JP4687371B2 - Tube pump and liquid injection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tube pump for sucking liquid and the like and a liquid ejecting apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet recording apparatuses have an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink onto recording paper or the like. Since this ink jet recording head discharges ink onto recording paper or the like via a nozzle, the ink thickens in the vicinity of the nozzle or bubbles are mixed in the nozzle, making it impossible to discharge the ink satisfactorily. There was a fear.
For this reason, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a head cleaning device in order to avoid these phenomena.

The head cleaning device has a capping unit arranged so as to cover the nozzles and a pump for making negative pressure in the capping unit, and is configured to perform cleaning by sucking ink in the vicinity of the nozzles by the pump. ing.
As the pump, a tube pump having a relatively simple structure and easy to be miniaturized is used (for example, Patent Document 1).
As shown in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, a flexible tube 51 for sucking ink is used for the tube pump 10. And since this flexible tube 51 is bent and arrange | positioned circularly, the flexible tube 51 cross | intersects and is arrange | positioned in part.
The tube pump 10 is provided with a roller 43a as shown in FIG. The roller 43a is arranged so as to crush the flexible tube 51 and is configured to be moved in the direction of arrow A. A negative pressure is generated in the flexible tube 51 by the movement of the roller 43a, and the ink is sucked.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the arrangement state of the roller 43a and the flexible tube 51 as viewed from the side view side of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the roller 43 a is disposed between the pump wheel 42 and the roller guide 55. The pump wheel 42 adjusts the relative position of the roller 43a and the flexible tube 51, and the roller guide 55 guides the rotational position of the roller 43a.
Moreover, the flexible tube 51 is being fixed to the case which is not illustrated above the cross | intersection part of the flexible tube 51 of FIG. 3 of the literature.
That is, only the outer side of the flexible tube 51 is fixed, and the distal end side of the flexible tube 51, which is the lower side of FIG. 3 of the same document, is fixed to the surface of the roller 43a as shown in FIG. It is arranged without.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-349452 (FIG. 3 etc.)

The distal end portion (left side in FIG. 5) of the flexible tube 51 in FIG. 5 is placed at a position farthest from the fixed side of the flexible tube 51. In this state, when the flexible tube 51 is crushed by the roller 43a, the position of the tip of the flexible tube 51 changes along the direction of the arrow U in FIG.
Furthermore, when the flexible tube 51 moves in the vertical direction of the arrow U, it finally reaches the positions of U1 and U2, which are the corners of the roller 43a in FIG.
In this case, there is a problem that the roller 43a is detached from the flexible tube 51, and the flexible tube 51 cannot be sufficiently crushed, causing a suction failure.
Further, the flexible tube 51 may be disposed so as to stick to the lower surface of the roller guide 55 in FIG. 5 or the upper surface of the pump wheel 42.
In this case, there is a problem that even if the flexible tube 51 is crushed by the roller 43a, the roller guide 55 or the like gets in the way and cannot be crushed sufficiently, which also causes a suction failure.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a tube pump and a liquid ejecting apparatus in which a suction failure or the like hardly occurs by arranging a tube portion such as a tube at an appropriate position with respect to a contact portion such as a roller.

  According to the present invention, the problem is that the tube portion that sucks the liquid, the tube support portion that supports the tube portion, and the tube portion that is supported by the tube support portion are arranged so as to be movable. A tube pump having a contact portion, the tube portion having a single elongated shape integrally formed, and a suction opening for sucking liquid or a liquid being discharged at both ends thereof A discharge opening portion is formed, and a contact portion moving region is formed between the suction opening portion and the discharge opening portion. A suction side supported portion and a discharge side supported portion supported by the tube support portion are formed on the suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube portion, and the suction side supported portion and the The discharge side supported part is The tube support part is supported in a bent state, and the direction in which the suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are bent is a direction intersecting the virtual arrangement surface of the contact part moving region, and The suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part bent by the suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are extended toward opposite sides with respect to the virtual arrangement surface. This is achieved by a tube pump characterized by having a configuration.

