JP5614146B2 - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet printers are widely known as liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject liquid from nozzles formed on a liquid ejecting head to a target. In such a printer, when ink is ejected in a state where bubbles are mixed in the nozzles, a portion corresponding to the nozzle mixed with bubbles is not printed in the printed image, so-called missing dots may occur. Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of defective printing due to missing dots, a printer having a head maintenance unit for executing a cleaning operation for discharging bubbles in the nozzle together with ink has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2007-152812 A

  By the way, in the printer described in Patent Document 1, waste ink forcibly sucked from the liquid ejecting head by the cleaning operation is collected in a collection tank of the head maintenance unit via a waste ink tube or the like. . Since there is a limit to the amount of waste ink collected in the collection tank, the user may remove such a collection tank from the printer.

  However, if you attempt to remove the recovery tank from the printer immediately after performing the cleaning operation of the liquid ejecting head, waste ink that has not been recovered to the recovery tank will drop into the printer from the downstream end of the waste ink tube. As a result, the inside of the printer may be contaminated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of suppressing contamination in the apparatus main body when the waste liquid tank is removed after the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit. There is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention can execute a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto a target and a maintenance operation for discharging the liquid from the liquid ejecting head as a waste liquid through a waste liquid flow path. A maintenance unit and a mounting position corresponding to a downstream end of the waste liquid flow path in the apparatus main body, and the waste liquid discharged from the downstream end of the waste liquid flow path in a state of being mounted at the mounting position. An acceptable waste liquid tank, an open / close member provided in the apparatus main body so as to open / close when the waste liquid tank is attached to and detached from the mounting position in the apparatus main body, an allowable position for allowing the open / close operation of the open / close member, and a regulating member is always a displaceable between a regulating position for regulating the opening and closing operation of said opening and closing member positioned in the restricting position, the restricting Detecting means for detecting a displacement of the restricting member from a position to the permissible position, and a control means for stopping a maintenance operation on the liquid ejecting head by the maintenance unit when the detecting means detects a displacement of the restricting member. The restriction member is a target container formed so as to be capable of accommodating the target .

  According to the above configuration, even if the opening operation of the opening / closing member is performed to remove the waste liquid tank immediately after the maintenance operation of the liquid jet head by the maintenance unit is performed, the restriction member is set to the restriction position to open the opening / closing member. An operation for displacing from the position toward the allowable position is required. That is, when the opening / closing member is opened, it takes time to displace the restricting member from the restricting position to the allowable position. Therefore, when the opening / closing member is opened, a little time has passed since the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit was completed. As a result, even if the open / close member is opened at this time and the waste liquid tank is removed from the mounting position in the apparatus main body, the waste liquid hardly drops from the downstream end of the waste liquid flow path. Therefore, when the waste liquid tank is removed after the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit, contamination in the apparatus main body can be suppressed.

Moreover, since it a dedicated member for restricting the opening and closing operation of the open closure site material becomes unnecessary, it is possible to reduce the number of parts.

Even if the user tries to open the opening / closing member during the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit, the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit is stopped according to the displacement of the restriction member from the restriction position to the allowable position. Then, it takes time to displace the restricting member from the restricting position to the allowable position after the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit stops. Therefore, when the opening / closing member is opened, the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit can be completed.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the opening / closing member may include an operation unit that is operated when the opening / closing member is opened / closed. Cover the external operation.

  According to the above configuration, in a state where the restricting member is located at the restricting position, the operation portion of the opening / closing member is covered from the outside by the restricting member so that the operation by the user cannot be executed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an unnecessary force from acting on the restriction member and the opening / closing member when the user tries to open the opening / closing member in a state where the restriction member is located at the restriction position.

(A) is a perspective view of the printer of this embodiment, (b) is a sectional side view of the printer of this embodiment. (A) is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the roll body accommodating part was located in the control position, (b) is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the roll body accommodating part was located in the allowable position.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer (hereinafter also referred to as “printer”) which is a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the following description, the terms “front-rear direction”, “vertical direction”, and “left-right direction” refer to “front-rear direction”, “vertical direction”, and “left-right direction” indicated by arrows in FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified. Direction ". In this case, the “front-rear direction” is the direction from the rear side to the front side corresponding to the target transport direction, the “vertical direction” is the vertical direction (gravity direction), and the “left-right direction” is the target transport direction. Corresponds to the width direction intersecting the direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, a printer 11 as a liquid ejecting apparatus includes an apparatus main body 12 having a casing shape. The apparatus main body 12 is formed so that the upper surface 12a forms a substantially rectangular planar shape along the horizontal direction, and at the approximate center of the corner portion extending in the left-right direction where the upper surface 12a and the rear side surface 12b intersect. Is formed with a recess 13 so as to be open on both the upper surface 12a and the rear surface 12b.

