JP3474325B2 - Ink jet recording device - 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 recording apparatus having an improved component for performing an ink ejection recovery operation of a print head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ink jet recording apparatus includes a sheet conveying section 120, a printing section 121, and a capping section 122 as shown in FIG.

The sheet conveying section 120 is constructed by a pair of belt rollers 123, 124 arranged opposite to each other, and a conveying belt 125 spanning between the pair of belt rollers 123, 124. The conveying belt 125 is adapted to rotate in the arrow direction.

The printing section 121 is provided with print heads 126, 127, 128, 129 of four colors of black, cyan, magenta and yellow, which are arranged above the paper transport section 120, and each print head 126. 127,
A large number of nozzles 131, 132, 133, and 134 are formed in an array on the surface of the sheets 128 and 129 facing the sheet conveying unit 120, and are integrally supported by a support body 135 near the upper portion. A support portion 137 having a through hole 136 formed of a female screw is integrally formed in the support body 135, and a drive shaft 138 formed of a male screw is passed through the through hole 136 of the support portion 137. One end of the drive shaft 138 is directly connected to the drive motor 139, and when the drive motor 139 is rotationally driven, the drive shaft 138 is rotated and the print head 1 is rotated.
26, 127, 128, and 129 move in the vertical direction with respect to the surface of the transport belt 125 of the paper transport unit 120.

The capping unit 122 is provided with caps 141, 142, 143, 144 which cover the surfaces of the nozzles 131, 132, 133, 134 of the print heads 126, 127, 128, 129 constituting the printing unit 121 in an airtight manner. Has been done. These caps 141, 142, 14
3, 144 is the home position of the paper transport unit 1.
It is arranged on the downstream side of 20. Each cap 141, 1
Through holes 1 are formed on the inner bottom surfaces of 42, 143, and 144, respectively.
45, 146, 147, 148 are formed. Each of these through holes 145, 146, 147, 148 communicates with a common suction hole 149 formed at the bottom,
The common suction hole 149 is connected to a waste ink tank 151 provided on the lower side of the paper transport unit 120 via a flexible synthetic resin suction tube 150 attached to the bottom surface side. The suction tube 150
A suction pump 152 is attached midway.

The cap 141 configured as described above,
142, 143, and 144, the timing belt 15 spanned by a pair of pulleys 153 and 154 arranged to face each other.
5, the drive motor 156 is attached to one of the pulleys 153, and the timing belt 155 is rotated by the drive motor 156 being driven to rotate, whereby the caps 141, 142, 143, 1
44 moves to the printing unit 121 side.

The ink jet recording apparatus constructed as described above is provided with the print heads 126, 127, 128, 129.
When printing is completed by ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles 131, 132, 133, and 134 of the
Of the print heads 126, 127, 128, 129 by the rotation of the drive shaft 138 by the rotation drive of the drive motor 139 of
Moves to the upper side.

Next, the cap 1 located at the home position is rotated by the rotation of the timing belt 155 by the rotational driving of the drive motor 156 of the capping portion 122.
41, 142, 143, 144 are print heads 126, 1
27, 128, 129 nozzles 131, 132, 13
When the print heads 126, 127, 128, and 129 are moved to the lower side, the caps 141 and 14 are moved to the positions facing the surfaces 3 and 134, as shown in FIG.
2, 143, 144 are nozzles 131, 132, 133,
It is in a state of being covered on the surface 134.

Thereafter, in this state, the capping portion 122
Of the caps 141, 142, 143, 144 is sucked through the suction tube 150 and the like to bring the inside into a negative pressure state, whereby the nozzles 131, 132, 133, 134 are discharged. Ink is forcibly sucked and an ink ejection recovery operation is performed.

[0010]

In the above-mentioned conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the caps 141, 142, 1 are used.
Since the suction tubes 150 are connected to the reference numerals 43 and 144 to perform the ink discharge recovery operation of the print heads 126, 127, 128, and 129, the suction tubes 150 are printed at the home position of the caps 141, 142, 143, and 144. As the heads 126, 127, 128, 129 move, they are laid inside the inkjet recording apparatus.

