JP2019188788A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress ink from being flicked to a wiper blade.SOLUTION: An ink jet printer 1 includes a head 310 in which a plurality of nozzle holes 351 are opened on a nozzle surface 310, and a wiper blade 61 (a wiping member) which wipes ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310. The wiper blade 61 has a scraping surface 61a (a wiping surface) of the ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310. The scraping surface 61a has a scooping surface area S of the ink Q. The scraping surface 61a has a linear groove 610 (a pattern) which provides lotus effect from a periphery of the scooping surface area S.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus.

  The ink jet printing apparatus includes a wiping mechanism that wipes (scraps) ink adhering to the nozzle surface. Patent Document 1 discloses an ink jet printing apparatus in which a surface treatment is performed on the wiper blade so that the ink after scraping does not adhere to the wiper blade.

JP 2008-302533 A

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an ink jet printing apparatus 100 according to a conventional example. (A) is the figure which looked at the nozzle surface 310 from the printing medium side. The wiper 600 is indicated by a virtual line. (B) is AA sectional drawing of (a), and is the figure which orient | assigned the nozzle surface 310 downward.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the head 31 of the ink jet printing apparatus 100 according to the conventional example is mounted on the carriage 300 and is movable in the main scanning direction X. The head 31 has a nozzle surface 310 on which a plurality of nozzle holes 315 for discharging ink droplets are formed. The nozzle surface 310 of the head 31 is disposed so as to face a print medium (not shown). Ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle holes 315 toward the print medium.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the ink Q adheres to the nozzle surface 310. In order to remove the ink Q attached to the nozzle surface 310, the inkjet printing apparatus 100 includes a wiping mechanism 6 that removes the ink Q. The wiping mechanism 6 scrapes the ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310 by relatively moving the wiper 600 from one side edge 311 to the other side edge 312 of the nozzle surface 310 in the main scanning direction X (in the drawing). , See arrow). The wiper 600 is a plate-like elastic member.

When the ink Q is scraped off, the wiper 600 is elastically deformed in a state where the tip 601 side sliding on the nozzle surface 310 is inclined rearward in the movement direction from the base end 602 side. In this case, the ink Q scraped off by the wiper 600 adheres to the surface of the wiper 600.
The strain energy of the wiper 600 due to elastic deformation is released at the moment when the tip 601 of the wiper 600 is separated from the other side edge 312 of the nozzle surface 310. Thereby, the ink Q attached to the wiper 600 is blown off.

  For example, when a plurality of heads 31 are arranged side by side on the carriage 300 along the main scanning direction X, the ink Q blown off from one head 31 has an adverse effect on the nozzle surface 310 of the adjacent head 31. . In order to avoid this, it is necessary to separate the adjacent heads 31 by a predetermined length. Therefore, the carriage 300 is increased in size.

  For this reason, there is a demand for preventing the scraped ink from remaining on the surface of the wiper.

The present invention
A head having a plurality of nozzle holes opened on the nozzle surface;
A wiping piece for wiping off ink adhering to the nozzle surface, and an inkjet printing apparatus comprising:
In the wiping piece, the front surface in the wiping direction of the wiping piece when wiping the ink attached to the nozzle surface is a wiping surface of the ink attached to the nozzle surface,
On one end side of the wiping piece that contacts the nozzle surface, a rake face region formed by curving the wiping piece forward in the wiping direction is provided on the wiping face,
The wiping surface is provided with a pattern that exhibits a lotus effect in the region on the other end side as viewed from the rake surface region,
When wiping the ink adhering to the nozzle surface with the wiping piece, the one end side of the wiping piece is arranged above the vertical line direction and wiped from the nozzle surface with a pattern that exhibits the lotus effect. An ink jet printing apparatus having a configuration in which ink taken and attached to the rake face region is discharged to the other end side located on the lower side in the vertical line direction.

In the inkjet printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The pattern that exhibits the lotus effect is a linear groove extending from the rake face region to the other end side,
On the wiping surface, a plurality of the linear grooves are arranged at intervals.

In the inkjet printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The groove width of the linear groove and the interval between the adjacent linear grooves are set such that the minimum angle of the contact angle of the ink attached to the wiping surface is 90 degrees.

In the inkjet printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The head is held by a head holding member;
The head holding member has a protrusion protruding from the head holding member,
The protrusion is provided adjacent to the nozzle surface on the downstream side in the wiping direction of the wiping piece,
The protrusion has a predetermined length in a direction orthogonal to the wiping direction,
The protrusion has a narrower width in a direction perpendicular to the wiping direction as it moves away from the nozzle surface in the wiping direction,
The protrusion has a height in a protruding direction in contact with the wiping piece.

In the inkjet printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The protrusion has a configuration in which the length in the wiping direction is shortened from one of the directions orthogonal to the wiping direction to the other.

In the inkjet printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The protrusion has an inclined surface that approaches the head holding member as it moves away from the nozzle surface in the wiping direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the scraped ink from remaining attached to the surface of the wiper.

