JP2017109446A - Liquid injection device and pressure control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid injection device capable of enhancing versatility, and a pressure adjustment unit.SOLUTION: A liquid injection device comprises: a pressure adjustment mechanism 250 having a liquid inflow section 252, a liquid storage section 231 in which internal capacity varies by displacement of a diaphragm section 232, a communication path 254 causing the liquid inflow section 252 and the liquid storage section 231 to communicate with each other and an on-off valve 255 opening/closing the communication path 254; and a pressing mechanism 251 pressing the diaphragm section 232 and opening the on-off valve 255. The pressing mechanism 251 includes: a rotatable lever 233 having a pressing section 237 pressing the diaphragm section 232; a pressure adjustment chamber 220 having a flexible wall 221 imparting rotating force to the lever 233; and a pressure adjustment section adjusting a pressure in the pressure adjustment chamber 220, and rotates the lever 233 by imparting of the rotating force by the flexible wall 221 in association with adjustment of the pressure of the pressure adjustment chamber 220 by the pressure adjustment section and performs pressing of the diaphragm section 232 by the pressing section 237.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer and a pressure adjusting device provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus, an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink (liquid) supplied from an ink tank (liquid supply source) onto a medium from an ink jet head (liquid ejecting unit) is known. . Some printers include a damper (pressure adjusting device) that adjusts the pressure of ink supplied to the inkjet head (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The damper includes an ink path (communication path) that connects the tank side liquid chamber (liquid inflow part) and the head side liquid chamber (liquid storage part), and a valve (open / close valve) that opens and closes the ink path. . The valve is configured to open according to the pressure of the pressure variable chamber (pressure adjusting chamber) formed with the head side liquid chamber and the flexible membrane (diaphragm portion) therebetween. That is, the valve of the ink path is closed when the pressure in the tank side liquid chamber becomes higher than the pressure in the pressure variable chamber by a predetermined value or more.

  For example, when performing so-called pressure cleaning in which ink is pressurized from an ink tank to an inkjet head and discharged from a nozzle, it is necessary to forcibly open the valve of the damper. In other words, when performing pressure cleaning, it is necessary to continue to pressurize the pressure variable chamber and maintain the valve open state.

JP 2009-178889 A

  By the way, in the printer as described above, since the pressure variable chamber tends to depend on the size of the damper valve, for example, when the damper valve is enlarged, the pressure variable chamber needs to be enlarged. For this reason, the entire damper must be redesigned, and there is a problem that the versatility is poor.

  Such problems are not limited to ink jet printers that perform printing by ejecting ink from nozzles, but are generally common in liquid ejecting apparatuses and pressure adjusting apparatuses that adjust the pressure of liquid.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus and a pressure adjusting apparatus capable of enhancing versatility.

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 supply path that can supply the liquid from a liquid supply source to a liquid ejecting section that drives an actuator to eject liquid from a nozzle, and a pressure adjustment provided in the liquid supply path A liquid inflow portion into which the liquid supplied from the liquid supply source flows, and a liquid storage portion in which the liquid can be accommodated and the internal volume is changed by displacing the diaphragm portion. The pressure applied to the communication path for communicating the liquid inflow portion with the liquid storage portion and the first surface that is the inner surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion becomes the outer surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion. When the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface and the pressure applied to the second surface is lower than a predetermined value, the pressure on the communication path is A pressure adjusting mechanism having a valve opening state in which the liquid inflow portion and the liquid storage portion are opened from a closed state in which the liquid inflow portion and the liquid storage portion are not in communication with each other; and the diaphragm portion Is a pressing mechanism that opens the on-off valve by pressing in the direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion decreases, and has a pressing portion capable of pressing the second surface side of the diaphragm portion. A pressure adjusting chamber having a pivotable lever, a rotation adjusting portion for applying a rotating force to the lever, and a pressure adjusting portion capable of adjusting a pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber, and the pressure adjusting portion. Adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber and applying the turning force to the lever by the turning force applying portion, thereby rotating the lever and the second surface side of the diaphragm portion by the pressing portion Press to press It includes a structure, a.

  According to this configuration, since the pressing portion presses the second surface side of the diaphragm portion by the rotation of the lever, the specification (additional pressure) of the pressure adjustment chamber can be achieved only by changing the specification of the lever (lever ratio, shape, etc.). The pressing force by the pressing portion can be changed without changing the pressure, size, etc.). That is, even if the required pressing force by the pressing portion changes, it can be dealt with by changing the specification of the lever without changing the specification of the pressure adjusting chamber, so that versatility can be improved.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is preferable that the pressing portion is separated from the diaphragm portion in a state where the turning force by the turning force applying portion is not applied to the lever.
According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of malfunction of the pressure adjustment mechanism due to the pressing portion of the lever coming into contact with the diaphragm portion.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the pressure adjusting mechanism further includes a movable member that is movable in contact with the diaphragm portion that is displaced in a direction of reducing the volume of the liquid storage portion, and the pressing mechanism includes the diaphragm It is preferable to press the area of the portion where the moving member comes into contact with the pressing portion of the lever.

  According to this structure, a diaphragm part can be pressed by a press part so that the outer side area | region of the moving member in a diaphragm part may not be deformed to the liquid storage part side. Then, after releasing the pressing of the diaphragm portion by the pressing portion, the outer region of the moving member in the diaphragm portion moves in the direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion increases and returns to the state before the pressing. It can suppress that a liquid is drawn.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the pressing mechanism may be configured to press the diaphragm portion by the pressing portion of the lever by the pressure adjusting portion adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. preferable.

According to this configuration, the diaphragm portion can be pressed by the pressing portion of the lever only by adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjustment chamber to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the pressing mechanism adjusts the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber to a pressure lower than the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber when the diaphragm portion is pressed by the pressing portion. It is preferable to release the pressing of the diaphragm portion by the pressing portion of the lever.

According to this configuration, the pressing state of the diaphragm portion by the pressing portion of the lever can be easily released.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is preferable that the turning power applying unit is a flexible wall that forms a part of the pressure adjusting chamber, and the turning power is applied to the lever by contacting the lever.

According to this structure, the flexible wall which forms a part of pressure regulation chamber can be suitably functioned as a rotational power provision part which provides rotational power to a lever.
The liquid ejecting apparatus may further include a pressurizing mechanism capable of pressurizing the liquid supplied to the pressure adjusting mechanism, and the pressurizing mechanism may be configured such that the pressing mechanism presses the diaphragm portion so that the opening / closing valve is pressed. It is preferable that the liquid in the pressurized state can be supplied to the liquid ejecting unit by pressurizing the liquid in the valve open state.

  According to this configuration, the so-called additive cleaning is a cleaning in which the pressurized liquid is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit and discharged from the nozzle by pressurizing the liquid with the pressurizing mechanism in a state where the on-off valve is forcibly opened. Pressure cleaning can be performed.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is preferable that in a state where the liquid is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism, the pressing state of the diaphragm portion by the pressing mechanism is released and the on-off valve is closed.

  According to this configuration, in a state where the liquid is pressurized, the pressing state of the diaphragm portion by the pressing mechanism is released and the on-off valve is closed, so that bubbles and liquid are drawn from the nozzle after pressure cleaning. Can be suppressed.

  A pressure adjusting device that solves the above problem is a pressure adjusting mechanism provided in a liquid supply path capable of supplying the liquid from a liquid supply source to a liquid ejecting unit that ejects liquid from a nozzle by driving an actuator, A liquid inflow portion into which the liquid supplied from a liquid supply source flows, a liquid storage portion in which the liquid can be accommodated and a volume of the diaphragm is changed by displacement of the diaphragm, and the liquid inflow portion; The pressure applied to the first surface that is the inner surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion and the second surface that is the outer surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion is applied to the communication path that communicates with the liquid storage portion. When the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface and the pressure applied to the second surface is equal to or greater than a predetermined value that is lower than the pressure, the liquid inflow portion and the liquid in the communication path A pressure adjusting mechanism having a valve opening state in which the liquid inflow portion and the liquid storage portion are opened from a closed state in which the storage portion is not in communication, and the diaphragm portion of the liquid storage portion A pressing mechanism that opens the on-off valve by pressing in a direction in which the volume decreases, and a rotatable lever having a pressing portion that can press the second surface side of the diaphragm portion; A pressure adjusting chamber having a rotating force applying portion for applying a rotating force to the lever, and a pressure adjusting portion capable of adjusting a pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber, wherein the pressure adjusting portion is provided in the pressure adjusting chamber. A pressing mechanism that adjusts the pressure and rotates the lever by applying the turning force to the lever by the turning force applying unit, and presses the second surface side of the diaphragm portion by the pressing unit. And comprising.

  According to this configuration, since the pressing portion presses the second surface side of the diaphragm portion by the rotation of the lever, the specification (additional pressure) of the pressure adjustment chamber can be achieved only by changing the specification of the lever (lever ratio, shape, etc.). The pressing force by the pressing portion can be changed without changing the pressure, size, etc.). That is, even if the required pressing force by the pressing portion changes, it can be dealt with by changing the specification of the lever without changing the specification of the pressure adjusting chamber, so that versatility can be improved.

