JP2018154123A - Head cleaning device and device for discharging liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a detergency of a nozzle surface.SOLUTION: A head cleaning device comprises a liquid discharge head 20 having a nozzle surface 20a on which a nozzle for discharging a liquid is provided, and has a wiping mechanism 51 for wiping the nozzle surface by moving to the wiping direction relative to the liquid discharge head 20. The wiping mechanism 51 comprises a sheet member (for example, a web 2) and a blade member (for example, a blade 14) having high water repellency higher than that of the sheet member, and performs a first wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface 20a with the sheet member without bringing the blade member into contact with the nozzle surface 20a, and a second wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface 20a while bringing the sheet member and the blade member into contact with the nozzle surface 20a, and after performing the first wiping operation once or plural times, performs teh second wiping operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a head cleaning device and a device for discharging liquid.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a device for ejecting liquid, such as an ink jet printer, a technique for wiping a liquid adhering to a nozzle forming surface of a liquid ejection head with a wiping sheet is known.

  For example, in the inkjet recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the nozzle surface is repeatedly wiped with a wiping sheet, dirt or cleaning liquid absorbed by the wiping sheet oozes out on the nozzle surface due to the pressing force during wiping, There is a risk that dirt may remain on the nozzle surface. This is particularly noticeable when wiping is repeated within a short time, such as with strong cleaning.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to increase the cleaning power of the nozzle surface.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is a head cleaning device that cleans a liquid discharge head having a nozzle surface provided with nozzles, and moves relative to the liquid discharge head in the wiping direction. The wiping mechanism includes a wiping mechanism for wiping the nozzle surface, the wiping mechanism having a sheet member and a blade member having higher water repellency than the sheet member, and without bringing the blade member into contact with the nozzle surface, A first wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface with a sheet member, and a second wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface by bringing the sheet member and the blade member into contact with the nozzle surface. The second wiping operation is performed after performing one wiping operation once or a plurality of times.

  According to the present invention, the cleaning power of the nozzle surface can be increased.

It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a plane explanatory view of the wiping mechanism concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure when the carriage provided with the liquid discharge head is viewed from the bottom. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism in a wiping start position. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism in wiping operation | movement. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism in the wiping completion position. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism in a wiping start position. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism in the wiping operation | movement by a web. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism in the wiping operation | movement by a braid | blade. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism in the wiping completion position. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a plane explanatory view of the wiping mechanism concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the wiping mechanism which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the structural example of the apparatus which discharges the liquid containing the head cleaning apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a liquid discharge head, where FIG. 1A is an explanatory view illustrating a liquid discharge head and a cap, and FIG. 2B is an explanatory view illustrating a state of a nozzle surface of the liquid discharge head. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mechanism in which an ink transfers from a cap to a nozzle surface, and adheres and accumulates, (A) is a figure which shows a mode that a liquid discharge head and a cap are spaced apart, (B) is a liquid discharge head (C) is a diagram showing the state where ink is attached to the end of the nip portion of the cap, and (D) is a diagram showing the state of the nip portion where the ink is adhered. The figure which shows the state which contacted the edge part with the liquid discharge head, (E) is a figure which shows a mode that the ink adhering to the edge part of a nip part transferred to the liquid discharge head. It is a figure which shows the mode of the nozzle surface of a liquid discharge head. (A) is a figure which shows the relationship between adhesion of the liquid adhering to a nip formation surface, and elapsed time, (B) is a figure which shows the relationship between a water evaporation rate and temperature, (C) is a water evaporation rate, It is a figure which shows the relationship with humidity. (A) is an enlarged explanatory view showing a pressing member according to another example, and (B) is an explanatory view showing how the wiping pressure is changed by the pressing member according to another example. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment. It is principal part side explanatory drawing of the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of the control part of the apparatus which discharges the liquid containing the head cleaning apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted or simplified as appropriate. In the drawings, components having the same configuration or function and corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

First Embodiment A head cleaning device (also referred to as a head maintenance device) according to an embodiment is a device that cleans a liquid discharge head having a nozzle surface provided with nozzles, and is relative to the liquid discharge head in the wiping direction. A wiping mechanism for wiping the nozzle surface by moving is provided. Below, after demonstrating the structural example of the wiping mechanism of one Embodiment, the wiping operation example is demonstrated.
[Description of main components]
The principal part structure of the wiping mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2. FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view of the wiping mechanism, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the wiping mechanism.
1 and 2 show the liquid ejection head 20 in order to explain the wiping mechanism 51 of the present embodiment (the same applies to other drawings explaining the wiping mechanism). The liquid discharge head 20 has a nozzle surface 20a on which nozzles for discharging liquid are provided. In the following description, the head cleaning device including the wiping mechanism 51 and the liquid discharge head 20 may be referred to as a liquid discharge unit.

  The wiping mechanism 51 is a wiping mechanism that wipes and cleans the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid ejection head (hereinafter also simply referred to as “head”) 20, and is a belt-like sheet member that is a first wiping member that wipes the nozzle surface 20a. And a blade 14 (also referred to as a wiper or wiper blade) of a blade member made of an elastic body as a second wiping member. The web 2 and the blade 14 are held between the side plates 18 and 19 shown in FIG.

  The web member (for example, the web 2) is preferably made of a sheet-like material that has absorptivity and at least has liquid resistance to the liquid to be used, and does not cause fuzz or dust generation. , Cloth, film, paper and the like.

  The blade member (for example, the blade 14) is preferably made of an elastic material having lower absorbability than that of the web 2 and includes, for example, rubber and soft resin.

The web 2 is unwound from the unwinding roll 3, and is wound on the winding roll 6 through the conveying rollers 4 and 5. The transport rollers 4 and 5 are rotatably held by the side plates 18 and 19.
Here, the feeding roll 3 is disposed on the upstream side in the wiping direction Y1, the winding roll 6 is disposed on the downstream side in the wiping direction Y1, and the web 2 is wound in a direction along the wiping direction Y1. That is, the web 2 feed direction A is set as the wiping direction Y1. The “wiping direction Y1” is a direction in which the wiping mechanism 51 moves relative to the nozzle surface 20a.

  A pressing member 11 that presses the web 2 against the nozzle surface 20a is disposed between the two conveying rollers 4 and 5. The pressing member 11 presses the web 2 against the nozzle surface 20a with a predetermined pressing force by the spring 12 when contacting the web 2 on the nozzle surface 20a.

