JP2019104210A - Liquid injection device and cap - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a liquid injection device capable of inhibiting liquid from adhering to a liquid injection head, and a cap.SOLUTION: A cap includes: a contact part 43 provided so as to be capable of being brought into contact with a liquid injection head 26 having a nozzle surface 26a provided with nozzles 27 from which liquid is injected; and a bottom wall 44 and side walls 45 constituting a recess 41 capable of forming a space including the nozzles when the contact part is brought into contact with the liquid injection head. The recess has an annular region L on an inside surface 47. The annular region is constituted such that a contact angle φdc with the liquid is 20° or more and less than 90°, and surface roughness is Ra2.0 or less.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer and a cap.

  Patent Document 1 describes a liquid ejecting apparatus including a cap configured to be capable of capping a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle.

JP 2001-341318 A

  In such a liquid ejecting apparatus, when the liquid adheres to the inside of the cap, the liquid may crawl up the inner surface of the cap by capillary action. In this case, when the cap caps the liquid jet head, the liquid may be attached to the liquid jet head.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus and a cap that can suppress the liquid from adhering to the liquid ejecting head.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above problems will be described.
A cap for solving the above problems includes a contact portion provided so as to be in contact with a liquid jet head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle from which a liquid is jetted, and the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head. A bottom wall and a side wall defining a recess capable of forming a space including a nozzle, the recess having an annular region on an inner side surface thereof, the annular region having a contact angle φdc with the liquid of 20 It is comprised so that more than 90 degrees and surface roughness may become Ra 2.0 or less.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a first embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus including a discharge cap. The top view of a cap unit. The top view of a discharge cap. The disassembled perspective view of a discharge cap. The disassembled perspective view of the discharge cap seen from the direction different from FIG. AA line arrow directional cross-sectional view in FIG. Sectional drawing to which a part of FIG. 6 was expanded. Sectional drawing to which a part of FIG. 3 was expanded. BB sectional view taken on the line in FIG. The schematic cross section of a standby cap. The schematic cross section of the discharge cap at the time of releasing capping. The top view of the discharge cap in 2nd Embodiment. The disassembled perspective view of the discharge cap in 2nd Embodiment. The disassembled perspective view of the discharge cap seen from the direction different from FIG. CC sectional view taken on the line in FIG. Sectional drawing to which a part of FIG. 15 was expanded. FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of FIG. 12; The DD arrow directional cross-sectional view in FIG. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a modified example of the liquid jet head. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the liquid jet head. Sectional drawing to which a part of FIG. 7 was expanded. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of a discharge cap.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus including a cap will be described with reference to the drawings. The liquid ejecting apparatus is, for example, an ink jet printer that records an image such as characters and photographs by ejecting ink, which is an example of liquid, onto a medium such as paper.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a housing 13, a feeding unit 14 for feeding the medium ST toward the housing 13, and a support base 15 for supporting the medium ST fed by the feeding unit 14. Prepare. The housing 13 is provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is elongated in the width direction X. The feeding unit 14 rotatably holds a roll body RS in which the medium ST is wound in a roll shape. The feeding unit 14 unwinds the medium ST by rotating the roll body RS and feeds the medium ST into the housing 13.

  The feeding unit 14 is disposed near the back of the housing 13 and feeds the medium ST from the back of the housing 13 toward the front of the housing 13. Therefore, the direction from the back surface to the front surface of the housing 13 is the transport direction Y. The medium ST is not limited to one fed from the roll body RS, but may be a single-cut sheet cut into a predetermined size in advance. The support base 15 has a rib 15a for supporting the medium ST on the top surface thereof. A plurality of ribs 15 a are arranged on the support base 15 so as to be aligned in the longitudinal direction of the housing 13.

  In the present embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the housing 13 is the width direction X, and the direction in which the medium ST is transported on the support 15 is the transport direction Y. The width direction X, the conveyance direction Y, and the vertical direction Z indicate directions different from each other.

  The housing 13 has a container holding portion 17 to which the liquid container 16 is detachably mounted. The container holding portion 17 is disposed near one end in the housing 13 in the width direction X, and the plurality of liquid containers 16 can be attached and detached. The number and size of the liquid containers 16 mounted to the container holding portion 17 can be arbitrarily changed.

  The plurality of liquid containers 16 contain different types of liquids. The plurality of liquid containers 16 may store the same type of liquid. The liquid container 16 may be configured to be able to supply liquid from the outside through the injection hole, for example, by having the injection hole.

  In the present embodiment, in the housing 13, the side where the container holding portion 17 is disposed in the width direction X is the home side, and the opposite side is the anti-home side. In the present embodiment, the container holding portion 17 is disposed on the home side, but may be disposed on the opposite home side, or may be disposed on both the home side and the opposite home side. The position of the container holding portion 17 can be arbitrarily changed.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a liquid ejecting unit 23 that ejects a liquid to record an image on the medium ST supported by the support base 15. The liquid ejecting unit 23 includes a guide shaft 24 extending in the width direction X, a carriage 25 supported by the guide shaft 24, and a liquid ejecting head 26 mounted on the carriage 25. The guide shaft 24 is installed in the housing 13. The carriage 25 is capable of reciprocating along the guide shaft 24. The liquid jet head 26 has a nozzle surface 26 a provided with a nozzle 27 from which the liquid is jetted. The nozzle surface 26 a is a surface facing the support 15 in the liquid jet head 26.

  The liquid repelling process is performed to at least one part of the nozzle surface 26a. As a liquid repellent treatment, for example, a thin film underlayer mainly composed of an alkyl group-containing polyorganosiloxane and a liquid repellent film layer composed of a metal alkoxide having a long chain polymer group including fluorine are provided on the nozzle surface 26a. It is formed. Thus, the nozzle surface 26a has high liquid repellency. The nozzle surface 26 a is configured to increase the contact angle with the liquid by the liquid repelling process. The liquid repellent property of the nozzle surface 26 a makes it difficult for the liquid to adhere to the nozzle surface 26 a and makes it easy to remove the liquid from the nozzle surface 26 a. In the present embodiment, the contact angle between the nozzle surface 26 a and the liquid is described as a contact angle φnf.

  The contact angle is the angle between the surface to which the liquid is attached and the liquid surface of the liquid. That is, the contact angle φnf is an angle formed by the nozzle surface 26a and the liquid surface of the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 26a. The larger the contact angle, the higher the liquid repellency, and the smaller the contact angle, the lower the liquid repellency. In other words, the larger the contact angle, the lower the wettability, and the smaller the contact angle, the higher the wettability.

  When the liquid container 16 is mounted on the container holding unit 17, the liquid stored in the liquid container 16 is supplied to the liquid jet head 26 via a supply mechanism (not shown). An image is printed on the medium ST by the liquid ejecting head 26 ejecting liquid from the nozzles 27 toward the medium ST.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a maintenance unit 31 and a mounting unit 29 to which the waste liquid recovery body 28 is detachably mounted. The maintenance unit 31 is a unit that performs a maintenance operation on the liquid jet head 26 in order to maintain or recover the ejection characteristics of the nozzle 27 that ejects the liquid. The maintenance unit 31 of the present embodiment performs a maintenance operation on the liquid jet head 26 located in the non-printing area RA. The waste liquid recovery body 28 is a recovery body for recovering the liquid discharged as the waste liquid from the liquid jet head 26 in the maintenance operation.

  In the present embodiment, in the movement area of the liquid jet head 26 in the width direction X in the housing 13, the area where the support base 15 is disposed is the printing area PA, and the area outside the printing area PA is non- The print areas RA and LA are used. In the present embodiment, the mounting unit 29 is disposed at a position corresponding to the printing area PA. The container holding unit 17 and the maintenance unit 31 are disposed at positions corresponding to the non-printing area RA. Maintenance unit 31 may be configured such that some or all of the components are located in non-printing area LA, or some or all of the components are located in both non-printing areas RA and LA. It may be configured. The maintenance unit 31 may be configured such that some or all of the components are located in the printing area PA.

  The maintenance unit 31 has a cap unit 32, a suction mechanism 33, a wiping unit 34, a flushing box 35, and a standby cap 36. The cap unit 32 and the suction mechanism 33 perform suction cleaning on the liquid jet head 26 as a maintenance operation.

  The wiping unit 34 performs wiping on the liquid jet head 26 as a maintenance operation. The wiping refers to a maintenance operation of wiping the nozzle surface 26 a by the wiping unit. The wiping unit 34 includes, for example, a cloth wiper 34 a and a rubber wiper 34 b as an example of the wiping unit. The cloth wiper 34a and the rubber wiper 34b contact the nozzle surface 26a so that the nozzle surface 26a can be wiped.

  The maintenance unit 31 has a moving mechanism (not shown) capable of reciprocating the cloth wiper 34a and the rubber wiper 34b in the transport direction Y individually. The cloth wiper 34 a and the rubber wiper 34 b move in the transport direction Y in contact with the nozzle surface 26 a when performing the wiping. Thereby, dust such as liquid and paper dust adhering to the nozzle surface 26a is removed. Thereafter, the cloth wiper 34a and the rubber wiper 34b move in the direction opposite to the transport direction Y and return to the original position.

  The cloth wiper 34a is made of, for example, a material capable of absorbing liquid, such as cloth. Therefore, the cloth wiper 34a can wipe off the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 26a suitably. The rubber wiper 34b is made of, for example, an elastically deformable material such as a styrenic elastomer, rubber or the like. Therefore, the rubber wiper 34b can preferably scrape off the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 26a.

  The rubber wiper 34 b is configured to have high wettability as compared to the nozzle surface 26 a. That is, the rubber wiper 34b is configured such that the contact angle with the liquid is smaller than that of the nozzle surface 26a. In other words, the rubber wiper 34b is configured to have higher wettability than the nozzle surface 26a.

  The liquid tends to adhere to the less wettable member than the less wettable member. Therefore, by making the wettability of the rubber wiper 34b higher than the wettability of the nozzle surface 26a, the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 26a can be easily collected by the rubber wiper 34b. In the present embodiment, the contact angle between the rubber wiper 34 b and the liquid is described as a contact angle φw. That is, the rubber wiper 34b, which is the wiping unit, is configured such that the contact angle φw is smaller than the contact angle φnf. The wiping unit 34 may have an absorber for absorbing the liquid wiped by the rubber wiper 34 b.

