JP2012245704A - Inkjet recording device and suction conveyor belt cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording device and conveyor belt cleaning device, capable of efficiently removing an ink adhered to a conveyor belt for conveying a recording medium.SOLUTION: A suction port having narrow and small points at the rear of the transportation direction and formed into a tear-drop shape is formed at the conveyor belt 21, a groove is formed on the surface of a tension roller 24 which maintains the tension of the conveyor belt 21 at prescribed tension, and the dust of the suction port is removed by a brush roller which is arranged at a position opposing the tension roller 24 with the conveyor belt 21 sandwiched therebetween.

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus and a suction conveyance belt cleaning apparatus having functions of a facsimile, a copying machine, a printer, and the like. Specifically, an ink jet recording apparatus and a suction device including a transport unit that transports a recording medium in close contact with the surface of the endless belt, and a cleaning unit that cleans paper dust or the like attached to the surface of the endless belt. The present invention relates to a conveyor belt cleaning device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an ink jet recording apparatus that performs image recording by transporting a recording medium by an endless transport belt and discharging ink from the recording head toward the recording medium in the transport process. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, the recording medium is transported in close contact with the endless transport belt surface by suction or electrostatic suction by a fan. When the recording medium is transported to perform a recording operation, ink may be ejected onto the transport belt instead of the recording medium due to a poor transport of the recording medium. Ink mist generated by ejecting ink from the recording head may cause ink to adhere to the conveyor belt and stain the conveyor belt. If the ink ejected on the conveying belt is left unattended, the ink adheres to the back surface of the recording medium to be conveyed next, and the recording quality is lowered, or the ink lowers the surface resistance of the conveying belt. . Further, when ink mist adheres to the paper dust attached to the suction port of the transport belt and closes the suction port, the performance of adsorbing the recording medium is lowered, and the problem of lowering the transport performance of the recording medium occurs.

  For this reason, conventionally, a cleaning means for removing ink adhering to the transport belt is provided. As such cleaning means, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration including a blade that abuts on the conveyance belt and an absorption roller that abuts the conveyance belt on the downstream side of the blade in the rotation direction of the conveyance belt. In the configuration of Patent Document 1, ink is wiped with a blade, and ink remaining after wiping is absorbed with an absorption roller, and the ink is removed from the conveyance belt. In addition to this configuration, by providing a plurality of cleaning rollers, it is possible to perform efficient cleaning without causing ink residue.

JP 2004-137032 A

  However, when the configuration of Patent Document 1 is used, paper dust generated by rubbing or the like during conveyance of the recording medium, ink mist discharged from the recording apparatus, or dirt or the like with ink mist adhering to the paper dust is sucked and conveyed. The toner adheres to the belt, and dirt is transferred to the back surface of the recording medium during the recording operation. As a result, the recording quality is lowered. Furthermore, the accumulation of dirt in the suction port of the transport belt reduces the suction force, which causes a problem of reducing the transport performance and recording accuracy of the recording medium.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an inkjet recording apparatus and a conveyor belt cleaning apparatus that can efficiently remove ink adhering to a conveyor belt that conveys a recording medium.

  For this reason, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention sucks the suction port provided in the transport belt, thereby urging the transport belt and the recording means for recording on the recording medium held and transported. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a cylindrical stretching unit that maintains a tension of the transport belt at a predetermined tension; and a rubbing unit that rubs a surface of the transport belt that transports the recording medium. The stretching means includes a groove on a surface in contact with the conveyance belt, and the suction port of the conveyance belt has a tear drop shape having a narrow portion on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the sliding The rubbing means is formed in a roller shape with bristles planted around a shaft, and the rubbing means sandwiches the conveying belt at a position where the stretching means and the conveying belt are in contact with each other. Sulfur butterfly rack means provided on a position opposed to the time of rubbing the conveyor belt, said bristles collect dust in a narrow portion of the suction port, and removing.

