JP2013184472A - Printing apparatus, and control method of wetting liquid supply member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately perform wet of a cloth wiper by a wetting liquid supply member, and appropriately perform wiping of a nozzle face.SOLUTION: A printing apparatus comprises: a head to discharge ink from a nozzle; a cloth wiper 212 of the fabric that does wiping of a nozzle face of the head; and a wetting liquid supply roller 240 that can be brought into contact with and separated from the cloth wiper 212. A wetting liquid replenishment member 242 replenishes the wetting liquid to a wetting liquid supply roller 240 by being brought into contact with the wetting liquid supply roller 240, and the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is brought into contact with the cloth wiper 212 and wets the cloth wiper 212.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a control method for a wetting liquid supply member.

Printing apparatuses having a head for ejecting ink from nozzles are already well known. An example of such a printing apparatus is an ink jet printer.
In such a printing apparatus, as a head cleaning process, a wiping process for wiping the nozzle surface of the head is performed after the head suction process or the like.

JP 2005-111808 A

By the way, in the above printing apparatus, in order to realize the wiping process, a cloth wiper made of cloth for wiping the nozzle surface and a wetting liquid supply that wets the cloth wiper by supplying the wetting liquid in contact with the cloth wiper Some have members. In such a printing apparatus, the cloth wiper that has been wetted with the wetting liquid by the wetting liquid supply member wipes the nozzle surface.
However, conventionally, wetting of the cloth wiper by the wetting liquid supply member may not be performed properly. As a result, problems such as an inappropriate wiping of the nozzle surface by the cloth wiper have occurred.
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to appropriately wet the cloth wiper by the wetting liquid supply member.

The main present invention is a head for ejecting ink from nozzles;
A cloth wiper made of cloth for wiping the nozzle surface of the head;
A wetting liquid supply member that can be brought into contact with and separated from the cloth wiper, and wets the cloth wiper by supplying the wetting liquid in contact with the cloth wiper;
It is a printing apparatus characterized by having.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording apparatus 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a cleaning unit 43. It is the schematic diagram which showed a mode that the cloth wiper 212 wiped the nozzle surface 32. FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of the wetting unit 230 when the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is in contact with the cloth wiper 212. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the wetting unit 230 when the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is separated from the cloth wiper 212. It is the schematic diagram which showed the 1st state of the cleaning unit 43 at the time of a cleaning process being performed. It is the schematic diagram which showed the 2nd state of the cleaning unit 43 at the time of a cleaning process being performed. It is the schematic diagram which showed the 3rd state of the cleaning unit 43 at the time of a cleaning process being performed. It is the schematic diagram which showed the 4th state of the cleaning unit 43 at the time of a cleaning process being performed. It is the schematic diagram which showed the 5th state of the cleaning unit 43 at the time of a cleaning process being performed.

  At least the following will be made clear by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

A head for ejecting ink from nozzles;
A cloth wiper made of cloth for wiping the nozzle surface of the head;
A wetting liquid supply member that can be brought into contact with and separated from the cloth wiper, and wets the cloth wiper by supplying the wetting liquid in contact with the cloth wiper;
A printing apparatus comprising:
According to such a printing apparatus, the cloth wiper can be appropriately wetted by the wetting liquid supply member.

The wetting liquid supply member may be a rotatable wetting liquid supply roller, and may transfer the wetting liquid to the cloth wiper by rotating in contact with the cloth wiper.
In such a case, the frictional force generated between the cloth wiper can be suppressed.

A controller for controlling the cloth wiper and the wetting liquid supply member;
The cloth wiper performs a feeding operation intermittently,
The controller may separate the wetting liquid supply member from the cloth wiper when stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper.
In such a case, the cloth wiper can be more appropriately wetted by the wetting liquid supply member.

In addition, the controller
When stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper, the wetting liquid supply member is separated from the cloth wiper,
When the feeding operation of the cloth wiper that has been stopped after being stopped is resumed, the wetting liquid supply member that has been kept separated after being separated may be brought into contact with the cloth wiper again.
In such a case, the cloth wiper can be more appropriately wetted by the wetting liquid supply member.

Next, when the feeding operation of the cloth wiper made of cloth for wiping the nozzle surface of the head that discharges ink from the nozzles is stopped, the cloth wiper is wetted by contacting the cloth wiper and supplying the wetting liquid. Separating the liquid supply member from the cloth wiper;
Re-contacting the cloth wiper with the wetting liquid supply member maintained in the separated state after separation when resuming the feeding operation of the cloth wiper in which the stopped state is maintained after stopping;
A method of controlling a wetting liquid supply member, comprising:
In such a case, the cloth wiper can be more appropriately wetted by the wetting liquid supply member.

