JP2013001069A - Inkjet recording apparatus and ink absorption method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording apparatus capable of making a waste ink absorber efficiently absorb ink discharged from a recovery mechanism.SOLUTION: The inkjet recording apparatus includes: a recording head 1 including a face 1a for ejecting the ink; the recovery mechanism 100 to suck the ink from the face 1a at predetermined negative pressure and discharge the sucked ink; the waste ink absorber 123 to absorb the ink discharged from the recovery mechanism 100; a moving mechanism to move the waste ink absorber 123 in a moving direction perpendicular to the ink discharging direction; and a control unit to set the moving distance of the waste ink absorber 123 when the recovery mechanism 100 discharges the ink, and control the moving mechanism so that the waste ink absorber 123 may absorb the ink while moving by the set moving distance. The control unit sets the moving distance longer as the amount of ink discharged from the recovery mechanism 100 becomes larger.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a recovery mechanism for discharging ink sucked from a recording head, and an ink absorbing method for absorbing ink discharged from the recovery mechanism in the ink jet recording apparatus.

  Some inkjet recording apparatuses include a recovery mechanism that sucks ink from nozzles in order to eliminate clogging of nozzles that eject ink. The recovery mechanism discharges the sucked ink toward the waste ink absorber, and the waste ink absorber absorbs the ink. In the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the ink discharged from the recovery mechanism is dropped at a fixed position on the waste ink absorber and diffused depending on the capillary force of the waste ink absorber. For this reason, it is difficult to sufficiently diffuse the ink to every corner of the waste ink absorber. As a result, there is a problem that the ink is solidified in the vicinity of the dropping portion. Therefore, a recording apparatus for solving such a problem has been proposed and disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the sheet-like waste ink absorber moves intermittently, whereby ink drops at a plurality of locations on the waste ink absorber. As a result, the ink can be diffused and absorbed in a plurality of locations of the waste ink absorber.

JP 2004-291436 A

  In the ink jet recording apparatus, the ink discharge amount of the recovery mechanism is not always constant. However, when the waste ink absorber absorbs ink while moving monotonously over a certain distance as in the recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the waste ink absorber has the same distance as when the ink discharge amount is small or large. To move. In this case, since the waste ink absorber does not efficiently absorb the ink, the volume of the waste ink absorber must be increased more than necessary.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus and an ink absorbing method capable of efficiently absorbing ink discharged from a recovery mechanism by a waste ink absorber.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention includes a recording head having a face surface for ejecting ink, and sucking the ink from the face surface with a predetermined negative pressure, and discharging the sucked ink. A recovery mechanism, a waste ink absorber that absorbs ink discharged from the recovery mechanism, a movement mechanism that moves the waste ink absorber in a movement direction that intersects the discharge direction of the ink, and the recovery mechanism A controller configured to set a moving distance of the waste ink absorber when the ink is discharged, and to control the moving mechanism so that the waste ink absorber absorbs ink while moving the set moving distance; And the controller sets the moving distance longer as the amount of ink discharged from the recovery mechanism is larger.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ink absorbing method of the present invention includes a recording head having a face surface for ejecting ink, and sucking the ink from the face surface with a predetermined negative pressure, and discharging the sucked ink. In an ink absorption method performed in an ink jet recording apparatus having a recovery mechanism that absorbs ink discharged from the recovery mechanism, the waste ink absorber is discharged when the recovery mechanism discharges the ink. A first step of setting a moving distance of the second ink, and a first step of absorbing the ink while the waste ink absorber moves in the direction intersecting the ink discharging direction with the moving distance set in the first step. And in the first step, the moving distance is set longer as the ink discharge amount of the recovery mechanism is larger. To.

  According to the present invention, the moving distance of the waste ink absorber is set longer as the ink discharge amount of the recovery mechanism is larger. Thus, by setting the moving distance of the waste ink absorber according to the ink discharge amount, the waste ink absorber can efficiently absorb the ink.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the inkjet recording device of Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration in the vicinity of an ink discharge port in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. In the ink jet recording apparatus of Embodiment 1, it is a figure which shows the case where the material provided with the diffusion anisotropy is employ | adopted for the waste ink absorber. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical control configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a recovery operation procedure of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure for setting a moving distance of a waste ink absorber in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a recovery operation procedure of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure for setting a moving distance of a waste ink absorber in Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical control configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to a third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a recovery operation procedure of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a fifth embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1A is a front view when viewed from the paper discharge side, and FIG. 1B is a right side view. In FIG. 1, an exterior unit not related to the present invention is omitted for simplification.

