JP2013188965A - Wiper cleaner, maintenance apparatus and liquid jetting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiper cleaner that can appropriately remove a liquid attached to a wiper which wipes a liquid jetting head and to provide a maintenance apparatus having the wiper cleaner and a liquid jetting apparatus having the maintenance apparatus.SOLUTION: A wiper cleaner 25 is mounted on a mounting position arranged on a moving path of a wiper 38 reciprocating along a first direction and includes an abutting surface 54a for curving a part of a wiper blade 37 from a distal end to the proximal end side to a second direction opposite to the first direction by abutting on the wiper blade 37 moving to the first direction. The abutting surface 54a is formed to be slanted so as to be brought into surface contact with a surface facing the first direction side when curving the wiper blade 37 to the second direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiper cleaner that removes liquid adhering to a wiper that wipes a liquid ejecting head, a maintenance device that includes the wiper cleaner, and a liquid ejecting device that includes the maintenance device.

  Conventionally, as a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus, an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink (liquid) from a liquid ejecting head onto a sheet (medium) is known. Such a printer usually includes a maintenance device for maintaining the liquid ejecting head in order to maintain the liquid ejecting performance from the liquid ejecting head.

  For example, the printer described in Patent Document 1 includes, as such a maintenance device, a wiper that wipes ink attached to a liquid ejecting head and a wiper cleaner that removes ink attached to the wiper. In this maintenance device, the wiper is slid with the nozzle formation surface of the liquid jet head to wipe off the liquid adhering to the nozzle formation surface, and then the wiper is brought into contact with the wiper cleaner. Thus, the liquid adhering to the wiper is removed.

JP 2010-274599 A

  By the way, in the maintenance device described in Patent Document 1, when the wiper contacts the wiper cleaner, only the tip of the wiper contacts the wiper cleaner. For this reason, if the wiper that wipes the nozzle forming surface of the liquid ejecting head attaches ink not only to the tip end portion but also to the portion from the tip end to the base end side, the ink is removed by the wiper cleaner. If it remains without being solidified at that portion, the flexibility of the wiper may be hindered and the wiping performance may be affected.

  In addition, in the liquid ejecting apparatus provided with the maintenance apparatus including the wiper and the wiper cleaner as well as the above-described ink jet printer, such a situation is generally common.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wiper cleaner capable of appropriately removing the liquid adhering to the wiper for wiping the liquid ejecting head, and a maintenance device including the wiper cleaner. And a liquid ejecting apparatus including the maintenance device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the wiper cleaner of the present invention is configured to wipe the liquid from a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid with a wiper blade that elastically deforms the first wiper on the movement path of the wiper that moves in the first direction. A cleaning member that removes the liquid adhering from the wiper blade when the liquid ejecting head is wiped by contacting the wiper blade from a direction side; and the cleaning member abuts the wiper blade by contacting the wiper blade. A contact surface for bending a portion from the distal end to the proximal end side of the blade in a second direction opposite to the first direction is provided, and the corresponding contact surface is obtained when the wiper blade is bent in the second direction. The wiper blade is formed in a shape capable of surface contact with the wiping surface facing the first direction side. There.

  According to the above configuration, when the wiper that has moved in the first direction and has wiped the liquid ejecting head by the wiper blade is further moved in the first direction, the liquid is adhered by wiping the liquid ejecting head in the wiper blade. The contact surface of the cleaning member comes into contact with the wiping surface from the first direction side. Then, the wiper blade is in a state where the portion from the tip end to the base end side is curved in the second direction opposite to the first direction, and the wiping surface to which the liquid is attached is in contact with the cleaning member. The surface is brought into surface contact with an elastic return force from the curved state as an urging force. For this reason, the wiper blade ensures that most of the wiping surface is brought into surface contact with the contact surface of the cleaning member even when the liquid adheres to the portion from the tip of the wiping surface to the base end. Can do. Therefore, the liquid adhering to the wiper that wipes the liquid ejecting head can be appropriately removed.

  In the wiper cleaner of the present invention, the cleaning member includes a first liquid absorbent material that forms the contact surface, and the liquid absorbed by the first liquid absorbent material from the first liquid absorbent material side. A second liquid absorbent material that can be absorbed and retained, wherein the first liquid absorbent material has higher liquid permeability than the second liquid absorbent material, and the second liquid absorbent material comprises: Compared to the first liquid absorbent material, the liquid retainability is stronger.

