JP2012116034A - Liquid receiving method and liquid jet apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid receiving method and a liquid jet apparatus that can suppress the evaporation of liquid discharged into a liquid receiving case.SOLUTION: An inkjet printer has a recording head 19 which is supported to a carriage 16 moved by a carriage motor and injects ink to recording paper from each nozzle 20, and a flashing box 25 which can receive the ink injected from the recording head 19. The flashing box 25 has a flashing case 26 having an opening 26a at its upper end side, a flexible member 27 which closes the opening 26a, and a slit 31 which is formed at the flexible member 27 and can be opened by the elastic deformation of the flexible member 27.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid receiving method and a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  In general, an ink jet printer is known as a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid from a liquid ejecting head to a target. In such a printer, when ink (liquid) is not ejected from a specific nozzle in a recording head (liquid ejecting head) during printing continuously for a long time, the viscosity of the ink proceeds in the nozzle. Or the surface of the ink meniscus may dry out, resulting in ink ejection failure. For this reason, when there are nozzles that are not used for a long time during printing, maintenance called flushing is performed in which ink droplets are ejected as waste liquid from the nozzles based on a control signal unrelated to printing.

  That is, at the time of flushing, the recording head is moved to a position outside the printing area, and ink is ejected toward a flushing box (liquid receiving device) disposed immediately below the printing head. The ink ejected toward the flushing box in this way is normally absorbed and held by an absorbent material disposed in the flushing box.

  As a printer provided with such a flushing box, a printer as shown in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. In the printer of Patent Document 1, waste ink discharged from the recording head during flushing is discharged to a waste liquid tank (liquid receiving device) through an ink receiving unit and absorbed by a waste liquid absorbent in the waste liquid tank. It has become.

JP 2002-86759 A

  By the way, in the printer of Patent Document 1, since the upper end of the waste liquid tank is always open, the waste ink absorbed by the waste liquid absorbing material at the time of flushing solidifies as the ink solvent in the waste ink evaporates. There is a problem.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid receiving method and a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of suppressing evaporation of the liquid discharged into the liquid receiving case.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention is supported by a moving body moved by a moving unit, and ejects liquid from a nozzle to a target, and the liquid ejecting head ejected from the liquid ejecting head. A liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid receiving apparatus capable of receiving a liquid, wherein the liquid receiving apparatus is capable of receiving liquid ejected from a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head and faces the liquid ejecting head. A liquid receiving case having an opening on the side, a flexible member that closes the opening, and a slit that is formed in the flexible member and can be opened by elastic deformation of the flexible member. .

  According to the present invention, after the liquid is ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member, the flexible member is elastically deformed to open the slit, thereby collecting the liquid accumulated on the flexible member. The liquid can be discharged from the slit at once. Then, after the liquid is discharged into the liquid receiving case, the flexible member is returned to its original shape by its own elastic restoring force, so that the opened slit is quickly closed. For this reason, it becomes possible to suppress evaporation of the liquid discharged into the liquid receiving case. Further, when the liquid is ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member, the slit is opened by elastically deforming the flexible member without ejecting the liquid onto the flexible member. The ejected liquid can be quickly discharged from the slit into the liquid receiving case.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, a liquid storage unit capable of storing the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head is provided on a surface of the flexible member facing the liquid ejecting head. The slit is located in the liquid reservoir.

  According to the present invention, the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head can be stored in the liquid storing portion. Furthermore, the liquid stored in the liquid storage part can be discharged at once from the slit into the liquid receiving case by elastically deforming the flexible member and opening the slit.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the liquid storage portion may be configured by a portion that is lower than other portions on the surface of the flexible member that faces the liquid ejecting head.
According to the present invention, the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the surface of the flexible member facing the liquid ejecting head can be collected in the liquid storage portion by gravity.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the liquid storage portion is configured by a concave portion provided on the facing surface of the flexible member.
According to this invention, it becomes possible to simplify the structure of a liquid storage part.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention includes an external force transmission unit that receives an external force and transmits the received external force to the flexible member, thereby elastically deforming the flexible member so that the slit is opened. It was.

