JP2022140297A - Liquid discharge device, head maintenance method, and head cleaning jig - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device which achieves improvement of a cleaning function of a head side surface.SOLUTION: A liquid discharge device includes: a head 10 which discharges a liquid to a cloth 400; and a head cleaning jig 600 which may be detachably attached to a receiving member 49 in place of a platen member 40 for holding the cloth 400. The head cleaning jig 600 includes a first cleaning member 602 which cleans the head 10 on a jig body 601. The first cleaning member 602 has a convex shape on a cross section along a main scanning direction X, has a stepped shape on a cross section along a head moving direction, and simultaneously contacts with a longitudinal side surface 110b and a longitudinal surface 110a of the cover member 110 during cleaning.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a device for ejecting liquid, a head maintenance method, and a head cleaning jig.

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for ejecting liquid, there is known one in which a cleaning member is attached to a holding member that holds a member to which liquid is applied, the holding member and the liquid ejection head are moved relative to each other, and the cleaning member cleans the liquid ejection head. (Patent Document 1).

JP 2018-176519 A

However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the cleaning member is a flat plate, there is a problem that the side surface of the head cannot be cleaned completely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the cleanability of the side surface of the head.

In order to solve the above problems, an apparatus for ejecting liquid according to claim 1 of the present invention includes:
a head for ejecting liquid;
a holding member that holds the member to which the liquid is applied;
a receiving member that detachably holds the holding member;
and a cleaning jig for cleaning the head,
The cleaning jig has a first cleaning member,
the first cleaning member has a convex portion that contacts the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head at the same time;
bringing the first cleaning member of the cleaning jig attached to the receiving member into contact with the head, moving the receiving member and the head relative to each other, and cleaning the head with the first cleaning member;
The first cleaning member is configured to simultaneously contact the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head during cleaning.

According to the present invention, the cleanability of the side surface of the head is improved. Further, it is possible to efficiently and automatically clean a plurality of heads at the same time without changing the configuration of the apparatus and without increasing the size of the apparatus.

1 is a perspective explanatory view of an example of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. It is similarly a plane explanatory view. It is also a front explanatory view. FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining a head cleaning jig according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view along the main scanning direction X showing the first cleaning member of the head cleaning jig together with the head; FIG. It is plane explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the cleaning operation|movement by a 1st cleaning member. It is also a sectional explanatory view. It is plane explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the cleaning operation|movement by a 2nd cleaning member. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram along the sub-scanning direction for detailed explanation of the cleaning operation by the first cleaning member; It is also an explanatory diagram along the sub-scanning direction. It is similarly a plane explanatory view. It is similarly a plane explanatory view. FIG. 10 is a plan explanatory view for explaining the arrangement positions in the sub-scanning direction Y of the first cleaning member and the second cleaning member of the head cleaning jig; FIG. 11 is a plan explanatory view for explaining the operation of the head cleaning jig and the carriage in the cleaning operation by the second cleaning member; It is similarly a plane explanatory view. It is similarly a plane explanatory view. FIG. 11 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining another different example of the first cleaning member; FIG. 11 is a front explanatory view for explaining still another different example of the first cleaning member; It is plane explanatory drawing with which description of 2nd Embodiment of this invention is presented.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of the printing apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the same, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory front view of the same.

The printing apparatus 1 includes a carriage 11 on which a head 10, which is liquid ejecting means for ejecting liquid, is mounted. The guide members 12 and 13 hold the carriage 11 so that it can reciprocate in the main scanning direction X. As shown in FIG. The carriage 11 is connected to a timing belt 17 looped around a drive pulley 15 and a driven pulley 16 rotated by a main scanning motor 14, and the main scanning motor 14 is driven to reciprocate the carriage 11 in the main scanning direction X. Let

The encoder sheet 18 is arranged along the main scanning direction X. As shown in FIG. The encoder sheet 18 is provided with periodic slits. The carriage 11 has a reading sensor that reads the slits of the encoder sheet 18, and the position of the carriage 11 in the main scanning direction X can be detected from the reading result of the reading sensor.

