JP6342849B2 - inkjet printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet printer that records an image by ejecting ink.

  2. Related Art Inkjet printers that record images by ejecting ink from an inkjet head onto a recording medium such as paper or a resin film are known. Inkjet printers are required to improve performance such as high image quality, durability, and reliability. In addition, the inkjet head is arranged with a spacing of several millimeters with respect to the recording medium. Further, the ink jet head ejects ink while reciprocating in a crossing direction such as a perpendicular direction with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording medium. When there is an abnormal conveyance such as the recording medium being bent, the inkjet head and the recording medium come into contact with each other. When the contact with the recording medium exceeds the degree, the carriage cannot be scanned. In this case, there arises a problem that the ink adhering to the nozzle surface of the ink jet head or the ink in the nozzle sticks due to the heat of the heater or the air being in contact with the air for a certain time or longer. The ink jet head cannot be reused unless the adhered ink is redissolved and the ink is cleaned. Depending on the type of ink, the fixed ink cannot be redissolved and the ink jet head may only be replaced.

  As a countermeasure, an optical sensor or the like is used to stop scanning of the carriage before it collides with the recording medium in advance, and to retract the carriage to an area where the temperature is relatively low inside the apparatus and the nozzle surface is slow to dry. Has been done. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-166370 discloses a technique for increasing the height of the carriage and retreating it to the end opposite to the direction of carriage movement when detecting that the carriage movement state is abnormal. Yes.

JP 2009-166370 A

  In the conventional technique, if there is a cap at the end of the carriage, the nozzle surface can be capped and moisturized. However, when the cap is retracted in the direction without the cap, the ink attached to the nozzle surface or the ink in the nozzle is solidified over time, and there is a possibility that the head must be replaced. Also, with ink using water as the main solvent, the solvent vaporizes quickly, and the ink on the nozzle surface and the nozzle tends to harden, and it is not preferable to leave the ink without doing anything for a short time.

  A wipe unit for cleaning the head is arranged at a retracted position opposite to the cap unit. The wipe unit is equipped with a storage unit that stores a certain amount of cleaning liquid for cleaning the inkjet head and a porous sponge blade that rotates in the same direction as the nozzle row, and the cleaning liquid in the storage unit when the sponge blade rotates. Then, it is brought into contact with the inkjet head. The wipe unit can keep the ink jet head moist without a cap unit, and the wipe unit can remove ink that has started to be fixed. By wiping at regular intervals until the printer returns to a state where the carriage can pass through the scanning region and return to the cap position, it is possible to prevent the nozzle surface from sticking.

  An inkjet printer according to the present invention includes a recording head having a plurality of nozzles that eject ink onto a recording medium, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium, and a jam detection unit that detects a jam that occurs when the recording medium is conveyed. A carriage mounted with the recording head and moving in a main scanning direction intersecting with the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the nozzle surface of the recording head while moving along the nozzle surface on which the nozzle is disposed A wipe blade for wiping off, a cleaning tank for storing a cleaning liquid to be attached to the wipe blade, a motor for driving the wipe blade, and a moving direction in contact with and away from the nozzle surface A cap that is in close contact with the nozzle surface and covers the nozzle, movement of the carriage, and movement of the wipe blade And a control means for controlling the movement of the cap. At least one of the cap and the wipe blade is disposed on both sides of the recording medium conveyance path, and the control means detects the jam. When a jam of the recording medium is detected by the means, the carriage is retracted in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the carriage when the detection is made, and the cap is in the retracting direction, The carriage is moved above the cap, the cap is moved to cover the nozzle, and when there is no cap in the retracting direction, the curdige is moved above the wipe blade, and the wipe blade Periodically wipe the nozzle surface, attach the cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface and clean it, The ink of the serial in the nozzle is characterized in that to prevent drying.