According to this invention, it is possible to open the slit of the flexible member by transmitting the external force to the flexible member by the external force transmitting means.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the movable body is configured to be applied with the external force transmission unit so that the external force is applied to the external force transmission unit, and to control the operation of the movement unit. The control means includes the moving means so that the slit is opened when a predetermined amount of the liquid is ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member. To control the operation.

  According to the present invention, when the control unit controls the operation of the moving unit so that the moving body engages with the external force transmitting unit when a predetermined amount of liquid is ejected onto the flexible member, the slit is opened. Is done. Therefore, a predetermined amount of liquid accumulated on the flexible member can be discharged at once from the slit into the liquid receiving case.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the control unit may operate the moving unit so that the slit is opened when the liquid is ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member. To control.

  According to this invention, since the slit opening time can be suppressed by opening the slit only when the liquid is ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member, the slit is discharged into the liquid receiving case. It is possible to effectively suppress evaporation of the liquid.

  A liquid receiving method of the present invention is a liquid receiving method for receiving a liquid ejected from a nozzle of a liquid ejecting head, wherein the opening of a liquid receiving case having an opening on a side facing the liquid ejecting head is provided. A liquid storing step for storing the liquid on a flexible member that is closed and formed with a slit, and the liquid stored on the flexible member in the liquid storing step so that the slit is opened. A liquid flow step for causing the flexible member to elastically deform and flow down from the slit into the liquid receiving case.

  According to the present invention, after the liquid storing step is performed, the liquid flowing step is performed, so that the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member is stored on the flexible member and then the liquid is stored. It can be discharged into the receiving case at once.

1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment. The top view of the flushing box of the printer. Sectional drawing of FIG. The top view which shows a state when the slit of the flushing box is open | released. Sectional drawing of FIG. Sectional drawing of the flushing box in 2nd Embodiment. In the example of a change, (a) is a top view of a flexible member, (b) is sectional drawing of (a).

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, when referring to “front-rear direction”, “vertical direction”, and “left-right direction”, unless otherwise specified, “front-rear direction”, “vertical direction”, It shall be the same as the “left-right direction”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a platen 13 is extended along the left-right direction which is the longitudinal direction of the lower part in the frame 12 which forms a substantially rectangular box shape of the ink jet printer 11. On the platen 13, the recording paper P as a target is fed from the rear side by a paper feed mechanism (not shown) based on driving of a paper feed motor 14 provided at the lower back of the frame 12. .

  A guide shaft 15 is installed above the platen 13 in the frame 12 along the longitudinal direction of the platen 13. A carriage 16 as a moving body is supported on the guide shaft 15 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the axial direction (left-right direction) of the guide shaft 15. A driving pulley 17a and a driven pulley 17b are rotatably supported at positions corresponding to both ends of the guide shaft 15 on the inner surface of the rear wall of the frame 12.

  The drive pulley 17a is connected to an output shaft of a carriage motor 18 serving as a moving means for reciprocating the carriage 16, and a part of the pair of pulleys 17a and 17b is connected to the carriage 16. The endless timing belt 17 is hung. Accordingly, the carriage 16 is moved in the left-right direction via the endless timing belt 17 by the driving force of the carriage motor 18 while being guided by the guide shaft 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a recording head 19 as a liquid ejecting head is supported on the lower end portion of the carriage 16. A plurality of nozzles 20 are opened on the lower surface of the recording head 19. Each nozzle 20 constitutes a plurality (three in this embodiment) of nozzle rows 20A arranged in parallel with each other at equal intervals in the left-right direction. That is, each nozzle row 20A is configured by a plurality of nozzles 20 arranged in the front-rear direction.

