JP2009039981A - Inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording apparatus having a cleaning means capable of frequently cleaning a platen supporting a recording sheet with a non-disfeatured brushing surface with ease and for a long time. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recording apparatus is provided with the platen supporting the recording sheet at a position facing a recording head mounted on a carriage and a cleaning means disposed movably in the direction of carriage movement for cleaning the platen. The cleaning means has a brushing member rolled around a pair of core members so as to wind to take up and transfer in the direction of crossing the direction of carriage movement, and a pressing member for pressing the blushing member to the platen. The platen is brushed by pressing the brushing member to the platen and transferring by winding to take up. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording head mounted on a moving carriage, and in particular, includes a cleaning unit for cleaning a platen that supports a recording sheet at a position facing the recording head. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus provided.

  A recording apparatus having functions such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile is configured to record an image on a recording medium by a recording head based on image information. There are various recording systems such as an ink jet system, a laser beam system, a thermal transfer system, a thermal system, and a wire dot system. Among them, the ink jet recording apparatus performs recording by ejecting ink from a plurality of ejection openings provided in the recording head. In an ink jet recording apparatus, since a minute ink droplet is ejected, a mist-like ink mist may be generated at the same time as the main droplet for recording. In a normal recording operation, the amount of ink mist is very small and hardly affects the image quality.

However, on a platen that supports a recording sheet, which is a recording medium, at a position facing the recording head, dried thickened ink may continue to accumulate due to mixing of paper dust or the like with ink due to long-term recording. Furthermore, when the margin of the recording sheet is reduced or borderless recording is performed, the ink density at the edge of the recording sheet is increased, and an environment in which ink is easily deposited is created. In this case, the platen surface that supports the recording sheet is soiled by the accumulated ink, and this ink stain is transferred to the recording sheet, so that the quality of the recorded matter is deteriorated. Even if this is an allowable range on the back side of the sheet, in the case of double-sided recording, it leads to a serious deterioration in image quality. Further, the thickened deposit may impair the smoothness of the platen surface, and may cause skewing of the recording sheet, generation of wrinkles, or paper breakage. In the worst case, it may cause a paper feed failure. As a means for coping with such inconvenience, Patent Document 1 discloses a cleaning means for wiping off dirt by rolling or rubbing on a platen surface.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-068792

However, the conventional cleaning means has a disadvantage that deposits such as thickened ink cannot be removed sufficiently. That is, the conventional cleaning means cannot perform wiping at an appropriate timing that does not give a period during which the ink thickens. For this reason, in the case of thickened ink that is mixed with paper powder and dried and dried, there has been a technical problem that a sufficient removal effect cannot be obtained only by rolling contact or rubbing with a sliding member.
In addition, in order to obtain the expected cleaning effect, it is required that the cleaning surface of the sliding member be maintained in a clean state for as long as possible. I couldn't respond. Further, in the conventional cleaning means, it is necessary to replace the sliding member for wiping in a short period of time, and there is a disadvantage that it is a heavy burden on the user in terms of cost and labor.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cleaning means that can easily and frequently clean a platen that supports a recording sheet over a long period of time with a non-stained rubbing surface.

  The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording head mounted on a moving carriage, and for cleaning the platen that supports a recording sheet at a position facing the recording head. Cleaning means arranged to be movable in the movement direction of the carriage, and the cleaning means is wound by a pair of core members so as to be wound up in a direction intersecting the movement direction of the carriage. Comprising a member and a pressing mechanism for pressing the sliding member against the platen, wherein the sliding member is rubbed against the platen by moving the winding member while pressing the sliding member against the platen. To do.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus including a cleaning unit that can easily and frequently clean a platen that supports a recording sheet over a long period of time with a non-stained rubbing surface.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment. In FIG. 2, a recording sheet S as a recording medium is fed from a sheet feeding device (not shown), and a leading end thereof abuts on a nip between the conveying roller 1 and the pinch roller 2. The conveying roller 1 is formed by a grindstone roller having fine particles such as a grindstone and alumina deposited on the surface, and the pinch roller 2 is formed by a rubber roller. By using the conveyance roller 1 as a grindstone roller, the outer diameter accuracy and the deflection accuracy of the roller can be increased, and the conveyance accuracy of the recording sheet S can be improved as compared with the case of a rubber roller. When the recording sheet S arrives, the conveyance roller 1 starts to rotate, and the recording sheet S starts to be conveyed in the direction of arrow A by cooperating with the pinch roller that is pressed and rotated. The paper feeding device is configured by an automatic paper feeding device (automatic sheet feeder, ASF) that separates and feeds the stacked recording sheets one by one when a recording start command is received.