It is a figure explaining an inkjet printing apparatus. It is a principal part enlarged view of an inkjet printing apparatus. It is a figure explaining the carriage of an inkjet printing apparatus. It is a figure explaining a wiping mechanism. It is a figure explaining a wiper part. It is a figure explaining the ink scraping by a wiping mechanism. It is a figure explaining the ink scraping by a wiping mechanism. It is a figure explaining the ink after scraping. It is a figure explaining the inkjet printing apparatus concerning a prior art example.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described by taking an inkjet printing apparatus 1 including a wiping mechanism 6 as an example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an ink jet printing apparatus 1. In FIG. 1, the description of the front cover is omitted. Further, a part of the guide rail 20 is indicated by a virtual line.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the inkjet printing apparatus 1, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the printing unit 3 is arranged at the standby position. For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 2, a part of the guide rail 20 is cut out and the position of the suction device 37 is shifted.
Further, in the following description, the vertical line VL direction based on the installation state of the inkjet printing apparatus 1 is also referred to as the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an inkjet printing apparatus 1 includes a housing 2, a printing unit 3 for performing image formation (printing) on a printing medium M, an ink tank 10 for storing ink, and maintenance for maintenance. And a transport unit 8 that transports the print medium M. The print medium M is, for example, a resin sheet made of paper, cloth, vinyl chloride, polyester, or the like.

  The ink tanks 10 are provided in a number corresponding to the type of ink to be used. The ink stored in the ink tank 10 is supplied to the head 31 of the printing unit 3 to be described later by an ink supply device (not shown). The transport unit 8 transports the print medium M in the sub-scanning direction Y.

  The ink jet printing apparatus 1 includes an operation panel 9 disposed in the housing 2 and a control device (not shown). The control device is electrically connected to the printing unit 3, the conveyance unit 8, and other units of the other inkjet printing apparatus 1. The control device controls the operation of each part of the inkjet printing apparatus 1 in accordance with an input signal from the operation panel 9. A printing process on the printing medium M, an ink discharging process, a maintenance process for the printing unit 3 described later, and the like are executed. The control device is specifically a microcomputer and includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an input port, and an output port.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printing unit 3 is disposed in the housing 2. The printing unit 3 includes a head 31 that ejects ink droplets toward the print medium M, and a carriage 30 that holds the head 31. In the embodiment, the carriage 30 holds four heads 31. The four heads 31 are arranged side by side on the carriage 30 along the main scanning direction X.

  The carriage 30 of the printing unit 3 is engaged with a guide rail 20 provided in the housing 2. The guide rail 20 is provided with its longitudinal direction along the main scanning direction X. The carriage 30 can reciprocate in the main scanning direction X via the guide rail 20. The carriage 30 is moved using a carriage moving device (not shown).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide rail 20 is disposed above the print medium M. In the main scanning direction X, the length La of the guide rail 20 is longer than the length Lb of the print medium M (La> Lb). In this case, the guide rail 20 has one end 20a side in the longitudinal direction facing the print medium M in the vertical direction, and the other end 20b side facing the maintenance unit 5 described later in the vertical direction.

The guide rail 20 includes a first guide portion 21 that faces the print medium M on one end 20a side, and a second guide portion 22 that faces the maintenance portion 5 on the other end 20b side in the vertical direction.
When printing, the printing unit 3 moves on the first guide unit 21 and ejects ink droplets onto the printing medium M. When printing is not performed, the printing unit 3 stands by at a predetermined position on the second guide unit 22 (see FIG. 2, this position is hereinafter referred to as a standby position).
In the printing unit 3, the maintenance of the head 31 is performed by the maintenance unit 5 at the standby position on the second guide unit 22.

[Maintenance section 5]
As shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance unit 5 of the inkjet printing apparatus 1 is provided on the other end 20 b side (right side in FIG. 1) of the guide rail 20 in the main scanning direction X.
The maintenance unit 5 includes a wiping mechanism 6 that wipes a nozzle surface 310 of the head 31 described later, and a suction device 7 that sucks ink in the head 31.

[Wiping mechanism 6]
The wiping mechanism 6 is disposed below the second guide portion 22. The wiping mechanism 6 is disposed closer to the first guide unit 21 in the main scanning direction X than the standby position of the printing unit 3. The wiping mechanism 6 scrapes off the ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310 of the head 31. Details will be described later.

[Suction device 7]
The suction device 7 is disposed below the second guide portion 22. The suction device 7 is located below the printing unit 3 at the standby position of the printing unit 3. The suction device 7 includes a main body 70, the same number of caps 71 as the head 31, an ink discharge pipe (not shown), and a suction pump (not shown).

  The suction device 7 according to the embodiment has four caps 71 corresponding to the four heads 31. Each cap 71 is held by the main body 70. When the printing unit 3 is in the standby position, the cap 71 faces the nozzle surface 310 of the head 31. The main body 70 is movable in the vertical direction. When the main body 70 is moved upward, the cap 71 covers the nozzle surface 310 of the head 31.

  As a result, the suction device 7 generates a negative pressure in the space formed between the cap 71 and the nozzle surface 310 and sucks ink remaining in the nozzles of the head 31 (not shown). An ink discharge pipe (not shown) discharges the ink sucked by the suction pump to a waste ink tank (not shown).

