JP2016020040A - Liquid jet device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid jet device which inhibits reduction of moisture of a moisturiser retained in a cap.SOLUTION: A liquid jet device includes: a liquid jet part 18 having a nozzle 21 capable of jetting a liquid; a cap 30 which contacts with the liquid jet part 18 to form a closed space including an opening of the nozzle 21; and a cooling part 40 capable of cooling an interior part of the cap 30. The cap 30 includes: an inner bottom part 31 capable of retaining an ink; and an opening part 34 which contacts with the liquid jet part 18 so as to enclose the nozzle 21 when the closed space is formed. The cooling part 40 is disposed at a location closer to the opening part 34 than to the inner bottom part 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a medium such as paper.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink as an example of a liquid onto a medium such as paper from a nozzle formed in a liquid ejecting head is known. In such printers, a cap that forms a closed space including an opening of a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head by capping the liquid ejecting head, an ink absorber disposed in the cap, and a cap disposed in the cap There is a thing provided with a cooling part (for example, patent documents 1).

  The cooling unit cools the nozzle formation region where the nozzle of the liquid ejection head opens when the liquid ejection head is capped, thereby generating condensation in the nozzle formation region and drying the nozzle. Is suppressed.

JP 2010-30245 A

  By the way, since the inside of the cap is exposed to the outside air while the printer is printing, the moisture of the ink (moisturizing liquid) held in the ink absorber in the cap may evaporate. is there.

  In this case, since the amount of water in the cap is reduced, there is a possibility that condensation does not occur sufficiently when the cooling unit cools the nozzle formation region, and the effect of suppressing the drying of the nozzle may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus that can suppress a decrease in moisture of the moisturizing liquid held in the cap.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.
A liquid ejecting apparatus that solves the above problems includes a liquid ejecting unit having a nozzle capable of ejecting a liquid, a cap that forms a closed space including an opening of the nozzle by contacting the liquid ejecting unit, and the interior of the cap. A cap capable of holding a moisturizing liquid, and an opening that contacts the liquid ejecting section so as to surround the nozzle when forming the closed space. And the cooling part is disposed at a position closer to the opening than the inner bottom part.

  According to the above configuration, the cooling unit cools the space closer to the opening than the inner bottom in the cap, so that even when the cap does not form a closed space, the moisture of the moisturizing liquid held in the inner bottom is Evaporation outside the cap can be suppressed. That is, by making the vicinity of the opening in the cap cooler than the vicinity of the inner bottom, even if the moisture of the moisturizing liquid held on the inner bottom evaporates, the steam containing the moisture of the moisturizing liquid flows out of the cap. It is possible to make it difficult to do so, or to return the vapor to a liquid state. In this way, it is possible to suppress a decrease in moisture of the moisturizing liquid held in the cap. As a result, the nozzle can be prevented from drying when the closed space is formed by the cap.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is preferable that the cooling unit cools the inside of the cap when the cap is separated from the liquid ejecting unit.
According to the said structure, when the cap is not forming the closed space, the inside of a cap can be cooled and the reduction | decrease of the water | moisture content of the moisturizing liquid hold | maintained at the inner bottom part can be suppressed.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the cap further includes an absorber disposed in contact with the inner bottom portion and capable of absorbing the moisturizing liquid, and the cooling unit is separated from the absorber in the cap. It is desirable to be arranged at a different position.

  According to the above configuration, the space between the absorber and the opening can be cooled by the cooling unit. For this reason, moisture evaporation of the moisturizing liquid absorbed and held in the absorber can be suppressed by the cooled space.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus further includes a measurement unit capable of measuring temperature and humidity, and the cooling unit is disposed inside the cap so that a temperature in the cap is equal to or lower than a target temperature based on a measurement result of the measurement unit. It is desirable to cool.

According to the said structure, the cooling in a cap by a cooling part can be efficiently performed by performing the cooling according to the target temperature based on the measured temperature and humidity.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is preferable that the target temperature is a dew point temperature.

