JP2013056429A - Inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording apparatus capable of suppressing an attachment of ink to a guide shaft.SOLUTION: The inkjet recording apparatus 1 has a carriage 10 that reciprocates with an inkjet type recording head thereon and a guide shaft 7 that guides the movement of the carriage. Moreover, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 has a recovery processing section 21 that processes the recovery of the recording head and a cover 26 that, when recording by the recording head, covers the area of the guide shaft 7 corresponding to the recovery processing section 21.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which ink mist generated when recording is performed by ejecting ink from a recording head to a recording medium is suppressed.

  In an ink jet recording apparatus, it is required to reduce the size of ink ejected from a recording head. As the ink droplets become smaller, so-called mist may be generated in which the ejected ink droplets are stalled before reaching the recording medium and become floating substances floating in the air. When this mist adheres to the guide shaft of the carriage, the sliding resistance between the guide shaft and the carriage increases there, and the positional accuracy of the carriage may be lowered.

  In order to prevent such an increase in sliding resistance due to mist between the carriage and the guide shaft, Patent Document 1 discloses an ink jet recording apparatus capable of removing ink adhering to the guide shaft. In Patent Document 1, irregularities are formed in the circumferential direction on the inner surface of the bearing on the carriage side so that the carriage and the guide shaft partially slide in the circumferential direction. This reduces the contact area between the carriage and the guide shaft, increases the surface pressure there, and efficiently removes ink adhering to the guide shaft. It is also disclosed that the guide shaft rotates with respect to the carriage at every predetermined scan so that the carriage slides with respect to the guide shaft over the entire circumferential direction.

JP 2007-069567 A

  However, in the configuration for removing ink adhering to the guide shaft disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is required to perform scanning with a carriage on a portion from which ink adhering to the guide shaft is removed. A period during which recording cannot be performed occurs due to the carriage scanning for ink removal, which may reduce the recording throughput.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of suppressing ink from adhering to a guide shaft, particularly in the vicinity of recovery means for performing recovery processing.

  The present invention provides a carriage that reciprocates by mounting an ink jet recording head, a guide shaft that guides the movement of the carriage, recovery means that performs recovery processing of the recording head, and when recording is performed by the recording head. And a cover covering an area of the guide shaft corresponding to the recovery means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the ink mist from adhering to the guide shaft, particularly in the vicinity of the recovery means for performing the recovery process, so that the sliding resistance between the carriage and the guide shaft is changed by the attached ink. That can be suppressed.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the periphery of a guide shaft in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. (A) is a front view showing the periphery of the cover when the carriage is separated from the recovery processing section, and (b) is a front view showing the periphery of the cover when the carriage is at a position corresponding to the recovery processing section. It is. It is the front view shown about the cover periphery in the inkjet recording device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the ink jet apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the internal structure of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG.

  In FIG. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus 1 is configured as a plotter (color plotter). The ink jet recording apparatus 1 is fixed to the upper part of the stand 2, and a caster 2 a is attached to the lower part of the stand 2 so that the ink jet recording apparatus 1 can move. The ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 3, and the paper size, online / offline, command, and the like are instructed by various switches and the like installed in the operation unit 3. The recording medium (roll paper) 4 in the roll paper storage unit is conveyed to the inside of the image forming apparatus based on an instruction from the operation unit 3, and the roll paper 4 on which the color image is formed is directed from the discharge port 5 in the direction of arrow A. Discharged.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, two support members 6 </ b> A and 6 </ b> B facing each other with a predetermined distance are fixed to the upper part of the stand 2 with casters 2 a. Between the support members 6A and 6B, a guide shaft 7 formed in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section is installed. The guide shaft 7 extends in the main scanning direction (arrow B direction) as the moving direction of the carriage 10 intersecting the recording medium conveyance direction (arrow A direction). The guide shaft 7 extends in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction A of the recording medium. The guide shaft 7 is fixed to the housing stay reinforcing plate 9b via the backup guide 8 at a plurality of locations in the longitudinal direction. The backup guide 8 is attached to be adjustable in the vertical direction. The housing stay 9 is fixed to the support members 6A and 6B at both ends thereof. A guide rail 16 is disposed in parallel with the guide shaft 7 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the guide shaft 7. The guide rail 16 is attached to a guide rail stay 16a provided in the housing stay 9 so as to be adjustable in the vertical direction. The guide rail stays 16a are respectively fixed at intermediate positions of the backup guide 8 in the main scanning direction.

