JP3467580B2 - Capping device and ink jet recording device using the same - 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 type recording apparatus having a recording head which moves in the width direction of a recording sheet and ejecting ink droplets onto the recording sheet in conformity with print data to form an image. The present invention relates to a capping device suitable for a recording device equipped with a head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet type recording apparatus for recording print data by ejecting ink pressurized in a pressure generating chamber from a nozzle as an ink droplet onto a recording sheet is an ink caused by evaporation of an ink solvent from a nozzle opening. However, there is an inconvenience that defective printing occurs due to increase in viscosity, solidification of ink, adhesion of dust, mixing of air bubbles into nozzle openings, and the like. Therefore, the ink jet type recording apparatus is usually
It is provided with capping means for sealing the nozzle openings of the recording head during non-printing, and cleaning means for cleaning the nozzle plate if necessary. For example, as seen in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-8460, a recording head and a cap that are arranged outside the printing area and are moved by a recording head or a carriage carrying the same to move between a non-capping position and a capping position are provided. There has been proposed a capping device including a cam surface and a cam follower for moving the cap to the nozzle plate side of the recording head in the process of moving from the non-capping position to the capping position.

[0003]

According to this, although the cap can be reliably elastically contacted with the nozzle plate only by the movement of the carriage to surely seal, the black ink is required due to the demand of high density and high speed printing. When the number of nozzle openings of the black recording head that ejects ink and the color recording head that ejects three types of colored ink increases, and the size in the paper feed direction and the paper width direction increases, the size of the cap that seals each recording head also increases. It became inevitably large, and it became possible to see inconveniences such as a decrease in sealing performance. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a capping device capable of reliably sealing two recording heads mounted on the same carriage. That is.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, a slider that moves on a slope following the movement of a carriage, and a slider that is housed in the slider and is orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage. A holder receiving member whose central portion is rotatably supported by the slider by a shaft and a holder receiving member which is biased toward the recording head by a spring and is substantially symmetrical with respect to the shaft. A first holder and a second holder, first and second caps held by the first holder and the second holder, and the holder receiving portion
Before being hung between the non-printed area of the material and the slider
The slider is urged in the direction of separating from the recording head.
Between the first tension spring and the slider and the base.
And the slider is pulled away from the recording head.
And a second tension spring that urges in a pulling direction .

[0005]

When the slider comes up and the cap comes into contact with the recording head, the holder receiving member rotates with respect to the slider, and the two caps come into contact with the recording head so as to coincide with the surface of the recording head.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which a carriage 1 is connected to a motor 3 by a timing belt 2 and is configured to be guided by a guide member 4 and move in parallel to a platen 5. Has been done. A recording head 7 that ejects black ink and a recording head 8 that ejects color ink are provided on the surface of the carriage 1 that faces the recording paper 6, and each of the recording heads 7 and 8 ejects ink from ink cartridges 9 and 10. Upon receiving the supply, ink droplets are ejected onto the recording paper 6 to print characters or patterns.

A capping device 11 characterized by the present invention
Is provided with caps 12 and 13 of a size capable of sealing the nozzle opening surfaces of the recording heads 7 and 8 in independent sealed spaces. It has a function of preventing the ink from drying and a function of receiving negative pressure from the pump unit 14 and forcibly discharging the ink from the recording heads 7 and 8 at the time of the discharge capacity recovery operation. Capping device 11
A wiping blade 15 made of an elastic material such as rubber for elastically contacting the recording heads 7 and 8 to remove ink and ink residue is arranged in the vicinity of the so as to be capable of advancing and retracting on the movement trajectory of the recording heads 7 and 8. There is.

2 (A), 2 (B) and 3 are a perspective view and an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment of the capping device 11 of the present invention. First, an outline will be described. The slider 20 follows the movement of the carriage 1 when the carriage 1 moves from the printing area to the non-printing area, and moves the upper surface of the base 30 in the non-printing direction and the recording head side.
In this embodiment, it moves upward.

The slider 20 has a contact piece 21 formed at the end portion on the non-printing area side, and the first guide surface 3 of the base 30.
1 and is supported by the other end of the arm 50 rotatably provided on the base 30 on the tip side (the right side in FIG. 2A and the left side in FIG. 2B) from the center. Has been done.

The slider 20 is also attached to the upper part of the contact piece 21,
The other end of the tension spring 51, one end of which is fixed to the base 30, is fixed, and is always urged downward in the print area direction and away from the recording heads 7, 8.

