JP2017105058A - Head recovery unit and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a head recovery unit which enables easy maintenance, and to provide a recording device including a recording head recovered by the head recovery unit.SOLUTION: A head recovery unit 30 includes: a cap 31 which caps a discharge surface 20 of a recording head 18 from which an ink is discharged; a pump part 32 which suctions the interior of the cap capping the recording head; and a liquid storage part 33 which stores the ink suctioned from the recording head by the pump part. The cap, the pump part, and the liquid storage part are provided independently of the housing at the outside of the housing 12 to which the recording head is attached.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer and a head recovery unit that recovers a recording head provided in the apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet printers that perform recording on a medium by ejecting ink, which is an example of a liquid, from a head mounted on a carriage that can be reciprocated on the medium are known. Among such printers, there is one in which a head is detachably attached to a carriage (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-68994 A

  Incidentally, the printer described in Patent Document 1 includes a head recovery unit that maintains good ink ejection characteristics in the head. Such head recovery means generally includes a cap for capping the ejection surface from which ink is ejected in the head, and a suction pump for sucking ink from the capped head. However, since the head recovery means is provided at a position that can be opposed to the carriage that reciprocates in order to cap the head, there is a situation that it is difficult to maintain the head recovery means itself.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a head recovery unit that is easy to maintain and a recording apparatus including a recording head that the unit recovers.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.
A head recovery unit that solves the above problems includes a cap that caps the ejection surface of a recording head from which liquid is ejected, a pump that sucks the inside of the cap capping the recording head, and the recording by the pump unit. A head recovery unit including a liquid storage unit that stores liquid sucked from the head, wherein the cap, the pump unit, and the liquid storage unit are located outside the housing to which the recording head is attached. Are provided independently.

  According to this configuration, for example, when the recording head is detachably provided from the casing, the recording head can be recovered by the head recovery unit outside the casing. The head recovery unit itself can also be arranged outside the housing to provide a head recovery unit that is easy to maintain.

In the head recovery unit, it is preferable that the cap, the pump unit, and the liquid storage unit are integrally formed.
According to this structure, a cap, a pump part, and a liquid storage part can be put together in one place, and a cap, a pump part, and a liquid storage part can be maintained easily.

In the head recovery unit, it is preferable that the pump unit includes an electric motor that is driven when suctioning and a power supply member that can supply power to the motor.
According to this configuration, the liquid can be sucked more easily than a configuration in which the user manually drives the pump unit.

In the head recovery unit, the pump unit preferably includes a manual mechanism for manually driving the pump unit.
According to this configuration, power consumption can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the pump unit is electrically driven.

  In addition, a recording apparatus that solves the above problems includes a head recovery unit configured as described above, a casing, a recording head that is provided in the casing and that records on a medium by discharging liquid from an ejection surface, and the recording head Is detachably mounted, and is provided so as to be reciprocally movable in the housing, a liquid container that can store the liquid supplied to the recording head, and a tube that connects the liquid container and the recording head. The liquid container is integrally formed with the head recovery unit outside the housing.

According to this configuration, by arranging the head recovery unit for recovering the recording head outside the housing, the head recovery unit itself can be easily maintained.
In the recording apparatus, it is preferable that the liquid container has an injection port through which a liquid can be injected.

According to this configuration, the liquid container can be continuously used without being replaced by injecting the liquid through the injection port.
The recording apparatus preferably includes a fixing member that fixes a part of the tube to the housing.

According to this configuration, the tube can be fixed to the housing by the fixing member.
In the recording apparatus, it is preferable that the tube is detachably attached to the recording head.

  According to this configuration, the user-friendliness of the recording head can be improved by removing the tube when removing the recording head from the carriage.

FIG. 2 is a front view schematically illustrating a configuration of a recording apparatus and a head recovery unit in the embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of a head recovery unit roughly. FIG. 3 is a front view schematically showing a recording apparatus and a head recovery unit when the recording head is recovered. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a head recovery unit when recovering a recording head removed from a recording apparatus. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically illustrating a recording apparatus that is integrally provided with a head recovery unit. Sectional drawing which shows schematically the modification of a head recovery | restoration unit. Sectional drawing which shows schematically the other modification of a head recovery | restoration unit. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of a tube. Sectional drawing which shows the other modification of a tube. Sectional drawing which shows the other modification of a tube.

