JP2879602B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording unit onto a recording material.

[Conventional technology]

A recording device such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like, which is used in combination with a computer or a word processor, or used alone, forms an image on a recording material such as paper or a plastic thin plate based on image information. Is configured.

The recording device can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a recording method. Among them, the ink jet type (ink jet recording device) discharges ink from a recording unit onto a recording material. It is configured to perform recording.

Inkjet recording devices can record high-definition images at high speeds, and are non-impact systems, so there is little noise, and it is easy to record color images using multicolor inks. Has advantages.

In this ink jet recording apparatus, recording is performed by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material such as paper or an OHP film.

For this reason, fine ink droplets other than the ejected main ink droplets and ink droplets bounced off the recording material adhere to the recording head surface (ejection port surface) and become large ink droplets, or paper dust or the like. Foreign matter such as dust may adhere to the recording head surface via these inks.

When these foreign substances adhere to the ejection port surface, the ejection direction of the ink changes, resulting in ejection failure (so-called “skew”).
In some cases, ejection becomes impossible (non-ejection) and normal printing cannot be performed.

Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a recovery device including a suction pump for recovering a normal ink discharge state, sucking ink from the discharge port with a negative pressure of the pump, and using a flow of the sucked ink to discharge the ink. 2. Description of the Related Art Foreign matter such as leaked ink, paper dust, and dust in a portion is removed.

In addition, in order to remove foreign matter such as large paper dust and dust that cannot be removed by the above-described ink flow, or ink remaining on the ejection port surface after suction of ink, these are formed of an elastic member such as rubber that is wiped off. With a blade
A configuration in which a discharge port surface is slid into contact with the blade by using movement of a carriage has been used.

However, in the configuration using this blade, a part of the wiped ink is scattered and scattered by the elastic force of the blade, thereby contaminating the inside of the recording apparatus. Will remain.

Foreign matter such as ink, paper powder, dust, etc., which remains on the blade, is not collected anywhere, so during the recovery operation, it adheres to the discharge port surface from the reverse blade, causing the above-mentioned non-discharge or discharge. There was a possibility that a vicious cycle would be repeated as a cause of the failure.

Therefore, in order to clean the blade (first cleaning member), a configuration is provided in which a second cleaning member formed of an ink absorber excellent in ink absorption performance is additionally provided on a carriage on which a recording unit is mounted. Proposed.

In the recording apparatus having the second cleaning member, when the carriage is moved to a position facing the recovery device at the end of recording or when recording is interrupted, first, the second cleaning member contacts the blade (first cleaning member). Then, the blade is cleaned, and then the discharge port surface is wiped (wiping) with the cleaned blade.

In the configuration in which the second cleaning member is mounted on the carriage as described above, the blade (the cleaning member in FIG. 1) is cleaned (cleaned) in accordance with the movement of the carriage. Therefore, a dedicated cleaning mechanism (a motor, a gear, or the like) is used. Is not required, and the configuration is simple, so that there are advantages of miniaturization and cost reduction.

[Technical problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-described configuration in which the second cleaning member is provided, it is usually difficult to sufficiently widen the cleaning range of the first cleaning member by the second cleaning member, and therefore, it is difficult to perform sufficient cleaning. There were technical issues to be solved.

 The reason will be described below.

In an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording head having a plurality of ejection ports, the flying directions of the ink droplets ejected from each ejection port differ from each other due to various factors. As a result, the dot arrangement recorded on the recording material is reduced. The arrangement of the ejection openings may be different, and a phenomenon of image disorder may occur.

When the landing error of the ink droplet becomes large, white streaks are seen on the image when the recording dot interval is large, and dark streaks are seen when the recording dot interval is small, and the image quality deteriorates.

As one of means for preventing the streak-like unevenness due to the attachment / detachment error, it is effective to make the interval between the recording material and the ejection port as small as possible.