  The flushing box 35 receives waste liquid generated by the liquid jet head 26 performing flushing as a maintenance operation. The flushing is a maintenance operation in which the liquid jet head 26 forcibly ejects droplets irrelevant to printing from the nozzles 27 in order to prevent or eliminate clogging of the nozzles 27. When the flushing is performed, air bubbles, thickened liquid and the like are discharged from the nozzle 27.

  The flushing box 35 may have, for example, a cover for suppressing the drying of the liquid in the flushing box 35. In this case, when the flushing is not performed, the cover covers the flushing box 35 to suppress the drying of the liquid in the flushing box 35.

  The standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26 as a maintenance operation. The capping is to form a space including the nozzle 27 of the liquid jet head 26. The standby cap 36 forms a space including the nozzle 27 by contacting the liquid jet head 26. The standby cap 36 suppresses drying of the nozzle 27 by capping the liquid jet head 26. The standby cap 36 is capped, for example, to suppress evaporation of the liquid in the nozzle 27 of the liquid jet head 26 when printing is stopped, not used, powered off, or the like.

  When the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 does not print, the liquid ejecting head 26 moves to a position corresponding to the standby cap 36 and stands by in a state of being capped by the standby cap 36. Therefore, the position where the standby cap 36 is located in the width direction X is referred to as the home position of the liquid jet head 26. The standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26 to form a space including the nozzle 27 when the liquid jet head 26 is on standby.

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the nozzle surface 26 a of the liquid jet head 26, a plurality of nozzles 27 arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction Y form a nozzle row NL. A plurality of nozzle rows NL are provided, and a plurality of nozzle rows NL adjacent in the width direction X are arranged so as to form a pair. The pair of nozzle rows NL is composed of two rows of nozzle rows NL at different positions in the transport direction Y. The pair of nozzle rows NL is provided corresponding to the type of liquid to be jetted, and four pairs are provided in the present embodiment.

  The cap unit 32 performs suction cleaning for each pair of nozzle rows NL. The cap unit 32 has two discharge caps 40 different in position in the width direction X and the transport direction Y, and two air release valves 39 respectively connected to the two discharge caps 40 via the vent flow channel 38. The air release valve 39 is capable of opening and closing the vent channel 38. When the air release valve 39 is opened, the inside of the discharge cap 40 is opened to the atmosphere via the vent channel 38. The suction mechanism 33 has two suction channels 37 connected to the discharge cap 40 respectively.

  The cap unit 32 has a moving mechanism 32 a that moves the two discharge caps 40 relative to the liquid jet head 26. The discharge cap 40 moves between a contact position in contact with the liquid jet head 26 and a non-contact position in non-contact. The discharge cap 40 cap the liquid jet head 26 by being in the contact position. The moving mechanism 32 a of the present embodiment raises and lowers the two discharge caps 40.

  When moved to the contact position, the discharge cap 40 surrounds the space CP including the nozzle 27 by contacting the liquid jet head 26. That is, the discharge cap 40 located at the contact position caps the liquid jet head 26. In the present embodiment, the discharge cap 40 contacts the nozzle surface 26 a when capping the liquid jet head 26.

  The suction mechanism 33 can be configured as a tube pump provided in the middle of the suction flow channel 37 when the suction flow channel 37 is a tube that can be elastically deformed. In this case, the suction mechanism 33 includes a rotating body 33a that rotates while crushing the tube. The suction mechanism 33 sucks the inside of the discharge cap 40 as the rotary body 33a rotates in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. When the suction mechanism 33 releases the pressure of the tube by the rotating body 33a, the inside of the discharge cap 40 is communicated with the space in the waste liquid recovery body 28 through the suction flow path 37, that is, opened to the atmosphere. The suction mechanism 33 is not limited to a tube pump, and may be a gear pump, a diaphragm pump, or the like.

  The cap unit 32 first caps the liquid jet head 26 with the discharge cap 40 when performing suction cleaning. Next, the cap unit 32 drives the suction mechanism 33 in a state in which the air release valve 39 is closed. At this time, the space CP is a space sealed by the discharge cap 40 and the liquid jet head 26. Therefore, when the inside of the discharge cap 40 is sucked by the suction mechanism 33, the space CP formed between the discharge cap 40 and the liquid jet head 26 has a negative pressure. When the space CP has a negative pressure, the liquid in the nozzle 27 is sucked. In this manner, suction cleaning for forcibly discharging the liquid from the nozzle 27 is performed. The discharge cap 40 receives the liquid discharged by suction cleaning. The liquid discharged from the nozzle 27 by suction cleaning is collected as a waste liquid in the waste liquid recovery body 28 through the suction flow path 37.

As shown in FIG. 3, the discharge cap 40 is configured to be opened in a rectangular shape, and the transport direction Y is in the longitudinal direction.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the discharge cap 40 includes a capping member 42 having a recess 41, an absorber 91 accommodated in the recess 41, and a holding member 71 for retaining the absorber 91 in the recess 41. And The absorber 91 is configured to be capable of absorbing a liquid. Therefore, the absorber 91 may be displaced or swelled so as to increase its volume by absorbing the liquid. The holding member 71 is made of, for example, a metal plate or a resin.

  It is preferable that the absorber 91 is comprised by two types of absorbers, the 1st absorber 61 located upwards in the recessed part 41, and the 2nd absorber 81 located below. It is preferable that the first absorbent body 61 is configured to be divided into three members: an upper absorbent member 611, an intermediate absorbent member 612, and a lower absorbent member 613. The upper absorbing member 611 and the lower absorbing member 613 are rectangular parallelepiped absorbing members.

  The middle absorbent member 612 is a thin plate-shaped absorbent member positioned so as to be sandwiched by the upper absorbent member 611 and the lower absorbent member 613 in the vertical direction Z. The middle absorbent member 612 is configured to be longer in the transport direction Y than the upper absorbent member 611 and the lower absorbent member 613. The middle absorbent member 612 can be formed of, for example, a sheet-like nonwoven fabric of polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, rayon, urethane or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the capping member 42 has a contact portion 43 that can contact the liquid jet head 26. The contact portion 43 contacts the liquid jet head 26 when the discharge cap 40 caps the liquid jet head 26. The capping member 42 of the present embodiment forms a space CP in the recess 41 when the contact portion 43 contacts the nozzle surface 26 a.

  The capping member 42 has a bottom wall 44 and a side wall 45 constituting a recess 41 capable of forming a space CP including the nozzle 27 when the contact portion 43 contacts the liquid jet head 26. The bottom wall 44 constitutes the inner bottom surface 46 of the recess 41, and the side wall 45 constitutes the inner surface 47 of the recess 41. The side wall 45 extends so as to intersect the bottom wall 44 and extends upward from the edge of the bottom wall 44. The contact portion 43 is located closer to the tip end portion of the side wall 45. Therefore, the inner side surface 47 extends to connect the bottom wall 44 and the contact portion 43.

  The capping member 42 has a suction hole 48 for suctioning the inside of the recess 41 which is inside the discharge cap 40 and an air communication hole 49 for communicating the inside of the recess 41 to the atmosphere. The suction hole 48 and the air communication hole 49 preferably open near the longitudinal end of the discharge cap 40 and near the bottom wall 44 in the discharge cap 40. In the present embodiment, the suction holes 48 and the air communication holes 49 are opened at portions where the bottom wall 44 and the side wall 45 intersect. The suction holes 48 and the air communication holes 49 may be opened in the bottom wall 44 or the side wall 45.

  Connecting pipe portions 51 and 52 are provided in portions of the bottom wall 44 corresponding to the suction holes 48 and the air communication holes 49, respectively. The suction flow channel 37 and the ventilation flow channel 38 are connected to the connection pipe portions 51 and 52, respectively. Thus, the suction hole 48 is connected to the suction mechanism 33 via the suction flow path 37, and the air communication hole 49 is connected to the air release valve 39 via the air flow path 38.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the capping member 42 has a lip 53 formed of an elastically deformable elastic member at a portion in contact with the liquid jet head 26 at the time of capping. Therefore, the lip portion 53 constitutes the contact portion 43. When the lip 53 is not provided, the tip of the side wall 45 extending from the bottom wall 44 toward the liquid jet head 26 constitutes the contact portion 43.

  The lip portion 53 is arranged to cover the tip portion of the side wall 45. Therefore, the lip portion 53 constitutes at least a part of the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41. The inner surface 47 of the recess 41 is also the inner surface 47 of the capping member 42 and the inner surface 47 of the discharge cap 40. In the present embodiment, the inner side surface 47 of the capping member 42 is constituted by the side wall 45 and the lip portion 53. The inner side surface 47 may be configured by only the lip portion 53 or may be configured by only the side wall 45. The lip portion 53 is shaped to be tapered toward the tip.

  The contact portion 43 contacts the nozzle surface 26 a at an angle θ when the discharge cap 40 caps the liquid jet head 26. When capping the liquid jet head 26, it is preferable that the discharge cap 40 be in contact with the liquid jet head 26 so that the angle θ of the contact portion where the nozzle surface 26a and the contact portion 43 contact is large.

As shown in FIG. 21, in the present embodiment, the angle θ is an angle formed by the nozzle surface 26 a and the inner surface 47 of the lip portion 53.
The lip 53 is preferably formed of a liquid repellent resin. It is preferable that the elastic member which comprises the lip | rip part 53 is comprised with a fluorine-type elastomer. In particular, it is preferable to use SHIN-ETSU SIFEL (registered trademark) manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. and Kalrez (registered trademark) manufactured by DuPont as the fluorine-based elastomer constituting the lip portion 53.

  The structure of a fluorine-based elastomer preferred as the lip portion 53 is shown below.

This fluorine-based elastomer has a fluorinated polyether backbone and a silicone crosslinking reactive group at its end.

