JP2007276373A - Ink mist collecting method and its ink ejecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flushing ink mist collecting method for collecting satisfactorily an ink liquid droplet and an ink mist ejected by a flushing operation and to provide an ink ejecting device. <P>SOLUTION: The ink mist collecting method of an ink jet printer includes an ejection head composed from a plurality of jet nozzles, a protection plate for protecting the jet nozzles attached to the end of the ejection head, a moving stage for holding and moving a recording medium, and an ink mist collecting mechanism. The end of the ejection head absorbs by an ink absorber the ink mist generated from the jet nozzle by the flushing operation of the ink jet printer with the state that the end of the discharge head is sealed through a nozzle protection plate and the ink absorber. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink ejection apparatus that records an image or the like by ejecting ink from an ejection nozzle by an ink ejection recording method. Specifically, the present invention collects ink mist generated during flushing of the ink ejection apparatus and causes ink mist scattering. The present invention relates to an ink mist collection method capable of suppressing contamination in the apparatus and a deterioration in quality of a recording medium, and an ink discharge apparatus using the method.

  Ink discharge methods of ink discharge heads using the generally widely used ink discharge recording method use a method using a piezoelectric element and an electrothermal conversion element as a discharge energy generating element used to discharge ink droplets. In any case, it is possible to control the ejection amount and ejection timing of ink droplets by an electrical signal. Due to recent technological advances, printers and printing machines using these types of ink ejection heads are often used, and higher quality printing is required.

  In the case of printers and printing presses that use the ink discharge recording method, ink pre-discharge to prevent uneven ink discharge, etc., immediately before the start of printing, so-called flushing operation (empty strike, throw away) is performed. When the ink is ejected, fine mist-like ink particles (hereinafter referred to as ink mist) are generated. When the generated ink mist is scattered, it causes a serious deterioration in quality due to contamination in the ink ejection device or adhesion to the recording medium, and various means for collecting the ink mist have been devised.

  As a method of collecting ink mist during the flushing operation, for example, a duct that is negatively pressured by an exhaust fan is installed at the location where ink mist is generated to suck ink mist and prevent ink mist from scattering, There is a method of absorbing ink mist by performing a flushing operation on an ink mist absorber disposed so as to face each other.

  However, in the method in which ink mist is sucked by a duct that has been made negative pressure by the exhaust fan, the suction amount differs between the vicinity of the duct and the position away from the duct depending on the mounting position of the intake duct. Ink mist recovery is not performed satisfactorily. Further, in the method of absorbing the ink mist by the ink mist absorber installed so as to face the discharge head, a gap is generated between the discharge head and the ink mist absorber, and thus the ink mist absorber cannot absorb the ink mist. The ink mist is scattered, causing the ink mist to contaminate the apparatus and adhere to the recording medium.

The known literature is described below.
JP-A-11-138777 JP-A-12-53621

  An object of the present invention is to provide a flushing ink mist collection method and an ink ejection apparatus for satisfactorily collecting ink droplets and ink mist ejected by a flushing operation.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention includes at least a discharge head for discharging ink composed of a plurality of discharge nozzles, a protection plate for protecting the discharge nozzles attached to the tip of the discharge head, and recording. An ink mist collection method for an ink ejection printing apparatus having a moving stage for holding and moving a medium and an ink mist collection mechanism,
Ink mist generated from the discharge nozzle by the flushing operation of the ink discharge printing apparatus is absorbed and collected by the ink absorber while the tip of the discharge head is sealed through the nozzle protection plate and the ink absorber. This is an ink mist collecting method.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided at least a discharge head that discharges ink composed of a plurality of discharge nozzles, a protection plate for protecting the discharge nozzles attached to the tip of the discharge head, and a recording medium In an ink discharge apparatus having a moving stage for holding and moving the ink and an ink mist collecting mechanism,
2. The ink ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink mist collection mechanism has the ink mist collection method according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the ejection head is sealed.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is the ink ejection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink mist collection mechanism is attached to a moving stage.

  In the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention, the ink mist collecting mechanism is constituted by an ink absorber and a touch roll, and by pressing the ink absorber against the nozzle protection plate via the touch roll, 4. The ink discharge device according to claim 2, further comprising a sealing mechanism.