  According to the present invention, the stretching means provided in the ink jet recording apparatus includes a groove on the surface in contact with the conveyance belt, and the suction port of the conveyance belt has a narrow portion on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. Drop shape. The rubbing means provided in the ink jet recording apparatus is formed in a roller shape with bristles planted around the shaft, and the stretch means is sandwiched between the transport belt at a position where the stretch means and the transport belt are in contact with each other. It is provided at a position facing the means. Then, when the rubbing means rubs the conveying belt, the brush bristles collect and remove dust at a narrow portion of the suction port. As a result, an ink jet recording apparatus and a transport belt cleaning apparatus capable of efficiently removing ink adhering to the transport belt that transports the recording medium can be realized.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical system | strain of the recording device of FIG. 1, and a post-processing part. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a recording conveyance portion of the recording apparatus. It is the schematic of a tension roller. It is the schematic which showed the tension roller and the conveyance belt. It is the schematic of a brush roller and a conveyance belt. It is the figure which showed the tension roller of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic side view of the recording conveyance part of the recording device in 3rd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Regarding the inkjet recording apparatus>
The configuration and operation of an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as a recording apparatus) 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. The recording apparatus 1 is a line-type ink jet recording apparatus that includes a paper feed unit 10, a transport unit 20, a head unit 30, a paper discharge unit 40, and the like. The paper feed unit 10 includes a paper feed tray 11 that stores and stacks a plurality of recording media P1, a takeout unit 12 that takes out the recording media P1 one by one from the paper feed tray 11, and a recording medium that is taken out by the takeout unit 12 And a first transport roller 25 that sandwiches P1 and transports it to the transport unit 20. The recording medium P1 is a variety of paper such as plain paper, recycled paper, glossy paper, OHP sheet, or a cut sheet made of various fabrics, various non-woven fabrics, resin, metal, glass, or the like. May be.

  The transport unit 20 supports the first guide member 26 that guides the recording medium P <b> 1 transported from the first transport roller 25 toward the second transport roller 27, and the recording medium P <b> 1 transported from the second transport roller 27. And an annular conveying belt 21 for conveying in the arrow X direction. Further, the transport unit 20 includes a pressing roller 24 that presses the recording medium P1 transported from the second transport roller 27 onto the transport belt 21, a third transport roller 70 that transports the transport medium 21 from the transport belt 21 to the post-processing unit 2, It has. Further, the transport unit 20 includes a second guide member 29 that guides the recording medium P <b> 1 transported from the transport belt 21 toward the third transport roller 25. The transport belt 21 is stretched by a plurality of stretching rollers 23 and a driving roller 22 that rotates the transport belt 21. A recording head unit 30 that ejects ink and records an image on the recording medium P1 is provided at a recording position where an image is formed on the recording medium P facing the image forming surface 28 formed by the stretching roller 23. .

  The recording head unit 30 that records an image on the recording medium P <b> 1 by the inkjet method is disposed on the upper portion of the conveyance belt 21. The recording head unit 30 includes, in order along the arrow X direction, a recording head 31 that ejects black ink, a recording head 32 that ejects cyan ink, a recording head 33 that ejects magenta ink, and a yellow ink. And a recording head 34 for discharging the ink. Each recording head is provided with a plurality of nozzles that eject ink onto the recording medium P1. Generally, there are a bubble jet method and a piezo method as a method for ejecting ink onto the recording medium P1. The bubble jet method is a method in which ink in the vicinity of the heater is boiled by using a heater that generates heat when energized, and ink in the nozzle is discharged from the nozzle outlet to the outside of the nozzle. The piezo method is a method of changing the ink volume in the nozzle by using a piezo element (piezoelectric element) that deforms when a voltage is applied, and discharging the ink in the nozzle from the nozzle outlet to the outside of the nozzle. The recording apparatus of the present embodiment also uses the above method to eject ink from the head unit 30 onto the recording medium P1 and record an image on the recording medium P1. Thereafter, the recording medium P1 is sequentially discharged to the post-processing unit 2.

<Regarding control of inkjet recording apparatus>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical system between the ink jet recording apparatus 1 and the post-processing unit 2 of FIG. Image data and commands transmitted from the host PC 312 are received by the CPU 100 via the interface controller 102. The CPU 100 is an arithmetic processing unit that performs overall control such as reception of image data, recording operation, and handling of a recording medium. After analyzing the received command, the CPU 100 renders the image data of each color component of the recording data by developing a bitmap on the image memory 106. The CPU 100 controls a head up / down motor 118 that moves the recording heads 31, 32, 33, and 34 toward the conveyance unit 20, and a conveyance motor 120 that drives the conveyance unit 20 that conveys the recording medium P1. Further, the CPU 100 includes a capping motor 122 that drives a cap mechanism (not shown) that covers each nozzle of the recording heads 31, 32, 33, and 34 at appropriate times, and a pump motor 124 that drives a pump that supplies ink to each recording head. Control. Further, the CPU 100 controls the recording head control circuit 112 that controls the recording heads 31, 32, 33, and 34 that perform the recording operation on the recording medium P1, and the sheet post-processing control unit 211 that controls the post-processing unit 2.