Here, the maintenance of the head 31 by the maintenance unit 5 is performed according to the following procedure.
(I) The ink Q remaining in the nozzles of the head 31 is sucked by the suction device 7.
(Ii) The ink Q swells from the nozzle surface 310 by suction. The ink Q swelled (attached) from the nozzle surface 310 is scraped off by the wiping mechanism 6.
(Iii) After scraping off the swollen ink Q, the ink is slightly ejected to flush the nozzles.

[Carriage 30]
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the carriage 30. (A) is the perspective view of the carriage 30 seen from the AA arrow direction in FIG. (B) is an enlarged view of area A in (a). Note that, in (a), two heads 31 on the right side are omitted, and an opening 350 of the carriage 30 is shown. In (b), the opening part 350 which accommodates the head 31 is shown by notching a part of the head 31 and showing. (C) is CC sectional drawing in (b).

In the inkjet printing apparatus 1, the carriage 30 is provided so as to be movable in the main scanning direction X.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A, in the carriage 30, a plurality of heads 31 are arranged in the main scanning direction X.
Each of the heads 31 is held at a lower end 31 a by a head holding portion 35 fixed to the lower surface of the carriage 30.
In the following description, one head 31 will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the lower end 31 a of the head 31 is provided with a region (nozzle surface 310) in which nozzle holes 315 are arranged at a substantially central portion in the main scanning direction X.
The nozzle surface 310 is a flat surface orthogonal to the vertical line VL. In the nozzle surface 310, a plurality of nozzle rows 316 in which a plurality of nozzle holes 315 are arranged in series are provided at equal intervals in the main scanning direction X.

In each nozzle row 316, the nozzle holes 315 are arranged in series in the sub-scanning direction Y at equal intervals. In the head 31, different color ink droplets are ejected for each nozzle row 316.
Note that the position of the nozzle surface 310, the arrangement of the nozzle row 316, and the nozzle holes 315 constituting the nozzle row 316 shown in FIG. 3B are examples, and only in the mode shown in FIG. 3B. It is not limited.

  An opening 350 having a shape corresponding to the head 31 is opened in the head holding portion 35 of the carriage 30. The head 31 is held by the carriage 30 in a state where the nozzle surface 310 side is inserted into the corresponding opening 350.

In this state, the nozzle surface 310 of the head 31 is disposed below the bottom surface 35a of the head holding portion 35 (see FIG. 6B).
In the present embodiment, the nozzle surface 310 protrudes downward from the bottom surface 35a by a predetermined height T2.

[Protrusions 4]
As shown in FIG. 3B, the opening 350 connects a pair of side edges 351 and 352 arranged in parallel to each other along the main scanning direction X and ends of the side edges 351 and 352. And a pair of side edges 353 and 354.
The pair of side edges 353 and 354 are provided in parallel to each other in the direction along the sub-scanning direction Y. The opening 350 has a rectangular shape that matches the outer shape of the head 31.

  In the head holding portion 35, the protrusion 4 is provided along the side edge 354 of the opening 350 corresponding to the head 31. The protrusion 4 protrudes downward from the bottom surface 35a of the head holding portion 35 and is formed integrally with the carriage 30 (see FIG. 6B).

As shown in FIG. 3B, the protrusion 4 includes a base 40 extending over the entire length of the side edge 354 in the sub-scanning direction Y, and one end of the base 40 in the sub-scanning direction Y in the main scanning direction X. And an extending portion 41 extending.
The extension 41 extends from the end of the base 40 in the sub-scanning direction Y in the main scanning direction X direction. The extension length Δt of the extension portion 41 in the main scanning direction X is longer than the length Δd of the gap between the opening 350 and the head 31 (Δt> Δd).

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the base 40 has a width W <b> 1 in the sub-scanning direction Y that is further away from the opening 350 in the main scanning direction X. Further, the base portion 40 has a length L1 in the main scanning direction X that is shorter from the side edge 351 toward the side edge 352 in the sub-scanning direction Y. That is, the width of the base 40 in the main scanning direction X becomes narrower from the upper side to the lower side in FIG. 3B, and the shape of the base 40 viewed from below is a substantially right triangle shape. .

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the protruding height T1 of the base 40 and the extending portion 41 from the bottom surface 35a is slightly lower than the protruding height T2 of the nozzle surface 310 from the bottom surface 35a (T1 < T2). The front end surface 40a of the base portion 40 in the vertical direction is parallel to the lower end 31a (nozzle surface 310) of the head 31, and the front end surface 40a is provided at the same height as the front end surface 41a of the extending portion 41 described above. (See (c) of FIG. 3).

  In the base portion 40, an inclined surface 40b is provided on the opposite side to the extending portion 41 (the right side in FIG. 3C). The inclined surface 40b is an inclined surface in which the protrusion height T1 from the bottom surface 35a decreases as the distance from the head 31 increases in the main scanning direction X (toward the right side in FIG. 3C).

