JP6545040B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a print apparatus having a platen for supporting the sheet.

  In the ink jet printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a suction platen that sucks a sheet by negative pressure is used. Furthermore, a duct and a waste ink tank are disposed under the platen in order to collect the ink (waste ink) discarded in the borderless printing.

JP, 2006-187903, A

  In Patent Document 1, the guide flow path from the platen to the waste ink tank is disposed on the side of the duct, that is, on the same plane as the duct. Therefore, the volume of the duct has to be reduced, and the negative pressure control by the fan for negative pressure generation tends to be unstable. In addition, the arrangement of the waste ink tank is also limited. Therefore, in order to achieve both the waste ink recovery and the sheet suction, it is inevitable to increase the size of the entire apparatus.

The present invention is capable of reliably performing borderless printing while suppressing sheet floating and bending by sheet suction, and achieving both reliable waste ink recovery and sheet suction without increasing the size of the apparatus. it is an object to provide a can print equipment.

The present invention supports a Ruhe head for discharging the ink, and conveying means for conveying the sheet in a first direction, a suction means for sucking ink, a sheet in front Kihe head position opposed to a printing apparatus comprising a platen, wherein the platen includes a support portion for supporting the sheets are arrayed in a second direction crossing the first direction, wherein adjacent to the supporting portion in the first direction the extend in two directions, before an ink receiving portion for receiving the ink discharged from Kihe head, arranged below the ink receiving portion extending in the second direction, received by the ink receiver An ink flow path having an inclined bottom surface for flowing the ink, an accumulation portion disposed below the inclined bottom surface, the ink flow portion flowing through the ink flow path, connected to a tube, and the tube By the suction means Suction by characterized Rukoto to have a, a discharge portion for discharging the ink which is integrated in the integrated unit.

  According to the present invention, edgeless printing can be reliably performed while suppressing sheet floating and bending by sheet suction, and reliable waste ink recovery and sheet suction can be simultaneously achieved without increasing the size of the apparatus. To achieve.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an entire configuration of a printing apparatus main body. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view of the printing apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows a platen and its periphery structure. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a platen. It is an enlarged view which shows a part of platen. It is a vertical side view which shows a part of platen. It is a perspective view which shows the state which has arrange | positioned the ink absorber in the ink discard groove | channel. It is a vertical side view of a platen. It is a vertical front view of a platen. It is a vertical side view which shows a sheet | seat adsorption | suction mechanism. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a suction pump of the discharge ink discharge mechanism. It is a top view which shows the waste ink collection | recovery path of a waste ink discharge mechanism. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system configuration of the printing apparatus. It is a vertical side view which shows printing operation. It is a vertical side view which shows printing operation. It is an enlarged view which shows a part of platen. It is a vertical side view which shows a part of platen. It is an enlarged view which shows a part of platen. It is a vertical side view which shows a part of platen. It is a flowchart which shows a tube pump drive sequence.

  An embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, a serial type ink jet printing apparatus is described in which printing is performed by reciprocating a print head capable of discharging ink in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction with respect to a sheet intermittently conveyed in a predetermined direction. Do. The present invention is applicable not only to serial type printing apparatuses, but also to line printing apparatuses that print continuously using a long print head. The printing apparatus is not limited to a single-function printing apparatus, and can be applied to a multi-function printer having a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like.

1. Outline of Apparatus The configuration of the printing apparatus 1 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire configuration of a printing apparatus 1 obtained by removing an exterior part from the printing apparatus 1, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view of the printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a feeding device 40 is provided on the back side of the printing apparatus 1. The feeding device 40 separates the sheets one by one from the bundle of cut sheets (hereinafter simply referred to as sheets) stacked on the feeding tray 40 a by the rotation of the feeding roller 6, and conveys the conveying roller 7 or the like. Feed to. Further, the printing apparatus 1 is provided with a carriage 4 on which a print head 3 capable of ejecting ink is mounted. The carriage 4 is supported so as to be capable of reciprocating along a carriage guide shaft 41 and a carriage rail 42 provided along a direction (X direction) orthogonal (in the embodiment, orthogonal) to the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction). It is done. The movement of the carriage 4 and the print head 3 along the X direction is also referred to as scanning in the following description. The X direction is the moving direction of the carriage and also the sheet width direction of the sheet to be conveyed. The Y direction is the sheet conveyance direction.