  The carriage 10 is guided and supported so as to be reciprocally movable (slidable) in the main scanning direction B along the guide shaft 7. Further, the carriage 10 is configured to be able to mount a cartridge 11 having a recording head 50 that can eject ink from an ejection port by an ink jet method. A bearing 12 to which the guide shaft 7 is slidably fitted is attached to the carriage 10. The bearing 12 extends in the main scanning direction, and an opening extending in the main scanning direction is formed below the bearing 12. The guide shaft 7 is fitted to the bearing 12 and its lower surface is exposed from the opening. The guide shaft 7 is fixed to the housing stay reinforcing plate 9b through the backup guide 8 at the exposed portion.

  In order to reciprocate the carriage 10 in the main scanning direction B, the housing stay 9 is provided with a drive motor 13. In addition, a pulley 14A is rotatably disposed on the drive motor 13 at one of the longitudinal ends of the guide shaft 7, and a pulley 14B (not shown) is rotatably disposed on the other. The two pulleys 14A and 14B include An endless belt 15 is stretched over. The carriage 10 is fixed to a part of the endless belt 15.

  The drive motor 13 is controlled based on a drive control pulse signal transmitted from a carriage conveyance drive control unit (not shown). Therefore, when the drive motor 13 is driven at a predetermined timing and the pulley 14A rotates, the carriage 10 reciprocates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. During this reciprocation, the carriage 10 is guided by the guide shaft 7 and the guide rail 16.

  In the inkjet recording apparatus 1, a plurality of cartridges 11 that can eject ink for each color are detachably mounted on a carriage 10 so that color recording is possible. The ink jet recording apparatus 1 is formed so as to be able to eject yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks.

  The cartridge 11 includes a recording head 50 and an ink tank 51. In the cartridge 11, the ink is temporarily supplied to the ink tanks 51 of the respective colors via tubes or the like, and the ink is supplied from the ink tanks 51 to the recording head 50 as an ink discharge unit via the ink flow path. As described above, the cartridge 10 having the recording head 50 and the ink tank 51 is detachably mounted on the carriage 10.

  The ink in the recording head 50 is stably held by forming a meniscus at the ejection port. Each of the ink flow paths in the recording head is provided with a heating element (electrothermal converter) as a recording element. By energizing the heating element through the wiring and generating thermal energy from the heating element, the ink in the flow path is heated and foamed by film boiling, and ink droplets are ejected from the ejection port by the foaming energy at that time. The The heating elements in the recording head 50 are driven by a pulse signal sent from the recording head control unit. This pulse signal is formed based on image data, and the recording head 50 forms an image by ejecting ink based on this pulse signal.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a roller 17 and a roller 18 are rotatably disposed at the end of the carriage 10 opposite to the bearing 12 in the center portion in the direction of arrow A. The roller 17 is fixed in order to maintain the posture of the carriage (position with respect to the recording medium). The roller 18 is rotatably mounted around a fulcrum 18A, and is fixed in a direction in which the guide rail 16 is sandwiched by a spring 19. It is spring-loaded by force. These rollers 17 and 18 rotate as the carriage 10 reciprocates to guide the movement of the carriage 10 in the main scanning direction B along the guide rail 16.

  By such an ink jet recording apparatus 1, a recording medium transport operation by the transport unit and a recording operation for performing recording by discharging ink from the recording head 50 while moving the carriage 10 along the guide shaft 7 are alternately performed. Recording is done while doing.