  A PE (paper edge) sensor is disposed on the upstream side of the conveyance roller conveyance, and detects the leading edge and presence / absence of the recording sheet S. An image forming unit including a platen 3, a recording head 4, a carriage 7, and the like is configured on the downstream side of the conveyance roller 1. In the image forming unit, image formation (recording) is performed on the recording sheet S supported on the platen 3 by the recording head 4. The recording head 4 is an ink jet recording head that performs recording by selectively ejecting ink from a plurality of ejection ports based on image information. In the ink jet recording head, a predetermined gap (for example, 0.2 to 2.0 mm) is provided between the recording sheet S supported by the platen 3 and the discharge surface of the recording head 4 (the surface on which the discharge ports are arranged). It has been. The recording head 4 is mounted on a carriage 7, and the carriage 7 is supported so as to be reciprocally movable along guide rails 5 and 6 installed in parallel to each other on the apparatus main body. The moving direction (main scanning direction) of the carriage 7 is a direction that intersects the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording sheet S.

  The recording head 4 in this embodiment is a recording head for color recording or gradation recording that performs recording using a plurality of types of ink, and a plurality of ejection port arrays corresponding to the type of ink are arranged on the ejection surface. ing. For the recording head 4, ink is supplied to each ejection port array from a plurality of ink tanks 8 detachably mounted on the tank mounting unit 9 through the respective supply tubes 10. Therefore, an ink jet recording apparatus is configured that performs recording by ejecting ink onto the recording sheet S supported on the platen 3 by the recording head 4 mounted on the carriage 7 that reciprocates in the main scanning direction. The discharge surface of the recording head 4 is provided with a plurality of discharge ports constituting each discharge port array, and by selectively discharging ink from each discharge port based on image information, a recording sheet which is a recording medium A desired image is formed on S. That is, recording is performed on the entire area of the recording sheet S by alternately repeating recording for one line for ejecting ink from the recording head 4 in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 7 and conveyance at a predetermined pitch by the conveyance roller 1. Is called. Disposed on the downstream side of the platen 3 are a discharge roller 12 that is driven in synchronism with the conveyance roller 1 and a spur 13 that is in pressure contact with the discharge roller 12 and rotates in a driven manner. The recorded recording sheet S is discharged out of the apparatus main body through the discharge roller 12 and the spur 13.

  A recovery unit 11 for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection performance of the recording head 4 is disposed at a predetermined position (for example, a home position) that is within the moving range of the recording head 4 and out of the recording range. The recovery unit 11 includes a cap for covering the ejection surface of the recording head 4, a suction pump for forcibly sucking ink from the ejection port in a state where the ejection port surface is capped, and deposits such as ink adhering to the ejection surface. Wiper etc. for wiping off are provided. Waste ink discharged from the recovery unit 11 is collected in a waste ink tank (not shown) disposed at the bottom of the apparatus main body. This waste ink tank is detachable (or replaceable).

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming unit including a cleaning unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cleaning unit and a drive mechanism thereof according to an embodiment. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cleaning unit is moved toward the outside of the recording sheet in the image forming unit of FIG. 1 to 4, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment is provided with a cleaning unit 50 for wiping and removing ink stains on the platen surface of the platen 3. In the illustrated configuration, the cleaning means 50 is mounted on the side surface of the carriage 7. A pair of core members 17 and 18 are rotatably attached to the side wall of the carriage 7 at a predetermined distance in the transport direction. A belt-like or sheet-like sliding member 16 is wound around these core members 17 and 18 so as to be wound up (wound in a roll shape). The sliding member 16 is wound so as to be wound up in a direction intersecting with the moving direction of the carriage 7 by rotationally driving one of the core members.

