JP5049755B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium such as paper in a recording apparatus such as a facsimile, a copying machine, and a printer.

  Recording apparatuses such as facsimiles, copiers, and printers are configured to record images on recording media such as paper, cloth, and OHP sheets. However, depending on the recording method, inkjet, wire dot, thermal It can be classified into formulas and the like. These recording methods can be further classified into a serial type in which recording is performed while the recording head scans the recording medium, and a line head type in which recording is performed by a recording head fixed to the apparatus main body.

  For example, in a line head type ink jet recording apparatus, each of the line heads having a recording area equal to or larger than the width of the recording medium while conveying the recording medium such as paper at a high speed by a conveying means such as a conveying belt provided in the apparatus main body. An image is formed on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the ink ejection nozzle. This enables high-speed printing as compared with a serial type ink jet head in which the recording head reciprocates in the width direction of the recording medium.

  In such an ink jet printer, generally, the recording head may be capped to prevent the ink discharge nozzles of the recording head from drying or clogging. In addition, the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface may be wiped off after the ink is ejected before the recording head is capped. As described above, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose an ink jet recording apparatus in which an ink discharge surface is wiped off and a cap is attached to a recording head.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 provides a cap unit that can move relatively with respect to a recording head having a nozzle formation surface in which a plurality of nozzle holes for ejecting ink droplets are formed in substantially the same plane. Forming an ink removing member provided along the row direction of the nozzle holes for removing the ink adhering to the nozzle forming surface, and a recovery port for collecting the ink removed by the ink removing member and forming the nozzle A method of recovering the function of a recording head having a short distance between nozzle rows with a simple configuration is disclosed by providing a cap member that covers the surface. In Patent Document 1, an elastic member (wiping member) for wiping the nozzle forming surface is provided.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 removes ink discharged from the ejection ports of the ejection port array of the recording head, and removes ink and wipes corresponding to a plurality of ejection port arrays (wiping member) for cleaning the ejection port surface. And a cap means for sealing the ejection port surface of the head in the area outside the ink removing and wiping means, so that the recovery operation by multiple wiping can be maintained and recovered in a simple sequence in a short time. A method for improving the long-term reliability against thickening is disclosed.
JP 2004-104433 A JP 2004-160760 A

  By collecting the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface at the tip of the nozzle by the wiping member in this way, it becomes possible to eject ink stably in preparation for the next printing. However, if the recovered ink attached to the wiping member is left unattended, the attached ink will be concentrated by drying etc. until the next wiping, and if the ink discharge surface is wiped again, the highly viscous ink attached to the wiping member May adhere to the head, cause nozzle clogging, and hinder stable ink ejection.

  In addition, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the cap and the wiping member are separately configured, the number of members increases, and the apparatus may be complicated or enlarged.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of wiping the cap of the recording head and the ink ejection surface of the head with a simple configuration without using a complicated mechanism or the like. To do.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a recording head having an ink ejection surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting ink on a recording medium, a recording head support for supporting the recording head, and a detachable attachment to the recording head. And a cap that covers the ink discharge surface. The cap has at least a first direction substantially perpendicular to the ink discharge surface and a first direction substantially parallel to the ink discharge surface. 2 and is capable of moving relative to the recording head support portion when the cap is relatively moved in the first direction and attached to the recording head. A contact member is provided, and the contact member is a wiping member capable of wiping off ink adhering to the ink ejection surface when the cap is relatively moved in the second direction. It is characterized by having taken part.

  Further, according to the present invention, the recording head support portion has a cleaning portion capable of removing the ink adhering to the wiping portion by sliding on the wiping portion by moving the cap in the first direction. It is characterized by being provided.

  Further, the invention is characterized in that the cleaning unit is made of an ink absorbing material that absorbs ink adhering to the wiping unit.

