JP4154585B2 - Liquid mist removal device and liquid mist removal method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a liquid mist that eliminates liquid (ink) mist floating in the apparatus main body during recording or jetting (during printing) or flushing (empty ejection) in a liquid jet apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus. The present invention relates to an exclusion apparatus, a liquid mist exclusion method, and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the exclusion apparatus.
[0002]
Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet recording head, and is not limited to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine that records ink on a recording medium by discharging ink from the recording head. It includes a device that ejects a liquid corresponding to the application from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the recording head to an ejected medium corresponding to a recording medium and adheres the liquid to the ejected medium.
[0003]
In addition to the recording head, as a liquid ejecting head, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, and an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED) Examples thereof include an ejection head, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and a sample ejection head as a precision pipette.
[0004]
[Prior art]
For example, in an ink jet recording apparatus that is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus, ink ejected from an ink ejection nozzle of a recording head reaches a printing surface of a sheet that is an example of a recording medium when separated from the ink ejection nozzle. Before the speed becomes 0, it becomes a fine ink mist and floats in the apparatus main body. Such a phenomenon occurs during printing and flushing operation. In particular, when performing borderless printing, ink ejected outside the paper size is often misted. Ink jet recording apparatuses are ejecting ink droplets of several picoliters from a recording head, so that ink mist is more easily generated.
[0005]
When the ink mist floating in the apparatus main body adheres to the guide shaft of the carriage in this way, the load on the carriage is increased and the smooth movement of the carriage is hindered. In addition, when it is attached to a position detection device such as an optical encoder, it may cause erroneous detection. Further, when there is a tendency to be ejected to a specific part in the apparatus main body, ink mist gradually accumulates at that part, which also causes contamination in the apparatus main body.
[0006]
Therefore, it is desirable to collect or eliminate the ink mist floating in the apparatus main body, and the present applicant has already proposed such an apparatus and method in Patent Document 1 below. This is an effective use of components so that a fan motor provided for heat dissipation of electronic components can also be used for suction of ink mist in the apparatus main body and discharge to the outside of the apparatus main body. Patent Document 1 also discloses that a filter is provided at the suction port of the ink mist in order to prevent ink from adhering to a heat sink or the like that directly controls heat dissipation of electronic components.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-2111163
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if the collected ink mist is discharged out of the main body of the apparatus as it is, the site becomes inconspicuous but gradually becomes conspicuous, and contamination of an article located near the discharge port becomes a problem after a long period of time. Even if a filter is provided for the purpose of reducing the amount of ink mist discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body, the filter structure is likely to be clogged, resulting in troublesome periodic replacement. On the other hand, when looking at the paper immediately after printing, the ink that has been sprayed is not yet completely dried immediately after printing, and in some cases, when passing through a paper discharge driven roller consisting of a toothed roller, the printing surface In some cases, part of the ink was picked up by the teeth and ink peeling called white spots occurred. Further, it has been pointed out that the sheets may adhere to each other when the sheets are stacked with the printing surface not dried.
[0009]
An object of the present invention is to prevent liquid mist such as ink mist floating inside the apparatus main body from being contaminated when the liquid mist is excluded from the apparatus main body, and which makes periodic maintenance substantially unnecessary. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an exclusion apparatus, a liquid mist exclusion method, and an ink jet recording apparatus including the exclusion apparatus. In addition, it is intended to promote drying of the surface to be ejected immediately after liquid ejection.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first aspect of the present invention is to eliminate liquid mist that eliminates liquid mist floating in the apparatus main body in an apparatus for injecting and adhering liquid to an ejection target medium conveyed by conveying means. The apparatus includes a suction unit that sucks the liquid mist in the apparatus main body, a guide path that guides the sucked liquid mist above the ejection target surface of the ejection medium, and a blowout located at a discharge end of the guidance path. And a suction means which is provided in the middle of the guide path and generates a suction wind of liquid mist in the guide path.
[0011]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sucked liquid mist in the apparatus main body is directly sprayed onto the ejection surface (recording surface) of the ejection target medium (recording medium) to transport the ejection target medium. At the same time, it is discharged out of the main body. Since the liquid mist sprayed on the ejection surface is extremely fine and the ejection medium is also in a transported state, that is, in a moving state, the liquid mist is continuously sprayed and deposited at a specific location. In other words, it is sprayed onto the surface to be ejected in a state that does not affect the quality and is excluded from the apparatus main body.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the suction portion is provided with respect to a guide member that supports a lower surface of the ejection target medium in the vicinity of the liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid. On the other hand, the blow-out portion is provided at a position upstream of the ejected medium discharging means for discharging the ejected medium in the transport direction and downstream of the liquid ejecting head. is there.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, most of the floating liquid mist ejected from the nozzles of the liquid ejecting head is reliably sucked, and white spots and papers adhering to each other when the paper ejection driven roller passes are prevented. be able to.
