JP2023084854A - Liquid recovery device and liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

To satisfactorily maintain absorbency of an absorber without the need of an operator to conduct maintenance work of including a humectant to the absorber.SOLUTION: A liquid recovery device 30 includes: a recovery container 31 for recovering liquid discharged from liquid discharge units 21; an absorber 32 for absorbing liquid recovered by the recovery container 31; and a solvent supply part 33 for supplying the absorber 32 with a solvent component of the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge units 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid recovery device and a liquid ejection device.

2. Description of the Related Art As a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid, an inkjet image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting ink onto a sheet such as paper is known.

In an inkjet image forming apparatus, ink is periodically ejected from a liquid ejection head separately from the time of image formation so as not to cause ink ejection failure due to ink thickening or solidification. An operation is performed to maintain and recover the performance of the liquid ejection head. At this time, since the ink ejected from the liquid ejection head is not ejected onto the sheet, it is collected by a recovery container arranged below the liquid ejection head.

In addition, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-214811) discloses a configuration of an ink recovery unit including an absorber arranged in a recovery container as described above. In order to improve this, a technique has been proposed in which a humectant with high moisture retention is included in the absorbent body.

However, in order to continuously maintain the absorbency of the absorbent body, it is necessary to regularly impregnate the absorbent body with a wetting agent, and maintenance work for this purpose is required.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a liquid recovery apparatus according to the present invention includes a recovery container that recovers liquid discharged from a liquid discharger, an absorber that absorbs the liquid recovered in the recovery container, and the liquid discharger. and a solvent supply unit for supplying the solvent component of the liquid discharged from the unit to the absorber.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if an operator does not perform the maintenance work which impregnates a wetting agent in an absorber, the absorbency of an absorber can be maintained satisfactorily.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an inkjet image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a control system of an inkjet image forming apparatus according to this embodiment; FIG. 3 is a plan view of the head unit according to the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a collection container that collects ink ejected from a liquid ejection head; 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a liquid recovery device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid recovery device; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid recovery device; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid recovery device; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a liquid recovery device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid recovery device; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a liquid recovery device according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid recovery device; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid recovery device; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of another image forming apparatus; FIG. 11 is a plan view of another head unit;

The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each drawing for explaining the present invention, constituent elements such as members and constituent parts having the same function or shape are given the same reference numerals as much as possible, and once explained, the explanation will be repeated. omitted.

First, based on FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of an ink jet image forming apparatus, which is an embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention, will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an inkjet image forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a control system of the inkjet image forming apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a sheet supply unit 1 that supplies sheets S for image formation, an image forming unit 2 that forms images on the sheets S, and the sheets S. A drying section 3 for drying and a sheet collecting section 4 for collecting the sheet S on which an image is formed are provided. The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment also includes a control section 6 (see FIG. 2) for controlling the sheet feeding section 1, the image forming section 2, the drying section 3, and the sheet collecting section 4. FIG.

The sheet supply unit 1 has a supply roller 11 on which a long sheet S is wound in a roll shape, and a tension adjustment mechanism 12 that adjusts the tension applied to the sheet S. As shown in FIG. The supply roller 11 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1, and the sheet S is delivered by the rotation of the supply roller 11 . The tension adjustment mechanism 12 has a plurality of rollers for stretching the sheet S and applying tension. By moving some of these rollers, the tension of the sheet S is adjusted, and the sheet S is delivered from the supply roller 11 with a constant tension.

The image forming section 2 has a head unit 13, which is a liquid ejection unit, and a platen 14 as a sheet supporting member that supports the sheet S being conveyed. The platen 14 is arranged to face the head unit 13 and supports the lower surface of the sheet S supplied from the sheet supply section 1 . The head unit 13 has a plurality of liquid ejection heads as a liquid ejection section, and ink is ejected from each liquid ejection head onto the sheet S based on image data generated by the control section 6, thereby forming a sheet. An image is formed on S. Here, the ink is a liquid containing a coloring material, a solvent, and crystalline resin particles dispersed in the solvent. A crystalline resin is a resin that undergoes a phase change and melts from a crystalline state into a liquid when heated to a predetermined melting point or higher.