According to the said structure, the suction side supported part and discharge side supported part of a tube part are supported in a bent state in a tube support part. In this state, the contact portion moves along the contact portion movement region of the tube portion so as to crush the tube, for example.
At this time, for example, among the tube portions that are crushed by the abutting portion, the tip portion that is a portion disposed at a position separated from the suction-side supported portion and the discharge-side supported portion of the tube portion, Was configured to move greatly.
However, in the invention of this claim, the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion of the tube are supported in a bent state in the tube support portion, and the direction in which the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion are bent is determined. The suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part bent by the suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are virtually arranged in a direction intersecting the virtual arrangement surface of the contact part moving region. It is the structure extended | stretched toward the mutually opposite side on the basis of a surface.
That is, when the tube abutting portion moving area is arranged in the horizontal direction, for example, and the portion arranged in the horizontal direction is a virtual arrangement surface, the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion of the tube The direction in which is bent is a direction intersecting the horizontal direction, for example, a substantially vertical direction.
Furthermore, the direction in which the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion of the tube are bent is, for example, arranged in the horizontal direction and extended toward opposite sides with respect to the virtual arrangement surface.
That is, for example, the suction side supported part side is arranged upward in the substantially vertical direction, while the discharge side supported part side is arranged in the substantially vertical downward direction.

In this way, when the suction side supported portion of the tube is bent and arranged, for example, upward in the substantially vertical direction, the tube portion arranged in the horizontal direction connected to the suction side supported portion is arranged. A force that moves downward in a substantially vertical direction is applied to the contact portion moving region.
On the other hand, if the discharge-side supported portion of the tube is bent and disposed, for example, in a substantially vertical downward direction, the tube portion disposed in the horizontal direction connected to the discharge-side supported portion is contacted. On the other hand, a force that moves upward in a substantially vertical direction acts on the contact portion moving region.
Therefore, for example, both an upward force and a downward force in a substantially vertical direction are applied to the contact portion movement region, so that the contact portion moves independently and stops.
For this reason, even if the abutting portion moves in the abutting portion moving area and the tube portion is moved so as to be crushed, for example, force is applied to the abutting portion moving area, so that the tip thereof Even a part or the like does not move greatly (for example, in a substantially vertical direction).
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the abutting part cannot correctly crush the tube part by moving the tube part greatly and coming off from the abutting part or abutting on a nearby part. it can. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the suction failure of the tube pump from occurring.

  Preferably, the suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube portion bent by the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion are both arranged on the same substantially straight line. It is the tube pump characterized by having it.

According to the above configuration, the suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube portion bent at the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion are both arranged on the same substantially straight line. .
That is, the direction (vector) of the force acting on the contact portion moving area due to the bending of the suction side supported portion and the direction of the force (vector) acting on the contact portion moving region due to the bending of the discharge side supported portion are approximately 180. Because the directions are different from each other in degrees (degrees), the forces are antagonized in the contact portion moving region, and can be more stable and independent.

  Preferably, in the tube pump, the tube support portion is formed in a case portion.

  According to the said structure, since the tube support part is formed in the case part, it is not necessary to form a tube support part separately, and manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, the problem is that the tube portion that sucks the liquid, the tube support portion that supports the tube portion, and the tube portion that is supported by the tube support portion are arranged so as to be movable. A liquid ejecting apparatus having a tube pump having a contact portion, wherein the tube portion of the tube pump is formed in a single elongated shape, and a liquid is supplied to both end sides thereof. A suction opening for sucking or a discharge opening for discharging the liquid is formed, and a contact portion for urging the tube to move is moved between the suction opening and the discharge opening. A contact portion moving region is formed, and the suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part are formed with a suction side supported part and a discharge side supported part supported by the tube support part, Suction The supported portion and the discharge side supported portion are supported in a bent state in the tube support portion, and the direction in which the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion are bent is a virtual arrangement of the contact portion moving region. The suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part bent at the suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are in a direction intersecting the surface, This is achieved by a liquid ejecting apparatus that is configured to extend toward opposite sides with respect to a reference.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “recording apparatus”) 10 according to an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus having a tube pump of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 10 includes a frame 11, and a platen 12 is disposed on the frame 11. On the platen 12, the paper P is fed by a paper feed mechanism (not shown).
Further, the recording apparatus 10 includes a carriage 13, and the carriage 13 is supported so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the platen 12 via a guide member 14, and is reciprocated by a carriage motor 15 via a timing belt 16. It has become.

An ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as “recording head”) 20 is mounted on the lower portion of the carriage 13. The recording head 20 is configured to eject, for example, ink that is a liquid with respect to the paper P.
Specifically, the recording head 20 has a nozzle that ejects ink, and is configured to eject ink droplets from the nozzle by expansion and contraction of a piezoelectric vibrator.
An ink cartridge 17 that contains ink is detachably mounted on the carriage 13, and the ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 17 to the recording head 20.
In other words, while the carriage 13 moves along the platen 12, the piezoelectric vibrator is expanded and contracted based on the print data, so that ink is ejected from the recording head 20 onto the paper P and printing is performed. ing.

In the frame 11 of FIG. 1, the paper P is arranged and has a print region T where printing is performed on the paper P. Further, the frame 11 has a home position H which is a non-printing area on one end side thereof.
The carriage 13 is configured to move between the printing region T and the home position H by moving along the platen 12.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a head cleaning mechanism 30 is disposed at the home position H. The head cleaning mechanism 30 has a cap holder 31 and a tube pump 100. The cap holder 31 is installed on the frame 11 so as to be movable up and down by a known lifting means (not shown).

  The head cleaning mechanism 30 has a cap 32. The cap 32 has a configuration in which the upper end edge of the cap 32 comes into contact with the nozzle plate or the like of the recording head 20 to seal the nozzles of the recording head 20.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 10 includes a blade 19. The blade 19 is in contact with the nozzle plate of the recording head 20 and performs a wiping operation by wiping off ink.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the head cleaning mechanism 30 and the like of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a sheet-like sponge 32 a is disposed at the bottom of the cap 32. The sponge 32a is configured to face the nozzles of the recording head 20 with a predetermined interval in a state where the cap 32 is in contact with the recording head 20, and absorb ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 20. .

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the cap 32 is formed with a discharge port 32b so as to penetrate the bottom surface thereof.
The tube pump 100 is provided in the frame 11 with the cap 32 sealing the nozzles of the recording head 20, reducing the pressure in the cap 32 to a negative pressure, and sucking ink from the nozzles of the recording head 20. The ink is discharged to the waste ink tank 33.

3 and 4 are schematic views showing the main configuration of the tube pump 100. FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the tube pump 100 includes, for example, a tube 110 that is a tube portion that sucks ink.
As shown in FIG. 3, the tube 110 is integrally formed of rubber, resin, or the like, and has a single long shape. Further, at both ends of the tube 110, for example, a cap-side opening 111 that is a suction opening for sucking ink and a waste ink tank-side opening 112 that is a discharge opening for discharging ink are formed. .
Further, between the cap-side opening 111 and the waste ink tank-side opening 112, there is a roller moving portion 114 that moves, for example, a roller 130, which is a contact portion that prompts the tube 110 to move ink. .
That is, the roller moving part 114 is an example of a contact part moving region.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tube pump 100 has a case 120 for arranging the tube 110.
In the case 120, two tube support portions 121a and 121b for supporting the tube 110 are formed.
A suction side supported portion 113a which is the cap side opening 111 side of the tube 110 is supported by the tube support portion 121a which is one of these tube support portions.
Further, the discharge side supported portion 113b which is the waste ink tank side opening 112 side of the tube 110 is supported by the tube support portion 121b which is the other side of the tube support portion.

Further, the suction side supported portion 113a and the discharge side supported portion 113b of FIG. 3 are supported in a bent state at the tube support portions 121a and 121b as shown in FIG.
Also, the direction in which the suction side supported portion 113a and the discharge side supported portion 113b in FIG. 4 are bent intersects with the virtual arrangement plane V on which the roller moving portion 114 is arranged, as shown in FIG. It is the up and down direction.
Further, the cap side opening 111 side and the waste ink tank side opening 112 side of the tube 110 bent by the suction side supported portion 113a and the discharge side supported portion 113b in FIG. It is arranged toward the side.
That is, the cap-side opening 111 side of the tube 110 is arranged upward in the figure, and the waste ink tank-side opening 112 side of the tube 110 is arranged downward in the figure.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the cap-side opening 111 side and the waste ink tank-side opening 112 of the tube 110 bent by the suction-side supported portion 113a and the discharge-side supported portion 113b of FIG. Both sides are arranged on the same substantially straight line (virtual straight line indicated by S in the figure).

