JP2012061637A - Liquid ejector and liquid ejecting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress degradation of image quality.SOLUTION: The liquid ejector includes: a head 31 having a nozzle for ejecting liquid when it is on a recording region R; a carriage 42 having the head 31 and moving; a cylindrical turnable liquid receiving part 36 that receives liquid ejected from the nozzle when the head 31 performs flushing; and a conversion part 39 that comes in contact with the carriage 42 when the head 31 is located other than the recording region R, and converts pressing force received from the carriage 42 in contact with the carriage 42, into turning force for turning the liquid receiving part 36.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus and a liquid ejection method.

  A liquid ejecting apparatus that performs maintenance called flushing for forcibly and continuously ejecting liquid from the head in order to remove foreign matters and the like attached to the head is known (for example, Patent Document 1). When performing the flushing, the liquid ejection device causes the liquid ejected toward the flushing unit to land on a liquid receiving portion provided in the flushing unit.

JP-A-8-150722

However, the liquid that has landed on the liquid receiving part may dry out and accumulate on the liquid receiving part. And the case where such a deposit produces a printing defect by contacting a head is assumed.
Therefore, it is conceivable to rotate the liquid receiving portion so that the deposit does not contact the head, and use the movement of the carriage that transports the head as a power source for rotating the liquid receiving portion. Can be considered.
However, if the movement of the carriage is used as the power source while the head is discharging liquid, the image quality may be degraded.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to suppress deterioration in image quality.

The main invention for solving the above problems is:
A head having nozzles for ejecting liquid when over the recording area;
A carriage having the head and moving;
A rotatable liquid receiving portion that has a cylindrical shape and that receives liquid discharged from the nozzle by the head performing flushing;
A conversion unit that converts the pressing force received from the carriage when the head is positioned outside the recording area into a rotational force that rotates the liquid receiving unit when contacting the carriage;
It is provided with this.

  Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

2 is a schematic view showing a cross section of the configuration of the liquid ejection apparatus 1. It is the schematic which shows the upper surface of the platen 29 part. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the liquid ejection apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a flushing unit 35. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a cross section of a configuration example of a flushing unit 35. FIG. It is the schematic which looked at the structural example about the conversion part 39 of the flushing unit 35 from the side surface direction. It is the schematic which looked at the state which the conversion part 39 is turning counterclockwise from the side surface direction. It is the schematic which looked at the state which the conversion part 39 is rotating clockwise from the side surface direction. It is the schematic seen from the upstream direction (left side) explaining the positional relationship between the cylindrical pipe and the carriage. It is a flowchart explaining recording operation | movement and flushing operation | movement. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a carriage and a recording area R. FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the position of ink that the cylindrical pipe receives on the outer periphery when the conversion unit 39 rotates the cylindrical pipe 36 by 30 degrees each time the carriage 42 contacts once. It is the schematic which looked at the positional relationship of the platen 29, the carriage 42, and the conversion part 39 in the comparative example from the side surface. It is a figure which shows the structure of the flushing unit 35 provided with the scraper 38. FIG.

At least the following matters will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.
That is, a head having a nozzle for ejecting liquid when over the recording area;
A carriage having the head and moving;
A rotatable liquid receiving portion that has a cylindrical shape and that receives liquid discharged from the nozzle by the head performing flushing;
A conversion unit that converts the pressing force received from the carriage when the head is positioned outside the recording area into a rotational force that rotates the liquid receiving unit when contacting the carriage;
It is provided with this.
According to such a liquid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to suppress deterioration in image quality while using the movement of the carriage as a power source for rotating the liquid receiving portion.

In addition, such a liquid ejection device,
A support unit for supporting a medium on which liquid ejected from the head is landed;
The converting portion converts the pressing force received from the carriage when the head is positioned on a position other than the support portion and rotating from the carriage to the rotational force that rotates the liquid receiving portion. It is good.
Even in such a liquid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the image quality while using the movement of the carriage as a power source for rotating the liquid receiving portion.

