JP2007276277A - Inkjet recording device and printing mechanism unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording device and a printing mechanism unit which can prevent an ink diffusion at removing the ink on an ink discharge forming face while preventing an ink mixture with multi-colors. <P>SOLUTION: In the inkjet recording head with a plurality of recording heads for forming an image by discharging the ink to the recording medium, blades for cleaning the discharge port forming face of each recording head are formed as one piece with an unevenness shape for every spacing of the discharge port forming face, and the recess contacts the discharge port forming face in the state of covering at the time of cleaning and then the cleaning is performed, thereby the ink diffusion is prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that the ink attached to the ink discharge port forming surfaces of a plurality of recording heads that discharge ink onto a print medium is cleaned with a blade to maintain print quality.

In an ink jet printer having a recording head having a plurality of ink ejection openings for ejecting ink to a printing surface of a printing medium, an ink ejection opening forming surface on which a plurality of ink ejection openings are formed in the recording head after the printing operation is completed The ink adhering to the ink may cause ink non-ejection and cause the ink landing position on the printing surface of the print medium to deviate from the normal position, so the ink ejection port forming surface is kept clean. It is necessary to do.

Therefore, in an ink jet recording apparatus, a blade for removing ink adhering to the ink discharge port forming surface of the recording head is provided, but a conventional blade has a plurality of recording heads in the shape of one or a plurality of blades. The ink of the recording head that has reciprocated on the discharge port forming surface in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 10 is removed, and the ink adhering to the blade is absorbed by the cleaning member to clean the discharge port forming surface.
JP 2003-291360 A

However, in the conventional cleaning mechanism shown in FIG. 2, when a plurality of recording heads are removed with a blade, different color inks are mixed into the adjacent recording head discharge ports, and printing is started on the print medium in a state where the mixed colors remain. Problems such as uneven color occur.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of recording heads for forming an image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium, the blades for cleaning the discharge port forming surfaces of the respective recording heads are integrated with each other. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is formed in a concavo-convex shape every time and is cleaned by contact with a concave portion covering a discharge port forming surface during cleaning to prevent ink droplets from scattering.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the cleaning member fixed in a state of fitting into the concave-convex shape portion of the blade is formed of an absorber and is combined with the blade. It is characterized by being configured.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the blade can move up and down, and the cleaning member fixed by the vertical movement cleans the front and back surfaces of the concave portion of the blade. It is characterized by doing.

As described above, by using the blade and the cleaning member that are uneven according to each ejection port of the recording head having a plurality of ink ejection ports according to the present invention, the ink at the time of ink removal work on the ink ejection formation surface is used. It is possible to prevent diffusion and prevent ink color mixing with multiple colors.

Therefore, it was possible to improve the cleaning failure caused by the ink lump due to the return of the ink removed from the ink ejection formation surface to the ejection port of the recording head and the increase in viscosity.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the ink sucking operation time by the recovery mechanism of the ink discharge forming surface of the recording head can be shortened, so that waste of ink can be reduced.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, 3A is a cleaning unit that represents the features of the present invention, and is shown in FIG.

The cleaning mechanism for the recording head 7 is installed in the printing mechanism unit 12 of the ink jet recording apparatus.

In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, during printing, the recording head 7 is moved to the position of the printing mechanism unit 12 shown in FIG.

During the movement, the cam 4 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is rotated by a motor (not shown), and the blade 1A is pushed up by the arm 5 that moves up and down in conjunction with the cam 4 to detect the flag 13 as a sensor (not shown). ), The height of the cleaning position of the blade 1A is determined, and the ink discharge forming surface 10 is cleaned before printing.

The cleaned recording head 7 prints an image on the print medium P by ejecting each ink supplied from the ink tank 6 to the print medium P conveyed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. .

When printing is started, the cam 4 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is rotated by a motor (not shown), and the blade 1A is pushed down by the arm 5 that moves up and down in conjunction with the cam 4, and the flag 13 is detected by the sensor ( (Not shown), the storage position of the blade 1A is determined, and the ink wiped off by the blade 1A is cleaned by the cleaning member 2.