  According to the present invention, even when the carriage cannot be returned to the cap due to contact with the recording medium, the head can be forced to be replaced by immediately retracting the carriage from the recording medium and moisturizing the nozzle surface. Can be prevented.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an ink jet printer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the ink jet printer. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the wiping mechanism. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the wipe blade and the nozzle surface. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an ink jet printer. As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 1 horizontally arranges a recording medium 19 and conveys the recording medium 19 from the back to the front of FIG. 1, ejects ink from an inkjet recording head 9, and Images, characters, etc. corresponding to the recording data are recorded on the surface. The recording medium 19 is paper, a resin film, or the like. The front direction from the back of this page is called the sub-scanning direction.

  The ink jet printer 1 includes a carriage 4 that carries a plurality of recording heads 9 and reciprocally scans in a direction that intersects the conveyance direction of the recording medium 19, for example, a direction that is orthogonal to the recording medium 19, and a capping unit 12 that caps the recording head 9. A wipe unit 10 for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head 9 is disposed on the capping unit 12 side, and a wipe unit 18 is disposed on the opposite side with the recording medium 19 interposed therebetween. The direction of reciprocating scanning of the carriage 4 is called the main scanning direction. The ink jet printer 1 includes control means for controlling the entire apparatus including reception of recording data and control of recording operation. The recording medium 19 is supported by a substantially flat platen 2 that extends in the depth direction of the paper surface of FIG. In addition, a transport unit that transports the recording medium 19 is provided. The transport unit includes a plurality of transport roller pairs 3 that are rotated by a motor 5. The transport roller pair 3 includes a grid roller supported by a rotation shaft arranged along the platen 2 and a pinch roller that is energized by the grid roller. When the grid roller is rotated by the motor 5, the recording medium 19 is conveyed while being sandwiched between the grid roller and the pinch roller.

  The carriage 4 is provided so as to be movable along a carriage rail 17 that extends in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium 19 above the conveyance unit, the wipe unit 10, the wipe unit 18, and the capping unit 12. Yes. Further, a motor 6 is provided for reciprocating the carriage 4 on the carriage rail 17 so as to be capable of position control and speed control. The motor 6 drives an endless belt 7 disposed along the carriage rail 17. A carriage 4 is fixed to the endless belt 7. The endless belt 7 is wound around pulleys disposed on both ends in the moving direction of the carriage 4. A linear scale 8 is provided along the carriage rail 17, and a linear sensor 16 that detects the scale of the linear scale 8 is provided in the carriage 4. The position of the carriage 4 can be detected by the linear sensor 16, and the positions of the plurality of recording heads 9 fixed to the carriage 4 can also be detected accordingly.

  Further, a detachable ink cartridge 14 for supplying recording ink to the recording head 9 is provided, and the ink cartridge 14 and the recording head 9 are connected by an ink tube 15 for supplying ink.

  In the present embodiment, the ink cartridge 14 is provided with a plurality of colors of ink for performing color recording, and can be supplied to the recording head 9 for each color via a plurality of ink tubes 15 as pipes. ing. Note that an ink tank is provided inside the ink cartridge 14 to store ink.

  The carriage 4 is provided with a plurality of recording heads 9 on the lower surface side in accordance with the ink color, recording range, and the like, and the ink supplied from the ink tube 15 is supplied to the recording head 9 that performs recording of the same color. .

  Although details of the recording head 9 are not shown, a plurality of ink ejection holes are provided in an ink chamber for supplying ink to each nozzle and a nozzle surface facing the recording medium. The nozzles can be provided with an appropriate number and arrangement pitch according to the configuration of the ejection mechanism, the recording pixel pitch, and the like. For example, a large number of nozzles such as 256 can be arranged. For example, the recording head 9 may use a piezoelectric element as a recording element, or may be a recording head using a heater as a recording element.

  The position control and speed control of the motor 6 are performed according to the control signal of the control means. During the recording operation, the motor 6 is controlled so that the recording head 9 reciprocates on the recording medium 19 at a predetermined speed. Further, the motor 6 can move the recording head 9 to a predetermined wiping position of the wipe unit 10 or the wipe unit 18 during the cleaning operation. The capping unit 12 cleans the inside of the nozzle hole of the recording head 9 by sucking the ink of the recording head 9 from the nozzle to the outside. Also, the ink is prevented from drying by capping when not in use. The schematic configuration of the capping unit 12 includes a cap 11, a cap driving unit, a suction pump, a waste ink bottle 13, and an air release valve. The air release valve is a valve that introduces outside air with the nozzle surface sealed with a cap 11.

