JP2007223227A - Unit of maintaining and recovering head, liquid droplet discharging device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the configuration for detecting the home position of a cam shaft of a maintenance/recovery mechanism is complicated. <P>SOLUTION: To the end of the cam shaft 213 where cams 214A, 214B and 215 for making a cap 82 and wiper blade 83 of the maintenance/recovery mechanism 81 go up and down are mounted, a filler member 241 revolved with the cam shaft 213 is joined. A cam-shaft home position sensor 242 for detecting a detection piece 241a of the filler member 241 is arranged at the external surface side of a frame 212, and the filler member 241 is enabled to be detected by the cam-shaft home position sensor 242 during one revolution of the cam shaft 213. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a head maintenance / recovery device, a device for discharging droplets, and an image forming apparatus.

  In general, as an image forming apparatus that combines a printer / fax / copier or a combination of these functions, for example, an apparatus that ejects liquid droplets including a recording head constituted by a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid droplets of recording liquid (liquid). The recording liquid (hereinafter also referred to as “paper”, but the material is not limited, and the recording medium, recording medium, transfer material, recording paper, etc. are also used synonymously) is used. In some cases, image formation (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously) is made by adhering ink to a sheet.

  In an image forming apparatus that forms an image with an apparatus for discharging such droplets, a function for maintaining and recovering the performance of the recording head that discharges the recording liquid is indispensable. Cap member for capping the surface (discharge surface, nozzle surface) for discharging liquid droplets, wiping member for cleaning the nozzle surface, and droplets that do not contribute to recording (image formation) (liquid droplets that become waste liquid) are discharged from the nozzles. A maintenance / recovery mechanism (apparatus) including an empty discharge receiving portion and the like is provided.

As such a head maintenance / recovery mechanism, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of cap members, a wiping member, a cam for moving these cap members up and down, and a cam shaft to which the cam is attached. And the like, the cap member and the wiping member are moved up and down by rotating one cam shaft.
JP 2005-144910 A

  In such a head maintenance / recovery mechanism, since it is necessary to detect the home position of the cam shaft, in the mechanism described in Patent Document 1, a cam for home position detection is provided on the cam shaft, and a cap member is provided. The home position detecting lever is actuated by the home position detecting cam when the position reaches the lowermost end, and the home position sensor is opened to detect the home position of the cam shaft. The home position detecting lever is held by a biasing means such as a spring at a position where the home position sensor is closed except at the home position.

The head maintenance recovery mechanism is fixed to a side plate (frame member) of the apparatus main body. On the other hand, as a configuration for detecting the home position of the carriage, as described in Patent Document 2, the carriage is abutted against a side plate that holds the end of the guide rod, and a predetermined process is performed based on the abutting position. In some cases, a home position may be adopted.
JP 2003-200570 A

In addition, as described in Patent Document 3, there is known an image forming apparatus in which a waste liquid tank for containing waste liquid generated by a head maintenance and recovery mechanism is detachably attached to an apparatus main body.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-331685

  The head maintenance / recovery mechanism (apparatus) described in Patent Document 1 described above has a problem that the configuration for detecting the home position of the cam shaft becomes complicated.

  When the carriage home position detection configuration described in Patent Document 2 described above is employed, when the side plate is tilted by abutting the carriage against the side plate, it is mounted on the cap member and carriage of the maintenance / recovery mechanism. There is a problem that the positional relationship with the existing head may shift and the head may not be correctly capped.

  When adopting a configuration in which the waste liquid tank can be attached and detached in a replaceable manner as described in Patent Document 3 described above, the waste liquid tank can be securely stored and held in the apparatus main body, and can be easily removed when removing the waste liquid tank. There is a problem that must be made.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a head maintenance / recovery device that detects the home position of the camshaft with a simple configuration, a droplet discharge device equipped with the head maintenance / recovery device, and image formation. A device for ejecting liquid droplets that do not cause capping defects by detecting the home position of the carriage, a device for ejecting liquid droplets that can be attached and detached reliably and easily, and a device for ejecting these liquid droplets An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus provided with the image forming apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a head maintenance / recovery device according to the present invention includes a detection unit for detecting a home position of a cam shaft, a filler unit coupled to an end of the cam shaft, and rotating together with the cam shaft. The filler portion can be detected by the detecting means while the camshaft rotates once.