  A pressing mechanism is provided on the side wall of the carriage 7 to press the sliding member 16 between the pair of core members 17 and 18 against the platen surface of the platen 3 (the surface that supports the recording sheet). The pressing mechanism includes two guide rollers 19 and 20 as pressing members that are driven toward and away from the platen 3. That is, the guide rollers 19 and 20 as pressing members are attached so as to be rotatable about an axis in a direction intersecting the recording sheet conveyance direction and movable in the vertical direction (a direction away from the platen 3). ing. The cleaning means 50 according to this embodiment includes the sliding member 16 and the guide rollers 19 and 20 as described above.

  The core members 17 and 18 are preferably provided with a light sliding load that does not cause idling when the core members 17 and 18 are not rotationally driven. Since the sliding member 16 wipes off ink stains on the platen surface, the sliding member 16 is preferably made of a cloth-like or sponge-like material having excellent ink absorbability. The surface material of the guide rollers 19 and 20 is preferably a rubber-like or foam-like material that can be sufficiently deformed so as not to damage the platen surface when pressed against the platen 3. In addition, the cleaning unit 50 according to the present embodiment can be moved in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 7 by being mounted on the carriage 7. In this case, the cleaning unit 50 may be mounted on the carriage 7 permanently or detachably. When it is detachable, it may be configured to be retracted and placed at the end of the movable range when not in use. Further, the cleaning unit 50 may be configured to move in the moving direction of the carriage 7 by a dedicated moving unit separately from the driving of the carriage 7.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the cleaning unit 50 and its drive mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the pair of core members 17 and 18 are rotationally driven using a motor 21 as a drive source. In the present embodiment, a desired core member is rotated by selecting the rotation direction of the motor 21, and the sliding member 16 is wound on the core member. That is, the output gear 52 of the motor 21 meshes with the large-diameter gear portion of the sun gear 54 that is pivotally supported by the pendulum member 22. The pendulum member 22 is swingable about a swing shaft 53. The sun gear 54 is rotatably supported on a swing shaft 53 that is a fixed center. An idler gear 55 that meshes with the small-diameter gear portion of the sun gear 54 and a planetary gear 56 that meshes with the idler gear 55 are rotatably supported on the pendulum member 22. A gear 23 is fixed to one core member 17, and a gear 24 is fixed to the other core member 18.

  Therefore, when the sun gear 54 is rotated by driving the motor 21, the pendulum member 22 is swung in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction, and the planetary gear 56 is meshed with one of the gear 23 and the gear 24. Thus, by selecting the rotation direction of the motor 21, a desired core member can be driven to rotate, and the sliding member 16 can be wound around the core member. At this time, by winding the sliding member 16 in a state where it is pressed against the platen surface of the platen 3 by a pressing mechanism to be described later, ink stains adhered (or accumulated) on the platen surface by the sliding operation of the sliding member 16 are wiped off. Can be cleaned.

  Next, a pressing mechanism including two guide rollers (pressing members) 19 and 20 for pressing the sliding member 16 against the platen 3 will be described. The guide rollers 19 and 20 are rotatably supported at both ends of the guide roller holder 25. The guide roller holder 25 is connected to one end of an L-shaped link member 29 that is rotatable about a support shaft 28 via a shaft 58. The other end of the link member 29 is connected to the plunger 27 of the solenoid 26. Therefore, the guide roller holder 25 can be moved up and down by the plunger 27 moving back and forth using the solenoid 26 as a drive source. Thereby, a pair of guide rollers 19 and 20 can be raised / lowered. By lowering the guide rollers 19 and 20 that are pressing members, the sliding member 16 can be pressed against the platen 3 between the core members 17 and 18. In this state, by rotating one of the core members and winding the sliding member 16, the platen surface of the platen 3 can be rubbed by the sliding member 16. Further, the sliding member 16 can be separated from the platen surface by raising the guide roller holder 25 and raising the guide rollers 19 and 20. The sliding member 16 is pressed and separated from the platen 3 without using the dedicated drive mechanism as described above, for example, using the lifting and lowering operation of the carriage 7 for adjusting the interval between the recording head 4 and the recording sheet S. You can do it.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, ink stains 31 adhere to and accumulate in the vicinity of the outside of the edge 30 of the recording sheet S on the platen 3 during the image forming process. In order to remove this ink stain, first, the cleaning means 50 is moved to a position where the sliding member 16 is directly above the ink stain 31. In the present embodiment, the sliding member 16 is moved by moving the carriage 7. Then, the guide rollers 19 and 20 are moved down to press the sliding member 16 against the platen 3, and in this state, the core member is driven to wind and slide the sliding member 16 against the platen 3. As a result, the platen 3 is cleaned by transferring the ink stain 31 on the platen surface to the sliding member 16. When the cleaning of the platen is completed, the guide rollers 19 and 20 are raised to separate the sliding member 16 from the platen 3. The sliding member 16 is normally held at the separated position so as not to contact the platen 3 except when cleaning.