  According to the first configuration of the present invention, when the cap is attached to the opening end of the cap detachably attached to the recording head by the relative movement of the cap in the first direction, the contact comes into contact with the support portion of the recording head. By providing a member, and the corresponding contact member has a wiping portion that can wipe off ink adhering to the ink ejection surface by the relative movement of the cap in the second direction, the increase in the number of members is prevented and the apparatus is complicated. In addition, it is possible to prevent nozzle clogging due to drying of the ink discharge surface of the recording head and to wipe off ink adhering to the ink discharge surface with a simple configuration.

  According to the second configuration of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus having the first configuration, the recording head support portion is rubbed against the wiping portion by the relative movement of the cap in the first direction, and the wiping portion is By providing the cleaning unit capable of removing the adhered ink, the ink wiped off by the wiping unit by the mounting operation of the cap can be scraped off. Accordingly, the wiping member can be cleaned with a simple configuration without using a complicated mechanism, and problems such as clogging of the recording head can be prevented when the wiped ink adheres again to the recording head.

  According to the third configuration of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus having the first or second configuration, the cleaning unit is an ink absorbing material capable of absorbing ink, so that the ink wiped by the wiping unit is discarded. This eliminates the need for a member or the like, and can further prevent complication of the apparatus configuration, which is simple.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional front view showing a schematic structure of an ink jet printer as an example of an ink jet recording apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged front view showing the periphery of a recording unit and a conveyance unit of the printer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feed cassette 3 that is a paper storage unit is disposed below the inside of the main body 2 of the printer 1. The paper P is stacked and accommodated inside the paper feed cassette 3. A paper feeding device 4 is disposed above the downstream portion of the paper feeding cassette 3 in the paper conveyance direction. The sheet feeding device 4 feeds the sheet P toward the upper right of the sheet feeding cassette 3 in FIG.

  A paper transport path 5, a registration roller 6, a recording unit 20, and a transport unit 30 are arranged downstream of the paper feed cassette 3 in the paper transport direction. The paper P sent out from the paper feed cassette 3 reaches the registration roller 6 through the paper transport path 5. The registration roller 6 corrects the oblique feeding of the paper P and feeds the paper P again. The registration roller 6 feeds the paper P again by a paper leading edge detection member (not shown) provided in the paper conveyance path 5 between the recording unit 20 and the registration roller 6. The recording unit 20 executes an ink ejection operation at a timing based on the detection. Note that a pair of transport rollers for transporting the paper P may be provided in the paper transport path 5 as necessary.

  The transport unit 30 includes an endless transport belt 31 wound around a driving roller 32, a driven roller 33, and a tension roller 34. The conveyor belt 31 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. The paper P sent out by the registration rollers 6 is placed on the upper surface of the transport belt 31 and is transported from right to left in FIG. For the conveyor belt 31, a belt in which both end portions are overlapped and joined to each other to form an endless shape, a seamless belt (seamless), or the like is preferably used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an air suction unit 35 is provided inside the transport unit 30 and at a location facing the recording unit 20. The air suction unit 35 includes a large number of air suction holes (not shown) on the upper surface thereof. The transport unit 30 can suck air downward from the upper surface by the air suction unit 35. The conveyor belt 31 is also provided with a number of air suction holes (not shown). Accordingly, the transport unit 30 transports the paper P while adsorbing the paper P to the upper surface of the transport belt 31 using the transport belt 31 and the air suction unit 35.

  On the other hand, the printer 1 receives image data signals such as characters, graphics, and patterns from an external computer (not shown). The image data information is sent to the recording unit 20 disposed above the transport unit 30 so as to face the transport unit 30. The recording unit 20 is disposed with a minute gap (for example, 1 mm) between the bottom surface on which the tip of the recording head 22 (see FIG. 2) is disposed and the sheet conveyance surface that is the upper surface of the conveyance belt 31.

  The recording unit 20 includes a total of twelve recording heads 22 for four colors corresponding to each color (see FIG. 3). The recording heads 22 extend in the paper width direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction, and are arranged side by side from the upstream side to the downstream side in the rotation direction along the rotation direction of the conveyance belt 31 as shown in FIG. Has been. The recording heads 22 corresponding to the four colors are a black recording head 22K, a cyan recording head 22C, a magenta recording head 22M, and a yellow recording head 22Y in this order from the upstream side.

