JP2012035440A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problem: a wiping performance is degraded due to the deposition of a liquid adhering to a wiper member.SOLUTION: A wiper scraper 85 is provided on a side of the wiper member 83 in an idle ejection receiving device 84, wherein the wiper scraper removes an ink adhering to the wiper member 83 by scraping the ink. The wiper scraper 85 is a hollow member and has an opening 85b, wherein a scraping portion 85a for scraping the ink adhering to the wiper member 83 by pushing the wiper member 83 is provided on the opening. An outlet 85c is provided on a side of the wiper scraper 85 opposite to the opening 85b. The outlet 85c is connected with a suction pump 220 via a flexible tube 300.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus including a waste liquid tank that stores a waste liquid generated by a maintenance recovery operation of a recording head that discharges droplets.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, a plotter, and a complex machine of these, for example, a liquid discharge recording type image forming apparatus using a recording head for discharging ink droplets is known. This liquid discharge recording type image forming apparatus means that ink droplets are transported from a recording head (not limited to paper, including OHP, and can be attached to ink droplets and other liquids). Yes, it is also ejected onto a recording medium or a recording medium, recording paper, recording paper, etc.) to form an image (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously). And a serial type image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting liquid droplets while the recording head moves in the main scanning direction, and a line type head that forms images by ejecting liquid droplets without moving the recording head There are line type image forming apparatuses using

  In the present application, the “image forming apparatus” of the liquid ejection method is an apparatus that forms an image by ejecting liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, or the like. In addition, “image formation” means not only that an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure is imparted to the medium but also an image having no meaning such as a pattern is imparted to the medium (simply liquid. It also means that a droplet hits the medium). “Ink” is not limited to ink, but is used as a general term for all liquids capable of image formation, such as recording liquid, fixing processing liquid, and liquid. DNA samples, resists, pattern materials and the like are also included. In addition, the “image” is not limited to a planar one, but includes an image given to a three-dimensionally formed image, and an image formed by three-dimensionally modeling a solid itself.

  In such an image forming apparatus (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “inkjet recording apparatus”), the recording head is caused by the evaporation of the solvent from the nozzle because of recording by discharging ink from the nozzle onto the paper. Maintenance and recovery to maintain and recover the performance of the print head due to problems such as increased ink viscosity, ink solidification, dust adhesion, and bubble failure due to air bubbles. It has a mechanism.

  For example, a cap (also referred to as a capping unit or a cap member) that seals the nozzles of the recording head is provided, and capping of the recording head is performed when the apparatus is not in operation, thereby suppressing drying and thickening of ink in the nozzles. To be able to. In addition, before and after the recording operation and during the recording operation, ink droplets that do not contribute to the recording operation are discharged, and the ink dried and thickened in the nozzles is discharged so that the discharge performance can be recovered and maintained. . Further, a wiping member (also referred to as a wiper or wiper blade) for wiping the nozzle surface is provided, and the nozzle surface is cleaned and the nozzle meniscus is formed by wiping the nozzle surface.

  By the way, when the nozzle surface is wiped with such a wiper blade, it is necessary to remove the ink adhered (transferred) to the wiper blade. This is because if the ink is left on the surface of the wiper blade, the ability to clean the nozzle surface will be reduced during the next wiping, leading to image defects such as nozzle omission, nozzle bending, and color mixing. Because.

  Therefore, in order to keep the wiper blade clean at all times, the ink adhered to the surface of the wiper blade is removed with an absorber or a scraping member (so-called scraper).

  Conventionally, for example, a configuration is known in which a wiper blade is formed integrally with a suction cap, and a suction operation is performed after wiping to remove ink wiped by the wiper blade (Patent Document 1). In addition, a configuration is known in which an opening is provided at the tip of a wiper having a hollow structure, and the wiped ink is poured from the opening, and the ink that has flowed into the hollow is sucked and discharged by a suction device (Patent Document 2). Further, a scraping member that swings along the surface of the cleaning member is provided, and when the wiper blade is cleaned, ink that adheres to the cleaning member is scraped to keep the cleaning member clean and clean the wiper blade. A configuration that maintains the function is known (Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-270420 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-199597 Japanese Patent No. 4233984

  However, in the conventional technique for cleaning the wiping member, there is a problem that when a liquid with high viscosity is used, the liquid accumulates on the wiping member and cannot be removed.

