JP2010036497A - Maintenance method of wiping apparatus, and fluid ejection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a maintenance method of a wiping apparatus which can sufficiently remove ink adhering to a wiping member, and to provide a fluid ejection device. <P>SOLUTION: The maintenance method for the wiping apparatus 15, which has the wiping member 44 for performing a wiping treatment to wipe the ejection surface of the ejection head for ejecting a fluid, and which is housed by being turned below when the wiping treatment is not performed, includes a rotating step wherein the wiping apparatus is rotated at a possible speed for shaking off the fluid adhering to the wiping member 44 after wiping the ejection surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiping device maintenance method and a fluid ejection device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) that ejects ink (fluid) onto a recording medium from a plurality of nozzles provided on a nozzle forming surface of a recording head (ejection head) is known as a fluid ejection device. By the way, in such a printer, a cleaning process is performed to maintain or restore the ink ejection characteristics. Examples of such cleaning processing include a suction operation and a wiping operation. In the wiping operation, ink adhering to the ink ejection surface is removed by wiping the ink ejection surface with a wiping member (wiping member).

In such a wiping process, when the ink ejection surface is wiped, ink adheres to the wiping member. When the ink ejection surface is wiped with the wipe member to which the ink is attached in this manner, there is a possibility that ink ejection failure may be caused by destroying the meniscus in the nozzle. Therefore, a technique for wiping ink adhering to a wipe member with a remover is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-1835

  However, in the above-described prior art, there is a possibility that the wiping property of the wipe member in the remover is deteriorated due to thickening or fixing of the ink attached to the remover. Thus, if the cleaning of the wiping member is insufficient, the reliability of the wiping process may be lowered, and further improvement is desired.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a wiping apparatus maintenance method and a fluid ejecting apparatus that can favorably remove ink adhering to a wiping member.

  In order to solve the above problems, a maintenance method for a wiping device according to the present invention includes a wiping member that performs a wiping process for wiping an ejection surface of an ejection head that ejects fluid, and is rotated downward during a non-wiping process. In the maintenance method of the wiping device accommodated by the step, the method includes a rotation step of rotating the wiping device at a speed at which the fluid adhering to the wiping member can be shaken off after wiping the ejection surface. .

  According to the fluid ejecting head of the present invention, the fluid adhering to the wiping member by the rotating operation is shaken off and can be removed satisfactorily. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent a fluid residue from being generated on the wiping member and perform a highly reliable wiping process.

Moreover, in the maintenance method of the said wiping apparatus, it is preferable that the rotational speed of the said wiping member in the said rotation step is faster than the rotational speed at the time of the said wiping member being accommodated.
Thus, by rotating the wiping device at a speed faster than the rotational speed at the time of accommodation, the fluid adhering to the wiping member as described above can be favorably removed.

In the maintenance method for the wiping device, it is preferable that the rotation speed of the wiping member in the rotation step is set to at least 1 / 0.43 rps.
By rotating the wiping device at such a rotational speed, the fluid adhering to the wiping member as described above can be satisfactorily removed.

In the maintenance method for the wiping device, it is preferable that the rotation operation of the wiping member is suddenly stopped in the rotation step.
According to this configuration, the inertial force can be applied to the fluid adhering to the wiping member by suddenly stopping the rotation operation. Therefore, an inertial force acts on the fluid in addition to the centrifugal force, and the fluid can be more reliably removed from the wiping member.

Further, in the maintenance method of the wiping device, when the rotation step is performed a plurality of times and the wiping device repeats the upward rotation operation and the downward rotation operation, the rotation speed during the upward rotation operation is: It is preferable to set the rotation speed slower than the rotation speed during the downward rotation operation.
Thus, by repeating the rotation step a plurality of times, the fluid adhering to the wiping member can be more reliably removed. Moreover, since the rotational speed at the time of the upward rotation operation is set to be slow, it is possible to suppress the fluid from being shaken off from the wiping member during the upward rotation operation (at the time of the upward operation). Therefore, the fluid can be shaken off from the wiping member at the time of the rotating operation toward the lower side of the wiping device (during the lowering operation).