  According to the above configuration, when the first liquid absorbent that forms the contact surface comes into contact with the wiper blade during cleaning to remove the liquid adhering to the wiper, the first liquid absorbent is excellent in permeability. The liquid adhering to the blade is efficiently absorbed on the first absorbing member side. Thereafter, the liquid absorbed by the first liquid absorbent material is absorbed by the second liquid absorbent material, which has a higher liquid holding power than the first liquid absorbent material, and is retained in the second liquid absorbent material. Thus, in the first liquid absorbent material forming the contact surface, the amount of liquid to be solidified can be effectively reduced, and the liquid absorption capacity of the wiper cleaner is prevented from being lowered even after repeated wiper cleaning. it can.

  In addition, the wiper cleaner of the present invention further includes a holder member that is detachably mounted in a state where the cleaning member is held with respect to a mounting position on the movement path of the wiper.

  According to the above configuration, when it is desired to replace the cleaning member that removes the liquid from the wiper with a new cleaning member, the holder member can be easily gripped and replaced without touching the cleaning member contaminated with the liquid. it can.

  Further, in the wiper cleaner of the present invention, the holder member is orthogonal to the mounting direction with respect to the mounting position when the holder member is mounted at the mounting position with movement in the mounting direction intersecting the moving direction of the wiper. An engagement portion that is immovably engaged in the direction of movement, and in a state in which the engagement portion is engaged with the attachment position, the attachment portion is immovably locked with respect to the attachment position in a removal direction opposite to the attachment direction. And a locking portion.

  According to the above configuration, the holder member holding the cleaning member is restricted from moving in the direction orthogonal to the mounting direction when the engaging portion is engaged with the mounting position by moving in the mounting direction. At the same time, it is in a positioning state in which the removal from the mounting position in the removal direction is restricted. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the holder member holding the cleaning member from being displaced or removed from the mounting position against the user's intention.

The maintenance device of the present invention includes the wiper that holds the wiper blade and moves in the first direction and the second direction, and the wiper cleaner.
According to the above configuration, in the maintenance device, the same effect as the invention of the wiper cleaner can be obtained.

According to another aspect of the invention, a liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid and the maintenance device.
According to the above configuration, the same effect as that of the maintenance device can be obtained in the liquid ejecting apparatus.

1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment. The top view which shows schematic structure of a maintenance apparatus. The side view which shows schematic structure of a maintenance apparatus. The perspective view from the upper part of a wiper unit. The perspective view from the lower part of a wiper unit. The perspective view from the upper part of a wiper holder. The perspective view from the downward direction of a wiper. The perspective view from the upper part of a wiper cleaner. The perspective view from the lower part of a wiper cleaner. The fragmentary perspective view which shows the mounting position of the wiper cleaner in a maintenance apparatus. A side sectional view of a wiper cleaner. The sectional side view which shows the state in which the wiper is cleaned with the wiper cleaner in the maintenance apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer that is a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus, a maintenance device provided in the printer, and a wiper cleaner provided in the maintenance device will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 11 according to the present embodiment includes a frame 12 having a rectangular shape in plan view, and a support base 13 that supports a sheet P as an example of a target is disposed in the frame 12. It extends in the left-right direction. The paper feed mechanism having the paper feed motor 14 disposed on the rear side of the support table 13 is driven to feed the paper P on the support table 13 in the sub-scanning direction Y from the rear side to the front side. Sent. A guide shaft 15 extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the support base 13 is installed above the support base 13 in the frame 12. Hereinafter, the direction orthogonal to the paper P is defined as the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1).

  A carriage 16 is supported on the guide shaft 15 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the axial direction (left-right direction) of the guide shaft 15. A driving pulley 17a and a driven pulley 17b are rotatably supported at positions corresponding to both end portions of the guide shaft 15 on the rear surface in the frame 12. A carriage motor 18 that is driven when the carriage 16 is reciprocated is connected to the drive pulley 17a, and an endless shape in which a part in the length direction is fixed to the carriage 16 between the pair of pulleys 17a and 17b. The timing belt 17 is hung. Accordingly, the carriage 16 is moved in the main scanning direction X (left and right direction) via the timing belt 17 while being guided by the guide shaft 15 when the carriage motor 18 is driven.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a recording head 19, which is an example of a liquid ejecting head, is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 16. On the other hand, an ink cartridge 20 for supplying ink as a liquid to the recording head 19 is detachably mounted on the carriage 16. The ink cartridge 20 has an ink flow path (not shown) formed in the recording head 19 with respect to a nozzle (not shown) formed on a nozzle forming surface 19a (see FIG. 3) formed on the lower surface of the recording head 19. ) To supply ink.

