JP2009184180A - Wiper blade, cleaning device, and liquid injection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiper blade can prevent damage to an ink nozzle surface even if the hardness of members forming the wiper blade is increased, a cleaning device, and a liquid injection apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: In the wiper blade 21 for wiping a nozzle surface 15 of a liquid injection head 3, a hollow section 24 is formed inside a sliding contact portion 22A that makes sliding contact with the nozzle surface 15. The cleaning device 5 is equipped with the wiper blade 19 and the liquid injection apparatus 1 is equipped with the cleaning device 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper blade, a cleaning device, and a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  In an ink jet printer, in order to remove ink mist or dust adhering to the ink ejection surface of the recording head, the wiper blade is slid against the ink ejection surface of the recording head, and the ink ejection surface is wiped with the wiper blade. Some are provided with a cleaning device that wipes off (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, wiping of the ink ejection port surface of the wiper blade is performed by sliding the ridged edge portion formed at the tip of the wiper blade in sliding contact with the ink ejection port surface, and scraping dust adhering to the ink ejection port surface. By doing so, it is possible to clean the surface of the ink ejection port cleanly (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Since the wiper blade needs to ensure close contact with the ink ejection port surface so that the wiping property is improved, the wiper blade is formed of a flexible material such as rubber. For this reason, when cleaning is repeated, the ridge portion that is brought into sliding contact with the ink ejection port surface is worn and the cleaning effect is reduced. Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the hardness of the member forming the wiper blade in order to delay the deterioration of the cleaning effect (delay wear of the wiper blade).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-272781

  However, when the hardness of the wiper blade is increased, there is a possibility that the surface of the ink ejection port is damaged by the wiper blade.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wiper blade, a cleaning device, and a liquid ejecting apparatus that can suppress damage to the ink ejection port surface even when the hardness of a member that forms the wiper blade is increased. And

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the wiper blade for wiping the ejection port surface of the liquid ejection head, the inside of the wiper blade is deformed when a pressing force is applied to a sliding contact portion that is in sliding contact with the ejection port surface. It is assumed that a possible meat removal part is formed.

  By configuring the wiper blade in this way, it is possible to prevent the ink ejection port surface from being damaged even when the hardness of the member forming the wiper blade is increased.

  According to another invention, in addition to the above-described invention, the lightening portion penetrates in the width direction of the wiper blade, which is a direction intersecting with a moving direction in which the wiper blade wipes the ejection port surface.

  By configuring the wiper blade in this manner, the rigidity of the sliding contact portion can be reduced over the entire width direction of the wiper blade.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the cleaning device that cleans the ejection port surface by bringing the wiper blade into sliding contact with the ejection port surface of the liquid ejection head, the wiper blade is the above-described wiper blade.

  By configuring the cleaning device in this way, it is possible to suppress damage to the ink ejection surface even when the hardness of the member forming the device wiper blade is increased.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the liquid ejecting apparatus includes the above-described cleaning device.

  By configuring the liquid ejecting apparatus in this way, it is possible to suppress damage to the ink ejection surface even when the hardness of the member forming the apparatus wiper blade is increased.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a liquid ejecting apparatus including a head cover around the ejection port surface of the liquid ejecting head includes the above-described cleaning device.

  By configuring the liquid ejecting apparatus in this manner, by configuring the liquid ejecting apparatus in this way, it is possible to perform more reliable wiping on the ejection port surface of the liquid ejecting head including the head cover.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of inkjet printer 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall schematic configuration of an inkjet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) 1 as a liquid ejecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the direction indicated by the arrow F in the figure is the front (front side), the opposite direction is the rear (rear side), and when looking from the front to the rear, the left hand side is left (left side) and the right hand side is The description will be made on the right side (right side).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes an exterior housing 2. Inside the exterior housing 2, a recording head 3 as a liquid ejecting head, a carriage 4 on which the recording head 3 is mounted, A cleaning device 5 for wiping off the ink ejection surface of the recording head 3 is disposed. The exterior housing 2 includes a guide member 6 that guides the movement of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction, and a timing belt 7 that extends across the guide member 6 from side to side.