  The lip 53 of the discharge cap 40 may be made of a styrenic elastomer. In order to make the lip portion 53 liquid repellent, the lip portion 53 is formed of a styrenic elastomer or an olefinic elastomer, a silicone oil is applied to a part of the lip portion 53, or coating treatment with fluorine or DLC (Diamond-like carbon) is performed. You may give it. The lip portion 53 may be made of butyl rubber. As another material which comprises the lip | rip part 53, a silicone resin and fluorine-type rubber | gum are employable.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the lip 53 is made of an elastic member, when the liquid jet head 26 is capped, the lip 53 adheres to the liquid jet head 26 while being elastically deformed. As a result, when the discharge cap 40 caps the liquid jet head 26, a gap does not easily occur between the liquid jet head 26 and the contact portion 43.

  The inner side surface 47 of the recess 41 has a surface finish to suppress the decrease in liquid repellency. In the present embodiment, the lip portion 53 constituting the inner side surface 47 is smoothed as a surface finish. Smooth finish is to treat the surface such that the surface roughness is Ra 2.0 or less. The surface roughness in the present embodiment is the arithmetic mean roughness according to JIS standard JIS B 0601. By applying the smooth finish, a part of the surface of the lip portion 53 constituting the inner side surface 47 has a surface roughness Ra of 2.0 or less.

  As surface finish given to inner side 47, mirror finish is preferred to smooth finish. The mirror finish is to process so that the surface roughness is Ra 0.2 or less. In the present embodiment, when mirror finish is performed, a part of the surface of the lip portion 53 constituting the inner side surface 47 has a surface roughness Ra of 0.2 or less. This surface finish is applied annularly along the circumferential surface of the inner surface 47 of the capping member 42. The surface finish may be applied not only to the lip portion 53 but also to the side wall 45 constituting the inner side surface 47.

  The capping member 42 is formed of a relatively hard synthetic resin. The capping member 42 is preferably made of, for example, Zyrone (registered trademark), which is a modified polyphenylene ether. The capping member 42 formed of modified PPE (polyphenylene ether) has high wettability as compared to the lip portion 53 formed of a fluoroelastomer.

  As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, in the inner side surface 47 of the capping member 42, the portion constituted by the lip portion 53 has low wettability, and the surface is constituted smoothly. On the inner side surface 47 of the capping member 42, the portion constituted by the side wall 45 has high wettability, and the surface is roughened. In the inner side surface 47 of the capping member 42, a region having low wettability and a smooth surface is referred to as an annular region L. That is, an annular region L is provided on the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41. In the present embodiment, the contact angle between the annular region L and the liquid is referred to as a contact angle φdc. The contact angle φdc between the annular region L and the liquid is larger than the contact angle φw between the rubber wiper 34b and the liquid and smaller than the contact angle φnf between the nozzle surface 26a and the liquid. Therefore, the nozzle surface 26 a has higher liquid repellency than the annular region L. The annular region L is configured such that the contact angle φdc is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. Generally, the larger the contact angle, the higher the liquid repellency.

  The contact portion 43 preferably has the same liquid repellency as the annular region L. In the present embodiment, the contact angle between the contact portion 43 and the liquid is referred to as a contact angle φcc. The contact portion 43 is preferably configured to have a contact angle φcc with the liquid of 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. The contact portion 43 may have the same surface finish as the inner side surface 47.

  In the present embodiment, the annular region L is provided in the lip portion 53, and the contact portion 43 is configured by the lip portion 53. Therefore, the lip portion 53 having liquid repellency is configured such that the contact angle with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. In summary, the annular region L is configured such that the contact angle φdc is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °, and the surface roughness is Ra 2.0 or less.

  The contact angle of the fluoroelastomer with respect to the ink which is an example of the liquid is about 60 °. By applying a smooth finish or mirror finish to the lip portion 53 formed of a fluorine-based elastomer, it is possible to suppress the decrease in liquid repellency of the lip portion 53 due to the unevenness of the surface thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the absorber 91 divides the space CP into a first space S1 in which the nozzle surface 26a faces, and a second space S2 in which the suction hole 48 and the air communication hole 49 are open. It is disposed in the recess 41. The absorber 91 includes a first region R1 and a second region R2 which have different capillary forces. Capillary force is a force that absorbs or holds liquid by capillary action. The absorber 91 is configured such that the capillary force in the second region R2 is larger than the capillary force in the first region R1.

  The first absorber 61 constitutes a first region R1, and the second absorber 81 constitutes a second region R2. As the first absorber 61, urethane is preferable, and as the second absorber 81, Bel eater (registered trademark) is preferable. The upper absorption member 611, the middle absorption member 612, and the lower absorption member 613 which constitute the first absorber 61 may be formed of different materials. Materials for forming the upper absorbing member 611, the intermediate absorbing member 612, and the lower absorbing member 613 can be freely selected. When the upper absorbing member 611, the intermediate absorbing member 612, and the lower absorbing member 613 are not formed of the same material, the capillary force of the second absorbing member 81 is the same as that of the upper absorbing member 611, the intermediate absorbing member 612, and the lower absorbing member 613. Preferably it is greater than the capillary force. In this case, the second region R2 of the second absorber 81 has a capillary force greater than that of the first region R1 provided in the first absorber 61.

  The second absorber 81 is configured to be smaller in width than the first absorber 61 in the width direction X, and the second absorber 81 is disposed in the recess 41 so that the upper portion thereof is embedded in the first absorber 61. That is, the portion of the first absorber 61 in contact with the second absorber 81 is compressed by the second absorber 81. The second absorber 81 of the present embodiment is disposed in the recess 41 so as to be embedded in the lower absorbing member 613.

  In the first absorber 61, a surface facing the bottom wall 44 is a bottom surface 62, and a surface opposite to the bottom surface 62 is a surface 63. In this case, when the surface 63 of the first absorber 61 is disposed on the inner side of the concave portion 41 than the contact portion 43, the first space S1 can be formed. In the present embodiment, the bottom surface 62 of the first absorber 61 is a surface that the lower absorbing member 613 has. The surface 63 of the first absorber 61 is a surface of the upper absorbing member 611 and is also an upper surface of the absorber 91.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the absorber 91 has a thin plate-like contact portion 65 in contact with the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41. The thin plate contact portion 65 is formed in a thin plate shape. In the present embodiment, the intermediate absorbing member 612 has a thin plate-like contact portion 65. Therefore, the absorbent body 91 includes an absorbent member (intermediate absorbent member 612) including the thin plate-like contact portion 65, and other absorbent members (upper absorbent member 611, lower absorbent member 613). The thin plate-like contact portion 65 is located at the end in the longitudinal direction of the intermediate absorbing member 612. The portion of the intermediate absorbent member 612 in contact with the inner side surface 47 can also be referred to as a thin plate contact portion 65.

  The first absorber 61 is disposed such that only the thin plate contact portion 65 contacts the inner side surface 47. That is, the upper absorbing member 611 and the lower absorbing member 613 which are other absorbing members not having the thin plate contact portion 65 do not contact the inner side surface 47. The upper absorbing member 611 and the lower absorbing member 613 are preferably separated from the inner side surface 47 in the recess 41. The upper absorbing member 611 and the lower absorbing member 613 are configured to be smaller in size in the width direction X than the recess 41. The upper absorbing member 611 and the lower absorbing member 613 are configured to be smaller in size in the transport direction Y than the recess 41.

  The intermediate absorbing member 612 is configured to be larger in size in the transport direction Y than the recess 41. Therefore, the end of the intermediate absorbent member 612 contacts the inner side surface 47 of the capping member 42 as the thin plate-like contact portion 65.

  Preferably, the thin plate contact portion 65 does not contact the inner bottom surface 46 of the recess 41. That is, the thin plate contact portion 65 is preferably separated from the bottom wall 44 in the recess 41. This prevents the thin plate contact portion 65 from sucking up the liquid remaining on the inner bottom surface 46 of the capping member 42.

  The thin plate-like contact portion 65 preferably contacts the corner portion 58 of the capping member 42 on the inner side surface 47. The corner portion 58 is a portion to be a corner in the capping member 42. In the present embodiment, since the capping member 42 opens in a rectangular shape, the four corners thereof are corner portions 58 respectively.

  The intermediate absorption member 612 of the present embodiment has a shape in which the end portion functioning as the thin plate contact portion 65 bulges in the width direction X. In other words, the portion of the intermediate absorbing member 612 excluding the thin plate contact portion 65 is smaller in size in the width direction X than the recess 41. Thereby, the thin plate contact portion 65 disposed in the recess 41 contacts the corner portion 58. The size of the intermediate absorbing member 612 in the width direction X may be larger than that of the recess 41. In the middle absorbent member 612, a portion in contact with the inner side surface 47 functions as a thin plate contact portion 65.

  In the second absorber 81, a portion facing the bottom wall 44 is a bottom surface 82, and a surface opposite to the bottom surface 82 is a surface 83. In this case, the second space S2 can be formed by arranging the surface 83 of the second absorber 81 so that a part of the bottom surface 62 of the first absorber 61 is pressed. The second absorber 81 is arranged to cover a part of the opening of the suction hole 48. The bottom surface 82 of the second absorber 81 is also the lower surface of the absorber 91.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the holding member 71 has a net-like portion 72 that is a regulating member that regulates the position of the upper surface of the absorber 91. The net-like portion 72 is located closer to the opening side of the recess 41 than the absorber 91. That is, the reticulated portion 72 is located above the absorber 91. The mesh portion 72 exposes the surface 63 of the first absorber 61, which is the upper surface of the absorber 91, widely, while keeping the distance between the surface 63 and the liquid jet head 26 constant. Hold down. The mesh-like portion 72 functioning as a regulating member regulates the position of the upper surface of the absorber 91 by pressing the upper surface of the absorber 91 which is the surface 63 of the first absorber 61. That is, the reticulated portion 72 suppresses the displacement of the absorber 91 toward the opening side of the recess 41 when the absorber 91 is swollen.

  The holding member 71 includes a bottom plate 73 supporting the bottom surface 62 of the first absorber 61 and a plate spring 74 in contact with the bottom wall 44 to form a second space S2 in which the suction hole 48 and the atmosphere communication hole 49 are opened. , Locking pieces 75, 76 engaged with the side wall 45. When the holding member 71 is formed of a metal plate, the tip end portion bent from the support plate 77 extending in the longitudinal direction is a net-like portion 72, and the base end portion bent from the support plate 77 is a bottom plate 73 and a plate spring 74. The side end portions bent from the side may be used as the locking pieces 75 and 76.

