JP5142679B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus including a platen that defines a position of a recording material with respect to a recording head by supporting the recording material from below in an ink jet recording apparatus.

  An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head having a plurality of nozzle arrays that eject ink toward a recording material on a surface facing the recording surface of the recording material, and recording on the recording head by supporting the recording material from below. And a platen that defines the position of the material.

  Generally, a plurality of ribs extending in the sub-scanning direction are arranged at regular intervals in the main scanning direction on a surface (hereinafter referred to as “platen surface”) of the platen in the ink jet recording apparatus that faces the recording head.

  At the time of recording, ink is ejected from the nozzle row while the recording material is supported by the rib, thereby recording.

  Further, in order to prevent the recording material from floating from the platen surface and to stably transport the printing and recording material to the recording material, a rib provided with a recording material suction hole is provided thereon.

  In such a recording apparatus, in order to perform printing without margins on the recording material, that is, so-called borderless printing, a hole for discarding ink droplets ejected from the head may be formed on the platen surface.

  When borderless printing is performed without forming a hole, ink droplets that have been removed from the edge of the recording material adhere to the platen surface, and these ink droplets reattach to the recording material back surface, etc. May be contaminated.

  Further, when ink droplets land on the platen surface, mist-like ink is generated like a splash, and this mist-like ink adheres to the recording surface or the recording head, which may deteriorate the recording quality.

  The formation of the hole is to prevent these occurrences. By forming a hole on the platen surface and discarding ink droplets inside the hole, it is possible to perform borderless printing of the recording material while preventing the above-described problems.

  By the way, in recent years, in order to further improve image quality, in particular, ink droplets have been miniaturized in order to realize higher quality photographic image quality.

  In an ink jet recording apparatus that discharges such minute ink droplets, the ink droplets are minute.

  For this reason, the ink droplets that are removed from the edge of the recording material during borderless printing are floated without falling straight into the hole, resulting in a mist-like ink state that may contaminate the recording surface of the printing paper. .

  In addition, the recording quality may deteriorate due to adhesion to the nozzle array of the recording head. Further, mist ink may adhere and accumulate on the drive system of the ink jet recording apparatus, for example, the bearing portion, and the durability of the bearing portion may be reduced.

For this reason, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-26883 (Patent Document 1) is provided with an air suction hole that guides ink droplets discarded inside the hole by suction into the hole, thereby guiding the mist ink to the air suction hole. JP-A-2003-191499).
JP 2003-191499 A

  In the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the recording material suction hole is provided on the platen rib, a part of the generated mist ink is guided and sucked into the recording material suction hole.

  For this reason, serious problems such as the back surface of the recording material and the platen rib being contaminated by the mist ink and the quality of the recording material being lowered occur.

  In particular, this phenomenon tends to be prominent in a recording material suction hole near the hole for discarding ink droplets.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent ink droplets discarded from the end of a recording material paper in an ink jet recording apparatus from floating as mist ink.

  More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable recording apparatus that can prevent mist ink from adhering to a recording material or a recording apparatus main body and perform high-quality borderless printing.

The recording apparatus of the present invention is an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording material.
A recording head; and a platen portion that is provided at a position facing the recording head and supports the recording material that is conveyed, and a plurality of ribs intersect the direction in which the recording material is conveyed in the platen portion. A suction port for sucking the recording material on at least one predetermined rib among the plurality of ribs and a protrusion smaller than the rib are formed in a direction in which the recording material is conveyed. Formed along
A hole for discarding ink droplets ejected from the recording head and removed from the recording material is provided in the platen portion, the predetermined rib is adjacent to the hole, and the protrusion is the predetermined rib. It is formed on the side closer to the hole adjacent to the suction port than the suction port.

Further, a suction means for sucking the hole may be further provided .

A recording apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink droplets onto a recording material.
A recording head; and a platen portion that is provided at a position facing the recording head and supports the recording material that is conveyed, and a plurality of ribs intersect the direction in which the recording material is conveyed in the platen portion. A suction port for sucking the recording material and a groove connected to the suction port are formed on at least one predetermined rib among the plurality of ribs;
Wherein which ink droplets out from the recording medium ejected from the recording head holes are discarded provided in the platen unit, the groove is definitive on the predetermined rib extends to the opposite edge and the hole It is characterized by.