In the maintenance method for the wiping apparatus, it is preferable that the rotation step is performed immediately after the wiping process is completed.
According to this configuration, for example, the fluid adhering to the wiping member by the wiping process performed following the suction operation is hardly thickened and can be reliably removed by the rotation step. The present invention can be made more effective.

  The fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes an ejecting head that ejects fluid and a wiping member that performs a wiping process for wiping the ejecting surface of the ejecting head, and is accommodated by rotating the wiping member downward during a non-wiping process. And a control device that rotates the wiping member at a speed at which the fluid adhering to the wiping member can be shaken off during maintenance of the wiping device.

  According to the fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention, the control device can remove the fluid well from the wiping member by rotating the wiping device. Therefore, it is possible to provide a fluid ejecting apparatus that can prevent a fluid residue from being generated on the wiping member and can perform a highly reliable wiping process.

  Hereinafter, a maintenance method for a wiping device and a fluid ejection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used for the following description, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a fluid ejection device according to the present embodiment.
The fluid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment is a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects fluid such as ink. As an example of a fluid ejecting apparatus, an ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink onto a recording medium from an ejection port of a recording head and performs recording on the recording medium will be described.
In the following description, as an example of the ink jet recording apparatus, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as an ink jet printer) that performs recording on a recording paper by ejecting (jetting) ink droplets onto a recording paper (object) that is a recording medium. Will be referred to as a printer).

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a recording unit 2 that performs recording on recording paper using ink, and a recording paper transport mechanism 3 that transports the recording paper.
The recording unit 2 is disposed at a position facing the recording head 4 and the carriage 5, a recording head (fluid ejecting head) 4 that ejects ink, a carriage 5 that is movable while supporting the recording head 4, and ink is ejected. And a platen 6 that supports the recording paper to be recorded.

The printer 1 includes a carriage driving device 7 including a motor that moves the carriage 5 and a carriage guide member that guides the movement of the carriage 5.
The carriage 5 is moved in the main scanning direction by the carriage driving device 7 while being guided by the carriage guide member. The recording paper is moved in the sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction with respect to the recording unit 2 by the recording paper transport mechanism 3.

The printer 1 also includes a paper feed cassette 9 that stores recording paper.
The paper feed cassette 9 is detachably provided on the back side of the main body of the printer 1. The paper feed cassette 9 is provided so as to accommodate a plurality of stacked recording papers.

  The recording paper transport mechanism 3 includes a paper feeding roller for carrying out the recording paper in the paper feeding cassette 9, a paper feeding roller driving device 10 including a motor for driving the paper feeding roller, and recording for guiding the movement of the recording paper. A paper guide member 11, a transport roller disposed downstream in the transport direction with respect to the paper feed roller, a transport roller driving device that drives the transport roller, and a downstream of the recording unit 2 in the transport direction And a discharge roller.

  The paper feed roller is configured to pick up the recording paper arranged on the uppermost side among the plurality of recording papers stacked in the paper feed cassette 9 and to carry it out of the paper feed cassette 9. The recording paper in the paper feeding cassette 9 is fed to the conveying roller by the paper feeding roller driven by the paper feeding roller driving device 10 while being guided by the recording paper guide member 11. The recording paper sent to the transport roller is transported to the recording unit 2 arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction by the transport roller driven by the transport roller driving device.

  The platen 6 of the recording unit 2 is disposed at a position facing the recording head 4 and the carriage 5 and supports the lower surface of the recording paper. The recording head 4 and the carriage 5 are disposed above the platen 6. The recording paper transport mechanism 3 transports the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction in conjunction with the recording operation by the recording unit 2. The recording paper recorded by the recording unit 2 is discharged from the front side of the printer 1 by a recording paper transport mechanism 3 including a discharge roller.

