JP2023077864A - Wiping device and image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a wiping device which can suppress movement of liquid to a lateral surface of a recording head following wiping of a nozzle surface.SOLUTION: A wiping device 23 comprises: a wipe blade 31 which wipes ink 90 adhering to a nozzle surface 14A of a recording head 14; and a movement part which moves the wipe blade 31 along the nozzle surface 14A. The wipe blade 31 comprises: a blade part 36 which is formed in a plate-like shape and is moved in the wiping direction with the upper end part thereof contacting the nozzle surface 14A; and two ribs 37 which form the shape extending in the vertical direction, are provided so as to protrude at positions with an interval in the left-right direction on the surface on the downstream side in the wiping direction of the blade part 36 and in which the upper end parts thereof do not protrude to the upper side with respect to the upper end part of the blade part in the time of wiping. Each rib 37 restricts the outflow to the outer side in the left-right direction of ink 90 which is wiped from the nozzle surface 14A by the blade part 36 and flows down along a surface 36A of the blade part 36.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a wiping device and an image forming apparatus for wiping off droplets adhering to the nozzle surface of a recording head.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cleaning member for wiping a nozzle forming surface of a recording head (Patent Document 1). A head cover is attached to the recording head so as to cover the side surface perpendicular to the nozzle forming surface. A water-repellent treatment is applied to the head cover to reduce the amount of ink that flows (moves) from the nozzle forming surface to the side surface of the recording head as the cleaning member performs a wiping action. As a result, problems such as ink dripping from the print head can be suppressed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-310476

However, in the above-described technique, it is conceivable that ink may enter a small gap formed between the side surface of the print head and the head cover (capillary phenomenon). If the ink that has entered this gap falls down, there is a risk of contaminating the recording medium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a wiping device and an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing movement of liquid droplets to the side surface of a recording head when wiping the nozzle surface.

A wiping device according to the present invention comprises a wipe blade for wiping off liquid adhering to a nozzle surface of a recording head, and a moving section for moving the wipe blade along the nozzle surface, wherein the wipe blade has a plate-like shape. A blade portion that is formed and moves in the wiping direction while its upper end portion is in contact with the nozzle surface; and at least two ribs protruding at positions spaced apart in the width direction perpendicular to each other and having an upper end that does not protrude above the upper end of the blade portion during wiping, each of the ribs: The liquid wiped off from the nozzle surface by the blade portion and flowing down along the surface of the blade portion flows out in the width direction.

In this case, a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the liquid are formed on the nozzle surface, and the dimension of the blade portion in the width direction is larger than the dimension of the nozzle surface in the width direction. The two ribs on both ends may be arranged at an interval that is wider than the formation range of the nozzle and narrower than the dimension of the nozzle surface in the width direction.

In this case, there may be a gap between the upper end of the rib and the nozzle surface during wiping.

In this case, the upper end face of the rib may be inclined downward from above as the distance from the surface of the blade portion increases.

In this case, the upper end surface of the rib may be formed along the nozzle surface when the blade portion is bent.

In this case, the upper end surface of the blade portion may contact the nozzle surface while being inclined toward the upstream side in the wiping direction.

In this case, the blade portion may be formed in a plate shape, and may bend toward the upstream side in the wiping direction by moving while keeping the upper end portion in contact with the nozzle surface.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of the wiping devices described above.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the movement of liquid to the side surface of the recording head due to the wiping of the nozzle surface.

1 is a schematic diagram (front view) showing the internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a line head of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a front view showing a head unit and a maintenance device of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a wiping device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wiping blade of a wiping device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a wiping blade and a nozzle surface of a wiping device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a side view explaining wiping processing by the wiping device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a side view showing part of a wiping blade and a recording head of a wiping device according to a modification of one embodiment of the present invention; It is a side view explaining wiping processing by the wiping device concerning the modification of one embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that Fr, Rr, L, R, U, and D shown in the drawings indicate front, rear, left, right, up, and down. Terms indicating direction and position are used in this specification, but these terms are used for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Image forming apparatus]
An image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram (front view) showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.

