JP2010221713A - Liquid jet device and liquid eradication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid jet device which can be small-sized by thinning a device mounted on a nozzle surface of a liquid jet head, and can perform plural kinds of eradication movements to the nozzle surface by using plural kinds of eradication means, and to provide a liquid eradication means of the liquid jet device. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid jet device 10 for jetting liquid from the nozzle surface 61 of the liquid jet head 30 includes: a plurality of different kinds of the eradication means 151 to 154 each independently moving along the moving direction D to the nozzle surface 61 to eradicate the liquid on the nozzle surface 61; and a movement operation means 138 for eradicating the liquid on the nozzle surface 61 with the selected eradication means by moving the selected eradication means in the movement direction D. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus and a liquid wiping apparatus configured to eject liquid from a nozzle surface of a liquid ejecting head.

  As a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a target, there is an ink jet recording apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium from a recording head. This ink jet recording apparatus records images such as desired characters and figures by ejecting minute ink droplets from a nozzle of a recording head onto a recording medium.

  In this ink jet recording apparatus, the recording head is close to the recording medium during the recording operation. For this reason, ink scattered by ink droplets colliding with the recording medium may bounce off the nozzle surface of the recording head and contaminate the nozzle surface.

  In particular, in the recording head of an on-demand type ink jet recording apparatus, since ink droplets are ejected by weak pressure applied to the ink in the vicinity of the nozzle, the ink droplet ejection energy is small, and the recording medium is several millimeters away from the recording medium. It is arranged only at a certain interval. For this reason, ink rebound is likely to adhere to the nozzle surface. Since the applied pressure is small, once clogging in the nozzle occurs, it is difficult to remove this clogging by self-recovery.

  For this reason, in order to prevent or eliminate clogging of the nozzles of the recording head, a suction operation is performed in which ink is sucked from the nozzle openings and the clogged ink is discharged during the non-printing operation.

  After this suction, ink may remain on the nozzle surface, which may contaminate the nozzle surface. Such contamination of the nozzle surface of the recording head leads to adhesion of fibers and dust on the recording medium, which may cause clogging of the nozzle during long-term use of the recording head, ink ejection failure and ink during ejection. There was an adverse effect such as flying bend of drops.

  In order to solve such a problem, a wiping blade that wipes and removes ink on the nozzle surface to prevent ink ejection failure has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-334090 (page 4, FIG. 1)

  In Patent Document 1, a wiper blade made of the same material is attached to a rotatable blade support. Each wiper blade is provided so as to protrude in the radial direction at each of the five peripheral sides of the blade support.

  Wiping is performed by the carriage moving toward the recording area and the recording head of the carriage coming into contact with the wiper blade. After the wiping is completed, the blade support is rotated again while the carriage returns to the recording area side, so that the next wiper blade can wipe the recording head.

  When such a structure is employed, a relatively large blade support is required, and this blade support needs to be indexed and rotated in order to sequentially bring each wiper blade into contact with the recording head. For this reason, a large occupied space for accommodating the blade support is required in the main body of the ink jet recording apparatus, and thus the enlargement of the ink jet recording apparatus cannot be avoided.

  It is also desirable to prepare wiper blades of different shapes and materials and perform different types of wiping operations on the nozzle surface of the recording head in order to perform a wiping operation more suitable for the situation of dirt attached to the recording head. It is rare.

  Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-described problems and makes it possible to reduce the size of the liquid ejecting apparatus by reducing the thickness of the apparatus that is mounted on the nozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus and a wiping apparatus for a liquid ejecting apparatus that can perform a plurality of types of wiping operations on a nozzle surface.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention is a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid from a nozzle surface of a liquid ejecting head, and wipes the liquid on the nozzle surface by individually moving along the moving direction with respect to the nozzle surface. A plurality of different types of wiping means, and a moving operation means for wiping the same area of the nozzle surface with different types of wiping means.

  According to this, the different types of wiping means can be individually moved by the moving operation means along the moving direction with respect to the nozzle surface. That is, since it does not have a structure in which a plurality of wiping means are rotated and positioned, the occupied space can be reduced and the size can be reduced by reducing the thickness. For this reason, the liquid ejecting apparatus can be reduced in size. Further, different types of wiping means can perform different types of wiping operations on the nozzle surface only by moving in the moving direction.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the moving operation unit includes a feeding member that rotates each wiping unit along the moving direction by rotating, and a driving unit that rotates the feeding member. When there is a first feed screw portion and a second feed screw portion, and the wiping means is engaged with the first feed screw portion, the wiping means does not wipe the nozzle surface, and the wiping means The wiping means wipes the nozzle surface when engaged with the two feed screw portions, and the first feed pitch of the first feed screw portion is set smaller than the second feed pitch of the second feed screw portion. ing.

  According to this, a movement operation means has a feed member which moves a wiping means along a movement direction by rotating, and a drive part which rotates a feed member. In the feed member, the pitch of the first screw portion engaged when the wiping means is not wiped is set smaller than the pitch of the second screw portion engaged when the wiping means is wiped. Therefore, even when the drive unit rotates the feed member at a constant speed, the wiping means moves quickly during wiping when engaged with the first screw portion with a large pitch, and engages with the second screw portion with a small pitch. During non-wiping, the wiping means moves slowly. In other words, the second feed pitch of the second feed screw portion is set larger than the first feed pitch of the first feed screw portion. For this reason, the holding members and blades of the respective wiping means can be moved and operated one by one while having the movement intervals of the respective wiping means in the moving direction one by one. Therefore, even if the control of the drive unit is simplified, each wiping means can be moved individually during wiping.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus, each of the wiping means has a different type of blade for wiping the nozzle surface and a holding member for holding the blade, and each of the wiping means is arranged along the moving direction. Are lined up.

  According to this, even if the number of different types of wiping means increases, each wiping means only needs to be arranged side by side along the moving direction, so that the occupying space of the wiping means is reduced to avoid an increase in the size of the apparatus. Can do.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the different types of blades of the wiping means are different in at least one of length, hardness, thickness, material, and shape in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle surface.
According to this, various wiping operations can be performed on the nozzle surface using different types of blades. Therefore, even when one type of blade cannot be wiped sufficiently, a plurality of types of blades can be used, and wiping can be performed more reliably.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the different types of blades of the wiping means have different wiping widths for wiping the nozzle surface.
According to this, since the wiping width for wiping the nozzle surface is different, various wiping operations can be performed even when the blade of the wiping means moves in the same moving direction to perform wiping. Therefore, even if the nozzle surface cannot be sufficiently wiped with one type of blade, different areas can be wiped off, so that wiping can be performed more reliably.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the blade of the wiping unit includes a side surface wiping unit that wipes a side surface of the liquid ejecting head.
According to this, by selecting the blade of the wiping means, the side surface of the liquid ejecting head can be more reliably wiped by the side surface wiping portion.

  This liquid ejecting apparatus is a liquid wiping apparatus provided in a liquid ejecting apparatus for wiping the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface of a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid, along the moving direction with respect to the nozzle surface. A plurality of different types of wiping means for wiping the liquid on the nozzle surface by independently moving, and a moving operation means for wiping the same region of the nozzle surface with different types of wiping means; Is provided.

