JP2010094859A - Inkjet printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the adjustment of the gap between a head and a flushing box. <P>SOLUTION: An inkjet head 6 which can adjust the height for the printing surface and a print medium are moved relatively in the printing area, printing on the print medium is carried out by delivering ink from the ink delivering nozzle of the head 6, the head 6 is moved to a non-printing area which is separated from the printing area, and then the ink is delivered idly from the head 6 to an ink receiver 22. A flushing box 16 is arranged in the non-printing area to elevate/lower freely. A first engaging means is provided on the head 6 side, and the flushing box 16 is provided with a second engaging means which engages with the first engaging means when the head 6 moves to the non-printing area and is interlocked with the movement of the first engaging means in the height direction. A pressing means is provided on the head 6 side, and a latching means which latches the flushing box 16 at an optional height position and unlatches the flushing box 16 by the pressing force from the pressing means is provided on the flushing box 16 side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a flushing box that has an elevating mechanism on the head side and can prevent mist generation during flushing (empty ejection) in an ink jet printing apparatus that can hold a paper gap according to the thickness of a medium. The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus provided with an automatic lifting mechanism.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printing apparatus that can move a head unit up and down in accordance with the thickness of a medium to be printed is known. In such a printing apparatus, if idle ejection is performed during printing, the ink flies when the distance between the head unit and the flushing box is greater than the normal setting. As a result, printing results may be adversely affected, ink may adhere to the head and cause ink ejection defects, or ink may adhere to other parts of the device and cause malfunctions. There is sex. 5 and 6 are explanatory views of such a conventional apparatus. FIG. 5 shows a positional relationship between the head unit 6 and the flushing box 16 when printing on a thin medium such as roll paper. FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between the head unit 6 and the flushing box 16 when printing on a thick medium such as cardboard. In this case, the distance between the head unit 6 and the flushing box 16 is longer than the normal setting. In the figure, 2 is a carriage, 22 is an ink receiving portion, 10 'is a mounting plate, and 8 is a base plate.
In view of this, several proposals have been proposed to make the distance between the ejection surface of the head unit and the flushing box constant (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4).
JP 2007-111934 A JP 2007-83706 A JP 2002-337351 A JP 2005-67106 A

In the conventional ink jet printing apparatus, the vertical position adjustment of the head portion and the vertical positioning of the flushing box caused by the position adjustment cannot be automatically performed together. Therefore, there is a problem that the position adjustment of the flushing box accompanying the height adjustment of the head portion cannot be easily performed.
The present invention aims to solve the above problems.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention discharges ink from the ink discharge nozzles of the head unit 6 by relatively moving the inkjet head unit 6 and the print medium that can be adjusted in height relative to the print surface within the print region. An ink jet printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing medium, moves the head unit 6 to a non-printing region outside the printing region, and ejects ink from the head unit 6 to the ink receiving unit 22 in an idle manner. A flushing box 16 having a portion 22 and supported by the fixed guide 14 in the non-printing region so as to be movable up and down; first engaging means provided on the head portion 6 side; The second engaging means provided in the flushing box 16 is engaged with the first engaging means when moved to the printing area, and interlocked with the movement of the first engaging means in the height direction, and the head. A pressing means provided on the side of the door portion 6; and a locking means for locking the flushing box 16 to the guide 14 and releasing the locking of the flushing box 16 by a pressing force from the pressing means, The locking means releases the locking of the flushing box 16 in a state where the first and second engaging means are engaged, and the engagement of the first and second engaging means is released. The flushing box 16 is previously locked.
Further, according to the present invention, a lifting / lowering arm 30 is provided on the carriage 2 to which the head portion 6 is attached, an engaging piece 32 extending in the horizontal direction is formed on the lifting / lowering arm 30, and the engaging piece 32 is connected to the first engagement. And a locking surface 26 is provided on the flushing box 16 in a position where the engaging piece 32 is located and overlaps with the engaging piece 32, and the locking surface 26 is used as the second engaging means. Is.
Further, according to the present invention, a lifting arm 30 is provided on the carriage 2 to which the head portion 6 is attached. The guides 14 and 36 are pivotally supported, one of the lock arms 34 and 36 is arranged on the moving path on the side surface of the elevating arm 30, and the other of the lock arms 34 and 36 is provided on the fixed side by a spring force. The locking means is constituted by a spring 42 that is locked via a meshing structure and presses the lock arms 34 and 36, the guide 14, and the other of the lock arms 34 and 36 against the guide 14.