  As an operation process before recording, the capping motor 122 and the head up / down motor 118 are driven via the output port 114 and the motor driving unit 116, and the cap mechanism is separated from each recording head 31, 32, 33, 34. Thereafter, the recording head unit 30 is moved to a recording position where an image is recorded on the recording medium P1. Subsequently, the conveyance motor 120 that conveys the recording medium P1 is driven via the output port 114 and the motor driving unit 116 to convey the recording medium P1 to the recording position on the conveyance unit 20. A leading edge detection sensor (not shown) for determining the timing (recording timing) of ejecting ink onto the recording medium P1 conveyed at a constant speed by the conveying unit 20 is on the conveying unit 20 upstream of the recording head unit 30 in the arrow X direction. Thus, the leading end position of the recording medium P1 is detected. Thereafter, in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording medium P1, the CPU 100 sequentially reads the recording data of the corresponding color from the image memory 106, and the recording head control circuit 112 is supplied to each recording head 31, 32, 33, 34. Send through.

  When the user uses the recording apparatus 1, the operation panel 110 performs processing on the size information of the recording medium P <b> 1 and the recording medium P <b> 1 (for example, the bundle of the recording media P <b> 1 is processed by the post-processing unit 2. Information on an instruction to perform stapling processing to be bound can be input. Further, the operation panel 110 can display information such as an operation state of the recording apparatus 1 and the post-processing unit 2 and an error message. The operation of the CPU 100 is executed based on a processing program stored in the program ROM 104. The program ROM 104 stores processing programs and tables corresponding to the control flow. A work RAM 108 is used as a working memory. During the cleaning and recovery operations of the recording heads 31, 32, 33, and 34, the CPU 100 drives the pump motor 124 via the output port 114 and the motor driving unit 116 to control ink pressurization and suction.

<Regarding details of the invention>
In such a recording apparatus, paper dust generated by rubbing between the recording medium P1 and the guide member, etc., ink mist discharged from the recording apparatus 1, and dirt or the like with ink mist adhering to the paper powder are sucked and conveyed by the belt. 21 may adhere. If this is left unattended, dirt adheres to the back surface of the recording medium P1 during the recording operation to lower the recording quality, or dirt is accumulated in the suction port of the suction conveyance belt 21, so that the adsorbing performance is lowered. There may be a problem that the conveyance performance and recording accuracy of the medium P1 are lowered.

  Therefore, in this application, in order to efficiently clean dirt on the suction port of the transport belt, the shape of the suction port is a teardrop-shaped transport belt having a semicircular portion and a tail portion (narrow spot) extending rearward in the transport direction. It has. Furthermore, the brush roller is brought into contact with the conveyor belt at a position opposite to the tension roller having a groove, and the brush bristles of the brush roller pass through the suction port at the suction port, and dirt is downstream of the suction port. By scraping it together in a narrow area, it prevents the suction efficiency from decreasing due to dirt.

  Details of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a recording conveyance portion of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. The driving roller 22 and the driven roller 23 are juxtaposed at a predetermined interval, and a cylindrical tension roller 24 for applying an appropriate tension to the conveying belt 21 is disposed below the driving roller 22 and the driven roller 23. ing. A conveying belt 21 having a teardrop-shaped suction port is stretched across the driving roller 22, the driven roller 23, and the tension roller 24. The tension roller 24 is stretched in this manner and the tension roller 24 is urged, so that a predetermined tension of the conveyor belt 21 is maintained. As an example of means for adsorbing the recording medium P1, a fan 60 is installed in the belt conveyance device. The head unit 30 is a line-type recording head that is formed in a long shape and is fixedly installed over the width direction of the recording medium P1.