=== About Configuration Example of Image Recording Apparatus 1 ===
A configuration example of an image recording apparatus 1 (an ink jet printer, in particular, a lateral scan type label printing machine in this embodiment) as an example of a printing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the image recording apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image recording apparatus 1.
In the following description, when referring to “up and down direction” and “left and right direction”, the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 is used as a reference. In addition, the “front-rear direction” refers to a direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG.
In the present embodiment, a description will be given using a sheet wound in a roll shape (hereinafter referred to as a roll sheet (continuous sheet)) as an example of a medium on which the image recording apparatus 1 records an image.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a transport unit 20 and a transport path through which the transport unit 20 transports the roll paper 2 (in FIG. 1, the transport path is , Along the roll paper winding shaft 18 to the roll paper winding drive shaft 92 (represented by the portion where the roll paper 2 is positioned), the feeding unit 10, the platen 29, and the winding unit 90 are provided. Further, a head unit 30 that performs image recording by discharging a plurality of types of ink in the image recording region R on the transport path, an ink supply unit 35, a carriage unit 40, a cleaning unit 43, a heater unit 70, A blower unit 80 for sending air to the roll paper 2 on the platen 29, and a control unit that controls these units and controls the operation of the image recording apparatus 1. The roller 60, and a detector group 50, a.

  The feeding unit 10 feeds the roll paper 2 to the transport unit 20. The feeding unit 10 includes a roll paper winding shaft 18 around which the roll paper 2 is wound and rotatably supported, and a relay roller 19 for winding the roll paper 2 fed from the roll paper winding shaft 18 and guiding the roll paper 2 to the transport unit 20. And have.

  The transport unit 20 transports the roll paper 2 sent by the feeding unit 10 along a preset transport path. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 20 includes a relay roller 21 that is positioned horizontally to the right of the relay roller 19, a relay roller 22 that is positioned obliquely downward to the right when viewed from the relay roller 21, and the relay roller 22. A first conveyance roller 23 located obliquely right above (as viewed from the platen 29 in the conveyance direction), and a steering unit (steering unit) 20a positioned between the relay roller 22 and the first conveyance roller 23, A second transport roller 24 positioned on the right side (downstream in the transport direction as viewed from the platen 29) as viewed from the first transport roller 23, a reversing roller 25 positioned vertically downward as viewed from the second transport roller 24, A relay roller 26 located on the right side when viewed from the reversing roller 25, a delivery roller 27 positioned above when viewed from the relay roller 26, It has.

The relay roller 21 is a roller that winds the roll paper 2 sent from the relay roller 19 from the left side and loosens it downward.
The relay roller 22 is a roller that winds the roll paper 2 sent from the relay roller 21 from the left side and conveys it obliquely upward to the right.

  The first transport roller 23 includes a first drive roller 23a driven by a motor (not shown), and a first driven roller 23b arranged to face the first drive roller 23a with the roll paper 2 interposed therebetween. have. The first transport roller 23 is a roller that pulls up the roll paper 2 slacked downward and transports it to the image recording region R facing the platen 29. The first conveyance roller 23 temporarily stops conveyance during a period in which image printing is performed on the portion of the roll paper 2 on the image recording region R. In addition, the conveyance amount of the roll paper 2 positioned on the platen 29 is adjusted by rotating the first driven roller 23b in accordance with the rotational drive of the first drive roller 23a by the drive control of the controller 60.

  As described above, the transport unit 20 has a mechanism for transporting the portion of the roll paper 2 wound between the relay rollers 21 and 22 and the first transport roller 23 by slacking it downward. The slackness of the roll paper 2 is monitored by the controller 60 based on a detection signal from a slack detection sensor (not shown). Specifically, when a portion of the roll paper 2 slackened between the relay rollers 21 and 22 and the first transport roller 23 is detected by the slack detection sensor, a tension of an appropriate magnitude is applied to the portion. Therefore, the transport unit 20 can transport the roll paper 2 in a relaxed state. On the other hand, when the portion of the roll paper 2 that has been loosened is not detected by the slack detection sensor, an excessive amount of tension is applied to the portion, so that the roll paper 2 is transported by the transport unit 20. It is temporarily stopped and the tension is adjusted to an appropriate magnitude.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the steering unit 20a is positioned on the conveyance path in an inclined state, and rotates to roll paper 2 in the width direction position (width direction (front-back direction shown in FIG. 1)) of the roll paper 2. This is for changing the position at which is located. That is, when the roll paper 2 is conveyed along the conveyance path, the tension applied to the roll paper 2 fluctuates due to an axial deviation or an assembly error of a relay roller or the like. The position may be displaced. The steering unit 20 a is for adjusting the position in the width direction of the roll paper 2.

  The second transport roller 24 includes a second drive roller 24a driven by a motor (not shown), and a second driven roller 24b disposed so as to face the second drive roller 24a with the roll paper 2 interposed therebetween. have. The second transport roller 24 is a roller that transports the portion of the roll paper 2 on which the image is recorded by the head unit 30 in the horizontal right direction along the support surface of the platen 29 and then transports it vertically downward. Thereby, the conveyance direction of the roll paper 2 is changed. The second driven roller 24b rotates as the second drive roller 24a is driven to rotate by the drive control of the controller 60, whereby a predetermined amount given to the portion of the roll paper 2 located on the platen 29 is obtained. Tension is adjusted.