  The timing belt 7 is stretched between an idle pulley 8 and a drive pulley 9, and reciprocally rotates left and right as the drive pulley 9 is reciprocated by a carriage motor 10. The carriage 4 is coupled to a part of the timing belt 7 and can reciprocate in the left-right direction along with the reciprocating rotation of the timing belt 7 in the left-right direction. Below the timing belt 7, a conveyance roller 13 that is rotated by a paper feed motor 11 and conveys the recording paper 12 is disposed. A platen 14 that supports the lower side of the recording paper 12 conveyed from the rear to the front by the rotation of the conveying roller 13 is disposed below the recording head 3.

  An ink ejection port (see FIG. 2) through which ink is ejected is formed on the ink ejection surface 15 which is the surface facing the recording paper 12 of the recording head 3. The recording head 3 reciprocates in the left-right direction together with the carriage 4 and ejects ink onto the recording paper 12 conveyed from the rear to the front by the platen 14 to send image data sent from a personal computer (not shown). A desired image based on the above is recorded on the recording paper 12. Note that the reciprocating movement of the recording head 3 in the left-right direction when the recording head 3 performs recording on the recording paper 12 is performed in the recording area 16 corresponding to the left-right width of the recording paper 12.

  On the other hand, the recording head 3 is set to the left side of the recording area 16 when the ink ejection surface 15 is soiled with ink or the like during the recording process or every time a certain amount of recording is performed. It is moved to the recording area 17. In the non-recording area 17, the cleaning device 5 is disposed at a position below the recording head 3 that has moved to the non-recording area 17. When the recording head 3 moves from the non-recording position 18 that is the left end of the non-recording area 17 to the recording area 16, the printer 1 wipes the ink ejection port surface 15 that becomes the surface to be wiped by the cleaning device 5 ( (Cleaning / wiping) is performed.

  Further, the non-recording position 18 is also a standby position of the recording head 3 when the printer 1 does not perform recording processing. Therefore, a capping device 19 is provided in the non-recording area 17 in addition to the cleaning device 5 described above. When the recording process of the printer 1 is not performed and the recording head 3 is disposed at the non-recording position 18, the capping device 19 dries the ink remaining in the ink ejection port 23 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the cap 20 is configured to cover the ink ejection port surface 15.

  The cleaning device 5 includes a wiper blade 21 and an elevating mechanism (not shown) that moves the wiper blade 21 up and down. The wiper blade 21 has a flat and thin plate shape that is wide in the front-rear direction, that is, the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the recording head 3, and is rubber so as to have flexibility in the flat direction (thickness direction), that is, the left-right direction. It is made of a material such as a material.

  When the recording head 3 moves from the non-recording position 18 to the recording area 16, the cleaning device 5 raises the wiper blade 21 to a position where the upper end surface 22 of the wiper blade 21 contacts the ink ejection port surface 15. Then, when the carriage motor 10 is driven in a state where the wiper blade 21 is in contact with the ink ejection port surface 15 and the recording head 3 is moved to the recording area 16 side, the wiper blade 21 is moved relative to the ink ejection port surface 15. The upper end surface 22 is in sliding contact as a sliding contact portion. By slidably contacting the upper end surface 22 of the wiper blade 21 with the ink ejection port surface 15, the ink ejection surface 15 is wiped off, and adhering substances such as ink and dust adhering to the ink ejection surface 15 are wiped off. .

  The wiper blade 21 is brought into contact with the ink ejection port surface 15 so as to be pressed lightly against the ink ejection port surface 15. That is, the upper end surface 22 is slidably brought into contact with the ink ejection port surface 15 while being pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15. The wiper blade 21 is made of a material such as flexible rubber. Therefore, the wiper blade 21 slidably brought into contact with the ink ejection surface 15 while being pressed against the ink ejection surface 15 is bent toward the right, which is the traveling direction of the recording head 3 during cleaning. Therefore, the cleaning of the ink ejection port surface 15 is performed by scraping off the deposits on the ink ejection port surface 15 at the left edge portion 22A of the upper end surface 22 of the wiper blade 21.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the upper portion of the wiper blade 21 in the cleaning device 5. At the time of cleaning, the recording head 3 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow R in FIG. At this time, the upper end surface 22 of the wiper blade 21 is brought into contact with the ink ejection port surface 15. Therefore, the ink ejection port surface 15 is cleaned by the wiper blade 22.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper blade 21 has a hollow portion 24 as a thinned portion formed inside the upper end surface 22. The hollow portion 24 is orthogonal to the width direction (longitudinal direction) of the wiper blade 21, that is, the direction in which the ink ejection port surface 15 is wiped (left-right direction) and parallel to the ink ejection port surface 15. It is formed to penetrate.

