JP5458600B2 - Fluid ejection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejecting apparatus.

  For example, an ink jet printer is known as a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid. An inkjet printer is an apparatus that records an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink from an ejection head. Inkjet printers generally include a maintenance mechanism that performs maintenance of the ejection head.

  The maintenance mechanism includes, for example, a cap portion that covers an ink ejection region of the ejection head, an ink receiving portion (flushing portion) that receives ink discharged from the ejection head, and the like. Maintenance is performed by moving the ejection head and accessing the cap portion, the ink receiving portion, and the like.

JP 2006-51806 A

  However, if a plurality of types of mechanisms are installed in the maintenance mechanism, the maintenance mechanism becomes larger, and the inkjet printer itself becomes larger.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid ejecting apparatus capable of saving space.

The fluid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention is provided so as to be movable in a predetermined direction, and includes a fluid ejecting head having an ejecting area for ejecting fluid, a standby cap portion that covers the ejecting area when the fluid ejecting head is on standby, and the ejecting A suction cap that covers and sucks the area; a fluid receiving portion that receives the fluid discharged from the fluid ejecting head; and a maintenance mechanism arranged along the predetermined direction; And a lid portion formed to cover at least one of the standby cap portion, the suction cap portion, and the fluid receiving portion.
A fluid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention is provided so as to be movable in a predetermined direction, and includes a fluid ejecting head having an ejecting area for ejecting a fluid, a standby cap for covering the ejecting area, and a suction covering the ejecting area. A maintenance cap in which a suction cap portion for receiving the fluid and a fluid receiving portion for receiving the fluid discharged from the fluid ejecting head are arranged along the predetermined direction, the standby cap portion, selectively movably provided in the predetermined direction and a second position covering the first other two and positions it covering the standby cap portion of the suction cap portion and the fluid receiving portion, the first And a cover portion that covers the same surface at both the position and the second position.
Moreover, it is preferable that the said cover part covers the said cap part for suction and the said fluid receiving part.
Further, in the direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, a protrusion that is smaller than the dimension of the fluid receiving part and has a dimension for covering the standby cap part and the suction cap part is formed on the lid part. It is preferable that
Moreover, it is preferable that the fluid receiving portion is disposed so as to receive a fluid ejected from a part of the ejection region.
In addition, it is preferable that the standby cap part, the suction cap part, and the fluid receiving part are provided so that they can be moved up and down independently.
The wiping unit further includes a wiping unit that wipes the ejection surface, and the wiping unit moves in a region that is out of a movement region of the lid, and a part of the wiping unit appears and disappears on the movement region of the lid. It is preferable to be provided.

  According to the present invention, the standby cap portion, the suction cap portion, and the fluid receiving portion are arranged along the moving direction of the fluid ejecting head, and the lid portion that covers them moves in the arranging direction of each portion. Therefore, the lid can be efficiently accessed to each part with a minimum movement. Thereby, space saving can be achieved.

The fluid ejecting apparatus is characterized in that the standby cap portion, the suction cap portion, and the fluid receiving portion are provided so as to be movable up and down.
According to the present invention, each of the standby cap unit, the suction cap unit, and the fluid receiving unit moves up and down, so that flexible maintenance corresponding to the operation of the fluid ejecting head is possible. Thereby, maintainability can be improved while saving space.

The fluid ejecting apparatus is characterized in that the standby cap portion is formed to have a size that covers the entire ejection region.
According to the present invention, since the entire ejection region is covered during standby of the fluid ejecting head, solidification of the fluid in the fluid ejecting head can be prevented more reliably.

The fluid ejecting apparatus is characterized in that the suction cap portion is formed to have a size covering a part of the ejecting surface.
According to the present invention, since the suction cap portion is formed to have a size that covers a part of the ejection surface, space saving in the maintenance mechanism can be achieved.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the fluid receiving portion is formed to have a size overlapping with a part of the ejecting surface.
According to the present invention, since the fluid receiving portion is formed to have a size that overlaps a part of the ejection surface, space saving in the maintenance mechanism can be achieved.