  Among these, at least the cap 11 is provided for each recording head 9. However, the cap drive unit, the suction pump, and the air release valve may be provided for each of the plurality of caps 11 when the operations of the recording heads 9 can be made common.

  The cap drive unit moves up and down to selectively switch the position of the cap 11 in the vertical direction, and includes, for example, appropriate mechanical, electromagnetic, and fluid lifting means. Therefore, the cap drive unit moves the cap 11 up and down in the vertical direction with respect to the recording head 9 which is moved on the carriage rail 17 by the motor 6 and positioned above the capping unit 12. It is possible to switch between a state in which the nozzle surface is sealed and a state in which it is released.

  The suction pump is for sucking contents such as air and ink in the sealed space of the cap and discharging them to the outside. For example, a rotary pump or the like can be adopted. A suction pump can also be used as a liquid passing means for passing ink from the ink cartridge 14 to the recording head 9. The suction pump has a suction port connected to the cap 11 and a discharge port connected to the waste ink bottle 13. It is necessary to seal the nozzle surface with the cap 11, and it is desirable that the contact surface between the recording head 9 and the cap 11 is free from dust and ink clumps.

  The wipe unit 10 wipes and cleans the nozzle surface of the recording head 9 by moving the wipe blade relative to the nozzle surface of the recording head 9 while the recording head 9 is moved above the wipe unit 10. To do. The wipe unit 18 has the same configuration as the wipe unit 10.

  Further, an ink receiver that receives ink ejected from the recording head 9 can be provided next to the wipe unit 10 on the side in the sub-scanning direction. Further, an elevating mechanism that moves the carriage 4 in the contact / separation direction with respect to the recording medium 19 can be provided. When a jam occurs, the carriage 4 is raised in a direction away from the recording medium 19 by the lifting mechanism. Then, by separating the carriage 4 and the recording medium 19, the carriage 4 is moved to a safe position, that is, retracted while reducing the possibility of contact.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the ink jet printer. The control unit 20 is a control unit including a CPU that executes processing operations such as calculation, control, determination, and setting. The control means 20 operates according to a control program stored in the ROM 21. The RAM 22 is used as a recording data buffer, a work area for processing by the control means 20, and the like. The carriage movement motor drive circuit 23 operates under the control of the control unit 20 and drives the motor 6 that moves the carriage 4 on which the recording head 9 is mounted. The carriage position detection sensor 24 includes a linear sensor 16 that detects the scale of the linear scale 8 disposed along the carriage rail 17 that guides the movement of the carriage 4. Based on the sensor output, the controller 20 calculates and acquires the position of the carriage 4. The head drive circuit 25 is controlled by the control means 20. The recording head 9 is operated via the head driving circuit 25. When a plurality of recording heads 9 are mounted, the control unit 20 and the head driving circuit 25 can drive each recording head 9 individually. The head drive circuit 25 generates an ink ejection or non-ejection signal for each recording head 9 based on information from the control unit 20 under the control of the control unit 20, and moves the recording head 9 at a timing according to the position of the carriage 4. Drive. When ink is ejected, an on waveform is generated, and when ink is not ejected, an off waveform is generated and transferred to each recording head 9. The ejection timing is determined according to the position of the carriage 4 calculated by the control means 20 based on information from the carriage position detection sensor 24.

  The recording medium transport unit 26 operates under the control of the control unit 20. The recording medium transport unit 26 includes a transport unit that transports the recording medium. The conveyance roller pair 3 is driven by the motor 5 to convey the recording medium. The wipe blade moving motor drive circuit 27 operates under the control of the control means 20. The wipe blade moving motor drive circuit 27 drives a motor that moves the belt to which the wipe blade is fixed.

  The mark detection means 28 is a detection means for detecting a mark to be described later, and outputs a signal to the control means 20 when a mark is detected. This mark is used to acquire the position of the tail end of a plurality of wipe blades. When there is one wipe blade, the position of this wipe blade can be acquired. Thereby, the control means 20 can acquire the position of a specific wipe blade.

  The jam detection means 29 is controlled by the control means 20 and detects a jam. For example, when a jam occurs, the carriage 4 is caught and stopped. When it should originally move, it is determined whether or not the carriage 4 is stopped or the moving speed is calculated. Further, when the movement of the carriage 4 is suppressed due to the jam, the load on the motor 6 increases, so that the jam can also be determined by detecting the current of the motor 6. It can be determined that a jam has occurred when the current exceeds a predetermined value. Further, the jam detecting means 29 may detect that the recording medium 19 is deformed and touches the carriage 4 and notifies the control means 20.

  After detecting the jam, the control means 20 stops the carriage 4 and then moves the carriage 4 by the carriage movement motor drive circuit 23 in the direction opposite to the scanning direction when it comes into contact. If there is a cap unit 12 at the destination, capping is performed. When the movement destination is the wipe unit 18 side, the nozzle surface of each head is wiped at regular intervals.

In this way, each function of the inkjet printer 1 is controlled by the control of the control means 20. Further, by storing information on wiping operation conditions in the ROM 21 in advance and programming it, a predetermined wiping operation can be performed. Examples of the wiping conditions include the movement speed of the wipe blade, the number of times of wiping the nozzle surface, and the wipe position.
The control means 20 controls the operation of the lifting mechanism when there is a lifting mechanism that moves the carriage 4 up and down.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the wiping mechanism. A wipe unit 10 for wiping the recording head 9 will be described. The wipe unit 18 has the same configuration. An elastic resin wipe blade 30 and a wipe blade 31, and a porous resin wipe blade 32 are fixed to the belt 33 using a fixing portion 48. For example, the wipe blade 30 and the wipe blade 31 are made of rubber, and the wipe blade 32 is a sponge blade.

  The belt 33 rotates in the direction of arrow 47. The wipe blades 30, 31, and 32 fixed to the belt 33 move with the rotation. The wipe blades 30, 31, and 32 are in contact with the recording head 9 such that the tips of the wipe blades 30, 31, and 32 are curved, and contact the nozzle surface and the nozzle guard. At this time, the cleaning liquid 46 adhering to the wipe blades 30, 31, 32 adheres to the nozzle surface. A cleaning tank 34 storing a cleaning liquid 46 is disposed below the recording head 9 and the belt 33. The wipe blade 32, the wipe blade 31, and the wipe blade 30 pass through the cleaning tank 34 in this order, and come into contact with the cleaning liquid 46. Further, the cleaning tank 34 is provided with cleaning members 36 and 37 that come into contact with the wipe blades 30, 31, and 32 and remove ink and dust adhering to the wipe blades 30, 31, and 32. Can be dropped. The cleaning members 36 and 37 are porous members such as sponges. The cleaning members 36 and 37 are immersed in the cleaning liquid 46 and move while the wipe blades 30, 31, and 32 are in contact with each other, thereby cleaning dirt attached to the wipe blades 30, 31, and 32. . The tips of the wipe blades 30, 31, 32 are curved and move while contacting the cleaning members 36, 37, thereby removing the attached matter. The wipe blades 30, 31, and 32 are cleaned by the cleaning liquid 46 stored in the cleaning tank 34. In addition, by wiping the nozzle surface with the cleaning liquid 46 attached, it is easy to remove ink or the like firmly attached to the nozzle surface, and the cleaning liquid 46 is attached to the nozzle surface or the nozzle guard surface and moistened. be able to.

  In order to sufficiently adhere the cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface, the cleaning liquid is attached to the nozzle surface by the wipe blade 32, and the cleaning liquid adhered by the subsequent nozzle blades 30 and 31 is not completely wiped off (first speed). It is also possible to move on the nozzle surface. By moving the nozzle blades 30 and 31 at a high speed, the cleaning liquid becomes a film between the nozzle surfaces and can move so as to slide on the nozzle surfaces. By controlling the wipe speed in this way, the cleaning liquid can be left on the nozzle surface. Further, by moving at a low speed (second speed) slower than the high speed, the nozzle blades 30 and 31 can be moved while in contact with the nozzle surface, and the cleaning liquid can be wiped off. In this way, at least two stages of belt rotation speed can be controlled.

  A cleaning liquid 46 to be supplied to the cleaning tank 34 is stored in the bottle 35. The cleaning tank 34 is fixed to a table 38. A belt contact portion 45 is provided in the fixing portion 48 of each wipe blade. This makes contact with the belt 33 so that the wipe blades 30, 31, 32 are arranged perpendicular to the belt 33. The belt contact portion 45 is separated from the belt 33 in the curved portion of the belt 33, but is fixed in contact with the belt 33 by a hook disposed in the belt contact portion 45 in the straight traveling portion.

  The belt 33 is wound around the first gear 42, the second gear 43, and the third gear 44. The second gear 43 is connected to a motor driven by the wipe blade movement motor drive circuit 27. The third gear 44 is urged by the spring 41 in the direction of the cleaning tank 34 so that the belt 33 is always stretched and forms the lowest point of the belt 33. As a result, the tips of the wipe blades 30, 31 and 32 can be immersed in the cleaning liquid 46 in the cleaning tank 34. Further, the tips of the wipe blades 30, 31, 32 can be brought into contact with the cleaning members 36, 37. The first gear 42 and the second gear 43 make the belt 33 facing the nozzle surface and the nozzle surface parallel to each other.

  A mark 40 indicating the tail end is fixed to the fixing portion 48 that fixes the wipe blade 30 to the belt 33, and the mark detection means 28 detects when it passes and outputs it to the control means 20. The mark detection means 28 includes a detection sensor 39. The detection sensor 39 may be a mechanical contact or a light detection sensor.

  The mark detection means 28 including the detection sensor 39 can calculate the number of rotations of the belt 33 by detecting the mark 40. Further, since the position of the wipe blade 30 can be known by detecting the mark 40, for example, when the mark 40 is detected when the belt 33 is stopped, the wipe blade 32 is programmed to stop. It arrange | positions so that it may stop between the cleaning members 36 and 37 of the washing tank 34. FIG. By doing so, the wipe blade 32 of the porous member is immersed in the cleaning liquid and is not in contact with the cleaning members 36 and 37 when stopped, so that it can be stopped without being deformed. At this time, the wipe blade 30 does not contact the recording head 9, and the wipe blade 31 is between the wipe blade 30 and the wipe blade 32 and can be in a position not immersed in the cleaning liquid. Since the wipe blades 30 and 31 are in the air where they do not contact anything after contacting the cleaning tank 34 and the cleaning members 36 and 37, they can be stopped clean and dry.

  More cleaning liquid 46 can be supplied to the nozzle surface of the recording head 9 with the wipe blade of the porous member, and even the strong dirt that cannot be wiped with one wipe with the two wipe blades of the elastic member is wiped twice in succession. It is preferable because it can be wiped off. Further, even with one wipe blade, the recording head 9 can be kept wet or cleaned, but it is preferable to use a plurality of different wipe blades.

  Further, the cleaning liquid can be reliably attached to the nozzle surface by the wipe blade 32 of the porous member, and the rotation speed of the belt 33 can be prevented so that the cleaning liquid is not wiped off by the two wipe blades 30 and 31 of the elastic member. By controlling, the cleaning liquid can be reliably attached to the nozzle surface. Further, when not wiped, the cleaning liquid can be accumulated in the wipe blade 32 by immersing the wipe blade 32 of the porous member in the cleaning liquid, so that the cleaning liquid is surely adhered to the nozzle surface at the time of wiping. be able to. If it is dry, it may not be able to accumulate reliably.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the wipe blade and the nozzle surface. A nozzle guard 50 is fixed in close contact with the nozzle surface 51 on the nozzle surface side of the recording head 9. The nozzle guard 50 protrudes from the nozzle surface 51 so that the recording medium 19 does not hit the nozzle surface 51. The nozzle row 52 is a plurality of nozzles arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle surface 51 of the recording head 9. A side wall 62 is provided on the inner periphery of the nozzle guard 50 in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle surface 51.