  Corresponding to the recording heads 22 for the respective colors, four ink tanks 23 are provided below the transport unit 30. The ink of each color is supplied from the ink tank 23 to the recording head 22 by a supply tube (not shown). In the following description, the identification symbols “K”, “C”, “M”, and “Y” are omitted unless particularly limited.

  The ink ejection method of the recording head 22 includes, for example, a piezo method that pushes out ink using a piezo element (not shown), a thermal ink jet method that generates air bubbles by a heating element, and ejects ink by applying pressure. Various methods can be applied.

  Each recording head 22 of the recording unit 20 discharges ink from the recording head 22 toward the paper P placed on the surface of the conveyance belt 31 in accordance with the image data information received from the external computer. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 22 is supported by a recording head support portion 21 having a substantially rectangular plate shape. As the conveyance belt 31 rotates, ink of each color is sequentially ejected from each recording head 22 at a predetermined timing, so that the paper P on the surface of the conveyance belt 31 has four colors of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. A color ink image in which the ink is superimposed is formed and printed.

  A drying device 7 is disposed downstream of the transport unit 30 in the paper transport direction. The ink ejected from the recording device 20 onto the paper P is dried by the drying device 7.

  A discharge roller 8, a discharge port 9, and a discharge tray 10 are provided downstream of the drying device 7. The paper P on which the ink printed by the drying device 7 has been dried is sent to the left by the discharge roller 8, and discharged to the outside through the discharge port 9 in the discharge tray 10 provided outside the left side surface of the main body 2. Is done.

  Regarding prevention of drying and clogging of the recording head 22, all the recording heads 22 start printing after the recording unit 20 has been stopped for a long time, and the recording head 22 has an ink ejection amount of a predetermined value or less between printing operations. The ink having a high viscosity in the nozzle is ejected from the nozzle to prepare for the next printing operation. At this time, the cap 51 is brought close to the recording head 22 with a minute distance, and the ink is ejected into the cap 51.

  Next, a schematic configuration and operation of the cap unit 50 that includes the cap 51 and attaches / detaches the cap 51 to / from the recording head 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 in addition to FIGS. . FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged top view showing the periphery of the transport unit, the recording apparatus, and the cap unit. In FIG. 2, drawing of the horizontal movement mechanism 72 of the cap unit 50 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cap unit 50 is provided below the recording unit 20. The cap unit 50 includes a cap 51, a cap base member 52, a horizontal movement mechanism 72 (see FIG. 9), and a vertical drive mechanism (not shown).

  A total of twelve caps 51 are provided, three for each color, corresponding to the recording heads 22 arranged for each color along the paper conveyance direction and further arranged three by three in the paper width direction. (See FIG. 3). The cap 51 is a lid-like member that is large enough to cover the ink ejection surface 22a of the recording head 22 so that it does not come into contact with outside air, has an open portion on the upper side, and has a concave portion directed downward. The cap 51 is attached to the bottom surface of the recording head 22 from below while covering the recording head 22.

  Although details of the cap 51 and the horizontal movement mechanism 72 will be described later, the cap unit 50 moves horizontally from the cap position to the standby position during recording, and when the recording head 22 is covered, the cap unit 50 moves from the standby position to the cap position. The cap 51 is put on the recording head 22 after moving horizontally. Further, during recording, the cap unit 50 is lowered so that the cap 51 is detached from the recording head 22 and moved to the standby position. The cap unit 50 can be moved up and down by a vertical drive mechanism. As the vertical drive mechanism, for example, a mechanism for driving cams or the like arranged at four corners synchronously is used.

  4, 5, and 6 are cross-sectional views of the recording head and the cap as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the wiping portion of the cap wipes the ink discharge surface of the recording head, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the recording head is sealed with the cap.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the recording head 22 protrudes downward from the recording head support portion 21, and the cleaning portion 63 b is located on the downstream side (left side in the drawing) of the recording head support portion 21 in the paper conveyance direction. Projected to A contact member 61 is provided at the opening end of the cap 51.