  Here, the structure which changes the pressing force by the spring 12 can be provided (details are mentioned later). Then, according to the wiping interval (elapsed time from the previous wiping operation), for example, it is possible to perform control to increase the pressing force as the elapsed time becomes longer (details will be described later).

  Also, when using a different material web, the information on the pressing force according to the web material tension is stored, the web material (type) is detected, and the web material It is possible to perform control for applying a pressing force according to the tension.

  The driving force of the driving motor 8 is transmitted to the shaft 6a of the winding roll 6 through a transmission mechanism 7 formed of a gear train.

  A code wheel 9 is attached to the transport roller 5, and an encoder sensor 10 including a transmission type photo sensor that detects a pattern formed on the code wheel 9 is provided. The code wheel 9 and the encoder sensor 10 constitute an encoder that detects the moving distance (feed amount) of the web 2.

  A blade 14 is disposed on the upstream side of the wiping direction Y1 with respect to the web 2. The blade 14 is held by a blade holder 13. Thereby, when the wiping unit 51 moves in the wiping direction Y1, the web 2 can first contact the nozzle surface 20a, and then the blade 14 can contact the nozzle surface 20a. The end of the shaft 15 of the blade holder 13 is rotatably held by the side plates 18 and 19.

  The blade 14 is disposed on the upstream side in the moving direction A (and) of the web 2 from the position where the web 2 contacts the nozzle surface 20a (the position of the pressing member 11). That is, the cleaning position where the blade 14 is cleaned with the web 2 is upstream in the feed direction of the web 2 in the feed direction of the web 2 with respect to the position where the web 2 contacts the nozzle surface 20a. Further, the cleaning position where the blade 14 is cleaned with the web 2 may be a retreat position where the blade 14 is not brought into contact with the nozzle surface 20a.

  Thereby, since the cleaning position of the blade 14 is always an unused area of the web 2, when the blade 14 is cleaned, the cleaning can be performed without wasting time. Moreover, the unused area | region of the web 2 between the position where the web 2 contacts the nozzle surface 20a, and the cleaning position can also be used for wiping, and the useless consumption of the web 2 is eliminated.

  The blade 14 may be disposed on the transport roller 4 side. That is, the blade 14 can also be disposed downstream of the web 2 in the wiping direction. In this case, since the wiping order of the nozzle surface 20a is the order of the blade 14 and the web 2, the positions of the feeding roll 3 and the winding roll 6 are switched so that the moving direction A (feeding direction) of the web 2 is reversed. You can also.

  That is, when the blade 14 is arranged downstream of the web 2 in the wiping direction, and the feeding direction of the web 2 is the same as the wiping direction, the contaminated portion that contacts the nozzle surface 20a of the web 2 cleans the blade 14 Will move to the cleaning position. Therefore, in order to clean the blade 14, it is necessary to send the web 2 until the unclean part before the web 2 contacts the nozzle surface 20a reaches the cleaning position where the blade 14 is cleaned. Unused areas are wasted.

  Therefore, by disposing the blade 14 (second wiping member) on the upstream side in the feed direction of the web 2 with respect to the web 2 (first wiping member), wasteful consumption of the web 2 can be reduced. .

  Then, the rotation of the drive motor 17 such as a stepping motor is transmitted to the shaft 15 of the blade holder 13 through the transmission mechanism 16 constituted by a gear train, and the blade holder 13 can be rotated by the drive motor 17.

  Thereby, the blade 14 is at least between the position (wiping position) shown by a solid line with a height that can contact the nozzle surface 20a and the position (cleaning position, retracted position) shown by a broken line that contacts the web 2. Displaceable. Thereby, the feeding direction of the web 2 is a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the wiping direction, and the cleaning position (retracted position) is upstream from the position where the web 2 contacts the nozzle surface 20a. .

  In this case, the cleaning position where the blade 14 comes into contact with the web 2 is a position facing the conveying roller 5 that guides the web 2. Thereby, the web 2 can be reliably brought into contact with the blade 14.

  The web 2, the feed roll 3, the take-up roll 6, the transport rollers 4 and 5, the transmission mechanism 7, the drive motor 8, the blade holder 13, the transmission mechanism 16, and the drive motor 17 described above are relatively with respect to the head 20. It is mounted on a moving member 30 that moves. In the present embodiment, these members are collectively used as the wiping mechanism 51, but the detailed configuration is not limited thereto.

  The moving member 30 is disposed so as to be capable of reciprocating in the arrow Y direction (wiping direction) that is the nozzle arrangement direction of the head 20. The movement of the moving member 30 in the wiping direction is performed by a moving mechanism including a rack 31 and a pinion 32, and a moving member moving motor 33 that rotates the pinion 32.

  Further, the moving member 30 is disposed so as to be movable (movable up and down) in the direction in which the web 2 and the blade 14 advance and retreat with respect to the nozzle surface 20a, in this case, the vertical direction. The moving member 30 is moved up and down by, for example, a lifting mechanism including a cam 35 and a moving member lifting motor 36 that rotates the cam 35.

  FIG. 3 is a view of the carriage 21 including the head 20 as viewed from the bottom surface (nozzle surface side). One or more heads 20 (20A to 20C) are mounted on the carriage 21, and a desired liquid is ejected from a plurality of nozzles 201 provided on the nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head 20, thereby forming an image or the like.

Next, the wiping operation of the wiping mechanism 51 will be described.
As described above, the wiping mechanism 51 of the present embodiment includes at least the web 2 and the blade 14, and moves at least one of the web 2 and the blade 14 relative to the liquid ejection head 20 in the wiping direction. The nozzle surface 20a is wiped off.
The wiping mechanism 51 wipes the nozzle surface 20a by bringing the web 2 and the blade 14 into contact with the nozzle surface 20a and the first wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface 20a with the web 2 without bringing the blade 14 into contact with the nozzle surface. The second wiping operation can be performed. For example, the wiping mechanism 51 performs the second wiping operation after performing the first wiping operation one or more times.
Hereinafter, an example of strong cleaning combining the second wiping operation, the first wiping operation, and the first and second wiping operations will be described.

[Second wiping operation]
The second wiping operation (wiping operation using the web 2 and the blade 14) of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C. 4A is a side view of the wiping mechanism at the wiping start position, FIG. 4B is a side view of the wiping mechanism during the wiping operation, and FIG. 4C is a side view of the wiping mechanism at the wiping end position.

  First, when wiping the nozzle surface 20a of the head 20, as shown in FIG. 4A, the moving member 30 is lifted, and the web 2 is pushed to a predetermined end at one end where wiping of the nozzle surface 20a of the head 20 starts. Pressed with pressure. At this time, the blade 14 is not in contact with the nozzle surface 20a.