The image forming apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer that forms an image on a sheet S by ejecting ink droplets. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a box-shaped housing 2 in which various devices are housed. A paper feed cassette 3 in which sheets S are set is accommodated in the lower portion of the housing 2 , and a paper discharge tray 4 on which printed sheets S are stacked is provided on the upper left side of the housing 2 . A first transport path 5 for transporting the sheet S from the paper feed cassette 3 toward the head unit 12 is formed in the right side of the housing 2 . A paper feeding section 10 is provided upstream of the first transport path 5 , and a registration roller 11 is provided downstream of the first transport path 5 .

The head unit 12 has four line heads 13 corresponding to four color inks of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each line head 13 is equipped with three recording heads 14 for ejecting ink droplets. Each recording head 14 is supplied with ink from each color ink pack (not shown) through a tube (not shown).

The transport belt 16 is provided below the head unit 12 and stretched over a plurality of tension rollers 16A. A large number of through holes (not shown) are formed in the transport belt 16, and a suction portion 16B is installed inside the transport belt 16. As shown in FIG. A decurling device 17 for correcting the curl of the sheet S is installed on the left side of the head unit 12 . A second conveying path 7 for conveying the sheet S from the decurling device 17 toward the sheet discharge tray 4 is formed in the left side of the housing 2 , and a sheet discharging section 18 is provided downstream of the second conveying path 7 . It is A third transport path 8 for transporting the sheet S to the registration rollers 11 from the middle of the second transport path 7 is formed in the upper part of the housing 2 .

Inside the housing 2, a control unit 19 is provided for appropriately controlling various devices to be controlled. The control unit 19 includes a processor or the like that executes various arithmetic processes according to programs and parameters stored in a memory. Note that the control unit 19 may be implemented by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit or the like instead of a processor or the like that executes a program or the like.

[Image formation processing]
Here, image forming processing will be described. The control unit 19 appropriately controls various devices to be controlled, and executes image forming processing as follows.

The paper feeding unit 10 feeds the sheet S taken out from the paper feeding cassette 3 to the first transport path 5 . The registration roller 11 temporarily blocks the sheet S to correct the skew, and feeds the sheet S onto the conveying belt 16 in synchronization with the ejection timing of the ink droplets from the line head 13 . The sheet S is conveyed while being attracted to the conveying belt 16, and the head unit 12 (line head 13) ejects ink droplets onto the sheet S on the conveying belt 16 to form (print) a full-color image. The sheet S that has passed below the head unit 12 is sent to the decurling device 17 to be curled.

The single-sided printed sheet S is discharged to the discharge tray 4 through the second transport path 7 . When executing double-sided printing, the single-sided printed sheet S enters the third conveying path 8 , is turned upside down, and is conveyed toward the registration rollers 11 again. After that, an image is formed on the back surface of the sheet S in the same order as in the single-sided printing described above, and the double-sided printed sheet S is decurled and discharged to the discharge tray 4 .

The inkjet image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a maintenance device 20 that maintains each recording head 14 mounted on each line head 13 . Before describing the maintenance device 20, each line head 13 (recording head 14) will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the line head 13. FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the head unit 12 and the maintenance device 20. FIG. Note that the four line heads 13 have the same structure, and the three recording heads 14 mounted on each line head 13 also have the same structure. The head 14 will be explained.

[Line head]
As shown in FIG. 2, the line head 13 has three recording heads 14 and a head base 15 that supports the three recording heads 14 .

<Recording head>
The recording head 14 is made of, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel, and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction. The lower surface of the recording head 14 is a nozzle surface 14A formed with a plurality of nozzles N for ejecting ink (ink droplets) (see FIG. 3). The plurality of nozzles N are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction on the nozzle surface 14A (see FIG. 6, which will be described later). In this specification, the range in which a plurality of nozzles N are formed on the nozzle surface 14A is referred to as "formation range NR" (see FIG. 6 described later).