  According to the above configuration, since the inside of the cap is cooled so that the temperature inside the cap is equal to or lower than the dew point temperature, the humidity in the cap can be maximized or condensation can be generated in the cap. . For this reason, it can suppress more that the water | moisture content of the moisturizing liquid hold | maintained in the cap reduces.

  A liquid ejecting apparatus that solves the above problems includes a liquid ejecting unit having a nozzle capable of ejecting liquid, a cap that forms a closed space including an opening of the nozzle when contacting the liquid ejecting unit, and an interior of the cap. A cooling unit capable of cooling, and a measurement unit capable of measuring temperature and humidity, wherein the cap contacts the liquid ejecting unit when forming the closed space and an inner bottom portion capable of holding a moisturizing liquid. Preferably, the cooling unit cools the inside of the cap so that the temperature in the cap is equal to or lower than the dew point temperature based on the measurement result of the measurement unit.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the effect of the liquid ejecting apparatus described above.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the cap has a suction hole that opens in the inner bottom portion, and sucks the inside of the cap through the suction hole, thereby allowing gas outside the cap to pass through the opening in the cap. It is preferable that a suction mechanism that flows into the cap is further provided, and the suction mechanism is driven when the cooling unit cools the inside of the cap.

  According to the above configuration, when the cooling unit drives the suction mechanism when cooling the inside of the cap, the gas outside the cap flows into the cap, so that moisture contained in the gas outside the cap can be condensed in the cap. it can. That is, by taking in moisture from outside the cap, it is possible to further suppress a decrease in moisture in the moisturizing liquid held in the cap.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus. (A) is a top view of the cap in a maintenance apparatus, (b) is a 2b-2b arrow directional cross-sectional view of (a). FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing routine executed by the control unit of the liquid ejecting apparatus to cool the inside of the cap.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. The liquid ejecting apparatus is, for example, an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink, which is an example of liquid, onto a medium such as paper.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a housing unit 12, a recording unit 13 and a maintenance device 14 accommodated in the housing unit 12. Further, a guide shaft 15 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the housing 12 (the left-right direction in FIG. 1) and a support base 16 that supports the medium P are accommodated in the housing 12. On the support table 16, the medium P is transported in a transport direction (in FIG. 1, from the paper surface toward the front) by a transport mechanism (not shown).

  The recording unit 13 includes a carriage 17 that reciprocates along the guide shaft 15, a liquid ejecting unit 18 that is supported by the carriage 17, and a linear encoder 19 that detects a position of the carriage 17 in the moving direction. ing. Here, in the present embodiment, one end side in the longitudinal direction of the guide shaft 15 (right end side in FIG. 1) is also referred to as a home side, and the other end side in the longitudinal direction (left end side in FIG. 1) is also referred to as an anti-home side. . The longitudinal direction of the guide shaft 15 is also the movement direction X of the carriage 17.

  The liquid ejecting unit 18 is formed with a nozzle 21 that ejects ink, which is an example of a liquid, as droplets. Further, the surface of the liquid ejecting unit 18 that can face the medium P is a nozzle opening surface 22 through which the nozzle 21 is opened. Note that the number of nozzles formed in the liquid ejecting unit 18 may be arbitrarily changed.

  The liquid ejecting unit 18 performs printing on the medium P by ejecting ink droplets onto the medium P supported by the support base 16 when the carriage 17 reciprocates along the movement direction X. . When printing is not performed or when the power is turned off, the liquid ejecting unit 18 moves to the vicinity of the end on the home side (hereinafter also referred to as “home position”) together with the carriage 17 and stands by.

  The maintenance device 14 is disposed so as to face the carriage 17 positioned at the home position. The maintenance device 14 includes a cap 30 that can contact the nozzle opening surface 22 of the liquid ejecting unit 18, a recovery unit 23 that recovers the ink discharged to the cap 30, and a discharge that connects the recovery unit 23 and the cap 30. A flow path 24 and a suction mechanism 25 disposed in the middle of the discharge flow path 24 are provided.