  4B, the moving member 30 is moved in the wiping direction (Y1 direction), so that the liquid (referred to as waste liquid) 300 remaining on the nozzle surface 20a is wiped or absorbed by the web 2 and removed. Is done.

  Next, when the web 2 moves to a predetermined position, the blade 14 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 20 a from one end side, and the blade 14 wipes away the waste liquid 300 left by the web 2 as the moving member 30 moves. Move in the wiping direction.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the movement of the moving member 30 in the wiping direction Y1 is stopped at the position where the blade 14 reaches the other end of the nozzle surface 20a (wiping completion position), and then the moving member 30 To lower the blade 14 away from the nozzle surface 20a.

  As a result, when the blade 14 returns from an elastically deformed state to an upright state, the waste liquid adhering to the blade 14 can be blown forward in the wiping direction, and contamination due to the scattering of the waste liquid can be prevented.

  Here, since the web 2 has almost no water repellency (specifically, it has a certain level of liquid absorbency), dirt attached to the nozzle surface can be efficiently removed. In particular, when a cleaning liquid (details will be described later) is infiltrated into the web 2, the dirt removing power is further increased. On the other hand, depending on the conditions, dirt or cleaning liquid that has soaked into the web 2 may ooze out into the nozzle surface 20a due to the pressing force, leaving dirt on the nozzle surface 20a. Further, the web 2 may absorb even the liquid in the nozzle 201 provided on the nozzle surface 20a, which may destroy the meniscus.

  Therefore, as in this embodiment, after wiping the nozzle surface with the web 2 (sheet member), the nozzle surface 20a is wiped with the blade 14 (blade member) having higher water repellency (lower absorbability) than the web 2 ( For example, the last wiping of a series of wiping operations is wiping with the blade 14), so that it is possible to prevent dirt from remaining on the nozzle surface 20a.

  In addition, by wiping the nozzle surface 20a with the blade 14 lastly, the influence on the meniscus formation in the nozzle 201 is reduced compared to the case where the nozzle surface 20a is finally wiped with the web 2 as in the conventional technique. (The number of nozzles 201 with broken meniscus is reduced). This is considered to be because the blade 14 moves in the vicinity of the opening of the nozzle 201 to assist the formation of the meniscus by the surface tension (however, the generation principle of the effect is not limited). ).

  In particular, when the blade 14 is made of a material having a lower liquid absorbency than the web 2, the blade 14 is less likely to absorb the ink in the nozzle 201, and a more efficient wiping operation can be achieved. If the second wiping member to be wiped later has a lower liquid absorbency than at least the first wiping member that contacts the nozzle surface 21a in advance, a more efficient wiping operation can be achieved. Therefore, it is also possible to use a web or the like as the second wiping member instead of the blade 14.

  In this embodiment, when the distance of the nozzle surface 20a in the wiping direction Y1 is Ln, the movement distance Lw of the moving member 30 in the wiping operation described above (from the point where the pressing member 11 is in contact with the nozzle surface 20a) The distance to the point at which the pressing member is located when is completed) is greater than Ln.

[First wiping operation]
Next, a first wiping operation that does not use the blade 14 (wiping with only the web 2 in this embodiment) will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5D. FIG. 5A is an explanatory side view of the wiping mechanism at the wiping start position. FIG. 5B is an explanatory side view of the wiping mechanism during the wiping operation by the web. FIG. 5C is an explanatory side view of the wiping mechanism during the wiping operation by the blade. FIG. 5D is an explanatory side view of the wiping mechanism at the wiping end position.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5A, the drive motor 17 is driven and controlled to rotate the blade 14 in the direction of the arrow from the nozzle surface position (wiping position) indicated by the broken line, so that the blade 14 does not touch the nozzle surface 20a. Move to.

  At this time, by bringing the blade 14 into contact with the web 2, dirt attached to the blade 14 can be absorbed by the web 2. The amount of rotation of the blade 14 (amount of contact with the web 2) and the contact time can be arbitrarily set.

  Furthermore, the contact angle of the end portion of the blade 14 and the position of the web 2 may be variable in accordance with the use state such as hardness or change with time of the material of the blade 14.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5B, the dirt on the nozzle surface 20 a can be wiped by moving the moving member 30 in the wiping direction while pressing the web 2 with the pressing member 11 in the direction of the nozzle surface 20 a. In this wiping operation, the blade 14 is not in contact with the nozzle surface 20a.

  At this time, the moving distance Lw of the moving member 30 when the wiping is completed (the distance from the point where the pressing member 11 contacts the nozzle surface 20a to the point where the pressing member is located when the wiping operation is completed) is The distance Ln of the nozzle surface 20a in the wiping direction can be made substantially equal. Here, the moving distance Lw of the moving member 30 is equal to the moving amount of the web member in the wiping direction.

  Thereby, compared with the case where the braid | blade 14 is used for wiping, since the moving distance Lw of the moving member 30 becomes short, the time of wiping operation | movement can be shortened. This is particularly effective when a similar wiping operation is repeated a plurality of times.

  Thereafter, the moving member 30 is moved away from the nozzle surface 20a as shown in FIG. 5C, and the moving member 30 is moved to the position before the wiping operation as shown in FIG. 5D. Then, the nozzle surface 20a can be wiped by raising the moving member 30 again and moving it in the wiping direction Y1.

  Note that, from the viewpoint of cleaning power, the web 2 that has been soiled by the previous wiping may be wound and then the next wiping operation may be performed. From the viewpoint of time reduction, it is desirable to shift to the next wiping operation without winding up the web 2.

  Moreover, when repeating a 1st wiping operation | movement several times, it is preferable to make a wiping direction into the same direction. In general, when the nozzle surface 20a is wiped, dirt often accumulates on the edge of the nozzle surface 20a in the wiping direction, resulting in icicles, which may cause a thread during image formation. Cause a malfunction.

  When the wiping directions are alternately changed (when wiping is performed by a reciprocating operation), there is an effect that the time can be shortened, but icicles are formed at both ends of the nozzle surface 20a, causing many of the above-mentioned problems. There is a risk that. Therefore, by setting the wiping direction to the same direction, occurrence of icicles can be suppressed to one end side of the nozzle surface 20a, and defects can be delivered to the minimum.

[Strong cleaning]
Next, the wiping operation (first wiping operation) in which the blade 14 described with reference to FIG. 5 does not contact the nozzle surface 20a, and the wiping operation in which the blade 14 described with reference to FIG. 4 contacts the nozzle surface 20a. An example of the wiping operation combining the operation (second wiping operation) will be described.