  According to this, the different types of wiping means can be individually moved by the moving operation means along the moving direction with respect to the nozzle surface. That is, since it does not have a structure in which a plurality of wiping means are rotated and positioned, the occupied space can be reduced and the size can be reduced by reducing the thickness. For this reason, the liquid ejecting apparatus can be reduced in size. Further, different types of wiping means can perform different types of wiping operations on the nozzle surface only by moving in the moving direction.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus that is an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus of the invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of electrical connection of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure example of an ink suction device and a recording head in a standby state. The figure which shows the state which the ink suction device is sucking the nozzle plate surface. The figure which shows the example of a shape of a nozzle plate surface. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure in the vicinity of a piezoelectric vibrator of a recording head. The perspective view which shows the structural example of an ink wiping apparatus. The top view of an ink wiping apparatus. The figure which shows the corresponding example of the wiping area | region of a nozzle plate surface, and each blade. Sectional drawing which shows the structural example by which a braid | blade is fixed to a holding member. The perspective view which shows the structural example of a 1st lead screw and a 2nd lead screw. The figure which shows the position etc. which the blade leaves | separates from the nozzle plate surface, and the position which separates. The figure which shows the example of a change of the feed pitch with respect to the distance of a 1st lead screw and a 2nd lead screw. It is a relational diagram of the amount of movement and the reaction force of a blade, (A) shows the maximum value of the reaction force which a blade strikes at a starting position, and (B) shows the reaction force value at the time of wiping. The figure of the ink wiping apparatus seen from A1 direction of FIG. The figure of the ink wiping apparatus seen from A2 direction of FIG. The figure which shows the connection state of the holding member with respect to the 1st and 2nd lead screw. The figure which shows the structural example of a holding member, a 1st lead screw, and a pin. The figure which shows the connection example of a 1st lead screw and a pin. The flowchart which shows wiping operation | movement. (A)-(D) are figures which show the example of a different kind of braid | blade and the wiping area | region corresponding to the braid | blade. The figure of the ink wiping apparatus seen from the A2 direction when moving the 1 blade. The figure of the ink wiping apparatus seen from the A2 direction when moving the 1 blade. The figure which shows another embodiment of this invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an ink jet recording apparatus 10 that is an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is also called an ink jet printer. The ink jet recording apparatus 10 has a main body 1. The main body 1 includes a guide rail 17, a platen 12, a carriage 14, an ink suction device 20, a recording head 30, and an ink wiping device 130 as a liquid wiping device. The recording head 30 is also called a print head. The ink suction device 20 is a part of the waste liquid system.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 10 is a so-called on-carriage recording apparatus, and a plurality of ink cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be detachably mounted on the upper part of the carriage 14. A recording head 30 is provided below the carriage 14. The carriage 14 is connected to a motor 16 via a belt 15. The belt 15 is hung on pulleys 16A and 16B. The pulley 16 </ b> B is fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 16. Therefore, the carriage 14 reciprocates along the guide rail 17 in the main scanning direction T (T1, T2), which is the axial direction of the platen 12, by driving the motor 16, and can be positioned according to the driving amount of the motor 16. is there.

  A wiping position WP and a standby position 18 are provided on the right side of the main body 1 in FIG. The wiping position WP can also be called a wiping work position or a home position.

  In the wiping position WP, the nozzle plate surface 61 of the recording head 30 is sucked by the ink suction device 20 or is a position for wiping off ink adhering to the nozzle plate surface 61 by the ink wiping device 130.

The standby position 18 is a standby position when ink wiping or ink suction from the recording head 30 is not performed.
The ink suction device 20 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a liquid suction device, and can also be called a capping system or a capping unit.

  The ink suction device 20 has the following two functions. In other words, the ink suction device 20 has a moisture retention function that prevents the ink at the nozzle openings of the recording head 30 from drying when left for a long time, and a negative pressure from the suction pump 19 acts on the nozzle openings to cause ink to be discharged from the nozzle openings. A suction function that forcibly sucks and discharges is provided.

Each ink in each of the ink cartridges 2 to 5 is an example of a liquid. The ink wiping device 130 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example of a liquid wiping device, and is located at substantially the same position as the ink suction device 20.
FIG. 2 shows an example of electrical connection of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The control device 7 of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is connected to the printer driver 41 of the host computer 40 via a local printer cable or a communication network. The printer driver 41 is equipped with software for sending commands for executing printing, ink wiping operation or ink suction operation of the nozzle plate surface 61 to each component of the ink jet recording apparatus 10.

  In addition to the control device 7, the ink jet recording device 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes a sensor 8, an ink suction device 20, ink cartridges 2 to 5, a recording head 30, a carriage 14, a paper transport mechanism 15A, and an ink wiping device 130. It is out.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a plurality of ink cartridges 2 to 5 are directly mounted on the carriage 14. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and a so-called off-carriage type ink jet recording apparatus in which the ink cartridges 2 to 5 are mounted at positions different from the carriage may be adopted.

The paper transport mechanism 15A in FIG. 2 transports the paper 29 in FIG. 1 on the platen 12. The paper 29 is a kind of recording medium.
3 and 4 are cross-sectional views showing structural examples of the recording head 30 and the ink suction device 20 shown in FIG.

  In particular, when the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is used as a color printer, the recording head 30 has an independent ink path 50 for each ink type in order to eject a plurality of different types of ink. ing.

  Ink from each of the ink cartridges 2 to 5 flows into the ink path 50 through the ink supply needle 50A. Ink paths 50 independent for each type of ink are connected to a plurality of pressure chambers 51, respectively. Each nozzle chamber 54A, 54B, 54C, 54D is connected to each pressure chamber 51.

  The nozzle plate 62 has a nozzle plate surface 61, and the nozzle plate surface 61 is provided with a plurality of nozzle opening rows 54 </ b> A to 54 </ b> D. Ink droplets pushed out from the pressure chamber 51 are ejected from the nozzle openings 55A to 55D of the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D.

  The ink suction device 20 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 is for sucking the nozzle opening by being in close contact with or pressure-bonded to the nozzle plate surface 61. The ink suction device 20 includes a cap body 80 and a plurality of absorbent materials 90. The cap body 80 is box-shaped and has an upper opening 91. A partition wall 81 projects from the bottom 92 of the cap body 80. An absorbent material 90 is accommodated between the side surface portions 80 </ b> A on the four sides of the cap body 80 and the partition wall 81. Each absorbent material 90 corresponds to a region of the nozzle plate surface 61 including each nozzle opening row 54A to 54D.

  The absorber 90 is made of a material that can absorb ink, and can be made of, for example, a sponge of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The absorbent material 90 is preferably excellent in hydrophilicity, has a fine continuous pore structure, and has an ink absorption capability.

