JP2018158521A - Inkjet printer and method for cleaning inkjet head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer which enhances a degree of freedom of arrangement between a wiper and a cleaner.SOLUTION: An inkjet printer includes: a carriage 4 which is mounted with a plurality of inkjet heads 5C and 5M and reciprocates in a predetermined scan direction; a wiper 11 which is brought into contact with discharge port surfaces of the inkjet heads 5C and 5M, and wipes the discharge port surfaces of the inkjet heads 5C and 5M along with movement of the carriage 4; a cleaner 12 which is brought into contact with a lower surface of the carriage 4 and cleans the lower surface of the carriage 4 along with the movement of the carriage 4; a wiper movement control section which moves the wiper 11 between a contact position and a non-contact position with the discharge port surfaces of the inkjet heads 5C and 5M; and a cleaner movement control section which moves the cleaner 12 between a contact position and a non-contact position with the lower surface of the carriage 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet printer and an inkjet head cleaning method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, inkjet printers having a wiping function for wiping off ink adhering to the nozzle surface of an inkjet head are known. An ink jet printer having a cleaning function for wiping off ink adhering to the lower surface of the carriage (that is, the portion other than the nozzle surface of the ink jet head) has also been proposed.

  The image recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a cleaning roller that cleans a portion other than a notch that exposes a face surface (nozzle surface) of an inkjet head. A portion of the carriage lower surface other than the face surface is cleaned by the cleaning roller.

  In the ink jet image forming machine described in Patent Document 2, an ink absorbing member is provided on a cap member that protects the ink nozzle portion from drying and dust. By mounting the cap member on the carriage, the ink absorbing member removes ink adhering to the carriage.

JP 2000-343727 A JP 2004-66539 A

  In the image recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above, the wiper and the cleaning roller are fixed. In the inkjet image forming machine described in Patent Document 2, both the wiping blade and the ink absorbing member are provided on the cap member. As described above, in any of the inventions, since the wiper member and the cleaner member are integrated, the degree of freedom in arranging the wiper member and the cleaner member is low.

  In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer having a high degree of freedom in arranging the wiper member and the cleaner member.

  An inkjet printer according to the present invention includes a carriage mounted with a plurality of inkjet heads and reciprocatingly moved in a predetermined scanning direction, and an ejection port surface of the inkjet head in contact with the ejection port surface of the inkjet head. A wiper member that wipes the surface, a cleaner member that contacts the lower surface of the carriage and cleans the lower surface of the carriage as the carriage moves, and a position where the wiper member contacts the ejection port surface of the inkjet head And a non-contact position wiper movement control section, and a cleaner movement control section for moving the cleaner member between the contact position on the lower surface of the carriage and the non-contact position.

  Thus, the freedom degree of arrangement | positioning of a wiper member and a cleaner member can be raised by moving a wiper member and a cleaner member, respectively.

  In the ink jet printer of the present invention, the cleaner movement control unit may move the cleaner member in the vertical direction.

  By moving the cleaner member in the direction perpendicular to the carriage moving plane in this way, the cleaner member can be moved to a desired position without interfering with the ejection port of the moving inkjet head.

  In the ink jet printer of the present invention, the cleaner movement control unit (1) starts contact of the cleaner member with the lower surface of the carriage at the same time as the ejection port surface of the ink jet head passes along with the movement of the carriage. (2) Contact of the cleaner member with the lower surface of the carriage may be started immediately before the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface as the carriage moves, or (3 The contact of the cleaner member with the lower surface of the carriage may be started after the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface after the discharge port surface of the inkjet head has passed along with the movement of the carriage. .

  With this configuration, the cleaning of the lower surface of the carriage can be started from the vicinity of the discharge port surface of the inkjet head. Further, in the conventional ink jet printer, after the wiper member wipes the discharge port surface, when the wiper member comes off the discharge port surface, the wiped member that has been bent until then returns to its original state. Sometimes repelled. According to the configuration of the present invention, since the cleaner member in contact with the lower surface of the carriage serves as a wall, it is possible to prevent ink splashing from the wiper member from adhering to the lower surface of the carriage when the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface. it can.