  This wiping operation is equivalent to so-called powerful cleaning, and can be used when, for example, a considerable amount of time has passed since the last ink ejection and the nozzle surface 20a is significantly stained.

  First, the wiping operation (first wiping operation) in which the blade 14 does not contact the nozzle surface 20a is repeated a plurality of times. Thereby, the dirt which adhered to nozzle surface 20a can be removed more certainly.

  Thereafter, a wiping operation (second wiping operation) is performed in which the blade 14 contacts the nozzle surface 20a. In other words, wiping with the blade 14 is performed at the end of the series of wiping operations. Thereby, the dirt which exudes from the web 14 can also be removed while removing dirt adhered to the nozzle surface 20a more reliably. In addition, the meniscus of the nozzle 201 can be maintained.

  If the second wiping operation using the blade 14 is repeated a plurality of times, the cleaning power increases, but the second wiping operation takes a long time because the moving distance of the moving member 30 is long. On the other hand, according to the wiping method described above, since the first wiping operation in which the moving distance of the moving member is short is repeated a plurality of times, the time can be shortened.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is an explanatory side view for explaining the wiping mechanism according to the embodiment, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory plan view of the wiping mechanism.
In the present embodiment, a configuration example will be described in which the head cleaning device further includes an application mechanism (hereinafter also referred to as “cleaning liquid application mechanism” as appropriate) that applies a cleaning liquid to a web as a sheet member.

6 and 7 show a configuration example in which a cleaning liquid applying means 80 for applying a cleaning liquid to the web 2 is added to the configuration example of the first embodiment.
The cleaning liquid applying unit 80 includes a supply pump 81 that supplies the cleaning liquid 84 and a supply tube 83 that supplies the cleaning liquid, and the supply tube 83 that is spun is supported by the stand member 82.

  Thereby, before wiping the nozzle surface 20a, the waste liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 20 can be more reliably absorbed into the web 2 and removed by applying (dropping) the cleaning liquid 84 to the web 2.

  The supply amount of the cleaning liquid 84 is controlled by the driving time of the supply pump 81. The supply amount of the cleaning liquid 84 can be varied.

  The application timing of the cleaning liquid 84 can be arbitrarily set. In the above-described strong cleaning (cleaning in which the second wiping operation is performed after repeating the first wiping operation once or a plurality of times), the cleaning liquid 84 is dropped every time the first wiping operation is completed from the viewpoint of cleaning power. It is desirable.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of time efficiency, it is desirable that the cleaning liquid 84 is dropped on the web 2 before the first first wiping operation, and the cleaning liquid 84 is not dropped while the first wiping operation is being repeated.
Further, according to this, not only the wiping time is shortened, but also the cleaning liquid 84 and dirt adhering to the surface of the nozzle surface 20a are dried and solidified again by shortening the time during which the cleaning liquid 84 is dripped. It can be prevented from remaining.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory side view for explaining the wiping mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 shows an arrangement example in which the distance between the web member and the blade member in the wiping direction is longer than that in the first embodiment (for example, FIGS. 1 and 2). As the distance between the web member and the blade member, for example, the distance between the position where the web member wipes the nozzle surface (for example, the position of the pressing member) and the position where the blade member wipes the nozzle surface is used.

  In this embodiment, it arrange | positions so that the distance Lx of the press member 11 and the braid | blade 14 in the wiping direction Y1 may become larger than the length Ln of the nozzle surface 20a. As a result, the wiping operation (first wiping operation) in which the blade 14 does not contact the nozzle surface 20a can be performed without using a motor or the like for allowing the blade 14 to rotate as described above.

  Further, if this embodiment is applied to an apparatus in which a plurality of heads are arranged (so-called line-type ink jet apparatus), by adjusting the arrangement interval of the heads 20, while wiping the heads 20 with the web 2, other blades 14 are used. The head 20 can be wiped off, and the time efficiency is further improved.

Fourth Embodiment In the present embodiment, a control mechanism in a device that ejects liquid will be described. In the present embodiment, a mode in which the head cleaning device of each of the above embodiments is controlled by the control mechanism based on the wiping condition will be described.
Here, with reference to FIG. 9 to FIG. 12, a configuration example of a device for ejecting liquid to which the head cleaning device of one embodiment is applied and a liquid ejection head will be described.
First, an outline of an apparatus for ejecting liquid including a head cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory front view of an apparatus for ejecting liquid.

  The apparatus for ejecting liquid in FIG. 9 is a serial type apparatus, and one or a plurality of liquid ejection heads 20 (for example, the liquid ejection heads 20A to 20C in FIG. Is transported intermittently. Then, the carriage 21 is moved in the direction of the arrow, and a required liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection head 20 to form an image.

  Further, on the home position side of the carriage 21, a maintenance (head maintenance) of the head 20 including a cap 205 for capping the nozzle surface 20 a of the liquid ejection head 20 and a wiping mechanism 51 as described in the above-described embodiment is performed. A head cleaning device 50 is disposed.

Next, the liquid discharge head will be described.
FIG. 10A is an explanatory view showing a liquid discharge head and a cap, and FIG. 10B is an explanatory view showing a state of a nozzle surface of the liquid discharge head.

The cap 205 is formed by standing up a nip portion 205a that opens to a size that surrounds the nozzle 201 on the nozzle surface 20a, and the end portion 205b of the nip portion 205a is in contact (contact) with the nozzle surface 20a. It has become.
The cap 205 is connected to a suction pump P for sucking ink from the nozzles 201 of the liquid discharge head 20, and a required amount of ink is sucked and stored in the cap 205. Yes.

  FIGS. 11A to 11E are explanatory views showing a mechanism in which ink is transferred and fixedly deposited from the cap 205 to the nozzle surface 20a. FIG. 12 is a view showing a state of the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid ejection head 20. FIG. is there. 11A shows a state in which the liquid ejection head 20 and the cap 205 are separated from each other, and FIG. 11B shows a state in which the liquid ejection head 20 and the cap 205 are in contact with each other. FIG. FIG. 5C shows a state where the ink La adheres to the end portion 205b of the nip portion 205a of the cap 205, and FIG. 4D shows the end portion 205b of the nip portion 205a where the ink adheres. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state where the liquid is in contact with the liquid ejection head 20. FIG. 8E is a diagram showing a state where the ink La adhered to the end portion 205b of the nip portion 205a is transferred to the liquid ejection head 20.

  In FIG. 11, the case where the cap 205 moves relative to the liquid ejection head 20 will be described. However, it is a matter of course that the liquid ejection head 20 may move relative to the cap 205. .

