JP6028631B2 - Liquid ejection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus having a liquid ejection head in which an ejection surface for ejecting liquid is formed.

  The liquid ejection device may be provided with a wiper that wipes the ejection surface of the liquid ejection head. In Patent Document 1, such a wiper member (wiper) extends outward from the nozzle surface (ejection surface) of the head.

JP 2007-76294 A

  According to Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the ink wiped by the wiper travels through a structure disposed outside the ejection surface and wraps around the upstream side of the wiper (behind the wiper) in the wiper moving direction. In order to prevent such wraparound of the ink, it is conceivable to arrange the wiper so that the contact area between the wiper and the ejection surface is inside the end of the ejection surface. However, in this case, wiping residue is generated near the end of the ejection surface.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus in which wiping is not easily generated by a wiper in the vicinity of an end portion of an ejection surface while suppressing wraparound of ink.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a liquid ejection device includes a liquid ejection head having an ejection surface for ejecting liquid, a first wiper in contact with the ejection surface, and the first A second wiper that contacts the discharge surface at a position spaced from the wiper, and the first and second wipers in the first direction from the second wiper toward the first wiper. And a wiping means for wiping the discharge surface relative to the discharge surface in a state of being in contact with the first wiper, wherein the first wiper is in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The second wiper is in contact with the discharge surface on the inner side of the end of the discharge surface, and the second wiper has an overlap with the first wiper with respect to the first direction, and the second direction. With respect to the discharge surface only in the vicinity of the end Both than the end of the discharge surface extends to the outside, further, the more outward in respect of the second direction, a surface located rearwardly with respect to said first direction, said end portion of said discharge surface It has a guide surface that guides the adhered matter to the outside in the second direction, and the rigidity of the second wiper is higher than the rigidity of the first wiper. The liquid ejection device according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a liquid ejection head having an ejection surface for ejecting liquid, a first wiper that comes into contact with the ejection surface, and a position separated from the first wiper. In a state where the first and second wipers are in contact with the discharge surface in a first direction from the second wiper toward the first wiper in contact with the second wiper in contact with the discharge surface. A wiping means that moves relative to the ejection surface and wipes the ejection surface, and a direction perpendicular to the first direction is a second direction, the first direction and the second direction With respect to a third direction perpendicular to the first wiper, a first clamping member that clamps an end of the first wiper opposite to the contact side with the ejection surface, and the ejection surface of the second wiper 2nd clamping which clamps the edge part on the opposite side to the contact side of The first wiper is in contact with the discharge surface inside the end of the discharge surface with respect to the second direction, and the second wiper is connected to the first wiper. While overlapping with the first wiper with respect to the direction, the second surface is in contact with the discharge surface only in the vicinity of the end, and extends to the outside of the end of the discharge surface, The portion of the second wiper that is not clamped by the second clamping member is shorter than the portion of the first wiper that is not clamped by the first clamping member, with respect to the third direction, The rigidity of the second wiper is higher than the rigidity of the first wiper.

  According to the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention, the second wiper that contacts the vicinity of the end of the ejection surface is provided. Since the second wiper extends to the outside of the discharge surface in the second direction, the deposits gathered by the wiper can be discharged to the outside of the discharge surface. As a result, it is possible to suppress unwiping from occurring near the end of the ejection surface. Further, since the second wiper is in contact with only the vicinity of the end of the ejection surface, a large amount of liquid such as ink is not scraped, and the risk of wraparound of the liquid is small. Furthermore, since only a part of the second wiper moves while being in contact with the ejection surface, there is a risk of twisting, but since the rigidity is higher than that of the first wiper, twisting is suppressed.

Moreover, according to the 1st viewpoint, the deposit | attachment adhering to the edge part of a discharge surface can be more reliably discharged | emitted by the guide surface of a 2nd wiper to the outer side of a discharge surface.

In the first aspect, with respect to the first direction and a third direction orthogonal to the second direction, an end portion of the first wiper opposite to the contact side with the discharge surface And a second clamping member for clamping an end of the second wiper opposite to the contact side with the discharge surface, and the second wiper. It is preferable that a portion of the wiper that is not clamped by the second clamping member is shorter with respect to the third direction than a portion of the first wiper that is not clamped by the first clamping member. According to this, the part which is not clamped by the clamping member in the 2nd wiper is shorter than the part which is not clamped by the clamping member in the 1st wiper. That is, the free length of the second wiper is smaller than the free length of the first wiper. Accordingly, the second wiper is configured to have higher rigidity than the first wiper. The same applies to the second viewpoint. In the present invention, the first wiper has a length in a direction along a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction and parallel to the first direction and the second direction. It is preferable that it is larger than the above-mentioned length.