  In the ink jet printer of the present invention, the wiper member may be disposed to be inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the wiping direction. With this configuration, wiping of the ejection port surface of the inkjet head can be completed, and ink splashing that can occur when the wiper member moves away from the ejection port surface can be reduced.

  In the inkjet printer according to the aspect of the invention, the wiper movement control unit may move the wiper member to the non-contact position after the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface. With this configuration, the possibility that the wiper member contacts the lower surface of the carriage can be reduced.

  The inkjet printer cleaning method of the present invention includes a carriage mounted with a plurality of inkjet heads and reciprocatingly moved in a predetermined scanning direction, and contacting the ejection port surface of the inkjet head, and the inkjet head as the carriage moves. A method for cleaning an ink jet printer, comprising: a wiper member that wipes a discharge port surface of the ink jet; and a cleaner member that contacts the lower surface of the carriage and cleans the lower surface of the carriage as the carriage moves. Wiping the discharge port surface by contacting the discharge port surface, and the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface after the discharge port surface of the inkjet head passes by the movement of the carriage. Before the cleaner member Starts to contact the lower surface of the carriage, and a step of starting the cleaning of the lower surface of the carriage.

  With this configuration, the cleaning of the lower surface of the carriage can be started from the vicinity of the discharge port surface of the inkjet head. In addition, since the cleaner member in contact with the lower surface of the carriage serves as a wall, it is possible to prevent ink splashing from the wiper member from adhering to the lower surface of the carriage when the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the freedom degree of arrangement | positioning of a wiper member and a cleaner member can be raised in an inkjet printer.

It is a figure which shows typically the structure of an inkjet printer. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of an inkjet printer. It is the figure which looked at the carriage from the lower part (media side). (A) It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a wiper. (B) It is a schematic diagram which shows the wiper in wiping. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of a wiper. (A) It is a figure which shows a mode that a nozzle surface is wiped with a wiper member. (B) It is a figure which shows a mode that a cleaner member contacts the lower surface of a carriage. (C) It is a figure which shows the timing which a wiper member remove | deviates from a nozzle surface. (A) It is a figure which shows a mode that the carriage lower surface is cleaned with a cleaner member. (B) It is a figure which shows a mode that the wiper member was evacuated from the lower surface of the carriage. (C) It is a figure which shows a mode that the carriage lower surface is cleaned with a cleaner member. It is a figure which shows another arrangement | positioning of an inkjet head.

Hereinafter, an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are diagrams schematically showing the configuration of the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment. The ink jet printer 1 is a serial ink jet printer. The ink jet printer 1 moves a medium 2 such as a printing sheet on the platen 3 in the front-rear direction (front and back direction in FIG. 1; hereinafter referred to as “Y direction”). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the inkjet printer 1 sandwiches the medium 2 between the feed roller 7 and the presser roller 8, and rotates the feed roller 7 together with the presser roller 8, thereby causing the media 2 to move. It is moved in the Y direction. The ink jet printer 1 has a carriage 4 on which a plurality of ink jet heads 5 are mounted.

  FIG. 3 is a view of the carriage 4 as viewed from below (the medium 2 side). The carriage 4 includes ink jet heads 5C, 5M, 5Y, and 5K that discharge cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks. These inkjet heads are collectively referred to as “inkjet head 5”. The inkjet head 5 has a plurality of nozzles 15 that eject ink onto the medium 2 on the surface facing the medium 2.

  The ink jet printer 1 causes ink droplets to be ejected from the ink jet head 5 at a predetermined timing while moving the carriage 4 above the medium 2 mounted on the platen 3 in a direction perpendicular to the Y direction (hereinafter referred to as “X direction”). Discharge.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 1 is provided with a maintenance mechanism 30 in a non-recording area on the side of the platen 3. The guide rail 6 that holds the carriage 4 so as to be movable in the X direction extends to the position of the maintenance mechanism 30, and the inkjet head 5 mounted on the carriage 4 can be moved to the position of the maintenance mechanism 30.