  The invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is the ink absorber according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the ink absorber has a sheet shape, and is wound and collected in a roll shape. An ink ejection device.

  According to the present invention, ink droplets and ink mist ejected by the flushing operation with the discharge head tip sealed are absorbed and collected by the ink absorber, so that the ink mist is scattered around and the inside of the apparatus or The ink mist generated by the flushing operation can be reliably recovered without contaminating the print medium.

  An ink ejection apparatus and an ink mist collection method of the present invention will be described below based on an embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged side sectional view showing an embodiment of an ink discharge apparatus according to the present invention, (a) is an overall view of the apparatus, and (b) is a partial view for explaining an ink mist collecting method. is there. In the ink discharge apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1A, an ink discharge head unit 1 to which an ink tank and an ink supply path are connected, a discharge nozzle 2 provided at the tip of the discharge head unit 1, and a discharge nozzle 2 are provided. A nozzle protection plate 3 for protecting the discharge nozzle 2 attached so as to surround it is provided, a moving stage 20 for holding and moving the recording medium 10, and ink droplets and ink mist discharged by a flushing operation are absorbed. An ink absorber 5 for collecting the ink and an ink mist collecting mechanism 7 comprising a touch roll 6 for pressing the ink absorber 5 against the protective plate 3 and sealing the tip of the discharge nozzle are provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, the ink mist collecting mechanism 7 including the ink absorber 5 and the touch roll 6 is preferably attached to the moving stage 20. Moving stage 2
By integrating the zero and the ink mist collecting mechanism 7, it is possible to complete the flushing operation and the pattern printing from the flushing operation to the end of the pattern printing by a single stage movement.

  When the ink mist collecting mechanism 7 is attached to the moving stage 10 and the flushing operation and the pattern printing are performed by one stage movement, the touch roll 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. By synchronizing, it becomes possible to keep the discharge nozzle tip sealed, and the ink droplets and the ink mist 4 discharged by the flushing operation are surely absorbed by the ink absorber 5. Since the ink absorber 5 has a sheet shape and can be wound up in a roll shape, after absorbing and collecting ink droplets and ink mist, the ink absorber 5 can be wound up and collected by a winding mechanism (not shown) and easily discarded. Is possible.

  The ink absorber 5 is, for example, a nonwoven fabric made of a chemical fiber such as polyester or nylon, a natural fiber such as silk or cotton, or a resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate or polypropylene with a surface-treated resin composition having an ink holding capacity. The touch roll 6 only needs to have the ability to absorb and hold ink, and the touch roll 6 can be a metal roll as long as it can maintain gap accuracy that does not cause damage when contacting the nozzle protection plate 3 and the ejection head 1. Alternatively, a rubber roll or the like may be used.

  In the printing by the ink discharge recording method, the discharge energy generating element (piezoelectric element or electrothermal conversion element) in the ink discharge head 1 is electrically connected with the ink in the ink tank being supplied to the ink discharge head 1 through the supply path. Driven at a desired timing by a signal, ink droplets are ejected from the ejection nozzle 2 and a pattern is printed on the recording medium 10. Normally, flushing is performed to prevent uneven ink ejection immediately before pattern printing on the recording medium 10. Operation is performed. Ink droplets and ink mist 4 ejected by the ejection nozzle 2 by the flushing operation are collected by an ink mist collecting mechanism 7 including an ink absorber 5 and a touch roll 6.

  In the ink ejection apparatus of the present invention, an ink mist collection mechanism 7 including an ink absorber 5 and a touch roll 6 is provided to collect ink droplets and ink mist 4 ejected by a flushing operation. The ink absorber 5 comes into contact with the nozzle protection plate 3 by the touch roll 6 and seals the discharge nozzle tip. By performing the flushing operation when the tip of the ejection nozzle is sealed, the ink droplets and the ink mist 4 ejected by the flushing operation are surely absorbed by the ink absorber 5. In the present invention, the ink mist generated by the flushing operation is completely recovered, and it is possible to prevent a serious deterioration in quality due to contamination in the ink ejection apparatus or adhesion to the recording medium.

