JP3017155B2 - Ink jet recording apparatus and cap member used in the apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly, to an ink jet recovery apparatus used for sucking a recording liquid or bubbles from a recording head for discharging the recording liquid and maintaining a good discharge property of the recording head. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of ink jet recording apparatus, discharge energy is applied to a recording liquid (hereinafter referred to as ink) in a liquid path by a discharge energy generating means provided in a liquid path of a recording head, and ink is discharged from a discharge port. By discharging the droplet, recording is performed on the recording material.

[0003] However, microbubbles generated due to ejection stay in the liquid path, and bubbles mixed in through the ink supply system and its connection part grow into large bubbles when the recording head is left for a long period of time. However, this may stay in the ink supply system or the like. It is known that these stagnant bubbles affect the normal ejection of the recording head and disturb the ejection state such as deflection of the ejection direction and ejection failure.

[0004] When recording is not performed, the water content of the ink evaporates from the discharge port, thereby increasing the viscosity of the ink or the dye concentration. As a result, the adhesion of the ink,
Non-discharge and a change in recording density due to thickening are caused.

In order to prevent these problems, for example, a cap member is provided outside the recording area to cover the surface of the recording head on which the ink discharge ports are provided (hereinafter, also referred to as capping) to reduce the evaporation of ink. Various types of recovery, such as removing bubbles by suctioning ink and ink bubbles from the ejection openings of the recording head by suction means such as a pump, and removing ink on the ejection surface by wiping means such as a blade. Processing is known.

[0006] Among them, the configuration of the recovery process using the cap member is as follows. 1. Cap only There is one in which an absorber is inserted inside the cap, and the like.

[0007] One configuration example of the prior art 1 is shown in FIGS.
It is shown in (C). 11A to 11C are a side view, a top view, and a front view, respectively, of a cap according to a conventional example.

When the ink is sucked from the recording head 1 by the above configuration, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the contact portion 4A of the cap 4 is brought into contact with the ejection opening surface of the recording head 1. 4B inside the cap by suction pump 500
To generate negative pressure. As a result, the ink is drawn from the ejection port of the recording head 1, and the ink fills the inside of the cap and moves to the suction pump 500 via the tube 40.

[0009]

However, the discharge port surface of the recording head 1 is in contact with the ink even after suction, and a large amount of ink remains on the discharge port surface even after the cap 4 is separated and opened. Often attached. For this reason,
As a subsequent process, a process of removing ink adhering to the ejection port surface by, for example, the above-described wiping device using a blade or the like was required.

[0010] Further, in the configuration for removing the adhered ink by the blade, a member for treating the ink wiped by the blade is required, which may complicate the apparatus configuration, and furthermore, the cleaning may be complicated. In some cases, a thin ink layer which is not removed by the wiping device is formed on the ejection port surface, thereby disturbing the ejection state.

Further, after the cap is separated and opened, the ink adheres to the cap side, and there is a problem that the ink adheres again at the time of recapping.

In order to solve these problems, as a configuration of the above-mentioned conventional example 2, a configuration in which an ink absorber 10 is filled in the inside 4B of the cap 4 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is known. I have. According to this configuration, although the ink exhibits sufficient ink absorbing properties in the early stage of use and prevents the ink from adhering to the discharge port surface, the absorption capacity of the absorber decreases with use or the passage of time, and the ink discharges onto the discharge port surface. A phenomenon similar to that described above, such as the adhesion of

Although the ink using the above-described absorber reduces the amount of ink adhering to the cap after the cap is separated and opened, the adhering ink cannot be completely eliminated. In some cases, the ink adheres to the discharge port surface side while the ink is re-adhered to the discharge port surface.

In an apparatus in which a plurality of recording heads perform color image recording using inks of different colors, if ink adheres to the ejection port surface as described above,
In the recovery process of wiping the recording head by the blade, the ink adhered to the blade by the wiping mixes with the ink adhered to the ejection port surface of the recording head when wiping a different recording head. The mixed ink may be ejected and the image quality may be extremely deteriorated.

An object of the present invention is to perform a good recovery process by promptly taking up ink into the cap and discharging the taken-up ink in a process such as ink suction in the recovery process described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple cap member and an ink jet recording apparatus using the same.

