JP2009113345A - Waste liquid storing container, maintaining and recovering apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste liquid storing container capable of making a surrounding absorbing member absorb a large quantity of the waste liquid dropped and suppressing accumulation and in addition, preventing ink from leaking as the shape of the accumulated ink can be regulated, and to provide a maintaining and recovering apparatus and an image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The waste liquid storing container stores the waste liquid of the image forming apparatus. In this waste liquid storing container, the absorbing member is provided on the surrounding or its part of a point where the waste liquid is dropped, and this absorbing member is provided with a cavity part with a reverse spindle shape being successively decreased toward the waste liquid feeding opening into which the waste liquid is dropped in the height direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste liquid storage container, a maintenance / recovery device, and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a structure of a waste liquid storage container for storing a liquid waste liquid.

  In recent image forming apparatuses using ink, the use of pigment-based inks using organic pigments, carbon black, etc. as colorants has been studied or put into practical use in order to enable high-quality printing on plain paper. However, since a pigment is not soluble in water unlike a dye, it is usually used as a water-based ink in a state where the pigment is mixed with a dispersant, dispersed, and stably dispersed in water. Such a pigment-based ink generally has a higher viscosity than a dye-based ink, causing a problem due to the high viscosity.

  Therefore, in order to maintain and recover the performance of the recording head that discharges the recording liquid, the image forming apparatus has a maintenance recovery function that covers the recording head with a head suction cap and sucks the recording liquid from the recording head with the head suction cap. is doing. The recording liquid sucked by the maintenance / recovery function is discharged into a waste liquid container having an absorbing member. By the way, although the ink sucked from the head has a relatively low viscosity, the pigment ink contains a solid content such as a pigment, and therefore, the ink is deposited in the ink dropping region as the ink is dried. In particular, in an environment where the drying speed is relatively fast, such as a high-temperature and low-humidity environment, ink deposition such as pillars occurs. For this reason, the ink may overflow before the space of the waste liquid storage container is effectively used.

In order to solve such a problem, some proposals have been made in the past. However, in Patent Document 1 as one of them, the waste liquid directly reaches the bottom surface of the tank case body, A waste liquid tank has been proposed in which a notched portion is formed in the absorbing member provided in the container, making it difficult for high-viscosity recording liquid to accumulate in the charging portion, and the entire absorbing member can be used to improve use efficiency . Also, in Patent Documents 2 and 3, a hole is formed in the waste ink absorber holding member at a position directly below the tube from which ink is discharged so that the bottom of the waste ink case is exposed, and directly through the hole. An ink jet recording apparatus having a waste ink collecting mechanism for dropping waste ink has been proposed.
JP 2005-119210 A JP 2005-161750 A Patent No. 3,185,910

  However, in any of the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, since the opening area and the bottom area are the same, the volume for storing the waste ink is small, and the waste ink is dried before it is absorbed by the absorber, and deposition occurs. It becomes ink accumulation like a pillar. Further, columnar ink deposits that gradually accumulate accumulate up to the discharge port, which is insufficient to solve the conventional problem of overflowing ink.

  The present invention is for solving such problems, and can absorb more waste liquid dripped by a nearby absorbing member to suppress the deposition, and furthermore, the shape of the deposited ink can be regulated, so that the ink can be used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste liquid container, a maintenance / recovery device, and an image forming apparatus that can prevent leakage.

  In order to solve the above problems, the waste liquid storage container of the present invention stores the waste liquid of the image forming apparatus. The waste liquid storage container of the present invention is provided with an absorbing member around or part of the point where the waste liquid is dropped, and the absorbing member is directed toward a waste liquid inlet into which the waste liquid is dropped in the height direction. It is characterized in that a hollow portion having an inverted weight shape that is sequentially reduced is provided. Therefore, the dropped waste liquid can be absorbed by a nearby absorbing member and accumulation can be suppressed, and the shape of ink accumulation can be regulated by the absorber, so that the ink can be prevented from leaking from the waste liquid container.

  Moreover, since the wall surface of the absorption member in the cavity is stepped, the cavity can be easily formed by laminating the shape of the absorption member, improving the workability of the absorber and leading to cost reduction.

  Further, by providing a discharge area where waste liquid other than liquid is discharged and no absorbing member is provided, accumulation due to waste liquid other than liquid can be prevented.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium by ejecting recording liquid droplets, and maintaining and recovering the function of the recording head by sucking the recording liquid that is poorly ejected. The apparatus includes the above-described waste liquid storage container, and is characterized in that the sucked recording liquid with poor ejection and the recording liquid due to idle ejection are discharged to the waste liquid storage container. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the entire maintenance / recovery device.

