JP2013139128A - Liquid ejecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of preventing a target or a conveyance passage of the target from being stained due to liquid discharged during maintenance of a liquid ejection head.SOLUTION: An inkjet printer 11 includes: a recording head 31 laterally ejecting ink in a static state from a plurality of nozzles 31a arranged in a horizontal direction to a roll paper RP conveyed downward from above; and a maintenance unit 14 performing maintenance of the recording head 31. The recording head 31 is configured to be movable between a liquid ejecting position being the position for ejecting the ink to the roll paper RP conveyed downward from above on a support surface 19a and a maintenance position being the position which is separated from the roll paper RP conveyed downward from above on the support surface 19a in a direction crossing a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the roll paper RP and at which the maintenance is performed by the maintenance unit 14.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer.

  In general, inkjet printers are widely known as liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject liquid from a liquid ejecting head. In this printer, ink is supplied from an ink cartridge containing ink (liquid) to a recording head (liquid ejecting head), and the supplied ink is transferred from a nozzle formed on the nozzle forming surface of the recording head to recording paper (target). Printing is carried out by jetting toward.

  In such printers, nozzle clogging is eliminated by performing maintenance (cleaning, flushing, etc.) that forcibly ejects ink from the nozzles periodically or irregularly in order to reduce ink ejection failure from the nozzles. I am doing so.

  Flushing is forcibly ejecting ink from nozzles regardless of printing. In cleaning, the cap (maintenance unit) is in contact with the recording head so as to surround the nozzle, and the inside of the cap is sucked with a suction pump to forcibly increase the viscosity of ink and bubbles from the nozzle. Are to be discharged.

  Such cleaning and flushing are usually performed in a non-printing area where printing is not performed, but in the case of a line head printer in which the position of the recording head is fixed, it is performed in the printing area. Conventionally, as a line head printer in which maintenance such as flushing and cleaning is performed in a printing region, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  In the printer of Patent Document 1, plate-like connection members are arranged so as to face four line heads arranged at equal intervals. The connecting member is provided with a bottomed rectangular box-shaped ink receiver having an opening at the upper end so as to correspond to each line head. A cap member made of an elastic body capable of covering the discharge port of the line head is provided in each ink receiver opening.

  Between each ink receiver on the connection member, a platen having a substantially trapezoidal shape in cross section for supporting the recording medium is provided via a platen mounting member. Each platen has a height above the connecting member higher than that of each ink receiver, and the height is aligned with each other. Therefore, the ink receiver and the platen are alternately provided on the connection member along the conveyance direction of the recording paper. In this case, each ink receiver communicates with the suction pump and the waste ink tank via the suction tube.

  The flushing is performed by discharging the ink from the discharge port of each line head into each ink receiver between printing of the recording paper conveyed on each platen. In addition, the cleaning is performed by operating the suction pump in a state where the connecting member is moved in a direction approaching the line head and each cap member is in contact with the bottom surface of each line head so as to cover the discharge port. .

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-9512

  However, in the printer of Patent Document 1, since maintenance such as flushing and cleaning is performed in the printing area of the recording paper, there is a problem that the target and the transport path of the target may be stained with ink discharged during maintenance.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of suppressing contamination of a target and a transport path of the target by liquid discharged during maintenance of the liquid ejecting head.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention ejects liquid from the side in a stationary state from a plurality of nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction with respect to a target conveyed from top to bottom. A liquid ejection position that is a position for ejecting the liquid to the target that is transported from the top to the bottom, and a maintenance unit that performs maintenance of the liquid ejection head; A maintenance position that is a position that is spaced apart from the target that is transported from the top to the bottom in a direction that intersects the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the target and that performs the maintenance by the maintenance unit. It is configured to be movable between.

  According to the present invention, the maintenance of the liquid ejecting head by the maintenance unit is performed at a position separated from the target transported from the top to the bottom in a direction intersecting the width direction orthogonal to the target transport direction. For this reason, it becomes possible to suppress that the target and the conveyance path | route of a target become dirty with the liquid discharged | emitted at the time of the maintenance of a liquid ejecting head.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, when the liquid ejecting head is in the maintenance position, the nozzles face downward.
According to the aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the liquid ejecting head from being contaminated by the dripping liquid even when the liquid is dripped from each nozzle when the maintenance of the liquid ejecting head is performed.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the liquid ejecting head rotates about an axis extending along the arrangement direction of the nozzles between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position.
According to the aspect of the invention, it is possible to ensure the positioning accuracy of the liquid ejecting head at the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position by positioning the liquid ejecting head based on the axis serving as the rotation center of the liquid ejecting head. Become.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the maintenance unit may include a cap that can contact the liquid ejecting head so as to surround the nozzles, and the cap is in the maintenance position. These nozzles are arranged so as to face each of the nozzles, and are configured to be movable in the vertical direction.