  As shown in FIG. 11A, when performing head maintenance of the liquid discharge head 2010, capping is performed from a state where the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid discharge head 20 and the cap 205 are separated from each other.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11B, the end portion 205b of the cap 205 is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid ejection head 20, and ink is sucked from the nozzle 201 by the suction pump P described above.

  After this suction, as shown in FIG. 11C, the cap 205 is moved downward from the nozzle surface 20a to be separated.

  In the capping described above, the ink La adheres to the end portion 205b of the cap 205 that contacts the nozzle surface 20a. If capping as shown in FIG. 11 (D) is performed in this attached state, the ink Lb is transferred and attached to the nozzle surface 20a so as to surround the nozzle 201, as shown in FIGS. 11 (E) and 12. Will do.

Next, a control mechanism of the liquid discharge unit according to one embodiment will be described.
The above-described apparatus for ejecting liquid includes a control mechanism (hereinafter also referred to as “control unit”) for controlling each unit. The control unit is configured to control each unit including a liquid discharge unit (for example, a head cleaning device including the liquid discharge head 20 and the wiping mechanism 51).
In the present embodiment, an aspect in which the control unit controls the wiping operation of the head cleaning device based on the wiping condition will be described. A specific configuration example of the control unit will be described later with reference to FIG.

In the present embodiment, the device (for example, the control unit) that ejects the liquid includes a storage unit that stores information for controlling the head cleaning device, such as the time when the immediately preceding ink ejection operation (print job) is completed. The memory | storage part should just be installed in the area | region where a control part can read and write.
For example, when the wiping operation is performed by bringing the web 2 into contact with the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid ejection head 20 as the control of the wiping condition controlled by the control unit, the wiping operation is performed according to the elapsed time from the time stored in the storage unit. The wiping conditions may be changed.
In the following description, the means for performing the function of changing the wiping condition of the wiping operation will be referred to as “wiping condition changing means”.

Hereinafter, an example of the wiping conditions will be described as “wiping conditions”.
-Wiping speed when wiping the nozzle surface 20a.
The wiping performance can be improved by making the wiping speed when wiping the nozzle surface 20a slower than in the normal wiping operation.
-Wiping pressure when wiping the nozzle surface 20a.
The wiping performance can be improved by increasing the wiping pressure of the nozzle surface 20a as compared with the normal wiping operation.
-The number of times of wiping to wipe the nozzle surface 20a.
The wiping performance can be improved by increasing the number of times of wiping the nozzle surface 20a as compared with the normal wiping operation.
-Wiping direction when wiping the nozzle surface 20a.
By appropriately changing the wiping direction of the nozzle surface 20a, it is possible to reduce the remaining wiping of ink adhering to the nozzle surface 20a due to the deviation of the wiping direction.
The wiping mechanism 51 wipes the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid ejection head 20 based on the wiping condition changed by the wiping condition changing unit.

  In the present embodiment, the liquid discharge unit preferably includes a measurement unit capable of measuring the temperature and humidity in the vicinity of the nozzle surface 20 a of the liquid discharge head 20. In this case, when the wiping operation is performed by bringing the web 2 into contact with the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid ejection head 20, the wiping condition changing unit changes the wiping condition according to the temperature and humidity values measured by the measuring unit. Can do.

  Next, the change of the wiping conditions for the wiping operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 13A is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of ink deposited on the nip forming surface and the elapsed time, FIG. 13B is a diagram showing the relationship between the moisture evaporation rate and temperature, and FIG. 13C is the moisture content. It is a figure which shows the relationship between an evaporation rate and humidity.

  In general, the above-described nip mark formed by transferring the ink attached to the cap 205 to the nozzle surface 20a is a device for discharging a liquid equipped with a liquid discharge unit (for example, the liquid discharge unit of each of the above embodiments). Is formed with the passage of time during a standby period when no print job is performed (FIG. 13A).

For this reason, when a device that discharges liquid (hereinafter also referred to as “printer” as appropriate) is left for a long time without performing a print job, the ink attached to the nozzle surface 20a is sufficiently removed in the wiping operation by normal head maintenance. There is a possibility that it cannot be done.
Therefore, it is preferable to perform a wiping operation having a wiping condition different from that in normal head maintenance when a predetermined time has elapsed in a standby state in which the printer does not perform a print job. Thereby, the ink adhering to the nozzle surface 20a can be sufficiently removed.

  The normal head maintenance operation is periodically performed when the printer is performing a printing operation for the purpose of restoring the ejection performance of the nozzle 201, or is performed at an arbitrary timing as required by the user of the printer. It is possible.

  As described above, for example, the wiping speed, the wiping pressure, the number of times of wiping, the wiping direction, and the like when wiping the nozzle surface 20a with the web 2 are listed as wiping conditions. In addition to these, when the cleaning liquid application mechanism (for example, the cleaning liquid application means 80 of the second embodiment) is provided, the nozzle surface 20a is wiped only a plurality of times by the amount of the cleaning liquid applied at that time and the web 2 coated with the cleaning liquid. When doing so, the time interval etc. between these wiping operations can be mentioned as wiping conditions.

  When the cleaning liquid application mechanism is provided, the amount of the cleaning liquid applied at that time is increased. Further, when the nozzle surface 20a is wiped a plurality of times with the web 2 coated with the cleaning liquid, the longer the time interval between the wiping operations is, the longer the liquid adheres to the nozzle surface as long as it is within the cleaning liquid drying time. Ink can be removed.

By changing the wiping conditions as described above, it is possible to control the performance of removing ink attached to the nozzle surface 20a. Furthermore, the timing of performing the wiping operation having a wiping condition different from that of the normal head maintenance may be the time when the printer receives a new print job from a standby state where the printer does not perform the print job.
In that case, it is preferable to change the wiping condition in accordance with the length of time elapsed from the time when the previous printing (ink ejection operation) is completed until a new print job is received to control the wiping performance. .
Alternatively, the printer user may set the time in advance, and when that time is reached, a wiping operation having a condition different from that of the normal wiping operation in head maintenance may be automatically performed.

For example, the control unit (wiping condition changing unit or the like) causes the storage unit to store the elapsed time that has elapsed since the liquid discharge head last discharged the liquid. When the wiping mechanism 51 starts the wiping operation, if the elapsed time stored in the storage unit exceeds the threshold (threshold for determining the elapsed time), after performing the first wiping operation a plurality of times, It is preferable to perform the second wiping operation.
At this time, the wiping mechanism 51 receives an instruction of a wiping operation (for example, an instruction that the first wiping operation is executed n (n is a positive integer) times and then the second wiping operation is executed once) from the control unit. The wiping operation may be executed based on the instruction. As the threshold for determining the elapsed time, a preset value may be held in the device (for example, a storage unit), or a value input / changed from outside via the interface unit such as an operation panel may be stored in the device. It may be held inside.