The printer 1 also includes an ink supply tube 12 that supplies ink from the ink cartridge to the recording head 4 of the carriage 5. The ink in the ink cartridge is supplied to the ink supply path via the ink supply needle, and is supplied from the ink supply path to the recording head 4 of the carriage 5 via the ink supply tube 12.
The printer 1 also includes a maintenance device 13 that can maintain the recording head 4.

The maintenance device 13 includes a capping device 14 and a wiping device 15. The maintenance device 13 is disposed at the home position of the carriage 5 and the recording head 4. The home position is set in an end area outside the recording area in which the recording operation by the recording unit 2 is executed, within the movement area of the carriage 5.
When the power is turned off or when the recording operation is not performed for a long time, the carriage 5 and the recording head 4 are arranged at the home position.

The capping device 14 is for preventing a suction operation for forcibly discharging ink from the nozzles 16 of the recording head 4 and drying of the nozzles 16 during non-printing processing. Further, the wiping device 15 includes a wiping member (wiping member) 44 for wiping the nozzle substrate surface of the recording head 4. The wiping device 15 can wipe or wipe off foreign matter adhering to an ejection surface (nozzle surface) 17 (described later) of the recording head 4 such as residual ink by using the wiping member 44 (wiping process). ).
As shown in FIG. 2, the wiping device 15 includes a wipe member 44 and a support member 51 that supports the wipe member 44. The wipe member 44 is composed of a plate-like elastic member such as an elastomer. The wiping device 15 performs the wiping process by sliding the wiping member 44 on the ejection surface 17 along the thickness direction thereof.

  Further, the wiping device 15 is accommodated by being rotated downward during non-wiping processing (for example, during printing processing) (see FIG. 6).

  The support member 51 is provided with a gear portion 52, and a driving gear portion 53 is engaged with the gear portion 52. Power is transmitted to the drive gear portion 53 from a rotation drive mechanism 54 (see FIG. 4). A stepping motor is used as the rotation drive mechanism 54. When the driving gear portion 53 rotates in the arrow direction in FIG. 2, the support member 51 can be rotated together with the gear portion 52. For example, when the driving gear portion 53 rotates in the clockwise arrow direction, the wiping device 15 rotates in the counterclockwise arrow direction. Based on such a configuration, the printer 1 can rotate the wipe member 44 along its extending direction.

  By the way, in the present embodiment, the wiping device 15 is used during a wiping operation for wiping off ink adhering to the ejection surface 17 (see FIG. 3) of the nozzle substrate 21 after the suction operation by the capping device 14. When such a wiping operation is performed, ink is attached to the wiping member 44. If the ink adhering to the wiping member 44 is left unattended, there is a possibility that the wiping operation cannot be performed satisfactorily because the ink thickens or solidifies. Therefore, the printer 1 needs to perform a maintenance process in the wiping device 15 after the wiping process.

  In the present embodiment, the wiping device 15 is maintained by using the above-described rotation mechanism. The printer 1 includes a control device 58 that controls the operation of the rotation drive mechanism 54 (see FIG. 4). In the printer 1, during the maintenance of the wiping device 15, the control device 58 controls the operation of the rotation drive mechanism 54 so as to rotate the wiping device 15 at a speed at which ink attached to the wiping member 44 can be shaken off. Yes.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the recording head 4.
As shown in FIG. 3, the recording head 4 includes a head main body 18 and a flow path forming unit 22 including a vibration plate 19, a flow path substrate 20, and a nozzle substrate 21. The nozzle 16 is formed on the nozzle substrate 21. That is, the lower surface of the nozzle substrate 21 constitutes an ejection surface 17 on which a plurality of nozzles 16 are formed. The flow path forming unit 22 is a unit in which the diaphragm 19, the flow path substrate 20, and the nozzle substrate 21 are laminated and joined together with an adhesive or the like. In addition, the recording head 4 according to the present embodiment is used as a so-called line head in which a number of nozzles 16 are arranged over a length equal to or larger than the width (maximum recording paper width) of the maximum size printing paper targeted by the printer 1. You may do it.