  According to the present invention, when the maintenance of the liquid ejecting head is performed by the maintenance unit, the cap of the maintenance unit can be stably brought into contact with the liquid ejecting head.

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention includes a moving mechanism that moves the liquid ejecting head between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position.
According to the present invention, the moving mechanism can smoothly move the liquid ejecting head between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the ink jet printer according to the embodiment. Side view of the printer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view illustrating a state when each recording head is moved to a maintenance position in the printer. In FIG. 4, the side surface schematic diagram which shows a state when a cap is moved to a strong flushing position. In FIG. 4, the side surface schematic diagram which shows a state when moving a cap to a contact position. The side surface schematic diagram of the inkjet printer of the example of a change. The side surface schematic diagram of the inkjet printer of the example of a change. The side surface schematic diagram of the inkjet printer of the example of a change.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the liquid ejecting apparatus of the invention is embodied in an ink jet printer will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ink jet printer 11 as a liquid ejecting apparatus includes a transport unit 12 that transports a roll paper RP as a target from the upstream side to the downstream side along the transport path, and a transport unit 12. And a liquid ejecting unit 13 that ejects ink as a liquid onto the roll paper RP conveyed by the unit 12. Further, the ink jet printer 11 includes a maintenance unit 14 as a maintenance unit that performs maintenance (cleaning and strong flushing) of the liquid ejecting unit 13.

  The transport unit 12 supports the roll paper RP and winds the roll paper RP while unwinding the roll paper RP in the horizontal direction (rightward in FIG. 2), and the roll paper RP fed from the feed shaft 15 is wrapped around the roll paper RP. And a first intermediate roller 16 that leads downward. Further, the transport unit 12 includes a second intermediate roller 17 that winds the roll paper RP guided by the first intermediate roller 16 and guides the roll paper RP to the feeding shaft 15 side in the horizontal direction (left direction in FIG. 2), and a second intermediate roller. And a take-up shaft 18 for taking up the roll paper RP guided by 17.

  The feeding shaft 15, the first intermediate roller 16, the second intermediate roller 17, and the take-up shaft 18 are configured to be rotatable around an axis extending in the horizontal direction and extend so as to be parallel to each other. The feeding shaft 15 is provided with a feeding motor 21 (see FIG. 3) that rotationally drives the feeding shaft 15 in the direction in which the roll paper RP is fed.

  On the other hand, the take-up shaft 18 is provided with a take-up motor 22 (see FIG. 3) that rotationally drives the take-up shaft 18 in the direction in which the roll paper RP is taken up. In addition, the 1st intermediate | middle roller 16 and the 2nd intermediate | middle roller 17 each follow and rotate with conveyance of the roll paper RP.

  Between the first intermediate roller 16 and the second intermediate roller 17, the roll paper RP conveyed from the first intermediate roller 16 toward the second intermediate roller 17 from the top to the bottom in the vertical direction on one side (see FIG. In FIG. 2, a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped support base 19 is provided. A suction fan 20 is built in the support table 19, and a surface of the support table 19 that supports the roll paper RP is a support surface 19 a.

  When the suction fan 20 is driven, the roll paper RP conveyed from the top to the bottom on the support surface 19a is sucked by the suction fan 20 through a number of suction holes (not shown) formed in the support surface 19a. And is adsorbed to the support surface 19a.

  The liquid ejecting unit 13 includes a rectangular plate-like support plate 30 disposed so as to face the support surface 19 a of the support base 19, and a plurality (four in this embodiment) of liquid ejecting heads supported by the support plate 30. As a recording head 31. Each recording head 31 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the horizontal direction parallel to the width direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (vertical direction) that is the conveyance direction of the roll paper RP conveyed on the support surface 19a. Each recording head 31 is supported by a support plate 30 so as to be equidistant in the vertical direction and parallel to each other.