  The cleaning device (suction conveyance belt cleaning device) 3 is disposed near the tension roller 24 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 21 with respect to the installation position of the head unit 30. The cleaning device 3 includes a brush roller 50. The arrangement position of the brush roller 50 is on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 21 with respect to the arrangement position of the head unit 30, and after the recording medium P1 is peeled from the surface of the conveyance belt 21, as shown in the drawing, the tension roller It is in a position opposite to the 24 roller arrangement portions. Since this part is supported by a tension roller 24 having a spiral groove on the back side of the conveying belt 21, the endless belt 21 is chattered or fluttered by the rotation of the brush roller 50 when the conveying belt 21 is operated. This can be prevented. Further, since chatter and flutter do not occur, the contact force of the brush roller 50 with respect to the conveying belt 21 can be stabilized, and the effect of removing ink or the like can be further enhanced. In order to collect the dirt scraped off by the brush roller 50, a dirt collection box 51 is provided so as to surround the brush roller 50. When a certain amount of dirt accumulates, the dirt collection box 50 can be pulled out from the front of the main body and cleaned.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the tension roller 24. The tension roller 24 has a spiral groove formed on the surface of the roller in contact with the conveyor belt 21. The helical groove width L1 provided on the surface of the tension roller 24 is set to be larger than the teardrop-shaped suction port diameter L2 of the conveyor belt 21, and the groove width L1 = 3 mm and the suction port diameter L2 = φ2 mm. Yes. By making the helical groove width L1 larger than the suction port diameter L2 of the transport belt 21, the brush bristles 50b of the brush roller 50 surely penetrate the suction port of the transport belt 21. Since the tension roller 24 always applies tension to the transport belt 21 by an elastic member such as a spring member, the tension roller 24 is always in contact with the transport belt 21 and the drive is transmitted from the transport belt 21 so that the tension roller 24 rotates.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the tension roller 24 and the conveyance belt 21. The surface of the conveyor belt 21 is a recording medium conveyance surface, and the driving roller 22 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3 at a predetermined speed by the rotational drive of a motor (not shown). The transport belt 21 is driven so that the recording medium P1 sucked and held by the suction fan 60 on the surface thereof is continuously transported at a constant speed in the A direction indicated by the arrow.

  The recording medium P1 is brought into close contact with the transport belt 21 by the suction fan 60. Further, the recording medium P may be attracted to the surface of the transport belt 21 by electrostatic attraction. As the recording medium P1, for example, a recording medium usually used for ink jet recording such as paper, fabric, plastic film, glass plate, or the like can be used. The recording medium P1 may be in the form of a sheet cut to a predetermined size, or may be in the form of a long sheet that is continuously fed from the original winding wound in a roll shape.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the suction port of the transport belt 21 has a teardrop shape having a narrow portion on the downstream side in the transport direction (in this specification, the shape of the suction port of FIG. 5 is a teardrop shape). I will call it). By making the suction port into a teardrop shape in this way, when the brush roller 50 scrapes off dust or the like in the suction port, the brush bristles 50b once collect the dust and the like in the narrow area downstream of the suction port. It can be scraped off by rubbing means such as the roller 50. As a result, dust and the like in the suction port can be removed efficiently and completely. The suction ports of the transport belt 21 are arranged at intervals overlapping the groove portion of the tension roller 24. There is a timing at which the suction port of the conveyor belt 21 overlaps the spiral groove of the tension roller 24 by the rotation of the conveyor belt 21. Simultaneously with the rotation operation of the conveyance belt 21, the brush roller 50 rotates while contacting the conveyance belt 21. At this time, the bristles 50b of the brush roller 50 pass through the suction port and reach the grooves of the tension roller 24, whereby the dust and the like at the suction port of the transport belt 21 are scraped off. The scraped dust is configured to enter the dirt collection box 51 disposed so as to surround the brush roller 50, and the dust in the dirt collection box 51 is collected by the user as needed.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the brush roller 50 and the conveyor belt 21. The brush roller 50 is formed in a roller shape by brushing bristles 50b around the brush shaft 50a (only a part of the bristles are shown in the figure). The length of the brush shaft 50 a is formed to be the same as or slightly longer than the width of the tension roller 24, and the tip of the brush bristles 50 b is always in elastic contact with the surface of the transport belt 21. The brush bristles 50b pass through the suction port of the conveyor belt 21 when passing. In this way, the brush bristles 50b are configured to penetrate the suction port, thereby scraping off dust adhering to the edge of the suction port.

