JP6597650B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink from a recording head onto a recording medium to record an image on the recording medium, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus that can clean the ink ejection surface of the recording head.

  In general, an ink jet recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink from a nozzle of a recording head onto a recording medium such as paper is known. In this ink jet recording apparatus, when ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles, ink scattered around the nozzles or ink overflowing from the nozzles may adhere to the ink ejection surface. In this case, the ink adhering to the periphery of the nozzles may cause the ink ejection direction to deviate from the target direction, or the ink ejection amount may differ from the target amount, resulting in image recording failure.

  On the other hand, an ink jet recording apparatus is known in which an ink discharge surface of a recording head is wiped by a wiper member in order to clean ink adhering to the periphery of the nozzle. There is also known an ink jet recording apparatus in which a plurality of cleaning liquid supply ports are provided on the ink discharge surface, and wiping is performed by supplying the cleaning liquid from the plurality of cleaning liquid supply ports to the ink discharge surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-83396 A

  However, when wiping the ink ejection surface, ink such as waste ink removed from the ink ejection surface may adhere to the wiper member. If the ink ejection surface is wiped with the ink attached to the wiper member, the ink entering the cleaning liquid supply port may contaminate the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply port. Further, when the ink of the wiper member adheres to the cleaning liquid supply port, the cleaning liquid supply port may be clogged. In particular, when the cleaning liquid at the cleaning liquid supply port is dried, the cleaning liquid supply port is easily clogged.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of contamination of a cleaning liquid and clogging of a cleaning liquid supply port.

  An ink jet recording apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an ink discharge nozzle, a wiper member, a cleaning liquid supply unit, a cleaning liquid storage unit, a cleaning liquid channel, a driving unit, a driving control unit, a switching unit, and a switching control unit. The ink discharge nozzle is a portion from which ink is discharged. The wiper member contacts a wiping surface having an ink ejection area provided with the ink ejection nozzles and moves in a predetermined wiping direction to perform wiping of the ink ejection area. The cleaning liquid supply unit is provided upstream of the ink discharge area on the wiping surface in the wiping direction, and supplies a cleaning liquid used for wiping the ink discharge area by the wiper member. The cleaning liquid storage unit stores the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit. The cleaning liquid flow path is for moving the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid storage part to the cleaning liquid supply part. The drive unit applies power for moving the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid flow path. The drive control unit controls the drive unit to one of a driving state in which the cleaning liquid is moved in the cleaning liquid channel and a driving stop state in which the movement of the cleaning liquid is stopped. The switching unit is provided between the driving unit and the cleaning liquid supply unit, and switches between an open state in which the cleaning liquid channel is open and a closed state in which the cleaning liquid channel is closed. The switching control unit controls the switching unit to cause the switching unit to select either the open state or the closed state. The switching control unit may be configured such that the cleaning liquid flow path is closed during an execution period in which the wiping is performed by the wiper member in a drive stop period in which the drive unit is in the drive stop state by the drive control unit. The switching unit is controlled so as to be in a state. Further, the switching control unit controls the switching unit so that the cleaning liquid flow path is in the open state in a non-execution period other than the execution period in the drive stop period.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of contamination of the cleaning liquid and clogging of the cleaning liquid supply port.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view of the first transport unit and the recording unit of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism for supplying the cleaning liquid to the recording head of the recording unit and the cleaning liquid supply member of the recording unit. FIG. 4 is a view of the recording head as viewed from the ink ejection surface side. FIG. 5 is a view of the recording head and its peripheral portion as viewed obliquely from below. FIG. 6 is a view of the recording head and its peripheral portion as viewed obliquely from above. FIG. 7 is a view of the cleaning liquid supply member as viewed obliquely from below. FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the control unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the maintenance unit is disposed below the recording unit. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the wiper member is disposed below the recording head. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the wiper member is lifted from the state of FIG. 10 and is brought into pressure contact with the cleaning liquid supply member. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state where the wiper member is moved in the wiping direction from the state of FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state where the wiper member is further moved in the wiping direction from the state of FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is a view showing a state where the wiper member is lowered from the state of FIG. 13.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, embodiment described below is only an example which actualized this invention, and does not limit the technical scope of this invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feed tray 2 that accommodates a sheet S (recording medium) is provided on the left side of an inkjet recording apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A paper feed roller 3 and a driven roller 4 are provided at one end of the paper feed tray 2. The paper feed roller 3 transports and feeds the paper S stored in the paper feed tray 2 one by one from the uppermost paper S to a first transport unit 5 described later. The driven roller 4 rotates following the rotation of the paper feed roller 3.

