JP5170676B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus of an ink jet recording system including a recording head in which at least two short recording heads each having a plurality of nozzles that eject ink to a recording medium are arranged in a staggered manner.

Conventionally, ink is ejected while a recording head having a plurality of nozzles is displaced in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) while intermittently conveying the recording medium. 2. Description of the Related Art An inkjet recording type image forming apparatus that forms an image, a so-called inkjet printer is known. In general, such an ink jet printer is provided with a cleaning mechanism that adheres to the recording head and sucks the ink in order to remove ink remaining in the nozzles and ink attached to the recording head (Patent Document 1 below). reference).
JP 2007-203648 A

Incidentally, some ink jet printers are equipped with recording heads configured by arranging at least two short recording heads in a staggered manner. For example, Patent Document 2 below discloses an ink jet printer in which two short recording heads are arranged so that a part of each image-formable region overlaps to constitute a recording head. Cleaning mechanism for cleaning such staggered to the recording head short recording heads are disposed, as also shown in Patent Document 2, the length of the arrangement of two short recording heads arranged in a staggered manner The cleaning cap formed in a length corresponding to (full length) is configured to be in close contact with the short recording head for cleaning.

  However, in the cleaning mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2, the size of the cleaning cap is larger than the size of one short recording head to be cleaned, so that it is necessary to suck ink from one short recording head. Therefore, a suction force that is more than the required suction force is unavoidable. This is because the length of the cleaning cap closely attached to the short recording head corresponds to the arrangement length of each short recording head. Therefore, the larger the interval between the short recording heads or the shorter the length of the overlapping image formable area of each short recording head, the larger the size of the cleaning cap, and the required ink suction force and suction. Time increases. That is, there is a problem in that the ink consumption efficiency and the suction time are increased regardless of the size of one short recording head and the ink suction efficiency is lowered.

  The present invention has been made to address the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable the recording head to be cleaned with a minimum ink suction force regardless of the positional relationship among the plurality of short recording heads. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus provided with a cleaning mechanism capable of improving the suction efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, a feature of the present invention according to claim 1 is that a recording head configured by arranging at least two short recording heads having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink on a recording medium in a staggered manner; Scanning drive means for displacing the recording head relative to the recording medium in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the direction in which the nozzles in the recording head are arranged; and a recording medium in the sub-scanning direction in which the nozzles in the recording head are arranged In an image forming apparatus including a feed driving unit that is displaced relative to a recording head, a cleaner cap that covers a nozzle formation surface of at least one short recording head of the short recording heads, and a negative pressure in the cleaner cap And a negative pressure generating means for generating a cleaning cap in the sub-scanning direction. And displacement means for position, e printhead cleaner unit and an elevating means for raising and lowering the same cleaner cap in accordance with the position of the cleaner cap in the sub-scanning direction, the displacement means comprises a displacement body which is displaced in the sub-scanning direction, the lifting The means supports the cleaner cap and is supported on the driven body supported by the displacement body in a state of being relatively displaceable in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the displacement body, and on both sides of the displaceable range of the displacement body by the displacement means. And at least one of the follower and the pusher has a stopper for stopping the displacement of the follower that is displaced toward the pusher, the displacement and the follower One of the bodies has at least two inclined surfaces that are inclined with respect to the sub-scanning direction and the recording head side and are opposed to each other. Chino other, is configured to have a slide which is displaced on the inclined surface in Rukoto.

  According to the characteristic of the present invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, an image forming apparatus including a recording head in which a plurality of short recording heads that eject ink onto a recording medium are arranged in a staggered manner is provided. It is configured to include a displacement mechanism for displacing a cleaner cap that sucks ink from the head in the sub-scanning direction, which is the direction in which the short recording head is arranged. For this reason, the cleaner cap can be formed in a size corresponding to the size of the short recording head that sucks ink, and the size of the short recording head to be cleaned is the size of the cleaning cap as in the prior art. No more than that. As a result, the recording head can be cleaned with the minimum necessary ink suction force regardless of the arrangement relationship among the plurality of short recording heads, and the ink suction efficiency can be improved.