  An ink cartridge 21 for supplying ink as a liquid to the recording head 19 is detachably mounted on the carriage 16. Then, the ink in the ink cartridge 21 is supplied from the ink cartridge 21 to the recording head 19 by driving a piezoelectric element (not shown) provided in the recording head 19, and from each nozzle 20 of the recording head 19 to the platen 13. Printing is performed by being jetted onto the recording paper P fed upward.

  In the frame 12, a linear encoder 22 that outputs a number of pulses proportional to the moving distance of the carriage 16 is provided along the guide shaft 15. Furthermore, the ink jet printer 11 includes a control unit 23 as a control unit that performs overall control of the ink jet printer 11. The control unit 23 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM.

  The control unit 23 is electrically connected to the paper feed motor 14, the carriage motor 18, and the linear encoder 22, and individually controls the driving of the paper feed motor 14 and the carriage motor 18. Then, the control unit 23 detects the pulse output from the linear encoder 22 and controls the driving of the carriage motor 18 based on the movement position, movement speed, and movement direction of the carriage 16 which are grasped. Speed control and position control.

  In addition, a maintenance device 24 for performing maintenance such as cleaning of the recording head 19 during non-printing is provided in a home position area (non-printing area) that does not correspond to the recording paper P located at the right end in the frame 12. Yes. On the other hand, in a region not corresponding to the recording paper P located at the left end portion in the frame 12, a liquid receiving device that receives ink ejected (ejected) as waste liquid from each nozzle 20 by flushing appropriately performed during printing. A flushing box 25 is arranged. The control unit 23 stores the amount of ink ejected from each nozzle 20 in one flushing, a predetermined amount described later, and a flushing position and a slit opening position which are positional information of the carriage 16 described later.

Next, the configuration of the flushing box 25 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the flushing box 25 includes a flushing case 26 as a bottomed rectangular box-shaped liquid receiving case having an opening 26 a on the upper end side facing the recording head 19, and the flushing case 26. And a rectangular plate-like flexible member 27 that completely closes the opening 26a. The flexible member 27 is made of an elastomer such as rubber. At the upper end of the left side surface of the flushing case 26, a rectangular plate-like tongue piece portion 28 extending horizontally toward the left direction is provided. In the front-rear direction, the width of the tongue piece 28, the width of the flushing case 26, and the width of the flexible member 27 are the same.

  The flexible member 27 is placed on the upper surface of the flushing case 26 so that the front and rear side surfaces and the right side surface thereof are flush with the front and rear side surfaces and the right side surface of the flushing case 26, respectively. Only the right end portion of the elastic member 27 is fixed on the upper surface of the flushing case 26. The left end portion of the flexible member 27 is supported by the tongue piece portion 28 from below. A round bar-shaped engaging portion 29 as an external force transmitting means that can be engaged with the carriage 16 in the left-right direction is provided upright on the left end portion of the upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27 facing the recording head 19. Has been.

  The position of the carriage 16 when the carriage 16 is positioned immediately above the flushing box 25 during flushing is a flushing position (position shown in FIG. 3). When the carriage 16 is located at this flushing position, each nozzle 20 constituting each nozzle row 20A is located at a position corresponding to each nozzle row 20A of the recording head 19 on the upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27 at the time of flushing. Recesses 30 are provided as liquid storage portions that can receive and store the ink ejected from the liquid. That is, in the upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27, the site | part in which each recessed part 30 was provided is lower than another site | part.

  Each concave portion 30 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction (the direction in which the nozzle row 20A extends) in plan view so as to cover the entire nozzle row 20A to which they correspond. The depth of each recess 30 is set to about half of the thickness of the flexible member 27. Furthermore, a slit 31 extending in the front-rear direction is formed at the bottom of each recess 30. Therefore, each slit 31 is opened by elastically deforming the flexible member 27 so as to extend in the left-right direction. A porous ink absorbing material 32 that absorbs ink is disposed at the bottom of the flushing case 26.