The reversing roller 25 is a roller that wraps the roll paper 2 sent from the second conveying roller 24 from the upper left side and conveys it diagonally upward to the right.
The relay roller 26 is a roller that winds the roll paper 2 sent from the reversing roller 25 from the lower left side and conveys it upward.
The delivery roller 27 winds the roll paper 2 sent from the relay roller 26 from the lower left side and sends it to the take-up unit 90.

  As described above, the roll paper 2 moves sequentially through the rollers, whereby a transport path for transporting the roll paper 2 is formed. The roll paper 2 is intermittently transported along the transport path by the transport unit 20 in units of regions corresponding to the image recording regions R.

  The head unit 30 is for recording an image on a portion of the roll paper 2 located in the image recording region R on the transport path. That is, the head unit 30 ejects ink from an ink ejection nozzle (corresponding to a nozzle) onto a portion of the roll paper 2 that has been fed into the image recording region R (on the platen 29) on the transport path by the transport unit 20. Form an image. In the present embodiment, the head unit 30 has M heads 31.

  Each head 31 has an ink ejection nozzle row in which ink ejection nozzles are arranged in the row direction on the lower surface (that is, the nozzle surface 32). In the present embodiment, there is an ink discharge nozzle row composed of a plurality of ink discharge nozzles # 1 to #N for each color such as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). doing. The ink discharge nozzles # 1 to #N of each ink discharge nozzle row are linearly arranged in a cross direction that intersects the transport direction of the roll paper 2 (that is, the cross direction is the above-described row direction). . The respective ink discharge nozzle rows are arranged in parallel with a space therebetween along the transport direction.

  Each of the ink discharge nozzles # 1 to #N is provided with a piezo element (not shown) as a drive element for discharging ink droplets. When a voltage having a predetermined time width is applied between the electrodes provided at both ends of the piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element expands according to the voltage application time and deforms the side wall of the ink flow path. As a result, the volume of the ink flow path contracts according to the expansion and contraction of the piezo element, and the ink corresponding to the contraction is ejected from the ink ejection nozzles # 1 to #N of the respective colors as ink droplets.

  Then, M such heads 31 are arranged in the intersecting direction (the row direction), thereby forming the head unit 30. Therefore, the head unit 30 has M × N ink ejection nozzles for each color.

  The ink supply unit 35 is for supplying ink to the head unit 30 when the amount of ink in the head unit 30 decreases due to ink ejection by the head 31.

  The ink supply unit 35 is provided for each ink color. That is, a yellow ink supply unit for supplying yellow ink, a magenta ink supply unit for supplying magenta ink, a cyan ink supply unit for supplying cyan ink, and a black ink supply For this purpose, a black ink supply unit or the like is provided.

  The ink supply unit 35 includes an ink cartridge, a large number of tubes serving as ink flow paths (passages), a large number of valves for opening and closing the tubes, and the like. The place where the ink cartridge is installed is indicated by reference numeral 35 in FIG.

  The carriage unit 40 is for moving the head unit 30 (head 31). The carriage unit 40 is supported by a carriage guide rail 41 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) extending in the transport direction (left-right direction) and reciprocally movable along the carriage guide rail 41 in the transport direction (left-right direction). A carriage 42 and a motor (not shown).

  The carriage 42 is provided with a head unit 30 (head 31). The carriage 42 is configured to move in the transport direction (left-right direction) together with the head unit 30 (head 31) by driving a motor (not shown).

  The cleaning unit 43 is for cleaning the head 31. As cleaning, a suction process for sucking ink in the head 31 and a wiping process for wiping (wiping) the nozzle surface 32 of the head 31 are performed in this order. The cleaning unit 43 performs both the suction process and the wiping process. A member for realizing is provided. The cleaning unit 43 will be described in detail later.

  Further, a flushing unit 44 is provided between a home position (hereinafter referred to as HP; see FIG. 1) in the transport direction (left and right direction) and the platen 29, and the head 31 (carriage 42) moves in the transport direction ( When the head 31 moves to the left and right and faces the flushing unit 44, the head 31 performs a flushing operation for performing flushing by ejecting ink from each ink ejection nozzle belonging to the ink ejection nozzle row.

  The platen 29 supports the part of the roll paper 2 located in the image recording region R on the conveyance path and heats the part. As shown in FIG. 1, the platen 29 is provided corresponding to the image recording area R on the conveyance path, and is an area along the conveyance path between the first conveyance roller 23 and the second conveyance roller 24. Is arranged. The platen 29 can heat the portion of the roll paper 2 by receiving supply of heat generated by the heater unit 70.

  The heater unit 70 is for heating the roll paper 2 and has a heater (not shown). This heater has a nichrome wire, and the nichrome wire is arranged inside the platen 29 so as to be at a fixed distance from the support surface of the platen 29. For this reason, when the heater is energized, the nichrome wire itself generates heat, and heat can be conducted to the portion of the roll paper 2 located on the support surface of the platen 29. Since this heater is configured by incorporating a nichrome wire in the entire area of the platen 29, heat can be uniformly conducted to the portion of the roll paper 2 on the platen 29. In the present embodiment, the portion of the roll paper 2 is uniformly heated so that the temperature of the portion of the roll paper 2 on the platen is 45 ° C. Thereby, the ink landed on the part of the roll paper 2 can be dried.