  When the cleaning operation is performed again, the core member 17 or 18 is rotated and the sliding member 16 is wound up, so that a clean (or new) rubbing surface can always be brought into contact with the platen surface for rubbing. In this case, the pressing force of the guide rollers 19 and 20 and the rotation speed of the core members 17 and 18 (and hence the sliding speed of the sliding member 16) may be varied depending on the degree of the ink stain 31. Further, the ink stain 31 at one place on the platen 3 may be cleaned by combining the forward movement and the backward movement of the sliding member 16. Furthermore, when the ink stain 31 is firmly fixed, the cleaning ability is improved by performing the reciprocal winding operation of the sliding member 16 between the pair of core members 17 and 18 a plurality of times. May be. That is, the removal capability can be increased by performing reciprocal winding a plurality of times. In consideration of the position and spread range of the ink stain 31, the sliding member rubs at the position on the recording sheet side, the position on the platen side, and the position overlapping both with the edge 30 of the recording sheet as the boundary line. As described above, the position of the carriage in the moving direction during cleaning may be changed.

  In consideration of the position and range of ink stains and the dirt state of the sliding surface of the sliding member 16, the sliding member 16 records from the position on the recording sheet S side with the edge 30 of the recording sheet as a boundary line. You may make it rub at the position shifted sequentially toward the position of the outer side of the sheet | seat S. FIG. That is, the position in the moving direction of the carriage 7 during cleaning of the sliding member 16 may be changed. Further, in consideration of the position and range of ink stains and the state of dirt on the sliding surface of the sliding member 16, the sliding member 16 is recorded each time it is reciprocally wound between the pair of core members 17 and 18. The position in the moving direction of the carriage 7 during cleaning is changed so that the edge 30 of the sheet S is rubbed at a position shifted sequentially from a position on the recording sheet side to a position on the outer side of the recording sheet with the edge 30 as a boundary line. Also good. In addition, if the sliding function of the sliding member 16 that takes up and moves is changed as described above, and the cleaning function of the sliding member 16 deteriorates due to long-term use, replace the sliding member 16 with a new one. It is necessary to do. Considering such a case, it is preferable that the sliding member 16 is replaceable.

  A detailed operation mode when the platen 3 is cleaned by the sliding member 16 will be described with an example. First, an operation method after the winding operation of the sliding member 16 is completed for one forward path will be described. The relative position between the sliding member 16 and the edge 30 of the recording sheet S is set to the state shown in FIG. When the winding operation for one forward path of the sliding member 16 is completed, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink permeation range (the range in which the ink stain is wiped) 32 of the sliding member 16 is positioned at the position of the ink stain 31 ( The recording sheet S is moved away from the wiping position in FIG. That is, the position of the sliding member 16 is shifted toward the outside of the edge of the recording sheet S by the amount of the ink penetration range 32 that has become dirty due to the cleaning of the one forward path. After shifting the position in this way, the platen surface is wiped by using the return path of the sliding member 16 or the re-forward path after all the rewinding. In this case, re-transfer of the ink wiped (penetrated) to the sliding member 16 by the wiping operation from the sliding surface of the sliding member → the recording sheet supporting surface of the platen 3 → the back surface of the recording sheet S is prevented. It is requested to do. In order to meet such a demand, it is preferable that the position of the ink penetration range 32 of the sliding member 16 is sequentially shifted in the direction of escaping to the outside of the edge 30 of the recording sheet S.