[0016]

According to the present invention, there is provided:
A cap member that abuts on the surface of the recording head where the liquid ejection port is provided and covers the liquid ejection port, and a contact portion that abuts on the surface of the recording head where the liquid ejection port is provided. A concave portion that forms a space with the surface when the contact portion comes into contact with the surface of the recording head where the liquid ejection ports are provided,
A recess formed with a discharge port for discharging the liquid therein,
In the recess, a plurality of liquid absorbers arranged along the direction from the contact portion to the discharge port, the liquid absorber having a higher density as the liquid absorber closer to the contact portion, It is characterized by having.

Further, a recording head for discharging liquid is used,
An ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging a liquid onto a recording medium, the cap member being in contact with a surface of the recording head on which the liquid discharge ports are provided and covering the liquid discharge ports. A contact portion that abuts the surface where the liquid ejection port is provided, and a concave portion that forms a space with the surface when the contact portion abuts the surface where the liquid ejection port of the recording head is provided, A recess formed with a discharge port for discharging the liquid therein, and a plurality of liquid absorbers arranged in the recess along a direction from the contact section toward the discharge port, wherein the contact section A liquid absorber having a higher density as the liquid absorber becomes closer to the liquid ejection port of the recording head by relatively moving the cap member and the recording head. Drive to make contact with the surface on which Characterized in that comprises a means.

[0018] According to the above arrangement, since the absorbent having a higher density is disposed closer to the contact portion of the cap member, the ink absorbency can be increased, and the ink and the like can be taken into the cap. Can be performed well. On the other hand, since the absorber having a lower density is disposed closer to the discharge port, the removal of ink and the like from the absorber is improved, and the discharge property can be improved.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an ejection recovery mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention together with a recording head, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with the above ejection recovery mechanism.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1A, 1B, 1C and
1D is a recording head that performs recording by discharging cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks, respectively. These recording heads 1 are mounted on the carriage 20 and move in, for example, the direction of arrow X in FIG. The color ink is discharged onto a recording material (not shown). The ejection port surfaces 2 of these recording heads 1 have been subjected to a water-repellent treatment in advance. In other words, the surface on which the capping by the cap and the cleaning by the blade are performed is subjected to a water-repellent treatment. Reference numeral 4 denotes a cap provided on the cap holder 5 corresponding to each of the recording heads 1A to 1D. The cap 4 can cap the ejection port surface 2 when the recording head 1 is at the home position. That is, the recording head 1 is
In response to the movement of the cap holder 5 to the home position, the cap holder 5 is moved upward in the figure by a drive mechanism (not shown), whereby the cap 4 corresponding to each recording head 1 has its contact portion 4A corresponding to the corresponding ejection port. Contact the surface 2. Thereby, the periphery of the ink ejection port 3 of each recording head is kept in a sealed state, the evaporation of the ink moisture in the ejection port 3 is prevented, and the recovery operation is performed by sucking the ink as necessary. Can be. Reference numeral 6 denotes a wiping device, which includes a blade 7 made of an elastic material such as rubber, which is resistant to ink, and a holder 8 for holding the blade 7, and a driving mechanism (not shown) shown in FIG. It can move in the Y and Y 'directions indicated by arrows. The wiping device 6 is erected at a position slightly away from the cap 4 and outside the recording area of the recording head, and rises when the carriage 20 moves in the X direction in FIG. The recording head 1 is brought into contact with the ejection port surface 2 and
, A wiping operation (wiping operation) is performed.

As shown in FIG. 2, four recording heads 1A to 1D corresponding to respective inks of Y, M, C, and Bk are composed of a recording head and an ink tank storing ink for supplying ink thereto. Are of a cartridge type integrally formed. Each recording head cartridge is detachably mounted on the carriage by a configuration (not shown). The carriage 2 is slidably engaged with the guide shaft 11, and is connected to a part of a drive belt 52 that is moved by a main scanning motor (not shown). Thus, the recording head cartridges 1A to 1D can be moved for scanning along the guide shaft 11. 1
Reference numerals 5, 16 and 17, 18 denote conveying rollers extending substantially parallel to the guide shaft 11 on the inner side and the lower side in the drawing of the recording area by scanning of the recording head cartridges 1A to 1D. The transport rollers 15, 16 and 17, 18 are driven by a sub-scanning motor (not shown) to transport the recording medium P. The conveyed recording medium P forms a recording surface opposite to the ejection port surface 2 provided with the ejection ports of the recording head cartridges 1A to 1D.