  This invention is made | formed in view of said subject, and it aims at keeping a wiping member clean over a long period of time.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A recording head having nozzles for discharging droplets;
A wiping member for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head;
A hollow cleaning member for removing liquid adhering to the wiping member;
And a suction means for sucking and discharging the liquid removed in the cleaning member.

  Here, the cleaning member has an opening provided with a scraping portion that scrapes off the liquid adhering to the wiping member when the wiping member is pressed and the wiping member is relatively moved. And can.

  The opening of the cleaning member can be opened and closed.

  Moreover, it can be set as the structure by which the several groove | channel is formed in the said scraping part of the said cleaning member.

  The cleaning member may be provided with a liquid absorbing member that absorbs liquid.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the wiping member includes the hollow cleaning member for removing the liquid adhering to the wiping member and the suction means for sucking and discharging the liquid removed in the cleaning member. Can be kept clean for a long time, and the wiping performance can be maintained.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an outline of a mechanism unit of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the mechanism part. It is a typical schematic block diagram of a maintenance recovery mechanism. Similarly it is principal part plane explanatory drawing. It is a principal part perspective view of a wiper relevant part similarly. It is a whole block explanatory drawing of a control part. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the cleaning operation | movement of the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of a wiping operation | movement similarly. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of a wiper cleaning operation | movement similarly. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of a suction discharge operation | movement similarly. It is principal part explanatory drawing of the wiper relevant part in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the cleaning operation in the same embodiment. It is principal part perspective explanatory drawing of the wiper relevant part in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is principal part perspective explanatory drawing of the wiper relevant part in 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, an example of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an explanatory side view for explaining the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus, and FIG.
This image forming apparatus is a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, and a carriage 33 is slidable in a main scanning direction by main and sub guide rods 31 and 32 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 21A and 21B of the apparatus main body 1. It is held and moved and scanned in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction) in FIG. 2 via a timing belt by a main scanning motor (not shown).

  The carriage 33 is provided with recording heads 34a and 34b composed of liquid ejection heads for ejecting ink droplets of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). The “recording head 34” is arranged in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and a droplet discharge direction is directed downward.

  Each of the recording heads 34 has two nozzle rows. One nozzle row of the recording head 34a has black (K) droplets, the other nozzle row has cyan (C) droplets, and the recording head 34b has one nozzle row. One nozzle row ejects magenta (M) droplets, and the other nozzle row ejects yellow (Y) droplets.

  The carriage 33 is equipped with sub tanks 35a and 35b (referred to as “sub tanks 35” when not distinguished) for supplying ink of each color corresponding to the nozzle rows of the recording head 34. The sub tank 35 is replenished and supplied with ink of each color from the ink cartridges 10 y, 10 m, 10 c, and 10 k of each color that is detachably attached to the cartridge loading unit 4 via the supply tube 36 of each color by the supply pump unit 5. Is done.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the papers 42 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 41 of the paper feeding tray 2, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the papers 42 one by one from the paper stacking unit 41. A separation pad 44 made of a material having a large friction coefficient is provided facing the paper roller 43) and the paper feed roller 43, and the separation pad 44 is urged toward the paper feed roller 43 side.

  In order to feed the paper 42 fed from the paper feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 34, a guide member 45 for guiding the paper 42, a counter roller 46, a transport guide member 47, and a tip pressure roller. And a holding belt 48 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 42 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 34.

  The transport belt 51 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the transport roller 52 and the tension roller 53 and circulate in the belt transport direction (sub-scanning direction). Further, a charging roller 56 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 51 is provided. The charging roller 56 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the transport belt 51 and to rotate following the rotation of the transport belt 51. The transport belt 51 rotates in the belt transport direction of FIG. 2 when the transport roller 52 is rotationally driven through timing by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 42 recorded by the recording head 34, a separation claw 61 for separating the paper 42 from the conveying belt 51, a paper discharge roller 62, and a spur 63 that is a paper discharge roller. And a paper discharge tray 3 below the paper discharge roller 62.