As shown in FIG. 3B, the width of the inclined surface 40b in the main scanning direction X is substantially the same over substantially the entire length in the sub-scanning direction Y. For this reason, the tip surface 40a is provided with the inclined surface 40b, so that the width in the main scanning direction X becomes narrower from the upper side to the lower side in FIG.
A side surface 40c (see FIG. 6B) on the opening 350 side of the base 40 in the main scanning direction X is flush with the side edge 354 of the opening 350 in the vertical direction.

[Wiping mechanism 6]
The wiping mechanism 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the wiping mechanism 6. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the wiping mechanism 6 and shows a main configuration of the wiping mechanism 6. (B) is a figure which shows the state by which the link mechanism was expand | deployed. (C) is a figure which shows the state by which the link mechanism was folded.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the wiper unit 60. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the wiper unit 60. FIG. FIG. 4B is a plan view of the wiper unit 60. FIG. (C) is AA sectional drawing of the wiper part 60 of (b). Note that the size of the linear groove 610 of the wiper blade 61 is exaggerated.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the wiper unit 60 includes a plate-like wiper blade 61 and a holding unit 62 that holds the wiper blade 61. The wiper blade 61 is made of a resin material such as propylene or an elastic material such as EPDM.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the width W2 of the wiper blade 61 in the sub-scanning direction Y is larger than the width W3 (see FIG. 3) of the nozzle surface 310 (W2 ≧ W3). Although details will be described later, in wiping the ink Q, the entire nozzle surface 310 is wiped substantially uniformly.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the wiper blade 61 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the thickness direction. In the wiper blade 61, the lower end 612 side in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (the vertical direction in the drawing) is held by a holding portion 62 described later, and the upper end 611 side protrudes from the holding portion 62. The wiper blade 61 is cantilevered by the holding portion 62 on the lower end 612 side. The wiper blade 61 can be elastically displaced in the thickness direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5C, the upper end 611 side of the wiper blade 61 is curved in an arc shape on one surface (scraping surface 61a) side in the thickness direction. On the upper end 611 side on the one scraping surface 61a side, an arc-shaped rake face region S is formed.

  The rake face region S is formed over the entire length of the wiper blade 61 in the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 5B). Although details will be described later, the wiper blade 61 scrapes (wipes) the ink Q on the nozzle surface 310 on one surface 61a (rake surface region S). Therefore, in the following description, one surface 61a is also referred to as a scraping surface 61a.

  A linear groove 610 is formed on the scraping surface 61 a of the wiper blade 61. The linear groove 610 is linearly formed in the vertical direction. The linear groove 610 extends from the upper end 611 of the wiper blade 61 toward the lower end 612 toward the lower end 612 from a position separated by a predetermined distance Δh. A plurality of linear grooves 610 are formed at an equal pitch over the entire length of the scraping surface 61a in the longitudinal direction.

  Although details will be described later, the width ΔL of the linear groove 610 and the pitch P of the linear grooves 610 adjacent in the longitudinal direction are such that the contact angle φ of the ink Q with respect to the scraping surface 61a of the wiper blade 61 is 90 degrees or more. It is set to become. This is because the lotus effect due to surface irregularities is exhibited.

[Holding member 62]
As shown in FIG. 5C, the holding member 62 that holds the lower end 612 side of the wiper blade 61 has a slit 621 at the center of a base portion 620 that has a rectangular shape in a sectional view.
The slit 621 opens upward in the direction of the vertical line VL based on the installation state of the inkjet printing apparatus 1.
In the holding member 62, the wiper blade 61 is supported by the holding member 62 in a state where the wiper blade 61 is inserted into the slit 621 from above.
In this state, the upper end 611 of the wiper blade 61 is provided in a direction along the horizontal line HL direction.

The wiper blade 61 is supported by the holding member 62 so that the protruding height ha from the upper end 62a to the upper end 611 of the holding member 62 is substantially constant.
In the base portion 620 of the holding member 62, the engagement protrusion 64 is provided on one surface 620a in the thickness direction of the wiper blade 61, and the locking portion 63 is provided on the other surface 620b.

  The engagement protrusion 64 is a cylindrical member protruding in the horizontal line HL direction from one surface 620a of the base portion 621, and one end 691 of a second link member 69 to be described later is rotatable on the engagement protrusion 64. (See FIG. 4).

The locking part 63 has an arm part 631 extending in the horizontal line HL direction from the other surface 620 b of the base part 621, and a locking piece 632 extending downward from the upper end of the arm part 631.
The locking piece 632 is provided in parallel to the other surface 620 b with a space between the other surface 620 b of the base portion 621, and a region between the other surface 620 b and the locking piece 632. In addition, a guide rail 65 is inserted.
In this state, the locking piece 632 is movable in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 65.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the guide rail 65 is provided below the carriage 30 in a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction X, and the holding member 62 supported by the guide rail 65 via the locking portion 63 is provided. The main scanning direction X can be moved in the sub-scanning direction Y.

  In the holding member 62, the wiper blade 61 is provided with the width direction of the wiper blade 61 along the sub-scanning direction Y. The wiper blade 61 is interlocked with the movement of the holding member 62 in the sub-scanning direction Y. Thus, the movement is made in the sub-scanning direction Y.

