JP2022139819A - Liquid jet device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a liquid jet device which enables reduction of a possibility that foreign objects adhering to nozzles.SOLUTION: A liquid jet device includes: a liquid jet head 21 which jets a liquid from nozzles 27 provided on a nozzle surface 28 to make records on a medium 13; a carriage 22 which holds the liquid jet head 21 in a manner that the liquid jet head 21 can scan; and a first blower part 23f provided at the carriage 22. When a direction in which the liquid jet head 21 moves while jetting the liquid is referred to as a first moving direction X1, the first blower part 23f is provided at the downstream of the liquid jet head 21 in the first moving direction X and blows air to the medium 13 at a wind speed matched with a jet speed of the liquid jetted from the liquid jet head 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as a printer.

2. Description of the Related Art For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200003 discloses a recording apparatus, which is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects ink, which is an example of a liquid, from a recording head, which is an example of a liquid ejecting head, to print on a medium, which is an example of a medium. The recording device conveys the medium in the conveying direction. The recording apparatus blows air onto the medium upstream of the recording head in the conveying direction to blow off fluff and the like adhering to the medium.

JP 2016-196168 A

Foreign matter such as fluff is separated from the medium by blowing air onto the medium. However, the foreign matter may drop over time and adhere to the medium.
A liquid jet head prints on a medium by jetting granular liquid from nozzles. The ejected liquid advances while pushing air and adheres to the medium. Therefore, the injected liquid produces an injection airflow. If the jet airflow hits the medium and rolls up the foreign matter adhering to the medium, there is a risk that the foreign matter that has been lifted up will adhere to the nozzle and cause an ejection failure.

A liquid ejecting apparatus that solves the above problems includes a liquid ejecting head that performs recording on a medium by ejecting liquid from nozzles provided on a nozzle surface; a carriage that holds the liquid ejecting head in a scannable manner; and a blower provided downstream of the liquid ejecting head in the direction of movement when the direction in which the liquid ejecting head moves while ejecting the liquid is defined as the moving direction. and blowing air onto the medium at a wind speed that matches the ejection speed of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head.

1 is a schematic side view of a first embodiment of a liquid ejecting device; FIG. Schematic bottom view of a recording unit. 3-3 line arrow sectional view in FIG. Block diagram of a control unit. FIG. 5 is a schematic bottom view of a recording unit included in a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a second embodiment;

(First embodiment)
A liquid ejecting apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. A liquid ejecting apparatus is, for example, an inkjet printer that ejects ink, which is an example of a liquid, onto a medium such as paper or fabric for recording. In the drawing, the direction of gravity is indicated by the Z-axis, and the directions along the horizontal plane are indicated by the X-axis and the Y-axis, assuming that the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 is placed on a horizontal plane. The X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are orthogonal to each other.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 may include a housing 12 and a transport belt 14 that can transport the medium 13 . The liquid ejecting device 11 may include a support portion 15, a driving roller 16, and a driven roller 17 provided inside the transport belt 14, and a drive source 18 and a pressing portion 19 provided outside the transport belt 14. . The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a recording unit 20 that records on the medium 13 .

The conveying belt 14 of the present embodiment has an annular shape, and an adhesive is applied to the outer peripheral surface thereof. The conveying belt 14 holds the pasted strip-shaped medium 13 . The transport belt 14 transports the medium 13 in the transport direction Y by rotating while holding the medium 13 . A conveying direction Y is a direction in which the conveying belt 14 rotates, and is parallel to the Y axis at the recording position where recording is performed on the medium 13 . The conveying belt 14 of this embodiment conveys the medium 13 so that the width direction X, which is the direction along the width of the medium 13, is parallel to the X axis.

The support portion 15 , the driving roller 16 and the driven roller 17 contact the inner peripheral surface of the conveying belt 14 . The support portion 15 is located on the opposite side of the recording portion 20 with the transport belt 14 interposed therebetween. The support section 15 supports the portion of the medium 13 to be recorded facing the recording section 20 via the conveying belt 14 . The driving roller 16 is driven by a driving source 18 to rotate and rotate the conveying belt 14 . The driven roller 17 is driven to rotate with respect to the revolving conveying belt 14 .

The pressing unit 19 attaches the medium 13 to the transport belt 14 by pressing the medium 13 against the transport belt 14 . The pressing unit 19 sequentially affixes the medium 13 supplied as the conveying belt 14 rotates to the conveying belt 14 .

<Recording part>
As shown in FIG. 2 , the recording unit 20 includes a liquid jet head 21 that jets liquid, a carriage 22 that holds the liquid jet head 21 in a scannable manner, and an air blower 23 provided on the carriage 22 . The recording unit 20 may include a guide shaft 24 that supports the carriage 22 and a carriage motor 25 that causes the carriage 22 to scan.

The guide shaft 24 extends in the width direction X. As shown in FIG. A carriage motor 25 reciprocates the carriage 22 along the guide shaft 24 . Specifically, the carriage 22 moves in a first moving direction X1 along the guide shaft 24 and in a second moving direction X2 opposite to the first moving direction X1. The liquid jet head 21 records on the medium 13 by moving while jetting the liquid in the first moving direction X1 or the second moving direction X2. That is, the first moving direction X1 and the second moving direction X2 are examples of moving directions.

