JP2015205418A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording device which prevents a recording head from being dried and prevents ink leakage from a sub ink tank etc. during shipment.SOLUTION: An ink jet recording device includes: a sub ink tank 21; a recording head 17; a filter 26; a first supply passage 29; a second supply passage 30; and a third supply passage 31. A first coupling 24 which opens or closes the first supply passage 29 is provided at a portion of the first supply passage 29 which ranges from the filter 26 to a pump 22. A second coupling 25 which opens or closes the second supply passage 30 is provided at a portion of the second supply passage 30 which ranges from the filter 26 to a valve mechanism 23. Each of the first coupling 24 and the second coupling 25 has a pair of male part and female part. The male part 24a of the first coupling 24 may be connected with the female part 25b of the second coupling 25. The female part 24b of the first coupling 24 may be connected with the male part 25a of the second coupling 25.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium such as paper in a recording apparatus such as a facsimile, a copying machine, and a printer, and particularly relates to a shipping operation of the ink jet recording apparatus. .

  In recent years, rapid progress in recording technology has made it possible to obtain high-definition image quality comparable to silver halide photography, so inkjet recording apparatuses that form images by the inkjet recording method have been widely used as image forming apparatuses. ing.

  Ink jet heads used in image forming apparatuses of the ink jet recording method are roughly classified into a thermal method and a piezo method, and a continuous ejection type printer includes an electrostatic method in which discharged ink droplets are controlled by an electric field. In the thermal method, a heater is instantaneously heated to generate bubbles, and ink droplets are ejected using this force. In the piezo method, an ink droplet is ejected by applying a force to ink by deforming a piezoelectric element.

  Ink jet recording type image forming apparatus requires ink for ink jet recording apparatus that can discharge stably without causing clogging of ink in the nozzle part or ink flow path, and can record sufficiently high density with clear color tone It is. In order to fully exhibit the performance of such ink, particularly when using a piezo ink jet head, it is required to completely fill the ink jet head without ink bubbles (good filling property). It is done.

  As a method of filling the ink in the recording head of the ink jet recording apparatus, for example, before the ink is filled in the ink jet head, the introduction liquid composed of the low surface tension liquid agent is first filled, and then the pure water is filled. After the replacement, the ink is filled in the target ink and replaced with the pure water by replacing the pure water with the pure water, and then the actuator of the inkjet head is driven for a predetermined time. An ink filling method for an ink jet head in which bubbles inside the ink jet head are dissolved in the pure water is disclosed (Patent Document 1).

  By the way, when the ink jet recording apparatus is shipped, it is necessary to fill the recording head with a storage solution to prevent the recording head from drying. On the other hand, the sub ink tank, which is a part that supplies ink to the recording head, leaks ink. Therefore, it is desirable to leave it empty. However, in the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, such a shipping state is not taken into consideration.

JP 2009-269278 A

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing a recording head from drying and preventing ink leakage from a sub ink tank at the time of shipment.

  The present invention relates to a sub ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to a recording head, the recording head that discharges ink onto a recording medium, a filter provided between the recording head and the sub ink tank, and the filter A first supply path that connects the sub-ink tank and the sub-ink tank via a pump, a second supply path that connects the filter and the sub-ink tank via a valve mechanism, the filter and the recording head A first supply path that opens or closes the first supply path in the first supply path from the filter to the pump; A second coupling for opening or closing the second supply path is provided in the second supply path to the filter and the valve mechanism, and the first coupling is provided. The ring and the second coupling each have a pair of male and female parts, the male part of the first coupling and the female part of the second coupling, and the female part and the second of the first coupling. The gist of the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus that can be connected to the male part of the coupling.

  According to the present invention, since the female part or male part of the first coupling and the male part or female part of the second coupling can be connected to each other, the recording head side is filled with the storage solution at the time of shipment. The sub ink tank side can be emptied. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording head from drying and to prevent ink leakage from the sub ink tank.