  Hereinafter, as an embodiment of a recording apparatus, an ink jet printer including a recording head that records characters and images on a medium by ejecting ink, which is an example of a liquid, and a head recovery unit that maintains the recording head will be described. Will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 11 has a housing 12 that is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The upper part of the housing 12 is constituted by a cover 13 that can be opened and closed, and the inside of the housing 12 can be exposed by opening the cover 13. A head recovery unit 30 provided independently of the recording device 11 is disposed outside the housing 12.

  The recording apparatus 11 includes a support base 14 that supports a sheet P, which is an example of a medium, from below in the vertical direction, and a recording unit 15 that performs recording on the paper P supported by the support base 14 inside the housing 12. It has. The support base 14 is a lower part of the housing 12 and is provided from the center to the left side in the left-right direction which is the longitudinal direction of the housing 12. On the other hand, the recording unit 15 includes a carriage 17 that can reciprocate above the support 14 along a guide shaft 16 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the housing 12, and a recording head 18 that is detachably mounted on the carriage 17. ing. A plurality of nozzles 19 for ejecting ink are provided on the lower surface of the recording head 18. That is, the lower surface of the recording head 18 is an ejection surface 20 from which ink is ejected. These nozzles 19 eject corresponding inks. In the present embodiment, four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are discharged from the corresponding nozzles 19. In other words, the recording unit 15 performs recording on the paper P when the recording head 18 mounted on the carriage 17 that moves along the guide shaft 16 discharges ink toward the paper P. The recording head 18 includes a liquid storage chamber for storing ink therein, and the ink stored in the liquid storage chamber is ejected from the nozzle 19.

  In addition, a liquid container (for example, an ink tank) 21 that stores ink to be ejected by the recording head 18 is provided inside the housing 12 and at an upper portion thereof. That is, the liquid container 21 is connected to the recording head 18 via the tube 22 from which ink can be drawn, and supplies ink toward the liquid storage chamber of the recording head 18. Note that the liquid container 21 in the present embodiment supplies ink to the recording head 18 by utilizing a water head difference from the recording head 18. The liquid container 21 has an injection port 23 into which ink can be injected. In the present embodiment, four liquid containers 21 and four tubes 22 are provided corresponding to the number of colors of ink ejected by the recording head 18. That is, the liquid containers 21 store different colors of ink, and the different colors of ink flow through the tubes 22.

  The tube 22 that connects the recording head 18 and the liquid container 21 is formed of a flexible member, and is provided so as to be able to follow the movement of the carriage 17 along the guide shaft 16. The tube 22 has one end connected to the recording head 18 detachably attached to the recording head 18, and a portion near the other end connected to the liquid container 21 has a clamp 24 as a fixing member. It is being fixed to the housing | casing 12 by. The plurality of tubes 22 in the present embodiment are of the same type, and the shapes of the tubes 22 are substantially the same.

  A drying suppression unit 25 that suppresses drying of ink in the nozzles 19 of the recording head 18 is provided below the liquid container 21 and adjacent to the support 14. The drying suppression unit 25 includes a cap 26 that comes into contact with the ejection surface 20 of the recording head 18 and an elevating mechanism 27 that can raise and lower the cap 26 in the vertical direction. That is, the drying suppression unit 25 is provided so as to be opposed to the recording head 18 that is moved in the left-right direction by the carriage 17, and the cap 26 lifted by the lifting mechanism 27 caps the ejection surface 20 of the recording head 18. Ink drying is suppressed and clogging of the nozzle 19 is suppressed.