  A duplex unit 71 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The duplex unit 71 takes in the paper 42 returned by the reverse rotation of the conveyance belt 51, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 46 and the conveyance belt 51. The upper surface of the duplex unit 71 is a manual feed tray 72.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 for maintaining and recovering the state of the nozzles of the recording head 34 is disposed in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 33 in the scanning direction. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes cap members (hereinafter referred to as “caps”) 82a and 82b (hereinafter referred to as “caps 82” when not distinguished from each other) for capping the nozzle surfaces of the recording head 34, and nozzle surfaces. A wiper member (wiper blade) 83 that is a wiping member for wiping the ink, and an empty discharge receiver 84 that receives liquid droplets when performing empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge thickened ink. And a carriage lock 87 for locking the carriage 33. Further, a non-replaceable waste liquid tank 100 for accommodating waste liquid generated by the maintenance recovery operation can be replaced on the lower side of the maintenance recovery mechanism 81 of the head, and can be replaced on the side of the maintenance recovery mechanism 81 from the front side of the apparatus main body. Each of the liquid waste tanks 101 is provided.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, in the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 33, idle discharge is performed to discharge liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. An empty discharge receiver 88 for receiving the liquid droplets at the time is disposed, and the empty discharge receiver 88 is provided with an opening 89 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 34.

  In this image forming apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 42 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feed tray 2, and the sheet 42 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 45, and includes the transport belt 51 and the counter. It is sandwiched between the rollers 46 and conveyed, and the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 37 and pressed against the conveying belt 51 by the leading end pressing roller 49, and the conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, a positive output and a negative output are alternately repeated with respect to the charging roller 56, that is, an alternating voltage is applied, and a charging voltage pattern in which the conveying belt 51 alternates, that is, in a sub-scanning direction that is a circumferential direction. , Plus and minus are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width. When the paper 42 is fed onto the conveyance belt 51 charged alternately with plus and minus, the paper 42 is attracted to the conveyance belt 51, and the paper 42 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the conveyance belt 51.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 34 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 33, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 42 to record one line, and after the paper 42 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 42 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 42 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3.

  When performing the maintenance and recovery of the nozzles of the recording head 34, the nozzle 33 performs the suction from the nozzles by moving the carriage 33 to a position facing the maintenance and recovery mechanism 81 which is the home position and performing capping by the cap member 82. By performing a maintenance and recovery operation such as idle ejection for ejecting droplets that do not contribute to image formation, image formation by stable droplet ejection can be performed.

Next, the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 in this image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is a schematic schematic configuration diagram of the maintenance / recovery mechanism, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the main part, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main part of the wiper-related part.
The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes a maintenance device frame 211, caps 82a and 82b held by the cap holder 212, a wiper member 83 held by the wiper holder 223, and a wiper cleaner 86 as a first wiper cleaning unit. It is held so that it can be moved up and down (can move forward and backward).

  The cap 82 is a box-shaped member having an opening on the side facing the nozzle surface of the recording head 34. The cap 82 has an elastic portion on the upper surface portion of the opening, and the opening of the nozzle can be sealed (capped) by bringing the elastic portion into contact with and closely contacting the nozzle surface. In the cap 82, an absorbent member (not shown) that is a porous sponge-like member is disposed.

  A cylindrical empty discharge receiver 84 is disposed between the wiper member 83 and the cap 82a for suction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a wiper scraper portion 85 is provided on the wiper member 83 side of the idle discharge receiver 84 as second wiper cleaning means (member) that scrapes and removes ink adhering to the wiper member 83. ing. The wiper scraper portion 85 is a hollow member, and has an opening 85b provided with a scraping portion 85a for scraping ink adhering to the wiper member 83 when the wiper member 83 is pressed. Further, a discharge port portion 85c is provided on the opposite side (lower side in this example) of the wiper scraper portion 85 to the discharge port portion 85c, and the discharge port portion 85c is provided with suction means to be described later via the flexible tube 300. A suction pump 220 is connected.

  When cleaning the wiper member 83, the wiper member 83 is relatively moved (lowered in this example) while the wiper cleaner 83 is pressed against the scraping portion 85a of the wiper scraper portion 85 by the wiper cleaner 86. Then, the ink adhering to the wiper member 83 is scraped off into the wiper scraper unit 85, and the ink scraped off into the wiper scraper unit 85 by the suction pump 220 as suction means is sucked and discharged to the waste liquid tank 100.