1 is a side view schematically showing a schematic structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the top view which looked at the 1st conveyance unit and recording part of the ink-jet recording device shown in Drawing 1 from the upper part. It is a figure which shows typically the ink flow path of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an ink flow path when the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is shipped.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first transport unit 5 and a recording unit 9 of the inkjet recording apparatus 100 shown in FIG. It is the top view which looked at from the upper part.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feed tray 2 that accommodates paper P (recording medium) is provided on the left side of the ink jet recording apparatus 100, and the paper P accommodated at one end of the paper feed tray 2. Are fed one by one from the uppermost sheet P to a first transport unit 5 to be described later, and a driven roller 4 that is in pressure contact with the sheet feeding roller 3 and is driven to rotate. Yes.

  A first transport unit 5 and a recording unit 9 are disposed on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the paper feed roller 3 and the driven roller 4 with respect to the paper transport direction (arrow X direction). The first transport unit 5 includes a first drive roller 6 disposed on the downstream side in the paper transport direction, a first driven roller 7 disposed on the upstream side, the first drive roller 6 and the first driven roller 7. The first conveyance belt 8 is stretched and the first driving roller 6 is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction, whereby the paper P held by the first conveyance belt 8 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow X. Is done.

  Here, since the first drive roller 6 is disposed on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction, the conveyance surface of the first conveyance belt 8 (upper side surface in FIG. 1) comes to be pulled by the first drive roller 6. The tension on the conveyance surface of the first conveyance belt 8 can be increased, and the sheet P can be conveyed stably. Note that, for example, a dielectric resin sheet is used for the first conveyance belt 8 and a (seamless) belt mainly having no seam is used.

  The recording unit 9 includes a head housing 10 and line heads 11C, 11M, 11Y, and 11K held by the head housing 10. These line heads 11C to 11K are supported at such a height that a predetermined interval (for example, 1 mm) is formed with respect to the conveying surface of the first conveying belt 8, and as shown in FIG. A plurality (three in this case) of recording heads 17a to 17c are arranged in a zigzag pattern along the orthogonal paper width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2). The line heads 11 </ b> C to 11 </ b> K have a recording area that is equal to or larger than the width of the transported paper P, and ink is applied to the paper P transported on the first transport belt 8 from the nozzles 18 corresponding to the print positions. Can be discharged. Further, each of the recording heads 17a to 17c is arranged such that a part of the nozzle 18 provided in each recording head overlaps in the transport direction.

  In the recording heads 17a to 17c constituting the line heads 11C to 11K, inks of four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) stored in ink tanks (not shown) are respectively stored in the line heads 11C to 11K. Supplied for each color.

  Each of the recording heads 17a to 17c ejects ink from the nozzle 18 toward the paper P that is sucked and held on the transport surface of the first transport belt 8 in accordance with image data received from an external computer or the like. As a result, a color image in which four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are superimposed is formed on the paper P on the first transport belt 8.

  In addition, in order to prevent ink discharge failure due to drying or clogging of the recording heads 17a to 17c, at the start of printing after being stopped for a long period of time, from the nozzles 18 of all the recording heads 17a to 17c and between printing operations. Prepares for the next printing operation by executing a purge for ejecting ink with increased viscosity in the nozzles 18 from the nozzles 18 of the recording heads 17a to 17c whose ink ejection amount is not more than a specified value.

  A second transport unit 12 is disposed on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the first transport unit 5 with respect to the paper transport direction. The second transport unit 12 includes a second drive roller 13 disposed on the downstream side in the paper transport direction, a second driven roller 14 disposed on the upstream side, and the second drive roller 13 and the second driven roller 14. The second conveyance belt 15 is stretched over and the second driving roller 13 is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction, whereby the paper P held by the second conveyance belt 15 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow X. Is done.