The drying section 3 has a heating drum 15 that heats the sheet S in order to accelerate the drying of the ink on the sheet S. As shown in FIG. The heating drum 15 is a cylindrical member that rotates while the sheet S is wound around its outer peripheral surface, and a heating source such as a halogen heater is arranged inside. The heating means for heating the sheet S may be a contact heating means such as the heating drum 15 or a non-contact heating means such as a hot air generator for blowing hot air onto the sheet S.

The sheet recovery unit 4 includes a recovery roller 16 that winds up and recovers the sheet S, and a tension adjustment mechanism 17 that adjusts the tension applied to the sheet S. As shown in FIG. The collection roller 16 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1. By rotating the collection roller 16, the sheet S is wound into a roll and collected. The tension adjustment mechanism 17 has a plurality of rollers, like the tension adjustment mechanism 12 of the sheet feeding section 1 . By moving some of these rollers, the tension of the sheet S is adjusted, and the sheet S is wound by the recovery roller 16 with a constant tension.

The control unit 6 is configured by an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer). The control unit 6 generates image data to be formed on the sheet S, and also controls various operations of the sheet supply unit 1 , the image forming unit 2 , the drying unit 3 , and the sheet collection unit 4 . For example, the control unit 6 controls the rotation speed of each of the supply roller 11, the collection roller 16, and the heating drum 15, and the rotation speeds of a plurality of transport rollers that transport the sheet S in the image forming apparatus 100, and controls the rotation speed of the heating drum. The temperature of the heat source for heating 15 is controlled.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the head unit according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the head unit 13 has a base portion 20 and a plurality of liquid ejection heads 21 provided on the base portion 20 . The plurality of liquid ejection heads 21 has a nozzle row 22 composed of a large number of nozzles arranged in the sheet width direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 3) that intersects the conveying direction A of the sheet S. As shown in FIG.

When the sheet S is conveyed to the head unit 13 configured in this manner, the ejection drive of each liquid ejection head 21 is controlled by a drive signal based on image information, and ink is ejected from each liquid ejection head 21 onto the sheet S. be. As a result, an image is formed on the sheet S according to the image information.

By the way, when a sheet S having a width narrower than the maximum image forming area H (the maximum range in which ink can be ejected by each liquid ejection head 21) shown in FIG. It is only necessary to eject the ink from the nozzles arranged in the area through which the sheet S passes. However, if the ink is not ejected from the nozzles for a long time in the area through which the sheet S does not pass, the solvent component of the ink evaporates, causing the ink to thicken or solidify. There is a risk that it will disappear. Therefore, even in the nozzles arranged in the area through which the sheet S does not pass, the performance of the liquid ejection head that suppresses the thickening and solidification of the ink is maintained and recovered by periodically ejecting the ink.

When the performance maintenance and recovery operation of the liquid ejection head 21 is performed, the ink ejected from the nozzles arranged in the area through which the sheet S does not pass is not ejected onto the sheet S. Therefore, as shown in FIG. A recovery container 31 for recovering the ejected ink is provided below the liquid ejection head 21 . In order to prevent the discharged ink from splashing in the collection container 31 and staining the surroundings, the collection container 31 contains an absorbent 32 made of foamed urethane or the like. As the absorbent body 32, a non-woven fabric or the like may be used in addition to urethane foam.

Here, in order for the absorber to effectively absorb the ink, it is preferable that the absorber contains a humectant to improve absorbability. However, in order to maintain the absorbency, it is necessary to periodically impregnate the absorbent with a wetting agent, which requires maintenance work by a worker such as a user or a service person, which imposes a burden on the worker. To increase. In view of such circumstances, the present invention proposes a liquid recovery apparatus capable of maintaining good absorbency of an absorbent body without maintenance work by an operator. An embodiment of a liquid recovery apparatus according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the liquid recovery device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the liquid recovery device 30 according to the present embodiment includes a recovery container 31 , an absorber 32 , and a solvent that recovers water, which is a solvent component contained in ink, and supplies it to the absorber 32 . A supply unit 33 is provided. Specifically, the solvent supply unit 33 includes a heating unit (drying unit) 34 that heats the sheet S, a solvent recovery unit 35 that recovers water vapor (moisture) generated from the ink on the heated sheet S, and a It has a condensing section 36 that liquefies the water vapor.