The controller board 50 has a controller mounted thereon, and controls ejection of liquid ink from the head 10 in synchronization with the ejection position from the carriage position obtained from the reading result of the reading sensor of the carriage 11 .

Four heads 10 are mounted on the carriage 11 . Each head 10 has two rows of nozzles in which nozzles for ejecting liquid are arranged. The carriage 11 also has a sub-tank that temporarily stores the liquid to be supplied to the head 10 . A liquid of a desired color is sent from the main tank 21 to the sub-tank by a liquid-sending pump through a supply tube.

The printing apparatus 1 includes a platen member 40 that is a holding member that holds a fabric 400 as an application target (printing target) to which liquid is applied.

The platen member 40 is detachably held by a receiving member 49 . The receiving member 49 is attached to the lifting mechanism 41 . Thereby, the height of the platen member 40 in the vertical direction Z can be adjusted by the lifting mechanism 41 . A lifting mechanism 41 for the platen member 40 is mounted on a slider 42 . The slider 42 is movably mounted on a slide rail 43 extending in the sub-scanning direction Y orthogonal to the main scanning direction X. As shown in FIG.

The slider 42 is reciprocated in the sub-scanning direction Y by a sub-scanning drive mechanism via a timing belt 45 . As the slider 42 reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction Y, the platen member 40 also reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction Y. As shown in FIG.

A maintenance unit 60 that maintains and recovers the head 10 is arranged on one end side in the main scanning direction. The maintenance unit 60 includes a suction cap 61 for capping the nozzle surface of the head 10, a moisturizing cap 62 for capping the nozzle surface of the head 10 for moisturizing, and a wiping member 63 for wiping the nozzle surface of the head 10. . Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a suction pump 64 as a suction means connected to the suction cap 61 is provided. The controller board 50 can detect, record, and manage the operation time, the number of times of operation, and the operation interval time of the suction pump 64 .

An ejection receiver 66 is arranged on the other end side in the main scanning direction. The controller board 50 maintains and recovers the head 10 by ejecting liquid from the head 10 to the ejection receiver 66 during printing.

A light emitting portion 80A and a light receiving portion 80B of a height detecting means 80 for detecting the fabric 400 on the platen member 40 are arranged on one end side and the other end side in the main scanning direction. The height detection means 80 is attached to the frame 2 .

The printing apparatus 1 also includes a power button 70, an operation section 71, a power supply unit 72, and the like.

When printing on a fabric (printing object) such as a T-shirt in the printing apparatus 1 , the fabric 400 is set on the platen member 40 . After that, the platen member 40 is completely retracted rearward in the apparatus through the slider 42 by operating the operation portion 71 .

When the platen member 40 is retracted, the height detection means 80 detects whether or not the fabric 400 on the platen member 40 interferes with the head 10 . At this time, if the head 10 collides with the fabric 400, the drawing of the platen member 40 is stopped, or the platen member 40 is returned to the position where the fabric 400 is set.

When the pull-in of the platen member 40 is completed, a print data waiting state is entered. Here, the printing operation is started when the printing apparatus 1 receives print data from an external information processing apparatus. Alternatively, if print data has been accumulated in the controller board 50 in advance, the print operation is started by selecting the print data with the operation unit 71 .

When the printing operation is started, the platen member 40 is moved to the printing start position via the slider 42 . After that, the carriage 11 is moved and the liquid is discharged from the head 10 to print one line. When one line is printed, the platen member 40 is moved by one line via the slider 42 . A desired area of the fabric 400 is printed by repeating one scan of the carriage 11 and intermittent movement of the slider 42 . After printing is completed, the platen member 40 is returned to the front of the apparatus to complete printing.

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining the head cleaning jig according to the embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a sectional explanatory view along the main scanning direction X showing the first cleaning member of the head cleaning jig together with the head.