  In the present invention, the front second wiper may be provided at each of both end portions of the ejection surface in the second direction. According to this, since the 2nd wiper is provided in both ends, the wiping residue of a discharge surface is controlled more certainly.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that a water-repellent film is formed on the ejection surface in a range straddling a region where the first wiper abuts in the second direction. According to this, since the water-repellent film straddles the region where the first wiper abuts on the ejection surface in the second direction, the liquid scraped to the first wiper from the abutment region in the second direction. It is difficult to go outside. Therefore, the wraparound of the liquid can be suppressed more reliably.

  In the present invention, the liquid discharge port is formed in a range inside the end portion of the discharge surface with respect to the second direction, and the discharge port formation region is the first wiper. It is preferable that it is included in the wiping area by and not included in the wiping area by the second wiper. According to this, the first wiper wipes the liquid adhering to the vicinity of the discharge port formation region, but the second wiper does not wipe the discharge port formation region. Therefore, it is difficult for the liquid to adhere to the second wiper, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the liquid from flowing around through the second wiper.

  A second wiper is provided in contact with the vicinity of the end of the discharge surface. Since the second wiper extends to the outside of the discharge surface in the second direction, the deposits gathered by the wiper can be discharged to the outside of the discharge surface. As a result, it is possible to suppress unwiping from occurring near the end of the ejection surface. Further, since the second wiper is in contact with only the vicinity of the end of the ejection surface, a large amount of liquid such as ink is not scraped, and the risk of wraparound of the liquid is small. Furthermore, since only a part of the second wiper moves while being in contact with the ejection surface, there is a risk of twisting, but since the rigidity is higher than that of the first wiper, twisting is suppressed.

1 is a schematic side view showing an internal structure of an ink jet printer to which an ink jet head according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a top view of a head body. (A) It is an enlarged view of the area | region enclosed by the dashed-dotted line of FIG. (B) It is the IIIb-IIIb sectional view taken on the line of Fig.3 (a). (C) It is an enlarged view of the area | region enclosed by the dashed-dotted line of FIG.3 (b). It is these top views which show the positional relationship of a wiper unit, a head, and a platen. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a figure of the state which the 1st wiper and the 2nd wiper contact | abutted to the discharge surface, and bent. It is a perspective view of a 1st wiper, a 2nd wiper, and a clamping member. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view around the first wiper and the second wiper of FIG. 5. It is a figure of the state which the 1st wiper and the 2nd wiper do not contact | abut on the discharge surface, and are not bent. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the 1st wiper and 2nd wiper, and a discharge surface at the time of wiping. The illustration regarding other structures is omitted. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, an overall configuration of an ink jet printer 101 as an embodiment of a liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The printer 101 has a rectangular parallelepiped housing 101a. A paper discharge unit 31 is provided on the top plate of the housing 101a. The internal space of the housing 101a can be divided into spaces A, B, and C in order from the top. In the spaces A and B, a paper transport path from the paper feed unit 1c to the paper discharge unit 31 is formed, and the paper P is transported along the thick black arrows shown in FIG. In the space A, image formation on the paper P and conveyance of the paper P to the paper discharge unit 31 are performed. In the space B, the paper P is fed to the conveyance path. From the space C, ink is supplied to the head 1 in the space A.

  In the space A, a head 1 for discharging black ink, a wiper unit 40 (wiping means; see FIG. 4), a transport mechanism 8, a paper sensor 32, a controller 100, and the like are arranged. The head 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the main scanning direction, and forms an image based on a drive signal. The head 1 is supported by the housing 101a via the head holder 13 and faces the platen 5 via a predetermined gap. The head holder 13 moves in the vertical and main scanning directions while supporting the head 1 by driving a head moving motor 10M (see FIG. 9) based on the control by the controller 100.