  The contact member 61 is made of an elastic material, seals the recording head 22 by contacting the recording head support portion 21, and wipes the ink discharge surface 22a of the recording head 22. The cap 51 is raised. When the cap 51a contacts the recording head support 21 and the cap 51 moves horizontally, the wiping portion 61b can wipe the ink discharge surface 22a of the recording head 22 as shown in FIG. ing.

  As will be described later, the wiping portion 61b can come into contact with the cleaning portion 63 of the recording head support portion 21 from the downstream side (left side in the drawing) in the paper transport direction. In addition, the cap portion 61 a can seal (cap) the recording head 22 by the cap portion 61 a contacting the recording head support portion 21 and the wiping portion 61 b contacting the cleaning portion 63.

  By forming the contact member 61 from an elastic material, the cap 51 moves in the horizontal direction due to its elastic force, and when the wiping portion 61b wipes the ink discharge surface 22a of the recording head 22, it contacts the discharge surface 22a. When the cap 51 seals the recording head 22, the cap 51 comes into contact with the cleaning unit 63 to bend and tilt. After the wiping is completed and the cap 51 is detached from the recording head support unit 21, the cap 51 stands up. It is supposed to be.

  The contact member 61 is preferably made of a material that does not damage the tip of the recording head 22. As such a contact member 61, for example, rubber or the like can be used, but is not particularly limited thereto. In addition, an ink discharge port 51 a is provided on the bottom surface of the cap 51 so that the wiped ink or the ink discharged by the preliminary discharge can be discharged out of the cap 51.

  On the other hand, on the lower surface of the recording head support portion 21, a cleaning portion 63 protrudes at a position where the wiping portion 61 a can be brought into contact with the wiping portion 61 a from the upstream side in the paper transport direction when the cap is attached and detached. Yes. The cleaning unit 63 has a trapezoidal shape when viewed from the side, a vertical surface portion 63a substantially perpendicular to the recording head support portion 21, an inclined surface portion 63b formed obliquely toward the tip on the opposite side to the recording head 22, and a substantially horizontal surface. The bottom surface 63c is formed.

  When the cap 51 is in the cap position, the tangent line formed by the inclined surface portion 63b and the bottom surface portion 63c is disposed at substantially the same position as the inner surface of the wiping portion 61b. The tip is brought into contact with the inclined surface portion 63b after contact with the bottom surface portion 63c or without contact with the bottom surface portion 63c. Such an arrangement position is not particularly limited as long as the wiping portion 61b can come into contact with the inclined surface portion 63b of the cleaning portion 63 when the cap 51 is attached.

  When the cap 51 is raised, the tip of the wiping portion 61b comes into contact with the inclined surface portion 63b. When the cap 51 is further raised, as shown in FIG. 6, the wiping portion 61 b is bent and the inner surface comes into contact with the inclined surface portion 63 b, and stops at a position where the cap portion 61 a comes into contact with the lower surface of the recording head support portion 21. At this time, the ink wiping surface of the wiping portion 61b is in contact with the inclined surface portion 63b.

  Thus, the recording head 22 can be hermetically sealed by the cap portion 61a and the wiping portion 61b coming into contact with the lower surface of the recording head support portion 21 and the cleaning portion 63.

  The cleaning unit 63 may be made of resin, metal, or the like, but the material of the cleaning unit 63 is not particularly limited as long as the ink can be rubbed off from the wiping unit 61b. An ink absorbing material can also be used as the cleaning unit 63. As the ink absorbing material, an elastic material having fine open cells capable of absorbing and holding ink can be used. For example, urethane foam made of a continuous foam made of polyurethane can be used.

  Thus, as a resin which consists of a continuous foam, a polyurethane-made continuous foam (urethane foam) can be used, for example. By using the ink absorbing material, the ink can be rubbed off from the wiping portion 61b and the rubbed ink can be absorbed. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the cap 51 with a mechanism for discarding the rubbed ink. it can. When the amount of ink absorbed by the ink absorbing material increases and the ink absorption effect decreases, it is simple because only the cleaning unit 63 needs to be replaced.