  Further, the cleaning operation by the cleaning means 50 (the sliding member 16) is performed when the width of the recording sheet S is changed, or even if the recording sheet has the same width size, the ink stain 31 attached to the platen 3 is dried. Thus, it is preferable to carry out periodically at a predetermined time before thickening. Furthermore, in heavy-duty image formation, it is also effective to interrupt the cleaning operation as needed, taking into account the cumulative consumption of ink and the cumulative number of recording sheets on which image formation has been performed. Also, in a usage environment in which dark images that consume a large amount of ink are continuously recorded, even when the set regular cleaning time is not reached, it is detected that these have reached a predetermined value. The cleaning operation may be interrupted at any time. In other words, the cleaning operation may be interrupted and executed at any time in consideration of the ink ejection amount, the number of recorded sheets, and the like. That is, the cleaning unit 50 according to the present embodiment may be configured to operate based on the passage of a certain time, the change in the size of the recording sheet, the accumulation of the ink amount of the recording image, or the accumulation of the number of recording sheets. preferable.

  According to the embodiment described above, even if the ink stain 31 adheres and accumulates on the surface of the platen 3 outside the recording sheet S, the ink stain can be obtained on the clean rubbing surface by winding the roll-shaped sliding member 16. Can be wiped off. In the case of repeated wiping, the roll-shaped rubbing surface can be repeatedly used by rubbing while sliding the position of the sliding member 16 with respect to the ink stain at the outer position of the recording sheet S. Thereby, the sliding member 16 can be used effectively and over a long period of time. Accordingly, the platen that supports the recording sheet can be easily and frequently cleaned for a long period of time with a non-stained rubbing surface. As described above, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can easily ensure the cleanness and smoothness of the platen surface and can maintain the recording quality while reducing the burden on the user.

  Note that the present invention can be applied to a recording apparatus in a complex apparatus or a system configuration as well as a single recording apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine as long as it is an ink jet recording apparatus. In addition, as the material of the recording sheet as the recording medium, various materials such as paper, plastic sheet, photographic printing paper, OHP, cloth, and leather can be used as long as image formation is possible.

It is a perspective view of an image forming part provided with cleaning means according to an embodiment. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the cleaning means which concerns on one Embodiment, and its drive mechanism. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a cleaning unit is moved toward the outside of a recording sheet in the image forming unit of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

3 Platen 4 Recording Head 7 Carriage 16 Sliding Member 17, 18 Core Member 19, 20 Pressing Member (Guide Roller)
30 Edge of recording sheet 31 Ink stain 32 Ink penetration range 50 Cleaning means S Recording sheet (recording medium)

Claims (10)

In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording head mounted on a moving carriage,
A platen that supports a recording sheet at a position facing the recording head, and a cleaning unit that is arranged to be movable in the movement direction of the carriage to clean the platen.
The cleaning means includes a sliding member wound by a pair of core members so as to be wound up in a direction crossing the moving direction of the carriage, a pressing mechanism for pressing the sliding member against the platen, Comprising
An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the platen is slid and rubbed by pressing and sliding the sliding member against the platen.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit is movable with the carriage.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit is detachably attached to the carriage.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit is moved in a moving direction of the carriage by a dedicated moving unit.   5. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sliding member is reciprocally wound a plurality of times between the pair of core members.   6. The sliding member according to claim 1, wherein the sliding member slids at a position on the recording sheet side, a position on the platen side, and a position overlapping both with the edge of the recording sheet as a boundary line. The inkjet recording apparatus according to Item.   7. The sliding member according to claim 1, wherein the sliding member is slid at a position sequentially shifted from a position on the recording sheet side toward a position outside the recording sheet with an edge of the recording sheet as a boundary line. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the above.   Each time the sliding member is reciprocally wound between the pair of core members, a position sequentially shifted from a position on the recording sheet side to a position on the outer side of the recording sheet with the edge of the recording sheet as a boundary line The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is rubbed.   The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sliding member is replaceable.   10. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit operates based on a lapse of a predetermined time, a change in the size of the recording sheet, an accumulation of the ink amount of the recording image, or an accumulation of the number of recording sheets. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to item 1.

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