  The head 1 is a laminate in which a reservoir unit, a flexible printed circuit board (FPC), a control board, and the like are laminated in addition to the head body 3 (see FIG. 2). An upstream ink flow path (not shown) including a reservoir is formed in the reservoir unit as the upstream flow path member, and ink is supplied from the cartridge 4. The reservoir temporarily stores ink.

  The flow path unit 11 as a downstream flow path member constitutes the head body 3 together with the actuator unit 19 and is supplied with ink of the reservoir unit. The lower surface of the flow path unit 11 is a discharge surface 1a in which a plurality of discharge ports 108 are formed. Ink is ejected from the ejection port 108 by driving the actuator unit 19. The configuration of the head 1 will be described in detail later.

  The control board adjusts a signal from the controller 100. The output signal is converted into a drive signal by a driver IC on the FPC and further output to the actuator unit 19 of the head body 3. When the drive signal is supplied, the actuator unit 19 applies pressure to the ink in the flow path unit 11 (specifically, a pressure chamber 110 described later).

  The transport mechanism 8 includes two guide portions 9 a and 9 b that guide the paper P and a platen 5. The two guide portions 9a and 9b are arranged with the platen 5 interposed therebetween. The guide portion 9a on the upstream side in the transport direction has three guides 18a and three feed roller pairs 22 to 24, and connects the paper feed portion 1c and the platen 5. The guide portion 9 a conveys the image forming paper P toward the platen 5. The guide portion 9 b on the downstream side in the transport direction has three guides 18 b and four feed roller pairs 25 to 28, and connects the platen 5 and the paper discharge portion 31. The guide unit 9 b conveys the paper P after image formation toward the paper discharge unit 31. The platen 5 is a plate-like member and has a plane size that is slightly larger than the discharge surface 1a.

  The paper sensor 32 is disposed on the upstream side of the feed roller pair 24 and detects the leading edge of the paper P being conveyed. The detection signal output at this time is used to synchronize the driving of the head 1 and the driving of the transport mechanism 8, and an image is formed at a desired resolution and speed.

  In the space B, the paper feeding unit 1c is arranged. The paper feed unit 1 c includes a paper feed tray 20 and a paper feed roller 21. Among these, the paper feed tray 20 is detachable from the housing 101a. A plurality of sheets P can be stored in the sheet feed tray 20. The paper feed roller 21 sends out the uppermost paper P in the paper feed tray 20.

  Here, the sub-scanning direction (second direction) is a direction parallel to the transport direction D (the direction of arrow D in FIG. 1) in which the paper P is transported by the pair of feed rollers 23 to 25, and the main scanning direction. Is a direction parallel to the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction.

  In the space C, a cartridge 4 that stores black ink is detachably attached to the housing 101a. The cartridge 4 is connected to the head 1 via a tube and a pump (both not shown). The pump is driven when forcibly sending ink to the head 1 such as during purging or initial introduction of liquid. The purge is an operation of discharging ink from the ejection port 108 by flowing ink into the head 1 by driving the pump. As a result, the ink whose viscosity has been increased by drying is discharged, and the discharge performance of the discharge port 108 is improved. At times other than these times, ink is supplied to the head 1 as the ink is ejected from the head 1 regardless of the driving of the pump.

  Next, the controller 100 will be described. The controller 100 controls the operation of each part of the printer and controls the operation of the entire printer 101. The controller 100 controls the image recording operation based on a recording command (image data or the like) supplied from an external device (such as a PC connected to the printer 101). When receiving the recording command, the controller 100 drives the paper feeding unit 1c and the transport mechanism 8 (feed roller pairs 22 to 28). The paper P sent out from the paper feed tray 20 is guided by the upstream guide portion 9 a and sent onto the platen 5. When the paper P passes directly below the head 1 in the sub-scanning direction (paper transport direction D), ink is ejected from the ejection surface 1a under the control of the controller 100, and a desired image is formed on the paper P. At this time, the ink ejection timing is controlled based on the detection signal from the paper sensor 32. The paper P on which the image is formed is guided by the downstream guide portion 9b and discharged from the upper portion of the housing 101a to the paper discharge portion 31. Further, the controller 100 performs flushing when the paper P does not exist on the platen 5. Flushing is an operation of driving the actuator unit 19 so that ink is ejected from the ejection port 108 regardless of image recording. As a result, the dried ink whose viscosity has increased is discharged from the head 1, and the discharge performance of the discharge port 108 is improved.