<Liquid jet head>
The liquid jet head 21 has a nozzle surface 28 in which a plurality of nozzles 27 are opened. The liquid jet head 21 prints on the medium 13 by jetting liquid from nozzles 27 provided on a nozzle surface 28 . The liquid jet head 21 jets liquid in the jetting direction Z from each nozzle 27 . The injection direction Z in this embodiment is a direction parallel to the Z axis.

The liquid jet head 21 may have a nozzle row 29 formed by a plurality of nozzles 27 arranged in a direction different from the first movement direction X1. The nozzle row 29 of this embodiment is composed of a plurality of nozzles 27 arranged in the transport direction Y. As shown in FIG. One nozzle row 29 includes an upstream row 29u composed of a plurality of nozzles 27 located upstream in the transport direction Y, and a downstream row composed of a plurality of nozzles 27 located downstream in the transport direction Y from the upstream row 29u. 29d and . The upstream row 29u and the downstream row 29d may be provided with their positions shifted in the first moving direction X1. The upstream row 29u and the downstream row 29d of this embodiment have the same length in the transport direction Y. As shown in FIG.

The liquid jet head 21 may have a plurality of nozzle rows 29 spaced apart in the first moving direction X1. The liquid jet head 21 of this embodiment has four nozzle rows 29 . The plurality of nozzle rows 29 are provided such that the upstream rows 29u and the downstream rows 29d are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals in the first moving direction X1. The liquid jet head 21 may jet different types of liquid for each nozzle row 29 . The type of liquid is, for example, color. The liquid ejecting head 21 ejects magenta ink, yellow ink, cyan ink, and black ink, for example.

<Blower>
The recording unit 20 may include two air blowing units 23 that are spaced apart in the first moving direction X1. The liquid jet head 21 may be provided between the two air blowers 23 . Of the two air blowers 23, the air blower 23 provided downstream from the liquid jet head 21 in the first movement direction X1 is also referred to as a first air blower 23f, and is provided downstream from the liquid jet head 21 in the second movement direction X2. The blower 23 is also referred to as a second blower 23s. The configurations of the first air blower 23f and the second air blower 23s are the same. Therefore, the first blower section 23f and the second blower section 23s will be collectively described as the blower section 23 below.

The blower section 23 may include a delivery section 32 with an open air outlet 31 , a supply section 33 that supplies air to the delivery section 32 , and a supply path 34 that connects the delivery section 32 and the supply section 33 . The delivery section 32 may have a suction section 35 provided on the lower surface of the delivery section 32 .

At least the sending portion 32 of the air blowing portion 23 is provided on the carriage 22 . That is, the supply section 33 may be provided separately from the carriage 22 . The supply unit 33 is, for example, a fan. The supply path 34 may be composed of a flexible tube that deforms following the movement of the carriage 22 .

The delivery unit 32 is provided above the medium 13 . The air blowing port 31 opens on the lower surface of the delivery section 32 . The suction part 35 is provided around the air blowing port 31 so as to surround the air blowing port 31 . Therefore, the blower port 31 and the adsorption section 35 are provided at positions facing the medium 13 . The air blowing unit 23 blows air onto the medium 13 by blowing air supplied from the supply unit 33 through the air blowing port 31 . The adsorption unit 35 has, for example, adsorption properties on the lower surface facing the medium 13, and adsorbs foreign matter that comes into contact with it.

The blower port 31 may be formed to extend along the nozzle row 29 . The blower port 31 may be formed so that its length is parallel to the conveying direction Y. As shown in FIG. The blower port 31 may have a wide width portion 37 and a narrow width portion 38 . The narrow portion 38 has a smaller opening area than the wide portion 37 . The wind speeds of the wind blown from the wide width portion 37 and the narrow width portion 38 may be substantially the same. The amount of air blown from the narrow portion 38 is less than the amount of air blown from the wide portion 37 .

The wide portion 37 is positioned upstream in the transport direction Y from the narrow portion 38 . The wide portion 37 and the narrow portion 38 may be connected. In the transport direction Y, the boundary between the wide width portion 37 and the narrow width portion 38 is positioned at the same position as the boundary between the upstream row 29u and the downstream row 29d. In other words, the wide portion 37 is aligned with the upstream row 29u in the first moving direction X1. The narrow portion 38 is aligned with the downstream row 29d in the first moving direction X1.

The air blowing unit 23 may be able to change the air volume while maintaining the air velocity of the air applied to the medium 13 . For example, the air blower 23 may change the amount of air by changing the driving method of the supply unit 33 and changing the area of the blower port 31 through which air can pass. The blower section 23 may change the area of the blower port 31 by using a member such as a shutter. The air blower 23 of the present embodiment can blow air with a first air volume and blow air with a second air volume larger than the first air volume. Specifically, the air blower 23 increases the area through which the air of the blower port 31 can pass and increases the air volume supplied by the supply unit 33 as compared with the case of blowing air at the first air volume. The second wind volume may be sent out while maintaining the wind speed of the wind passing through.