In addition, such a liquid ejection device,
The conversion unit may rotate the liquid receiving unit by N degrees each time the carriage contacts once, and N may not be a divisor of 360.
According to such a liquid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to avoid receiving the deposit formed by flushing at the same portion of the liquid receiving portion, and thus depositing and discharging on the liquid receiving portion to form It is possible to prevent the deposited material from coming into contact with the nozzle.

In addition, such a liquid ejection device,
It is good also as providing the scraping part which scrapes off the liquid which the said liquid receiving part received by contacting the said liquid receiving part to rotate.
According to such a liquid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to prevent the deposit formed by being deposited and ejected on the liquid receiving portion from coming into contact with the nozzle.

Further, when a head having a nozzle for discharging a liquid when it is on the recording area is located on a position other than the recording area, a moving carriage having the head abuts,
Converting the pressing force received from the carriage at the time of contact into a rotational force that rotates the liquid receiving portion that receives the liquid ejected from the nozzle by performing flushing with the head having a cylindrical shape;
A control method for a liquid ejection apparatus, comprising:
According to such a liquid discharge method, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the image quality while using the movement of the carriage as a power source for the liquid receiving portion to rotate.

=== First Embodiment ===
Hereinafter, the liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

<< Configuration of Liquid Discharge Device 1 >>
A configuration example of the liquid ejection apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a cross section of the configuration of the liquid ejection apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the upper surface of the platen 29 portion. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the liquid ejection apparatus 1.

In the following description, when referring to “up and down direction” and “left and right direction”, the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. In addition, the “front-rear direction” refers to a direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG.
In the first embodiment, a description will be given using roll paper (continuous paper) as a medium on which the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 records an image.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes a transport unit 20 as an example of a transport unit, and a transport path along which the transport unit 20 transports the roll paper 2. The head unit 30 includes a feeding unit 10, a platen 29 as an example of a medium support unit, and a winding unit 90. The head unit 30 performs printing in the recording region R on the conveyance path, and the head. A carriage unit 40 as an example of a moving unit, a controller 60 that controls these units and controls the operation as the liquid ejection apparatus 1, and a detector group 50 are included. In the following, an area in which an image can be recorded by ejecting ink onto the roll paper 2 on the platen 29 by the head unit 30 moved in the transport direction by the carriage unit 40 is a recording area R (FIG. 2).

  The feeding unit 10 feeds the roll paper 2 to the transport unit 20. The feeding unit 10 includes a winding shaft 18 around which the roll paper 2 is wound and rotatably supported, a relay roller 19 for winding the roll paper 2 fed from the winding shaft 18 and guiding the roll paper 2 to the transport unit 20; have.

  The transport unit 20 transports the roll paper 2 sent by the feeding unit 10 along a preset transport path. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 20 includes a relay roller 21 that is positioned horizontally to the right of the relay roller 19, a relay roller 22 that is positioned obliquely downward to the right when viewed from the relay roller 21, and the relay roller 22. 1st conveyance roller 23 located in the upper right direction as viewed from the platen 29 (upstream side in the conveyance direction) and a right side as viewed from the first conveyance roller 23 (downstream in the conveyance direction as viewed from the platen 29). The second transport roller 24, the reverse roller 25 positioned vertically downward as viewed from the second transport roller 24, the relay roller 26 positioned rightward as viewed from the reverse roller 25, and upward as viewed from the relay roller 26. And a delivery roller 27 which is positioned.

  The relay roller 21 is a roller that winds the roll paper 2 sent from the relay roller 19 from the left side and loosens it downward.

  The relay roller 22 is a roller that winds the roll paper 2 sent from the relay roller 21 from the left side and conveys it obliquely upward to the right.

  The first transport roller 23 is a first drive roller 23a that is driven by a motor (not shown), and a first driven roller 23b that is disposed to face the first drive roller 23a with the roll paper 2 interposed therebetween. And have. The first transport roller 23 is a roller that pulls up the roll paper 2 slacked downward and transports it onto the platen 29. The first conveyance roller 23 temporarily stops conveyance during a period in which image printing is performed on the portion of the roll paper 2 on the platen 29. In addition, when the first driven roller 23b rotates as the first drive roller 23a rotates by the drive control of the controller 60, the transport amount of the roll paper 2 positioned on the platen 29 (the length of the portion of the roll paper) Is adjusted).