The fluid ejecting apparatus may further include a wiping portion that is movably provided on the suction cap in a direction intersecting the predetermined direction and that wipes the ejection surface.
According to the present invention, since the wiping unit is arranged so that the suction region of the fluid ejecting head by the suction cap unit and the wiping region of the wiping unit correspond to each other, the maintenance operation is performed while efficiently using the space. be able to.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the wiping unit moves in an area outside the moving region of the lid, and a part of the wiping unit is provided so as to be able to appear and disappear on the moving region of the lid. It is characterized by.
According to the present invention, an effective wiping operation can be performed because a part of the wiping unit that moves in a region outside the moving region of the lid part appears and disappears on the moving region.

In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the lid portion is formed to have a size that simultaneously covers the suction cap portion and the fluid receiving portion.
According to the present invention, the lid portion can simultaneously cover the suction cap portion and the fluid receiving portion during standby of the fluid ejecting head. When the fluid ejecting head is not used, the suction cap portion and the fluid receiving portion can be protected at the same time.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a printer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The top view which shows the structure of a maintenance mechanism. The side view which shows the structure of a maintenance mechanism. The side view which shows the structure of a part of maintenance mechanism. The side view which shows the structure of a part of maintenance mechanism. The operation | movement figure which shows the mode of operation | movement of a maintenance mechanism. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the main part of a printer apparatus PRT to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, the printer device PRT has an ejection mechanism IJ, a transport mechanism CR, a maintenance mechanism MN, and a control device CONT.

  In each of the following drawings, an XYZ rectangular coordinate system may be set, and the positional relationship of each member may be described with reference to the XYZ rectangular coordinate system. In this case, the front view direction of the printer device PRT in FIG. 1 is the X direction, and the side view direction of the printer device PRT is the Y direction. In addition, a direction orthogonal to each of the X direction and the Y direction (that is, the vertical direction in the figure) is taken as the Z direction.

  The ejection mechanism IJ includes a carriage 1, a carriage motor 2, a timing belt 3, a guide member 4, and a platen 5. The carriage 1 is connected to the timing belt 3. The timing belt 3 reciprocates by driving the carriage motor 2. The guide member 4 extends along the axial direction of the platen 5 and guides the reciprocating movement of the carriage 1.

  A black ink cartridge 7 for supplying ink and a color ink cartridge 8 are detachably mounted on the upper side surface of the carriage 1. As the ink stored in the black ink cartridge 7 and the color ink cartridge 8, for example, ultraviolet curable ink that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays is used.

  A recording head (fluid ejecting head) 20 is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 1 in the drawing. The recording head 20 can move in the Y direction as the carriage 1 reciprocates. The recording head 20 has a nozzle 20a. These nozzles 20a are arranged in a plurality of rows (for example, 5 rows) to form a nozzle row 20R. The recording head 20 is connected to different ink cartridges (black ink cartridge 7 and color ink cartridge 8) for each nozzle row 20R. The ultraviolet curable ink is ejected from the nozzle 20a. Hereinafter, a region where the nozzle 20a (nozzle row 20R) is formed is referred to as a nozzle formation region.

  The transport mechanism CR includes, for example, a transport roller and transports the recording paper 6 to the −Z side of the recording head 20.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the maintenance mechanism MN. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of the maintenance mechanism MN.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the maintenance mechanism MN includes a flushing receiving portion 30, a suction cap portion 40, a standby cap portion 50 and a wiping portion 60, a lid portion 70 and a guide portion 80.

  The flushing receiving portion 30, the suction cap portion 40, and the standby cap portion 50 are arranged in this order in a line along the Y direction. The flushing receiving portion 30 is disposed at a position closest to the platen 5 (−Y side), and the standby cap portion 50 is disposed at a position farthest from the platen 5 (+ Y side). The wiping unit 60 is disposed on the + X side of the suction cap unit 40. The dimension of the recording head 20 in the X direction, the dimension of the suction cap unit 40 in the X direction, and the dimension of the standby cap unit 50 in the X direction are substantially equal. The dimension of the flushing receiving portion 30 in the X direction is larger than that of the suction cap portion 40 and the standby cap portion 50.