  Next, the configuration of the head 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

  Ink from the cartridge 4 is supplied to the head body 3 through the reservoir unit. The flow path unit 11 included in the head main body 3 includes nine metal plates 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, and 130 (see FIG. 3B) having substantially the same size. The flow path members are laminated and bonded to each other. As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 105 b is formed on the upper surface of the flow path unit 11. Ink from the reservoir unit flows into each opening 105b. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink flow path inside the flow path unit 11 includes a manifold flow path 105 having an opening 105b at one end, a sub-manifold flow path 105a branched from the manifold flow path 105, and a sub-manifold flow. An individual ink channel 132 extending from the outlet of the channel 105a to the ejection port 108 via the pressure chamber 110 is included.

  In FIG. 3A, the pressure chamber 110 and the aperture 112 which are located below the actuator unit 19 and should be indicated by dotted lines are indicated by solid lines.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each actuator unit 19 has a trapezoidal planar shape, and the upper surface of the flow path unit 11 is arranged in two rows in a staggered manner. Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, a large number of substantially rhombic pressure chambers 110 are open on the upper surface of the flow path unit 11. The opening is formed in a trapezoidal region where each actuator unit 19 of the flow path unit 11 faces. The same number of discharge ports 108 as the pressure chambers 110 are opened on the lower surface (discharge surface 1 a) of the flow path unit 11. The ejection surface 1a includes a region where the ejection port 108 is opened and a region where the ejection port 108 is not opened. Hereinafter, a region where the discharge port 108 is opened is referred to as a nozzle formation region NZ (see FIG. 8). The nozzle formation area NZ is substantially equal to the area facing the actuator unit 19. On the ejection surface 1a, a water repellent film 1x shown in FIG. 3B is formed in the entire region including the nozzle formation region NZ. As a result, the ejection surface 1a easily repels ink, and the ink hardly remains on the ejection surface 1a.

  Next, the wiper unit 40 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The wiper unit 40 is disposed on the side of the transport path in the main scanning direction in the space A (see FIG. 1) in the housing 101a. The wiper unit 40 includes a first wiper 41 (first wiper), two second wipers 42 (second wiper), a support member 43 that supports these wipers, a belt 44, and a pair of belts 44 around which the belt 44 is wound. Pulleys 45a and 45b, a pair of guide plates 47, and a wiper moving motor 40M (see FIG. 9).

  The wiper unit 40 includes a wiping unit that wipes the ejection surface 1a and a moving unit that reciprocates the wiping unit (relative movement of the wiper with respect to the ejection surface 1a). The first wiper 41, the second wiper 42, and the support member 43 constitute a wiping portion, and the belt 44, the pulley 45, the wiper moving motor 40M, and the guide plate 47 constitute a moving portion. The support member 43 is fixed to the belt 44, and the entire wiping portion reciprocates together with the belt 44.

  Here, the water repellent film 1x is formed on the ejection surface 1a. However, when flushing or purging is performed, ink remains in the vicinity of the ejection port 108. The controller 100 controls the wiper moving motor 40M after the movement of the head 1 from the conveying path onto the wiper unit 40, and wipes the ejection surface 1a with the wiper. At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 are moved from the right side to the left side (wiper movement direction) while being in contact with the ejection surface 1 a. Thereby, the foreign matter on the ejection surface 1a is removed including the residual ink. This foreign matter removal process is called wiping.

  Hereinafter, main components of the wiper unit 40 will be described in order.

  The pair of guide plates 47 regulates the reciprocating movement of the support member 43. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each guide plate 47 is a flat plate member that is long in the main scanning direction, and has guide holes 47 a on surfaces facing each other. The guide hole 47a extends in the main scanning direction and is longer than the entire length of the ejection surface 1a. A part of a support member 43 described later is fitted into the guide hole 47a. Thereby, the displacement of the wiping part is regulated in the sub-scanning direction, and linear reciprocation in the main scanning direction becomes possible. In the present embodiment, a pair of guide plates 47 are disposed above the belt 44 with the ejection surface 1a interposed therebetween in the sub-scanning direction. Both ends of the guide plate 47 in the main scanning direction are connected by stoppers 47s. The stopper 47s forms a rectangular frame together with the guide plate 47, and defines the amount of movement of the support member 43 in the main scanning direction.