The head cleaning jig 600 can be detachably mounted on the receiving member 49 instead of the platen member 40 .

The head cleaning jig 600 has a jig body 601 on which a first cleaning member 602 and a second cleaning member 603 for cleaning the head 10 are exchangeably attached. The first cleaning member 602 is arranged on the jig body 601 with the sub-scanning direction Y as its longitudinal direction, and the second cleaning member 603 is arranged on the jig body 601 with the main scanning direction X as its longitudinal direction. That is, the head cleaning jig 600 includes the second cleaning member 603 arranged in a direction intersecting with the first cleaning member 602.

The first cleaning member 602 is made of absorbent material. The first cleaning member 602 is integrally formed by stacking a flat plate-like absorber 622 as a protrusion having a narrower width in the transverse direction (main scanning direction X) than the absorber 621 on a flat plate-like absorber 621 as a base. The cross-sectional shape along the main scanning direction X has a convex shape. That is, the cleaning member 602 has a stepped shape in a cross-sectional shape along the moving direction of the head.

Here, in this embodiment, the head 10 includes a cover member 110 that covers the peripheral edge of the nozzle surface 10a.

The upper surface 602a of the flat absorber 621 of the first cleaning member 602 is the surface of the portion along the sub-scanning direction Y (hereinafter referred to as the "longitudinal surface") of the outer surface of the portion covering the periphery of the nozzle surface 10a of the cover member 110. ) 110a can be contacted. The side surface 602b of the flat absorber 622 of the first cleaning member 602 in the main scanning direction X is the surface of the portion along the sub-scanning direction Y of the outer surface of the portion of the cover member 110 covering the side surface of the head 10 (hereinafter referred to as " 110b.

In other words, the first cleaning member 602 is applied to the longitudinal side surface 110b of the cover member 110 as the side surface of the head 10 and the longitudinal surface 110a of the cover member 110 as the nozzle surface side surface of the head 10 during cleaning. can be contacted at the same time.

In this case, the width of the flat absorbent body 621 is wider than that of the flat absorbent body 622 in the lateral direction so that the upper surface 602a of the flat absorbent body 621 of the first cleaning member 602 is formed. Also, the width of the flat absorber 622 is the width that contacts the longitudinal side surfaces 110b of both the heads 10, 10 between the heads 10, 10. As shown in FIG.

The second cleaning member 603 is made of absorbent material. The second cleaning member 603 is a cuboid member having a rectangular cross section. The second cleaning member 603 may have a stepped shape in the cross-sectional shape along the moving direction of the head, or may have a cross-sectional shape along the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the head (sub-scanning direction Y). A stepped shape may be employed. The second cleaning member 603 is the surface of the portion along the main scanning direction X shown in FIG. .) 110c.

Next, an outline of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the cleaning operation by the first cleaning member, FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the same, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the cleaning operation by the second cleaning member. 6 and 8 are shown in a transparent state.

The head 10 includes the cover member 110 that covers the periphery of the nozzle surface 10a, as described above. On the cover member 110, the waste liquid that cannot be completely removed by the maintenance operation of the head 10 adheres, dries and adheres, and, for example, as shown in FIG. be.

First, the cleaning operation by the first cleaning member 602 of the head cleaning jig 600 will be described. In the cleaning operation by the first cleaning member 602, the longitudinal side surface 110b and the longitudinal surface 110a of the cover member 110 of the head 10 are cleaned simultaneously.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A, the head cleaning jig 600 is raised upward in the vertical direction Z, and as shown in FIG. The absorber 622 that will be the convex portion is pushed between the heads 10 , 10 . At this time, the upper surface 602a of the absorber 621 of the first cleaning member 602 contacts the longitudinal surface 110a of the cover member 110 including part of the nozzle surface 10a.

