JP4660521B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium by flying ink droplets, and more particularly, an ink jet that generates sound waves from a sound wave generating element and focuses the sound waves to fly ink droplets. The present invention relates to a recording apparatus.

  Inkjet recording devices that record images by flying liquid ink as small droplets onto a recording medium can directly record on plain paper, reduce costs in terms of consumption of materials such as ink, reduce noise, and develop. And many other advantages such as no need for processing such as fixing. Therefore, recently, the range of use is expanding not only to OA (office automation) applications but also to industrial fields such as application of liquid electronic materials and direct patterning.

  Many systems have been devised as an ink jet recording apparatus. In particular, a system in which droplets are ejected using the pressure of bubbles generated by the heat of a heating element, or a pressure pulse by displacement of a piezoelectric body is used to generate droplets. The flying method is typical.

  However, these types of ink jet recording apparatuses tend to cause ink concentration due to the evaporation or volatilization of the solvent of the liquid ink. If a nozzle with a small diameter is used, clogging occurs and the ink droplets may not fly. there were. Therefore, for high-definition image recording, it is necessary to provide additional means such as cleaning the nozzles in order to prevent nozzle clogging, and it is necessary to select and use ink materials that cause less clogging. The range of use was limited.

  On the other hand, there has been proposed an ultrasonic ink jet recording apparatus in which sound waves generated from a vibrator are focused and ink droplets are ejected from the ink liquid surface with the sound pressure. This method does not require a nozzle, can eject ink droplets with a very small diameter, is suitable for high resolution, and has the advantage that there are few restrictions on the ink material that can be used.

However, high-viscosity inks used in industrial applications generally have a large attenuation of sound waves, which requires a large amount of power to fly, and there is a problem that inks that are too viscous cannot fly. It was. In addition, there is a problem that the position where the sound wave generated from the vibrator is focused (sound wave focusing position) is generated due to fluctuations in the liquid level of the ink or the like, and as a result, the ink does not fly. A head position adjusting mechanism for coping with surface fluctuations is required, which leads to complication of the apparatus. As one means for avoiding this problem, a technique has been proposed in which the ink layer is thinned using a substance that transmits sound waves to the traveling path portion of the sound waves (Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-23884 JP-A-8-99408

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to supply ink to a thin layer, it is difficult to feed high-viscosity ink into a narrow gap itself. Further, since there are a large number of openings, it is difficult to spread ink over the entire head. In addition, since there are a large number of openings, the upward direction is possible, but the downward direction requires countermeasures against ink leakage, and the lateral direction has a structure in which adjustment of the ink flow rate is extremely difficult because of a difference in water pressure between the upper part and the lower part.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an ink jet recording apparatus which can form a stable ink layer for stable flight and can arbitrarily set the ejection direction. With the goal.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a sound wave generating means for generating a sound wave, a sound wave focusing means for focusing the sound wave generated by the sound wave generating means at a sound wave focusing position, and a sound wave exiting the sound wave focusing means. A head unit including a sound wave transmission unit for propelling the sound wave, a sound wave generating unit, a sound wave focusing unit, and a wall plate enclosing the sound wave transmission unit, and an annular ring that slides and rotates on the outside of the head unit A film, a film driving mechanism for rotating the film, an ink application means for applying an ink on the outer surface of the film to form an ink layer, and an outer surface of the film that has passed through the acoustic wave focusing position. an ink layer which are anda ink recovery means for recovering removed from said film, said head unit, applying of the ultrasound focusing position on the outer surface of said film Ink layer in correspondence configured to fly the ink, the film of the annular along the order of rotation, and the film drive mechanism, and the ink application means, the ultrasound focusing position, the ink recovery means Are arranged .

  According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus that can supply a stable ink layer capable of stable flight and can arbitrarily set the ejection direction. Further, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention does not require a head position adjusting mechanism for coping with liquid level fluctuations, and can be miniaturized.

[First Embodiment]
A first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the vicinity of the head unit of the ink jet recording apparatus.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment includes a head unit 6 and an ink supply unit 4 that supplies ink. The head unit 6 includes a sound wave generation unit 1, a sound wave focusing unit 2, a sound wave transmission unit 3, and a shape-fixed wall plate 9 that includes them. The ink supply unit 4 includes an annular film 41 that slides and rotates around the outer periphery of the head unit 6, a driving roller 42 that rotates the film 41, and an ink application unit 43 that applies ink to the outside of the film 41. . In addition, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an ink collecting unit 46 that collects ink that has not flew from the film 41, and an ink that is reused by supplying the ink collected by the ink collecting unit 46 to the ink applying unit 43. And a reuse means 47.

