JP2012144003A - Liquid ejection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid ejection apparatus that can efficiently perform maintenance of a liquid ejection head and a cap member.SOLUTION: The liquid ejection apparatus 1 includes: a liquid ejection head 2 with a nozzle formation surface 21A where nozzles are formed; the cap member 12 that tightly contacts with the nozzle formation surface 21A with a space A in a region facing the nozzles; and a cleaning liquid discharge port 12b that is disposed within the space A and ejects a cleaning liquid L to the nozzle formation surface 21A.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejecting apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printer is known as a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid onto a medium. In this type of fluid ejecting apparatus, a maintenance process of the fluid ejecting head is periodically performed in order to maintain or restore good ejecting characteristics. Specifically, the fluid ejecting head is capped with a cap member, the suction space is sucked into the cap member by a suction pump, and fluid or bubbles with increased viscosity are discharged from each nozzle, or the fluid ejecting head. The nozzle forming surface is wiped with a wiping member, and a cleaning process is performed to remove the highly viscous fluid adhering to the nozzle forming surface.

  In the suction process, a part of the fluid may remain on the inner wall surface of the cap member or in the flow path that connects the cap member to the waste liquid tank. If the remaining fluid thickens and sticks over time, the suction process may be adversely affected. Therefore, the cap member itself needs to be periodically subjected to maintenance processing. For example, in the fluid ejecting apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the cap member is separated from the nozzle forming surface of the fluid ejecting head, and the dirt on the cap member is removed by the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle.

JP 2007-185795 A

  However, the fluid ejection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, in the fluid ejecting apparatus of Patent Document 1, a wiping member that cleans the nozzle forming surface of the fluid ejecting head and a cleaning apparatus that cleans the cap member are separately provided. Therefore, the nozzle forming surface of the fluid ejecting head and the inner wall surface of the cap member cannot be cleaned at the same time, and these maintenance processes take a long time. Further, there is a possibility that the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning device may scatter around the cap member, and post-processing for cleaning the cleaning liquid is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a fluid ejecting apparatus that can efficiently perform maintenance processing of a fluid ejecting head and a cap member.

  The fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes a fluid ejecting head having a nozzle forming surface on which nozzles are formed, a cap member that is in close contact with the nozzle forming surface in a state where a space is provided in a region facing the nozzle, And a cleaning liquid ejection port that is disposed inside and ejects the cleaning liquid toward the nozzle forming surface.

  According to this configuration, the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port cleans the nozzle forming surface and then the space between the nozzle forming surface and the cap member (the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the cap member facing the space). A part and a part of the channel connected from the cap member to the waste liquid tank are washed and discharged to the waste liquid tank. Therefore, the maintenance process for the fluid ejecting head and the cap member can be performed at the same time, and the efficiency of the maintenance process can be improved. Further, since the cleaning liquid ejection port is disposed inside the cap member, there is little possibility that the cleaning liquid will be scattered around the cap member. Therefore, it is possible to omit or simplify the post-processing for cleaning the cleaning liquid scattered around the cap member.

  One end communicates with the cleaning liquid injection port of the cap member, and the other end branches into two at a predetermined position downstream from the one end. One end of the other end communicates with a waste liquid tank, and the other end of the other end A branch flow path communicating with a cleaning liquid tank for storing cleaning liquid; a first suction operation that is provided upstream of the predetermined position and sucks the flow path from the one end toward the other end; and the other end A suction device capable of performing a second suction operation for sucking the inside of the flow path from one end to the one end, and at the time of the first suction operation, the one side flow path at the other end is opened. The flow path on the other side of the other end is closed, and the flow path on the one side of the other end is closed and the flow path on the other side of the other end is closed during the second suction operation. It is desirable to have an open / close device that is in an open state.

  According to this configuration, the discharge process of the fluid from the cap member to the waste liquid tank by the first suction operation and the supply process of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid tank to the cap member by the second suction operation are performed by the common suction device. Can do. The discharge process of the fluid to the waste liquid tank and the supply process of the cleaning liquid to the cap member are both performed through the cleaning liquid injection port. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the fluid discharge port and the cleaning liquid injection port separately, which contributes to simplification of the cap member. Further, since the fluid discharge port and the cleaning liquid injection port can be made common, the cleaning liquid injection port can be enlarged or the cleaning liquid injection port can be provided at a plurality of locations, and the cleaning efficiency is improved.