  As described above, the transport unit 20 has a mechanism for transporting the portion of the roll paper 2 wound between the relay rollers 21 and 22 and the first transport roller 23 by slacking it downward. The slack of the roll paper 2 is monitored by the controller 60 based on a detection signal from a slack detection sensor (not shown). Specifically, when a portion of the roll paper 2 slackened between the relay rollers 21 and 22 and the first transport roller 23 is detected by the slack detection sensor, a tension of an appropriate magnitude is applied to the portion. Therefore, the transport unit 20 can transport the roll paper 2 in a relaxed state. On the other hand, when the portion of the roll paper 2 that has been loosened is not detected by the slack detection sensor, an excessive amount of tension is applied to the portion, and therefore the transport of the roll paper 2 by the transport unit 20 is temporarily performed. And the tension is adjusted to an appropriate level.

  The second transport roller 24 includes a second drive roller 24a driven by a motor, and a second driven roller 24b disposed to face the second drive roller 24a with the roll paper 2 interposed therebetween. ing. The second transport roller 24 is a roller that transports the portion of the roll paper 2 on which the image is recorded by the head unit 30 in the horizontal right direction along the support surface of the platen 29 and then transports it vertically downward. Thereby, the conveyance direction of the roll paper 2 is changed. The second driven roller 24b rotates as the second drive roller 24a is driven to rotate by the drive control of the controller 60, whereby a predetermined amount given to the portion of the roll paper 2 located on the platen 29 is obtained. Tension is adjusted.

  The reversing roller 25 is a roller that wraps the roll paper 2 sent from the second conveying roller 24 from the upper left side and conveys it diagonally upward to the right.

  The relay roller 26 is a roller that winds the roll paper 2 sent from the reversing roller 25 from the lower left side and conveys it upward.

  The delivery roller 27 winds the roll paper 2 sent from the relay roller 26 from the lower left side and sends it to the take-up unit 90.

  As described above, the roll paper 2 moves sequentially through the rollers, whereby a transport path for transporting the roll paper 2 is formed. The roll paper 2 is transported along the transport path by the transport unit 20 every time printing in the region is completed by a distance corresponding to the length in the transport direction of the printed region.

  The head unit 30 is for ejecting ink onto a portion of the roll paper 2 that has been fed into the recording area R (on the platen 29) on the transport path by the transport unit 20. The head unit 30 includes a head 31 and a valve unit (not shown).

  A large number of ink discharge nozzles (not shown) are arranged in the front-rear direction on the lower surface of the head 31. Each nozzle is provided with a piezo element (not shown) as a drive element for ejecting ink droplets. When a voltage having a predetermined time width is applied between the electrodes provided at both ends of the piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element expands according to the voltage application time and deforms the side wall of the ink flow path. As a result, the volume of the ink flow path contracts according to the expansion and contraction of the piezo element, and ink corresponding to the contraction is ejected from each nozzle of each color as an ink droplet.

  The valve unit is for temporarily storing ink, and is connected to the head 31 via an ink supply tube (not shown). For this reason, the head 31 can perform image printing by discharging the ink supplied from the valve unit toward the portion of the roll paper 2 that has been transported from the nozzle onto the platen 29 and stopped.

  The carriage unit 40 is for moving the head 31. The carriage unit 40 includes a guide rail 41 extending in the left-right direction (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1), a carriage 42 supported so as to reciprocate in the left-right direction (moving direction) along the guide rail 41, and a motor. (Not shown) and a timing belt 43 that transmits the driving force of the motor to the carriage 42.

  The carriage 42 is configured to move integrally with the head 31 when the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the carriage 42 via the timing belt 43. The position of the carriage 42 (head 31 or each nozzle row) on the guide rail 41 (the position in the left-right direction) is detected by the controller 60 by detecting the rising edge and the falling edge in the pulse signal output from the encoder provided in the motor. This edge can be obtained by counting.