  The wiper cleaner 86 is rotatably mounted on the upper end portion of the cleaner holder 242 with a cleaner roller 241 that contacts the wiper member 83 and presses the wiper member 83 against the wiper scraper portion 85 side. The cleaner holder 242 is swingably attached to the frame 211 by a support shaft 244, and is urged to swing to a retracted position side where it does not contact the wiper member 83 by a tension spring (not shown). Further, a link member 245 is provided to swing the cleaner holder 242.

  Further, a tubing pump (suction pump) 220 as suction means is connected to the cap 82a closest to the printing area via a flexible tube 219 made of an elastic member as a tube member, and only the cap 82a is suctioned ( Recovery) and moisturizing cap (hereinafter simply referred to as “suction cap”), and the cap 82b is merely a moisturizing cap. Therefore, when performing the recovery operation of the recording head 34, the recording head 34 that performs the recovery operation is selectively moved to a position where it can be capped by the suction cap 82a.

  The suction pump 220 generates suction force on the tube 210 by repeatedly pressing and moving the suction tube 219 with a plurality of pressure members.

  On the other hand, below the caps 82a and 82b, the wiper member 83 and the like, a cam shaft 221 rotatably supported by the frame 211 is disposed, and on this cam shaft 221, a cap cam 222 for raising and lowering the cap holder 212, A wiper cam 224 for raising and lowering the wiper member 83, a roller 226 as a rotating body to which droplets discharged in the idle discharge receptacle 84 are applied, a cleaner cam 228 for swinging the wiper cleaner 86, and a carriage lock 87 are provided. A carriage lock cam 229 for raising and lowering is provided.

  Then, in order to rotationally drive the suction pump 220 and the cam shaft 221, the rotation of the maintenance and recovery motor 231 is meshed with the motor gear 232 provided on the motor shaft 231a and the pump gear 233 provided on the pump shaft 220a of the suction pump 220, Further, an intermediate gear 236 with a one-way clutch 237 is engaged with an intermediate gear 234 integrated with the pump gear 233 via an intermediate gear 235, and the cam shaft 221 is connected to an intermediate gear 238 coaxial with the intermediate gear 236 via an intermediate gear 239. The cam gear 240 fixed to the mesh is engaged. The intermediate shaft 241 that is the rotation shaft of the intermediate gears 236 and 238 with the clutch 237 is rotatably held by the frame 211.

  In this maintenance / recovery mechanism 81, when removing ink and impurities adhering to the surface (nozzle surface) where the nozzles of the recording head 34 are formed, the motor 231 is driven to raise the wiper member 83 via the wiper cam 224. In this state, by moving the carriage 33 in the main scanning direction, the wiper member 83 wipes the nozzle surface of the recording head 34 to wipe away impurities and the like.

  Further, if the nozzles of the recording head 34 are left exposed to the outside air, the ink in the inside dries and thickens and adheres, and the ink ejection performance is deteriorated. To prevent this, the recording head 34 is prevented. When the nozzle surface is covered with the cap 82, the motor 231 is rotated, the cap 82 is raised via the cap cam 213, and the nozzle surface of the recording head 34 is capped.

  In addition, before and after the recording operation and during the recording operation, ink droplets that do not contribute to the recording operation are discharged (preliminary discharge) to the cap 82a to maintain the nozzle discharge performance.

Next, an outline of the control unit of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an overall block diagram of the control unit.
The control unit 500 includes a CPU 511 that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 502 that stores programs executed by the CPU 511 and other fixed data, a RAM 503 that temporarily stores image data, and the power supply of the apparatus. A rewritable non-volatile memory 504 for holding data and an ASIC 505 for processing input / output signals for performing various signal processing and rearrangement on image data and other control of the entire apparatus. ing.

  Further, a print control unit 508 including a data transfer unit for driving and controlling the recording head 34 and a driving signal generating unit, a head driver (driver IC) 509 for driving the recording head 34 provided on the carriage 33 side, An AC bias is applied to the charging roller 56, a main scanning motor 551 that moves and scans the carriage 33, a sub-scanning motor 552 that moves the conveyor belt 51 circulates, a motor drive unit 512 that drives the maintenance and recovery motor 231 of the maintenance and recovery mechanism 81. An AC bias supply unit 511 and the like are provided.

  The control unit 500 is connected to an operation panel 514 for inputting and displaying information necessary for the apparatus.

  The control unit 500 has an I / F 506 for transmitting and receiving data and signals to and from the host side, an information processing device such as a personal computer, an image reading device such as an image scanner, an imaging device such as a digital camera, and the like. From the host 600 side via the cable or network via the I / F 506.