  Here, the detail of each part is demonstrated. First, details of the head unit 6 will be described.

  The sound wave generating means 1 is composed of piezoelectric bodies and electrodes arranged in a one-dimensional array. Piezoelectric materials include piezoelectric ceramics such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), lead titanate and barium titanate, piezoelectric single crystals such as lithium niobate and lithium tantalate, and polymers such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). A piezoelectric material or a piezoelectric semiconductor such as zinc oxide can be used. A drive circuit (not shown) for driving the sound wave generating means 1 is connected to the electrode, and the drive circuit generates a sound wave by driving the piezoelectric body based on image recording data sent from the outside.

  The sound wave focusing unit 2 plays a role of focusing the sound wave generated by the sound wave generating unit 1 on the sound wave focusing position 8. Here, a planar Fresnel lens with a groove formed in glass is used. A meniscus is formed on the ink surface by the pressure of the focused sound beam, and the droplets are separated and fly. As a material of the sound wave focusing means 2, for example, an inorganic material such as glass, an epoxy resin, or the like can be used. Further, the surface of glass or resin may be subjected to surface treatment such as a metal film, a metal oxide film, a nitride film, or a polyolefin resin film to improve durability. The acoustic impedance of the sound wave focusing means 2 is an intermediate value between the acoustic impedance (ZP) of the piezoelectric material used in the sound wave generating means 1 and the acoustic impedance (ZL) of the sound wave transmission unit 3, and the geometric mean (√ (ZP · ZL Close to)) is desirable for efficient propagation of sound waves.

  The phased array head used here is a head described in Patent Document 2, for example. As the driving method, for example, the method described in Patent Document 2 can be adopted.

  The sound wave transmitting unit 3 is a portion where a sound wave generated by the sound wave generating unit 1 and focused by the sound wave focusing unit 2 travels, and is filled with a sound wave transmitting substance. The sound transmission material is preferably a material having a small sound attenuation, for example, a liquid such as water.

  The wall plate 9 constitutes the periphery of the head unit 6 and has a fixed shape that includes the sound wave generation means 1, the sound wave focusing means 2, and the sound wave transmission unit 3. The wall plate 9 may be made of any material, but is preferably made of a material that does not reflect sound waves. Further, the shape of the head unit 6 is a tapered prism in FIG. 1, but the shape is not particularly defined as long as it is larger than the traveling path of the sound wave. The vicinity of the sound wave focusing position 8 of the wall plate 9 is desirably thin so that the sound wave can easily penetrate therethrough.

  Next, the details of the ink supply means 4 will be described.

  The film 41 is a seamless film that is closed in an annular shape, and rotates in contact with a part of the outer periphery of the head unit 6. The thickness of the film 41 is not particularly limited, but the film 41 preferably conforms to the shape of the head unit 6 and is preferably 100 μm or less. Although the material is not particularly specified, polyimide having good solvent resistance is preferable. In addition, when the ink used is limited, the material with better wettability with the ink (the contact angle between the ink and the film is 90 degrees or less) can keep the thickness of the liquid film constant without repelling. More preferred.

  The film 41 is rotated by the driving roller 42. The driving roller 42 is preferably made of rubber because it needs to have a large friction with the film 41 in order to perform stable driving. In order to maintain stable driving, the driving roller 42 needs to have a hardness that does not change its shape during rotation. In order to prevent meandering of the film 41, it is preferable to provide ribs at both ends of the driving roller 42, or to make the driving roller 42 into a drum shape whose central diameter is larger than both end diameters (not shown). Furthermore, it is desirable to round the corners of the head unit 6 or to make the diameter of the drive roller 42 larger than that of the head unit 6 so that the film 41 does not break at the edge of the head unit 6.

  The ink application means 43 applies ink on the film to form an ink layer. Here, a rotating roller is used. The ink application means 43 may have another means for supplying ink to the ink application roller, or the ink application roller may be a porous body so that the ink oozes out from the inside of the roller. In the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, the ink is ejected so that the sound wave focusing position 8 where the sound wave generated by the sound wave generating means 1 is focused corresponds to the ink layer 44 applied on the film 41 by the ink applying means 43. It is configured.