In the above configuration, the wiping condition is changed according to the length of time elapsed from the time when the previous printing (ink ejection operation) is completed until a new print job is received, and the ink removal performance is controlled. Although what was shown was shown, it may be as follows.
When changing the condition of the wiping operation as described above according to the temperature and humidity in the vicinity of the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid discharge head 20 during standby, the wiping operation depends on how dry the ink attached to the nozzle surface 20a is. It is preferable to determine the wiping conditions. In general, the water evaporation rate from a liquid such as ink depends on the ambient temperature and humidity at that time. Specifically, the higher the temperature and the lower the humidity, the higher the water evaporation rate (FIGS. 13A and 13B).

  Therefore, by providing the measurement unit described above, when a certain time has elapsed from the time when the previous printing was completed, the time average value of the temperature and humidity in the vicinity of the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid discharge head 20 during that time, or the temperature in between. Change the wiping conditions according to the maximum value and the minimum humidity value.

In addition, when the timing for performing a wiping operation that differs from the wiping operation for normal head maintenance when the printer receives a new print job from a standby state in which no print job is performed, can do.
That is, the time average value of the temperature and humidity in the vicinity of the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid ejection head 20 from the time when the previous printing is completed until the new print job is received, or the maximum value of the temperature and the minimum value of the humidity therebetween. Change the wiping conditions according to the conditions. Thus, the consumption of the web 2 can be suppressed by changing the wiping conditions according to the temperature and humidity.

  Next, another example of changing the wiping pressure when wiping the nozzle surface 20a with the web 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14A is an enlarged explanatory view showing a pressing member according to another example, and FIG. 14B is an explanatory view showing a state in which the wiping pressure is changed by the pressing member according to another example.

The wiping pressure is not limited to changing the spring constant and natural length of the compression coil spring 43 described above, and the wiping pressure can be changed to an arbitrary value by using the following pressing member.
A pressing member (hereinafter referred to as “pressing roller”) 11 according to another example has a convex portion 61 formed by intersecting two contact surfaces 11a and 11a at a predetermined angle with a part of an outer peripheral portion 11c. This is an irregularly formed roller that is driven to rotate about a shaft 11d.
According to the pressing roller 11, for example, the outer peripheral portion 11c shown in FIG. 14B and the contact surface 11a shown in (ii) and the top portion 11b shown in (iii) are pressed against the web 2, respectively. The wiping pressure can be appropriately increased or decreased by rotating it by a required angle.

Next, a change in conditions of the cleaning liquid application mechanism will be described.
For example, when performing wet wiping by applying the cleaning liquid 84 to the web 2 and wiping the nozzle forming surface 20a a plurality of times by one wiping operation, the wiping condition changing means sets at least the waiting time between each wiping operation. Preferably, the drying time is less than 84. For example, it is preferable that the application mechanism 51 does not apply the cleaning liquid to the sheet member while performing the first wiping operation a plurality of times (does not apply additional after applying at the start of the plurality of first wiping operations). As a result, the ink penetrates into the ink in a state where the cleaning liquid 84 is transferred from the web 2 to the nozzle surface 20a, and the ink can be removed more efficiently.

Further, in the configuration provided with the cleaning liquid application mechanism, the wiping condition changing unit may change the amount of the cleaning liquid applied to the web 2. For example, the amount of the cleaning liquid applied to the web 2 is changed as a wiping condition when performing wet wiping with the cleaning liquid 84 applied to the web 2. The wiping performance can be improved by increasing the amount of the cleaning liquid 84 applied to the web 2.
Further, the consumption of the cleaning liquid 84 can be suppressed by preventing the unnecessary application of the cleaning liquid 84.

As the cleaning liquid 84, a highly volatile solvent is used, and thereby ink, foreign matter, and the like attached to the nozzle surface 20a of the liquid discharge head 20 can be efficiently removed.
As the cleaning liquid 84, one having an action of dissolving ink is also preferable. Further, since the cleaning liquid 84 has high volatility, it is desirable that the cleaning liquid coating mechanism is covered with a cover or the like so as not to be exposed to the atmosphere.

  Next, an apparatus for discharging a liquid equipped with the above-described liquid discharge unit will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 15 is an explanatory plan view of a main part of an apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment, and FIG. 16 is an explanatory side view of an essential part of the apparatus for ejecting liquid according to the embodiment.

The apparatus G for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment is of a serial type, and a carriage 403 (see FIG. 16) is reciprocated in the main scanning direction by a main scanning moving mechanism 493.
The main scanning movement mechanism 493 includes a guide member 401, a main scanning motor 405, a timing belt 408, and the like. The guide member 401 spans the left and right side plates 491A and 491B and holds the carriage 403 so as to be movable. The carriage 403 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction by the main scanning motor 405 via the timing belt 408 spanned between the driving pulley 406 and the driven pulley 407.

The carriage 403 is equipped with a liquid discharge unit in which the above-described liquid discharge head 20 and a head tank 441 for storing ink are integrated. Here, the liquid discharge unit is preferably a liquid discharge unit having the head cleaning device of each of the above embodiments.
The liquid discharge head 20 described above discharges, for example, yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) liquids (inks). Further, the liquid ejection head 10 is mounted with the above-described nozzle row composed of the plurality of nozzles 11 arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction and the ejection direction facing downward (see FIGS. 1 and 3). .

The supply mechanism 494 is for supplying ink (liquid) stored in the liquid cartridge 450 to the liquid ejection head 10.
The supply mechanism 494 includes a cartridge holder 451 which is a filling unit for mounting the liquid cartridge 450, a tube 456, a liquid supply unit 452 including a liquid supply pump, and the like. The liquid cartridge 450 is detachably attached to the cartridge holder 451.
Ink (liquid) is fed from the liquid cartridge 450 to the head tank 441 through the tube 456 by the liquid feeding unit 452.

The apparatus G for ejecting liquid has a transport mechanism 495 for adsorbing the paper 410 to a position facing the liquid ejection head 20. The transport mechanism 495 includes an endless transport belt 412 and a sub-scanning motor 416 for driving the transport belt 412.
The adsorption of the paper 410 can be performed, for example, by electrostatic adsorption or air suction.