  A single sheet separated and fed by the feeding device 40 from the sheet bundle stacked on the feeding tray 40 a is a print head by the first conveyance roller pair (conveying means) including the conveyance roller 7 and the pinch roller 8. The sheet is conveyed on a platen 9 that supports the sheet at a position facing the sheet 3. Here, the carriage 4 on which the print head 3 is mounted moves in the X direction, and the print head 3 discharges ink toward the sheet. A sheet detection sensor for detecting an end of a sheet is provided on one side surface of the carriage 4, and based on the detection output from the sheet detection sensor, the relative position between the sheet and the print head and the start of printing on the sheet Timing etc. are determined.

  When printing for one scan is performed on the sheet, the sheet is transported by a predetermined amount in the Y direction by the first transport roller pair. By repeating the scanning of the print head 3 and the conveyance of the sheet, printing on the sheet is performed by the serial method.

  The sheet 2 on which printing has been completed is discharged onto the discharge tray 12 by the second conveyance roller pair (conveying means), which is disposed downstream of the platen 9 in the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction), and includes the ejection roller 10 and the spur 11. Be done. The feeding device 40, the carriage guide shaft 41, the carriage rail 42, and the platen 9 described above are fixedly supported by the chassis 28 which forms the framework of the printing device 1.

2. Platen Next, the structure of the platen 9 used in the printing apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the platen 9 and its peripheral structure. As shown in FIG. 3, the platen 9 is disposed between a first conveying roller pair consisting of the conveying roller 7 and the pinch roller, and a second conveying roller pair consisting of the discharge roller 10 and the spur 11. The platen 9 supports the sheet conveyed by the first and second conveyance roller pairs on the surface (rear surface) opposite to the printing surface.

2.1 Sheet Support Unit FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of the platen 9. The platen 9 is provided with a sheet supporting portion (supporting portion) 14 capable of supporting the back surface of the sheet while suppressing floating and bending of the sheet in order to maintain an appropriate distance between the discharge port surface of the print head 3 and the sheet. There is. A plurality of sheet support portions 14 are formed along the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the platen 9.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a part of the platen 9 shown in FIG. The sheet support portion 14 is formed in a rectangular frame shape by a convex portion. The sheet support surface 13 of the support portion 14 has a width of about several millimeters. Further, on the upper portion of the sheet support portion 14, an adsorption concave portion 17 which is a concave portion one step lower than the sheet support surface 13 is formed. A suction hole (suction portion) 18 penetrating the platen 9 is formed on the bottom surface of the suction recess 17. The suction holes 18 communicate with negative pressure generating means 19 described later. The negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generating means 19 is applied to the suction recess 17 through the suction hole 18. The sheet passing through the sheet support surface 13 is sucked by the negative pressure applied to the suction recess 17 and adsorbed to the sheet support surface 13. As a result, the sheet is conveyed while being maintained in a flat state without bending or floating, and the distance between the discharge port surface 3a of the print head 3 and the sheet 2 (distance between the sheets) is a predetermined proper distance. Will be kept.

  Further, in order to correspond to a plurality of types of sheets having different sheet widths (sheet sizes in the X direction), five types of sheet supporting portions 14 (first to sixth sheet supporting portions 14A to 14F) having different sizes are used. Among these, the first to fourth sheet supporting portions 14A to 14E have suction recesses 17 having a relatively large area, so that the first to fourth sheet supporting portions 14A to 14E are formed here. The suction hole 18 is formed in the case of the fifth sheet support portion 14F, however, the suction hole 18 is omitted because the area of the suction concave portion 17 is small. The sheet supporting portion 14F corresponds to the sheet and the sheet having a half-width size, and the suction hole is omitted in the suction recess 17 of each sheet supporting portion 14F.

  In addition, the first, second, and third sheet support portions 14A, 14B, and 14C having a relatively large frame shape have the same height as the sheet support surface 13 in order to prevent the sheet from falling into the suction recess 17. An intermediate rib 14r having the above is formed in a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the X direction. Here, three intermediate ribs 14r are formed on the first sheet support portion 14A, and two 14r are formed on the second sheet support portion 14B and the third sheet support portion 14C, respectively. Is a support surface continuous with the frame-shaped sheet support surface 13. However, the intermediate rib 14r is not formed on the fifth and sixth sheet support portions 14E and 14F. The number of suction holes 18, the diameter of the suction holes, the number of intermediate ribs, and the like are desirably set appropriately in accordance with the size of the sheet support portion 14 and the suction recess determined by the corresponding sheet size and the like.

  An upstream sheet supporting portion 32 for supporting the sheet conveyed from the conveying roller 7 from the back surface is formed on the further upstream side than the below-described rear end ink discarding groove 31B formed on the platen 9. Further, on the further downstream side than the below-described tip ink discarding groove 31A formed on the platen 9, a downstream side sheet support portion 33 for supporting the sheet conveyed by the discharge roller 10 from the back surface is formed. Both the upstream side sheet support portion 32 and the downstream side sheet support portion 33 are formed by rib-like convex portions extending along the sheet conveyance direction (Y direction), as shown in FIG. , Are arranged in the X direction via a constant interval.