  The belt 44 is an endless belt made of polyimide, and is stretched around two pulleys 45a and 45b. A support member 43 is fixed to the upper half as shown in FIG. The belt 44 travels in both the forward and reverse directions in the main scanning direction, and the support member 43 reciprocates. The pulleys 45a and 45b are separated from each other in the main scanning direction with the ejection surface 1a interposed therebetween. The pulley 45b is a drive pulley and rotates by the driving force of the wiper movement motor 40M (see FIG. 9). When the pulley 45b rotates, the belt 44 travels. The pulley 45 a is a driven pulley and rotates as the belt 44 travels.

  The support member 43 supports the first wiper 41 and the two second wipers 42, and includes a support base 43a, two side plates 43b, and a guide protrusion 43c. The lower surface of the support base 43a is fixed to the belt 44, and the wipers 41 and 42 are supported on the upper surface. The side plates 43b are erected at both ends in the sub-scanning direction of the support base 43a and face the guide plates 47. The arrangement form with the guide plate 47 regulates the displacement of the wiping portion in the sub-scanning direction. Guide protrusions 43c are formed on the outer sides of the side plates 43b in the sub-scanning direction. In the present embodiment, two guide protrusions 43c are formed on one side plate 43b. The two guide protrusions 43c are fitted into the guide holes 47a of the guide plate 47 opposed to the side plates 43b, thereby enabling smooth linear reciprocation of the wiping portion.

The first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 are made of the same elastic material such as rubber and are substantially rectangular plate-shaped members as shown in FIGS. A first wiper 41 and second wiper 42, the height from the thickness and the support base 43 a is equal, the length along the top surface of the support base 43 a are different from each other. As shown in FIG. 6, assuming that the length is L1 for the first wiper 41 and L2 for the second wiper 42, the relationship is L1> L2. L1 is a size with which the first wiper 41 straddles the nozzle formation region NZ in the sub-scanning direction but is located inside the end of the ejection surface 1a (see FIG. 8). The first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 move in one direction (wiper movement direction) parallel to the main scanning direction during wiping (see FIGS. 5 to 8).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 are provided side by side with a gap therebetween, and the second wiper 41 is arranged on the upstream side (rear side) in the wiper moving direction. During wiping, both ends of the first wiper 41 in the sub-scanning direction are outside the nozzle formation region NZ as described above. One end of the second wiper 42 overlaps the end of the first wiper 41 in the main scanning direction (wiper movement direction), and the other end is positioned outside the ejection surface 1a in the sub-scanning direction. The first wiper 41 wipes most of the inside of the ejection surface 1a, and the second wiper 42 wipes the remaining area (mainly the area Δ in FIG. 8).

  The two second wipers 42 are arranged in an octagonal shape opened to the upstream side in the wiper movement direction in plan view, and are located upstream in the wiper movement direction toward the outer side in the sub-scanning direction. The two second wipers 42 have a symmetrical relationship with respect to a virtual plane that crosses the first wiper 41 in the main scanning direction at a position that bisects the first wiper 41 in the sub scanning direction. Thus, the downstream surface of the second wiper 42 is an inclined surface (guidance surface 42a) that intersects the sub-scanning direction. Further, the second wiper 42 contacts the region Δ of the ejection surface 1a only at one end in the sub-scanning direction.

  Below, the support form of each wiper 41 and 42 is demonstrated.

  The first wiper 41 is sandwiched between rigid sandwiching members 51 and 52 (first sandwiching member). The sandwiching member 51 is a U-shaped plate-like member in plan view, and is fixed to the support base 43a with the sub-scanning direction as a longitudinal direction. The clamping member 52 is a flat plate-like member and has the same height as the clamping member 51. The sandwiching member 52 sandwiches the lower end portion of the first wiper 41 between the sandwiching member 51 and is accommodated in a U-shape of the sandwiching member 51. The first wiper 41 is fixed to the clamping member 51 by screwing with bolts. A bolt hole 61 is formed at the screwing position in the clamping member 51, the clamping member 52, and the first wiper 41, and the bolt hole 61 of the clamping member 51 is subjected to female screw processing. In addition, illustration of a volt | bolt is abbreviate | omitted in FIG.6 and FIG.7.