  The viscosity of the ink applied by the ink applying means 43 is preferably a viscosity that does not cause a flow on the film. For example, it is preferably 100 mPa · s or more according to the measurement method specified in the International Reference Material Database (COMAR). If it is less than this, a flow occurs on the film 41 and it becomes difficult to maintain a uniform ink layer 44. For example, liquid silicone rubber (GE Toshiba Silicone: YE5822) or liquid silicone rubber (GE Toshiba Silicone: TSE3033) can also be used as the ink solvent. Both the viscosity of YE5822 and TSE3033 used this time is about 1000 mPa · s, and this viscosity was measured using a viscosity / viscoelasticity measuring apparatus (manufactured by HAAKE: Rheo Stress). In both cases, it was confirmed that a good ink layer 44 could be formed on a polyethylene terephthalate film.

  As the ink collecting means 46, a scraper or the like whose tip is not sharp so as not to damage the film 41 can be used. The scraper or the like is not particularly limited in material, but metal or rubber with low friction is preferable because it cannot be driven stably if the friction with the film 41 is large.

  The ink reusing means 47 collects the ink removed from the film by the ink collecting means 46 and supplies the collected ink to the ink applying means 43 again. Although not shown, the ink recycling unit 47 may perform processing (for example, stirring, additive addition, aggregate impurity filtration) in which the ink collected by the ink collecting unit 46 is stored and not concentrated. The ink reuse means 47 may be a reusable type in which new ink is added to the collected ink.

  3 shows a system in which the ink is collected from the film 41 and reused. However, the ink application means 43 is used to further coat the film 41 with the ink applied without collecting the ink. A new ink layer 44 may be formed and allowed to fly.

  The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured such that the ink-coated film is transported to the sound wave converging position, so that problems such as liquid level fluctuation as described above do not occur. This eliminates the need for a head position adjustment mechanism for coping with liquid level fluctuations, and enables miniaturization. In addition, as described above, an ink thin layer formed by applying a small amount of ink on a film is transported to a sound wave focusing position, so that attenuation of sound waves due to high viscosity ink is reduced and flight can be performed. Problems such as disappearance can be solved, and stable flight is possible. Furthermore, by adjusting the ink applied by the ink application means to a viscosity that does not cause a flow on the film (preferably, 100 mPa · s or more by the measurement method specified in the International Standard Substance Database (COMAR)), Since ink does not flow on the film, the ejection direction can be set to an arbitrary direction (for example, undercoating). Further, by providing an ink collecting means for collecting the ink applied to the film and an ink reusing means for reusing the collected ink, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus with higher ink use efficiency.

[Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the head unit of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment. Portions that are the same as or similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by common reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, an ink layer adjusting unit 45 is further provided that makes the ink layer 44 formed on the film 41 by the ink applying unit 43 uniform. By using the ink layer adjusting means 45, it is possible to stably supply an ink layer having a specified thickness at all times. As the ink layer adjusting unit 45, for example, a rotatable roller that is set apart from the film 41 can be used. Alternatively, a blade or the like that is set apart from the film 41 by the thickness of the ink layer 44 may be used (not shown). The ink layer adjusting means 45 is preferably made of, for example, a fluororesin (for example, Teflon (trade name)) that does not stick to ink regardless of the shape of the roller or blade.

  The ink reuse means 47 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and may or may not be provided.

  In the ink jet device according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, it is possible to always stably supply an ink layer having a specified thickness. For this reason, more stable ink flight is possible.

[Third Embodiment]
A third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the head unit of the third embodiment. 6 to 8 are schematic perspective views showing examples of the arrangement of various ink layers on the film and the arrangement of the scraper, and show examples different from each other.

  The third embodiment is a modification of the second embodiment, and the same or similar parts as those of the second embodiment are denoted by common reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, a plurality of types of ink are applied onto the film 41 by a plurality (three in the example of FIG. 5) of the ink applying means 43a, 43b, 43c. The ink layer adjusting means 45 evenly distributes the ink applied by the ink applying means 43a, 43b, 43c. In the present embodiment, since the ink layer adjusting means 45 is common to the various types of ink layers 44a, 44b, 44c, an elastic body (for example, a blade or a sponge) Although it is preferable to provide a cleaning means (not shown) made of non-woven fabric, a plurality of ink layer adjusting means 45 corresponding to the ink application means 43a, 43b, 43c may be provided.