  Here, the capping refers to forming a closed space where the ejection surface 20 faces when the cap 26 contacts the ejection surface 20 of the recording head 18. The closed space formed by the cap 26 is a state where a fluid such as air or ink droplets is blocked from entering and exiting between the space surrounded by the ejection surface 20 and the cap 26 and the outer space thereof, that is, the ejection surface 20. And a space surrounded by the cap 26 is preferably sealed. However, the closed space in the present embodiment is not limited to the state in which the flow of fluid is blocked in this way, but the state in which the flow of fluid is allowed, that is, the space surrounded by the discharge surface 20 and the cap 26 is sealed. There may be no state.

  The recording device 11 is provided with a power plug 28 that can supply power to the recording device 11 so as to extend from the housing 12. By supplying power to the recording apparatus 11 via the power plug 28, various members constituting the recording apparatus 11 such as the recording unit 15 and the drying suppression unit 25 are driven.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the head recovery unit 30 includes a cap 31 capable of capping the recording head 18 removed from the carriage 17, a pump unit 32 for sucking a closed space formed by capping, and a suction by the pump unit 32. And a liquid storage part 33 for storing the used ink. Among these, the pump part 32 and the liquid storage part 33 are integrally formed by a box-shaped frame 34, and a cap 31 is mounted on the upper part of the frame 34. That is, the head recovery unit 30 is configured to be able to handle the cap 31, the pump unit 32, and the liquid storage unit 33 integrally.

  Unlike the cap 26 provided in the drying suppression unit 25, the cap 31 is opposite to the inner bottom surface 35 in the vertical direction and the suction hole 36 that penetrates the inner bottom surface 35 of the cap 31 that faces the recording head 18 during capping. And a projecting portion 37 that projects downward from the surface and opens the suction hole 36. The pump portion 32 includes a suction pipe 38 having one end connected to the protruding portion 37 of the cap 31 and the other end extending toward the liquid storage portion 33, and a tube pump 39 disposed in the middle of the suction pipe 38. . The pump unit 32 includes a motor 40 for driving the tube pump 39 and a power plug (power supply member) 41 that can supply power to the motor 40. And the liquid storage part 33 is equipped with the absorber 42 which can absorb an ink in the inside. That is, in the head recovery unit 30, the pump unit 32 sucks ink from the nozzles 19 by sucking the cap 31 that caps the recording head 18.

  In general, in the recording head 18 that performs recording by discharging a liquid, for example, the viscosity of the ink in the nozzle 19 increases or paper dust of the paper P enters the nozzle 19. Therefore, there is a concern that the ejection characteristics may deteriorate and affect the recording quality. For this reason, the head recovery unit 30 removes such foreign matter by ejecting ink vigorously from the nozzles 19 of the recording head 18 included in the recording apparatus 11. That is, the head recovery unit 30 performs maintenance of the recording head 18 and maintains or recovers the ejection characteristics of the recording head 18. Then, the ink sucked from the nozzle 19 by the pump part 32 is absorbed by the absorbent 42 of the liquid storage part 33 through the suction hole 36 of the cap 31 and the suction pipe 38 of the pump part 32.

Next, the operation of the head recovery unit 30 for maintaining the recording head 18 included in the recording apparatus 11 configured as described above will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the ejection characteristics of the recording head 18 are recovered by the head recovery unit 30, the recording head 18 mounted on the carriage 17 is exposed to the housing 12 exposed by opening the cover 13. And is placed on the top of the head recovery unit 30 disposed outside the housing 12. At this time, the recording head 18 removed from the carriage 17 is capped by the cap 31 provided in the head recovery unit 30 with the tube 22 also removed.

  Here, when the ink is sucked from the nozzles 19 of the recording head 18 by driving the pump unit 32, the ink is ejected toward the inner bottom surface 35 of the cap 31, so that part of the ejected ink is part of the cap 31. It is possible that it will stick to. In addition, the amount of ink sucked by the pump unit 32 may reach the saturation amount of the absorbent 42 provided in the liquid storage unit 33. Therefore, maintenance of the head recovery unit 30 itself by exchanging the cap 31 and the absorbing material 42 is also important for maintaining the ejection characteristics of the recording head 18. Therefore, the head recovery unit 30 in the present embodiment is disposed outside the housing 12 of the recording apparatus 11. That is, by arranging the head recovery unit 30 outside the housing 12 to which the recording head 18 is attached, the user can visually recognize the state of the head recovery unit 30 as compared with the configuration provided inside the housing 12 of the recording apparatus 11. Easy to maintain and maintain.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) For example, when the recording head 18 is detachably provided from the housing 12, the recording head 18 can be recovered by the head recovery unit 30 outside the housing 12. The head recovery unit 30 itself can also be arranged outside the housing 12 so that the head recovery unit 30 can be easily maintained.