  The recording head 4 includes an accommodation space 23 formed in the head body 18 and a drive unit 24 disposed in the accommodation space 23. The drive unit 24 includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements 25, a fixing member 26 that supports the upper end of the piezoelectric elements 25, and a flexible cable 27 that supplies a drive signal to the piezoelectric elements 25. The piezoelectric element 25 is provided so as to correspond to each of the plurality of nozzles 16.

  In addition, the recording head 4 is formed inside the head main body 18, and an internal flow path 28 through which ink supplied from the ink cartridge via the ink supply tube 12 flows, a vibration plate 19, a flow path substrate 20, and a nozzle substrate. 21, a common ink chamber 29 formed by a flow path forming unit 22 including the flow path 21 and connected to the internal flow path 28, an ink supply port 30 formed by the flow path forming unit 22 and connected to the common ink chamber 29, A pressure chamber 31 formed by the path forming unit 22 and connected to the ink supply port 30 is provided. A plurality of pressure chambers 31 are provided so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzles 16. Each of the plurality of nozzles 16 is connected to each of the plurality of pressure chambers 31.

The head body 18 is made of synthetic resin. The diaphragm 19 is obtained by laminating an elastic film on a metal support plate such as stainless steel. An island portion 32 joined to the lower end of the piezoelectric element 25 is formed at a portion corresponding to the pressure chamber 31 of the vibration plate 19. At least a part of the diaphragm 19 is elastically deformed according to the driving of the piezoelectric element 25. A compliance portion 33 is formed between the diaphragm 19 and the vicinity of the lower end of the internal flow path 28.
The flow path substrate 20 has recesses for forming spaces for the common ink chamber 29, the ink supply port 30, and the pressure chamber 31 that connect the lower end of the internal flow path 28 and the nozzle 16. In the present embodiment, the flow path substrate 20 is formed by anisotropic etching of silicon.

  The nozzle substrate 21 has a plurality of nozzles 16 formed at predetermined intervals (pitch) in a predetermined direction. The nozzle substrate 21 of the present embodiment is a plate-like member formed of a metal such as stainless steel. As described above, the ejection surface 17 is formed by the lower surface of the nozzle substrate 21.

  The printer 1 configured as described above has an ink cartridge (not shown) as an ink storage part (fluid storage part) for storing ink, and the ink supplied from the ink cartridge via the ink supply tube is shown in FIG. It is comprised so that it may flow into the upper end of the internal flow path 28 shown. The lower end of the internal flow path 28 is connected to the common ink chamber 29, and the ink that has flowed into the upper end of the internal flow path 28 from the ink cartridge via the ink supply tube 12 flows through the internal flow path 28 and is then shared. The ink is supplied to the ink chamber 29. The ink supplied to the common ink chamber 29 is supplied through the ink supply port 30 so as to be distributed to each of the plurality of pressure chambers 31.

When a drive signal is input to the piezoelectric element 25 via the cable 27, the piezoelectric element 25 expands and contracts. As a result, the diaphragm 19 is deformed (moved) in a direction toward and away from the pressure chamber 31. As a result, the volume of the pressure chamber 31 changes, and the pressure of the pressure chamber 31 containing ink fluctuates. Ink is ejected (discharged) from the nozzle 16 due to the fluctuation of the pressure.
Thus, the piezoelectric element 25 of the present embodiment varies the pressure of the pressure chamber 31 connected to the nozzle 16 based on the input drive signal in order to eject ink from the nozzle 16.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer 1. The printer 1 in this embodiment includes the control device 58 that controls the operation of the entire printer 1. The control device 58 is electrically connected to an input device 59 for inputting various information relating to the operation of the printer 1 and a storage device 60 storing various information relating to the operation of the printer 1.

  The control device 58 is connected to the wiping device 15, the recording paper transport mechanism 3, the carriage drive device 7, the capping device 14, and the rotation drive mechanism 54. The printer 1 further includes a drive signal generator 62 that generates a drive signal to be input to the piezoelectric element 25, and the drive signal generator 62 is electrically connected to the control device 58.