  Furthermore, according to another image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus is characterized by having a maintenance / recovery device including the waste liquid container. Therefore, the entire image forming apparatus can be reduced in size and cost.

  The waste liquid storage container of the present invention can absorb the dropped waste liquid by a nearby absorbing member and suppress accumulation, and the shape of ink deposition can be regulated by the absorber, so that ink leaks from the waste liquid storage container. Can be prevented.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a waste liquid storage container according to the first embodiment of the present invention. (A) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the upper surface, and (b) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the front. The waste liquid storage container 10 of the present embodiment shown in the figure includes a container main body 11, an absorbing member 12 that absorbs liquid waste liquid stored in the container main body 11, and a lid member 13 that covers the top of the container main body 11. It has. Further, the periphery of the ink dropping point discharged by the head suction or a part thereof is formed by the absorbing member 12, and the absorbing member 12 has an inverted spindle shape that is sequentially reduced in the height direction toward the tube tip (not shown). A cavity portion 14 is formed. In the waste liquid storage container 10 of the present embodiment, liquid waste liquid 15 discharged from a maintenance / recovery mechanism (not shown) is introduced into the waste liquid storage container through one waste liquid inlet 16 provided in the lid member 13. It is thrown. In the present embodiment, the liquid waste liquid 15 is a waste liquid having a viscosity of 8 mPa · s to 20 mPa · s. For example, the waste liquid 15 generated by the head suction is a liquid waste liquid.

  According to the waste liquid storage container 10 according to the present embodiment having such a configuration, the waste liquid 15 is absorbed by the adjacent absorbing member 12 immediately after the waste liquid 15 is dropped, thereby reducing ink accumulation due to drying. Further, the shape of the deposited ink at the ink dropping position can be regulated by contacting the absorbing member 12 which is the hollow portion 14 having an inverted conical shape, so that the ink is prevented from overflowing. can do.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a waste liquid storage container according to the second embodiment of the present invention. (A) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the upper surface, and (b) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the front. In the waste liquid storage container 20 of the present embodiment shown in the figure, the wall surface of the absorbing member in the cavity portion 14 having an inverted spindle shape that is successively reduced toward the tube tip (not shown) in the height direction is stepped. ing. Such a cavity 14 can be formed by making the absorption member 12 into a laminated structure. According to the waste liquid storage container 20 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, it is possible to reduce costs, such as improvement of workability, while having the same function as that of the first embodiment.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a waste liquid storage container according to the third embodiment of the present invention. (A) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the upper surface, and (b) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the front. In the waste liquid storage container 30 of the present embodiment shown in the figure, a gap is provided between the tip of the tube 17 and the uppermost surface of the absorbing member 12. According to the waste liquid container 30 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the tube 17 from being clogged due to ink accumulation at the tip of the tube 17.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing a configuration of a waste liquid storage container according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. (A) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the upper surface, and (b) of the figure is a perspective view seen from the front. The waste liquid storage container 40 of the present embodiment shown in the figure is a dripping region of waste liquid other than liquid or its waste liquid when a liquid other than a liquid having a higher viscosity than the ink discharged from the tube 17 is dropped into the waste liquid storage container 40. The absorbent member 12 is not installed around. When waste liquid other than liquid is dropped on the absorbing member 12, a film of thickened ink is formed on the absorbing member 12, and is not absorbed by the absorbing member 12. Thus, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, waste liquid other than liquid is By providing the discharge region 18 where the absorbing member 12 is not installed in the dripped region, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of waste liquid other than the liquid.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration of an image forming unit of an image forming apparatus equipped with a maintenance / recovery device having a waste liquid container of the present invention. The image forming unit of the ink jet recording apparatus, which is the image forming apparatus shown in the figure, holds the carriage 42 movably in the main scanning direction with the guide rod 41 and a guide stay (not shown), and the main scanning motor 43 drives the drive pulley 44A. And the driven pulley 44 </ b> B via the spanning timing belt 45 to move and scan in the main scanning direction.

  An ink jet recording head 46 that discharges the droplets of each color is mounted on the carriage 42, the carriage 42 is moved in the main scanning direction, and the paper S is transported in the paper transport direction (sub scanning direction). A shuttle type is used in which droplets are ejected from the recording head 46 to form an image. A line-type head can also be used.