A plurality of piezoelectric elements (not shown) corresponding to the plurality of nozzles N are provided inside the housing of the recording head 14 . The recording head 14 is a so-called piezo inkjet head that ejects the ink 90 from the nozzles N by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element to deform it. Each piezoelectric element is electrically connected to the control unit 19 and driven and controlled. Note that the recording head 14 is not limited to the piezo method, and may employ an ink ejection method such as a thermal method.

<Head base>
The head base 15 is made of, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel, and is formed in a substantially flat plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction. The head base 15 has three mounting holes (not shown) for mounting the three recording heads 14 in a zigzag pattern. That is, the three recording heads 14 are arranged in a zigzag pattern. The lower portion of the recording head 14 is fitted into the mounting hole and protrudes below the head base 15 (see FIG. 3). The recording head 14 is attached to the head base 15 with the lower portions of the nozzle surface 14A and the side surface 14B (outer peripheral surface) exposed below the head base 15 (see FIG. 3).

The head unit 12 (each line head 13) is provided so as to be vertically movable by a lifting device (not shown). The head unit 12 has a printing position (see two-dot chain line in FIG. 3) that is close to the conveying belt 16 so that the above-described image forming process can be executed, and a retreat position (see FIG. 3) that is set above the printing position. (see solid line). By moving the head unit 12 to the retracted position, maintenance of each recording head 14 by the maintenance device 20 becomes possible (details will be described later). The lifting device is electrically connected to the control unit 19 and driven and controlled.

[Maintenance device]
Next, the maintenance device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the wiping device 23. FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the wiping blade 31 of the wiping device 23. As shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the wiping blade 31 of the wiping device 23 and the nozzle surface 14A.

The maintenance device 20 is arranged inside the housing 2 to the left of the head unit 12 (see FIG. 1). The maintenance device 20 has a function of preventing or repairing clogging of the nozzles N of the recording head 14 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , maintenance device 20 includes maintenance housing 21 , capping device 22 , and wiping device 23 . The maintenance housing 21 is formed in a box shape with an open right side, and accommodates a capping device 22 and a wiping device 23 . The capping device 22 and the wiping device 23 are moved laterally by a slide device (not shown). The slide device is electrically connected to the control unit 19 and driven and controlled to move the selected one of the capping device 22 and the wiping device 23 .

<Capping device>
The capping device 22 includes a plurality of caps 22A corresponding to the plurality of recording heads 14 included in the head unit 12. As shown in FIG. The capping device 22 is provided movably in the horizontal direction between an accommodation position accommodated in the maintenance housing 21 and a capping position set directly below the head unit 12 raised to the retracted position. After the slide device moves the capping device 22 from the accommodation position to the capping position, the elevating device lowers the head unit 12 in the retracted position, so that each cap 22A is positioned on the nozzle surface 14A (the plurality of nozzles N) of the recording head 14. ) is sealed. As a result, drying of the ink 90 inside the nozzles N is suppressed, and clogging of the nozzles N can be prevented.

<Wiping device>
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the wiping device 23 includes four wiper carriages 30, a plurality of wipe blades 31, and a moving portion 35. As shown in FIG. Since the four wiper carriages 30 have the same structure and the plurality of wipe blades 31 also have the same structure, one wiper carriage 30 and one wipe blade 31 will be mainly described below.

(wiper carriage)
The wiper carriage 30 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction. Four wiper carriages 30 are provided to correspond to the four line heads 13 . The wiping device 23 (four wiper carriages 30) is movable in the horizontal direction between an accommodation position accommodated in the maintenance housing 21 and a wiping position set directly below the head unit 12 raised to the retracted position. is provided in Further, the wiper carriage 30 is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction while being arranged at the wiping position.

(wipe blade)
One wiper carriage 30 is provided with three wipe blades 31 corresponding to the three recording heads 14 in an upright posture. A collection tray 34 (see FIG. 4) is provided between the wiper carriage 30 and the wipe blade 31 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the wipe blade 31 has a blade portion 36 and two ribs 37 . The blade portion 36 and the two ribs 37 are integrally formed of an elastic member such as synthetic rubber.