Next, the cap 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the cap 30 can cool the inside of the cap 30, a bottom portion 32 having an inner bottom portion 31 capable of holding ink, a wall portion 33 erected from the bottom portion 32, and the cap 30. A cooling unit 40, a cooling mechanism 41 for cooling the cooling unit 40, and a measuring unit 42 for measuring the temperature and humidity in the cap 30. The cap 30 has a bottomed box shape having an opening 34 that opens toward the liquid ejecting unit 18 located at the home position.

  A suction hole 35 that communicates with the suction mechanism 25 via the discharge flow path 24 is opened at the approximate center of the bottom 32 in plan view. The wall 33 is erected from the inner bottom 31 so as to surround the suction hole 35. Further, an elastically deformable lip portion 36 is provided at the tip of the wall portion 33, and the opening portion 34 of the cap 30 is formed by the lip portion 36.

  In the cap 30, an absorber 37 that holds the ink discharged (jetted) into the cap 30 to hold the ink is provided. The absorber 37 is disposed in contact with the inner bottom portion 31 so as to block the suction hole 35 formed in the bottom portion 32. In the present embodiment, the ink corresponds to an example of “moisturizing liquid”, and the inner bottom portion 31 holds the ink when the absorber 37 holds the ink.

  The cooling part 40 has a cover part 43 having a substantially mesh shape in plan view, and the cover part 43 is provided so as to cover the inner bottom part 31 of the cap 30. Further, the cooling unit 40 is formed by being bent along the outer side of the wall portion 33 of the cap 30 in a state where both end portions in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) in plan view penetrate the wall portion 33 of the cap 30. Has been. That is, both end portions in the longitudinal direction in the plan view of the cooling unit 40 are provided with a locking unit 44 for locking the cooling unit 40 (cover unit 43) to the cap 30 in a state of being separated from the inner bottom 31 of the cap 30. It has become. Thus, the cooling unit 40 is disposed in the cap 30 at a position closer to the opening 34 than the inner bottom 31 and away from the surface of the absorber 37.

  The cooling unit 40 is preferably formed of a material having high thermal conductivity such as metal. In addition, the cooling unit 40 has a repellent surface so that the ink discharged (jetted) from the liquid ejecting unit 18 remains attached to the cooling unit 40 so that the ink does not solidify. It is desirable that water (liquid repellent) treatment is performed.

  The cooling mechanism 41 is attached to the wall portion 33 of the cap 30 so as to contact the locking portion 44 of the cooling portion 40. The cooling mechanism 41 may be a thermoelectric element such as a Peltier element, or may be configured to circulate a refrigerant. Then, by driving the cooling mechanism 41, the temperature of the locking portion 44 of the cooling unit 40 in contact with the cooling mechanism 41 is lowered, and the cover unit 43 of the cooling unit 40 is cooled by heat conduction, so that the cover unit The temperature of 43 falls. Thus, the cooling unit 40 (cover unit 43) cools the vicinity of the opening 34 in the cap 30 by cooling the atmosphere of the cover unit 43.

  The measurement unit 42 measures the temperature and humidity near the opening 34 in the cap 30. The measurement part 42 may be attached to the inside of the wall part 33 of the cap 30 or may be attached to the cover part 43 of the cooling part 40.

Next, the electrical configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a control unit 50 that controls the apparatus in an integrated manner. The control unit 50 includes a storage unit 51 in which information for calculating a target temperature for cooling the inside of the cap 30 is stored. In detail, the memory | storage part 51 has memorize | stored the map and table corresponding to a saturated water vapor pressure curve, in order to calculate the temperature (dew point temperature) when the gas begins to dew condensation from the temperature and humidity of a certain gas.