  The drive signal generator 62 receives data indicating the amount of change in the voltage value of the ejection pulse input to the piezoelectric element 25 of the recording head 4 and a timing signal that defines the timing for changing the voltage of the ejection pulse. The drive signal generator 62 generates a drive signal such as an ejection pulse based on the input data and timing signal.

  When an ejection pulse is input from the drive signal generator 62 to the piezoelectric element 25, an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle 16. When the ejection pulse is input to the piezoelectric element 25, the piezoelectric element 25 contracts and the pressure chamber 31 expands. After the expanded state of the pressure chamber 31 is maintained for a short time, the piezoelectric element 25 expands rapidly. Along with this, the volume of the pressure chamber 31 contracts below the reference volume, and the meniscus exposed to the nozzle 16 is rapidly pressurized outward. As a result, a predetermined amount of ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle 16. Thereafter, the pressure chamber 31 returns to the reference volume so that the vibration of the meniscus accompanying the ejection of the ink droplets is converged in a short time.

(Wiping device maintenance method)
Hereinafter, the operation of maintaining the capping device 14 will be described as an embodiment of the maintenance method for the wiping device of the present invention.

  The printer 1 performs a suction operation for discharging ink from the nozzles 16 by using the capping device 14 in order to restore or maintain the ink ejection characteristics in the recording head 4. After the suction operation is completed, ink adheres to the surface (jetting surface 17) of the nozzle substrate 21 of the recording head 4.

  Subsequently, a wiping process for wiping the ejection surface 17 using the wiping device 15 is performed. As shown in FIG. 5, the ink L scraped off from the surface of the nozzle substrate 21 is attached to the wipe member 44 after the wiping process.

  Subsequently, maintenance processing of the wiping device 15 is performed. This maintenance process includes a rotation step in which the wiping device 15 is rotated at a speed at which the ink attached to the wiping member 44 having wiped the ejection surface 17 can be shaken off. The printer 1 is configured to perform the rotation step immediately after the end of the suction operation using the capping device 14 and the wiping process performed following the suction operation. The ink L adhering to the wiping member 44 by the wiping process performed after the suction operation is hardly thickened. Therefore, it is possible to reliably remove the ink L adhering to the wipe member 44 by the rotation step, and this maintenance method becomes more effective.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the rotation step refers to a wiping device in a non-wiping process from a position where the wiping device 15 waits in the wiping process (hereinafter referred to as a first standby position A1). This corresponds to a rotation section that rotates to a position (hereinafter referred to as a second standby position A2) that waits in a state in which 15 is accommodated.

  As described above, the printer 1 is configured such that the wiping device 15 is rotatable by the rotation drive mechanism 54. Therefore, the printer 1 is configured to rotate the wiping device 15 at a predetermined speed by the control device 58 controlling the rotation drive mechanism 54.

The rotation speed of the wiping device 15 in the rotation step is set to be faster than the rotation speed when the wiping device 44 is moved to the second standby position A2 during the wiping operation of the wiping member 44 during the non-wiping process. More specifically, the rotational speed of the wiping device in the rotation step is preferably set to at least 1 / 0.43 rps (times per second) or more, and is set to 1 / 0.19 rps (times per second) or more.
The basis for the above parameters is based on the following test results. Specifically, the rotational speed of the wiper unit 44 is set to 1 / 0.90 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.70 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.60 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.55 rps (times). Per second), 1 / 0.50 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.45 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.44 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.43 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.42 rps (times) Per second), 1 / 0.40 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.35 rps (times per second), 1 / 0.30 rps (times per second), and 1 / 0.20 rps (times per second). A printing test was performed in which predetermined printing (monochrome, magenta, yellow, cyan, 5% density half-tone full-surface full printing was performed in order of 5 sheets each and 400 sheets in total) was performed. As a result, when the rotation speed is 1 / 0.42 rps (times per second) or less, the ink L adhering to the wiper member 44 cannot be reliably removed, and color mixing may occur during the wiping process. I understood. This was found by observing the print during the print test. In particular, when the rotation speed is low, this tendency (color mixture) appears remarkably.
On the other hand, when the rotational speed was 1 / 0.43 rps (times per second) or more, no problem occurred as a result of the printing test.
When the rotational speed is 1 / 0.43 rps, the time required for the wiping device 15 to rotate 90 degrees is 0.11 seconds, and when the rotational speed is 1 / 0.19 rps, the wiping device 15 The time required to rotate 90 degrees is 0.05 seconds.