The above-mentioned recovery system unit is provided adjacent to the recording area of the recording head cartridges 1A to 1D and facing the area where the cartridge can move. Reference numeral 500 denotes a pump unit for absorbing ink and the like from the ejection openings 3 of the recording heads 1A to 1D and the vicinity thereof through the cap 4 of the recovery system unit.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a printing control procedure by the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and shows an example of use of the recovery system unit shown in FIGS. The recording device shown in FIG. 2 can be used as a recording unit of a copying machine.

When the power of the recording apparatus is turned on, the step
In step S301, the printhead temperature is determined based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. If the head temperature is lower than 20 ° C., the heater is turned on in step S337. Further, the drive time for turning on the heater is monitored in step S339, and if this is longer than 30 seconds, it is determined that there is some abnormality in the recording head or the like, and in step S341, there is an abnormality such as power-off or abnormality notification. Perform processing.

When the head temperature is between 20 ° C. and 45 ° C.,
In step S303, the heater is turned off, and in step S305, the head temperature is determined. The monitoring of the head temperature is performed at the time of recording standby after the power is turned on. If the temperature is relatively low, ie, 20 ° C. or lower, the heater is similarly turned on in step S307.

Step S301 or step S305
Head temperature monitoring at
If the temperature is equal to or higher than 45 ° C., the fan is turned on in step S343, and then the head temperature is determined in step S345. Here, if the head temperature is higher than 60 ° C., which is higher, it is determined that the recording head has non-discharge due to clogging or the like. In step S349, the cap 4 is brought into contact with the discharge port surface 2 of the recording head 1. The ink suction process is performed, and further, in step S351, the process waits for a predetermined time and waits for the head temperature to drop. But,
If it is determined in step S347 that the head temperature does not fall below 60 ° C. even after performing this suction three times, for example, it is determined that the temperature has risen due to a cause other than clogging that can be recovered by suction, and an abnormality is determined in step S353. Perform processing. Even if it is determined in step S345 that the head temperature is equal to or lower than 60 ° C., for example, if it is determined in step S355 that two minutes or more have elapsed since the power was turned on, an abnormal process is performed in step S357.

If it is determined in step S305 that the head temperature is equal to or higher than 45 ° C., the process proceeds to step S343.
If it is determined that the temperature is 45 ° C. or lower, the process proceeds to step S309. In step S309, it is determined whether there is a copy instruction. While there is no copy command, the head temperature is set to 20 in steps S305 to S307.
Wait for a copy command while adjusting the temperature to between 45 ° C and 45 ° C.

If there is a copy command, the temperature is adjusted to maintain the head temperature at 25 ° C. or more in steps S311 and S359, and then in step S313 the heater is turned off to set a copy enable flag. As a result, the printing operation becomes possible. Immediately before this printing, the temperature adjustment is performed in step S317 to set the head temperature to 25 ° C. or higher in steps S311 and S359 described above, and idle discharge is performed in step S319. This idle ejection is performed by causing the recording heads 1A to 1D to face the corresponding caps 4 and ejecting ink toward the inside 4B of the cap in a state where capping is not performed. To maintain a good discharge state. Then, in step S321, a print flag and a temperature control flag are set. That is, the printing operation is performed while performing the above-mentioned temperature control at 25 ° C. When the printing operation for one copy is completed, idle ejection is performed again in step S325, and it is determined in step S327 whether or not continuous copying is performed. When performing continuous copying, the temperature of the recording head is determined in step S329 because the recording head temperature may have risen. Here, when the head temperature is equal to or higher than 60 ° C., the same processing as that in step S347 and thereafter is performed. If the head temperature is between 45 ° C and 60 ° C,
In S362, the process waits for a predetermined time and waits for the head temperature to drop. If the head temperature is 45 ° C. or lower, the process proceeds to step S311.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are a side view, a top view, and a front view, respectively, of a cap according to a reference example of the present invention, and FIGS. 5A to 5C show suction through the cap. It is sectional drawing which shows operation | movement.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cap is made of an elastic material such as butyl rubber, and a water-repellent layer 9 made of a fluorine resin or the like is formed at a contact portion with the recording head. further,
The cap is filled with an anisotropic absorber 10. With this configuration, ink can be smoothly sucked from the recording head 1, and even if the cap 4 is separated from the recording head 1 immediately after the suction, it is possible to leave no trace of the cap.