As shown in FIG. 5, the blade portion 36 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape elongated in the left-right direction. The blade portion 36 (horizontal width W1) is formed wider than the lateral dimension (horizontal width W0) of the nozzle surface 14A (see FIG. 6). Both ends of the blade portion 36 protrude outward in the horizontal direction from the nozzle surface 14A while the blade portion 36 is in contact with the nozzle surface 14A.

As shown in FIG. 5, each rib 37 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape extending vertically (substantially vertically). Each rib 37 is formed shorter than the height of the blade portion 36 . The two ribs 37 are spaced apart in the left-right direction (in the plane parallel to the nozzle surface 14A and in the width direction orthogonal to the moving direction) on the downstream side surface 36A (rear surface) of the blade portion 36 in the moving direction. protruded. The two ribs 37 are arranged on both left and right sides of the blade portion 36 and are provided substantially parallel to each other. A protrusion amount P1 (protrusion dimension) of each rib 37 is preferably set to 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less from the surface 36A of the blade portion 36, for example. Further, the lateral width W2 of each rib 37 is preferably set to, for example, 1 mm or more and 2 mm or less. The two ribs 37 are arranged at intervals wider than the formation range NR of the nozzles N and narrower than the horizontal dimension of the nozzle surface 14A. Specifically, the distance W3 between the opposing inner surfaces of the two ribs 37, in other words, the lateral width of the surface 36A of the blade portion 36 exposed between the two ribs 37 exceeds the lateral width W4 of the formation range NR, It is set to be less than the lateral width W0 of the nozzle surface 14A (see FIG. 6). That is, the opposing inner surfaces of the two ribs 37 are positioned between the outer edge of the formation range NR of the nozzles N and the outer edge of the nozzle surface 14A in the left-right direction.

The upper end portion (upper end surface 37U) of each rib 37 is preferably not in contact with the nozzle surface 14A (see FIG. 7 described later). That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper end surface 37U of each rib 37 is located below the upper end surface 36U of the blade portion 36. As shown in FIG. A lower end surface 37D of each rib 37 is located above a lower end surface 36D of the blade portion 36. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, the two ribs 37 are positioned closer to the center (inside) than both ends of the blade portion 36 in the left-right direction. A distance G1 between the upper end surface 37U of each rib 37 and the upper end surface 36U of the blade portion 36 is preferably set to, for example, 0.5 mm or more and 1 mm or less. A gap G2 between the lower end surface 37D of each rib 37 and the lower end surface 36D of the blade portion 36 is preferably set to, for example, 1 mm or more and 2 mm or less. A distance G3 between the outer end surface 37S of each rib 37 and the side end surface 36S of the blade portion 36 is preferably set to, for example, 1 mm or more and 2 mm or less. Although details will be described later, the upper end of each rib 37 does not protrude above the upper end of the blade portion 36 during wiping. Therefore, even if the wipe blade 31 is deformed during wiping, the upper end of each rib 37 projects upward from the blade part 36 and hits the nozzle surface 14A, so that the blade part 36 does not separate from the nozzle surface 14A. In addition, since there is a gap between the upper end of each rib 37 and the nozzle surface 14A, the upper end of each rib 37 can be prevented from protruding beyond the upper end of the blade portion 36 even if there is a disturbance or the like. .

(moving part)
The moving part 35 (see FIG. 4) moves the wipe blade 31 in the front-rear direction (along the nozzle surface 14A) via the wiper carriage 30 . The moving unit 35 includes an actuator, such as an electric motor or a solenoid, which serves as a driving source, and a drive transmission mechanism that converts the driving force of the actuator into linear motion in the front-rear direction and transmits it to the wiper carriage 30 (wipe blade 31). (neither shown). The moving part 35 (actuator) is electrically connected to the control part 19 and driven and controlled.

[Wiping process]
Next, wiping processing (wiping operation) of the nozzle surface 14A by the wiping device 23 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view for explaining the wiping process. Note that the wiping process is performed, for example, after the ink in the nozzles N of the recording head 14 is purged (discarded ejection).