  The blower unit 80 is for sending wind to the roll paper 2 on the platen 29. The blower unit 80 includes a fan 81 and a motor (not shown) that rotates the fan 81. The fan 81 rotates to send wind to the roll paper 2 on the platen 29 and dry the ink landed on the roll paper 2. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of fans 81 are provided on an openable / closable cover (not shown) provided on the main body. Each fan 81 is positioned above the platen 29 when the cover is closed, and faces the support surface of the platen 29 (the roll paper 2 on the platen 29).

  The take-up unit 90 is for taking up the roll paper 2 (roll paper on which an image has been recorded) sent by the transport unit 20. This take-up unit 90 is fed from the relay roller 91 that is rotatably supported by the relay roller 91 for winding the roll paper 2 sent from the feed roller 27 from the upper left side and conveying it to the lower right side. A roll paper take-up drive shaft 92 for taking up the roll paper 2.

  The controller 60 is a control unit for controlling the image recording apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 60 includes an interface unit 61, a CPU 62, a memory 63, and a unit control circuit 64. The interface unit 61 is for transmitting and receiving data between the host computer 110 as an external device and the image recording apparatus 1. The CPU 62 is an arithmetic processing device for controlling the entire image recording apparatus 1. The memory 63 is for securing an area for storing a program of the CPU 62, a work area, and the like. The CPU 62 controls each unit by a unit control circuit 64 according to a program stored in the memory 63.

  The detector group 50 is for monitoring the situation in the image recording apparatus 1. For example, a rotary encoder that is attached to the above-described slack detection sensor and the conveyance roller and is used for controlling the conveyance of the roll paper 2. A paper detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the roll paper 2 being conveyed, a linear encoder for detecting the position of the carriage 42 (or head 31) in the conveyance direction (left and right direction), and the paper edge in the width direction of the roll paper 2 There is a paper edge position detection sensor for detecting the (edge) position.

=== About Cleaning Unit 43 ===
Next, the cleaning unit 43 will be described. Below, the structural example of the cleaning unit 43 is demonstrated first, and the operation example of the cleaning unit 43 is demonstrated following this.

<<< Configuration Example of Cleaning Unit 43 >>>
First, a configuration example of the cleaning unit 43 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the cleaning unit 43. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the cloth wiper 212 wipes the nozzle surface 32. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a state of the wetting unit 230 when the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is in contact with the cloth wiper 212. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a state of the wetting unit 230 when the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is separated from the cloth wiper 212.

  The cleaning unit 43 is for cleaning the head 31 as described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 43 includes a cap member 200, a wiping unit 210, and a wetting unit 230.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cap member 200 has a bottomed box shape and can move in the vertical direction (up and down direction) (the mechanism for movement will be described later). The cap member 200 caps the nozzle surface 32 by moving upward and in close contact with the nozzle surface 32 of the head 31 when the suction process is executed.

  A suction pump (not shown) is connected to the cap member 200. When the suction pump is operated under the control of the controller 60 in a state where the cap member 200 is in close contact with the nozzle surface 32, the ink in the head 31 is sucked together with the thickened ink and paper dust, and the clogged ink discharge nozzle It recovers from the non-ejection state.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the wiping unit 210 includes a cloth wiper 212, a cloth wiper winding shaft 214, a cloth wiper winding drive shaft 216, and a pressing member 218.

  The cloth wiper 212 is a sheet-like wiper made of cloth (for example, a fibrous member such as a nonwoven fabric or a woven cloth) for wiping (wiping) the nozzle surface 32 of the head 31. In the present embodiment, the cloth wiper 212 is a roll cloth, and wipes the nozzle surface 32 in a wet state by a wet unit 230 described later.

  The cloth wiper winding shaft 214 is a shaft around which the cloth wiper 212 is wound for feeding the cloth wiper 212, and the cloth wiper winding drive shaft 216 is wound around the cloth wiper 212 for winding the cloth wiper 212. Axis. When the cloth wiper take-up drive shaft 216 is driven under the control of the controller 60, the cloth wiper 212 is taken up by the cloth wiper take-up drive shaft 216 and fed out from the cloth wiper take-up shaft 214. As a result, the cloth wiper 212 moves in the direction from the left to the right (the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 3).

  The pressing member 218 has a function of pressing the cloth wiper 212 against the nozzle surface 32 of the head 31 when the wiping process is executed. Since the pressing member 218 corresponds to the M (multiple) heads 31 described above, the longitudinal direction is along the width direction of the cloth wiper 212 (that is, the front-rear direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 3 and 4). This is a long cylindrical member that is in contact with the cloth wiper 212 in a state where the cloth is wiped. The pressing member 218 is positioned between the cloth wiper winding shaft 214 and the cloth wiper winding drive shaft 216 in the horizontal direction (left-right direction). Moreover, it is located above these axes in the vertical direction.