  (2) By forming the cap 31, the pump part 32, and the liquid storage part 33 integrally, these can be put together in one place, and the cap 31, the pump part 32, and the liquid storage part 33 can be easily maintained together. it can.

(3) Since the pump unit 32 has an electric configuration, ink can be sucked more easily than a configuration in which the user manually drives the pump unit 32.
In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows. Moreover, you may combine suitably the following modified examples with respect to the said embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the recording head 18 removed from the carriage 17 may be capped on the cap 31 included in the head recovery unit 30 while the tube 22 remains connected. In the recording head 18 in this configuration, ink is sucked by the head recovery unit 30 and ink is supplied from the liquid container 21.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the above embodiment, the head recovery unit 30 is attached to the liquid container 21 arranged outside the housing 12 of the recording apparatus 11, so that the recording apparatus 11 including the head recovery unit 30 may be used. Good. That is, the head recovery unit 30 and the liquid container 21 are formed integrally with the liquid container 21 so that the head recovery unit 30 and the liquid container 21 can be handled integrally. In this modification, a tube 22 extending from a liquid container 21 disposed outside the housing 12 is connected to a recording head 18 provided inside the housing 12 through a hole 51 that opens to the housing 12. . The tube 22 is fixed to the housing 12 by a clamp 24 at an intermediate portion between one end side and the other end side. The tube 22 can be attached to and detached from the recording head 18 as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

According to this modified example, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the above embodiment.
(4) By arranging the head recovery unit 30 for recovering the recording head 18 outside the housing 12, the head recovery unit 30 itself can be easily maintained.

(5) By injecting ink through the injection port 23, the liquid container 21 can be used continuously without replacement.
(6) The tube 22 can be fixed to the housing 12 by the clamp 24.

(7) When the recording head 18 is removed from the carriage 17, the usability of the recording head 18 can be improved by removing the tube 22.
As shown in FIG. 6, in the above-described embodiment, the head recovery unit 30 is not limited to the configuration integrally formed with the frame body 34, and may be configured to be independently arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the above embodiment, the pump unit 32 included in the head recovery unit 30 may have a manual mechanism 53 that drives the tube pump 39 via the handle 52 extending from the frame body 34. The manual mechanism 53 is composed of, for example, a gear. The handle 52 may be changed to a lever or a pedal.

According to this modified example, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the above embodiment.
(8) Power consumption can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the pump unit 32 is electrically driven.
As shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, in the above embodiment, the tube 22 connecting the liquid container 21 and the recording head 18 has a shape suitable for each type of ink solvent and color, for example. The tube 22 may be adopted. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the four tubes 22 that are aligned may be provided so that the inner diameter of one tube 22 is larger than that of the other three tubes 22. The outer diameters of these tubes 22 are the same. By increasing the inner diameter of the ink flow path 54 in the tube 22, the flow rate of ink flowing through the flow path 54 increases. That is, the amount of ink supplied to the recording head 18 can be changed for each tube 22. For example, by using the tube 22 having the flow path 54 suitable for the number of nozzles 19 of the recording head 18 and the ink consumption frequency, it is possible to supply ink stably. Also, as shown in FIG. 9, out of the aligned four tubes 22, the outer diameters of the two tubes 22 located on both outer sides are larger than those of the two tubes 22 located on the inner side. You may provide so that it may become. The inner diameters of these tubes 22 are the same. That is, the two tubes 22 located on both outer sides are provided with a larger thickness than the two tubes 22 located on the inner side. By increasing the thickness of the tube 22, for example, when supplying ink using a solvent that easily evaporates, evaporation of the solvent can be suppressed, and an increase in the viscosity of the ink can be suppressed. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the plurality of tubes 22 connecting the liquid container 21 and the recording head 18 may be changed to a multiple tube 55 having a plurality of flow paths 54. Further, the number of tubes 22 connecting the liquid container 21 and the recording head 18 may be appropriately changed according to the number of types of ink, and the shape thereof may be appropriately changed.