  Further, the upstream side sheet support portion 32 and the downstream side sheet support portion 33 are formed such that the position of the top thereof is the same height as the sheet support surface (contact portion) 13 of the sheet support portion 14 described above. The upstream side sheet support portion 32 and the downstream side sheet support portion 33 prevent the sheet 2 from falling or being caught when the front end or the rear end of the sheet 2 passes through the sheet support portion 14 or each roller. Perform a function.

2.2 Ink discarding section In order to perform so-called borderless printing, in which recording is performed on the entire sheet without providing a margin on the sheet peripheral edge, the ink may be discharged to the outside of the sheet edge. It will be necessary. Further, in the inkjet type printing apparatus, in order to stabilize the ink ejection performance of the print head 3, so-called preliminary ejection is performed in which the ink is ejected to the outside of the sheet immediately before the printing operation. The ink ejected to the outside of such a sheet is received by the ink receiving portion formed on the platen 9. In this example, as an ink receiving portion, an ink discarding groove (first ink receiving portion) 31A for receiving ink discharged to the outside from the sheet front end, and a rear end to receive the ink discharged to the outside from the sheet rear end An ink discarding groove (second ink receiving portion) 31B is provided. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, left and right end ink discarding grooves 34 (third ink receiving portion) for receiving ink discharged to the outside from the left and right ends (sheet side end) of the sheet in the sheet width direction are provided as the ink receiving portion. It is done.

  FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a part of the platen 9. Here, cross sections of the ink discarding groove 31A for the tip of the platen 9 and the ink discarding groove 31B for the rear end are shown. As shown in FIG. 6, the front end ink discarding groove 31A extends in the X direction so as to be adjacent to the downstream side of the sheet support portion 14, and the rear end ink discarding groove 31B extends from the sheet support portion 14. It is elongated in the X direction adjacent to the upstream side. The front-end ink discarding groove 31 A is formed by the bottom surface 31 a lower than the sheet support surface 13, the downstream side wall surface 31 d of the sheet support portion 14, and the side wall surface 31 e of the downstream side sheet support portion 33. Further, the rear-end ink discarding groove 31 B is formed by the bottom surface 31 a lower than the sheet support surface 13, the upstream side wall surface 31 c of the sheet support portion 14, and the side wall surface 31 b of the upstream side sheet support portion 32. The front end ink discarding groove 31A and the rear end ink discarding groove 31B are formed in volumes such that the ink does not overflow when the ink ejected from the print head 3 is received.

  On the other hand, in order to reliably perform borderless printing on the left and right ends (sheet side ends) of the sheet, when the print head 3 ejects the ink while scanning in the X direction, the ink is extended to the outside beyond the left and right ends of the sheet. It is necessary to discharge the In addition, even when the sheet width of the sheet to be used is changed, the platen can discharge ink for left and right ends according to each sheet width so that the ink discharged outside the end of the sheet can be received. A slot 34 is provided (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

  As for the size of the sheet to be subjected to borderless printing, a sheet of a fixed size such as L size, 2 L size, postcard, A4, letter, A3, legal, A2 etc. is mainly used. Therefore, in accordance with these sheet sizes, a plurality of ink discarding grooves 34 are disposed at the left and right sheet end positions of each sheet. As described above, on the surface side of the platen 9, the ink discarding groove 31A for the leading end, the ink discarding groove 31B for the rear end, and the ink discarding grooves 34 for the left and right ends form a lattice. It is formed.

  The arrangement of the sheet support portion 14 in the sheet width direction (X direction) is determined in accordance with the reference of the print position. In the present embodiment, so-called center-based sheet feeding is employed in which the reference of the print position is set at the center of the width of the print sheet. At the center reference, the sheet is conveyed such that the center of the sheet width (print width) and the center in the width direction of the platen 9 coincide with each other in any of various sheet widths. Therefore, the sheet support portions 14 are arranged in left-right symmetry so that the left and right end ink discarding grooves 34 are formed at positions symmetrical with respect to the center position of the width in the X direction of the platen 9. When performing borderless printing, one side of the left and right end ink discarding grooves 34 is positioned about 2 mm inwardly from the left and right ends of the sheet, and the other side is outwardly about 5 mm outwardly from the left and right ends of the sheet. It is generally preferred to be located at Therefore, the width of the left and right end ink discarding grooves and the position of the sheet support portion are set so as to satisfy the positional relationship as described above for various types of fixed-form sheets. However, the positional relationship between the left and right ends of the left and right end ink discarding grooves and the left and right ends of the sheet is not limited to the above dimensions (2 mm, 5 mm), and other dimensions may be selected as necessary. Good. It should be noted that not only the center reference but also a sheet of various sheet widths may be used as a one-side reference that aligns either left or right reference position.