  The suction device bends a part of the branch channel upstream of the predetermined position in an annular shape, and presses and deforms the inner diameter side of the annular branch channel with a roller member to the branch channel. The tube pump is preferably a tube pump that performs the first suction operation and the second suction operation by rotating the roller member forward or reverse along the roller member.

  According to this configuration, the suction device capable of performing the first suction operation and the second suction operation can be realized with a simple configuration.

  It is desirable that the suction device has a leak point where an amount of pressing deformation of the branch flow path by the roller member becomes insufficient.

  According to this configuration, the branch member can be opened to the atmosphere by disposing the roller member at the leak point. The cap member is opened to the atmosphere through the cleaning liquid injection port. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide an air supply port and a cleaning liquid injection port for releasing the atmosphere, which contributes to simplification of the cap member.

  Preferably, the cap member has a bottomed cylindrical shape that opens on a side facing the nozzle forming surface, and the cleaning liquid ejection port is formed on a bottom surface of the cap member facing the nozzle forming surface. .

  According to this configuration, since the cleaning liquid travels along the bottom surface of the cap member and is discharged to the waste liquid tank, the bottom surface of the cap member where the fluid is most likely to remain can be cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

It is a perspective view of an ink jet printer which is an example of a fluid ejecting apparatus. It is a figure which shows the arrangement | sequence of the nozzle provided in the fluid ejecting head. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing an internal configuration of a fluid ejecting head. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the capping mechanism with which a fluid ejecting apparatus is equipped. It is a figure which shows the flow of the fluid when attracting | sucking a fluid from a nozzle. It is a figure which shows the flow of the fluid when injecting a washing | cleaning liquid with respect to a nozzle formation surface. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the capping mechanism with which a fluid ejecting apparatus is equipped.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a fluid ejecting apparatus according to the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used for the following description, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size. In this embodiment, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) is illustrated as the fluid ejecting apparatus according to the invention.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the printer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a recording head 2 that is a kind of fluid ejecting head, and a carriage 4 on which an ink cartridge 3 is detachably mounted, and a recording paper 6 disposed below the recording head 2. Is configured to include a platen 5 to which the recording paper 6 is conveyed, a carriage moving mechanism 7 for moving the carriage 4 in the paper width direction of the recording paper 6, and a paper feeding mechanism 8 for conveying the recording paper 6 in the paper feeding direction. In addition, the printer 1 includes a control device CONT that controls the operation of the entire printer 1. The paper width direction is the main scanning direction (head scanning direction). The paper feeding direction is a sub-scanning direction (a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction).

  The ink cartridge 3 is not limited to the cartridge mounted on the carriage 4 as in the present embodiment, but a cartridge mounted on the housing side of the printer 1 and supplied to the recording head 2 via the ink supply tube is employed. May be. The ink cartridge 3 of the present embodiment contains water-based inks of different colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk).

  The guide rod 9 is a support member installed in the main scanning direction. The carriage 4 is attached while being supported by the guide rod 9. The carriage 4 is moved in the main scanning direction along the guide rod 9 by a carriage moving mechanism 7. The linear encoder 10 detects the position of the carriage 4 in the main scanning direction. This detection signal is transmitted to the control device CONT as position information. The control device CONT recognizes the scanning position of the recording head 2 based on the position information from the linear encoder 10 and controls the recording operation (ejection operation) and the like by the recording head 2.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the nozzles 17 provided in the recording head 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the recording head 2 has a nozzle forming surface 21A provided with a plurality of nozzles 17 for ejecting ink as a fluid. A nozzle row 16 is formed for each of the plurality of nozzles 17 on the nozzle forming surface 21A. In each nozzle row 16, for example, different color inks can be ejected. In this embodiment, four rows (16 (Bk), 16 (M), 16 (C), and 16 (Y)) are provided corresponding to the color of the ink. One nozzle row 16 is composed of, for example, 180 nozzles 17.

  FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the recording head 2 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the recording head 2 includes a head main body 18 and a flow path forming unit 22 connected to the head main body 18. The flow path forming unit 22 includes a vibration plate 19, a flow path substrate 20, and a nozzle substrate 21, and forms a common ink chamber 29, an ink supply port 30, and a pressure chamber 31. Further, the flow path forming unit 22 includes an island portion 32 that functions as a diaphragm portion, and a compliance portion 33 that absorbs pressure fluctuation in the common ink chamber 29. The head main body 18 is formed with an accommodation space 23 for accommodating the drive unit 24 together with the fixing member 26, and an internal flow path 28 for guiding ink to the flow path forming unit 22.

  According to the recording head 2 configured as described above, when a drive signal is input to the drive unit 24 via the cable 27, the piezoelectric element 25 expands and contracts. As a result, the diaphragm 19 is deformed (moved) in a direction toward and away from the cavity. For this reason, the volume of the pressure chamber 31 changes and the pressure of the pressure chamber 31 containing ink fluctuates. Ink is ejected from the nozzles 17 due to this pressure fluctuation.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a home position serving as a scanning start point of the recording head 2 is set in an area outside the platen 5 in the moving range of the recording head 2. At this home position, a capping mechanism 11 for performing maintenance processing (suction processing, cleaning processing) for maintaining or recovering good jetting characteristics of the recording head 2 is provided.

  Next, a characteristic configuration of the capping mechanism 11 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the capping mechanism 11 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  The capping mechanism 11 includes a cap member 12, a waste liquid tank 13, a cleaning liquid tank 14, a branch flow path 40, a tube pump (suction device) 50, an opening / closing device 60, and an air release valve 62.

  The cap member 12 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom that opens on the side facing the recording head 2. An opening edge portion of the cap member 12 is formed of an elastic member such as a rubber member, and is in contact with the recording head 2 so as to surround the plurality of nozzles formed on the nozzle forming surface 21A, thereby facing the nozzle. The sealed space A can be formed.

  On the bottom surface of the cap member 12 facing the nozzle forming surface 21A, a cleaning liquid injection port 12b and an atmosphere opening port 12c are formed. Inside the cap member 12, an absorbent material 12 a that absorbs and holds a liquid is provided. The absorbent 12a has an opening H1 that exposes the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b and an opening H2 that exposes the air opening 12c immediately above the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b and just above the atmosphere opening port 12c. The cap member 12 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction by a lifting device (not shown). As the lifting device, for example, a known lifting means such as a mechanism in which a motor and a screw screw are combined, a cam mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, or the like can be used.

  The waste liquid tank 13 stores the liquid sucked and removed from the cap member 12, and an absorbent material 13a for absorbing and holding the waste liquid is provided in the waste liquid tank 13.

  The cleaning liquid tank 14 stores volatile cleaning liquid L used for the cleaning process. The cleaning liquid tank 14 is configured to store a liquid having the same component as the solvent of the ink ejected by the recording head 2 as the cleaning liquid L. The cleaning liquid tank 14 of the present embodiment is configured to store a cleaning liquid L obtained by adding a preservative to pure water corresponding to water-based ink. The cleaning liquid L is not limited to water, and any liquid that can be used as an ink solvent may be used.

  The branch flow path 40 is composed of a flexible tube body, and one end communicates with the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b of the cap member 12, and the other at a predetermined position downstream from the one end (hereinafter referred to as a branch position D). One end of the other end communicates with the waste liquid tank 13 and the other end of the other end communicates with the cleaning liquid tank 14. In the branch flow path 40, the flow path from the cleaning liquid injection port 12b of the cap member 12 to the branch position D is the common flow path 41, and the flow path on the other end from the branch position D to the waste liquid tank 13 is the first flow path. The branch flow path 42A and the flow path on the other end side from the branch position D to the cleaning liquid tank 14 are referred to as a second branch flow path 42B and may be described below.

  The tube pump 50 is provided in the common flow path 41 upstream from the branch position D. The tube pump 50 includes a substantially cylindrical pump case 51 in which a part of the common flow path 41 is curved in an annular shape, a pump wheel 52 provided in the pump case 51 and having its axis as a rotation center, and a pump wheel. A roller member 53 rotatably supported on the outer edge of 52, and a motor 54 that rotates the pump wheel 52 forward (counterclockwise in FIG. 4) and reverse (clockwise in FIG. 4) under the control device CONT. Have

  When the pump wheel 52 rotates in the forward direction, the tube pump 50 performs a revolving drive from one end to the other end while the roller member 53 presses and deforms the inner diameter side of the annular common flow path 41, so that the tube pump 50 moves from one end to the other end. A first suction drive for sucking the inside of the branch channel 40 is performed.