1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a first embodiment. The schematic plan view of a printing area | region and a non-printing area | region. The schematic diagram of a pressure regulator and the supply mechanism in the state where the on-off valve closed. The schematic diagram of a some pressure adjustment apparatus and a pressure adjustment part. The schematic diagram of the pressure regulator and the supply mechanism of the state which the on-off valve opened. The disassembled perspective view of the pressure regulator of 2nd Embodiment. The perspective view of a pressure regulator. The perspective view when FIG. 7 is seen from another angle. The side view of FIG. The side view when FIG. 9 is seen from the opposite side. The schematic diagram of a pressure adjustment part. Sectional drawing of the pressure regulation apparatus of a valve closing state. Sectional drawing of the pressure adjustment apparatus of a valve opening state. FIG. 9 is a main part enlarged cross-sectional schematic view showing a state when capping of a liquid ejecting unit is performed in Modification Example 2; FIG. 11 is a main part enlarged cross-sectional schematic diagram showing a state when capping of a liquid ejecting unit is performed in Modification Example 3. The main part expanded sectional schematic diagram which shows a state when the capping of a liquid injection part is performed in the example 4 of a change. The side view of the press mechanism of the example 6 of a change.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid ejecting apparatus 11 such as an ink jet printer includes a liquid ejecting unit 12 that ejects a liquid such as ink, and a supply mechanism 14 that supplies liquid from the liquid supply source 13 to the liquid ejecting unit 12. And. Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a support base 112 disposed at a position facing the liquid ejecting unit 12, a transport unit 114 that transports a medium 113 such as paper in the transport direction Y, and the liquid ejecting unit 12 in the scanning direction. And a printing unit 115 that performs printing by ejecting liquid onto the medium 113 while moving to X.

  The support table 112 extends in the width direction (scanning direction X) of the medium 113, which is a direction orthogonal (crossing) to the transport direction Y of the medium 113. The support base 112, the transport unit 114, and the printing unit 115 are assembled to a main body 116 that includes a housing and a frame. The main body 116 is provided with a cover 117 that can be opened and closed.

  The transport unit 114 includes transport roller pairs 118 and 119 disposed on the upstream side and the downstream side of the support base 112 in the transport direction Y, and a guide plate 120 disposed on the downstream side of the transport roller pair 119 to guide the medium 113. And. When the transport roller pair 118, 119 is driven by a transport motor (not shown) and rotates while sandwiching the medium 113, the medium 113 is supported by the support base 112 and the guide plate 120, and the surface of the support base 112 and It is conveyed along the surface of the guide plate 120.

  The printing unit 115 includes guide shafts 122 and 123 extending along the scanning direction X, and a carriage 124 that is guided by the guide shafts 122 and 123 and can reciprocate in the scanning direction X. The carriage 124 moves as the carriage motor (not shown) is driven. At least one (two in the present embodiment) liquid ejecting units 12 are attached to a lower end portion that is an end portion on the vertical direction Z side of the carriage 124. These two liquid ejecting units 12 are arranged so as to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance in the scanning direction X and shifted by a predetermined distance in the transport direction Y. Each liquid ejecting unit 12 ejects liquid from a plurality of nozzles 19 formed on the nozzle forming surface 18.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a wiper unit 126, a flushing unit 127, and a cap unit 128 are provided in a non-printing region that is a region where the liquid ejecting unit 12 does not face the medium 113 being conveyed in the scanning direction X. ing. The wiper unit 126 includes a movable wiping member 130 capable of wiping the nozzle forming surface 18 and a wiping motor 131 serving as a power source for the wiping member 130.

  The wiping member 130 can be constituted by, for example, a cloth wiper or a rubber blade. The wiping member 130 of the present embodiment is configured by a cloth wiper, and moves along the transport direction Y by driving the wiping motor 131 in a state where the liquid ejecting unit 12 is moved to a position where it can be wiped by the wiping member 130. The nozzle forming surface 18 is wiped off.

  The flushing unit 127 includes a liquid receiving unit 132 that receives the liquid discharged from the nozzle 19 of the liquid ejecting unit 12 by the flushing. The liquid receiving portion 132 is configured by a movable belt, and moves by the power of the flushing motor 133. The flushing is an operation for forcibly ejecting (discharging) the liquid from all the nozzles 19 irrespective of printing for the purpose of preventing and eliminating clogging of the nozzles 19.

  The cap unit 128 includes two bottomed square box-shaped caps 134 that cover the openings of the nozzles 19 of the two liquid ejecting units 12, and a capping motor 135 that moves the cap 134 up and down. Then, the capping motor 135 is driven in a state where the two liquid ejecting units 12 are moved to positions facing the two caps 134, respectively, and the two caps 134 are lifted to form the nozzles of the two liquid ejecting units 12. So-called capping is performed in which the two caps 134 abut against the surface 18 so as to cover all the nozzles 19. That is, each cap 134 can cap an area including all the nozzles 19 on the nozzle forming surface 18 of each liquid ejecting unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid ejecting unit 12 includes an ejecting unit filter 16 that captures bubbles and foreign matters in the liquid, and a common liquid chamber 17 that stores the liquid that has passed through the ejecting unit filter 16. Further, the liquid ejecting unit 12 includes a plurality of pressure chambers 20 for communicating the plurality of nozzles 19 formed on the nozzle forming surface 18 with the common liquid chamber 17. A part of the wall surface of the pressure chamber 20 is formed by the vibration plate 21, and the common liquid chamber 17 and the pressure chamber 20 communicate with each other through the communication hole 22. Further, an actuator 24 accommodated in the accommodation chamber 23 is disposed at a position opposite to the portion facing the pressure chamber 20 in the vibration plate 21 and different from the common liquid chamber 17.

  The actuator 24 of this embodiment is configured by a piezoelectric element that contracts when a driving voltage is applied. Then, after the diaphragm 21 is deformed as the actuator 24 contracts due to the application of the drive voltage, when the application of the drive voltage to the actuator 24 is canceled, the liquid in the pressure chamber 20 whose volume has changed changes from the nozzle 19 to the liquid. Sprayed as a drop. That is, the liquid ejecting unit 12 drives the actuator 24 to eject liquid from the nozzle 19.

  The liquid supply source 13 is, for example, a storage container that can store a liquid, and may be a cartridge that replenishes the liquid by exchanging the storage container, or may be a storage tank that is fixed to the mounting portion 26. . When the liquid supply source 13 is a cartridge, the mounting unit 26 holds the liquid supply source 13 in a detachable manner. The liquid supply source 13 and the supply mechanism 14 are provided in at least one set (four sets in the present embodiment) for each type of liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting unit 12.

  Further, the supply mechanism 14 includes a liquid supply path 27 that can supply liquid from the liquid supply source 13 on the upstream side in the liquid supply direction A to the liquid ejecting unit 12 on the downstream side. A part of the liquid supply path 27 also functions as a circulation path in cooperation with the circulation path forming unit 28. That is, the circulation path forming unit 28 connects the common liquid chamber 17 and the liquid supply path 27. The circulation path forming unit 28 is provided with a circulation pump 29 that circulates the liquid in the circulation direction B in the circulation path.

  By moving the liquid in the supply direction A from the liquid supply source 13 to the liquid supply source 13 side of the liquid supply path 27 from the position where the circulation path forming unit 28 is connected, the liquid is directed toward the liquid ejecting unit 12. A pressurizing mechanism 31 for supplying pressure is provided. Furthermore, in the portion that also functions as a circulation path downstream from the position where the circulation path forming unit 28 in the liquid supply path 27 is connected, a filter unit 32, a static mixer 33, a liquid storage unit 34, and A pressure adjustment mechanism 35 is provided.

  The pressurizing mechanism 31 includes a volume pump 38 capable of pressurizing a predetermined amount of liquid by reciprocating a flexible member 37 having flexibility, and an upstream side and a downstream side of the volume pump 38 in the liquid supply path 27. Are provided with one-way valves 39 and 40, respectively. The positive displacement pump 38 has a pump chamber 41 and a negative pressure chamber 42 which are separated by a flexible member 37. Further, the volume pump 38 includes a decompression unit 43 for decompressing the negative pressure chamber 42 and a biasing member 44 provided in the negative pressure chamber 42 and biasing the flexible member 37 toward the pump chamber 41 side. And.

  In addition, the one-way valves 39 and 40 allow the liquid to flow from the upstream side to the downstream side in the liquid supply path 27 and inhibit the liquid flow from the downstream side to the upstream side. That is, the pressurizing mechanism 31 can pressurize the liquid supplied to the pressure adjusting mechanism 35 by the biasing member 44 biasing the liquid in the pump chamber 41 via the flexible member 37. For this reason, the pressing force by which the pressurizing mechanism 31 pressurizes the liquid is set by the biasing force of the biasing member 44.

  The filter unit 32 captures bubbles and foreign matters in the liquid and is provided so as to be replaceable. The static mixer 33 causes a change in direction or division in the flow of the liquid, and reduces the concentration deviation in the liquid. The liquid storage unit 34 stores the liquid in a volume-variable space urged by the spring 45 and relaxes fluctuations in the pressure of the liquid.

Next, the pressure adjusting device 47 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure adjustment device 47 includes a pressure adjustment mechanism 35 that is provided in the liquid supply path 27 and constitutes a part of the liquid supply path 27, and a pressing mechanism 48 that presses the pressure adjustment mechanism 35. I have. The pressure adjusting mechanism 35 includes a main body 52 in which a liquid inflow portion 50 into which a liquid supplied from the liquid supply source 13 through the liquid supply path 27 flows and a liquid storage portion 51 that can store the liquid therein are formed. It has.

  The liquid supply path 27 and the liquid inflow portion 50 are partitioned by a wall portion 53 and communicated by a through hole 54 formed in the wall portion 53. The through hole 54 is covered with a filter member 55. Therefore, the liquid in the liquid supply path 27 is filtered by the filter member 55 and flows into the liquid inflow portion 50.

  A part of the wall surface of the liquid storage unit 51 is configured by a diaphragm unit 56. The diaphragm portion 56 receives the pressure of the liquid in the liquid storage portion 51 at the first surface 56 a that is the inner surface of the liquid storage portion 51, while the atmospheric pressure is applied to the second surface 56 b that is the outer surface of the liquid storage portion 51. receive. For this reason, the diaphragm part 56 is displaced according to the pressure in the liquid storage part 51. Therefore, the volume of the liquid storage unit 51 changes as the diaphragm unit 56 is displaced. The liquid inflow portion 50 and the liquid storage portion 51 are communicated with each other through a communication path 57.