  Here, it is preferable that the filler portion has a detection piece portion in a direction along the axial direction of the cam shaft, and the detection piece portion is detected by the detection means.

  In the apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets according to the present invention, the maintenance / recovery mechanism has a configuration in which an upper portion near the portion where the carriage abuts is fixed to the side plate.

  In the apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets according to the present invention, a waste liquid tank containing waste liquid generated by an operation for recovering the performance of a recording head is detachably attached to the apparatus main body, and the apparatus can be displaced in the waste liquid tank. A handle portion having an engaging portion that can be engaged with the main body is provided.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the head maintenance / recovery apparatus according to the present invention or the apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets according to the present invention.

  According to the head maintenance / recovery device of the present invention, the cam shaft has a detecting means for detecting the home position of the cam shaft, and a filler portion coupled to the end of the cam shaft and rotating together with the cam shaft. Since the filler portion can be detected by the detecting means during one rotation, the configuration for detecting the home position of the cam shaft is simplified.

  According to the apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets according to the present invention, the maintenance / recovery mechanism is configured such that the upper portion close to the portion where the carriage abuts is fixed to the side plate, so that the home position of the carriage is abutted against the side plate and defined. In this case, it is possible to prevent capping defects from occurring due to the inclination of the side plate.

  According to the apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets according to the present invention, the waste liquid tank that stores the waste liquid generated by the operation for recovering the performance of the recording head is detachably attached to the apparatus main body, and can be displaced to the waste liquid tank. Since the handle portion having the engaging portion that can be engaged with the apparatus main body is provided, the waste liquid tank can be securely stored and held in the apparatus main body and can be easily taken out from the apparatus main body.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the head maintenance / recovery apparatus according to the present invention or the apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets according to the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory view of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention including a device for discharging droplets according to the present invention as viewed from the front side.
The ink jet recording apparatus includes an apparatus main body 1, a paper feed tray 2 for loading paper loaded in the apparatus main body 1, and a paper on which an image is recorded (formed) detachably mounted on the apparatus main body 1. A paper discharge tray 3 for stocking is provided. Furthermore, a cartridge loading for loading an ink cartridge that protrudes from the front surface to the front side of the apparatus main body 1 and is lower than the upper surface is provided at one end side of the front surface of the apparatus main body 1 (side of the paper supply / discharge tray section). The cartridge loading unit 4 has an operation / display unit 5 provided with operation buttons and a display.

  The cartridge loading unit 4 contains a plurality of recording liquids (inks) that are different color materials, such as black (K) ink, cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) ink, and yellow (Y) ink. Ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y (which are referred to as “ink cartridge 10” when colors are not distinguished) are inserted from the front side of the apparatus main body 1 toward the rear side and can be loaded. A front cover (cartridge cover) 6 that is opened when the ink cartridge 10 is attached or detached is provided on the front side of the cartridge loading unit 4 so as to be openable and closable.

Next, the mechanism part of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating the outline of the mechanism, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of the main part.
The carriage 33 is slidably held in the main scanning direction by main and slave guide rods 31 and 32 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 21A and 21B. Move and scan in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction).

  The carriage 33 is provided with recording heads 34a and 34b composed of liquid ejection heads for ejecting ink droplets of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). The “recording head 34” is arranged in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and the ink droplet ejection direction is directed downward.

  Each of the recording heads 34 has two nozzle rows. One nozzle row of the recording head 34a has black (K) droplets, the other nozzle row has cyan (C) droplets, and the recording head 34b has one nozzle row. One nozzle row ejects magenta (M) droplets, and the other nozzle row ejects yellow (Y) droplets.