For example, a negative pressure is generated by the suction pump 500 with the recording head 1 and the cap 4 kept in a sealed state (the state shown in FIG. 5A). When the ink is sucked out from the outlet, the ink forms a spherical ink mass around the ejection orifice due to its surface tension, and then the mass increases, and the ink mass similarly forms in the adjacent ejection orifice. As a result, a lumpy ink mass is formed in the direction in which the ejection openings are arranged.
When this further increases, it finally comes into contact with the anisotropic absorber 10 and penetrates in the direction of arrow Z in FIG. 5 (the state shown in FIG. 5B). At this time, the distance between the head and the absorber is
The distance between the absorber and the discharge port or between the absorber and the discharge port surface is a distance that is not greater than the radius of the sphere formed by the ink mass. In this way, especially since the absorber does not come into contact with both the ejection port and the ejection port surface, it is possible to prevent, for example, dust or the like adhering to the absorber from adhering to the head side and disturbing ink ejection. be able to. Thereafter, the ink moves into the tube in the downstream direction in a state where the ink is filled in the cap 4, and the movement of the ink stops in a state where the surface tension and the force relationship between the viscosity and the negative pressure of the ink are balanced ( Fig. 5 (C)
State).

FIG. 6 (A) shows the state of FIG. 5 (C). From the state where the cap 4 is sealed on the discharge port surface, as shown in FIG. 6 (B), the recording head 1 and the cap 4 are separated. Separate and open. At this time, the bulk ink is surrounded by the discharge port surface 2 of the recording head 1 subjected to the water repellent treatment, the contact portion of the cap 4 where the water repellent layer is formed, and the anisotropic absorber 10. I do. In this case, it is desirable to set the head separation speed to 20 mm / sec or less from the relationship between the surface tension of the ink itself and the contact energy with these surfaces. Under this condition, the capping surface of the recording head having a relatively small contact area is desired. Is smoothly caused by the surface tension of the ink, and adheres to the anisotropic absorber having a large contact area. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (1), it is possible to prevent the ink from remaining on the recording head surface or the contact portion of the cap 4. After that, idle suction is performed by operating the pump 500, but also in this case, the ink soaked into the anisotropic absorber 10 moves quickly to the pump side, so that the amount of ink remaining in the cap can be reduced. As a result, Thus, the durability of the recording head can be improved.

Next, the distance between the ejection port of the recording head 1 and the absorber 10 will be described. As described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the ink drawn from the ejection port at the time of suction is
It grows from a globular shape to a wavy shape. This ink eventually becomes unbearable due to its own weight, flows out in the direction of gravity, and adheres to the cap and the ejection port surface. In order to eliminate the adhered ink due to the outflow, the ink may be brought into contact with the absorber 10 before flowing out by its own weight.

Here, as a result of conducting an ink adhesion experiment with the ejection port surface 2 of the recording head 1 facing downward, upward, and laterally with respect to the direction of gravity, particularly,
In the case of landscape orientation, there was much ink adhesion. Therefore, the distance between the ejection port and the absorber was changed in each state, and as a result, the distance between the ejection port of the recording head and the absorber was set to be equal to or less than the radius of the sphere that could be formed by the surface tension of the ink. Then, it was found that it was possible to stably guide the ink to the absorber in the cap, and to eliminate ink adhesion.

