JP2007296835A - Ink trap, recording device and liquid jet device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent inks from solidifying and accumulating on the surface of an ink absorbing material in executing borderless recording by using inks which cannot be easily absorbed by the ink absorbing material. <P>SOLUTION: The ink trap 18 which is provided facing a recording head 5 and trapping inks discharged to an area outside the edges of a recording sheet, has a shaft-shaped ink trapping roller 15 extending in a main scanning direction, a means to rotate the ink trapping roller 15 and a scraper 13. When the ink trapping roller 15 turns, the scraper 13 scrapes inks solidifying/accumulating on the surface of the ink trapping roller 15 and thus always maintains the surface of the ink trapping roller 15 in an appropriate condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides an ink capturing device that is provided opposite to an ink jet recording head and that captures ink ejected to a region off the end of a recording medium or ink ejected as a flushing operation, and a recording device including the same About. The present invention also relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus.

Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet recording head, and is not limited to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine that discharges ink from the recording head to perform recording on a recording medium. And a device that ejects a liquid corresponding to the application from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the ink jet recording head to an ejected medium corresponding to a recording medium, and adheres the liquid to the ejected medium. .
In addition to the recording head, as a liquid ejecting head, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, and an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED) Examples thereof include an ejection head, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and a sample ejection head as a precision pipette.

  Hereinafter, an ink jet printer as an example of an ink jet recording apparatus or a liquid ejecting apparatus will be described as an example. In recent years, as called home DPE, ink jet printers that can easily achieve super high image quality recording similar to silver salt photographs at home are generally widely used, and such ink jet printers include silver salt photographs. In order to obtain an output result equivalent to the above, there is a configuration in which a so-called borderless recording in which recording is performed without margins on four sides of a recording sheet can be executed.

  Such an ink jet printer has a configuration in which a concave portion is provided on a platen (recording medium guide member) that is provided facing the ink jet recording head and defines the distance between the recording paper and the ink jet recording head, and is separated from the end of the paper. In general, the ink is ejected to a region where the ink is ejected and the ink ejected to the removed region is discarded into the concave portion.

  In addition, the concave portion is provided with an ink absorbing material that captures and absorbs ink in order to prevent as much as possible floating due to mist formation of the discarded ink. Then, the ink captured and absorbed by the ink absorbing material flows to the bottom of the ink absorbing material, and from a hole provided in the bottom of the recess, waste liquid collecting means (for example, a waste liquid tray) provided at the lower part of the platen Such a configuration is used that falls in a similar manner (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2002-86757 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-118058

  By the way, there are dye-based and pigment-based inks, but pigment-based inks have the advantage that they are less likely to bleed and have a unique color developability not found in dye-based inks. Yes. However, the pigment-based ink has a lower ink absorbability by the ink absorbing material than the dye-based ink, and even when captured by the surface of the ink absorbing material, it does not flow to the bottom of the ink absorbing material, and the ink absorbing material It has the property of solidifying while adhering to the surface and gradually depositing.

As a result, the solidified / deposited ink adheres to the back surface of the recording paper, or the ink trapping property by the ink absorbing material is lowered, so that ink mist is generated, which may cause various problems. For this reason, conventionally, there is a tendency to avoid borderless recording using a pigment-based ink, and the advantages of the pigment-based ink cannot be fully exhibited in borderless recording.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to solidify the ink on the surface of the ink absorbing material when performing borderless recording using ink that is difficult to absorb by the ink absorbing material. It is to prevent accumulation.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the first aspect of the present invention is provided so as to face the ink jet recording head, and is ejected as an ink ejected to an area off the end of the recording medium or as a flushing operation. An ink catching device for catching ink, wherein an ink catching body having a surface comprising an ink catching surface for catching ink, and a part of the ink catching surface in a region facing the ink jet recording head, the ink jet recording head Ink capture surface replacement means for replacing with other portions that are out of the region facing the ink, and ink removal means for removing the ink trapped on a part of the ink capture surface facing the ink jet recording head. It is characterized by.