Therefore, since it is necessary to secure a space necessary for drawing the suction tube 150 inside the ink jet recording apparatus, the arrangement of other constituent members is restricted, or the suction is performed in relation to the arrangement of the other constituent members. There was a problem that the tube 150 itself had to be made longer than necessary.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when performing the ink discharge recovery operation of the print head, the arrangement of other constituent members is restricted as in the conventional case, or the suction tube itself is related to the arrangement of other constituent members. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that does not need to be longer than necessary.

[0013]

In order to achieve such an object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention has a nozzle for ejecting ink droplets and a nozzle arrangement direction.
One end opens to the nozzle surface on the protrusion formed on one end
A print head having a through hole formed in such a manner, a cap that covers the nozzle surface of the print head including the through hole in an airtight manner, and air in the cap that covers the through hole.
A suction means for sucking from the other end, and moving means Before moving between the nozzle surface and a position opposed to the position away the cap from the print head and the print head, the movement
Means to face the cap to the nozzle surface of the print head
The print head to the position where
The suction means with the inner surface including the through hole covered.
It is characterized by having a control unit for operating .

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the nozzle surface of the print head is provided with a through hole by the cap.
In addition to being airtightly covered, the air in the cap is sucked through the through hole formed in the print head, and the inside of the cap is brought into a negative pressure state.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a sheet conveying section, wherein the print head comes into contact with and separates from a conveying surface of the sheet conveying section. It is characterized in that it is configured to be switched between a position retracted from the cap that has moved to a position facing the nozzle surface of the print head and a position contacting the cap.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the cap moves to a position facing the nozzle surface of the print head, the print head moves away from the transport surface of the paper transport unit and moves away from the cap. Then, when the cap moves to the position facing the nozzle surface of the print head, the print head moves in the direction of coming into contact with the cap in the vicinity of the transport surface of the paper transport unit.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention is the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The suction means is composed of a suction pump and is characterized in that it is connected to the print head through a suction tube.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the third aspect, the nozzle surface of the print head is covered with the cap in an airtight manner, and the cap is provided by the suction pump connected to the through hole formed in the print head through the suction tube. The air inside is sucked, and the inside of the cap is brought into a negative pressure state.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. In this figure, the ink jet recording apparatus includes a paper transport unit 1, a printing unit 2, a capping unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, and a paper discharging unit 5.

The sheet conveying section 1 is constructed by a conveying belt 10 spanning a pair of belt rollers 8 and 9 which are connected to the supporting shafts 6 and 7 and which are arranged opposite to each other, and the supporting shaft of one belt roller 8 is supported. The conveyor belt 10 is adapted to rotate in the direction of the arrow by the rotational drive of the drive motor 11 engaging with 6. The paper transport unit 1 transports a recording paper, which will be described later, placed on the transport belt 10 from the upstream side to the downstream side.
The support shafts 6 and 7 are rotatably supported by a pair of support plates (not shown) that are arranged opposite to each other.

The printing unit 2 is the transport belt 1 of the paper transport unit 1.
0, that is, four color print heads 13, 14, 15, and 16 of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow arranged on the transport surface of the recording paper,
It is integrally supported by the support body 17 in the vicinity of its upper portion. The support 17 has a through hole 1 formed of a female screw.
8 is formed integrally, and a drive shaft 20 formed of a male screw penetrates through a through hole 18 of the support portion 19.

One end of the drive shaft 20 is directly connected to a drive motor 21 fixed to a support plate (not shown), and the other end is rotatably supported by a support plate (not shown).
When the drive motor 21 is rotationally driven, the drive shaft 20 is rotated and the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 are moved in a direction in which the print heads 13, 14, 15 and 16 come into contact with and separate from the conveyance surface of the recording paper of the paper conveyance unit 1. A support shaft, which is also arranged parallel to the drive shaft 20 and also serves as a guide, penetrates through the support portion 19. The rotation of the drive shaft 20 causes the print heads 13, 1 to rotate.
It is designed so that 4, 15, 16 do not rotate together.