  As an inkjet head constituting the recording head 34, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator that uses a phase change caused by film boiling of a liquid using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, and a metal phase change caused by a temperature change. It is possible to use a shape memory alloy actuator to be used, an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force, or the like provided as pressure generating means for generating a pressure for discharging a droplet.

  Further, the carriage 33 is equipped with head tanks 35a and 35b (referred to as “head tank 35” when not distinguished) for supplying ink of each color corresponding to the nozzle rows of the recording head 34. As described above, the sub tank 35 is supplied with ink of each color from the ink cartridge 10 of each color mounted in the cartridge loading unit 4 via the supply tube 36 of each color. The cartridge loading 4 is provided with a supply pump unit 24 for feeding ink in the ink cartridge 10.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the papers 42 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 41 of the paper feeding tray 2, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the papers 42 one by one from the paper stacking unit 41. A separation pad 44 made of a material having a large friction coefficient is provided facing the paper roller 43) and the paper feed roller 43, and the separation pad 44 is urged toward the paper feed roller 43 side.

  In order to feed the paper 42 fed from the paper feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 34, a guide member 45 for guiding the paper 42, a counter roller 46, a transport guide member 47, and a tip pressure roller. And a holding belt 48 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 42 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 34.

  The transport belt 51 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the transport roller 52 and the tension roller 53 and circulate in the belt transport direction (sub-scanning direction). Further, a charging roller 56 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 51 is provided. The charging roller 56 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the transport belt 51 and to rotate following the rotation of the transport belt 51. The transport belt 51 rotates in the belt transport direction of FIG. 3 when the transport roller 52 is rotationally driven through timing by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 42 recorded by the recording head 34, a separation claw 61 for separating the paper 42 from the conveying belt 51, a paper discharge roller 62, and a paper discharge roller 63 are provided. The paper discharge tray 3 is provided below the paper discharge roller 62.

  A duplex unit 71 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The duplex unit 71 takes in the paper 42 returned by the reverse rotation of the conveyance belt 51, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 46 and the conveyance belt 51. The upper surface of the duplex unit 71 is a manual feed tray 72.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the non-printing area on one side in the scanning direction of the carriage 33 includes the recovery means for maintaining and recovering the state of the nozzles of the recording head 34. A maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 which is a device is arranged.

  The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes cap members (hereinafter referred to as “caps”) 82a and 82b (hereinafter referred to as “caps 82” when not distinguished from each other) for capping the nozzle surfaces of the recording head 34, and nozzle surfaces. A wiper blade 83 that is a blade member for wiping the ink, and an empty discharge receiver 84 that receives liquid droplets when performing empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the thickened recording liquid. ing. A waste liquid tank 90 (see FIG. 3) for storing the waste liquid generated by the head maintenance and recovery operation is replaceably attached to the apparatus main body.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 33, idle discharge is performed to discharge liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. An ink recovery unit (empty discharge receiver) 88, which is a liquid recovery container according to the present invention for receiving liquid droplets at the time, is disposed. I have.

  In this image forming apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 42 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feed tray 2, and the sheet 42 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 45, and includes the transport belt 51 and the counter. It is sandwiched between the rollers 46 and conveyed, and the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 37 and pressed against the conveying belt 51 by the leading end pressing roller 49, and the conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, a positive output and a negative output are alternately repeated with respect to the charging roller 56, that is, an alternating voltage is applied, and a charging voltage pattern in which the conveying belt 51 alternates, that is, in a sub-scanning direction that is a circumferential direction. , Plus and minus are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width. When the paper 42 is fed onto the conveyance belt 51 charged alternately with plus and minus, the paper 42 is attracted to the conveyance belt 51, and the paper 42 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the conveyance belt 51.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 34 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 33, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 42 to record one line, and after the paper 42 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 42 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 42 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3.

