JP3379214B2 - Ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cap member - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is mounted so as to cover a nozzle surface of an ink jet recording head which has been subjected to a water repellent treatment.
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus having a nozzle cap used to protect a nozzle surface of an inkjet recording head and prevent ejection failure of the recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus is constructed so that recording ink is ejected through fine nozzles in an ink jet recording head to reach a recording medium such as paper. In order to realize stable recording by this inkjet recording device, it is necessary to prevent the ink from drying in the nozzles of the recording head during non-recording. The apparatus is provided with a cap member mounted on the nozzle surface of the recording head. In the ink jet recording apparatus, such a cap member is provided at a position facing the recording head in the non-recording area, and is configured to be attached to the nozzle surface of the recording head when not recording or when a recovery operation is requested to the recording head. . When the cap member is attached to the nozzle surface of the recording head, the cap member needs to be in close contact with the nozzle surface of the recording head.
Resin-based synthetic rubber has been used for the cap member. When the cap member made of a rubber material is mounted on the nozzle surface of the recording head, the cap member itself can be deformed to come into close contact with the nozzle surface. As described in JP-A-5-131639, conventionally, a chlorinated butyl rubber having a low gas permeability is used as a material for the cap member.

[0003]

Synthetic rubber such as chlorinated butyl rubber which has been conventionally used as a material for a cap member is mainly crosslinked with sulfur.
In addition, synthetic rubber is added with additives such as vulcanization accelerator and anti-aging agent at the time of manufacturing, and when the cap member is mounted on the nozzle surface of the recording head that has been subjected to water repellent treatment, the ink from the cap member There are substances that elute into the inside, and these elutes reduce the water repellency of the nozzle surface of the recording head, so that the flight trajectory of the ink ejected from the nozzle holes is bent and the print quality deteriorates.

It is an object of the present invention to pay attention to the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to solve the problems, it is cross-linked with a peroxide having a lower pollution property than a sulfur-cross-linked rubber material conventionally used for a cap rubber. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that realizes high-quality printing by using a cap rubber made of a rubber material without lowering the water repellency of the nozzle surface of the recording head.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus having a cap member for covering a head nozzle surface of an ink jet recording head, a part or the whole of the nozzle surface of the recording head is subjected to a water repellent treatment, and a cap is formed. It is characterized in that the portion of the member engaging with the nozzle surface is made of a rubber material cross-linked with peroxide. Further, the nozzle surface of the recording head is made of metal. Further, the present invention is characterized in that a part or the whole surface of the nozzle made of metal is plated with Ni-Teflon eutectoid.

[0006]

Since the portion of the cap member that engages with the nozzle surface is made of a rubber material which is cross-linked with peroxide, the water repellency of the nozzle surface of the recording head is not reduced and high quality printing can be realized.

[0007]

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

FIG. 1 is a view showing the structure of the cap member of the present invention. Here, 10 is a cap member main body, and 20 is an ink absorbing material. The cap member has a concave shape and has a structure in which the tip portion contacts the nozzle surface of the recording head. In the present invention, a rubber material in which the portion contacting the nozzle surface or the entire cap member is cross-linked with peroxide. The ink absorbing material is provided inside the cap member.

Although cross-linking forms of synthetic rubber include sulfur cross-linking, peroxide cross-linking, metal oxide cross-linking and the like, generally, in a rubber having a carbon-carbon double bond in a polymer chain, sulfur is a cross-linking material. The vulcanization system described below is mainly used, and crosslinking with a peroxide is used in a rubber having no carbon-carbon double bond.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a contact state between the cap member and the nozzle surface of the recording head in the present invention. Here, 30 is a nozzle surface of the recording head that has been subjected to water repellent treatment, and the nozzle surface 30 is made of stainless steel, and a part or the whole of the nozzle surface is subjected to water repellent treatment. As the water repellent treatment method for the nozzle surface, as described in JP-A-55-148170, a method of depositing or coating a fluorine-based polymer or a fluorine-based oligomer, a method of coating a silicon-based varnish and a silicon-based oil, or There is a method of coating a silazane-based compound, etc., and in this embodiment, as a water-repellent treatment method for the nozzle surface, an eutectoid plating treatment of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is a fluorine-based polymer particle, and Ni is performed on the nozzle. It is applied to part or all of the surface.