  The holding member 71 has an insertion piece 78 for insertion into the absorber 91. In the present embodiment, the insertion piece 78 is inserted between the middle absorbent member 612 and the lower absorbent member 613. That is, the upper absorbing member 611 and the intermediate absorbing member 612 are held by the holding member 71 in a posture in which the upper absorbing member 611 and the intermediate absorbing member 612 are sandwiched between the mesh portion 72 and the insertion piece 78. The lower absorbing member 613 is held by the holding member 71 in a posture in which the lower absorbing member 613 is sandwiched between the insertion piece 78 and the bottom plate 73. The intermediate absorbent member 612 may be held by the holding member 71 at a position below the insertion piece 78.

  The side walls 45 of the capping member 42 may be provided with corner portions 54, 55 corresponding to the locking pieces 75, 76 of the holding member 71. The corner portions 54 and 55 are preferably provided, for example, in the vicinity of the openings of the suction hole 48 and the air communication hole 49, respectively. When the locking pieces 75 and 76 are hooked on the corner portions 54 and 55, the risk of the holding member 71 falling off the recess 41 is reduced. As a result, the risk of the absorber 91 dropping out of the recess 41 is reduced. The first absorbent body 61 is held by the holding member 71, thereby generating a gap between the portion excluding the thin plate-like contact portion 65 and the inner side surface 47, and is accommodated in the concave portion 41.

  When the locking piece 76 is constituted by a part of a metal plate, when the locking piece 76 is bent so as to function as a plate spring, the space between the inner side surface 47 and the absorber 91 by the holding member 71. It is possible to secure the gap between The length in the width direction X of the bottom plate 73 and the plate spring 74 in the holding member 71 is such a length that the second absorber 81 can be disposed in the recess 41. The second absorber 81 is held by the holding member 71 by being held between the locking pieces 75 and 76 of the holding member 71.

  The absorber 91 is preferably disposed between the opening of the air communication hole 49 for communicating the inside of the discharge cap 40 to the atmosphere during capping and the opening of the nozzle 27. The absorber 91 is preferably disposed between the opening of the suction hole 48 for suctioning the inside of the discharge cap 40 at the time of capping and the opening of the nozzle 27.

  When the absorber 91 is accommodated in the recess 41 of the capping member 42, the insertion piece 78 is first inserted into the first absorber 61. Next, with the surface 83 of the second absorber 81 arranged to push up a part of the bottom surface 62 of the first absorber 61, the second absorber 81 is sandwiched between the locking pieces 75 and 76. Then, the holding member 71 holding the first absorber 61 and the second absorber 81 is inserted into the recess 41, and the plate spring 74 is brought into contact with the bottom wall 44 to be elastically deformed. At this time, the locking pieces 75 and 76 are caught by the corner portions 54 and 55, whereby the absorber 91 is positioned in the recess 41. That is, in the discharge cap 40, the holding member 71 holding the absorber 91 secures a gap between a part of the absorber 91 and the inner side surface 47, and the suction hole 48 and the air communication hole 49 open. Two spaces S2 are secured.

  The thin plate contact portion 65 is accommodated in the recess 41 so as to be displaced in a direction different from the side on which the contact portion 43 is located when the absorber 91 is swollen. The thin plate contact portion 65 of the present embodiment is accommodated in the recess 41 so as to be displaced toward the bottom wall 44 when the absorber 91 is swollen. That is, the intermediate absorbent member 612 is accommodated in the recess 41 in a posture in which the end in the longitudinal direction hangs downward. When the absorbent body 91 swells in such a state, the intermediate absorbent member 612 is displaced so as to extend in its longitudinal direction. Therefore, the thin plate contact portion 65 is displaced so as to extend downward when the absorbent body 91 swells, particularly when the intermediate absorbent member 612 swells.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the standby cap 36 forms a space including the nozzle 27 by contacting the liquid jet head 26 as the discharge cap 40 does. The standby cap 36 of the present embodiment caps the liquid jet head 26 by contacting the nozzle surface 26 a.

  The standby cap 36 is configured to be movable relative to the liquid jet head 26. The standby cap 36 moves between a contact position in contact with the liquid jet head 26 and a non-contact position in non-contact. The standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26 by being located at the contact position. The maintenance unit 31 of the present embodiment includes an elevation mechanism 31 a that raises and lowers the standby cap 36. In the present embodiment, the standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26 when the standby mechanism 36 a raises the liquid jet head 26 so as to approach the liquid jet head 26.

  The standby cap 36 comprises a capping member 362 having a recess 361. The capping member 362 has a contact portion 363 capable of contacting the liquid jet head 26. The contact portion 363 contacts the liquid jet head 26 when the standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26. The standby cap 36 of the present embodiment caps the liquid jet head 26 by the contact portion 363 contacting the nozzle surface 26 a. Unlike the discharge cap 40, the standby cap 36 does not have the absorber 91.

  The capping member 362 has a bottom wall 364 and a side wall 365 that form a recess 361 that can form a space including the nozzle 27 when the contact portion 363 contacts the liquid jet head 26. The bottom wall 364 constitutes the inner bottom surface 366 of the recess 361, and the side wall 365 constitutes the inner surface 367 of the recess 361. Side wall 365 extends to intersect bottom wall 364 and extends upward from the edge of bottom wall 364. The contact portion 363 is located closer to the tip end portion of the side wall 365. Therefore, the inner side surface 367 extends to connect the bottom wall 364 and the contact portion 363.

  The capping member 362 has a lip portion 368 made of an elastically deformable elastic member at a portion in contact with the liquid jet head 26 at the time of capping. Therefore, the lip portion 368 constitutes the contact portion 363. When the lip portion 368 is not provided, the tip of the side wall 365 extending from the bottom wall 364 toward the liquid jet head 26 constitutes the contact portion 363.

  The lip portion 368 is disposed to cover the tip portion of the side wall 365. Therefore, the lip portion 368 constitutes the inner side surface 367 of the recess 361. The inner surface 367 of the recess 361 is also the inner surface 367 of the capping member 362 and the inner surface 367 of the standby cap 36. In the present embodiment, the inner side surface 367 of the capping member 362 is configured by the side wall 365 and the lip portion 368. The lip portion 368 is shaped to be tapered toward the tip.

  The capping member 362 is preferably formed of Zylon, which is a modified polyphenylene ether, similarly to the capping member 42 of the ejection cap 40. The lip portion 368 is preferably formed of LEOSTOMER (registered trademark) made of Riken Technos, which is a styrenic elastomer. In general, styrenic elastomers have higher wettability than fluoroelastomers. That is, the lip portion 368 of the standby cap 36 has higher wettability than the lip portion 53 of the discharge cap 40.

  In the present embodiment, the contact angle between the inner side surface 367 of the standby cap 36 and the liquid is denoted as a contact angle φmc. The contact angle φ mc between the inner surface 367 of the standby cap 36 and the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φ dc between the annular region L of the discharge cap 40 and the liquid.

  The capping member 362 has an atmosphere communication path 369 for communicating the inside of the capping member 362 to the atmosphere. The atmosphere communication path 369 is provided on the bottom wall 364 of the capping member 362. Atmospheric communication path 369 extends through serpentine bottom wall 364. The space in the standby cap 36 is opened to the atmosphere by the atmosphere communication path 369 even when the liquid jet head 26 is capped.

  The standby cap 36 of the present embodiment is provided corresponding to the number of nozzle rows NL of the nozzles 27 of the liquid jet head 26. The standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26 so as to surround one nozzle row NL. The standby cap 36 has, for example, a coil spring as a member for pushing up the capping member 362. The capping member 362 is pressed to the liquid jet head 26 by a coil spring when contacting the liquid jet head 26.

Next, the suction cleaning operation performed in the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 configured as described above will be described.
When performing suction cleaning, first, the liquid jet head 26 moves to the non-printing area RA. Next, the discharge cap 40 is moved in a direction approaching the liquid jet head 26, and the lip 53 presses the liquid jet head 26 to cap the liquid jet head 26. At this time, a space CP is formed between the discharge cap 40 and the liquid jet head 26. When the air release valve 39 is closed in this state, the space CP is closed.

  Next, the suction mechanism 33 is driven to generate negative pressure in the space CP including the nozzle 27. Then, the generated negative pressure flows into the nozzle 27, and the liquid in the liquid jet head 26 is discharged through the nozzle 27. At this time, the liquid discharged from the nozzle 27 is absorbed by the first region R1 in the absorber 91. The liquid absorbed in the portion to be the first region R1 in the absorber 91 is led by the capillary force of the absorber 91 from the first region R1 to the second region R2 as shown by the solid arrows in FIG. .

  When a predetermined amount of liquid is discharged from the nozzle 27, the air release valve 39 is opened, and the space CP, which is a closed space, is communicated with the air. Then, the outside air (air) vigorously flows into the space CP through the vent flow channel 38, and the negative pressure in the space CP is eliminated. Therefore, the discharge of the liquid from the nozzle 27 is stopped, and the liquid in the discharge cap 40 is discharged through the suction hole 48. As described above, suctioning in a state where the inside of the discharge cap 40 is in communication with the atmosphere with the air release valve 39 opened is referred to as idle suction.

  When communicating the space CP to the atmosphere, if the liquid in the discharge cap 40 enters into the nozzle 27 or the inflowing air enters into the nozzle 27 and becomes bubbles, the ejection failure of the nozzle 27 that ejects the liquid is caused. There is a risk of In this respect, in the present embodiment, since the absorber 91 is disposed between the opening of the atmosphere communication hole 49 and the opening of the nozzle 27 at the time of capping, the inflowing gas does not easily enter the nozzle 27.

  During empty suction, the gas flowing in from the air communication hole 49 flows through the second space S2 partitioned by the absorber 91 in the space CP as shown by the white arrow in FIG. Since the gas flowing in from the air communication hole 49 flows toward the suction hole 48 along the bottom wall 44, the mixing of the gas into the nozzle 27 is suppressed.