  The CPU 501 of the control unit 500 reads and analyzes the print data in the reception buffer included in the I / F 506, performs necessary image processing, data rearrangement processing, and the like in the ASIC 505, and prints the image data. The data is transferred from the unit 508 to the head driver 509. Note that generation of dot pattern data for image output is performed by the printer driver 601 on the host 600 side.

  The print control unit 508 transfers the above-described image data as serial data, and outputs a transfer clock, a latch signal, a control signal, and the like necessary for transferring the image data and confirming the transfer to the head driver 509. Including a D / A converter for D / A converting D / A conversion of drive pulse pattern data stored in the ROM, a voltage signal amplifier, a current amplifier, and the like, and a drive signal or a plurality of drive pulses Is output to the head driver 509.

  The head driver 509 selectively selects droplets of the recording head 7 as drive pulses constituting a drive signal given from the print control unit 508 based on image data corresponding to one line of the recording head 34 inputted serially. The recording head 7 is driven by applying it to a driving element (for example, a piezoelectric element) that generates energy to be discharged. At this time, by selecting a driving pulse constituting the driving signal, for example, dots having different sizes such as a large droplet, a medium droplet, and a small droplet can be sorted.

  The I / O unit 513 acquires information from various sensor groups 515 mounted on the apparatus, extracts information necessary for controlling the printer, a print control unit 508, a motor drive unit 510, and an AC bias supply unit. Used to control 511. The sensor group 515 includes an optical sensor for detecting the position of the paper, a thermistor for monitoring the temperature in the machine, a sensor for monitoring the voltage of the charging belt, an interlock switch for detecting opening and closing of the cover, and the like. The I / O unit 513 can process various sensor information. In addition, a detection signal from a temperature / humidity sensor 516 that detects environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) and a detection signal from a full tank detection sensor that detects whether the waste liquid tank 101 is full are also input.

Next, a cleaning operation in this image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, when the cleaning operation is started, the wiper member 83 is raised, and the carriage 33 moves relative to the wiper member 83, whereby the nozzle surface of the recording head 34 is wiped by the wiper member 83, and then the wiper member. 83 descends.

  Then, the wiper cleaner 86 is closed, and the wiper member 83 is sandwiched between the cleaner roller 241 of the wiper cleaner 86 and the scraping portion 85a of the wiper scraper unit 85, so that the ink attached to the wiper member 83 enters the wiper scraper unit 85. When the wiper member 83 is scraped off and the descent of the wiper member 83 is completed, the wiper cleaner 86 is opened.

  Thereafter, the suction pump 220 is driven, and the ink scraped into the wiper scraper unit 85 is sucked and discharged.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the ink 400 adheres to the surface of the wiper member 83 by wiping (wiping) the nozzle surface of the recording head 34 with the wiper member 83.

  Therefore, when cleaning the wiper member 83 by removing the ink adhering to the wiper member 83, the wiper member 83 moves from the state shown in FIG. 9A in the direction indicated by the arrow D as shown in FIG. 9B. Simultaneously with the start of lowering, the wiper cleaner 86 is swung in the direction indicated by arrow C by the cleaner cam 228 via the link 245, and the wiper member 83 is pressed against the scraping portion 85 a of the wiper scraper portion 85 by the cleaner roller 241.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, when the wiper member 83 is lowered, the ink 400 adhering to the surface of the wiper member 83 is scraped off by the scraping portion 85a of the wiper scraper portion 85, and the wiper having a hollow structure is formed. The scraper 85 is scraped off and introduced from the opening 85a.

  By operating the suction pump 220 in this state, as shown in FIG. 10B, the ink 400 introduced into the wiper scraper portion 85 is sucked and the waste liquid tank 100 is discharged from the discharge side discharge port portion 85c. To discharge.

  By the above operation, the ink 400 adhering to the entire surface of the wiper member 83 can be removed, and no ink is left in the removed wiper scraper portion 85. Therefore, the wiper member 83 can be kept clean for a long time. The durability of the wiping performance can be increased.