The heating unit 34 has a heating source such as a heater that heats the sheet S. As shown in FIG. For example, the heating unit 34 may be a heating drum that heats the sheet S by winding it as described above, or may be a hot air generator that blows hot air onto the sheet S to heat it.

The solvent recovery unit 35 has a recovery channel 37 such as a duct for recovering water vapor, and a suction fan 38 as a negative pressure generating device for creating a negative pressure in the recovery channel 37 and sucking the water vapor. The suction fan 38 functions not only as solvent recovery means for sucking and recovering water vapor, but also as solvent transfer means for sending the collected water vapor to the condensation section 36 . Also, a compressor or the like may be used instead of the suction fan 38 . The opening 37a on the suction side of the recovery channel 37 is arranged above the sheet S that has passed through the heating section 34 so that the water vapor can be easily recovered.

Condensing section 36 has a heat exchanger that cools the recovered water vapor back to water. The heat exchanger may be of a natural air cooling type in which heat is naturally dissipated through fins or the like, or may be of a forced cooling type in which air blown from a blower fan is applied to the fins for cooling. good. The condensation section 36 is connected to the recovery channel 37, the suction fan 38, and the recovery container 31 via channels such as pipes.

Next, the operation of the liquid recovery device 30 according to this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, in the image forming section 2, ink is ejected from the liquid ejection head 21 onto the sheet S to form an image. Then, as shown in FIG. 7 , when the sheet S is conveyed and the ink-adhered portion (image portion) B on the sheet S is sent to the heating portion 34 , the sheet S is heated in the heating portion 34 . As a result, water contained in the ink on the sheet S evaporates into water vapor 200 . Then, the water vapor 200 generated from the ink is sucked into the recovery passage 37 by the suction fan 38 and recovered. Then, the collected water vapor 200 is sent to the condensation section 36 . Thereafter, the water vapor is cooled in the condensation section 36 to be liquefied and returned to water. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the water 300 in the condensation section 36 is sent to the recovery container 31 and supplied to the absorber 32 .

As described above, in the liquid recovery device 30 according to the present embodiment, the water vapor generated from the ink on the heated sheet S is recovered, and the recovered water vapor is liquefied and supplied to the absorber 32. Therefore, the operator can It is possible to keep the absorbent body 32 in a moist state by supplying water to the absorbent body 32 without performing maintenance work for supplying a wetting agent to the absorbent body 32 . As a result, the ink absorbability of the absorber 32 can be improved while reducing the burden on the operator. Further, according to the configuration according to the present embodiment, since water vapor generated from the ink when drying the sheet S is used as the wetting agent to be supplied to the absorber 32, the wetting agent to be supplied to the absorber 32 is stored in advance. There is no need to install a dedicated tank or the like. This eliminates the need to replenish the wetting agent into a dedicated tank, thus reducing the burden on the operator.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention different from the first embodiment will be described. Note that, in the following description, mainly different parts from the above embodiment will be described, and descriptions of other parts will be omitted as they are basically the same in configuration.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of a liquid recovery device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 9 , in the second embodiment, the solvent supply section 33 that supplies the solvent to the absorber 32 has a heating section 39 arranged below the recovery container 31 . In addition, in this embodiment, the recovery flow path 37, the suction fan 38, the condensation section 36, etc. of the first embodiment are not provided. The heating unit 39 may be a contact heating means such as a heating drum, or a non-contact heating means such as a hot air generator, as long as it has a heat source for heating the sheet S. There may be. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the collection container 31 has a bottom portion provided with a large number of vent holes 31a.

In the second embodiment configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 10, when the ink-adhered portion (image portion) B of the sheet S is sent to the heating portion 39, the sheet S is heated in the heating portion 39. As a result, water contained in the ink on the sheet S evaporates into water vapor 200 . Then, the water vapor 200 is supplied to the absorber 32 through the ventilation holes 31 a provided in the collection container 31 .