  Further, one end of the frame 12 in the longitudinal direction (the right end in FIG. 1), that is, a non-printing area where the paper P does not reach, is provided with the carriage 16 when the printer 11 is turned off or when the recording head 19 is maintained. A home position HP to be positioned is provided. At a position below the home position HP, a maintenance device 21 that performs various maintenance operations is provided so that ink ejection from the nozzles of the recording head 19 to the paper P is well maintained. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance device 21 includes a cap unit 22, a flushing box 23, a wiper unit 24, and a wiper cleaner 25. Here, the cap unit 22 has a gap between a capping position that contacts the nozzle forming surface 19a of the recording head 19 that has returned to the home position HP during non-printing so as to surround the nozzle, and a retracted position that is separated from the nozzle forming surface 19a. It moves up and down and forms a closed space with the nozzle formation surface 19a at the capping position to suppress evaporation of the ink solvent in the nozzle. Further, the flushing box 23 receives ink ejected (that is, discharged) as a waste liquid during flushing for ejecting ink unrelated to printing in order to suppress clogging of the nozzles of the recording head 19.

  The wiper unit 24 reciprocates in a direction parallel to the sub-scanning direction Y, and the nozzle forming surface 19a of the recording head 19 when the wiper unit 24 is disposed at a position on the movement path is wiped by a wiper blade 37 (see FIG. 2). Wiping is performed to remove ink adhering to the nozzle forming surface 19a. The wiper cleaner 25 is disposed at a position on the extension of the movement direction of the wiper unit 24 that wipes the nozzle forming surface 19a during wiping, and adheres to the wiper blade 37 when the wiper blade 37 after wiping comes into contact. The wiper blade 37 is cleaned by absorbing and removing the ink.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the wiper unit 24 and the wiper cleaner 25 included in the maintenance device 21 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance device 21 has a cap unit 22, a wiper unit 24, a wiper cleaner 25, and the like attached to a frame 31 having a substantially box shape (only part of which is shown in FIG. 2). Composed. In the frame 31, a rail portion 31 a for moving and guiding the wiper unit 24 is formed at the upper end portion of the side wall portion extending in parallel with the sub-scanning direction Y.

  The wiper unit 24 can move along the rail portion 31a in the first direction (anti-sub-scanning direction -Y) (forward movement) and move in the second direction (sub-scanning direction Y) (reverse movement). It is attached to the frame 31. The wiper unit 24 includes a wiper holder 30 that can move along the rail portion 31a, and a wiper 38 that is detachably attached to the upper portion of the wiper holder 30 from above and supports the wiper blade 37. The wiper 38 is fixed to a position closer to the first direction with respect to the upper part of the wiper holder 30, and the wiper blade 37 is supported to a position closer to the first direction with respect to the upper part of the wiper 38.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper cleaner 25 is disposed at a position on the movement path of the wiper unit 24. The wiper cleaner 25 is a first box as an example of a first liquid absorbent that is held by the holder member 53 in a state where the wiper cleaner 25 is disposed at a position where the wiper blade 37 can contact the substantially box-shaped holder member 53 that is open on the upper side. 1 ink absorbing material 54 and a second ink absorbing material 57 as an example of a second liquid absorbing material held by a holder member 53. The holder member 53 is detachably attached to the frame 31 at the attachment position on the movement path of the wiper unit 24 from above.

  The cap unit 22 has a plurality of caps 22a arranged at regular intervals in the main scanning direction X, and each cap 22a individually caps a plurality of nozzle rows formed on the nozzle formation surface 19a of the recording head 19. To do. Each cap 22a of the present embodiment can be independently driven, and can perform selective cleaning of the nozzle row that is performed by selectively capping the nozzle row that is the target of forced ejection operation (nozzle cleaning). Of course, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the wiper blade is formed to have a width capable of wiping all nozzle rows, and all the nozzle rows are wiped at once.

  In FIG. 2, the wiper unit 24 is located at the wiping start position (standby position). At this time, the wiper unit 24 is positioned opposite the wiper cleaner 25 across the movement path of the carriage 16 perpendicular to the movement path. To do. At the time of wiping, the nozzle row to be wiped is arranged in advance on the movement path of the wiper blade 37 by the movement of the carriage 16. In this state, the wiper unit 24 moves in the first direction from the wiping start position to the wiping end position (cleaning position) where the wiper blade 37 contacts the wiper cleaner 25. During the movement in the first direction, the wiper blade 37 wipes the nozzle forming surface 19a. In addition, after the wiped recording head 19 is retracted from the movement path of the wiper blade 37, the wiper unit 24 moves in the second direction from the wiping end position and returns to the wiping start position.