Then, the head cleaning jig 600 is reciprocated in the sub-scanning direction Y as shown in FIG. As a result, the longitudinal side surface 110b and the longitudinal surface 110a of the cover member 110 of the head 10 are simultaneously cleaned by both side surfaces 602b of the absorber 622 of the first cleaning member 602 in the main scanning direction X and the upper surface 602a of the absorber 621. be.

In this way, the first cleaning member 602 has a convex shape with a stepped cross-section, and is shaped so as to be in contact with the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head at the same time. The fixed matter 700 adhering to the side surface of the head 10 can be reliably removed, and cleaning of the side surface of the head 10 is improved.

Next, cleaning operation by the second cleaning member 603 will be described. In the cleaning operation by the second cleaning member 603, the surface of the portion along the inner -X direction of the outer surface of the portion covering the periphery of the nozzle surface 10a of the cover member 110 of the head 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "transverse direction surface"). Clean 110c.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the second cleaning member 603 of the head cleaning jig 600 is pressed against one lateral surface 110c of the cover member 110 of the head 10, and the head 10 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction X. move. As a result, one lateral surface 110 c of the cover member 110 of the head 10 is cleaned by the upper surface of the second cleaning member 603 .

Next, the head cleaning jig is moved in the sub-scanning direction Y, the second cleaning member 603 of the head cleaning jig 600 is pressed against the other lateral surface 110c of the cover member 110 of the head 10, and the head 10 is moved in the main scanning direction. Move back and forth to X. As a result, the other lateral surface 110 c of the cover member 110 of the head 10 is cleaned by the upper surface of the second cleaning member 603 .

Now, the control of the cleaning operation by the first cleaning device will be described.

In this embodiment, the controller board 50 also serves as means for controlling the cleaning operation by the first cleaning means 602 . The controller board 50 counts the number of times of suction by the suction pump 64 while the nozzle surface 10a is capped with the suction cap 61. When the number of times of suction reaches a predetermined number, the first cleaning member 602 cleans the head 10. Control cleaning.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, detection by imaging means, a reflective optical sensor, or the like, detects when the amount of dirt adhering (fixed state) to the cover member 110 of the head 10 reaches an amount that is judged to require cleaning. Means 90 are provided.

The controller board 50 may control the cleaning of the head 10 with the first cleaning member 602 when the detection result of the detection means 90 reaches the amount determined to require cleaning.

In the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the detection means 90 is located between the maintenance unit 60 and the platen scanning area, which is the printing range, and between the ejection receiver 66 and the platen scanning area (one of the two shown by phantom lines in FIG. 3). position).

It should be noted that the dirt detection by the detection means 90 can be performed, for example, by counting the number of times of suction performed by the suction pump 64 and when the number of times of suction reaches a predetermined number. Alternatively, contamination detection by the detection means 90 can be performed each time the amount of liquid ejected from the head 10 reaches a predetermined amount.

When the cover member 110 is detected by the detection means 90 and a predetermined amount or more of dirt is detected, the controller board 50 (controlling means) instructs the operation panel 71 to clean the head cleaning jig 600 with the first cleaning member 602 . display a message prompting you to After that, when the cleaning start is instructed, the cleaning operation by the first cleaning member 602 is started by the controller board 50 (means for controlling).

Next, the details of the cleaning operation by the first cleaning member will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12. FIG. 9 and 10 are explanatory diagrams along the sub-scanning direction for explaining the cleaning operation, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are plane explanatory diagrams of the same. In the explanatory plan view, the carriage and the head are shown in a see-through state with respect to the first cleaning member.

First, as shown in FIG. 9, the head cleaning jig 600 is placed on and attached to the receiving member 49 . At this time, the absorber 622 of the first cleaning member 602 of the cleaning jig 601 is below the detection position 80c of the light emitting portion 80A and the light receiving portion 80B of the height detection means 80. FIG.

Also, at this time, when the apparatus is viewed from above, as shown in FIG. and is in a position where it does not come into contact with the head 10 .