  The second wiper 42 has the same fixed form as the first wiper 41 with respect to the clamping member. A U-shaped clamping member 53 is fixed to the support base 43a. As shown in FIG. 6, the lower end portion of the second wiper 42 is screwed to the clamping member 53 together with the flat clamping member 54. Here, the holding members 53 and 54 have the same height, but are higher than the holding members 51 and 52. Further, the length along the surface of the support base 43 a is shorter than the sandwiching members 51 and 52 in accordance with the size of each wiper 41 and 42. In order to realize the arrangement form of the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 described above, the two sets of sandwiching members 53 and 54 are also arranged such that the respective longitudinal directions intersect the sub-scanning direction, and the first wiper 41 is moved to the sub-scanning direction. There is a symmetric relationship with respect to a virtual plane that crosses in the main scanning direction at a position that bisects in the scanning direction.

  The fixed form of the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 causes a difference in the free length of each elastic member, as shown in FIG. When the free length of the first wiper 41 is F1, and the free length of the second wiper 42 is F2, there is a relationship of F1> F2. The difference in the free length is the difference in the rigidity of the wipers 41 and 42. During wiping, the second wiper 42 is less likely to bend (higher rigidity) than the first wiper 41. The free length is the length in the height direction of the elastic member that can be freely deformed, and is the length of the portion that is not clamped by the clamping member in the height direction. Note that the bolts are not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as described above.

  Next, the operation of the wiper unit 40 will be described.

  At the time of standby that does not require wiping, the head 1 is on the transport path (recording position). As shown in FIG. 4, the head 1 can perform recording while facing the platen 5. The wiping unit 40 is in a standby state on the side of the transport path, and the wiping unit takes a standby position. In the standby position, in FIG. 5, the support member 43 is in contact with the right stopper 47s.

  At the time of wiping, the controller 100 is controlled to stop the paper transport operation, reciprocate between the recording position and the wiping position of the head 1, and perform wiping at the wiping position. The wiping position is a position where the ejection surface 1 can be wiped, and the head 1 and the wiper unit 40 face each other at a predetermined interval (see FIG. 5). With respect to the height direction, the ejection surface 1 a is positioned lower than the upper ends of the wipers 41 and 42. In the reciprocation of the head 1, the head drive motor 10M (see FIG. 9) is driven. Hereinafter, the operation during wiping will be described in order.

  When the head 1 stops at the wiping position, the pulley 45b rotates and the belt 44 travels based on control by the controller 100. As a result, the support member 43 moves in the wiper movement direction. At this time, the upper ends of the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 slide on the discharge surface 1a in the wiper moving direction, and foreign matters on the discharge surface 1a are removed. At this time, the second wiper 42 having a short free length is not excessively deformed during wiping due to its high rigidity even though the other end protrudes outward from the end of the ejection surface 1a. The second wiper 42 is kept in good contact with the ejection surface 1a over the entire length of the wiping area. Thereby, the whole discharge surface 1a is cleaned.

  When the support member 43 comes into contact with the left stopper 47s shown in FIG. 5, the rotation of the pulley 45b is stopped. Thereby, wiping of the entire discharge surface 1a is completed. After completion of wiping, the head moving motor 10M (see FIG. 9) is driven based on control by the controller 100, and the head 1 moves upward. At this time, the ejection surface 1 a is disposed above the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42. Subsequently, the pulley 45b rotates in the direction opposite to that during wiping, and the belt 44 travels in the direction opposite to that during wiping. When the support member 43 contacts the right stopper 47s shown in FIG. 5, the rotation of the pulley 45b stops.

  Thereafter, the head moving motor 10M (see FIG. 9) is driven based on the control by the controller 100, and the head 1 returns to the recording position. As described above, since the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 are located below the discharge surface 1a, when the head 1 moves to the recording position, these wipers do not come into contact with the discharge surface 1a. .

  Hereinafter, the relationship between each structure and the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  (A) At the time of wiping, the first wiper 41 is disposed on the inner side of the end portion (Δ portion in FIG. 8) of the ejection surface 1a in the sub-scanning direction. As a result, compared to the case where the first wiper 41 extends to the outside of the ejection surface 1a with respect to the sub-scanning direction, the ink swept by the first wiper 41 is suppressed from flowing backward in the wiper movement direction. . The reason is as follows.