  Then, the recording head 22 can be wiped by the wiping portion 61b by moving the cap 51 from the predetermined position in the horizontal direction. By mounting the cap 51 on the recording head 22, the recording head 22 is capped and cleaned. The ink adhering to the wiping portion 61b can be scraped off by the portion 63. The movement operation of the cap 51 at this time will be described below. First, in order to secure a work space for attaching / detaching the cap 51 between the recording head 22 and the cap 51, the transport unit 30 is lowered and retracted from the recording head 22.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a lifting device 40 for the transport unit 30 is provided below the transport unit 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the lifting device 40 includes an eccentric cam 41 and a motor (not shown). The detailed configuration of the lifting device 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 in addition to FIG. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged front view showing the lifting device and its surroundings, FIG. 7A is a diagram showing the state of the lifting device when the transport unit is raised, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state of the raising / lowering apparatus when a unit descend | falls. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged front view showing the periphery of the recording unit and the transport unit similar to FIG. 2, and shows a state in which the cap is moved below the recording unit.

  In order to prevent the recording head 22 from being dried and clogged, the lifting device 40 lifts and lowers the transport unit 30 to form a space for attaching and detaching the cap 51 when the cap 51 (see FIG. 2) is attached to the recording head 22. Let A total of four eccentric cams 41 are provided at locations corresponding to the four support members 50 provided on the front surface and the back surface of the transport unit 30, and the outer peripheral surface of the transport unit 30 is applied to the outer bottom surface of the transport unit 30 from below. Touch.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the eccentric cam 41 includes a shaft portion 42 that extends in the paper width direction, and is configured by a cam in which the rotational axis is unevenly distributed. The eccentric cam 41 is rotated by a motor around the axis of the shaft portion 42. In addition, a bearing 43 that is a plurality of rotating members is provided on the peripheral edge of the eccentric cam 41 so that a part of the eccentric cam 41 protrudes outward.

  The bearing 43 is rotatable about an axis parallel to the rotational axis of the eccentric cam 41. As shown in FIG. 7, the first bearing 43a and the second bearing are arranged from the tip end side of the eccentric cam 41 toward the rotational axis. 43b, a third bearing 43c, a fourth bearing 43d, and a fifth bearing 43e are sequentially arranged.

  In the normal printing state, as shown in FIG. 7A, the printer 1 has the first bearing 43a abutting on the outer bottom surface of the slide portion 52 of the support member 50 provided in the transport unit 30 from below. 30 is moved to the highest part.

  From this state, when the eccentric cam 41 located at the upstream portion in the paper conveyance direction of the conveyance unit 30 is rotated counterclockwise when viewed from the front, and the eccentric cam 41 located at the downstream portion is rotated clockwise (see FIG. 2), In order from the first bearing 43a, the second bearing 43b, the third bearing 43c, and the fourth bearing 43d are in contact with the bottom surface of the transport unit 30, and the fifth bearing 43e is the bottom surface of the transport unit 30 as shown in FIG. When this is abutted and supported, the transport unit 30 can be lowered as shown in FIG. During such rotation, the two adjacent bearings 43 have a period of contact with the bottom surface of the transport unit 30 at the same time.

  Thereby, the transport unit 30 is lowered, and a space for attaching and detaching the cap 51 can be formed between the recording unit 20 and the transport unit 30. On the other hand, in order to return the transport unit 30 to the normal printing position, the transport unit 30 is moved to the state shown in FIG. 7A by rotating the eccentric cam 41 counterclockwise in FIG. 7B. Can be raised. Note that the lifting and lowering of the transport unit 30 by the lifting device 40 can also be used in the case of performing jam processing that occurs on the transport belt 31.

  Next, a method for horizontally moving the cap unit using the work space thus formed will be described. The vertical drive mechanism of the cap unit 50 is as described above. FIG. 9 is an external perspective view showing the horizontal drive mechanism.