  When the wiping device 15 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 7 at such a rotational speed, the ink adhering to the wipe member 44 can be shaken off by centrifugal force.

  In the maintenance method according to the present embodiment, the rotation step is repeated a plurality of times. Thus, after the wiping device 15 performs a rotational movement from the first standby position A1 to the second standby position A2 in one rotation step, the rotational drive mechanism 54 moves from the second standby position A2 to the second standby position A2. 1 is switched to the rotational movement toward the standby position A1. That is, the wiping device 15 according to the present embodiment is in a state in which the upward rotating operation (upward movement) and the downward rotating operation (downward movement) are repeated during maintenance.

  In this case, the rotational speed of the wiping device 15 during the ascending operation (the rotational operation toward the first standby position A1 from the second standby position A2) is the same as the rotational speed during the descending operation (from the first standby position A1 to the second standby position A1). The controller 58 controls the operation of the rotation drive mechanism 54 so as to be slower than the rotation speed of the rotation operation toward the standby position A2.

  Thus, by repeating the rotation step a plurality of times, the ink adhering to the wipe member 44 can be more reliably removed. In addition, since the rotational speed during the ascending operation is set to be slow, it is possible to prevent ink from being shaken off from the wiping member 44 during the ascending operation of the wiping device 15. Therefore, ink can be shaken off from the wiping member 44 only when the wiping device 15 is lowered. The printer 1 preferably includes an ink absorber (not shown) that can absorb the ink shaken off from the wipe member 44 below the wiping device 15. The ink absorber is formed of a sponge-like member capable of holding (absorbing) ink, a porous member, or the like, and in the present embodiment, is configured from a nonwoven fabric such as felt.

  The rotation step may be repeated a plurality of times by rotating the wiping device 15 360 degrees in one direction (for example, either counterclockwise or clockwise).

  As described above, according to the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the control device 58 rotates the wiping device 15 so that the ink is shaken off from the wipe member 44 and can be removed well. Therefore, ink residue is prevented from being generated on the wiping member 44, and a highly reliable wiping process can be performed.

  The maintenance method according to the present invention is particularly effective when maintaining the wiping device 15 that has scraped a small amount of ink adhering to the surface of the nozzle substrate 21. When the amount of ink adhering to the surface of the nozzle substrate 21 is small, that is, when the ink suction amount of the capping device 14 is small, the ink L adhering to the wiping member 44 can be removed only by rotating the wiping device 15 downward. This is because the rotation speed of the wiping device 15 is important. In particular, by repeating the rotation step a plurality of times as in the present embodiment, even a small amount of ink can be reliably removed from the wipe member 44 as described above.

  On the other hand, when the amount of ink adhering to the surface of the nozzle substrate 21 is large, that is, when the amount of ink suction of the capping device 14 is large, the amount of ink L adhering to the wiping member 44 becomes relatively large. May be slid down from the wipe member 44 due to its own weight. In this case, the number of times of repeating the rotation step can be reduced.

  The printer 1 may perform a flushing process for adjusting a meniscus by ejecting ink from the nozzles 16 after performing the wiping process by the wiping device 15. At this time, the maintenance process of the wiping device 15 may be performed in synchronization with the flushing process.

(Modification)
Next, a modification of the maintenance method for the wiping device 15 will be described.