Therefore, in a normal ink jet recording apparatus, the interval between the recording material and the ejection port is set to a minimum value within a range where the recording head does not rub against the recording material.

For this reason, the second cleaning member mounted on the carriage cannot be provided so as to protrude from the recording head surface in the direction of the recording material, and therefore, the amount of the second cleaning member entering the blade in the blade direction. However, it is difficult to set the amount to be equal to or more than the amount of the discharge port surface entering the blade.

On the other hand, when the recording head is cleaned by the blade, the blade is contaminated with ink over a range where the blade is in sliding contact with the discharge port surface.

Therefore, it is necessary to clean the blade over a wider area than the amount of the blade entering the recording head.

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, as described above, it is difficult to set the cleaning range of the second cleaning member in the blade (first cleaning member) to be sufficiently large, and it is not possible to perform sufficient cleaning. There were technical issues to be solved.

Further, since the ink absorber as the second cleaning member is provided on the carriage, the volume of the absorber is limited.

For this reason, there is a limit to the amount of ink absorbed by the absorber, and there is also a technical problem to be solved such that when used, the ink becomes saturated and the cleaning function is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to make the sliding area of the blade with respect to the blade cleaning means a wider range than the contact area of the blade with the recording head. Allows the blade to be cleaned over a wider area than the wiping area, thereby ensuring that a wider area of the blade is cleaned before abutting the recording head and maintaining a long cleaning performance envelope. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which can clean a recording head with a cleaned blade and can maintain stable ejection characteristics for a long period of time.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording head to a recording material, wherein a blade that wipes a recording head mounted on a carriage by using movement of the carriage. A cleaning unit that slides on the blade to clean the blade before the blade wipes the recording head using the movement of the carriage; and a wiping operation of the recording head by the blade and the cleaning unit. And an entering amount control unit that makes the entering amount of the blade to the cleaning unit and the entering amount of the blade to the recording head different from each other during execution of the cleaning operation of the blade. The movement of the recording head during the operation and the cleaning operation. Than ingress of bets and controls as penetration of the blade is increased with respect to the cleaning unit.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Note that the same reference numerals in each drawing indicate the same or corresponding portions.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a recording head as recording means;
Numeral 2 denotes a carriage on which the recording head 1 is mounted and which can reciprocate along the recording material; 31 a guide pipe for guiding and supporting the carriage 2; 32 a guide and support of the carriage 2 in cooperation with the guide pipe 31. Reference numeral 4 denotes a platen for supporting the recording area of the recording material.

The illustrated recording means 1 shows a case for color as an example, and a carriage 2 is equipped with four recording heads having different ink colors.

As the four ink colors, for example, black, cyan, yellow, and magenta ink colors are used.

In the following description, all or any one of the four recording heads constituting the recording unit will be referred to as the recording unit 1 or the recording head 1.

Here, each recording unit (recording head) 1 is a recording unit that discharges ink by using thermal energy, and includes an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy.

Further, the recording means 1 performs recording by discharging ink from a discharge port using a wavelength of a bubble caused by film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer and a pressure change caused by shrinkage. It is.

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection section of the recording means (recording head) 1.

In FIG. 9, a predetermined gap (for example, about
A plurality of discharge ports 42 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge port surface 41 facing at a distance of about 0.5 to 2.0 mm), and a wall surface of each liquid path 44 communicating the common liquid chamber 43 and each discharge port 42. An electrothermal converter (heat generating resistor or the like) 45 for generating energy for ink ejection is provided along the line.

In this embodiment, the recording means 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 in such a manner that the discharge ports 42 are arranged in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the carriage 2.

In this manner, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 45 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid passage 44 to film-boiling, and the pressure generated at that time causes the ejection port to be discharged.
Recording means 1 for ejecting ink from 42 constitutes.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 denotes a discharge port surface 41 of each recording head 1.
A first cleaning means 51 for slidingly contacting (FIG. 3) and wiping foreign matter (wiping) is provided at a discharge port surface of each recording head 1 when the recording apparatus is not used and when the recording head suction is recovered.
A capping means for sealing 41 and a carriage cleaning member 52 are held by a recovery table 53 provided on the apparatus main body side.