  FIG. 1B is a partially enlarged view showing details of the sealed state between the discharge head tip and the ink mist collection mechanism. The ink absorber 5 for absorbing and collecting the ink droplets and the ink mist 4 ejected by the flushing operation is pressed against the protective plate 3 via the touch roll 6 to seal the tip of the ejection nozzle. Drops and ink mist 4 are adsorbed and recovered by ink absorber 5 while being sealed.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the ink absorber 5 was brought into close contact with the nozzle protection plate 3 by the touch roll 6, and the flushing operation was performed with the discharge nozzle tip sealed, so that the ink absorber 5 was ejected by the flushing operation. Ink droplets and ink mist can be reliably absorbed and recovered.

The ink ejection device of the present invention ejects colored ink for forming a pixel of a color filter, a droplet for forming a light emitting layer of an EL display, a metal-containing droplet for forming an antenna of an IC tag, and the like. I can do it. That is, examples of the recording medium include a color filter, an organic electroluminescence element, and a wiring circuit used for a liquid crystal display device.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below.

  In Example 1, application was performed using the ink ejection recording apparatus shown in FIG. A mixture of 20 wt% pigment and 80 wt% alcohol solvent was used for the ink, a piezoelectric element type ink discharge head was used for the ink discharge head, and paper was used as the printing medium. An ink mist collecting mechanism was installed on the moving stage, a nylon nonwoven fabric was used for the ink absorber, and a rubber roll having a hardness of 40 degrees was used for the touch roll. When the ink discharge head is positioned above the ink mist collection mechanism and the tip of the discharge head is sealed, a flushing operation is performed, and a pattern for discharging ink droplets from all the discharge nozzles of the ink discharge head is formed on the paper. Printed. After pattern printing, the presence or absence of ink mist adhesion was confirmed in the discharge device and on the paper, and no contamination due to ink mist adhesion was observed.

  Example 2 was carried out as a comparative example of the present invention.

  In Example 2, printing was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the touch roll position was separated from the head tip and the discharge head tip was not sealed, and a large number of ink mists adhered in the apparatus and on the paper. Contamination by was confirmed.

1 is a side sectional view of an apparatus for explaining an embodiment of an ink ejection apparatus according to the present invention, (a) is an overall view, and (b) is a diagram illustrating a sealed state between an ejection head tip and an ink mist collection mechanism. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink discharge head part 2 ... Discharge nozzle 3 ... Nozzle protection plate 4 ... Ink droplet and ink mist 5 ... Ink absorber 6 ... Touch roll 7 ... Ink mist collection mechanism 10 ... Recording medium 20 ... Moving stage

Claims (5)

At least a discharge head for discharging ink composed of a plurality of discharge nozzles, a protection plate for protecting the discharge nozzles attached to the tip of the discharge head, and a moving stage for holding and moving the recording medium And an ink mist collection method for an ink ejection printing apparatus having an ink mist collection mechanism,
Ink mist generated from the discharge nozzle by the flushing operation of the ink discharge printing apparatus is absorbed and collected by the ink absorber while the tip of the discharge head is sealed through the nozzle protection plate and the ink absorber. Ink mist collection method characterized by the above-mentioned. At least a discharge head configured to discharge ink composed of a plurality of discharge nozzles, a protection plate for protecting the discharge nozzle attached to the tip of the discharge head, and a moving stage for holding and moving the recording medium; In an ink ejection apparatus having an ink mist collection mechanism,
2. An ink discharge apparatus comprising the ink mist recovery method according to claim 1, wherein the ink mist recovery mechanism seals the tip of the discharge head.   The ink ejection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink mist collection mechanism is attached to a moving stage.   The ink mist collecting mechanism includes an ink absorber and a touch roll, and has a mechanism for sealing the discharge head tip portion by pressing the ink absorber against the nozzle protection plate via the touch roll. Item 4. The ink ejection device according to Item 2 or 3.   5. The ink ejection device according to claim 2, wherein the ink absorber has a sheet shape and is wound and collected in a roll shape. 6.

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