  Next, the drive system of the wiper unit 24 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a pinion 34 connected to a rotating shaft 33 that is rotated by the power of a drive source (not shown) is disposed at a substantially center in the longitudinal direction of the frame 31. The wiper holder 30 has a rectangular plate-like extending portion 30a that extends downward by a predetermined length so as to cover the side surface of the rail portion 31a. A pair of support shafts 35 that are guided by guide grooves 32 formed along the longitudinal direction of the frame 31 and a rack 36 that meshes with the pinion 34 are formed in the extending portion 30a. The rack 36 is formed on the lower end surface of the extending portion 30a over substantially the entire length thereof.

  The wiper unit 24 moves (moves forward) from the wiping start position in the first direction through the meshing of the pinion 34 and the rack 36 that rotate when the drive source is rotated forward. In the process in which the wiper unit 24 moves in the first direction from the wiping start position, the wiper blade 37 wipes the nozzle forming surface 19a of the recording head 19 disposed at the wiping position as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Then, the wiper blade 37 after wiping comes into contact with the contact surface 54 a of the wiper cleaner 25. The contact surface 54a is covered with the first ink absorbing material 54, and is formed in a slope shape whose height gradually decreases toward the position in the first direction. Then, the wiper unit 24 moves (returns) in the second direction through the meshing of the pinion 34 and the rack 36 which are rotated by the reverse rotation of the drive source, and returns to the original wiping start position.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the wiper unit 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In the following description, the end on the first direction side of each member is referred to as a first end, and the end on the second direction is referred to as a second end.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a recessed attachment portion 30 c having three sides surrounded by a substantially U-shaped rib 30 b is formed at the attachment position of the wiper 38 in the wiper holder 30. A base plate of the wiper 38 is formed with a rectangular plate-like locking plate portion 39 for detachably locking the wiper 38 disposed on the attached portion 30c to the wiper holder 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the locking plate portion 39 has a claw portion 40 (shown in FIG. 5) at a position opposite to the lower end portion of the side wall of the wiper holder 30 at the lower end of the rectangular plate portion. And a pair of grip portions 41 that are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap in the width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the wiper 38. When the wiper 38 is attached to the wiper holder 30, the claw 40 is locked to the lower end of the side wall of the wiper holder 30, as shown in FIG. Vertical movement is restricted. That is, the wiper 38 is restricted from moving in the removal direction in the mounted state. Further, when the wiper 38 is mounted on the wiper holder 30, when the compression force in the direction of narrowing the gap between the pair of gripping portions 41 is applied to the locking plate portion 39, the rectangular shape of the locking plate portion 39 is obtained. When the plate-like portion is elastically deformed, the latched state of the claw portion 40 with respect to the wiper holder 30 is released, and the wiper 38 can be detached from the wiper holder 30.

  In addition, the pair of support shafts 35 project substantially vertically from the positions on both sides of the extended portion 30 a of the wiper holder 30 with the attached portion 30 c sandwiched in the longitudinal direction of the wiper holder 30. A rack 36 having a large number of teeth with a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction of the wiper holder 30 is formed at a lower end of a portion of the extending portion 30a that is slightly inward in the width direction from the pair of support shafts 35.

  FIG. 6 shows the wiper holder 30 with the wiper 38 removed, and FIG. 7 shows the wiper 38. As shown in FIG. 6, on the upper surface of the attachment portion 30 c of the wiper holder 30, a columnar convex portion 42 and a square columnar convex portion 43 are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the wiper holder 30. Each position is formed so as to protrude substantially vertically upward.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the wiper 38 is formed with a circular hole 44 and a rectangular groove 45 at each position corresponding to the convex portions 42 and 43 on the wiper holder 30 side. The cylindrical convex portion 42 engages with the circular hole 44 and the quadrangular columnar convex portion 43 engages with the rectangular groove 45, so that the wiper 38 is in the vertical direction (mounting direction) with respect to the wiper holder 30. Movement in a direction orthogonal to the direction is restricted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the wiper blade 37 has a plate-like clasp 46 that covers the base end portion from the outside with respect to the tip end surface forming an arc surface shape on the first end side of the wiper 38. By being locked and fixed to a plurality of protrusions 47 formed on the front end surface, the projection 47 is held in a curved posture protruding toward the first direction. The wiper blade 37 is made of elastically deformable rubber or a synthetic resin material, and can be restored to its original shape when the external force is released even if it is once deformed.