  The wiping unit 210 can move in the vertical direction (a mechanism for moving will be described later). In other words, the cloth wiper 212, the cloth wiper winding shaft 214, the cloth wiper winding drive shaft 216, and the pressing member 218 are integrally movable in the vertical direction.

  When the wiping process is executed, the wiping unit 210 is located at a predetermined position in the vertical direction (a position where the cloth wiper 212 can contact the nozzle surface 32; hereinafter referred to as a wiping position for convenience). In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, when the head 31 moves in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) as the carriage 42 moves (see the white arrow), the cloth wiper 212 takes up the cloth wiper. In a state where the cloth wiper 212 is pressed against the nozzle surface 32 by the pressing member 218 (a state where the cloth wiper 212 is sandwiched between the nozzle surface 32 and the pressing member 218). The cloth wiper 212 rubs against the nozzle surface 32, and the nozzle surface 32 is wiped by the cloth wiper 212.

  After the wiping by one movement of the head 31 is performed, the cloth wiper is prepared for the next wiping (so that the nozzle surface 32 is wiped at a new portion of the cloth wiper 212 by the next wiping). The winding drive shaft 216 is driven, and the cloth wiper 212 is moved (sent).

  As described above, the cloth wiper 212 repeats the rest during wiping and the movement (feeding operation) after wiping. That is, the cloth wiper 212 performs the feeding operation intermittently.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the head 31 is provided with a cover head 33 for the purpose of pressing the nozzle surface 32 toward the head body 34. Since the cover head 33 covers both ends of the nozzle surface 32 in the horizontal direction (left-right direction), a step is generated at the boundary B between the cover head 33 and the nozzle surface 32. And the cloth wiper 212 is suitable for the wiping of the said boundary part B which is hard to wipe compared with the conventional rubber wiper.

  The wetting unit 230 is for moistening the cloth wiper 212 with a wetting liquid. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the wetting unit 230 includes a wetting liquid supply roller 240 as an example of a wetting liquid supply member, a counter roller 232, a wetting unit case 234, a wetting liquid supply member 242 and the like. ing. In the present embodiment, the wetting unit 230 is detachably attached to the cleaning unit 43 (or the image recording apparatus main body).

  The wetting liquid supply roller 240 is for moistening the cloth wiper 212 by contacting the cloth wiper 212 and supplying the wetting liquid. The wetting liquid supply roller 240 is a rotatable driven roller impregnated with the wetting liquid, and as shown in FIG. 5, the longitudinal direction is the width direction of the cloth wiper 212 (ie, before and after being orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. This is a long cylindrical member that is in contact with the cloth wiper 212 in a state along (direction).

  As described above, when the cloth wiper take-up drive shaft 216 is driven by the control of the controller 60, the cloth wiper 212 moves in the direction from left to right (the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 3). The supply roller 240 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3 while being in contact with the cloth wiper 212 as the cloth wiper 212 moves. The wetting liquid is transferred to the cloth wiper 212 by the rotation in contact with the cloth wiper 212. Further, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is made of a material that can be impregnated with the wetting liquid, and in this embodiment, is a sponge having a higher hardness than a wetting liquid replenishing member 242 described later.

  In the present embodiment, polyethylene glycol is used as the wetting liquid. However, the liquid is not limited to this as long as it has a function of wetting the cloth wiper 212, and may be water or the like, for example. The wetting liquid may have a cleaning function for cleaning ink.

  The facing roller 232 is a roller facing the wetting liquid supply roller 240 via the cloth wiper 212. The opposing roller 232 plays a role of bringing the cloth wiper 212 into contact with the wetting liquid supply roller 240 by sandwiching the cloth wiper 212 in cooperation with the wetting liquid supply roller 240. The opposing roller 232 is also a rotatable driven roller, and as shown in FIG. 5, the cloth is in a state where the longitudinal direction is along the width direction of the cloth wiper 212 (that is, the front-rear direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 5). This is a long cylindrical member that is in contact with the wiper 212. Similarly to the wetting liquid supply roller 240, the counter roller 232 rotates in contact with the cloth wiper 212 as the cloth wiper 212 moves (the rotation direction is different from that of the wetting liquid supply roller 240, as shown in FIG. 3). In the clockwise direction).

  Further, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is rotatably supported by the wetting unit case 234 as shown in FIGS. The wetting liquid supply roller 240 is accommodated in the wetting unit case 234 in a state where a part of the wetting liquid supply roller 240 (exposed portion 240a) is exposed to the outside of the wetting unit case 234. The wetting unit case 234 also supports and accommodates a wetting liquid replenishing member 242 and a pressing force adjusting member 244 described later.

  Further, the wet unit case 234 is movable in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) (in other words, reciprocally moves between the left position and the right position). More specifically, a case pressing member (not shown) is controlled by the controller 60, and the wet unit case 234 is pressed by the case pressing member in the direction indicated by the black arrow in FIG. Then, the wet unit case 234 moves to the right position (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, the wet unit case 234 is connected to a first biasing member 246 that biases the wet unit case 234 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the case pressing member presses (that is, the left direction). When the pressing by the pressing member is released, the wetting unit case 234 moves to the left side position by the biasing force of the first biasing member 246 (see FIG. 6).