  The horizontal drive mechanism 72 includes two horizontal rail members 73a and 73b that are spaced apart in the direction in which the cap unit 50 is moved horizontally (arrow direction in the figure), and the pair of rail members 73a and 73b includes a plurality of support columns 73c. It is supported so that it may become horizontal and predetermined height via. A drive motor 76 is disposed on the rear side of the right rail member 73 a, and a gear 76 a is attached to a rotation shaft of the drive motor 76.

  A gear 74b-1 provided on the lower side of the rotary pulley 74b meshes with the gear 76a, and a gear 74e-1 provided on the lower side of the rotary pulley 74e is engaged with the gear 76a via the gear 76b. Meshed. A rotary pulley 74a is provided on the front side of the right rail member 73a, and a belt 75a having both ends connected to the front end and the rear end of the slider 75c is spanned between the rotary pulley 74a and the rotary pulley 74b. ing.

  On the other hand, a rotary pulley 74c is provided on the front side of the left rail member 73b, and a rotary pulley 74d is provided on the rear side. A belt 75b having both ends connected to the front end and the rear end of the slider 75d is stretched around the rotary pulleys 74c and 74d. An endless belt 75e is stretched between the rotating pulley 74d and the rotating pulley 74e on the right side of the rotating pulley 74d.

  Furthermore, the sliders 75c and 75d are provided with rollers 75c-1 and 75d-1 for facilitating sliding. On the sliders 75c and 75d, end portions 50a on both the left and right sides of the cap unit 50 are provided. 50b is attached.

  Since the horizontal drive mechanism 72 is thus configured, for example, when the rotation shaft of the drive motor 76 is rotated in the forward direction (clockwise), the right belt 75a rotates counterclockwise and the slider 75c is moved to the rear side → Slide toward the front side (lower left direction in the figure), and the left belt 75b rotates clockwise to slide the slider 75d from the rear side to the front side (upper right direction in the figure). Thereby, the cap unit 50 moves to the near side of the figure (position B described later, see FIG. 10).

  When rotated counterclockwise (counterclockwise), the right belt 75a rotates clockwise to slide the slider 75c from the front side to the rear side, and the left belt 75b rotates counterclockwise. Slide the slider 75d from the front side to the rear side. Thereby, the cap unit 50 moves to the back side of the figure (position A described later, see FIG. 10). Therefore, the cap unit 50 can move horizontally between the cap position (position B, see FIG. 10) and the standby position (position C, see FIG. 10) according to the rotation direction of the rotation shaft of the drive motor 76.

  Next, the wiping operation of the recording head 22 by the wiping member 61b, the cleaning operation of the ink attached to the wiping portion 61b by the cleaning unit 63, and the capping operation of the recording head 22 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the cap 51 is moved to a predetermined position with respect to the recording head 22. In FIG. 10, the reference numerals are omitted at predetermined positions other than the position C.

  As shown in FIG. 10, first, when ink is ejected from the recording head 22 by printing, the cap 51 is moved downward by a predetermined distance from the ink wiping position (or cap position) and in a direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. (Position A, see FIG. 3). When ink ejection from the recording head 22 by printing is completed, the conveyance unit 30 is lowered by the rotation of the eccentric cam 40, and a work space for mounting the cap 51 between the recording head 22 and the conveyance unit 30 is secured. Is done.

  Next, the cap 51 moves horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction to a position facing the recording head 22 with a predetermined interval by the horizontal movement mechanism 72 (position B). From this position B, the cap 51 rises to a predetermined position where the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface 22a of the recording head 22 can be wiped off by the vertical movement mechanism (position C).

  Next, the horizontal movement mechanism 72 horizontally moves the cap 51 in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction (right side in the figure), so that the wiping portion 61b is bent to the left side (see FIG. 5), and the inner surface portion is the recording head 22's. The ink is wiped by moving horizontally to the right while rubbing against the ink ejection surface 22a. When the wiping portion 61b moves to the right side of the recording head 22 to a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance (position D), the ink wiping operation ends.