In this case, the predetermined rib may be adjacent to the hole, and the groove may be provided on the predetermined rib to introduce air into the suction port.

In addition, a hole through which ink droplets ejected from the recording head and removed from the recording material are disposed is provided in the platen portion, the predetermined rib is adjacent to the hole, and the groove portion is the predetermined rib. It is good also as forming along the direction which cross | intersects the direction in which the said recording material is conveyed from the said suction port.

Further, a suction means for sucking the hole may be further provided .

  As described above, according to the present invention, at least one recording material suction port is provided on at least one platen rib, and a protrusion smaller than the platen rib is provided on at least one platen rib.

  Thereby, it is possible to prevent the recording material from being contaminated by the mist ink generated at the time of recording and degrading the quality of the recording material.

  Further, the concave portion can prevent the recording material recording back surface side end portion of the printing paper or the like from being contaminated by the mist-like ink generated at the time of recording and degrading the quality of the recording material.

  In addition, since the platen rib has an asymmetric shape with the recording material conveyance direction passing through the center of the recording material suction port as the axis, the recording material recording back surface side end portion of the printing paper or the like is formed by the mist-like ink generated during recording. It is possible to prevent the recording material from being deteriorated due to contamination.

  In addition, the platen rib that is asymmetric with respect to the shaft is adjacent to the hole, so that the recording material recording back side edge, such as printing paper, is contaminated by the mist of ink generated during recording, and the quality of the recording material is reduced. Can be prevented.

  Further, by providing a protrusion in the recording material conveyance direction at the hole side end of the platen rib asymmetric with respect to the shaft, the recording material recording back surface side end of the printing paper or the like is caused by the mist of ink generated during recording. It is possible to prevent the recording material from being deteriorated due to contamination.

  In addition, the air introduction recess provided in the recording material suction port prevents the recording material recording back surface side end portion of the printing paper or the like from being contaminated by the mist of ink generated at the time of recording, thereby reducing the quality of the recording material. Can be prevented.

  The air introduction recess is provided on the platen rib having the protrusion, and is provided on the end surface of the platen rib opposite to the protrusion with respect to the shaft.

  Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the recording material recording back surface side end portion of the printing paper or the like from being contaminated by the mist-like ink generated at the time of recording and degrading the quality of the recording material.

  Further, since at least one of the recording material suction ports is not located at the center position in the main scanning direction of the platen rib, the recording material recording back surface side end portion of the printing paper or the like is contaminated by the mist of ink generated during recording. It can prevent that the quality of a material falls.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress a problem and provide a highly reliable recording apparatus.

  First, a recording unit and a platen unit of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a recording unit of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. .

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an ink jet recording head, and 2 denotes a carriage that integrally holds the ink jet recording head 1.

  The carriage 2 is configured to reciprocate in the main scanning direction (the direction of arrow A in the figure) by a motor (not shown) and a power transmission belt from the motor.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a platen installed at a position facing the ink jet recording head 1. A plurality of platen ribs 3 a provided in the main scanning direction for supporting the recording material 4 conveyed in the direction of arrow B in the figure, and the platen ribs 3 a Is provided with a suction port 3b for sucking the recording material 4 provided on the head.

  A recording material 4 such as a recording sheet conveyed by a recording material conveying means (not shown) such as a roller is sucked onto the platen rib 3a by the suction port 3b, and the recording surface 4a is flattened to stably stabilize the high-quality ink jet. You can record.

  The recording surface 4a is configured to face the ink jet recording head 1 while maintaining a fine distance.

  5 is a guide bar for guiding the carriage 2 to reciprocate in the main scanning direction, and 6 is a hole for discarding ejected ink provided at both ends of the platen 3, and has a suction port 6 a for air suction at its lower part. ing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the suction ports 3b and 6a communicate with each other.

  7 is a unit case of the platen 3, 8 is an ink droplet discharged from the ink jet recording head 1, and 9 is a fan for air suction, and is connected via a suction duct 10 from a hole 7 a of the unit case 7. .

  An ink waste liquid recovery box 11 is connected to the fan 9 by a duct 12. Reference numeral 13 denotes a duct for exhausting air to the outside by the fan 9.

