JP2010167603A - Fluid injection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fluid injection device of excellent maintainability. <P>SOLUTION: This fluid injection device includes a fluid injection head having a plurality of nozzles for injecting a fluid to a medium, rotatable rotors provided on an injection direction of the fluid, medium support parts provided respectively on the plurality of rotors and for supporting the medium, cap parts provided respectively in positions located on the plurality of rotors, shifted along a rotational direction with respect to the medium support parts, and for capping the injection area, and an electrode provided in a shaft portion of the rotor and connected to an electric power source part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejecting apparatus.

  The fluid ejecting apparatus is an apparatus that includes an ejecting head capable of ejecting a fluid and ejects various fluids from the ejecting head toward a recording material or the like. As a typical fluid ejecting apparatus, for example, an ink jet type ejecting head (hereinafter simply referred to as an ejecting head) is provided, and recording ink is used as ink droplets of liquid ink (fluid) from nozzles of the ejecting head (ejection head). 2. Description of the Related Art Inkjet recording apparatuses that perform recording by forming dots by jetting and landing on a recording medium such as the above are known.

  In the fluid ejecting apparatus, in order to maintain or recover a good ejecting state of the fluid ejected from the ejecting head, maintenance of the ejecting head is periodically performed. Specific examples of the maintenance operation include an operation of adjusting the meniscus of the nozzle and an operation of detecting a discharge failure of the nozzle (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In recent years, a configuration is known in which a rotating body is disposed below an ejection head, and a recording medium support, a cap member, and the like are attached in the rotation direction of the rotating body. In this configuration, by rotating the rotating body, the recording medium support section and the cap member can be accessed by the ejection head, respectively. With this configuration, maintainability is improved.

JP 2004-174766 A

  In the configuration having the rotating body as described above, a configuration that can perform the discharge failure detection operation of the nozzle using the rotating body is required from the viewpoint of further improving the maintainability.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid ejecting apparatus having excellent maintainability.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fluid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention includes a fluid ejecting head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a fluid onto a medium, a rotatable rotating body provided in the fluid ejecting direction, and a plurality of rotating bodies. A medium support portion that is provided on each of the rotating bodies and supports the medium; and a plurality of the rotating bodies that are provided at positions shifted in a rotation direction with respect to the medium support portions, And a cap portion provided on the shaft portion of the rotating body and connected to a power source portion.

  According to the present invention, since the electrode connected to the power supply unit is provided in the shaft portion of the rotating body, it can be used as a voltage source when detecting the fluid ejection state by the nozzle. Thereby, since the injection state of a nozzle can be detected using a rotating body, high maintainability can be ensured.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the rotating body has an opening that exposes the electrode.
According to the present invention, since the opening that exposes the electrode provided in the shaft portion of the rotating body is provided in the rotating body, it is possible to detect the injection state of the nozzle by directly injecting fluid onto the electrode. it can.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, a second electrode electrically connected to the electrode is provided on the rotating body.
According to the present invention, since the second electrode electrically connected to the electrode is provided on the rotating body, it is possible to detect the ejection state of the nozzle on the rotating body.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the rotating body includes a flushing receiving unit used for a flushing operation of the plurality of nozzles, and the second electrode is provided in the flushing receiving unit.
According to the present invention, since the second electrode is provided in the flushing receiving portion that performs the flushing operation of the nozzle, the flushing operation and the operation of detecting the ejection state of the nozzle can be performed simultaneously.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the second electrode is provided in the medium support portion.
According to the present invention, since the second electrode is provided in the medium support part, the ejection state of the nozzle can be detected in the medium support part. In addition, the distance between the medium support portion and each of the plurality of nozzles can be detected.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the rotating body includes an accommodating portion that accommodates the fluid used for detecting the ejecting state of the nozzle.
According to the present invention, since the rotating body is provided with the accommodating portion that accommodates the fluid used for detecting the ejection state of the nozzle, the fluid can be prevented from scattering in the apparatus.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a printer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a partial configuration of a printer apparatus. The figure which shows the structure of the ejection surface of an ejection head. The figure which shows the cross-sectional structure of an ejection head. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of a maintenance apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink droplet sensor. The figure which shows the detection principle of an ink drop sensor. The graph which shows the voltage waveform detected by an ink drop sensor. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation state of a printer apparatus. Same operation diagram. Same operation diagram. Same operation diagram. Same operation diagram. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the printer apparatus according to the invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a fluid ejecting apparatus according to the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to make each member of the fluid ejecting apparatus have a recognizable size, each drawing used in the following description shows each member in a state where the scale is appropriately changed. In the present embodiment, an ink jet printer apparatus will be described as an example of the fluid ejecting apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer apparatus PRT) according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part around the ejection head. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a nozzle opening forming surface of the ejection head.