  According to this aspect, the ink capturing surface in the region facing the ink jet recording head can be maintained in an appropriate state, that is, the state where the ink has been removed, by the ink capturing surface replacing unit and the ink removing unit. Since the ink captured on the ink capturing surface can be prevented from solidifying, or even if the ink captured on the ink capturing surface is solidified, it can be removed, so that an appropriate recording result can always be obtained. . Accordingly, for example, borderless recording can be performed using, for example, pigment-based ink that is easily solidified and deposited on the ink capturing surface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the ink removal by the ink removing unit is performed on the opposite side of the surface of the ink capturing body that faces the inkjet recording head. To do.
According to this aspect, since the ink removal by the ink removing unit is performed on the opposite side of the surface of the ink capturing body that faces the inkjet recording head, even if the ink scatters as the ink is removed. Further, the scattered ink can be prevented from adhering to the ink jet recording head or the recording medium.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the ink capturing body has an axial shape extending in the main scanning direction and is provided to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the main scanning direction. The ink catching surface replacing means rotates the ink catching body so that a part of the ink catching surface in the region facing the ink jet recording head is separated from the region facing the ink jet recording head. It is characterized by replacing the part. According to this aspect, since the ink capturing surface is replaced by rotating the ink capturing body having an axial shape, it is possible to replace the ink capturing surface with a simple structure and at low cost.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the shaft diameter is such that a height difference of a part of the ink capturing surface in the region facing the ink jet recording head with respect to the ink jet recording head is 1 mm or less. The diameter is set.
According to this aspect, since the axial diameter is set so that the height difference of the part of the ink capturing surface facing the ink jet recording head with respect to the ink jet recording head is 1 mm or less, the ink jet recording is performed. It can be prevented that the gap between the head and the ink capturing surface becomes large and ink mist is remarkably generated.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect, the ink removing unit includes a scraper that scrapes off ink adhering to the ink capturing surface as the ink capturing body rotates. It is characterized by being. According to this aspect, since the ink removing unit is configured to include the scraper that scrapes off the ink attached to the ink capturing surface as the ink capturing body rotates, the ink attached to the ink capturing surface is reliably Can be removed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the scraper is provided so as to face the ink jet recording head, supports the recording medium, and forms a gap between the ink jet recording head and the recording medium. The recording medium guide member is provided integrally with a recording medium guide member that regulates and guides the recording medium to the downstream side. According to this aspect, since the scraper is provided integrally with the recording medium guide member, the scraper can be disposed at low cost.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect, the ink removing unit is in pressure contact with the ink capturing surface and rotates with the rotation of the ink capturing body. It is characterized by comprising a squeezing roller that squeezes the ink captured on the capturing surface.
According to this aspect, the ink removing unit includes a squeezing roller that squeezes the ink captured on the ink capturing surface by being pressed against the ink capturing surface and rotating with the rotation of the ink capturing body. Therefore, the ink absorbed on the ink capturing surface can be removed together with the ink deposited on the surface of the ink capturing surface.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the ink capturing body includes the ink supplementary surface on an outer peripheral surface and is engaged between the first shaft and the second shaft. In the region facing the ink jet recording head, the ink capturing surface exchanging means is configured by a belt-like body, and the at least one of the first shaft and the second shaft rotates the belt-like body. A part of the ink capturing surface is replaced with another part that is out of a region facing the ink jet recording head.
According to this aspect, since the ink capturing body is constituted by a belt-like body, a sufficient flat area can be secured on the ink capturing surface facing the ink jet recording head, whereby the ink jet recording head and the ink supplemental surface can be secured. Since the gap between the ink jet recording head and the ink supplement surface is increased, the ink mist can be prevented from being significantly generated.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inkjet recording head that performs recording on a recording medium, and the inkjet recording head that is provided to face the inkjet recording head and supports the recording medium, thereby A recording medium guide member that defines a distance, and a recording medium guide member that is provided in a slot formed in a surface of the recording medium guide member that faces the ink jet recording head. The ink catching device. According to this aspect, in the recording apparatus, it is possible to obtain the same operational effects as any one of the first to eighth aspects.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto an ejected medium, and the liquid ejecting head and the ejected medium that are provided to face the liquid ejecting head and support the ejected medium. The ejected medium guide member that defines the distance of the ejected medium, and the ejected medium guide member that is disposed in a slot formed in the surface of the ejected medium guide member that faces the liquid ejecting head, is ejected to an area outside the ejected medium end. A liquid capturing device that captures the liquid to be captured, wherein the liquid capturing device includes a liquid capturing body having a surface configured by a liquid capturing surface that captures the liquid, and the liquid capturing in a region facing the liquid ejecting head. A liquid capturing surface replacement means for replacing a part of the surface with another portion that is out of the region facing the liquid ejecting head, and the liquid capturing surface facing the liquid ejecting head. Characterized in that it comprises a liquid removal means for removing the captured liquid portion.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an essential part of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 1 as an example of a “recording apparatus” and a “liquid ejecting apparatus” according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view as seen from the lower side, FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the main part. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional side views showing a main part of another embodiment.
In the following, first, the schematic configuration of the printer according to the present invention will be described with reference mainly to FIGS. In the following, the left direction in FIG. 2 (the front side of the printer) is referred to as “downstream side” of the paper transport path, and the right direction in FIG. 2 is referred to as “upstream side”.