  A protrusion 42 a is provided at the bottom of the carriage 42, and the protrusion 42 a contacts the contact part 39 a of the conversion unit 39. As shown in FIG. 6, the protrusion 42 a protrudes from the bottom of the carriage 42 with a gentle gradient.

  The carriage 42 moves onto the flushing unit 35 between recording operations, and the head 31 performs the flushing operation at that position. The flushing unit 35 and the flushing operation will be described in detail later.

  The timing belt 43 is a toothed type belt, and teeth and grooves are alternately provided at a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction on the inner peripheral surface of the timing belt 43 to transmit the driving force obtained from the motor to the carriage 42. The timing belt 43 is provided so as to move in a direction along the conveying direction (left-right direction) on the front side of a platen 29 described later, and is fixed at a front end portion of the carriage 42 by a belt holder (not shown).

  The platen 29 supports a portion of the roll paper 2 located in the recording area R on the conveyance path. As shown in FIG. 1, the platen 29 is provided in correspondence with the recording area R on the conveyance path, and in an area along the conveyance path between the first conveyance roller 23 and the second conveyance roller 24. Has been placed.

  The winding unit 90 is for winding the roll paper 2 (image-printed roll paper) sent by the transport unit 20. This take-up unit 90 is fed from the relay roller 91 that is rotatably supported by the relay roller 91 for winding the roll paper 2 sent from the feed roller 27 from the upper left side and conveying it to the lower right side. And a take-up drive shaft 92 for taking up the roll paper 2.

  The controller 60 is a control unit for controlling the liquid ejection apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 60 includes an interface unit 61, a CPU 62, a memory 63, and a unit control circuit 64. The interface unit 61 is for transmitting and receiving data between the host computer 110 which is an external device and the liquid ejecting apparatus 1. The CPU 62 is an arithmetic processing device for controlling the entire liquid ejection device 1. The memory 63 is for securing an area for storing a program of the CPU 62, a work area, and the like. The CPU 62 controls each unit by a unit control circuit 64 according to a program stored in the memory 63.

  The detector group 50 is for monitoring the state in the liquid ejection apparatus 1. For example, the detector group 50 is attached to a transport roller and is used for control such as transport of a medium, and detects the presence or absence of a transported medium. And a linear encoder for detecting the position of the carriage 42 (or head 31) in the moving direction (left-right direction).

<< Configuration of Flushing Unit 35 >>
A configuration example of the flushing unit 35 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, 5, 6 </ b> A, 6 </ b> B, 6 </ b> C, and 7. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the flushing unit 35. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the flushing unit 35 and the head 31. FIG. 6A is a schematic view of a configuration example of the conversion unit 39 of the flushing unit 35 as viewed from the side, and FIG. 6B is a schematic view of the state in which the conversion unit 39 is rotated counterclockwise from the side. FIG. 6C is a schematic view of the state in which the conversion unit 39 rotates clockwise as viewed from the side. FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating the positional relationship between the cylindrical pipe 36 and the carriage 42 as viewed from the upstream direction (left side).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the flushing unit 35 includes a cylindrical pipe 36 as an example of a liquid receiving portion. As shown in FIG. 1, the flushing unit 35 is provided on the upstream side (left side) in the transport direction when viewed from the platen 29.

  The cylindrical pipe 36 is formed in a cylindrical shape and receives ink droplets discharged from the nozzles during flushing on a curved surface. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 7, the cylindrical pipe 36 has a conversion portion 39 at the front end, and the conversion portion 39 rotates the cylindrical pipe 36 by the pressing force received from the carriage 42. Convert to power.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the conversion unit 39 has a ratchet mechanism, and is configured such that an arm 39f is provided with a contact portion 39a, a ratchet gear 39b, a spring 39c, a central shaft 39d, and a ratchet claw 39e.

  The abutting portion 39 a is provided at the distal end portion of the arm 39 f and abuts on a protruding portion 42 a provided on the bottom surface of the carriage 42. The abutting portion 39a moves while smoothly rotating on the protruding portion 42a when contacting the protruding portion 42a.

  The ratchet gear 39b rotates around the central axis 39d. When the ratchet gear 39b rotates, the cylindrical pipe 36 also rotates in conjunction with the ratchet gear 39b.