As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a standby area WA in which the liquid ejecting head 21 stands by, a transport area TA in which the transport belt 14 transports the medium 13, and a flushing area FA in which the liquid ejecting head 21 performs flushing. and may have The waiting area WA, transport area TA, and flushing area FA are arranged in the first movement direction X1. The transport area TA is located between the waiting area WA and the flushing area FA. The width of the transport area TA in this embodiment is equal to the width of the transport belt 14 .

<Maintenance Department>
The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 may include a maintenance section 40 that performs maintenance operations on the liquid ejecting head 21 . The maintenance section 40 may have a cap 41 and a wiping section 42 provided in the standby area WA, and a liquid receiving section 43 provided in the flushing area FA.

The cap 41 is provided movably between a spaced position, which is a lower position, and a capping position, which is a position above the spaced position. The cap 41 located at the capping position forms a closed space in which the nozzles 27 are opened by contacting the liquid jet head 21 . The wiping unit 42 performs wiping, for example, by moving in the transport direction Y and wiping the nozzle surface 28 .

The liquid receiving portion 43 receives the liquid jetted from the liquid jet head 21 by flushing. Flushing is maintenance that ejects liquid as waste liquid for the purpose of preventing and eliminating clogging of the nozzle 27 .

<Injection airflow>
When the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid, an ejection airflow is generated. The jet airflow is a flow of air caused by the granular liquid jetted from the nozzle 27 advancing while pushing the air. The granular liquid ejected from the nozzle 27 is also called droplet. The air volume of the jet airflow increases in proportion to the size of the droplet. That is, when the droplets are large, the air volume of the jet airflow is greater than when the droplets are small.

The wind speed of the jet airflow is approximately the same as the jet velocity, which is the speed at which the droplets travel. The ejected airflow flows in the same direction as the ejecting direction Z in which the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid. The wind direction of the jet airflow is substantially the same as the jet direction Z. The injection direction Z in this embodiment is a direction perpendicular to the nozzle surface 28 and a direction parallel to the Z axis.

The jet stream flows in the jet direction Z and hits the medium 13 . When the jet airflow hits and rebounds from the medium 13 , foreign matter such as fluff adhering to the medium 13 may be blown up from the medium 13 . The adsorption unit 35 adsorbs foreign matter blown up by the wind.

<Electrical configuration>
As shown in FIG. 4 , the liquid ejecting device 11 may include a control section 45 capable of controlling the operation of the air blowing section 23 . The control unit 45 of the present embodiment centrally controls the operating state of the liquid injection device 11 .

The control unit 45 includes α: one or more processors that execute various processes according to a computer program, β: one or more dedicated hardware such as an application-specific integrated circuit that executes at least part of the various processes. ware circuit, or γ: a combination thereof. A processor includes a CPU and memory, such as RAM and ROM, which stores program code or instructions configured to cause the CPU to perform processes. Memory or computer-readable media includes any readable media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The control unit 45 includes an estimation unit 46 that estimates the jet airflow generated by jetting the liquid from the jet pattern of the liquid. The estimation unit 46 estimates the ejected airflow from, for example, the size of droplets ejected by the liquid ejecting head 21, the number of droplets, the timing of ejecting the liquid, and the like.

The control unit 45 controls the drive source 18 , the liquid jet head 21 , the carriage motor 25 , the blower unit 23 and the maintenance unit 40 . The control unit 45 executes recording processing for controlling these and recording them on the medium 13 .

<Action>
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when recording on the medium 13, the controller 45 drives the carriage motor 25 to move the carriage 22 located in the standby area WA in the first movement direction X1. In this case, the first moving direction X1 is the direction in which the liquid jet head 21 moves while ejecting the liquid, and the first air blowing portion 23f is located downstream of the liquid jet head 21 in the first moving direction X1. become.

The control unit 45 may cause the first blower 23f to blow air when the blower port 31 of the first blower 23f is within the transport area TA. The control unit 45 may start blowing air before the air blowing port 31 of the first air blowing unit 23 f faces the conveying belt 14 until it faces the medium 13 . The control unit 45 may stop blowing air while the air blowing port 31 of the first air blowing unit 23 f is facing the conveying belt 14 after the air blowing port 31 stops facing the medium 13 . The air blowing unit 23 starts and stops air blowing while facing the conveying belt 14 , thereby blowing the medium 13 in the same manner in the first movement direction X<b>1 . When the carriage 22 moves in the first movement direction X1, the second air blower 23s does not blow air.

At this time, the first air blower 23 f blows air onto the medium 13 at a wind speed that matches the ejection speed of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head 21 . The air blower 23 may blow air in the ejection direction Z in which the liquid ejection head 21 ejects the liquid. The control unit 45 may cause the blower unit 23 to generate an amount of wind that matches the jet airflow estimated by the estimation unit 46 .