  In addition, in a region outside the support plate 6A in a region where the carriage 10 can reciprocate, a standby region portion 20 on which the carriage 10 stands by is formed as shown in FIG. Recovery to recover the ink ejection state from the recording head 50 to a predetermined reference position (home position) in the standby area 20 so that the ink ejection from the recording head 50 can be performed stably. A processing unit 21 is provided.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus 1 that records by ejecting ink droplets from the ejection openings in the recording head 50, the ink thickening phenomenon, the ink dye density increase, and the ink are caused by evaporation of the ink volatile components from the ejection openings of the recording head 50. May occur. In addition, if air bubbles are generated in the ink flow path of the recording head 50 by leaving the ink in the recording head 50 for a long period of time, the normal ink supply operation may be hindered. In order to prevent the recording head 50 from being in such a state, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 performs a recovery process at a predetermined timing. In the ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a recovery processing unit 21 that performs a recovery process for maintaining the state of ink stored in the recording head 50 is provided. The recovery processing unit 21 according to the present embodiment faces the discharge port forming surface on which the discharge port is formed in the recording head 50. The recovery processing unit 21 has a cap 22 that is disposed at a position corresponding to the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 50 when the recovery processing is performed, and sucks ink ejected from the recording head 50 there. The recovery processing unit 21 is controlled based on a drive control signal supplied at a predetermined timing from a recovery processing drive control unit (not shown).

  Next, a transport system for transporting the recording medium 4 (roll paper) in a direction crossing the main scanning direction will be described.

  A conveyance roller 23 for conveying the recording medium 4 is disposed obliquely below the carriage rail 7. A driven roller 24 having a smaller diameter than the conveying roller 23 is disposed at a position facing the conveying roller 23. The recording medium 4 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A (conveyance direction) by rotating the rollers 23 and 24 while being sandwiched between these two rollers 23 and 24.

  A platen 25 is disposed as a supported surface of the recording medium 4 at a position facing the recording head 50 when the carriage 10 scans from the home position in the opposite direction. The portion of the recording medium 4 placed on the platen 25 is disposed away from the ink ejection surface of the recording head 50 by a predetermined interval. Further, on the downstream side of the platen 25 in the direction of arrow A, a conveyance path for conveying the recording medium 4 toward a cutter (not shown) that cuts the recording medium 4 to a predetermined length is formed.

  Each of the components / members described above is provided by a conveyance roller drive control unit (not shown, the same applies hereinafter), a recording head control unit, a carriage conveyance drive control unit, and a recovery process drive control unit that control these components / members. Be controlled.

  Next, the cover 26 for covering the guide shaft 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  While recording is being performed by the recording head 50, the carriage 10 on which the recording head 50 is mounted is at a position away from the recovery processing unit 21. While the carriage 10 is in a region through which the recording medium passes to perform recording, the radially outer portion of the guide shaft 7 is covered at a position corresponding to the home position (recovery processing unit side) in the main scanning direction. A cover 26 is provided.

  The cover 26 is formed in a cylindrical or polygonal cylindrical shape, and is arranged on the outer side in the circumferential direction of the guide shaft 7. A spring 27 is disposed between the cover 26 and the guide shaft 7. A pin 28 protruding radially outward from the surface is fixedly attached to the guide shaft 7. Further, a groove 30 is formed in the cover 26 along the main scanning direction in which the guide shaft 7 extends. Further, a pin 28 is attached to the guide shaft 7 so as to be fixed to the guide shaft 7. The pin 28 protrudes to the outside of the cover 26 through the groove 30 while being fixed to the guide shaft 7. Therefore, the cover 26 can move relative to the guide shaft 7 along the axial direction of the guide shaft 7 only to the extent that the pin 28 can move along the inside of the groove. Thereby, the range in which the cover 26 can be moved is restricted with respect to the direction along the axial direction of the guide shaft 7.

  A spring 27 is attached to a part of the inner surface of the cover 26. One end of the spring 27 on the carriage side is attached to a position close to the end of the inner surface of the cover 26 on the carriage side. The other end of the spring 27 on the side far from the carriage is attached to the pin 28, and the spring 27 is attached to the guide shaft 7. When no force is applied to the cover 26 and no force is applied to the spring 27, the pin 28 is located in the furthest part from the carriage 10 inside the groove 30, as shown in FIG. ing. Also, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the carriage 10 moves to a position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21, the cover 26 is pushed outward by the carriage 10, the pin 28 moves, and the spring 27 is compressed. Then, the spring 27 is biased in the opening direction.