  Further, a roll body accommodating portion 14 is rotatably attached to a position corresponding to the concave portion 13 in the left and right direction on the rear side surface 12b of the apparatus main body 12 via a rotation shaft 15 (see FIG. 1B). Yes. The roll body accommodating portion 14 includes an upper case portion 16a formed in a box shape that opens downward, and a lower case portion 16b formed in a box shape that opens upward. And as shown in FIG.1 (b), when both case parts 16a and 16b contact | abutted each other, the sheet | seat S as a long target was rolled up inside the roll body accommodating part 14 at roll shape. An accommodation space for accommodating the roll body R is formed. In this respect, the roll body accommodating part 14 functions as a target container formed so as to be capable of accommodating a target. A handle portion 17 having a substantially U shape is provided at the rear end of the lower case portion 16b so as to extend rearward.

  Further, an opening / closing door 18 as an opening / closing member having a rectangular plate shape is provided at a position near the lower right side of the rear side surface 12b of the apparatus main body 12. A maintenance unit 19 to be described later is accommodated in a space area opened and closed by the opening / closing door 18 inside the apparatus main body 12. Note that a gripping portion 18 a (see FIG. 2B) as an operation portion gripped by the user when the door 18 is opened and closed is provided at a position on the upper left side of the door 18.

As shown in FIG. 1B, a conveyance unit 20, a printing unit 21, and a paper discharge unit 22 are provided inside the apparatus main body 12.
A plurality of transport rollers 23 to 26 are provided in the transport unit 20 along the transport path of the sheet S. And these conveyance rollers 23-26 convey the sheet | seat S which is unwound from the roll body R in the roll body accommodating part 14, and is drawn | fed out toward the printing part 21. As shown in FIG.

  The printing unit 21 is provided with a support plate 27 having a support surface (upper surface in FIG. 1B) that can support the sheet S unrolled from the roll body R and conveyed. A carriage 28 is provided at a position facing the support surface of the support plate 27 in the vertical direction. The carriage 28 is configured to be able to reciprocate in the width direction (left-right direction) intersecting the conveyance direction of the sheet S by driving means (not shown). A recording head 29 as a liquid ejecting head is supported on the lower surface of the carriage 28, and ink is ejected onto the lower surface of the recording head 29 (hereinafter also referred to as “nozzle forming surface”). A plurality of nozzles (not shown) are formed. The recording head 29 performs a printing process on the sheet S by ejecting ink onto the sheet S conveyed between the recording head 29 and the support plate 27.

  In the printing unit 21, when the recording head 29 is maintained at a position on the right side of the support plate 27 (the front side in FIG. 1B), that is, in a non-printing area where the sheet S does not reach. A home position for positioning the carriage 28 is provided. A maintenance unit 19 that performs various maintenance operations (for example, cleaning) is provided below the home position so that ink ejection from the recording head 29 to the sheet S is satisfactorily maintained.

  The maintenance unit 19 includes a cap 31, a discharge tube 32 as a waste liquid channel, a suction pump 33, and the like as constituent elements. The cap 31 is configured to have a substantially square box shape with a bottom opened on the upper side, and surrounds the nozzle opening of the nozzle with respect to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 29 based on a driving force from a lifting mechanism (not shown). Thus, a sealed space is formed between the nozzle forming surface and the contact surface. The bottom surface of the cap 31 is connected to one end of a discharge tube 32 made of a flexible material that discharges ink from the cap 31. In addition, the other end side of the discharge tube 32 is a waste ink tank 34 as a waste liquid tank having a substantially box shape that is detachably attached to an attachment position corresponding to the other end side (downstream end) in the vertical direction. It arrange | positions so that it may face with respect to the inside from above. A suction pump 33 is disposed in the middle of the discharge tube 32.