[0013]
A third aspect of the present invention is the liquid mist having a relatively heavy weight among the sucked liquid mist in the middle of the guide path upstream of the suction means in the first aspect or the second aspect. The labyrinth structure primary removal part which removes is provided.
[0014]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the relatively heavy liquid mist out of the liquid mist floating in the apparatus main body is collected and removed in advance by the primary removal unit. Only a very fine liquid mist having a small weight is supplied, and is excluded from the apparatus main body along with the transportation of the ejection target medium without affecting the quality. Moreover, since the primary removal part has a labyrinth structure, there is no need for periodic replacement work.
[0015]
In addition, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, a heating unit that heats and dries the sucked liquid mist in the middle of the guide path upstream of the suction unit in the suction direction. It is characterized by being provided.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, fine particles composed only of a solidified liquid component that has been heated and dried by a heating means such as a heater and desirably removed of viscosity are formed on the surface to be ejected. Since it is supplied, it contributes to the drying of the ejected surface of the ejected medium that has been ejected, and inadvertent adhesion between the ejected media is also prevented.
[0016]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid mist elimination method for eliminating liquid mist floating in an apparatus main body in an apparatus for injecting and adhering liquid to an ejection target medium conveyed by a conveying means. The sucked liquid mist is directly blown against the ejection surface of the ejection medium in a state where the liquid is attached and conveyed.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the liquid mist outside the apparatus main body without impairing the quality due to the idea of reversing that the liquid mist is sprayed on the ejection surface of the ejection medium. Become.
[0017]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the sucked liquid mist is heated and dried to solidify the components in the liquid into fine particles, and the fine particles are covered with the ejection medium. It sprays with respect to an injection surface, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, only the liquid mist that has been heated and dried and desirably has its viscosity removed is supplied to the surface to be ejected. This also contributes to drying of the ejection surface, and prevents white spots and adhesion of ejected media that occur when the ejection driven roller is passed.
[0018]
The seventh aspect of the present invention is the same as the sixth aspect in that a primary removal step of removing a relatively heavy liquid mist from the liquid mist sucked prior to heat drying, and a relatively heavy weight by the primary removal step. And a heating and drying step of heating and drying the liquid mist in a state where the heavy liquid mist is removed.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the liquid mist having a relatively heavy weight is removed in the stage before the heat drying process, an extremely fine liquid mist having a small weight is formed on the surface to be ejected. Only supplied. Therefore, the liquid mist is removed outside the apparatus main body as the medium to be ejected is conveyed without any loss of quality.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the liquid mist rejection apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail by taking the illustrated embodiment as an example, and then the liquid mist rejection method according to the present invention will be referred to together with the description of the operation state thereof. In the following embodiments, a specific description will be given by taking an ink jet recording apparatus as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the ink jet recording apparatus. .
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an upper casing of an ink jet recording apparatus to which an ink mist removing apparatus, which is a liquid mist of the present invention, is applied is removed. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of the suction part and the primary removal part according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the blowing part according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view schematically showing the outline of the ink mist removing apparatus of the present invention provided around the recording section of the ink jet recording apparatus.
[0021]
The ink jet recording apparatus 1 takes in paper P, which is an example of a recording medium placed on a paper feed tray (not shown) one by one by a paper feed roller (not shown), a paper feed driving roller 5 and a paper feed driven roller. The paper P is guided to the lower side of the recording head 13 by a paper feed roller pair 11 constituted by 9. The paper feed driven roller 9 is held by a rotary driven roller holder 7 biased toward the paper feed drive roller 5 by a biasing means (not shown).
[0022]
The recording head 13 is provided below the carriage 15 and is driven to reciprocate in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the paper P while being guided by the guide shaft 19 with the ink cartridge 17 mounted. Below the recording head 13, a guide member 23 having a platen 21 is provided with a predetermined gap through which the paper P passes. The guide member 23 has a role of supporting the lower surface of the paper P, and in particular, the platen 21 has a function of making a strict gap with the recording head 13 that affects print quality, that is, a paper gap constant.
[0023]
The recording head 13 is provided with an ink discharge nozzle (not shown), and printing on almost the front surface of the paper P is enabled by conveying the paper P and moving the carriage 15 in the main scanning direction. A paper discharge roller pair 29 including a paper discharge driving roller 25 and a paper discharge driven roller 27 formed of a toothed roller is provided on the downstream side of the recording head 13 in the paper conveyance direction. The pair of paper discharge rollers 29 has a conveying action for guiding the printed paper P onto a paper discharge stacker (not shown).