  In FIG. 1, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, and the positional relationship of each member may be described with reference to the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system. In this case, the left-right direction in the figure is the X direction, the depth direction of the paper surface in the figure is the Y direction, and the direction orthogonal to each of the X direction and the Y direction (that is, the vertical direction in the figure) is the Z direction.

  As shown in these drawings, the printer device PRT is a device that records images, characters, and the like on a recording medium M. As the recording medium M, for example, paper or plastic is used. The printer device PRT has an ink ejection mechanism IJ, a transport mechanism CR, a maintenance mechanism MN, and a control device CONT.

  The ink ejecting mechanism IJ is a part that ejects ink droplets (fluid) onto the recording medium M. The ink ejection mechanism IJ includes an ejection head (fluid ejection head) 11 and an ink supply unit 12. The ink used in the present embodiment uses a liquid in which dyes and pigments and a solvent for dissolving or dispersing them are basic components and various additives are added as necessary.

  The ejection head 11 is a head that can eject ink droplets of a plurality of colors onto the recording medium M. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the ejection head 11 is a line type having an ejection area 15 over a length (maximum recording paper width W) exceeding at least one side of the maximum size recording medium M targeted by the printer apparatus PRT. It is an ejection head. The ejection head 11 is provided so as to be movable in the Z direction, for example. The ejection head 11 has a nozzle 13 and a common ink chamber 14.

  The common ink chamber 14 holds ink corresponding to, for example, four colors (yellow: Y, magenta: M, cyan: C, black: K) (common ink chambers 14Y, 14M, 14C, 14K). The ejection area 15 is provided corresponding to the common ink chamber 14 of each color (ejection areas 15Y, 15M, 15C, 15K).

  A plurality of nozzles 13 are provided in each of the ejection regions 15Y, 15M, 15C, and 15K of the ejection head 11, and are, for example, openings that eject the four color ink droplets. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of nozzles 13 are arranged in the Y direction (nozzle row L). One or a plurality of nozzle rows L are provided for the ejection regions 15Y, 15M, 15C, and 15K of the respective colors. The number of nozzles 13 and the number of nozzle rows L are set as appropriate. A surface of the ejection head 11 on which the nozzles 13 are provided is an ejection surface 11A. The ejection surface 11 </ b> A is provided on the −Z side of the ejection head 11. The ejection head 11 ejects ink droplets toward the −Z side.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the ejection head 11.
As shown in the figure, the ejection head 11 includes a head main body 18 and a flow path forming unit 22 connected to the head main body 18. The flow path forming unit 22 includes a vibration plate 19, a flow path substrate 20, and a nozzle substrate 21.

  The head body 18 is a box-shaped member made of synthetic resin. The head body 18 is formed with a storage chamber 23 for storing the drive unit 24 and an internal flow path 28 for guiding ink supplied from the outside to the flow path forming unit 22.

  The drive unit 24 disposed in the accommodation chamber 23 includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements 25, a fixing member 26 that supports the upper ends of the plurality of piezoelectric elements 25, and a flexible cable 27 that supplies a drive signal to the piezoelectric elements 25. I have. The piezoelectric element 25 is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of nozzles 13.