  The pressure adjustment mechanism 35 causes the liquid inflow portion 50 and the liquid storage portion 51 to communicate with each other in the closed state (the state shown in FIG. 3) in which the liquid inflow portion 50 and the liquid storage portion 51 are not in communication with each other in the communication path 57. An on-off valve 59 that can be switched between an open state (state shown in FIG. 5) is provided. The on-off valve 59 has a valve part 60 that can block the communication path 57 and a pressure receiving part 61 that receives pressure from the diaphragm part 56, and moves when the pressure receiving part 61 is pressed by the diaphragm part 56. That is, the pressure receiving portion 61 also functions as a movable member that can move in a state in which the pressure receiving portion 61 is in contact with the diaphragm portion 56 that is displaced in the direction of reducing the volume of the liquid storage portion 51.

  An upstream biasing member 62 is provided in the liquid inflow portion 50, and a downstream biasing member 63 is provided in the liquid storage portion 51. Both the upstream side biasing member 62 and the downstream side biasing member 63 bias the opening / closing valve 59 in the closing direction. The on-off valve 59 has a pressure that is lower than the pressure applied to the first surface 56a than the pressure applied to the second surface 56b, and the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface 56a and the pressure applied to the second surface 56b is a predetermined value. If it becomes (for example, 1 kPa) or more, it will be in a valve opening state from a valve closing state.

  This predetermined value is necessary for blocking the communication path 57 by the valve portion 60, the biasing force of the upstream biasing member 62, the biasing force of the downstream biasing member 63, the force required to displace the diaphragm portion 56, and the like. This value is determined in accordance with the pressing force (seal load), the pressure in the liquid inflow portion 50 acting on the surface of the valve portion 60, and the pressure in the liquid storage portion 51. That is, the greater the biasing force of the upstream biasing member 62 and the downstream biasing member 63, the greater the predetermined value.

  The urging force of the upstream urging member 62 and the downstream urging member 63 is a negative pressure state (for example, a second pressure state within a range in which the pressure in the liquid storage unit 51 can form the meniscus 64 at the gas-liquid interface in the nozzle 19). When the pressure applied to the surface 56b is atmospheric pressure, it is set to be -1 kPa). In this case, the gas-liquid interface is a boundary where the liquid and the gas are in contact with each other, and the meniscus 64 is a curved liquid surface formed when the liquid is in contact with the nozzle 19. The nozzle 19 is preferably formed with a concave meniscus 64 suitable for liquid ejection.

  The pressing mechanism 48 can adjust the pressure in the pressure adjustment chamber 66, an expansion / contraction portion 67 that forms the pressure adjustment chamber 66 on the second surface 56 b side of the diaphragm portion 56, a pressing member 68 that presses the expansion / contraction portion 67, and the pressure adjustment chamber 66. The pressure adjusting unit 69 is provided. The expansion / contraction part 67 is formed in a balloon shape by rubber or resin, for example, and expands or contracts as the pressure of the pressure adjustment chamber 66 is adjusted by the pressure adjustment part 69. The holding member 68 has a bottomed cylindrical shape, and a part of the expansion / contraction part 67 is inserted into an insertion hole 70 formed in the bottom part.

  An end edge portion on the opening 71 side on the inner side surface of the pressing member 68 is rounded by R chamfering. The pressing member 68 is attached to the pressure adjustment mechanism 35 so that the opening 71 is closed by the pressure adjustment mechanism 35, thereby forming an air chamber 72 that covers the second surface 56 b of the diaphragm portion 56. The pressure in the air chamber 72 is set to atmospheric pressure, and atmospheric pressure acts on the second surface 56 b of the diaphragm portion 56.

  That is, the pressure adjustment unit 69 expands the expansion / contraction unit 67 by adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjustment chamber 66 to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure that is the pressure of the air chamber 72. Then, the pressing mechanism 48 presses the diaphragm portion 56 in a direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion 51 becomes smaller as the pressure adjusting portion 69 expands the expansion / contraction portion 67. At this time, the expansion / contraction part 67 of the pressing mechanism 48 presses the area of the diaphragm part 56 where the pressure receiving part 61 contacts. Note that the area of the diaphragm portion 56 where the pressure receiving portion 61 contacts is larger than the cross-sectional area of the communication path 57.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure adjusting unit 69 includes a pressurizing pump 74 that pressurizes a fluid such as air or water, a connection path 75 that connects the pressurization pump 74 and the expansion / contraction part 67, and a connection path 75. And a fluid pressure adjusting unit 77. The downstream side of the connection path 75 is branched into a plurality (four in the present embodiment) and is connected to the expansion / contraction part 67 of the pressure adjusting device 47 provided in a plurality (four in the present embodiment). . In addition, by providing a switching valve for switching between a communication state and a non-communication state of the flow path branched into a plurality of connection paths 75, the pressurized fluid is selectively transmitted to the plurality of expansion / contraction parts 67. It is also possible to supply.

  That is, the fluid pressurized by the pressurizing pump 74 is supplied to each expansion / contraction part 67 through the connection path 75. The detection part 76 detects the pressure of the fluid in the connection path 75, and the fluid pressure adjustment part 77 is comprised by the safety valve, for example. Then, the fluid pressure adjusting unit 77 automatically opens the valve when the pressure of the fluid in the connection path 75 becomes higher than a predetermined pressure, and discharges the fluid in the connection path 75 to the outside. Reduce the pressure of fluid in 75.

  Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a control unit 78 that controls driving of the pressurizing pump 74 based on the pressure of the fluid in the connection path 75 detected by the detection unit 76. The controller 78 comprehensively controls driving of the entire liquid ejecting apparatus 11 and controls driving of various mechanisms, various motors, various pumps, and the like.

Next, the operation of the pressure adjusting device 47 that adjusts the pressure of the liquid supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the liquid ejecting unit 12 ejects a liquid, the liquid stored in the liquid storing unit 51 is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 through the liquid supply path 27. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the pressure in the liquid storage part 51 falls and the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface 56a and the pressure applied to the second surface 56b in the diaphragm part 56 becomes a predetermined value or more. The diaphragm portion 56 bends and deforms in a direction to reduce the volume of the liquid storage portion 51. When the pressure receiving portion 61 is pressed and moved along with the deformation of the diaphragm portion 56, the on-off valve 59 is opened.

  Then, since the liquid in the liquid inflow part 50 is pressurized by the pressurization mechanism 31, the liquid is supplied from the liquid inflow part 50 to the liquid storage part 51, and the pressure in the liquid storage part 51 rises. Thereby, the diaphragm part 56 deform | transforms so that the volume of the liquid storage part 51 may be increased. When the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface 56a and the pressure applied to the second surface 56b in the diaphragm portion 56 becomes smaller than a predetermined value, the on-off valve 59 changes from the open state to the closed state. Impedes flow.

  Thus, the pressure adjusting mechanism 35 adjusts the pressure of the liquid supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 by displacing the diaphragm unit 56, thereby adjusting the pressure in the liquid ejecting unit 12 as the back pressure of the nozzle 19. adjust.

Next, for the maintenance of the liquid ejecting unit 12, an operation in the case of performing pressure cleaning by forcibly flowing the liquid from the liquid supply source 13 to the liquid ejecting unit 12 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the control unit 78 drives the pressurizing pump 74, the pressurized fluid is supplied to the expansion / contraction unit 67. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the expansion / contraction part 67 to which the fluid is supplied expands and presses the area where the pressure receiving part 61 in the diaphragm part 56 contacts, thereby opening the on-off valve 59.

  That is, the pressing mechanism 48 moves the pressure receiving portion 61 against the urging force of the upstream urging member 62 and the downstream urging member 63, thereby opening the on-off valve 59. In this case, since the pressure adjustment unit 69 is connected to the expansion / contraction units 67 of the plurality of pressure adjustment devices 47, the open / close valves 59 of all the pressure adjustment devices 47 are opened.

  At this time, since the diaphragm portion 56 is deformed in a direction to reduce the volume of the liquid storage portion 51, the liquid stored in the liquid storage portion 51 is pushed out to the liquid ejecting portion 12 side. That is, when the pressure that the diaphragm portion 56 presses the liquid storage portion 51 is transmitted to the liquid ejecting portion 12, the meniscus 64 is broken and the liquid overflows from the nozzle 19. That is, in the pressing mechanism 48, the pressure in the liquid storage unit 51 is higher than the pressure at which at least one meniscus 64 is broken (for example, the pressure at the liquid side at the gas-liquid interface is 3 kPa higher than the pressure at the gas side). The diaphragm part 56 is pressed so that it may become.

  The pressing mechanism 48 presses the diaphragm portion 56 to open the on-off valve 59 regardless of the pressure in the liquid inflow portion 50. In this case, the pressing mechanism 48 presses the diaphragm portion 56 with a pressing force larger than the pressing force generated when the pressure obtained by adding the above-described predetermined value to the pressure at which the pressurizing mechanism 31 pressurizes the liquid is applied to the diaphragm portion 56. Press.

  And the control part 78 is the liquid pressurized by the pressurization mechanism 31 by driving the decompression part 43 regularly in the open state of the on-off valve 59 by the press mechanism 48 pressing the diaphragm part 56. Is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12. That is, when the negative pressure chamber 42 is depressurized as the depressurization unit 43 is driven, the flexible member 37 moves in a direction to increase the volume of the pump chamber 41.

  Then, the liquid flows from the liquid supply source 13 into the pump chamber 41. When the decompression by the decompression unit 43 is released, the flexible member 37 is urged in a direction to reduce the volume of the pump chamber 41 by the urging force of the urging member 44. That is, the liquid in the pump chamber 41 is pressurized by the urging force of the urging member 44 through the flexible member 37, passes through the downstream one-way valve 40, and is supplied to the downstream side of the liquid supply path 27. Is done.

  Since the open state of the on-off valve 59 is maintained while the pressing mechanism 48 presses the diaphragm portion 56, when the pressurizing mechanism 31 pressurizes the liquid in this state, the applied pressure is applied to the liquid inflow portion 50, Pressure cleaning is performed in which the liquid is discharged from the nozzle 19 through the communication path 57 and the liquid container 51 to the liquid ejecting unit 12.