  The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a recording head 1 having a face surface 1a for ejecting ink. The recording head 1 is mounted on the carriage 2. The carriage 2 is moved along the guide member 5 by the carriage motor 7.

  When the recording head 1 is left for a long period of time, there is a possibility that the ink is not discharged well. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment is provided with a recovery mechanism 100 that sucks ink from the face surface 1a and discharges the sucked ink. In the recovery mechanism 100, the rotating member 121 presses the tube 122 made of an elastic material while rotating. As a result, a negative pressure is generated in the tube 122, and ink is sucked from the recording head 1 by the negative pressure. The rotating member 121 is driven by a pump drive motor 127. The tube 122 is connected to the cap protection member 119. The cap protection member 119 is configured to be movable up and down by driving means (not shown) (see arrow K in FIG. 1A). The ink sucked from the recording head 1 is discharged to the waste ink absorber 123 through the ink discharge port 153 (see FIG. 2).

  In this embodiment, the waste ink absorber 123 has an endless belt shape (ring shape). The waste ink absorber 123 is moved by the moving mechanism in the movement direction of the waste ink absorber 123 that intersects the ink discharge direction (the J direction in FIG. 1A). In the present embodiment, the moving mechanism includes a pair of rollers 124 and 125 and an absorber moving motor 316 that drives the rollers 124 and 125. The rollers 124 and 125 are arranged away from each other in the moving direction of the waste ink absorber 123 and are configured to be able to rotate in the same direction. When the absorber moving motor 316 rotates the rollers 124 and 125 in the same direction, the waste ink absorber 123 moves. In the present embodiment, the rollers 124 and 125 rotate counterclockwise. In this embodiment, since the waste ink absorber 123 has an endless belt shape, the peripheral length Lf of the waste ink absorber 123 is set to a length that can absorb the ink discharged within the lifetime of the apparatus.

  A temperature / humidity sensor 315 and a moisture amount sensor 307 are provided in the vicinity of the ink discharge port 152 and upstream of the movement path of the waste ink absorber 123. In the present embodiment, the moisture sensor 307 is an infrared moisture meter that measures the amount of moisture per unit volume of the waste ink absorber 123.

  A measuring unit 320 is provided in the middle of the tube 122. The measurement unit 320 measures the ink discharge amount of the recovery mechanism 100. In the present embodiment, the measurement unit 320 includes a pair of electrodes that are arranged apart from each other, and the electrical resistance value between the electrodes changes according to the amount of ink moisture existing between the electrodes.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the ink outlet in the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of ink discharge ports 153 are arranged on the slope 152 of the spraying member 151 disposed below the lower end opening 150 of the tube 122. The slope 152 is the highest from the waste ink absorber 123 right below the lower end opening 150 of the tube 122 and decreases as it approaches the end in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction (J direction). A plurality of ink discharge ports 153 are formed on the inclined surface 152 at intervals and hole diameters such that ink is discharged substantially uniformly in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the waste ink absorber 123. The ink discharged from the lower end opening 150 of the tube 122 is dropped almost uniformly from the ink discharge port 153 toward the waste ink absorber 123 on the inclined surface 152 of the spray member 151.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a case where a material having diffusion anisotropy is used for the waste ink absorber 123. When the material of the waste ink absorber 123 has diffusion anisotropy, the fibers are aligned in the y direction orthogonal to the movement direction (J direction) of the waste ink absorber 123 as shown in the cross section 98. ing. As a result, the waste ink absorber 123 has the y-direction diffusion velocity Vdiffy faster than the x-direction diffusion velocity Vdifx orthogonal to the y-direction. When ink is dropped onto the waste ink absorber 123 from the lower end opening 150 of the tube 122, the ink is diffused substantially uniformly in the y direction. In this case, the spray member 151 is not necessary as shown in FIG.

  Next, an electrical control configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical control configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ink jet recording apparatus 300 of the present embodiment is provided with a control mechanism 19. The control mechanism 19 includes an ASIC 304 (control unit), a RAM 305, and a ROM 306 (storage unit). In the control mechanism 19, the ASIC 304 performs control operations according to various programs such as a control program stored in the ROM 306. An operation procedure in which the ASIC 304 sets the movement distance of the waste ink absorber 123 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The ASIC 304 calculates the allowable ink absorption amount Hc per unit volume of the waste ink absorber 123 using the following Equation 1 (step S202).