  Since the second region R2 in the absorber 91 forms the second space S2, the gas flowing in the second space S2 flows toward the suction holes 48, whereby the absorber 91 is held in a portion to be the second region R2. Liquid is sucked out. In the present embodiment, since the second absorber 81 constituting a portion to be the second region R2 in the absorber 91 is disposed so as to cover a part of the suction hole 48, the liquid from the absorber 91 can be efficiently It is possible to suck it out.

  When the space CP is divided by the absorber 91 into a second space S2 in which the suction hole 48 is opened and a first space S1 in which the nozzle 27 is opened, negative pressure is less likely to be applied to the nozzle 27 when suction cleaning is performed. There is a risk. In this respect, in the present embodiment, since there is a gap between the portion of the absorber 91 excluding the thin plate contact portion 65 and the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41, the negative pressure of the second space S2 is the first space S1. It is easy to Thus, the liquid can be discharged from the nozzle 27.

  If the space CP is divided by the absorber 91 into the second space S2 in which the suction holes 48 are open and the first space S1 in which the nozzles 27 are open, the negative pressure in the first space S1 may not be easily eliminated There is. Also in this respect, as described above, since there is a gap between the portion of the absorber 91 excluding the thin plate contact portion 65 and the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41, the negative pressure in the first space S1 is promptly It is eliminated.

  When the liquid accumulated in the discharge cap 40 is discharged by the empty suction, the drive of the suction mechanism 33 is stopped. Thereafter, the discharge cap 40 is moved in the direction away from the liquid jet head 26 to release the capping.

  If the suction passage 33 made of a tube is left as it is crushed after the suction mechanism 33 stops driving, the suction passage 37 may be creep-deformed. Therefore, after the suction mechanism 33 stops driving, it is preferable to release the pressing of the tube by the rotating body 33a.

  When the pressing of the tube by the rotating body 33 a is released, the inside of the discharge cap 40 communicates with the space in the waste liquid recovery body 28 through the suction flow path 37. Therefore, fluid such as liquid or gas in the suction flow channel 37 may flow back into the discharge cap 40. If such fluid enters into the nozzle 27, there is a possibility that it may lead to an ejection failure of the nozzle 27 that ejects the liquid. In this respect, if the absorber 91 is disposed between the opening of the suction hole 48 and the opening of the nozzle 27, the inflowing fluid does not easily enter the nozzle 27. The suction hole 48 and the air communication hole 49 open in the second space S2 partitioned by the absorber 91 from the first space S1 in which the nozzle 27 opens. Therefore, fluid flowing backward from the suction hole 48 enters the second space S2. Of the backflowed fluid, the liquid is absorbed by the absorber 91, and the gas is exhausted through the air communication hole 49.

  Even if the backflowed fluid does not directly reach the liquid jet head 26, when the gas flowing in through the suction holes 48 enters the pores of the absorbent 91 made of a porous material, the liquid foams on the surface 63 of the absorbent 91 The bubbles may adhere to the nozzle surface 26a. In this point, in the present embodiment, since the porous material is not disposed between the suction holes 48 and the air communication holes 49 and the suction holes 48 and the air communication holes 49 are opened to the second space S2, the inflow of gas Foaming by is suppressed.

  When the inside of the discharge cap 40 is suctioned, it is preferable to release the pressing of the tube by the rotating body 33a after releasing the capping. In this case, even if the fluid flows backward into the discharge cap 40 or the gas enters the porous material to generate bubbles, the distance between the discharge cap 40 and the liquid jet head 26 is greater than that during capping. It is difficult for backflowing fluid, bubbles, etc. to adhere to the liquid jet head 26. At this time, when releasing the capping, it is preferable that the liquid jet head 26 and the discharge cap 40 be separated from the end on the air communication hole 49 side in the longitudinal direction of the discharge cap 40. In this way, the possibility of the backflow of fluid from the suction hole 48 due to the pressure change of the space CP generated when releasing the capping is reduced.

  After the suction cleaning, droplets may be attached to the nozzle surface 26 a of the liquid jet head 26. Therefore, after releasing the capping, it is preferable that wiping is performed by the wiping unit 34 to wipe the nozzle surface 26a.

Next, the operation of the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 and the discharge cap 40 configured as described above will be described.
When the suction cleaning is performed, the liquid discharged from the nozzle 27 adheres in the recess 41 of the discharge cap 40. Most of the discharged liquid is absorbed by the absorber 91. Among the discharged liquid, a part thereof adheres to the inner bottom surface 46, the inner side surface 47, and the like of the recess 41. The liquid adhering to the inner bottom surface 46, the inner side surface 47, and the like crawls the inner side surface 47 toward the opening side of the discharge cap 40 by capillary action as time passes. The liquid which crawls up the inner surface 47 finally reaches the contact portion 43.

  In particular, in the corner portion 58 which is a corner in the capping member 42, the liquid tends to creep up. This is because the narrower the liquid passage, the stronger the capillary force. Therefore, even when the angle θ at the contact portion between the nozzle surface 26 a and the contact portion 43 is small at the time of capping, the liquid tends to crawl up the inner side surface 47. Even in the case where, for example, a parting line of a mold, a polishing mark, or the like remains on the inner side surface 47 of the capping member 42, the liquid tends to crawl up the inner side surface 47.

  When the discharge cap 40 caps the liquid jet head 26 in a state where the liquid adheres to the contact portion 43, the liquid adheres to the nozzle surface 26a. When the liquid adheres to the nozzle surface 26a, this leads to an ejection failure of the nozzle 27 that ejects the liquid. In this regard, the discharge cap 40 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to suppress the rising of the liquid.

  The absorber 91 accommodated in the recess 41 of the discharge cap 40 has a thin plate-like contact portion 65 in contact with the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41. Thereby, the absorber 91 absorbs the liquid rising up the inner side surface 47 through the thin plate-like contact portion 65. That is, the absorber 91 absorbs the liquid by the thin plate-like contact portion 65 before the liquid which crawls up the inner side surface 47 reaches the contact portion 43.

  The liquid absorbing power (capillary force) of the absorber 91 is preferably larger than the liquid suction force (capillary force) at the contact portion between the nozzle surface 26 a and the contact portion 43. In this way, even if the liquid reaches the contact portion 43, the absorber 91 can draw the liquid along the inner side surface 47.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when releasing the capping, it is preferable that the discharge cap 40 be separated from the liquid jet head 26 in an inclined posture. That is, the capping may be released by inclining the discharge cap 40 with respect to the nozzle surface 26a. In this case, the contact portion 43 gradually separates from one end to the other end in the transport direction Y with respect to the nozzle surface 26a. Thus, the liquid adhering to the contact portion between the nozzle surface 26 a and the contact portion 43 can be collected at one point where the nozzle surface 26 a contacts the other end of the contact portion 43. Thereby, the liquid adhering to the contact portion between the nozzle surface 26 a and the contact portion 43 can be efficiently drawn in along the inner side surface 47 by the absorber 91.

  The thin plate contact portion 65 is accommodated in the recess 41 so as to be displaced in the direction different from the opening side of the recess 41, that is, the side where the contact portion 43 is located, when the absorber 91 is swollen. Therefore, even if the thin plate contact portion 65 is displaced by swelling, the thin plate contact portion 65 does not easily contact the nozzle surface 26 a of the liquid jet head 26. The thin plate contact portion 65 of the present embodiment is arranged to be displaced toward the bottom wall 44 when the absorber 91 swells, so the possibility of contacting the liquid jet head 26 is further reduced.

  The outlet cap 40 has an annular area L on its inner side 47. The annular region L on the inner side surface 47 has liquid repellency, and the surface is smoothed by the smooth finish. Therefore, in the annular region L, it is difficult for the liquid to creep up. By providing the annular region L in which the liquid does not easily creep up on the way from the bottom wall 44 to the contact portion 43 in the inner side surface 47, the liquid which crawls up the inner side surface 47 hardly reaches the contact portion 43.

  The standby cap 36 is formed of a material having low liquid repellency as compared to the discharge cap 40. Therefore, the standby cap 36 has a configuration in which the liquid can be easily drawn up compared to the discharge cap 40. When the liquid jetted from the liquid jet head 26 scatters or floats, the liquid may adhere to the inside of the standby cap 36. For example, when ink adheres to the standby cap 36, the water contained in the ink evaporates, whereby glycerin contained in the ink remains in the standby cap 36. If the standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26 in this state, the glycerin in the standby cap 36 may absorb water from the ink in the nozzle 27. That is, when the liquid adheres to the inside of the standby cap 36, when the standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26, there is a possibility that the thickening of the liquid in the nozzle 27 is promoted. Therefore, it is preferable to discharge the liquid in the standby cap 36.

  The standby cap 36 of the present embodiment is likely to scoop the liquid as compared to the discharge cap 40. Therefore, the liquid adhering to the inside of the standby cap 36 easily reaches the contact portion 363 along the inner side surface 367. That is, when the standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26, the liquid in the standby cap 36 adheres to the nozzle surface 26 a of the liquid jet head 26. That is, the liquid in the standby cap 36 can be moved to the nozzle surface 26 a. The liquid moved from within the standby cap 36 to the nozzle surface 26 a is removed by wiping the nozzle surface 26 a by the wiping unit 34. Thus, the liquid is removed from the inside of the standby cap 36.

  Next, experimental results on the contact angle between a styrenic elastomer that can be used as a material for forming the lip portion 53 of the discharge cap 40 and the lip portion 368 of the standby cap 36 will be described.

  A plurality of plate-like styrenic elastomers were prepared as samples, and experiments were conducted to measure the contact angles between a plurality of samples having different specifications and the evaluation liquid.

Table 1 shows the specifications of the sample, the type of the evaluation liquid, and the contact angle immediately after the evaluation liquid comes into contact. The specification A is a specification in which the sample is not immersed in the evaluation solution. The specification B refers to a specification in which a sample is immersed in an evaluation solution at 60 degrees for 6 days, and then the surface of the sample is wiped with Bencot (registered trademark).