Further, each capping means held on the recovery table 53
51 is a pump 26 for suction recovery through a suction tube 27
It is connected to the.

The carriage cleaning member 52 is held by a leaf spring-shaped holder attached to the recovery table 53.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the positional relationship between the recording head 1 and the carriage 2. In FIG. 3, a protrusion 65 of the first cleaning means 6 (FIG. 1) is provided on the platen 4 side of the carriage 2. A guide portion 21 for controlling the amount of the first cleaning member (such as a blade) of the cleaning means entering the carriage side (return head side) in cooperation with (described later) is provided.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the structure of the first cleaning means 6.

In FIG. 2, 61 is urethane rubber, silicon rubber,
A wiping first cleaning member (blade) 62 made of an elastic member such as hydrogen-containing intolyl butyl rubber, and 62 denotes a blade holder for supporting the blade 61.

The blade holder 62 is provided with a guide portion 64 which is movably engaged in a predetermined direction along the side surface of the recovery table 53, and a tension spring 63 is provided between the blade holder 62 and the recovery table 53. Is stretched.

In this way, the blade holder 62 is held by the guide portion 64 and the spring 63 so as to be movable toward and away from the carriage 2, and is normally held at a position where the blade holder 62 has entered the carriage 2 by a predetermined amount. I have.

On the carriage side of the blade holder 62, there is provided a projection 65 that slides in contact with the front raising guide 21 (FIG. 3) when the carriage 2 passes.

The protrusion 65 cooperates with the guide 21 of the carriage 2 to form a first cleaning member (blade) of the first cleaning means 6.
An entrance amount control means for controlling an entrance amount of the carriage 61 toward the carriage 2 is constituted.

Therefore, when the carriage 2 moves toward the capping end position (normally, the home position) at the end of recording or at the time of recording interruption,
61 is first cleaned by sliding contact with a part of the carriage 2 (usually a second cleaning means formed at a corner at the front end in the moving direction). Recording head 1 adjusted to the approach position
And is arranged to perform a wiping operation of the discharge port surface 41.

Further, the carriage cleaning member 52 includes the recording head 1.
When the wiping is completed or immediately thereafter, the wiping is disposed at a position where it comes into contact with the sliding contact portion between the blade 61 of the carriage 2 and the discharge port surface 41.

With the above configuration, in the ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from the recording head 1 to the recording material, the blade 61 that wipes the recording head 1 mounted on the carriage 2 using the movement of the carriage 2.
And the blade 61 using the movement of the carriage 2.
Before wiping the recording head 1
Cleaning means for slidingly contacting the blade 61 to clean 61
25, the amount of the blade 61 entering the cleaning unit 25 and the blade 61 relative to the recording head 1 during the wiping operation of the recording head 1 by the blade 61 and the cleaning operation of the blade 61 by the cleaning unit 25. Amount control means 21, 65 for making the amount of
The approach amount control means has an approach amount m of the blade 61 to the cleaning means 25 larger than an approach amount n of the blade 61 to the recording head 1 during the wiping operation and the cleaning operation. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by performing such control is provided.

FIG. 4 is a partial front view showing the operation of the approach amount control means for controlling the approach amount of the blade (first cleaning means) 61.

Next, the wiping operation of each recording head 1 at the end of recording (including when recording is interrupted) will be described with reference to FIG.

At the end of recording, when the carriage 2 moves from the recording area to the capping position in the direction of arrow A as shown in FIG. 4A, the fixing (holding) spring 63 sufficiently moves in the carriage direction (print head direction). Intruding blade 61
First, the carriage contacts the second cleaning means (corner) 25 of the carriage 2 as the cleaning means (FIG. 4B).

