5, it is determined whether the conveyor belt 4 has stopped. If stopped (step S5: YES), the process proceeds to step S6. If not stopped (step S5: NO), the process waits in step S5.

  In step S <b> 6, the cleaning member driving unit 36 is driven to separate the cleaning member 15 from the transport belt 4.

  In the present embodiment, the image recording apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a printing apparatus such as a laser printer.

  In addition, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each component constituting the image recording apparatus can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a sectional side view of the conveying apparatus of the image recording apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a principal part figure of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually showing a functional configuration of control means of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the cleaning member by the control means of the image recording apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Conveying device 2 Head 3 Fabric (recording medium)
4 Conveying belt 5 Driving unit 7 Cleaning unit 15 Cleaning member 30 Control unit 36 Cleaning member driving unit

Claims (5)

In an image recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by discharging ink from a recording head,
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium by a belt;
An image recording apparatus comprising: a cleaning member that cleans a portion where the vicinity of both ends of the recording medium is placed upstream of the position where the recording medium is placed on the belt. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus includes a unit that presses and separates the cleaning member from a belt. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus moves the cleaning member in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image recording apparatus moves the cleaning member based on a width of the recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus includes a cleaning unit that cleans the entire width of the belt.

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