  Ink thickened from the nozzles of the recording head 29 by driving the suction pump 33 in a state where the cap 31 is in contact with the nozzle forming surface which is the lower surface of the recording head 29 so as to surround the nozzle opening of the nozzle. Is sucked together with bubbles. The waste ink sucked from the nozzles of the recording head 29 is discharged into the waste ink tank 34 via the cap 31 and the discharge tube 32.

  The printing unit 21 is provided with a cutter 35 that can cut the sheet S in the width direction (left-right direction) intersecting the transport direction at a position downstream of the support plate 27 on the transport path of the sheet S. ing. The sheet S is cut from a continuous paper state to a cut sheet state by the cutter 35.

  The paper discharge unit 22 includes a pair of transport rollers 36a and 36b that applies a transport force toward the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the sheet S that has been cut into a cut sheet by the cutter 35 in the printing unit 21; A reversing unit 37 that reverses the sheet S to which the conveying force is applied by the conveying roller pairs 36a and 36b is provided. The reversing part 37 is constituted by two guide plates 38 having a substantially arc-shaped cross section, and the two guide plates 38 are arranged in parallel at a distance in the front-rear direction. A curved inversion path is formed between the guide plates 38. The transport roller pair 36 a is disposed in the vicinity of the upstream end of the reversing path formed in the reversing unit 37, while the transporting roller pair 36 b is in the vicinity of the downstream end of the reversing path formed in the reversing unit 37. Placed in position. The reversing unit 37 is arranged so that the upper end portion thereof is located above the upper surface 12 a of the apparatus main body 12.

  Then, the sheet S on which the printing process has been performed by the recording head 29 is conveyed to the downstream side and passes through the reversing path of the reversing unit 37 so that the front and back surfaces are reversed. Further, the inverted sheet S is discharged toward the rear side of the apparatus main body 12 on the roll body housing portion 14 side from the discharge port 39 located on the front side of the apparatus main body 12 and above the upper surface 12a. . The sheet S discharged from the discharge port 39 is placed on the upper surface 12a of the apparatus main body 12 with the printing surface to which ink is attached facing downward.

  In addition, the user holds the handle portion 17 of the roll body accommodating portion 14, and performs a restriction position (position shown in FIG. 2A) for restricting the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 18 and an opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 18. It is possible to displace the roll body accommodating portion 14 between an allowable position (a position shown in FIG. 2B).

  As shown in FIG. 2A, in a state where the roll body accommodating portion 14 is located at the restriction position, the lower case portion 16 b faces the opening / closing door 18 in the front-rear direction and the movement range of the opening / closing door 18. It is arranged to be located inside. In this case, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2A, the user rotates the upper case portion 16 a upward about the rotation shaft 15, thereby opening the accommodation space of the roll body accommodation portion 14 to the outside. The roll body R accommodated in the accommodation space can be easily replaced with a new roll body R. In this case, the gripping portion 18 a of the open / close door 18 is covered from the outside of the apparatus main body 12 by the roll body housing portion 14. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to grip the grip portion 18a by inserting the fingertip from the outside of the apparatus body 12 into the grip portion 18a.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), in a state where the roll body accommodating portion 14 is located at the allowable position, the lower case portion 16 b is disposed at a position deviated upward from the moving range of the opening / closing door 18. It has become. In this case, since the opening / closing door 18 can be opened, the waste ink tank 34 of the maintenance unit 19 can be pulled out of the apparatus main body 12 from the mounting position in the apparatus main body 12 with the opening / closing door 18 opened. Become. The waste ink can be discarded from the waste ink tank 34 thus drawn out.

Next, the operation of the printer 11 configured as described above will be described below, particularly focusing on the operation when the door 18 is opened when the waste ink tank 34 is attached or detached.
The waste ink tank 34 is configured to collect waste ink discharged from the recording head 29 during the cleaning operation of the recording head 29. Here, when the amount of waste ink collected in the waste ink tank 34 exceeds a predetermined amount (that is, the limit of waste ink collection in the waste ink tank 34), the waste ink is collected in the waste ink tank 34. I can't do that. Therefore, it is desirable to remove the waste ink tank 34 from the apparatus main body 12 and remove the waste ink from the waste ink tank 34, and then mount the waste ink tank 34 in the apparatus main body 12 again. In this case, in order to take out the waste ink tank 34 from the apparatus main body 12, it is necessary to open the space area in the apparatus main body 12 where the waste ink tank 34 is mounted to the outside through the opening operation of the opening / closing door 18. It becomes.