  Each recording head 31 has a length in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction on the support surface 19a of the roll paper RP longer than the width of the roll paper RP. Each recording head 31 faces the support surface 19a of the support base 19 in the horizontal direction. The surface of each recording head 31 that faces the support surface 19a of the support base 19 is for ejecting ink from the side (horizontal direction) onto the roll paper RP that is conveyed from the top to the bottom on the support surface 19a. A plurality of nozzles 31a serve as nozzle formation surfaces 31b.

  The nozzles 31a of the recording heads 31 are arranged at equal intervals in the horizontal direction parallel to the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the roll paper RP on the support surface 19a. At the upper end of the support plate 30, a rotation shaft 32 is formed integrally with the support plate 30 as an axis extending horizontally along the width direction of the roll paper RP. That is, the rotation shaft 32 extends along the arrangement direction of the nozzles 31a.

  In this case, the rotation shaft 32 is located at substantially the same height as the first intermediate roller 16. The rotary shaft 32 is provided with a rotary encoder 33 (see FIG. 3) for detecting the amount of rotation of the rotary shaft 32, and a rotary gear 34 is provided at the tip of the rotary shaft 32. Yes.

  The rotating gear 34 meshes with a motor gear 37 provided at the tip of the output shaft 36 of the rotating motor 35. Then, by driving the rotation motor 35, the driving force of the rotation motor 35 is transmitted to the support plate 30 via the output shaft 36, the motor gear 37, the rotation gear 34, and the rotation shaft 32. However, it rotates between a position parallel to the vertical plane (position shown in FIG. 2) and a position parallel to the horizontal plane (position shown in FIG. 4) around the rotation shaft 32.

  In other words, by driving the rotation motor 35, each recording head 31 is a liquid ejecting position (shown in FIG. 2) that ejects ink onto the roll paper RP conveyed on the support surface 19a from top to bottom. Position) and a position separated from the roll paper RP conveyed from the top to the bottom on the support surface 19a in a direction intersecting the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the roll paper RP, and maintained by the maintenance unit 14 Is rotated (moved) together with the support plate 30 between a maintenance position (position shown in FIG. 4) that is a position where the movement is performed. Therefore, the rotation range (rotation angle) between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position of each recording head 31 is 90 degrees.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when each recording head 31 is at the maintenance position, each nozzle 31a faces downward. In this embodiment, each recording head 31 is moved to the liquid ejection position (position shown in FIG. 2) and the maintenance position by the rotation motor 35, the output shaft 36, the motor gear 37, the rotation gear 34, and the rotation shaft 32. A moving mechanism is configured to move between (position shown in FIG. 4).

  Each recording head 31 is supplied with inks of different colors from corresponding ink cartridges (not shown), and each recording head 31 has a piezoelectric element 38 (for ejecting ink from each nozzle 31a). 3). When each recording head 31 is in the liquid ejecting position, each ink in an ink cartridge (not shown) is supplied to each recording head 31 by driving the piezoelectric element 38 (see FIG. 3). Each ink is ejected onto the roll paper RP conveyed from the nozzle 31a of each recording head 31 on the support surface 19a from the top to the bottom, and printing is performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the maintenance unit 14 includes a block-like cap 40 that faces each nozzle 31 a (nozzle formation surface 31 b) of each recording head 31 in the maintenance position in the vertical direction, and each cap 40. And an elevating device 41 that moves in the up-down direction, which is a direction approaching and separating from the recording head 31.

  The cap 40 is disposed at a position lower than the support base 19, and a concave portion 42 corresponding to each recording head 31 is formed on the upper surface thereof. Furthermore, a flexible frame member 43 is provided on the upper surface of the cap 40 so as to surround each recess 42. That is, each frame member 43 is provided along the periphery of each recess 42 on the upper surface of the cap 40.

  Each frame member 43 is set to a size capable of enclosing each nozzle 31a of the recording head 31 in contact with each frame member 43 when the frame member 43 is in contact with the nozzle forming surface 31b of the corresponding recording head 31. A communication path 44 extending from the inner bottom surface of each recess 42 is opened on the lower surface of the cap 40. One end side of a flexible tube 45 is connected to each communication path 44 opened on the lower surface of the cap 40, and the other end side of each tube 45 merges into one at the junction G, and then the waste liquid It is connected to the tank 46.

  An opening / closing valve 47 for opening and closing each tube 45 is provided between the lower surface of the cap 40 in each tube 45 and the junction point G. Further, a tube pump 48 for sucking the inside of the tube 45 from the cap 40 side toward the waste liquid tank 46 side is provided between the junction G in the tube 45 and the waste liquid tank 46.