[Drive mechanism 66]
As shown in FIG. 4, the wiping mechanism 6 is provided with a drive mechanism 66 that moves the wiper unit 60 forward and backward in the sub-scanning direction Y.
The drive mechanism 66 includes a motor 67, a first link member 68 coupled to the output shaft of the motor 67, and a second link member 69 that connects the first link member 68 and the holding member 62. .

  The first link member 68 has one end 681 in the longitudinal direction connected to the output shaft 671 of the motor 67, and the other end 682 in the longitudinal direction of the first link member 68 is the output rotation of the motor 67, and the rotation axis X <b> 1. Displace in the surrounding circumferential direction.

  In the second link member 69, one end 691 in the longitudinal direction is connected to the engagement protrusion 64 of the holding member 62 so as to be relatively rotatable, and the other end 692 is relatively rotatable to the other end 682 of the first link member 68. It is connected to.

Therefore, when the output shaft 671 of the motor 67 rotates in the clockwise direction CW in FIG. 4, the connection point X2 between the other end 682 of the first link member 68 and the other end 692 of the second link member 69 rotates. It is displaced in the circumferential direction around the axis X1.

Then, the one end 691 of the second link member 69 is drawn toward the motor 67, and the holding member 62 connected to the one end 691 of the second link member 69 moves to the motor 67 side together with the wiper blade 61. It is like that.
At this time, the locking portion 63 provided on the holding member 62 slides on the front surface of the guide rail 65, so that the wiper blade 61 keeps the upper end 611 along the horizontal line HL and the sub-scanning direction. It moves to Y.

[Operation of Wiping Mechanism 6]
In the wiping mechanism 6, the link mechanisms (the first link member 68 and the second link member 69) are expanded or folded in the sub-scanning direction Y in conjunction with the rotation of the output shaft 671 of the motor 67 about the rotation axis X <b> 1. Thus, the holding member 62 that holds the wiper blade 61 moves back and forth in the sub-scanning direction Y along the guide rail 65 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C).

  When the ink Q is scraped off, the link mechanism (the first link member 68 and the second link member 69) is developed. Then, the wiper part 60 is positioned on one side in the sub scanning direction Y (see FIG. 4B). Thereby, the scraping surface 61a of the wiper blade 61 intersects the movement path of the nozzle surface 310 in the main scanning direction X.

  When the ink Q is not scraped off, the link mechanisms (the first link member 68 and the second link member 69) are folded. The wiper unit 60 is positioned on the other side in the sub-scanning direction Y (the back side in the drawing) (see FIG. 4C). The scraping surface 61 a of the wiper blade 61 retreats to a position away from the movement path of the nozzle surface 310.

[Scraping ink]
The scraping of the ink Q of the wiping mechanism 6 will be described.
6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining the scraping of the ink Q by the wiping mechanism 6. FIG.
FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship of the wiper blade 61 with respect to the nozzle surface 310. FIG. 6B shows a state where the wiper blade 61 is disposed at the (P0) approach position with respect to the nozzle surface 310 with a solid line, and the wiper blade 61 is (P1) a scraping start position, (P2 The cases in the middle of the scraping position and (P3) the scraping end position are indicated by virtual lines. The case where the wiper blade 61 is at (P1) scraping start position, (P2) scraping intermediate position, and (P3) scraping end position with respect to the nozzle surface 310 is indicated by virtual lines.
(A)-(c) of FIG. 7 is a figure which shows the AA cross section in FIG.
(A) has shown the case where the wiper blade 61 exists in the scraping start position of (P1). (B) has shown the case where the wiper blade 61 exists in the (P2) scraping middle position. (C) has shown the case where the wiper blade 61 exists in the (P3) scraping completion position.
(D)-(f) of FIG. 7 is a figure which shows the BB cross section in FIG.
(D) has shown the case where the wiper blade 61 exists in the (P1) scraping start position. (E) has shown the case where the wiper blade 61 exists in the (P2) scraping middle position. (F) has shown the case where the wiper blade 61 exists in the (P3) scraping completion position. In FIG. 7, only the wiper blade 61 and the holding member 62 are shown in the wiping mechanism 6.

  When the ink Q is scraped off, the link mechanism (the first link member 68 and the second link member 69) is developed (see FIG. 4B). Accordingly, the wiper blade 61 is disposed at the (P0) approach position in the main scanning direction X (left side of the head 31 in FIG. 6). The scraping surface 61 a of the wiper blade 61 intersects the movement path of the nozzle surface 310.

After the wiper blade 61 is disposed at the (P0) approach position, the printing unit 3 (see FIG. 2) is displaced in the main scanning direction X (direction in which the head 31 is brought closer to the wiper blade 61: left direction in FIG. 6B). Let
Then, when the wiper blade 61 reaches the (P1) scraping start position, the wiper blade 61 rides on the nozzle surface 310 while being elastically deformed (see FIG. 7A).

  At this time, the wiper blade 61 is elastically deformed and tilted toward the moving side (left side in the drawing) of the carriage 30. As a result, the rake face region S of the scraping surface 61 a of the wiper blade 61 is inclined with respect to the nozzle surface 310, and strain energy is accumulated in the wiper blade 61.