  The internal flow path 28 is formed so as to penetrate the head body 18 in the vertical direction in FIG. The upper end of the internal channel 28 is connected to the ink supply unit 12 and the pressure mechanism 38 in the drawing. The internal flow path 28 is an ink flow path for allowing the ink supplied from the ink supply unit 12 to flow to the flow path forming unit 22 through the opening end on the lower end side in the figure.

  The flow path forming unit 22 has a configuration in which the diaphragm 19, the flow path substrate 20, and the nozzle substrate 21 are stacked and joined and integrated with an adhesive or the like. The flow path forming unit 22 includes a common ink chamber 14 connected to the internal flow path 28 of the head body 18, an ink supply port 30 connected to the common ink chamber 14, and a pressure chamber connected to the ink supply port 30. 31. The pressure chamber 31 is provided corresponding to each nozzle 13. Each pressure chamber 31 is connected to the nozzle 13 at the end opposite to the common ink chamber 14.

  The diaphragm 19 has a configuration in which an elastic film is laminated on a metal support plate such as stainless steel. An island portion 32 is formed in a portion of the diaphragm 19 corresponding to the pressure chamber 31. The island portion 32 is joined to the lower end of the piezoelectric element 25 by removing the support plate in an annular shape by etching or the like, for example.

  The island part 32 functions as a diaphragm part. In the diaphragm 19, the elastic film portion around the island portion 32 is elastically deformed according to the driving of the piezoelectric element 25 on the pressure chamber 31, and the island portion 32 moves up and down. Between the vibration plate 19 and the vicinity of the lower end of the internal flow path 28, a portion in which a part of the support plate is removed to make only an elastic film is provided, and this portion reduces the pressure fluctuation in the common ink chamber 14. It becomes the compliance part 33 to absorb.

  The flow path substrate 20 has a recess for forming an ink circulation chamber such as a common ink chamber 14 that connects the lower end of the internal flow path 28 and the nozzle 13, an ink supply port 30, and a pressure chamber 31. These recesses are formed by anisotropically etching a silicon single crystal substrate that is a base material of the flow path substrate 20.

  The nozzle substrate 21 has a plurality of nozzles 13 formed at a predetermined interval (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. The outer surface of the nozzle substrate 21 is the ejection surface 11A.

  The ejection head 11 configured in this manner is configured such that the piezoelectric element 25 expands and contracts when a drive signal is input to the piezoelectric element 25 via the cable 27. The expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric element 25 is transmitted as deformation of the diaphragm 19 (deformation in a direction approaching and leaving the cavity). Due to the deformation of the vibration plate 19, the volume of the pressure chamber 31 changes, and the pressure of the pressure chamber 31 containing ink fluctuates. Ink is ejected from the nozzle 13 due to the fluctuation of the pressure.

  Further, the ejection head 11 is provided with a pressurizing mechanism 38. In addition to the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric element 25, ink is ejected from the nozzle 13 by applying pressure by the pressurizing mechanism 38. Accordingly, the ejection head 11 is not provided with, for example, a sub-tank or the like that serves as a self-sealing valve.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the ink supply unit 12 is disposed on one side of the ink ejection mechanism IJ, and is connected to the common ink chambers 14 </ b> Y, 14 </ b> M, 14 </ b> C, and 14 </ b> K of the ejection head 11. The ink supply unit 12 includes ink tanks 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K that store the four colors of ink. The ink supply unit 12 has an ink supply mechanism (not shown), and supplies ink to the ejection head 11 using the ink supply mechanism.

  The transport mechanism CR includes a paper feed roller 35, a discharge roller 36, and the like. The paper feed roller 35 and the discharge roller 36 are rotationally driven by a motor mechanism (not shown). The transport mechanism CR transports the recording medium M along the transport path MR in conjunction with the ink droplet ejecting operation by the ink ejecting mechanism IJ.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the maintenance mechanism MN.