When the cap member 10 and the nozzle surface 30 are in contact with each other, the cap member having a concave shape is deformed so that the cap member 10 and the nozzle surface 30 can come into close contact with each other.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the cap member of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 shows a cap unit. A recording head (not shown) is mounted on the carriage 40 so that the head nozzle surface faces downward, and an ink cartridge 50 is mounted on the upper part of the recording head. The drive motor allows the carriage 40 to move in the left-right direction along the guide shaft 60. During non-recording, the carriage 40 moves to a position where the cap member and the recording head face each other, and the cap unit 70 moves upward to bring the cap member and the recording head nozzle surface into contact with each other, and the cap made of a rubber material. The members themselves can be deformed so that they can come into close contact with each other. The suction port of the cap member is connected to the suction pump 80, and after the cap member and the head nozzle surface are brought into close contact with each other, the suction pump 80 operates to suck a predetermined amount of ink.

(Examples) Table 1 shows the results of specific Examples 1 to 3 of the cap member 10 used in the present invention, Comparative Examples 1 to 3 and the following Evaluations 1 and 2.

-Evaluation 1- As a cap member of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 3, a cap member made of a rubber material shown in the examples or comparative examples is used, and the cap member 10 and the nozzle surface 30 of the recording head are brought into close contact with each other. Then, a predetermined amount of ink is sucked, and the ink is filled in the ink flow path of the head.
After left in an environment of 0 ° C. for 1 month, printing evaluation was performed. To evaluate the print quality, ink was continuously ejected from each nozzle to form a linear pattern, and the bending angle was examined by opening the distance between the straight lines. ◯: Good print with ink flight deflection of ± 1 ° or less. ×: Ink flight bending occurred ± 1 ° or more.

-Evaluation 2-Under the same conditions as in Evaluation 1, the ink jet recording apparatus shown in Fig. 3 was left in an environment of 40 ° C for 1 month, and then printing was performed. After printing, the water repellency of the nozzle surface was evaluated by the amount of ink remaining on the nozzle surface of the recording head. The water repellency was evaluated according to the following criteria. ◯: No ink remained on the nozzle surface and no change in water repellency. X: Ink remaining on the nozzle surface is remarkable, and the nozzle surface of the portion sealed by the cap member gets wet.

[0016]

[Table 1]

From the results shown in Table 1, the following is clear. Of the cap members evaluated in this example, when a cap member made of a rubber material cross-linked with sulfur is used, the water repellency of the recording head nozzle surface is reduced,
Print deterioration occurs. On the other hand, when a cap member made of a rubber material cross-linked with a peroxide was used, good results were obtained in that the water repellency of the nozzle surface was not reduced and print deterioration did not occur.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the cap member mounted on the recording head nozzle surface, which is partially or entirely subjected to the water repellent treatment by the Ni-Teflon eutectoid plating, is attached to the nozzle surface. By using a cap member composed of a rubber material whose matching portion is cross-linked with peroxide, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can realize high-quality printing without lowering the water repellency of the nozzle surface. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cap member in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing how the cap member and the recording head nozzle surface are in close contact with each other according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the cap member of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of a cap unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Cap member 20 ink absorber 30 Recording head nozzle surface 40 carriage 50 ink cartridges 60 guide shaft 70 Cap unit 80 suction pump 90 recording paper 701 cap assembly

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-15833 (JP, A) JP-A-5-339456 (JP, A) JP-A-5-230315 (JP, A) JP-A-5- 140334 (JP, A) JP-A-6-8416 (JP, A) JP-A-6-122210 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/165

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a cap member for covering a head nozzle surface of an ink jet recording head , wherein a water repellent treatment is applied to a part or the whole of the nozzle surface of the recording head.
Together subjected to physical, nozzle surface engaging portion of said cap member is composed of rubber crosslinked with peroxide
An inkjet recording device characterized by the above. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus having a cap member according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle surface of the recording head is made of metal. 3. An ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cap member according to claim 2, wherein a part or the whole of the nozzle surface made of the metal is plated with Ni-Teflon eutectoid.