From this state, as shown in FIG. 10A, the cleaning treatment is continued until the absorber 622 of the first cleaning member 602 reaches the height of the detection position 80c of the light emitting portion 80A and the light receiving portion 80B of the height detection means 80. The tool 601 is raised in the +Z direction (hereinafter simply referred to as "+Z direction") in the vertical direction X. Furthermore, since the distance between the detection position 80c and the nozzle surface 10 of the head 10 is the predetermined distance 80d, as shown in FIG. It moves from the position 80c to the height of the correct cleaning position considering the predetermined distance 80d.

Next, the head cleaning jig 600 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 11 to the +Y direction in the sub-scanning direction Y as shown in FIG. Move to the starting position.

Then, as shown in FIG. 12B, the head cleaning jig 600 is moved in the +Y direction to clean the longitudinal side surface 110b and the longitudinal surface 110a of the cover member 110. Then, as shown in FIG. At this time, the head cleaning jig 600 is moved in the +Y direction until the first cleaning member 602 protrudes from the longitudinal direction of the head 10 .

After that, as shown in FIG. 12(c), the head cleaning jig 600 is moved in the -Y direction in the sub-scanning direction Y (hereinafter simply referred to as "-Y direction"). At this time, the head cleaning jig 600 is moved in the -Y direction until the first cleaning member 602 protrudes from the longitudinal direction of the head 10 .

In the cleaning operation, the cover member 110 is cleaned by repeating the movement of the first cleaning member 602 between the positions shown in FIGS. 12(b) and 12(c) a required number of times.

At the end of cleaning, as shown in FIG. 11, the head cleaning jig 600 and the carriage 11 are moved to a position where the first cleaning member 602 and the second cleaning member 603 do not interfere with the head 10, and the cleaning operation is completed. It ends.

Here, the repetitive reciprocating motion of the first cleaning member 602, which is the cleaning motion, is performed by detecting the predetermined number of times by the controller board 50 at which the adhered matter adhering to the cover member 110 can be wiped off.

In addition, the controller board 50 can detect the temperature and humidity environment, and can change the predetermined number of repetitive reciprocating movements, which are cleaning operations, depending on the temperature and humidity environment. In addition, the controller board 50 can detect the operation time, the number of times of operation, and the operation interval time of the suction pump 64 that sucks ink from the head 10, and changes the predetermined number of cleaning operations according to the operation interval time of the suction pump 64. can do.

Here, the arrangement positions in the sub-scanning direction Y of the first cleaning member and the second cleaning member of the head cleaning jig will be described with reference to FIG. 13 as well. FIG. 13 is an explanatory plan view for the same explanation.

First, as shown in FIG. 12B described above, when the first cleaning member 602 is at the stop position in the +Y direction, the second cleaning member 603 and the head 10 are separated by a gap Ga. A member 603 is positioned.

This prevents the second cleaning member 603 from interfering with the head 10 while the first cleaning member 602 is cleaning the cover member 110 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, when four heads 10 are arranged on the carriage 11 side by side in the main scanning direction, when cleaning a plurality of cover members 110, as shown in FIG. After moving the head cleaning jig 600 to a position where the first cleaning member 602 does not interfere with the head 10, the carriage 11 is moved in the +X direction in the main scanning direction X (hereinafter simply referred to as "+X direction"). The carriage 11 is moved by the encoder 18 to a proper position where the cover member 110 to be cleaned contacts the first cleaning member 602 .

Thereby, as shown in FIG. 13B, the cover member 110 can be cleaned as necessary.

For example, when four heads 10 are arranged in parallel, the cover member 110 has five cleaning locations X1 to X5 in the X direction, as shown in FIG. 13(b). Moreover, the second cleaning member 603 does not come into contact with the head 10 even when cleaning any of the cover members 110 .

Next, operations of the head cleaning jig and the carriage in the cleaning operation by the second cleaning member will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16. FIG. 14 to 16 are explanatory plan views for the same explanation. In the explanatory plan view, the carriage and the head are shown in a see-through state with respect to the second cleaning member.