  One end of the spring 39c is connected to the tip of the arm 39f on the side where the contact portion 39a is not provided, and the other end of the spring 39c is connected to the fixed portion.

  The ratchet claw 39e is rotatably provided on the arm 39f. The ratchet claw 39e is provided with a force in the direction toward the central axis 39d by an elastic body (not shown), and is arranged to be pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the ratchet gear 39b.

  The arm 39f swings about the central axis 39d independently of the ratchet gear 39b. That is, when the contact portion 39a contacts the protrusion 42a and receives a pressing force, the arm 39f rotates about the central axis 39d. Further, when the protruding portion 42a passes and is released from the pressing force, the arm 39f rotates about the central axis 39d in a direction to return to the original posture.

Hereinafter, the movement of the conversion unit 39 will be further described.
When the carriage 42 moves in the upstream direction (left direction) in the transport direction, when the head 31 passes over the recording area R and reaches a position other than on the recording area, the protrusion 42a of the carriage 42 contacts the abutting section. Abuts on 39a. When the protrusion 42a of the carriage 42 contacts the contact portion 39a, as shown in FIG. 6B, the arm 39f rotates about the central axis 39d in the direction in which the contact portion 39a falls to the left side, and the ratchet gear 39b When the ratchet gear 39b rotates counterclockwise (X direction) by meshing with the ratchet claw 39e, the cylindrical pipe 36 also rotates counterclockwise (X direction) in conjunction with the ratchet gear 39b. When the carriage 42 passes through the contact portion 39a, the arm 39f is rotated clockwise by the elastic force of the spring 39c in the direction in which the contact portion 39a returns to the original position, but the ratchet gear 39b is moved to the ratchet pawl 39e. By not engaging (sliding), the ratchet gear 39b does not rotate, and thus the cylindrical pipe 36 does not rotate.

  On the other hand, when the carriage 42 moves in the downstream direction (right direction) in the transport direction, when the head 31 is located at a position other than on the recording area before reaching the recording area R, the protrusion 42a of the carriage 42 is provided. Is in contact with the contact portion 39a, the arm 39f rotates about the central axis 39d in the direction in which the contact portion 39a falls to the right, but the ratchet gear 39b does not mesh with the ratchet pawl 39e (by sliding) ), The ratchet gear 39b does not rotate, and therefore the cylindrical pipe 36 does not rotate. Then, when the carriage 42 passes through the contact portion 39a, the arm 39f rotates counterclockwise by the elastic force of the spring 39c in a direction in which the contact portion 39a returns to the original position. Thereby, the ratchet gear 39b meshes with the ratchet pawl 39e, the ratchet gear 39b rotates counterclockwise (X direction), and the cylindrical pipe 36 also rotates counterclockwise (X direction) in conjunction with the ratchet gear 39b.

<< Recording operation and flushing operation >>
Next, the recording operation and the flushing operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the recording operation and the flushing operation. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the carriage 42 and the recording area R.

  Various operations of the liquid ejection apparatus 1 are mainly realized by the controller 60. In particular, this embodiment is realized by the CPU 62 processing the program stored in the memory 63. And this program is comprised from the code | cord | chord for performing the various operation | movement demonstrated below.

  First, when a printing control signal from the host computer 110 is input to the controller 60 via the interface unit 61, the carriage 42 moves to the recording area R under the control of the unit control circuit 64, and recording is performed. The operation is started (S802). Specifically, the ink is ejected from the head 31 located in the recording region R to the roll paper 2 while the carriage 42 moves with the head 31 to the downstream side (right side) in the transport direction. When the head 31 reaches the downstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording area R, the paper rolls from the head 31 (for example, position C1 in FIG. 9) located in the recording area R while turning back and moving to the upstream (left side) in the conveyance direction. Ink is ejected to the ink 2.

  Further, the carriage 42 and the head 31 move along the guide rail 41 toward the upstream side (left side) in the transport direction, and reach a position outside the recording area R (for example, position C2 in FIG. 9) (S804).