When the printing operation is completed, the recording head 7 is connected with the head conveyance belt 15 connected to the recording head 7 by driving the head conveyance motor 14 in order to clean the ink ejection molding surface 10 of the recording head 7 again. The recording head 7 is moved to the standby position of the recording head 7 shown in FIG. 9, and the recovery unit 8 shown in FIG. 9 covers the recording head 7 so that dust adheres to the recording head 7 and the recovery operation of the recording head 7 is performed. When moving to the position, the ink adhering to the ink discharge port 10 is wiped off and cleaned by the blade 1A of the cleaning unit 3A.

Further, the ink removed from the ink discharge forming surface 10 is collected on the blade surface 11 surrounded by each discharge port, and when the recording head 7 is in the standby position, the blade 1A is in the storage position and is adjusted to the unevenness of the blade 1A. The blade 1A is cleaned by absorbing the removed ink by the cleaning member 2 which is an absorber in shape.

When the printing operation starts, the cam 4 is rotated by a motor (not shown) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 before the recording head 7 moves to the position shown in FIG. The blade 1A is pushed up by the up and down arm 5, the flag 13 is detected by a sensor (not shown), the height of the cleaning position of the blade 1A is determined, and the ink ejection forming surface 10 is cleaned before printing.

At this time, since both the front and back surfaces of the blade 1A are formed with uneven shapes corresponding to the discharge ports of the recording head 7, the ink discharge forming surface 10 is cleaned even when the recording head 7 moves to the position shown in FIG. Can remove the ink.

Further, since the cleaning member 2 is installed in accordance with the front and back surfaces of the blade 1A, the blade 1A can be cleaned whenever the blade 1A is in the storage position.

In this embodiment, the position where the blade 1A is pushed up and down is controlled by detecting the sensor of the flag 13. However, in the case of a stepping motor, it may be controlled by the number of pulses.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the ink discharge forming surface 10 is cleaned with the blade 1A while the recording head 7 is moving to the printing position, and the recording head 7 is moving to the standby position after the printing is completed. Although the ejection forming surface 10 is cleaned with the blade 1A, the cleaning operation may be performed only after the printing is completed as shown in FIG.

In this case, the uneven shape of the blade 1A may be formed only on one side in the direction of wiping off the ink, and the position of the cleaning member 2 may be configured only on one side corresponding thereto.

The figure showing the cleaning unit by this invention Diagram showing a conventional cleaning unit The figure showing the mechanism which the blade of the cleaning unit by this invention rose The side view showing the structure which the blade of the cleaning unit by this invention raised The figure showing the structure where the blade of the cleaning unit by this invention fell The side view showing the structure where the blade of the cleaning unit by this invention fell The figure which has the recording head of the printing mechanism unit by this invention in a printing position The figure which has the recording head of the printing mechanism unit by this invention in a stand-by position The figure which excluded the recording head of the printing mechanism unit by this invention Diagram of cleaning unit and recording head according to the present invention First flowchart showing a flow of a cleaning operation according to the present invention. Second flowchart showing the flow of the cleaning operation according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1A blade
1B Blade (conventional configuration)
2 Cleaning material
3A Cleaning unit
3B Cleaning unit (conventional configuration)
4 cam
5 arm
6 Ink box
7 Recording head
8 Recovery unit
9 Ink ejection port
10 Ink ejection forming surface
11 Blade surface
12 Printing mechanism unit
13 flags
14 Head transfer motor
15 Head conveyor belt P Printing medium

Claims (3)

In an inkjet recording apparatus having a plurality of recording heads for forming an image by discharging ink onto a recording medium, blades for cleaning the discharge port forming surfaces of the respective recording heads are integrally formed in an uneven shape at intervals of the discharge port forming surfaces. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that the ink jet recording apparatus prevents the ink droplets from being scattered by cleaning the concave portion in contact with the ejection port forming surface during cleaning. The cleaning member fixed in a state of fitting into the concave and convex portion of the concave and convex shape of the blade is formed of an absorber and is configured to be combined with the blade. Inkjet recording device. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blade can move up and down, and the cleaning member fixed by the vertical movement cleans the front and back surfaces of the concave portion of the blade.

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