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the wetting unit case 234 is positioned at the right side, the exposed portion 240 a of the wetting liquid supply roller 240 cooperates with the opposing roller 232 to sandwich the cloth wiper 212. Contact the cloth wiper 212. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the wetting unit case 234 is positioned at the left side position, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is separated from the cloth wiper 212. In this manner, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the cloth wiper 212, and the case pressing member and the first biasing member 246 cause the wetting liquid supply roller 240 to move away from the cloth wiper 212. A contact / separation mechanism for contact / separation is configured. Note that the timing at which the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is brought into contact with or separated from the cloth wiper 212 will be described later.

  The wetting liquid replenishing member 242 is for replenishing (supplying) the wetting liquid to the wetting liquid supply roller 240 by contacting the wetting liquid supply roller 240. That is, the wetting liquid replenishing member 242 serves to supplement the wetting liquid consumed in the wetting liquid supply roller 240 by being transferred to the cloth wiper 212. The wetting liquid supply member 242 is a sponge impregnated with the wetting liquid, and the wetting liquid supply roller 240 in a state where the longitudinal direction is along the width direction of the cloth wiper 212 (that is, the front-rear direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 5). A long rectangular member in contact with the cloth wiper 212 (however, in order to make contact with the cylindrical cloth wiper 212 appropriate, as shown in FIG. A curved shape that is curved to the right).

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a pressing force adjusting member 244 is connected to the wetting liquid replenishing member 242 via a second urging member 248. The pressing force adjusting member 244 is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction (left and right direction) (see the white arrow in FIGS. 5 and 6), and when the pressing force adjusting member 244 is positioned to the right in FIGS. The pressing force of the wetting liquid supply member 242 that contacts the wetting liquid supply roller 240 against the wetting liquid supply roller 240 increases, and the wetting liquid easily moves from the wetting liquid supply member 242 to the wetting liquid supply roller 240. Conversely, when the pressing force adjusting member 244 is positioned on the left side in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pressing force of the wetting liquid supply member 242 that contacts the wetting liquid supply roller 240 against the wetting liquid supply roller 240 becomes low, so It becomes difficult for the wetting liquid to move from the liquid replenishing member 242 to the wetting liquid supply roller 240.

  When the pressing force adjusting member 244 is operated by the user or manufacturer of the image recording apparatus 1 and the pressing force is adjusted, the wetting liquid moves from the wetting liquid supply member 242 to the wetting liquid supply roller 240. The amount is adjusted, and the supply amount by which the wetting liquid supply roller 240 supplies the wetting liquid to the cloth wiper 212 is adjusted accordingly. The supply amount (large or small) is not only the pressing force of the wetting liquid supply member 242 against the wetting liquid supply roller 240 (referred to as a wetting liquid supply member pressing force for convenience), but also the cloth wiper of the wetting liquid supply roller 240. It also depends on the pressing force to 212 (opposing roller 232) (referred to as a wetting liquid supply roller pressing force for the sake of convenience) and the movement speed of cloth wiper 212 when cloth wiper 212 is fed. Therefore, when adjusting the pressing force of the wetting liquid replenishing member, the pressing force of the wetting liquid supply roller and the moving speed are taken into consideration in order to set the supply amount to an appropriate amount.

  In the above description, it has been described that the cap member 200 and the wiping unit 210 are movable in the vertical direction. However, the cap member 200 and the wiping unit 210 are integrally moved. In order to realize such movement, the cleaning unit 43 is provided with a storage case 220 and a lifting device 222 as shown in FIG.

  The housing case 220 is for housing and supporting the cap member 200 and the wiping unit 210. The housing case 220 has an opening at the top and has a bottomed box shape. A cloth wiper winding shaft 214 and a cloth wiper winding drive shaft 216 are rotatably supported by the housing case 220. The pressing member 218 and the cap member 200 are also supported. Accordingly, the wiping unit 210 and the cap member 200 are fixed to the housing case 220.

  Further, the storage case 220 also stores the wet unit 230. That is, the storage unit 220 supports the wet unit case 234 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction (left-right direction). Moreover, the opposing roller 232 is also supported.

  The wet unit 230 is also moved in the vertical direction integrally with the cap member 200 and the wiping unit 210. That is, the housing case 220 is moved up and down in the vertical direction by driving the lifting device 222 made of a cylinder or the like, and thereby, the cap member 200, the wiping unit 210, and the wetting unit 230 are integrally moved in the vertical direction. It has come to be realized.

  In the present embodiment, the housing case 220 (the cap member 200, the wiping unit 210, and the wetting unit 230) is positioned at two different vertical positions. The first position is the above-described wiping position where the cloth wiper 212 can contact the nozzle surface 32 (see, for example, FIG. 7B). The second position is a position where the cap member 200 is in close contact with the nozzle surface 32 (hereinafter referred to as a cap position for convenience) (for example, see FIG. 7A). As shown in FIG. 3, since the uppermost part of the cloth wiper 212 is located above the uppermost part of the cap member 200, the cap position is higher than the wiping position. The specific timing at which the storage case 220 is raised and lowered will be described later.