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According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 1 constructed as described above, the driven member for supporting the cleaner cap is supported on the displacement member in displaceable state in the sub-scanning direction, the displacement body Reversing bodies are provided on both sides of the displaceable range. At least one of the driven body and the pushback body is provided with a stopper for stopping the displacement of the driven body. One of the displacement body and the driven body has at least two inclined surfaces that are inclined with respect to the sub-scanning direction and the recording head side and face each other, and the other is a sliding body that slides on the inclined surface. It is comprised. As a result, the driven body supported by the displacement body that is displaced in the sub-scanning direction is stopped from being displaced by the stopper, so that it is displaced relative to the displacement body in the sub-scanning direction. In this case, the sliding body formed on the driven body or the displacement body is relatively displaced along the inclined surface formed on the displacement body or the driven body toward the sub-scanning direction and the recording head side. In other words, the displacement body or the follower has an inclined surface for relatively displacing the follower toward the recording head in accordance with the relative displacement of the follower with respect to the displacement body. For this reason, the cleaner cap supported by the driven body is displaced toward the recording head by the displacement of the displacement body. That is, the elevating means elevates and lowers by a driving force that displaces the cleaner cap in the sub-scanning direction. As a result, the recording head cleaner unit can be configured compactly, and as a result, the configuration of the image forming apparatus can be simplified and the power consumption can be suppressed.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 2 , in the image forming apparatus, the inclined surface is formed on a surface of the displacement body facing the recording head, and the sliding body is disposed on the driven body and is displaced. It is formed in a ring shape that rolls on an inclined surface formed on the body, and the stoppers are provided at both ends of the driven body in the sub-scanning direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, the ring-shaped sliding body rolls and displaces on the slope formed on the displacement body. Therefore, the driven body can be supported in a stable state on the displacement body, and the frictional resistance of the sliding body displaced on the inclined surface can be reduced to smoothly move the driven body, that is, the cleaner cap. .

(Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the entire image forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 100. Note that each drawing referred to in the present specification is schematically represented by exaggerating some of the components in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention. For this reason, the dimension, ratio, etc. between each component may differ. The image forming apparatus 100 is a so-called inkjet printer that forms an image of a desired character, symbol, figure, or the like by attaching ink to the surface of a sheet-like recording medium WK that is an image formation target.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes a platen 101 having a flat portion arranged in a horizontal state. The platen 101 is a mounting table on which the recording medium WK is mounted on the flat portion, and is formed to extend in the horizontal direction in the figure. A cylindrical grid roller 102 is provided at the center of the platen 101 along the horizontal direction in the drawing with its upper surface exposed. The grid roller 102 is rotationally driven by an X-axis direction feed motor 103 whose operation is controlled by a controller 160 described later.

  A long guide rail 104 is provided above the platen 101 so as to be parallel to the platen 101. Under the guide rail 104, four pinch rollers 105 each having a cylindrical portion facing the grid roller 102 are provided at substantially equal intervals. The grid roller 102 and the pinch roller 105 convey the sheet-like recording medium WK in the front-rear direction shown in the figure while being sandwiched from the upper side in the figure. Note that the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) in the drawing in which the recording medium WK is conveyed is the sub-scanning direction, and the left-right direction (Y-axis direction) orthogonal to the X-axis direction is the main scanning direction. These grid roller 102, X-axis direction feed motor 103, and pinch roller 105 correspond to the feed driving means according to the present invention.

  The guide rail 104 supports the recording head unit 120 via the linear motion rail 106 and the linear motion block 107. The linear motion rail 106 is a single rail fixed to the guide rail 104 along the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction in the drawing). The linear motion block 107 is a moving body that slides along the linear motion rail 106, and is fixed to the back surface of the recording head unit 120. That is, the recording head unit 120 is guided in the main scanning direction along the linear motion rail 107 (guide rail 105).