  When the pressurizing cleaning is finished, the control unit 78 releases the pressing state of the diaphragm unit 56 by the pressing mechanism 48 and closes the on-off valve 59 in a state where the liquid is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism 31. To. In this case, the control unit 78 drives the actuator 24 of the liquid ejecting unit 12 in the process of changing the opening / closing valve 59 from the open state to the closed state.

  That is, when the actuator 24 is driven, the liquid is ejected from the nozzle 19 and the liquid thus ejected is supplied from the liquid accommodating part 51 to the liquid ejecting part 12. The on-off valve 59 is closed with the liquid flowing in the part 51. Thereafter, the control unit 78 causes the wiping member 130 to wipe (wiping) the nozzle forming surface 18 and then drives the actuator 24 to perform flushing. Thereby, a meniscus 64 is formed in the nozzle 19.

Next, a manufacturing method for manufacturing the pressure adjusting device 47 by joining the pressure adjusting mechanism 35 and the pressing mechanism 48 will be described.
First, the main body 52 of the present embodiment is formed of a light-absorbing resin (for example, polypropylene or polybutylene terephthalate) that absorbs laser light and generates heat, or a resin colored with a dye that absorbs light. Moreover, the diaphragm part 56 is formed by laminating different materials such as polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate, for example, and has transparency and flexibility for transmitting laser light. The pressing member 68 is formed of a light transmissive resin (for example, polystyrene or polycarbonate) that transmits laser light. That is, the transparency of the diaphragm portion 56 is higher than the transparency of the main body portion 52 and lower than the transparency of the pressing member 68.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the diaphragm portion 56 is first sandwiched by the pressing member 68 and the main body portion 52 in which a part of the expansion / contraction portion 67 is inserted into the insertion hole 70 (a clamping step). And a laser beam is irradiated through the pressing member 68 (irradiation process). Then, the laser beam transmitted through the pressing member 68 is absorbed by the main body 52 and generates heat. The main body 52, the diaphragm portion 56, and the pressing member 68 are welded by the heat generated at this time. Therefore, the pressing member 68 also functions as a jig for pressing the diaphragm portion 56 when the pressure adjusting device 47 is manufactured.

As described above, according to the first embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Even if the pressure in the liquid inflow portion 50 fluctuates, the pressing mechanism 48 can open the on-off valve 59 regardless of the pressure in the liquid inflow portion 50. For this reason, the liquid can be stably supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12.

  (2) The pressure adjusting unit 69 presses the diaphragm unit 56 in a direction in which the volume of the liquid storage unit 51 decreases by adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 66. For this reason, the pressing mechanism 48 can suitably perform the pressing of the diaphragm portion 56.

  (3) The pressure adjustment unit 69 presses the diaphragm unit 56 in the direction in which the volume of the liquid storage unit 51 decreases by expanding the expansion / contraction unit 67. For this reason, the pressing mechanism 48 can suitably perform the pressing of the diaphragm portion 56.

  (4) During pressure cleaning in which the liquid pressurized and supplied from the liquid supply source 13 side is discharged from the nozzle 19, the liquid is pressurized and supplied at a pressure higher than the pressure at which the meniscus 64 breaks. In this respect, in the present embodiment, the pressure in the liquid storage unit 51 where the diaphragm unit 56 is pressed by the pressing mechanism 48 is higher than the pressure at which the meniscus 64 is broken, so that the on-off valve 59 is opened even when performing pressure cleaning. Can be in a state.

  (5) Since the pressing mechanism 48 presses the area where the pressure receiving portion 61 contacts in the diaphragm portion 56, the deformation of the diaphragm portion 56 can be limited as compared with the case where the pressure adjusting mechanism 35 does not have the pressure receiving portion 61. Therefore, when the pressing mechanism 48 releases the pressing of the diaphragm portion 56 and the diaphragm portion 56 is displaced in the direction of increasing the volume of the liquid storage portion 51, the possibility that gas or the like is drawn from the nozzle 19 can be reduced.

  (6) By supplying the liquid pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism 31 to the liquid ejecting unit 12 in a state where the on-off valve 59 is opened, the liquid ejecting unit 12 can be suitably cleaned.

  (7) The diaphragm portion 56 pressed by the pressing mechanism 48 is displaced in the direction of decreasing the volume of the liquid storage portion 51 to open the on-off valve 59. Therefore, when the pressing of the pressing mechanism 48 is released, the diaphragm The part 56 tends to be displaced in the direction of increasing the volume of the liquid storage part 51. In this case, since the liquid pressurized by the pressurization mechanism 31 is supplied to the pressure adjustment mechanism 35, the possibility of drawing in the liquid from the liquid ejecting unit 12 side can be reduced. Therefore, the possibility of drawing gas or the like from the nozzle 19 can be reduced.

  (8) The liquid ejecting unit 12 ejects the liquid supplied from the liquid supply source 13 from the nozzle 19 by driving the actuator 24. That is, since the liquid can flow from the liquid supply source 13 side toward the liquid ejecting unit 12 side, it is possible to reduce the possibility of drawing gas or the like from the nozzle 19.

  (9) The on-off valve 59 can be opened regardless of the pressure of the liquid inflow portion 50. For this reason, for example, even when the liquid is injected from the nozzle 19 and the recording process is performed on the medium 113, even when the pressure of the liquid inflow portion 50 is increased, the on-off valve 59 is opened so that the liquid injection portion 12 Liquid can be supplied. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the interruption of the recording process and the deterioration of the recording quality due to the interruption of the recording process.

  (10) Since the fluid pressure adjusting unit 77 is provided in the connection path 75, the pressure of the fluid supplied to the expansion / contraction part 67 is increased even when the pressure pump 74 is unexpectedly driven to increase the pressure in the connection path 75. Can be adjusted. Therefore, the possibility that unexpected pressure is applied to the expansion / contraction part 67 can be reduced.

  (11) The meniscus 64 can be prepared by wiping and flushing the open / close valve 59 from the open state to the closed state. For example, when the diaphragm unit 56 moves in the direction of increasing the volume of the liquid storage unit 51, the region that does not contact the pressure receiving unit 61 moves in the direction of decreasing the volume of the liquid storage unit 51 and the liquid overflows from the nozzle 19. The meniscus 64 can be prepared even if it has been.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the second embodiment, the pressure adjusting device 47 in the first embodiment is changed to the pressure adjusting device 200 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and is otherwise substantially the same as the first embodiment. The same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the pressure adjusting device 200 includes an air chamber forming unit 201, a pressure adjusting mechanism forming unit 202, a bottom plate member 203, a connection portion forming unit 204, and two lever units 205. It is formed by assembling.

  The connection part forming unit 204 includes a main body part 206 and a connection film 207 attached so as to cover the outer surface of the main body part 206. On the upper surface of the main body 206, a first liquid connecting part 208 and a second liquid connecting part 209 to which two of the plurality of liquid supply paths 27 are respectively connected, and a pressure connecting part 211 to which the pressure adjusting part 210 is connected. And project. On the inner surface of the main body 206, a first liquid outlet 212, a second liquid outlet 213, and a pressure supply unit that communicate with the first liquid connector 208, the second liquid connector 209, and the pressure connector 211, respectively. 214 protrudes.

  Three grooves (not shown) are formed on the outer surface of the main body 206 of the connection part forming unit 204, and three flow paths (not shown) are formed by the three grooves and the connection film 207. These three flow paths (not shown) include a first liquid connection portion 208, a second liquid connection portion 209, and a pressure connection portion 211, a first liquid lead-out portion 212, a second liquid lead-out portion 213, and a pressure supply portion. 214 are connected to each other.

  The air chamber forming unit 201 includes a main body portion 215 and flexible air chamber films 216 attached to both side surfaces so as to cover the entire side surfaces of the main body portion 215. An air introduction part 217 to which the pressure supply part 214 is connected is provided on the side surface of the main body part 215 on the connection part forming unit 204 side. Near the boundary with the pressure adjustment mechanism forming unit 202 on both side surfaces of the main body 215, a substantially T-shaped attachment portion 218 to which the lever unit 205 is attached is projected.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, circular recesses 219 are respectively formed on both side surfaces of the main body 215 of the air chamber forming unit 201. A space surrounded by each recess 219 and each air chamber film 216 is a pressure adjustment chamber 220 that is an air chamber. A circular portion corresponding to the recess 219 in each air chamber film 216 is a flexible wall 221 that forms a part of the pressure adjustment chamber 220. In the present embodiment, the flexible wall 221 constitutes a turning force applying unit.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, grooves 222 are respectively formed on both side surfaces of the main body 215 of the air chamber forming unit 201, and these grooves 222 communicate with each other through a through hole 223. The two grooves 222 communicate with the central portion of the concave portion 219 located on the opposite side via the through hole 224. An air flow path 225 is formed by a space surrounded by the two grooves 222 and the two air chamber films 216. Therefore, the air flow path 225 extends over both side surfaces of the main body 215. Note that the air flow path 225 communicates with the air introduction part 217.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the pressure adjustment mechanism forming unit 202 includes a main body portion 226 and flexible pressure films 227 attached to the both side surfaces so as to cover the entire both side surfaces of the main body portion 226. I have. A first liquid introduction part 228 and a second liquid introduction part 229 to which the first liquid lead-out part 212 and the second liquid lead-out part 213 are connected are provided on the side surface of the main body part 226 on the connection part forming unit 204 side. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, circular concave portions 230 are formed on both side surfaces of the main body portion 226 of the pressure adjustment mechanism forming unit 202. A space surrounded by each recess 230 and each pressure film 227 is a liquid storage portion 231. A circular portion corresponding to the concave portion 230 in each pressure film 227 is a diaphragm portion 232 that forms a part of the liquid storage portion 231.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the lever unit 205 includes a rectangular plate-like lever 233 and a torsion spring 235 locked to the locking portion 234 of the lever 233. An attachment hole 236 for attaching the lever unit 205 to the attachment portion 218 is formed at a position slightly closer to one end side than the central portion of the lever 233 in the longitudinal direction. The lever 233 has a substantially disc-shaped pressing portion 237 at one end portion in the longitudinal direction on one surface thereof, and a substantially hemispherical pressed portion 238 at the other end portion.