<<< Example of Operation of Cleaning Unit 43 >>>
Next, an operation example of the cleaning unit 43 when the cleaning process is executed will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7E. 7A to 7E are schematic diagrams illustrating the state of the cleaning unit 43 when the cleaning process is executed. The operation is mainly realized by the controller 60. In particular, this embodiment is realized by the CPU 62 processing the program stored in the memory 63. And this program is comprised from the code | cord | chord for performing the various operation | movement demonstrated below.

  The controller 60 first controls the carriage 42 to position the carriage 42 at a position where the head 31 faces the cap member 200, and controls the lifting device 222 to place the storage case 220 (cap member 200) in the cap position. To be located. As a result, the cap member 200 comes into close contact with the nozzle surface 32 and the suction process can be executed (FIG. 7A). In this state, the controller 60 operates the suction pump to perform a suction process for sucking ink.

  When the suction process is completed, the controller 60 controls the lifting device 222 to lower the storage case 220 from the cap position to the wiping position (see thick black arrow in FIG. 7A). As a result, the cloth wiper 212 is lowered to a position where the cloth wiper 212 can come into contact with the head 31, and the wiping process can be executed (FIG. 7B).

  In this state, when the controller 60 controls the carriage 42 to move the carriage 42 from right to left (see the thick black arrow in FIG. 7B), the cloth wiper 212 eventually comes into contact with the head 31. Then, by further movement of the carriage 42, the cloth wiper 212 wetted with the wetting liquid slides on the head 31 and wipes the head 31. When the carriage 42 moves to a position where the cloth wiper 212 moves away from the head 31 (FIG. 7C), the wiping operation ends.

  After the end, the controller 60 controls the cloth wiper winding drive shaft 216 to feed the cloth wiper 212 in preparation for wiping in a cleaning process that can be performed in the future. At the start, in order to wet the cloth wiper 212, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is brought into contact with the cloth wiper 212 (see the thick black arrow in FIG. 7C).

  The controller 60 stops feeding the cloth wiper after feeding the cloth wiper 212 by a predetermined length (see the white arrow in FIG. 7D). At this time, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is separated from the cloth wiper 212 (see FIG. (See 7E, thick arrow).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the controller 60 performs control to link the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212 and the contacting / separating operation of the wetting liquid supply roller 240. That is, the controller 60 separates the wetting liquid supply roller 240 from the cloth wiper 212 when stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212 (see FIG. 7E). Then, the stopped state is maintained after the stop (when the stopped state is maintained in FIGS. 7A to 7C), when the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212 is resumed (see FIG. 7D), the separated state is maintained after the separation. The wetting liquid supply roller 240 that has been separated (the separated state is maintained in FIGS. 7A to 7C) is brought into contact with the cloth wiper 212 again (see FIG. 7D). Further, when the controller 60 again stops the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212 that is maintained to perform the feeding operation after the restart, the controller 60 removes the wetting liquid supply roller 240 that is kept in contact after the re-contact from the cloth wiper 212. Re-space.

=== Effectiveness of Image Recording Apparatus 1 According to the Present Embodiment ===
As described above, the image recording apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes the head 31 that ejects ink from the nozzles, the cloth wiper 212 that wipes the nozzle surface 32 of the head 31, and the cloth wiper 212. A wetting liquid supply roller 240 that is capable of contacting and separating and wets the cloth wiper 212 by supplying the wetting liquid in contact with the cloth wiper 212. Thus, the cloth wiper 212 can be appropriately wetted by the wetting liquid supply roller 240.

  That is, in the image recording apparatus 1 according to the comparative example, the wetting liquid supply member that wets the cloth wiper by supplying the wetting liquid in contact with the cloth wiper is provided. The cloth wiper was not in contact with the wiper and remained in contact with the cloth wiper.

  Therefore, when the cloth wiper is stationary without performing the feeding operation, the portion of the cloth wiper that is in contact with the wetting liquid supply member does not change, and therefore, the wetting liquid is excessively supplied to the portion. There was a disadvantage that the part was too wet. Then, due to the inconvenience, there has been a problem that the nozzle surface is not properly wiped by the cloth wiper.

  On the other hand, in the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, since the wetting liquid supply roller 240 can be brought into contact with and separated from the cloth wiper 212, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is wetted by being separated from the cloth wiper 212. It is possible to suppress the above-described inconvenience that the liquid is excessively supplied. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately wet the cloth wiper 212 by the wetting liquid supply roller 240.

=== Other Embodiments ===
Although the above-described embodiment is mainly described with respect to a printing apparatus, disclosure of a control method for a wetting liquid supply member is also included. The above-described embodiments are for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, the embodiments described below are also included in the present invention.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the roll paper 2 was mentioned as an example and demonstrated as a medium, it is not limited to this, For example, a cut paper, a film, and cloth may be sufficient.

  In the above embodiment, the head unit 30 has a plurality of (M) heads 31. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the head unit 30 may be composed of one head 31.