  In this way, while recording is being performed by ejecting ink from the recording head 50, the cover 26 is urged by the spring 27 in the opening direction of the spring 27, so that the cover 26 is at a position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21. The cover 26 is disposed so as to cover the periphery of the guide shaft 7. In other words, the cover 26 has the carriage 10 in the region R that guides the movement of the carriage 10 in the main scanning direction on the guide shaft 7 when the recovery processing unit 21 performs the recovery process of the recording head 50. It is arranged so that it can be covered when separated. As shown in FIG. 4A, while the recording is performed by the recording head 50 while the carriage 10 scans a position other than the home position, the cover 26 is a portion corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21. It is located at a place covering the region R.

  The carriage 10 is positioned at a portion (home position) corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 while the recording head 50 is on standby without recording or during recovery processing of the recording head 50. Therefore, when the carriage 10 moves to the home position, the carriage 10 pushes the cover 26 outward, and moves to the region R corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 while moving the cover 26. When the carriage 10 reaches the home position as shown in FIG. 4B, the cover 26 that was previously positioned there is pushed outward by the carriage 10 and is positioned further outside in the main scanning direction than the carriage 10. . At this time, the cover 26 is pushed by the carriage 10 and moves outward in the main scanning direction until the pin 28 attached to the cover 26 reaches a position near the end portion on the carriage side inside the groove. Since the pin 28 moves to the side closer to the carriage 10 inside the groove 30 in a state where the spring 27 is attached to one end of the cover 26, the pin 28 is connected to one end of the spring 27 attached to one end of the cover 26 and the pin 28. The distance between the other end of the attached spring 27 is shortened. As a result, the spring 27 is compressed, and a force is applied to the pin 28 and the cover 26 so as to restore the spring 27 so as to open. In this way, the pin 27 receives a force in the direction away from the carriage by the spring 27, and the cover 26 moves outward by being pushed from the carriage 10 while being urged in the direction toward the carriage. Therefore, the cover 26 is pushed and moved by the carriage 10 while the cover 26 is urged in the direction toward the carriage 10 by the spring 27.

  As described above, the spring 27 as an elastic body is disposed between the cover 26 and the guide shaft 7, and a part (first portion) of the spring 27 is relative to the guide shaft 7 in the main scanning direction. It is mounted immovably. Further, a part (second part) of the spring 27 is attached so as not to move relative to the cover 26. Thereby, when the recovery processing of the recording head 50 is performed by the recovery processing unit 21, the cover 26 is urged toward the carriage 10 by the spring 27.

  Thus, while the carriage 10 is in a position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21, the cover 26 is urged toward the carriage 10. When the carriage 10 moves away from the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 and moves to a region where the recording medium passes to perform recording, the carriage is separated from the cover 26 and the cover 26 is moved by the restoring force of the spring 27. To do. At that time, the pin 28 moves in the direction opposite to the carriage 10 in the groove 30. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the pin 28 reaches the position near the end opposite to the carriage 10 inside the groove 30 again, the cover 26 is in the region R corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21. It is arrange | positioned in the position which covers. That is, the cover 26 guides the movement of the carriage in the main scanning direction on the guide shaft 7 when the recovery processing unit 21 performs recovery processing of the recording head 50 when the carriage 10 is separated from the recovery processing unit 21. The region R is moved to cover the region R. The cover 26 performs a recovery process for the recording head 50 and a position (first position) that covers the region R that guides the movement of the carriage 10 in the main scanning direction of the guide shaft 7 during the recovery process. It is possible to move only between the retracted position (second position). At this time, the movement range by the cover 26 is regulated by the groove 30.

  When the carriage 10 is in a region through which the recording medium passes in order to perform recording by ejecting ink from the recording head 50, the cover 26 is disposed so as to cover a position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 in the guide shaft 7. Further, when the carriage 10 is in the home position, the cover 26 is disposed so as to cover a position outside the carriage 10 with respect to the main scanning direction in the guide shaft 7. Therefore, when the carriage 10 is on the recording medium, the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 of the guide shaft 7 is covered by the cover 26, so that the ink mist generated in the recovery processing unit 21 adheres to the guide shaft. Can be suppressed.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, preliminary ejection is performed in the cap 22 of the recovery processing unit 21 for recovery processing. In the preliminary ejection, the recording head 50 is recovered to maintain a good ink ejection state of the recording head 50 by ejecting ink that does not contribute to image formation from the ejection port of the recording head 50 toward the inside of the cap 22. It is processing.