  When the lever unit 205 is attached to the attachment portion 218 in the attachment hole 236 of the lever 233, the lever unit 205 is rotatable about a fulcrum that is a contact portion of the lever 233 with the attachment portion 218. At this time, the pressing portion 237 is opposed to the central portion of the diaphragm portion 232, and the pressed portion 238 is in contact with the central portion of the flexible wall 221.

  Furthermore, at this time, the urging force of the torsion spring 235 acts as a resistance force when the lever 233 is rotated in the direction in which the pressing portion 237 approaches the diaphragm portion 232. Therefore, the pressing part 237 is usually away from the diaphragm part 232.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the pressure adjusting unit 210 is provided with an annular tube 240, a pump 241 provided in the middle of the annular tube 240, and a position opposite to the pump 241 in the annular tube 240. 240 and a connecting pipe 242 for connecting the pressure connecting portion 211 to each other. A second valve V2 is provided between the connection position of the annular pipe 240 with the connection pipe 242 and the pump 241, and a third valve V3 is provided at a position opposite to the second valve V2 in the annular pipe 240. Yes.

  The proximal end side of the first branch pipe 243 whose front end side is open to the atmosphere is connected between the second valve V2 and the pump 241 in the annular pipe 240, and the first valve V1 is provided in the middle of the first branch pipe 243. It has been. The base end side of the second branch pipe 244 whose front end side is open to the atmosphere is connected between the third valve V3 and the pump 241 in the annular pipe 240, and a fourth valve V4 is provided in the middle of the second branch pipe 244. It has been.

  The pump 241 causes the air in the annular pipe 240 to flow in one direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. Then, the pressure adjustment unit 210 closes the first valve V1 and the third valve V3 and drives the pump 241 with the second valve V2 and the fourth valve V4 opened, so that the pressure connection unit 211 Air is pressurized and supplied to pressurize the pressure adjustment chamber 220 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

  On the other hand, the pressure adjustment unit 210 opens the first valve V1 and the third valve V3 and drives the pump 241 in a state where the second valve V2 and the fourth valve V4 are closed. Air is sucked in to depressurize the pressure adjusting chamber 220 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

  Therefore, the pressure adjustment unit 210 functions as a pressurization / decompression device capable of simultaneously pressurizing or depressurizing the two pressure regulation chambers 220 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) of the pressure regulation device 200. The first to fourth valves V1 to V4 are constituted by electromagnetic valves, and their opening / closing operations are controlled by the control unit 78 (see FIG. 4).

Next, the pressure adjusting device 200 will be described in detail.
Here, description will be made mainly based on FIGS. 3 and 12, but in FIG. 3, description will be made assuming that the pressure adjustment device 47 is replaced with the pressure adjustment device 200 shown in FIG. 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 12, the pressure adjusting device 200 includes a pressure adjusting mechanism 250 that is provided in the liquid supply path 27 and forms a part of the liquid supply path 27, and a pressing mechanism that presses the pressure adjusting mechanism 250. 251 and 2 each. Therefore, the pressure adjusting device 200 can adjust the pressures of two kinds of liquids by one.

  The pressure adjustment mechanism 250 included in the pressure adjustment mechanism forming unit 202 includes a liquid inflow portion 252 into which liquid supplied from the liquid supply source 13 through the liquid supply path 27 flows, and a liquid storage portion 231 that can store liquid therein. And a main body portion 226 in which are formed. The liquid supply path 27 and the liquid inflow portion 252 are partitioned by a wall portion 247 and communicated by a through hole 248 formed in the wall portion 247. A filter member 249 is disposed immediately upstream of the through hole 248 in the liquid supply path 27. Therefore, the liquid in the liquid supply path 27 is filtered by the filter member 249 and flows into the liquid inflow portion 252.

  A part of the wall surface of the liquid storage portion 231 is configured by a diaphragm portion 232. The diaphragm portion 232 receives the pressure of the liquid in the liquid storage portion 231 at the first surface 232 a that is the inner surface of the liquid storage portion 231, while the atmospheric pressure is applied to the second surface 232 b that is the outer surface of the liquid storage portion 231. receive.

  For this reason, the diaphragm part 232 is displaced according to the pressure in the liquid storage part 231. Therefore, the volume of the liquid storage portion 231 changes as the diaphragm portion 232 is displaced. The liquid inflow portion 252 and the liquid storage portion 231 are communicated with each other through a communication path 254.

  The pressure adjustment mechanism 250 allows the liquid inflow portion 252 and the liquid storage portion 231 to communicate with each other in the closed state (the state illustrated in FIG. 12) in which the liquid inflow portion 252 and the liquid storage portion 231 are not in communication with each other in the communication path 254. An on-off valve 255 that can be switched between a valve open state (state shown in FIG. 13) is provided.

  The on-off valve 255 includes a valve portion 256 capable of blocking the communication path 254 and a rod portion 257 inserted through the communication path 254. The rod portion 257 is in contact with a substantially disc-shaped pressure receiving portion 258 arranged so that the tip thereof is in contact with the center portion of the first surface 232 a of the diaphragm portion 232. In this case, the pressure receiving portion 258 may be fixed to the tip of the rod portion 257, or may be fixed to the central portion of the first surface 232a of the diaphragm portion 232.

  The on-off valve 255 moves when pressed by the diaphragm portion 232 via the pressure receiving portion 258. In other words, the pressure receiving portion 258 also functions as a movable member that can move while in contact with the diaphragm portion 56 that is displaced in the direction of reducing the volume of the liquid storage portion 231.

  An upstream biasing member 259 is provided in the liquid inflow portion 252, and a downstream biasing member 260 is provided in the liquid storage portion 231. The upstream biasing member 259 biases the opening / closing valve 255 in the closing direction, and the downstream biasing member 260 biases the pressure receiving portion 258 toward the diaphragm portion 232. The on-off valve 255 is configured such that the pressure applied to the first surface 232a is lower than the pressure applied to the second surface 232b, and the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface 232a and the pressure applied to the second surface 232b is a predetermined value. If it becomes (for example, 1 kPa) or more, it will be in a valve opening state from a valve closing state.

  This predetermined value is necessary for blocking the communication path 254 by the valve portion 256, the biasing force of the upstream biasing member 259, the biasing force of the downstream biasing member 260, the force required to displace the diaphragm portion 232, and This value is determined in accordance with the pressing force (seal load), the pressure in the liquid inflow portion 252 acting on the surface of the valve portion 256, and the pressure in the liquid storage portion 231. That is, the greater the biasing force of the upstream biasing member 259 and the downstream biasing member 260, the greater the predetermined value.

  The urging force of the upstream side urging member 259 and the downstream side urging member 260 is a negative pressure state (for example, a second pressure state in a range where the pressure in the liquid storage portion 231 can form the meniscus 64 at the gas-liquid interface in the nozzle 19). When the pressure applied to the surface 232b is atmospheric pressure, it is set to be −1 kPa). In this case, the gas-liquid interface is a boundary where the liquid and the gas are in contact with each other, and the meniscus 64 is a curved liquid surface formed when the liquid is in contact with the nozzle 19. The nozzle 19 is preferably formed with a concave meniscus 64 suitable for liquid ejection.

  The pressing mechanism 251 includes a rotatable lever 233 having a pressing portion 237 that can press the second surface 232 b side of the diaphragm portion 232, and a pressure adjustment chamber having a flexible wall 221 that applies rotational force to the lever 233. 220 and a pressure adjusting unit 210 (see FIG. 7) capable of adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220. The flexible wall 221 bulges or dents as the pressure in the pressure adjustment chamber 220 is adjusted by the pressure adjustment unit 210 (see FIG. 7).

  Then, the pressing mechanism 251 causes the diaphragm portion 232 to expand by causing the flexible wall 221 to inflate by the pressure adjusting portion 210 (see FIG. 7) adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. The on-off valve 255 is opened by being pressed by the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233 in the direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion 231 decreases.

  That is, when the flexible wall 221 swells while being in contact with the pressed portion 238 of the lever 233, the pressed portion 238 is pressed by the flexible wall 221, and rotational force is applied to the lever 233. Rotates around a fulcrum that is a contact portion with the mounting portion 218 as a rotation center.

  As the lever 233 rotates, the pressing portion 237 presses the second surface 232b side of the diaphragm portion 232 in a direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion 231 decreases, so that the on-off valve 255 is opened from the closed state. Put into a state. At this time, the pressing portion 237 of the pressing mechanism 251 presses an area where the pressure receiving portion 258 in the diaphragm portion 232 contacts. In this case, the area of the diaphragm portion 232 that is in contact with the pressure receiving portion 258 is larger than the cross-sectional area of the communication path 254.

  Further, the pressing mechanism 251 is configured such that the pressure adjusting unit 210 (see FIG. 7) reduces the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 to a pressure lower than the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 when the diaphragm unit 232 is pressed by the pressing unit 237 of the lever 233. Is adjusted to release the pressing of the diaphragm portion 232 by the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233. Note that the pressing portion 237 is separated from the diaphragm portion 232 in a state where the turning force by the flexible wall 221 is not applied to the lever 233.

Next, the operation of the pressure adjusting device 200 that adjusts the pressure of the liquid supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 will be described.
When the liquid ejecting unit 12 ejects the liquid, the liquid stored in the liquid storing unit 231 is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 through the liquid supply path 27. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, when the pressure in the liquid storage portion 231 decreases and the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface 232a and the pressure applied to the second surface 232b in the diaphragm portion 232 becomes a predetermined value or more. The diaphragm portion 232 is bent and deformed in the direction of reducing the volume of the liquid storage portion 231. With the deformation of the diaphragm portion 232, the on-off valve 255 is pressed and moved via the pressure receiving portion 258, and the on-off valve 255 is opened.