The control unit 19 drives and controls the slide device to move the wiping device 23 from the housed position to the wiping position, and then drives and controls the lifting device to lower the head unit 12 from the retracted position. As a result, the tip (upper end) of the blade portion 36 of the wipe blade 31 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 14A. In this specification, as an example, the upper end portion of the blade portion 36 contacts the front end portion (wiping start position) of the nozzle surface 14A (see FIG. 6A described later).

Next, the control unit 19 drives and controls the moving unit 35 to move the wiper carriage 30 from the front to the rear (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4), so that the wipe blade 31 moves the ink 90 adhering to the nozzle surface 14A. wipe off. Specifically, the blade portion 36 is moved while its upper end portion is in contact with (while being pressed against) the nozzle surface 14A, thereby bending (curving) toward the upstream side (forward) in the moving direction. of ink 90 is wiped off (see FIG. 7). At this time, the upper end surface of the blade portion 36 contacts the nozzle surface 14A while being inclined toward the upstream side in the wiping direction. Each rib 37 also bends (curves) together with the blade portion 36, and the upper end of each rib 37 is not in contact with the nozzle surface 14A (see FIG. 7). The ink 90 wiped off by the blade portion 36 falls onto the recovery tray 34 and is recovered through a recovery port (not shown) opened in the recovery tray 34 . In this specification, the direction of wiping (scraping) the ink 90 (moving direction of the blade portion 36) is also referred to as "wiping direction X" (see also FIG. 4). Although the wipe blade 31 is moved from the front to the rear, on the contrary, it may be moved from the rear to the front with the rear end of the nozzle surface 14A as the wiping start position.

Thus, the wiping process by the wiping device 23 is completed. Thereafter, the control unit 19 drives and controls the lifting device to raise the head unit 12 to the retracted position, drives and controls the moving unit 35 to return the wiper carriage 30 to the wiping start position, and drives and controls the slide device to perform wiping. Return the device 23 to the stowed position.

In the wiping operation, the blade portion 36 is elastically deformed because it is pressed against the nozzle surface 14A with a predetermined pressure. The wiped ink 90 runs down mainly along the surface 36A (front surface) of the blade portion 36 . However, since a relatively large amount of ink 90 adheres to the nozzle surface 14A after purging, the wiped-off ink 90 overflows from the upper corners on both the left and right sides of the blade portion 36, and the side surfaces of the recording head 14 There was a case where it climbed up (wrapped around) to 14B. The ink 90 adhering to the side surface 14B may drip and contaminate the sheet S during image formation.

In order to solve the above problem, each rib 37 of the wipe blade 31 wipes off the nozzle surface 14A by the blade portion 36, and the ink 90 flowing down along the surface 36A of the blade portion 36 flows out in the lateral direction. regulate things. Specifically, since the interval between the two ribs 37 is narrower than the width of the nozzle surface 14A (see FIG. 6), the ink 90 wiped off by the blade portion 36 is It runs down along the surface 36A. The surface 36A of the blade portion 36 and the two ribs 37 are formed in a substantially U shape when viewed from the plane (or the bottom), and constitute a flow path that guides downward the ink 90 wiped off from the nozzle surface 14A ( See Figure 6). The ink 90 spreads to both the left and right sides while flowing down on the surface 36A of the blade portion 36, but is restricted (blocked) by the two ribs 37 from spreading to the left and right sides. Then, the ink 90 whose spread to both the left and right sides is restricted flows downward along the two ribs 37 . Furthermore, if the interval between the two ribs 37 is wider in the width direction than the formation range of the nozzles N, most of the ink 90 wiped off by the blade portion 36 will be on the surface of the blade portion 36 between the two ribs 37. The amount of ink 90 flowing down along 36A and reaching the end in the width direction of nozzle surface 14A can be reduced.

A part of the wiped ink 90 flows down along the surface 36A of the blade portion 36 on both the right and left outer sides of the two ribs 37, but the amount of the ink 90 flows down between the two ribs 37. It is a very small amount compared to the amount of 90. Therefore, the small amount of ink 90 flowing on both the right and left outer sides of the two ribs 37 is suppressed from climbing (wandering around) the side surface 14B of the recording head 14 .