  Further, the control unit 50 calculates the position of the carriage 17 in the movement direction X based on the detection signal of the encoder 19, and calculates the temperature and humidity in the cap 30 based on the detection signal of the measurement unit 42. . The control unit 50 controls driving of the liquid ejecting unit 18, the suction mechanism 25, and the cooling mechanism 41 according to the acquired position in the moving direction of the carriage 17 and the temperature and humidity in the cap 30.

Next, maintenance using the cap 30 will be described.
Now, when at least one of the cap 30 and the liquid ejecting portion 18 moves in the direction in which the cap 30 and the liquid ejecting portion 18 approach each other when the liquid ejecting portion 18 is located at the home position, the lip portion 36 (opening 34) of the cap 30 A closed space is formed between the cap 30 and the nozzle opening surface 22 in contact with the nozzle opening surface 22 so as to surround the opening. The formation of the closed space including the opening of the nozzle 21 by the cap 30 is also referred to as “capping”. When the liquid ejecting unit 18 is capped, the nozzle 21 formed in the liquid ejecting unit 18 is not exposed to the outside air, so that drying of the nozzle 21 is suppressed. It can be said that as the amount of water in the cap 30 increases, the drying suppression effect (moisturizing effect) of the nozzle 21 is higher.

Note that the target that the cap 30 contacts during capping need not be the nozzle opening surface 22, and may be, for example, the side surface portion of the liquid ejecting unit 18 or the carriage 17.
In addition, when the liquid ejecting unit 18 is capped by the cap 30 and the suction mechanism 25 is driven, the suction is performed so that ink is discharged from the liquid ejecting unit 18 through the opening of the nozzle 21 when the closed space is decompressed and becomes negative pressure. Cleaning is executed. That is, the suction mechanism 25 discharges ink from the opening of the nozzle 21 by depressurizing the closed space. The suction cleaning is performed to eliminate such ejection failure when, for example, the nozzle 21 is clogged and ink ejection failure occurs.

  Incidentally, in the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the cap 30 cannot cap the liquid ejecting unit 18 while the liquid ejecting unit 18 is ejecting ink onto the medium P (during printing). For this reason, the inside of the cap 30 is exposed to the outside air through the opening 34, and the moisture of the ink held by the absorber 37 in the cap 30 may evaporate. In this case, the moisture retention effect of the nozzle 21 may be reduced when the liquid ejecting unit 18 is capped thereafter due to a decrease in the amount of water in the cap 30.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the liquid ejecting unit 18 is not capped, the cooling unit 40 cools the inside of the cap 30 in order to suppress a decrease in the amount of water in the cap 30. That is, by cooling the inside of the cap 30, the humidity inside the cap 30 is increased, and moisture evaporation of the ink held in the absorber 37 is suppressed.

  Further, if the humidity in the cap 30 becomes maximum (100%), that is, if the amount of water vapor contained in the gas in the cap 30 becomes the saturated water vapor amount, the ink held in the absorber 37 in the cap 30 Moisture does not evaporate. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the inside of the cap 30 is cooled so that the temperature in the cap 30 is equal to or lower than the dew point temperature corresponding to the temperature and humidity in the cap 30.

Next, a processing routine executed by the control unit 50 in order to suppress water evaporation of the ink held in the cap 30 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the carriage 17 is at the home position (step S11). If the carriage 17 is at the home position (step S11: YES), the process is temporarily terminated. To do. On the other hand, when the carriage 17 is not at the home position (step S11: NO), that is, during printing, the control unit 50 acquires the temperature and humidity in the cap 30 based on the detection signal of the measurement unit 42 (step S12). ).

  Subsequently, the control unit 50 calculates the dew point temperature based on the acquired temperature and humidity, and sets the dew point temperature as the target temperature (step S13). Here, the target temperature is a target temperature when the cooling unit 40 cools the inside of the cap 30. The target temperature may be a temperature obtained by adding or subtracting a predetermined temperature (for example, 5 degrees) to the dew point temperature.