The cap holder receiving member 40 accommodates the first cap holder 60 and the second cap holder 70. The cap holder receiving member 40 includes a central portion, preferably compression springs 61 and 62 for urging the cap holder 60, and the cap holder 70. The shaft 4 is placed at a position where the moment with the biasing springs 71 and 72 is balanced.
1 is provided.

The shaft 41 is rotatably supported by a receiving portion 22 provided at the front end of the slider 20 on the printing area side, and a tension spring 53 hung between the slider 20 and the printing area side. Always on the rear end side (Fig. 2 (a)
2), or the right side in FIG. 2B), that is, on the non-printing area direction side, and in the direction away from the recording heads 7 and 8, that is, in this embodiment, it is urged downward.

The bottom surfaces of the first cap holder 60 and the second cap holder 70 are cap holder receiving members 4 respectively.
The cap holder holder is constantly urged upward by the compression springs 61, 62 and 71, 72, which are inserted at two points in the longitudinal direction substantially on the center line of 0, in this embodiment. It is housed in the member 40.

Each of the cap holders 60 and 70 is composed of a plurality of, in this embodiment, two porous materials, first and second.
Caps 65 and 75 that accommodate the second ink absorbing sheets 63 and 64 and 73 and 74 are fitted.

The structure of each member will be further described. The base 30 has the above-mentioned first guide surface 31 on the rear end side and the second guide surface 32 on the front end side, and the first guide surface 31 has
A low portion 31a is provided on the front end side and a horizontal high portion 3 is provided on the rear end side.
1b is further formed with three regions of a slope portion 31c connecting these.

The second guide surface 32 has a low portion 32 on the front end side.
a, a horizontal high part 32b on the rear end side, and three regions of a sloped part 32c are formed so as to connect them.

As shown in FIG. 4, the amount of rise ΔH1 by the second guide surface 32 is set to be larger than the amount of rise ΔH2 by the first guide surface 31, and the slope 31c of the first guide surface with respect to the horizontal plane. The angle α is set to be smaller than the angle β connecting the support shaft 28 of the slider 20 and the contact piece 21.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5A, the resistance R when the slider 20 moves up the slope 31c includes the component R1 directed to the upper side of the slope 31c. On the other hand, when the angle α of the inclined surface 31c of the first guide surface with respect to the horizontal plane becomes larger than the angle β that connects the support shaft 28 of the slider 20 and the contact piece 21, the resistance R as shown in FIG.
Includes a component R3 that faces downward of the slope 31c, the load resistance of the carriage 1 that moves the slider 20 increases.

On the other hand, the cap holder receiving member 40 is formed with an abutting piece 42 which is guided by the second guide surface 32 at the lower portion on the tip side thereof, and each recording head 7 is provided on the side portion.
And guide pieces 43, 43, and 44, 44 that come into contact with the side surfaces of 8 and 8 to guide the caps 65 and 75 to predetermined positions.
Is provided.

An ink splash shield plate having a width about the printing height of the recording heads 7 and 8 and positioned so as not to contact the recording heads 7 and 8 on the tip surface facing the wiping blade 15. 45 is provided separately or integrally. The ink splash shield plate 45 is preferably made of a polymer material having ink absorbability.

At the rear end of the slider 20, there is formed a recording head on the non-printing area side, in this embodiment, a flag piece 27 which is pressed against the side wall of the recording head 8 or the side wall of the carriage 1. A valve seat 25 having two openings 23, 24 on the rear side is fixed to the side via a holder 26.

On the other hand, when the slider 20 moves to the vicinity of the limit point at the rear end, the springs 34 and 34 inserted through the guide shafts 33a and 33a are provided at positions facing the valve seat 25.
A valve element 33, which is always biased toward the tip side, is provided on the base 30 so as to be capable of advancing and retracting in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first cap holder 60 has a "T" -shaped retaining portion 66 on the center line on one end side in the moving direction of the carriage 1 and an "I" on the other end side. A letter-shaped retaining portion 67 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second cap holder 70 has a "T" -shaped retaining portion 76 on one end side in the moving direction of the carriage 1 so as to pass through the center line on the other end side. Has an I-shaped retaining portion 77.