  The ink collecting means 46 is the same as in the second embodiment, but it is necessary to have the collected ink tanks 48a, 48b, 48c for each ink type in order to reuse the ink. Here, only one ink collecting means (scraper) 46 is mounted in FIG. 5, but the number of ink types may be prepared.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of separate application when three types of ink are used. As shown in FIG. 5, when the ink application means 43a, 43b, and 43c are arranged side by side in the rotational longitudinal direction on the film 41, as shown in FIG. 6, the ink layers 44a, 44b, and 44c corresponding to the respective inks are Each of the films 41 is formed so as to extend in a band shape in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the rotational longitudinal direction). In this case, in order to individually collect the three types of ink, the three collected ink tanks 48a, 48b, and 48c are attached and detached at the same timing. At this time, all of the ink layers 44a, 44b, and 44c can be handled by one scraper 46, but in order to remove the ink adhering to the scraper 46 in time with replacement of the recovered ink tanks 48a, 48b, and 48c. It is preferable to provide a cleaning means (not shown).

  FIG. 7 schematically shows an example different from FIG. 6 in the case of using three types of ink. This is a case where the ink application means 43a, 43b, 43c (FIG. 5) are arranged side by side in the width direction of the film 41. In this case, ink collecting means (scrapers) 46a, 46b, 46c that are adjusted to the respective widths in accordance with the positions of the ink layers 44a, 44b, 44c corresponding to the respective inks are arranged side by side in the width direction, and each scraper 46a, By arranging the collection ink tanks 48a, 48b, 48c in the rotational width direction in accordance with the positions of 46b, 46c, the attachment / detachment movement mechanism for the collection ink tanks 48a, 48b, 48c is unnecessary. For this reason, a structure becomes easy.

  FIG. 8 schematically shows an example of different coating in the case of using three types of inks, different from FIGS. This corresponds to the case where the ink application means 43a, 43b, 43c (FIG. 5) are provided in a grid shape (lattice shape) with respect to the rotation longitudinal direction and the rotation width direction on the film 41. In this case, a means for moving the collected ink tanks 48a, 48b, and 48c is required for collecting the ink, and it is preferable that a cleaning means for the scrapers 46a, 46b, and 46c is provided. In this case, the mechanism is complicated, but the degree of freedom of patterning of the recording material is remarkably increased.

  FIG. 9 is a modification of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5 and shows an example in which a plurality of sets of sound wave generating means 1 and sound wave focusing means 2 are arranged side by side in the rotational longitudinal direction of the film 41. With such a configuration, the printing speed can be improved efficiently. Further, a plurality of sets of the sound wave generating means 1 and the sound wave focusing means 2 may be arranged side by side in the width direction of the film 41 (not shown).

  Here, a system is shown in which the ink is collected from the film 41 and reused. However, in the case of separate coating as shown in FIG. 7, the ink is applied without collecting. The film 41 may be further overcoated by the ink application means 43a, 43b, and 43c to newly form the ink layers 44a, 44b, and 44c and fly.

  In addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment can provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of applying a plurality of colors of ink.

[Fourth Embodiment]
A fourth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the head unit of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. This embodiment is a modification of the third embodiment, and the same or similar parts as those of the third embodiment are denoted by common reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In the third embodiment, the ink layer adjusting means 45 that is common to each type of ink is provided for each ink in the present embodiment. By providing the ink layer adjusting means 45a, 45b, 45c for each ink with an attaching / detaching mechanism, it is possible to avoid mixing impurities into each ink layer without providing a cleaning means.

  In FIG. 10, the number of types of ink (three) of scrapers 46a, 46b, 46c is mounted. However, as a modified example, the scraper is provided with a cleaning means so that only one scraper is mounted. You can also

[Fifth Embodiment]
A fifth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the head unit of the ink jet recording apparatus of the fifth embodiment. The fifth embodiment is a modification of the third or fourth embodiment, and the same or similar parts as those in the third or fourth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. .

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, rollers having a hollow inside and a porous body are used as the ink applying means 43a, 43b, and 43c. The ink is supplied to the inside of the roller and applied to the outer surface of the film 41 so as to ooze out from the roller surface. By providing the ink application roller with an attaching / detaching mechanism, it is possible to control so that the ink is not mixed on the film 41.