  By forming the hollow portion 24 in this way, the hollow portion 24 is deformed when a pressing force is applied to the upper end surface 22 from above as compared with the case where the entire wiper blade 21 is solid. Thereby, the rigidity of the direction toward the hollow part 24 of the upper end surface 22 can be reduced. Therefore, the rigidity in the direction toward the hollow portion 24 can also be reduced for the edge portion 22A.

  That is, when cleaning the ink ejection port surface 15, the wiper blade 21 is brought into contact with the ink ejection port surface 15 while being pressed lightly. A part of the pressing force is absorbed by the deformation of the hollow portion 24. That is, since the upper and left and right side portions of the hollow portion 24 of the wiper blade 21 are thin portions, the thin portion is pressed and deformed while the wiper blade 21 is lightly pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15. Part of the power is absorbed. Therefore, the force with which the edge portion 22A is pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15 is reduced. Accordingly, even when the material of the wiper blade 21 is made of a high hardness, the pressing force with which the edge portion 22A is pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15 can be reduced, so that the wiper blade 21 can eject the ink. The extent to which the mouth surface 15 is damaged can be kept low.

  On the other hand, even if the pressing force with which the edge portion 22A is pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15 is reduced, the hardness of the material forming the wiper blade 21 is increased according to the reduced pressing force. It is possible to suppress a decrease in the action of the edge portion 22A scraping off the adhered matter on the ink ejection port surface 15. Moreover, the durability of the wiper blade 21 can be improved by increasing the hardness of the material forming the wiper blade 21.

  The wiper blade 21 is made of an elastic body such as butyl rubber, urethane rubber, chloroprene, or elastomer. The setting of the hardness of the wiper blade 21 and the setting of the shape and size of the hollow portion 24 that influence the rigidity of the upper end surface 22 are determined by the wearability of the wiper blade 21, the wiping property of the ink ejection port surface 15, and the edge portion 22A. The appropriate setting is made by confirming the degree to which the ink ejection port surface 15 is damaged by an experiment or the like.

  As described above, the hollow portion 24 penetrates in the front-rear direction, that is, the width direction of the wiper blade 21. For this reason, the rigidity of the direction which goes to the hollow part 24 of the upper end surface 22 can be equalized over the front-back direction. For example, when the hollow portion 24 does not penetrate in the front-rear direction and is formed as a closed space in the wiper blade 21, the portion that should be the front and rear openings of the hollow portion 24 is the front and rear of the wiper blade 21. A side surface portion of this is formed. Therefore, the rigidity of the upper and lower side surfaces of the wiper blade 21 at the front and rear side portions is higher than the rigidity at the inner side portion of the side surfaces, and there is a possibility that the rigidity of the upper end surface 22 in the front and rear direction cannot be made uniform. As a result, there is a risk of wiping unevenness. On the other hand, by making the hollow portion 24 penetrate in the width direction of the wiper blade 21, the rigidity of the upper end surface 22 in the front-rear direction can be made uniform, and unevenness in the wiping of the ink ejection port surface 15 occurs. Can be prevented.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording head 3 may be provided with a head cover 25 so as to cover the periphery of the ink ejection port surface 15. FIG. 3 shows an external configuration of the recording head 3 including the head cover 25. In order to make the configuration easy to understand, the recording head 3 is removed from the carriage 4 and the ink ejection port surface 15 faces upward. Yes.