  Next, the cap 51 is lowered to a predetermined position below the recording head 22 by the wiping portion 61b by the vertical movement mechanism (position E). Next, the cap 51 is moved horizontally to the left by the horizontal movement mechanism 72 and moved to the position B. When the cap 51 is lifted from the position B by the vertical movement mechanism, the wiping portion 61b is bent to the left side, the tip inner surface to which the ink is attached rises while coming into contact with the inclined surface portion 63b of the cleaning portion 63, and the attached ink is cleaned. It is scraped off by rubbing with the part 63. Thereby, the ink adhering to the wiping portion 61b is removed by the cleaning portion 63 (see FIG. 6).

  When the cap 51 rises and the cap portion 61a contacts the recording head support portion 21, the recording head 22 is sealed. On the other hand, when printing is performed, the cap 51 moves down to the position B and then moves to the position A.

  When preliminary ejection is performed, the cap 51 moves to the position C after the preliminary ejection is completed, and the cap is used when printing is performed after the ink ejection surface 22a of the recording head 22 is wiped off by the same procedure as described above. When 51 moves to position A and ends the work, after returning to position C, cap 51 is raised and recording head 22 is sealed.

  As described above, since the wiping portion 61b is provided on the contact member 61 of the cap 51, it is not necessary to separately provide a member for wiping the recording head 22, and the recording head 22 can be configured with a simple configuration without using a complicated mechanism. Can be wiped off and the recording head 22 can be sealed, and ink adhering to the ink discharge surface 22a can be wiped off.

  In the present embodiment, since the cleaning unit 63 is provided in the recording head support unit 21, the ink attached to the wiping unit 61 a of the contact member 61 can be rubbed by the cleaning unit 63 when the cap 51 is attached. . Thereby, the ink adhering to the wiping portion 61b is concentrated until the next wiping, and the high viscosity ink can be prevented from adhering to the recording head 22 by the next wiping.

  At this time, it is not necessary to use a complicated mechanism for collecting the ink adhering to the wiping portion 61b, and it is only necessary to raise the cap 51, and no other work is required. Workability can be improved, such as shortening the working time. In the present embodiment, the inclined surface portion 63b is provided in the cleaning unit 63. However, the shape or the like of the cleaning unit 63 is not particularly limited as long as the ink attached to the wiping unit 61b can be removed. Moreover, an inclined surface can also be provided in the wiping part 61b.

  Alternatively, the cleaning unit 63 may be omitted. In this case, the ink adhering to the wiping unit 61b is appropriately removed from the ink discharge port 51a (see FIG. 4) of the cap 51 using a conventionally known method. That's fine.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, by using the cleaning part 63 as an ink absorber, the ink adhering to the wiping part 61b can be scraped off and absorbed, and the ink adhering to the wiping part can be discarded. A member or the like is not necessary, so that the apparatus configuration can be prevented from becoming more complicated, and the apparatus becomes simpler.

  In the above embodiment, when the cap 51 is attached and detached, the transport unit 30 is raised and lowered to provide the attachment / detachment space. However, the recording head 22 can be raised and lowered to provide the attachment / detachment space. In the above embodiment, when the cap 51 is attached to and detached from the recording head 22, the cap 51 is moved up and down and horizontally moved. However, the recording head 22 can be moved up and down and horizontally moved to perform the cap.

  Further, the moving mechanism of the cap 51 and the moving mechanism of the transport unit 30 are not particularly limited to the above embodiment, and the moving path from the position A to the position E of the cap 51 is merely an example, and the recording head. If the attaching / detaching operation of the cap 51 with respect to 22 and the wiping operation of the recording head 22 can be performed, the moving path can be appropriately set according to the apparatus configuration and the like, and is not particularly limited.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the number of nozzles and the nozzle interval of the recording heads 22K to 22Y can be appropriately set according to the specifications of the apparatus. In the above embodiment, the color printer including the recording heads 22K to 22Y corresponding to the four color inks has been described as an example. However, the present invention includes the recording head 22 corresponding to the ink of one color. The present invention can be applied to a monochrome inkjet printer and a serial inkjet printer in exactly the same manner.