In the wiping device 23 according to the first embodiment described above, two ribs 37 are protruded from the left and right sides of the surface 36A of the blade portion 36, and the liquid is wiped off from the nozzle surface 14A and flows down on the surface 36A of the blade portion 36. However, it is configured to block the ink 90 spreading to both the left and right sides. According to this configuration, the flow of the ink 90 blocked by the two ribs 37 can be directed downward. As a result, the ink 90 is guided downward along the ribs 37, so that movement (wraparound) of the ink 90 to the side surface 14B of the recording head 14 due to the wiping of the nozzle surface 14A can be suppressed.

Further, according to the wiping device 23 according to the first embodiment, the blade portion 36 (horizontal width W1) is wider than the nozzle surface 14A (horizontal width W0) (see FIG. 6). can be dispelled. In addition, since the interval between the two ribs 37 (distance W3 between the inner surfaces) is wider than the forming range NR (horizontal width W4) of the nozzle N and narrower than the nozzle surface 14A (horizontal width W0) (see FIG. 6), the wiping The taken (scraped) ink 90 can flow downward without flowing out to the left and right sides.

[Modification]
Next, a wiping device 23 according to a modification of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B. FIG. 8A shows part of the wiping blade 33 and recording head 14 of the wiping device 23 according to the modification. is a side view showing. FIG. 8B is a side view for explaining wiping processing by the wiping device 23 according to the modification. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those of the wiping device 23 (wipe blade 31) according to the present embodiment described above, and the same description will be omitted.

<Modification>
As shown in FIG. 8B, in the wipe blade 33 according to the modification, the upper end surface 39U of each rib 39 is formed along the nozzle surface 14A when the blade portion 36 is in a bent state (curved state). . As shown in FIG. 8A, when the blade portion 36 is substantially upright, the upper end surface 39U of each rib 39 is inclined downward from the surface 36A of the blade portion 36 as the distance increases. The inclination angle θ1 (see FIG. 8A) of the upper end face 39U of each rib 39 is preferably set based on the bending angle θ2 (maximum inclination angle (see FIG. 8B)) of the blade portion 36 .

According to the configuration of the modified example described above, since the upper end surface 39U of each rib 39 is substantially parallel to the nozzle surface 14A during the wiping operation, the upper end surface 39U of each rib 39 is suppressed from interfering with the nozzle surface 14A. , damage to the nozzle surface 14A can be prevented.

In addition, for example, in the substantially rectangular parallelepiped rib 37, the upper end surface 37U of the rib 37 is inclined downward from the tip end to the base end (from the rear to the front), so that the upper end surface 37U of the rib 37 and the nozzle surface 14A are separated from each other. The gap is larger on the proximal side than on the distal side of the rib 37 (see FIG. 7). Therefore, the ink 90 is likely to leak outward in the left-right direction from the gap between the base end side of the upper end surface 37U of the rib 37 and the nozzle surface 14A. On the other hand, according to the configuration of the modified example, even if the upper end surface 39U of each rib 39 is brought close to the nozzle surface 14A during the wiping operation, the gap between the ribs 39 can be made substantially uniform (see FIG. 8B). The ribs 39 can reliably block the ink 90 spreading to the left and right sides.

In the wiping device 23 according to this embodiment (including modifications; the same applies hereinafter), the wiping blades 31 to 33 have two ribs 37 to 39, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, wipe blades 31-33 may have three or more ribs 37-39 (not shown). For example, three or more ribs 37 to 39 may be erected on the surface 36A of the blade portion 36 at approximately equal intervals in the horizontal direction. In this case, it is preferable that the two ribs 37 to 39 at both ends in the left-right direction are arranged at intervals wider than the formation range NR of the nozzles N and narrower than the dimension of the nozzle surface 14A in the left-right direction.

Further, in the wiping device 23 according to this embodiment, the two ribs 37 to 39 extend substantially vertically and are provided substantially parallel to each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the two ribs 37-39 may be provided in a tilted posture so as to approach or separate from each other from top to bottom (not shown).