[0024]
The ink mist removing device 31 of the present invention is provided in the recording portion around the recording head 13 of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 configured as described above. The ink mist removing device 31 of the present invention includes a suction port 33 for sucking ink mist in the device body 3, a guide path 35 for guiding the sucked ink mist to the upper side of the printing surface of the paper P, and a blower located at the discharge end thereof. It is basically configured by including an outlet 37 and a fan motor 39 that is provided in the middle of the guide path 35 and is a suction means for generating the suction air of the ink mist in the guide path 35. In the illustrated embodiment, a primary removal tank 41 and a heater 43 as a heating means are provided in the middle of the guide path 35 upstream of the fan motor 39 in the suction direction.
[0025]
Hereinafter, these members will be specifically described. The suction port 33 is provided with respect to the guide member 23, and is provided at two locations on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the paper P in the vicinity of the platen 21. Note that the suction port 33 is provided so as to open from the side to the inside of the guide member 23, thereby improving the suction efficiency of the ink mist and at the same time attracting to the lower surface of the paper P so that the paper P is smooth. The transport is not disturbed.
[0026]
On the other hand, a plurality of air outlets 37 are provided in the main scanning direction at a position upstream of the paper discharge driven roller 27 in the transport direction of the paper P and downstream of the recording head 13, as shown in FIG. Yes. Further, the guide path 35 connecting the suction port 33 and the blowout port 37 is provided by using a side space in the main scanning direction that is outside the movement range of the carriage 15, as shown in FIGS. As an example, it is formed of a hose-like member having a circular cross section.
[0027]
In such a guide path 35, a primary removal tank 41 is provided upstream of the suction direction, a heater 43 is provided downstream thereof, and a fan motor 39 is provided further downstream. Of these, the primary removal tank 41 is a disk-shaped member as shown in FIG. 2, and a number of barriers 45 having a labyrinth structure are formed therein as shown in FIG. The ink mist having a relatively heavy weight adheres to and captures a part of the barrier 45 by repeatedly colliding with the barrier 45, and is separated from the light ink mist and remains in the primary removal tank 41 to be removed. Going to be.
[0028]
Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the heater 43 is intended for a relatively light ink mist supplied through the primary removal tank 41, and has a role of heating and drying the ink mist. As an example, a structure using a heating wire can be adopted, but a structure using heat of a heating element such as a far-infrared heater or a power transformer provided in a power supply unit of the inkjet printer 1 may be used. The fan motor 39 has a structure in which the fan and the motor are housed together in a rectangular casing-like casing, and is basically provided independently to generate suction air as shown in FIGS. And However, it is also possible to use a fan motor for radiating electronic components as in an embodiment shown in FIG.
[0029]
Next, the ink mist removal method of the present invention will be described together with the description of the operation state of the ink mist removal device 31 configured as described above. The paper P fed into the recording unit by the paper feed roller pair 11 is supplied below the recording head 13 while being sandwiched between the paper feed drive roller 5 and the paper feed driven roller 9. When the paper P is supplied below the recording head 13, the recording head 13 starts to eject ink from the ink ejection nozzle while reciprocating in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 15, and the lower surface of the paper P is supported by the platen 21. In this state, the sheet is conveyed downstream, and desired printing is performed on the upper surface thereof.
[0030]
During such printing or during the flushing operation performed prior to printing, fine ink mist floats in the apparatus main body 3. The ink mist floating in the apparatus main body 3 is sucked from the suction port 33 provided in the guide member 23 by the suction air generated by the fan motor 39, passes through the guide path 35, and enters the primary removal tank 41. Led to.
[0031]
The ink mist introduced into the primary removal tank 41 repeatedly collides with the labyrinth structure barrier 45 provided in the primary removal tank 41, so that the relatively heavy ink mist is shaken off. Therefore, only a lighter and finer ink mist is transported toward the heater 43 located downstream thereof. In the present specification, the step of removing a relatively heavy ink mist from the sucked ink mist is defined as a primary removal step. Incidentally, since the primary removal tank 41 having the above structure is used without using a filter or the like, maintenance such as periodic replacement work is not required without worrying about clogging like a filter.
[0032]
The ink mist that has reached the heater 43 is heated and dried by the heater 43, and the liquid component thereof is evaporated to become a gas, which is discharged out of the apparatus body 3 through a vent formed in the apparatus body 3. On the other hand, the fine particles composed only of the ink component that has been solidified and whose viscosity has been removed is carried toward the air outlet 37 by riding on the suction air. In addition, in this specification, the process which solidifies an ink component by heat-drying ink mist in this way is defined as a heat-drying process.