  The maintenance mechanism MN performs maintenance of the ejection head 11. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the maintenance mechanism MN includes a rotating body 40, a platen member 41, a cap member 42, a suction mechanism 45, and an ink discharge tank 46. In FIG. 5, the configuration of the rotating body 40, the platen member 41, and the cap member 42 of the maintenance mechanism MN is mainly shown, and the inside of the suction mechanism 45, the ink discharge tank 46, the platen member 41, and the cap member 42 is shown. Other configurations such as the configuration are omitted.

  The rotating body 40 is a hexagonal columnar member disposed on the −Z side of the ejection head 11. The rotating body 40 is arranged so that the height direction of the hexagonal column coincides with the Y-axis direction. The rotating body 40 has a rotation mechanism (not shown), and is provided so as to be rotatable in the θY direction (direction around the Y axis) by the rotation mechanism.

  The rotating body 40 includes a rotating shaft member 47 formed of a conductive material such as metal. The rotary shaft member 47 is connected to the power supply unit 60 (see FIG. 1) and functions as an electrode that maintains a predetermined potential. The rotating shaft member 47 is exposed on the surface of the rotating body 40 through the opening 40a. The opening 40 a is formed on one of the side surfaces of the rotating body 40. The bottom 40 b of the opening 40 a is formed to a position deeper than the rotary shaft member 47 with respect to the surface of the rotating body 40.

  The platen member 41 is a medium support unit that supports the recording medium M on the −Z direction of the ejection head 11. The platen member 41 is provided on one side surface of the rotating body 40. The platen member 41 is formed so as to cover an area wider than the ejection area 15 of the ejection head 11. The platen member 41 moves on the outer periphery of the rotating body 40 when the rotating body 40 rotates in the θY direction.

  A platen electrode 48 is provided on the platen member 41. The platen electrode 48 is formed over almost the entire platen member 41. The platen electrode 48 is electrically connected to the rotating shaft member 47 via a wiring member 48a provided penetrating the inside of the rotating body 40. For this reason, the potential between the rotating shaft member 47 and the platen electrode 48 is equipotential.

  The cap member 42 is a tray-like member for capping the ejection region 15 of the ejection head 11. The cap member 42 is also a portion that receives the discharged ink when performing a discharging operation for discharging the ink whose viscosity has increased in the nozzle 13. The cap member 42 is provided, for example, on the opposite surface of the platen member 41 among the side surfaces on the rotating body 40. Therefore, the platen member 41 and the cap member 42 are arranged on the respective rotating bodies 40 at positions shifted by 180 ° in the rotation direction. By disposing the cap member 42 and the platen member 41 in such positions, the ink hardly reaches the platen member 41 even when the ink overflows from the cap member 42. .

  The cap member 42 has an ink absorbing material 42s inside the tray. An opening 42 h is provided at the bottom of the cap member 42. The opening 42 h communicates with a through hole 40 h formed in the rotating body 40. The cap member 42 is formed so as to cover an area wider than the ejection area 15 of the ejection head 11.

  The flushing receiving portion 43 is a portion that becomes an ink receiving portion when the flushing operation of the ejection head 11 is performed. The flushing receiving portion 43 is provided, for example, on a surface adjacent to the platen member 41 among the side surfaces of the rotating body 40. The position of the flushing receiving portion 43 is not limited to this. For example, the flushing receiving portion 43 may be provided on a surface adjacent to the cap member 42, for example.

  A flushing electrode 49 is provided on the flushing receiving portion 43. The flushing electrode 49 is formed over substantially the entire surface of the flushing receiving portion 43. The flushing electrode 49 is electrically connected to the rotating shaft member 47 through a wiring member 49a provided so as to penetrate the inside of the rotating body 40. For this reason, the potential between the rotating shaft member 47 and the flushing electrode 49 is equipotential.

  The suction mechanism 45 has a suction source such as a pump, for example, and is connected to the opening 42 h of the cap member 42. The suction mechanism 45 sucks the inside of the cap member 42 and sucks ink accumulated in the cap member 42.