  And the control part 50 determines whether the temperature in the cap 30 is higher than target temperature (step S14). When the temperature in the cap 30 is higher than the target temperature (step S14: YES), the control unit 50 drives the cooling mechanism 41 (step S15), and cools the inside of the cap 30 to the cooling unit 40 cooled by the cooling mechanism 41. Let

  Subsequently, the control unit 50 drives the suction mechanism 25 (step S16), and sucks the inside of the cap 30 through the suction hole 35, so that the gas outside the cap 30 enters the cap 30 through the opening 34. Let it flow. And the control part 50 once complete | finishes the process.

  On the other hand, when the temperature in the cap 30 is equal to or lower than the target temperature in the previous step S14 (step S14: NO), the control unit 50 stops driving the cooling unit 40 (step S17) and drives the suction mechanism 25. Is stopped (step S18). And the control part 50 once complete | finishes the process.

Next, the operation of the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, while the liquid ejecting unit 18 is ejecting ink onto the medium P (during printing), the inside of the cap 30 is exposed to the outside air through the opening 34. It is assumed that it was done. For this reason, the inside of the cap 30 is cooled by the cooling unit 40 in order to prevent the water content of the ink held in the absorber 37 provided in the cap 30 from evaporating.

  Then, in the cap 30, the space closer to the opening 34 than the inner bottom portion 31 is cooled, so that the humidity of the space becomes higher, so that the moisture of the ink held in the absorber 37 is moved out of the cap 30. Evaporation is suppressed. That is, in the cap 30, the atmosphere of the opening 34 is lower in temperature and humidity than the atmosphere of the absorber 37 and the inner bottom 31, so even if the moisture of the ink held in the absorber 37 evaporates, It becomes difficult for water vapor to flow out of the cap 30.

  Further, when the cooling unit 40 cools the inside of the cap 30, the cooling mechanism 41 is driven so that the temperature inside the cap 30 becomes equal to or lower than the dew point temperature. For this reason, the humidity in the cap 30 becomes maximum (100%), and condensation occurs in the cap 30. For this reason, it is more suppressed that the water | moisture content of the ink hold | maintained at the absorber 37 evaporates.

  Further, when the suction mechanism 25 is driven, gas outside the cap 30 flows into the cap 30, so that moisture contained in the gas outside the cap 30 is condensed in the cap 30. That is, by taking in moisture from outside the cap 30, evaporation of moisture in the ink held in the absorber 37 inside the cap 30 is further suppressed.

  Thus, moisture evaporation of the ink held by the absorber 37 in the cap 30 when the liquid ejecting portion 18 is not capped is suppressed, and moisture retention in the closed space is achieved when the liquid ejecting portion 18 is capped. Water content is secured. For this reason, when capping the liquid ejecting portion 18, drying of the nozzle 21 is suppressed.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The cooling unit 40 cools the space closer to the opening 34 than the inner bottom portion 31 in the cap 30, so that even when the cap 30 is not capping, the water content of the ink held by the absorber 37 is reduced. It is possible to suppress evaporation and out of the cap 30. For this reason, it is possible to suppress a decrease in water content of the ink held in the cap 30.

  (2) Since the cooling unit 40 cools the space between the absorber 37 and the opening 34, when the moisture of the ink held in the absorber 37 evaporates, the generated vapor is cooled by the space. The Rukoto. For this reason, it is possible to make it difficult for moisture contained in the ink to flow out of the cap 30.

  (3) By cooling the inside of the cap 30 so that the temperature in the cap 30 is equal to or lower than the dew point temperature, the humidity in the cap 30 can be maximized or condensation can be generated in the cap 30. For this reason, the water | moisture content of the ink hold | maintained in the cap 30 can be made harder to evaporate.

  (4) By driving the suction mechanism 25 in a state where the temperature in the cap 30 is lower than the dew point temperature, the gas outside the cap 30 is caused to flow into the cap 30, and moisture contained in the gas outside the cap 30 is capped. Dew condensation can occur within 30. That is, by taking moisture into the cap 30 from the outside of the cap 30, it is possible to further prevent evaporation of the moisture of the ink held in the cap 30.