  The conveyor belt 412 is stretched between the conveyor roller 413 and the tension roller 414, and is rotated in the sub-scanning direction by being driven by the sub-scanning motor 416 via the timing belt 417 and the timing pulley 418. To do.

On the one side of the carriage 403 in the main scanning direction, the above-described wiping mechanism B for wiping the nozzle surface 20 a of the liquid ejection head 10 is disposed on the side of the transport belt 412. Since the details of the wiping mechanism B have been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8, the description thereof is omitted here.
The main scanning movement mechanism 493, the supply mechanism 494, the wiping mechanism B, and the transport mechanism 495 described above are attached to a housing including the side plates 491A and 491B and the back plate 491C.

In the apparatus G for discharging a liquid having the above-described configuration, the paper 410 is fed and sucked onto the transport belt 412 and is transported in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the transport belt 412.
Therefore, the liquid ejection head 10 is driven according to the image signal while moving the carriage 403 in the main scanning direction, thereby ejecting liquid (ink) onto the stopped paper 410 to form an image. That is, since the liquid ejection head 20 is provided, a high quality image can be stably formed.

  Next, an example of a control unit of a device that discharges liquid including the wiping mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to a block explanatory diagram of FIG.

  The control unit 500 temporarily stores a central processing unit (CPU) 501 that controls the entire apparatus, a read only memory (ROM) 502 that stores fixed data such as various programs including programs executed by the CPU 501, and image data. A main control unit 500A including a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503 for storage is provided.

  In addition, the control unit 500 includes a rewritable nonvolatile memory (NVRAM) 504 for holding data while the apparatus is powered off, image processing for performing various signal processing, rearrangement, and the like on image data. In addition, an ASIC 505 for processing input / output signals for controlling the entire apparatus is provided.

  The control unit 500 includes a data transfer unit for driving and controlling the liquid ejection head 20, a print control unit 508 including a drive signal generation unit, and a head driver for driving the liquid ejection head 20 provided on the carriage 3 side. (Driver IC) 509.

  Further, the control unit 500 performs maintenance and recovery such as a main scanning motor 551 that moves and scans the carriage 21, a feed motor 552 that drives the conveying unit 22, the movement (up and down) of the cap 205 of the head cleaning device 50, and driving of the suction unit. A motor driving unit 510 for driving the motor (pump P) is provided.

  In addition, the control unit 500 includes a cleaning device driving unit 515 that drives a head cleaning device including the wiping mechanism 51.

  In addition, the control unit 500 includes an I / O unit 513. The I / O unit 513 acquires information from a temperature sensor and various other sensor groups 570 mounted on the apparatus, extracts information necessary for controlling the apparatus, and uses it for various controls.

  The control unit 500 is connected to an operation panel 514 for inputting and displaying information necessary for the apparatus.

  The control unit 500 has an I / F 506 for transmitting and receiving data and signals to and from the host side. From the printer driver 591 side of the host 590 such as an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, an image reading apparatus, or an imaging apparatus. The data is received by the I / F 506 via a cable or a network.

  The CPU 501 of the control unit 500 reads and analyzes the print data in the reception buffer included in the I / F 506, performs necessary image processing, data rearrangement processing, and the like in the ASIC 505, and prints the image data. The data is transferred from the unit 508 to the head driver 509.

  The print control unit 508 transfers the above-described image data as serial data, and outputs a transfer clock, a latch signal, a control signal, and the like necessary for transferring the image data and confirming the transfer to the head driver 509.

  The print control unit 508 includes a drive signal generation unit configured by a D / A converter that converts D / A (Digital / Analog) drive pulse pattern data stored in the ROM 502, a voltage amplifier, a current amplifier, and the like. Including. A drive waveform composed of one drive pulse or a plurality of drive pulses is generated and output to the head driver 509.

  The head driver 509 selects a driving pulse constituting a driving waveform supplied from the print control unit 508 based on image data corresponding to one row of the head 20 input serially, and applies pressure to the pressure generating unit of the head 20. Give. Thereby, the head 20 is driven. At this time, by selecting part or all of the pulses constituting the drive waveform or all or part of the waveform elements forming the pulses, for example, dots of different sizes such as large drops, medium drops, and small drops Can be sorted out.

  Here, in the configuration example of the apparatus for ejecting liquid shown in FIG. 17, the wiping mechanism 51 provided in the head cleaning device 50 includes a web mechanism unit 62 including a web member (for example, the web 2) and a blade member (for example, a blade). 14) including a blade mechanism portion 64.

  As described above, the blade mechanism unit 64 has the first position (the position at which the blade 14 is in contact with the nozzle surface 20a, the wiping position) and the second position (the position at which the blade 14 is not in contact with the nozzle surface 20a), as described above. It can be moved to the retreat position.

  Thereby, in the apparatus which discharges a liquid, it becomes possible to perform the 1st wiping operation which performs wiping without using a blade member, and the 2nd wiping operation which performs wiping using a web member and a blade member.

  These wiping operations (wiping mode) can correspond to the user's print settings. For example, the wiping operation may be performed in the first wiping operation or the second wiping operation may be associated with the print mode before the wiping operation.

  Specifically, the second wiping operation using both the web member and the blade member is performed after mass printing or after printing using a large amount of ink. On the other hand, when the number of printed sheets is small or when the amount of ink used is small during a certain period, the first wiping operation using only the web member without using the blade member is performed.

  Further, as described above, the second wiping operation may be set to be performed after the first wiping operation is repeated once or a plurality of times.

  Note that the selection of these wiping operations may be performed by setting a threshold value for the elapsed time in advance and determining the wiping operation according to the threshold value, or may be determined from the operation panel 514 or the host side.

  Further, for example, the control unit described in the present embodiment can be realized by the control unit 500 of FIG. The wiping condition changing means described above can be realized by, for example, a program or a combination of a program and hardware. The program is stored in the ROM 502, the instruction group constituting the program is read into the RAM 503, and the instruction group is executed by the CPU 501. Furthermore, the storage unit may be provided in the RAM 503, for example, or may be provided in another storage area that can be referred to by the control unit 500 (for example, the CPU 501).

  The head cleaning device 50 in FIG. 17 may be configured to include the cleaning liquid application mechanism described in the second embodiment in addition to the wiping mechanism 51. Further, the control mechanism of the present embodiment can be applied to any of the above embodiments.

Other Embodiments The apparatus for ejecting liquid described above shows one embodiment, and is not limited to this, and can be configured as follows.
That is, the “apparatus that discharges liquid” is an apparatus that includes a liquid discharge head or a liquid discharge unit and drives the liquid discharge head to discharge the liquid. Further, the apparatus for ejecting liquid includes not only an apparatus capable of ejecting liquid to an object to which the liquid can adhere, but also an apparatus for ejecting liquid toward the air or liquid.