The wind speed adjusted to the ejection speed of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection head 21 may be the same as or equivalent to the ejection speed of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection head 21 . Specifically, the first air blower 23 f generates air such that the air velocity of the air passing through the air blowing port 31 is the same as the initial velocity of the liquid droplets ejected from the nozzle 27 . In addition, the first air blower 23f may set the air velocity according to the ejection velocity of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head 21 in consideration of variations in the ejection velocity of the liquid ejecting head 21 and variations in the air blower 23. good. In this case, the first air blowing unit 23f may adjust the air velocity ±10% of the ejection speed of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head 21 to the air velocity matching the ejection velocity of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head 21. good. In addition, the control unit 45 determines that the total air volume of jet air currents generated by the droplets simultaneously jetted from all the nozzles 27 constituting one nozzle row 29 is the same as the air volume of the air passing through the air blowing port 31. You may make the air blowing part 23 generate|occur|produce a wind so that it may become.

When recording on the medium 13, the control unit 45 causes the first air blowing unit 23f to alternately blow air at a first air volume and blow air at a second air volume larger than the first air volume. good. The first air blower 23 f blows air while moving together with the carriage 22 . For example, the control unit 45 may control the air blowing unit 23 so that the air of both the first air volume and the second air volume hits the range where one liquid droplet adheres on the medium 13 . The first air volume here may be zero.

The carriage 22 moves while holding the air blower 23 and the liquid jet head 21 . The first air blower 23f is provided downstream of the liquid jet head 21 in the first moving direction X1. Therefore, the first air blower 23f faces the medium 13 before it faces the liquid jet head 21, and blows the medium 13 with air. The wind hits the medium 13 and winds up foreign substances such as fluff adhered to the medium 13 . Of the foreign matter separated from the medium 13, the foreign matter that has reached the adsorption portion 35 is adsorbed by the adsorption portion 35. The foreign matter that has not reached the adsorption portion 35 floats in the space between the nozzle surface 28 and the medium 13. Sometimes.

The liquid jet head 21 jets liquid from nozzles 27 to record on the medium 13 . When the ejected droplet contacts the floating foreign matter, the droplet moves together with the foreign matter so as to knock off the foreign matter. Foreign matter adhering to the medium 13 together with the liquid is less likely to rise up from the medium 13 .

When the liquid jet head 21 is moved first, the liquid is jetted only from the nozzles 27 forming the upstream line 29u of the one nozzle line 29, and the liquid is not jetted from the nozzles 27 forming the downstream line 29d. may

The control unit 45 stops driving the carriage motor 25 and stops the liquid jet head 21 in the flushing area FA. The control unit 45 causes the liquid jet head 21 to perform flushing while the nozzles 27 face the liquid receiving unit 43 . The first air blower 23f stops blowing air before entering the flushing area FA. That is, the air blower 23 stops blowing air while performing flushing, which is an example of maintenance operation.

The control unit 45 drives the drive source 18 to transport the medium 13 in the transport direction Y. As shown in FIG. The control unit 45 causes the medium 13 to be transported in the transport direction Y by the same length in the transport direction Y as the upstream row 29u. As a result, the downstream row 29d can print in the printing area onto which the liquid was previously ejected by the nozzles 27 of the upstream row 29u. That is, the liquid ejecting head 21 performs printing by ejecting the liquid while moving a plurality of times on the printing area of the medium 13 .

The controller 45 drives the carriage motor 25 to move the carriage 22 positioned in the flushing area FA in the second movement direction X2. In this case, the second moving direction X2 is the direction in which the liquid ejecting head 21 moves while ejecting the liquid, and the second air blowing unit 23s is located downstream of the liquid ejecting head 21 in the second moving direction X2. become.

The control unit 45 may cause the second blower 23s to blow air when the blower port 31 of the second blower 23s is within the transport area TA. The control unit 45 may start blowing air after the air blowing port 31 of the second air blowing unit 23 s faces the conveying belt 14 until it faces the medium 13 . The control unit 45 may stop blowing air while the air blowing port 31 of the second air blowing unit 23 s is facing the conveying belt 14 after the air blowing port 31 of the second air blowing unit 23 s stops facing the medium 13 . When the carriage 22 moves in the second movement direction X2, the first air blower 23f does not blow air.

At this time, the second air blower 23s may blow air in the same manner as the first air blower 23f when moving the carriage 22 in the first moving direction X1. In the air blowing port 31, the wide portion 37 faces the recording area where the upstream line 29u prints, while the narrow portion 38 faces the recording area where the downstream line 29d prints. The amount of air blown from the narrow portion 38 is smaller than the amount of air blown from the wide portion 37 . Therefore, the control unit 45 makes the amount of air generated by the blower unit 23 in subsequent recording by the downstream line 29d smaller than the amount of air generated by the blower unit 23 in earlier recording by the upstream line 29u.

The liquid jet head 21 performs recording by jetting the liquid onto the medium 13 that has been blown by the second blower 23s. At this time, the liquid jet head 21 jets liquid from both the upstream line 29u and the downstream line 29d. The control unit 45 alternately moves the carriage 22 and conveys the medium 13 to cause the medium 13 to print.