  The paper P on which the ink image is recorded by the recording unit 9 is sent to the second transport unit 12, and the ink ejected on the surface of the paper P while passing through the second transport unit 12 is dried. A maintenance unit 19 is disposed below the second transport unit 12. The maintenance unit 19 moves below the recording unit 9 when performing the purge described above, wipes the ink ejected from the nozzles 18 of the recording head 17, and collects the wiped ink.

  Further, on the downstream side of the second transport unit 12 with respect to the paper transport direction, a discharge roller pair 16 that discharges the paper P on which an image has been recorded to the outside of the apparatus main body is provided. Is provided with a discharge tray (not shown) on which sheets P discharged outside the apparatus main body are stacked.

  3 is a diagram schematically showing an ink flow path of the ink jet recording apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an ink flow path at the time of shipment of the ink jet recording apparatus 100 shown in FIG. It is. Note that the ink flow paths shown in FIG. 3 are provided between the main ink tank 20 for each color and the recording head 17, but here, the ink flow paths for any one color will be described. In addition, the recording heads 17a to 17c are described with the symbols a to c omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, between the main ink tank 20 and the recording head 17, the sub ink tank 21 that stores the ink 27 supplied to the recording head 17, and the ink 27 in the first supply path 29 described later. A pump 22 for supplying, an electromagnetic valve 23 for supplying ink 27 into a second supply path 30 to be described later, a first coupling 24 for opening or closing the first supply path 29, and a second supply path 30. A second coupling 25 that opens or closes and a filter 26 that removes foreign matter are disposed. The main ink tank 20 and the sub ink tank 21 are filled with a predetermined amount of ink 27. The sub ink tank 21 is provided with an air vent hole 28. In FIG. 3, the male parts (24a, 25a) of the first coupling 24 and the second coupling 25 are shown in white, and the female parts (24b, 25b) are shown in black.

  The sub ink tank 21, the pump 22, the first coupling 24, and the filter 26 are connected by a first supply path 29 made of a tube member. Further, the sub ink tank 21, the electromagnetic valve 23, the second coupling 25, and the filter 26 are connected by a second supply path 30 made of a tube member. Further, the filter 26 and the recording head 17 are connected by a third supply path 31 made of a tube member.

  By driving the pump 22, the ink 27 in the sub ink tank 21 is sent to the filter 26, and the ink 27 can pass through the pump 22 when the pump 22 is not driven. Further, by opening and closing the electromagnetic valve 23, the movement of the ink in the second supply path 30 is permitted or restricted. During printing, the solenoid valve 23 is closed.

  The operations of the pump 22 in the first supply path 29 and the electromagnetic valve 23 in the second supply path 30 are controlled by control means such as a central processing unit (CPU) (not shown).

  After assembling the ink flow path of the ink jet recording apparatus 100 as described above, a predetermined amount of ink 27 is filled from the main ink tank 20 to the sub ink tank 21, the electromagnetic valve 23 is opened, and the pump 22 is driven. The sub ink tank 27, the pump 22, the filter 26, the electromagnetic valve 23, the first supply path 29 and the second supply path 30 are filled with the ink 27, and then the electromagnetic valve 23 is "closed" The recording head 17 is driven and filled with ink 27.

  After confirming the above-described operation, the shipping operation is executed as shown in FIG.

  First, the connection between the male part 24a and the female part 24b of the first coupling 24 shown in FIG. 3 is released, and the first supply path 29 is closed. Further, the connection between the male part 25a and the female part 25b of the second coupling 25 is released, and the second supply path 30 is closed.

  Regarding the replacement of the ink 27 in the recording head 17 with the storage liquid, the storage liquid is sent from the couplings 24a and 25b, and the ink 27 in the recording head 17, the filter 26, and the third supply path 31 is replaced with the storage liquid. After the replacement, the couplings 24a and 25b are connected.