  The ink discharge tank 46 is a portion for discharging the ink accumulated in the cap member 42. The ink discharge tank 46 is disposed, for example, at the −Z side end of the printer device PRT and is detachably provided. The ink discharge tank 46 is connected to the downstream side of the suction mechanism 45, for example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the ink droplet sensor 50.
As shown in the drawing, the ink droplet sensor 50 detects a voltage application device 51 that applies a predetermined voltage to the ejection head 11, an electrode 52 that arranges the ink ejected from the ejection head, and the voltage of the electrode 52. A voltage detection device 53 and a processing device 54 for processing the detection result of the voltage detection device 53 are included.

  The ink droplet sensor 50 applies an electric field between the ejection surface 11A of the ejection head 11 and the electrode 52, and detects a temporal change in voltage value based on electrostatic induction when the ink moves from the nozzle 13 to the electrode 52. To the processing device 54. The processing device 54 can acquire information regarding the weight of the ink based on the detection waveform output from the ink droplet sensor 50. Information on the weight is transmitted to the control device CONT, for example.

  The principle of the ink droplet sensor 50, that is, the principle of generating an induced voltage by electrostatic induction will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the principle that an induced voltage is generated by electrostatic induction. In the drawing, the upper side of the arrow indicates a state immediately after the ink droplet D is ejected, and the lower side of the arrow indicates a state where the ink LQ has landed on the electrode 52.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a waveform of a detection signal (for one drop of ink) output from the ink drop sensor 50. In a state where a voltage is applied between the nozzle substrate 21 (negative electrode side) and the electrode 52 (positive electrode side), the piezoelectric vibrator 25 is driven using an ejection pulse, and ink LQ is ejected from any one nozzle 13. The waveform when it is made to show is shown.

  When the ink LQ is ejected, since the nozzle substrate 21 is a negative electrode, a part of the negative charge of the nozzle substrate 21 moves to the ink LQ, and the ejected ink LQ is negatively charged. As the negatively charged ink LQ approaches the electrode 52, the positive charge increases on the surface of the electrode 52 due to electrostatic induction. The voltage between the nozzle substrate 21 and the electrode 52 becomes higher than the initial voltage value in a state where the ink LQ is not ejected due to the induced voltage generated by electrostatic induction.

  When the ink LQ lands on the electrode 52, the positive charge of the electrode 52 is neutralized by the negative charge of the ink LQ. For this reason, the voltage between the nozzle substrate 21 and the electrode 52 is lower than the initial voltage value. Thereafter, the voltage between the nozzle substrate 21 and the electrode 52 returns to the initial voltage value.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the detection waveform output from the ink drop sensor 50 is a waveform that once rises, then falls to below the initial voltage value, and then returns to the original voltage value. In this way, the ink droplet sensor 50 detects a voltage change when the ink LQ is ejected from each nozzle 13. In the present embodiment, examples of the electrode 52 include a rotating shaft member 47, a platen electrode 48, and a flushing electrode 49.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer apparatus PRT.
The printer device PRT in the present embodiment includes a control device CONT that controls the overall operation. Connected to the control device CONT are an input device 59 for inputting various information relating to the operation of the printer device PRT, and a storage device 60 storing various information relating to the operation of the printer device PRT.

  Each part of the printer device PRT such as an ink ejection mechanism IJ, a transport mechanism CR, and a maintenance mechanism MN is connected to the control device CONT. The printer device PRT includes a drive signal generator 62 that generates a drive signal to be input to a drive unit including the piezoelectric element 25. The drive signal generator 62 is connected to the control device CONT.

  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 ejection head 11 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.

Next, the operation of the printer apparatus PRT configured as described above will be described.
When performing the printing operation by the ejection head 11, the control device CONT adjusts the rotational position of the rotating body 40 so that the platen member 41 is disposed on the + Z side of the rotating body 40 as shown in FIG. 10. At this time, the control device CONT finely adjusts the posture of the platen member 41 so that the support surface of the platen member 41 is parallel to the XY plane.