  As described above, assuming that borderless printing is performed on the four sides of the cut sheet, the sheet support portion 14 of the platen 9 is first, the ink discarding grooves 31A and 31B for the rear end, and the ink discarding grooves for the left and right ends of the sheet. It is surrounded by 34 and forms an isolated form. Also, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the ink absorbers 31A, 31B, and 34 are used to suppress the generation of mist due to rebounding when ink lands and the leakage of the discarded ink. 35 are arranged. The ink absorber 35 is preferably composed of a single sponge-like sheet such as urethane foam. Further, the upper surface of the ink absorber 35 is locked by the locking claws 38 (see FIG. 7) as a plurality of locking members, and the dropout from the platen 9 is prevented.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the three members of the ink absorber 35, the platen 9, and the locking claw 38 are in proximity to each other. For this reason, the ink discarded on the surface of the ink absorber 35 may leak to the outside of the platen 9 through the gap 44 between the platen 9 and the locking claw 38 due to the capillary phenomenon. In order to prevent this, it is desirable to fill the gap 44 between the platen 9 and the locking claw 38 with a sealing material or to apply a water repellent such as water repellent grease.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19, of the side wall surfaces 31 b and 31 e of the platen 9, a portion close to the locking claw 38 is a concave portion 31 h which is separated from the ink absorber 35. By forming the recessed portion 31 h in this manner, the ink discarded on the surface of the ink absorber 35 does not reach the gap 44 between the platen 9 and the locking claw 38, and thus the outside of the platen 9 is formed by capillary action. It becomes possible to prevent ink leakage. In addition, by making portions of the locking claws other than the portions for locking the ink absorbent body apart from the ink absorbent and the platen, capillary phenomenon does not occur between the locking claw and the platen. A gap may be formed. However, the locking claws need to have a height and a shape that do not hinder the conveyance of the sheet.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the bottom side 31a of the tip end ink discarding groove 31A is provided with a downstream side waste ink flow path 31f1 for flowing the waste ink having passed through the ink absorber 35. Similarly, on the bottom surface 31a of the rear-end ink discarding groove 31B, an upstream waste ink flow path 31f2 for flowing the waste ink having passed through the ink absorber 35 is provided. As shown in FIG. 9, the bottom surface 31f1a of the downstream side waste ink flow path 31f1 is a slope inclined downward from both ends in the X direction toward the center. Although not particularly illustrated, the bottom surface of the upstream side waste ink flow path 31f2 is also a slope inclined downward from both ends in the X direction toward the center. Furthermore, the downstream waste ink accumulation unit 31g1 is disposed at the lowest portion of the bottom surface of the downstream waste ink flow passage 31f1, and the upstream waste ink accumulation portion 31g2 is disposed at the lowest portion of the upstream waste ink passage 31f2. It is provided (see FIG. 8). Here, the downstream waste ink accumulation unit 31g1 is formed at a lower position than the upstream waste ink accumulation unit 31g2.

  An intermediate waste ink flow path 31f3 is formed between the two sheet support portions 14A and 14B located at the central portion in the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the platen 9. The intermediate waste ink flow path 31f3 connects the two waste ink accumulation units 31g1 and 31g2 described above, and the intermediate waste ink flow path 31f3 is directed to the downstream waste ink accumulation unit 31g1 from the connection position with the upstream waste ink accumulation unit 31g2. It has a bottom sloped downward.

  Since it is comprised as mentioned above, the ink thrown away on the ink absorber is finally collected by the downstream waste ink accumulation part 31g1. For example, the waste ink discarded in the rear-end ink discarding groove 31B is temporarily received by the ink absorber 35 and drops from the ink absorber 35 into the upstream waste ink flow path 31f2. Then, it is collected in the central waste ink collecting unit 31d2. The waste ink collected in the waste ink accumulation part 31d2 flows through the inclined bottom surface of the middle waste ink flow path 31f3 as shown by the broken line arrow C in FIG. 8, and finally to the downstream waste ink accumulation part 31d1. Reach. Further, the waste ink discarded in the tip end ink discarding groove 31A and the left and right end ink discarding grooves 34 is also temporarily received by the ink absorber 35 and dropped downward from the ink absorber 35. Then, it is collected in the downstream waste ink collecting unit 31d1.