  The Bk ink of the evaluation liquid is a black ink. The mixed ink of Bk, C, M, and Y of the evaluation liquid is an ink in which black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are mixed.

  The contact angle was measured using a contact angle meter (OCA 20 manufactured by Eiko Seiki). Specifically, 37 μl of a drop of the evaluation solution was made, the drop was brought into contact with the sample, the change in the contact angle was photographed with a moving image, and the contact angle immediately after the contact was measured.

  Samples 1 and 3 are plate-like styrenic elastomers not immersed in the evaluation solution. Sample 2 is a plate-like styrenic elastomer whose surface is wiped with bencot after being immersed in Bk ink which is an evaluation liquid at 60 degrees for 6 days. The sample 4 is a plate-like styrenic elastomer which is dipped in a mixed ink of Bk, C, M and Y at 60 ° C. for 6 days, and then the surface is wiped with a Bencot.

  As shown in Table 1, the contact angle between sample 1 and Bk ink was measured to be 50 °. The contact angle between sample 2 and Bk ink was measured to be 40 °. The contact angle between sample 3 and the mixed ink of Bk, C, M and Y was measured to be 20 °. The contact angle between sample 4 and the mixed ink of Bk, C, M and Y was measured to be 10 °.

Next, the experimental result about the rising of the evaluation liquid in a cap is shown.
A plurality of caps each having a lip portion formed of a styrenic elastomer was prepared as a sample, and an experiment was conducted to evaluate the rising of the evaluation liquid in a plurality of samples having different specifications. The surface of the lip portion provided on the sample has a surface roughness Ra of 2.0 or less because the surface thereof is smoothed.

Table 2 shows the specifications of the sample, the type of the evaluation solution, and the rising of the evaluation solution. The specification A is a specification in which the sample is not immersed in the evaluation solution. The specification B is a specification in which a sample is immersed in an evaluation solution at 60 degrees for 6 days, and then the surface of the sample is wiped with bencot. The Bk ink of the evaluation liquid is a black ink. The mixed ink of Bk, C, M, and Y of the evaluation liquid is an ink in which black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are mixed. That is, the specification of the sample and the type of the evaluation liquid are the same as in Table 1.

  As a method for evaluating the creeping up of the evaluation solution, after injecting the evaluation solution into the cap, it was checked whether the evaluation solution crawled up the inner surface of the cap and reached or did not reach the contact portion. The case where the evaluation liquid reached the contact part was regarded as rising. The case where the evaluation liquid did not reach the contact part was regarded as no scoop.

  The samples a and c are caps not immersed in the evaluation solution. Sample b is a cap whose surface is wiped with bencot after being immersed in Bk ink which is an evaluation liquid at 60 degrees for 6 days. Sample d is a cap whose surface has been wiped with bencot after being dipped in a mixed ink of Bk, C, M and Y at 60 degrees for 6 days.

  As shown in Table 2, in the sample a, the sample b and the sample c, it was confirmed that the evaluation solution did not rise. In the sample d, it was confirmed that the evaluation solution had been scooped up.

According to the experimental results shown in Tables 1 and 2, it can be seen that the liquid tends to creep up if the contact angle with the liquid is small.
According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) The annular region L provided on the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41 has liquid repellency because the contact angle φdc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. The surface of the annular region L is configured to be smooth because the surface roughness is Ra 2.0. In such an annular region L, it is difficult for the liquid to creep up. Therefore, by providing the annular region L on the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41, the liquid in the recess 41 is suppressed from being drawn up to the contact portion 43 along the inner side surface 47. Therefore, the liquid can be prevented from adhering to the liquid jet head 26.

  (2) The contact portion 43 is liquid repellent because it is configured such that the contact angle φcc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. Since the contact portion 43 has liquid repellency, the possibility that the liquid in the discharge cap 40 is sucked up by the portion where the contact portion 43 and the liquid jet head 26 contact is reduced. Thereby, the liquid in the discharge cap 40 can be suppressed from being scooped toward the contact portion 43.

(3) Since the lip portion 53 is elastically deformed when the lip portion 53 constituting the contact portion 43 contacts the nozzle surface 26 a, the space CP including the nozzle 27 can be suitably formed.
(4) The fluorine-based elastomer has high liquid repellency and elasticity. Therefore, while being provided with annular field L, it can be adopted suitably as a material which forms lip 53 which constitutes contact portion 43.

  (5) The contact angle φw between the rubber wiper (the wiping portion) 34b and the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φnf between the nozzle surface 26a and the liquid. Therefore, when the rubber wiper 34b (the wiping portion) wipes the nozzle surface 26a, the liquid on the nozzle surface 26a can be collected efficiently.

  (6) The contact angle φmc of the inner surface 367 of the standby cap 36 with the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φdc of the annular region L of the discharge cap 40 with the liquid. Therefore, the standby cap 36 has lower liquid repellency than the annular region L. The standby cap 36 with low liquid repellency tends to scoop the liquid as compared to the discharge cap 40. When the low liquid repellent standby cap 36 comes in contact with the liquid jet head 26, the liquid in the standby cap 36 crawls up the inner side surface 367 and adheres to the nozzle surface 26a. That is, the liquid in the standby cap 36 can be moved to the nozzle surface 26 a. The liquid in the standby cap 36 can be discharged to the outside of the standby cap 36 by utilizing the liquid wicking property by the low liquid repellency.

  (7) Since the thin plate contact portion 65 of the absorber 91 is in contact with the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41, the thin plate contact portion 65 absorbs the liquid in the discharge cap 40 which crawls up the inner side surface 47. When the thin plate contact portion 65 swells by absorbing the liquid, the thin plate contact portion 65 is displaced in a direction different from the side where the contact portion 43 is located. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the thin plate-like contact portion 65 displaced by swelling may come in contact with the liquid jet head 26. Therefore, the liquid can be prevented from adhering to the liquid jet head 26.

  (8) The thin plate contact portion 65 is displaced toward the bottom wall 44 by swelling. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the thin plate-like contact portion 65 displaced by swelling may come in contact with the nozzle surface 26a.

(9) The thin plate contact portion 65 contacts the corner portion 58 which is a corner in the capping member 42. This allows the liquid to be absorbed from the corner 58 where the capillary force is relatively high.
(10) The thin plate contact portion 65 is separated from the bottom wall 44. In this case, the thin plate contact portion 65 absorbs the liquid remaining on the bottom wall 44, whereby the possibility of the thin plate contact portion 65 being immersed in the liquid can be reduced.

  (11) The absorber 91 is integrated by forming the absorber including the thin plate contact portion 65 (intermediate absorber 612), the other absorber (upper absorber 611, lower absorber 613) and the absorber 91. The thin plate contact portion 65 can be easily formed as compared with the case where

  (12) A restricting member (reticulated portion 72) which is positioned closer to the opening of the recess 41 than the absorber 91 and restricts the position of the upper surface of the absorber 91. As a result, the possibility that the swelling absorber 91 is displaced toward the nozzle surface 26a can be reduced.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the discharge cap 40 will be described. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the configuration of the first absorber 61 constituting the absorber 91, and the other configurations are the same. Therefore, in the second embodiment, points different from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 12, the discharge cap 40 of the second embodiment is opened in a rectangular shape as in the first embodiment, and the transport direction Y is the longitudinal direction.
As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the discharge cap 40 in the second embodiment has an absorber 91. The absorber 91 is comprised by two types of absorbers of the 1st absorber 61 and the 2nd absorber 81 similarly to 1st Embodiment. Unlike the first embodiment, the first absorbent body 61 in the second embodiment is configured by being divided into two members of a columnar absorbent member 615 and a thin plate absorbent member 616.

  In the first absorber 61, a surface facing the bottom wall 44 is a bottom surface 62, and a surface opposite to the bottom surface 62 is a surface 63. In the second embodiment, the bottom surface 62 of the first absorber 61 is a surface that the columnar absorption member 615 has. The surface 63 of the first absorber 61 is a surface of the columnar absorption member 615, and is also an upper surface of the absorber 91.

  The columnar absorption member 615 is an absorption member extending in a columnar shape. The thin plate-like absorbent member 616 is a thin plate-like absorbent member. The thin plate-like absorbent member 616 is formed to have a length in the transport direction Y longer than that of the columnar absorbent member 615. The thin plate-like absorbent member 616 can be formed of, for example, a sheet-like non-woven fabric of polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, rayon, urethane or the like, as with the intermediate absorbent member 612 of the first embodiment.

  The columnar absorption member 615 and the thin plate absorption member 616 each have slits 66 and 67 for inserting the insertion piece 78 of the holding member 71. The columnar absorbent member 615 and the thin plate absorbent member 616 are held by the holding member 71 by inserting the insertion piece 78 into the slits 66 and 67. The thin plate-like absorbing member 616 is positioned to be sandwiched between the columnar absorbing member 615 and the support plate 77 of the holding member 71.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the absorber 91 divides the space CP into a first space S1 in which the nozzle surface 26a faces and a second space S2 in which the suction hole 48 and the air communication hole 49 are open. Will be placed. The absorber 91 includes a first region R1 and a second region R2 which have different capillary forces.

  The first absorber 61 constitutes a first region R1, and the second absorber 81 constitutes a second region R2. As in the first embodiment, urethane is preferable as the first absorbent body 61, and Bel-eater (registered trademark) is preferable as the second absorbent body 81. The columnar absorption member 615 and the thin plate absorption member 616 which constitute the first absorption body 61 may be formed of different materials. Materials for forming the columnar absorption member 615 and the thin plate absorption member 616 can be freely selected. When the columnar absorbent member 615 and the thin plate absorbent member 616 are not formed of the same material, the capillary force of the second absorbent body 81 is preferably larger than the capillary force of the columnar absorbent member 615 and the thin plate absorbent member 616. In this case, the second region R2 of the second absorber 81 has a capillary force greater than that of the first region R1 provided in the first absorber 61.

  The second absorber 81 is configured to be smaller in width than the first absorber 61 in the width direction X, and the second absorber 81 is disposed in the recess 41 so that the upper portion thereof is embedded in the first absorber 61. That is, the portion of the first absorber 61 in contact with the second absorber 81 is compressed by the second absorber 81. The second absorber 81 of the present embodiment is disposed to be embedded in the columnar absorption member 615.