  After aligning the platen member 41, the control device CONT places the recording medium M on the support surface of the platen member 41 by the transport mechanism CR. After arranging the recording medium M, the control device CONT determines the nozzle 13 used for the printing operation according to the dimension of the recording medium M in the Y direction. After determining the nozzle 13 to be used, the control device CONT inputs a drive signal from the drive signal generator 62 related to the nozzle 13 to the piezoelectric element 25 based on the image data of the image to be printed.

  When a drive signal is input to the piezoelectric element 25, the piezoelectric element 25 expands and contracts. Due to the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric element 25, the diaphragm 19 is deformed (moved) in a direction toward and away from the pressure chamber 31. As the diaphragm 19 is deformed, the volume of the pressure chamber 31 changes, and the pressure of the pressure chamber 31 containing ink fluctuates. Ink is ejected from the nozzle 13 due to this pressure fluctuation. A desired image is formed on the recording medium M by the ink ejected from the nozzles 13.

  As the maintenance operation of the ejection head 11, for example, a capping operation, a suction operation, an ink discharging operation in the cap member 42, an ink ejection defect inspection, a flushing operation, and the like are performed.

  When performing the capping operation, the control device CONT adjusts the rotational position of the rotating body 40 so that the cap member 42 is disposed on the + Z side of the rotating body 40 as shown in FIG. At this time, the controller CONT finely adjusts the posture of the cap member 42 so that the cap member 42 is parallel to the ejection surface 11A of the ejection head 11. At the same time, the controller CONT presses the cap member 42 toward the ejection head 11 by rotating the cam member 44. By this operation, a gap is formed between the cap member 42 and the ejection head 11.

  When performing the suction operation, the control device CONT operates the suction mechanism 45 in a state where the inside of the cap member 42 is sealed, and sucks the inside of the cap member 42. By this operation, the inside of the cap member 42 becomes a negative pressure. With this negative pressure, as shown in FIG. 12, the ink LQ is ejected from each nozzle 13 of the ejection head 11, and the viscosity of the ink LQ in the nozzle 13 is appropriately maintained. The ink ejected from the nozzle 13 is absorbed by the ink absorbing material in the cap member 42.

  When discharging the ink absorbed by the ink absorbing material in the cap member 42, the control device CONT operates the suction mechanism 45. By this operation, the ink LQ is discharged from the opening 42h of the cap member 42. The discharged ink LQ is stored in the ink discharge tank 46.

  In the case of inspecting ink ejection failure, the control device rotates the rotational position of the rotator 40 so that the opening 40a formed in the rotator 40 is arranged on the + Z side of the rotator 40 as shown in FIG. Adjust. After adjusting the rotational position, the control device CONT ejects the ink LQ from each nozzle 13 of the ejection head 11 and causes the ink LQ to land directly on the rotation shaft member 47.

  At this time, the rotating shaft member 47 functions as the electrode 52 shown in FIG. Therefore, information on the weight of the ink LQ is detected based on the voltage detected by the rotating shaft member 47 and transmitted to the control device CONT. The control device CONT determines whether or not the ejection amount of the ink LQ is appropriate based on the information regarding the weight of the ink LQ. The ink LQ landed on the rotary shaft member 47 is accommodated in the bottom 40b of the opening 40a. For this reason, the bottom 40b of the opening 40a serves as an accommodating portion that accommodates the ink LQ used for the ejection failure inspection.