In Equation (1), Hmax (g / cm ³ ) represents the maximum amount of ink absorbed per unit volume of the waste ink absorber 123. W (g / cm ³ ) represents the saturated water content of the waste ink absorber 123. The saturated water content W is measured using the temperature / humidity sensor 315 or the water content sensor 307.

  When measuring the saturated moisture amount W using the temperature / humidity sensor 315, the ASIC 304 obtains the saturated moisture amount W corresponding to the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity sensor 315 from the isothermal moisture absorption curve. Data relating to the isothermal moisture absorption curve is stored in the ROM 306.

  On the other hand, when measuring the saturated moisture amount W using the moisture amount sensor 307, the ASIC 304 sets the measured value of the moisture amount sensor 307 as the saturated moisture amount W.

  Next, the ASIC 304 specifies the ink discharge amount (moisture amount) Vink (g / s) discharged per unit time from the measurement result of the measurement unit 320, and sets the target movement distance Li for the i-th control as follows. Calculation is performed using Equation 2 (step S203).

  In Equation 2, S is a cross-sectional area of the cross section of the waste ink absorber 123 perpendicular to the moving direction.

  In step S203, when data indicating the ink discharge amount for each negative pressure selectable by the recovery mechanism 100 is stored in the ROM 306, the ASIC 304 reads the ink discharge amount corresponding to the selected negative pressure from the data. It may be. In the case of this configuration, the measurement unit 320 is not necessary.

  The waste ink absorber 123 preferably moves the target movement distance Li calculated from Equation 2. However, in this embodiment, a motor (absorber moving motor 316) is used as the moving mechanism of the waste ink absorber 123. Therefore, the actual moving distance Ai is a discrete distance for each distance Ls determined by the motor step angle and the like. The step of calculating the movement distance Ai (step S204) will be described. The moving distance Ai is determined by the calculation result of the following formula 3.

  In Equation 3, G (i−1) represents the difference of discretization for the i−1th time (A (i−1) −L (i−1)). n indicates the quotient of division and u indicates the remainder. n is an integer, and 0 ≦ u ≦ Ls.

  When u = 0, the movement distance Ai is calculated by the following mathematical formula 4.

  When u ≠ 0, the movement distance Ai is calculated by the following formula 5.

  After calculating the movement distance Ai, the ASIC 304 stores the i-th difference Gi (Gi = Ai−Li) between the Ai and Li in the ROM 306. The waste ink absorber 123 sucks ink while moving the moving distance Ai, whereby the ink is absorbed by the waste ink absorber 123 up to the allowable absorption amount Hc.

For example, when the maximum absorption amount Hmax of the waste ink absorber 123 is 0.7 (g / cm ³ ) and the saturated water amount W is 0.1 (g / cm ³ ), the allowable absorption amount Hc is 0.6 (g / cm ³ ). Further, when the cross-sectional area S is 1.5 (cm ² ), the unit time is 1 sec, and the ink discharge amount Vink is 2.5 (g / sec), the target moving distance Li is 2.78 cm. When G (i-1) is 0 and Ls is 1 cm, the moving distance Ai is 3 cm. At this time, the difference Gi is 0.22 cm.

  When the ink discharge amount Vink is smaller than the above-described value (for example, 0.1 (g / sec)), the target moving distance Li is 0.11 cm. In this case, since the moving distance Ai is 0 cm, the waste ink absorber 123 does not move. The difference Gi at this time is 0.11. When the ink discharge amount Vink is 0.1 (g / sec), the moving distance Ai becomes 0 until 9 sec, and after 10 sec, the moving distance Ai becomes the distance Ls.

  Next, the recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the sensor information acquisition time and the calculation time are sufficiently small for the sake of simplicity.

  When the power is turned on, the ASIC 304 resets the counter indicating the control number i to 0 (step S102).

  Next, the ASIC 304 determines whether or not the total moving distance P of the waste ink absorber 123 is shorter than the total length Lf of the waste ink absorber 123 (step S103). When the total moving distance P is longer than the full length Lf, the power is turned off (step S114). When the total moving distance P is shorter than the full length Lf, the ASIC 304 confirms whether or not ink is discharged from the recovery mechanism 100 (step S104). This confirmation may be confirmed by the measuring unit 320 or may be confirmed from an operation command by a control program of the ink jet recording apparatus. In step S104, if ink discharge is not confirmed, a standby loop is entered. At this time, the waste ink absorber 123 is moved by the distance B in the first loop, and the distance B is set to 0 so that the waste ink absorber 123 does not move after the second time (step S116).