  The ink ejection port surface 15 of the recording head 3 is formed on a smooth surface, and the ink ejection port surface 15 is provided with an ink ejection port 23 that ejects ink droplets. In the recording head 3, an ink channel connected to an ink tank (not shown) and supplying ink to the ink ejection port 23, an actuator such as a piezo element for ejecting ink, a pressure chamber, and the like are provided for each color ink ejection port. 23 is incorporated. The recording head 3 has the structure described above incorporated in a small space, and has a structure that is vulnerable to impact. Therefore, for example, if the carriage 4 moves while the recording paper 12 is floating above the platen 14 and the side surface of the recording head 3 is caught on the edge of the recording paper 12, the recording head 3 is damaged. There is a risk that.

  Therefore, a head cover 25 is attached to the recording head 3 so as to cover the periphery of the ink ejection port surface 15 and protect the recording head 3. The head cover 25 is configured by a frame body 26 that surrounds the ink ejection port 23, and an inner side of the frame body 26 is an opening portion where the ink ejection port 23 faces the recording paper 12. The frame 26 is L-shaped in cross-section, and is attached to the recording head 3 so that the peripheral edge of the ink ejection port surface 15 is fitted to the L-shaped inner corner side, and is provided on the side surface of the frame 26. The tongue-shaped projection piece 27 is fixed to the boss 28 on the recording head 3 side by caulking.

  In the recording head 3 having the head cover 25, ink mist may adhere to the frame body 26. Since the lower surface 26A of the frame 26 protrudes downward from the ink ejection port surface 15, it easily comes into contact with the recording paper 12, and there is a risk that mist, dust, etc. adhering to the lower surface 26A will contaminate the recording paper 12. For this reason, in addition to cleaning the ink ejection port surface 15, it is necessary to clean the lower surface 26 </ b> A of the frame body 26.

  Therefore, by setting the wiping width (width in the front-rear direction) of the wiper blade 21 to a width including the ink ejection port surface 15 and the frame body 26, the ink ejection port surface 15 and the lower surface 26A can be cleaned. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the portion of the frame body 26 is a convex portion 29 protruding downward from the ink ejection port surface 15, and the inner edge of the frame body 26 on the ink ejection port surface 15 side is the step portion 30. It has become.

  4 shows a state in which the upper end surface 22 of the wiper blade 21 is in contact with the ink ejection port surface 15 when the ink ejection port surface 15 is cleaned. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the recording head 3 taken along a cutting line AA in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows the state in which the wiper blade 21 is in contact with the ink ejection port surface 15 as viewed from the left, that is, from the moving direction of the recording head 3 during cleaning.

  The relationship between the stepped portion 30 and the wiper blade 21 will be described. When the wiper blade 21 has a high hardness, the wiper blade 21 cannot follow the shape of the stepped portion 30, and the stepped portion 30 on the ink ejection port surface 15 is not aligned. The range in which the wiper blade 21 in the vicinity cannot slide is increased. In such a portion where the wiper blade 21 cannot be slidably contacted, the deposit cannot be removed and the deposit accumulates. When the recording head 3 moves above the recording paper 12, the deposit is not deposited. There is a possibility that the recording paper is soiled by contacting the recording paper 12. Alternatively, an adhering matter may be caught between the cap 20 for capping the ink ejection port surface 15 and the ink ejection port surface 15, and the adhesion between the ink ejection port surface 15 and the cap 20 may be reduced. On the other hand, when the hardness of the wiper blade 21 is lowered, the range in which the sliding contact cannot be made becomes small, but the wear of the wiper blade 21 progresses quickly.

  However, as described above, by forming the hollow portion 24, the rigidity of the upper end surface 22 in the direction toward the hollow portion 24 can be reduced without lowering the hardness of the material forming the wiper blade 21, and the edge portion 22A. Can bend flexibly with respect to the pressing force from above (the frame body 26 side). Therefore, when cleaning the ink ejection port surface 15, when the upper end surface 22 of the wiper blade 21 is pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15, the edge portion 22A can be along the convex portion 29 of the frame 26, The range in which the wiper blade 21 does not slide in the vicinity of the step portion 30 on the ink ejection port surface 15 can be reduced.