Next, the action at the time of flushing of the ink jet printer 11 will be described.
In the ink jet printer 11, during printing of the recording paper P, flushing is performed with the carriage 16 being moved to the flushing position at a substantially constant interval (for example, every pass). Then, the ink ejected from each nozzle 20 of each nozzle row 20A of the recording head 19 by flushing is stored in each corresponding recess 30 (liquid storing step). At this time, since the slits 31 of the recesses 30 are closed, the ink stored in the recesses 30 does not flow down from the slits 31 into the flushing case 26.

  When the controller 23 counts the number of times flushing is repeated and determines that the amount of ink stored in each recess 30 has reached a predetermined amount, the carriage 16 moves from the flushing position. The drive of the carriage motor 18 is controlled so as to move leftward. In the present embodiment, this predetermined amount is set to an amount of ink that can be stored in each recess 30 and corresponds to 10 flushings.

  By this movement of the carriage 16, a pressing force (external force) in the left direction is applied to the engaging portion 29 in a state where the carriage 16 is engaged with the engaging portion 29. As a result, the engaging portion 29 is moved in the left direction, and the flexible member 27 is stretched while being elastically deformed by being pulled in the left direction because the right end portion is fixed to the flushing case 26 along with this movement. . That is, the moving force of the carriage 16 is transmitted to the flexible member 27 by the engaging portion 29 as an elastic deformation force for elastically deforming the flexible member 27.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the slits 31 are opened, and the recesses 30 and the flushing case 26 communicate with each other through the slits 31. Since the position of the carriage 16 in this state (the position shown in FIG. 5) is stored in advance as the slit opening position in the control unit 23, the control unit 23 detects that the carriage 16 has moved from the flushing position to the slit opening position. Then, the drive of the carriage motor 18 is stopped.

  When each slit 31 is opened, the ink stored in each recess 30 from each slit 31 flows down into the flushing case 26 at once (liquid flow step). In this case, since each slit 31 is opened in a state where a predetermined amount of ink is stored in each recess 30, the ink flows down into the flushing case 26 with almost no remaining in each recess 30.

  The ink flowing down into the flushing case 26 is absorbed and held by the ink absorbing material 32. At this time, since a predetermined amount of ink is collected and flows down onto the ink absorbing material 32, the ink smoothly penetrates into the ink absorbing material 32 without solidifying on the surface of the ink absorbing material 32. Even if the ink is hardened in the concave portions 30 before the slits 31 are opened, the ink that has hardened in the concave portions 30 is removed by the elastic deformation of the flexible member 27. It breaks and peels off from each slit 31 into the flushing case 26.

  Then, after the ink in each recess 30 flows down from each slit 31 into the flushing case 26, the control unit 23 causes the carriage 16 to move from the slit open position to the printing area on the recording paper P and resume printing. In addition, the driving of the carriage motor 18 is controlled. At this time, the flexible member 27 that had been elastically deformed so as to be stretched by being pulled leftward by the carriage 16 via the engagement portion 29 returns to its original shape by its own elastic restoring force, and thus was opened. Each slit 31 is quickly closed.

  As described above, each slit 31 of the flexible member 27 is not opened except when a predetermined amount of ink stored in each recess 30 flows down into the flushing case 26, so that the ink in the flushing case 26 can be removed. The evaporation of is effectively suppressed and the wet state is suitably maintained.

As described above, according to the first embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The flushing box 25 can receive the ink ejected from each nozzle 20 of the recording head 19, and has a flushing case 26 having an opening 26a on the upper end side, and a flexibility for closing the opening 26a. And a member 27. The upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27 is provided with a recess 30 for storing the ink discharged from each nozzle 20 of the recording head 19 by the flushing for each nozzle row 20A. A slit 31 that can be opened by elastic deformation of the flexible member 27 is formed.