  Here, the inkjet recording head 46 ejects two droplet ejection heads 46k1 and 46k2 that eject black (Bk) ink, and cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) ink, and yellow (Y) ink, respectively. Each of the ink droplets is composed of a total of five droplet ejection heads, one droplet ejection head 46c, 46m, and 46y, and each color ink is supplied from each sub tank (not shown) mounted on the carriage 42.

  As the ink jet recording head 46, a piezoelectric plate is used as pressure generating means (actuator means) for pressurizing ink in the ink flow path (pressure generating chamber), and a diaphragm that forms the wall surface of the ink flow path is deformed. Ink droplets are ejected by pressure generated by heating the ink in the ink flow path by using a so-called piezo-type one that changes the volume in the ink flow path, or by using a heating resistor. A so-called thermal type, a diaphragm that forms the wall surface of the ink flow path and an electrode are arranged to face each other, and the diaphragm is deformed by an electrostatic force generated between the vibration plate and the electrode. An electrostatic type that discharges ink droplets by changing the internal volume can be used.

  In addition, a maintenance / recovery device 47 having the waste liquid storage container of the present invention for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection stability of the nozzles of the ink jet recording head 46 is provided in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 42 in the scanning direction. It is arranged. The maintenance / recovery device 47 is equipped with a suction pump (not shown), which will be described later, and further includes five moisturizing caps 48k2, 48k1, for capping the nozzle surfaces of the five recording heads 46. Moisturizing cap 48 including 48c, 48m, 48y, one suction cap 49, wiper blade 50 for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head 46, and ejection of droplets that do not contribute to recording (empty ejection) An empty discharge receiving member 51 and the like are provided.

  Further, the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 42 is provided with an empty discharge receiving member 52 for discharging droplets (empty discharge) that do not contribute to recording from the five recording heads 46. The empty discharge receiving member 52 is formed with an opening 53 including five openings 53k2, 53k1, 53c, 53m, and 53y corresponding to the recording head 46.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the maintenance and recovery apparatus having the waste liquid container of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5 denote the same components. The maintenance / recovery device having the waste liquid storage container of the present invention shown in the figure includes five moisturizing caps 48 for capping the nozzle surface of each head of the ink jet recording head 46 of FIG. 5 and one suction cap. 49, a wiper blade 50, an empty discharge receiving member 51 for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording (empty discharge), and a region covering all nozzles of the ink jet recording head are sealed and pressurized from all nozzles. A suction pump 54 for sucking ink in the liquid chamber and a waste liquid container 55 of the present invention for storing the sucked waste liquid image forming agent are provided. Accordingly, the entire maintenance / recovery apparatus can be reduced in size and cost, and further, the entire image forming apparatus having the maintenance / recovery apparatus can be reduced in size and cost.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It cannot be overemphasized that various deformation | transformation and substitution are possible if it is description in a claim.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the waste liquid storage container which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the waste liquid storage container which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the waste liquid storage container which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the waste-liquid storage container which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the image formation part of the image forming apparatus carrying the maintenance recovery apparatus which has a waste liquid storage container of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the maintenance recovery apparatus which has a waste liquid storage container of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 20, 30, 40; waste liquid container, 11; container body,
12; Absorbing member, 13; Lid member, 14; Cavity, 15; Waste liquid,
16; Waste liquid inlet, 17; Tube, 18; Discharge area.

Claims (5)

In the waste liquid storage container for storing the waste liquid of the image forming apparatus,
Provide an absorbing member around or part of the point where the waste liquid is dripped,
A waste liquid storage container, wherein the absorption member is provided with a hollow portion having an inverted weight shape that is gradually reduced toward a waste liquid inlet into which the waste liquid is dropped in the height direction.   The waste liquid container according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface of the absorbing member in the hollow portion is stepped.   The waste liquid storage container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a waste area other than liquid is discharged, and a discharge area in which the absorbing member is not installed is provided. An image forming apparatus that discharges recording liquid droplets to form an image on a recording medium, and that maintains and recovers the function of the recording head by sucking a recording liquid that is poorly discharged,
A maintenance / recovery device comprising the waste liquid storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the suctioned defective recording liquid and the recording liquid caused by idle discharge are discharged to the waste liquid storage container. In an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by discharging droplets of a recording liquid,
An image forming apparatus comprising the maintenance / recovery device according to claim 4.

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