  Further, during printing (recording) standby, the carriage 33 is moved to the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 side, and the recording head 34 is capped by the cap 82 to keep the nozzles in a wet state, thereby preventing ejection failure due to ink drying. . Further, the recording liquid is sucked from the nozzle by a suction pump (not shown) with the recording head 34 capped by the cap 82 (referred to as “nozzle suction” or “head suction”), and the thickened recording liquid and bubbles are discharged. Perform recovery action. In addition, before the start of recording, in the middle of recording, etc., an empty ejection operation is performed to eject ink (liquid droplets that become waste liquid) that is not related to recording toward the recovery unit 88 or the like. As a result, the stable ejection performance of the recording head 34 is maintained.

  Next, an outline of the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is an external perspective view of the maintenance / recovery mechanism, and FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing the maintenance / recovery mechanism partially expanded.

  As described above, the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes a cap holder 201A including a holding mechanism that holds the suction and moisturizing cap 82a, a cap holder 201B including a holding mechanism that holds the moisturizing cap 82b, and the recording head 34. A nozzle holder 203 that holds a wiper blade 83 that is a blade made of an elastic body for cleaning (wiping off) the nozzle surface (surface on which the nozzle is formed), and droplets that do not contribute to printing are discharged from the recording head 34 An empty discharge receiver 84 for performing an empty discharge operation (preliminary discharge operation) and a wiper cleaner 85 (only shown in FIG. 4) for cleaning the wiper blade 83 are disposed.

  Here, a tubing pump (suction pump) 211 as a suction means is connected to the cap 82a through a flexible tube 210. Therefore, when performing the maintenance recovery operation of the recording head 34, the recording head 34 performing the recovery operation is selectively moved to a position where it can be capped by the cap 82a.

  A cam shaft 213 rotatably supported by the frame 212 is disposed below the cap holders 201A and 201B, and cap cams 214A and 214B for raising and lowering the cap holders 201A and 201B are disposed on the cam shaft 213. A wiper cam 215 for raising and lowering the blade holder 203 and a cleaner cam for swinging the wiper cleaner 85 (not shown in FIG. 5) are provided.

  In order to rotationally drive the tubing pump 211 and the cam shaft 213, the motor gear 222 provided on the motor shaft 221a is rotated with the pump gear 223 provided on the pump shaft 211a of the tubing pump 211, and the pump gear is further rotated. An intermediate gear 226 with a one-way clutch 227 is meshed with an intermediate gear 224 integral with the intermediate gear 225, and the intermediate gear 228 coaxial with the intermediate gear 226 is fixed to the camshaft 213 via the intermediate gear 229. The cam gear 230 is engaged.

  In the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81, when the motor 221 rotates in the forward direction, the motor gear 222, the intermediate gear 224, the pump gear 223, the intermediate gears 225 and 226 rotate, and the shaft 211a of the tubing pump 211 rotates to rotate the tubing pump 211. Is activated to suck the inside of the cap 82a (this operation is referred to as “in-cap suction” or “head suction”). Since the other gears 228 and thereafter are blocked by the one-way clutch 227, they do not rotate (activate).

  Further, since the one-way clutch 227 is connected by the reverse rotation of the motor 221, the rotation of the motor 221 is transferred to the cam gear 230 via the motor gear 222, the intermediate gear 224, the pump gear 223, the intermediate gears 225, 226, 228, and 229. As a result, the cam shaft 213 rotates. At this time, the tubing pump 211 has a structure that does not operate by reversing the pump shaft 211a. With the rotation of the cam shaft 213, the cap cams 214A and 214B and the wiper cam 215 are raised and lowered at predetermined timings, respectively.

  When cleaning the nozzle surface a of the recording head 34, the wiper blade 83 is lifted, and the nozzle surface is wiped by moving the recording head 34 relative to the wiper blade 83.

Therefore, the configuration of means for detecting the home position of the cam shaft 213 in the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of the filler member.
A filler member 241 that rotates together with the cam shaft 213 is coupled to one end of the cam shaft 213 (outside the frame 212). This filler member 241 is also attached to the end portion of the cam shaft 213 with reference to FIG. 6, and an extension shaft portion 241 a serving as an extension portion of the cam shaft 213, and a detection piece in a direction along the axial direction of the cam shaft 213 The part 241b and the bridging part 241c that connects the extension shaft part 241a and the detection piece part 241b are integrally formed.