  In the bottom surface 31a, which is an inclined surface of each of the waste ink flow paths 31f1, 31f2, and 31f3, a fine uneven portion elongated along an inclination is provided. The capillary force generated in the uneven portion promotes the flow of the waste ink to the waste ink accumulation portions 31d1 and 31d2.

  The platen 9 is provided with a sheet support portion 14 including a suction hole 18 and an outer peripheral wall 20 surrounding the ink discarding groove 31. The outer peripheral wall 20 forms a housing (platen housing). Furthermore, a waste ink discharge port 30 communicating with the downstream waste ink accumulation unit 31g1 is provided on the side portion of the outer peripheral wall 20, and the waste ink collected in the waste ink accumulation unit 31g1 is a waste ink discharge port 30. Are discharged to the outside of the platen 9.

3. Sheet Adsorption Mechanism FIG. 10 is a longitudinal side view showing a sheet adsorption mechanism provided in the printing apparatus. The sheet suction mechanism includes the platen 9, a duct 27 communicating with the suction hole 18 formed in the platen 9, and a negative pressure generating unit communicating with the duct 27.

  A cover member 23 provided with a first opening 23a on the upper surface and a base member 24 provided with a second opening 24a on the lower surface are provided immediately below the platen housing formed by the outer peripheral wall 20 of the platen 9 , And a duct 27 hollow inside is provided. The upper portion of the cover member 23 is engaged with the bottom side of the outer peripheral wall 20 of the platen 9 so as to include the first opening 23a. Further, a second opening 24 a provided on the lower surface of the base member 24 is engaged with the suction port 19 a of the suction fan 19 which is a negative pressure generating means. As a result, an intake passage 36 extending from the suction hole 18 of the platen 9 to the suction fan 19 is formed.

  The intake passage 36 is formed in a first negative pressure chamber 22 corresponding to a space in the platen housing formed by the outer peripheral wall 20 of the platen 9, and in a duct 27 composed of the base member 24 and the cover member 23. It comprises the second negative pressure chamber 25. The base member 24 forming the duct 27 is fixed to the chassis 28.

  The first negative pressure chamber 22 is an independent small space divided into a plurality of sections in the sheet width direction corresponding to each of the plurality of sheet support portions 14. FIG. 10 shows one small space. The first negative pressure chamber 22 and the second negative pressure chamber 25 are separated by the cover member 23, and the common second negative pressure chamber 25 is shared with the plurality of first negative pressure chambers 22. It communicates through the opening 23a of the small space.

  Here, the downstream waste ink flow channel 31f1 and the upstream waste ink flow channel 31f2 are provided adjacent to the downstream and upstream of the second negative pressure chamber 22, respectively. For this reason, a compact and highly integrated platen is realized without wasting space.

  The air leaks in the engagement portion between the upper surface of the cover member 23 and the bottom of the outer peripheral wall 20 of the platen 9 and the engagement portion between the second opening 24 a of the base member 24 and the suction port 19 a of the suction fan 19. A sealing member 26 is arranged to prevent the The sealing member 26 is preferably made of a foamed rubber or the like made of EPDM, which is soft and has a high sealing property so as not to deform the platen 9 and the cover member 23 by its repulsive force when compressed. By interposing the seal member 26 between the respective members, it is possible to suppress transmission of the drive vibration of the suction fan 19 to the platen 9 while maintaining the sealing property between the respective members, and to print operation. Can reduce the impact of

  Further, the waste ink discharge port 30 of the platen 9 is provided on the outer peripheral wall 20 of the platen 9 so as to be discharged laterally. Therefore, the duct 27 disposed immediately below the platen 9 can occupy the space directly below the platen 9 without being disturbed by the disposition of the waste ink discharge port 30. The second negative pressure chamber 25 of the duct 27 can have a sufficient size to stabilize the negative pressure generated by the rotation of the suction fan 19, and the design freedom is also greatly improved.

  The suction fan 19 as a negative pressure generating means is preferably a sirocco fan or the like having a high suction efficiency. The suction fan 19 can adjust the suction air volume by PWM control. It is possible to adjust the adsorptivity of the sheet by making the air volume variable according to the type of sheet, the state of the sheet, and the use atmosphere environment.

  In the above configuration, the suction fan 19 is rotated to discharge the air in the duct 27 so that the entire intake passage 36 is in a negative pressure state, so that the air is sucked from the suction hole 18 communicating with the duct 27. it can.