As operations for cleaning and emptying the sub ink tank 21,
(1) Remove the ink tank 20,
(2) The pump 22 is driven and the ink 17 in the sub ink tank 21 is removed from the coupling 24b.
(3) Next, the solenoid valve 23 is opened, and the storage liquid is put into the sub ink tank 21 more than the amount of ink 17 from the coupling 25a.
(4) When the storage liquid in the electromagnetic valve 23 and the second supply path 30 enters the sub ink tank 21, the electromagnetic valve 23 is closed.
(5) The pump 23 is driven again, and the ink 17 in the sub ink tank 21 is removed from the coupling 24b.
(6) The couplings 24b and 25a are connected (end).
In order to clean the sub ink tank 21 more cleanly, the operations (3) to (5) may be repeated a plurality of times.

  According to the said embodiment, the 1st coupling 24 and the 2nd coupling 25 have a pair of male part (24a, 25a) and a female part (24b, 25b), respectively, and the female of the 1st coupling 24 The part 24b (or male part 24a) and the male part 25a (or female part 25b) of the second coupling 25 can be connected. Therefore, at the time of shipment, the connection between the male part 24a and the female part 24b of the first coupling 24 is released, the first supply path 29 is closed, and the ink in the sub ink tank side flow path 32 is drained. The sub ink tank 21 side can be made empty. Further, the connection between the male part 25 a and the female part 25 b of the second coupling 25 is released, the second supply path 30 is closed, and the storage liquid is injected into the storage liquid flow path 33, whereby the recording head 17. The side can be filled with storage solution. In this way, it is possible to prevent the recording head 17 from drying and to prevent the ink 27 from leaking from the sub ink tank 21. In addition, filling the recording head 17 side with the storage liquid and emptying the sub ink tank 21 side can be achieved without adding new components.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the electromagnetic valve 23 is used as the valve mechanism in the second supply path 30, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Further, the number of nozzles 18 and the nozzle interval of the recording head 17 can be appropriately set according to the specifications of the inkjet recording apparatus 100. Further, the number of recording heads 17 is not particularly limited. For example, one recording head 17 can be arranged for each of the line heads 11C to 11K.

  The present invention is useful for an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium in a recording apparatus such as a facsimile.

17 Recording head 21 Sub ink tank 22 Pump 23 Solenoid valve (valve mechanism)
24 1st coupling 25 2nd coupling 26 Filter 29 1st supply path 30 2nd supply path 31 3rd supply path 32 Sub ink tank side flow path 33 Preservation liquid flow path 100 Inkjet recording device

Claims (2)

A sub ink tank for storing ink to be supplied to the recording head;
The recording head discharging ink onto a recording medium;
A filter provided between the recording head and the sub ink tank;
A first supply path connecting the filter and the sub ink tank via a pump;
A second supply path for connecting the filter and the sub ink tank via a valve mechanism;
A third supply path connecting the filter and the recording head;
An inkjet recording apparatus comprising:
In the first supply path from the filter to the pump, a first coupling for opening or closing the first supply path is provided, and
A second coupling for opening or closing the second supply path is provided in the second supply path to the filter and the valve mechanism;
And said 1st coupling and 2nd coupling each have a pair of male part and female part,
An ink jet characterized in that the male part of the first coupling and the female part of the second coupling, and the female part of the first coupling and the male part of the second coupling can be connected to each other. Recording device. At the time of shipment of the ink jet recording apparatus,
Release the connection between the male part and female part of the first coupling and the male part and female part of the second coupling, and close the first supply path and the second supply path, respectively.
The sub-ink is connected to the male part or female part of the first coupling and the female part or male part of the second coupling, respectively, from the sub-ink tank via the pump, the first coupling and the valve mechanism. Sub-ink tank side flow path circulating in the tank,
And a storage liquid channel connected to the second coupling from the recording head via the filter, and
While removing the ink from the sub ink tank side flow path to make the flow path empty,
Injecting a storage liquid into the storage liquid flow path and filling the recording head with the storage liquid,
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shipping operation can be performed.

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