  FIG. 11 shows one each of the collected ink tank 48 and one ink collecting means (scraper) 46, but these include a plurality of ink collecting tanks 48 as shown in FIG. There may be a plurality of them.

  Note that the use of a roller having a hollow inside and a porous body as the ink application unit as in this embodiment is not limited to the case of using a plurality of types of ink, and the first or second type Needless to say, it can be used as the ink application means 43 of the embodiment.

  Further, also in this embodiment, the ink layer 44 formed on the film 41 by the ink applying means 43a, 43b, 43c is uniformly formed as in the second embodiment or the fourth embodiment described above. Ink layer adjusting means for leveling may be further provided.

[Sixth Embodiment]
A sixth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the sound wave converging unit of the sixth embodiment. This embodiment is, for example, a modification of the first embodiment. For example, a rectangular opening 30 is formed near the sound wave focusing position 8 of the wall plate 9, and the plate-like porous body 28 is formed so as to cover the opening 30. Has been placed. As the porous body 28, a sponge made of open cells or a porous film can be adopted.

  The sound wave transmitting portion 3 surrounded by the wall plate 9 is filled with a liquid sound wave transmitting material such as water, and the sound wave transmitting material oozes out of the wall plate 9 through the porous body 28 covering the opening 30. The sound transmission material is filled between the outer surface of the wall plate 9 and the inner surface of the film 41. Thereby, it is possible to avoid a state in which an air layer is present in the sound wave transmission path from the sound wave generating means 1 to the inner surface of the film 41 through the sound wave focusing means 2. In addition, when an air layer is interposed in the sound wave transmission path, transmission of sound waves is hindered by the air layer, which is not preferable.

  In this embodiment, since the sound transmission material in the sound transmission unit 3 surrounded by the wall plate 9 is gradually lost to the outside through the porous body 28, a sound transmission unit 3 (not shown) is provided to provide the sound transmission unit 3. It is desirable to be able to replenish the sonic transmission material inside.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to avoid a state in which an air layer is present in the sound wave transmission path, thereby reliably transmitting sound waves to the ink layer 44. Furthermore, the lubricity of the film 41 can be ensured to such an extent that no unnecessary slipping occurs, and the drive accuracy of the ink supply film can be maintained.

[Seventh Embodiment]
A seventh embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the sound wave converging part of the seventh embodiment, and FIG. 14 is a plan view in the direction of arrow XIV in FIG.

  This embodiment is a modification of the sixth embodiment, and, for example, a circular through hole 32 is formed on the sound wave transmission path in the center of the porous body 28. The sound wave transmitting substance is held in the sound wave transmitting part 3 surrounded by the wall plate 9 without flowing out through the through hole 32 due to the capillary force and the surface tension in the porous body 28.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to avoid a state in which an air layer is interposed in the sound wave transmission path from the sound wave generating means 1 through the sound wave focusing means 2 to the inner surface of the film 41, and on the sound wave transmission path that can hinder sound wave transmission. Therefore, the sound wave transmission efficiency can be further improved. Thereby, it is possible to realize ink ejection with a smaller voltage.

[Eighth Embodiment]
With reference to FIG. 15, an eighth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 15 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the sound wave converging portion of the eighth embodiment.

  This embodiment is a modification of the sixth embodiment.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, the position of the opening 30 and the porous body 28 disposed so as to cover the opening 30 is not the sound wave focusing position 8 of the wall plate 9 but the traveling direction of the film 41 (indicated by the arrow 60). On the other hand, it is shifted to the upstream side of the sound wave focusing position 8.

  According to this embodiment, the sound transmission material that has oozed from the porous body 28 forms a liquid film between the outer surface of the porous body 28 and the inner surface of the film 41, and the liquid film is moved to the sound wave focusing position 8 by the movement of the film 41. Since it moves, the state where an air layer intervenes in the sound wave transmission path to the sound wave focusing position 8 can be avoided as in the sixth embodiment.