Next, the wiper cleaner 25 that absorbs and removes ink adhering to the wiper blade 37 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the holder member 53 constituting the wiper cleaner 25 has a bottomed box-shaped holder portion 53 a that is open on the upper side, and the holder portion 53 a has two types that can absorb ink. Ink absorbing materials 54 and 57 are held.

  The holder member 53 is in contact with the wiper blade 37 by forming a portion on the second end side that comes into contact with the wiper blade 37 into a substantially triangular prism shape whose thickness is reduced toward the tip side (second direction side). The contact surface 54a is formed in an oblique shape. The contact surface 54a is formed by attaching the sheet-like first ink absorbing material 54 to the oblique surface that forms the lower surface of the substantially triangular prism portion of the holder member 53 so as to cover the oblique surface. ing. The sheet-like first ink absorbing material 54 is formed on the lower surface of the substantially triangular columnar portion of the holder member 53 so that the wiper blade 37 does not come off the holder member 53 even if the wiper blade 37 repeatedly contacts the contact surface 54a. It is held at a plurality of locations by a plurality of holding portions 55. Here, the contact surface 54a formed in an oblique shape is an oblique surface that has a downward slope from the second end side toward the first end side.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of (four in this example) second ink absorbers 57 are provided in the first direction in the bottomed rectangular housing portion 56 that opens on the upper surface of the holder member 53. It is accommodated in an adjacent state so as to form a layer. The plurality of second ink absorbers 57 each have a square plate shape having a predetermined thickness, and all have the same shape and size. Details of the characteristics and the like of the ink absorbing materials 54 and 57 will be described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the holder member 53 has a rectangular plate-like locking plate portion 51 extending from the side surface of the first end portion of the holder portion 53a. The locking plate portion 51 is supported via a connecting portion 53b extending from the side surface of the holder portion 53a, and extends in a substantially parallel posture with a predetermined gap with respect to the side surface of the holder portion 53a. The locking plate portion 51 has a claw portion 58 formed at the lower end portion of the rectangular plate-like portion and a grip portion 59 provided at the upper end portion thereof. In the present embodiment, the locking plate portion 51 constitutes an example of a locking portion.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, an engagement convex portion 52 having a quadrangular prism shape protrudes downward (frontward with respect to the paper surface in FIG. 9) on the bottom surface of the first end portion of the holder portion 53 a. . This engagement convex part 52 and the locking plate part 51 are in a state of facing each other with a predetermined gap. In the present embodiment, the engagement convex portion 52 constitutes an example of the engagement portion.

  As shown in FIG. 10, an engagement recess 61 having a square opening on the upper side is formed in a portion of the frame 31 where the holder member 53 corresponds to the first end of the rail portion 31 a. Yes. The engagement recess 61 has an opening size and a depth at which the engagement protrusion 52 of the holder member 53 can be inserted around the side peripheral surface with a slight gap. In addition, the outer surface of the side wall 31b adjacent to the engagement recess 61 and the first direction side in the frame 31 extends horizontally along the outer surface at a position that is a predetermined distance below the upper end of the side wall 31b. A convex portion 60 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in a state where the holder member 53 is attached to the frame 31, the engaging convex portion 52 is formed at a position corresponding to the engaging concave portion 61, and the claw portion 58 is at a position corresponding to the convex portion 60. Is formed. For this reason, the engaging convex part 52 is engaged with the engaging concave part 61 so as not to move in a direction orthogonal to the mounting direction of the holder member 53 with respect to the frame 31. That is, the engagement concave portion 61 and the engagement convex portion 52 are in a direction perpendicular to the mounting direction (vertical direction) of the wiper cleaner 25 with respect to the frame 31 by taking the engagement state of the concave and convex relationship with each other when the holder member 53 is mounted. Restrict movement to

  Further, in a state where the engaging convex portion 52 engages with the engaging concave portion 61, the claw portion 58 cannot move in the detaching direction opposite to the mounting direction of the holder member 53 with respect to the frame with respect to the convex portion 60 on the frame 31 side. Locked. For this reason, the wiper cleaner 25 is restricted from moving up and down with respect to the frame 31. That is, the wiper cleaner 25 in the mounted state is restricted from moving in the direction of removal from the frame 31.

  In addition, when the wiper cleaner 25 is attached, when the gripping portion 59 is gripped and a compressive force is applied in a direction that narrows the gap between the locking plate portion 51 and the holder portion 53a, the rectangular plate-like portion of the locking plate portion 51 becomes. By being elastically deformed, the locked state between the convex portion 60 of the frame 31 and the claw portion 58 of the locking plate portion 51 is released. The wiper cleaner 25 can be detached from the frame 31 by releasing the locking state between the convex portion 60 and the claw portion 58.