  A part of the drive belt 108 laid in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction in the drawing) is fixed to the upper back of the recording head unit 120. The drive belt 108 is connected to a Y-axis direction scan motor 109 whose drive is controlled by the controller 160, and is displaced in the main scanning direction by the rotational drive of the Y-axis direction scan motor 109. That is, the recording head unit 120 is displaced in the main scanning direction by driving the Y-axis direction scanning motor 109 via the driving belt 108. These linear motion rail 106, linear motion block 107, drive belt 108, and Y-axis direction scan motor 109 correspond to the scan drive means according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the recording head unit 120 is shown in a standby position in the Y-axis direction. The standby position in the Y-axis direction of the recording head unit 120 is an origin position that serves as a reference for the displacement of the recording head unit 120 in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 100 is activated or when printing on the recording medium WK is not performed, the recording head unit 120 stands by at this standby position.

  Further, above the recording head unit 120, a long upper cover 110 that constitutes an upper casing of the image forming apparatus 100 is provided. Further, side covers 111R and 111L that constitute a housing on both sides of the image forming apparatus 100 are provided on both sides of the platen 101 and the upper cover 110, respectively. Among these, on the front surface of the side cover 111R, there is provided an operation panel 112 for giving an instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 (controller 160) and displaying information from the image forming apparatus 100 (controller 160). . Further, below the platen 101, a stand 113 is provided that supports the image forming apparatus 100 and can move the image forming apparatus 100 to a position desired by the operator.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the recording head unit 120 includes four recording heads 121, 122, 123, and 124 inside a box-shaped casing 120 a. Each of the recording heads 121 to 124 includes two short recording heads (121a, 121b), (122a, 122b), (123a, 123b), (124a, 124b), and is supplied from an ink tank (not shown). The four different colors (black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y)) are ejected toward the recording medium WK.

  In each of the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b), nozzles (121c, 121d), (122c, 122d), (123c, 123d), (124c, 124d) for ejecting ink are recording media WK. Are arranged in a row at regular intervals along the sub-scanning direction (the X-axis direction in the drawing), which is the transport direction of. Each of the two short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) constituting the recording heads 121 to 124 has one short recording head 121a to 124a and the other short recording head 121b to 124b. They are arranged in a so-called staggered pattern parallel to the main scanning direction and shifted in the sub-scanning direction. In other words, each of the two short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) is arranged so that a part of each image-formable region overlaps.

  A capping device 130 (shown by a broken line in FIG. 1) is provided in the platen 101 at the standby position of the recording head unit 120. The capping device 130 includes a cap (not shown) that covers the recording heads 121 to 124 of the recording head 120 positioned at the standby position, and dries the nozzles (121c, 121d) to (124c, 124d) in the recording heads 121 to 124. To prevent. Next to the capping device 130 in the platen 101, a recording head cleaner device 140 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the recording head cleaner device 140 includes nozzles (121c, 121d) formed on the respective short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) constituting the recording heads 121-124. ) To (124c, 124d) and the ink attached to the respective short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) are removed by suction. 4 is a perspective view showing a general configuration of the recording head cleaner device 140. FIG. 5 is a partially broken view schematically showing the configuration of the recording head cleaner device 140 as viewed from the direction of the arrow in FIG. It is a block diagram.

  The recording head cleaner device 140 includes a casing 141 that is fixed inside the platen 101. The casing 141 is formed by sheet metal processing, and is formed in a box shape having an upper surface opened and extending in the sub-scanning direction. A feed screw 142 is installed near the bottom in the casing 141 along the sub-scanning direction. The feed screw 142 is connected to a stepping motor 143 fixed to the lower surface of the casing 141 via a drive belt 144, and is rotationally driven using the stepping motor 143 as a drive source. A guide shaft 145 is installed above the feed screw 142 inside the casing 141 in a state parallel to the feed screw 142.

  These feed screw 142 and guide shaft 145 support the displacement body 146 while penetrating the displacement body 146. More specifically, the feed screw 142 supports the displacement body 146 in a state of being engaged with a female screw portion 146 a provided at the lower portion of the displacement body 146. The guide shaft 145 passes through the upper portion of the female threaded portion 146a of the displacement body 146 in a slidable state and supports the displacement body 146. That is, the displacement body 146 is supported by the feed screw 142 and the guide shaft 145 in a state in which it can be displaced along the sub-scanning direction by the rotational drive of the feed screw 142. These feed screw 142, female screw portion 146a, stepping motor 143, and drive belt 144 correspond to the displacement means according to the present invention.