  Next, the maintenance mechanism 30 will be described. The maintenance mechanism 30 includes a wiper 11, a cleaner 12, and capping means 20. The capping means 20 covers the nozzles on the lower surface of the inkjet head 5 to prevent the ink in the nozzles 5 from being dried, and also causes the ink to be ejected from the nozzles 5 (flushing). It has a role of preventing ink clogging.

  Next, the wiper 11 will be described in detail. The wiper 11 has a role of wiping the nozzle surface of the inkjet head 5 and removing dust and ink droplets adhering to the nozzle surface.

  FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing the configuration of the wiper 11. The wiper 11 has an elongated plate shape. In the following description, the longitudinal direction of the wiper 11 is referred to as an axis A1. The wiper 11 is made of an elastic body, and when wiping is performed by contacting the inkjet head 5, the tip R is slightly bent as shown in FIG.

  The wiper 11 is moved in the vertical direction (Z direction) by the wiper movement control unit 13 and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the inkjet head 5 at a predetermined timing. When the wiper 11 is in contact with the inkjet head 5, the inkjet head 5 moves in the X direction, so that the position of the wiper 11 on the ejection surface of the inkjet head 5 relatively moves, and the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5. Can be wiped.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the wipers 11. The axis A1 in the longitudinal direction of the wiper 11 has an angle θ (θ ≠ 0) with respect to the axis A2 perpendicular to the X direction that is the moving direction of the ink head head 5. The reason why the axis A1 of the wiper 11 has an angle with respect to the axis A2 is as follows.

  That is, during the wiping of the inkjet head 5, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tip of the wiper 11 bends, and when the wiper 11 comes off the ejection surface of the inkjet head 5, the deflection is caused by the elastic force. Therefore, a phenomenon occurs in which the ink attached to the wiper 11 rebounds. Since the axis A2 of the wiper 11 is inclined with respect to the axis A1, the wiper 11 is gradually detached from the inkjet head 5, so that ink splashing can be suppressed. This inclination angle θ is preferably 5 degrees to 45 degrees, and more preferably 5 degrees to 30 degrees.

  Next, the cleaner 12 will be described. The cleaner 12 is made of an absorbent material having a good hygroscopic property such as a felt material or a sponge material. The cleaner 12 puts the dirt wiped from the lower surface of the carriage 4 into a tray (not shown). The cleaner 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the wiper member 11 when it is in a position (contact position) where a wiping operation is performed. The distance between the wiper member 11 and the cleaner 12 at this time is 5 mm, preferably 3 mm. The cleaner 12 is moved up and down by the cleaner movement control unit 14 and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the carriage 4 at a predetermined timing.

  6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the operation of cleaning the inkjet head 5 by the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment. 6 and 7, for convenience, cyan and magenta inkjet heads 5C and 5M are shown, and the others are omitted, but cleaning is performed in the same manner as the operation described below.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, by moving the carriage 4 in the X direction while the wiper member 11 is in contact with the inkjet head 5C, the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5C is wiped. At this time, the cleaner 12 is located at the lower non-contact position and is not in contact with the carriage 4.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when the carriage 4 further moves in the X direction, the discharge port surface of the ink jet head 5C passes above the cleaner 12, and at the same time, the cleaner 12 moves upward to the carriage 4. Make contact. Note that “the discharge port surface passes above the cleaner 12” is a position where the inkjet head 5C passes when the cleaner 12 is in the contact position, and contact with the carriage 4 is performed at this timing. By starting, the cleaner 12 can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the carriage 4 without colliding with the inkjet head 5C.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 6C, by moving the carriage 4 in the X direction, the discharge port surface of the inkjet head 5C is wiped by the wiper member 11, and the lower surface of the carriage 4 is cleaned by the cleaner 12. To be cleaned.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, when the wiper member 11 is removed from the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5C, the wiper member 11 that has been bent due to contact with the inkjet head 5C returns to the original upright state. At this time, there is a possibility that ink may splash from the wiper member 11. At this time, since the cleaner 12 in the vicinity of the wiper member 11 blocks the direction in which the ink splashes, the ink is prevented from splashing on the lower surface of the carriage 4.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the carriage 4 further moves in the X direction, the cleaner 12 cleans the lower surface of the carriage 4. When the cleaner 12 is cleaning the lower surface of the carriage 4, as shown in FIG. 7B, the wiper member 11 is retracted to the lower non-contact position so that the wiper member 11 and the lower surface of the carriage 4 do not contact each other. To do. As shown in FIG. 7C, the cleaner 12 wipes off dirt on the lower surface of the carriage 4 by reciprocating the carriage 4 in the X direction.

The inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment has been described above, but the inkjet printer of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
In the above-described embodiment, the timing at which the cleaner 12 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the carriage 4 is when the discharge port surface of the ink jet head 5C passes over the cleaner 12. It is good also as it is from before passing the upper part of 12 to before the wiper member 11 remove | deviates from the discharge port surface of the inkjet head 5C. Alternatively, the wiper member 11 may be immediately before the ejection head surface of the inkjet head 5C is detached.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inkjet printer 1 in which the inkjet heads 5C, 5M, 5Y, and 5K are arranged in a straight line is taken as an example, but the arrangement of the inkjet heads 5C, 5M, 5Y, and 5K is not linear. Also good. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the inkjet heads 5C and 5M are arranged above the Y axis, the inkjet heads 5Y and 5K are arranged below the Y axis, and between the inkjet heads 5C and 5M and the inkjet heads 5Y and 5K. The present invention can also be applied to the inkjet head 5 having the region 16 in the region. In this case, as the wiper member 11, a member having the same width as the width of the inkjet head 5 is used, and the position in the Y direction is determined when wiping the inkjet heads 5C and 5M and when wiping the inkjet heads 5Y and 5K. change. A cleaner 12 having the same width as that of the carriage 4 is used. Thereby, the area | region 16 can be cleaned appropriately.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the wiper member 11 moves up and down has been described. However, the wiper member 11 may be retracted to the non-contact position by moving in the Y direction.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of a so-called serial type printer in which the inkjet head moves in the X direction has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a line type inkjet printer.

(Effect of embodiment)
(1) The inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a carriage 4 that is mounted with a plurality of inkjet heads 5 and reciprocates in a predetermined scanning direction, and contacts the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5 to move the carriage 4. Accordingly, the wiper 11 that wipes the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5, the cleaner 12 that contacts the lower surface of the carriage 4 and cleans the lower surface of the carriage 4 as the carriage 4 moves, and the wiper 11 does not contact the contact position. A wiper movement control unit 13 that moves between positions, and a cleaner movement control unit 14 that moves the cleaner 12 between a contact position and a non-contact position. By moving the wiper 11 and the cleaner 12 in this way, the wiper 11 and the cleaner 12 can be arranged regardless of the arrangement of the inkjet head 5, and the degree of freedom of arrangement can be increased.

(2) In the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the cleaner movement control unit 14 moves the cleaner 12 in the vertical direction. By moving the cleaner 12 in the direction perpendicular to the moving plane of the carriage 4 in this way, the cleaner 12 can be moved to a desired position without interfering with the ejection port of the moving inkjet head 5.

(3) In the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the cleaner movement control unit 14 starts contacting the cleaner 12 with the lower surface of the carriage 4 at the same time as the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5 passes as the carriage moves. To do. With this configuration, the cleaning of the lower surface of the carriage 4 can be started from the vicinity of the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5. Further, since the cleaner 12 that contacts the lower surface of the carriage 4 becomes a wall (see FIG. 6C), ink that repels from the wiper 11 adheres to the lower surface of the carriage 4 when the wiper 11 leaves the discharge port surface. Can be prevented.

(4) In the ink jet printer according to the modified example, the cleaner movement control unit 14 passes the discharge port surface of the ink jet head 5 along with the movement of the carriage 4 and before the wiper 11 leaves the discharge port surface. Starts to contact the lower surface of the carriage 4. Alternatively, the cleaner member starts to contact the lower surface of the carriage 4 immediately before the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface as the carriage 4 moves. Even in this configuration, since the cleaner 12 that contacts the lower surface of the carriage 4 becomes a wall, it is possible to prevent ink repelling from the wiper 11 from adhering to the lower surface of the carriage 4 when the wiper 11 leaves the discharge port surface. it can.