  The ink wiped by the first wiper 41 is accumulated on the front surface of the first wiper 41. If the first wiper 41 protrudes outside the ejection surface 1a, two problems are concerned. The excessive deformation at the end of the discharge surface 1 a of the first wiper 41 and the movement of the ink through the first wiper 41. The first wiper 41 is more hydrophilic than the water repellent film. The ink that accumulates on the front surface is apt to spread in the sub-scanning direction, helped by the hydrophilicity of the first wiper 41. At this time, excessive deformation at the end of the ejection surface 1a deteriorates the contact state of the first wiper 41 with respect to the ejection surface 1a, and ink tends to remain on the ejection surface 1a as an unwiped area. When the ink moves the first wiper 41 to the outside of the ejection surface 1a, a part of the ink wraps around the back side of the first wiper 41, and the other part moves to a nearby structural member. Any ink may return to the ejection surface 1a after wiping. That is, the end portion of the ejection surface 1a is exposed to the unwiped ink and the backflow through the outer structure.

  On the other hand, the first wiper 41 of the present embodiment is disposed inside the end of the ejection surface 1a in the sub-scanning direction. For this reason, it is difficult for the ink to flow back through the above-described ink remaining and the outer structure. Further, the water repellent film 1x is formed on the entire surface of the discharge surface 1a, and the water repellent action also works at the end of the discharge surface 1a. Therefore, even if the ink spreads through the first wiper 41, the amount of ink that overflows at the end of the ejection surface 1a and remains on the ejection surface 1a can be reduced.

  (B) The second wiper 42 extends to the outside of the ejection surface 1a in the sub-scanning direction. For this reason, the foreign matter scraped by the second wiper 42 is discharged to the outside of the ejection surface 1a. As a result, it is difficult for unwiping to occur in the vicinity of the end of the discharge surface 1a (region Δ in FIG. 8). Further, even if there is ink overflowing from the first wiper 41 that goes ahead, the amount thereof is small, so there is no need to worry about the backflow of ink through the outer structure.

  (C) The second wiper 42 is in contact with only the vicinity of the end of the ejection surface 1a. For this reason, as described above, the second wiper 42 mainly scrapes foreign matters such as paper dust other than ink. Therefore, ink wraparound through the second wiper 42 hardly occurs.

  (D) The rigidity of the second wiper 42 is higher than the rigidity of the first wiper 41, and the rigidity is ensured according to the deformation mode of the second wiper 42. The reason is as follows. When the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 move while contacting the discharge surface 1a, the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 bend toward the rear in the traveling direction (wiper moving direction). At this time, the upper end portion of the first wiper 41 bends uniformly over the entire width in the sub-scanning direction. On the other hand, the second wiper 42 moves while only a part of the second wiper 42 is in contact with the end of the ejection surface 1a. For this reason, the second wiper 42 may be twisted. When such a twist occurs, the contact with the ejection surface 1a cannot be ensured and the wiping ability may be reduced as compared with the case where the first wiper 41 bends uniformly. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the rigidity of the second wiper 42 is higher than the rigidity of the first wiper 41, the twist of the second wiper 42 is suppressed. Thereby, the fall of the wiping capability of the 2nd wiper 42 is also suppressed.

  (E) The front surface 42a of the second wiper 42 is located rearward in the wiper moving direction toward the outside in the sub-scanning direction. For this reason, as the second wiper 42 moves, the foreign matter scraped by the second wiper 42 is guided outward along the front surface 42a in the sub-scanning direction. Accordingly, the foreign matter adhering to the end of the discharge surface 1a is easily discharged to the outside of the discharge surface 1a.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made as long as they are described in the claims.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 are configured to have the same material and thickness, and have different rigidity due to the difference in free length. However, the rigidity may be varied by changing the material and thickness. For example, it is conceivable to increase the rigidity of the second wiper 42 by using a material having a large elastic modulus or increasing the thickness. Moreover, you may employ | adopt combining these means which raise rigidity.

  In the above-described embodiment, the second wiper 42 is provided at both ends of the ejection surface 1a, but may be provided only at one end.