The absorber 90 can employ a structure in which the absorber 90 is pressed and held by a pressing member (not shown).
A bottom 92 of the cap body 80 is connected to the suction pump 19. The suction pump 19 is connected to the waste ink tank 100. The waste ink tank 100 is a tank for discarding ink sucked from the cap body 80 by the suction pump 19. An on-off valve 85 is disposed between the cap body 80 and the suction pump 19. If the suction pump 19 is driven with the on-off valve 85 opened, negative pressure from the suction pump 19 is applied to the cap body 80. On the other hand, when the on-off valve 85 is closed, no negative pressure is applied to the cap body 80 even if the suction pump 19 is driven. The cap main body 80 is divided into four rooms by a partition wall 81, and since a pipe line and an on-off valve 85 are arranged for each room, the cap main body can be selectively opened and closed by selectively opening and closing the on-off valve 85. It is possible to suck ink by setting the 80 rooms to a negative pressure state. Then, by collecting one pipe line between the on-off valve 85 and the suction pump 19, even one suction pump 19 can perform selective suction.

  FIG. 3 shows a standby state in which the ink suction device 20 is separated from the nozzle plate surface 61. In FIG. 4, the ink suction device 20 is in close contact with or pressure-bonded to the nozzle plate surface 61 so as to seal the nozzle plate surface 61 (suction state or moisturizing state).

  If air bubbles are mixed in the ink in the recording head 30 or ink having increased viscosity is present in the ink path 50 or the pressure chamber 51, the normal flow of the ink is hindered and normal ink ejection can be performed. There may not be. In this case, the ink suction device 20 shown in FIG. 2 is used, and it is necessary to forcibly discharge ink by the ink suction device 20.

  Further, when the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is first used, or when the ink cartridges 2 to 5 are replaced with other types of ink cartridges, the ink path 50 in the recording head 30 in FIG. Need to fill with ink. The ink suction device 20 is also used for such initial ink filling. By using this ink suction device 20, air and ink are forcibly sucked and discharged from the nozzle openings 55A to 55D from the nozzle openings 55A to 55D of the recording head 30 in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows an arrangement example of the nozzle opening rows 54 </ b> A to 54 </ b> D on the nozzle plate surface 61. Different ink types mean not only the apparent color difference, but also the types and ratios of the ink components. Each nozzle opening row | line | column 54A-54D is comprised from several 10 to several 1000 nozzle opening 55A-55D, for example.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the internal structure of the recording head 30 of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. The ink supplied from the ink cartridges 2 to 5 described above is supplied to the pressure chamber 51 through the ink path 50. At the time of printing, the piezoelectric vibrator 39 as a pressure generating element expands and contracts, thereby changing the volume of the pressure chamber 51 and causing pressure fluctuation in the ink in the pressure chamber 51. Thereby, ink droplets can be ejected from the nozzle openings 55A to 55D. The piezoelectric vibrator 39 is provided corresponding to each of the nozzle openings 55A to 55D.

  The carriage 14 shown in FIG. 1 can reciprocate along the main scanning direction T along the guide rail 17 together with the recording head 30. The recording head 30 together with the carriage 14 can be positioned at the wiping position WP and the standby position 18 shown in FIG. 1 by moving in the head movement direction T1.

  The recording head 30 in FIG. 1 is a kind of liquid ejecting head. The recording head 30 is provided on the lower surface side of the carriage 14. The lower surface of the recording head 30 is a nozzle plate surface 61. The nozzle plate surface 61 is an example of a nozzle surface, and FIG. 5 shows an example of the shape of the nozzle plate surface 61. The nozzle plate surface 61 is the lower surface of the nozzle plate 62.

  The nozzle plate 62 has a plurality of nozzle opening rows as described above, and four nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D in the illustrated example of FIG. Each of the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D is along the U direction orthogonal to the T direction shown in FIG. 5 and is formed in parallel at the same interval along the T direction.

Next, a structural example of the ink wiping device 130 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a structural example of the ink wiping device 130, and FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a structural example of the ink wiping device 130.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the ink wiping device 130 generally includes a frame 135, a plurality of wiping means 151 to 154, and a moving operation means 138.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, for example, the wiping means 151 to 154 are arranged side by side so as to be movable along the movement direction D by the movement operation means 138.

  The wiping means 151 has a blade 161 and a holding member 171. Similarly, the wiping means 152 has a blade 162 and a holding member 172. The wiping means 153 has a blade 163 and a holding member 173. The wiping unit 154 includes a blade 164 and a holding member 174.

FIG. 9 shows the blades 161 to 164 and the nozzle plate surface 61.
Each shape of the holding members 171 to 174 of the wiping means 151 to 154 shown in FIG. 7 is the same. However, the blades 161 to 164 have different types of blades, for example. For this reason, the wiping means 151-154 are mutually different types of wiping means. Different types refer to cases where the blade material or blade shape is different, or the blade material and shape are both different.

  In FIG. 9, the nozzle plate surface 61 can be divided into, for example, four wiping areas WA1 to WA4 having the same size. The wiping area WA1 is an area including the nozzle opening row 54A, and the wiping area WA2 is an area including the nozzle opening row 54B. The wiping area WA3 is an area including the nozzle opening row 54C, and the wiping area WA4 is an area including the nozzle opening row 54D.

  The blades 161 to 164 shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 are different in shape from each other, but can be made of an elastically deformable material such as rubber, elastomer, plastic, or ink.

In any case, the material of the blades 161 to 164 is more preferably elastically deformable.
Here, different types of blades 161 to 164 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The blade 161 is for wiping only the wiping area WA1 of the nozzle plate surface 61 shown in FIG. The blade 164 can wipe only the wiping area WA4 of the nozzle plate surface 61. In addition, the blade 164 has a side blade 164S so that the side surface 30R of the recording head 30 can be wiped off. The side blade 164S is an example of a side wiping portion, and is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape at the end of the blade 164.

  Thus, the blade 161 has the wiping width WH1 for wiping only the wiping area WA1. The blade 164 has a wiping width WH2 that can wipe only the wiping area WA4.

  The blade 162 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 has a wiping width WH3 that can wipe all of the wiping areas WA1 to WA4 simultaneously. The blade 162 has a laminated structure in which a plurality of layers 162A and 162B are bonded with an adhesive, for example. The layers 162A and 162B can be made of the same material or different materials. For example, the layer 162B can be made of a nonwoven fabric material or a porous material, and is a material having a relatively weak elastic deformation force. On the other hand, the layer 162A can be made of rubber or the like having a stronger elastic deformation force than the layer 162B. The layer 162B is located on the front side with respect to the moving direction D of the layer 162A, and the layer 162A is located on the rear side.

  Next, the blade 163 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 has a shape in which the nozzle plate surface 61 excluding the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D is wiped at a time. For example, five inter-row wiping portions 163A to 163E are provided. Have. The inter-row wiping portions 163A to 163E are provided so as to protrude along the predetermined intervals. The protruding directions of the inter-row wiping portions 163A to 163E, the blade 161, and the blades 162 and 164 are directions perpendicular to the moving direction D, and are upward in the drawing. The inter-row wiping portions 163A to 163E are portions for wiping at once to the respective regions between the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D and the regions outside the nozzle opening rows 54A and 54D.

The different types of blades 161 to 164 shown in FIG. 7 can be detachably fixed to holding members 171 to 174 having the same structure.
FIG. 10 shows a structural example that can be detachably fixed to the holding members 171 to 174 of the blades 161 to 164. The cover 175C and the holding members 171 to 174 can be fixed using pins 176P, respectively. In this case, the base 190 of the blades 161 to 164 can be fixed by being sandwiched between the cover 175C and the holding members 171 to 174. The holding members 171 to 174 and the cover 175C can be made of plastic, for example.

  The holding members 171 to 174 shown in FIG. 7 have an elongated shape for holding the blades 161 to 164, respectively. Then, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the holding members 171 to 174 can be arranged so as to be closely arranged with respect to the moving direction D. Thereby, even if the number of the wiping means 151-154 increases, the space which the several wiping means 151-154 occupies can be made small as much as possible. Therefore, the ink wiping device 130 can be downsized. The moving direction D is perpendicular to the main scanning direction T, that is, in this example, the recording head 30 and the carriage 14.

  The frame 135 shown in FIG. 7 is disposed at the wiping position WP. On the frame 135, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are moved from the standby position 18 to the wiping position WP. The recording head 30 is located immediately above the frame 135 and the ink suction device 20 at the wiping position WP.

  The recording head 30 and the carriage 14 can move from the standby position 18 to the wiping position WP by moving in the T1 direction of the main scanning direction T. On the contrary, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 can be retracted in the T2 direction from the wiping position WP toward the standby position 18.

Next, the moving operation means 138 of the ink wiping device 130 shown in FIG. 7 will be described.
The moving operation means 138 includes a first lead screw 181, a second lead screw 182, and a drive unit 140.

  A plurality of different types of wiping means 151 to 154 are attached to the nozzle plate surface 61 by moving individually along the movement direction D with respect to the nozzle plate surface 61 of the recording head 30 (see FIG. 21). This is to wipe off the ink.

  The movement operating means 138 moves the nozzle plate surface 61 by the selected wiping means 151 to 154 by operating the wiping means 151 to 154 selected to perform desired wiping in the movement direction D. When wiping the nozzle plate surface 61, the moving operation means 138 moves the wiping means 151-154 along the moving direction D while keeping the movement intervals of the wiping means 151-154 mutually. To move sequentially.

  The different types of wiping means 151 to 154 are arranged side by side along the moving direction D and wait, and when wiping, the moving operation means 138 sequentially moves the different types of wiping means 151 to 154 in the moving direction D. Send to.

  The first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 in the vertical direction perpendicular to the moving direction D of the ink wiping device 130 are horizontally rotatable in parallel between the side walls 135A and 135B of the frame 135 and along the moving direction D. It is supported by. The first lead screw 181 corresponds to a first feed member, and the second lead screw 182 corresponds to a second feed member.

A structural example of the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 have the same structure. The first lead screw 181 has first feed screw portions 191 and 193 and a second feed screw portion 192. Similarly, the second lead screw 182 has first feed screw portions 201 and 203 and a second feed screw portion 202.

  The first feed screw portions 191 and 193 are formed in the front portion and the rear portion of the first lead screw 181 with respect to the moving direction D. The first lead screw portions 201 and 203 of the second lead screw 182 are portions formed on the front side portion and the rear side portion of the second lead screw 182 with respect to the moving direction D.

  The second feed screw portion 192 is formed between the first feed screw portions 191 and 193, and is formed in the central portion between the front side portion and the rear side portion. Similarly, the second feed screw portion 202 is formed between the first feed screw portions 201 and 203, and is formed in the central portion between the front side portion and the rear side portion.

  The first feed pitch of the first feed screw portions 191 and 193 is set smaller than the second feed pitch of the second feed screw portion 192. Similarly, the first feed pitch of the first feed screw portions 201 and 203 is set smaller than the second feed pitch of the second feed screw portion 202. Conversely, the second feed screw portions 192 and 202 have a larger pitch than the first feed screw portions 191, 193, 201 and 203. Moreover, the first feed screw portions 191, 193, 201, 203 have the same feed pitch. The second feed screw portions 192 and 202 have the same feed pitch.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of the positional relationship between the blades 161 to 164 and the nozzle plate surface 61 and the positional relationship between the first feed screw portions 191, 201, the second feed screw portions 192, 202, and the first feed screw portions 193, 203. Is shown.

  The first feed screw portions 191 and 201 have a function of feeding the wiping means 151 to 154 shown in FIG. 7 until the blades 161 to 164 reach the contact start position 700 on the nozzle plate surface of the recording head 30. The first feed screw portions 193 and 203 have a function of sending the subsequent steps from a position (immediate position) 701 before the blades 161 to 164 are separated from the nozzle plate surface 61. The hit start position 700 is a time point t1 at which wiping is started, and a position 701 before leaving is equivalent to a wiping end time point t3. The second feed screw portions 192 and 202 have a function of moving between t2 during wiping from the time t1 when the blades 161 to 164 start wiping to the time t3 when the wiping is finished.

  Accordingly, when the blades 161 to 164 hit the hitting start position 700, the first feed screw portions 191 and 201 can slowly feed the blades 161 to 164. When the blades 161 to 164 move quickly, the load of the blades 161 to 164 at the hitting start position 700 increases rapidly. However, if the blades 161 to 164 are moved slowly, the load per unit time generated on the blades Increase in fluctuation can be suppressed. Accordingly, the step-out of the motor 149 shown in FIG. 7 can be prevented.

  In the position 701 before leaving, the blades 161 to 164 are slowly fed by the first feed screw portions 193 and 203. Accordingly, when the blades 161 to 164 are separated from the position 701 before the nozzle plate surface 61 is separated, ink scattering due to release of the reaction force of the blades 161 to 164 can be suppressed as much as possible. In the middle of wiping t2, the second feed screw portions 192 and 202 can wipe the blades 161 to 164 and feed them quickly. When wiping the nozzle plate surface 61 with the blades 161 to 164, if the contact time between the blades 161 to 164 and the nozzle opening is long, ink is dragged out from the nozzle opening to destroy the ink meniscus or the nozzle plate surface 61. There is a lot of ink remaining. Accordingly, by sending the blades 161 to 164 early, the wiping time (wiping time) can be shortened and the wiping property can be secured.

FIG. 13 shows a change example of the feed pitch with respect to the distance between the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182.
FIG. 14 (A) shows the maximum generation of the reaction force Fx in the U direction generated at the hitting start position 700 by the blades 161 to 164. This reaction force Fx is the reaction force in the direction U in which the blade moves. FIG. 14B shows an example of reaction force during wiping. As can be seen from FIG. 14, the reaction force at the starting position 700 where the blades 161 to 164 are generated with respect to the reaction force during wiping reaches several times.

Next, the drive unit 140 of the moving operation means 138 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 will be described.
The drive unit 140 is a device for driving the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 to rotate synchronously as shown in the figure. The drive unit 140 is provided on the side wall 135 </ b> B side of the frame 135.

