JP6756110B2 - Liquid injection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid injection device such as a printer.

As an example of the liquid injection device, there is an inkjet printer that ejects ink droplets from a nozzle provided in the liquid injection head to perform borderless printing in which the ink droplets adhere to the edge of the paper without any margin. When performing such borderless printing, a groove hole is provided in the platen that supports the paper, and a waste liquid tray is provided below the platen, and an absorbent material in which ink droplets protruding from the edge of the paper are arranged in the groove hole is used. After receiving the ink, the ink received by the absorbent material may be introduced into the waste liquid tray (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-9700

By the way, if the ink absorbing material is housed in the above-mentioned waste liquid tray and the absorbing material arranged in the groove is brought into contact with the ink absorbing material, the waste liquid can be appropriately introduced into the waste liquid tray. However, especially when adopting a configuration in which the waste liquid tray is attached / detached and replaced, the absorbent material is displaced as the waste liquid tray is attached / detached, and the ink absorbent material of the newly installed waste liquid tray is placed in the groove hole. There is a problem that the provided absorbent material cannot be brought into contact with each other.

It should be noted that such a problem is generally common not only in a printer that ejects ink to print, but also in a liquid injection device that detachably attaches a liquid recovery container that collects the ejected liquid. There is.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid injection device capable of appropriately introducing a liquid into a removable liquid recovery container.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above problems and their actions and effects will be described.
The liquid injection device for solving the above problems includes a liquid injection head capable of injecting a liquid toward a medium, a mounting portion on which a liquid recovery container containing an absorbing member capable of absorbing the liquid is detachably mounted, and the liquid. A liquid receiving portion capable of receiving the liquid injected by the injection head and a relay portion arranged in a region communicating with the liquid receiving portion are provided, and the relay portion is a liquid recovery container mounted on the mounting portion. It is arranged at a position where it comes into contact with the absorbing member.

According to this configuration, since the relay unit is arranged in the region communicating with the liquid receiving unit, the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit can be moved toward the relay unit. Since the relay unit is arranged at a position where it comes into contact with the absorbing member of the liquid recovery container, the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit can be absorbed by the absorbing member of the liquid recovery container via the relay unit. Therefore, the liquid can be appropriately introduced into the removable liquid recovery container container.

The liquid injection device includes a liquid absorber capable of absorbing the liquid received by the liquid receiving portion, and the liquid absorber includes a main body portion arranged in the liquid receiving portion and a liquid guiding portion extending from the main body portion. And, the relay portion is provided in contact with the liquid guide portion.

According to this configuration, by accommodating the main body portion of the liquid absorber in the liquid receiving portion, it is possible to suppress the scattering of the liquid received in the liquid receiving portion. Further, the liquid received by the liquid receiving portion can be moved toward the relay portion while suppressing the scattering of the liquid through the liquid guiding portion extending from the main body portion of the liquid absorber.

In the liquid injection device, at least the portion of the relay portion that comes into contact with the absorbing member and the portion that comes into contact with the liquid absorber are composed of a permeation transmitter capable of absorbing the liquid by capillary force.

According to this configuration, the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorber in the liquid receiving portion can be moved toward the liquid recovery container by the capillary force of the permeation transmitter provided in the relay portion. Further, by absorbing the liquid in the permeation transmitter, it is possible to suppress the scattering of the liquid in the process of introducing the liquid into the liquid recovery container.

In the liquid injection device, the relay portion is arranged at a position where the pressing force is received from the absorbing member in a state of being in contact with the absorbing member of the liquid recovery container mounted on the mounting portion.

According to this configuration, by setting the position of the relay unit so that the relay unit receives the pressing force from the absorbing member, the relay unit or the absorbing member may be caused by a manufacturing error or deformation due to absorption of the liquid. Even if the position is displaced, the relay portion and the absorbing member can be reliably brought into contact with each other.

The liquid injection device includes a medium support portion in which the liquid injection head is arranged in a region where the liquid is ejected, and the medium support portion supports the liquid receiving portion and the medium protruding from the liquid receiving portion. It has a support protrusion and a support protrusion.

According to this configuration, since the medium support portion has the liquid receiving portion and the supporting protrusion, the liquid receiving portion can receive the liquid protruding from the medium supported by the supporting protrusion.
In the liquid injection device, the relay portion has a roller rotatably provided in the mounting portion so that the outer peripheral surface projects.

According to this configuration, since the outer peripheral surface of the roller constituting the relay portion protrudes into the mounting portion, the liquid is transferred through the relay portion by bringing the roller into contact with the absorbing member of the liquid recovery container mounted on the mounting portion. It can be introduced into a liquid recovery container.