  Next, the protrusion 42a of the carriage 42 contacts the contact portion 39a while moving to the upstream side (left side) in the transport direction, and as shown in FIG. 6B, the arm 39f rotates counterclockwise, and the ratchet gear 39b When the ratchet gear 39b is rotated counterclockwise by meshing with the ratchet pawl 39e, the cylindrical pipe 36 is also rotated N degrees counterclockwise (S806). Here, N is not a divisor of 360.

  When the carriage 42 passes through the contact portion 39a, the arm 39f rotates clockwise, but the ratchet gear 39b does not mesh with the ratchet pawl 39e, so that the cylindrical pipe 36 does not rotate (S808).

  The carriage 42 transports the head 31 to a position corresponding to the flushing unit 35, and the head 31 performs a flushing operation toward the cylindrical pipe 36 (S810).

  After the flushing operation is finished, the protrusion 42a of the carriage 42 contacts the contact portion 39a while moving downstream (right side) in the transport direction, and the arm 39f rotates clockwise as shown in FIG. 6C. Since the ratchet gear 39b does not mesh with the ratchet pawl 39e, the cylindrical pipe 36 does not rotate (S812).

  When the carriage 42 passes through the contact portion 39a, the arm 39f rotates counterclockwise, and the ratchet gear 39b meshes with the ratchet pawl 39e and rotates counterclockwise, so that the cylindrical pipe 36 also rotates counterclockwise N. (S814).

  The carriage 42 returns to the recording area R and executes the recording operation again (S816).

<< Effectiveness of Liquid Discharge Device 1 >>
As described above, according to the liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the head 31 having the nozzles for ejecting the liquid when on the recording region R, the carriage 42 having the head 31 and moving, A cylindrical pipe 36 that has a cylindrical shape and receives the liquid discharged from the nozzles by flushing the head 31, and a carriage 42 abuts when the head 31 is located outside the recording area R, By including the conversion unit 39 that converts the pressing force received from the carriage 42 at the time of the contact into the rotational force that rotates the cylindrical pipe 36, it is possible to suppress deterioration in image quality.

  In order to prevent ink deposited by drying on the cylindrical pipe 36 by flushing from contacting the head 31, it is conceivable to rotate the cylindrical pipe 36 by using the movement of the carriage 42 that conveys the head 31. Here, as a comparative example, considering the case where the carriage 42 abuts while the head 31 is ejecting ink (during the recording operation), the vibration of the impact when the carriage 42 abuts is applied to the head 31. Will be transmitted. The vibration may cause the landing position of the ink ejected from the head 31 on the roll paper 2 to be shifted. If it does so, the image quality of the image recorded on the roll paper 2 will be reduced.

  However, according to the liquid ejecting apparatus 1, the carriage 42 contacts when the head 31 is located outside the recording region R (for example, when located at the position C2 in FIG. 9). That is, when the carriage 42 contacts, the head 31 does not eject ink for recording an image. Therefore, since the landing position of the ink ejected from the head 31 on the roll paper 2 is not shifted, it is possible to suppress deterioration in image quality.

  Further, according to the liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the conversion unit 39 rotates the cylindrical pipe 36 by N degrees each time the carriage 42 contacts once, and N is not a divisor of 360. Thus, it is possible to avoid receiving the ink ejected in the same manner at the same part of the liquid receiving part, and thus it is possible to prevent the ink deposited on the liquid receiving part from coming into contact with the nozzle.

  A configuration as shown in FIG. 10 is considered as a comparative example. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the position of the ink that the cylindrical pipe 36 receives on the outer periphery when the conversion unit 39 rotates the cylindrical pipe 36 by 30 degrees each time the carriage 42 contacts once. When rotating by 30 degrees, which is a divisor of 360, the carriage 42 comes into contact with the outer surface of the cylindrical pipe 36 every 60 degrees immediately after the flushing operation and immediately before the flushing operation. Will adhere (see FIG. 10). Then, the carriage 42 is rotated 12 times (6 flushing operations) so that the cylindrical pipe 36 is rotated once, and the dry ink is received at the position where the dry ink is already adhered. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the dry ink concentrates on a specific portion of the cylindrical pipe 36, and the specific portion rises every time flushing is performed. If it does so, the dry ink of the raised specific location and the head 31 will contact, and the nozzle of the head 31 will be damaged. If the nozzle is damaged, the nozzle cannot eject ink properly, and the image quality is deteriorated.