When the recording is finished, the controller 45 stops driving the carriage motor 25 and stops the liquid jet head 21 in the standby area WA. The control unit 45 moves the cap 41 to the capping position to cap the liquid jet head 21 with the cap 41 .

The second air blower 23s stops blowing air before entering the standby area WA. That is, the air blower 23 stops blowing air while performing capping, which is an example of the maintenance operation. The air blower 23 may stop air blowing while wiping is performed, which is an example of the maintenance operation.

Effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The air blower 23 moves together with the liquid jet head 21 and blows air onto the medium 13 before the liquid jet head 21 jets the liquid. At this time, the air blowing unit 23 blows air onto the medium 13 at a wind speed that matches the ejection speed of the liquid. Therefore, the foreign matter that is lifted up from the medium 13 by the ejected airflow generated along with the ejection of the liquid is separated from the medium 13 before the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid. Therefore, when the ejected liquid adheres to the medium 13, the possibility that the ejected airflow will newly stir up foreign matter from the medium 13 can be reduced. When the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid, foreign matter that has previously separated from the medium 13 may float in the space between the medium 13 and the liquid ejecting head 21 . However, the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head 21 hits the floating foreign matter and adheres to the medium 13 in such a manner as to knock off the foreign matter. The foreign matter to which the liquid adheres is less likely to be affected by the jet airflow, and adheres to the medium 13 together with the liquid. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle 27 because the liquid ejecting suppresses new foreign matter from being stirred up, and the ejected liquid knocks down the foreign matter that has been previously swirled up.

(2) The control unit 45 generates wind with an air volume matching the jet airflow estimated from the jet pattern. Therefore, the foreign matter that is separated from the medium 13 by being hit by the jet airflow can be separated from the medium 13 in advance by the wind of the air blowing unit 23, and the foreign matter that remains on the medium 13 even if it is hit by the jet airflow can easily remain on the medium 13. can.

(3) The jet airflow is generated as the jetted liquid advances while pushing through the air. That is, the ejected airflow flows from the liquid ejecting head 21 toward the medium 13 in the ejecting direction Z in which the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid and hits the medium 13 . The air blower 23 blows air in the injection direction Z. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the air blowing unit 23 can apply the same wind as the jet airflow to the medium 13 , and can first separate foreign substances that are likely to be blown up by the jet airflow from the medium 13 .

(4) The blower port 31 extends along the nozzle row 29 . That is, the air blowing unit 23 blows air from the air blowing port 31 shaped like the nozzle row 29 , so that the air corresponding to the jet airflow generated by the liquid jetted from the plurality of nozzles 27 is blown from one air blowing port 31 . can be ventilated.

(5) The liquid jet head 21 has multiple nozzle rows 29 . The liquid jet head 21 performs recording by depositing the liquid jetted from each nozzle row 29 on the medium 13 so as to overlap it. That is, since the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid while moving, the nozzle row 29 positioned downstream in the first movement direction X1 ejects the liquid first. The nozzle row 29 located upstream in the first movement direction X1 jets the liquid later so as to overlap the previously adhered liquid. The jet airflow is generated along with the jetting of the liquid. Therefore, the portion of the medium 13 to which the liquid adheres is hit by the jet air flow multiple times. In this regard, the control unit 45 causes the blower unit 23 to alternately blow air at a first air volume and blow air at a second air volume larger than the first air volume. Therefore, the air blower 23 can blow air according to how the jet airflow hits the medium 13 . At this time, the first air volume may be zero.

(6) The air blowing unit 23 has an adsorption unit 35 that adsorbs foreign matter. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of foreign matter floating between the liquid jet head 21 and the medium 13 , thereby further reducing the risk of foreign matter adhering to the nozzles 27 .

(7) If the printed area is exposed to wind, the printed area may dry unevenly, resulting in spots. In this respect, the control unit 45 makes the amount of air generated by the blower unit 23 in later recording smaller than the amount of air generated by the blower unit 23 in earlier recording. Therefore, compared to the case where the same amount of wind is generated in the previous recording and the subsequent recording, drying of the recording can be suppressed.

(8) The blower unit 23 stops blowing air when the maintenance unit 40 performs the maintenance operation of the liquid jet head 21 . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk that foreign matter contained in the wind will adhere to the maintenance unit 40 .

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the liquid injection device will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this 2nd Embodiment differs in the case of a blower part from 1st Embodiment. Since other points are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, one blowing unit 23 has a plurality of blowing ports 31 spaced apart in the first movement direction X1. The interval between the air blow ports 31 may be the same as the interval between the nozzle rows 29 . The first air blowing section 23f of the present embodiment has two air blowing ports 31. As shown in FIG. The second blower 23s has the same number of blower ports 31 as the first blower 23f. The blower port 31 of this embodiment has a constant width in the transport direction Y. As shown in FIG.

<Action>
The first air blower 23 f and the second air blower 23 s blow the air supplied from the supply part 33 through the two air blowing ports 31 . The first air blower 23 f and the second air blower 23 s blow air to the medium 13 while moving together with the carriage 22 . Therefore, the medium 13 is hit by the air blown from one air blowing port 31 and then the air blown from the other air blowing port 31 .