  The elevating device 41 includes a contact position (position shown in FIG. 6) where each frame member 43 comes into contact with the nozzle forming surface 31b of the corresponding recording head 31 when each recording head 31 is in the maintenance position. The cap 40 is moved up and down between each frame member 43 and a standby position (position shown in FIG. 4) that is separated from the nozzle forming surface 31 b of the corresponding recording head 31.

Next, the electrical configuration of the ink jet printer 11 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ink jet printer 11 includes a control unit 50 that performs overall control of the entire apparatus. A rotary encoder 33 is electrically connected to an input side interface (not shown) of the control unit 50. Further, the output side interface (not shown) of the control unit 50 includes a rotation motor 35, a feeding motor 21, a winding motor 22, a suction fan 20, each on-off valve 47, a tube pump 48, a piezoelectric element 38, and a lifting device. 41 are electrically connected to each other.

  Then, the control unit 50 controls driving of the rotation motor 35 based on a signal transmitted from the rotary encoder 33. The control unit 50 individually controls driving of the feeding motor 21, the winding motor 22, the suction fan 20, the tube pump 48, the piezoelectric element 38, and the lifting device 41, and individually opens and closes the opening / closing valves 47. To control.

Next, the operation of the ink jet printer 11 will be described.
When printing on the roll paper RP, first, the rotation motor 35 is driven to move each recording head 31 to the liquid ejecting position as shown in FIG. Subsequently, when the feeding motor 21 and the take-up motor 22 are driven, the roll paper RP is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side along the transport path.

  When each piezoelectric element 38 of each recording head 31 is driven, each ink from each nozzle 31a of each recording head 31 is transferred to the roll paper RP conveyed from the top to the bottom on the support surface 19a of the support base 19. Are ejected to print the roll paper RP. In this case, each recording head 31 ejects each ink from the side to the roll paper RP conveyed from the nozzle 31a on the support surface 19a from top to bottom in a stationary state. In this way, the roll paper RP is printed while being conveyed from the upstream side toward the downstream side. That is, images are formed on the roll paper RP at predetermined intervals.

  Here, while the roll paper RP is being printed, the ink in the nozzle 31a having a low ink ejection frequency among the nozzles 31a is likely to dry and thicken. Therefore, the nozzle 31a having a low ink ejection frequency is used. Therefore, when the ink is ejected from the next time, the ink may not be ejected well. For this reason, normally, it is necessary to suppress the increase in the viscosity of the ink in each nozzle 31a by performing flushing for ejecting ink from all the nozzles 31a at regular intervals during printing.

  In this case, the regular flushing is performed by ejecting a small amount of ink in the margin between each image on the roll paper RP. However, when the viscosity of the ink in each nozzle 31a is severe, the regular flushing is performed. In addition, strong flushing, which is flushing with a large amount of ink discharged from each nozzle 31a, is performed. This strong flushing is performed irregularly.

  When strong flushing is performed, the rotation motor 35 is driven with the conveyance of the roll paper RP stopped, and each recording head 31 is moved to the maintenance position as shown in FIG. Subsequently, the elevating device 41 is driven to move the cap 40 from the standby position to the strong flushing position shown in FIG. This strong flushing position is a position where the cap 40 is raised to the same height as the upper part of the support base 19 toward each recording head 31.

  That is, in a state where the cap 40 is in the strong flushing position, the cap 40 approaches the recording heads 31 to about several millimeters. In this state, strong flushing is performed in which the piezoelectric elements 38 of the respective recording heads 31 are driven to be larger than those during printing, and ink is forcibly discharged from all the nozzles 31a of the respective recording heads 31 into the corresponding recesses 42, respectively.

  At this time, the flushing ink may be scattered outside the recesses 42 (outside the cap 40) and fall, but each recording head 31 is at a maintenance position separated from the support surface 19a of the support base 19 and each nozzle 31a The support base 19 is not located on the lower side in the vertical direction. For this reason, the scattered flushing ink can prevent the support surface 19a (part of the conveyance path of the roll paper RP) and the roll paper RP on the support surface 19a from being soiled.