  As a form of the flocking configuration of the brush bristles 50b, it is preferable that the flocks are radially densely implanted on the entire outer peripheral surface of the brush shaft 50a. The physical properties of the brush hair are nylon, brush thickness = 1.7T (1.5D), and brush hair length = 1 to 1.5 mm. Then, the flocked rows that are densely planted along the length direction of the brush shaft 50a are arranged along the circumferential direction of the brush shaft 50a at the same interval as the suction port interval of the conveying belt 21. The arrangement position of the brush roller 50 is on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 21 with respect to the arrangement position of the head unit 30, and after the recording medium P1 is peeled from the surface of the conveyance belt 21, as shown in the drawing, the tension roller It is in a position opposite to the 24 roller arrangement portions. In this part, the belt is supported by a constant tension (total pressure 4 to 6 kg / f) by a tension roller 24 having a spiral groove on the back side of the conveying belt 21. As a result, it is possible to reduce the vibration of the endless belt 21 due to the rotation of the brush roller 50 during the operation of the conveying belt 21, and the effect of removing ink or the like can be further enhanced.

  In FIG. 6, since the rotation direction of the conveyor belt 21 is counterclockwise, the brush roller 50 is driven by a driving unit (not shown) so as to rotate in the reverse direction (clockwise) with respect to the rotation direction of the conveyor belt. By providing a speed difference between the rotation speed of the brush roller 50 and the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt 21, the surface of the conveyance belt 21 is rubbed by the brush bristles 50b, and the ink attached to the conveyance belt surface or the suction port Foreign substances such as dust and dirt can be removed more effectively.

  In this way, a teardrop-shaped suction port having a narrow portion at the rear in the transport direction is provided on the transport belt, a groove is formed on the surface of the tension roller, and the tension belt is provided at a position facing the tension roller across the transport belt. Remove dust from the suction port with a brush roller. As a result, an ink jet recording apparatus and a transport belt cleaning apparatus capable of efficiently removing ink adhering to the transport belt that transports the recording medium can be realized.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing the tension roller of the present embodiment. In the first embodiment, the tension roller is provided with a spiral groove. However, the tension roller according to this embodiment includes a plurality of parallel grooves. The interval between the grooves is the same as the interval between the suction ports provided in the conveyance belt 21. In the configuration of the present embodiment, when the conveyance belt 21 and the tension roller are in contact with each other, the suction port is always the groove. It becomes the position that overlaps. As in the first embodiment, the brush bristles 50b of the brush roller 50 penetrate through the suction port and collect dirt into a narrow area downstream of the suction port, thereby preventing a reduction in suction efficiency due to dirt. Can do.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a recording conveyance portion of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the brush roller 50 is used to scrape off the belt dirt, and the ink remaining after the scraping is absorbed by the absorbing roller to remove the ink from the conveying belt 21. This makes it possible to perform more efficient transport belt cleaning.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording device 21 Conveyance belt 24 Tension roller 30 Head unit 40 Paper discharge part 50 Brush roller 60 Suction fan P1 Recording medium

Claims (7)

The suction means provided in the transport belt sucks the recording medium for recording on the recording medium held and transported, and the transport belt is biased so that the tension of the transport belt is predetermined. In an inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a cylindrical stretching means for maintaining the tension of the recording medium; and a rubbing means for rubbing a surface of the conveying belt that conveys the recording medium.
The stretching means includes a groove on a surface in contact with the transport belt,
The suction port of the transport belt has a teardrop shape having a narrow portion on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium,
The rubbing means is formed in a roller shape with brush hairs planted around the shaft,
The rubbing means is provided at a position where the tensioning means and the transport belt are in contact with each other with the transport belt sandwiched therebetween, and when the transport belt is rubbed, An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the brush bristles collect and remove dust in a narrow portion of the suction port.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the groove provided in the stretching means is a spiral groove.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the groove provided in the stretching unit is a groove parallel to a conveyance direction of the recording medium.   4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the groove provided in the stretching means is a plurality of grooves.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the groove provided in the stretching unit has a width wider than a diameter of the suction port of the conveyance belt.   6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt is an endless belt. A conveying means for holding and conveying the recording medium by being sucked by a suction port provided in the conveying belt;
Cylindrical stretching means for maintaining the tension of the conveyor belt at a predetermined tension by urging the conveyor belt;
Rubbing means for rubbing the surface of the transport belt for transporting the recording medium;
In the suction conveyance belt cleaning device comprising:
The stretching means includes a groove on a surface in contact with the transport belt,
The suction port of the transport belt has a teardrop shape having a narrow portion on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium,
The rubbing means is formed in a roller shape with brush hairs planted around the shaft,
The rubbing means is provided at a position where the tensioning means and the transport belt are in contact with each other with the transport belt sandwiched therebetween, and when the transport belt is rubbed, The suction conveyance belt cleaning device, wherein the brush bristles collect and remove dust in a narrow portion of the suction port.

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