First, as shown in FIG. 14A, the second cleaning member 603 cleans one lateral surface 110c of the cover member 110 of the head 10 by the cleaning operation. The head cleaning jig 600 is moved in the +Y direction so that it can come into contact with the cleaning position. Also, the carriage 11 is moved in the +X direction and retreated to a position where the head 10 does not interfere with the second cleaning member 603 .

After that, as shown in FIG. 14B, the carriage 11 is moved in the −X direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “−X direction”) in the main scanning direction X, and the second cleaning member 603 comes into contact with the cover member 110. The cleaning start position is the contact position.

From this state, as shown in FIG. 15A, the carriage 11 is further moved in the -X direction to clean the lateral surface of the cover member 110, and the second cleaning member 603 moves toward the cleaning end position side. It is moved in the -X direction until it protrudes from the end of the head 10 and is stopped.

After that, as shown in FIG. 15B, the carriage 11 is further moved in the +X direction to clean the lateral surface of the cover member 110, and the second cleaning member 603 moves the end of the head 10 on the cleaning start position side. Move in the +X direction until it protrudes from the end and stop.

The lateral surface 110c of the cover member 110 is cleaned by repeating the reciprocating movement of the carriage 11 a predetermined number of times so that the carriage 11 is at the carriage position shown in FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b). The adhered matter adhering to the member 110 is wiped off.

At this time, the arrangement of the first cleaning member 602 and the second cleaning member 603, as shown in FIG. It has a gap Gb with the cleaning member 603 and is arranged so as not to interfere with it.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16, the second cleaning member 603 is moved in the sub-scanning direction Y to a position where it contacts and cleans the other lateral surface 110c of the cover member 110 . At this time, the carriage 11 is retracted to a position where the head 10 does not interfere with the second cleaning member 603 .

Therefore, the carriage 11 is reciprocated a predetermined number of times in the main scanning direction X in the same manner as the operation for cleaning the one short-side surface 110c described above, thereby cleaning the other short-side surface 110c of the cover member 110. FIG.

In this embodiment, the head cleaning jig 600 including the first cleaning member 602 is detachable from the receiving member 49. However, the first cleaning member 602 is provided at a fixed position inside the printing apparatus 1 as cleaning means. can also

That is, cleaning means for cleaning the head is provided, the cleaning means has a first cleaning member 602, and the first cleaning member 602 of the cleaning means is brought into contact with the side surface and the nozzle surface side surface of the head 10 at the same time. The cleaning member 602 and the head 10 can be relatively moved, and the first cleaning member 602 can simultaneously clean the side surface and the nozzle surface side surface of the head 10 .

Next, another different example of the first cleaning member will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a perspective view for explaining the same.

The first cleaning member 602 of the first example shown in FIG. 17A has an I-shape in plan view, and has a cross-sectional shape with steps at both ends in the longitudinal direction (sub-scanning direction Y) of the convex portion (absorbent body 622). It has a shape that does not have

The first cleaning member 602 of the second example in FIG. 17(b) has a shape in which the convex portions (absorbent bodies 622) expand toward both ends at both ends in the longitudinal direction (sub-scanning direction Y) in plan view. and

The first cleaning member 602 of the third example shown in FIG. 17(c) has a shape in which a plurality of concave portions 623 are provided on both lateral side surfaces of the convex portion (absorbent body 622).

Next, still another different example of the first cleaning member will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is an explanatory front view for the same explanation.

The first cleaning member 602 of the fourth example shown in FIG. 18A is composed of a first cleaning section 602A for cleaning the head side surface and a second cleaning section 602B for cleaning the nozzle side surface. The cleaning part 602A and the second cleaning part 602B are attached to the jig main body 601 with a gap 602C provided between them.