  In the above embodiment, when the recording head 18 removed from the carriage 17 is maintained by the head recovery unit 30, the tube 22 may not be removed. If the tube 22 is long, it can be placed on the top of the head recovery unit 30 without removing the tube 22, and the labor of attaching and detaching the tube 22 can be saved.

-In the said embodiment, the fixing member which fixes the tube 22 is not restricted to the clamp 24, A hook etc. may be sufficient.
In the above embodiment, the liquid container 21 may be a replaceable ink cartridge or ink pack that does not have the inlet 23.

In the above embodiment, the liquid container 21 may be configured to supply ink to the recording head 18 by a pump such as a diaphragm, for example.
In the above embodiment, the power plug 41 as a power supply member included in the pump unit 32 may be constituted by a battery, for example.

-In the said embodiment, you may change the tube pump 39 with which the pump part 32 is provided, for example to a diaphragm pump, a gear pump, etc.
In the above embodiment, the medium recorded by the recording device 11 is not limited to the paper P, and may be a fabric or a plastic film.

  In the above-described embodiment, the recording apparatus 11 ejects a fluid other than ink (including a fluid, a liquid material in which particles of a functional material are dispersed or mixed in the liquid, and a fluid such as a gel). Or a fluid ejecting apparatus that performs recording by discharging the ink. 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. A liquid ejecting apparatus may be used. Moreover, the fluid body injection apparatus which injects fluid bodies, such as a gel (for example, physical gel), may be sufficient. The present invention can be applied to any one of these fluid ejecting apparatuses. In the present specification, the term “fluid” is a concept that does not include a fluid consisting only of gas. Examples of the fluid include liquid (inorganic solvent, organic solvent, solution, liquid resin, liquid metal (metal melt), etc. ), Liquids, fluids, and the like.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Recording apparatus, 12 ... Housing | casing, 17 ... Carriage, 18 ... Recording head, 19 ... Nozzle, 20 ... Discharge surface, 21 ... Liquid container, 22 ... Tube, 23 ... Injection port, 24 ... Clamp (fixing member) , 30 ... Head recovery unit, 31 ... Cap, 32 ... Pump part, 33 ... Liquid storage part, 34 ... Frame body, 35 ... Inner bottom surface, 36 ... Suction hole, 37 ... Projection part, 38 ... Supply pipe, 39 ... Tube Pump, 40 ... motor, 41 ... power plug (power supply member), 42 ... absorbing material, P ... paper.

Claims (8)

A cap for capping the ejection surface of the recording head from which the liquid is ejected, a pump unit for sucking the inside of the cap capping the recording head, and a liquid for storing the liquid sucked from the recording head by the pump unit A head recovery unit comprising a reservoir,
The head recovery unit, wherein the cap, the pump section, and the liquid storage section are provided independently of the casing outside the casing to which the recording head is attached.   The head recovery unit according to claim 1, wherein the cap, the pump unit, and the liquid storage unit are integrally formed.   The head recovery unit according to claim 1, wherein the pump unit includes an electric motor that is driven when suctioning and a power supply member that can supply power to the motor.   The head recovery unit according to claim 1, wherein the pump unit includes a manual mechanism in which the pump unit is manually driven. A head recovery unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A housing,
A recording head that is provided in the housing and performs recording on a medium by discharging liquid from the discharge surface;
A carriage on which the recording head is detachably mounted and provided so as to be capable of reciprocating in the housing;
A liquid container capable of containing the liquid supplied to the recording head;
A tube connecting the liquid container and the recording head,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid container is formed integrally with the head recovery unit outside the housing.   The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the liquid container has an injection port through which liquid can be injected.   The recording apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a fixing member that fixes a part of the tube to the housing.   The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the tube is detachably attached to the recording head.

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