By the way, as shown in FIG.3 and FIG.4, in this Embodiment, when the suction side supported part 113a and the discharge side supported part 113b of the tube 110 are respectively supported by the tube support parts 121a and 121b, The roller moving portion 114 of the tube 110 arranged in the 120 is arranged in a substantially circular shape.
The roller 130 moves along the roller moving unit 114.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the roller 130 is locked via a roller shaft 131 to a pump wheel 140 that is rotated by a motor. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the roller 130 can move in the direction of the arrow L or the arrow R along the tube 110 by the rotation of the pump wheel 140.
In addition, a roller shaft groove 141 is formed in the pump wheel 140. The roller shaft groove 141 has a suction position 141a at which the roller 130 is pressed against the tube 110, that is, the roller 130 crushes the tube 110, and a release position 141b at which the roller 130 does not crush the tube 110. Have.

The pump wheel 140 is configured to rotate so that the roller 130 is disposed at the suction position 141a or the release position 141b of the roller shaft groove 141.
Specifically, when the pump wheel 140 rotates in the direction of the arrow R in FIG. 3, the roller 130 is disposed at the release position 141b of the roller shaft groove 141 and does not crush the tube 110, in other words, the tube pump 100. Will not suck ink.
On the other hand, when the pump wheel 140 rotates in the direction of the arrow L in FIG. 3, the roller 130 is disposed at the suction position 141a of the roller shaft groove 141, and the tube 110 is crushed so that the tube pump 100 sucks ink.

The recording apparatus 10 having the tube pump 100 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. For this reason, the following effects and the like are exhibited.
First, when the pump wheel 140 rotates in the direction of arrow L in FIG. 3, the roller 130 is disposed at the suction position 141a of the roller shaft groove 141, and the tube 110 is crushed.
When the pump foil 140 further rotates in the arrow L direction in this state, the tube pump 100 starts to suck ink.
At this time, the distal end portion 115 of the roller moving portion 114 of the tube 110 farthest from the suction-side supported portion 113a and the discharge-side supported portion 113b of the tube 110 in FIG. 4 is from the position where the tube 110 is supported. Since the roller 130 is farthest away, the roller 130 is easily moved in the direction of arrow Z in FIG. 4, and as shown in FIG. 5, the tube 51 may move greatly until it reaches a position such as U1.
In this case, the distal end portion of the tube 51 can move easily and reaches the position U1 in FIG. 5, the suction of the tube 51 by the roller 43a becomes insufficient, and the suction of the tube pump is likely to occur.

However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the suction-side supported portion 113 a and the discharge-side supported portion 113 b of the tube 110 are supported in a bent state at the tube support portions 121 a and 121 b of the case 120, The direction in which the side supported portion 113a and the discharge side supported portion 113b are bent is a direction that intersects the virtual arrangement plane V.
In addition, the bending direction of the suction side supported portion 113a is upward with respect to the virtual arrangement surface V, while the bending direction of the discharge side supported portion 112 is downward with respect to the virtual arrangement surface V. It has become a direction.
In this way, when the suction side supported portion 113a of the tube 110 is arranged upward, the roller moving portion 114 in FIG. 4 connected to the suction side supported portion 113a is moved downward. Power works.
On the other hand, when the discharge side supported portion 113b of the tube 110 is arranged downward, a force to move upward acts on the roller moving portion 114 connected to the discharge side supported portion 113b.