At this time, the first cleaning member 602 has a convex portion that simultaneously contacts the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head 10 as a whole including the first cleaning portion 602A and the second cleaning portion 602B. In other words, the convex portion that contacts the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head 10 at the same time includes a portion that contacts the side surface of the head 10 and a portion that contacts the nozzle surface.

The second cleaning section 602B can also be arranged on both sides of the first cleaning section 602A.

The first cleaning member 602 of the fifth example shown in FIG. 18(b) is formed of an absorber having a curvilinear peripheral portion in the transverse direction.

Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the same embodiment.

The second cleaning member 603 of this embodiment has a stepped shape in a cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the head 10 (sub-scanning direction). Here, the second cleaning member 603 is provided on a narrow flat absorbent body 632 on the flat absorbent body 631 and has a convex shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of the first cleaning member 602 .

On the other hand, a plurality of heads 10 are arranged at required intervals in the sub-scanning direction on two carriages 11 (which may be mounted on one carriage 11) that move together.

In this case, since the second cleaning member 603 has a convex cross-sectional shape in the sub-scanning direction, it is possible to simultaneously clean one short-side surface 110c and the other short-side surface 110c of the heads 10 in each row. can. In addition, the side surfaces in the sub-scanning direction (transverse direction side surfaces) facing the heads 10 of each row can be cleaned at the same time.

Note that the width of the absorber 632 of the second cleaning member 603 in the sub-scanning direction is made wider than the gap between the heads 10, 10 in each row, and the width of the absorber 631 in the sub-scanning direction is set to two widths aligned in the sub-scanning direction. It has a width to contact the entire lateral surface 110 c of the cover member 110 of the head 10 .

In the above-described embodiments, the printing apparatus is described as an apparatus that ejects the liquid and the member to which the liquid is applied is cloth, but the apparatus that ejects the liquid is not limited to this. Also, the head cleaning jig is not limited to cleaning the head of the printing apparatus.

In the present application, the liquid to be ejected is not particularly limited as long as it has a viscosity and surface tension that can be ejected from the head. It is preferable to be More specifically, solvents such as water and organic solvents, colorants such as dyes and pigments, functional-imparting materials such as polymerizable compounds, resins, and surfactants, biocompatible materials such as DNA, amino acids, proteins, and calcium. , edible materials such as natural pigments, solutions, suspensions, emulsions, etc. These are, for example, inkjet inks, surface treatment liquids, components of electronic elements and light emitting elements, and formation of electronic circuit resist patterns It can be used for applications such as liquids for liquids and material liquids for three-dimensional modeling.

Piezoelectric actuators (laminated piezoelectric element and thin film piezoelectric element), thermal actuators that use electrothermal conversion elements such as heating resistors, and electrostatic actuators that consist of a diaphragm and a counter electrode are used as energy sources for liquid ejection. includes those that

The "liquid ejecting device" can include means for feeding, transporting, and discharging an object to which liquid can adhere, as well as a pre-processing device, a post-processing device, and the like.

For example, as a "device that ejects liquid", an image forming device that ejects ink to form an image on paper, and powder is formed in layers to form a three-dimensional object (three-dimensional object). There are three-dimensional modeling apparatuses (three-dimensional modeling apparatuses) that eject a modeling liquid into a powder layer that has been formed, and a three-dimensional modeling apparatus that ejects model materials and support materials onto a stage for layered modeling.

Further, the "apparatus for ejecting liquid" is not limited to one that visualizes significant images such as characters and figures with the ejected liquid. For example, it includes those that form patterns that have no meaning per se, and those that form three-dimensional images.

The above-mentioned "substance to which a liquid can adhere" means a substance to which a liquid can adhere at least temporarily, such as a substance to which a liquid adheres and adheres, a substance which adheres and permeates, and the like. Specific examples include media such as recording media such as paper, recording paper, recording paper, film, and cloth, electronic components such as electronic substrates and piezoelectric elements, powder layers (powder layers), organ models, and test cells. Yes, and unless otherwise specified, includes anything that has liquid on it.