Further, the print heads 13 and 1 of the print unit 2
The nozzles 4, 24, 25 and 26 of the nozzles 4, 24, 25 and 26 are arranged in an array on the surface facing the sheet conveying section 1 and the nozzles 23, 24, 25 and 26 are added to the upper portion of the nozzles 23, 24, 25 and 26, respectively. Piezoelectric elements 35, 3 are connected to the common ink liquid chambers 31, 32, 33, 34 via the pressure chambers 27, 28, 29, 30 respectively and outside the pressure chambers 27, 28, 29, 30.
6, 37, 38 are attached and configured.

The print head 1 configured as described above
When the piezoelectric elements 35, 36, 37, and 38 are driven by the drive signals given thereto, the pressure chambers 3,
A diaphragm (not shown) forming a part of 28, 29, 30 vibrates to press the ink inside the pressurizing chambers 27, 28, 29, 30 so that the ink droplets are ejected by the nozzle 23,
Predetermined printing is performed on the recording paper discharged from the papers 24, 25, and 26 and fed onto the paper carrying unit 1.

Further, the print heads 13, 14, 15,
Reference numeral 16 has a width (in the figure, a direction that penetrates the paper surface) substantially the same as a paper width that is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording paper fed onto the paper transport unit 1, and the print head 1
Printing is performed between the paper widths of the recording papers with 3, 14, 15, and 16 fixed, and the recording papers are conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side, thereby printing on the entire paper surface.

Further, the print heads 13, 14, 15,
16, the protrusions 40, 41, 42, 43 are formed at one end, and one end of each of the protrusions 40, 41, 42, 43 is opened to the nozzle 23, 24, 25, 26 surface, and the other end is Through holes 44, 45, 46, 47 are formed in the surface facing the nozzles 23, 24, 25, 26. Figure 2
6 is a cross-sectional view of the print head 13 taken along the line AA, in which the configurations of the protrusion 40 and the through hole 44 are clearly shown. Protrusions 41 of the other print heads 14, 15, 16;
42 and 43 and the through holes 45, 46 and 47 are also shown in FIG.
The print head 13 is configured similarly to the print head 13 shown in FIG. Through holes 44, 4 are formed in the upper portions of the protrusions 40, 41, 42, 43.
Connection parts 48, 49, 50, 5 through which 5, 46, 47 communicate with each other
1 is formed, and the connection portions 48, 49, 50, 51 have suction tubes 52, 53 made of synthetic resin having flexibility.
Suction pumps 56, 57, 58, 59 as suction means arranged on the lower side of the sheet conveying unit 1 are connected via 54, 55.

An ink cartridge 65 having ink tanks 61, 62, 63, 64 storing four color inks is arranged below the paper transport unit 1, and each color ink has flexibility. Resin tubes 66, 6
Print heads 13, 14, 1 through 7, 68, 69
5 and 16 are supplied.

The capping unit 3 includes the nozzles 23, 2 of the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 which form the printing unit 2.
Cap 7 that covers 4, 25 and 26 surfaces in an airtight manner
1, 72, 73, 74 are provided. These caps 71, 72, 73, 74 are for the print head 13,
During the printing operation of 14, 15 and 16, it is arranged at a position on the downstream side of the paper transport unit 1 which is the home position.
These caps 71, 72, 73, 74 are provided with through holes 4 formed in the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16, respectively.
Nozzles 23, 24, 25, 26 of 4, 45, 46, 47
It is formed in such a size that it covers one end that opens to the surface.

Incidentally, each of the caps 71, 72, 73, 74
If necessary, a rubber lining or the like for improving airtightness is applied to a portion of the inner portion that abuts the print heads 13, 14, 15, and 16. Also, the caps 71, 72, 7
If necessary, an ink absorbing material such as a sponge for absorbing the ink ejected during the ink ejection recovery operation is arranged in each of 3, 74.

The caps 71 and 7 configured as described above
A timing belt 77 is attached to a pair of opposing pulleys 75, 76 attached to a support plate (not shown), and a driving motor 78 is attached to one of the pulleys 75, 76. Is attached. When the drive motor 78 is rotationally driven, the timing belt 77 is rotated, whereby the caps 71, 72,
73 and 74 move to positions facing the nozzles 23, 24, 25 and 26 of the print heads 13, 14, 15 and 16, respectively. That is, the timing belt 77, the drive motor 78, etc. constitute a moving means for the caps 71, 72, 73, 74.