  During printing, the fan 9 is operated, and the recording material 4 is adsorbed to the platen 3 and at the same time, air is always sucked from the hole 6a. The air sucked here passes through the duct 10, the fan 9, and the duct 13 and is discharged out of the machine.

  As will be described in detail later, when the ink droplet 8 is sucked, it passes through the duct 10, the fan 9, and the duct 12 and is collected in the ink waste liquid collection box 11.

  Next, a borderless printing operation will be described.

  At the time of printing, as shown in FIG. 2, when the recording material 4 is adsorbed to the platen rib 3a, the recording material 4 completely covers the platen 3 with its end portion protruding over the hole 6.

  By performing printing in such a state, the borderless printing can be performed without contaminating the platen 3 with the ink droplets 8.

  Further, when the ink jet recording head 1 performs a printing operation on the end portion of the recording material 4, that is, on the hole 6, the ink jet recording head 1 ejects ink droplets 8.

  This enables so-called borderless printing in which printing is performed up to the end of the recording material 4. At this time, the ink droplets 8 ejected outside the end of the recording material 4 are discarded into the holes 6.

  Then, as indicated by an arrow C in FIG. 2, suction is performed from a suction port 6 a provided at the lower portion of the hole 6.

  Thereafter, the ink is recovered in the ink waste liquid recovery box 11 through the hole 7a of the unit case 7, the duct 10, the fan 9, and the duct 12, and the sucked air is discharged outside the apparatus through the duct 10, the fan 9, and the duct 13. The

  Here, separation of the air and the ink droplet 8 is performed by a known method such as an air filter (not shown).

  Incidentally, it has been confirmed that a part of the ink droplets 8 discarded during borderless printing becomes mist ink.

  Most of the mist-like ink is sucked into the hole 6a as indicated by an arrow C in FIG. 2, but a part of the mist-like ink is shown as an arrow D in the figure to discard the discharge ink discarding hole 6. Is drawn into a suction port 3b provided on the platen rib 3a adjacent to the platen rib 3a.

  The mist ink drawn into the suction port 3b tends to adhere to the printed back surface of the recording material 4 end. If this phenomenon becomes remarkable, the back end portion of the recording material becomes dirty with ejected ink during borderless printing, and the quality of the recording material 4 is deteriorated.

  For this reason, in the present invention, the quality of the printed recording material 4 is improved by making the shape of the platen rib 3a difficult for the mist-like ink to enter and suppressing the phenomenon that the printing back surface of the recording material 4 is smeared with the ink. ing.

  The specific shape of the platen rib 3a will be described in the following examples.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the shape of the platen rib 3a of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The suction port 3b includes an air introduction recess that is a recess for introducing air, and has a large diameter on the platen rib 3a.

  Reference numeral 101 in the figure denotes a protrusion provided on the platen rib 3a extending in the recording material 4 conveyance direction (arrow B), and is provided on the side of the ejected ink discarding hole 6 of the platen rib 3a.

  The projection 101 suppresses the mist-like ink generated during borderless printing from being drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a.

  By forming the protrusion 101, the platen rib 3a has an asymmetric shape with the conveyance direction of the recording material 4 passing through the center of the suction port 3b as an axis.

  Next, this effect will be described in detail. In order to suppress the phenomenon in which the mist-like ink is drawn into the suction port 3b, a large effect is obtained by increasing the contact pressure between the recording material 4 and the platen rib 3a by increasing the suction pressure in the direction of the platen rib 3a adjacent to the hole 6. can get.

  However, if there is a difference in the suction force of the recording material 4 between the platen ribs 3a and there is a difference in the frictional force between the recording material 4 and each platen rib 3a, the recording material 4 being conveyed is wrinkled. There is a concern that the transport direction may deviate from the original direction (arrow B in FIG. 2).

  Further, when the suction pressure of the recording material 4 is increased in all the platen ribs 3a, the friction force between the whole platen rib 3a and the recording material 4 increases, and there is a possibility that the conveyance of the recording material 4 itself may be hindered.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, as described above, the protrusion 101 is provided on the platen rib 3a. Thereby, the contact pressure between the projection 101 having a small size in the main scanning direction and the recording material 4 is increased and brought into close contact without increasing the frictional force with the recording material 4.