Further, the ``device for ejecting liquid'' includes a device in which a liquid ejection head and an object to which liquid can be adhered move relatively, but is not limited to this. Specific examples include a serial type apparatus in which the liquid ejection head is moved and a line type apparatus in which the liquid ejection head is not moved.

1 Printing device (a device that ejects liquid)
10 head (liquid ejecting means)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 Carriage 40 Platen member 49 Receiving member 110 Cover member 110a Longitudinal surface (nozzle surface side surface)
110b Longitudinal side (side surface)
400 cloth (granted target)
600 head cleaning jig 601 jig body 602 first cleaning member 603 second cleaning member 621, 622 absorber

Claims (11)

a head for ejecting liquid;
a holding member that holds the member to which the liquid is applied;
a receiving member that detachably holds the holding member;
and a cleaning jig for cleaning the head,
The cleaning jig has a first cleaning member,
the first cleaning member has a convex portion that contacts the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head at the same time;
bringing the first cleaning member of the cleaning jig attached to the receiving member into contact with the head, moving the receiving member and the head relative to each other, and cleaning the head with the first cleaning member;
The apparatus for ejecting liquid, wherein the first cleaning member simultaneously contacts the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head during cleaning. a head for ejecting liquid;
a holding member that holds the member to which the liquid is applied;
a receiving member that detachably holds the holding member;
cleaning means for cleaning the head,
The cleaning means has a first cleaning member,
the first cleaning member has a convex portion that contacts the side surface and the nozzle surface of the head at the same time;
The first cleaning member of the cleaning means is brought into contact with the side surface of the head and the nozzle side surface at the same time, and the cleaning means and the head are moved relative to each other so that the side surface of the head is cleaned by the first cleaning member. A device for ejecting a liquid characterized by simultaneously cleaning a surface and a nozzle surface side surface. 3. A device for ejecting liquid according to claim 2, wherein said cleaning means is detachable with respect to said receiving member. A plurality of said heads are arranged side by side,
4. The apparatus for ejecting liquid according to claim 1, wherein the width of the convex portion of the first cleaning member is narrower than the interval between adjacent heads. A plurality of said heads are arranged side by side,
the convex portion of the first cleaning member is movable between the plurality of heads;
4. The apparatus for ejecting liquid according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion of the first cleaning member simultaneously cleans a plurality of the heads. 6. The apparatus for ejecting liquid according to claim 1, wherein the first cleaning member is arranged such that its longitudinal direction extends in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the heads are arranged. 2. The apparatus for ejecting liquid according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning jig comprises a second cleaning member arranged in a direction intersecting said first cleaning member. a cap for capping the nozzle surface of the head;
a suction means for sucking the inside of the cap;
and means for performing control to clean the head with the first cleaning member when the number of times of suction performed by the suction means with the nozzle face capped with the cap reaches a predetermined number. 8. A device for ejecting liquid according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A head maintenance method for a liquid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising:
detecting the state of fixation of the liquid to at least one of the ejection surface and the side surface of the head;
A head maintenance method, comprising: cleaning the head with the first cleaning member based on the detection result when the liquid is not ejected from the head. A head maintenance method for a liquid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising:
detecting the number of times of suction by a suction means for sucking the inside of the cap capping the nozzle surface of the head;
A head maintenance method, comprising: cleaning the head with the first cleaning member based on the detection result when the liquid is not ejected from the head. an ejection head for ejecting liquid;
a holding member that holds the member to which the liquid is applied;
A head cleaning jig detachably attached to the receiving member of a device comprising a receiving member that detachably holds the holding member,
having a first cleaning member;
cleaning the head with the first cleaning member by bringing the first cleaning member into contact with the head and relatively moving the receiving member and the head;
The head cleaning jig, wherein the first cleaning member has a stepped shape in a cross-sectional shape along the moving direction of the head.

Images