The paper feeding section 4 is arranged below the ink cartridge 65 and stores a recording sheet of a predetermined size, and a guide for feeding the recording sheet in the paper feeding cassette 80 to the sheet conveying section 1. A plate 81, a paper feed roller 82 arranged above the paper exit of the paper feed cassette 80, and a pair of transport rollers 8 arranged upstream and downstream of the guide plate 81.
It is composed of 3, 84. The paper feed roller 82
Is a drive motor 85 fixed to a support plate (not shown).
Is driven to rotate, and the pair of conveying rollers 83 and 84 are
It is rotationally driven by a drive motor 86 fixed to a support plate (not shown).

The paper feed unit 4 actually has a plurality of paper feed cassettes for storing recording papers of different sizes, and a paper feed roller, a guide plate, and a pair of transport rollers are provided accordingly. However, the illustration is omitted here. The paper feeding unit 4 configured as described above is provided with a paper feeding roller 8
The recording sheets are taken out one by one from the paper feed cassette 80 by the sheet feeding cassette 2, and the recording sheets are guided to the guide plate 81 by the upstream conveying roller pair 83 and fed to the sheet conveying section 1 by the downstream conveying roller pair 84. .

The sheet discharging section 5 is provided on the downstream side of the sheet conveying section 1, the guide roller 88 provided on the downstream side of the sheet conveying section 1, the conveying roller pair 89 provided on the way of the guide plate 88, and the exit side of the guide plate 88. Discharge roller pair 90 and this discharge roller pair 9
0 and a paper discharge tray 91 provided on the downstream side. In the paper discharge unit 5 configured as described above, the recording paper is fed from the paper conveyance unit 1 to the guide plate 88, the recording paper is fed to the downstream side by the conveyance roller pair 89, and the paper discharge roller pair 90 is used. The sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 91. The transport roller pair 89 and the paper discharge roller pair 90 are rotationally driven by a drive motor 92 fixed to a support plate (not shown).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the main control arrangement of the ink jet recording apparatus constructed as described above. The inkjet recording device is designed to perform a printing operation based on an operation signal and an image signal input from an external device such as a personal computer. The control configuration will be described below.

The control unit 100 includes a CPU 101 and a storage unit 10.
2, an interface (I / F) unit 103, etc., and their operations are controlled in synchronization with the internal clock of the CPU 101.

The CPU 101 has a control function of the recording control unit 104, the mechanism control unit 105, etc., and the recording control unit 104 and the mechanism control unit 105 perform control operations in synchronization with each other.

The storage unit 102 is composed of a ROM in which a program for controlling the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus is stored, a RAM for temporarily storing data, etc., and the CPU 101 is a control program stored in the ROM. Based on the above, the operation of the entire device is controlled.

The interface unit 103 receives data input from an external device such as a personal computer, and outputs an image signal to the recording control unit 104 and an operation signal such as a paper size to the mechanism control unit 105. Has become.

The recording control unit 104 controls the driving circuits 107, 108 of the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 which constitute the printing unit 2 according to the respective color components of the input image signal.
Serial transmission to 109 and 110.

Each drive circuit 107, 108, 109, 11
Numeral 0 has a latch portion and is arranged at a proper position in each print head 13, 14, 15, 16 and temporarily latches the transmitted image signal for one line of recording paper, for example, and converts it into a parallel signal. .

Further, the recording control unit 104 includes the drive circuit 10
The parallel signals converted by 7, 108, 109, 110 are output as pulse drive signals to the corresponding piezoelectric elements 35, 36, 37, 38 of the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 as nozzles 23, 24, 25, The ejection of ink droplets from 26 is controlled. The image signal for one line is sequentially transmitted at a predetermined cycle, and thereby a two-dimensional image is printed.

The mechanism control unit 105 includes a plurality of detection means 111 such as a position detection sensor (not shown in FIG. 1) which is provided at an appropriate position of a predetermined component of the ink jet recording apparatus.
Based on the operation signal input from the drive circuit 112, the drive motor 11 of the paper transport unit 1, the drive motor 21 of the printing unit 2, and the suction pumps 56, 57, 58, 5 of the printing unit 2 are driven via the drive circuit 112.
9, drive motor 78 of capping unit 3, paper feed roller 8
The second drive motor 85, the drive motor 86 for the pair of transport rollers 83 and 84, the drive motor 92 for the pair of transport rollers 89, and the pair of discharge rollers 90 are driven. The drive circuit 11
Reference numeral 2 is composed of a power supply unit, electronic components such as transistors, and the like.