  As described above, the wiping member is kept clean for a long time by including the hollow cleaning member for removing the liquid adhering to the wiping member and the suction means for sucking and discharging the liquid removed in the cleaning member. And wiping performance can be maintained.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a main part of a wiper-related part in the same embodiment.
Here, a flap-shaped portion 85d for opening and closing the opening 85b is provided on the opening 85b side of the wiper scraper portion 85. The flap-shaped portion 85d is pivotally supported by the shaft 85e so as to be swingable. The flap shape portion 85d includes a flange shape portion 85f, and a tension spring 187 is interposed between the support column portion 188 formed on the maintenance frame 211 and the support column portion 85g provided on the flange shape portion 85f. 85d is always urged toward the scraping portion 85a of the wiper scraper 85 to close the opening 85b.

  Further, a boss 223a is provided on the side surface of the wiper holder 223 that supports the wiper member 83. When the wiper member 83 is raised, as shown in FIG. 11A, the boss 223a pushes up the flange-shaped portion 85f and the flap-shaped portion 85d. When the wiper member 83 is lowered by opening the opening 85b and the wiper member 83 is lowered, the boss 223a is separated from the flange-shaped portion 85f and the flap-shaped portion 85d is closed as shown in FIG. It becomes.

  Therefore, since the opening 85b of the wiper scraper unit 85 is closed during standby other than the printing operation and the maintenance operation, the drying speed of the ink remaining slightly on the inner hollow inner wall can be delayed, and the durability is further improved. It can be improved.

The cleaning operation in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
Since this cleaning operation is the same as that of the first embodiment, the opening / closing state of the opening 85b of the wiper scraper unit 85 will be described. As described above, the flap-shaped portion 85d opens the opening 85b as the wiper member 83 rises during the wiping operation. Then, as the wiping operation is completed and the wiper member 83b is lowered, the opening 85b is gradually closed.

  Then, when the top surface of the wiper member 83 comes to a position lower than the upper end of the wiper scraper unit 85 and the ink adhering to the wiper member 83 is scraped into the wiper scraper unit 85, the wiper member 83 temporarily stops descending. To do. At this time, since the flap-shaped portion 85d is not completely closed, the operation of the suction pump 220 does not hinder the removal of ink by suction.

  After the operation of the suction pump 220 is performed for a certain time, the lowering of the wiper member 83 is resumed. When the wiper member 83 comes to a position slightly lower than the position where the wiper member 83 is temporarily stopped, the lowering of the wiper member 83 is finished, the flap-shaped portion 85d is completely closed, the wiper cleaner 86 is opened, and the wiper member 83 is moved to the wiper scraper. It leaves | separates from the edge (scraping part 85a) of the part 85.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of a wiper-related part in the same embodiment.
Here, a plurality of groove shapes 185 a are formed inside the wiper scraper portion 85. Thereby, the suction pressure at the time of suction removal can be made uniform, and suction efficiency can be improved.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory perspective view of a main part of a wiper-related part in the same embodiment.
Here, an absorbing member 189 that absorbs ink is disposed on the scraping portion 85 a side of the wiper scraper portion 85 that contacts the wiper member 83. Thereby, the ink scraped off by the wiper scraper unit 85 is quickly absorbed at the time of suction and removal, so that the cleaning effect of the wiper member can be improved.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to a facsimile machine, a copying machine, a printer / fax / copier multifunction machine, etc., in addition to an inkjet printer. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus that discharges a liquid (recording liquid) other than ink, such as a resist or a DNA sample in the medical field.

33 Carriage 34, 34a, 34b Recording head (liquid ejection head)
35 Subtank 81 Maintenance and recovery mechanism 82a Suction and moisture retention cap 82b Moisture retention cap 83 Wiper member 84 Empty discharge receptacle 85 Wiper scraper portion 85a Scraping portion 85b Opening portion 85c Discharge port portion 86 Wicleaner 100 Waste liquid tank 220 Suction pump 300 Tube

Claims (5)

A recording head having nozzles for discharging droplets;
A wiping member for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head;
A hollow cleaning member for removing liquid adhering to the wiping member;
An image forming apparatus comprising: suction means for sucking and discharging the liquid removed in the cleaning member.   The cleaning member has an opening provided with a scraping portion that scrapes off the liquid adhering to the wiping member when the wiping member is pressed and the wiping member is relatively moved. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening of the cleaning member is openable and closable.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of grooves are formed in the scraping portion of the cleaning member.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a liquid absorbing member that absorbs liquid is provided inside the cleaning member.

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