  Next, details of the first ink absorbing material 54 and the second ink absorbing material 57 held by the holder member 53 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the first ink absorbing material 54 and the second ink absorbing material 57 are in contact with each other inside the holder member 53, and the first ink absorbing material 54 has absorbed the first ink absorbing material 54 and the second ink absorbing material 57. The ink can be absorbed by the second ink absorbing material 57.

  Further, the first ink absorbing material 54 has higher ink permeability than the second ink absorbing material 57, and the second ink absorbing material 57 has a stronger ink holding force than the first ink absorbing material 54. The material of each ink absorbing material 54, 57 is selected. This is because the ink absorbed by the first ink absorbing material 54 is quickly absorbed by the second ink absorbing material 57 and held. By doing so, in the first ink absorbing material 54 that forms the contact surface 54a, even if the ink is solidified, the amount of ink that is solidified is relatively small, so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in ink absorption capacity due to solidification. . That is, even when the wiper blade 37 is repeatedly cleaned, it is possible to suppress the ink absorbing ability of the first ink absorbing material 54 from being lowered. In addition, examples of the material of the ink absorbing materials 54 and 57 include porous resin and pulp.

Next, the operation of the printer 11 configured as described above will be described by focusing on the cleaning operation of the ink attached to the wiper blade 37.
Now, the printer 11 of the present embodiment performs printing by ejecting ink from the nozzles of the recording head 19 onto the transported paper P. When the ink thickens or bubbles are generated in a nozzle or the like where ink is not ejected for a long time, a forced discharge operation is performed to forcibly discharge the ink from the nozzle.

  Hereinafter, the forced discharge operation will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 16 is moved to a position overlapping the cap unit 22 in the vertical direction, and then the cap 22 a is moved upward to form the nozzle so that the cap 22 a surrounds the nozzles of the recording head 19. It abuts on the surface 19a. Then, by sucking a closed space formed by the nozzle forming surface 19a and the cap 22a with a pump (not shown), the ink and bubbles that are thickened from the nozzle are forcibly discharged. However, when the above-described forced discharge operation is performed, ink adheres to the contact portion of the nozzle forming surface 19a of the recording head 19 with the cap 22a, so that the ink wiping operation is subsequently performed.

Hereinafter, the wiping operation of the nozzle forming surface 19a by the wiper blade 37 of the wiper unit 24 will be described.
In the present embodiment, the wiping operation of the nozzle forming surface 19a by the wiper blade 37 is performed only for the nozzle row on which the above-described forced discharge operation has been performed. Therefore, first, the carriage 16 is moved in the main scanning direction X so that the nozzle row of the recording head 19 for which the forced discharge operation is performed (that is, the wiping operation is desired) is positioned on the movement path of the wiper unit 24. As shown in FIG. 3, when the recording head 19 is arranged on the movement path of the wiper unit 24, the driving force of the drive source rotates forward so that the rotating pinion 34 moves to the rack 36 in one direction. By providing, the wiper unit 24 moves in the first direction from the wiping start position.

  Since the upper end position of the wiper blade 37 supported by the wiper unit 24 is higher than the nozzle forming surface 19 a of the recording head 19, the wiper blade 37 first contacts the side surface of the recording head 19. Next, the wiper blade 37 slides the tip of the wiper blade 37 with the nozzle forming surface 19a while curving (elastically deforming) the portion from the tip to the base end in the second direction. In this way, the ink attached to the nozzle forming surface 19 a is removed by wiping with the wiper blade 37, and the removed ink is attached to the tip portion of the side surface of the wiper blade 37 on the first direction side.

  Further, when the wiper unit 24 moves in the first direction, the wiper blade 37 released from the contact (wiping) state with the nozzle forming surface 19a of the recording head 19 is restored to its original shape by the elastic force accumulated by its curvature. Return to. Further, even if another nozzle row is wiped with the wiper blade 37 to which ink has adhered, it cannot be wiped cleanly. For this reason, a cleaning operation for removing ink adhering to the wiper blade 37 by the wiper cleaner 25 is performed.

Hereinafter, the cleaning operation of the wiper blade 37 to which the ink is adhered by the wiper cleaner 25 will be described.
In FIG. 12, after the wiper blade 37 wipes the nozzle forming surface 19a of the recording head 19, the wiper unit 24 further moves in the first direction, so that the wiper blade 37 and the contact surface 54a of the wiper cleaner 25 are in contact with each other. The contact state is shown. In this contact state, the contact surface 54a of the wiper cleaner 25 is in contact with the wiper blade 37 moving in the first direction, so that the portion of the wiper blade 37 from the front end to the base end side is opposite to the first direction. Bend in the second direction. Furthermore, a surface (wiping surface) facing the first direction in a state where the wiper blade 37 is curved is in surface contact with the contact surface 54a.