  Then, since the liquid in the liquid inflow portion 252 is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism 31, the liquid is supplied from the liquid inflow portion 252 to the liquid storage portion 231 and the pressure in the liquid storage portion 231 increases. Thereby, the diaphragm part 232 deform | transforms so that the volume of the liquid storage part 231 may be increased. When the difference between the pressure applied to the first surface 232a and the pressure applied to the second surface 232b in the diaphragm 232 becomes smaller than a predetermined value, the on-off valve 255 is moved by the urging force of the upstream urging member 259. In this way, the flow from the open state to the closed state is obstructed.

  In this way, the pressure adjustment mechanism 250 adjusts the pressure of the liquid supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 by displacing the diaphragm unit 232, thereby adjusting the pressure in the liquid ejecting unit 12 as the back pressure of the nozzle 19. adjust.

Next, for the maintenance of the liquid ejecting unit 12, an operation in the case of performing pressure cleaning by forcibly flowing the liquid from the liquid supply source 13 to the liquid ejecting unit 12 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 78 (see FIG. 4) closes the first valve V1 and the third valve V3 of the pressure adjusting unit 210 and opens the second valve V2 and the fourth valve V4. When the pump 241 is driven, air is pressurized and supplied from the pressure connection portion 211, and the pressure in the pressure adjustment chamber 220 (see FIG. 12) is adjusted to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, the flexible wall 221 expands and presses the pressed portion 238 of the lever 233, and the lever 233 is a contact portion with the mounting portion 218 against the biasing force of the torsion spring 235. It rotates around the fulcrum as the rotation center.

  Then, the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233 presses the area where the pressure receiving portion 258 of the diaphragm portion 232 contacts against the urging force of the downstream urging member 260. Then, the opening / closing valve 255 also receives the pressing force by the pressing portion 237 through the diaphragm portion 232 and the pressure receiving portion 258 and moves against the urging force of the upstream urging member 259, and the opening / closing valve 255 is opened.

  That is, the pressing mechanism 251 opens the on-off valve 255 by moving the pressure receiving portion 258 and the on-off valve 255 against the urging force of the upstream side urging member 259 and the downstream side urging member 260. That is, the control unit 78 opens the on-off valve 255 by causing the pressing mechanism 251 to press the diaphragm unit 232. In this case, since the pressure adjustment unit 210 is connected to the pressure connection units 211 of the plurality of pressure adjustment devices 200, the open / close valves 255 of all the pressure adjustment devices 200 are opened.

  At this time, since the diaphragm portion 232 is deformed in the direction of reducing the volume of the liquid storage portion 231, the liquid stored in the liquid storage portion 231 is pushed out to the liquid ejecting portion 12 side. That is, the pressure at which the diaphragm portion 232 presses the liquid storage portion 231 is transmitted to the liquid ejecting portion 12, whereby the meniscus 64 is broken and the liquid overflows from the nozzle 19.

  That is, in the pressing mechanism 251, the pressure in the liquid storage unit 231 is higher than the pressure at which at least one meniscus 64 is broken (for example, the pressure at the liquid side at the gas-liquid interface is 3 kPa higher than the pressure at the gas side). The diaphragm part 232 is pressed so that it may become.

  The pressing mechanism 251 presses the diaphragm portion 232 to open the on-off valve 255 regardless of the pressure in the liquid inflow portion 252. In this case, the pressing mechanism 251 presses the diaphragm portion 232 with a pressing force larger than the pressing force generated when the pressure obtained by adding the above-described predetermined value to the pressure at which the pressurizing mechanism 31 pressurizes the liquid is applied to the diaphragm portion 232. Press.

  And the control part 78 is the place pressurized by the pressurization mechanism 31 by driving the decompression part 43 regularly in the valve opening state of the on-off valve 255 by the press mechanism 251 pressing the diaphragm part 232. A fixed amount of liquid is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12. That is, when the negative pressure chamber 42 is depressurized as the depressurization unit 43 is driven, the flexible member 37 moves in a direction to increase the volume of the pump chamber 41.

  Then, the liquid flows from the liquid supply source 13 into the pump chamber 41. When the decompression by the decompression unit 43 is released, the flexible member 37 is urged in a direction to reduce the volume of the pump chamber 41 by the urging force of the urging member 44. That is, a predetermined amount of liquid in the pump chamber 41 is pressurized by the urging force of the urging member 44 through the flexible member 37, passes through the downstream one-way valve 40, and is downstream of the liquid supply path 27. To the liquid injection unit 12.

  Since the open state of the on-off valve 255 is maintained while the pressing mechanism 251 presses the diaphragm portion 232, when the pressurizing mechanism 31 pressurizes a predetermined amount of liquid in this state, the applied pressure is applied to the liquid inflow. Pressure cleaning is performed in which the liquid is discharged (dropped) from the nozzle 19 by being transmitted to the liquid ejecting section 12 through the section 252, the communication path 254, and the liquid storage section 231. That is, the control unit 78 causes the pressurizing mechanism 31 to pressurize the liquid, thereby supplying a predetermined amount of liquid in a pressurized state to the liquid ejecting unit 12 and discharging it from the nozzle 19.

  When a predetermined amount of liquid (a predetermined amount of liquid in the pump chamber 41) is discharged from the nozzle 19, the discharge of the liquid from the nozzle 19 is stopped. That is, when the pressurizing mechanism 31 discharges (drops) a predetermined amount of pressurized liquid from the nozzle 19, the pressure level of the liquid to be supplied decreases as the liquid is discharged. The pressure level is such that no liquid is discharged.

  In this state, the control unit 78 drives the wiping motor 131 to cause the wiping member 130 to wipe the nozzle forming surface 18. Thereby, the meniscus 64 is formed in the nozzle 19 in an internal pressure state higher than the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 at the time of normal meniscus formation. After that, when the control unit 78 opens the first valve V1 and the third valve V3 of the pressure adjustment unit 210 and closes the second valve V2 and the fourth valve V4, air is sucked from the pressure connection unit 211 and the pressure is increased. The adjustment chamber 220 is depressurized.

  As a result, the bulging flexible wall 221 is deflated and depressed. Then, the lever 233 is rotated about the fulcrum that is a contact portion with the mounting portion 218 by the urging force of the torsion spring 235 and returns to the original position. That is, the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233 is in a state of being separated from the diaphragm portion 232.

  Then, the diaphragm portion 232 returns together with the pressure receiving portion 258 to the original position by the urging force of the downstream urging member 260, and the on-off valve 255 moves by the urging force of the upstream urging member 259 to be closed. That is, the control unit 78 releases the pressing state of the diaphragm unit 232 by the pressing mechanism 251 and closes the on-off valve 255 while the liquid is pressurized to the extent that the liquid is not discharged from the nozzle 19 by the pressurizing mechanism 31. Put it in a state.

  At this time, when the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 decreases due to the closing operation of the on-off valve 255, the meniscus 64 in the nozzle 19 may be broken and air or the like may be drawn into the nozzle 19. In this respect, in the present embodiment, as described above, the meniscus 64 is formed in the nozzle 19 with an internal pressure higher than the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 at the time of normal meniscus formation. Even if the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting portion 12 is reduced, the meniscus 64 is broken and air or the like is suppressed from being drawn into the nozzle 19. Thereby, the pressure cleaning of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is completed, and then the control unit 78 stops the pump 241 of the pressure adjusting unit 210.

As described above, according to the second embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(12) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the pressing mechanism 251 rotates the lever 233 by allowing the pressure adjusting unit 210 to adjust the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 and applying turning force to the lever 233 by the flexible wall 221. The pressure portion 237 presses the diaphragm portion 232 on the second surface 232b side. Therefore, it is possible to change the pressing force by the pressing portion 237 without changing the specifications (pressing force, size, etc.) of the pressure adjusting chamber 220 only by changing the specifications (lever ratio, shape, etc.) of the lever 233. it can. That is, even if the required pressing force by the pressing portion 237 changes, it can be dealt with without changing the specification of the pressure adjustment chamber 220 only by changing the specification of the lever 233, so that versatility can be improved. it can.

  (13) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the pressing portion 237 is separated from the diaphragm portion 232 when the turning force by the flexible wall 221 is not applied to the lever 233. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the malfunctioning of the pressure adjustment mechanism 250 resulting from the press part 237 of the lever 233 contacting the diaphragm part 232 can be suppressed.

  (14) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the pressing mechanism 251 presses the region of the diaphragm portion 232 that the pressure receiving portion 258 contacts with the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233. For this reason, the diaphragm portion 232 can be pressed by the pressing portion 237 so that the outer region (surrounding region) of the pressure receiving portion 258 in the diaphragm portion 232 is not deformed to the liquid storage portion 231 side. Then, after releasing the pressing of the diaphragm portion 232 by the pressing portion 237, the outer region of the pressure receiving portion 258 in the diaphragm portion 232 moves in the direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion 231 increases and returns to the state before the pressing. It is possible to suppress bubbles and liquids from being drawn from the nozzle 19.

  (15) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the pressing mechanism 251 causes the pressure adjusting unit 210 to adjust the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, so that the diaphragm unit 232 is moved by the pressing unit 237 of the lever 233. Press. For this reason, the diaphragm portion 232 can be pressed by the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233 only by adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure.

  (16) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the pressing mechanism 251 causes the pressure adjusting unit 210 to reduce the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 to a pressure lower than the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 220 when the diaphragm unit 232 is pressed by the pressing unit 237. By adjusting, the pressing of the diaphragm portion 232 by the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233 is released. For this reason, the pressing state of the diaphragm portion 232 by the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233 can be easily released.