These "T" -shaped retaining portions 66, 76
Has branch pieces 66a, 66b and 76a, 76b extending in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 1. Each of the branch pieces 66a and 76a has a surface, that is, a recording head in this embodiment. The side surface is the other branch piece 66
It is formed so as to be located on the recording head side with respect to b and the branch 76b, that is, above this embodiment.

As described above, the cap holders 60, 70 are housed in the holder receiving member 40 while being biased upward by the springs 61, 62 and 71, 72, and their retaining portions 66, 67, 76 are provided. , 77 are swingably engaged with and held by the recesses of the cap holder receiving member 40. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8A, the rear side slightly expands with respect to the recording heads 7 and 8 by θ1 and θ2, and as shown in FIG. The holder receiving member 40 with one end expanded at θ3
It is housed in.

Springs 61, 62 and 71, 72 for urging the cap holders 60 and 70 are shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the outer shapes D1 and D2 are at least one of the widths W1 and W2 of the short sides of the cap holders 60 and 70.
It is selected to be / 3. As a result, the cap holder 60 will be described as an example. Even if the cap holder comes into contact with the recording head 7 in a slightly tilted state as shown in FIG. 9C, the spring 61 itself seals the recording head 7. Hold your posture so you can.

The springs 61, 62 and 71, 72 are
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the cap holder 6
It is arranged so as to be located at the ends of the long sides of 0 and 70. And, these springs 61, 62 and 71, 72 are more preferably than a triangular area (area shown by hatching in the figure) connecting the points where the retaining portions 66, 67 and 76, 77 contact the holder receiving member 40. It is placed inside or at a position that hangs over it.

As described above, since the caps 65 and 75 are inclined with respect to the surfaces of the recording heads 7 and 8 at the angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 so that one end side is widened,
Since the contact force of 75 with respect to the recording heads 7 and 8 is unbalanced, that is, the gap between the recording heads 7 and 8 varies, a region P1 where the contact force is weakened as shown in FIGS. The springs 62 and 72 located at P2 are offset from the center line by ΔS1 and ΔS2 toward the regions P1 and P2, and preferably, springs 62 and 72 having a large elastic force are used.

The moment M1 = (acting on the shaft 41 by the spring forces F11, F12 of the springs 61, 62 for elastically pressing the cap holder 60 and the spring forces F21, F22 of the springs 71, 72 for elastically pressing the cap holder 70. F11 x L11 +
F12 × L12) and M2 = (F21 × L21 + F22 × L22) are selected to be almost equal (FIG. 11).

The first cap holder 60 has two cylindrical bodies 80 and 81 formed at the bottom thereof, which also serve as connecting pipes for connecting the cap 65, the pump unit 14 and the valve seat 25. As shown in FIG. 12, the tubular body 80 includes the pump connecting portion 100 integrally formed with the tubular body 80 as the tube 5.
4 connects the pump unit 14 to the pump unit 14, and the tubular body 81 connects the atmosphere communication port connecting portion 101 formed integrally with the pump unit 14 to the opening 23 of the valve seat 25 by the tube 55.

The second cap holder 70 has a locking member for the cap 75 at the bottom thereof, the pump unit 14, and the valve seat 2.
Two tubular bodies 90 and 91 that also serve as connection pipes with the pipe 5 are formed. As shown in FIG. 13, the tubular body 90 has a pump connecting portion 110 integrally formed with the tubular body 90 which is connected to the tube 5 by the tube 5.
6 connects the pump unit 14 to the pump unit 14, and the tubular body 91 connects the atmosphere communication hole connection portion 111 formed integrally with the pump unit 14 to the opening 24 of the valve body 25 by the tube 57.

FIG. 14 shows the connection relationship between the pump unit 14 and the cap holders 60 and 70. The pump unit 14 is constructed as two pump tubes in this embodiment, and one end thereof is formed. The tubes 54 and 56 that are pulled out to the suction port side and serve as the connection conduits are configured.

Due to the structure of the pump unit 14, the tubes 54 and 56 have the guide 14a as shown in FIG.
Is pulled out so as to be parallel to a plane orthogonal to the plane including the moving direction of the carriage 1 and obliquely at an angle γ.

In addition, since the material must be placed in a limited space and functions as a pump tube, and a material having relatively high rigidity is used to withstand handling by rollers, the tube 54, The repulsive force of 56 is large, and a moment in the direction indicated by arrow A in the figure is given to the cap holders 60 and 70. Needless to say, this moment is caused by the caps 65 and 75 and the recording head 7,
8 acts to hinder the adhesion with 8.