  The drive unit 140 includes a toothed belt 141, a gear 142, a gear 143, a guide roller 144, a gear 145, a gear 146, a gear 147, a gear 147A, a pinion 148, and a motor 149. The motor 149 can operate according to a command from the control device 7. For example, a stepping motor can be used as the motor 149.

  The toothed belt 141 is hung across the gear 142, the gear 143, the gear 145, and the gear 146. Although the toothed belt 141 is also called a timing belt, the tension of the toothed belt 141 is secured by pressing the guide roller 144 against the toothed belt 141 from the outside.

  The gear 142 is fixed to the rear end side of the second lead screw 182. The other gear 146 is fixed to the rear end side of the first lead screw 181. The rear end portion of the second lead screw 182 and the rear end portion of the first lead screw 181 are rotatably attached to the side wall 135B. The distal end portion of the second lead screw 182 and the distal end portion of the first lead screw 181 are rotatably attached to the side wall 135A. The gear 143 is rotatably supported by the support 150. The gear 145 is rotatably supported with respect to the side wall 135B. The pinion 148 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 149. The pinion 148 can transmit a driving force to the gear 147 via the gear 147A. The gears 146 and 147 are integrated.

  As a result, when the motor 149 is operated, the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 can be rotated in the same direction synchronously via the gear 147A, the gear 147 and the toothed belt 141 by the rotation of the pinion 148. It has become. Since the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 can be synchronously rotated in the same direction as described above, the holding members 171 to 174 of the wiping means 151 to 154 are moved in the moving direction without being inclined with respect to the moving direction D. It is possible to smoothly feed along the line D without causing a so-called twisting phenomenon. As a result, the blades 161 to 164 are not inclined and moved in the moving direction D.

15 shows the structure of the ink wiping device 130 as viewed from A1 in FIG. 7, and FIG. 16 shows the structure of the ink wiping device 130 as viewed from A2 in FIG.
The holding members 171 to 174 of the wiping means 151 to 154 shown in FIG. 7 have guide portions 175A and 175 as shown in FIG. The guide portions 175A and 175 are provided at both end positions of the central portion 176, respectively. The central portion 176 holds the blade. The guide portion 175A is a portion through which the first lead screw 181 passes, and the guide portion 175 is a portion through which the second lead screw 182 passes.

  FIG. 17 shows a pin 220 as a pin portion. The pin 220 connects the guide portion 175A and the first lead screw 181 and connects the guide portion 175 and the second lead screw 182. 18 is a perspective view showing the pin 220 and the like, and FIG. 19 is a view showing a state in which the pin 220 is fitted in the groove 192A of the first lead screw 181. The tip 220A of the pin 220 is fitted in the groove 192A of the first lead screw 181.

  As a result, when the first lead screw 181 rotates, the holding members 171 to 174 can linearly move in the moving direction D and in the opposite direction. The connection structure between the second lead screw 182 and the pin 220 shown in FIG. 17 is the same as the connection structure between the first lead screw 181 and the pin 220 shown in FIGS.

  In FIG. 16, when the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are positioned at the wiping position WP, the nozzle plate surface 61 is positioned above the region between the second feed screw portions 192 and 202. The cap main body 80 of the ink suction device 20 is disposed so as to correspond to the nozzle plate surface 61. As shown in FIG. 7, the cap main body 80 and the lifting / lowering means 250 of the ink suction device 20 are disposed below and between the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182.

  The cap body 80 has an advantage that it can be moved up and down between the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182. And since the cap main body 80 and the raising / lowering means 250 can be arrange | positioned in the ink wiping apparatus 130, size reduction of an inkjet type recording apparatus can be achieved.

Next, an operation example of the ink wiping device 130 shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 20 shows an example of the procedure of the wiping operation of the nozzle plate surface 61 by the blades 161 to 164 shown in FIG.

  Before performing this wiping operation, the nozzle plate surface 61 needs to perform an ink suction operation as shown in FIGS. The ink suction device 20 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can selectively perform a suction operation corresponding to the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D. That is, the opening / closing valve 85 between the cap body 80 and the suction pump 19 is selectively opened and closed, and the suction pump 19 is operated to suction the inside of the cap body 80 corresponding to the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D. In particular, one or more of the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D can be sucked.

  The region of the nozzle plate surface 61 corresponding to the suctioned nozzle opening row needs to be wiped, but the region of the nozzle plate surface 61 corresponding to the nozzle opening row that does not need to be sucked needs to be wiped. Absent.

  For example, when the cap body 80 shown in FIG. 4 performs the suction operation for all the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D, it is necessary to wipe all the wiping areas WA1 to WA4 of the nozzle plate surface 61 in FIG. The operation is performed as follows according to the operation diagram.

The wiping means 151 to 154 are already arranged in parallel and closely in the first feed screw portions 191 and 201.
For example, as an example of the wiping operation, when it is necessary to wipe all of the wiping areas WA1 to WA4 of the nozzle plate surface 61 as shown in FIG. 21B, the second blade 162 shown in FIG. Used for. In this case, the blades 161, 163 and 164 are not used.

  For this reason, in step ST1 in FIG. 20, wiping by the first blade 161 is not required, so the process proceeds to step ST4, and as shown in FIG. 7, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are moved from the wiping position WP to the standby position 18 side. Evacuate to. In step ST3 of FIG. 20, the motor 149 is operated to rotate a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 161 of the wiping unit 151 passes along the moving direction D without wiping the nozzle surface.

  In this case, the wiping units 151 to 154 simultaneously start moving from the standby position along the moving direction D. Then, as shown in FIG. 22, when the holding member 171 of the wiping means 151 located at the front is moved from the first feed screw portions 191 and 201 to the second feed screw portions 192 and 202, the foremost wiping means. 151 moves in the moving direction D earlier than the subsequent wiping means 152 to 154. And the wiping means 151 is sent from the 2nd feed screw part 192,202 to the 1st feed screw part 193,203 side.

  That is, the front wiping means 151 is fed in the moving direction D faster than the wiping means 152 by the second feed screw portions 192 and 202, so that the interval between the wiping means 151 and the wiping means 152 is increased. be able to.

  Next, in step ST5 of FIG. 20, the entire blade plate surface 61 shown in FIG. 9 needs to be wiped by the second blade 162. Therefore, in step ST6, as shown in FIG. Is moved from the standby position 18 to the wiping position WP. In step ST7, when the motor 149 rotates a predetermined number of steps, the blade 162 shown in FIG. 9 can wipe all of the wiping areas WA1 to WA4 of the nozzle plate surface 61.

  Next, in step ST9 shown in FIG. 20, since wiping by the third blade is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step ST12. In step ST12, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are retracted from the wiping position WP to the standby position 18 again. In step ST11, the motor 149 rotates a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 163 is simply sent in the moving direction D.

  In step ST13 of FIG. 20, since the wiping by the fourth blade 164 is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step ST16. In step ST16, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are moved from the wiping position WP to the standby position 18 side. In step ST15, the motor 149 rotates a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 164 is only sent along the moving direction D.