  The flushing receiving unit 30 is an ink receiving unit that receives ink discharged from the recording head 20. The ink discharged to the flushing receiving unit 30 is accommodated in a waste liquid tank (not shown). The flushing receiving unit 30 is formed to have a size that overlaps a part of the recording head 20 in plan view. As shown in FIG. 3, the flushing receiving portion 30 is provided so as to be lifted and lowered by a driving mechanism (not shown) such as a cam mechanism. The flushing receiver 30 has an ink absorber (not shown) inside. On the surface of the ink absorbing material, a missing dot detection electrode of a nozzle (not shown) is arranged.

  The suction cap unit 40 covers the nozzle formation area of the recording head 20 and performs suction. The suction cap unit 40 is provided with a suction mechanism (not shown) such as a suction pump. The suction cap portion 40 has a cap member 41 formed to have a dimension that covers a region corresponding to one nozzle row 20R. For this reason, the cap part 40 for suction is formed in the dimension which covers a part of nozzle formation area. As shown in FIG. 3, the suction cap portion 40 is provided so as to be movable in the Z direction by a drive mechanism (not shown) such as a cam mechanism. Since the cap member 41 abuts on the recording head 20, the space in contact with the recording head 20 can be sealed. The suction cap section 40 can suck the entire nozzle formation area of the recording head 20 by covering and sucking the nozzle rows one by one while moving the recording head 20.

  The standby cap unit 50 is provided so as to cover the entire nozzle formation region of the recording head 20. The standby cap unit 50 is provided with a cap member 51 at a position corresponding to each nozzle row of the recording head 20. The standby cap unit 50 is provided so as to be movable up and down by a driving mechanism (not shown) such as a cam mechanism. The cap member 51 can seal the space in contact with the recording head 20 by contacting the recording head 20. The cap member 51 is not provided with a suction mechanism. Therefore, the standby cap unit 50 is used, for example, for moisturizing the nozzle.

  The wiping unit 60 is a part that slides on the nozzle 20 a formation surface of the recording head 20. The wiping unit 60 is disposed on the + X side of the suction cap unit 40. The wiping unit 60 is disposed on the + Z side of the suction cap unit 40. The wiping unit 60 is provided to be movable in the X direction on the + Z side of the suction cap unit 40.

4 and 5 are diagrams showing the configuration of the wiping unit 60 in detail. 4 and 5 are diagrams when the maintenance mechanism MN is viewed in the + Y direction.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wiping unit 60 includes a sliding member 61, a holding member 62, a moving mechanism 63, and a rotating mechanism 64.

  The sliding member 61 is made of a material that can be elastically deformed by an external force, and is a portion that comes into contact with the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 20. The holding member 62 holds the sliding member 61. The moving mechanism 63 is a mechanism that moves the sliding member 61 and the holding member 62 in the X direction.

  The moving mechanism 63 has, for example, a rotation drive shaft 63a and a support shaft 63b. The rotary drive shaft 63a is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown) such as a motor. The rotational drive shaft 63a has a spiral groove (not shown) formed on the shaft surface, and a part of the holding member 62 is engaged with the groove. For this reason, a force is transmitted to the holding member 62 by the rotation drive shaft 63a rotating, and the holding member 62 is moved in the X direction by the force. The support shaft 63b is a shaft that supports the holding member 62 so as to move without rotating.

  The rotation mechanism 64 rotates the sliding member 61 in the θY direction (direction around the Y axis). The rotation mechanism 64 includes a mover 64a, a rotation gear 64b, and a rotation shaft 64c. The movable element 64a is attached to the holding member 62, and can move integrally with the holding member 62 in a state where no force is applied to the movable element 64a. As shown in FIG. 4, the mover 64 a is larger than the holding member 62 in the X direction, and when the holding member 62 advances in the −X direction, the mover 64 a protrudes in the −X direction with respect to the holding member 62. ing. When the end of the movable element 64a abuts against the wall W and the holding member 62 is further moved, as shown in FIG. 5, the movable element 64a is not moved and only the holding member 62 is moved. The member 62 and the mover 64a move relatively. An uneven portion 65 is formed on the + Z side surface of the mover 64a. The rotating gear 64b is disposed on the + Z side of the mover 64a, and has a gear portion 66 that meshes with the concavo-convex portion 65 of the mover 64a. In the rotation shaft 64c, for example, a rotation gear 64b is pivotally supported on a shaft portion on the −Y side, and a sliding member 61 is pivotally supported on a shaft portion on the + Y side. The rotation gear 64b, the rotation shaft 64c, and the sliding member 61 are configured to rotate integrally.