  In the above embodiment, the wetting liquid supply member is the rotatable wetting liquid supply roller 240, and the wetting liquid is transferred to the cloth wiper 212 by rotating in contact with the cloth wiper 212. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the wetting liquid supply member may be a non-roller-like member that cannot rotate.

  However, since the configuration of the wetting liquid supply member is rotated while being in contact with the cloth wiper 212, the above embodiment is preferable in that the frictional force generated between the cloth wiper 212 and the cloth wiper 212 can be suppressed. .

  Further, the image recording apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment includes the controller 60 that controls the cloth wiper 212 and the wetting liquid supply roller 240, and the cloth wiper 212 performs the feeding operation intermittently. Then, the controller 60 separates the wetting liquid supply roller 240 from the cloth wiper 212 when stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 may be separated from the cloth wiper 212 after stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212 for a while.

  In the above embodiment, when stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 is separated from the cloth wiper 212. The time during which the liquid supply roller 240 is in contact with the cloth wiper 212, that is, the time during which the above-described inconvenience is satisfied, can be further reduced (ideally set to 0). Therefore, the above embodiment is more preferable in that the cloth wiper 212 can be more appropriately wetted by the wetting liquid supply roller 240.

  In the above embodiment, when the controller 60 stops the feeding operation of the cloth wiper 212, the controller 60 separates the wetting liquid supply roller 240 from the cloth wiper 212, and further, the cloth wiper whose stopped state is maintained after the stop. When the feeding operation of 212 is resumed, the wetting liquid supply roller 240 that is kept in the separated state after being separated is brought into contact with the cloth wiper 212 again. That is, the controller 60 performs control so as to maintain the separated state of the wetting liquid supply roller 240 while the cloth wiper 212 is stopped. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the dampening liquid supply roller 240 may be temporarily brought into contact with the cloth wiper 212 while the stop state is maintained.

  However, the time during which the cloth wiper 212 is stationary without performing the feeding operation and the dampening liquid supply roller 240 is in contact with the cloth wiper 212, that is, the time for satisfying the above-described inconvenience is reduced. Therefore, the above embodiment is more preferable in that the cloth wiper 212 can be more appropriately wetted by the wetting liquid supply roller 240.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image recording apparatus, 2 roll paper 10 Feed unit, 18 roll paper winding axis, 19 relay roller 20 conveyance unit, 20a Steering unit 21 relay roller, 22 relay roller 23 1st conveyance roller, 23a 1st drive roller, 23b 1st Follower roller 24 Second transport roller, 24a Second drive roller, 24b Second follower roller 25 Reverse roller, 26 Relay roller, 27 Delivery roller 29 Platen 30 Head unit, 31 head, 32 Nozzle surface 33 Cover head, 34 Head body 35 Ink supply unit 40 Carriage unit, 41 Guide rail, 42 Carriage 43 Cleaning unit, 44 Flushing unit 50 Detector group 60 Controller, 61 Interface unit, 62 CPU
63 Memory, 64 Unit control circuit 70 Heater unit, 80 Blower unit, 81 Fan 90 Winding unit, 91 Relay roller, 92 Roll paper winding drive shaft 110 Host computer 200 Cap member 210 Wiping unit, 212 Cloth wiper 214 Cloth wiper winding shaft 216 Cloth wiper take-up drive shaft 218 Pressing member 220 Accommodating case, 222 Lifting device 230 Wetting unit, 232 Opposing roller 234 Wetting unit case, 240 Wetting liquid supply roller, 240a Exposing portion 242 Wetting fluid replenishing member, 242a Contact portion 244 Pressing Pressure adjusting member 246 First biasing member, 248 Second biasing member

Claims (5)

A head for ejecting ink from nozzles;
A cloth wiper made of cloth for wiping the nozzle surface of the head;
A wetting liquid supply member that can be brought into contact with and separated from the cloth wiper, and wets the cloth wiper by supplying the wetting liquid in contact with the cloth wiper;
A printing apparatus comprising: The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wetting liquid supply member is a rotatable wetting liquid supply roller, and transfers the wetting liquid to the cloth wiper by rotating in contact with the cloth wiper. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A controller for controlling the cloth wiper and the wetting liquid supply member;
The cloth wiper performs a feeding operation intermittently,
The controller is configured to separate the wetting liquid supply member from the cloth wiper when stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper. The printing apparatus according to claim 3.
The controller is
When stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper, the wetting liquid supply member is separated from the cloth wiper,
When the feeding operation of the cloth wiper that has been stopped after being stopped is resumed, the wetting liquid supply member that has been maintained in the separated state after being separated is brought into contact with the cloth wiper again. apparatus. A dampening liquid supply member that damps the cloth wiper by supplying dampening liquid in contact with the cloth wiper when stopping the feeding operation of the cloth wiper made of cloth that wipes the nozzle surface of the head that discharges ink from the nozzles Separating the cloth wiper from
Re-contacting the cloth wiper with the wetting liquid supply member maintained in the separated state after separation when resuming the feeding operation of the cloth wiper in which the stopped state is maintained after stopping;
A method of controlling a wetting liquid supply member, comprising:

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