In this manner, the nozzle plate surface 61 shown in FIG. 9 can be wiped (wiped) entirely using only the blade 162 selectively.
Next, as another example of the wiping operation, as shown in FIGS. 21A and 21D, the wiping areas WA1 and WA4 and the side surface of the recording head 30 are used by using the blades 161 and 164 shown in FIG. A working example for wiping 30R will be described.

In this case, the blade 161 and the blade 164 are selected and used, but the blades 162 and 163 do not perform the wiping operation.
Therefore, in step ST1 of FIG. 20, since wiping by the first blade 161 is necessary, the process proceeds to step ST2. In step ST2, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 move from the standby position 18 to the wiping position WP. In step ST3, the motor 161 rotates by a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 161 in FIG. 9 wipes only the wiping area WA1.

  In step ST5 of FIG. 20, since wiping by the second blade 162 is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step ST8, and the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are retracted from the wiping position WP to the standby position 18. In step ST7, the motor 162 rotates only a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 162 is only sent in the moving direction D.

  In step ST9 of FIG. 20, since the wiping by the third blade 163 is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step ST12. In step ST12, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are moved to the standby position 18. In step ST11, the motor 149 rotates a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 163 in FIG.

  In step ST13 of FIG. 20, since wiping by the fourth blade 164 is necessary, the process proceeds to step ST14. In step ST14, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are moved from the standby position 18 to the wiping position WP. In step ST15, when the motor 149 rotates a predetermined number of steps, the blade 164 wipes the wiping area WA4 and the side surface 30R simultaneously.

In this manner, the wiping areas WA1 and WA4 and the side surface 30R can be wiped by the blades 161 and 164.
Next, as another example of the wiping operation, as shown in FIG. 21 (C), when the inter-row region 650 of the nozzle plate surface 61 is wiped simultaneously, it is shown in FIGS. 9 and 21 (C). A blade 163 is used. Blades 161, 162, and 164 other than this blade 163 are not used for wiping.

  Therefore, in step ST1 of FIG. 20, since wiping by the first blade 161 is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step ST4. In step ST4, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are retracted to the standby position 18. In step ST3, the motor 161 rotates by a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 161 in FIG. 9 is simply moved in the moving direction D.

  In step ST5 of FIG. 20, since wiping by the second blade 162 is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step ST8. In step ST8, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are retracted to the standby position 18. In step ST7, the motor 162 rotates only a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 162 in FIG.

  In step ST9 of FIG. 20, since wiping by the third blade 163 is necessary, the process proceeds to step ST10. In step ST10, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are moved from the standby position 18 to the wiping position WP. In step ST11, the motor 149 rotates by a predetermined number of steps, so that the inter-row wiping portions 163A to 163E of the blade 163 wipe the inter-row region 650 simultaneously as shown in FIG.

  In step ST13 of FIG. 20, since wiping by the fourth blade 164 is unnecessary, the process proceeds to step ST16. In step ST <b> 16, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 are moved to the standby position 18. In step ST15, the motor 149 rotates a predetermined number of steps, so that the blade 164 shown in FIG.

  In this way, as shown in FIG. 21C, the inter-row region 650 of the nozzle plate surface 61 can be wiped more reliably by selectively using the blades 163.

  Of course, the wiping method is not limited to the above-described wiping operation example. For example, a wiping method in which the blades 161 and 163 are combined, the blade 162 and the blade 164 are combined, or only one of the blades 161 to 164 is selected and wiped is adopted. can do.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, four types of wiping means 151 to 154 using four blades and four holding members are provided. However, the number of wiping means is not limited to four, and may be two, three, five or more.

  The plurality of different types of wiping means are sequentially moved individually along the moving direction D and spaced from each other by the synchronized rotation of the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 having the same shape. be able to. As shown in FIG. 12, when the blades 161 to 164 hit the contact start position 700 of the nozzle plate surface 61, the first feed screw portions 191 and 201 having a relatively small feed pitch move the blades 161 to 164, respectively. Accordingly, since the blades 161 to 164 are fed with a small feed pitch of the first feed screw portions 191 and 201, the maximum load (reaction force) when the blades 161 to 164 strike at the hitting start position 700 can be kept small. .

  On the contrary, when the blades 161 to 164 are separated from the position 701 where the nozzle plate surface 61 is separated, the first feed screw portions 193 and 203 again feed the blades 161 to 164 with a relatively small feed pitch. As a result, the amount of ink scattered when the blades 161 to 164 are separated can be reduced.

  Then, during the wiping t2, the second feed screw portions 192 and 202 having a relatively large pitch feed the blades 161 to 164. For this reason, the blades 161 to 164 can wipe the nozzle plate surface 61 without destroying the ink meniscus in the nozzle opening and with less ink remaining on the nozzle plate surface 61.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, after one wiping means shown in FIG. 7 wipes the nozzle plate surface 61, the next wiping means starts wiping the nozzle plate surface 61. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 23, each of the wiping means 151 to 154 moves while engaging with the second feed screw portion 192 in order to wipe the nozzle plate surface 61 of the recording head 30 individually. Each wiping means 151-154 is arranged in the range of one wiping means 151-154 that performs wiping with an interval such that no other wiping means 151-154 exists.

  Specifically, each of the wiping means 151 to 154 is engaged with the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 with an interval of the same pitch number. Here, this space | interval is shown by the pitch number P (refer the wiping means 152-154 of FIG. 23) of the 1st feed screw part. In the present embodiment, as described above, when the contact start position and the blades 161 to 164 move away, the wiping means 151 to 154 engage with the first feed screw portions 191 and 193 in order to move slowly. ing. At this time, the wiping means 151 to 154 are also engaged with the first feed screw portions 201 and 203. Therefore, in this embodiment, each wiping means 151-154 forms the 2nd feed screw part 192 with the pitch number P2 smaller than the pitch number P of the space | interval of each wiping means 151-154.

  More specifically, the number of pitches in the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 until the blades 161 to 164 are separated from the point where they contact the nozzle plate surface 61 of the recording head 30 is determined between the wiping means 151 to 154. The pitch number P is equal to or smaller than the pitch number P. In other words, the pitch number corresponding to the length L in the moving direction D of the recording head 30 is configured to be the same as or smaller than the pitch number P. Thus, after one wiping means (wiping means 151 in FIG. 23) wipes the nozzle plate surface 61, the next wiping means (wiping means 152 in FIG. 23) starts wiping the nozzle plate surface 61.

  When the pitch number P is the same as the pitch number corresponding to the length L of the recording head 30 in the moving direction D, after wiping, the wiping means 151 to 154 are in close contact with each other as before wiping, and space is saved. It can be made as small as possible. Further, when the pitch number P is larger than the pitch number corresponding to the length L of the recording head 30, after one wiping means wipes the recording head 30, the next wiping means does not start wiping immediately. Even if 149 is continuously driven, the carriage 14 can be moved during that time. Specifically, when wiping only the wiping area WA1 and the wiping area WA4 described above, after the blade 161 is passed and the wiping area WA1 is wiped, the recording head 30 does not start wiping. 30 is moved from the wiping position WP to the standby position 18. Then, after passing the blades 162 and 163, while the blade 164 does not start wiping the recording head 30, the recording head 30 is moved from the standby position 18 to be positioned again at the wiping position WP and passes through the blade 163. The wiping area WA4 is wiped off. Thus, the operation of moving the recording head 30 in the movement direction D can be performed without stopping the motor 149.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the wiping area on the nozzle plate surface can be selectively wiped by changing the type of wiping means, that is, the shape of the blade as shown in FIG. In the case where it is not desired to wipe off, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 shown in FIG. 7 can be moved from the wiping position WP to the standby position 18 and retracted to the wiping operation area side.