  In the present invention, since the positioning of the head portion in the height direction and the positioning of the flushing box in the height direction can be performed at the same time, it is possible to easily adjust the gap between the head portion and the flushing box.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The ink jet printing apparatus shown in FIG. 13 has a main body frame, and a Y rail 3 for guiding a cursor (carriage) 2 in the Y-axis direction is installed on the main body frame. A cursor 2 is attached to the Y rail 3 so as to reciprocate in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction).

The cursor 2 is supported on the Y rail 3 so as to be movable up and down, and can be moved up and down with respect to the platen 5 by a motor. As shown in FIG. 1, the cursor 2 is provided with a head mounting plate 4 to which a head portion 6 composed of a plurality of color ink jet print heads is mounted. By moving the cursor 2 up and down with respect to the Y rail 3 by a motor, the paper gap that is the distance between the head unit 6 and the print medium is adjusted according to the thickness of the print medium such as recording paper on the platen 5. It is configured to be able to.

By moving the cursor 2 along the Y rail 3, the head unit 6 is configured to reciprocate between the print areas on the platen 5 and between the print areas and the non-print areas outside the print areas. . Ink is supplied to the print head of the head unit 6 from an ink cartridge or the like that is detachably mounted on the machine body, etc., and from the nozzles that open on the nozzle formation surface of the head unit 6 toward the print medium on the platen 5 during printing. Ink is discharged.

The print medium is supported on the platen 5 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction (sub-scanning direction) orthogonal to the Y-axis. By the movement of the cursor 2 in the main scanning direction along the Y rail 3 and the movement of the printing medium in the sub-scanning direction, printing is performed on the printing medium by ink droplets ejected from the head unit 6. In the main body frame, a capping unit is disposed in a non-printing region (home position) which is one end side of the traveling region of the cursor 2, a wiper is disposed on the side, and a flushing box 16 is disposed on the side. As shown in FIG. 1, a base plate 8 is fixedly provided in a flushing box arrangement region in a non-printing region, and a guide mounting plate 10 is erected on this.

As shown in FIG. 7, a slide guide 14 in which a vertically extending guide groove 12 is formed is attached to the guide mounting plate 10, and a flushing box 16 is formed in the lift guide groove 12 of the slide guide 14. The protrusion 18 is slidably fitted, and the flushing box 16 is supported by the slide guide 14 so as to be movable up and down. The flushing box 16 is urged downward by a lifting spring 20.

In the upper part of the flushing box 16, a thickened ink or bubbles in the nozzles are discharged from the print head mounted on the head unit 6 at a position near the home position by a drive signal that is not print data, or the head unit An ink receiving portion 22 is provided for receiving droplets ejected from the print head by the flushing when the idle ejection (flushing) for stabilizing and recovering the ink ejection from the ink is performed. The ink receiving portion 22 contains an ink absorbing material 24.

An engaging portion 28 having a U-shaped cross section having a locking surface 26 extending in the Y-axis direction is formed on the upper portion of the flushing box 16. Corresponding to the engaging portion 28, an elevating arm 30 is fixed on the cursor 2 side, and an engaging piece 32 corresponding to the locking surface 26 of the engaging portion 28 is formed on the elevating arm 30. Further, a pressing surface 38 is formed on the side surface of the elevating arm 30 to engage with the two lock arms 34 and 36 and push the upper portions of the lock arms 34 and 36.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lock arms 34 and 36 are pivotally supported by the flushing box 16 about a fulcrum 40 and press the lower portions of the lock arms 34 and 36 with the flushing box 16 as a fulcrum. The claw portion 44 formed at the lower part of the lock arms 34 and 36 is pressed against the slide guide 14 by the elastic force of the arm spring 42. As shown in FIG. 7, the slide guide 14 is provided with a row of grooves 46 for engaging with the claw portions 44 of the lock arms 34 and 36 in a rack gear shape, and the claw portions 44 of the lock arms 34 and 36 are The flushing box 16 is configured to be locked to the slide guide 14 by engaging with the groove row 46.