  As shown in FIG. 5, by moving the holding member 62 to the -X side and pressing the mover 64a to the + X side, the mover 64a moves independently of the holding member 62, and the movement of the mover 64a causes the mover 64a to move. The rotation gear 64b rotates. As the rotation gear 64b rotates, the rotation shaft 64c and the sliding member 61 rotate integrally. Therefore, the sliding member 61 falls from the inverted state. Then, when the holding member 62 moves in the X direction from the state shown in FIG. 5, the sliding member 61 proceeds in a collapsed state. At this time, the movable element 64a protrudes from the holding member 62. When the holding member 62 advances and the movable element 64a comes into contact with a wall (not shown) opposite to the wall W shown in FIG. 4, and the holding member 62 further advances, the holding member 62 and the movable element 64a are moved to FIG. The sliding member 61 rotates so as to be inverted. Thus, when the sliding member 61 is rotated, for example, a first state in which the sliding member 61 is erected (state in FIG. 4) and a second state in which the sliding member 61 is tilted (state in FIG. 5). It is possible to switch.

  When the sliding member 61 is in the first state, the sliding member 61 appears on the movement area of the lid 70 described later. When the sliding member 61 is in the second state, the sliding member 61 is retracted from the moving region of the lid portion 70. By switching between the first state and the second state of the sliding member 61, it is possible to avoid the appearance of the sliding member 61 serving as an obstacle in the moving region of the lid 70. In this way, the wiping unit 60 moves in a region outside the moving region of the lid 70, and the sliding member 61 is provided on the moving region of the lid 70 so as to appear and disappear.

  The wiping unit 60 is disposed at the same position in the Y direction as the suction cap unit 40, and reciprocates in the X direction from this position. Therefore, the nozzle of the recording head 20 by the suction cap unit 40 is provided. In this state, the region and the nozzle region to be wiped by the sliding member 61 are arranged so as to correspond to each other.

  Returning to FIGS. 1 to 3, the lid portion 70 is provided so as to be reciprocally movable in the X direction on the + Z side of the flushing receiving portion 30, the suction cap portion 40 and the standby cap portion 50. In FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to facilitate the determination of the configuration of the maintenance mechanism MN, the lid portion 70 is indicated by a dashed line and the lid portion 70 is transmitted. As shown in FIG. 12, the lid part 70 is formed in a shape in which the central part in the X direction protrudes to the + Y side. The protruding portion is substantially equal to the dimension in the X direction of the suction cap portion 40 and the standby cap portion 50. The lid portion 70 is formed to have a size that simultaneously covers the flushing receiving portion 30 and the suction cap portion 40. The dimension of the lid part 70 in the X direction is larger than the dimension of the flushing receiving part 30 in the X direction, for example. The dimension of the lid part 70 in the Y direction is substantially equal to the dimension of the standby cap part 50 in the Y direction, for example, as shown in FIG.

  A pair of guide portions 80 are provided on the + X side and the −X side of the flushing receiving portion 30, the suction cap portion 40 and the standby cap portion 50. In FIG. 1, only the guide part 80 arranged on the + X side is shown, but actually another guide part 80 is provided on the −X side. In order to make the drawings easier to understand, the guide portion 80 is not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the subsequent drawings. The guide portion 80 is formed to extend in the Y direction, which is the same direction as the moving direction of the recording head 20. The lid part 70 is provided so as to be movable in the Y direction along the guide part 80.

Next, the operation of the printer apparatus PRT configured as described above will be described.
When performing the recording operation, the control device CONT transports the recording paper 6 into the printer device PRT by the transport mechanism CR. When the recording paper 6 reaches the −Z side of the recording head 20, the control device CONT ejects ink from the nozzles 20 a while transporting the recording paper 6 by the transport mechanism CR based on print data such as image data and character data. Let me.