  On the other hand, when the pump wheel 52 is rotated in the reverse direction, the tube pump 50 is driven to revolve from the other end to the one end while the roller member 53 presses and deforms the inner diameter side of the annular common flow path 41, so that the other end to the other end. A second suction drive for sucking the inside of the branch flow path 40 is executed.

  The tube pump 50 has a leak point X at which the amount of pressing deformation of the common channel 41 by the roller member 53 becomes insufficient. The tube pump 50 is configured such that the roller member 53 is positioned at the leak point X at the time of pump release.

The opening / closing device 60 has, under the control device CONT, an opening / closing valve 61A for bringing the first branch flow path 42A into a closed / open state, and an opening / closing valve 61B for closing the second branch flow path 42B into a closed / open state. . The atmosphere release valve 62 allows the atmosphere to flow into the space A surrounded by the nozzle formation surface 21 </ b> A and the cap member 12 via the atmosphere release port 12 c provided on the bottom surface of the cap member 12. It stops the inflow of air. The air release valve 62 switches between maintaining the airtight state of the space A (closed state) and releasing the airtight state (open state) under the control device CONT. Note that a cleaning liquid discharge tube 80 extending to the waste liquid tank 13 is connected to the atmosphere opening valve 62 on the side opposite to the atmosphere opening port 12c.
When the tube pump 50 performs the first suction drive, the opening / closing device 60 of the present embodiment drives the opening / closing valve 61A to open the first branch flow path 42A, and drives the opening / closing valve 61B to drive the second suction. The branch channel 42B is closed. At this time, the air release valve 62 closes the space A and maintains the airtight state.
On the other hand, when the tube pump 50 performs the second suction drive, the opening / closing device 60 drives the opening / closing valve 61A to close the first branch flow path 42A and drives the opening / closing valve 61B to drive the second branch flow. The path 42B is configured to be opened. At this time, the air release valve 62 opens the space A and releases the airtight state.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, operations of the suction process and the cleaning process of the printer 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the flow of fluid when performing the suction process according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the flow of fluid when performing the cleaning process in the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the suction process shown in FIG. 5, first, the control device CONT makes the cap member 12 contact the recording head 2 so as to surround the nozzle forming surface 21 </ b> A, thereby forming the sealed space A. Next, the control device CONT drives the atmosphere release valve 62 to close the space A. Then, a control signal related to the first suction operation is sent to the opening / closing device 60 to drive the opening / closing valve 61A to open the first branch flow path 42A, and to drive the opening / closing valve 61B to drive the second branch flow path 42B. Is closed. Then, the control device CONT sends a control signal related to the first suction operation to the tube pump 50 and causes the motor 54 to drive the pump wheel 52 in the normal direction.

  When the pump wheel 52 is driven to rotate forward, the roller member 53 performs a revolving drive from one end to the other end while pressing and deforming the inner diameter side of the annular common flow path 41, thereby branching from one end to the other end. The inside of the flow path 40 is sucked. Since the common flow path 41 communicates with the cap member 12, when the inside is in a negative pressure state by this suction operation, the sealed space A can be in a negative pressure state. When the sealed space A is in a negative pressure state, ink, bubbles, attached dust, and the like having increased viscosity are forcibly sucked from the nozzles 17 formed on the nozzle forming surface 21A.

  The sucked ink or the like flows through the common channel 41 and reaches the branch position D. At the branch position D, since the second branch flow path 42B is closed by the on-off valve 61B, the sucked ink or the like flows through the open first branch flow path 42A without going to the cleaning liquid tank 14. Then, it is introduced into the waste liquid tank 13.

  In the cleaning process shown in FIG. 6, first, the control device CONT abuts the recording head 2 and the cap member 12 so as to surround the nozzle forming surface 21 </ b> A, and the nozzle forming surface 21 </ b> A and the cap member 12 of the recording head 2. A sealed space A is formed between the two. Next, the control device CONT drives the atmosphere release valve 62 to open the space A. Then, a control signal related to the second suction operation is sent to the opening / closing device 60 to drive the opening / closing valve 61A to close the first branch flow path 42A, and to drive the opening / closing valve 61B to drive the second branch flow path 42B. Let open. Then, the control device CONT sends a control signal related to the second suction operation to the tube pump 50 and causes the motor 54 to drive the pump wheel 52 in the reverse direction.