Further, in the wiping operation by the wiping device 23 according to the present embodiment, the wiping blades 31 to 33 move in the wiping direction X to wipe the nozzle surface 14A, but the present invention is not limited to this. The moving unit 35 may reciprocate the wiper carriage 30 (wipe blades 31 to 33) in the front-rear direction. In this case, a plurality of ribs 37 to 39 may protrude from both front and rear surfaces (front and rear surfaces) of the blade portion 36 (not shown).

Further, the wiping device 23 according to the present embodiment may further include a cleaning liquid supply section (not shown) that applies cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface 14A to which the ink 90 has adhered. The cleaning liquid supply unit preferably applies the cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface 14A before or while wiping the nozzle surface 14A with the wipe blades 31-33.

Moreover, although the wiping device 23 according to the present embodiment wipes off the ink 90 (an example of liquid) on the nozzle surface 14A, the present invention is not limited to this. Other examples of the liquid ejected from the nozzles N of the recording head 14 include water, liquid adhesive, liquid synthetic resin, etc. The wiping device 23 can also wipe off these liquids on the nozzle surface 14A. can.

Further, the wiping device 23 according to the present embodiment is controlled by the control unit 19 that controls the entire image forming apparatus 1 , but the control unit 19 is not limited to this. A controller (not shown) may be provided.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the line head 13 is equipped with three recording heads 14, but the line head 13 may be equipped with one or more recording heads 14. All you have to do is Moreover, although the plurality of recording heads 14 are arranged in a staggered manner on the head base 15, the arrangement is not limited to this, and the arrangement may be freely changed, for example, by arranging them in a line.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the head unit 12 is lifted by the lifting device when maintenance is performed by the maintenance device 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the head unit 12 may be fixed, and the lifting device may lift the maintenance device 20 (the capping device 22 and the wiping device 23) to bring the cap 22A and the wipe blades 31 to 33 into contact with the nozzle surface 14A.

Moreover, although the image forming apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment is a color printer, it is not limited to this, and may be a monochrome printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or the like.

It should be noted that the description of the above embodiment shows one aspect of the wiping device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention may be changed, replaced, and modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the technical idea, and the claims include all embodiments that can be included within the scope of the technical idea.

Reference Signs List 1 image forming apparatus 14 recording head 14A nozzle surface 23 wiping device 31, 33 wipe blade 32 moving section 36 blade section 36A surface 37, 39 rib 39U upper end surface 90 ink (liquid)
N Nozzle NR Forming range

Claims (8)

a wipe blade for wiping off liquid adhering to the nozzle surface of the recording head;
a moving unit that moves the wipe blade along the nozzle surface;
The wipe blade is
a blade portion that is formed in a plate shape and moves in the wiping direction while the upper end portion is in contact with the nozzle surface;
It has a shape elongated in the vertical direction, and protrudes at positions spaced apart in the width direction orthogonal to the wiping direction on the surface of the blade portion on the downstream side in the wiping direction. at least two ribs that do not protrude above the upper end of the blade;
The wiping device, wherein each of the ribs restricts the liquid wiped from the nozzle surface by the blade portion and flowing down along the surface of the blade portion from flowing out to the outside in the width direction. . a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the liquid are formed on the nozzle surface;
The dimension of the blade portion in the width direction is larger than the dimension of the nozzle surface in the width direction,
2. The rib according to claim 1, wherein the two ribs at both ends in the width direction are arranged at intervals wider than a formation range of the nozzle and narrower than the dimension of the nozzle surface in the width direction. wiping device. 3. A wiping device according to claim 1, wherein there is a gap between the upper end of said rib and said nozzle surface during wiping. The wiping device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the upper end face of the rib slopes downward from the top as the distance from the surface of the blade portion increases. The wiping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the upper end surface of the rib is formed along the nozzle surface when the blade portion is bent. The wiping device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the upper end surface of the blade portion contacts the nozzle surface while being inclined upstream in the wiping direction. 7. The blade portion is formed in a plate shape, and is bent toward the upstream side in the wiping direction by being moved while its upper end portion is in contact with the nozzle surface. The wiping device according to . An image forming apparatus comprising the wiping device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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