  That is, the above-described mist-like ink is suppressed from being drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a without increasing the total adhesion force between the platen rib 3a on which the protrusion 101 is installed and the recording material 4.

  As a result, there is an effect of preventing the printing back surface of the recording material 4 and the platen 3 from being soiled by the mist ink generated during borderless printing without causing any trouble in the conveyance of the recording material 4.

  Further, when the maximum dimension of the width in the main scanning direction of the protrusion 101 is 50% or less of the maximum dimension of the width of the platen rib 3a in the same direction, the mist ink is drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a. It has been proved by experiments that the effect of suppressing is remarkable.

  Further, the shape of the protrusion 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. 4, 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the shape of the protrusion 101 of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, the protrusion 101a has a trapezoidal cross section in the main scanning direction. This makes it difficult for the recording material 4 to be caught by the protrusion 101a when the recording material 4 is conveyed.

  Further, since the contact area between the protrusion 101a and the recording material 4 is reduced and the contact pressure is increased, the recording material 4 is in close contact with the protrusion 101a, and it becomes difficult to draw the mist-like ink into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a. .

  That is, it is possible to suppress the ink droplets from being efficiently drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a while smoothly transporting the recording material 4 in the sub-operation direction.

  Needless to say, the corner R may be provided at a part of the ridge line of the protrusion 101a.

  The protrusion 101b shown in FIG. 5 has a semicircular cross section in the main scanning direction. For this reason, like the protrusion 101a shown in FIG. 4, the recording material 4 is not easily caught by the protrusion 101b when the recording material 4 is conveyed.

  Further, since the contact area between the projection 101b and the recording material 4 is reduced and the contact pressure is increased, the recording material 4 is in close contact with the projection 101b, and it becomes difficult to draw the mist ink into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a. .

  That is, it is possible to suppress the ink droplets from being efficiently drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a while smoothly transporting the recording material 4 in the sub-operation direction.

  Further, according to FIG. 6, the protrusion 101c has a triangular cross section in the main scanning direction, and a contact portion 101d with the recording material 4 is formed at an acute angle.

  For this reason, the contact area between the protrusion 101c and the recording material 4 is reduced, and the contact pressure is increased. Therefore, the recording material 4 is in close contact with the contact portion 101d and it is difficult to draw the mist ink into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a. Become.

  That is, since the frictional force between the recording material 4 and the protrusion 101c is not increased, the mist-like ink is efficiently sucked onto the platen rib 3a while smoothly transporting the recording material 4 in the sub-operation direction. It becomes possible to suppress drawing into the mouth 3b.

  Further, the protrusion 101 may be provided on the platen rib 3 a that is not adjacent to the hole 6.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the shape of the platen rib 3a of the recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 102 denotes a groove portion connected to the suction port 3b provided on the platen rib 3a, which is provided on the opposite side of the ink discarding hole 6 and in the direction perpendicular to the recording material 4 conveyance direction (arrow B). ing.

  Due to the presence of the groove 102, it is possible to prevent the mist-like ink generated during borderless printing from being drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a.

  The effect of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but in this embodiment, the groove 102 connected to the suction port 3b is provided on the platen rib 3a, so that it exists on the opposite side of the ink discarding hole 6. The air which does not contain the mist-like ink which becomes is easy to be attracted | sucked through a groove part.

  Accordingly, the above-described mist ink can be prevented from being drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a without increasing the adhesion between the platen rib 3a provided with the groove 102 and the recording material 4.

  As a result, as in the first embodiment, there is an effect of preventing the printing back surface of the recording material 4 and the platen 3 from being soiled by the mist ink generated during borderless printing without causing any trouble in the conveyance of the recording material 4. It has gained.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the shape of the platen rib 3a of the recording apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 3c denotes a suction port provided on the platen rib 3a. The suction port 3c has a center opposite to the ink discarding hole 6 from the center of the platen rib 3a in the recording material 4 conveyance direction (arrow B). It is arranged to be located in.

