JP3750334B2 - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer that prints characters, symbols, images, and the like by moving a print head having nozzles for ejecting ink relative to a recording medium, and includes an wiping means for wiping the nozzle surface of the print head. Regarding printers.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Inkjet printers have features such as high-speed printing and low noise, and have been widely used in recent years as output devices for information processing apparatuses. Since the print head has a very fine structure, it is necessary to take extra care to prevent foreign matter such as paper dust and waste ink from adhering to the vicinity of the nozzles on the surface of the print head. And wiping means for removing them. However, when the wiping means wipes off the print head, when the wiping means is detached from the print head, the waste ink adhering to the wiping means is scattered due to the momentum when the wiping means is restored by the elastic force of the wiping means itself.・ Corrosion due to adhesion to metal part or resin part, deterioration of material, and short circuit due to adhesion to current-carrying part may occur.
[0003]
In the conventional ink jet printer, a wiping member (wiper member) is constituted by a plurality of members as disclosed in JP-A-8-224889 with respect to the scattering of the waste ink when the wiping means wipes the waste ink on the surface of the print head. The ink is prevented from scattering by attenuating the restoring speed due to the elastic force of the wiping means by friction between the wiping members, or close to the wiping means (wiper blade) as disclosed in JP-A-6-234221. An ink absorber is provided so as to absorb the ink adhering to the wiping means before scattering, or an ink absorber is provided on the side of the print head (inkjet recording head) as disclosed in JP-A-3-240551. By removing waste ink adhering to the means (blade), It had to prevent the dispersion.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described conventional technology has the following problems. When the wiping means is composed of a plurality of members or the ink absorber is provided in close contact with the wiping means, the plurality of members or the ink absorber must be brought into contact with the wiping means. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain the contact by reliably changing the temperature and drying the sucked waste ink and exhibit the effect of preventing the waste ink from scattering. When the ink absorber is provided on the side surface of the print head, the ink absorber and the wiping means slide, so that the ink absorber is deformed and worn, and thus it is difficult to maintain long-term reliability.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The inkjet printer of the present invention is
A print head having a nozzle for ejecting ink , mounted on a carriage and freely movable;
A wiping means attached to the printer body on the side facing the print head, and wiping the nozzle surface of the print head as the print head moves;
In an inkjet printer comprising:
In the vicinity of the print head, an ink absorbing material that absorbs ink scattered by wiping by the wiping means is provided on both front and rear sides with respect to the movement direction of the print head across the nozzle surface of the print head,
When the wiping means wipes the nozzle surface along with the movement of the print head, the ink absorbing material that absorbs the ink that has been released by the elastic force of the wiping means being splashed at once, and the wiping means are directly characterized in that it is a structure which does not contact.
For this reason, when the waste ink is wiped, the elasticity of the wiping means is released at once, and even if the waste ink bounces, it is absorbed by the nearest ink absorbing member , so that the waste ink can be prevented from being scattered, and Since the wiping means and the ink absorbing member are not in direct contact with each other, the ink absorber can be prevented from being deformed or worn, and the effect of preventing waste ink scattering can be exhibited for a long period of time. In addition, if the protrusions for preventing ink scattering are provided with resin or metal, the waste ink will spread and spread on the surface, so it is necessary to have a size that takes into account bleeding.However, even if the ink absorbing member is small, it can sufficiently prevent ink scattering and bleeding. It is possible to have both. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent short-circuiting due to dirt inside the ink jet printer, corrosion due to adhesion to metal parts or resin parts, deterioration of materials, and adhesion to current-carrying parts.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0007]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a printing operation of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The print head 11 is mounted on the carriage 12, is guided by the guide shaft 14, and moves in the directions of arrows A and B via the belt 16 by the carriage motor 13. The cap 20 performs capping of the nozzle surface 11c (see FIG. 2) of the recording head 11. The printing paper 30 is conveyed by a paper feed roller 31 and a paper pressing roller 32, passes under the print head 11, and is discharged from the ink jet printer by a discharge roller 33.
[0008]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the print head 11 separated from the ink jet printer main body. The print head 11 includes an upper ink tank and a lower head chip, and selectively drives a plurality of actuators (not shown) provided on the head chip in accordance with an electric signal sent via the flat cable 15. Is ejected from a downward nozzle 11d corresponding to each actuator, and is recorded. Since the print head 11 is integrated with the ink tank, it can be detached from the main body of the ink jet printer for replenishing ink. The print head 11 is attached to the main body of the ink jet printer by the print head 11 being pushed up by a spring 12c provided on the bottom surface of the carriage 12 and the pins 11a provided on the left and right side surfaces engaging with the hooks 12a. The electrical signal sent via the flat cable 15 is transmitted from a contact 12b provided on the carriage 12 to an actuator (not shown) through the contact 11b of the print head 11. The print head 11 has an ink absorbing member 11g at the upper part of the contact portion with the wiping means 22 on the side surface. When the wiping means 22 separates from the print head 11 after wiping the nozzle surface 11c, the elasticity of the wiping means 22 is once. The ink that has been released and splashed is absorbed immediately, and the waste ink is not scattered inside the printer. The ink absorbing member 11g is not in direct contact with the wiping means 22, and is not deformed or worn, so that it is possible to maintain a stable effect in the long term.