As shown in FIG. 16, an annular region L is provided on the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41 as in the first embodiment.
As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the absorber 91 has a thin plate-like contact portion 65 in contact with the inner side surface 47 of the recess 41. In the second embodiment, the thin plate-like absorbent member 616 has a thin plate-like contact portion 65. Therefore, the absorber 91 has an absorption member (thin plate absorption member 616) including the thin plate contact portion 65 and another absorption member (columnar absorption member 615). The thin plate-like contact portion 65 is located at the longitudinal end of the thin plate-like absorbing member 616. A portion of the thin plate-like absorbent member 616 in contact with the inner side surface 47 can also be referred to as a thin plate-like contact portion 65.

  The first absorber 61 is disposed such that only the thin plate contact portion 65 contacts the inner side surface 47. That is, the columnar absorption member 615 which is another absorption member not having the thin plate contact portion 65 does not contact the inner side surface 47. The columnar absorbent member 615 is preferably separated from the inner side surface 47 in the recess 41. The columnar absorption member 615 is configured to be smaller in size in the width direction X than the recess 41. The columnar absorbing member 615 is configured to be smaller in size in the transport direction Y than the recess 41.

  The thin plate-like absorbing member 616 is configured to be larger in size in the transport direction Y than the recess 41. Therefore, the thin plate-like absorbent member 616 contacts the inner side surface 47 of the capping member 42 as the thin plate-like contact portion 65 at its end. The thin plate-like absorbent member 616 is positioned at substantially the same height as the columnar absorbent member 615 in the recess 41. The thin plate-like absorbent member 616 is positioned in the recess 41 so as to cover a part of the side surface of the columnar absorbent member 615.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the thin plate-like contact portion 65 preferably contacts the corner portion 58 of the capping member 42 at the inner side surface 47. The sheet-like absorbent member 616 is arranged such that its end functioning as a sheet-like contact 65 extends along the inner surface 47. Thereby, the thin plate contact portion 65 disposed in the recess 41 contacts the corner portion 58.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 17, the thin plate contact portion 65 is accommodated in the recess 41 so as to be displaced in a direction different from the side where the contact portion 43 is located when the absorber 91 is swollen. The thin plate contact portion 65 in the second embodiment is accommodated in the recess 41 so as to be displaced along the inner side surface 47 annularly extending in the recess 41 when the absorber 91 swells.

  The thin plate-like absorbent member 616 is accommodated in the recess 41 so as to extend along the annularly extending inner side surface 47 in the recess 41. When the absorbent body 91 swells in such a state, the thin plate-like absorbent member 616 is displaced so as to extend in its longitudinal direction. Therefore, the thin plate contact portion 65 extends and is displaced along the inner side surface 47 so as to surround the columnar absorption member 615 when the absorber 91 is swollen, particularly when the thin plate absorption member 616 is swollen.

According to the second embodiment, the effects (1) to (7) and (9) to (12) described above can be obtained.
The first and second embodiments may be modified as shown in the following modifications. In addition, the configurations included in the first and second embodiments and the configurations included in the following modification may be arbitrarily combined, or the configurations included in the following modifications may be combined arbitrarily.

  As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the liquid jet head 26 in this modification has a fixing plate 261. The fixing plate 261 is attached so as to cover a part of the nozzle surface 26a. The fixing plate 261 is formed of SUS (stainless steel) and has a through window 262 for exposing the nozzle 27. The fixing plate 261 is attached to the nozzle surface 26 a in a state where the nozzle 27 is exposed from the through window 262. In this case, the wiping unit 34 wipes the surface of the fixing plate 261 and the nozzle surface 26 a exposed from the through window 262.

  The discharge cap 40 caps the liquid jet head 26 by coming into contact with a fixing plate 261 that constitutes the liquid jet head 26. That is, when the discharge cap 40 caps the liquid jet head 26, the contact portion 43 contacts the surface of the fixing plate 261. The discharge cap 40 may cap the liquid jet head 26 by the contact portion 43 contacting the nozzle surface 26 a via the through window 262 of the fixing plate 261.

  It is preferable that a thin film underlayer and a liquid repellent film layer be formed as a liquid repellent treatment on at least a portion exposed from the through window 262 on the nozzle surface 26 a. The surface of the fixing plate 261 in contact with the contact portion 43 has high wettability as compared with the nozzle surface 26 a to which the liquid repellent treatment is applied. In other words, the surface of the fixing plate 261 has low liquid repellency as compared with the nozzle surface 26 a exposed from the through window 262.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 may include a wetting liquid supply mechanism for supplying the wetting liquid into the standby cap 36. The wetting liquid is, for example, a liquid composed of pure water and a preservative. When the standby cap 36 caps the liquid jet head 26, the wetting liquid in the standby cap 36 suppresses the drying of the nozzle 27. When the wetting liquid supply mechanism is provided, the wetting liquid can be supplied to the nozzle surface 26a because the wetting liquid creeps up in the standby cap 36 as described above. That is, the liquid which has been thickened and solidified at the nozzle surface 26a can be softened by the wetting liquid. As a result, the softened liquid can be easily removed by the wiping unit 34.

The annular region L may be formed from the lip 53 to the side wall 45, or may be formed only on the side wall 45.
The annular region L may be formed only at the corner 58.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the capping is performed by inclining the discharge cap 40 with respect to the nozzle surface 26a so that the contact portion 43 gradually separates from the one end to the other end in the transport direction Y with respect to the nozzle surface 26a. When releasing, the annular region L may be formed only at one end side. Thus, the liquid adhering to the contact portion between the nozzle surface 26 a and the contact portion 43 can be efficiently collected at one point where the nozzle surface 26 a contacts the other end of the contact portion 43.

The lip portion 53 may not constitute the inner side surface 47. In this case, the side wall 45 constitutes the entire circumference of the inner side surface 47.
The discharge cap 40 is not limited to the rectangular opening configuration, but may be a long opening configuration. In this case, since the radius of the capping member 42 is increased, it is possible to prevent the liquid from rising at the corner 58.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the discharge cap 40 may be configured to have a shape in which the contact portion 43 extends inward into the recess 41. In particular, it is preferable that the inner side surface 47 of the lip portion 53 constituting the contact portion 43 be curved inward. That is, it is preferable that the inner side surface 47 of the lip 53 be shaped to have a radius. In this case, the angle θ of the contact portion where the nozzle surface 26 a and the contact portion 43 contact each other becomes large, and it is possible to suppress the rising of the liquid.

The absorber 91 is not limited to the configuration formed of a plurality of absorbers, and may be formed of one absorber. Absorber 91 may be composed of a single type of absorber.
-The 1st absorber 61 is not limited to the structure formed with a plurality of absorption members, and may be formed with one absorption member.

  The standby cap 36 and the discharge cap 40 may cap the liquid jet head 26 by moving the liquid jet head 26 relative to the standby cap 36 and the discharge cap 40.

  The standby cap 36 and the discharge cap 40 may move vertically with respect to the nozzle surface 26 a when the standby cap 36 and the discharge cap 40 uncapping the liquid jet head 26.

The standby cap 36 may be configured to be able to form a space including all the nozzles 27 when capping the liquid jet head 26.
The absorber 91 may not be provided in the recess 41. In this case, if the annular region L is provided on the inner side surface 47, it is possible to suppress the rising of the liquid.

The annular region L may not be provided on the inner side surface 47. In this case, if the absorber 91 is provided in the recess 41, it is possible to suppress the creeping up of the liquid.
The opening of the suction hole 48 may not be partially covered by the absorber 91.

The absorber 91 may not divide the space CP into the space S1 and the space S2.
The capping member 42 may be provided with the insertion piece 78 or the bottom plate 73 so as to hold the absorber 91 in the recess 41. In this case, the discharge cap 40 may not include the holding member 71.

  The discharge cap 40 may double as the standby cap 36. That is, since the discharge cap 40 caps the liquid jet head 26 when the liquid jetting operation is not performed, the drying of the nozzle 27 can be suppressed.

The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 may be a line head type that does not include the carriage 25 that holds the liquid ejecting head 26 and includes a line head whose printing range is the entire width of the medium ST.
The medium ST is not limited to paper, but may be a plastic film, a thin plate material, or the like, a cloth used for a textile printing apparatus, clothing such as a T-shirt, or a three-dimensional object such as a stationery or tableware.

  The liquid jetted by the liquid jet head 26 is not limited to ink, and may be, for example, a liquid in which particles of a functional material are dispersed or mixed in the liquid. For example, recording is performed by ejecting a liquid material containing materials such as an electrode material and a coloring material (pixel material) used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, and a surface emitting display in the form of dispersion or dissolution. It may be configured.

In the following, technical ideas and their effects and advantages which are grasped from the above-described embodiment and the modification will be described.
[Thought 1]
A contact portion provided in a contactable manner with a liquid jet head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle from which a liquid is jetted, and a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head A bottom wall and a side wall forming the recess;
The recess has an annular region on its inner side,
The said annular area | region is comprised so that contact angle (phi) dc with the said liquid may become 20 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees, and surface roughness may become Ra 2.0 or less.

  According to this configuration, the annular region provided on the inner side surface of the recess has liquid repellency because the contact angle φdc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. The surface of the annular region is smooth because the surface roughness is Ra 2.0. In such an annular area, it is difficult for the liquid to creep up. Therefore, by providing the annular region on the inner side surface of the recess, the liquid in the recess is suppressed from traveling along the inner side surface to the contact portion. Therefore, the liquid can be prevented from adhering to the liquid jet head.

[Thought 2]
The cap according to [Thought 1], wherein the contact portion is configured such that a contact angle φcc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °.

  According to this configuration, since the contact portion has liquid repellency, the possibility that the liquid in the cap may be sucked up by the portion where the contact portion and the liquid jet head contact is reduced. As a result, the liquid in the cap can be prevented from rising toward the contact portion.

[Thought 3]
It further has a lip portion formed of an elastic member,
The lip portion constitutes at least a part of the inner surface and the contact portion,
The cap according to [Thought 1] or [Thought 2], wherein the annular region is provided in the lip portion.