  When the tube pumps 48 are driven with the open / close valves 47 opened after the strong flushing is completed, the flushing ink accumulated in the recesses 42 is sucked through the communication paths 44 and the tubes 45 to be discharged as waste liquid. It is discharged into the tank 46. Thereafter, the lifting device 41 is driven to move the cap 40 to the standby position, and then the rotation motor 35 is driven to move each recording head 31 to the liquid ejecting position, so that the printing on the roll paper RP can be continued. It becomes.

  In addition, in the ink jet printer 11, when printing is not performed for a long time, cleaning is performed to remove the thickened ink in each recording head 31 and bubbles in the ink. When cleaning each recording head 31, the rotation motor 35 is driven to move each recording head 31 to the maintenance position as shown in FIG. Subsequently, the elevating device 41 is driven to move the cap 40 from the standby position to the contact position shown in FIG.

  Then, each frame member 43 of the cap 40 is in close contact with the nozzle forming surface 31b of the corresponding recording head 31 so as to surround each nozzle 31a. In this state, when the tube pump 48 is driven after opening the on-off valves 47, the ink in each recording head 31 is sucked together with the bubbles through the recesses 42, the communication paths 44, and the tubes 45. The liquid is discharged into the waste liquid tank 46, and the cleaning is completed.

  After the cleaning is completed, the elevating device 41 is driven to move the cap 40 from the contact position to the standby position shown in FIG. Thereafter, by wiping the nozzle forming surface 31b of each recording head 31 with a wiper (not shown), unnecessary ink attached to each nozzle forming surface 31b is removed and the ink meniscus in each nozzle 31a is adjusted. It is done.

  When performing the above-described cleaning and wiping, as in the case of the above-described strong flushing, unnecessary ink may be scattered and dropped. This is performed in a state where the maintenance position is separated from the support surface 19a. That is, cleaning and wiping are performed in a state where each recording head 31 is at a maintenance position where the support base 19 is not positioned below the vertical direction of each nozzle 31a, as in the case of strong flushing.

  For this reason, it is suppressed that the support surface 19a (a part of the conveyance path | route of roll paper RP) and the roll paper RP on the support surface 19a are soiled by the unnecessary ink which scatters when performing cleaning and wiping.

As described above, according to the embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Maintenance (strong flushing, cleaning, wiping) of each recording head 31 by the maintenance unit 14 is performed in the transport direction of the roll paper RP with respect to the roll paper RP on the support surface 19a transported from top to bottom. This is performed at a maintenance position which is a position separated in a direction intersecting the width direction orthogonal to the direction. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the support surface 19a and the roll paper RP conveyed on the support surface 19a from being contaminated by unnecessary ink discharged during maintenance of each recording head 31.

  (2) When each recording head 31 is in the maintenance position, each nozzle 31a faces downward. For this reason, when maintenance of each recording head 31 is performed, even if ink drips from each nozzle 31a, it is possible to prevent each recording head 31 from being soiled by the sagged ink.

  (3) Each recording head 31 rotates around a rotation shaft 32 extending along the arrangement direction of the nozzles 31a between the liquid ejection position and the maintenance position. For this reason, each recording head 31 can be positioned on the basis of the rotation shaft 32 that is the rotation center of each recording head 31, so that the positioning accuracy of each recording head 31 at the liquid ejection position and the maintenance position is ensured. can do.

  (4) The cap 40 is disposed so as to face each nozzle 31a of each recording head 31 in the maintenance position, and is configured to be movable in the vertical direction between the standby position and the contact position. For this reason, when each recording head 31 is maintained by the maintenance unit 14, each frame member 43 of the cap 40 can be brought into stable contact (contact) with the nozzle formation surface 31 b of each recording head 31. .