The method of driving the first air blower 23f and the second air blower 23s is the same as in the first embodiment. That is, when the carriage 22 is moved in the first moving direction X1, the control unit 45 causes the first air blowing unit 23f located downstream of the liquid ejecting head 21 in the first moving direction X1 to blow air. The second air blower 23s located upstream of the head 21 in the first movement direction X1 is not made to blow air. When moving the carriage 22 in the second moving direction X2, the control unit 45 blows air from the second air blowing unit 23s located downstream of the liquid ejecting head 21 in the second moving direction X2. The second air blower 23s positioned further upstream in the second movement direction X2 is not made to blow air.

The liquid jet head 21 of the present embodiment ejects liquid from the nozzles 27 in both the upstream row 29u and the downstream row 29d to perform recording when the carriage 22 moves in the first moving direction X1 or the second moving direction X2. The control unit 45 causes the medium 13 to be transported in the transport direction Y by the same length as the length in the transport direction Y of the nozzle row 29 .

Effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(9) The liquid jet head 21 has a plurality of nozzle rows 29 spaced apart in the first movement direction X1. The air blowing unit 23 has a plurality of air blowing ports 31 spaced apart in the first moving direction X1. Therefore, the carriage 22 moves the liquid jet head 21 and the air blowing part 23 together, so that the jetting airflow and the air blown by the air blowing part 23 can easily match how they hit the medium 13. - 特許庁

This embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. This embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.
- One nozzle row 29 may have a plurality of upstream rows 29u and a plurality of downstream rows 29d. The upstream rows 29u and the downstream rows 29d may be arranged alternately in the transport direction Y. The upstream rows 29u and the downstream rows 29d may be positioned at the same position in the width direction X.

- The liquid ejecting device 11 may be configured to include one air blower 23 . For example, the liquid ejecting device 11 may include the first air blower 23f. When moving the carriage 22 in the first movement direction X1, the controller 45 may cause the first air blower 23f to blow air and cause the liquid jet head 21 to jet the liquid. When the carriage 22 moves in the second movement direction X2, the control section 45 stops blowing air from the first air blowing section 23f. After moving the carriage 22 in the first movement direction X1, the control unit 45 may move the carriage 22 in the second movement direction X2 without conveying the medium 13 . At this time, the controller 45 may cause the liquid jet head 21 to jet the liquid. That is, the liquid jet head 21 may record again in the recording area recorded when moving in the first moving direction X1 when moving in the second moving direction X2. When recording is performed on the recording area of the medium 13 a plurality of times, the first air blower 23f may be used to blow air in the previous recording, and the air volume may be set to zero in the subsequent recording.

- The blower unit 23 may be configured without the supply unit 33 . The supply unit 33 may be provided separately from the liquid ejection device 11 . The air blower 23 may blow air supplied from the outside through the air blower port 31 . The air blower 23 may send air compressed by a compressor (not shown) or the like.

The air blowing unit 23 may blow air regardless of maintenance of the liquid jet head 21 by the maintenance unit 40 .
- In the said 1st Embodiment, the width|variety of the air blow port 31 may be constant over the conveyance direction Y. FIG.

In the above-described first embodiment, the control unit 45 may set the amount of air generated by the blower unit 23 in subsequent recording to be the same as the amount of air generated by the blower unit 23 in previous recording.
- In a 1st embodiment of the above, blowing part 23 may be provided with a plurality of blowing openings 31 which shift a position in the conveyance direction Y, and are provided. The blower section 23 may include a plurality of supply sections 33 . One supply unit 33 may send air to one blower port 31 . The control unit 45 individually controls the driving of the plurality of supply units 33 so that the air volume of the air blowing from the air blowing port 31 positioned downstream in the conveying direction Y is adjusted to the air volume of the blowing port 31 positioned upstream in the conveying direction Y You may make it smaller than the air volume of the wind blown from.

- The blower unit 23 may be configured without the suction unit 35 . The air blower 23 may have an electrostatic part that can attract foreign matter by static electricity, for example. The blowing unit 23 may include a suction unit that sucks air containing foreign matter from a suction hole provided at a position facing the medium 13 . The suction unit may cause a filter or the like to absorb foreign matter.

- You may provide the nozzle row 29 and the air blow port 31 diagonally with respect to the conveyance direction Y, for example. The direction in which the nozzles 27 forming the nozzle row 29 are arranged may be different from the direction in which the air blower 23 extends.

- The number of nozzle rows 29 included in the liquid jet head 21 may be one.
- The air blowing unit 23 may apply a constant amount of air to the medium 13 .
The direction in which the air blower 23 blows air may be different from the ejection direction Z in which the liquid ejection head 21 ejects the liquid.