  On the upper surface of the displacement body 146, an inclined surface 147 formed in a substantially mountain shape is formed. Specifically, the inclined surface 147 has end portions 147a and 147b on both sides in the sub-scanning direction on the upper surface of the displacement body 146 and intermediate portions 147c of the end portions 147a and 147b projecting in a mountain shape, and the end portion 147a. And a valley portion 147d between the intermediate portion 147c and a valley portion 147e between the end portion 147b and the intermediate portion 147c are formed in a recessed shape. In other words, the inclined surface 147 is composed of four surfaces that are inclined with respect to the sub-scanning direction and the recording head unit 120 side and face each other.

  A follower 148 is provided on the inclined surface 147 of the displacement body 146. The driven body 148 includes four rolling wheels 148a (only two are shown) that can roll on the inclined surface 147 of the displacement body 146, and is displaced by a spring 148b (not shown in FIG. 5) provided therein. It is assembled on the displacement body 146 while being pulled toward the body 146 side. At both ends in the sub-scanning direction of the follower 148, stoppers 148c and 148d having a shape projecting toward the inner wall surface of the casing 141 are formed.

  A cap unit 150 is provided on the upper surface of the follower 148 via an angle 149 having a substantially U-shaped cross section. The cap unit 150 is configured such that a rubber cleaner cap 152 protrudes from a top surface of a cap holder 151 formed in a substantially box shape by a spring (not shown). The cleaner cap 152 has a cylindrical shape in which a through hole having a size covering the formation surface of the nozzles (121c, 121d) to (124c, 124d) in one short recording head (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) is formed. Is formed. A vacuum device 153 is connected to the inside of the cleaner cap 152 via a pipe (not shown). The vacuum device 153 is a suction device that generates a negative pressure inside the cleaner cap 152, and its operation is controlled by the controller 160. An ink collection mechanism (not shown) for collecting the ink sucked from the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) is provided in a piping path connecting the cleaner cap 152 and the vacuum device 153.

  The controller 160 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and is stored in a storage device such as a ROM in accordance with support from an operator or an instruction from an external computer device 170 connected via an interface 161. Various operations of the image forming apparatus 100 are controlled by executing a program stored in advance. Specifically, the controller 160 controls the operations of the X-axis direction feed motor 103, the Y-axis direction scan motor 109, the recording head unit 120 (recording heads 121 to 124), the stepping motor 143, and the vacuum device 153, respectively. . The external computer device 170 is a personal computer (so-called personal computer) including an input device 171 composed of a keyboard and a mouse and a display device 172 composed of a liquid crystal display.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described. In the description of the operation, the cleaning process of the recording heads 121 to 124 related to the present invention will be described, and the image forming process for the recording medium WK is not directly related to the present invention and is the same as the prior art. Description is omitted.

  The cleaning processing of the recording heads 121 to 124 is automatically executed every time a predetermined time elapses when the power of the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on or during operation of the image forming apparatus 100 under the control of the controller 160. It is selectively executed by inputting an execution command via the panel 112. Each of these cleaning processes is executed by executing a cleaning process program (not shown) stored in advance in a storage device such as a ROM of the controller 160.

  First, the controller 160 controls the operation of the Y-axis direction scan motor 109 to displace the recording head unit 120 in the main scanning direction (direction toward the standby position) and position it on the recording head cleaner device 140. In this case, the controller 160 positions the short recording head 124d provided closest to the recording head cleaner device 140 in the recording head unit 120 on the recording head cleaner device 140.

  Next, the controller 160 controls the operation of the stepping motor 143 to move the displacement body 146 located at the retracted position, which is the center of the displaceable range in the sub-scanning direction, to the short recording head 124b side, specifically, It is displaced toward the front side of the image forming apparatus 100 in the scanning direction. 6A, the driven body 148, the angle 149, and the cap unit 150 provided on the displacement body 146 are displaced toward the front side of the image forming apparatus 100 together with the displacement body 146.