[Other Embodiments]
Each embodiment described above is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the features of the above embodiment can be combined in various ways. For example, the sixth to eighth embodiments are described as combinations with the features of the first embodiment, but in combination with any of the second to fifth embodiments instead of the first embodiment. Is also possible.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view near the head unit of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a head unit of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a head unit of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention. The typical perspective view which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the various ink layers on the film in 3rd Embodiment, and arrangement | positioning of a scraper. The typical perspective view which shows the example different from FIG. 6 of arrangement | positioning of the various ink layers on the film in 3rd Embodiment, and arrangement | positioning of a scraper. The typical perspective view which shows the example different from FIG. 6, FIG. 7 of arrangement | positioning of the various ink layers on the film in 3rd Embodiment, and arrangement | positioning of a scraper. FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a head unit of a modification of the third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a head unit of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a head unit of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the invention. The expanded sectional view of the vicinity of the sound wave converging part of the sixth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a sound wave converging portion of a seventh embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. The XIV arrow direction plan view of FIG. The expanded sectional view of the vicinity of the sound wave converging part of the eighth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sound wave generation means 2 ... Sound wave focusing means 3 ... Sound wave transmission part 4 ... Ink supply means 6 ... Head unit 8 ... Sound wave focusing position 9 ... Wall board 28 ... Porous body 30 ... Opening 32 ... Through-hole 41 ... Film 42 ... Drive Roller (film drive mechanism)
43, 43a, 43b, 43c ... Ink applying means 44, 44a, 44b, 44c ... Ink layers 45, 45a, 45b, 45c ... Ink layer adjusting means 46, 46a, 46b, 46c ... Ink collecting means (scraper)
47: Ink recycling means 48, 48a, 48b, 48c ... Collected ink tank

Claims (15)

A sound wave generating means for generating a sound wave, a sound wave focusing means for focusing the sound wave generated by the sound wave generating means at a sound wave focusing position, a sound wave transmitting unit for advancing the sound wave exiting the sound wave focusing means, the sound wave generating means, A head unit including the sound wave focusing means and a wall plate containing the sound wave transmission unit;
An annular film that slides and rotates on the outside of the head unit;
A film drive mechanism for rotating the film;
An ink application means for applying an ink on the outer surface of the film to form an ink layer;
An ink collecting means for removing the ink layer remaining on the outer surface of the film that has passed through the acoustic wave focusing position from the film and collecting the ink layer;
Have
The head unit is configured to fly the ink with the sound wave focusing position corresponding to an ink layer applied on the outer surface of the film ,
The film driving mechanism, the ink application means, the sound wave focusing position, and the ink recovery means are arranged in the order in which the annular film rotates.
An ink jet recording apparatus.   Ink layer adjusting means for adjusting the thickness of the ink layer formed on the outer surface of the film between the position where the ink applying means forms the ink layer on the film and the position corresponding to the sound wave focusing position. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an ink reuse unit that supplies the ink collected by the ink collection unit to the ink application unit and reuses the ink . The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the viscosity of the ink applied by the ink applying means is 100 mPa · s or more by a measuring method specified in an international standard substance database . The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film driving mechanism includes a driving roller that drives the film by rotating while being in contact with an inner surface of the film . 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sound wave generating unit includes a piezoelectric body driven by electric power . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink application unit applies a plurality of types of ink to different positions on the outer surface of the film . The ink layer adjusting means includes a plurality of types of ink applied on the film between a position where ink is applied to the film by the ink applying means and a position corresponding to the sound wave focusing position. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the thicknesses of the ink layers are individually adjusted . The means for applying the plurality of types of ink applies the ink such that each type of ink extends in a strip shape along the rotation direction of the film and is juxtaposed. Inkjet recording apparatus. 9. The means for applying the plurality of types of ink applies the ink so that each type of ink extends in a band shape in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the film and is juxtaposed. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to 1. The means for applying the plurality of types of ink applies the ink so that each type of ink is arranged in a lattice pattern in the rotation direction of the film and in a direction perpendicular thereto. The ink jet recording apparatus described. The sonic transmission part is filled with a liquid sonic transmission substance,
An opening is formed in a portion of the wall plate that is in contact with the inner surface of the film, and a porous body is disposed so as to block at least a part of the opening, and the sound transmitting material passes through the wall plate through the opening and Configured to wet the inner surface of the film,
An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the opening is disposed at a position corresponding to the acoustic wave focusing position . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the porous body has a through-hole for facilitating ultrasonic waves at a position corresponding to the sound wave focusing position . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the porous body is disposed on an upstream side of the acoustic wave focusing position with respect to a traveling direction of the film .

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