In order to alleviate such a problem, as shown in FIG. 16, each of the tubes 54 and 56 is twisted by elasticity so as to be in a horizontal posture on a plane including the moving direction of the carriage 1. . Such a twist is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), they are given so as to face each other in the same direction, and as shown in FIG. 14 (b), they are given so as to face each other outward.

By thus forming the tubes 54 and 56 in the horizontal direction, it is possible to prevent the generation of a moment that hinders the adhesion force without hindering the movement of the slider 20, and to reduce the overall height. be able to.

On the other hand, of the tubes connected to the valve body 25,
The tube 55 connected to the first cap holder 60, which is separated from the valve body 25, is attached to the slider 20 from the side wall of the holder 26.
One end 55a is connected to a connection port 26a formed in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the main body 55b, the main body region 55b is fixed to the side surface of the slider 20, and the other end 55c is formed perpendicularly to the bottom surface of the holder 60. It is inserted into the connecting part 101 of the body 81.

The tube 57 connected to the second holder 70 located on the side closer to the valve body 25 has one end 57a connected to the connection port 26b formed in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 1 from the side wall of the holder 26. The curved portion 57 is formed so as to be substantially parallel to the plane orthogonal to the moving direction of the slider 20.
The second end 57b is bent to form the holder 7
The connecting portion 1 of the tubular body 91 formed perpendicularly to the bottom surface of 0.
Charged at 11.

Second cap holder 70 having a large size
Is formed so that the receiving portions 93, 93 for holding the tacks 92, 92 for securely holding the ink absorbing sheets 73, 74 can fix the tacks 92, 92 at a position not facing the nozzle opening row N2. Further, dummy cylindrical bodies 90 'and 91' are formed at positions symmetrical to the cylindrical bodies 90 and 91.

The first cap holder 60 has a plurality of claws 68, 68 formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and the cap 65 has recesses 69, 69 for engaging the claws 68 on the outer peripheral side surface thereof and the above-mentioned bottom surface thereof. Through holes 84 and 85 that engage with the tubular bodies 80 and 81
Are formed, and these are engaged with each other so that the cap 65 is attached to the holder 6
It is held at 0.

Then, on the side surface facing the wiping blade 15, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the thin-walled portion 102 where the tip 46a forms the sealing surface of the cap 65.
The ink absorbing plate 46 is arranged so as to contact with. The ink absorbing plate 46 is folded into the bottom surface of the holder 60 and sandwiched by the cap 65.

The cap holder 70 has a plurality of claws 78, 78 formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and the cap 75 has concave portions 79, 79 for engaging the claws 78 on the outer peripheral side surface thereof and the above-mentioned cylindrical shape on the bottom surface. Body 90, 91, dummy tubular body 90 ', 9
Through holes 94, 95 and 94 ′, 95 ′ that engage with 1 ′ are formed, and these are engaged with each other to hold the cap 75 in the holder 70.

In the cap 65, a thin portion 102 is formed so that its opening surface can function as a sealing portion, and the rigidity thereof is smaller than that of other regions, and an ink repellent treatment is applied to this portion. Further, a plurality of claws 87, 87 for locking the surface of the ink absorbing sheet 63 in the upper layer are formed on the bottom surface side with respect to the thin portion. Further, a concave portion 86 communicating with the tubular body 81 is formed on the bottom surface.

In the cap 75, a thin portion 112 is formed so that the opening surface thereof can function as a sealing portion and the rigidity thereof is smaller than that of other regions, and an ink repellent treatment is applied thereto. Further, claws 98, 98 for locking the surface of the ink absorbing sheet 73 are formed on the bottom surface side of the thin portion 112. Further, elongated concave portions 95 and 96 which communicate with the cylindrical bodies 90 and 91, respectively, are formed on the bottom surface.

Of the plurality of ink absorbing sheets accommodated in the caps 65 and 75, the ink absorbing sheets 63 and 73 arranged in the uppermost layer are tongues 107, 107 ,.
And 117, 117, 117, 117, ...

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, the carriage 1 is in the non-printing direction (direction shown by arrow D in the figure).
When the slider 20 does not move even when the slider 20 is moved to the abutting position and comes into contact with the flag piece 27 of the slider 20, the first cap 65 and the second cap 75 have a constant gap with respect to the recording heads 7 and 8 to be sealed. Oppose with ΔL. Therefore, in this state, when the drive signals are supplied to the recording heads 7 and 8 to eject the ink droplets from the nozzle opening rows N1 and N2 for recovering the ink droplet ejection capability regardless of the print data, these ink droplets are recorded. The ink is not attached to the heads 7 and 8 and is absorbed by the ink absorbing sheets 63 and 73 on the upper layers of the caps 65 and 75.