As described above, in the second embodiment, since the water vapor generated from the ink on the sheet S is directly supplied to the absorber 32, the operator does not have to perform maintenance work to supply the wetting agent to the absorber 32. Moisture can be supplied to the absorbent body 32 to keep the absorbent body 32 moist. That is, when the water vapor comes into contact with the absorbent body 32, the water vapor is cooled back to water, thereby making the absorbent body 32 wet. As a result, the ink absorbability of the absorber 32 can be improved and the burden on the operator can be reduced without the operator having to perform maintenance work for supplying a wetting agent to the absorber 32 . Also in the present embodiment, there is no need to install a dedicated tank or the like for storing the wetting agent in advance, so replenishment work of the wetting agent is also unnecessary. Furthermore, according to the configuration according to the present embodiment, in addition to the recovery passage 37 and the suction fan 38 for recovering steam, the condensation unit 36 for returning the steam to water is not required, so the size and cost of the device can be reduced. become.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a liquid recovery device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the third embodiment, the solvent supply unit 33 that supplies the solvent to the absorber 32 is replaced by the heating unit 43 that heats the ink recovered by the recovery mechanism 40 separate from the recovery container 31. , a solvent recovery unit 44 for recovering water vapor generated from the ink heated by the heating unit 43, and a condensation unit 45 for liquefying the collected water vapor.

Here, when the head unit 13 is moved to a maintenance position different from the image forming section 2 (position for image formation), the collection mechanism 40 separate from the collection container 31 is arranged to move the liquid ejection head 21 to the maintenance position. It is a mechanism for collecting the ink ejected from the . Specifically, the recovery mechanism 40 has a cap member 41 that covers the liquid ejection head 21 to prevent the ink from drying, and a waste liquid tank 42 that is connected to the cap member 41 via a pipe, tube, or the like.

The heating unit 43 has a heating source such as a heater that heats the ink stored in the waste liquid tank 42 .

The solvent recovery unit 44 has a recovery channel 46 for recovering water vapor generated in the waste liquid tank 42, and a suction fan 47 as a negative pressure generating device for creating a negative pressure in the recovery channel 46 and sucking the water vapor. there is The suction fan 47 also functions as solvent transfer means for sending the collected water vapor to the condensation section 45 .

In the third embodiment configured as described above, when the head unit 13 moves from the image forming section 2 to the maintenance position, the cap member 41 covers the liquid ejection head 21 as shown in FIG. In this state, ink is ejected from the liquid ejection head 21, so that the performance maintenance recovery operation of the liquid ejection head 21 is performed. At this time, the ejected ink 400 is sent to the waste liquid tank 42 and stored in the waste liquid tank 42 .

Then, as shown in FIG. 13 , the ink in the waste liquid tank 42 is heated by the heating unit 43 , so that the water contained in the ink is vaporized into water vapor 200 . The generated water vapor 200 is sucked into the recovery channel 37 by the suction fan 47 and recovered. Then, the collected water vapor 200 is sent to the condensation section 45 . Thereafter, the water vapor is cooled in the condensation section 45 to be liquefied and returned to water. Then, the water 300 in the condensation section 45 is sent to the collection container 31 and supplied to the absorber 32 .

As described above, in the third embodiment, the water vapor generated by heating the ink in the waste liquid tank 42 is collected, and the collected water vapor is liquefied and supplied to the absorber 32 . It is possible to supply moisture to the absorbent body 32 and keep the absorbent body 32 in a wet state without performing maintenance work for supplying a wetting agent. In the present embodiment, since water vapor generated from the ink in the waste liquid tank 42 is used as the wetting agent to be supplied to the absorber 32, a special tank or the like is provided to store the wetting agent to be supplied to the absorber 32 in advance. , and replenishment of the wetting agent to such a tank becomes unnecessary.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, the absorbability of the absorbent body can be maintained satisfactorily without the operator having to perform maintenance work for impregnating the absorbent body with a wetting agent. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that reduces the burden and is excellent in handleability.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the moisture contained in the ink is used as the wetting agent supplied to the absorber. It may be a solvent component contained in the applied pre-treatment liquid or a solvent component contained in the post-treatment liquid applied to the sheet after image formation.