  (17) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the rotational power application unit is the flexible wall 221 that forms a part of the pressure adjustment chamber 220, and applies rotational power to the lever 233 by contacting the lever 233. For this reason, the flexible wall 221 forming a part of the pressure adjustment chamber 220 can be suitably functioned as a turning force applying unit that applies turning force to the lever 233.

  (18) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the pressurizing mechanism 31 pressurizes the liquid in the open state of the on-off valve 255 by the pressing mechanism 251 pressing the diaphragm portion 232, thereby ejecting the liquid in the pressurized state. Supply to the unit 12. For this reason, the so-called cleaning is performed by supplying the pressurized liquid to the liquid ejecting unit 12 and discharging it from the nozzle 19 by pressurizing the liquid by the pressurizing mechanism 31 with the on-off valve 255 forcedly opened. Pressure cleaning can be performed.

  (19) In a state where the liquid is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism 31, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 releases the pressing state of the diaphragm portion 232 by the pressing mechanism 251 to close the open / close valve 255. For this reason, it can suppress that a bubble and a liquid are drawn from the nozzle 19 after pressure cleaning.

  (20) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the controller 78 opens the on-off valve 255 by causing the pressing mechanism 251 to press the diaphragm portion 232, and pressurizes the liquid to the pressurizing mechanism 31. After the liquid is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 and discharged from the nozzle 19, the wiping member 130 wipes the nozzle forming surface 18. For this reason, after performing the pressure cleaning which supplies the liquid pressurized by the pressure mechanism 31 to the liquid ejecting unit 12 and forcibly discharges it from the nozzle 19, the wiping member 130 wipes the nozzle forming surface 18 (wiping). ), The meniscus 64 can be formed in the nozzle 19. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the liquid adhering to the vicinity of the nozzle opening on the nozzle forming surface 18 from being sucked into the nozzle 19 together with the foreign matters and bubbles after performing the pressure cleaning.

  (21) In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, the control unit 78 supplies a predetermined amount of liquid in a pressurized state to the liquid ejecting unit 12 by causing the pressurizing mechanism 31 to pressurize the predetermined amount of liquid. After the liquid discharge is stopped, the wiping member 130 wipes the nozzle forming surface 18 and then the pressing mechanism 251 releases the pressing state of the diaphragm portion 232 to close the on-off valve 255.

  Normally, when a predetermined amount of pressurized liquid is discharged from the nozzle 19, the pressure level of the liquid supplied as the liquid is discharged decreases, and the pressure level is such that the liquid is not discharged from the nozzle 19 in due course. become. By wiping the nozzle forming surface 18 with the wiping member 130 in this state, the meniscus 64 can be formed in the nozzle 19 with an internal pressure higher than the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting portion 12 during normal meniscus formation. . For this reason, it is possible to prevent the meniscus 64 in the nozzle 19 from being broken and air or the like from being drawn into the nozzle 19 when the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is reduced by the valve closing operation of the on-off valve 255.

(Example of change)
In addition, you may change each said embodiment as follows.
(Modification 1) The pressure cleaning for maintenance of the liquid ejecting unit 12 in the second embodiment may be performed as follows. That is, first, the control unit 78 opens the on-off valve 255 by causing the pressing mechanism 251 to press the diaphragm unit 232 and then supplies the liquid to a pressurizing pump (pressurizing mechanism) that can pressurize the liquid continuously. By pressurizing, the pressurized liquid is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 and discharged from the nozzle 19. Then, the control unit 78 causes the pressing mechanism 251 to release the pressing state of the diaphragm unit 232, thereby closing the on-off valve 255 and stopping the supply of the pressurized liquid to the liquid ejecting unit 12, and then the wiping member The nozzle forming surface 18 is wiped by 130. Thereby, the pressure cleaning is completed. In this way, when the on-off valve 255 is closed while the pressurized liquid is being discharged from the nozzle 19, the liquid in the pressurized state of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is also discharged from the nozzle 19 after the on-off valve 255 is closed. The pressure level is such that the liquid is discharged and eventually the liquid is not discharged from the nozzle 19. By wiping the nozzle forming surface 18 with the wiping member 130 in this state, the meniscus 64 can be formed in the nozzle 19 with an internal pressure higher than the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 during normal meniscus formation. . For this reason, it is possible to prevent the meniscus 64 in the nozzle 19 from being broken and air or the like from being drawn into the nozzle 19 when the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is reduced by the valve closing operation of the on-off valve 255.

  (Modification 2) In Modification 1 above, as shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 78 capped the cap 134 with respect to the region including the nozzle 19 in the nozzle forming surface 18 of the liquid ejecting unit 12. By pressurizing the liquid by the pressurizing mechanism, the pressurized liquid is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit 12 and discharged from the nozzle 19. Then, the controller 78 closes the on-off valve 255 to stop the discharge of the liquid from the nozzle 19, and then releases the capping state of the region by the cap 134 and then moves the nozzle forming surface 18 to the wiping member 130. You may make it wipe off. In this way, when the liquid is discharged from the nozzle 19 in a state where the region including the nozzle 19 on the nozzle forming surface 18 of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is capped by the cap 134, the pressure in the cap 134 rises to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, a resistance that prevents discharge of the liquid from the nozzle 19 is generated. For this reason, the pressurization level when the liquid is no longer discharged from the nozzle 19 is higher than when capping is not performed. Even if the capping state by the cap 134 is released in this state, air or the like is hardly drawn into the nozzle 19. Thereafter, the nozzle forming surface 18 is wiped (wiped) by the wiping member 130, whereby the meniscus 64 can be formed in the nozzle 19 with an internal pressure higher than the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 during normal meniscus formation. Therefore, when the internal pressure of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is reduced by the closing operation of the on-off valve 255, it is possible to suppress the meniscus 64 in the nozzle 19 from being broken and air or the like from being drawn into the nozzle 19.

  (Modification 3) In Modification 2 above, as shown in FIG. 15, a discharge channel 301 for discharging the liquid in the cap 134 to the box-shaped waste liquid collection container 300 is provided on the bottom wall of the cap 134. It may be. In this way, when the liquid is discharged from the nozzle 19 in a state where the region including the nozzle 19 on the nozzle forming surface 18 of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is capped by the cap 134, the flow when the liquid flows through the discharge channel 301. Due to the influence of the road resistance, the pressure in the cap 134 rises and becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure as in the case of the second modification. For this reason, the effect similar to the said modification 2 can be acquired.

  (Modification 4) In Modification 2 above, as shown in FIG. 16, the cap 134 is formed on the bottom wall of the cap 134 when capping the region including the nozzle 19 on the nozzle forming surface 18 of the liquid ejecting unit 12. A communication channel 302 is provided for communicating the closed space with the atmosphere. Furthermore, an atmosphere release valve 303 that can be switched between a communication state in which the closed space communicates with the atmosphere and a non-communication state that does not communicate with the atmosphere may be provided at a midpoint of the communication flow path 302. Then, the controller 78 may switch the atmosphere release valve 303 from the communication state to the non-communication state for a certain time during the discharge of the liquid from the nozzle 19 and when the capping state of the region by the cap 134 is released. In this way, the liquid is discharged from the nozzle 19 while the atmosphere release valve 303 is in communication and the region including the nozzle 19 on the nozzle forming surface 18 of the liquid ejecting unit 12 is capped by the cap 134, and the atmosphere is released from the middle. By switching the valve 303 to the non-communication state, the pressure in the cap 134 can be changed. That is, the degree of increase in the pressure in the cap 134 can be adjusted by changing the timing at which the atmosphere release valve 303 is switched from the communication state to the non-communication state. Incidentally, since the pressure in the cap 134 changes depending on the amount of liquid discharged, for example, when the volume of the cap 134 is small and the amount of liquid discharged into the cap 134 is large, the atmospheric release valve 303 is not connected. If the timing for switching to the non-communication state is too early, the pressure in the cap 134 becomes too large. For this reason, the liquid may not be discharged from the nozzle 19 into the cap 134.

  (Modification 5) In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, a discharge channel 304 for discharging the liquid in the cap 134 is provided on the bottom wall of the cap 134, and an intermediate position of the discharge channel 304 is provided. A suction pump 305 that can suck the inside of the cap 134 is provided. Then, after performing the suction cleaning for discharging the liquid from the nozzle 19 by the suction force of the suction pump 305, the pressure cleaning in the modified example 4 may be performed in combination.

  (Modification 6) In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, the pressure adjusting chamber and the rotational force imparting section in the pressing mechanism 251 are bellows that expands and contracts when the internal pressure is adjusted by the pressure adjusting section 210. You may comprise by the elastic member 306 which has a part. In FIG. 17, the stretched state of the elastic member 306 is indicated by a solid line and the contracted state is indicated by a two-dot chain line. Alternatively, the pressure adjusting chamber and the rotational force applying unit in the pressing mechanism 251 may be configured by an air cylinder.

  (Modification 7) In the second embodiment, the pressing portion 237 of the lever 233, the rotation center of the lever 233, and the pressed portion 238 of the lever 233 are, for example, the rotation center of the lever 233 and the pressing portion of the lever 233. 237 and the pressed portion 238 of the lever 233 may be arranged in this order. In this case, the pressure adjustment chamber 220 and the flexible wall 221 are arranged on the same side as the second embodiment, and the pressure adjustment chamber 220 is depressurized to rotate the lever 233 and the pressing portion 237 causes the diaphragm portion 232 to move. Pressed. Further, in this case, the pressed part 238 and the flexible wall 221 need to be connected to each other.

(Modification 8) In the second embodiment, the turning force imparting portion is not necessarily the flexible wall 221.
(Modification 9) In the second embodiment, the pressure receiving portion 258 may be omitted.

  (Modification 10) In the second embodiment, the pressing portion 237 does not necessarily have to be separated from the diaphragm portion 232 in a state where the turning force by the flexible wall 221 is not applied to the lever 233.