  Then, the ink adhering to the portion in surface contact with the contact surface 54 a of the wiper blade 37 is absorbed by the first ink absorbing material 54, and the absorbed ink moves through the first ink absorbing material 54. It reaches the inside of the holder member 53. In the inside of the holder member 53, the first ink absorbing material 54 is in contact with a part of the second ink absorbing material 57 having a higher liquid holding power, and therefore, the ink in the first ink absorbing material 54. Is absorbed by the second ink absorbing material 57 and held by the second ink absorbing material 57. Thus, the ink absorbed by the first ink absorbing material 54 is suppressed from solidifying in the first ink absorbing material 54 as it is, and the ink absorbing ability at the contact surface 54a is maintained.

  Even when the ink originally attached to the tip portion of the wiper blade 37 moves to the base end side along the surface of the wiper blade 37, the wiper unit 24 is further moved to the first direction side from the state shown in FIG. By moving, the base end side portion of the wiper blade 37 can be brought into surface contact with the abutting surface 54a, so that ink adhering to the wiper blade 37 can be appropriately absorbed and removed.

  Further, when the cleaning operation of the ink attached to the wiper blade 37 is finished, the drive source is driven in reverse, so that the wiper unit 24 starts moving in the second direction. At this time, as the wiper unit 24 moves in the second direction, the wiper blade 37 that is in surface contact with the contact surface 54a is sequentially separated from the contact surface 54a from the base end side, and finally the tip is applied. The contact state with the contact surface 54a is eliminated by separating from the contact surface 54a. In this embodiment, since the wiper blade 37 is separated from the wiper cleaner 25 in this manner, the wiper blade 37 is smoothly separated without being caught by the tip of the wiper blade 37 and the wiper cleaner 25.

  Then, the carriage 16 is moved from the movement path of the wiper unit 24, and the wiper unit 24 is moved to the wiping start position before wiping the nozzle forming surface 19a. Here, when it is necessary to wipe off another nozzle row continuously formed on the recording head 19, the other nozzle row is positioned on the movement path of the wiper unit 24 so as to coincide with each other in the vertical direction. The wiping operation is performed. If no further wiping operation is required, the recording head 19 moves from the home position HP to a printable area of the paper P and resumes printing, or waits for a printing instruction from the user. Take a state.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the wiper blade 37 is moved in the first direction and brought into contact with the contact surface 54a of the wiper cleaner 25 in order to clean the wiper blade 37, the wiper blade 37 is wiped by the contact surface 54a formed obliquely. A portion of the blade 37 from the distal end to the proximal end is curved in the second direction opposite to the first direction, and the contact surface 54a and the curved surface of the wiper blade 37 are in surface contact. Therefore, the wiper blade 37 is wiped from the wiper blade 37 side by contact with the contact surface 54a of the wiper cleaner 25 even when ink is attached to the portion from the tip to the base end. Ink can be transferred to the cleaner 25 side. Therefore, the ink attached to the wiper blade 37 that wipes the nozzle forming surface 19a of the recording head 19 can be appropriately removed.

  (2) When the engaging convex portion 52 engages with the engaging concave portion 61 on the frame 31 side, the wiper cleaner 25 is restricted from moving in the direction orthogonal to the mounting direction, and the claw portion of the locking plate portion 51. When 58 is locked to the convex portion 60 on the frame 31 side, the removal from the mounting position in the removal direction is restricted. Accordingly, since the wiper cleaner 25 is fixed in a state where it is positioned at the mounting position of the frame 31, the wiper cleaner 37 is displaced or detached against the user's intention due to repeated contact of the wiper blade 37 or the like. Can be suppressed.

  (3) At the time of cleaning the wiper blade 37, the ink absorbed from the wiper blade 37 by the first ink absorbing material 54 forming the contact surface 54a is thereafter the first ink absorbing material 54 having excellent ink permeability. From the side, the ink is absorbed by the second ink absorbing material 57 having better ink holding power than that, and is held by the second ink absorbing material 57. Thus, the amount of ink solidified in the first ink absorbing material 54 forming the contact surface 54a is effectively reduced, and the ink absorbing ability of the wiper cleaner 25 is reduced even when the wiper blade 37 is repeatedly cleaned. Can be suppressed.