  Further, in order to shorten the time required for the preliminary ejection, ink is ejected from the recording head 50 toward the cap 22 without the cap 22 being in close contact with the recording head 50. In this case, after preliminary ejection is performed, ink droplets ejected from the recording head 50 are stalled before reaching the cap 22 and remain between the recording head 50 and the cap 22. . Ink droplets remaining between the recording head 50 and the cap 22 may float there as ink mist. In this state, when the carriage 10 moves to a region through which the recording medium passes, the ink mist floats between the guide shaft 7 and the recovery processing unit 21. In addition, the number of ink ejections performed in the preliminary ejection may be larger than the ink ejection performed during recording, and a relatively large amount of ink mist is recovered from the guide shaft 7 after the preliminary ejection is performed. There is a case where it floats between the processing unit 21.

  Therefore, if preliminary ejection is performed in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 in which the cover 26 is not provided on the guide shaft 7, ink mist floating between the guide shaft 7 and the recovery processing unit 21 adheres to the guide shaft 7. there is a possibility. After the carriage 10 finishes preliminary ejection and moves, ink mist generated during the recovery process may remain there and adhere to the guide shaft 7. In particular, in the region corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 in the guide shaft 7, there is a possibility that more ink mist adheres to the guide shaft 7 than in other portions in the guide shaft 7.

  When the carriage 10 moves to an area where the recording medium passes to perform recording, the cover 26 follows the movement of the carriage and moves to a position covering the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 on the guide shaft 7. When the carriage 10 moves to the area through which the recording medium passes after the preliminary ejection is performed, only the portion of the guide shaft 7 where ink mist is most likely to adhere is covered by the cover 26. Since only the portion of the guide shaft 7 to which the ink mist is most likely to adhere is covered by the cover 26, the portion to which the ink mist is likely to adhere can be efficiently covered by the relatively small cover 26. The cover 26 having a shorter length along the main scanning direction of the guide shaft 7 can suppress the ink mist from adhering to the portion where the ink mist is most likely to adhere. By reducing the cover 26, the space for installing the cover 26 on the guide shaft 7 can be reduced. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus can be reduced in size.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a recording apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. In addition, about the part comprised similarly to said 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected in a figure, description is abbreviate | omitted, and only a different part is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the cover 29 used to cover the guide shaft 7 of the ink jet recording apparatus in the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it has a bellows shape. Further, the cover 29 of the second embodiment is fixed to the guide shaft 7 by pins 28 so that a part of the cover 29 does not move relative to the guide shaft 7.

  The pin 28 is fixed and attached to the guide shaft 7 so as to protrude in the radial direction from the surface of the guide shaft 7. The pin 28 is inserted into a hole formed in the cover 29, and a portion of the cover 29 connected to the pin 28 is fixed so as not to move relative to the guide shaft 7. One end of the cover 29 far from the carriage 10 in the main scanning direction is fixedly attached to the guide shaft 7. Thus, a part of the cover 29 is attached so as not to move relative to the guide shaft 7.

  The cover 29 is made of a flexible resin. Further, as described above, the cover 29 has a telescopic bellows shape in which a fold is formed in a direction crossing the main scanning direction. Further, the cover 29 is movable without being fixed to the guide shaft 7 at the end on the other side opposite to the end on one side attached to the guide shaft 7. Accordingly, the cover 28 can move relative to the guide shaft 7 at a portion closer to the carriage 10 than a portion attached to the guide shaft 7 following the movement of the carriage. Therefore, the cover 29 can change the length in the main scanning direction by being folded or stretched at the portion where the folds are formed in a bellows shape.

  When the carriage 10 reaches the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 for performing preliminary ejection or waiting for the carriage 10, the carriage 10 pushes the end of the cover 29 on the carriage side outward in the main scanning direction. . When the cover 29 is pushed outward, one end of the cover 29 on the carriage side is pushed in a state where the end of the cover 29 far from the carriage 10 is fixed to the guide shaft 7. The crease part is folded and deformed. As a result, the length of the cover 29 in the main scanning direction is reduced. By positioning the carriage 10 at the portion where the cover 29 is reduced and pushed away, the carriage 10 is disposed at a position corresponding to the recovery processing section 21 on the guide shaft 7.

  When recording is performed by the ink jet recording apparatus, the carriage 10 moves to a position corresponding to the area through which the recording medium passes. At this time, the carriage 10 moves from the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 toward the region through which the recording medium passes, so that the carriage 10 is separated from the cover 29. As a result, the pressing force is released from the cover 29 that has been folded along the portion of the bellows that is pressed by the carriage 10, and the cover 29 that has been folded into the bellows has its own restoring force. Is restored in the main scanning direction. At this time, the cover 29 covers the periphery of the guide shaft 7 so that the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 is covered by the cover 29 as a result of being extended in the main scanning direction. Therefore, after the preliminary discharge is performed, the portion of the guide shaft 7 where ink mist is most likely to adhere is covered with the cover 29. As described above, when the carriage 10 is separated from the recovery processing unit 21, a part of the cover 29 guides the movement of the carriage 10 in the main scanning direction on the guide shaft 7 when the recovery processing of the recording head 50 is performed. Move to the area you are covering and cover that area.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the carriage 10 moves to the area through which the recording medium passes, the cover 29 formed in a bellows shape covers the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 in the guide shaft 7. When the carriage 10 moves to a position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21, the cover 29 is folded along the bellows-like fold, and the length of the cover 29 along the main scanning direction is reduced. Accordingly, when the carriage 10 is moved to a position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 and the cover 29 is pushed away from the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 to reduce the recording head 50, the cover 29 The length of the occupied area in the main scanning direction can be further shortened. Since the length L of the cover 29 in the main scanning direction when the cover 29 is pushed away from the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 can be further shortened, it is necessary for installing the cover 29 in the ink jet recording apparatus. Less space is required. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus can be further downsized.

  When the bellows-shaped cover 29 is restored by its own restoring force and extended in the main scanning direction, the restoring force is insufficient and the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 cannot be sufficiently covered. In order to add an elastic force, a spring or the like may be used separately. Further, when the bellows-like cover 29 has a sufficient length in the main scanning direction, the end of the cover 29 opposite to the one end attached to the guide shaft 7 is attached to the carriage 10. It is good to be. In addition, another configuration may be used as long as the position corresponding to the recovery processing unit 21 can be sufficiently covered when the carriage 10 moves to the area through which the recording medium passes.

  In the present embodiment, the recovery processing unit performs the preliminary ejection for ejecting ink that does not contribute to image formation from the recording head 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. The recovery processing unit may perform suction recovery that favorably maintains the state of the ink inside the recording head 50 by sucking ink from the ejection port of the recording head 50. In addition, other types of recovery processing may be performed, and the recovery processing is performed using a recovery processing unit having another type of structure for maintaining a good state of ink inside the recording head 50. It's also good.

7 Guide shaft 10 Carriage 21 Recovery processing part 26, 29 Cover

Claims (6)

A carriage mounted with an ink jet recording head and reciprocating;
A guide shaft for guiding the movement of the carriage;
Recovery means for performing recovery processing of the recording head;
A cover that covers an area of the guide shaft corresponding to the recovery means when performing recording with the recording head;
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:   2. The cover according to claim 1, wherein the cover is movable or deformed along the guide shaft as the carriage moves to a place where a recovery process is performed by the recovery means. Inkjet recording device.   The cover has a cylindrical shape that covers the periphery of the guide shaft, and moves in the area following the movement of the carriage. When the carriage is in the area, the cover moves outside the area. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cover covers the area when the carriage is separated from the area.   An elastic body is disposed between the cover and the guide shaft, and the first portion of the elastic body is attached so as not to move relative to the guide shaft in the main scanning direction, and the second portion of the elastic body And the cover is urged toward the carriage when the recovery means is performing recovery processing of the recording head with respect to the cover. 4. An ink jet recording apparatus according to item 3.   The cover has a bellows shape, and the bellows can expand and contract following the movement of the carriage. When the carriage is in the region, the cover is contracted and the cover is in the region. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cover extends when the carriage is moved outside and the carriage is separated from the area, and the cover covers the area.   6. The cover according to claim 5, wherein one end of the bellows-shaped cover is fixed to the guide shaft, and the other end is in contact with the moving carriage and the cover expands and contracts. Inkjet recording device.

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