  (5) When the cooling unit 40 cools the inside of the cap 30 during capping, condensation may occur on the nozzle opening surface 22 of the liquid ejecting unit 18. Here, when ink is ejected from the nozzle 21 in a state where water droplets adhere to the nozzle opening surface 22, the ejected ink may come into contact with the water droplets adhered to the nozzle opening surface 22. In this case, there is a possibility that the print quality of the medium P is deteriorated by mixing water droplets with the ink ejected from the nozzles 21. For this reason, when the cooling unit 40 cools the inside of the cap 30 during capping, the nozzle opening surface 22 needs to be wiped (wiped) before the ink is ejected in order to avoid the above situation. Occurs.

  In this regard, according to the above-described embodiment, since the cooling unit 40 does not cool the cap 30 when capping, no condensation occurs on the nozzle opening surface 22 of the liquid ejecting unit 18. Therefore, it is not necessary to wipe the nozzle opening surface 22 before ejecting ink from the liquid ejecting unit 18, and the time required for the liquid ejecting unit 18 to eject ink after capping is released can be reduced. .

  (6) In the case where the ink contains a hygroscopic agent having a hygroscopic property (for example, glycerin), when the moisture of the ink held in the absorber 37 in the cap 30 evaporates when capping is not performed, the absorber 37 The humectant concentration of the ink held in the ink becomes high. Then, when the capping is performed, the ink held in the absorber 37 has a higher humectant concentration than the ink in the nozzle 21. There is a risk of depriving the ink of water. In this respect, in the above-described embodiment, when the capping is not performed, the evaporation of the moisture of the ink held in the absorber 37 in the cap 30 is suppressed, and thus the above situation can be avoided.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as shown below.
-The absorber 37 does not need to be provided in the cap 30. In this case, it is desirable that a reservoir capable of holding ink is formed in the cap 30. Examples of such a storage portion include a groove and a recess that are recessed with respect to the inner bottom portion 31.

  ・ The target temperature does not have to be the dew point temperature. The target temperature may be a temperature higher than the dew point temperature, a temperature lower than the dew point temperature, or any other temperature as long as it is a temperature according to the measurement result of the measurement unit 42. There may be. Also by this, the cooling in the cap 30 by the cooling unit 40 can be efficiently performed by performing the cooling according to the target temperature.

  -The measurement part 42 does not need to be provided. In this case, the inside of the cap 30 may be cooled by the cooling unit 40 without providing the target temperature. Also by this, the saturated water vapor | steam amount of the gas in the cap 30 can be reduced because the temperature in the cap 30 falls. That is, the humidity of the gas in the cap 30 can be increased to suppress a decrease in the moisture of the ink held in the cap 30.

  The measurement unit 42 may not be able to measure the temperature as long as the humidity in the cap 30 can be measured. In this case, when the humidity in the cap 30 is equal to or higher than the target humidity, the cooling unit 40 cools the inside of the cap 30, while when the humidity in the cap 30 is lower than the target humidity, the cooling unit 40 has the cap 30. It is desirable not to cool the inside. According to this, the humidity in the cap 30 can be set to the target humidity (target humidity) without measuring the temperature in the cap 30. Note that the target humidity may be, for example, 100% or 80%.

The suction mechanism 25 may not be driven while the cooling unit 40 is cooling the inside of the cap 30.
The cooling unit 40 may be supported not on the wall portion 33 of the cap 30 but on a support column erected on the inner bottom portion 31, for example.

  The cooling unit 40 may cool the cap 30 when capping. In this case, a communication hole that communicates the inside and outside of the cap 30 may be provided. Then, when the inside of the cap 30 is cooled by the cooling unit 40, the air outside the cap 30 may be caused to flow into the cap 30 by driving the suction mechanism 25. In order to efficiently cool the air flowing into the cap 30, it is desirable that the communication hole is provided at a position close to the cooling unit 40.