When the carriage 1 further moves to the rear end side (the right side in the figure) (FIG. 19 (I)), the slider 20 moves,
While rotating the arm 50 against the tension of the tension spring 51, the arm 50 is moved diagonally, and at the same time, the holder receiving member 40 is moved.
Rotates about the shaft 41 supported by the slider 20 in the direction of the arrow B in the figure so that the cap 75 contacts the recording head 8 (FIG. 19 (II)).

When the carriage 1 is further moved, the tip end side of the holder receiving member 40 is guided by the abutting piece 42 thereof to the inclined surface portion 32c of the base 30, so that the holder receiving member 40 is reversed in the direction of arrow C in FIG. The posture is corrected in parallel with the heads 7 and 8, and the head is moved to the recording head side together with the slider 20. And the high part 31b of the first guide surface 31 and the second guide surface 32,
32b causes the holder receiving member 40 to move the recording heads 7, 8
Of the two recording heads 7 and 8 provided on the carriage 1, even if there is a slight step difference ΔH on the surfaces of the two recording heads 7 and 8, the caps 65 and 75 move the recording heads 7 and 8 respectively. Securely seal (Fig. 19 (II
I)).

Since the holder receiving member 40 is positioned in parallel with the surfaces of the recording heads 7 and 8 in this way, FIG.
As shown in (a), when the change amount ΔP occurs in the platen gap according to the thickness of the recording paper, that is, when the recording heads 7 and 8 are displaced relative to the caps 65 and 75. Also reliably seals the recording heads 7 and 8.

Further, in the case where a gap ΔN is generated in the sealing surface between the two recording heads 7 and 8 due to the variation in the mounting accuracy of the two recording heads 7 and 8 on the carriage 1, FIG.
This time, as shown in FIG.
Holder receiving member 4 so as to balance with the reaction force received from
0 rotates by the angle η. As a result, the caps 65 and 7
The spring forces of the springs 61, 62 and 71, 72 that press 5 are averaged, the mounting error of the recording heads 7, 8 is absorbed, and the caps 65, 75 can surely seal.

In the embodiment described above, the attitude of the holder receiving member 40 is adjusted so as to be parallel to the surfaces of the recording heads 7 and 8 before the caps 65 and 75 contact the recording heads 7 and 8. However, the recording head 7 is positively made to be in a non-parallel posture, that is, in a state where the heights 31b and 32b of the slopes of the first and second guide surfaces 31 and 32 are inclined differently. , 8 to bring the slider 20 into contact with one of them, the load on the slider 20 can be reduced. Also in this case, as described above, the holder receiving member 40 rotates with respect to the slider 20, and finally the caps 65, 75.
Can be elastically contacted with the recording heads 7 and 8.

Immediately before contact with the recording heads 7 and 8, the caps 65 and 75, which are biased upward by the springs 61 and 62 and the springs 71 and 72, which are respectively arranged in the front and rear, are shown in FIG. As shown, since the rear end side is downward and the one end in the width direction is downward, the thin portions 102, 1
12 gradually contacts the recording head 7 and the recording head 8 while gradually increasing the contact area from one end on the front end side.

At the stage when the sealing of the caps 65 and 75 is completed in this manner, the valve seat 25 is elastically contacted with the valve element 33 provided on the base 30 as shown in FIG. 75 is cut off from the atmosphere to be in an airtight state and suppresses evaporation of ink from the nozzle opening rows N1 and N2 to prevent clogging for a long time.

In this sealed state, as described above, the tubes 54 and 56 having relatively high rigidity are bent parallel to the plane including the moving direction of the recording heads 7 and 8, so that the caps 65 and 75 are attached. The force for peeling off the recording heads 7 and 8 does not act, and the tubes 55 and 5 connected to the valve seat 25
7 is vertically connected to the cap holders 60 and 70, the caps 65 and 75 are also connected to the recording heads 7 and 8.
The force to peel it off does not work. The tube 54,
Since the horizontal force of 56 is received by the holder receiving member 40, the sealing force is not hindered.