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4C, the recording heads are controlled to a smaller penetration amount (projection amount) by the action of the penetration amount control means 21 and 65 when the carriage 2 comes into contact with the corner 25 of the carriage 2. It comes into sliding contact with the first discharge port surface 41.

At this time, most of the ink adhering to the first cleaning member (blade) 61 by the cleaning operation of the recording head previously performed is wiped by the second cleaning means (corner corner) 25 of the carriage 2. Taken.

Therefore, when the carriage 2 further moves in the direction of arrow A, when the ejection port surface 41 of the recording head 1 is wiped, the blade 61 is sufficiently cleaned, and good wiping is performed.

Further, when the carriage 2 reaches the capping position (home position), the corner 25 of the carriage 2
The carriage 53 is configured to be in contact with a carriage cleaning member 52 made of an ink absorber elastically held by a recovery table 53.

This causes the carriage cleaning member 52 to absorb the ink attached to the corners 25.

Thereby, the saturated state of the ink of the second cleaning means (corner) 25 provided on the carriage 2 is eliminated, and the next wiping operation can be performed under the same conditions as the first.

The ink attached to the carriage cleaning member 52 is diffused into the inside (particularly, in the direction of gravity), and finally dried, and only the nonvolatile components are stored inside the cleaning member (ink absorber) 52.

Since the ink absorber of the carriage cleaning member 52 is held by the recovery table 53, the volume can be increased.

Therefore, the ink absorption capacity and the non-volatile component storage capacity of the carriage cleaning member 52 can be easily increased by increasing the volume of the ink absorber.

Here, the amount of entry m of the corner 25 of the carriage 2 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and the blade 61 retreat from the carriage 2 by a predetermined amount as shown in FIG. 4C. After moving in the direction (downward in the figure), the amount of entry n of the recording head 1 with respect to the ejection port surface 41 is determined by making the tip of the protrusion 65 into a shape as shown in FIG. , Always m>
It can be set to be n.

Therefore, when performing the cleaning operation by the blade 61, the blade (first cleaning member) 61 is formed on the carriage side (the carriage 2 itself or a part of the components on the carriage) before the recording head 1. It is possible to control so as to protrude toward the carriage by a larger amount than when the second cleaning means 25 comes into contact with the discharge port surface 41.

According to the experiment, an ink jet recording head having a dot density of 360 dpi (the number of ejection openings per inch) was used as the recording head 1, and a JIS hardness of 60 to 70 degrees was used as the first cleaning member (blade) 61. Using a blade made of a highly water-repellent elastic material (for example, urethane rubber, HNBr rubber, silicon rubber, etc.) having a thickness of 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm, and a free length of 4 to 8 mm with respect to the recording head 1 to the discharge port surface 0.7-1.
When the arrangement was made to be 5 mm, it was possible to clean the discharge port surface favorably by the wiping operation.

In this case, as described above, the amount of entry m of the blade 61 into the corner of the carriage (second cleaning means) 25 is controlled to be larger (preferably about twice) than the amount of entry n at the discharge port surface. Then, when the blade (first cleaning member) 61 is cleaned as described above, the ink on the blade surface can be reliably removed.
No reduction in cleaning performance occurred.

In this way, the ejection port surface is wiped by the blade 61 that has been sufficiently cleaned each time, so that an ink jet recording apparatus capable of maintaining stable ejection characteristics without any ejection failure or distortion for a long period of time has been provided.

Second Embodiment FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS.
A cleaning member sliding contact portion (second cleaning means) of the carriage 2 as cleaning means for previously cleaning the blade (first cleaning member) 61 for wiping the 41 is formed at the corner 25 of the carriage 2 itself. However, in the present embodiment, the cleaning member sliding contact portion as the cleaning means is formed by the protrusion 22 provided at the corner of the carriage 2.