  A cam shaft home position sensor 242 including a transmission type photosensor that detects the detection piece 241 a of the filler member 241 is disposed on the outer surface side of the frame 212.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7 described later, when the cam shaft 213 rotates, the filler member 241 also rotates, and the detection piece 241a of the filler member 241 moves to the cam shaft home position while the cam shaft 213 rotates once. Since it passes through the sensor 242, the home position of the cam shaft 213 can be detected.

  Thus, by directly detecting the filler member provided at the end of the camshaft by the detecting means, the component stacking tolerance is reduced, and the home position of the camshaft can be detected accurately and with a simple configuration.

Next, a structure for fixing the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 to the side plate 21B will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is an explanatory side view seen from the direction along the main scanning direction for explaining the fixing structure, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory front view.
The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 is formed with fixing holes 251a to 251c (see also FIG. 4) for fixing to the side plate 21B in the upper portion of the frame 212, and a portion where the abutting member 253 of the carriage 33 of the side plate 21B abuts. The upper part close to is fixed to the side plate 21B by a fastening member 254 such as a screw (see FIG. 8).

  In other words, in this image forming apparatus, the home position of the carriage 33 (home position) is detected by abutting the abutting member 253 provided on the carriage 33 against the side plate 21B, and the carriage 33 detects the change in the signal of the carriage driving motor at this time. A configuration is adopted in which it is detected that the contact has been made with the solid, and the position moved by a predetermined amount from this position is used as the home position of the carriage 33.

  In this case, if the side plate 21 </ b> B is tilted (falls) due to the contact of the carriage 33, the positional relationship between the home position of the carriage 33 and the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 may be shifted. If the positional relationship between the home position of the carriage 33 and the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 is shifted, the positional relationship between the recording heads 34 of the carriage 33 and the caps 82a and 82b of the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 may be shifted.

  Therefore, the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 is fixed to the side plate 21B at the upper portion near the portion where the abutting member 253 of the carriage 33 is abutted, so that the abutting even if the side plate 21B is inclined by the abutment of the carriage 33 Since the position and the holding position of the maintenance mechanism 81 are close to each other, the relative positional relationship between the home position of the carriage 33 and the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 can be prevented from greatly shifting, and the occurrence of capping failure can be prevented.

  Next, a waste liquid tank in the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 is a schematic perspective explanatory view of the waste liquid tank, FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective explanatory view of a handle portion of the waste liquid tank, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a main part in a state where the waste liquid tank is stored (mounted) in the apparatus main body. FIG. 12 and FIG. 12 are schematic cross-sectional explanatory views.

  The waste liquid tank 90 includes a tank case main body (container main body) 91, an absorption member (absorber) (not shown) made of a laminate that absorbs liquid waste liquid stored in the case main body 91, and an upper portion of the case main body 91. A lid member 92 is provided. The lid member 92 is formed with a waste liquid inlet 92a, and the waste liquid discharged from the maintenance and recovery mechanism 81 is introduced into the lid member 92 from the waste liquid inlet 92a.

  The waste liquid tank 90 is provided with a handle portion 94 used when being attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 1. This handle portion 94 is integrally formed with an elastically deformable arm portion 95 integrally formed with the lid member 92 and a distal end portion (front side portion in the mounting direction) of the arm portion 95, and is a locking portion within the apparatus main body 1. 301 (refer to FIG. 12) and the engagement portion 95 and the left and right engagement portions 95 are bridged, and the bridge for holding together with the distal end portion (front side portion in the mounting direction) 91a of the case main body 91a when attaching and detaching. Part 97.