  When ink discharge is confirmed, the time counter 319 starts counting time t (step S105).

  Next, the ASIC 304 acquires the saturated moisture amount W based on the detection result of the temperature / humidity sensor 315, and acquires the ink discharge amount Vink based on the measurement result of the measurement unit 320 (step S106). As described above, the ink discharge amount Vink may be acquired from the measurement unit 320 or may be acquired from data stored in the ROM 306.

  Next, the ASIC 304 calculates the movement distance Ai according to the flowchart of FIG. 6 described above (step S107). The waste ink absorber 123 moves the moving distance Ai calculated in step S107 (step S108). At this time, the waste ink absorber 123 moves at a constant speed over the moving distance Ai. When the movement of the waste ink absorber 123 is completed, the ASIC 304 adds the movement distance Ai moved this time to the total movement distance P (step S109). By this movement, the waste ink absorber 123 moves while absorbing the ink discharged from the recovery mechanism 100 to the limit of the absorption capacity.

  When the movement of the waste ink absorber 123 is completed, the ASIC 304 determines whether or not the above-described difference Gi = 0 (step S110).

  When Gi = 0, it means that the ink absorption location in the waste ink absorber 123 has reached the allowable absorption amount Hc. Therefore, the waste ink absorber 123 cannot absorb any more ink at the ink absorbing portion. Therefore, the ASIC 304 moves the waste ink absorber 123 by the distance B (step S111). In the present embodiment, the ASIC 304 sets the distance Ls described above as the distance B. On the other hand, if the difference Gi ≠ 0, it means that the ink absorbing portion can still absorb ink. Therefore, the ASIC 304 sets 0 as the distance B (step S112). Thereby, the waste ink absorber 123 does not move.

  Next, the ASIC 304 determines whether the recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus has been completed (step S113). If the recovery operation has not ended, the process returns to step S103. Thereafter, the routine from step S103 to step S113 is repeated.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the movement distance of the waste ink absorber 123 becomes longer as the ink discharge amount of the recovery mechanism 100 is larger. According to the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, since the moving distance of the waste ink absorber 123 is set according to the ink discharge amount, the waste ink absorber 123 can efficiently absorb the ink.

(Embodiment 2)
The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the ink jet recording apparatus of the first embodiment described above.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, the waste ink absorber 123 reuses the waste ink absorber 123 by rotating around the movement direction (J direction in FIG. 1) between the roller 124 and the roller 125 a plurality of times. ing.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in which the ASIC 304 sets the moving distance of the waste ink absorber 123.

When the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 is compared with the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 described in the first embodiment, step S402 is different from step S202. In the present embodiment, the maximum absorption amount Hmax shown in FIG. 6 is replaced with Hmaxj (g / cm ³ ). Hmaxj (g / cm ³ ) represents the maximum amount of ink absorbed by the jth use of the waste ink absorber 123 (the number of rotations). The ASIC 304 calculates the number of uses j of the waste ink absorber 123 from Equation 6 below.

  In Equation 6, P indicates the total moving distance of the waste ink absorber 123, Lf indicates the total length of the waste ink absorber 123, and the decimal part is rounded down.

  When the waste ink absorber 123 is reused, the absorption capacity of the waste ink absorber 123 decreases according to the number of uses due to the accumulation of solid components of the ink. Further, the degree of decrease in the absorption capacity varies depending on the ink characteristics (for example, viscosity). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the maximum absorption amount is calculated in consideration of the ink characteristics. Specifically, the rate of decrease in the absorption holding capacity of the waste ink absorber 123 is set to U (ink, t, temp) each time it is used once. U (ink, t, temp) is a function having the ink characteristics (ink), the elapsed time (t) since the previous absorption, and the temperature and humidity (temp) detected by the temperature / humidity sensor 315 as variables. The ASIC 304 calculates the j-th maximum absorption amount Hmaxj from Equation 7 below.

  In Formula 7, Hmax0 indicates an initial value of the maximum absorption amount (the zeroth maximum absorption amount). In the present embodiment, the ASIC 304 measures the saturated moisture amount W using the temperature / humidity sensor 315.