  By forming the hollow portion 24, the pressing force with which the edge portion 22A is pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15 is reduced. However, the hardness of the material forming the wiper blade 21 according to the reduced pressing force. By making the height higher, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the action of the edge portion 22A scraping off the deposits on the ink ejection port surface 15. Moreover, the durability of the wiper blade 21 can be improved by increasing the hardness of the material forming the wiper blade 21. Even when the hardness of the material forming the wiper blade 21 is high, since the hollow portion 24 is formed, the pressing force with which the edge portion 22A is pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15 is small. The extent to which the wiper blade 21 damages the ink ejection port surface 15 can be suppressed.

(Modification 1)
Next, a first modification of the wiper blade 21 according to the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, about the structure similar to having demonstrated in the above-mentioned embodiment, suppose that the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The wiper blade 21 according to the modified example 1 is a surface in the wiping direction of the ink ejection port surface 15 of the wiper blade 21 instead of forming the hollow portion 24 in the wiper blade 21 as in the above-described embodiment, that is, The groove portion 31 extending in the front-rear direction is formed as a lightening portion on the surface on the side where the edge portion 22A is provided among the surfaces in the left-right direction. In the case where such a groove portion 31 is formed, when the edge portion 22A abuts against the ink ejection port surface 15 and a pressing force acts downward on the edge portion 22A, the opening portion of the groove portion 31 is made small. The wiper blade 21 is elastically deformed. By this elastic deformation, the pressing force with which the edge portion 22A is pressed against the ink ejection port surface 15 can be reduced.

(Modifications 2 and 3)
Moreover, the hollow part 24 in the above-mentioned embodiment and the groove part 31 of the modification 1 are formed in the magnitude | size which widely opposes the upper end surface 22, and also becomes a structure which makes rigidity low also about the upper end surface 22. FIG. On the other hand, as in the second and third modifications shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the hollow portion 24A (FIG. 6) is formed only in the portion facing the edge portion 22A, or the groove portion 31A (FIG. 7) may be formed, and the rigidity may be lowered only at least for the edge portion 22A. 6 and 7, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those described in the above embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In addition to the hollow part 24, the hollow part 24A, the groove part 31 and the groove part 31A, as the hollow part, a round hole or an elliptical hole is used as a hollow part which is a hollow part. It is good also as a form which has many. Moreover, you may make it arrange | position a sponge member in the part which forms the hollow part 24, the hollow part 24A, the groove part 31, and the groove part 31A.

  In the above-described embodiments, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention has been described as an ink jet printer that ejects and attaches liquid ink onto the recording paper 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a liquid material in which particles of functional material are dispersed is described. The present invention can also be realized as a fluid ejecting apparatus capable of ejecting from a recording head (ejection head) a fluid such as a gel or a solid that can be ejected as a fluid.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an overall schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a wiper blade configuration of the printer shown in FIG. 1. 2 is an external configuration diagram illustrating an external configuration of a recording head including a head cover. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a wiper blade is in contact with an ink ejection port of a recording head including a head cover. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 1st modification of a wiper blade. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 2nd modification of a wiper blade. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 3rd modification of a wiper blade.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Liquid ejecting device 3 ... Recording head (liquid ejecting head) 5 ... Cleaning device 15 ... Ink ejection port surface (ejection port surface) 21 ... Wiper blade 22A ... Sliding contact part 24... Hollow portion (thickening portion) 24A... Hollow portion (thickening portion) 25... Head cover 31... Groove portion (thickening portion) 31A.

Claims (5)

In the wiper blade for wiping the ejection port surface of the liquid ejection head,
The wiper blade is characterized in that a thinning portion that can be deformed when a pressing force is applied to a sliding contact portion that is in sliding contact with the injection port surface is formed inside the wiper blade.   2. The wiper blade according to claim 1, wherein the lightening portion penetrates in a width direction of the wiper blade, which is a direction intersecting with a moving direction in which the wiper blade wipes the spray port surface. In the cleaning device for cleaning the jet port surface by sliding the wiper blade on the jet port surface of the liquid jet head,
The wiper blade is a wiper blade according to claim 1 or 2,
Cleaning device.   A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 3.   A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising a cleaning device according to claim 3, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus includes a head cover around an ejection port surface of the liquid ejecting head.

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