  In this regard, in the present embodiment, when the printer 11 performs the printing operation, the roll body accommodating portion 14 is always located at the restriction position where the opening operation of the opening / closing door 18 is restricted. In this state, the opening operation of the opening / closing door 18 is restricted by the roll body accommodating portion 14 located within the movement range of the opening / closing door 18. Therefore, in order to perform the opening operation of the door 18, the user is allowed to move the roll body housing portion 14 upward from the moving range of the door 18 while holding the handle 17 of the roll body housing portion 14. Need to lift to position.

  Here, when the roll body housing part 14 is lifted so as to displace the roll body housing part 14 from the restriction position to the allowable position, a load corresponding to the weight of the roll body housing part 14 acts. In this regard, as in the present embodiment, when the printing operation of the printer 11 is interrupted and the waste ink tank 34 is removed, the sheet S that has not yet undergone printing processing in the roll body container 14. Is accommodated. Therefore, it takes some time to lift such a roll body accommodating portion 14 from the restricted position to the allowable position.

  That is, in the printer 11 of this embodiment, even if the user tries to remove the waste ink tank 34 immediately after the maintenance operation of the recording head 29 by the maintenance unit 19 is performed, the user removes the roll body container 14 from the restricted position. The opening / closing door 18 cannot be opened until it is lifted to the permissible position. In the maintenance unit 19, the waste ink discharged from the recording head 29 to the cap 31 is collected in the waste ink tank 34 through the discharge tube 32 while the user lifts the roll body container 14. Therefore, when the opening / closing door 18 is opened, the maintenance unit 19 has finished discharging the waste ink from the discharge tube 32 side to the waste ink tank 34 side. The waste ink hardly flows out toward the ink tank 34. Therefore, even if the waste ink tank 34 is detached from the apparatus main body 12 immediately after the opening / closing door 18 is opened, it is avoided that the waste ink flows out from the lower end portion of the discharge tube 32 and contaminates the inside of the apparatus main body 12.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Immediately after the maintenance operation of the recording head 29 by the maintenance unit 19, even if an attempt is made to perform an opening operation of the opening / closing door 18 to remove the waste ink tank 34, a roll body is accommodated in order to open the opening / closing door 18. An operation for displacing the portion 14 from the restriction position toward the allowable position is required. That is, when the opening / closing door 18 is opened, it takes time to displace the roll body accommodating portion 14 from the restricted position to the allowable position. For this reason, when the opening / closing door 18 is opened, a little time has passed since the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit 19 was completed. As a result, even if the open / close door 18 is opened and the waste ink tank 34 is removed from the mounting position in the apparatus main body 12 at this time, the waste ink hardly drips from the downstream end of the discharge tube 32. Therefore, contamination in the apparatus main body 12 can be suppressed when the waste ink tank 34 is removed after the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit 19.

  (2) The roll body accommodating portion 14 formed to accommodate the roll body R functions as a regulating member that regulates the opening operation of the open / close door 18. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated member for restricting the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 18, and the number of parts can be reduced.

  (3) In a state where the roll body accommodating portion 14 is located at the restriction position, the grip portion 18a of the open / close door 18 is covered from the outside of the apparatus main body 12 by the roll body accommodating portion 14 so that the user cannot perform an operation. Therefore, when the user tries to open the opening / closing door 18 in a state where the roll body accommodating portion 14 is located at the restriction position, it is possible that an unnecessary force acts on the roll body accommodating portion 14 and the opening / closing door 18 in advance. Can be prevented.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment into another embodiment as follows.
In the above-described embodiment, the roll body accommodating portion 14 may be configured not to cover the grip portion 18 a of the open / close door 18 from the outside of the apparatus main body 12 in a state where the roll body accommodating portion 14 is located at the restriction position. That is, the roll body accommodating portion 14 may be positioned within the moving range of the opening / closing door 18 so as to restrict the opening operation of the opening / closing door 18 at the restriction position without covering the gripping portion 18a of the opening / closing door 18. That's fine.