  A first transport unit 5 and a recording unit 9 are disposed on the downstream side (the right side in FIG. 1) in the paper transport direction X with respect to the paper feed roller 3 and the driven roller 4. The first transport unit 5 includes a first drive roller 6, a first driven roller 7, and a first transport belt 8 that is stretched over the first drive roller 6 and the first driven roller 7. The first conveying unit 5 is a sheet held on the first conveying belt 8 by the first driving roller 6 being rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 by a control signal from the control unit 110 of the inkjet recording apparatus 100. S is transported along the paper transport direction X.

  The recording unit 9 includes a head housing 10 and line heads 11C, 11M, 11Y, and 11K held by the head housing 10. These line heads 11 </ b> C to 11 </ b> K are supported at a height that is separated from the conveyance surface of the first conveyance belt 8 by a predetermined distance (for example, 1 mm). In the recording heads 17a to 17c of the line heads 11C to 11K, inks of four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) stored in ink tanks (not shown) are respectively provided for the colors of the line heads 11C to 11K. Supplied.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the line heads 11 </ b> C to 11 </ b> K each have a plurality (three in this case) of recording heads 17 a to 17 c. Each of the recording heads 17 a to 17 c has a head portion 18. In each of the line heads 11 </ b> C to 11 </ b> K, the head portions 18 are arranged in a staggered manner along the paper width direction A (vertical direction in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the paper transport direction X.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the head unit 18 has an ink ejection surface F1 including an ink ejection region R1 in which a plurality of ink ejection nozzles 18a (see FIG. 2) are arranged. The ink discharge nozzle 18a has a lower opening. The lower opening is an ink ejection port that ejects ink onto the paper S. The ink ejection surface F1 constitutes the wiping surface of the present invention. Since the recording heads 17a to 17c have the same shape and configuration, the recording heads 17a to 17c are shown in one drawing in FIGS.

  Each of the recording heads 17a to 17c is transported while being sucked and held on the transport surface of the first transport belt 8 in accordance with image data received from an external computer by a control signal from the control unit 110 (see FIG. 1). Ink is ejected from the ink ejection nozzle 18a. As a result, a color image is formed on the paper S on the first conveying belt 8 by superimposing the four ink colors cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The control unit 110 controls a liquid feed pump 72 and an on-off valve 73 which will be described later. Control of the liquid feed pump 72 and the on-off valve 73 by the control unit 110 will be described later.

  The recording heads 17a to 17c are provided with a cleaning liquid supply member 60 (an example of the cleaning liquid supply unit of the present invention) that supplies a cleaning liquid 23 (see FIG. 10) used for wiping the ink discharge region R1. The cleaning liquid supply member 60 is disposed adjacent to the upstream side in the wiping direction A1 of the wiper member 35 described later with respect to the head portion 18 (right side in FIGS. 3 and 4). Here, the wiping direction A1 is a direction in which the wiper member 35 moves in contact with the ink ejection surface F1 from the movement start position P1 toward the movement stop position P2 when the ink ejection surface F1 is cleaned (FIG. 11). To FIG. 13). The cleaning liquid supply member 60 has a cleaning liquid supply surface F2 including a cleaning liquid supply region R2 in which a plurality of cleaning liquid supply ports 63 (see FIG. 7) for supplying the cleaning liquid are arranged in a line. Note that at least the cleaning liquid supply surface F2 of the cleaning liquid supply member 60 is formed of resin or SUS (stainless steel). At least the ink discharge surface F1 of the head unit 18 is formed of, for example, SUS (stainless steel). The cleaning liquid supply surface F2 constitutes the wiping surface of the present invention together with the ink discharge surface F1. The wiping surface is a surface with which the wiper member 35 contacts when the wiper member 35 is moved when the ink discharge surface F1 is cleaned.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, an inclined surface 62 is formed on the upstream side (right side in FIGS. 3 to 5) in the wiping direction A <b> 1 with respect to the cleaning liquid supply surface F <b> 2 of the cleaning liquid supply member 60. A portion of the cleaning liquid supply surface F2 on the downstream side (left side in FIGS. 3 to 5) in the wiping direction A1 is formed in a thin plate shape and is disposed so as to overlap with the end portion of the ink discharge surface F1 of the head portion 18. .