  Next, the recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the operation contents of steps S302 to S306 are the same as the operation contents of steps S102 to S106 (see FIG. 5) described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  After step S306, the ASIC 304 calculates the movement distance Ai according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 described above (step S307). Subsequent operations from step S308 to step S314 are the same as the operations from step S108 to step S114 described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of Embodiment 1, the waste ink absorber 123 is used once. On the other hand, in the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, the waste ink absorber 123 is repeatedly used. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment can absorb a larger amount of ink than the ink jet recording apparatus of the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the allowable absorption amount of the waste ink absorber 123 is calculated in consideration of the fact that the ink absorption capability decreases as the number of times the waste ink absorber 123 is used. Therefore, even if the waste ink absorber 123 is reused, it is possible to grasp the absorption capability of the waste ink absorber 123 with high accuracy each time.

(Embodiment 3)
The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the ink jet recording apparatus of the second embodiment described above.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9A is a front view when viewed from the paper discharge side, and FIG. 9B is a right side view. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical control configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. 9 and 10, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the ink jet recording apparatus of the first embodiment.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment has a drying mechanism 126 as shown in FIG. The drying mechanism 126 includes a heat source 313, an axial fan 312, and a sensor 330. The sensor 330 is disposed below the moving path along which the waste ink absorber 123 moves from the roller 125 to the roller 124. The sensor 330 has a function of detecting temperature and humidity, and a function of measuring the moisture content of the ink absorbed in the waste ink absorber 123. The ASIC 304 obtains a saturated moisture amount corresponding to the temperature and humidity detected by the sensor 330 from an isothermal moisture absorption curve. Then, the ASIC 304 controls the heat generation amount of the heat source 313 and the rotational speed of the axial fan 312 so that the difference between the moisture amount measured by the sensor 330 and the saturated moisture amount becomes small.

An operation in which the ASIC 304 sets the moving distance of the waste ink absorber 123 will be described. This operation is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 described in the second embodiment. However, in this embodiment, in step S402, the rate of decrease in the absorption holding capacity of the waste ink absorber 123 is U _h (ink, t, temp). Therefore, the j-th holding amount Hmaxj is given by the following mathematical formula 8th order.

The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a drying mechanism 126 is newly added to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second embodiment. The drying mechanism 126 dries the ink absorption portion in the waste ink absorber 123. Therefore, when the number of uses of the waste ink absorber 123 is the same, the value of the decrease rate U _h (ink, t, temp) is smaller than the value of the decrease rate U (ink, t, temp).

  Next, the recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, when the power is turned on, the drying mechanism 126 is turned on (step S302). When the drying mechanism 126 is turned on, the ASIC 304 starts control of the drying mechanism 126 and resets the counter indicating the control count i to 0.

  Next, the ASIC 304 confirms whether ink has been discharged from the recovery mechanism 100 (step S504). In the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, the operations from step S504 to step S513 are the same as the operations from step S304 to step S313 in the second embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted. When the operation in step S513 is completed, the power is turned off and the drying mechanism 126 is also turned off (step S514).

  In the present embodiment, the waste ink absorber 123 is reused while the drying mechanism 126 dries the ink absorbing portion in the waste ink absorber 123. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to cause the waste ink absorber 123 to absorb a larger amount of ink than in the second embodiment.

(Embodiment 4)
The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the ink jet recording apparatuses according to the first to third embodiments.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. 12A is a front view when viewed from the paper discharge side, and FIG. 12B is a right side view.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12A, the waste ink absorber 133 is in the form of an end belt. Both ends of the waste ink absorber 133 are fixed to a roller 124 and a roller 125, respectively. In the initial state, the waste ink absorber 133 is wound around the roller 124.

  The roller 124 and the roller 125 are rotated synchronously in the same direction by the absorber moving motor 316. By this rotation, the waste ink absorber 133 moves in the movement direction (the J direction in FIG. 12A). The movable distance D of the waste ink absorber 133 can be obtained by the following formula 9.

  In Equation 9, Lf represents the total length of the waste ink absorber 133. Lr indicates the distance between the rollers 124 and 125.

  The number of uses j of the waste ink absorber 133 is given by Equation 10 below.