This embodiment is different from the above-described first embodiment in that the protrusions 22 are provided on the carriage 2 side. However, other portions have substantially the same structure. Are the same as those in the first embodiment, corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description of their configuration and operation will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial front view showing a state in which the blade (first cleaning member) 61 is cleaned in advance by the protrusion 22 of the carriage 2 in the recording apparatus according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. is there.

In FIG. 6, when the carriage 2 moves in the direction of arrow A from the recording area toward the home position, the blade 61 sufficiently projecting in the carriage direction (recording head direction) by the fixing (holding) spring 63 is first moved. First, the carriage 2 comes into sliding contact with the protruding portion 22 at the corner of the carriage 2, and then, by the operation of the advancing amount control means 21, 65 (see FIG. 4), the intruding amount smaller than when the carriage 2 contacts the protruding portion 22. (The amount of protrusion), and slides on the discharge port surface 41 of each recording head 1.

That is, when the carriage 2 moves from the recording area toward the home position, the blade (first cleaning member) 61 held at the normal position sufficiently protruding in the arranging direction (the recording head direction) moves to the position shown in FIG. As shown in (A) and (B), first, when the carriage 2 slides (contacts) with the protrusion (second cleaning means) 22 with a sufficient amount of entry m, and the carriage 2 further moves, the second 4, the control projection 65 comes into contact with the control guide 21 in the same manner as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, and as shown in FIG. After moving in the retreating direction (downward in the drawing), the recording head 1 slides (contacts) with the discharge port surface 41 of the recording head 1 with the entrance amount n smaller than the entrance amount m.

At this time, first, the blade comes into contact with the protrusion 22 of the carriage 2 as shown in FIG.
When the carriage 2 moves as shown in (1), the ink P that has previously adhered to the blade 61 is raked up by the protrusion 22 at the blade tip.

When the carriage 2 further moves in the direction of arrow A, the sixth
As shown in FIG. 3C, the blade 61 separates from the protrusion 22, and the raked ink P moves to and adheres to the back surface of the protrusion 22, and the blade 61 is cleaned.

When the cleaning is performed by rubbing the blade 61 with the protrusion 22 in this manner, as shown in FIG.
Since the angle θ between the blade 61 and the carriage 2 (the protruding portion 22) at the contact portion can be set to be larger than in the case where cleaning is performed, the ability to capture the ink P on the blade 61 increases, Blade with no ink slippage
The cleaning effect (cleaning effect) of 61 can be further improved.

Also in this embodiment, when the carriage 2 further moves in the direction of arrow A and reaches the capping position (home position) after wiping of each recording head 1, the protrusion 22 of the carriage 2 is moved to the recovery table 53. The carriage cleaning member 52 of the ink absorber elastically held (fifth
(FIG. 1), and is cleaned by absorbing the ink P adhered to the carriage cleaning member.

As a result, ink adhesion on the carriage 2 side (second cleaning means) is eliminated, and the next wiping operation can be performed under the same favorable conditions as the operation.

The ink adhering to the carriage cleaning member 52 is diffused into the inside (particularly, gravity direction) as shown in the above-described embodiment.
Then, finally, only the non-volatile components are dried and stored in the cleaning member (ink absorber) 52.

As described in the previous embodiment, the ink absorption capacity and the volatile storage capacity of the carriage cleaning member 52 can be easily increased.

According to the experiment, under the same conditions as described in the first embodiment, the height of the protrusion 22 of the carriage 2 from the carriage end face is set to 1 to 5 mm, and the angle between the blade 61 and the back surface of the protrusion 22 is set. When θ is set in the range of 60 to 100 degrees,
The cleaning effect of the blade 61 can be greatly improved as compared with the case where the carriage is simply rubbed at the corner 25 as in the first embodiment.

Further, in the recording apparatus in which the carriage 2 is inclined as shown in FIG. 5, since the removed ink collects on the lower portion of the projection 22, the carriage cleaning member 52 is also securely placed on the lower portion of the projection 22. There is an advantage that it is enough to make the carriage cleaning member 52 contact, and the arrangement of the carriage cleaning member 52 is simplified.