[0009]
Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 are diagrams for explaining the effect of the present invention, in which only the print head 11, the wiping means 22, and the cap 20 are shown, and other elements are omitted. (A) of each figure is the figure which permeate | transmitted the print head 11 from the top of the print head 11, and is the figure which looked at the wiping means 22 and the cap 20, (b) figure is the print head 11 and the wiping means 20 seen from the side. It is a figure.
[0010]
FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram showing that the print head 11 is moving from the printing operation to the wiping operation. The print head 11 moves in the direction of arrow A from the print area, passes over the cap 20 (FIG. 4), and moves to a position where it contacts the wiping means 22. The cap 11 is pulled downward so as not to come into contact with the print head 11 as shown in FIG. 4 during the printing operation and during the wiping operation of the print head 11 by the wiping means 22, but when the inkjet printer is stopped, FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle rises and comes into close contact with the nozzle surface 11c, thereby preventing foreign matter from adhering to the nozzle surface 11c and drying of the ink in the nozzle. The print head 11 that has passed over the cap 20 further moves in the direction of arrow A while largely deforming the wiping means 22 as shown in FIG. At this time, waste ink 40 containing foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the nozzle surface 11c is gathered at the contact portion between the wiping means 22 and the print head 11 by wiping. When the print head 11 further moves, the wiping means 22 is detached from the print head 11 as shown in FIG. 6, and the wiping means 22 is restored to its original shape at a stretch by the elastic force. At this time, the waste ink 40 collected at the contact portion between the wiping means 22 and the print head 11 bounces along the side surface of the print head 11, but is completely absorbed by the ink absorbing member 11g located immediately above and does not scatter. The print head 11 further moves, and once moves away from the wiping means 22 as shown in FIG. 7, starts moving in the reverse direction (arrow B), and the wiping means 22 again wipes the nozzle surface 11 c. At this time, by providing the ink absorbing material 11h on the side surface opposite to the ink absorbing material 11g, it is possible to completely prevent the waste ink from being scattered when the print head 11 moves in either direction of the arrows A and B. . By preventing the scattering of the waste ink around the print head 11, the inside of the ink jet printer can be prevented from being contaminated. In addition, the waste ink to the contact 12 b provided on the carriage 12 and the contact 11 b of the print head 11 can be prevented. Since adhesion can be prevented, there is no worry of failure or accident due to short circuit between contacts. Ink components such as solvents and dyes can cause deterioration of the resin and rusting of the metal part, which may cause corrosion and material deterioration due to adhesion to the metal part or resin part. The material to be used is limited to materials that are resistant to ink, but there are fewer parts that need countermeasures against ink adhesion, which is effective in reducing the size and cost of inkjet printers. .
[0011]
If the wiping means 22 has a mechanism that can move up and down and it can be selected whether or not the print head 11 contacts when passing over the wiping means 22, printing is performed only when the print head 11 moves in one direction. When the head 11 is wiped and moved in the opposite direction, the wiping means 22 is moved downward so that it does not come into contact with the print head 11, so that the ink absorbing material provided on the side surface of the print head 11 is either 11g or 11h. It is possible to achieve a necessary and sufficient effect only with no ink absorbing material on the opposite side.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
With the configuration described above, the ink jet printer of the present invention can prevent the scattering of waste ink. Corrosion, material deterioration, and current-carrying part due to adhesion to dirt, metal parts, or resin parts inside the ink jet printer. It is possible to reliably prevent a short circuit due to adhesion to the surface. In particular, by providing ink absorbing members on both front and rear sides with respect to the moving direction across the nozzle surface of the print head, it is possible to prevent waste ink from being scattered regardless of the moving direction of the print head, which is more effective.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an inkjet printer according to the present invention during printing.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the print head of the first embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention is removed.
FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 Print head 12 Carriage 13 Carriage motor 14 Guide shaft 15 Flat cable 16 Belt 20 Cap 22 Wiping means 30 Print paper 31 Paper feed roller 32 Paper pressing roller 33 Paper discharge roller 40 Waste ink

Claims (1)

A print head having a nozzle for ejecting ink , mounted on a carriage and freely movable;
A wiping means attached to the printer body on the side facing the print head, and wiping the nozzle surface of the print head as the print head moves;
In the inkjet printer having a,
In the vicinity of the print head, an ink absorbing material that absorbs ink scattered by wiping by the wiping means is provided on both front and rear sides with respect to the movement direction of the print head across the nozzle surface of the print head,
When the wiping means wipes the nozzle surface along with the movement of the print head, the ink absorbing material that absorbs the ink that has been released by the elastic force of the wiping means and jumped at once, and the wiping means are directly An ink jet printer characterized by being configured not to contact .

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