In FIG. 1, when the engaging piece 32 on the lifting arm 30 side and the locking surface 26 of the engaging portion 28 on the flushing box 16 side are in contact with each other, the ink discharge surface of the head portion 6 and the ink receiving portion 22 However, the mutual positional relationship is set so as to face each other with a predetermined interval suitable for flushing. At both ends of the upper wall of the flushing box 16 having the locking surface 26, as shown in FIG. 2, inclined surfaces for smoothly guiding the engaging pieces 32 of the elevating arm 30 below the locking surface 26. As shown in FIG. 12, inclined surfaces 33, 33 that are inclined downward corresponding to the guide surface 48 are formed at both ends of the engagement piece 32. Is formed. Thus, even if there is a step in the height direction between the elevating arm 30 and the flushing box 16, the elevating arm 30 is smoothly guided to the locking surface 28 of the engaging portion 26 without colliding with the flushing box 16. It has become. Further, a guide surface 50 is formed on the side surface of the lifting arm 30. The guide surface 50 is an inclined surface for smoothly guiding the pressing surface 38 to the upper front side of the lock arms 34, 36.

  In the above-described configuration, when the height of the head unit 6 is adjusted, the normal state where the lifting arm 32 on the carriage 2 side is located in front of the flushing box 16 as shown in FIGS. The cursor 2 is moved in the home position direction from the standby state, printing state, and the like. As the cursor 2 moves, the lifting arm 32 on the carriage 2 side moves directly above the ink receiving portion 22.

When the elevating arm 32 moves directly above the ink receiving portion 22, the pressing surface 38 of the elevating arm 30 engages with the upper front surfaces of the lock arms 34 and 36 and pushes them. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the engaging piece 32 of the elevating arm 30 moves to the lower side of the engaging surface 26 of the engaging portion 28, and the engaging piece 32 contacts the engaging surface 26. The lock arms 34, 36 are swung clockwise around the fulcrum 40 against the elastic force of the arm spring 42 in FIG. 1 by the pressing force from the pressing surface 38. The engagement between the claw portion 44 and the groove row 46 of the slide guide 14 is released, and the flushing box 16 is supported by the engagement piece 32 of the elevating arm 30.

The cursor 2 is driven in the vertical direction by the driving force of the motor, and the height of the head unit 6 is adjusted according to the medium to be printed. As the cursor 2 moves up and down, the flushing box 16 supported by the lifting arm 30 moves up and down in conjunction with the cursor 2 along the slide guide 14. After the height of the head portion 6 is adjusted, when the cursor 2 is moved in the print area direction, the pressing force of the pressing surface 38 against the lock arms 34 and 36 is released, and the claw portions 44 of the lock arms 34 and 36 are moved to the slide guide. 14, and the flushing box 16 is fixed to the base plate 8 side. The pitch of the groove row 46 is shifted from right to left, and fine positioning is achieved by engagement of one of the lock arms 34 and 36.

Thereby, the facing interval between the ink ejection surface of the head unit 6 and the ink receiving unit 22 is set to a predetermined interval. After the height of the flushing box 16 is fixed, the engagement piece 32 is separated from the locking surface 26 by the movement of the cursor 2 in the print area direction. The flushing operation after the positioning of the flushing box 16 is performed in a state where the elevating arm 30 is positioned in front of the engaging portion 28 as shown in FIG.
When returning to the home position after printing is completed, the lifting arm 30 is moved to the position of the engaging portion 28, where the height of the flushing box 16 is lowered to a predetermined position and then moved to the capping position.