Therefore, the present invention includes a pretreatment liquid application unit 7 for applying pretreatment liquid to the sheet S supplied from the sheet supply unit 1, and a pretreatment liquid applied to the sheet S, as shown in FIG. a post-treatment liquid application unit 9 that applies post-treatment liquid to the sheet S that has passed through the image forming section 2; and a post-treatment liquid that dries the post-treatment liquid applied to the sheet S. It can also be applied to the image forming apparatus 100 having the drying section 10 . That is, the liquid recovery apparatus according to the present invention recovers the solvent component of the pretreatment liquid vaporized in the pretreatment liquid drying section 8 or the solvent component of the posttreatment liquid vaporized in the posttreatment liquid drying section 10, and recovers the solvent. The component may be supplied to the absorbent in the collection container. Also, the solvent component (wetting agent) supplied to the absorbent body may be a solvent component other than moisture (water).

Further, the present invention is not limited to the case of being applied to a so-called line-type liquid ejection apparatus in which the liquid ejection head 21 ejects ink without moving relative to the sheet S, as shown in FIG. In addition to such a line-type liquid ejecting apparatus, the present invention moves a carriage 23 in a direction E (sheet width direction) intersecting the sheet conveying direction A as shown in FIG. The present invention can also be applied to a so-called serial type liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects ink onto a sheet S from a liquid ejecting head 21 mounted on a substrate.

Further, in the present invention, the term "liquid ejection head" means a functional component that ejects or ejects liquid from nozzles. The liquid to be ejected is not particularly limited as long as it has a viscosity or surface tension that allows it to be ejected from the head. is preferred. More specifically, solvents such as water or organic solvents, colorants such as dyes or pigments, polymerizable compounds, resins, functional-imparting materials such as surfactants, biocompatible materials such as DNA, amino acids or 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 or light emitting elements, or electronic circuit resist patterns. It can be used for applications such as a forming liquid and a material liquid for three-dimensional modeling.

Energy sources for ejecting liquid include 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. Including what you use.

Further, in the present invention, the "liquid ejection unit" may be a head unit including a plurality of liquid ejection heads as in the above embodiment, or a head unit including one liquid ejection head. The "liquid ejection unit" is a liquid ejection head integrated with functional parts and mechanisms, and includes an assembly of parts related to ejection of liquid. For example, the "liquid ejection unit" includes a combination of at least one of a head tank, a carriage, a supply mechanism, a maintenance and recovery mechanism, a main scanning movement mechanism, and a liquid circulation device with a liquid ejection head. Here, integration means, for example, that the liquid ejection head and functional parts or mechanisms are fixed to each other by fastening, adhesion, engagement, or the like, or that one is held movably with respect to the other. include. Also, the liquid ejection head, the functional parts, and the mechanism may be configured to be detachable from each other.

Examples of the "liquid ejection unit" include, for example, a liquid ejection head integrated with a head tank, and an integrated liquid ejection head and a head tank connected to each other by a tube or the like. A unit including a filter can be added between the head tank and the liquid ejection head of these liquid ejection units.

Further, the "liquid ejection unit" may be one in which the liquid ejection head and the carriage are integrated.

Further, the "liquid ejection unit" may be one in which the liquid ejection head is movably held by a guide member that constitutes a part of the scanning movement mechanism, and the liquid ejection head and the scanning movement mechanism are integrated. Alternatively, the liquid ejection head, the carriage, and the main scanning movement mechanism may be integrated. The main scanning movement mechanism referred to here also includes the single guide member.

A "liquid ejection unit" is a unit in which a liquid ejection head, a carriage, and a maintenance and recovery mechanism are integrated by fixing a cap member, which is a part of the maintenance and recovery mechanism, to a carriage to which the liquid ejection head is attached. may be

Further, the "liquid ejection unit" may be one in which a tube is connected to a liquid ejection head to which a head tank or a channel component is attached, and the liquid ejection head and the supply mechanism are integrated. The supply mechanism here includes the tube unit and the loading unit unit.

In addition, in the present invention, a "liquid ejection apparatus" means an apparatus that includes a liquid ejection head or a liquid ejection unit, and ejects liquid by driving the liquid ejection head. The term "liquid ejecting apparatus" includes not only devices capable of ejecting liquid onto an object to which liquid can adhere, but also devices ejecting liquid into air or into liquid.