According to this configuration, since the lip portion is elastically deformed when the lip portion constituting the contact portion contacts the nozzle surface, the space including the nozzle can be suitably formed.
[Thought 4]
The cap according to [Thought 3], wherein the elastic member is a fluorine-based elastomer.

  According to this configuration, the fluorine-based elastomer has high liquid repellency and elasticity. Therefore, it can be suitably adopted as a material for forming a lip portion which is provided with an annular region and which constitutes a contact portion.

[Thought 5]
A liquid jet head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle from which liquid is jetted;
It has a contact portion provided so as to be in contact with the liquid jet head, and a bottom wall and a side wall which form a recess capable of forming a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head. And a discharge cap for receiving the liquid discharged from the nozzle,
The recess has an annular region on its inner side,
The liquid injection device is characterized in that the annular region is configured such that a contact angle φdc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °, and a surface roughness is Ra 2.0 or less.

According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in [Thought 1].
[Thought 6]
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to [Concept 5], wherein the contact portion is configured such that a contact angle φcc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °.

According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in [Thought 2].
[Thought 7]
The discharge cap has a lip formed of an elastic member,
The lip portion constitutes at least a part of the inner surface and the contact portion,
The liquid injection device according to [Thought 5] or [Thought 6], wherein the annular region is provided in the lip portion.

According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in [Thought 3].
[Thought 8]
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to [Thought 7], wherein the elastic member is a fluorine-based elastomer.

According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in [Thought 4].
[Thought 9]
It comprises a wiping unit having a wiping unit that contacts the nozzle surface so that the nozzle surface can be wiped.
The contact angle φw between the wiping portion and the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φnf between the nozzle surface and the liquid,
The liquid injection device according to any one of [Thought 5] to [Thought 8], wherein the contact angle φdc is larger than the contact angle φw and smaller than the contact angle φnf.

  According to this configuration, since the contact angle φw between the wiping portion and the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φnf between the nozzle surface and the liquid, when the wiping portion wipes the nozzle surface, the liquid on the nozzle surface is collected efficiently it can.

[Thought 10]
It has a contact portion provided so as to be in contact with the liquid jet head, and a bottom wall and a side wall which form a recess capable of forming a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head. A standby cap forming the space when the liquid jet head is on standby,
The liquid injection device according to any one of [Thought 5] to [Thought 9], wherein the contact angle φmc between the liquid and the inner surface of the recess in the standby cap is smaller than the contact angle φdc. .

  According to this configuration, the contact angle φmc between the inner surface of the standby cap and the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φdc between the annular region and the liquid. Therefore, the standby cap has lower liquid repellency than the annular region. A standby cap with low liquid repellency tends to scoop up the liquid compared to the discharge cap. When the low liquid repellent standby cap comes in contact with the liquid jet head, the liquid in the standby cap crawls up the side wall and adheres to the nozzle surface. That is, the liquid in the standby cap can be moved to the nozzle surface. The liquid in the standby cap can be discharged to the outside of the standby cap by utilizing the liquid wicking property due to the low liquid repellency.

[Thought 11]
A contact portion provided in a contactable manner with a liquid jet head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle from which a liquid is jetted, and a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head A capping member having a bottom wall and a side wall defining a recess;
An absorber that is accommodated in the recess and capable of absorbing the liquid;
The absorber has a thin plate-like contact portion in contact with the inner side surface of the recess, and when swollen, the thin plate-like contact portion is displaced in a direction different from the side where the contact portion is located. A cap characterized by being accommodated.

  According to this configuration, since the thin plate contact portion of the absorber is in contact with the inner side surface of the recess, the thin plate contact portion absorbs the liquid in the cap crawling up the inner side surface. When the thin plate-like contact portion swells by absorbing the liquid, it is displaced in a direction different from the side where the contact portion is located. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the thin plate-like contact portion displaced by the swelling of the absorber contacts the nozzle surface. Therefore, the liquid can be prevented from adhering to the liquid jet head.

[Thought 12]
[Claim 11] The cap according to [Thought 11], wherein the absorber is accommodated in the recess so that the thin plate-like contact portion is displaced toward the bottom wall when swelling.

According to this configuration, since the thin plate contact portion displaced by swelling is displaced toward the bottom wall, the possibility that the thin plate contact portion contacts the nozzle surface can be further reduced.
[Thought 13]
The cap according to [Thought 11] or [Thought 12], wherein the thin plate contact portion is in contact with a corner portion to be a corner in the capping member.

According to this configuration, it is possible to absorb the liquid rising from the corner where the capillary force is relatively high.
[Thought 14]
The cap according to any one of [Thought 1] to [Thought 3], wherein the thin plate contact portion is separated from the bottom wall.

According to this configuration, the thin plate contact portion absorbs the liquid remaining on the bottom wall, so that the possibility of the thin plate contact portion being immersed in the liquid can be reduced.
[Thought 15]
The absorber is composed of an absorption member including the thin plate-like contact portion and another absorption member,
The cap according to any one of [Thought 11] to [Thought 14], wherein the other absorbent member is separated from the inner side surface.

According to this configuration, the thin plate contact portion can be easily formed.
[Thought 16]
The cap according to any one of [Thought 11] to [Thought 15], further comprising: a regulating member positioned on the opening side of the recess than the absorber and regulating the position of the upper surface of the absorber.

According to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the swelling absorber being displaced toward the nozzle surface.
[Thought 17]
A liquid jet head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle from which liquid is jetted;
Capping having a contact portion provided in contact with the liquid jet head, and a bottom wall and a side wall forming a recess capable of forming a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head A discharge cap having a member, an absorber accommodated in the recess and capable of absorbing the liquid, and receiving the liquid discharged from the nozzle;
The absorber has a thin plate-like contact portion in contact with the inner side surface of the recess, and when swollen, the thin plate-like contact portion is displaced in a direction different from the side where the contact portion is located. A liquid ejecting apparatus characterized in that it is accommodated.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in [Thought 11].

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Liquid injection apparatus, 13 ... Housing | casing 14 ... Delivery part, 15 ... Support stand, 15a ... Rib, 16 ... Liquid container, 17 ... Container holding part, 23 ... Liquid injection part, 24 ... Guide shaft, 25 ... Carriage 26 liquid jet head 26a nozzle surface 27 nozzle 28 waste liquid collecting body 29 mounting portion 31 maintenance unit 31a lifting mechanism 32 cap unit 32a moving mechanism 33 ... Suction mechanism, 33a ... Rotor, 34 ... Wiping section, 34a ... Cloth wiper (dopping section), 34b ... Rubber wiper (dipping section) 35 ... Flushing box, 36 ... Standby cap, 37 ... Suction flow path, 38 ... Ventilation flow path, 39: air release valve, 40: discharge cap, 41: recess, 42: capping member, 43: contact portion, 44: bottom wall, 45: sidewall, 46: inner bottom surface, 47: inside Surface: 48 Suction hole 49: atmosphere communication hole 51: connection pipe portion 52: connection pipe portion 53: lip portion 54: corner portion 55: corner portion 58: corner portion 61: first portion Absorbent body 62 Bottom surface 63 Surface 65 Thin plate contact portion Slit 67 Slit 71 Retaining member 72 Reticulated portion 73 Bottom plate 74 Plate spring 75 Locking piece , 76: locking piece, 77: support plate, 78: insertion piece, 81: second absorber, 82: bottom surface, 83: surface, 91: absorber, 261: fixing plate, 262: through window, 361: recess 362: Capping member, 363: contact portion, 364: bottom wall, 365: side wall, 366: inner bottom surface, 367: inner side surface, 368: lip portion, 369: air communication path, 611: upper absorbing member, 612: lower Side absorption member, 612 ... middle absorption member, 613 ... lower absorption member, 61 ... Columnar absorbing member, 616 ... sheet shaped absorbing member, L ... annular area, M ... sample, X ... width direction, Y ... conveying direction, Z ... vertical direction, CP ... space, LA ... non-printing area, NL ... nozzle row PA: printing area, R1: first area, R2: second area, RA: non-printing area, RS: roll body, S1: first space, S2: second space, ST: medium.

Claims (10)

A contact portion provided in a contactable manner with a liquid jet head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle from which a liquid is jetted, and a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head A bottom wall and a side wall forming the recess;
The recess has an annular region on its inner side,
The said annular area | region is comprised so that contact angle (phi) dc with the said liquid may become 20 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees, and surface roughness may become Ra 2.0 or less.   The cap according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion is configured to have a contact angle φcc with the liquid of 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. It further has a lip portion formed of an elastic member,
The lip portion constitutes at least a part of the inner surface and the contact portion,
The cap according to claim 1, wherein the annular area is provided at the lip portion.   The cap according to claim 3, wherein the elastic member is a fluorine-based elastomer. A liquid jet head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle from which liquid is jetted;
It has a contact portion provided so as to be in contact with the liquid jet head, and a bottom wall and a side wall which form a recess capable of forming a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head. And a discharge cap for receiving the liquid discharged from the nozzle,
The recess has an annular region on its inner side,
The liquid injection device is characterized in that the annular region is configured such that a contact angle φdc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °, and a surface roughness is Ra 2.0 or less.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the contact portion is configured such that a contact angle φcc with the liquid is 20 ° or more and less than 90 °. The discharge cap has a lip formed of an elastic member,
The lip portion constitutes at least a part of the inner surface and the contact portion,
The liquid injection device according to claim 5, wherein the annular region is provided in the lip portion.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the elastic member is a fluorine-based elastomer. It comprises a wiping unit having a wiping unit that contacts the nozzle surface so that the nozzle surface can be wiped.
The contact angle φw between the wiping portion and the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φnf between the nozzle surface and the liquid,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the contact angle φdc is larger than the contact angle φw and smaller than the contact angle φnf. It has a contact portion provided so as to be in contact with the liquid jet head, and a bottom wall and a side wall which form a recess capable of forming a space including the nozzle when the contact portion contacts the liquid jet head. A standby cap forming the space when the liquid jet head is on standby,
The liquid injection device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein a contact angle φmc between an inner side surface of the recess in the standby cap and the liquid is smaller than the contact angle φdc.