When the conventional caps shown in FIGS. 11 and 13 are compared with each other with respect to the state of ink adhesion, in each case, as shown in FIGS.
In the process of moving from (A)) to the separated and opened state (FIG. (B)), the ink is separated by the ejection port surface 2 of the recording head, the contact portion 4A of the cap, and in FIG. Since there is no remarkable difference in each of 10, ink adheres to the discharge port surface 2 and the contact portion of the cap. Further, in a configuration in which the water repellent treatment is performed only on the discharge port surface, ink adheres particularly to the contact portion with the recording head. As a result, as shown in FIG. Traces occur.

<Embodiment> FIG. 8A is a sectional view of a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8B and 8C are sectional views of a cap according to a reference example.

FIG. 8A shows an absorber having a two-layer structure, in which an anisotropic absorber 10 is located above and a normal absorber 11 is located below.
Was used. This configuration increases the ink absorbency by disposing a dense anisotropic absorber above, while improving the absorption speed by disposing a sparse absorber below and improving the absorption rate. And the remaining ink in the cap is further reduced.

FIG. 8B shows a sandwich structure in which two layers of the anisotropic absorber 10 are interposed and a mesh layer 12 is interposed therebetween. As in the case of the cap shown in FIG. This is to improve the absorption speed.

FIG. 8 (C) shows a conventional absorber in which several holes 10A are formed in the longitudinal direction, and is configured so that anisotropy is generated without using an anisotropic absorber. is there.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are sectional views of a cap and a recording head according to a reference example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 (A) shows a structure in which anisotropy is formed by changing the shape of the ordinary absorber 11, and in addition to this structure, ink separation at the time of separation / opening can be performed smoothly. Thus, the distance between the discharge port position and the absorber is reduced.

FIG. 9 (B) shows the shape of the anisotropic absorber 10 with respect to the distance between the absorber 10 and the discharge port surface 2 where the center of the discharge port is the shortest distance and the distance gradually increases on both sides. The shape of the ink is designed so that the ink can be smoothly separated from the discharge port surface and the contact portion by utilizing the property of the surface tension of the ink.

FIG. 10 shows a case where the position m of the discharge port is shifted from the center position l of the cap due to a request due to the structure of the recording head. In this embodiment, the distance between l and m is about 2 mm. Further, it is also shown that the ejection port surface of the recording head is not a flat surface but a curved surface (a radius of curvature of about 30 mm). Also in the case of such a configuration, the same effect as in each of the above-described embodiments can be obtained by performing a water-repellent treatment on the contact portion of the cap with the recording head and filling the inside of the cap with the ink absorber. . That is, the present invention can be effectively applied regardless of the shape of the ejection port surface of the recording head or the relative position of the ejection port.

Further, the present invention can be applied irrespective of the composition of the ink (however, aqueous ink: surface tension of 35 dyc / cm ² or more).
Furthermore, it does not depend on the printing direction (up, down, sideways).

In addition, it is preferable that the discharge port surface is subjected to a water-repellent treatment.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention brings about an excellent effect particularly in a bubble jet type recording head and recording apparatus proposed by Canon Inc. among ink jet recording methods. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

Regarding the typical structure and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to a sheet or a liquid path holding a liquid (ink). Electrothermal transducers
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, thereby causing film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed, which is effective. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. If this drive signal is pulse-shaped, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately,
In particular, liquid (ink) discharge with excellent responsiveness can be achieved,
More preferred. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,434,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in the specification of US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, The present invention also includes a configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S59-5959 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters.
The effect of the present invention is also effective in a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is made to correspond to a discharge portion.
That is, according to the present invention, 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 in the case of the serial type as described above, a recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or an electric connection with the apparatus main body or ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, 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, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, Performing a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing is also effective for performing stable printing.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are, for example, not only those provided for one color ink but also a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet system In general, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within the range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in the stable ejection range. Anything can be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy can be positively prevented by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink can be used. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying the heat energy according to the recording signal,
The present invention is also applicable to a case where ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time by thermal energy is used, such as a type in which liquid ink is ejected, a type in which solidification starts when it reaches a recording medium, and the like. In such a case, the ink
As described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, while being held as a liquid or solid substance in the porous sheet concave portion or through hole, the electrothermal converter is It is good also as a form which opposes. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

Further, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The closer the contact portion of the cap member is, the higher the density of the absorber, the higher the absorbability of the ink can be, and the better the ink can be taken into the cap. On the other hand, since the absorber having a lower density is disposed closer to the discharge port, the removal of ink and the like from the absorber is improved, and the discharge property can be improved.