  In the above-described embodiment, the water repellent film 1x is formed on the entire discharge surface 1a. However, the water repellent film 1x may be formed on a part of the ejection surface 1a. In this case, it is preferable that the wiping area of the first wiper 41 is formed so as to straddle the sub-scanning direction. Further, the water repellent film 1x may not be formed on the ejection surface 1a. Also in this case, the problem of ink sneaking through the first wiper 41 and twisting of the second wiper 42 occurs in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and the present invention is effective.

  In the above-described embodiment, the head 1 is fixed during wiping, and the first wiper 41 and the second wiper 42 are moved with respect to the head 1. However, the wiper may be fixed and the head 1 may be moved relative to the wiper.

  In the above-described embodiment, the second wiper 42 is disposed obliquely with respect to the sub-scanning direction, but may be disposed parallel to the sub-scanning direction (that is, parallel to the first wiper 41). Good.

  The liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a printer, and can be applied to a facsimile, a copier, and the like. Further, the number of heads applied to the liquid ejection apparatus is not limited to 1, and may be 2 or more. In this case, the wiper unit 40 is provided for each head. The head is not limited to the line type, and may be a serial type. Furthermore, the liquid discharge head according to the present invention may discharge a liquid other than ink.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head 1a Discharge surface 1x Water repellent film 40 Wiper unit 41 1st wiper 42 2nd wiper 42a Front surface 51-54 Holding member 101 Inkjet printer (printer)
108 Discharge port F1 Free length F2 Free length NZ Nozzle formation area

Claims (7)

A liquid discharge head having a discharge surface for discharging liquid;
A first wiper in contact with the discharge surface;
A second wiper that contacts the discharge surface at a position spaced from the first wiper;
In the first direction from the second wiper toward the first wiper, the first and second wipers move relative to the discharge surface in contact with the discharge surface, and the discharge Wiping means for wiping the surface,
The first wiper is in contact with the ejection surface on the inner side of the end of the ejection surface with respect to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;
The second wiper is in contact with the discharge surface only in the vicinity of the end portion with respect to the second direction while overlapping the first wiper with respect to the first direction, and the discharge surface. The outer surface of the discharge surface extends further to the outside, and the outer surface with respect to the second direction is located on the rear side with respect to the first direction, and is attached to the end of the discharge surface. Having a guide surface for guiding outward in the second direction;
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity of the second wiper is higher than that of the first wiper. A first clamping member that clamps an end of the first wiper opposite to the contact side with the ejection surface in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction; And a second sandwiching member that sandwiches an end of the second wiper opposite to the contact side with the discharge surface,
The portion of the second wiper that is not clamped by the second clamping member is shorter in the third direction than the portion of the first wiper that is not clamped by the first clamping member. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:   A liquid discharge head having a discharge surface for discharging liquid;
  A first wiper in contact with the discharge surface;
  A second wiper that contacts the discharge surface at a position spaced from the first wiper;
  In the first direction from the second wiper toward the first wiper, the first and second wipers move relative to the discharge surface in contact with the discharge surface, and the discharge Wiping means for wiping the surface;
  When the direction orthogonal to the first direction is the second direction, the contact with the discharge surface of the first wiper is related to the first direction and the third direction orthogonal to the second direction. A first clamping member that clamps an end opposite to the contact side, and a second clamping member that clamps an end of the second wiper opposite to the contact side with the discharge surface; , And
  The first wiper is in contact with the ejection surface inside the end of the ejection surface with respect to the second direction;
  The second wiper is in contact with the discharge surface only in the vicinity of the end portion with respect to the second direction while overlapping the first wiper with respect to the first direction, and the discharge surface. Extends beyond the end of the
  The portion of the second wiper that is not clamped by the second clamping member is shorter than the portion of the first wiper that is not clamped by the first clamping member, with respect to the third direction, The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity of the second wiper is higher than the rigidity of the first wiper.   The length of the first wiper in a direction along a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction and parallel to the first direction and the second direction is larger than the length of the second wiper. The liquid and dispensing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Said second wiper, a liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that provided on each of both end portions of the discharge surface for said second direction. Liquid according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said with respect to said second direction the first wiper is water-repellent film is formed on the discharge surface to the extent that straddle the abutting region Discharge device. A liquid discharge port is formed in a range inside the end of the discharge surface with respect to the second direction;
The formation region of the discharge port, the included in the wiping area of the first wiper, according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that not included in the wiping region by the second wiper Liquid discharge device.