  The printer 1 includes a paper feeding device (not shown) on the upstream side of the conveying unit 9, and from the paper feeding device, recording paper (hereinafter “paper P” as an example of “recording medium” and “ejection medium”). Feed) to the conveying means 9. The paper P is transported below the ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as “recording head”) 5 by the transport means 9, and recording is performed by the recording head 5, and the first discharge roller pair 20 and the second discharge roller pair 22 are recorded. It is discharged on a tray (not shown) by a discharge means having

  Hereinafter, further detailed description will be given mainly with reference to FIG. The conveying means 9 is composed of a driving roller 9A and a driven roller 9B. The drive roller 9A is rotationally driven by a paper feed motor 25 (see FIGS. 1, 3 and the like), and the driven roller 9B is driven to rotate in contact with the drive roller 9A. The driving roller 9A is provided with an adhesion layer in which wear-resistant particles are substantially uniformly dispersed on the outer peripheral surface of a metal shaft extending in the paper width direction (main scanning direction: front and back direction in FIG. 2), and a driven roller 9B. The outer peripheral surface is made of a low friction material such as an elastomer, and a plurality of outer peripheral surfaces are arranged in the axial direction of the drive roller 9A as shown in FIG.

  Two driven rollers 9B are rotatably supported at the downstream end portion of the paper guide upper 8 arranged in parallel in the paper width direction so as to be freely rotatable, and a coil spring 19 that biases the paper guide upper 8 (FIG. It is provided so as to come into pressure contact with the driving roller 9A by the urging force of 1). Further, on the upstream side of the transport unit 9, a sheet detection unit 7 that detects the passage of the sheet P is disposed.

  The paper P that is sub-scanned to the downstream side when the drive roller 9A rotates while being nipped by the drive roller 9A and the driven roller 9B is lowered by the paper guide front 10 as a “recording medium guide member”. Recording is performed by the recording head 5 while being supported by the recording head 5. The recording head 5 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 2, and the carriage 2 reciprocates in the main scanning direction under the power of a motor (not shown) while being guided by a carriage guide shaft 4 extending in the main scanning direction. An independent ink cartridge 3 is mounted on the carriage 2 for each of a plurality of colors, and ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 3 to the recording head 5.

  The pre-paper guide 10 has a long shape in the main scanning direction, and a plurality of ribs 11a and 11b extending in the sub scanning direction are formed on the surface facing the recording head 5 at appropriate intervals in the main scanning direction. A slot 12 extending in the main scanning direction is formed between the rib 11a and the rib 11b. In the slot 12, ink that traps ink ejected to a region outside the end of the paper P is captured. A capturing device 18 (details will be described later) is provided.

  The nip point between the driving roller 9A and the driven roller 9B constituting the conveying unit 9 is set slightly downstream in the conveying direction so that the feeding direction of the paper P by the conveying unit 9 is directed to the rib 11a. This prevents the paper P from being lifted from the ribs 11a and 11b, so that the gap between the paper P and the recording head 5 is kept constant. For this reason, the paper P receives a conveyance load from the rib 11a due to a frictional force with the rib 11a. Therefore, for example, by configuring the rib 11a with a freely rotatable roller, the conveyance load is reduced. Good recording results can be obtained.