In the above embodiment, the grip portion 18a that is gripped by the user when opening and closing the open / close door 18 is not necessarily provided.
In the above-described embodiment, a displacement sensor that detects the displacement of the roll body housing portion 14 from the allowable position to the restricted position may be provided as the detection unit. Then, the control device as a control unit that comprehensively controls the operation of the printer 11 stops the operation of the printer 11 based on the detection signal output when the displacement sensor detects the displacement of the roll body accommodating portion 14. It may be.

  According to this configuration, even if the user tries to open the opening / closing door 18 without stopping the operation of the printer 11, the operation of the printer 11 is performed according to the displacement of the roll body accommodating portion 14 from the restriction position to the allowable position. Stopped. Then, after the operation of the printer 11 is stopped, it takes time to displace the roll body accommodating portion 14 from the restricted position to the allowable position. Therefore, when the opening / closing door 18 is opened, the maintenance operation for the recording head 29 by the maintenance unit 19 can be completed.

  Further, the control device may stop the maintenance operation for the recording head 29 by the maintenance unit 19 based on the detection signal output from the displacement sensor when the displacement sensor detects the displacement of the roll body accommodating portion 14. .

  According to this configuration, even if the user tries to open the opening / closing door 18 during the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit 19, the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit 19 is performed according to the displacement of the roll body housing portion 14 from the restriction position to the allowable position. Stopped. Then, after the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit 19 stops, it takes time to displace the roll body accommodating portion 14 from the restricted position to the allowable position. Therefore, when the opening / closing door 18 is opened, the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit 19 can be completed. Further, according to this configuration, since the operation of the printer 11 is not stopped every time the user lifts the roll body accommodating portion 14, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the throughput of the printing process in the printer 11.

  In the above-described embodiment, the opening / closing door 18 may be provided on a surface portion (for example, the left side surface) different from the rear side surface 12 b in which the roll body housing portion 14 is provided in the apparatus main body 12. That is, as long as the roll body accommodating portion 14 can be disposed within the moving range of the opening / closing door 18, the opening / closing door 18 may be provided at any part of the apparatus main body 12.

  In the above embodiment, the restricting member for restricting the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 18 is not limited to the roll body accommodating portion 14, and the restriction position located within the movement range of the opening / closing door 18 and the movement of the opening / closing door 18. Any member can be adopted as long as it is a member that can be displaced between the allowable positions outside the range.

In the embodiment described above, a dedicated member for restricting the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 18 may be provided in addition to the roll body accommodating portion 14.
In each of the above embodiments, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or ejects liquid other than ink may be employed as the liquid ejecting apparatus. The present invention can be used for various liquid consuming devices including a liquid ejecting head that discharges 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. Moreover, the liquid here may be a material that can be ejected by the liquid consuming 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, as a typical example of the liquid, the ink described in the above embodiment can be used. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various fluid compositions such as gel inks and hot-melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid consuming device, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color 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 form. 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 fluid used as a precision pipette, a 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.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 12 ... Apparatus main body, 14 ... Roll body accommodating part as a regulating member and a target accommodating body, 18 ... Opening / closing door as an opening / closing member, 18a ... Grasping part as an operation part, 19 ... Maintenance Unit: 29... Recording head as liquid ejecting head, 32... Discharge tube as waste liquid flow path, 34... Waste ink tank as waste liquid tank, S.

Claims (2)

A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto a target;
A maintenance unit capable of performing a maintenance operation for discharging the liquid from the liquid jet head as a waste liquid through a waste liquid flow path;
A waste liquid tank that is attachable to and detachable from a mounting position corresponding to the downstream end of the waste liquid flow path in the apparatus main body and that can receive the waste liquid discharged from the downstream end of the waste liquid flow path in a state of being mounted at the mounting position. When,
An opening / closing member provided in the apparatus main body so as to open and close when the waste liquid tank is attached to and detached from the mounting position in the apparatus main body;
A restricting member that is displaceable between a permissible position that allows the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing member and a restricting position that restricts the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing member, and is always located at the restricting position ;
Detecting means for detecting displacement of the restricting member from the restricting position to the allowable position;
Control means for stopping a maintenance operation on the liquid jet head by the maintenance unit when the detection means detects a displacement of the restriction member ;
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member is a target container formed so as to accommodate the target . The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The opening / closing member has an operation unit that is operated during the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing member,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the restricting member covers the operation unit so as not to be operated from the outside when the restricting member is located at the restricting position.

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