  The platen 9 is manufactured as one component by resin molding. The plurality of sheet supporting portions 14, the upstream side sheet supporting portion 32, the downstream side sheet supporting portion 33, the first negative pressure chamber 22, the ink receiving portion, and the waste ink flow path are all in one resin mold component constituting the platen 9. It is formed intensively. As a result, the manufacturing of the printing apparatus is simplified, and the relative positional accuracy of the functional units can be improved.

4. Waste Ink Discharge Mechanism FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a tube pump provided in the waste ink discharge mechanism, and FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a waste ink recovery path.
The waste ink discharge mechanism includes a tube 16 connected to the waste ink discharge port 30, a waste ink tank 43 connected to the tube 16, and a waste ink pump 15 provided in the middle of the tube 16.

  The tube pump 15 sucks the waste ink by squeezing the tube 16 against the inner diameter surface of the pump case 21 with the roller 29. The roller 29 is rotatably attached to the rotating roller holder 49. The roller holder 49 is connected to a pump drive motor 107 as a drive source via a gear train (not shown) and the like, and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the pump drive motor 107.

  The suction port 16 a, which is one end of the tube 16, is connected to a waste ink discharge port 30 (see FIG. 8) provided in the outer peripheral wall 20 of the platen 9. The discharge port 16b, which is the other end of the tube 16, is connected to a waste ink tank 43 (waste ink reservoir) that finally stores waste ink.

  When the tube pump 15 is driven in conjunction with the drive of the pump drive motor 107 (see FIG. 13), the waste ink accumulated in the downstream waste ink accumulation part 31g1 of the platen 9 is discharged to the waste ink discharge port 30, tube 16 Through the waste ink tank 43.

  The timing of discharging the waste ink accumulated in the waste ink accumulation portion 31g1 of the platen 9 is, for example, when the power of the printing apparatus 1 is turned off or when the amount of ink ejected to the ink absorber 35 exceeds a predetermined threshold. It is desirable to do.

  Also, as an ink deposition preventing operation to prevent the deposition of the ink component for printing on the surface of the ink absorber 35, the ink absorber 35 discharges a specific ink that easily dissolves deposits after printing is completed. There is something to do (see FIG. 20). Depending on the use environment of the printing apparatus 1, a relatively large amount of ink is ejected to the ink absorber 35 to dissolve deposits (S201). Therefore, immediately after the ink discharge, the ink is accumulated on the surface of the ink absorber 35, and the accumulated ink easily leaks to the outside of the platen 9 along the gap between the platen 9 and the locking claw 38 by capillary action. Therefore, during the ink deposition preventing operation, that is, during the discharge of the ink for dissolving the deposit, the tube pump 15 is driven at S202. As a result, the ink discharged onto the surface of the ink absorber 35 can be attracted to the inside of the ink absorber 35 each time, and the ink can be prevented from being accumulated on the surface of the ink absorber 35. Even after the completion of the ink discharge operation for dissolving the deposit (S203), the ink is accumulated on the surface of the ink absorber 35 by continuously driving the tube pump 15 (S202 to S204) for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds). The effect of preventing Furthermore, the state in which the ink accumulates on the surface of the ink absorber 35 occurs after the ink has spread throughout the ink absorber 35. For this reason, the drive control of the tube pump 15 during ink ejection for dissolving the deposit may start after a predetermined period has elapsed since the printing apparatus 1 has been used. In addition, drive control of the above-mentioned tube pump 15 is performed by CPU101 (refer FIG. 13) in the below-mentioned control system.

  As a result, it is possible to suppress the waste ink from overflowing to the outside of the platen 9 from the waste ink accumulation part 31g1 of the platen 9, and suppressing the drying and sticking of the waste ink in the waste ink flow path 31c and the waste ink accumulation part 31d. it can.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the waste ink tank 43 is disposed at a position not overlapping the platen 9 when the apparatus is viewed from the top. That is, in the present embodiment, as in Patent Document 1, a configuration is not adopted in which the waste ink discarded on the platen is discharged immediately below the platen using gravity. The waste ink is forced to be discharged from the waste ink discharge port formed on the side of the peripheral wall 20 of the platen 9 to the waste ink tank 43 located on the outside of the platen 9 using the tube 16 and the tube pump 15 Configured. For this reason, the degree of freedom of the disposition of the waste ink tank 43 is increased, and by disposing the waste ink tank 43 in the empty space in the printing apparatus 1, it is possible to avoid the enlargement of the apparatus.