  Subsequently, the first discharge roller pair 20 provided on the downstream side of the recording head 5 includes a driving roller 20A and a driven roller 20B, and the second discharge roller pair 22 provided on the downstream side is also the same. The driving roller 22A and the driven roller 22B are provided. The driving rollers 20A and 22A rotate by receiving the power of the paper feed motor 25 via the driving roller 9A, and the driven rollers 20B and 22B rotate in contact with the driving rollers 20A and 22A, respectively. The recorded paper P is discharged to the outside of the printer by the first discharge roller pair 20 and the second discharge roller pair 22.

  By the way, when performing borderless recording on the upper end of the paper P, the upper end of the paper P does not reach the first discharge roller pair 20, and therefore the paper P receives a feeding force only from the drive roller 9A (first Feed mode). Then, in a state where the upper end of the sheet is disposed above the slot 12, ink is ejected to the upper end area of the sheet and an area outside the upper end of the sheet, and borderless recording is performed on the upper end of the sheet. At this time, the ink ejected to the area deviated from the upper end of the sheet is captured by the ink capturing roller 15 constituting the ink capturing device 18 provided inside the slot 12.

  Next, when the upper end of the sheet P reaches the first discharge roller pair 20, the sheet P receives a feeding force from both the driving roller 9A and the driving roller 20A or in addition to the driving roller 22A (second feeding). mode). When the lower end of the sheet P is pulled out between the driving roller 9A and the driven roller 9B, the sheet P receives a feeding force from the driving rollers 20A and 22B (third feeding mode). Then, in a state where the lower end of the sheet is disposed above the slot 12, ink is ejected to the lower end area of the sheet and the area outside the lower end area of the sheet, and borderless recording is performed on the lower end of the sheet. Even at this time, the ink ejected to the area deviated from the lower end of the sheet is captured by the ink capturing roller 15 constituting the ink capturing device 18 provided inside the slot 12.

The outline of the printer 1 has been described above, and the ink capturing device 18 will be described in detail below.
As shown in FIG. 4, an endless belt 27 is entrained between the pulley portion of the composite gear 28 attached to the shaft end of the drive roller 9A and the rotation shaft of the paper feed motor 25, thereby driving the drive roller 9A. The roller 9A is rotationally driven.

  The gear portion of the compound gear 28 is meshed with the gear 29, and the gear 29 is meshed with a gear 31 attached to the shaft end of the rotation shaft 23 of the drive roller 22A, whereby the drive roller 22A is rotationally driven. It has become like that. The gear 33 attached to the rotary shaft 23 meshes with the gear 32 attached to the shaft end of the rotary shaft 21 of the drive roller 20A, whereby the drive roller 20A is rotationally driven. Yes.

  On the other hand, a gear 30 is integrally formed with the gear 29, and a gear 34 attached to an end portion of the ink capturing roller 15 as an “ink capturing member” meshes with the gear 30, and thereby the ink. The capture roller 15 is driven to rotate. The means for rotating the ink catching roller 15 in this way constitutes the “ink catching surface replacing means” of the present invention.

  In FIG. 5, the ink catching roller 15 constituting the ink catching device 18 has a shaft shape extending in the main scanning direction, and is provided on a shaft body 15 a formed of a metal material or a resin material, and a circumferential surface thereof. And an ink capturing layer 15b formed of a material having ink capturing properties such as sponge. Therefore, the peripheral surface of the ink capturing layer 15b forms the “ink capturing surface” of the present invention.

  In FIG. 5, a symbol w indicates a nozzle formation range of the recording head 5, that is, a range where ink is ejected, and the slot 12 is formed slightly larger than the nozzle formation range of the recording head 5 and is ejected from the recording head 5. The ink is captured by the peripheral surface of the ink capturing roller 15, that is, the ink capturing layer 15b.

  On the other hand, the scraper 13 in contact with the peripheral surface of the ink capturing layer 15b is integrally formed with the pre-paper guide 10 and resin molding on the pre-paper guide 10 (see also FIG. 3). Since the ink catching roller 15 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 (counterclockwise direction), therefore, the scraper 13 removes the ink adhering to the peripheral surface of the ink catching layer 15b as the ink catching roller 15 rotates. Serves the function of scraping. Since the rotation direction of the ink catching roller 15 is also the feeding direction of the paper P, even if the paper P contacts the ink catching roller 15, it is possible to prevent the paper P being conveyed from being loaded. ing.