(5) The ink jet printer 11 includes a moving mechanism that moves each recording head 31 between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position. For this reason, each recording head 31 can be smoothly moved between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position by the moving mechanism.
(Example of change)
In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a position where each recording head 31 is separated from the liquid ejection position in the horizontal direction with respect to the support surface 19a of the support base 19 may be set as a maintenance position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 7). That is, the rotation shaft 32 and the rotation gear 34 are omitted, the output shaft 36 of the rotation motor 35 is rotatably connected to the upper end portion of the support plate 30, and the motor gear 37 moves in the moving direction of each recording head 31. The rack 60 is arranged so as to extend straight in a horizontal direction parallel to the rack 60. Accordingly, when the rotation motor 35 is driven, the motor gear 37 moves while rotating on the rack 60, whereby each recording head 31 moves between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position. In this case, the rotation mechanism 35, the motor gear 37, the output shaft 36, and the rack 60 constitute a moving mechanism. The cap 40 is vertically arranged at the standby position, and is opposed to the nozzle forming surface 31b of each recording head 31 where each frame member 43 is at the maintenance position from the standby position by a moving device (not shown). After rising to the position, each frame member 43 is configured to be moved to a contact position where it contacts each nozzle forming surface 31 b of each recording head 31. That is, the cap 40 is configured to move between the standby position and the contact position via the facing position by a moving device (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 8, each recording head 31 is separated from the liquid ejecting position in the horizontal direction with respect to the support surface 19a of the support base 19 (a position indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 8). You may comprise so that the rotation gear 34 and the motor gear 37 may mesh | engage. In this case, the position where the recording heads 31 are rotated so as to be horizontally arranged at the separated position is the maintenance position. Further, in this case, a moving device 61 that moves each recording head 31 between the liquid ejecting position and the separated position is disposed above each recording head 31. The moving device 61 includes a moving motor 63 having an output shaft 62 extending in parallel with the rotating shaft 32, one end side fixed to the output shaft 62, and the other end side rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 32. Arm 64. Each recording head 31 is moved between the liquid ejecting position and the separated position by the rotation of the arm 64 accompanying the driving of the moving motor 63. In this case, the rotation motor 35, the motor gear 37, the output shaft 36, the rotation shaft 32, the rotation gear 34, and the moving device 61 constitute a moving mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the transport unit 12 may be configured such that the roll paper RP is transported from the top to the bottom while being inclined with respect to the vertical direction on the support surface 19a of the support base 19. Good. In this case, in each recording head 31, the position (indicated by the solid line in FIG. 9) where the nozzle forming surface 31b is parallel to the support surface 19a is the liquid ejecting position. For this reason, the rotation range (rotation angle) between the liquid ejection position and the maintenance position of each recording head 31 is more than 90 degrees with respect to the vertical direction of the conveyance path of the roll paper RP on the support surface 19a. It gets bigger by the minute.

  In the ink jet printer 11, by supporting the upper end portion of the support plate 30 with a rotation shaft and lifting the lower end portion of the support plate 30 with a wire or the like, the support plate 30 rotates about the rotation shaft to perform each recording. The head 31 may be moved from the liquid ejection position to the maintenance position. In this case, by loosening the wire when each recording head 31 is in the maintenance position, the support plate 30 is rotated by its own weight around the rotation axis, and each recording head 31 is moved from the maintenance position to the liquid ejecting position.

  In the ink jet printer 11, the moving mechanism may be omitted. In this case, each recording head 31 is moved between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position manually or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied in the ink jet printer 11, but a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink may be employed. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And liquids as one state of the substance, as well as particles in which functional material particles made of solid materials such as pigments and metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Further, representative examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, or a color filter in a dispersed or dissolved form. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid used as a precision pipette, a printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these liquid ejecting apparatuses.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Inkjet printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 14 ... Maintenance unit as a maintenance unit, 31 ... Recording head as a liquid ejecting head, 31a ... Nozzle, 32 ... Rotating shaft as an axis constituting a moving mechanism, 34 ... Rotating gear constituting the moving mechanism, 35... Rotating motor constituting the moving mechanism, 36... Output shaft constituting the moving mechanism, 37... Motor gear constituting the moving mechanism, 40. paper.

Claims (5)

A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from the side in a stationary state from a plurality of nozzles arranged in a horizontal direction with respect to a target conveyed from top to bottom;
A maintenance unit that performs maintenance of the liquid jet head,
The liquid jet head includes:
A liquid ejection position that is a position at which the liquid is ejected onto the target conveyed from above to below;
A maintenance position that is a position that is spaced apart from the target that is transported from the top to the bottom in a direction that intersects the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the target and that performs the maintenance by the maintenance unit. A liquid ejecting apparatus configured to be movable between the two.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the liquid ejecting head is in the maintenance position, the nozzles face downward.   The liquid ejecting head rotates around an axis extending in an arrangement direction of the nozzles between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position. Liquid ejector. The maintenance unit includes a cap that can come into contact with the liquid ejecting head so as to surround the nozzles.
The said cap is arrange | positioned so that each nozzle of the said liquid jet head in the said maintenance position may be opposed, and it is comprised so that it can move to an up-down direction. Liquid ejector.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a moving mechanism that moves the liquid ejecting head between the liquid ejecting position and the maintenance position.