  (4) Since the wiper 38 and the wiper cleaner 25 are detachably formed, for example, the wiper blade 37 supported by the wiper 38 is consumed, or each of the ink absorbing materials 54 and 57 accommodated in the wiper cleaner 25 is consumed. If the ink absorption capacity is reduced, it can be easily replaced by the user of the printer 11.

  (5) Since the upper surface side of the second ink absorbing material 57 in the vertical direction is in contact with air, the absorbed ink solvent is easily evaporated. Therefore, the second ink absorbing material 57 not only holds the ink but also evaporates it, so that the ink absorption capacity can be maintained high for a relatively long period of time.

  (6) Even if there is a slight error in the vertical direction in the attachment position of the wiper blade 37 with respect to the wiper 38 and the attachment position of the wiper 38 with respect to the wiper holder 30, the contact surface 54a of this embodiment is formed in an oblique shape. Therefore, the wiper blade 37 and the contact surface 54a can be reliably brought into surface contact.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment into another embodiment as follows.
In the present embodiment, the ink absorbing materials 54 and 57 may be the same material. In this case, a low-density material is selected for the first ink absorber 54 to increase the ink permeability, and a high-density material is selected for the second ink absorber 57 to increase the ink holding force. It is desirable.

In the present embodiment, the number of the second ink absorbers 57 accommodated in the holder member 53 is not necessarily four, and may be smaller or larger than this.
In the present embodiment, the rack 36 and the pinion 34 that are the moving mechanism of the wiper unit 24 may be replaced as long as the moving mechanism can translate the wiper unit 24 such as a lead screw.

  -In this embodiment, if the contact surface 54a exists in the range which can obtain the effect of this invention, the angle at the time of forming in the diagonal form will be the up-down direction (90 degree | times) and the 1st direction (0). The angle may be freely selected within an angle between (degrees).

  In the present embodiment, the wiping operation by the wiper blade 37 may be performed for the purpose of removing ink or paper dust attached to the nozzle forming surface 19a by continuously printing the paper P, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied as the ink jet printer 11 including the liquid ejecting head that ejects ink. However, as the liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink. It may be embodied. Various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that discharges a minute amount of liquid droplets can be used. 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. There is a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting. Alternatively, it may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid that is used as a precision pipette and a sample, a printing apparatus, a micro dispenser, 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 ... Printer (liquid ejecting apparatus), 21 ... Maintenance apparatus, 24 ... Wiper unit (wiper), 25 ... Wiper cleaner, 30 ... Wiper holder, 37 ... Wiper blade, 38 ... Wiper, 51 ... Locking plate part (locking) Part), 52 ... engaging convex part (engaging part), 53 ... holder member, 54 ... first ink absorbing material (cleaning member, first liquid absorbing material), 54a ... contact surface, 57 ... second ink absorbing Material (cleaning member, second liquid absorbent).

Claims (6)

The wiper blade comes into contact with the wiper blade from the first direction side on the moving path of the wiper that moves in the first direction by wiping the liquid from the liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid with the wiper blade that elastically deforms the liquid. A cleaning member for removing the liquid adhering at the time of wiping the liquid jet head from
The cleaning member includes a contact surface that bends a portion from the distal end to the proximal end side of the wiper blade in a second direction opposite to the first direction by contacting the wiper blade,
The wiper cleaner is characterized in that when the wiper blade is curved in the second direction, the contact surface is formed in a shape capable of surface contact with a wiping surface facing the first direction of the wiper blade. . The cleaning member includes a first liquid absorbent material that forms the contact surface, and a second liquid that can absorb and hold the liquid absorbed by the first liquid absorbent material from the first liquid absorbent material side. An absorbent material,
The first liquid absorbent material has a higher liquid permeability than the second liquid absorbent material,
The wiper cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the second liquid absorbent material has a stronger retention of the liquid than the first liquid absorbent material. The wiper cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a holder member that is detachably mounted in a state where the cleaning member is held with respect to a mounting position on a movement path of the wiper. When the holder member is mounted at the mounting position with movement in a mounting direction that intersects the moving direction of the wiper, the holder member is engaged with the mounting position so as not to move in a direction perpendicular to the mounting direction. An engaging portion; and a locking portion that locks the mounting position so as to be immovable in the detaching direction opposite to the mounting direction when the engaging portion is engaged with the mounting position. The wiper cleaner according to claim 3. A wiper that holds the wiper blade and moves in the first direction and the second direction;
A maintenance device comprising the wiper cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: the maintenance apparatus according to claim 5.