In the next printing, when it is not necessary to change the height of the head portion, the height may be maintained as it is. In the present embodiment, only the flushing box is raised and lowered. However, a maintenance member (capping unit, wiper, flushing box) may be configured to move together, and the member may be raised and lowered.
FIG. 3 shows the positional relationship between the flushing box and the head unit when printing on thin media such as roll paper.

When the head portion 6 is adjusted in the descending direction with respect to the platen 5, the flushing box 16 is locked at the descending position corresponding to the descending, and both are held at a predetermined interval.
FIG. 4 shows the positional relationship between the flushing box and the head portion when printing on a thick medium such as cardboard. When the head portion 6 is adjusted with respect to the platen 5 in the upward direction, the flushing box is locked at the upward position corresponding to the upward movement, and the two are held at a predetermined interval. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the flushing box is up and down in conjunction with the up and down on the head side. FIG. 12 shows a state where the head portion has moved to the home position.

It is a partial cross section figure of the principal part of this invention. It is an external view of the principal part of this invention. It is a side view of the principal part of this invention. It is a side view of the principal part of this invention. It is side surface explanatory drawing for demonstrating a prior art. It is side surface explanatory drawing for demonstrating a prior art. It is a disassembled perspective view of the principal part of this invention. It is an external view of the principal part of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of this invention. It is an external view of the principal part of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of this invention. It is an external view of the principal part of this invention. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Cursor (carriage)
3 Y rail 4 Head mounting plate 5 Platen 6 Head portion 8 Base plate 10 Guide mounting plate 10 'Mounting plate 12 Groove 14 Slide guide 16 Flushing box 18 Convex portion 20 Lifting spring 22 Ink receiving portion 24 Ink absorbing material 26 Locking surface 28 Engaging portion 30 Elevating arm 32 Engaging piece 34 Lock arm 36 Lock arm 38 Pressing surface 40 Support point 42 Arm spring 44 Claw portion 46 Groove row 48 Guide surface

Claims (3)

The inkjet head unit 6 and the print medium whose height can be adjusted with respect to the print surface are moved relative to each other in the print region, and ink is ejected from the ink ejection nozzles of the head unit 6 to perform printing on the print medium. Is an ink jet printing apparatus in which the ink is moved to a non-printing area outside the printing area and ink is ejected from the head unit 6 to the ink receiving part 22, which has the ink receiving part 22 and is fixed in the non-printing area. A flushing box 16 supported by the side guide 14 so as to be movable up and down, a first engaging means provided on the head portion 6 side, and the first engaging means when the head portion 6 moves to the non-printing area. A second engaging means provided in the flushing box 16 so as to be interlocked with the movement of the first engaging means in the height direction, a pressing means provided on the head portion 6 side, in front Locking means for locking the flushing box 16 to the guide 14 and releasing the locking of the flushing box 16 by a pressing force from the pressing means, the locking means comprising the first and second locking means. The flushing box 16 is unlocked with the engagement means engaged, and the flushing box 16 is locked before the first and second engagement means are released. An inkjet printer characterized by the above. The carriage 2 to which the head portion 6 is attached is provided with an elevating arm 30, an engaging piece 32 extending in the horizontal direction is formed on the elevating arm 30, the engaging piece 32 serves as the first engaging means, and the flushing The box 16 is provided with a locking surface 26 at a position overlapping the engagement piece 32 in the movement path of the engagement piece 32, and the locking surface 26 is used as the second engagement means. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1. A lift arm 30 is provided on the carriage 2 to which the head unit 6 is attached. A side surface of the lift arm 30 is used as the pressing means, and lock arms 34 and 36 are pivoted around the fulcrum 40 on the flushing box 16. One of the lock arms 34 and 36 is arranged on the moving path on the side surface of the elevating arm 30, and the other of the lock arms 34 and 36 is engaged with a guide 14 provided on the fixed side by a spring force via a structure. The locking means is constituted by a spring 42 that locks and locks the lock arms 34 and 36, the guide 14, and the other of the lock arms 34 and 36 against the guide 14. Inkjet printing device.

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