  When the pump wheel 52 is driven in the reverse direction, the roller member 53 performs a revolving drive from the other end to the one end while pressing and deforming the inner diameter side of the annular common flow path 41, thereby branching the flow from the other end toward the one end. The inside of the path 40 is sucked. At the branch position D, since the first branch flow path 42A is closed by the on-off valve 61A, negative pressure is generated only in the second branch flow path 42B. When the second branch flow path 42B is in a negative pressure state, the cleaning liquid L is sucked from the communicating cleaning liquid tank 14, and the cleaning liquid L is supplied to the cap member 12 via the second branch flow path 42B and the common flow path 41. Then, the cleaning liquid L is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b toward the nozzle forming surface 21A of the recording head 2. Since the space A is in an open state, even if the cleaning liquid L is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b, the pressure inside the space A does not increase. Therefore, a gap is formed between the nozzle forming surface 21A and the cap member 12, and the cleaning liquid or the like does not leak outside from the gap.

  Since the absorbent member 12a is provided with the opening H1 that exposes the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b, the cleaning liquid L ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b is not blocked by the absorbent material 12a, and the nozzle forming surface 21A of the recording head 2 is used. To reach. The cleaning liquid L sprayed toward the nozzle forming surface 21A partially cleans the inner wall surface of the cap member 12, and then passes through the cleaning liquid discharge tube 80 connected to the air release valve 62 and is discharged to the waste liquid tank 13. The At this time, the bottom surface of the cap member 12 where ink is most likely to remain is cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

  Here, since the common flow path 41 is used in common for the suction process and the cleaning process, if there is ink adhering to the inside by the suction process, the ink is washed away by the supply of the cleaning liquid L. The ink of this embodiment is a water-based ink, and the cleaning liquid L is water having the same component as the solvent. Therefore, the ink can be washed without agglomerating pigments and the like, and the ink is fixed inside the common channel 41. Thus, it is possible to prevent problems such as blocking the flow path.

  When the cleaning process of the nozzle forming surface 21 </ b> A and the cap member 12 with the cleaning liquid L is completed, the control device CONT stops the second suction operation of the tube pump 50.

In the printer 1 having the above-described configuration, the cleaning liquid L ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b cleans the nozzle forming surface 21A, and then the space A between the nozzle forming surface 21A and the cap member 12 (facing the space A). A part of the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the cap member 12 and a part of the flow path connected from the cap member 12 to the waste liquid tank 13 are washed and discharged to the waste liquid tank 13. Therefore, the maintenance process for the recording head 2 and the cap member 12 can be performed simultaneously, and the efficiency of the maintenance process can be improved. Further, since the cleaning liquid injection port 12 b is disposed inside the cap member 12, there is little possibility that the cleaning liquid L is scattered around the cap member 12. Further, since the cleaning liquid L discharged from the cleaning liquid injection port 12 b passes through the cleaning liquid discharge tube 80 connected to the air release valve 62 and is discharged to the waste liquid tank 13, the cleaning liquid L may be scattered around the cap member 12. Can be reduced.
Therefore, it is possible to omit or simplify the post-processing for cleaning the cleaning liquid scattered around the cap member 12.

  Further, in the printer 1, a common tube is used to discharge waste liquid from the cap member 12 to the waste liquid tank 13 by the first suction operation and supply processing of the cleaning liquid L from the cleaning liquid tank 14 to the cap member 12 by the second suction operation. It can be implemented by the pump 50. The waste liquid discharge process to the waste liquid tank 1 and the cleaning liquid L supply process to the cap member 12 are both performed via the cleaning liquid injection port 12b. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the fluid discharge port and the cleaning liquid ejection port separately, which contributes to simplification of the cap member 12. Further, since the fluid discharge port and the cleaning liquid injection port can be made common, the cleaning liquid injection port 12b can be enlarged or the cleaning liquid injection port 12b can be provided at a plurality of locations, and the cleaning efficiency is improved. Furthermore, in the printer 1, since the tube pump 50 has a leak point where the amount of pressing deformation of the branch flow path by the roller member 53 becomes insufficient, the cap member 12 can be opened to the atmosphere via the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b. it can. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide an air supply port and a cleaning liquid injection port for releasing the atmosphere, and further contribute to simplification of the cap member 12.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the printer 101 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The printer 101 of the second embodiment is different from the printer 1 of the first embodiment in that a flow path from the cap member 12 to the waste liquid tank 103 and a flow path from the cleaning liquid tank 14 to the cap member 12 are provided separately. Is a point. Therefore, components common to the printer 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The capping mechanism 11 includes a cap member 12, a waste liquid tank 13, a cleaning liquid tank 14, a waste liquid flow path 73, a waste liquid pump (suction device) 71, a cleaning liquid flow path 74, a cleaning liquid pump 72, Is provided.