On the other hand, the nozzle opening array N of the recording heads 7 and 8
When the nozzles 1 and N2 are clogged, or when the ink is forcibly discharged from the recording heads 7 and 8 by replacing the cartridge, the pump unit 14 is operated in the capping state described above.

The negative pressure from the pump unit 14 passes through the openings 84 and 94 of the caps 65 and 75,
A negative pressure acts on the inside of the nozzle 75, and ink is sucked out from the nozzle opening rows N1 and N2. As a result, the nozzle opening row N1,
Dust and paper dust adhering to the vicinity of N2 are cleaned, and bubbles in the recording heads 7 and 8 are discharged to the caps 65 and 75 together with the ink.

The ink discharged from the recording heads 7 and 8 is absorbed by the ink absorbing sheets 63 and 73 of the upper layer, and then the ink absorbing sheets 64 and 74 of the lower layer having smaller pores than the sheets 63 and 73. It is sucked up by the capillary force. As a result, the upper ink absorbing sheets 63, 7
The amount of ink impregnated in No. 3 can be made as small as possible to improve the absorbing power, thereby preventing the ink from adhering to the recording heads 7 and 8 and reducing the rebound of the ink at the time of forced ejection. .

When the ink is forcibly discharged in this way,
The thin portions 102, 112 of the caps 65, 75 due to rebound from the ink absorbing sheets 63, 73 and splashing.
Ink tends to collect near the
Since the tongue pieces 107 and 117 are in contact therewith, the tongue piece 1
It is absorbed by 07 and 117 and does not remain. This prevents the ink from unnecessarily adhering to the nozzle plate of the recording head.

When the forced discharge of the ink from the recording heads 7 and 8 is completed, the carriage 1 is moved a little amount ΔV toward the tip end direction (direction of arrow E in the figure) to move the valve seat 25 to the valve body as shown in FIG. The holes 85 and 95 of the caps 65 and 75 are separated from 33 and communicate with the atmosphere.

Next, when the pump unit 14 is operated, the negative pressure acting on the caps 65 and 75 is changed to the through holes 85 and
The air is taken in through the through holes 23, 24 of the valve seat 25 from 95, and the ink absorbing sheet 63, without applying unnecessary negative pressure to the nozzle opening rows N1, N2 of the recording heads 7, 8.
Ink remaining in the nozzles 64, 73, 74 and the cap 65, 75 is drawn to the through holes 84, 94 communicating with the pump unit 14 and discharged to the outside.

When the pump unit 14 is stopped and the recording heads 7 and 8 are moved to the print area at the stage where the discharge of the waste ink in the caps 65 and 75 is completed, the slider 20 moves to the rear end in the process of this movement. The base 3 with the contact piece 21 on the side
It slides on the inclined surface 31c of 0, and the tip end side is guided by the abutting piece 42 of the holder receiving member 40 by the inclined surface 32c of the base 30, and the central portion is lowered while being supported by the rotation of the lever 50.

In this descending process, the caps 65 and 75 biased upward by the springs 61 and 62 and the springs 71 and 72 respectively arranged at the front and rear sides have their rear end sides downward, and the width direction The copying ability is given so that it takes a slightly tilted posture with one end side facing downward,
Moreover, while the height and the pressure contact force on the front end side and the rear end side are balanced by the rotation around the central shaft 41 of the holder receiving member 40, the convex pieces 66, 67, and 76, 77 make three points. By swinging the supported holder 60 and holder 70, the thin portions 102 and 112, which are sealing surfaces, are moved so as to follow the recording heads 7 and 8. As a result, the caps 65 and 75 are separated from the surfaces of the recording head 7 and the recording head 8 while gradually increasing the opening area from one end on the rear end side.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Cap in contact with steps to the recording head due to the rise of the slider, the holder receiving member is rotated relative to the slider,
Two caps to match the surface of the recording head is elastic contact to the recording head can be reliably sealed by.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus using a capping device of the present invention.

2 (a) and 2 (b) are perspective views seen from both sides showing an embodiment of the capping device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the same capping device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the amount of ascent by the first and second guide surfaces of the same capping device, the angle of the first guide surface, and the angle between the rotation axis of the slider and the first guide surface.

5 (a) and 5 (b) are explanatory views showing the relationship between the load resistance of the slider depending on the angle of the first guide surface and the angle between the rotation axis of the slider and the first guide surface. .

FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view of an embodiment of the first cap.