-The cover part 43 of the cooling part 40 may not be mesh shape. For example, the cooling unit 40 may be a single or a plurality of rod-like members that bridge the cooling mechanism 41.
Since waste ink is collected in the collection unit 23, the inside of the collection unit 23 is expected to be higher in humidity than the outside air. Therefore, the suction mechanism 25 may be driven so that the gas stored in the recovery unit 23 is sent into the cap 30. According to this, since the gas in the collection unit 23 having a higher humidity than the outside air can be taken into the cap 30, the amount of moisture that can be condensed in the cap 30 can be increased. It is effective when the solvent of the ink and the moisturizing liquid are not water.

  As long as the inside of the cap 30 can be cooled, the cooling unit 40 may not be provided so as to cover the opening 34, or may not be provided in the cap 30. In this case, the cooling unit 40 desirably cools the inside of the cap 30 so that the temperature in the cap 30 is equal to or lower than the dew point temperature based on the measurement result of the measuring unit 42. According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that obtained by the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 described above.

The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 may be applied to a thermal jet printer.
The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 may be applied to a line printer or a page printer.

  The liquid ejected by the liquid ejecting unit 18 is not limited to ink, and may be, for example, a liquid material in which functional material particles are dispersed or mixed in the liquid. For example, recording is performed by ejecting a liquid material in which a material such as an electrode material or a color material (pixel material) used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, and a surface emitting display is dispersed or dissolved. It may be configured.

-The solvent contained in the ink may not be water. For example, an organic solvent may be used.
The moisturizing liquid may be waste ink discharged from the liquid ejecting unit 18 during maintenance such as cleaning, may be water, or may be a dedicated moisturizing liquid. In this case, it is desirable that the moisturizing liquid contains at least a solvent having the same quality as the solvent of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting unit 18.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Liquid injection apparatus, 18 ... Liquid injection part, 21 ... Nozzle, 22 ... Nozzle opening surface, 25 ... Suction mechanism, 30 ... Cap, 31 ... Inner bottom part, 34 ... Opening part, 35 ... Suction hole, 37 ... Absorber , 40 ... cooling part, 41 ... cooling mechanism, 42 ... measurement part, 43 ... cover part, 44 ... locking part.

Claims (7)

A liquid ejecting section having a nozzle capable of ejecting liquid;
A cap that forms a closed space including an opening of the nozzle by contacting the liquid ejecting unit;
A cooling part capable of cooling the inside of the cap,
The cap has an inner bottom that can hold a moisturizing liquid, and an opening that contacts the liquid ejecting unit so as to surround the nozzle when forming the closed space,
The liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the cooling unit is disposed at a position closer to the opening than the inner bottom. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit cools the inside of the cap when the cap is separated from the liquid ejecting unit. The cap further includes an absorber that is disposed in contact with the inner bottom portion and can absorb the moisturizing liquid;
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is disposed at a position away from the absorber in the cap. Further equipped with a measuring unit capable of measuring temperature and humidity,
The liquid according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooling unit cools the inside of the cap so that a temperature in the cap is equal to or lower than a target temperature based on a measurement result of the measurement unit. Injection device. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the target temperature is a dew point temperature. A liquid ejecting section having a nozzle capable of ejecting liquid;
A cap that forms a closed space including an opening of the nozzle when in contact with the liquid ejection unit;
A cooling part capable of cooling the inside of the cap;
A measurement unit capable of measuring temperature and humidity,
The cap has an inner bottom part capable of holding a moisturizing liquid, and an opening part that contacts the liquid ejecting part when forming the closed space,
The liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the cooling unit cools the inside of the cap so that a temperature in the cap is equal to or lower than a dew point temperature based on a measurement result of the measuring unit. The cap has a suction hole that opens to the inner bottom,
A suction mechanism for sucking the gas outside the cap through the opening by sucking the inside of the cap through the suction hole;
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the suction mechanism is driven when the cooling unit cools the inside of the cap.