According to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the above-described first embodiment can be obtained, and the cleaning member (blade) sliding contact portion (second cleaning means) of the carriage 2 is formed by the protrusion 22. Therefore, the blade cleaning effect of the carriage 2 can be further enhanced, and the discharge port surface 41 of the recording head 1 is wiped with the blade 61 that has been more reliably cleaned, so that stable discharge characteristics without non-discharge or twisting can be obtained. An ink jet recording apparatus that can be maintained for a longer time has been provided.

(Other Embodiments) FIGS. 7 and 8 are partial front views each showing a main part configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

In the above-described first embodiment, the amount of entry into the blade (first cleaning member) 61 is controlled by the shape of the projection 65 provided on the first cleaning means 6, but instead shown in FIG. Thus, the guide portion 21 on the carriage 2 side is provided in a curved shape (cam shape), and the protrusion portion on the blade 61 side (the shape can be freely selected).
65 by moving the blade along the guide.
It is also possible to configure so as to control the approach amount of 61.

The same operation and effect as in the first embodiment can also be obtained by the configuration shown in FIG.

In the above-described second embodiment, the protrusion (second cleaning means) 22 for cleaning the blade as a cleaning means is formed integrally with the carriage 2, but the protrusion as the cleaning means is shown in FIG. As shown, the carriage 2 may be formed of an elastic material flade 23 fixed to the end face of the carriage 2 by bonding or the like.

In this case, if the blade (second cleaning means or second cleaning member) 23 is formed of a member having a higher ink leakage property than the blade (first cleaning member) 61 on the first cleaning means 6 side, The cleaning effect when cleaning (cleaning) the first cleaning member (blade) 61 can be further enhanced.

In the above embodiment, the wiping operation at the end of the recording or at the time of the interruption of the recording has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to the wiping after the suction recovery, and the same effect can be achieved. It is.

In each of the above embodiments, the case of a color inkjet recording apparatus including a plurality of recording heads 1 for recording in different colors has been described as an example. However, the present invention is directed to an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording with one recording head. A recording device or an ink jet recording device for gradation recording using a plurality of recording heads having the same color but different densities can be similarly applied irrespective of the number of recording heads, and can achieve the same function and effect. is there.

Further, as the recording unit (recording head) 1 in each of the above embodiments, a replaceable cartridge type recording unit in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated, or the recording head and the ink tank are separated from each other. Various types of recording means can be used, such as a recording means connected via a coupler and a tube.

Incidentally, the present invention, if the inkjet recording apparatus,
For example, the present invention can be applied to a device using a recording unit (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. Among them, an excellent effect is obtained in a bubble jet type ink jet recording device proposed by Canon Inc. It is a spill.

According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The representative configuration and principle are preferably performed using the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796.

This method can be applied to any of the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it corresponds to a sheet or a liquid path holding a liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the arranged electrothermal transducer, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and recording is performed. This is effective because the film is boiled on the heat-acting surface of the means (recording head), and as a result air bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in a pair corresponding to this drive signal.

By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed.

When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,434,262 are suitable.

Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the invention relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As a configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in each of the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting section A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which the is bent, is also included in the present invention.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing a pressure liquid of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which is adapted to a discharge unit.

That is, according to the present invention, the recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record.

Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even with the serial type printer as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main unit or attached to the main unit enables electrical connection with the main unit and supply of ink from the main unit. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip type print head or a cartridge type print head having an ink tank provided integrally with the print head itself is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the print head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as a configuration of the printing apparatus in the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized.

If these are specifically mentioned, for the recording head,
Capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and performing a predischarge mode in which discharge is performed separately from recording. Is also effective for performing stable recording.

In addition, as for the type or number of print heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to one provided for a single color ink, a plurality of print heads corresponding to a plurality of inks having different print colors and densities are provided. It may be provided.