  Thereafter, the wiper blade 61 moves toward the scraping end position (P3) after passing through the scraping intermediate position (P2). In this process, the wiper blade 61 slides on the nozzle surface 310 so that the ink Q attached to the nozzle surface 310 is scraped off.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the nozzle surface 310 is viewed from the lower side, the wiper blade 61 moves from the (P1) scraping start position side to the (P3) scraping end position side in the main scanning direction X. Move relatively (see arrows in the figure).
In FIG. 6, the left side in the drawing is upstream in the movement direction of the wiper blade 61, and the right side is downstream.

  As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7D, when the wiper blade 61 is moved to the downstream side (left side) after being disposed at the (P0) approach position, (P1) the wiper blade 61 at the scraping start position. The upper end 611 of the nozzle contacts the nozzle surface 310.

  As shown in FIGS. 7B and 7E, when the wiper blade 61 further moves downstream, the wiper blade 61 slides on the nozzle surface 310 while being elastically deformed ((P2) intermediate scraping position) ). By this sliding, the wiper blade 61 scrapes off the ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310.

  Specifically, the wiper blade 61 is inclined by approximately 45 degrees with respect to the nozzle surface 310. As a result, the rake face area S of the scraping surface 61 a faces the nozzle face 310. The ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310 is scraped off by the scooping surface area S.

  As described above, the width W2 of the wiper blade 61 is greater than or equal to the width W3 of one nozzle surface 310 (W2 ≧ W3). Therefore, the ink Q on the nozzle surface 310 of one head 31 can be scraped off by one movement of the wiper blade 61 in the main scanning direction X.

As shown in FIGS. 7C and 7F, when the wiper blade 61 further moves downstream, the wiper blade 61 rides on the protrusion 4 after the ink Q has been scraped off from the nozzle surface 310. ((P3) scraping end position).
When the wiper blade 61 rides on the protrusion 4, the upper end 611 of the wiper blade 61 slides on the distal end surface 40 a of the base 40.

  Here, there is a slight gap Δd in the main scanning direction X between the head 31 and the opening 350, but the wiper blade 61 has an extension 41 of the protrusion 4 before passing through this gap. Get on. This is because the extension length Δt of the extension portion 41 is longer than the gap length Δd as described above (Δt> Δd, see FIG. 3B). This prevents the wiper blade 61 from being caught in the gap between the head 31 and the opening 350.

The base 40 of the protrusion 4 has a substantially right triangle shape when viewed in the vertical direction (see FIG. 6).
When the wiper blade 61 moves on the base 40 in the main scanning direction X, the other side (lower side in FIG. 6A) of the upper end 611 of the wiper blade 61 in the sub-scanning direction Y is on the distal end surface 40a of the base 40. Will not slide. (See (f) of FIG. 7). That is, the state in which the wiper blade 61 is elastically deformed is released.
In this case, one side of the upper end 611 in the sub-scanning direction Y (the upper side in FIG. 6A) slides on the distal end surface 40a of the base 40 (see FIG. 7C). That is, the state where the wiper blade 61 is elastically deformed is maintained.

  Therefore, the strain energy on the other side of the wiper blade 61 in the sub-scanning direction Y is first released. As the wiper blade 61 moves in the main scanning direction X, the wiper blade 61 moves from the other (side edge 352 of the opening 350) side to the one (side edge 351 of the opening 350) side in the sub scanning direction Y. The strain energy is released in turn.

Therefore, strain energy can be released little by little. Thereby, it is possible to more suitably suppress the ink Q that has been scraped off.
As a result, the wiper blade 61 prevents the strain energy from being released all at once over the entire length in the sub-scanning direction Y.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink Q from being applied to the nozzle surface 310 of the adjacent heads 31 without increasing the interval between the adjacent heads 31.

Here, the protrusion part 4 has the inclined surface 40b (refer (c) of FIG. 3). When the strain energy of the wiper blade 61 is released, the upper end 611 slides on the inclined surface 40b (see (f) of FIG. 7). If it does so, the distortion energy released by the friction at the time of the upper end 611 sliding on the inclined surface 40b can be reduced, and the blow-off of the ink Q can be suppressed more suitably.
Therefore, the ink Q is more preferably prevented from being applied to the nozzle surface 310 of the adjacent heads 31 without increasing the interval between the adjacent heads 31.

  Although illustration is omitted, when the wiper blade 61 is further moved, the wiper blade 61 moves away from the protrusion 4.

[Lotus effect]
The ink Q after being scraped off by the wiper blade 61 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the ink Q on the wiper blade 61.
(A) is the perspective view which looked at the wiper blade 61 in FIG.7 (b) from the scraping surface 61a side. (B) is a figure which shows typically the cut surface which cut | disconnected the wiper blade 61 in (a) by the surface A. FIG. (C) is a figure explaining the case where the linear groove | channel 610 is not formed in the scraping surface 61a in (b) (when it is set as a flat surface).
The ink Q is not hatched for easy viewing.

  When the ink Q is scraped off by the wiper blade 61, the ink Q is collected in a droplet state on the scraping surface 61a after the scraping (see FIG. 8A). The ink Q in the droplet state has a surface Qa that comes into contact with the outside air and an interface Qb that comes into contact with the scraping surface 61a.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the wiper blade 61 has a plurality of linear grooves 610 on the scraping surface 61a, and has an uneven shape in a sectional view (the scraping surface 61a is convex). The linear groove 610 corresponds to a recess).

Here, the width ΔL of one linear groove 610 is set to, for example, 5 to 15 μm. The pitch P of the adjacent linear grooves 610 is set to 20 to 30 μm, for example.
As a result, the ink Q does not enter the linear groove 610. A layer of air Air is formed between the linear groove 610 and the interface Qb of the ink Q.
At the interface Qb of the ink Q, the contact with the scraping surface 61a (convex portion) and the contact with the air Air in the linear groove 610 (concave portion) are alternately repeated (Cassie-Baxter state).

In the Cassie-Baxter state, the angle φ formed by the interface Qb and the surface Qa in the ink Q (the angle formed by the straight line Lp and the straight line Lq, also referred to as the contact angle φ) is 90 degrees or more (see FIG. 8B). ). When the contact angle φ is 90 degrees or more, the Lotus effect is exhibited and the wettability of the ink Q is lowered (the water repellency of the scraping surface 61a is improved).
In order to exert the lotus effect, the surface of the scraping surface 61a may not be the linear groove 610. For example, the scraping surface 61a may be a surface having a satin-like pattern.
It is preferable that the pattern that exerts such a lotus effect is provided at least from the vicinity of the lower end 612 opposite to the upper end 611 in the rake face region S of the ink Q.
Thereby, the ink Q scraped off by the rake face area S can be appropriately discharged from the rake face area S.

Due to the lotus effect, the ink Q hardly adheres to the scraping surface 61a. Since the scraping surface 61a is inclined, the ink Q quickly flows downward (lower end 612 side) due to the weight of the ink Q (see the arrow in FIG. 8A).
Thereby, the amount of ink Q remaining on the wiper blade 61 when the strain energy is released can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to more suitably suppress the ink Q that has been scraped off.

Here, as shown in FIG. 8C, when the scraping surface 61a is a flat surface where the linear groove 610 is not formed, the interface Qb of the ink Q extends over the entire surface of the scraping surface 61a. Touch.
Then, the angle (contact angle φ) formed by the interface Qb and the surface Qa is 0 degree or more and less than 90 degrees. In this case, the lotus effect is not exhibited, and the wettability of the ink Q is increased (the water repellency of the scraping surface 61a is low).

  If the lotus effect is not exhibited, the ink Q tends to adhere to the scraping surface 61a. As a result, the amount of ink Q remaining on the wiper blade 61 when the strain energy is released also increases. Therefore, the ink Q is easily affected by the scraped-off ink Q.

As described above, the embodiment has the following configuration.
(1) The inkjet printing apparatus 1
A head 31 in which a plurality of nozzle holes 315 open to the nozzle surface 310;
And a wiper blade 61 (wiping piece) for wiping off the ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310.
In the wiper blade 61, the front surface in the wiping direction of the wiper blade 61 when wiping the ink Q attached to the nozzle surface 310 is a scraping surface 61 a of the ink Q attached to the nozzle surface 310.
On the upper end 611 (one end) side of the wiper blade 61 that contacts the nozzle surface 310, a rake surface region S formed by curving the wiper blade 61 forward in the wiping direction is provided on the scraping surface 61a (wiping surface). Yes.
In the scraping surface 61a, a linear groove 610 (pattern) that exhibits a lotus effect is provided in a region on the other end side when viewed from the rake surface region S.
When wiping the ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310 with the wiper blade 61, the upper end 611 side of the wiper blade 61 is arranged above the vertical line direction, and the linear groove 610 (pattern) that exhibits the lotus effect, The ink that was wiped off from the nozzle surface 310 and adhered to the rake face region S was discharged to the lower end 612 (the other end) located on the lower side in the vertical direction.

If comprised in this way, the wettability of the ink Q in the scraping surface 61a will become low by a lotus effect. As a result, the ink Q after scraping does not remain in the rake face area S, but moves the scraping face 61a downward in the vertical direction.
Thereby, it is possible to suitably prevent the ink Q wiped from the nozzle surface 310 from remaining in the upper region (rake surface region S) of the scraping surface 61a.
Therefore, when the wiper blade 61 that is elastically deformed when the nozzle surface 310 is wiped off is restored to its original shape by releasing the strain energy, the ink Q that is scattered around the rake face region S is scattered. Can be suppressed.

(2) The linear groove 610 that is a pattern that exhibits the lotus effect extends from the rake face region S to the lower end 612 side of the wiper blade 61.
A plurality of linear grooves 610 are arranged at intervals on the scraping surface 61a.

  If comprised in this way, the linear groove | channel 610 which exhibits a lotus effect can discharge the ink scraped off by the rake face area | region S from the rake face area | region S appropriately.

(3) On the scraping surface 61a, the linear groove 610 extends toward the lower end 612 from a position that is a predetermined distance Δh away from the upper end 611 toward the lower end 612.