  With the above configuration, a portion of the ink catching surface of the ink catching roller 15 in the region facing the recording head 5 (the circumferential surface in the range w in FIG. 5) faces the recording head 5 due to the rotation of the ink catching roller 15. The ink trapped on a part of the ink trapping surface of the ink trapping roller 15 that has been replaced with the other part and has been opposed to the recording head 5 by the scraper 13 constituting the “ink removing means” It will be removed. A waste liquid tray (not shown) is provided at the lower part of the ink catching device 18 so that the removed ink falls into the waste liquid tray.

  Therefore, the area of the ink catching roller 15 facing the recording head 5 can be maintained in a state where the ink has been removed, and the ink trapped on the outer peripheral surface of the ink catching roller 15 can be prevented from solidifying and accumulating. Alternatively, this can be removed even if it is solidified / deposited, and borderless recording can be performed using a pigment-based ink that is easily solidified / deposited. Alternatively, even if a flushing operation is performed on the ink catching roller 15, the ink trapped on the outer peripheral surface of the ink catching roller 15 is prevented from solidifying / depositing, or is removed even when solidified / deposited. Can do.

  The scraper 13 is provided on the opposite side of the surface of the ink catching roller 15 that faces the recording head 5. That is, since the ink removal by the scraper 13 is executed on the lower surface of the ink catching roller 15 on the side far from the recording head 5, even if the ink is scattered as the ink is removed, the scattered ink remains in the recording head 5 or Adhesion to the paper P can be prevented.

  Since the ink catching roller 15 according to the present embodiment is configured to always rotate with the rotation of the driving roller 9A, solidification and accumulation of ink can be prevented almost certainly. As described above, it is desirable that the ink catching roller 15 is always rotated during the execution of recording. However, the ink capturing roller 15 may be configured to be selectively driven to rotate as necessary. For example, the rotation may be performed when the apparatus is turned on or when a recording job starts or ends.

  In FIG. 5, a symbol h indicates a height difference between the outer peripheral surface of the ink catching roller 15 and the recording head 5 in the range w. When the height difference h increases, the gap between the recording head 5 and the outer peripheral surface (ink capturing surface) of the ink capturing roller 15 increases, and ink mist is likely to occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, the diameter of the ink catching roller 15 is set so that the height difference h is 1 mm or less.

  Next, another embodiment of the ink capturing device 18 will be described. Ink trapping devices 18 ′ and 18 ″ according to other embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 use squeezing rollers 16 or 17 instead of the scraper 13 shown in FIG. 5 as ink removing means. In FIGS. 6 and 7, reference numeral 10 ′ indicates a state before paper guidance without the scraper 13.

  The pressing roller 16 or 17 shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 presses the ink catching roller 15 and is driven to rotate, thereby pressing the ink catching layer 15b and removing the ink absorbed by the ink catching layer 15b. Alternatively, the ink trapped on the peripheral surface of the ink capturing layer 15b and solidified / deposited is removed. Accordingly, similarly to the ink capturing device 18 shown in FIG. 5, the area facing the recording head 5 in the ink capturing roller 15 can be maintained in a state where the ink has been removed, and the outer periphery of the ink capturing roller 15 can be maintained. The ink trapped on the surface is prevented from solidifying / depositing, or can be removed even when solidified / depositing, and borderless recording is performed using pigment-based ink that is easy to solidify / deposit. be able to.

  In addition, as for the pressing roller 17 shown in FIG. 7, the groove | channel 17a is formed in a helical shape in the outer peripheral surface. Accordingly, not only the ink catching roller 15 is squeezed but also the action of scraping (scraping off) the solidified ink on the outer peripheral surface of the ink catching roller 15 is achieved, and the ink trapped by the ink catching roller 15 is more reliably removed. Can do.

  It goes without saying that the embodiment described above is an example and is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in this embodiment, the ink catching roller 15 is formed by providing the ink catching layer (ink absorbing layer) 15b on the peripheral surface of the shaft body 15a. However, it is also possible to catch the ink by other means. . For example, without providing the ink capturing layer 15b, a potential difference is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body 15a and the nozzle plate of the recording head 5, that is, the ink ejected from the recording head 5 by charging the shaft body 15a. It is also possible to make it adsorb | suck to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body 15a. Alternatively, the peripheral surface of the shaft body 15a may be subjected to hydrophilic processing or microgroove processing so as to capture the ink.