The “apparatus for ejecting liquid” may include means for feeding, transporting, and discharging a liquid to which a liquid can adhere, as well as a pre-processing apparatus and a post-processing apparatus.
For example, as a “liquid ejecting device”, an image forming device that forms an image on paper by ejecting ink, a powder is formed in layers to form a three-dimensional model (three-dimensional model) There is a three-dimensional modeling apparatus (three-dimensional modeling apparatus) that discharges a modeling liquid onto the powder layer.

Further, the “apparatus for ejecting liquid” is not limited to an apparatus in which significant images such as characters and figures are visualized by the ejected liquid. For example, what forms a pattern etc. which does not have a meaning in itself, and what forms a three-dimensional image are also included.
The above-mentioned “applicable liquid” means that the liquid can be attached at least temporarily and adheres and adheres, or adheres and penetrates. Specific examples include recording media such as paper, recording paper, recording paper, film, cloth, etc., electronic parts such as electronic boards, piezoelectric elements, powder layers (powder layers), organ models, examination cells, and other media. Yes, unless specifically limited, includes everything that the liquid adheres to.

The material of the above-mentioned “material to which liquid can adhere” is not limited as long as liquid such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics can be adhered even temporarily.
In addition, “liquid” includes ink, processing liquid, DNA sample, resist, pattern material, binder, modeling liquid, or a solution and dispersion liquid containing amino acid, protein, calcium, and the like.

  Furthermore, as the “device for ejecting liquid”, a device in which the liquid ejection head and the device to which the liquid can adhere moves relatively, for example, a serial type device that moves the liquid ejection head, a line type that does not move the liquid ejection head Devices etc. are included.

  Furthermore, the “apparatus for discharging liquid” includes a processing liquid coating apparatus for discharging a processing liquid onto a sheet in order to apply the processing liquid to the surface of the sheet for the purpose of modifying the surface of the sheet, It includes a spray granulator for spraying the composition liquid dispersed therein through a nozzle to granulate the raw material fine particles.

Although the liquid discharge unit has been illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 6 to 8, it is needless to say that they are not intended to limit the configuration of the liquid discharge unit.
Here, the “liquid ejection unit” is an assembly of functional parts and mechanisms integrated with a liquid ejection head, and is an assembly of parts related to liquid ejection.
The configuration of the liquid discharge unit includes, for example, a combination of at least one of a configuration of a head tank, a carriage, a supply mechanism, a cleaning liquid application mechanism, and a main scanning movement mechanism with a liquid discharge head, as shown in the above embodiments. .
“Integrated” includes, for example, a liquid discharge head, a functional component, and a mechanism that are fixed to each other by fastening, adhesion, engagement, and the like, and one that is held movably with respect to the other. . Further, the liquid discharge head, the functional component, and the mechanism may be configured to be detachable from each other.

As an example, the liquid discharge unit can be configured as follows.
For example, as the liquid discharge unit, a liquid discharge head and a head tank may be integrated, or a liquid discharge head and a head tank may be integrated by connecting them with a tube or the like. Furthermore, a unit including a filter can be added between the head tank and the liquid discharge head of these liquid discharge units.

  As the liquid discharge unit, a liquid discharge head and a carriage may be integrated. As the liquid ejection unit, the liquid ejection head and the scanning movement mechanism may be integrated by holding the liquid ejection head movably on a guide member that constitutes a part of the scanning movement mechanism. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the liquid discharge unit may be a liquid discharge head, a carriage, and a main scanning movement mechanism that are integrated.

  Furthermore, as a liquid discharge unit, a cap that is a part of the maintenance and recovery mechanism may be fixed to a carriage to which the liquid discharge head is attached, and the liquid discharge head, the carriage, and the wiping mechanism may be integrated.

  Furthermore, as a liquid discharge unit, a tube may be connected to a liquid discharge head to which a head tank or a flow path component is attached, and the liquid discharge head and the supply mechanism may be integrated. The main scanning movement mechanism includes a guide member alone. The supply mechanism includes a single tube and a single loading unit.

2 Web 3 Feeding roll 4, 5 Transport roller 6 Take-up roll 13 Blade holder 14 Blade 15 Shaft 17 Drive motor 16 Transmission mechanism 18, 19 Side plate 20 Liquid discharge head 20 a Nozzle surface 30 Moving member 50 Head cleaning device 51 Wiping mechanism 62 Web Mechanism part 64 Blade mechanism part 80 Cleaning liquid application means 81 Supply pump 82 Stand member 83 Supply tube 84 Cleaning liquid 500 Control part 500A Main control part 515 Cleaning device drive part

JP 2013-226807 A

Claims (9)

A head cleaning device for cleaning a liquid discharge head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle,
A wiping mechanism for wiping the nozzle surface by moving relative to the liquid ejection head in the wiping direction;
The wiping mechanism is
A sheet member;
A blade member having higher water repellency than the sheet member,
A first wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface with the sheet member without bringing the blade member into contact with the nozzle surface, and wiping the nozzle surface by bringing the sheet member and the blade member into contact with the nozzle surface. A second wiping operation can be performed,
The head cleaning apparatus, wherein the second wiping operation is performed after the first wiping operation is performed once or a plurality of times. The blade member is movable to a retracted position not in contact with the nozzle surface;
The head cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wiping mechanism performs the first wiping operation when the blade member is in the retracted position. The head cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the sheet member and the blade member in the wiping direction is longer than a length of the nozzle surface in the wiping direction. 4. The movement amount of the sheet member in the wiping direction is approximately equal to the length of the nozzle surface in the wiping direction when the first wiping operation is performed. 5. A head cleaning device according to claim 1. The head cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the first wiping operation is performed a plurality of times, the sheet member wipes the nozzle surface in one direction. An application mechanism for applying a cleaning liquid to the sheet member;
The head cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the coating mechanism applies a cleaning liquid to the sheet member before performing the first wiping operation. The head cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the application mechanism does not apply a cleaning liquid to the sheet member while performing the first wiping operation a plurality of times. A storage unit that stores an elapsed time that has elapsed since the liquid discharge head last discharged the liquid;
The wiping mechanism is
8. The second wiping operation is performed after the first wiping operation is performed a plurality of times when the elapsed time stored in the storage unit exceeds a threshold value. 8. The head cleaning apparatus as described in any one of Claims.   A device for ejecting liquid, comprising the head cleaning device according to claim 1.