  For this reason, after flushing is performed 10 times and a predetermined amount of ink corresponding to 10 flushings is stored in each recess 30, the flexible member 27 is elastically deformed to open each slit 31, whereby each recess 30. A predetermined amount of ink stored in the ink can flow down (discharge) from the slits 31 into the flushing case 26 at once. In this case, even if each slit 31 is opened in a state where the ink amount for one flushing is stored in each recess 30, the stored ink does not flow down due to a small amount, but the slit 31 is opened after performing flushing a plurality of times. As a result, the ink stored in each recess 30 can easily flow. For this reason, the ink stored in each concave portion 30 can be allowed to flow into the flushing case 26 from each slit 31 with almost no ink remaining in each concave portion 30. The predetermined amount of ink stored in each recess 30 becomes the amount of ink that flows down when each slit 31 is opened. Then, after the ink stored in each concave portion 30 has flowed down (discharged) from each slit 31 into the flushing case 26, the flexible member 27 is returned to its original shape by its own elastic restoring force. Each slit 31 that has been made can be quickly closed. For this reason, since the inside of the flushing case 26 is almost sealed, evaporation of ink in the flushing case 26 can be effectively suppressed, and the wet state in the flushing case 26 can be suitably maintained. As a result, the ink in the flushing case 26 can be prevented from solidifying. In addition, since the carriage 16 is moved and the slits 31 are opened after a plurality of flushing operations, the slits 31 are opened as compared with the case where the carriage 16 is moved and the slits 31 are opened each time flushing is performed. The number of times the carriage 16 is moved can be reduced, and the printing time can be shortened.

  (2) Since the flushing box 25 is provided with the concave portion 30 capable of storing ink on the upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27 as the liquid storage portion, the liquid storage portion can have a simple configuration.

  (3) When the flushing box 25 is engaged with the carriage 16, the movement force of the carriage 16 is used as an elastic deformation force that elastically deforms the flexible member 27 so that each slit 31 is opened. An engaging portion 29 for transmitting to the sex member 27 is provided. Therefore, the slits 31 of the flexible member 27 can be opened by the movement of the carriage 16.

  (4) In the flushing box 25, an ink absorbing material 32 that absorbs ink is accommodated in the flushing case 26. For this reason, since the ink discharged in the flushing case 26 can be absorbed and held by the ink absorbing material 32, the wet state in the flushing case 26 can be suitably maintained.

  (5) In the flexible member 27 of the flushing box 25, the thickness in each recess 30 (thickness of the portion where each slit 31 is present) is about half of the thickness of the other portion. Each of the slits 31 can be opened by easily elastically deforming the flexible member 27.

  (6) In the flushing box 25, each slit 31 of the flexible member 27 is opened only when a predetermined amount of ink stored in each recess 30 is caused to flow down into the flushing case 26, and is otherwise closed. Therefore, the flexible member 27 functions as a lid for the flushing case 26. For this reason, it is a flexible member that the ink in the flushing case 26 is scattered by the influence of the air flow due to the movement of the carriage 16 and the inside of the frame 12 is contaminated with the ink or the ink in the flushing case 26 evaporates. 27.

  (7) The flushing box 25 opens each slit 31 by elastically deforming the flexible member 27, and closes each slit 31 opened by the elastic restoring force of the flexible member 27. For this reason, the number of parts is reduced as compared with the case where a hard closing member is used instead of the flexible member 27 and a through hole for flowing ink and a lid capable of opening and closing the through hole are provided in the closing member. Can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, in the second embodiment, in the flushing box 25 of the first embodiment, the concave portions 30 are omitted from the flexible member 27 and flexible when the carriage 16 moves to the flushing position. The position of the engaging portion 29 is adjusted so that the elastic member 27 is elastically deformed and the slits 31 are opened. That is, in the second embodiment, the flushing position and the slit opening position coincide with each other. When the carriage 16 is in the flushing position, the nozzle rows 20A and the slits 31 correspond to each other.