Thus, the roller moving unit 114 is self-supported and stopped at a position where the forces are antagonized because both the upward and downward forces are applied to the roller moving unit 114.
For this reason, even if the roller 130 moves along the roller moving portion 114 and crushes the tube 110, the roller moving portion 114 is self-supporting due to the force applied. It does not move greatly in the Z direction in FIG.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tip end portion 115 of the roller moving portion 114 from greatly moving in the Z direction and coming off the roller 130.
Further, when the tip portion 115 moves, the other part of the tube 110 comes into contact with the upper surface of the pump wheel 140 and the lower surface of the roller guide 150 in the vicinity, and the tube 110 cannot be correctly crushed by the roller 130. The situation can also be prevented.
For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the suction failure etc. of the tube pump 100 can also be prevented beforehand.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an increase in the sliding load of the tube pump 100 caused by the deterioration of the posture of the tube 110 with respect to the roller 130 can be suppressed.
Moreover, since the generation | occurrence | production of the noise which arises by the deterioration of the attitude | position of the tube 110 with respect to the roller 130 can be prevented, the noise reduction and vibration reduction of the tube pump 100 can be achieved.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the cap side opening 111 side and the waste ink tank side opening 112 side of the tube 110 bent by the suction side supported portion 113a and the discharge side supported portion 113b are both They are arranged on the same substantially straight line S.
That is, the suction-side supported portion 113a is bent upward and the direction (vector) of the force acting on the roller moving portion 114 connected to the suction-side supported portion 113a, and the discharge-side supported portion 113b is bent downward and connected thereto. Since the direction (vector) of the force acting on the roller moving unit 114 is opposite in direction, which is approximately 180 ° (degrees), the force is antagonized at the roller moving unit 114, particularly the tip portion 115, so that it can be more stable and independent. .

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, since tube support part 121a, 121b is formed in case 120, it is not necessary to form tube support part 121a, 121b separately, and can reduce the manufacturing cost of the tube pump 100. it can.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The present invention is not limited to an ink jet recording apparatus, but a recording head used in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a color material ejecting head used in manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and an FED (surface emitting). Electrode material ejection heads used for electrode formation such as displays), liquid ejection devices using liquid ejection heads that eject liquids such as bio-organic matter ejection heads used in biochip manufacturing, sample ejection devices as precision pipettes, etc. Applicable.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus having a tube pump of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the head cleaning mechanism etc. of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the main structures of a tube pump. It is another schematic diagram which shows the main structures of a tube pump. It is the schematic which looked at the arrangement state of a roller and a flexible tube from the side view side of FIG. 3 of the literature.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet recording apparatus, 30 ... Head cleaning mechanism, 100 ... Tube pump, 110 ... Tube, 111 ... Cap side opening, 112 ... Waste ink tank side opening, 113a ..Suction side supported portion, 113b... Discharge side supported portion, 114... Roller moving portion, 115... Tip portion, 120 .. case, 121a, 121b. ... Roller, 140 ... Pump wheel, 141 ... Roller shaft groove, 141a ... Suction position, 141b ... Release position, 150 ... Roller guide

Claims (4)

A tube section for sucking liquid;
A tube support portion for supporting the tube portion;
A tube pump having a contact portion that is movably disposed along the tube portion supported by the tube support portion;
The tube portion is formed in a single elongated shape integrally formed, and at both ends thereof, a suction opening for sucking liquid or a discharge opening for discharging liquid is formed,
Between the suction opening and the discharge opening, a contact portion moving region is formed in which a contact portion that promotes the movement of liquid with respect to the tube portion moves.
A suction side supported portion and a discharge side supported portion supported by the tube support portion are formed on the suction opening portion side and the discharge opening portion side of the tube portion, and
The suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are supported in a bent state in the tube support part,
The direction in which the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion are bent is a direction intersecting the virtual arrangement surface of the contact portion moving region,
The suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part bent at the suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are extended toward opposite sides with respect to the virtual arrangement surface. A tube pump characterized by having a structure.   The suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part bent at the suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are both arranged on the same substantially straight line. The tube pump according to claim 1.   The tube pump according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tube support portion is formed in a case portion. A tube section for sucking liquid;
A tube support portion for supporting the tube portion;
A liquid ejecting apparatus having a tube pump having a contact portion movably disposed along the tube portion supported by the tube support portion;
The tube portion of the tube pump is formed in a single elongated shape integrally formed, and at both ends thereof, a suction opening for sucking liquid or a discharge opening for discharging liquid is formed.
Between the suction opening and the discharge opening, a contact portion moving region is formed in which a contact portion that promotes the movement of liquid with respect to the tube portion moves.
The suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part are formed with a suction side supported part and a discharge side supported part supported by the tube support part,
The suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are supported in a bent state in the tube support part,
The direction in which the suction side supported portion and the discharge side supported portion are bent is a direction intersecting the virtual arrangement surface of the contact portion moving region,
The suction opening side and the discharge opening side of the tube part bent at the suction side supported part and the discharge side supported part are extended toward opposite sides with respect to the virtual arrangement surface. A liquid ejecting apparatus having the structure described above.

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