  In the above embodiment, the ink adhering to the peripheral surface of the ink catching roller 15 is configured to be removed by the scraper 13, the squeezing rollers 16, 17 or the like, but when the fluidity of the ink is relatively good, For example, a region where the ink is captured facing the recording head 5 is arranged on the opposite side, that is, the lower side of the side facing the recording head 5 for a certain period of time, and the ink is removed by free fall of the ink. It doesn't matter.

Furthermore, the ink supplement device according to the present invention may be the embodiment shown in FIGS. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an essential part of a printer including an ink supplement device 18 ′ ″ according to another embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of the same.
The ink capturing device 18 ′ ″ shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 uses belt-shaped bodies 35A to 35G (hereinafter collectively referred to as “belt-shaped bodies 35”) as “ink capturing bodies”, and “ink removing means”. Squeezing rollers 16 and 16 are used.

  More specifically, grooves 10a and 10b extending in the main scanning direction are formed in the sub-scanning direction at intervals in the sub-scanning direction, and are formed in the sub-scanning direction on the surface facing the recording head 5 '. As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of extending ribs 11a, 11b, and 11c are formed at appropriate intervals in the main scanning direction.

A first shaft 36 and a second shaft 37 having a rotation axis parallel to the main scanning direction are respectively disposed in the grooves 10a and 10b, and a belt-like body 35 is provided on the first shaft 36 and the second shaft 37. As shown by reference numerals 35A to 35G in FIG. 8, a plurality of papers are arranged so as to be arranged at the edge positions of papers of a plurality of sizes used for recording.
The belt-like body 35 is configured by adhering an ink absorbing layer made of sponge, urethane foam, nonwoven fabric or the like to the outer peripheral surface side of an endless belt made of, for example, rubber or urethane, that is, the outer peripheral surface serves as an ink capturing surface. Form.

  The second shaft 37 is provided so as to be freely rotatable, and is configured so that the power of the motor 25 is transmitted to the first shaft 36. When the first shaft 36 is rotationally driven by the power of the motor 25 ( In the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9, the belt-like body 35 is driven, so that a part of the ink capturing surface in the region facing the recording head 5 ′ (for example, the region indicated by the range w in FIG. 9) It is replaced with other parts that are out of the area facing.

  In the belt-like body 35, squeezing rollers 16 and 16 are provided on the opposite side to the side facing the recording head 5 ′, and the squeezing rollers 16 and 16, the first shaft 36 and the second shaft 37 are provided. As a result, the belt-like body 35 is pinched and the captured (absorbed) ink is removed. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure already demonstrated in the other structure shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and the description is abbreviate | omitted below. In this embodiment, the ink captured by the belt-like body 35 is removed using the squeezing rollers 16 and 16, but the ink is removed by the scraper 13 described with reference to FIG. You may comprise.

  As described above, the area facing the recording head 5 ′ in the belt-like body 35 can be maintained in a state where the ink is removed, and the ink captured on the outer peripheral surface of the belt-like body 35 is solidified and accumulated. Can be removed even if it is solidified / deposited, and borderless recording can be performed using pigment-based ink that is easy to solidify / deposit.

  Further, since the ink capturing surface is formed by the belt-like body 35, a flat region (region indicated by reference sign w in FIG. 9) can be sufficiently secured on the ink capturing surface facing the recording head 5 '. Accordingly, since an increase in the gap between the recording head 5 ′ and the ink supplementary surface can be prevented, it is possible to prevent the ink mist from being remarkably generated due to the increase in the gap between the recording head 5 ′ and the ink supplementary surface. it can. Since the driving direction of the belt-like body 35 on the side facing the recording head 5 ′ is also the feeding direction of the paper P, even if the paper P contacts the belt-like body 35, a load is applied to the paper P being conveyed. It can prevent giving.