Examples of the "liquid ejecting apparatus" include an image forming apparatus that ejects ink to form an image on a sheet of paper, and a three-dimensional object that forms powder in layers. There is a three-dimensional modeling apparatus (three-dimensional modeling apparatus) that ejects a modeling liquid onto a powder layer.

In addition, "liquid ejecting apparatus" is not limited to those that visualize significant images such as letters and figures by ejected liquid, but also those that form meaningless patterns and the like, and those that form three-dimensional images. is also included.

Also, the "liquid ejection device" may include means for feeding, conveying, and discharging a liquid-adherable object, as well as a pre-processing device, a post-processing device, and the like.

The above-mentioned "object to which liquid can adhere" means an object to be conveyed to which liquid can adhere at least temporarily, such as an object to which liquid adheres and adheres, an object which adheres and permeates, and the like. Specific examples include media such as paper, recording paper, recording paper, film, sheets such as cloth, electronic substrates, electronic components such as piezoelectric elements, powder layers (powder layers), organ models, and test cells. Unless otherwise specified, it includes anything that a liquid adheres to. Also, the sheet to which the liquid adheres may be a long sheet such as roll paper that is continuously supplied from the sheet supply unit, or a sheet such as cut paper that has been cut into a predetermined size in advance.

In addition, the material of the “thing to which liquid can adhere” may be paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc., as long as liquid can adhere even temporarily.

Further, the ``liquid ejection device'' includes one that ejects liquid while the liquid ejection head moves and one that ejects liquid without moving the liquid ejection head.

In addition, the "liquid ejection device" also includes a treatment liquid coating device that ejects a treatment liquid onto the paper surface in order to apply the treatment liquid to the surface of the paper for the purpose of modifying the surface of the paper, and raw materials. There is an injection granulator that granulates fine particles of a raw material by injecting a composition liquid dispersed in a solution through a nozzle.

21 liquid ejection head (liquid ejection part)
30 Liquid recovery device 31 Recovery container 31a Vent 32 Absorber 33 Solvent supply unit 34 Heating unit 35 Solvent recovery unit 36 Condensing unit 39 Heating unit 40 Recovery mechanism 43 Heating unit 44 Solvent recovery unit 45 Condensing unit 100 Image forming apparatus (liquid ejection Device)
S seat

JP 2010-214811 A

Claims (8)

a collection container for collecting the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge part;
an absorber that absorbs the liquid collected in the collection container;
A liquid recovery apparatus comprising a solvent supply section that supplies a solvent component of the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge section to the absorber. The solvent supply unit heats the sheet to which the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection unit adheres, evaporates and recovers the solvent component of the liquid, liquefies the recovered solvent component, and supplies it to the absorber. The liquid recovery device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid recovery device supplies 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the solvent supply unit has a heating unit that heats the sheet to which the liquid adheres, a solvent recovery unit that recovers the vaporized solvent component, and a condensation unit that liquefies the recovered solvent component. A liquid recovery device as described. 2. The solvent supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the sheet to which the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge unit adheres is heated to vaporize the solvent component of the liquid, and the vaporized solvent component is supplied to the absorber. A liquid recovery device as described. The solvent supply unit has a heating unit that heats the sheet to which the liquid adheres,
The heating unit is arranged below the collection container,
5. The liquid recovery apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recovery container has a vent hole for allowing the solvent component vaporized by heating of the heating unit to pass through and contact the absorber. The solvent supply unit heats the liquid recovered by a recovery mechanism separate from the recovery container to vaporize the solvent component of the liquid, liquefy the vaporized solvent component, and supply the liquid to the absorber. Item 2. The liquid recovery device according to item 1. The solvent supply unit includes a heating unit that heats the liquid recovered by the recovery mechanism, a solvent recovery unit that recovers a solvent component that has been vaporized by the heating of the heating unit, and a condensation that liquefies the recovered solvent component. 7. The liquid recovery device of claim 6, comprising a portion. a liquid ejection unit that ejects liquid;
A liquid ejection apparatus comprising the liquid recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which recovers the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection portion.

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