  Further, the carriage 14 and the recording head 30 can move the position in the main scanning direction T by a predetermined amount at the wiping position WP, so that the wiping area can be wiped using another blade. For example, any of the wiping areas WA2 to WA4 can be wiped using the blade 161 shown in FIG.

  The first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 in FIG. 7 can smoothly move along the moving direction D of the wiping means 151 to 154 by gradually changing the feed pitch, and suppress sudden load fluctuations. it can. In the first feed screw portions 191, 201, 193, 203, which is a region where the feed pitch is small, the movement of other components, for example, by forming a time lag with a capping operation or a valve opening / closing operation, It becomes easy to match the drive timing.

  FIG. 24 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. Each of 161 to 164 shown in FIG. 24 is a different type of blade. In the case of the blades 161 to 164 shown in FIG. 24, although the shapes are different from each other, for example, the same material can be used. In the embodiment of FIG. 20, the blade 161 can wipe the wiping area WA1, and the blade 162 can wipe the wiping area WA2. The blade 163 can wipe the wiping area WA3, and the blade 164 can wipe the wiping area WA4.

  In FIG. 9, when the wiping areas WA1 to WA4 are continuously wiped, the blades 161 to 164 may be continuously sent in the movement direction D. In this case, the blades 161 to 164 can be sequentially sent out at intervals with respect to the moving direction D by operating the motor continuously without stopping.

  Here, since the first lead screw 181 and the second lead screw 182 change the moving speed of the wiping means 151-154 by changing the feed pitch, the rotation speed of the motor 149 does not need to be changed, and rotates at a constant speed. You can do it.

  The blades 161 to 164 have wiping widths that can wipe the wiping areas corresponding to each other, but are out of phase with each other. By combining one or more of the blades 161 to 164, one or more of the arbitrary wiping areas WA1 to WA4 can be wiped.

  Although the drive unit 140 shown in FIG. 7 uses the toothed belt 141, the present invention is not limited to this, and the toothed belt can be omitted using a gear train. Further, when the wiping means 151 to 154 move in the movement direction D, if the above-described twisting phenomenon does not occur, for example, the second lead screw 182 is changed to a rod-shaped guide member, thereby making one first lead screw. You may make it send only by 181.

  The materials of the blades 161 to 164 may be the same or different materials may be adopted. Moreover, the shape of each blade 161-164 can employ | adopt the thing of a various shape as needed. The blades 161 to 164 may employ various materials such as a strong hit, a weak hit, or a rubbing (effect of wiping with a wet cloth).

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the ink suction device 20 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 employs a structure capable of suctioning one or more independently corresponding to each of the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D. . Therefore, there are cases where it is necessary to wipe the entire nozzle plate surface 61 and cases where the nozzle plate surface 61 is partially wiped corresponding to a certain nozzle opening row. In any case, the ink wiping device 130 according to the embodiment of the present invention can select one or a plurality of wiping areas shown in FIG. 9 or wipe all of them.

  The wiping means 151 to 154 shown in FIG. 8 can use a thin-walled holding member, and can be arranged closely in line along the moving direction D. And the several wiping means 151-154 has a structure sent with two lead screws. The ink suction device 20 can be disposed and accommodated between two lead screws.

  Thus, the ink wiping device 130 can be reduced in size and structure. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus having the ink wiping device 130 can be downsized and the apparatus can be simplified.

  By the way, in the embodiment of the present invention, different types of blades of the plurality of wiping means can improve the ink resistance and durability, for example, by changing the materials of each other. For example, ink resistance and durability can be positively changed by changing the rubber material used. By changing the rubber hardness of the blade, the thickness of the blade, or the length in the vertical direction toward the nozzle plate surface, the wiping pressure at the time of wiping the blade can be increased or decreased. By using, for example, a felt material as the material of the blade, it can be applied to rubbing, for example. Further, by changing the gap between the nozzle plate surface 61 and the platen 12 in FIG. 1, that is, the position of the nozzle plate surface 61 in the height direction, the strength of the force with which each blade is pressed against the nozzle plate surface 61 can be changed. . The above changes are effective when the wiping property differs depending on the ink component, or when the wiping force needs to be changed due to the durability deterioration of the nozzle plate surface. Therefore, even when one type of blade cannot be wiped sufficiently, a plurality of types of blades can be used, and wiping can be performed more reliably.

  As an example of different types of wiping means, the blade 163 shown in FIG. 9 as described above can be used. As described above, the blade 163 has a plurality of inter-row wiping portions 163A to 163E. By using the blade 163, it is possible to remove a foreign matter adhesion portion called a so-called cap mark without damaging each nozzle in the nozzle opening row. That is, ink residues called cap marks on the nozzle surface, which remain when the upper end portion 97 of the cap body 80 is pressure-bonded to the nozzle plate surface 61 as shown in FIG. 4, are the inter-row wiping portions 163A to 163E shown in FIG. Therefore, it can be removed without wiping.

  Further, as shown in the blade shape example of FIG. 9, for example, the blade 161 has a wiping width WH <b> 1 that is smaller than the entire width of the nozzle plate surface 61. This also applies to the blade 164, but the blades 161 and 164 can selectively wipe an arbitrary area. By using the side blade 164S of the blade 164 shown in FIG. 9, the ink accumulated on the side surface of the recording head 30 can be surely removed.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the blades 161 to 164 are wiped only by moving along the moving direction D with respect to the nozzle plate surface 61, but the blades 161 to 164 are moving in the moving direction D and the opposite direction. It is also possible to perform wiping by reciprocating.

  On the contrary, when the cleaner member is mounted on the carriage 14 side, the blades 161 to 164 are stopped at predetermined positions along the moving direction D. When the carriage moves along the main scanning direction T with respect to the blade, the blades 161 to 164 can be cleaned by the cleaner member.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of different types of wiping means 151 to 154 can be individually moved by the moving operation means 138 along the moving direction with respect to the nozzle plate surface 61. That is, since it does not have a structure in which a plurality of wiping means are rotated and positioned, the occupied space can be reduced and the size can be reduced by reducing the thickness. For this reason, the liquid ejecting apparatus can be reduced in size.