  When performing the flushing operation, the control device CONT adjusts the rotational position of the rotating body 40 so that the flushing receiving portion 43 is disposed on the + Z side of the rotating body 40 as shown in FIG. After adjusting the rotational position, the control device CONT ejects ink LQ from each nozzle 13 of the ejection head 11. The ejected ink LQ is landed in the flushing receiving portion 43. In the present embodiment, since the flushing electrode 49 is provided on the surface of the flushing receiving portion 43, it is possible to detect ejection failure of the ink LQ using the flushing electrode 49 as the electrode 52.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the rotating shaft member 47 of the rotating body 40 is provided as an electrode connected to the power supply unit 60, the ejection state (ejection failure) of the ink LQ from the nozzle 13 is determined. It can be used as an electrode for detection. Thereby, since the injection state of the nozzle 13 can be detected using the rotating body 40, high maintainability can be ensured.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the rotating body 40 has the opening 40a that exposes the rotating shaft member 47, the ink LQ is directly ejected onto the rotating shaft member 47 to detect the ejection state of the nozzles. It can be carried out. Further, since the flushing electrode electrically connected to the rotating shaft member 47 is provided on the flushing receiving portion 43 of the rotating body 40, it is possible to detect the ejection state of the nozzle when performing the flushing operation.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the accommodating portion (the bottom portion 40b of the opening 40a) that accommodates the ink LQ used for detecting the ejection failure of the nozzle 13 is provided in the rotating body, the ink LQ is the printer device. It is possible to prevent scattering in the PRT.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the ejection failure of the nozzle 13 is inspected by landing the ink LQ on the rotating shaft member 47 or the flushing electrode 49 has been described. In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to detect the distance between each nozzle 13 and the platen electrode 48 by landing the ink LQ on the platen electrode 48 provided on the nozzle 41.

  For example, when the ejection head 11 is tilted, the distance between each nozzle 13 and the platen electrode 48 is not uniform. In this state, when the ink LQ is ejected from each nozzle 13, the ejected ink LQ is tilted and dropped with respect to the Z-axis direction by the tilt angle of the ejection head 11. For this reason, the ink LQ that does not land on the platen electrode 48 among the ink LQ ejected from the nozzle 13 exists. Based on this, the distance between the nozzle 13 and the platen electrode 48 can be detected by detecting whether or not the ink LQ has landed on each nozzle 13 and the platen electrode 48.

  In the above embodiment, the shape of the rotating body 40 has been described as a hexagonal column shape. However, the shape is not limited to this. For example, the rotary body 40 may be formed in another shape such as a columnar shape or a rectangular column shape. .

  In the above embodiment, an ink jet printer and an ink cartridge are employed. However, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink and a liquid container containing the liquid are employed. Also good. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid 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 liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiments. 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 liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a coloring material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, a color filter, or the like in a dispersed or dissolved state. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a textile printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these ejecting apparatuses and liquid containers.

  PRT ... Printer device M ... Recording medium IJ ... Ink ejection mechanism CR ... Conveyance mechanism MN ... Maintenance mechanism CONT ... Control device LQ ... Ink 11 ... Ejection head 40 ... Rotating body 41a ... Opening portion 41b ... Housing portion 41 ... Platen member 42 ... Cap member 44 ... Rotating mechanism 45 ... Suction mechanism 46 ... Ink discharge tank 50 ... Ink drop sensor 52 (47, 48, 49) ... Electrode 60 ... Power supply

Claims (6)

A fluid ejection head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting fluid to a medium;
A rotating body provided in the fluid ejection direction and rotatable;
A medium support section provided on each of the plurality of rotating bodies and supporting the medium;
A cap portion that is provided on each of the plurality of rotating bodies and is displaced in a rotational direction with respect to the medium support portion, and capping the ejection region;
A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising: an electrode provided on a shaft portion of the rotating body and connected to a power supply unit. The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body has an opening that exposes the electrode. The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a second electrode that is electrically connected to the electrode is provided on the rotating body. The rotating body has a flushing receiving portion used for a flushing operation of the plurality of nozzles,
The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second electrode is provided in the flushing receiving portion. The fluid ejection device according to claim 3, wherein the second electrode is provided on the medium support portion. The fluid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rotating body includes an accommodating portion that accommodates the fluid used for detecting an ejection state of the nozzle.

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