  When the carriage 16 is moved from the printing area to the flushing position to perform flushing during printing by the ink jet printer 11, the carriage 16 is engaged with the engaging portion 29 by the movement of the carriage 16. A pressing force (external force) directed in the left direction is applied to the engaging portion 29. As a result, the engaging portion 29 is moved in the left direction, and the flexible member 27 is pulled in the left direction along with the movement and extends while being elastically deformed. That is, the moving force of the carriage 16 is transmitted to the flexible member 27 by the engaging portion 29 as an elastic deformation force for elastically deforming the flexible member 27.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the flexible member 27 is in a state where each slit 31 is opened. In this state, the ink ejected from each nozzle 20 of each nozzle row 20A of the recording head 19 by flushing is directly discharged into the flushing case 26 through the corresponding slit 31.

  After the flushing is completed, when the carriage 16 is moved from the flushing position to the printing area on the recording paper P in order to resume printing, the carriage 16 is elastically deformed so as to be stretched by being pulled leftward via the engagement portion 29. Since the flexible member 27 that has been restored returns to its original shape by its own elastic restoring force, the opened slits 31 are quickly closed. Note that the movement control of the carriage 16 in the second embodiment is performed by the controller 23 controlling the drive of the carriage motor 18 as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, since each slit 31 of the flexible member 27 is not opened except when performing flushing, the evaporation of the ink in the flushing case 26 is effectively suppressed and the wet state is suitably maintained. The

As described above, according to the second embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(8) Since each slit 31 is opened only when flushing is performed, the opening time of each slit 31 can be kept short. For this reason, the evaporation of the ink in the flushing case 26 can be effectively suppressed.

(9) Since the flexible member 27 is elastically deformed and the slits 31 are opened as the carriage 16 moves to the flushing position, the ink ejected from the nozzles 20 of the recording head 19 by flushing It can be discharged directly and quickly into the flushing case 26 through the slit 31.
(Example of change)
In addition, you may change each said embodiment into another embodiment as follows.

  As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, in the flexible member 27 of the first embodiment, a rectangular frame-shaped weir on the upper surface 27 a so as to surround each slit 31 instead of each recess 30. Each portion 40 may be provided, and each weir 40 may be used as a liquid reservoir.

  -In 1st Embodiment, if the predetermined quantity used as the reference | standard of the timing which opens each slit 31 is the quantity which can be stored in each recessed part 30, it will change suitably to the ink quantity corresponded to the frequency | count of flushing arbitrarily. Also good.

In the first embodiment, each slit 31 may be opened when each recess 30 is filled with flushing ink or when one print job is completed.
The ink absorbing material 32 may be omitted.

  In the flushing box 25, the engaging portion 29 may be omitted, and the flexible member 27 may be elastically deformed so that each slit 31 is opened by using an actuator such as an air cylinder as a deformation means. In this way, each slit 31 can be opened by the actuator without applying a load to the carriage 16 or the carriage motor 18.

  In the flushing box 25, a magnetic body may be attached to the flexible member 27, and the flexible member 27 may be elastically deformed so that each slit 31 is opened by a magnetic force generated by an electromagnet.

  In the flushing box 25, the flexible member 27 may be configured to be elastically deformed so that each slit 31 is opened by being pulled from both sides (left and right sides) in the movement direction of the carriage 16. . In this case, the flexible member 27 is fixed on the upper surface of the flushing case 26 only at the center in the left-right direction.

In the first embodiment, each recess 30 may be omitted from the flexible member 27.
In the first embodiment, the bottom surface in each recess 30 in the flexible member 27 may be inclined so as to descend toward each slit 31.

  In the first embodiment, the upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27 may be an inclined surface, and the slit 31 may be provided at the lowest part of the upper surface 27a, and the lowest part may be used as the liquid storage part. In this way, the ink flushed on the upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27 can be collected in the liquid reservoir by gravity.

  In the first embodiment, one recess 30 that can cover all the nozzle rows 20A of the recording head 19 is provided on the upper surface 27a of the flexible member 27, and only one slit is formed in the recess 30. May be.