That is, for example, as the recording mode of the recording device,
Not only the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but also a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a plurality of recording heads, any of which may be used, but at least one of multiple colors of different colors or full color by mixing colors. The present invention is also very effective with a device provided.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or below, and softens or liquefies at room temperature, or in an ink jet system, Generally, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Anything should do.

In addition, positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as the energy of a normal change from the solid state to the liquid state of the ink, or use ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink. In any case, the ink is liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal, and the ink is liquefied, and the liquid ink is discharged. The present invention is also applicable to a case where ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time by heat energy is used.

In such a case, the ink is described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260.
It may be configured such that it is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet.

In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes, in addition to those used as image output terminals of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. What you take may be used.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording head to a recording material, the recording head mounted on the carriage is wiped using the movement of the carriage. A cleaning unit that slides on the blade to clean the blade before the blade wipes the recording head using the movement of the carriage; and a wiping operation of the recording head by the blade and the cleaning unit. An entrance amount control unit that changes an amount of the blade entering the cleaning unit and an amount of the blade entering the recording head during execution of the cleaning operation of the blade by the cleaning unit; Between the wiping operation and the cleaning operation. Is controlled so that the amount of the blade entering the cleaning means is greater than the amount of the blade entering the blade, so that the sliding area of the blade with respect to the blade cleaning means is greater than the contact area of the blade with the recording head. The large area allows the blade to be cleaned over a larger area than the wiping area, thereby ensuring that a large area of the blade is cleaned before abutting the recording head, An ink jet recording apparatus capable of maintaining performance for a long period of time, cleaning a recording head with a cleaned blade satisfactorily, and maintaining stable ejection characteristics for a long period of time is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing the structure of a first cleaning means in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4A to 4C are partial front views showing a wiping operation in the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment,
5A to 5C are partial front views showing the operation of cleaning the ejection port surface wiping member in the recording apparatus of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is another guide unit for controlling the amount of entrance of the cleaning member of the carriage. FIG. 8 is a partial front view showing a structural example, FIG. 8 is a partial front view showing another structural example of a protrusion on the carriage side that forms the second cleaning means, and FIG. 9 is ink ejection of the recording means in FIG. It is a partial perspective view which shows the structure of a part typically. In the following, reference numerals indicating major components in the drawings are listed. 1... Recording means (recording head), 2... Carriage, 6
... First cleaning means, 21 guide part (entering amount control means), 22 projection part (cleaning means, second cleaning means), 23
... Projections (cleaning means, second cleaning means), 25 corners (cleaning means, second cleaning means), 31, 32 carriage guide means, 41 discharge surface, 45 ... Electrothermal converter, 51 ... Capping means, 52 ... Carriage cleaning member, 53 ... Recovery table, 61 ... First cleaning member (blade), 62 ... Blade holder, 63 ... For fixing Spring,
65: Projection (entrance amount control means), m: large entrance amount of first cleaning member, n: small entrance amount of first cleaning member.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 2 / 165,29 / 00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording head to a recording material, a blade for wiping a recording head mounted on a carriage by using a movement of the carriage, and a movement of the carriage. A cleaning unit that slides on the blade to clean the blade before the blade wipes the recording head using the blade; and a wiping operation of the recording head by the blade and a cleaning operation of the blade by the cleaning unit. And a penetration amount control means for making the penetration amount of the blade to the cleaning means different from the penetration amount of the blade to the recording head during execution.The penetration amount control means is provided between the wiping operation and the cleaning operation. Than the amount of the blade entering the recording head. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by penetration of the blade relative serial cleaning means is controlled to increase. 2. The intrusion amount control means includes a protrusion provided on the blade and a guide provided on a carriage, and an inclined surface is provided on at least one of the protrusion or the guide. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording is performed. 3. The cleaning means with which the blade slides,
3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning unit cleaning member provided on a part of the carriage and configured to collect ink attached to the cleaning unit.