  In addition, since the space immediately below the platen 9 can be occupied exclusively by the duct 27, a sufficient volume can be secured in the duct 27 to stabilize the negative pressure generated by the rotation of the suction fan 19. Furthermore, by providing the duct 27 immediately below the platen, the intake flow path 36 from the suction hole to the suction fan can be simplified and shortened, so the flow path resistance can be reduced, and the power consumption of the suction fan 19 can be reduced. It will be possible to

5. Control Circuit FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a control system configuration of the printing apparatus.
A head drive circuit 102 that controls ink ejection of the print head 3 is connected to the CPU 101. The CPU 101 is further connected to a motor drive circuit 103 for controlling motors (carriage motor 104, transport roller motor 105, feed roller motor 106, pump drive motor 107, suction fan 19 etc.) for operating each mechanism. .

  The suction fan 19 is subjected to PWM control by the motor drive circuit 103, and it is possible to adjust the air flow and adjust the suction negative pressure of the sheet suction unit. Changing the air flow rate according to the type of sheet, the state of the sheet, the condition of the atmosphere environment, etc. is an effective means for adjusting the sheet transportability. Further, it is also possible to change the air volume depending on the position of the carriage 4 and the condition of the sheet conveyance position.

6. Print Operation Next, the print operation by the printing apparatus will be described. When a print command transmitted from a host computer (not shown) or the like is transmitted to the printing apparatus 1, the following operation is performed by the CPU 101. First, the suction fan 19 is driven to prepare for suctioning and supporting the sheet 2 conveyed onto the platen 9. Next, the feeding device 40 is driven, and the sheet is fed to a first conveyance roller pair including the conveyance roller 7 and the pinch roller 8. The first conveying roller pair conveys the sheet fed by the feeding device 40 to a position covering the sheet supporting surface 13 as shown in FIG. After the leading edge 2a of the sheet 2 passes between the sheet support surface 13 and the print head 3 by this conveyance operation, it is on the leading edge ink discarding groove 31A and from the most downstream discharge port 3d of the ink discharge nozzle row 3b. Also reach a position that is upstream in the Y direction.

  Next, movement of the carriage 4 in the X direction is started, and ink is discharged from the print head 3, and printing on the sheet 2 is performed. If the print performed at this time is a so-called borderless print in which an image is formed on the entire sheet 2 without forming a margin at the end of the sheet 2, the ink is discharged from the outside to the inside of the sheet 2 . Even if ink is discharged from all the discharge ports of the discharge port array 3b, since the most downstream discharge port 3d is positioned upstream of the tip ink discarding groove 31A, it is discharged to the outside (downstream side) from the sheet 2. All the ink is received by the ink absorber 35. Further, since the left and right side edges of the sheet are also positioned on the left and right end ink drop grooves 34 disposed between the sheet support portions 14, all the ink ejected to the outside of the sheet 2 absorbs the ink It is received by the body 35. Therefore, the ink supporting surface 13 of the platen 9 is not contaminated with the ink.

  At this time, the sheet supporting portion 14 is formed through the second negative pressure chamber 25 of the duct 27, the first negative pressure chamber 22 of the platen 9, and the suction hole 18 of the platen 9 by the rotation of the suction fan 19. The air in the suction recess 17 is exhausted. For this reason, negative pressure is generated in the space from the suction fan 19 to the back surface of the sheet 2. The sheet 2 is attracted to the sheet supporting surface 13 by this negative pressure, and floating and bending from the sheet supporting surface 13 are suppressed. As a result, the distance between the discharge port forming surface 3 a of the print head 3 and the sheet 2 is kept constant. In this state, printing on the sheet 2 proceeds by repeating the discharge of the ink by the print head 3 and the intermittent conveyance operation of the sheet 2.

  Thereafter, the rear end 2b of the sheet 2 passes through the first conveyance roller pair, and as shown in FIG. 15, the front end 2a of the sheet 2 is on the front end side ink discarding groove 31 and more than the uppermost stream discharge port 3c. When the position downstream of the Y direction is reached, the last printing operation is performed. At this time, even if all the discharge ports of the discharge port array 3 b are used, all the ink discharged to the outside (upstream side) of the sheet 2 is received by the ink absorber 35, and the rear end side of the sheet 2 Borderless printing to is properly completed. Thereafter, the sheet 2 is discharged onto the discharge tray 12 by the rotation of the discharge roller 10. When the discharge of the sheet 2 is completed, the drive of the suction fan 19 is stopped by the motor drive circuit 103.

  On the other hand, even in so-called bordered printing in which a margin is formed along the edge of the sheet 2, the sheet 2 always covers the sheet supporting surface 13 during printing. For this reason, the sheet 2 is adsorbed to the sheet support surface 13 by the negative pressure generated in the adsorption concave portion 17 formed in the sheet support portion 14, and the floating and bending of the sheet 2 from the sheet support surface 13 are suppressed. Therefore, even in the bordered printing, the printing operation can be properly performed while keeping the distance between the discharge port forming surface 3 a of the print head 3 and the sheet 2 constant.