  When performing the maintenance operation, the control device CONT moves the lid portion 70 to the + Z side of the standby cap portion 50 and moves the standby cap portion 50 in the + Z direction. By this operation, the standby cap part 50 is covered in a state of being in contact with the lid part 70. After covering the standby cap 50 with the lid 70, the control device CONT moves the recording head 20 in the + Y direction to access the position of the maintenance mechanism MN. After allowing the recording head 20 to access the maintenance mechanism MN, the control device CONT causes the recording head 20 to perform a maintenance operation.

  The flushing operation will be described. When performing the flushing operation, the control unit CONT moves the flushing receiving unit 30 to the + Z side and arranges the recording head 20 on the + Z side of the flushing receiving unit 30 as shown in FIG. At this time, only a part of the nozzle rows 20R formed in the recording head 20 (here, three rows on the + Y side) is arranged on the + Z side of the flushing receiving unit 30. In this state, the control device CONT selectively discharges ink from each nozzle 20a provided in the three nozzle rows 20R.

  After the three rows of ink are discharged, the control unit CONT moves the recording head 20 to the + Y side and arranges the remaining two rows of nozzle rows 20R on the flushing receiving unit 30, as shown in FIG. . After the arrangement of the nozzle rows 20R, the control device CONT selectively discharges ink from the nozzles 20a provided in the two nozzle rows 20R. The ink Q discharged from the nozzle row 20R is absorbed by the ink absorbing material of the flushing receiving unit 30 and discharged to an ink tank (not shown). After completion of the flushing operation, the control device CONT moves the flushing receiving unit 30 to the −Z side and returns it to the original position.

  The suction operation and wiping operation will be described. When performing the suction operation, the control device CONT places the recording head 20 on the + Z side of the suction cap 40 as shown in FIG. At this time, the nozzle row 20R on the most + Y side is arranged above the suction cap 40. After the arrangement of the nozzle row 20R, the suction cap portion 40 is moved to the + Z side, and the cap member 41 is brought into contact with the recording head 20. In this state, the control device CONT operates a suction mechanism (not shown) to suck one column of the nozzle formation region of the recording head 20.

  After the suction operation for one row of the nozzle row 20R is completed, the control device CONT returns the suction cap portion 40 to the original position as shown in FIG. 9 and moves the sliding member 61 of the wiping portion 60 to the original position. In the first state (standing state), the sliding member 61 is brought into contact with the recording head 20. After bringing the sliding member 61 into contact, the control device CONT moves the holding member 62 in the −X direction as shown in FIG. 10 to perform the wiping operation on the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 20. When the holding member 62 reaches the end point on the −X side, the sliding member 61 enters the second state by the action of the rotation mechanism 64 of the wiping unit 60. In this state, the control device CONT moves the holding member 62 in the + X direction and returns the wiping unit 60 to the original position.

  After completion of the wiping operation, the control device CONT moves the recording head 20 in the + Y direction by one row, and performs the suction operation and the wiping operation for the next nozzle row 20R. In this way, by performing the suction operation and the wiping operation for each of a plurality (for example, five rows) of the nozzle rows 20R, the suction operation and the wiping operation for all the nozzle formation regions of the recording head 20 are performed.

  The standby operation of the recording head 20 will be described. When the recording head 20 is not used for a long period of time, if the nozzle 20a of the recording head 20 is left exposed, the ink in the nozzle 20a dries and causes clogging. At the same time, the flushing receiving unit 30 and the suction cap unit 40 are also left and the ink attached to each unit is solidified.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the recording head 20 is put on standby, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the control device CONT is in a state where the recording head 20 is covered with the standby cap unit 50. At the same time, the flushing receiving portion 30 and the suction cap portion 40 are covered with the lid portion 70.

  Specifically, the control device CONT moves the lid portion 70 in the −Y direction and aligns so that the convex portion 71 of the lid portion 70 is disposed on the suction cap portion 40. After the alignment, the control device CONT moves the flushing receiving portion 30 and the suction cap portion 40 to the + Z side and brings them into contact with the lid portion 70. By this operation, the flushing receiving portion 30 and the suction cap portion 40 are covered with the lid portion 70.