As a result, for example, the ink absorbency into the cap after the suction of the ink and the discharge thereof can be promptly performed, and a good recovery process can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ejection recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus using the ejection recovery system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure relating to a printing operation in the inkjet recording apparatus.

FIGS. 4 (A), (B) and (C) are a side view, a top view and a front view, respectively, of a cap according to a reference example.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views illustrating a suction operation using the cap according to the reference example.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are views showing states after a suction operation using the cap of the reference example.

7 (A), (B) and (C) are views showing a state after a suction operation using a conventional cap.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8B and 8C are cross-sectional views of caps according to other reference examples.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views showing still another reference example.

FIGS. 10 (A), (B) and (C) are views showing a state after a suction operation using a cap of still another reference example.

FIGS. 11 (A), (B) and (C) are a side view, a top view and a front view, respectively, of a cap according to a conventional example.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are cross-sectional views for explaining a cap suction operation according to the conventional example.

FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C are a side view, a top view and a front view, respectively, of a cap according to another conventional example.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are cross-sectional views for explaining a cap suction operation according to the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D Recording head 2 Discharge port surface 3 Ink discharge port 4 Cap 4A Contact part 5 Cap holder 6 Wiping device 7 Rubber blade 8 Blade holder 9 Water repellent layer 10,11 Absorber

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiromitsu Hirabayashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Miyuki Matsubara 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (56) References JP-A-58-62057 (JP, A) JP-A-60-71259 (JP, A) JP-A-2-102066 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/165 B41J 2/18 B41J 2/185

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cap member for contacting a surface of a recording head on which a liquid ejection port is provided and covering the liquid ejection port, the cap member contacting a surface of the recording head on which the liquid ejection port is disposed. A contact portion, and a concave portion that forms a space with the surface where the liquid discharge port of the recording head is provided when the contact portion comes into contact with the surface, and a discharge port that discharges the liquid therein is formed. A concave portion, and a plurality of liquid absorbers arranged in the concave portion along the direction from the contact portion to the discharge port, wherein the liquid absorber closer to the contact portion has a higher density. And a cap member comprising: 2. The liquid absorber according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of liquid absorbers include two liquid absorbers, and the two liquid absorbers are arranged in layers in a direction from the contact portion to the discharge port. The cap member according to claim 1, wherein 3. The cap member according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion has water repellency. 4. The cap member is used to generate a negative pressure in the space in a state where the contact portion is in contact with the surface, and to suck the liquid from the liquid discharge port by the negative pressure. The cap member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. An ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging a liquid onto a recording medium using a recording head which discharges a liquid, wherein the liquid discharge head is in contact with a surface of the recording head where a liquid discharge port is provided. A cap member for covering the outlet, wherein the contact portion contacts the surface of the recording head where the liquid ejection port is provided, and the contact portion contacts the surface of the recording head where the liquid ejection port is disposed. A concave portion forming a space together with the surface, and a concave portion formed with a discharge port for discharging the liquid therein; and a concave portion disposed in the concave portion along the direction from the contact portion to the discharge port. A liquid absorber having a higher density as the liquid absorber is closer to the contact portion; and a cap member and the recording head are relatively moved. This allows the contact portion to be An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: driving means for bringing the liquid ejection port of the nozzle into contact with a surface provided with the liquid ejection port. 6. The liquid absorber according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of liquid absorbers include two liquid absorbers, and the two liquid absorbers are arranged in layers in a direction from the contact portion to the outlet. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the contact portion has water repellency. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said ink jet recording apparatus includes a plurality of said recording heads corresponding to a plurality of color inks. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit causes the contact portion of the cap member to contact the surface of the recording head and generates a negative pressure in the space to thereby discharge the ink. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an ink suction unit for sucking ink from an outlet, and a wiping unit for wiping the discharge port surface. . 10. The recording head according to claim 5, wherein the recording head uses thermal energy to cause film boiling of the ink, and discharges the ink based on generation of bubbles due to the film boiling. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1.