  However, according to the liquid ejection device 1 according to the first embodiment, the angle at which the conversion unit 39 rotates the cylindrical pipe 36 every time the carriage 42 contacts once is not a divisor of 360 (for example, 25 degrees). The portion that receives ink after one rotation of the cylindrical pipe 36 receives ink at a location that deviates from the portion that received ink before one rotation, that is, the dry ink does not adhere to the same portion. That is, since dry ink is not deposited at a specific location of the cylindrical pipe 36, it is possible to prevent the dry ink attached on the cylindrical pipe 36 from coming into contact with the nozzle.

  Further, according to the liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the protrusion 42 a that contacts the conversion unit 39 is provided at the center of the carriage 42 in the transport direction and at the bottom of the carriage 42, thereby making the liquid ejection apparatus 1 compact. Can be.

  As a comparative example, consider a case where the left side surface of the carriage 42 abuts against the abutting portion 39a. FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the positional relationship among the platen 29, the carriage 42, and the conversion unit 39 in the comparative example as viewed from the side. In the comparative example, as shown in the figure, when the carriage 42 moves to the left, when the head 31 moves out of the recording area R, the left side portion of the carriage 42 comes into contact with the contact portion 39a. That is, it is necessary to secure a predetermined distance between the recording area R and the conversion unit 39.

  However, according to the liquid ejection device 1 according to the first embodiment, the protrusion 42 a that contacts the conversion unit 39 is provided at the center of the carriage 42 in the transport direction and at the bottom of the carriage 42, so that the comparison with the comparative example. Thus, the distance between the recording region R and the conversion unit 39 can be shortened, so that the liquid ejection apparatus 1 can be made compact.

  In addition, according to the liquid ejection device 1 according to the embodiment, the protrusion 42 a protrudes from the bottom of the carriage 42 with a gentle gradient, thereby suppressing an impact when the protrusion 42 a contacts the conversion unit 39. can do. That is, the protruding portion 42a protrudes with a gentle slope, and when the protruding portion 42a contacts the converting portion 39, the contacting portion 39a of the converting portion 39 rolls on the protruding portion 42a while protruding. Will gradually receive a pressing force. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an impact when the protruding portion 42 a comes into contact with the converting portion 39.

=== Other Embodiments ===
Although the present embodiment is mainly described with respect to a liquid discharge apparatus, disclosure of a liquid discharge method and the like is also included. Further, the present embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, the embodiments described below are also included in the present invention.

  (1) In the liquid ejection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the carriage 42 abuts when the head 31 is positioned on the platen 29 and other than the recording region R (see FIG. 9). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the carriage 42 may come into contact when the head 31 is located on a position other than the platen 29.

  In other words, the conversion unit 39 converts the pressing force received from the carriage 42 when the head 31 is located on a position other than the platen 29 to the rotational force that rotates the cylindrical pipe 36. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the image quality. That is, when the head 31 is located on a position other than the platen 29, the head 31 does not discharge ink for recording an image. Therefore, since the landing position of the ink ejected from the head 31 on the roll paper 2 is not shifted, it is possible to suppress deterioration in image quality.

  In addition, when the head 31 is positioned other than on the platen 29 as described above, the carriage 42 abuts, so that a malfunction in the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 can be allowed and image quality deterioration can be suppressed. For example, even when an ink droplet falls from the head 31 due to an impact when the carriage 42 comes into contact with the conversion unit 39, the ink droplet does not land on the roll paper 2 because the head 31 is not positioned on the platen 29. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the roll paper 2 before printing from being soiled, and thus it is possible to suppress a decrease in image quality.