  On the other hand, the control device CONT arranges the recording head 20 on the standby cap unit 50 and performs alignment between the nozzle row 20R and the cap member 51. After the alignment, the control device CONT moves the standby cap unit 50 to the + Z side to bring the cap member 51 and the recording head 20 into contact with each other. With this operation, each nozzle row 20 </ b> R of the recording head 20 is covered with the standby cap unit 50.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the flushing receiving portion 30, the suction cap portion 40, and the standby cap portion 50 are arranged along the moving direction of the recording head 20, and the lid portion 70 that covers them is arranged. Is moved in the arrangement direction of each part, the lid part 70 can be efficiently accessed to each part with a minimum movement. Thereby, space saving can be achieved.

  In addition, since each of the standby cap unit 50, the suction cap unit 40, and the flushing receiving unit 30 can be moved up and down, flexible maintenance according to the operation of the recording head 20 is possible. Thereby, maintainability can be improved while saving space. Further, since the lid 70 covers the suction cap unit 40 and the flushing receiving unit 30 at the same time when the recording head 20 is on standby, the suction cap unit 40 and the flushing receiving unit are used when the recording head is on standby. 30 can be protected simultaneously.

  Further, since the standby cap portion 50 is formed to have a size that covers the entire recording head 20, the entire recording head 20 is covered when the recording head 20 is waiting. Thereby, solidification of the ink in the recording head 20 can be prevented more reliably. In addition, since the suction cap portion 40 is formed to have a size that covers a part of the recording head 20 and the flushing receiving portion 30 is formed to have a size that overlaps a part of the recording head 20, maintenance is performed. Space saving of mechanism MN can be achieved.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the wiping unit 60 is arranged so that the suction region of the recording head 20 by the suction cap unit 40 and the wiping region of the sliding member 61 correspond to each other, the space can be efficiently used. Maintenance operation can be performed while using. The wiping unit 60 moves in a region outside the moving region of the lid 70, and the sliding member 61 is provided on the moving region of the lid 70 so that it can appear and disappear. For this reason, for example, the efficiency appears in accordance with the operation timing of the maintenance mechanism MN. For example, the sliding member 61 appears in the moving region of the lid only when sliding, and is retracted from the moving region when the lid 70 moves. Can be moved. This enables efficient operation while saving space.

  In the above embodiment, an ink jet printer and an ink cartridge are employed. However, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink and a liquid container containing the liquid are employed. Also good. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be a material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in the state when the substance is in a liquid phase, and may be in a liquid state with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts) ) And a liquid as one state of the substance, as well as particles in which functional material particles made of solid materials such as pigments and metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. In addition, typical examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiments. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot-melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a coloring material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, a color filter, or the like in a dispersed or dissolved state. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a textile printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these ejecting apparatuses and liquid containers.

  PRT ... Printer device (fluid ejecting device) 20 ... Recording head (fluid ejecting head) MN ... Maintenance mechanism 30 ... Flushing receiving part (fluid receiving part) 40 ... Suction cap part 50 ... Standby cap part 60 ... Wiping part 70 ... Lid

Claims (5)

A fluid ejecting head which is provided so as to be movable in a predetermined direction and has an ejecting region for ejecting fluid;
A standby cap for covering the ejection area, a suction cap for covering and ejecting the ejection area, and a fluid receiving section for receiving the fluid discharged from the fluid ejection head, respectively A maintenance mechanism arranged along a predetermined direction;
The standby cap portion, movable selectively the predetermined direction and a second position covering the first position and the other two that will covering the standby cap portion of the suction cap portion and the fluid receiving portion And a lid that covers the same surface at either the first position or the second position. In the direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, a protrusion that is smaller than the dimension of the fluid receiving part and has a dimension for covering the standby cap part and the suction cap part is formed on the lid part. The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: It said fluid receiving portion, the fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is arranged to receive fluid being injected from a portion of the injection region. The fluid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the standby cap unit, the suction cap unit, and the fluid receiving unit are provided so as to be independently movable up and down. . A wiping unit for wiping the ejection surface;
The wiping unit moves in an area outside the movement area of the lid,
The portion of the wiping unit, the fluid injection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that is provided to be retractable on a moving area of the lid.

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