(Modification 11) In the second embodiment, the flexible wall 221 may be provided with a pressure receiving portion.
(Modification 12) In the second embodiment, the lever 233 may be made of metal, and the lever 233 may press the diaphragm portion 232 using the elasticity of the metal. In this way, the torsion spring 235 can be omitted.

(Modification 13) In the second embodiment, the on-off valve 255 and the pressure receiving portion 258 may be connected to each other or may be integrally formed.
(Modification 14) In the second embodiment, the pressurizing mechanism 31 may be constituted by a gear pump, a screw pump, a piston pump, or the like.

  (Modification 15) In each of the above embodiments, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink. Note that the state of the liquid ejected as a minute amount of liquid droplets from the liquid ejecting apparatus includes a granular shape, a tear shape, and a thread-like shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected from 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 ). Further, not only a liquid as one state of a substance but also a substance in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent is included. Typical examples of the liquid include various liquid compositions such as water-based ink, non-water-based ink, oil-based ink, gel ink, and hot-melt ink as described in the above embodiment, liquid crystal, and the like. 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 the liquid. Further, it may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid as a sample that is used as a precision pipette, 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. May be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects the liquid onto the substrate. Further, it may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali in order to etch a substrate or the like.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Liquid injection apparatus, 12 ... Liquid injection part, 13 ... Liquid supply source, 14 ... Supply mechanism, 16 ... Injection part filter, 17 ... Common liquid chamber, 18 ... Nozzle formation surface, 19 ... Nozzle, 20 ... Pressure chamber, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Diaphragm, 22 ... Communication hole, 23 ... Accommodating chamber, 24 ... Actuator, 26 ... Mounting part, 27 ... Liquid supply path, 28 ... Circulation path formation part, 29 ... Circulation pump, 31 ... Pressurization mechanism, 32 ... Filter unit 33 33 Static mixer 34 Liquid storage unit 35 Pressure adjusting mechanism 37 Flexible member 38 Volume pump 39 39 One-way valve 40 One-way valve 41 Pump chamber 42 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Negative pressure chamber, 43 ... Pressure-reducing part, 44 ... Biasing member, 45 ... Spring, 47 ... Pressure adjusting device, 48 ... Pressure mechanism, 50 ... Liquid inflow part, 51 ... Liquid storage part, 52 ... Main-body part, 53 ... Wall part, 54 ... through hole, 55 ... Filter member 56 ... Diaphragm portion 56a ... First surface 56b ... Second surface 57 ... Communication path 59 ... On-off valve 60 ... Valve portion 61 ... Pressure receiving portion 62 ... Upstream biasing member, 63 ... downstream biasing member, 64 ... meniscus, 66 ... pressure adjusting chamber, 67 ... expansion / contraction part, 68 ... pressing member, 69 ... pressure adjusting part, 70 ... insertion hole, 71 ... opening, 72 ... air chamber, 74 ... Pressure pump, 75 ... Connection path, 76 ... Detection unit, 77 ... Fluid pressure adjustment unit, 78 ... Control unit, 112 ... Support base, 113 ... Media, 114 ... Conveyance unit, 115 ... Printing unit, 116 ... Main body DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 117 ... Cover, 118 ... Conveying roller pair, 119 ... Conveying roller pair, 120 ... Guide plate, 122 ... Guide shaft, 123 ... Guide shaft, 124 ... Carriage, 126 ... Wiper unit, 127 ... Flushing unit, 128 ... Carriage 130: Wiping member, 131 ... Wiping motor, 132 ... Liquid receiving part, 133 ... Flushing motor, 134 ... Cap, 135 ... Capping motor, 200 ... Pressure adjusting device, 201 ... Air chamber forming unit, 202 ... Pressure adjusting mechanism Forming unit, 203 ... bottom plate member, 204 ... connecting part forming unit, 205 ... lever unit, 206 ... main body part, 207 ... connecting film, 208 ... first liquid connecting part, 209 ... second liquid connecting part, 210 ... pressure adjustment 211, pressure connection section, 212 ... first liquid outlet section, 213 ... second liquid outlet section, 214 ... pressure supply section, 215 ... main body section, 216 ... air chamber film, 217 ... air introduction section, 218 ... attachment Part, 219 ... concave part, 220 ... pressure adjusting chamber, 221 ... flexible wall (rotation power applying part), 222 ... groove, 2 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 ... Through-hole, 224 ... Through-hole, 225 ... Air flow path, 226 ... Main-body part, 227 ... Pressure film, 228 ... 1st liquid introduction part, 229 ... 2nd liquid introduction part, 230 ... Recessed part, 231 ... Liquid accommodation Part, 232 ... diaphragm part, 232a ... first surface, 232b ... second surface, 233 ... lever, 234 ... locking part, 235 ... torsion spring, 236 ... mounting hole, 237 ... pressing part, 238 ... pressed Part, 240 ... annular pipe, 241 ... pump, 242 ... connecting pipe, 243 ... first branch pipe, 244 ... second branch pipe, 247 ... wall part, 248 ... through hole, 249 ... filter member, 250 ... pressure adjusting mechanism 251 ... Pressing mechanism, 252 ... Liquid inflow portion, 254 ... Communication path, 255 ... Open / close valve, 256 ... Valve portion, 257 ... Rod portion, 258 ... Pressure receiving portion (moving member), 259 ... Upstream biasing member, 260 …downstream Biasing member, 300 ... Waste liquid collection container, 301 ... Discharge flow path, 302 ... Communication flow path, 303 ... Air release valve, 304 ... Discharge flow path, 305 ... Suction pump, 306 ... Expandable member, A ... Supply direction, B ... circulation direction, X ... scanning direction, Y ... conveying direction, Z ... vertical direction, V1 ... first valve, V2 ... second valve, V3 ... third valve, V4 ... fourth valve.

Claims (9)

A liquid supply path capable of supplying the liquid from a liquid supply source to a liquid ejecting unit that drives the actuator to eject the liquid from the nozzle;
A pressure adjusting mechanism provided in the liquid supply path,
A liquid inflow portion into which the liquid supplied from the liquid supply source flows;
A liquid container capable of accommodating the liquid therein, and changing a volume of the inside due to displacement of the diaphragm part; and
A communication path for communicating the liquid inflow portion and the liquid storage portion;
The pressure applied to the first surface that is the inner surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion is lower than the pressure applied to the second surface that is the outer surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion, and the pressure applied to the first surface. When the difference between the pressure applied to the second surface is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the liquid inflow portion and the liquid accommodation from the closed state in which the liquid inflow portion and the liquid accommodation portion are not communicated in the communication path. An on-off valve that is in an open state to communicate with the part;
A pressure adjusting mechanism having
A pressing mechanism that opens the on-off valve by pressing the diaphragm portion in a direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion decreases;
A rotatable lever having a pressing portion capable of pressing the second surface side of the diaphragm portion;
A pressure adjusting chamber having a turning force applying portion for applying turning force to the lever;
A pressure adjusting unit capable of adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber;
Have
The pressure adjusting unit adjusts the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber and applies the turning force to the lever by the turning force applying unit, thereby rotating the lever and moving the lever portion of the diaphragm portion. A pressing mechanism for pressing the surface side of 2,
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing portion is separated from the diaphragm portion in a state where the turning force is not applied to the lever by the turning force applying portion. The pressure adjusting mechanism further includes a moving member that is movable in contact with the diaphragm portion that is displaced in a direction of reducing the volume of the liquid storage portion,
3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing mechanism presses a region of the diaphragm portion where the moving member contacts with the pressing portion of the lever.   2. The pressing mechanism, wherein the pressure adjusting unit adjusts the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, thereby pressing the diaphragm portion by the pressing portion of the lever. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3.   The pressing mechanism is configured so that the pressure adjusting unit adjusts the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber to a pressure lower than the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber when the diaphragm is pressed by the pressing unit. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pressing of the diaphragm portion due to is released.   The said turning force imparting part is a flexible wall that forms a part of the pressure adjusting chamber, and imparts turning force to the lever by contacting the lever. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of the above. A pressure mechanism capable of pressurizing the liquid supplied to the pressure adjustment mechanism;
The pressurizing mechanism can supply the liquid in a pressurized state to the liquid ejecting unit by pressurizing the liquid in the open state of the on-off valve by the pressing mechanism pressing the diaphragm unit. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is configured as described above.   The liquid according to claim 7, wherein in a state where the liquid is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism, the pressing state of the diaphragm portion by the pressing mechanism is released, and the on-off valve is closed. Injection device. A pressure adjusting mechanism provided in a liquid supply path capable of supplying the liquid from a liquid supply source to a liquid ejecting unit that drives the actuator to eject the liquid from the nozzle;
A liquid inflow portion into which the liquid supplied from the liquid supply source flows;
A liquid container capable of accommodating the liquid therein, and changing a volume of the inside due to displacement of the diaphragm part; and
A communication path for communicating the liquid inflow portion and the liquid storage portion;
The pressure applied to the first surface that is the inner surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion is lower than the pressure applied to the second surface that is the outer surface of the liquid storage portion in the diaphragm portion, and the pressure applied to the first surface. When the difference between the pressure applied to the second surface is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the liquid inflow portion and the liquid accommodation from the closed state in which the liquid inflow portion and the liquid accommodation portion are not communicated in the communication path. An on-off valve that is in an open state to communicate with the part;
A pressure adjusting mechanism having
A pressing mechanism that opens the on-off valve by pressing the diaphragm portion in a direction in which the volume of the liquid storage portion decreases;
A rotatable lever having a pressing portion capable of pressing the second surface side of the diaphragm portion;
A pressure adjusting chamber having a turning force applying portion for applying turning force to the lever;
A pressure adjusting unit capable of adjusting the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber;
Have
The pressure adjusting unit adjusts the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber and applies the turning force to the lever by the turning force applying unit, thereby rotating the lever and moving the lever portion of the diaphragm portion. A pressing mechanism for pressing the surface side of 2,
A pressure adjusting device comprising:

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