  (2) The liquid ejection device 1 may include a scraper 38 (corresponding to a scraping portion) that scrapes ink received by the cylindrical pipe 36 by contacting the rotating cylindrical pipe 36. That is, when the scraper 38 scrapes off the ink adhering to the cylindrical pipe 36, it is possible to prevent the ink deposited on the cylindrical pipe 36 from coming into contact with the nozzles.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of the flushing unit 35 including the scraper 38. As shown in the figure, the scraper 38 contacts the outer peripheral surface (curved surface) of the rotating cylindrical pipe 36 to scrape ink received by the cylindrical pipe 36 (ink attached to the curved surface). The scraper 38 according to the present embodiment is made of an elastic member such as rubber and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface on the lower side of the cylindrical pipe 36 as shown in FIG. As a result, the ink adhering to the outer peripheral surface is scraped off by the scraper 38 and peeled off from the outer peripheral surface. The cylindrical pipe 36 can return to the state before the ink attached to the outer peripheral surface is removed and the ink is attached to the outer peripheral surface. The ink peeled from the outer peripheral surface is stored in a box (not shown).

  (3) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the conversion unit 39 has been described by taking the configuration including the ratchet gear 39b as an example, but is not limited thereto. For example, a mechanism such as a one-way clutch that rotates in one direction but does not rotate in the other direction may be used. Further, a ratchet claw may be provided that receives the pressing force when it receives a pressing force from one direction, but releases the pressing force when it receives the pressing force from the other direction.

  (4) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the ink jet printer has been described as an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a liquid ejection device that ejects liquid other than ink may be used. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid discharge apparatus, and also includes what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and a thread form. The liquid here may be any material that can be discharged by the liquid discharge device. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And a liquid as one state of a substance, as well as a material in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Further, representative examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejection device, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, a color filter or the like in a dispersed or dissolved form. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a textile printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, a transparent resin liquid such as UV curable resin is used to form a liquid ejection device that ejects lubricating oil pinpoint to precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid discharge apparatus that discharges an acid or alkali or the like to etch the substrate or the like may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these liquid ejection devices.

1 liquid discharge device, 2 roll paper, 10 feeding unit, 18 roll axis,
19 relay roller, 20 transport unit, 21 relay roller,
22 relay rollers, 23 first transport rollers, 24 second transport rollers,
25 reversing roller, 26 relay roller, 27 delivery roller,
29 platens, 30 head units, 31 heads,
35 flushing units, 36 cylindrical pipes, 38 scrapers,
39 conversion part, 39a contact part, 39b ratchet gear,
39c spring, 39d central axis, 39e ratchet pawl, 39f arm,
40 carriage unit, 41 guide rail, 42 carriage,
42a protrusion, 43 timing belt, 50 detector group,
60 controller, 61 interface, 62 CPU,
63 memory, 64 unit control circuit, 90 winding unit,
91 Relay roller, 92 Winding drive shaft, 110 Host computer

Claims (5)

A head having nozzles for ejecting liquid when over the recording area;
A carriage having the head and moving;
A rotatable liquid receiving portion that has a cylindrical shape and that receives liquid discharged from the nozzle by the head performing flushing;
A conversion unit that converts the pressing force received from the carriage when the head is positioned outside the recording area into a rotational force that rotates the liquid receiving unit when contacting the carriage;
A liquid ejection apparatus comprising: The liquid ejection device according to claim 1,
A support unit for supporting a medium on which liquid ejected from the head is landed;
The converting portion converts the pressing force received from the carriage when the head is positioned on a position other than the support portion and rotating from the carriage to the rotational force that rotates the liquid receiving portion. A liquid ejection apparatus characterized by the above. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit rotates the liquid receiving unit by N degrees each time the carriage contacts once, and N is not a divisor of 360. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2,
A liquid ejection apparatus comprising: a scraping unit that scrapes the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit by contacting the rotating liquid receiving unit. A head having nozzles for ejecting liquid when over the recording area;
A carriage having the head and moving;
A rotatable liquid receiving portion that has a cylindrical shape and that receives liquid discharged from the nozzle by the head performing flushing;
Providing a liquid ejection device comprising:
The carriage contacts when the head is located outside the recording area, and the converting unit converts the pressing force received from the carriage at the time of contact into the rotational force that rotates the liquid receiving unit. When,
A control method for a liquid ejection apparatus, comprising:

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