  The cap member 12 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom that opens on the side facing the recording head 2. An opening edge portion of the cap member 12 is formed of an elastic member such as a rubber member, and is in contact with the recording head 2 so as to surround the plurality of nozzles formed on the nozzle forming surface 21A, thereby facing the nozzle. The sealed space A can be formed.

  A waste liquid discharge port 12d and an air release port 12c are formed on the bottom surface of the cap member 12 facing the nozzle forming surface 21A. A cleaning liquid ejection port 12 b is formed on the side surface of the cap member 12. Inside the cap member 12, an absorbent material 12 a that absorbs and holds a liquid is provided. The absorbent 12a has an opening H1 that exposes the waste liquid discharge port 12d and an opening H2 that exposes the air release port 12c immediately above the waste liquid discharge port 12d and directly above the air release port 12c. The cleaning liquid injection port 12b is formed above the absorbent material 12a so that the cleaning liquid injection port 12b is not blocked by the absorbent material 12a. The piping in the vicinity of the cleaning liquid injection port 12b is disposed obliquely with respect to the side wall of the cap member 12, and the cleaning liquid L is injected obliquely with respect to the nozzle forming surface 21A.

  The waste liquid channel 73 is formed of a flexible tube body, and has one end communicating with the waste liquid discharge port 12 d of the cap member 12 and the other end communicating with the waste liquid tank 13. A waste liquid pump 71 is provided in the middle of the waste liquid flow path 73. The waste liquid pump 71 executes a first suction drive for sucking the waste liquid flow path 73 from one end to the other end of the waste liquid flow path 73.

  The cleaning liquid channel 74 is formed of a flexible tube body, and has one end communicating with the cleaning liquid ejection port 12 b of the cap member 12 and the other end communicating with the cleaning liquid tank 14. A cleaning liquid pump 72 is provided in the cleaning liquid flow path 74. The cleaning liquid pump 72 performs a second suction drive for sucking the cleaning liquid flow path 74 from the other end of the cleaning liquid flow path 74 toward one end.

  The waste liquid pump 71 and the cleaning liquid pump 72 may be tube pumps as shown in the first embodiment, but may be other pumps.

  The atmosphere release valve 62 allows the atmosphere to flow into the space A surrounded by the nozzle formation surface 21 </ b> A and the cap member 12 via the atmosphere release port 12 c provided on the bottom surface of the cap member 12. It stops the inflow of air. The air release valve 62 switches between maintaining the airtight state of the space A (closed state) and releasing the airtight state (open state) under the control device CONT.

  At the time of suction processing, the control device CONT first causes the cap member 12 to contact the recording head 2 so as to surround the nozzle forming surface 21A, thereby forming the sealed space A. Next, the control device CONT drives the atmosphere release valve 62 to close the space A. Then, a control signal related to the first suction operation is sent to the waste liquid pump 71 to bring the sealed space A into a negative pressure state. When the sealed space A is in a negative pressure state, ink, bubbles, attached dust, and the like having increased viscosity are forcibly sucked from the nozzles 17 formed on the nozzle forming surface 21A.

  In the cleaning process, first, the control device CONT brings the recording head 2 and the cap member 12 into contact with each other so as to surround the nozzle forming surface 21 </ b> A, and between the nozzle forming surface 21 </ b> A of the recording head 2 and the cap member 12. A sealed space A is formed. Next, the control device CONT drives the atmosphere release valve 62 to open the space A. Then, a control signal related to the second suction operation is sent to the cleaning liquid pump 72, the cleaning liquid L is sucked from the cleaning liquid tank 14, and the cleaning liquid L is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b toward the nozzle forming surface 21A of the recording head 2. Since the space A is in an open state, even if the cleaning liquid L is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b, the pressure inside the space A does not increase. Therefore, a gap is formed between the nozzle forming surface 21A and the cap member 12, and the cleaning liquid or the like does not leak outside from the gap.