  With the above arrangement, it becomes easier to suck air from the opposite side than the ink discarding hole 6 side, and the above-mentioned mist ink can be formed without increasing the adhesion between the platen rib 3 a provided with the groove and the recording material 4. It is possible to suppress the drawing into the suction port 3c.

  This prevents the printing back surface of the recording material 4 and the platen 3 from being soiled by the mist-like ink generated during borderless printing without causing any trouble in the conveyance of the recording material 4 as in the first and second embodiments. The effect to do is obtained.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the shape of the platen rib 3a of the recording apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 103 denotes a plurality of grooves provided on the platen rib 3a extending in the recording material 4 conveyance direction (arrow B), and provided on the side of the discharge ink discarding hole 6 of the platen rib 3a. Due to the plurality of groove portions 103, recesses are formed between the groove portions 103.

  The groove 103 is composed of at least one groove. A known labyrinth flow path is formed between the recording material 4 and the platen rib 3a having the groove 103, and air from the ink discarding hole 6 side to the suction port 3b is formed. The effect which inhibits the flow of is produced.

  Therefore, it is possible to suppress the above-described mist ink from being drawn into the suction port 3b on the platen rib 3a without increasing the adhesion between the platen rib 3a provided with the groove 103 and the recording material 4.

  This prevents the printing back surface of the recording material 4 and the platen 3 from being soiled by the mist ink generated during borderless printing without causing any trouble in the conveyance of the recording material 4 as in the first to third embodiments. The effect to do is obtained.

  In this embodiment, two groove portions 103 are provided, but it is needless to say that the groove portions 103 may be three or more.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of a recording unit of the recording apparatus of the present invention. It is principal part sectional drawing for demonstrating the recording material back surface contamination by borderless printing. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the shape of a platen rib 3a of the recording apparatus showing the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the shape of a protrusion 101 of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the shape of a protrusion 101 of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the shape of a protrusion 101 of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention. It is a perspective view which shows the shape of the platen rib 3a of the recording device which shows the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the shape of the platen rib 3a of the recording device which shows the 3rd Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the shape of the platen rib 3a of the recording device which shows the 4th Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording head 2 Carriage 3 Platen 3a Platen rib 3b Suction port 4 Recording material 5 Guide bar 6 Hole 6a Suction port 7 Unit case 7a hole 8 Ink droplet 9 Fan 10 Suction duct 11 Ink waste liquid collection box 12 Duct 13 Duct 101 Protrusion 101a Protruding portion 101b Protruding portion 101c Protruding portion 101d Contact portion 102 Groove portion 103 Groove portion

Claims (6)

In an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink droplets onto a recording material,
A recording head; and a platen portion that is provided at a position facing the recording head and supports the recording material that is conveyed, and a plurality of ribs intersect the direction in which the recording material is conveyed in the platen portion. A suction port for sucking the recording material on at least one predetermined rib among the plurality of ribs and a protrusion smaller than the rib are formed in a direction in which the recording material is conveyed. Formed along
A hole for discarding ink droplets ejected from the recording head and removed from the recording material is provided in the platen portion, the predetermined rib is adjacent to the hole, and the protrusion is the predetermined rib. The recording apparatus is formed on the side closer to the hole adjacent to the suction port.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising suction means for sucking the holes. In an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink droplets onto a recording material,
A recording head; and a platen portion that is provided at a position facing the recording head and supports the recording material that is conveyed, and a plurality of ribs intersect the direction in which the recording material is conveyed in the platen portion. A suction port for sucking the recording material and a groove connected to the suction port are formed on at least one predetermined rib among the plurality of ribs;
Wherein which ink droplets out from the recording medium ejected from the recording head holes are discarded provided in the platen unit, the groove is definitive on the predetermined rib extends to the opposite edge and the hole recording apparatus characterized by being.   4. The recording according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined rib is adjacent to the hole, and the groove portion is provided on the predetermined rib for introducing air into the suction port. apparatus. A hole for discarding ink droplets ejected from the recording head and removed from the recording material is provided in the platen portion, the predetermined rib is adjacent to the hole, and the groove portion is above the predetermined rib. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording apparatus is formed along a direction intersecting a direction in which the recording material is conveyed from the suction port.   6. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising suction means for sucking the holes.

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