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, a tube 70 is connected to the cleaning liquid supply member 60. 3, 5, and 6, only some of the recording heads 17 a to 17 c are illustrated for easy understanding.

  The tube 70 has an internal space 701 (an example of the cleaning liquid channel of the present invention) in which the cleaning liquid is moved. The tube 70 has a plurality of branch portions. In the present embodiment, the tube 70 has twelve branch portions, and each branch portion is connected to the cleaning liquid supply member 60 of the recording heads 17a to 17c. The tube 70 is connected to a cleaning liquid tank 71 (an example of the cleaning liquid storage unit of the present invention). The cleaning liquid tank 71 stores the cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning liquid supply member 60. Further, the tube 70 is provided with a liquid feed pump 72 (an example of the drive unit of the present invention) and an on-off valve 73 (an example of the switching unit of the present invention).

  The liquid feed pump 72 applies power for moving the cleaning liquid in the internal space 701 of the tube 70. As the liquid feed pump 72, a known pump can be used, and a positive displacement pump that can supply a small amount of liquid from the cleaning liquid supply port 63 in a fixed amount is preferable. As this positive displacement pump, for example, a syringe pump, a piston pump, a plunger pump, and a gear pump can be used.

  The on-off valve 73 is provided between the liquid feed pump 72 and the cleaning liquid supply member 60. The on-off valve 73 switches between an open state in which the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is opened and a closed state in which the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is closed. The on-off valve 73 is not particularly limited as long as it can be controlled by the control unit 110, and a known one can be used.

  The operation of the liquid feed pump 72 and the on-off valve 73 is controlled by the control unit 110. As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 110 includes a pump control unit 111 (an example of a drive control unit of the present invention) and an on-off valve control unit 112 (an example of a switching control unit of the present invention).

  The pump control unit 111 controls the operation of the liquid feed pump 72. Specifically, when supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply member 60, the pump control unit 111 controls the operation of the liquid feed pump 72 in a driving state in which the cleaning liquid is moved in the internal space 701 of the tube 70. On the other hand, when the cleaning liquid is not supplied to the cleaning liquid supply member 60, the pump control unit 111 controls the operation of the liquid feeding pump 72 in a drive stop state in which the movement of the cleaning liquid in the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is stopped.

  The on-off valve control unit 112 performs operation control that causes the on-off valve 73 to select either the open state or the closed state of the internal space 701 of the tube 70. Specifically, the on-off valve control unit 112 performs operation control for opening the internal space 701 of the tube 70 when the liquid feed pump 72 is driven to supply the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply member 60. Further, the on-off valve control unit 112 performs wiping by the wiper member 35 during the drive stop period in which the liquid feed pump 72 is stopped and the liquid feed pump 72 does not supply the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply member 60 (FIGS. 10 to 10). 14), the on-off valve 73 is controlled so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is closed. On the other hand, the on-off valve control unit 112 controls the on-off valve 73 so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is in an open state during a period in which the wiping is not performed in the drive stop period.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus 100, cleaning liquid is supplied to all the recording heads 17 a to 17 c by controlling the operation of the liquid feeding pump 72 and the on-off valve 73 by the pump control unit 111 and the on-off valve control unit 112 of the control unit 110. The cleaning liquid 23 (see FIG. 10) is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply port 63 (see FIG. 7) of the member 60. Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus 100, the ink discharge region R1 is cleaned by wiping the ink discharge surface F1 with the wiper member 35 using a cleaning liquid 23 described later (see FIGS. 10 to 14). The cleaning of the ink discharge region R1 is performed between printing operations (for example, between sheets and between jobs) at the start of printing after the inkjet recording apparatus 100 is stopped for a long period of time, for example.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the second transport unit 12 is arranged on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) in the paper transport direction X with respect to the first transport unit 5. The second transport unit 12 includes a second drive roller 13, a second driven roller 14, and a second transport belt 15 stretched over the second drive roller 13 and the second driven roller 14. In the second transport unit 12, the paper S held on the second transport belt 15 is transported along the paper transport direction X when the second drive roller 13 is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction of FIG. 1.

  The sheet S on which the image by the ink is recorded by the recording unit 9 is sent to the second transport unit 12. The ink on the surface of the paper S is dried while passing through the second transport unit 12. A maintenance unit 19 and a cap unit 90 are disposed below the second transport unit 12. The maintenance unit 19 moves below the recording unit 9 when performing the wiping operation by the wiper member 35 described above. Further, the maintenance unit 19 wipes off the cleaning liquid 23 (see FIGS. 7 and 10) supplied from the cleaning liquid supply ports 63 of the recording heads 17a to 17c while applying the cleaning liquid 23 to the ink discharge surface F1, and collects the wiped cleaning liquid. . The cap unit 90 moves horizontally below the recording unit 9 when capping the ink ejection surfaces F1 (see FIG. 3) of the recording heads 17a to 17c. Furthermore, the cap unit 90 covers the lower surfaces of the recording heads 17a to 17c by moving upward from below the recording unit 9.

  In addition, a discharge roller pair 16 that discharges the sheet S on which an image is recorded to the outside of the apparatus is provided on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction X with respect to the second conveyance unit 12. A discharge tray (not shown) on which the sheets S discharged outside the apparatus are stacked is provided on the downstream side of the discharge roller pair 16.

  The maintenance unit 19 includes a plurality of wiper members 35 (see FIGS. 10 to 14) that can move along the ink ejection surface F1, a substantially rectangular carriage (not shown) to which the plurality of wiper members 35 are fixed, A support frame (not shown) for supporting the carriage. The carriage is supported to be slidable in the paper width direction A (see FIG. 2) with respect to the support frame.

  The wiper member 35 is an elastic member (for example, rubber made of EPDM) for wiping off the cleaning liquid 23 (see FIGS. 7 and 10) supplied from the cleaning liquid supply port 63 of each of the recording heads 17a to 17c on the ink discharge surface F1. Made member). The wiper member 35 is in pressure contact with the inclined surface 62 on the upstream side in the wiping direction A1 with respect to the cleaning liquid supply region R2 of the cleaning liquid supply member 60, and moves to the cleaning liquid supply surface F2 and the ink discharge surface F1 (wiping surface) by the movement of the carriage. And moves in close contact with the wiping surface. Thereby, the wiping surface is cleaned by the wiper member 35.

  Next, the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c using the maintenance unit 19 in the inkjet recording apparatus 100 of the present embodiment will be described. The recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c described below is executed by controlling the operations of the recording heads 17a to 17c, the maintenance unit 19 and the like based on a control signal from the control unit 110 (see FIG. 1). The

  When performing the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c, first, as shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 110 (see FIG. 1) lowers the first transport unit 5 located below the recording unit 9. Then, the control unit 110 horizontally moves the maintenance unit 19 disposed below the second transport unit 12 so as to be disposed between the recording unit 9 and the first transport unit 5. In this state, the wiper member 35 of the maintenance unit 19 is disposed below the ink discharge surface F1 and the cleaning liquid supply surface F2 of the recording heads 17a to 17c (see FIG. 10). At this time, the liquid feed pump 72 is controlled to be in a driving stop state by the pump control unit 111, and the on-off valve 73 is controlled by the on-off valve control unit 112 so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is opened.

(Cleaning liquid supply operation)
As shown in FIG. 10, the cleaning liquid 23 is supplied to the cleaning liquid supply member 60 by the pump control unit 111 controlling the liquid feeding pump 72 to a driving state prior to a wiping operation described later. The supplied cleaning liquid 23 is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply port 63 to the cleaning liquid supply region R2 by a predetermined amount. In addition to the period in which the wiping operation is performed, the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is maintained in the open state by the control of the on / off valve 73 by the on / off valve control unit 112 including the period in which the cleaning liquid supply operation is performed. Therefore, the cleaning liquid 23 can be supplied to the cleaning liquid supply member 60 without controlling the on-off valve 73 by controlling the liquid feeding pump 72 to the driving state by the pump control unit 111. Further, when a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning liquid supply region R2, the pump control unit 111 controls the liquid feed pump 72 to stop driving, thereby stopping the supply of the cleaning liquid 23 to the cleaning liquid supply member 60. Is done.

(Purge operation)
Prior to a wiping operation described later, the control unit 110 supplies the ink 22 to the recording heads 17a to 17c. The supplied ink 22 is forcibly purged from the ink discharge nozzle 18a. By this purge operation, thickened ink, foreign matter, and bubbles in the ink discharge nozzle 18a are discharged from the ink discharge nozzle 18a. At this time, the purge ink 22 is pushed out to the ink discharge surface F1 along the shape of the ink discharge region R1 where the ink discharge nozzle 18a exists.

(Wiping operation)
As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 110 raises the wiper member 35 to bring it into contact with the inclined surface 62 of the cleaning liquid supply member 60 of the recording heads 17a to 17c with a predetermined pressure. The position before the wiper member 35 contacts the inclined surface 62 and the wiper member 35 moves in the wiping direction A1 is the movement start position P1 of the wiper member 35 during the wiping operation. Further, the on-off valve control unit 112 starts the movement of the wiper member 35 in the wiping direction A1 after the liquid feed pump 72 is stopped and the supply of the predetermined amount of the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply region R2 is completed. In the meantime, the open / close valve 73 is controlled so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is closed.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 110 moves the wiper member 35 toward the ink discharge region R1 along the cleaning liquid supply surface F2 from the state where the tip of the wiper member 35 is in pressure contact with the inclined surface 62 of the cleaning liquid supply member 60. It moves along the wiping direction A1. At this time, the pump control unit 111 maintains the liquid feed pump 72 in the drive stop state, and the on-off valve control unit 112 controls the on-off valve 73 so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is closed.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the wiper member 35 moves on the ink ejection surface F1 along the wiping direction A1 while maintaining the state in which the cleaning liquid 23 is held. At this time, the cleaning liquid 23 and the purge ink 22 (see FIG. 11) dissolve the ink droplets (waste ink) that adhere to the ink ejection surface F1 and solidify, and are wiped off by the wiper member 35. The wiper member 35 further moves along the wiping direction A1. When the wiper member 35 reaches the movement stop position P2 on the side opposite to the cleaning liquid supply region R2 with respect to the ink discharge region R1, the movement in the wiping direction A1 is stopped. The The cleaning liquid 23, waste ink, and purge ink 22 wiped off by the wiper member 35 are collected in a cleaning liquid collection tray (not shown) provided in the maintenance unit 19.

(Separation operation)
After execution of the wiping operation, as shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 110 lowers the wiper member 35 and separates it from the ink ejection surface F1. Moreover, after execution of the wiping operation, the on-off valve control unit 112 controls the on-off valve 73 so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is in an open state. At this time, the pump control unit 111 maintains the drive stop state of the liquid feed pump 72.

  Finally, the control unit 110 horizontally moves the maintenance unit 19 arranged between the recording unit 9 and the first conveyance unit 5 and arranges the maintenance unit 19 below the second conveyance unit 12 to place the first conveyance unit 5 in a predetermined manner. Raise to the position. In this way, the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c is completed.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of cleaning liquid supply ports 63 that supply the cleaning liquid 23 to the upstream side in the wiping direction A1 with respect to the ink discharge region R1 are provided. As a result, after supplying the cleaning liquid 23 from the cleaning liquid supply port 63, the wiper member 35 is moved along the ink discharge surface F <b> 1 from the upstream side of the cleaning liquid supply port 63 in the wiping direction A <b> 1, whereby the cleaning liquid 23 is removed by the wiper member 35. The ink discharge surface F1 can be wiped while holding the ink. For this reason, the ink discharge surface F1 can be cleaned.

  By the way, when wiping the ink discharge surface F1, waste ink removed from the ink discharge surface F1, ink such as the purge ink 22 may be attached to the wiper member 35 in some cases. If wiping of the ink discharge surface F1 is performed in a state where ink is attached to the wiper member 35, the cleaning liquid 23 in the cleaning liquid supply port 63 may be contaminated due to ink entering from the cleaning liquid supply port 63. Further, when the ink of the wiper member 35 adheres to the cleaning liquid supply port 63, the cleaning liquid supply port 63 may be clogged. In particular, when the cleaning liquid 23 in the cleaning liquid supply port 63 is dried, the cleaning liquid supply port 63 is easily clogged.

  On the other hand, in the ink jet recording apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the on-off valve control unit 112 has the wiper member 35 (see FIG. 10) in the drive stop period in which the liquid feed pump 72 does not supply the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply member 60. During the period in which the wiping operation according to FIG. 14 is executed, the on-off valve 73 is controlled so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is closed. Thereby, when the wiper member 35 passes through the cleaning liquid supply port 63, it is possible to restrict the cleaning liquid 23 that has not been scraped off by the wiper member 35 from being pushed into the cleaning liquid supply port 63. Therefore, in the ink jet recording apparatus 100, even when the ink is attached to the wiper member 35, the cleaning liquid 23 in the cleaning liquid supply port 63 can be prevented from being contaminated by the ink, and the cleaning liquid supply port 63 can receive ink. Can be suppressed.

  Further, the on-off valve control unit 112 controls the on-off valve 73 so that the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is in an open state during a period in which the wiping operation is not performed in the drive stop period. Thereby, the cleaning liquid in the internal space 701 of the tube 70 is allowed to move to the cleaning liquid supply port 63 due to its own weight or the like. Therefore, in the inkjet recording apparatus 100, the state in which the cleaning liquid 23 exists in the cleaning liquid supply port 63 can be maintained, and the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply port 63 can be prevented from disappearing due to drying.

  Therefore, in the inkjet recording apparatus 100, it is possible to suppress the contamination of the cleaning liquid 23 and the clogging of the cleaning liquid supply port 63.

  The wiping operation may be performed a plurality of times for one purge operation. Further, the number of wiping operations for one purge operation may be determined according to the environmental temperature, the environmental humidity, the main power off time of the inkjet recording apparatus 100, and the like. For example, in an environment where the ink drying speed is high and the ink viscosity tends to be high, such as high temperature and low humidity, or when the main power off time is long, the wiping operation is performed twice for one purge operation or It is possible to do this three times. Further, when the main power is turned on, it is preferable to execute the purge operation and the wiping operation after a predetermined time elapses from the main power on to the start of printing.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cleaning liquid supply operation is performed before the wiping operation has been described. However, if the cleaning liquid supply operation is before the wiper member 35 enters the cleaning liquid supply region R2, the wiping operation is performed simultaneously. May be executed. In this embodiment, an example in which the purge operation is executed before the wiping operation is shown. However, the purge operation is executed simultaneously with the wiping operation before the wiper member 35 enters the ink discharge region R1. Also good.

  In the above embodiment, the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c is performed using the cleaning liquid 23 and the purge ink 22. However, the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c may be performed using only the cleaning liquid 23. Good. That is, the purge operation may not be performed.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cleaning liquid supply member 60 having the cleaning liquid supply region R2 is provided separately from the head unit 18 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cleaning liquid supply member 63 may be provided in the head portion 18 without providing the cleaning liquid supply member 60.

  Further, a configuration obtained by appropriately combining the configurations of the above-described embodiment and modification examples is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Inkjet recording device 17a-17c Recording head 18a Ink discharge nozzle 23 Cleaning liquid 35 Wiper member 60 Cleaning liquid supply member 63 Cleaning liquid supply port 70 Tube 701 Internal space 71 Cleaning liquid tank 72 Liquid feed pump 73 On-off valve 110 Control part 111 Pump control part 112 Opening / closing Valve control unit F1 Ink discharge surface R1 Ink discharge region F2 Cleaning liquid supply surface R2 Cleaning liquid supply region A1 Wiping direction

Claims (1)

An ink discharge nozzle from which ink is discharged;
A wiper member that contacts a wiping surface having an ink ejection area provided with the ink ejection nozzle and moves in a predetermined wiping direction to perform wiping of the ink ejection area;
A cleaning liquid supply unit that is provided upstream of the ink discharge area on the wiping surface in the wiping direction and supplies a cleaning liquid used for wiping the ink discharge area by the wiper member;
A cleaning liquid storage section for storing the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply section;
A cleaning liquid channel for moving the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid storage unit to the cleaning liquid supply unit;
A drive unit for applying power for moving the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid channel;
A drive control unit that controls the drive unit to any one of a driving state in which the cleaning liquid is moved in the cleaning liquid channel and a driving stop state in which the movement of the cleaning liquid is stopped;
A switching unit that is provided between the driving unit and the cleaning liquid supply unit, and switches between an open state in which the cleaning liquid channel is open and a closed state in which the cleaning liquid channel is closed;
A switching control unit that controls the switching unit to cause the switching unit to select either the open state or the closed state;
The switching control unit
The switching unit so that the cleaning liquid channel is in the closed state during an execution period in which the wiping is performed by the wiper member in a drive stop period in which the drive unit is in the drive stop state by the drive control unit. Control
An inkjet recording apparatus that controls the switching unit so that the cleaning liquid flow path is in the open state in a non-execution period other than the execution period in the drive stop period.

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