In the flushing box 25, each slit 31 of the flexible member 27 may be formed in a cross shape or a radial shape.
In the first embodiment, the flexible member 27 of the flushing box 25 may be changed to a hard closing member having a fixed shape. In this case, in each recess 30, a through hole for allowing the ink stored in each recess 30 to flow (discharge) into the flushing case 26 and a lid capable of opening and closing the through hole are provided instead of the slit 31. There is a need. In this case, the liquid flowing means is constituted by the through hole and the lid. In this way, by opening the through hole lid in a state where a predetermined amount of flushing ink is stored in each recess 30, a predetermined amount of ink stored in each recess 30 is passed through the through hole into the flushing case 26. It can be made to flow all at once.

In the ink jet printer 11, the target may be a plastic film, cloth, metal foil, or the like.
In each of the above embodiments, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied in the ink jet printer 11, but a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink may be employed. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. 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 ejecting apparatus, 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, or a color filter 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 a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these liquid ejecting apparatuses.

Further, technical ideas that can be grasped from the above embodiments will be described below.
(A) a liquid receiving case capable of receiving the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head, having an opening facing the liquid ejecting head, and a closing member for closing the opening; A liquid storage section capable of storing the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head is provided on a surface of the closing member facing the liquid ejecting head, and the liquid storing section is provided in the liquid storing section. A liquid receiving apparatus, comprising: a liquid flow-down means for flowing the stored liquid into the liquid receiving case.

  According to this configuration, the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head can be stored in the liquid storing unit. Furthermore, the liquid stored in the liquid storage part can be discharged into the liquid receiving case at once by the liquid flow-down means.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Inkjet printer as liquid ejecting apparatus, 16 ... Carriage as moving body, 18 ... Carriage motor as moving means, 19 ... Recording head as liquid ejecting head, 20 ... Nozzle, 23 ... Control section as control means 25 ... Flushing box as a liquid receiving device, 26 ... Flushing case as a liquid receiving case, 26a ... Opening, 27 ... Flexible member, 27a ... Upper surface as an opposing surface, 29 ... Engagement as external force transmission means Part, 30... Concave part as liquid storage part, 31... Slit, P ... recording paper as target.

Claims (8)

A liquid ejecting head that is supported by a moving body moved by a moving unit and ejects liquid from a nozzle to a target; and
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid receiving apparatus capable of receiving the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head;
The liquid receiving device comprises:
A liquid receiving case capable of receiving the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head and having an opening on the side facing the liquid ejecting head;
A flexible member for closing the opening;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a slit formed in the flexible member and openable by elastic deformation of the flexible member. A liquid storage portion capable of storing the liquid ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head is provided on a surface of the flexible member facing the liquid ejecting head,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slit is located in the liquid storage unit. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquid storage unit is configured by a portion that is lower than other portions on a surface of the flexible member facing the liquid ejecting head. 4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquid storage portion is configured by a concave portion provided on an opposing surface of the flexible member. 5. The external force transmitting means for receiving the external force and transmitting the received external force to the flexible member to elastically deform the flexible member so that the slit is opened is provided. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1. The movable body is configured so that the external force is applied to the external force transmitting means by engaging the external force transmitting means, and includes a control means for controlling the operation of the moving means,
The control unit controls the operation of the moving unit so that the slit is opened when a predetermined amount of the liquid is ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5. The control unit controls the operation of the moving unit so that the slit is opened when the liquid is ejected from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head onto the flexible member. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6. A liquid receiving method for receiving liquid ejected from a nozzle of a liquid ejecting head, comprising:
A liquid storage step of closing the opening of a liquid receiving case having an opening on the side facing the liquid ejecting head and storing the liquid on a flexible member formed with a slit;
A liquid flow that causes the liquid stored on the flexible member in the liquid storing step to flow down from the slit into the liquid receiving case by elastically deforming the flexible member so that the slit is opened. And a liquid receiving method.

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