FIG. 7 is an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment of a second cap.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show the postures of the carriages of the first cap and the second cap when not capping, respectively, with respect to the inclination with respect to the recording head in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction and in a direction parallel to the moving direction. It is a figure.

9 (a) and 9 (b) are views showing contact positions of springs for elastically supporting the first and second cap holders, respectively. FIG. 9 (c) shows how the cap holders are supported by the springs. It is sectional drawing shown.

10 (a) and 10 (b) are views showing another embodiment of the contact position of the spring for elastically supporting the first and second cap holders, respectively.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a moment generated by a spring that elastically supports the first and second cap holders.

12A and 12B are diagrams showing a top surface structure of a first cap and a cross-sectional structure taken along line AA, respectively.

13A to 13C are views showing the upper surface structure of the second cap, and the cross-sectional structure taken along the line BB and the line CC, respectively.

14 (a) and 14 (b) are top views each showing a form of a tube connecting the pump and the cap holder.

FIG. 15 is a side view for explaining how the tube is pulled out from the pump and the force exerted by the tube on the cap holder.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing a form of a tube connecting the pump and the cap holder.

17A and 17B are a perspective view and an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a cap and a cap holder arranged on the wiper blade side, respectively.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a state in which the recording head has moved to a flushing position.

19 (A) to (III) are diagrams showing the movement of the cap holder.

FIGS. 20 (a) and 20 (b) are explanatory views showing a capping operation accompanying a change in the platen gap and a capping operation corresponding to the mounting tolerance of the recording head, respectively.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state in which the recording head has moved to the capping position.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a state in which the recording head has moved to a position where ink is discharged from the capping device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 carriage 7, 8 recording head 11 Capping device 12, 13 cap 14 pump units 15 Wiping blade 20 sliders 21 Contact piece 25 seat 30 base 31, 32 Guide surface 33 valve body 40 Holder receiving member 42 Contact piece 45 ink splash shield 51, 53 Extension spring 54, 56 Tubing connected to pump unit 55, 57 Tubing connected to the atmosphere release valve 60, 70 Cap holder 63, 64, 73, 74 Ink absorption sheet 65, 75 cap

Front page continued (72) Inventor Masahiro Nakamura 3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Seiko Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Masahiro Isono 3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Seiko Epson Corporation In-house (56) References JP-A-9-39258 (JP, A) JP-A-7-290723 (JP, A) JP-A-6-206318 (JP, A) JP-A-8-224880 (JP, A) ) European Patent Application Publication 744294 (EP, A 1) (58) Fields searched (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/165

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A slider that moves on a slope following the movement of a carriage, and a holder receiver that is housed in the slider and is rotatably supported by the slider in the central portion by an axis orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage. A member, a first holder and a second holder housed in the holder receiving member that are biased by a spring toward the recording head side and are substantially symmetrical with respect to the axis, and held by the first holder and the second holder. The first and second caps, a first tension spring that is hung between a non-printing area of the holder receiving member and the slider, and urges the slider in a direction to separate the slider from the recording head; A capping device comprising: a second tension spring that is bridged between a slider and a base and biases the slider in a direction of separating the slider from the recording head. 2. The capping device according to claim 1, wherein one end of the slider is supported by a link. 3. The capping device according to claim 2, wherein an angle connecting a rotation center of the link and a contact point of the slope of the slider is set to be smaller than an angle of the slope. 4. The capping device according to claim 2, wherein the amount of movement of the slope toward the recording head is set to be smaller than the amount of movement of the link toward the recording head. 5. A slider that moves on a slope following the movement of a carriage, and a holder receiver that is housed in the slider and rotatably supported in the center by a shaft that is orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage. A member, a first holder and a second holder housed in the holder receiving member that are biased by a spring toward the recording head side and are substantially symmetrical with respect to the axis, and held by the first holder and the second holder. The first and second caps, a first tension spring that is hung between a non-printing area of the holder receiving member and the slider, and urges the slider in a direction to separate the slider from the recording head; A capping device is provided in the non-printing area, the capping device including a second tension spring that is bridged between the slider and the base and urges the slider in a direction to separate the slider from the recording head. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising Te. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein one end of the slider is supported by a link. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an angle connecting a rotation center of the link and a contact point of the slope of the slider is set smaller than an angle of the slope. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the amount of movement of the slope to the recording head side is set to be smaller than the amount of movement of the link to the recording head side.