(5) In the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the wiper 11 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the wiping direction (see FIG. 5). With this configuration, wiping of the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5 can be completed, and ink splashing that can occur when the wiper 11 moves away from the ejection port surface can be reduced.

(6) In the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the wiper movement control unit 13 is configured to move the wiper 11 from the position where the wiper 11 can come into contact with the discharge port surface (contact position) after the wiper 11 leaves the discharge port surface. Move to contact position. With this configuration, the possibility that the wiper 11 contacts the lower surface of the carriage 4 can be reduced.

(7) The method for cleaning the ink jet printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes the step of wiping the discharge port surface by bringing the wiper 11 into contact with the discharge port surface (see FIGS. 6A to 6C). When the ejection port surface of the ink jet head 5 passes along with the movement of the carriage 4 (see FIG. 6C), the cleaner 12 starts to contact the lower surface of the carriage 4 to clean the lower surface of the carriage 4. Starting. With this configuration, the cleaning of the lower surface of the carriage 4 can be started from the vicinity of the ejection port surface of the inkjet head 5. In addition, since the cleaner 12 that is in contact with the lower surface of the carriage 4 serves as a wall, it is possible to prevent ink splashing from the wiper 11 from adhering to the lower surface of the carriage 4 when the wiper 11 leaves the discharge port surface.

  The present invention is useful as an inkjet printer or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer 2 Media 3 Platen 4 Carriage 5 Inkjet head 6 Guide rail 7 Feed roller 8 Pressing roller 11 Wiper 12 Cleaner 13 Wiper movement control part 14 Cleaner movement control part 15 Nozzle 16 Area 20 Capping means 21 Cap 30 Maintenance mechanism

Claims (8)

A carriage carrying a plurality of inkjet heads and reciprocating in a predetermined scanning direction;
A wiper member that contacts the ejection port surface of the inkjet head and wipes the ejection port surface of the inkjet head as the carriage moves;
A cleaner member that contacts the lower surface of the carriage and cleans the lower surface of the carriage as the carriage moves;
A wiper movement control unit that moves the wiper member between a contact position and a non-contact position with respect to a discharge port surface of the inkjet head;
A cleaner movement control unit that moves the cleaner member between a contact position and a non-contact position on the lower surface of the carriage;
An inkjet printer comprising:   The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the cleaner movement control unit moves the cleaner member in a vertical direction.   The inkjet according to claim 1, wherein the cleaner movement control unit starts contact of the cleaner member with the lower surface of the carriage at the same time as the ejection port surface of the inkjet head passes along with the movement of the carriage. Printer.   3. The inkjet according to claim 1, wherein the cleaner movement control unit starts contact of the cleaner member with the lower surface of the carriage immediately before the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface as the carriage moves. Printer.   The cleaner movement control unit contacts the lower surface of the carriage with the cleaner member before the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface after the discharge port surface of the inkjet head has passed along with the movement of the carriage. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet printer is started.   The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the wiper member is disposed to be inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the wiping direction.   The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the wiper movement control unit moves the wiper member to the non-contact position after the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface. A carriage carrying a plurality of inkjet heads and reciprocating in a predetermined scanning direction;
A wiper member that contacts the ejection port surface of the inkjet head and wipes the ejection port surface of the inkjet head as the carriage moves;
A cleaner member that contacts the lower surface of the carriage and cleans the lower surface of the carriage as the carriage moves;
A method for cleaning an inkjet printer comprising:
Wiping the discharge port surface by bringing the wiper member into contact with the discharge port surface;
Before the wiper member leaves the discharge port surface after the discharge port surface of the inkjet head passes along with the movement of the carriage, the cleaner member starts to contact the lower surface of the carriage, and the carriage Starting the cleaning of the lower surface of
An inkjet printer cleaning method comprising: