JP6582490B2 - Liquid ejection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus.

  In Patent Document 1, a wiper member for wiping the nozzle surface of an ink jet head, a cam gear having a cam groove, a link mechanism for swinging the wiper member as the cam groove rotates, and a wiper member are in contact with each other. And a blade cleaner that cleans the ink adhering to the tip of the wiper member. In this printing apparatus, with the inkjet head disposed at the wipe position, the cam gear is rotated, the wiper member is swung from the standby position (forward path start end position) to the forward path end position, and the nozzle surface is wiped with the wiper member. Thereafter, with the inkjet head retracted from the wipe position, the cam gear is rotated, and the wiper member is swung from the return path start position (forward path end position) to the return path end position (forward path start position), which is a standby position. In the process of returning the wiper member to the standby position, the standby position is temporarily passed from the return path start end position, and the tip of the wiper member is moved to a position where it abuts against the blade cleaner. Thereafter, the wiper member is returned to the standby position. In this way, the ink attached to the tip of the wiper member that has wiped the nozzle surface can be cleaned with the blade cleaner.

Japanese Patent No. 4923341

  However, in the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when it is necessary to rotate the cam gear only in one rotation direction, once the cam gear starts to rotate and the wiper member starts to move from the standby position, the cam gear is moved in one rotation direction. Unless it is rotated, it cannot be returned to the standby position. Specifically, the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a driven body (for example, a valve mechanism or a cap mechanism) that is different from a wiper member that is driven by rotating a cam gear in one rotation direction. If this is the case, the wiper member inevitably starts to move when the driven body is driven. That is, every time the cam gear is rotated in order to drive the driven body, the wiper member comes into contact with the blade cleaner, so that the wiper member is likely to deteriorate. In particular, when the cam gear is rotated when the nozzle surface is not wiped with the wiper member, the ink does not adhere to the wiper member so much that the frictional force between the wiper member and the blade cleaner increases. The wiper member is more likely to deteriorate.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejection device capable of suppressing deterioration of a wiper member.

The liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid ejection head having an ejection surface in which an ejection port for ejecting liquid is formed, a wiper member for wiping the ejection surface, and the wiper member in contact with the ejection surface. A wiper moving mechanism that moves the wiper member in a direction intersecting the discharge surface between a wiping position where the discharge surface can be wiped and a standby position where the wiper member is disposed away from the discharge surface; A cleaning member for removing liquid adhering to the wiper member by abutting with the wiper member, and a cam rotatable about a rotation axis when the wiper member abuts with the rotation member when rotating. A cam having an abutting portion for bringing the wiper member into contact with the cleaning member by moving the wiper member, and a driven member driven by the rotation of the cam. It comprises a body and a rotating mechanism for rotating the cam in the rotational direction of the one around the said rotation axis. Then, the wiper moving mechanism includes a contact position where the wiper member abuts with the abutting portion when the cam is rotated 1, wherein the wiper member is the person when said cam is rotated 1 It is possible to arrange the wiper member at a non-contact position where it does not contact the contact portion.

  According to the liquid ejection device of the present invention, the wiper moving mechanism can arrange the wiper member at the contact position and the non-contact position. When the wiper member is in the non-contact position, the contact portion and the wiper member do not contact even when the cam rotates. On the other hand, when the wiper member is in the contact position, when the cam rotates, the contact portion and the wiper member contact each other, and the wiper member contacts the cleaning member. That is, it is possible to execute cleaning for removing the liquid adhering to the wiper member. Thereby, the wiper member can be selectively cleaned. For this reason, even when the cam is rotated to drive the driven body, the wiper member can be prevented from coming into contact with the cleaning member more than necessary, and deterioration of the wiper member can be suppressed.

1 is a perspective view of a multifunction machine. It is a schematic side view which shows the internal structure of the printer part shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a printer unit illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a schematic side view of a maintenance part. (A) is a situation figure when a suction cap exists in a separation position, (b) is a situation figure when a suction cap exists in a contact position. It is a perspective view of a wiper member. (A) And (b) is a perspective view of a rotating cam, (c) is a top view. (A) is a perspective view of a cleaning member, (b) is sectional drawing. It is a figure when a maintenance part is seen from the lower part. (A) is a situation figure when a switching member is arrange | positioned in the position which takes a 1st state, (b) is a situation figure when a switching member is arrange | positioned in the position which takes a 2nd state, (c ) Is a situation diagram when the switching member is arranged at the position where the third state is taken. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a power transmission mechanism, where (a) shows the power transmission state of each gear when the recording head is in the image recording area, and (b) shows the power of each gear when the recording head is in the maintenance position. It is a figure which shows a transmission state. (A) shows the power transmission state of each gear when the ASF motor is reversely rotated when the recording head is in the maintenance position, and (b) is a normal rotation of the ASF motor when the recording head is in the maintenance position. It is a figure which shows the power transmission state of each gear at the time. It is a block diagram of a control part. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a maintenance operation | movement. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement condition after a wiper member is arrange | positioned from a standby position to a wiping position, and after wiping an ejection surface with a wiper, a wiper member is returned to a standby position from a wiping position. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement condition of the wiper member in a cleaning process. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement condition of the rotating cam at the time of a maintenance operation | movement.

  Hereinafter, a multi-function apparatus 1 that employs a printer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The multi-function device 1 is installed and used in the state shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, three directions indicated by arrows in FIG. 1 are a vertical direction A1, a front-rear direction A2, and a left-right direction A3. The three directions shown in FIG. 1 are the same in other drawings.

<Overview of MFP 1>
As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-function device 1 is formed in a generally thin rectangular parallelepiped, and has a display unit, operation buttons, and the like on the upper surface. A printer unit 10, which is an example of a liquid ejection device of the present invention, is provided at the lower part of the multifunction device 1. The multifunction device 1 has various functions such as a scanner function and a print function.

  The printer unit 10 has a housing 11. An opening 12 is formed in the approximate center of the front wall 11 a of the housing 11. A paper feed tray 15 and a paper discharge tray 16 are provided in two upper and lower stages. The paper feed tray 15 is configured to be insertable / removable from the opening 12 in the front-rear direction A2, that is, to be detachable from the housing 11. A paper P having a desired size is placed on the paper feed tray 15. The multifunction device 1 can be connected to an external device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), and performs a recording operation based on a recording command from the PC. Various functions are also executed by operating the operation buttons by the user.

<Internal structure of printer unit 10>
Next, the internal structure of the printer unit 10 will be described. 2 and 3, the printer unit 10 includes a feeding unit 20, a conveying roller pair 35, a recording unit 40, a holder 17, a paper discharge roller pair 36, and an ASF (Auto Sheet Feed) motor. 20M (see FIG. 13), LF (Line Feed) motor 35M (see FIG. 13), maintenance unit 60, and control unit 5 (see FIG. 13). The feeding unit 20 feeds the paper P placed on the paper feed tray 15 to the transport path 25. The conveyance roller pair 35 conveys the paper P fed by the feeding unit 20 to the recording unit 40. The recording unit 40 has, for example, an inkjet recording system configuration, and records an image on the paper P conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 35. The paper discharge roller pair 36 discharges the paper P recorded by the recording unit 40 to the paper discharge tray 16.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the holder 17 is provided on the front right side in the housing 11. Four ink cartridges 18a to 18d that respectively store four colors (black, yellow, cyan, and magenta) are detachably mounted on the holder 17.

<Feeding unit 20>
As shown in FIG. 2, the feeding unit 20 is provided on the upper side of the paper feed tray 15. The feeding unit 20 includes a sheet feeding roller 21 and an arm 22. The paper feed roller 21 is pivotally supported at the tip of the arm 22. The arm 22 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 22 a and is biased by a spring or the like so as to be rotated downward so that the paper feed roller 21 contacts the paper feed tray 15. The arm 22 is configured to be retractable upward when the paper feed tray 15 is inserted and removed. The paper feed roller 21 is rotated by the power of the ASF motor 20M transmitted through a transmission mechanism (not shown), and the paper P stacked in the paper feed tray 15 is fed to the transport path 25.

<Paper Tray 15>
As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed tray 15 has a slanted wall portion 15a. The inclined wall portion 15 a guides the paper P to the transport path 25 when the paper P placed on the paper feed tray 15 is fed by the paper feed roller 21.

<Conveyance path 25>
As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance path 25 is formed by an outer guide member 25a and an inner guide member 25b that face each other at a predetermined interval. The conveyance path 25 is configured to bend upward from the rear end portion of the paper feed tray 15 and to the front side of the printer unit 10. The paper P fed from the paper feed tray 15 is guided to make a U-turn from the lower side to the upper side by the transport path 25 and reaches the recording unit 40.

<Conveying roller pair 35 and paper discharge roller pair 36>
The conveyance roller pair 35 includes a conveyance roller 35a disposed on the lower side and a pinch roller 35b disposed on the upper side. As will be described later, the conveyance roller 35a rotates by receiving the power of the LF motor 35M. The pinch roller 35b is rotated along with the rotation of the conveying roller 35a. The transport roller 35a and the pinch roller 35b cooperate to sandwich the paper P from the vertical direction A1, and transport the paper P to the recording unit 40.

  The paper discharge roller pair 36 includes a paper discharge roller 36a disposed on the lower side and a spur roller 36b disposed on the upper side. The paper discharge roller 36a rotates when the power of the LF motor 35M is transmitted through a transmission mechanism (not shown). The spur roller 36b rotates with the rotation of the paper discharge roller 36a. The paper discharge roller 36a and the spur roller 36b cooperate to sandwich the paper P from the vertical direction A1 and convey the paper P to the paper discharge tray 16.

<Recording unit 40>
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording unit 40 includes a recording head 41 (liquid ejection head), a head moving mechanism 50, and a platen 45. The head moving mechanism 50 includes a carriage 51. The carriage 51 reciprocates in the scanning direction (the left-right direction A3 and the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the paper P). The recording head 41 is supported by the carriage 51.

  The recording head 41 includes a head main body 42 and four sub tanks 43a to 43d. The lower surface of the head main body 42 is an ejection surface 41 b formed with a plurality of ejection ports 41 a that eject ink onto the paper P conveyed below the recording head 41. As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of discharge ports 41 a are arranged such that four rows of discharge port arrays arranged along the transport direction are formed in the scanning direction. In this embodiment, black ink is ejected from the ejection ports 41a belonging to the rightmost ejection port array in FIG. 3, and color inks (magenta, cyan) are ejected from the ejection ports 41a belonging to the other three ejection port arrays. , Yellow) is discharged. The head main body 42 ejects ink of each color as minute ink droplets from the ejection port 41a under the control of the control unit 5 based on the recording command.

  The four sub tanks 43a to 43d are arranged side by side along the scanning direction. Moreover, the tube joint 44 is integrally provided in these four sub tanks 43a-43d. The four sub tanks 43a to 43d and the four ink cartridges 18a to 18d are connected to each other through four flexible tubes (not shown) connected to the tube joint 44. The four sub tanks 43 a to 43 d supply ink of each color to the head main body 42.

  Below the recording head 41, a platen 45 that supports the paper P conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 35 is disposed. The platen 45 is disposed in a portion of the reciprocating movement range of the carriage 51 through which the paper P passes. Since the width of the platen 45 is sufficiently larger than the maximum width of the transportable paper P, the paper P transported through the transport path 25 always passes over the platen 45. An area on the platen 45 is an image recording area G1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the head moving mechanism 50 includes a pair of guide rails 52 and a belt transmission mechanism 53. The pair of guide rails 52 are spaced apart in the front-rear direction A2 and extend parallel to each other in the left-right direction A3. The carriage 51 is disposed so as to straddle the pair of guide rails 52, and is reciprocated along the left-right direction A3 on the pair of guide rails 52.

  The belt transmission mechanism 53 includes two pulleys 54 and 55, an endless timing belt 56, and a CR motor 50M. The two pulleys 54 and 55 are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction A <b> 3, and the timing belt 56 is stretched over. The pulley 54 is connected to the drive shaft of the CR motor 50M. When the CR motor 50M is driven, the timing belt 56 travels and the recording head 41 moves in the scanning direction together with the carriage 51.

  The recording head 41 ejects ink of each color from the ejection port 41a under the control of the control unit 5 based on the recording command. That is, the carriage 51 reciprocates in the left-right direction A3, whereby the recording head 41 is scanned with respect to the paper P, and the ink of each color is ejected from the ejection port 41a, thereby being conveyed on the platen 45. An image is recorded on the paper P. In the printer unit 10, a linear encoder (not shown) having a large number of light transmitting parts (slits) arranged at intervals in the scanning direction is provided. On the other hand, the carriage 51 is provided with a transmission type position detection sensor (not shown) having a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The printer unit 10 can recognize the current position in the scanning direction of the carriage 51 from the count value of the light transmitting portion of the linear encoder detected by the position detection sensor while the carriage 51 is moving, and the CR motor 50M. Rotational drive of is controlled.

<Maintenance unit 60>
Next, the maintenance unit 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. The maintenance unit 60 prevents ink from drying at the ejection ports 41a formed on the ejection surface 41b and removes bubbles and foreign matters in the recording head 41. As shown in FIG. 3, the maintenance unit 60 is provided on the right side of the platen 45. The specific position at which the maintenance unit 60 is disposed is disposed in the maintenance area G2 that is located on the right side of the image recording area G1. The maintenance unit 60 includes a cap mechanism 61, a wiper member 62, a cleaning member 63, a moving mechanism 64, a maintenance frame 65, a suction pump 66, a switching mechanism 67, and a waste liquid tank 68.

  The maintenance frame 65 includes a bottom plate 65a and a main body portion 65b. The main body 65b is provided at the left end of the bottom plate 65a. The bottom plate 65a supports the cap mechanism 61 from below. The main body portion 65 b supports the wiper member 62 and the cleaning member 63. The main body 65b has a guide groove 65b1 extending in the vertical direction A1.

  3 to 5, the cap mechanism 61 includes a suction cap 71, a cap holder 72 that supports the suction cap 71, and a cap lifting mechanism 73 that lifts and lowers the cap holder 72. As shown in FIG. 4, the suction cap 71 is formed of a flexible material such as rubber or synthetic resin, and is divided into two so as to constitute two recesses 71 a and 71 b. The suction cap 71 has two communication ports 71a1 and 71b1 formed at the bottoms of the recesses 71a and 71b. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, when the recording head 41 (carriage 51) has moved to the maintenance position, the suction cap 71 faces the ejection surface 41b. The maintenance position is a downstream position where the recording head 41 is downstream of the wiper member 62 with respect to a wiping direction in which a wiper 75 described later wipes the ejection surface 41 b. In this state, when the cap holder 72 is moved upward by the cap lifting mechanism 73, the suction cap 71 is in close contact with the discharge surface 41b and covers the plurality of discharge ports 41a. At this time, the sealed space K1 (see FIG. 15A) in which the region where the discharge ports 41a for discharging the three color inks on the discharge surface 41b are formed is covered with the recess 71a and the black ink on the discharge surface 41b. A sealed space K2 (see FIG. 15A) is formed in which the region where the discharge port 41a for discharging is formed is covered with the recess 71b.

  The cap holder 72 supports the suction cap 71 from below. On the lower surface of the cap holder 72, a plate-like protruding portion 72a protruding downward is formed. A pair of protrusions 72b protruding in the left-right direction A3 is formed at the tip of the protrusion 72a. The pair of protrusions 72b have a cylindrical shape.

  4 and 5, the cap lifting mechanism 73 includes a pair of slide cams 73a, a gear 73b, and a link 73c that connects the gear 73b and the slide cam 73a. A pair of slide cam 73a is comprised from the plate-shaped member, and is arrange | positioned on both sides of the protrusion part 72a in the left-right direction A3. The pair of slide cams 73a are connected by a connecting member (not shown) extending in the left-right direction A2. In addition, the pair of slide cams 73a is supported so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction A2 while standing on the bottom plate 65a of the maintenance frame 65. Each slide cam 73a is formed with a guide hole 73a1 that penetrates in the left-right direction A3 and in which the protrusion 72b can be disposed. The guide hole 73a1 has a front part 73a2, a rear part 73a3, and a connection part 73a4 that connects the front part 73a2 and the rear part 73a3. Both the front part 73a2 and the rear part 73a3 extend horizontally in the front-rear direction A2. The front part 73a2 is disposed below the rear part 73a3. As a result, the connecting portion 73a4 extends obliquely.

  In the configuration of the cap lifting mechanism 73, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the slide cam 73a is in the rearward position, the protrusion 72b is disposed on the front portion 73a2, and the cap holder 72 is attached to the maintenance frame 65. It arrange | positions in the position nearest to the baseplate 65a. At this time, the suction cap 71 is disposed at a separation position away from the ejection surface 41b of the recording head 41 disposed at the maintenance position. Then, when the gear 73b rotates 180 ° clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 5A to the position shown in FIG. 5B, the pair of slide cams 73a connected to the link 73c move forward. To do. At this time, the protrusion 72b is guided upward by the connecting portion 73a4 and is disposed on the rear portion 73a3. When the slide cam 73a moves to a position closer to the front in this way, the protrusion 72b is disposed at the rear portion 73a3, and the cap holder 72 is disposed at the position farthest from the bottom plate 65a of the maintenance frame 65. At this time, the suction cap 71 is disposed at a contact position where the suction cap 71 can contact the ejection surface 41b of the recording head 41 disposed at the maintenance position. In this way, the cap lifting mechanism 73 can move the suction cap 71 between the contact position and the separation position by the rotation of the gear 73b. Further, the position of the slide cam 73a in the front-rear direction A2 can be detected from the amount of rotation of the ASF motor 20M that drives the gear 73b, thereby controlling the position of the slide cam 73a in the front-rear direction A2, thereby The arrangement position (separation position or contact position) of 71 can be controlled.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the wiper member 62 includes a wiper 75 and a wiper holder 76 that supports the wiper 75. The wiper 75 is formed of a flexible material such as rubber or synthetic resin, and is a plate-like member having a right side surface 75a and a left side surface 75b. The wiper 75 is formed longer than the discharge surface 41b in the front-rear direction A2. The wiper 75 has a tip portion 75c (tip portion of the wiper member 62) for wiping the discharge surface 41b, and a support portion 75d that supports the tip portion 75c. The right side surface 75a is divided into an upper side surface 75a1 at the tip end portion 75c and a lower side surface 75a2 present at the support portion 75d. The upper side surface 75a1 is a wiping surface for wiping the ejection surface 41b. The lower side surface 75a2 is a facing surface that faces a later-described contact plate 76a1.

  The wiper holder 76 has a horizontal portion 76a extending in the front-rear direction A2 and a vertical portion 76b extending in the up-down direction A1. The horizontal portion 76a extends in the front-rear direction A2 with respect to the wiper 75. The vertical portion 76b extends downward from the center in the front-rear direction A2 of the horizontal portion 76a, and the wiper holder 76 is configured in a substantially T shape.

  The horizontal portion 76a supports a support portion 75d of the wiper 75 that is erected from the upper surface thereof. The horizontal portion 76 a has a contact plate 76 a 1 disposed on the right side of the wiper 75. The contact plate 76a1 extends longer than the wiper 75 in the front-rear direction A2, and is disposed to face the lower side surface 75a2 of the wiper 75. Further, the contact plate 76a1 is disposed in contact with the lower side surface 75a2. The abutting plate 76a1 regulates the bending of the wiper 75 when the recording head 41 moves to the left while abutting against the left side surface 75b existing at the front end portion 75c of the wiper 75, as will be described later. This contributes to the movement from the wiping position described later to the standby position.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, a pair of protrusions 76a2 protruding leftward are formed on the horizontal portion 76a. The pair of protrusions 76a2 are spaced apart in the front-rear direction A2. When the wiper member 62 is moved to the wiping position as will be described later, the pair of protrusions 76a2 are engaged with the main body portion 65b of the maintenance frame 65 to hold the wiper member 62 at the wiping position. The pair of projections 76a2 and the main body portion 65b constitute the locking holding portion of the present invention.

  The vertical portion 76b has a pair of protrusions 76b1 protruding in the front-rear direction A2 at the approximate center in the up-down direction A1. The pair of protrusions 76b1 have a cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. 4, the wiper holder 76 is disposed so as to penetrate the main body portion 65 b in the vertical direction A <b> 1, and the pair of protrusions 76 b <b> 1 are disposed in the guide groove 65 b <b> 1 of the maintenance frame 65. As a result, when the wiper member 62 is located at the standby position where the lower end of the guide groove 65b1 and the projection 76b1 are in contact with each other at the position shown in FIG. 4, the guide groove 65b1 causes the arrow A4 to be centered on the projection 76b1. It is supported so that it can swing in the direction. The pair of protrusions 76b1 constitute the swing shaft of the wiper member 62. Further, the movement of the wiper member 62 in the vertical direction A1 is guided by the guide groove 65b1.

  The vertical portion 76b has a hook 76b2 formed at the upper end thereof. The hook 76b2 is disposed above the pair of protrusions 76b1. One end of a spring 81 to be described later is attached to the hook 76b2. As shown in FIG. 6B, a protrusion 76b3 protruding rightward from the right side surface is formed on the lower end portion of the vertical portion 76b (base end portion on the opposite side to the tip end portion 75c of the wiper member 62 in the vertical direction A1). Is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the moving mechanism 64 includes a spring 81, a rotating cam 82, and a gear 83 disposed below the rotating cam 82. The gear 83 is integrally connected to the rotating cam 82. When the gear 83 rotates, the rotating cam 82 also rotates in the same direction. One end (upper end) of the spring 81 is attached to the hook 76 b 2, and the other end (lower end) is attached to the lower left end of the main body 65 b of the maintenance frame 65. This lower left end is on the left and below the guide groove 65b1. For this reason, the spring 81 urges the wiper member 62 diagonally to the left. Further, when the wiper member 62 is disposed at the standby position, the spring 81 has the upper end (the tip portion 75c of the wiper 75) of the wiper member 62 leftward and the lower end rightward about the pair of protrusions 76b1. The wiper member 62 is biased in the rotating direction. Accordingly, the wiper member 82 is positioned in a state where the pair of protrusions 76a2 are in contact with the main body portion 65b of the maintenance frame 65 at the standby position.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating cam 82 includes a circular plate 82a and a cylindrical portion 82b formed to protrude upward in the center of the circular plate 82a. The rotary cam 82 is supported by the maintenance frame 65 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis D (see FIG. 4) along the vertical direction A1. When the power of the AFS motor 20M is transmitted to the gear 83, the rotary cam 82 rotates. Note that the rotating cam 82 rotates only in the rotation direction of the arrow A5 in FIG. 7 as will be described later.

  The rotating cam 82 has a raised portion 82c and a contact portion 82d. The raised portion 82c and the abutting portion 82d are spaced apart from each other along the rotation direction A5 (clockwise in FIG. 7C). As shown in FIG. 7C, the rotary cam 82 has a first region R1 and a second region R2 that are divided by a raised portion 82c and a contact portion 82d in the rotational direction A5. Further, the raised portion 82c and the abutting portion 82d are formed on the upper surface 82a1 of the disc 82a and the side surface of the cylindrical portion 82b, and are arranged at positions overlapping each other along the rotational direction A5. Further, the lower end portion (base end portion) of the wiper member 62 disposed at the standby position is positioned on the rotation trajectory of the raised portion 82c and the contact portion 82d, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. To do. The lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is disposed at a position overlapping the raised portion 82c and the contact portion 82d along the rotation direction A5 in the standby position. Further, when the rotating cam 82 rotates in the rotation direction A5 from the position shown in FIG. 7C, the wiper member at the standby position in the order of the raised portion 82c, the second region R2, the contact portion 82d, and the first region R1. And is configured to be movable to a corresponding position.

  The raised portion 82c is raised upward from the upper surface 82a1, and is formed longer than the contact portion 82d in the rotation direction A5. Further, the upper surface of the raised portion 82c is constituted by five surfaces 82c1 to 82c5 having different inclination angles along the rotation direction A5. Of these five surfaces 82c1 to 82c5, the surface 82c2 is disposed on the uppermost side from the upper surface 82a1 of the disc 82a. When the rotary cam 82 rotates in the rotational direction A5 with the wiper member 62 disposed at the standby position, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 comes into contact with the surface 82c1, and the wiper member 62 is pushed upward. Then, as the rotation of the rotary cam 82 proceeds, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 comes into contact with the surface 82c2. At this time, the wiper member 62 is disposed at the wiping position (see FIG. 15B). Thus, the moving mechanism 64 constitutes a part of a wiper moving mechanism that moves the wiper to the wiping position.

  The contact portion 82d has two side surfaces 82d1 and 82d2 erected in the vertical direction A1, and a horizontal upper surface 82d3. The upper surface 82d3 of the contact portion 82d is disposed below the surface 82c2. That is, the height of the contact portion 82d from the disc 82a is lower than that of the contact portion 82c. For this reason, even if the rotating cam 82 rotates in a state where the wiper member 62 is disposed at the wiping position, the wiper member 62 and the contact portion 82d do not contact each other. In other words, the abutting portion 82d is farther from the tip end portion 75c of the wiper member 62 in the vertical direction A1 than the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 at the wiping position, and can come into contact with the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 at the standby position. It is configured in shape. The side surface 82d1 is an inclined surface that is inclined so that the separation distance from the rotation axis D becomes smaller as the rotation direction A5 proceeds. On the other hand, the side surface 82d2 is an inclined surface that is inclined so that the separation distance from the rotation axis D increases as it proceeds in the rotation direction A5. The contact portion 82d has a top surface 82d4 that connects the two side surfaces 82d1 and 8d2 and is further away from the rotation axis D than the two side surfaces 82d1 and 82d2. When the wiper member 62 is in the standby position and the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is disposed in the second region R2 (see FIGS. 16A and 17D), the rotating cam 82 moves in the rotational direction A5. By rotating, the lower end portion of the wiper member 82 comes into contact with the side surface 82d1 of the contact portion 82d. When the rotary cam 82 rotates until the lower end portion of the wiper member 82 contacts the top surface 82d4, the wiper member 82 is moved from the first position to the second position against the biasing force of the spring 81 (FIG. 16C and FIG. 17 (f)). The first position is a position where the wiper member 82 is disposed until the wiper member 82 is in the standby position and contacts the contact portion 82d. The second position is a position that is disposed when the wiper member 82 is in the standby position and comes into contact with the top surface 82d4. The wiper member 82 is a cleaning member while moving between the first position and the second position. 63 abuts.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning member 63 is supported in a state of being erected in the main body portion 65 b of the maintenance frame 65. The cleaning member 63 is made of resin or the like, and has a plate-like portion 63a erected in the vertical direction A1, a horizontal portion 63b, and a protruding portion 63c, as shown in FIG.

  The horizontal part 63b is formed at the upper end of the plate-like part 63a and extends long in the front-rear direction A2. As shown in FIG. 8B, the protruding portion 63c is formed to protrude downward from the left end portion of the horizontal portion 63b. The protrusion 63c extends longer than the wiper 75 in the front-rear direction A2.

  The switching mechanism 67 (driven body) is for switching the connection destination between the suction pump 66 and the two communication ports 71a1 and 71b1 of the suction cap 71. Although not particularly illustrated, the communication port 71a1 of the suction cap 71 and a Co port 67b3 described later are connected by a tube. Further, the communication port 71b1 of the suction cap 71 and a Bk port 67b2 described later are connected by a tube. As shown in FIGS. 4, 9, and 10, the switching mechanism 67 has a switching member 67a disposed below the gear 83 and a cover 67b that houses the switching member 67a.

  The switching member 67a has a cylindrical shape formed of an elastic member such as rubber and is fixed to the center of the lower surface of the rotating cam 82. A switching channel 67c is formed in the switching member 67a. The switching channel 67c includes a circular central groove 67c1 formed in the center of the lower surface of the switching member 67a, three vertical grooves 67c2 formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the switching member 67a, a central groove 67c1, and three vertical grooves 67c2. And three horizontal grooves 67c3 respectively connecting the two. The three vertical grooves 67c2 extend along the vertical direction A1 and are spaced apart from each other along the rotational direction A5. The horizontal groove 67c3 extends horizontally from the central groove 67a1 along the radial direction of the switching member 67a.

  The cover 67b has a bottomed cylindrical shape. An intake port 67b1 is formed at the center of the bottom wall of the cover 67b. The intake port 67b1 is connected to the suction pump 66 via a tube 66a (see FIG. 3). The intake port 67b1 is disposed at a position facing the central groove 67c1, and communicates with the central groove 67c1. Three ports 67b2 to 67b4 are formed on the circular peripheral wall of the cover 67b so as to be separated from each other along the rotation direction A5. As shown in FIG. 10A, the three ports 67b2, 67b3, 67b4 are arranged at the same interval as the three vertical grooves 67c2 along the rotation direction A5. For this reason, when the switching member 67a is in the rotational position shown in FIG. 10A, these three ports 67b2, 67b3, 67b4 communicate with each other via the switching channel 67c.

  The first port is a Bk port 67b2 that communicates with the communication port 71b1 of the suction cap 71 and communicates with the space in which black ink is discharged. The second port is a Co port 67b3 that communicates with the communication port 71a1 of the suction cap 71 and communicates with the space in which the color ink is discharged. The remaining one port is an atmospheric port 67b4 opened to the atmosphere.

  The cover 67b is supported by an arm 65c connected to the bottom plate 65a of the maintenance frame 65, as shown in FIG. Further, the cover 67b is rotatable relative to the rotating cam 82 and the switching member 67a. The switching member 76a selectively takes the first to third states by rotating together with the rotary cam 82. In the first state, as shown in FIG. 10A, the three ports 67b2 to 67b4 communicate with each other through the switching channel 67c. The second state is a state in which the suction pump 66 communicates with the communication port 71a1 of the suction cap 71 via the switching channel 67c and the Co port 67b3 as shown in FIG. The third state is a state in which the suction pump 66 communicates with the communication port 71b1 of the suction cap 71 via the switching channel 67c and the Bk port 67b2, as shown in FIG. 10 (c). Thus, the rotating cam 82 drives the switching mechanism 67 with rotation. Note that the position of the rotating cam 82 in the rotational direction A5 (that is, the rotational angle of the rotating cam 82) can also be detected from the amount of rotation of the ASF motor 20M, thereby controlling the position of the rotating cam 82 in the rotational direction A5. Thus, it is possible to perform control for taking the first to third states of the rotation cam 82 and the switching mechanism 67 with respect to the wiper member 62.

  As the suction pump 66, a known tube pump is employed, and when the switching member 67a is in the second or third state, the rotor of the suction pump 66 is rotated, whereby ink is put into the sealed space K1 or the sealed space K2. Can be discharged. The suction pump 66 is driven by transmitting the power of the LF motor 35M. The waste liquid tank 68 is connected to the suction pump 66 by a tube 68a and stores the waste ink sucked by the suction pump 66.

  Next, the power of the ASF motor 20M is selectively transmitted to the paper feed roller 21, the cap lifting mechanism 73, the moving mechanism 64, and the switching mechanism 67, and the power of the LF motor 35M is selected to the transport roller 35a and the suction pump 66. The power transmission mechanism 100 that transmits power will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the power transmission mechanism 100 is disposed behind the suction cap 71. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the power transmission mechanism 100 selectively transmits two systems of power output independently from the ASF motor 20M and the LF motor 35M to each mechanism.

  The LF motor 35M is connected to one end (left side in FIG. 3) of the transport roller 35a. An LF gear (not shown) is provided at the other end (right side in FIG. 3) of the transport roller 35a so as to rotate coaxially and integrally with the transport roller 35a. A first drive gear 101 shown in FIG. 11 is engaged with the LF gear so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and is driven to rotate by the power of the LF motor 35M. The axis of the first drive gear 101 is parallel to the axis of the LF gear, and the first drive gear 101 can move in parallel with the LF gear. Since the length of the LF gear in the axial direction (hereinafter referred to as thickness) is sufficiently longer than the sliding range of the first driving gear 101, the first driving gear 101 and the LF gear are within the sliding range of the first driving gear 101. Is always meshed.

  Power is transmitted from the output shaft of the ASF motor 20M to the second drive gear 102 via an ASF gear (not shown), and the second drive gear 102 is driven to rotate. The axis of the second drive gear 102 is parallel to the axis of the ASF gear, and the second drive gear 102 can move in parallel with the ASF gear. Since the thickness of the ASF gear is sufficiently thicker than the sliding range of the second driving gear 102, the second driving gear 102 and the ASF gear are always meshed within the sliding range of the second driving gear 102.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the first drive gear 101 and the second drive gear 102 are pivotally supported by one support shaft 103 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. The first drive gear 101 is disposed on the right side of the second drive gear 102. The axial direction of the support shaft 103 extends along the left-right direction A <b> 3 and is parallel to the scanning direction of the carriage 51. As the first drive gear 101 and the second drive gear 102 slide along the support shaft 103, the first drive gear 101 and the second drive gear 102 are connected to first to third transmission gears 91 to 93, which will be described later. Are selectively meshed.

  A switching lever 104 is slidably provided on the support shaft 103 on the right side of the first drive gear 101. The first drive gear 101, the second drive gear 102, and the switching lever 104 are integrated with each other at the support shaft 103, and are coil springs (on the image recording area G 1 side along the axial direction of the support shaft 103). (Not shown). Further, the first drive gear 101 and the second drive gear 102 can rotate independently in an integrated state. The switching lever 104 extends along the up-down direction A1, and is disposed at a position where the carriage 51 abuts when the carriage 51 moves to the maintenance area G2.

  Below the first drive gear 101 and the second drive gear 102, a first transmission gear 91, a second transmission gear 92, and a third transmission gear are provided on a support shaft 105 parallel to the support shaft 103 in order from right to left. 93 are arranged in parallel. The first transmission gear 91 can be separated from the first drive gear 101. The second and third transmission gears 92 and 93 can be separated from the second drive gear 102. The outer diameters of the first to third transmission gears 91 to 93 are the same.

  A bevel gear 91 a is provided on the right side of the first transmission gear 91. The outer diameter of the bevel gear 91a is larger than that of the first transmission gear 91, and thereby, a regulating surface 91b that protrudes radially outward is formed therebetween. The first drive gear 101 is positioned at a position meshed with the first transmission gear 91 by abutting against the restriction surface 91b.

  The first transmission gear 91 transmits power to the suction pump 66 together with the bevel gear 91a provided on one end side thereof. The second transmission gear 92 selectively transmits power to the cap lifting / lowering mechanism 73 or the moving mechanism 64 and the switching mechanism 67 depending on whether the rotation direction is normal or reverse. The third transmission gear 93 transmits power to the paper feed roller 21.

  When the carriage 51 is in a position other than the maintenance position, for example, in the image recording area G1, the switching lever 104 does not contact the carriage 51. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11A, the first drive gear 101 does not mesh with any of the first to third transmission gears 91 to 93. On the other hand, the second drive gear 102 meshes with the third transmission gear 93. As a result, the power of the ASF motor 20M can be transmitted to the third transmission gear 93. That is, by controlling the LF motor 35M and the ASF motor 20M, the paper P can be transported by rotating the transport roller pair 35, the paper discharge roller pair 36, and the paper feed roller 21. Note that the first and second drive gears 101 and 102 do not mesh with the second transmission gear 92. That is, the power of the ASF motor 20M and the LF motor 35M cannot be transmitted to any of the cap lifting mechanism 73, the moving mechanism 64, and the switching mechanism 67.

  When the carriage 51 moves to the maintenance area G2 and the recording head 41 is placed at the maintenance position, the first drive gear 101 is brought into contact with the carriage 51 and the switching lever 104 as shown in FIG. The first transmission gear 91 and the second drive gear 102 move to a position where they are meshed with the second transmission gear 92. As a result, the power of the LF motor 35M can be transmitted to the first transmission gear 91 and the power of the ASF motor 20M can be transmitted to the second transmission gear 92. This makes it possible to perform maintenance such as a purge operation for discharging ink from the ejection port 41b.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the second transmission gear 92 always meshes with the planetary gear 92a. When the ASF motor 20M is driven in reverse with the second drive gear 102 and the second transmission gear 92 engaged, the planetary gear 92a is engaged with the gear 73b as shown in FIG. The power from the ASF motor 20M is transmitted to the gear 73b. The gear 73b rotates in one direction (clockwise in FIG. 12) by the power from the ASF motor 20M. As a result, the cap lifting mechanism 73 can be operated. On the other hand, when the ASF motor 20M is driven to rotate forward, the planetary gear 92a moves to a position where it engages with the gear 96, as shown in FIG. 12B, and transmits the power from the ASF motor 20M to the gear 96. . The gear 96 rotates in the opposite direction to the gear 73b (counterclockwise in FIG. 12) by the power from the ASF motor 20M. The gear 96 meshes with the gear 83 via a gear train (not shown). Thereby, the moving mechanism 64 and the switching mechanism 67 can be driven. A first drive gear 101, a second drive gear 102, and a switching lever 104, a switching mechanism for switching power from the ASF motor 20M and the LF motor 35M, a second transmission gear 92 to which power from the switching mechanism is transmitted, A cap lifting mechanism 73 (another driven body), a rotating cam 82, and a switching mechanism 67 (a driven body) are constituted by a transmission mechanism including a planetary gear 92a, a gear 96, and the like, and an ASF motor (driving motor) 20M. A rotating mechanism for rotating is configured. As a transmission mechanism from the first and third transmission gears 91 and 93 to each mechanism, a known transmission mechanism using a gear train or a belt can be employed.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 5 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the like. The operation of the ASF motor 20M, the LF motor 35M, the CR motor 50M, the recording head 41, and the like is controlled. For example, the control unit 5 controls the recording head 41, the ASF motor 20M, the LF motor 35M, the CR motor 50M, and the like based on a recording command transmitted from the PC to record an image or the like on the paper P. In addition, the control unit 5 controls the CR motor 50M, the ASF motor 20M, the LF motor 35M, and the like, and performs a maintenance operation such as a purge operation for discharging ink from the ejection port 41a. Note that the control unit 5 of the present embodiment has one CPU and one ASIC, but the control unit 5 includes only one CPU and performs processing necessary for the one CPU at a time. Alternatively, a plurality of CPUs may be included, and the plurality of CPUs may share the necessary processing. Further, the control unit 5 may include only one ASIC and perform processing necessary for the one ASIC in a lump, or may include a plurality of ASICs and share the processing necessary for the plurality of ASICs. May be performed.

  Next, the maintenance operation of the printer unit 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS. When receiving the purge signal for executing the suction purge (S1: YES), the controller 5 first executes a first suction purge process for discharging the color ink (S2). When the purge signal is not received (S1: NO), the control unit 5 repeats the process of S1. In the following description, it is assumed that the recording head 41 (carriage 51) is disposed in the image recording area G1 when the purge signal is received.

  Next, in S2, the control unit 5 controls the CR motor 50M so that the recording head 41 is in the maintenance position from the image recording area G1 to the maintenance area G2 (the position where the ejection surface 41a and the suction cap 71 face each other in the vertical direction A1. ) To move the carriage 51. At this time, the power transmission mechanism 100 can transmit the power of the LF motor 35M to the suction pump 66, and the power of the ASF motor 20M can be transmitted to the cap lifting mechanism 73, the moving mechanism 64, and the switching mechanism 67.

  The controller 5 drives the ASF motor 20M in the reverse direction to move the suction cap 71 from the separation position to the contact position as shown in FIG. At this time, the switching mechanism 67 is in the first state. The positional relationship between the rotating cam 82 and the wiper member 62 when the switching mechanism 67 is in the first state is the positional relationship shown in FIG. That is, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is in the first region R1 and in the vicinity of the contact portion 82d. Thereafter, the control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M to rotate in the forward direction so that the switching mechanism 67 is in the second state (a state where the suction pump 66 and the communication port 71a1 of the suction cap 71 are in communication). At this time, the positional relationship between the rotary cam 82 and the wiper member 62 is the positional relationship shown in FIG. 17B, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is in the first region R1, and the switching mechanism 67 is in the first state. It moves away from the contact part 82d along the rotation direction A5 than when taking it. Then, the control unit 5 drives the LF motor 35M and drives the suction pump 66 for a predetermined time. As a result, the pressure in the sealed space K1 decreases, and the color ink is discharged from the discharge port 41a to the recess 71a.

  Next, the control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M in the reverse direction, drives the LF motor 35M and moves the suction cap 71 in the state where the suction cap 71 is moved from the contact position to the separation position as shown in FIG. The pump 66 is driven for a predetermined time. As a result, the color ink remaining in the recess 71 a is discharged to the waste liquid tank 68. Thus, the first suction purge process is completed.

  Next, the control part 5 performs a wiping arrangement | positioning process and a 1st rotation process (S3). First, the control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M to rotate forward, and rotates the rotary cam 82 in the rotation direction A5 from the position shown in FIG. 17B to the position shown in FIG. The origin position of the rotating cam 82 in this embodiment is the position shown in FIG. The multi-function device 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a switch (not shown) that comes into contact with the rotating cam 82 only when the rotating cam 82 is disposed at the origin position. When the switch comes into contact with the rotating cam 82, the switch outputs a signal indicating that the rotating cam 82 is at the origin position to the control unit 5. The control unit 8 recognizes that the rotating cam 82 is at the origin position based on a signal from the switch. When the rotating cam 82 is disposed at the origin position, the switching mechanism 67 is configured to take the third state shown in FIG. Thereafter, the control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M to rotate forward, and rotates the rotating cam 82 in the rotation direction A5 by the first rotation angle θ1 from the origin position, as shown in FIG. The first rotation angle θ1 illustrated in FIG. 17D illustrates the rotation angle of the contact portion 82d, but the raised portion 82c, the specific portion of the first region R1, and the specific portion of the second region R2 are illustrated. The same is true at any rotation angle. In short, the rotation angle from the specific location of the rotary cam 82 at the origin position may be the first rotation angle θ1. Due to the rotation of the rotating cam 82, as shown in FIG. 15 (b), the lower end portion of the wiper member 82 and the raised portion 82c come into contact with each other, and the wiper member 62 moves to the wiping position against the biasing force of the spring 81. Is done. When the wiper member 62 moves to the wiping position, the pair of protrusions 76a2 of the wiper member 62 are engaged with the maintenance frame 65, and the wiper member 62 is held at the wiping position (wiping arrangement process).

  When the rotary cam 82 rotates from the origin position by the first rotation angle θ1, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is disposed at a position corresponding to the second region R2 (first rotation process). By arranging the wiper member 62 at such a position, the contact portion 82d is arranged on the upstream side of the wiper member 62 returned to the standby position by the return process (S5) described later. In the present embodiment, the position from the center of the contact portion 82d to the position rotated 180 ° in the rotation direction A5 is referred to as the downstream side of the contact portion 82d, and the direction from the center of the contact portion 82d is opposite to the rotation direction A5. The position up to the position rotated by 180 ° is referred to as the upstream side of the contact portion 82d. Accordingly, with respect to the rotation direction A5, the second region R2 exists on the downstream side of the contact portion 82d, and the first region R1 exists on the upstream side of the contact portion 82d. In other words, with respect to the rotation direction A5, the abutting portion 82d exists on the upstream side of the second region R2, and exists on the downstream side of the first region R1.

  Next, the control part 5 performs a wiping process (S4). That is, the control unit 5 controls the CR motor 50M to move the carriage 51 so that the recording head 41 moves from the maintenance area G2 to the image recording area G1. As a result, the recording head 41 moves to the left as shown in FIG. At this time, the discharge surface 41b comes into contact with the tip end portion 75c of the wiper 75, and the wiper member 62 moves to the discharge surface 41b to the right of the discharge surface 41b (that is, the wiping direction that is a relative movement direction with respect to the discharge surface 41b). Wipe off the attached color ink. When the recording head 41 is in a position other than the maintenance position, the power of the motors 20M and 35M is not transmitted to the suction pump 66, the cap lifting mechanism 73, the moving mechanism 64, and the switching mechanism 67.

  Next, the control part 5 performs a return process (S5). That is, the control unit 5 controls the CR motor 50M to move the carriage 51 so that the recording head 41 moves from the image recording area G1 to the maintenance position. That is, the direction in which the relative movement direction of the wiper member 62 with respect to the ejection surface 41b is opposite to the wiping direction from the position shown in FIG. 15D (position on the left side of the wiper member 62) to the recording head 41. ). Then, as shown in FIG. 15E, the recording head 41 and the tip portion 5c of the wiper 75 come into contact with each other. At this time, the lower side surface 75a2 of the wiper 75 and the contact plate 76a1 come into contact with each other, so that the bending of the wiper 75 is restricted. Since the wiper 75 is less likely to bend in this manner, the wiper member 62 rotates against the urging force of the spring 81 about the pair of protrusions 76b1 due to the force of the movement of the recording head 41. As a result, the engagement between the pair of protrusions 76 a 2 of the wiper member 62 and the maintenance frame 65 is released, and the wiper member 62 is placed at the standby position by the biasing force of the spring 81. By performing the simple operation of bringing the recording head 41 into contact with the wiper member 62 in this way, the wiper member 62 can be returned to the standby position by the biasing force of the spring 81. At this time, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 exists in the second region R2, as shown in FIG. The head moving mechanism 50 that moves the recording head 41 in this way constitutes a part of the wiper moving mechanism that moves the wiper from the wiping position to the standby position. By arranging the recording head 41 at the maintenance position, the power transmission mechanism 100 can transmit the power of the LF motor 35M to the suction pump 66, and the power of the ASF motor 20M can be transmitted to the cap lifting mechanism 73, the moving mechanism 64, and the switching mechanism 67. Can be transmitted.

  Next, the control unit 5 executes a cleaning process (S6). That is, the control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M to rotate in the forward direction, and rotates the rotating cam 82 from the position shown in FIG. 17D to the position shown in FIG. When the rotating cam 82 is in the position shown in FIG. 17D, the wiper member 62 is in the first position as shown in FIG. When the rotary cam 82 is in the position shown in FIG. 17E, the protrusion 76b3 of the wiper member 62 and the side surface 82d1 of the contact portion 82d come into contact with each other, and as shown in FIG. Rotates to the right against the urging force of the spring 81, and the upper side surface 75 a 1 of the tip end portion 75 c of the wiper 75 comes into contact with the protruding portion 63 c of the cleaning member 63. When the rotary cam 82 is in the position shown in FIG. 17 (f), the protrusion 76b3 of the wiper member 62 and the top surface 82d4 of the contact portion 82d contact each other, and the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 moves to the second position. To do. At this time, as shown in FIG. 16C, the tip end portion 75c of the wiper member 62 is disposed at a position that has passed through the protruding portion 63c. When the wiper member 62 rotates from the first position to the second position, the wiper 75 comes into contact with the cleaning member 63, so that ink remaining on the upper side surface 75a1 of the wiper 75 is removed. Then, when the rotating cam 82 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 17A, the protrusion 63 c and the contact portion 82 d of the wiper member 62 do not contact each other, and the wiper member 62 is pressed by the biasing force of the spring 81. Return to the first position as shown in 16 (a). At this time, since the rotating cam 82 is disposed at the position shown in FIG. 17A, the switching mechanism 67 is in the first state as described above.

  Next, the control unit 5 executes a second suction purge process (S7). That is, the control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M in the reverse direction to move the suction cap 71 from the separation position to the contact position. Thereafter, the control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M to rotate forward, rotates the rotary cam 82 to the origin position, and switches the switching mechanism 67 in the third state (the suction pump 66 and the communication port 71b1 of the suction cap 71 communicate with each other). State). At this time, the positional relationship between the rotary cam 82 and the wiper member 62 is the positional relationship shown in FIG. 17C, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is in the first region R1, and the switching mechanism 67 is in the second state. It moves away from the contact part 82d in the rotation direction A5 and approaches the raised part 82c than when taking it. Then, the control unit 5 drives the LF motor 35M and drives the suction pump 66 for a predetermined time. Thereby, the pressure in the sealed space K2 is reduced, and the black ink is discharged from the discharge port 41b to the recess 71b.

  Next, the controller 5 drives the ASF motor 20M in the reverse direction to drive the LF motor 35M and drive the suction pump 66 for a predetermined time in a state where the suction cap 71 is moved from the contact position to the separation position. As a result, the black ink remaining in the recess 71 b is discharged to the waste liquid tank 68. Thus, the second suction purge process is completed. In the present embodiment, the second suction purge is performed after the first suction purge is performed, but the second suction purge may be performed first.

  Next, the control part 5 performs a wiping arrangement | positioning process and a 2nd rotation process (S8). The control unit 5 drives the ASF motor 20M in the normal direction to rotate the rotating cam 82 in the rotation direction A5 from the position shown in FIG. 17C to the position shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 17A, the rotary cam 82 is rotated in the rotation direction A5 by the second rotation angle θ2 from the origin position. Similarly to the first rotation angle θ1, the second rotation angle θ2 only needs to be the second rotation angle θ2 when the rotation angle from the specific portion of the rotary cam 82 at the origin position. The second rotation angle θ2 is greater than the first rotation angle θ1 and less than 360 °. By the rotation of the rotating cam 82, the wiper member 62 moves to the wiping position and the wiper member 62 is held at the wiping position (wiping arrangement process), as in S3. Further, when the rotating cam 82 rotates from the origin position by the second rotation angle θ2, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is disposed in the first region R1 (second rotation process). By arranging the wiper member 62 at such a position, the contact portion 82d is arranged on the downstream side of the wiper member 62 returned to the standby position by the return process (S10) described later.

  Next, the control part 5 performs the wiping process similar to S4 (S9). As a result, the ejection surface 41b comes into contact with the tip end portion 75c of the wiper 75, and the black ink attached to the ejection surface 41b is wiped off.

  Next, the control part 5 performs the return process similar to S5 (S10). As a result, the wiper member 62 returns to the standby position. At this time, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 exists in the downstream region R1. Since the recording head 41 is placed at the maintenance position in S10, the power of the LF motor 35M can be transmitted to the suction pump 66 by the power transmission mechanism 100, and the power of the ASF motor 20M is switched to the cap lifting mechanism 73, the moving mechanism 64, and the switching. Transmission to the mechanism 67 is possible.

  Thus, in S3, the first rotation process is executed, and when the wiper member 62 returns to the standby position in the return process in S5, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is disposed in the second region R2. Therefore, by rotating the rotary cam 82, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 comes into contact with the contact portion 82d, and the wiper 75 can be brought into contact with the cleaning member 63 for cleaning. On the other hand, in S8, the second rotation process is executed, and when the wiper member 62 returns to the standby position in the return process in S10, the lower end portion of the wiper member 62 is disposed in the first region R1. For this reason, even if the rotary cam 82 is rotated, the wiper member 62 contacts the raised portion 82c, and the wiper member 62 is disposed at the wiping position. In other words, even if the rotary cam 82 rotates, the wiper member 62 does not contact the contact portion 82d, so that the wiper 75 does not contact the cleaning member 63 unnecessarily. In this way, a series of maintenance operations are completed.

  As described above, according to the printer unit 10 according to the present embodiment, the wiper moving mechanism including the moving mechanism 64 and the head moving mechanism 50 moves the wiper member 62 between the wiping position and the standby position. Can do. When the wiper member 62 is in the wiping position, the contact portion 82d and the wiper member 62 do not come into contact with each other even when the rotary cam 82 rotates. On the other hand, when the wiper member 62 is in the standby position, when the rotary cam 82 rotates, the contact portion 82 d and the wiper member 62 come into contact with each other, and the wiper member 62 comes into contact with the cleaning member 63. That is, it is possible to execute cleaning for removing ink attached to the wiper member 62. Thereby, the wiper member 62 can be selectively cleaned. For this reason, even when the rotary cam 82 is rotated to drive the switching mechanism 67, the wiper member 62 can be prevented from contacting the cleaning member 63 more than necessary, and deterioration of the wiper member 62 can be suppressed. Can do.

  The rotating cam 82 includes a first region R1 and a second region R2 that are divided by a raised portion 82c and a contact portion 82d. For this reason, when the wiper member 62 in the standby position is disposed at a position corresponding to the first region R1, when the rotating cam 82 rotates, the wiper member 62 is disposed at the wiping position without being cleaned. On the other hand, when the wiper member 62 in the standby position is disposed at a position corresponding to the second region R2, the wiper member 62 and the contact portion 82d come into contact with each other when the rotating cam 82 rotates. The member 62 is cleaned. For this reason, when the wiper member 62 is returned from the wiping position to the standby position, the wiper member 62 can be selectively cleaned by disposing the wiper member 62 in either the first region R1 or the second region R2.

  Since the wiper member 62 is swingably supported by the maintenance frame 65 and the contact portion 82d has the side surface 82d1, the wiper member 62 is swung by bringing the wiper member 62 into contact with the side surface 82d1. The wiper member 62 can be cleaned with the cleaning member 63.

  The contact portion 82d is arranged on the upstream side of the wiper member 62 returned to the standby position in the first rotation process of S3, and is downstream of the wiper member 62 returned to the standby position in the second rotation process of S10. Placed in. For this reason, the wiper member 62 can be selectively cleaned with simple control. The first rotation process of S3 rotates so that the wiper member 62 returned to the standby position is disposed in the second region R2, and the second rotation process of S10 includes the wiper member 62 returned to the standby position in the first region. Rotate to be placed in Even in this case, the wiper member 62 can be selectively cleaned with simple control.

  By having the transmission mechanism composed of the second transmission gear 92, the planetary gear 92a, the gear 96, and the like, the rotation cam 82, the switching mechanism 67, the cap lifting mechanism 73 and the individual can be separated only by switching the rotation direction of the ASF motor 20M. Can be driven.

  By having a switching mechanism constituted by the first driving gear 101, the second driving gear 102, the switching lever 104, and the like, only when the recording head 41 is in the maintenance position (downstream position), the rotary cam 82 and the switching mechanism 67 Power can be transmitted to any one of the cap lifting mechanism 73.

  The control unit 5 executes the first and second rotation processes when the recording head 41 is in the maintenance position. As a result, even when the recording head 41 is configured to transmit power to the rotary cam 82 only when the recording head 41 is in the maintenance position, either the first rotation process or the second rotation process is executed before the return process is performed. can do.

  In the above-described embodiment, the first and second suction purge processes are executed based on the one purge signal, and the cleaning process is executed after the wiping process related to the first first suction purge process. For this reason, the wiping process related to the second suction purge process that is executed last can be performed by the wiper member 62 that has been cleaned.

  As a modification, for example, the wiping process may be performed a plurality of times after each suction purge process of the first and second suction purge processes. In this case, the cleaning process may be executed before the last wiping process. For example, when the wiping process is performed three times, the second rotation process is executed in the wiping arrangement process for performing the first and third wiping processes, and the first wiping arrangement process for performing the second wiping process is performed. What is necessary is just to perform a rotation process. In this way, the wiper member 62 is cleaned when performing the wiping arrangement process for performing the third wiping process. For this reason, the final wiping process in each suction purge process can be performed with the cleaned wiper member 62. Also in this modified example, since the wiper member 62 can be selectively cleaned, deterioration of the wiper member 62 can be suppressed.

  As another modification, when the suction purge process based on the purge signal is executed a plurality of times, a single cleaning process may be executed. Even in this case, the wiper member 62 can be selectively cleaned, so that the deterioration of the wiper member 62 can be suppressed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as long as they are described in the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the wiper moving mechanism that moves the wiper member 62 between the wiping position and the standby position is configured by the raised portion 82c of the rotating cam 82 and the head moving mechanism 50. The wiper moving mechanism may be configured by a mechanism different from the above. In this case, the above-described rotation process (first and second rotation processes) can be executed regardless of whether or not the recording head 41 is in the maintenance position. In this case, the wiper moving mechanism is not limited to the wiping position and the standby position, and the wiper member 62 may be disposed at the contact position and the non-contact position. The contact position is a position where the wiper member 62 contacts the contact portion 82d when the rotary cam 82 rotates, and includes a wiping position. The non-contact position is a position where the wiper member 62 does not contact the contact portion 82d when the rotating cam 82 rotates, and includes a standby position. In this case, the wiper member 62 may be disposed at the contact position when the cleaning process is performed, and the wiper member 62 may be disposed at the non-contact position when the cleaning process is not performed. Thereby, the effect similar to the above-mentioned embodiment can be acquired.

  In the above-described embodiment, the raised portion 82c is provided separately from the contact portion 82d on the rotary cam 82, but the raised portion 82c may not be provided. In this case, the first region R1 and the second region R2 are not separated from the rotating cam 82. In this case as well, the wiper member 62 can be selectively cleaned by rotating the rotary cam 82 from the origin position to either the first rotation angle θ1 or the second rotation angle θ2. That is, when the wiper member 62 is not cleaned, the rotating cam 82 is rotated by the second rotation angle θ2 from the origin position, and then the rotating cam 82 rotates about a half turn to drive the switching mechanism 67 therefrom. The wiper member 62 is not cleaned. On the other hand, when the wiper member 62 is to be cleaned, if the rotary cam 82 is rotated by the first rotation angle θ1 from the origin position, the wiper member 62 is brought into contact with the cleaning member 63 when the rotary cam 82 is rotated about a half rotation therefrom. It touches and is cleaned.

  In the cleaning process, the wiper member 62 may be slid without moving and moved to the first position and the second position. Further, although the spring 81 as the biasing member is employed, an elastic member such as rubber may be employed as the biasing member.

  Although not particularly mentioned in the above-described embodiment, for example, when the multifunction device 1 waits for a recording command from the PC without executing a recording operation, the carriage 51 is temporarily moved so that the carriage 51 does not move. You may provide the locker (illustration omitted) to fix. The rocker is configured to move in conjunction with the rotating cam 82, and enters a state where the carriage 51 is fixed and a state where the carriage 51 is released as the rotating cam 82 rotates. When a recording command is input to the multi function device 1 from the PC, the rotary cam 82 is rotated to release the carriage 51 from being fixed. When the multifunction device 1 finishes the recording operation and a predetermined time elapses, the rotary cam 82 is moved so that the locker is in a state of fixing the carriage 51. Then, when a recording command is input from the PC to the multifunction machine 1 after a while, the rotating cam 82 is rotated again to release the fixation of the carriage 51. As described above, when the wiper member 62 is not related to the cleaning, there is an opportunity for the rotating cam 82 to rotate, and it is conceivable that the wiper member 62 contacts the cleaning member 63 unnecessarily at such an opportunity. However, in this modification, even when the rotary cam 82 is rotated for the operation of the rocker, the wiper member 62 can be rotated after the wiper member 62 is moved to the wiping position. Can be prevented from contacting the cleaning member 63 unnecessarily.

  In the above-described embodiment, the switching mechanism 67 is a driven body, and the cap lifting mechanism 73 is another driven body. However, these may be switched, or another mechanism may be a driven body and another driven body. You may comprise a drive body. Further, another driven body may not be provided. In this case, the transmission mechanism including the second transmission gear 92, the planetary gear 92a, the gear 96, and the like may not be provided. Further, in this case, the switching mechanism constituted by the first driving gear 101, the second driving gear 102, and the switching lever 104 may not be provided.

  The transmission mechanism in the above-described embodiment transmits power to the rotating cam 82 when the ASF motor 20M is driven forward by the control unit 5, and transmits power to the cap lifting mechanism 73 when driven reversely. The power may be transmitted to the cap lifting mechanism 73 when the motor 20M is driven forward, and the power may be transmitted to the rotating cam 82 when driven reversely.

  In the above description, an example in which the present invention is applied to a printer unit that performs recording by discharging ink from the discharge port 41a has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejecting apparatus other than a printer unit that ejects liquid other than ink from the ejection port 41a. Further, the present invention can be applied to both a line type and a serial type.

5 Control unit 10 Printer unit (liquid ejection device)
20M ASF motor (drive motor)
41 Recording head (liquid ejection head)
41a discharge port 41b discharge surface 50 head moving mechanism (part of wiper moving mechanism)
62 Wiper member 63 Cleaning member 64 Moving mechanism (part of wiper moving mechanism)
65 Maintenance frame (frame)
67 Switching mechanism (driven body)
73 Cap lifting mechanism (another driven body)
75c Tip portion 76a2 Protrusion 76b1 Protrusion 81 Spring (biasing member)
82 Rotating cam (cam)
82c Raised portion 82d Abutting portion 82d1 Side surface (inclined surface)
92 Second transmission gear (part of transmission mechanism)
92a Meteor gear (part of transmission mechanism)
96 gear (part of transmission mechanism)
101 First drive gear (part of switching mechanism)
102 Second drive gear (part of switching mechanism)
104 Switching lever (part of switching mechanism)
D Rotating shaft

Claims (11)

A liquid discharge head having a discharge surface on which discharge ports for discharging liquid are formed;
A wiper member for wiping the discharge surface;
The wiper member is orthogonal to the ejection surface between a wiping position where the wiper member is in contact with the ejection surface and can wipe the ejection surface, and a standby position where the wiper member is disposed away from the ejection surface. Wiper moving mechanism to move in the direction to
A cleaning member for removing the liquid adhering to the wiper member by contacting the wiper member;
A cam that is rotatable about a rotation axis, and a contact portion that causes the wiper member to contact the cleaning member by moving the wiper member when contacting the wiper member with rotation. Having a cam;
A driven body that is driven as the cam rotates;
A rotation mechanism that rotates the cam in one rotation direction about the rotation axis;
The wiper moving mechanism,
A contact position where the wiper member when the front Symbol cam is rotated 1 abuts with the abutment portion,
The wiper member, a position which is arranged so as to approach the said discharge surface than the contact position in a direction the perpendicular, wherein the wiper member is the contact portion when the front Symbol cam is rotated 1 The liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the wiper member can be disposed at a non-contact position where the contact is not made with the touch panel. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion has a length in the orthogonal direction that is shorter than a moving distance in which the wiper member moves from the wiping position to the standby position. The wiper member has a distal end on the discharge surface side and a proximal end opposite to the distal end in the orthogonal direction;
The rotational axis of the cam is along the orthogonal direction;
The contact position is the standby position,
The non-contact position is the wiping position,
The abutting portion has a shape that can be separated from the distal end portion in the direction orthogonal to the base end portion of the wiper member at the wiping position and abut against the wiper member at the standby position. the liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized. And further comprising a latch holding portion that latches and holds the wiper member positioned at the wiping position at the wiping position so that the wiper member does not abut against the abutting portion when the cam rotates.
The rotating shaft of the cam extends in a direction including a vertical component perpendicular to the discharge surface;
The wiper member is disposed between the cam and the discharge surface;
The wiper moving mechanism is a raised portion that protrudes from the surface of the cam facing the wiper member in a direction approaching the discharge surface, and is arranged alongside the contact portion along the rotation direction of the cam. The raised portion moves the wiper member to the wiping position by contacting the wiper member at the standby position as the cam rotates,
The cam has a first region and a second region divided by the contact portion and the raised portion with respect to the rotation direction, and the raised portion, the second region, The contact portion is configured to be movable to a position corresponding to the wiper member in the order of the first region,
The wiper member disposed at a position corresponding to the first region is in contact with the raised portion as the cam rotates,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the wiper member disposed at a position corresponding to the second region is in contact with the contact portion as the cam rotates. . A frame that supports the wiper member in a swingable manner about a swinging shaft orthogonal to the rotation shaft;
The abutting portion is erected in the axial direction of the rotating shaft, and has an inclined surface that decreases in distance from the rotating shaft as it advances in the rotating direction.
The inclined surface, according to claim 4, characterized in that is configured to be brought into contact with a portion away from the ejection surface in the axial direction than the oscillation axis of said wiper member by rotation of the cam Liquid discharge device. A control unit for controlling the rotation mechanism and the wiper moving mechanism;
The controller is
A return process for controlling the wiper moving mechanism to return the wiper member from the wiping position to the standby position;
When the wiper member is in the wiping position, a first rotation process for rotating the cam at a first rotation angle of less than 360 ° from the origin position, and the cam being less than 360 ° from the origin position and the first Any one of the second rotation processes for rotating the second rotation angle larger than the one rotation angle can be executed,
The abutting portion of the cam rotated in the first rotation process is disposed upstream of the wiper member returned to the standby position by the return process with respect to the rotation direction.
The abutting portion of the cam rotated in the second rotation process is disposed downstream of the wiper member returned to the standby position by the return process with respect to the rotation direction. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2 . A control unit for controlling the rotation mechanism and the wiper moving mechanism;
The controller is
A return process for controlling the wiper moving mechanism to return the wiper member from the wiping position to the standby position;
A first rotation process for controlling the rotation mechanism so that the wiper member returned to the standby position by the return process is disposed at a position corresponding to the second region when the wiper member is at the wiping position. And any one of the rotation processes of the second rotation process for controlling the rotation mechanism so that the wiper member returned to the standby position by the return process is arranged at a position corresponding to the first region. the liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that possible is. It further includes a driven body different from the driven body,
The rotation mechanism is
A drive motor;
When the drive motor rotates in the first direction, power is transmitted to the cam so as to rotate the cam, and when the drive motor rotates in the second direction opposite to the first direction, power is transmitted to the other driven body. it has a transmission mechanism for transmitting the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in. The wiper moving mechanism is in a direction parallel to a wiping direction that is an in-plane direction of the discharge surface and is a relative movement direction of the wiper member with respect to the discharge surface when the wiper member wipes the discharge surface. A head moving mechanism that reciprocates the liquid discharge head; and a biasing member that biases the wiper member from the wiping position toward the standby position.
In the return process, the control unit moves the liquid ejection head in a direction in which the relative movement direction of the wiper member with respect to the ejection surface is opposite to the wiping direction, and the wiper member in the wiping position The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the liquid discharge head is brought into contact with the liquid discharge head to release the latch holding by the latch holding portion. The rotation mechanism is
In accordance with the movement of the liquid discharge head, switching is performed between a transmission enabled state in which the power of the drive motor can be transmitted to the transmission mechanism and a non-transmission state in which the power of the drive motor cannot be transmitted to the transmission mechanism. Has a mechanism,
The switching mechanism is in the transmittable state when the liquid ejection head is disposed at a downstream position downstream of the wiper member with respect to the wiping direction, and the liquid ejection head is disposed at a position different from the downstream position. the liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the said non-transmission state when. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the controller performs the rotation process when the liquid ejecting head is in the downstream position.

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