- The liquid ejecting device 11 may be a liquid ejecting device that ejects or ejects a liquid other than ink. The state of the liquid ejected in the form of minute droplets from the liquid ejecting apparatus includes granular, tear-like, and thread-like trailing liquids. The liquid referred to here may be any material as long as it can be ejected from the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, the liquid may be in a state when the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a high or low viscosity liquid, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals, It is intended to include fluids such as metal melts. The term "liquid" includes not only a liquid as one state of a substance, but also a solution, dispersion, or mixture of particles of a functional material made of a solid substance such as a pigment or metal particles dissolved in a solvent. Typical examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiments. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks, oil-based inks, gel inks, hot-melt inks, and various other liquid compositions. Specific examples of the liquid ejecting apparatus include, for example, liquid crystal displays, electroluminescence displays, surface emitting displays, and liquids containing dispersed or dissolved materials such as electrode materials and coloring materials used in the manufacture of color filters. I have a device. The liquid injection device may be a device for injecting a bioorganic substance used for biochip production, a device for injecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a printing device, a microdispenser, or the like. A liquid injection device is a device that injects lubricating oil with pinpoint precision to precision machines such as watches and cameras, and a transparent resin such as an ultraviolet curable resin for forming micro hemispherical lenses and optical lenses used in optical communication devices, etc. It may be a device that jets a liquid onto a substrate. The liquid injection device may be a device that injects an etchant such as acid or alkali to etch a substrate or the like.

The technical ideas and effects obtained from the above-described embodiments and modifications will be described below.
(A) A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head that performs recording on a medium by ejecting liquid from nozzles provided on a nozzle surface; a carriage that holds the liquid ejecting head in a scannable manner; and a blowing unit provided downstream of the liquid ejecting head in the direction of movement when the direction in which the liquid ejecting head moves while ejecting the liquid is defined as the moving direction, and the Air is applied to the medium at a wind speed matching the ejection speed of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head.

According to this configuration, the air blower moves together with the liquid ejecting head and blows air onto the medium before the liquid is ejected by the liquid ejecting head. At this time, the air blower blows air onto the medium at a wind speed that matches the ejection speed of the liquid. For this reason, the foreign matter that is lifted up from the medium by the ejected airflow generated along with the ejection of the liquid is separated from the medium before the liquid ejecting head ejects the liquid. Therefore, when the ejected liquid adheres to the medium, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the ejected airflow will newly stir up foreign matter from the medium. When the liquid ejecting head ejects the liquid, foreign matter that has previously separated from the medium may float in the space between the medium and the liquid ejecting head. However, the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head hits the floating foreign matter and adheres to the medium so as to knock off the foreign matter. A foreign object to which liquid adheres is less likely to be affected by the jet air flow, and adheres to the medium together with the liquid. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of the foreign matter adhering to the nozzle because the liquid ejecting suppresses new foreign matter from being stirred up, and the ejected liquid knocks down the previously raised foreign matter.

(B) The liquid injection device further includes a control unit capable of controlling the operation of the blower unit, and an estimation unit estimating the jet airflow generated by the injection of the liquid from the injection pattern of the liquid, and the control unit may change the air volume of the air blower, and cause the air blower to generate the wind having an air volume matching the jet airflow estimated by the estimation unit.

According to this configuration, the control unit generates wind having an air volume that matches the jet airflow estimated from the jet pattern. Therefore, the foreign matter that is separated from the medium by the jet airflow can be separated from the medium in advance by the wind of the air blowing unit, and the foreign matter that remains on the medium even if it is hit by the jet airflow can easily remain on the medium.

(C) In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the air blower may blow air in an ejection direction in which the liquid ejecting head ejects the liquid.
The jet airflow is generated by the jetted liquid pushing through the air. That is, the ejected airflow flows from the liquid ejecting head toward the medium in the ejecting direction in which the liquid ejecting head ejects the liquid, and hits the medium. According to this configuration, the air blower blows air in the ejection direction. Therefore, the air blowing unit can apply the same wind as the jet airflow to the medium, and can first separate foreign matter that is likely to be blown up by the jet airflow from the medium.

(D) In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the liquid ejecting head has a nozzle row formed by a plurality of the nozzles arranged in a direction different from the movement direction, and the air blower is provided at a position facing the medium. The air outlet may extend along the row of nozzles.

According to this configuration, the blower port extends along the nozzle row. That is, the air blower can blow air corresponding to the jet airflow generated by the liquid jetted from the plurality of nozzles from one air blow port by blowing air from the air blow port having a shape imitating a nozzle row. .

(E) The liquid ejecting apparatus further includes a control unit capable of controlling the operation of the air blowing unit, the liquid ejecting head has a plurality of the nozzle arrays spaced apart in the moving direction, and the control unit includes: The unit may cause the air blow unit to alternately blow air at a first air volume and blow air at a second air volume greater than the first air volume when performing the recording on the medium.

According to this configuration, the liquid jet head has a plurality of nozzle rows. The liquid ejecting head performs recording by depositing the liquid ejected from each nozzle row on the medium so as to overlap. That is, since the liquid ejecting head ejects the liquid while moving, the nozzle row positioned downstream in the movement direction ejects the liquid first. A nozzle row positioned upstream in the moving direction jets liquid later so as to overlap the previously adhered liquid. The jet airflow is generated along with the jetting of the liquid. Therefore, the portion of the medium to which the liquid adheres is hit by the jet air flow multiple times. In this respect, the control unit causes the air blower to alternately blow air at a first air volume and blow air at a second air volume greater than the first air volume. Therefore, the air blower can blow air according to how the jet airflow hits the medium.