The wipe blade 30 and the wipe blade 31 will be described as a first wipe blade 53, and the wipe blade 32 will be described as a second wipe blade 54. The base end of the first wipe blade 53 is provided with a base end 58 fixed to the fixing portion 48, and the tip is provided with a rubber blade divided into a first blade 55, a second blade 56, and a third blade 57. A slit is provided between the first blade 55, the second blade 56, and the third blade 57. The first blade 55, the second blade 56, and the third blade 57 can be bent independently of each other by the slit.
The base of the second wipe blade 54 is provided with a base 58 fixed to the fixing portion 48, and the tip thereof is provided with a resin-made porous member, for example, a fourth blade 59 of sponge.

  The width of the second blade 56 is smaller than the distance between the inner circumferences along the nozzle row 52 of the nozzle guard 50. The distance between the inner peripheries is an interval indicated by two alternate long and short dash lines 60 in the figure. The nozzle surface 51 can be wiped by the second blade 56. Further, the width of the first blade 55 and the third blade 57 is wider than the width of the portion along the nozzle row 52 of the nozzle guard 50, and the interval indicated by two two-dot chain lines 61 in FIG. It is wider than the width. Preferably, the width is 1 to 2 times the width of the nozzle guard 50. More preferably, the width is 1.1 times or more and 1.5 times or less. In this portion, a width that can wipe the entire surface of the nozzle guard 50 by one wiping is required, and it is preferable to allow some margin in consideration of an attachment error and the like. If it is too wide, the distance between the recording heads 9 must be increased. It cannot be made very wide due to downsizing.

  One of the first blade 55 and the third blade 57 can wipe the surface of the nozzle guard 50 along the nozzle row 52. The location of wiping can be changed by changing the relative position of the first wipe blade 53 and the recording head 9 in the width direction.

The width of the fourth blade 59 of the second wipe blade 54 is wider than the width of the nozzle guard 50. Further, even when the relative position in the width direction of the first wipe blade 53 and the recording head 9 changes, the width is equivalent to that of the first wipe blade 53 so that the entire surface can be wiped off.
The first wipe blade 53 and the second wipe blade 54 indicated by dotted lines in the figure show a case where the nozzle guard 50 is wiped by the third blade 57 of the first wipe blade 53.

  A first wipe blade 53 and a second wipe blade 54 indicated by solid lines indicate a case where the nozzle surface 51 is wiped by the second blade 56 of the first wipe blade 53. When wiping, control is performed to wipe the recording head 9 at least at these two positions. Thereby, it is possible to wipe only the nozzle guard 50 without wiping the nozzle surface 51. When the surface strengths of the nozzle surface 51 and the nozzle guard 50 are different, the number of times of wiping each surface can be changed. It works suitably when the nozzle surface 51 is weaker than the nozzle guard 50.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing after jamming. Control is performed by the control means 20 in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 21.
First, in step S1, the retreat position is determined. When a jam occurs, the carriage 4 is retracted in the direction opposite to the movement direction of the carriage 4. If the retracted position is on the cap unit 12 side, the process proceeds to step S6, and if not, the process proceeds to step S2. At this time, if a lifting / lowering mechanism for the carriage 4 is provided, the carriage 4 is lifted in a direction away from the recording medium 19 and then moved in a retracting direction.

  Here, in step S <b> 6, the carriage 4 is moved onto the cap 11. Thereafter, the cap lifting mechanism is controlled, the recording head 9 is moved in the cap direction and sealed with the cap 11, and the nozzle surface 51 is moisturized (step S7).

  Next, since the capping unit 12 is not present when the destination is the opposite side, the cap 11 cannot be sealed. Therefore, the wipe unit 18 is used. The carriage 4 is moved to the position of the wipe unit 18 (step S2). Thereafter, the nozzle surface of each recording head 9 is wiped (step S3). Since the main purpose of the wiping is to keep the nozzle surface of the recording head 9 moisturized, the belt 33 is moved at a high speed so that the cleaning blade is not wiped away by the wipe blade. Here, when ink is received by the side of the wipe unit 18, the ink is preliminarily ejected before the nozzle surface is wiped by the wipe blade. That is, the carriage 4 is moved to a position where the recording head 9 faces the ink receiver, and a predetermined number of drops, for example, 30 drops of ink are ejected from the recording head 9. Thereafter, the carriage 4 is moved so that the recording head 9 is positioned above the wipe unit 18 to perform wiping. By discharging the ink before wiping, the thickened ink can be discharged in advance, which is preferable because it can further prevent ink clogging.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the recording medium 19 deformed in step S4 is removed and the carriage 4 can move to the position of the cap unit 11. That is, it is determined whether or not it has been recovered. This uses the jam detection means 29. Moreover, you may wait for the input by a user. In any case, it is determined whether the carriage 4 can move to the position of the cap unit 12.

  If not recovered, it is determined whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous wiping (step S5). If it has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S3, and the wiping process is performed again. If not, it is determined again whether the device has been restored. When the apparatus is restored, the process proceeds to step S6, the carriage 4 is moved onto the cap unit 12, and then the process proceeds to step S7, where the recording head 9 is capped and the process is terminated.

  Here, when the carriage 4 moves to the cap unit 12 side, it is more preferable to cap the wipe unit 10 after wiping instead of immediately capping. It is desirable to clean after jamming and cap in a clean state.

  In this way, the maintenance device in the direction in which the carriage 4 is movable allows the ink attached to the recording head 9 to be solidified and controlled so that it does not adhere, thereby preventing problems with the recording head 9.

  The present invention can be used in a printer having an inkjet head.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer 2 Platen 3 Conveying roller pair 4 Carriage 5 Motor 6 Motor 7 Carriage rail 8 Linear scale 9 Recording head 10 Wipe unit 19 Recording medium 30 Wipe blade 31 Wipe blade 32 Wipe blade 33 Belt 34 Cleaning tank 46 Cleaning liquid 50 Nozzle guard 51 Nozzle surface 52 Nozzle array 53 First wipe blade 54 Second wipe blade

Claims (5)

A recording head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink onto a recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, a jam detecting means for detecting a jam that occurs when conveying the recording medium, and the recording head are mounted. A carriage that moves in a main scanning direction that intersects the conveyance direction of the recording medium; a wipe blade that wipes the nozzle surface of the recording head while moving along the nozzle surface on which the nozzle is disposed; A cleaning tank that is disposed in a movement path of the warp blade and stores a cleaning liquid that adheres to the wipe blade, a motor that drives the wipe blade, and moves in a contact / separation direction with respect to the nozzle surface, and is in close contact with the nozzle surface A cap that covers the nozzle, and a control unit that controls movement of the carriage, movement of the wipe blade, and movement of the cap. , In the ink jet printer having,
At least one of the cap and the wipe blade is disposed on both sides of the conveyance path of the recording medium,
When the jam detection unit detects a jam of the recording medium, the control unit retracts the carriage in a direction opposite to the carriage moving direction when the detection is performed, and the retraction direction When the cap is present, the carriage is moved above the cap, and the cap is moved to cover the nozzle. When the cap is not present in the retracting direction, the cartridge is moved above the wipe blade. The nozzle surface is periodically wiped by the wipe blade, the cleaning liquid is adhered to the nozzle surface and cleaned, and the ink in the nozzle is prevented from drying. printer.   The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the wipe blades are provided, and at least one of the plurality of wipe blades is made of a porous resin.   3. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is covered with the cap after the recording head is wiped off with the wipe blade when both the cap and the wipe blade are in the retraction direction. The inkjet printer as described.   When there is an ink receiver that receives the ink discharged from the recording head in addition to the wipe blade in the retracting direction, the ink is discharged to the ink receiver before wiping by the wipe blade. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   A lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the carriage in the contact / separation direction with respect to the recording medium, and when the jam detection means detects the jam, the lifting mechanism is operated to move the carriage away from the recording medium The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the carriage is retracted after being lifted up.

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