  If comprised in this way, the ink Q adhering to the nozzle surface 310 can be scraped off reliably.

(4) As for the groove width ΔL of the linear groove 610 and the pitch (interval) between the adjacent linear grooves 610, the minimum angle of the contact angle φ of the ink Q attached to the scraping surface 61a is 90 degrees. Is set to

With this configuration, the lotus effect is exhibited and an air layer is formed between the linear groove 610 and the ink Q. The ink Q does not enter the linear groove 610. Thereby, the wettability of the ink Q with respect to the scraping surface 61a is lowered (the water repellency of the scraping surface 61a is improved).
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink Q after scraping from adhering to the scraping surface 61a.

(5) The head 31 is held by the carriage 30 (head holding member).
The carriage 30 has a protrusion 4 that protrudes from the bottom surface 35 a of the carriage 30.
The protrusion 4 is adjacent to the nozzle surface 310 on the downstream side.
The protrusion 4 has a predetermined length extending from the side edge 351 (one side) to the side edge 352 (the other side) of the nozzle surface 310 in the sub-scanning direction Y.
As the protrusion 4 moves away from the nozzle surface 310 in the main scanning direction X (wiping direction), the width in the direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction X becomes narrower.
The protrusion 4 has a height T <b> 1 in the protruding direction in contact with the wiper blade 61.

  If comprised in this way, the distortion energy of the wiper blade 61 by elastic deformation will be released | released little by little from the part which left | separated the projection part 4. FIG. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the scraping off of the scraped ink Q.

(6) The protrusion 4 has a length in the main scanning direction X that is shorter from the side edge 351 (one side) in the sub-scanning direction Y toward the side edge 352 (the other side).

With this configuration, the strain energy of the wiper blade due to elastic deformation is sequentially released from the other (side edge 352) to one (side edge 351) in the sub-scanning direction.
Therefore, the strain energy can be released little by little, and the scraping off of the scraped ink Q can be more suitably suppressed.

(7) The protrusion 4 has an inclined surface 40 b that approaches the carriage 30 as it moves away from the nozzle surface 310 in the main scanning direction X.

If comprised in this way, when the wiper blade 61 leaves | separates from the projection part 4, it will slide on the inclined surface 40b. Then, the strain energy of the wiper blade 61 due to elastic deformation is released while receiving sliding resistance.
Therefore, it is possible to more suitably suppress the ink Q that has been scraped off.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printing apparatus 2 Housing | casing 3 Printing part 4 Protrusion part 5 Maintenance part 6 Wiping mechanism 7 Suction apparatus 8 Conveyance part 9 Operation panel 10 Ink tank 20 Guide rail 21 First guide part 22 Second guide part 30 Carriage 31 Head 310 Nozzle Surface 350 Opening portion 40 Base portion 60 Wiper portion 61 Wiper blade 610 Linear groove 61a Scraping surface 62 Holding portion 63 Locking portion 64 Projection 65 Guide rail 66 Drive mechanism 67 Motor 68 First link member 69 Second link member 70 Main body portion 71 Cap Lm Straight line M Print medium Q Ink Qa Surface Qb Interface X Main scanning direction Y Sub scanning direction VL Vertical line φ Contact angle

Claims (6)

A head having a plurality of nozzle holes opened on the nozzle surface;
A wiping piece for wiping off ink adhering to the nozzle surface, and an inkjet printing apparatus comprising:
In the wiping piece, the front surface in the wiping direction of the wiping piece when wiping the ink attached to the nozzle surface is a wiping surface of the ink attached to the nozzle surface,
On one end side of the wiping piece that contacts the nozzle surface, a rake face region formed by curving the wiping piece forward in the wiping direction is provided on the wiping face,
The wiping surface is provided with a pattern that exhibits a lotus effect in the region on the other end side as viewed from the rake surface region,
When wiping the ink adhering to the nozzle surface with the wiping piece, the one end side of the wiping piece is arranged above the vertical line direction and wiped from the nozzle surface with a pattern that exhibits the lotus effect. The ink jet printing apparatus, wherein the ink taken and attached to the rake face region is discharged to the other end side located on the lower side in the vertical line direction. The pattern that exhibits the lotus effect is a linear groove extending from the rake face region to the other end side,
The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the linear grooves are arranged at intervals on the wiping surface.   The groove width of the linear groove and the interval between the adjacent linear grooves are set so that the minimum angle of the contact angle of the ink attached to the wiping surface is 90 degrees. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 2. The head is held by a head holding member;
The head holding member has a protrusion protruding from the head holding member,
The protrusion is provided adjacent to the nozzle surface on the downstream side in the wiping direction of the wiping piece,
The protrusion has a predetermined length in a direction orthogonal to the wiping direction,
The protrusion has a narrower width in a direction perpendicular to the wiping direction as it moves away from the nozzle surface in the wiping direction,
The inkjet printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protrusion has a height in a protruding direction in contact with the wiping piece.   5. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the length of the protrusion in the wiping direction is shortened from one of the directions orthogonal to the wiping direction to the other.   6. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the protrusion has an inclined surface that approaches the head holding member as it moves away from the nozzle surface in the wiping direction.

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