[0033]
The solidified ink component that has reached the blowout port 37 is heated by the heater 43 and is directly sprayed onto the printing surface of the paper P being conveyed while being printed under the heated suction air. At this time, since the ink component is extremely light and sprayed as fine particles through the primary removal step and the heat drying step, the print quality of the printing surface applied on the paper P is not impaired at all. Also, since the paper P continues to be transported at the same time as the ink component is sprayed, that is, it is moving, the ink component is not sprayed concentrated on a specific part, and the uniform eye that does not affect the print quality is obtained. The film becomes invisible and acts to coat the printing surface of the paper P. Further, since the ink component and the suction air are warmed by the heater 43, they also contribute to the acceleration of drying of the printing surface, and the problem of white spots and the adhesion of the sheets P that become problems when passing through the paper discharge driven roller 27. Does not occur.
[0034]
The ink mist removal apparatus and ink mist removal method of the present invention are based on the above-described configuration, but of course, partial configuration changes or omissions within the scope of the present invention are not deviated. Is possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which neither the primary removal tank 41 nor the heater 43 is provided in the middle of the guide path 35. Although not shown, either the primary removal tank 41 or the heater 43 is omitted. It is also possible to have a configuration without one. Incidentally, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the ink mist and the printing surface of the paper P are dried only by the suction air generated by the fan motor 39.
[0035]
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a fan motor already provided for radiating electronic components is used, and this fan motor is used as a fan motor 39 for generating suction air, which is a partial component of the present invention. It is also possible to do. In such a case, it is possible to combine the heat radiation action of the electronic components and the suction air generation action by a single fan motor 39. In addition to the paper P, the recording medium includes a film-like article, a CD-R, a DVD-R, and other articles that are slightly thick and have a unique shape.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a usage state of an exclusion device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of a suction port and a primary recovery tank.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the air outlet.
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an outline of the exclusion device of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 3 Apparatus main body, 5 Paper feed drive roller, 7 Driven roller holder, 9 Paper feed driven roller, 11 Paper feed roller pair, 13 Recording head, 15 Carriage, 17 Ink cartridge, 19 Guide shaft, 21 Platen, 23 Guide member, 25 paper discharge drive roller, 27 paper discharge roller, 29 paper discharge roller pair, 31 ink mist removing device, 33 suction port, 35 guide path, 37 air outlet, 39 fan motor, 41 primary recovery tank, 43 heater , 45 barrier, P paper

Claims (6)

An apparatus for eliminating liquid mist that eliminates liquid mist floating in the apparatus main body in an apparatus for injecting and adhering liquid to an ejection target medium conveyed by a conveying means,
The exclusion device is a suction unit that sucks the liquid mist in the device main body,
A guide path that guides the sucked liquid mist to above the ejection surface of the ejection medium, and a blow-out portion that is located at the discharge end of the guidance path
A suction means that is provided in the middle of the guide path, and generates a suction air of liquid mist in the guide path;
A heating means for heating and drying the sucked liquid mist is provided in the middle of the guide path on the upstream side in the suction direction from the suction means,
Liquid mist characterized by solidifying components in the liquid of the sucked liquid mist by the heating means to form fine particles, and spraying the fine particles directly from the blow-out portion to the ejection surface of the ejection medium Elimination device.   2. The suction unit according to claim 1, wherein the suction unit is provided with respect to a guide member that supports a lower surface of the medium to be ejected in the vicinity of the liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid, while the blowing unit discharges the medium to be ejected. An apparatus for removing liquid mist, wherein the apparatus is provided at a position upstream of the ejected medium discharge means for transporting and upstream of the liquid ejecting head.   In Claim 1 or 2, the primary removal part of the labyrinth structure which removes comparatively heavy liquid mist among the liquid mist attracted | sucked in the middle of the induction | guidance | derivation path | route upstream of the said suction means from the said suction means is provided. A device for eliminating liquid mist. A liquid mist elimination method for eliminating liquid mist floating in an apparatus main body in an apparatus for injecting and adhering liquid to an ejection target medium conveyed by a conveying means,
The components in the liquid are solidified by heating and drying the sucked liquid mist to form fine particles, and the fine particles are directly sprayed onto the ejection surface of the ejection medium in a state where the liquid is attached and transported. A method for eliminating liquid mist, characterized in that 5. The primary removal step of removing a relatively heavy liquid mist from the liquid mist sucked prior to heat drying, and the liquid mist in a state where the relatively heavy liquid mist is removed by the primary removal step according to claim 4 . A method for removing liquid mist, comprising: a heating and drying step for heating and drying the target. Conveying means for conveying the ejection medium;
Liquid ejecting execution means for ejecting and adhering liquid from a liquid ejecting head to an ejected medium transported by the transporting means;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: ejection means for ejecting the ejection target medium on which liquid ejection has been performed,
Liquid-jet apparatus characterized in that it comprises a rejection unit for liquid mist according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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