  In this modification, the rotation operation of the wiping device 15 is suddenly stopped in the rotation step performed as the maintenance process for the wiping device 15. Here, it is desirable that the wiping device 15 suddenly stops at a position where the upper end surface (ink adhesion surface) of the wiping member 44 is along the vertical direction. That is, in the present modification, the wiping device 15 is suddenly stopped at the second standby position A2.

  Thus, if the rotational movement of the wiping device 15 is suddenly stopped, an inertial force can be applied to the ink adhering to the wiping member 44. Further, as described above, since the ink adhering surface of the wipe member 44 is along the vertical direction, the ink is favorably subjected to the inertial force in addition to the centrifugal force, and is easily and reliably removed from the wipe member 44. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the rotating operation may be stopped suddenly by bringing the wiping device 15 into contact with the stopper member 72. By using such a stopper member 72, the rotational operation of the wipe member 44 can be surely suddenly stopped.

  The preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples, and the above embodiments may be combined. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. It is understood that it belongs to.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the rotation step is performed by rotating the wipe member 44 along its extending direction. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the wiping device 15 is arranged in the thickness direction of the wipe member 44. You may make it perform the said rotation step by making it rotate toward. In this case, the rotation axis of the wiping device 15 coincides with the extending direction of the wiping member 44.

  In the above embodiment, an ink jet printer is employed, but a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects or ejects fluid other than ink may be employed. The present invention can be applied to various fluid ejecting apparatuses including a fluid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the fluid discharged from the said fluid ejecting apparatus, and includes what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The fluid here may be a material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in the state when the substance is in a liquid phase, and may be in a liquid state with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts) ) And a liquid as one state of the substance, as well as particles in which functional material particles made of solid materials such as pigments and metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. In addition, typical examples of the fluid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot-melt inks. As a specific example of the fluid ejecting apparatus, for example, a fluid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, or a color filter in a dispersed or dissolved form. It may be a fluid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a fluid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, a fluid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a fluid used as a precision pipette, a printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resins to form fluid injection devices that inject lubricating oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements, etc. Alternatively, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these ejecting apparatuses and liquid containers.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of a fluid ejecting apparatus. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a wiping apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of a recording head. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a printer. It is a figure which shows the state of the wiping apparatus after a wiping process. It is a figure for demonstrating the standby position of a wiping apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the maintenance process of a wiping apparatus. It is a figure explaining the modification of a wiping apparatus. It is a figure explaining the structure which concerns on the other form of a wiping apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer (fluid ejecting apparatus), 4 ... Recording head, 15 ... Wiping apparatus, 17 ... Ejecting surface, 44 ... Wipe member (wiping member), 58 ... Control apparatus

Claims (7)

In a maintenance method for a wiping apparatus that includes a wiping member that performs a wiping process of wiping the ejection surface of an ejection head that ejects fluid and is accommodated by being rotated downward during a non-wiping process.
A maintenance method for a wiping device, comprising: a rotation step of rotating the wiping device at a speed at which the fluid adhering to the wiping member can be shaken off after wiping the ejection surface.   The wiping device maintenance method according to claim 1, wherein a rotation speed of the wiping device in the rotation step is faster than a rotation speed when the wiping member is accommodated.   The wiping device maintenance method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a rotation speed of the wiping device in the rotation step is set to at least 1 / 0.43 rps or more.   The wiping device maintenance method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the rotation step, the rotation operation of the wiping device is suddenly stopped. When the rotation step is performed a plurality of times and the wiping device repeats the upward rotation and the downward rotation operation,
The maintenance method of the wiping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a rotation speed during the upward rotation operation is set slower than a rotation speed during the downward rotation operation. .   The maintenance method for a wiping apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rotation step is performed immediately after the wiping process is finished. An ejection head for ejecting fluid;
A wiping device that has a wiping member that performs a wiping process for wiping the ejection surface of the ejection head, and is accommodated by being rotated downward during a non-wiping process;
A control device for rotating the wiping device at a speed capable of shaking off the fluid adhering to the wiping member;
A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising:

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