  Further, the different types of wiping means 151 to 154 can perform different types of wiping operations on the nozzle plate surface 61 only by moving in the moving direction D, and a single type of blade cannot sufficiently wipe out. Even in this case, a plurality of types of blades can be used, and wiping can be performed more reliably.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, even if the number of different types of wiping means 151 to 154 increases, the wiping means 151 to 154 only have to be arranged side by side along the moving direction, so that the space occupied by the wiping means 151 to 154 is The size of the apparatus can be avoided by reducing the size.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the holding members 171 to 174 of the wiping means 151 to 154 are the same along the moving direction D by rotating the first feeding member and the second feeding member of the driving unit 140 in synchronization. With the amount of movement, it can be sent smoothly without tilting.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the holding members 171 to 174 of the wiping means 151 to 154 can move quickly in the second feed screw portion, and the second feed screw portion in the first feed screw portions 191, 193, 201 and 203. Compared to 192, 202, it can move slowly. In other words, the second feed pitch of the second feed screw portions 192, 202 is set to be larger than the first feed pitch of the first feed screw portions 191, 193, 201, 203. For this reason, the holding members 171 to 174 and the blades 161 to 164 of the wiping means 151 to 154 can be sequentially moved and operated one by one while keeping the movement intervals of the wiping means in the moving direction one by one. For this reason, each wiping means does not hit each other and does not hinder the wiping operation.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, during the wiping of the nozzle plate surface 61 by the wiping means, the blade of the wiping means and the holding member can be wiped relatively quickly while moving.

  The first feed screw portion can relatively slowly apply the blades 161 to 164 to the start position of the nozzle plate surface 61 until the position reaches the start position of the nozzle plate surface 61 of the liquid ejecting head. In this case, the blade 161 The maximum load generated at ˜164 can be suppressed.

  Further, before the blades 161 to 164 move away from the nozzle surface, the first feed screw portions 191, 193, 201, and 203 send the holding members 171 to 174, so that the ink at the time when the blades 161 to 164 scatter ink. The amount of scattering can be suppressed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by selecting the wiping means 151 to 154, it is possible to wipe only one nozzle opening row among the plurality of nozzle opening rows on the nozzle surface.
In the embodiment of the present invention, by selecting the wiping means 151 to 154, it is possible to wipe all of the plurality of nozzle opening rows on the nozzle surface.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, by selecting the blades of the wiping means 151 to 154, the portion between the plurality of nozzle opening rows can be wiped. By wiping between the nozzle opening rows in this way, the dirt formed in the nozzle opening rows can be reliably removed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by selecting the blades of the wiping means 151 to 154, the side surface of the liquid ejecting head can be more reliably wiped by the side surface wiping portion.
In the embodiment of the present invention, when wiping of the nozzle opening rows of the liquid ejecting head is not necessary, each wiping means 151-154 is simply moved by moving the liquid ejecting head out of the wiping area in the main scanning direction. It only moves in the moving direction and does not wipe the nozzle surface.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, suction is performed for each of the nozzle opening rows 54A to 54D shown in FIG. 3, and the wiping area of the nozzle plate surface 61 corresponding to an arbitrary nozzle opening row can be wiped off, so-called reactive ink is used. Easy to do.

  The different types of wiping means 151 to 154 are arranged side by side along the moving direction D and wait, and when wiping, the moving operation means 138 sequentially moves the different types of wiping means 151 to 154 in the moving direction D. Send to. For this reason, the thickness in the vertical direction orthogonal to the moving direction D of the ink wiping device 130 can be made thinner than that of the conventional rotary blade support. Accordingly, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 including the ink wiping device 130 can be reduced in size and thickness.

Moreover, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, four ink cartridges using, for example, black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink can be mounted on the carriage. This ink cartridge is not limited to this, and may be provided with only an ink cartridge for black ink. Further, as described above, two ink cartridges, three ink cartridges for three color inks excluding black ink, or five or more ink cartridges can be mounted on the carriage. It may be something like this.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the number of wiping means is four, but the number of wiping means is two or more regardless of the number of ink cartridges. For example, in the case of four ink cartridges using two inks of black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink and two wiping means, the partition 81 may be one in the center in FIGS. In this case, the nozzle opening rows 54A and 54B are simultaneously sucked and then simultaneously wiped by two wiping means, and the nozzle opening rows 54C and 54D are simultaneously sucked and then wiped by another wiping means and simultaneously by two rows. good.

Alternatively, the number of wiping means may be reduced from the number of ink cartridges by wiping different nozzle opening rows on the front and back surfaces of the blade.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as an ink jet recording apparatus, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments may be combined with each other. Further, the present invention is not limited to an ink jet recording apparatus, but a recording head used in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a color material ejection head used in manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and an FED (surface emitting). Electrode material ejecting heads used for electrode formation such as displays), liquid ejecting apparatuses using liquid ejecting heads for ejecting liquids such as bioorganic ejecting heads used for biochip manufacturing, sample ejecting apparatuses as precision pipettes, etc. Applicable.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.
A part of each configuration of the above embodiment can be omitted, or a part of the configuration can be arbitrarily combined using a configuration different from the above.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet recording apparatus (an example of liquid ejecting apparatus), 18 ... Standby position, 19 ... Suction pump, 20 ... Ink suction apparatus (an example of liquid suction apparatus), 30 ... Recording Head (an example of a liquid ejecting head), 54A, 54B, 54C, 54D ... Nozzle opening row, 55A, 55B, 55C, 55D ... Nozzle opening, 61 ... Nozzle plate surface (an example of nozzle surface), DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130 ... Ink wiping apparatus (an example of a liquid wiping apparatus), 135 ... Frame, 138 ... Movement operation means, 140 ... Drive part, 151-154 ... Different types of wiping means, 161- 164... Different types of blades, 171 to 174... Holding member, 181... First lead screw (first feed member), 182. ), 191, 193, 201, 203... First feed screw portion, 192, 202... Second feed screw portion, D... Moving direction, T. position.

Claims (7)

In a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid from a nozzle surface of a liquid ejecting head,
A plurality of different types of wiping means for wiping the liquid on the nozzle surface by individually moving along the moving direction with respect to the nozzle surface;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a moving operation means for wiping the same area of the nozzle surface with different types of wiping means. The movement operation means has a feed member that moves each wiping means along the movement direction by rotating, and a drive unit that rotates the feed member,
The feed member has a first feed screw portion and a second feed screw portion;
When the wiping means is engaged with the first feed screw portion, the wiping means does not wipe the nozzle surface, and when the wiping means is engaged with the second feed screw portion, the wiping means is 2. The liquid jet according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle surface is wiped, and a first feed pitch of the first feed screw portion is set smaller than a second feed pitch of the second feed screw portion. apparatus.   Each of the wiping means has a different kind of blade for wiping the nozzle surface and a holding member for holding the blade, and each of the wiping means is arranged along the moving direction. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is a liquid ejecting apparatus.   4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the different types of blades of the wiping unit differ in at least one of length, hardness, thickness, material, and shape in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle surface. .   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the different types of blades of the wiping unit have different wiping widths for wiping the nozzle surface.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the blade of the wiping unit includes a side surface wiping unit that wipes a side surface of the liquid ejecting head. In the liquid wiping device provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus for wiping the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head for ejecting the liquid,
A plurality of different types of wiping means for wiping the liquid on the nozzle surface by independently moving along the moving direction with respect to the nozzle surface;
A liquid wiping apparatus comprising: a moving operation means for wiping the same area of the nozzle surface with different types of wiping means.

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