1 is a perspective view of a main part of a printer according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a main part of the printer according to the invention. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a printer according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the printer according to the invention. 1 is a side sectional view of a printer (ink capturing device) according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a printer (ink capturing device) according to another embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a printer (ink capturing device) according to another embodiment. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part (ink capturing device) of a printer according to another embodiment. The sectional side view of the principal part (ink trapping device) of a printer concerning other embodiments.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 Carriage, 3 Ink cartridge, 4 Carriage guide shaft, 5, 5 'recording head, 6 After paper guidance, 7 Paper detector, 8 On paper guidance, 9 Conveying means, 9A Drive roller, 9B Driven roller, 10, 10 ', 10 "before paper guide, 11a, 11b, 11c rib, 12 slot, 13 scraper, 15 ink catching roller, 15a shaft, 15b ink catching layer, 16, 17 squeeze roller, 18, 18' , 18 '', 18 '' 'Ink capturing device, 19 coil spring, 20 first discharge roller pair, 20A drive roller, 20B driven roller, 21 rotating shaft, 22 second discharge roller pair, 22A drive roller, 22B driven roller , 23 Rotating shaft, 25 Paper feed motor, 27 Endless belt, 28 Compound gear, 29-34 Gear, 35 Belt-like body, 36 1st axis, 37 2nd axis, P Recording paper

Claims (10)

An ink capturing device that is provided opposite to an ink jet recording head and that captures ink ejected to a region off an end of a recording medium or ink ejected as a flushing operation,
An ink catcher whose surface is constituted by an ink catching surface for catching ink;
An ink capture surface replacing means for replacing a part of the ink capturing surface in a region facing the ink jet recording head with another portion deviating from the region facing the ink jet recording head;
An ink removing means for removing ink captured by a part of the ink capturing surface facing the ink jet recording head;
An ink capturing apparatus comprising: 2. The ink supplement device according to claim 1, wherein the ink removal by the ink removing unit is performed on the opposite side of the surface of the ink capturing body that faces the inkjet recording head. 3.
An ink catching device. 3. The ink supplement device according to claim 1, wherein the ink capturing body has an axial shape extending in the main scanning direction and is rotatable about an axis parallel to the main scanning direction.
The ink catching surface replacing means rotates the ink catching body so that a part of the ink catching surface in the region facing the ink jet recording head is separated from the region facing the ink jet recording head. Replace with
An ink catching device. 4. The ink supplement apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the shaft diameter is set such that a height difference of a part of the ink capturing surface in the region facing the ink jet recording head with respect to the ink jet recording head is 1 mm or less. ing,
An ink catching device. 5. The ink supplement device according to claim 3, wherein the ink removing unit includes a scraper that scrapes off ink adhering to the ink capturing surface as the ink capturing body rotates.
An ink catching device. 6. The ink supplement apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the scraper is provided to face the ink jet recording head, supports the recording medium, defines a gap between the ink jet recording head and the recording medium, and records. Provided integrally with a recording medium guide member for guiding the medium downstream;
An ink catching device. 5. The ink capturing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the ink removing means presses the ink catching surface and rotates with the rotation of the ink catching body, whereby the ink trapped on the ink catching surface. Configured with a squeezing roller to squeeze,
An ink catching device. 3. The ink supplement device according to claim 1, wherein the ink catching body includes a belt-like body that includes the ink supplementing surface on an outer peripheral surface and is wound between a first shaft and a second shaft,
The ink capturing surface replacement means rotates at least one of the first shaft and the second shaft to drive the belt-like body, thereby forming a part of the ink capturing surface in a region facing the ink jet recording head. , Replace with other parts that are out of the region facing the inkjet recording head,
An ink catching device. An ink jet recording head for recording on a recording medium;
A recording medium guide member provided facing the inkjet recording head and defining a distance between the inkjet recording head and the recording medium by supporting the recording medium;
The ink catching device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, provided in a slot formed in a surface of the recording medium guide member facing the inkjet recording head,
A recording apparatus comprising: A liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid onto the ejected medium;
An ejected medium guide member provided opposite to the liquid ejecting head and defining a distance between the liquid ejecting head and the ejected medium by supporting the ejected medium;
A liquid capturing device that is provided in a slot formed in a surface of the ejected medium guide member that faces the liquid ejecting head, and that captures the liquid ejected to an area outside the end of the ejected medium; Prepared,
The liquid capturing device, a liquid capturing body having a liquid capturing surface whose surface captures the liquid;
A liquid capturing surface replacement means for replacing a part of the liquid capturing surface in the region facing the liquid ejecting head with another portion deviating from the region facing the liquid ejecting head;
A liquid removing means for removing the liquid trapped in a part of the liquid trapping surface facing the liquid ejecting head;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:

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