The ink jet recording apparatus constructed as described above operates as follows. Now, when the main power source of the operation unit (not shown) is turned on, the inkjet recording apparatus is set to the initial state shown in FIG. In this state, the transport roller pairs 83, 84, 89 and the paper discharge rotor pair 90 rotate based on an operation signal from an external device such as a personal computer, and the transport belt 10 of the paper transport unit 1 rotates.
At the same time, the paper feed roller 82 of the paper feed unit 4 rotates to feed the recording paper from the paper feed cassette 80, and the recording paper is fed to the paper transport unit 1 via the guide 81 by the pair of transport rollers 83 and 84. To be done. It should be noted that the pair of conveying rollers 8
4 is a print head 1 whose drive is controlled via a clutch or the like.
The recording paper is fed to the paper transport unit 1 in synchronization with the printing operations of 3, 14, 15, and 16.

The recording sheet fed to the sheet conveying section 1 is conveyed to the downstream side by the conveying belt 10, and the print heads 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the printing section 2 move the recording sheet in the middle of the transfer. Color printing is performed based on the image signal transmitted from the external device. When the image is a single color, for example, the black print head 13 prints a single color. The recording paper on which printing has been completed is fed to the guide 88 of the paper discharge unit 5 by the conveyor belt 10,
The sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 91 by the pair of transport rollers 89 and the pair of sheet discharge rollers 90.

When the transmission of the image signal or the like from the external device is completed and the predetermined printing on the recording paper is completed, the ink jet recording device is brought into the state shown in FIG. That is, the print heads 13, 14, 15 and 16 are moved away from the transport surface of the recording sheet to the upper side where they are retracted from the caps 71, 72, 73 and 74, and at the same time, the caps 71 and 7 are moved.
2, 73, 74 move to positions facing the nozzles 23, 24, 25, 26 of the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 and then the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 are capped 71, 72, The caps 71, 72, 73, 74 move to the lower side, which is the position where they abut against 73, 74, and the surfaces of the nozzles 23, 24, 25, 26 are airtightly covered.

These caps 71, 72, 73, 74
Is the nozzles 23, 2 of the through holes 44, 45, 46, 47.
It is in a state of being covered so as to cover one end that is open to the 4, 25, and 26 surfaces. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the print head 13 taken along the line BB, in which the state is clearly shown. The other print heads 14, 15 and 16 are also in the same state as in FIG.

Then, in this state, the suction pumps 56, 57, 58, 59 of the print head 2 are operated, and the suction tubes 52, 53, 54, 55 and the through holes 44, 45, 46 ,.
Air inside the caps 71, 72, 73, 74 is sucked through 47, and the inside of the caps 71, 72, 73, 74 is brought into a negative pressure state. Thereby, the nozzles 23, 24, 2
Ink is forcibly sucked from Nos. 5 and 26, and an ink ejection recovery operation is performed. This nozzle ejection recovery operation is appropriately performed by the same operation as described above even during the printing operation as needed.

The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, but various modifications such as the following are possible. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the widths of the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 are substantially the same as the width of the recording paper, and the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 are the same.
Is configured to move only in the direction in which it comes in contact with and separates from the recording paper conveyance surface of the paper conveyance unit 1.
The width of 3, 14, 15, 16 may be narrower than the width of the recording paper, and the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16 may be moved in the paper width direction of the recording paper.

Further, in the above embodiment, the suction pumps 56, 57, 58, 59 of the printing section 2 are arranged on the lower side of the sheet conveying section 1, but the suction pumps 56, 57, 58,
59 can be attached directly to the print heads 13, 14, 15, 16. Further, these suction pumps 56, 57, 58, 59 are provided for the print heads 13, 14,
Printhead 1 is installed every 15 and 16
The number may be smaller than 3, 14, 15, 16 and may be shared. Furthermore, the caps 71, 72, 7
As a means for sucking the air in 3, 74, suction means other than the suction pumps 56, 57, 58, 59 may be used.