  The present invention provides a recording head having an ink ejection surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting ink on a recording medium, a recording head support portion for supporting the recording head, and a detachably mounted on the recording head. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a cap covering the ejection surface; wherein the cap is at least relative to a first direction substantially perpendicular to the ink ejection surface and a second direction substantially parallel to the ink ejection surface. An abutting member is provided at the opening end of the cap, the abutting member contacting the recording head support when the cap is relatively moved in the first direction and attached to the recording head. The abutting member has a wiping portion capable of wiping off ink adhering to the ink discharge surface when the cap is relatively moved in the second direction. .

  This prevents an increase in the number of members, prevents the apparatus from becoming complicated and large, prevents nozzle clogging due to drying of the ink discharge surface of the recording head, and wipes off ink adhering to the ink discharge surface with a simple configuration. It can be carried out.

  In addition, the recording head support section is provided with a cleaning section that can be rubbed with the wiping section by relative movement of the cap in the first direction and can remove ink adhering to the wiping section. The ink wiped off by the part can be scraped off, and the wiping part can be cleaned with a simple configuration without using a complicated mechanism. Can be prevented.

  In addition, by using an ink absorbing material capable of absorbing ink as the cleaning unit, a member for discarding the ink wiped off by the wiping unit becomes unnecessary, and the complexity of the apparatus configuration can be prevented more easily. It becomes.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional front view showing a schematic structure of an ink jet printer which is an example of an ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged front view showing the vicinity of a recording unit and a conveyance unit of a printer. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged top view showing the periphery of a transport unit, a recording unit, and a cap unit. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the recording head and cap as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. These are figures which show the state which the wiping off part of a cap wipes off the ink discharge surface of a recording head. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the recording head is sealed with a cap. FIG. 7A is a partially enlarged front view showing the lifting device and its periphery, FIG. 7A is a diagram showing the state of the lifting device when the transport unit is raised, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state of the raising / lowering apparatus when it descends. These are the partial expanded front views which show a recording part and a conveyance unit periphery, Comprising: The state which moved the cap below the recording part is shown. These are external appearance perspective views which show a horizontal drive mechanism. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the cap is moved to a predetermined position with respect to the recording head.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printer (inkjet recording device)
2 Main body 20 Recording unit 21 Recording head support unit 22 Recording head 22a Ink ejection surface 30 Conveying unit 31 Conveying belt 40 Lifting device 50 Cap unit 51 Cap 51a Ink storage unit 61 Contact member 61b Wiping unit 63 Cleaning unit 72 Horizontal drive mechanism

Claims (3)

A recording head having an ink ejection surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting ink on a recording medium, a recording head support portion for supporting the recording head, and a detachably mounted on the recording head, and covering the ink ejection surface An inkjet recording apparatus comprising a cap;
The cap is movable relative to at least a first direction substantially perpendicular to the ink ejection surface and a second direction substantially parallel to the ink ejection surface;
At the open end of the cap,
A contact member that contacts the recording head support when the cap is relatively moved in the first direction and attached to the recording head;
The abutting member has a wiping portion capable of wiping off ink adhering to the ink ejection surface by the relative movement of the cap in the second direction,
The recording head support part is provided with a cleaning part capable of removing the ink adhering to the wiping part by sliding and rubbing with the wiping part by the relative movement of the cap in the first direction.
With the operation of the cap to seal the recording head, ink adhering to the wiping portion is removed,
The inkjet recording apparatus , wherein the cleaning unit is sealed inside the cap by the sealing operation . Claims wherein the wiping unit after the wiping off ink adhering to the ink ejection surface, together with the cap is sealing the head, ink adhering to the wiping portion, characterized in that it is removed by the cleaning unit 2. The inkjet recording apparatus according to 1.   3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit is made of an ink absorbing material that absorbs ink adhering to the wiping unit.

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