  In Equation 10, Pn represents the total movement distance of the waste ink absorber 133. In Formula 10, when a = 0 (remainder is 0), it indicates that all of the waste ink absorber 133 is wound around the roller 125. Thereafter, the ASIC 304 performs control to cause the roller 124 to rewind the waste ink absorber 133 by rotating the absorber moving motor 316 in the reverse direction. While the absorber moving motor 316 is rotating in the reverse direction, the waste ink discharge process is not performed.

  In the first, second, and third embodiments, the endless belt-like waste ink absorber 123 is used. In the present embodiment, the end-belt-shaped waste ink absorber 133 is used. Therefore, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, it becomes possible to increase the total length of the waste ink absorber and absorb a larger amount of ink.

(Embodiment 5)
The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the ink jet recording apparatus of the fourth embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is a front view when viewed from the paper discharge side.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a sheet-like (flat plate) waste ink absorber 143. The waste ink absorber 143 is fixed so as to move freely only in the horizontal direction by driven rollers 144 and 145 that follow the roller 124. As the roller 124 rotates, the waste ink absorber 143 can move in the horizontal direction. The waste ink absorber 143 moves between a point S and a point E that are separated from each other in the movement direction (horizontal direction) of the waste ink absorber 143 with the driven rollers 144 and 145 interposed therebetween. When the distance between the points S and E is Lf and the total moving distance of the waste ink absorber 143 is Pn, the number of uses j of the waste ink absorber 143 is given by the following formula 11.

  In the above formula 11, when a = 0 (the remainder is 0), this indicates that the waste ink absorber 143 has moved from the point E to the point S. Thereafter, the ASIC 304 moves the waste ink absorber 143 to the point E by rotating the roller 124 in the reverse direction. While the roller 124 is rotating in the reverse direction, the waste ink is not discharged.

  In the first, second, and third embodiments, the endless belt-like waste ink absorber 123 is used, and in the fourth embodiment, the endless belt-like waste ink absorber 133 is used. In this embodiment, by reusing the sheet-like waste ink absorber 143, a large amount of ink can be absorbed with a simple configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 1a Face surface 100 Recovery mechanism 123 Waste ink absorber

Claims (9)

A recording head having a face surface for ejecting ink;
A recovery mechanism that sucks the ink from the face surface at a predetermined negative pressure and discharges the sucked ink;
A waste ink absorber that absorbs ink discharged from the recovery mechanism;
A movement mechanism that moves the waste ink absorber in a movement direction that intersects the ink discharge direction;
When the recovery mechanism discharges the ink, a control is performed to set a movement distance of the waste ink absorber and to control the movement mechanism so that the waste ink absorber absorbs ink while moving the set movement distance. And
The said control part is an inkjet recording device which sets the said movement distance long, so that there are many ink discharge amounts of the said recovery mechanism. A measuring unit for measuring the ink discharge amount;
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the moving distance longer as the ink discharge amount measured by the measurement unit is larger. A storage unit storing data indicating the ink discharge amount for each negative pressure;
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit reads the ink discharge amount from the data, and sets the moving distance longer as the read ink discharge amount increases. A sensor for measuring the amount of moisture per unit volume absorbed by the waste ink absorber;
The control unit calculates an allowable absorption amount obtained by subtracting the moisture amount from a maximum ink absorption amount per unit volume of the waste ink absorber, and sets the moving distance longer as the calculated allowable absorption amount is smaller. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. The waste ink absorber has an endless belt shape;
The moving mechanism includes a pair of rollers that are arranged apart from each other in the moving direction and around which the waste ink absorber is wound,
5. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the waste ink absorber to rotate around the pair of rollers a plurality of times in the moving direction by rotating the pair of rollers in the same direction. 6. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to 1.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controller sets the moving distance longer as the number of turns increases when the ink discharge amount is the same each time.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a drying mechanism that dries an ink absorbing portion in the waste ink absorber.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recovery mechanism includes a plurality of ink discharge ports arranged along a direction orthogonal to the moving direction. A recording head having a face surface for discharging ink, a recovery mechanism for sucking the ink from the face surface with a predetermined negative pressure, and discharging the sucked ink, and absorbing ink discharged from the recovery mechanism In an ink absorption method performed by an inkjet recording apparatus having a waste ink absorber,
When the recovery mechanism discharges the ink, a first step of setting a moving distance of the waste ink absorber;
The waste ink absorber has a second step of absorbing ink while moving the movement distance set in the first step in a direction intersecting the ink discharge direction;
In the first step, as the ink discharge amount of the recovery mechanism increases, the moving distance is set longer.

Images