The print heads 13, 14, 15, 16
The through-holes 44, 45, 46, 47 formed on the nozzles 23, 24, 2 and 2 have the other ends opened on the surface facing the surfaces of the nozzles 23, 24, 25 and 26 in the above-described embodiment.
Any surface other than the 5th and 26th surfaces may be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, the conveyor belt 10 of the paper conveying unit 1, the paper feeding roller 82 of the paper feeding unit 4 and the conveying roller pairs 83 and 84, the conveying roller pair 89 of the paper discharging unit 5 and the paper discharging roller pair 90. Different drive motors 11, 85,
Although it is configured to rotate by 86 and 92, for example, the drive motors other than the paper feed roller 82 may be rotated by the same drive motor, or all may be rotated by one drive motor and the drive may be appropriately switched by the clutch. You can also do it.

Further, in the above embodiment, the printing unit 2 is composed of the four-color printing heads 13, 14, 15, and 16. However, when only the single-color printing is required, it may be composed of only one printing head. . Further, the inkjet recording device may have a function as a facsimile or a function as a copying machine.

[0054]

As described above, according to the first to third aspects of the invention, when the ink ejection recovery operation of the print head is performed , one end of the print head nozzle in the arrangement direction is arranged.
Since a through hole for sucking the air in the cap is formed in the formed protrusion , when the suction means is directly attached to the print head, the suction tube is completely unnecessary or even when the suction tube is used. It will be short and will not cause any problems with the conventional routing of suction tubes. Further, even when the suction means is arranged at a place other than the print head, the movement distance of the print head is short, so that the movement of the suction head is limited to a narrow space due to the movement of the print head. Therefore, there is no need to restrict the arrangement of the other constituent members or lengthen the suction tube itself more than necessary due to the arrangement of the other constituent members as in the related art.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the print head moves only in the direction in which it comes in contact with and separates from the transport surface of the paper transport section, the suction means is arranged at a position other than the print head. However, the movement of the suction tube accompanying the movement of the print head is limited to a narrower space. Therefore, there is no need to restrict the arrangement of the other constituent members or lengthen the suction tube itself more than necessary due to the arrangement of the other constituent members as in the related art.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the suction means is a suction pump, the air in the cap is surely sucked and the ink discharge recovery operation is surely performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the inkjet recording apparatus for explaining the operation of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a main part of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

7 is a front view of the main parts of the inkjet recording apparatus for explaining the operation of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Paper transport section 2 printing section 3 Capping section 4 Paper feeder 5 Paper ejection section 13, 14, 15, 16 print head 23, 24, 25, 26 nozzles 40, 41, 42, 43 Projection 44, 45, 46, 47 Through holes 52, 53, 54, 55 suction tube 56, 57, 58, 59 Suction means (suction pump) 71, 72, 73, 74 Cap 77 Timing Belt

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kikunosuke Tsuji 1-22 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Takeshi Watanabe 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Within the corporation (56) References JP-A 5-301346 (JP, A) JP-A 4-62064 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/165 B41J 2/18 B41J 2/185

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A nozzle for ejecting ink droplets and a nozzle
One end is a nozzle on the protruding part formed at one end in the array direction
Wherein a print head having a through-hole formed so as to open to the surface, and a cap for covering the nozzle surface of the printhead <br/> airtightly including the through hole, the air inside the cap
A suction means for sucking from the other end of the through hole, and moving means Before moving between the nozzle surface and a position opposed to the position away the cap from the print head and the print head,
The cap is attached to the nozzle of the print head by this moving means.
Move it to the position facing the surface, and use the cap to print.
Cover the nozzle surface of the nozzle including the through hole
An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a control unit that operates a pulling unit. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a paper transport unit, wherein the print head is in a direction in which the print head is in contact with and away from a transport surface of the paper transport unit, and a nozzle surface of the print head. An inkjet recording apparatus, which is configured to be switched between a position retracted from a cap that has moved to a facing position and a position in contact with the cap. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction unit is a suction pump and is connected to a through hole of the print head via a suction tube.