  With the progress of the displacement of the displacement body 146, the stopper 148c of the driven body 148 hits one inner wall surface of the casing 141 (the right side in the figure), and the displacement of the driven body 148 stops. Then, when the displacement of the displacement body 146 further proceeds while the displacement of the driven body 148 is stopped, the rolling wheel 148a of the driven body 148 is displaced toward the end portion 147a and the intermediate portion 147c of the inclined surface 147. Thereby, the follower 148 is displaced upward while resisting the tensile force of the spring 148b. As a result, the cleaner cap 152 is pressed against the formation surface of the nozzle 124d of the short recording head 124b. In other words, the one inner wall surface of the casing 141 corresponds to the pusher according to the present invention, and the rolling wheel 148a corresponds to the sliding body according to the present invention.

  The controller 160 locks the rotation by stopping the rotation of the stepping motor 143 at the position in the sub-scanning direction of the displacement body 146 where the cleaner cap 152 is pressed against the formation surface of the nozzle 124d of the short recording head 124b. As a result, the cleaner cap 152 is in close contact with the formation surface of the nozzle 124d of the short recording head 124b. Next, the controller 160 controls the operation of the vacuum device 153 to generate a negative pressure inside the cleaner cap 152. Thereby, the ink remaining in the nozzle 124d of the short recording head 124b and the ink adhering to the short recording head 124b are removed by suction. The ink sucked from the short recording head 124b is recovered by an ink recovery mechanism (not shown). The controller 160 operates the vacuum device 153 for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds), and then stops the suction.

  Next, the controller 160 waits for the pressure in the cleaner cap 152 to return to the atmospheric pressure, and then controls the operation of the stepping motor 143 to move the displacement body 146 to the short recording head 124a side, specifically, the sub head. It is displaced toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus 100 in the scanning direction. In this case, the rolling wheel 148a of the driven body 148 is displaced toward the troughs 147d and 147e on the inclined surface 147 by the tensile force of the spring 148b. Thereby, the cleaner cap 152 separates from the formation surface of the nozzle 124b of the short recording head 124b and descends. Thereby, the cleaning process of the short recording head 124b is completed.

  Then, as the displacement body 146 is displaced toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus 100, the stopper 148d of the driven body 148 hits the other inner wall surface (the left side in the figure) of the casing 141 as shown in FIG. 6B. The displacement of the follower 148 stops. In this case, in the same manner as described above, the displacement of the displacement body 146 further proceeds while the displacement of the driven body 148 is stopped, so that the rolling wheel 148a of the driven body 148 becomes the end portion 147b and the intermediate portion 147c of the inclined surface 147. Displacement toward Thereby, the follower 148 is displaced upward while resisting the tensile force of the spring 148b. As a result, the cleaner cap 152 is pressed against the formation surface of the nozzle 124c of the short recording head 124a. That is, the other inner wall surface of the casing 141 corresponds to the pusher according to the present invention.

  The controller 160 performs the cleaning process for the short recording head 124a in the same manner as described above. Specifically, the controller 160 stops rotation of the stepping motor 143 at the position in the sub-scanning direction of the displacement body 146 where the cleaner cap 152 is pressed against the formation surface of the nozzle 124c of the short recording head 124a. Lock it. As a result, the cleaner cap 152 is in close contact with the formation surface of the nozzle 124d of the short recording head 124a. Next, the controller 160 controls the operation of the vacuum device 153 to generate a negative pressure inside the cleaner cap 152. Thereby, the ink remaining in the nozzle 124d of the short recording head 124a and the ink adhering to the short recording head 124a are removed by suction. The ink sucked from the short recording head 124a is recovered by an ink recovery mechanism (not shown). The controller 160 operates the vacuum device 153 for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds), and then stops the suction.

  The controller 160 waits for the pressure in the cleaner cap 152 to recover to atmospheric pressure, and then controls the operation of the stepping motor 143 to move the displacement body 146 to the retracted position (the front side of the image forming apparatus 100 in the sub-scanning direction). ). In this case, the rolling wheel 148a of the driven body 148 is displaced toward the troughs 147d and 147e on the inclined surface 147 by the tensile force of the spring 148b. As a result, the cleaner cap 152 separates from the formation surface of the nozzle 124c of the short recording head 124a and descends. Thereby, the cleaning process of the short recording head 124a, that is, the recording head 124 is completed.