  Therefore, when the waste liquid tank 90 is stored in the apparatus main body 1, the waste liquid tank 90 is pushed into the tank storage section 302 in the apparatus main body 1 with the handle portion 94 of the waste liquid tank 90 pushed down, and the handle portion 94 is pushed down. By releasing, as shown in FIG. 12, the engaging portion 96 of the handle portion 94 engages with the engaging portion 301 of the tank storage portion 302, and the waste liquid tank 90 is securely stored in the apparatus main body 1. In this state, the waste liquid tank 90 is prevented from naturally coming out of the apparatus main body 1.

  When the waste liquid tank 90 is replaced, the handle portion 94 is pushed down in the direction of arrow A from the state shown in FIG. 12 to release the engagement between the engaging portion 96 and the locking portion 301, and the waste liquid tank is left as it is. By pulling 90 from the apparatus main body 1 in the direction of arrow B, the waste liquid tank 90 can be easily pulled out, and the replacement work is simplified.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a printer having a single function configuration, and may be an image forming apparatus having a composite function such as a printer / facsimile / copying. Therefore, a liquid container or a liquid container May also be applied to these image forming apparatuses.

FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view seen from the front side of the ink jet recording apparatus as the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a side schematic block diagram explaining the whole structure of the mechanism part of the apparatus. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the mechanism part. It is an external appearance perspective explanatory view of the maintenance recovery mechanism of the device. It is a typical explanatory view shown in the state where a part of the maintenance recovery mechanism was developed. It is a perspective explanatory view of the filler member of the maintenance and recovery mechanism. It is side surface explanatory drawing seen from the direction in alignment with the main scanning direction with which it uses for description of the fixing structure with respect to the side plate of the maintenance recovery mechanism. It is front explanatory drawing similarly. It is a schematic perspective explanatory drawing of a waste liquid tank. It is an expansion perspective view explanatory drawing of the handle part of the waste liquid tank. It is principal part perspective explanatory drawing of the state which accommodated (attached) the waste liquid tank in the apparatus main body. It is a typical cross-sectional explanatory drawing similarly.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Apparatus main body 2 ... Paper feed tray 3 ... Paper discharge tray 4 ... Cartridge loading part 10k, 10c, 10m, 10y ... Ink cartridge 21B ... Side plate 33 ... Carriage 34 ... Recording head 35 ... Head tank 36 ... Ink supply tube 51 ... Conveying belt 81 ... Maintenance / recovery mechanism 90 ... Waste liquid tank 241 ... Filler part 242 ... Cam shaft home position sensor 253 ... Abutting member

Claims (5)

A head maintenance / recovery device for recovering the performance of the recording head, comprising: a cap member for capping the ejection surface of the recording head comprising a liquid ejection head; and a cam shaft provided with a cam for raising or lowering the cap member. In
A detecting means for detecting a home position of the cam shaft; and a filler portion that is coupled to an end portion of the cam shaft and rotates together with the cam shaft. The filler portion is disposed during one rotation of the cam shaft. A head maintenance / recovery device that can be detected by the detecting means.   2. The head maintenance / recovery device according to claim 1, wherein the filler portion has a detection piece in a direction along the axial direction of the cam shaft, and the detection piece is detected by the detection means. Head maintenance and recovery device. A maintenance / recovery mechanism for recovering the performance of the recording head composed of a liquid ejection head is provided, and a droplet is ejected that defines the home position of the carriage on which the recording head is mounted by abutting the carriage against the side plate. In the device
The maintenance and recovery mechanism is an apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets, wherein an upper portion close to a portion where the carriage abuts is fixed to the side plate.   In an apparatus for ejecting liquid droplets having a maintenance recovery mechanism for recovering the performance of a recording head composed of a liquid ejection head, a waste liquid tank for storing waste liquid generated by an operation for recovering the performance of the recording head is provided in the apparatus main body. An apparatus for ejecting droplets, wherein the apparatus is detachably attached to the waste liquid tank and includes a handle part having an engaging part that is displaceable and engageable with the apparatus main body. 5. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by discharging droplets from a liquid discharge head onto a medium, or the head maintenance / recovery device according to claim 1 or 2, or any one of claims 3 to 4. An image forming apparatus comprising a device for discharging droplets.

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