(F) In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the liquid ejecting head has a plurality of nozzle rows spaced apart in the moving direction, and the air blower has a plurality of nozzle rows spaced apart in the moving direction. You may have the said air blow port.

According to this configuration, the liquid jet head has a plurality of nozzle rows spaced apart in the movement direction. The air blower has a plurality of air blow ports spaced apart in the direction of movement. Therefore, the carriage moves the liquid ejecting head and the air blower together, so that the ejection airflow and the air blown by the air blower can easily match the way the medium hits the medium.

(G) In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the air blowing section may have a suction section provided at a position facing the medium, and the suction section may suction a foreign object blown up by the wind.
According to this configuration, the air blowing section has an adsorption section that adsorbs the foreign matter. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of foreign matter floating between the liquid ejecting head and the medium, thereby further reducing the possibility that the foreign matter may adhere to the nozzles.

(H) The liquid ejecting apparatus further includes a control unit capable of controlling the operation of the air blowing unit, and the liquid ejecting head performs the recording by ejecting the liquid while moving onto a plurality of recording areas of the medium. The control unit may make the amount of air generated by the blower unit in the subsequent recording smaller than the amount of air generated by the blower unit in the previous recording.

If the recorded area is exposed to wind, the recording may dry unevenly and become mottled. On the other hand, according to this configuration, the control unit makes the amount of air generated by the blower unit in subsequent recording smaller than the amount of air generated by the blower unit in earlier recording. Therefore, compared to the case where the same amount of wind is generated in the previous recording and the subsequent recording, drying of the recording can be suppressed.

(I) The liquid ejecting apparatus may further include a maintenance unit that performs maintenance operations on the liquid ejecting head, and the air blowing unit may stop air blowing during the maintenance operation.
According to this configuration, the blower section stops blowing air when the maintenance section performs the maintenance operation of the liquid ejecting head. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk that foreign matter contained in the wind will adhere to the maintenance section.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Liquid injection apparatus, 12... Housing, 13... Medium, 14... Conveyor belt, 15... Support part, 16... Drive roller, 17... Driven roller, 18... Drive source, 19... Press part, 20... Recording part, 21 Liquid ejecting head 22 Carriage 23 Blower 23f First blower 23s Second blower 24 Guide shaft 25 Carriage motor 27 Nozzle 28 Nozzle surface 29 Nozzle row 29d...Downstream row 29u...Upstream row 31...Blower port 32...Outlet part 33...Supply part 34...Supply path 35...Adsorption part 37...Wide width part 38...Narrow width part 40 Maintenance section 41 Cap 42 Wiping section 43 Liquid receiving section 45 Control section 46 Estimation section FA Flushing area TA Conveying area WA Waiting area X Width direction X1 . . . First moving direction, X2 .. Second moving direction, Y .. Conveying direction, Z .

Claims (9)

a liquid ejecting head that performs recording on a medium by ejecting liquid from nozzles provided on a nozzle surface;
a carriage that holds the liquid jet head in a scannable manner;
a blower provided on the carriage;
with
When the direction in which the liquid ejecting head moves while ejecting the liquid is defined as the moving direction,
The air blower is
provided downstream of the liquid jet head in the movement direction,
A liquid ejecting apparatus, comprising: blowing air onto the medium at a wind speed matching the ejection speed of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head. a control unit capable of controlling the operation of the blower;
an estimating unit for estimating a jet airflow generated by jetting the liquid from the jet pattern of the liquid;
further comprising
The control unit
It is possible to change the air volume of the blower,
2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blower unit generates the wind having an air volume matching the jet airflow estimated by the estimation unit. 3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing unit blows air in an ejection direction in which the liquid ejecting head ejects the liquid. the liquid jet head has a nozzle row formed by a plurality of the nozzles arranged in a direction different from the movement direction;
The air blower has an air blow port provided at a position facing the medium,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the blower port extends along the nozzle row. Further comprising a control unit capable of controlling the operation of the blower unit,
The liquid jet head has a plurality of nozzle rows spaced apart in the moving direction,
The control unit causes the air blow unit to alternately blow air at a first air volume and blow air at a second air volume greater than the first air volume when performing the recording on the medium. 5. The liquid injection device according to claim 4. The liquid jet head has a plurality of nozzle rows spaced apart in the moving direction,
5. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the air blowing section has a plurality of air blowing ports spaced apart in the moving direction. The air blowing unit has a suction unit provided at a position facing the medium,
7. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the suction unit sucks foreign matter blown up by the wind. Further comprising a control unit capable of controlling the operation of the blower unit,
the liquid ejecting head performing the recording by ejecting the liquid while moving a plurality of times on a recording area of the medium;
8. The control unit makes the amount of air generated by the blower unit in the subsequent recording smaller than the amount of air generated by the blower unit in the previous recording. 1. The liquid injection device according to item 1. further comprising a maintenance unit that performs a maintenance operation on the liquid jet head;
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the air blower stops blowing air during the maintenance operation.

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