  Next, after positioning the displacement body 146 at the retracted position, the controller 160 controls the operation of the Y-axis direction scan motor 109 to displace the recording head unit 120 in the main scanning direction (direction toward the standby position). The short recording head 123 b of the recording head 123 is positioned on the recording head cleaner device 140. Then, the controller 160 performs the cleaning process of the recording head 123 in the same manner as the recording head 124. The controller 160 sequentially performs the cleaning process for the recording head 122 and the recording head 121 after the cleaning process for the recording head 123 is executed. Since the cleaning process of the recording head 123, the recording head 122, and the recording head 121 is the same as the cleaning process of the recording head 123, the description thereof is omitted. Thereby, the cleaning process of the recording heads 121 to 124 is completed. The recording heads 121 to 124 that have been subjected to the cleaning process wait until they are capped by the capping mechanism 130 and the image forming process is performed.

  As can be understood from the above operation description, according to the above embodiment, a plurality of short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) for ejecting ink to the recording medium WK are arranged in a staggered manner. In the image forming apparatus 100 including the recording heads 121 to 124, the cleaner cap 152 that sucks ink from the recording heads 121 to 124 is arranged in the sub-scanning direction, which is the arrangement direction of the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b). It is displaced to. Therefore, the cleaner cap 152 can be formed in a size corresponding to the size of one short recording head (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) for sucking ink, as in the prior art. The size of the cleaning cap 152 does not become larger than the size of the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) to be cleaned. As a result, the recording heads 121 to 124 can be cleaned with the minimum necessary ink suction force regardless of the positional relationship among the plurality of short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b). The suction efficiency can be improved.

  In the above embodiment, the follower 148 that supports the cleaner cap 152 is supported by the displacement body 146 in a state that it can be displaced in the sub-scanning direction. An inner wall surface of the casing 141 is provided. The driven body 148 is provided with stoppers 148c and 148d for stopping the displacement of the driven body 148. Further, the displacement body 146 has an inclined surface 147 composed of four surfaces that are inclined with respect to the sub-scanning direction and the recording heads 121 to 124 and are opposed to each other, and the follower 148 has an inclined surface 147. It has a rolling wheel 148a that rolls up. As a result, the driven body 148 supported by the displacement body 146 that is displaced in the sub-scanning direction is stopped by the stoppers 148c and 148d, so that it is relatively displaced in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the displacement body 146. In this case, the rolling wheel 148a formed on the driven body 148 is relatively displaced along the inclined surface 147 formed on the displacement body 146 toward the sub-scanning direction and the recording head side. That is, the displacement body 146 has an inclined surface 147 for relatively displacing the driven body 148 toward the recording heads 121 to 124 in accordance with the relative displacement of the driven body 148 with respect to the displacement body 146. For this reason, the cleaner cap 152 supported by the driven body 148 is displaced toward the recording heads 121 to 124 by the displacement of the displacement body 146. That is, the cleaner cap 152 is moved up and down by a driving force that displaces the displacement body 146 in the sub-scanning direction. As a result, the recording head cleaner device 140 can be configured compactly, and as a result, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 can be simplified and power consumption can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, in carrying out the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the object of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the rolling element 148a as a sliding body provided on the driven body 148 is formed in a ring shape. This is because the frictional resistance of the rolling element 148 that rolls on the inclined surface 147 is reduced to make the displacement of the driven element 146 smooth. Therefore, the rolling element 148a does not necessarily have a ring shape as long as the inclined surface 147 can be displaced. For example, the sliding body may be configured with an inclined surface parallel to the inclined surface 147. Also by this, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment can be expected.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, while forming the inclined surface 147 in the displacement body 146, the rolling element 148a was provided in the driven body 148, and it comprised. However, the inclined surface 147 may be formed on the driven body 148 and the rolling element 148 a may be provided on the displacement body 146. Also by this, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment can be expected.