  According to the embodiment described above, four-edge printing can be performed on a cut sheet. Then, appropriate printing can be performed while applying a stable negative pressure to the sheet by the sheet suction mechanism, and collection of waste ink discharged onto the platen can be realized without increasing the size of the apparatus. . That is, it is possible to realize both of the waste ink recovery and the sheet suction with a compact device configuration.

2 sheet 3 print head 9 platen 14 sheet support portion (support portion)
15 tube pump 16 tube 17 suction recess (recess)
18 Suction hole (suction part)
19 suction fan 20 outer peripheral wall of platen 27 duct 30 waste ink discharge port 31A ink discarding groove for tip end (first ink receiving portion)
31B Rear edge ink discard groove (second ink receiver)
34 Ink discarding groove for left and right end (third ink receiver)
31f1 first waste ink flow path 31f2 second waste ink flow path 31f3 third waste ink flow path 31h recessed portion of platen 34 ink discarding groove for left and right ends (third ink receiving portion)
35 Ink Absorber 43 Waste Ink Tank 44 Clearance between Platen and Locking Claw

Claims (15)

And Ruhe head for discharging the ink, and conveying means for conveying the sheet in a first direction, a suction means for sucking ink, a platen for supporting the sheet in front Kihe head facing position, the A printing apparatus comprising:
The platen is
A plurality of support portions arranged in a second direction intersecting the first direction to support the sheet;
It extends to the adjacent support part and the second direction in the first direction, and the ink receiving portion before receiving the ink discharged from Kihe head,
An ink flow path disposed below the ink receiving portion and extending in the second direction and having an inclined bottom surface for flowing the ink received by the ink receiving portion ;
An accumulation unit disposed below the inclined bottom surface and accumulating the ink flowing through the ink flow path;
Printing apparatus according to claim Rukoto that Yusuke and discharge unit for discharging the ink which is integrated in the integrated unit by suction by the suction means through the tube connected to the tube, the. Which is connected with the tube, printing apparatus as claimed in 請 Motomeko 1 shall be the further comprising wherein Rukoto waste ink tank for storing the sucked ink by the sucking means. The ink receiving portion includes an upstream ink receiving portion disposed on the upstream side of the supporting portion in the first direction, and a downstream ink receiving portion disposed on the downstream side of the supporting portion in the first direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein The ink flow path includes a first ink flow path disposed below the upstream ink receiving portion, a second ink flow path disposed below the downstream ink receiving portion, and the first ink flow path. A third ink flow path connecting the second ink flow path ;
The invention is characterized in that the accumulation portion is disposed on the bottom surface of the second ink flow path, and the third ink flow path is inclined to lead the ink from the first ink flow path to the accumulation portion. The printing apparatus according to 3 . The bottom surface of the ink flow path, printing apparatus as claimed in 請 Motomeko 4, characterized in that the uneven portion extending along the inclined are formed. An upstream support portion disposed upstream of the upstream ink receiving portion in the first direction to support the sheet, and a downstream support portion disposed downstream of the downstream ink receiving portion in the first direction to support the sheet printing apparatus as claimed in any one of 請 Motomeko 3 you wherein Rukoto 5. Before disposed heard ink receiving unit further comprises an absorber which receives the ink discharged from the head, ink received by the absorber from claim 1, characterized that you drop into the ink passage 6 The printing apparatus according to any one of the above. Printing apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further comprising said Rukoto a plurality of locking members for locking the absorber to the ink receiving portion. Printing apparatus as claimed in 請 Motomeko 8, characterized in that the sealing material or water-repellent agent is applied between the locking member and the platen. Portion adjacent to the locking member in the side wall surface of the platen, the print device according to claim 8, wherein a concave shape der Rukoto away from the absorbent body. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the head performs a deposition preventing operation of discharging the ink to the absorber after the printing operation on the sheet is completed . During the deposition preventing operation, printing apparatus as claimed in 請 Motomeko 11 characterized Rukoto operates the suction means. Until said completion after a predetermined time of the deposition prevention operation has elapsed, the print device according to 請 Motomeko 11 or 12 you characterized by operating the suction means. Wherein arranged below the support portion, according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising characterized by Rukoto the negative pressure chamber for applying a negative pressure to the suction holes formed in the support portion Printing device. The said platen, the said support part, the said ink receiving part, the said ink flow path, the said accumulation | storage part, and the said discharge part are aggregated and formed in one resin mold component, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. The printing apparatus according to any one of the items .