  The cleaning liquid L ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b cleans the entire nozzle forming surface 21A. A part of the cleaning liquid L is discharged to the waste liquid tank 13 along the bottom surface of the cap member 12 after cleaning the inner wall surface of the cap member 12. At this time, the bottom surface of the cap member 12 where ink is most likely to remain is cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

  When the cleaning process of the nozzle formation surface 21A and the cap member 12 with the cleaning liquid L is completed, the control device CONT stops the second suction operation of the cleaning liquid pump 72.

  Also in the printer 101 configured as described above, the cleaning liquid L ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection port 12b cleans the nozzle forming surface 21A, and then the space A between the nozzle forming surface 21A and the cap member 12 (facing the space A). A part of the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the cap member 12 and a part of the flow path connected from the cap member 12 to the waste liquid tank 13 are washed and discharged to the waste liquid tank 13. Therefore, the maintenance process for the recording head 2 and the cap member 12 can be performed simultaneously, and the efficiency of the maintenance process can be improved. Further, since the cleaning liquid injection port 12 b is disposed inside the cap member 12, there is little possibility that the cleaning liquid L is scattered around the cap member 12. Therefore, it is possible to omit or simplify the post-processing for cleaning the cleaning liquid scattered around the cap member 12.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring drawings, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described embodiments are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the fluid ejecting apparatus is a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid (liquid material) such as ink has been described as an example. However, the fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention is not limited to ink. The present invention can be applied to a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges another fluid. The fluid that can be ejected by the fluid ejecting apparatus includes a fluid, a liquid material in which particles of a functional material are dispersed or dissolved, and a gel-like fluid.

  Further, the fluid ejecting apparatus may be a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, or a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid that is used as a precision pipette and serves as a sample.

  In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resins to form fluid injection devices that inject lubricating oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements, etc. May be a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate, or a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects gel. The present invention can be applied to any one of these fluid ejecting apparatuses.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer (fluid ejecting apparatus), 2 ... Recording head (fluid ejecting head), 12 ... Cap member, 12b ... Cleaning liquid ejection port, 13 ... Waste liquid tank, 14 ... Cleaning liquid tank, 17 ... Nozzle, 21A ... Nozzle formation surface, 40 ... Branching channel, 50 ... Tube pump (suction device), 53 ... Roller member, 60 ... Opening / closing device, A ... Space, L ... Cleaning liquid, X ... Leak point.

Claims (5)

A fluid ejecting head having a nozzle forming surface on which nozzles are formed;
A cap member in close contact with the nozzle forming surface in a state having a space in a region facing the nozzle;
A fluid ejecting apparatus, comprising: a cleaning liquid ejection port that is disposed inside the space and ejects a cleaning liquid toward the nozzle forming surface. One end communicates with the cleaning liquid injection port of the cap member, and the other end branches into two at a predetermined position downstream from the one end. One end of the other end communicates with a waste liquid tank, and the other end of the other end A branch flow path communicating with a cleaning liquid tank for storing the cleaning liquid;
A first suction operation that is provided upstream from the predetermined position and sucks the flow path from the one end toward the other end; and a first suction operation that sucks the flow path from the other end toward the one end. A suction device capable of performing two suction operations;
When the first suction operation is performed, the flow path on the one side of the other end is opened and the flow path on the other side of the other end is closed. When the second suction operation is performed, the other end The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an opening / closing device that closes the flow path on the one side and opens the flow path on the other side of the other end.   The suction device bends a part of the branch channel upstream of the predetermined position in an annular shape, and presses and deforms the inner diameter side of the annular branch channel with a roller member to the branch channel. The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fluid ejecting apparatus is a tube pump that performs the first suction operation and the second suction operation by rotating the roller member forward or reverse along the roller member.   The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the suction device has a leak point at which a pressing deformation amount of the branch flow path by the roller member becomes insufficient. The cap member has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an opening on the side facing the nozzle forming surface,
The fluid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid ejection port is formed on a bottom surface of the cap member that faces the nozzle formation surface.

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