  In the above embodiment, the stoppers 148cb and 148d are provided on the driven body 148. However, the stoppers 148c and 148d are not limited to the above embodiment as long as the displacement of the driven body 148 in the sub-scanning direction can be stopped. That is, the stoppers 148c and 148d may be provided on the inner wall surface of the casing 141. Also by this, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment can be expected.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the inclined surface 147 formed in the displacement body 146 was comprised by four surfaces. However, the inclined surface 147 is an inclined surface for raising and lowering the follower 148, that is, the cleaner cap 152 with respect to the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) arranged in the sub-scanning direction. It suffices if it is composed of at least two surfaces. Also by this, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment can be expected.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) are arranged so that a part of each image-formable region overlaps. However, it is only necessary that the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) are arranged in a staggered manner along the sub-scanning direction, and are necessarily arranged so that a part of the image forming areas of each other overlap. You don't have to.

In the above embodiment, the size of the cleaner cap 152 is formed to cover the nozzle forming surface of one short recording head (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b). However, the size of the cleaner cap 152 may be determined according to the number of short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) to be cleaned in one cleaning process. Therefore, it may be formed in a size that covers the nozzle forming surfaces of two or more short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b). That is, as in the prior art, the size of the cleaning cap 152 need not be larger than the size of the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) to be cleaned.

  In the above embodiment, the cleaning process is started from the short recording head 124b of the recording head 124. However, the recording heads 121 to 124 and the short recording heads (121a, 121b) to (124a, 124b) that perform the cleaning process may be appropriately determined.

1 is a perspective view showing an entire image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for describing a configuration of a recording head included in the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an overview configuration of a recording head cleaner device. FIG. 5 is a partially broken configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of the recording head cleaner device as viewed from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4. 2A and 2B are diagrams schematically illustrating an operating state of a recording head cleaner device, in which FIG. 1A is a partially broken configuration diagram illustrating a state in which a cleaner cap is in close contact with one short recording head, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially broken configuration diagram illustrating a state in which a cleaner cap is in close contact with a recording head.

Explanation of symbols

WK ... recording medium, 100 ... image forming apparatus, 101 ... platen, 102 ... grid roll, 104 ... guide rail, 105 ... pinch roller, 120 ... recording head unit, 121-124 ... recording head, 121a-124a, 121b-124b ... short recording head, 121c to 124c, 121d to 124d ... nozzle, 140 ... recording head cleaning device, 141 ... casing, 142 ... feed screw, 143 ... stepping motor, 145 ... guide shaft, 146 ... displacement body, 147 ... inclined surface 148 ... driven body, 148a ... rolling wheel, 148c, 148d ... stopper, 150 ... cap unit, 152 ... cleaning cap, 160 ... controller, 170 ... external computer device.

Claims (2)

A recording head configured by staggering at least two short recording heads having a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink on a recording medium;
Scan drive means for displacing the recording head relative to the recording medium in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the direction in which the nozzles in the recording head are arranged;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a feed driving unit that displaces the recording medium relative to the recording head in a sub-scanning direction in which nozzles in the recording head are arranged.
A cleaner cap that covers a formation surface of the nozzle in at least one short recording head of the short recording heads;
Negative pressure generating means for generating a negative pressure in the cleaner cap;
Displacement means provided facing the recording head and displacing the cleaner cap in the sub-scanning direction;
And a recording head cleaner means having an elevating means for elevating and lowering the cleaner cap according to the position of the cleaner cap in the sub-scanning direction ,
The displacement means includes a displacement body that is displaced in the sub-scanning direction,
The lifting means is
A follower that supports the cleaner cap and is supported by the displacement body in a state of being relatively displaceable in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the displacement body;
A reversing body provided on each side portion of the displaceable range of the displacement body by the displacement means, and
At least one of the follower and the pusher has a stopper for stopping the displacement of the follower that is displaced toward the pusher,
One of the displacement body and the driven body has at least two inclined surfaces that are inclined with respect to the sub-scanning direction and the recording head side and are opposed to each other,
The other of the displacement body and the driven body is configured to have a slide which is displaced on the inclined surface image forming apparatus according to claim Rukoto. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The inclined surface is formed on a surface of the displacement body facing the recording head,
The sliding body is formed in a ring shape that rolls on the inclined surface provided on the follower and formed on the displacement body,
The stopper is an image forming apparatus which is characterized that you have provided at both ends of the sub-scanning direction in the driven member.