In the liquid injection device, the liquid recovery container is mounted on the mounting portion as it moves in the mounting direction, and the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the roller is a direction intersecting the mounting direction.
According to this configuration, when the liquid recovery container is mounted on the mounting portion, the roller whose rotation axis extends in the direction intersecting the mounting direction rotates to reduce the sliding resistance between the relay portion and the absorbing member. As a result, the relay portion can be brought into contact with the absorbing member without interfering with the mounting operation of the liquid recovery container.

The cross-sectional view which shows typically the structure of the liquid injection apparatus of one Embodiment. FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. An exploded perspective view of a liquid absorber, a medium support portion, and a mounting portion. An exploded perspective view of the mounting portion and the liquid recovery container. Perspective view of the relay part. The cross-sectional view which shows the modification example of the liquid injection apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the liquid injection device will be described with reference to the drawings. The liquid injection device is, for example, an inkjet printer that records (prints) by injecting ink, which is an example of a liquid, onto a medium such as paper.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid injection device 11 includes a rectangular box-shaped housing 12, a medium support portion 20 for supporting the medium S, and a plurality of nozzles that inject liquid as droplets toward the medium S. A liquid injection head 14 having a 13 is provided, a carriage 15 that holds and reciprocates the liquid injection head 14, and a guide shaft 16 for guiding the movement of the carriage 15. The medium support portion 20 is arranged in a region where the liquid injection head 14 ejects the liquid.

In the present embodiment, the direction in which the liquid injection head 14 injects the liquid is the injection direction Z, the direction in which the medium S is conveyed on the medium support portion 20 is the transfer direction Y, and the outward movement direction of the liquid injection head 14 is the movement direction X. That is. In the present embodiment, the injection direction Z is vertically downward (gravity direction), and the injection direction Z, the transport direction Y, and the movement direction X are directions that intersect (preferably, orthogonally) with each other. Then, the liquid injection device 11 prints (records) by injecting the liquid from the nozzle 13 toward the medium S supported by the medium support portion 20 by the liquid injection head 14.

The liquid injection device 11 is a maintenance mechanism 30 that performs a maintenance operation on the start end side (right end side in FIG. 1) in the movement region of the liquid injection head 14 along the movement direction X in order to maintain good injection characteristics of the liquid injection head 14. To be equipped.

The medium support portion 20 and the maintenance mechanism 30 are arranged so as to line up along the moving direction X of the liquid injection head 14. Further, the maintenance mechanism 30 includes a cap 31 arranged on the starting end side in the moving direction X, a wiper 32 arranged between the cap 31 and the medium support portion 20 in the moving direction X, and a suction tube connected to the cap 31. It has 33 and a suction pump 34 provided in the middle of the suction tube 33.

In the present embodiment, the position where the cap 31 is located in the moving region of the liquid injection head 14 along the moving direction X is referred to as the home position of the liquid injection head 14, and the start end side (right side in FIG. 1) of the moving direction X is referred to as the home side. .. Further, the terminal side (left side in FIG. 1) in the moving direction X is referred to as an anti-home side.

The cap 31 can be moved by the moving mechanism 35 to an open position (position shown in FIG. 2) away from the liquid injection head 14 at the home position and a capping position in contact with the liquid injection head 14 so as to surround the nozzle 13. It is composed of.

When the cap 31 moves to the capping position, the cap 31 forms a closed space in which the nozzle 13 opens. Forming a closed space in which the nozzle 13 opens by the cap 31 in this way is called "capping". When the cap 31 moves from the capping position to the retracted position, the capping is released.

Then, when the power is turned off without injecting the liquid, the liquid injection head 14 moves to the home position, and the cap 31 moves to the capping position to cap the nozzle 13, thereby suppressing the drying of the nozzle 13.

The medium support portion 20 has a concave liquid receiving portion 21 and a support protrusion 23 that protrudes from the liquid receiving portion 21 and supports the medium S. A plurality of support protrusions 23 may be provided so as to be arranged along each of the moving direction X and the transport direction Y. It is preferable to house the liquid absorber 22 capable of absorbing the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit 21 in the liquid receiving unit 21.

The liquid injection device 11 of the present embodiment prints on a plurality of types of media S having different sizes (lengths in the moving direction X and the transport direction Y), but any size of the medium S can be printed. It is transported in a state of being brought closer to the home side so that both ends of the medium S in the moving direction X are arranged on the liquid absorber 22.

As a result, in the case of borderless printing in which droplets are adhered to the edge of the medium S without a margin, when the liquid injection head 14 ejects the liquid onto the medium S supported by the support protrusion 23, the medium S The liquid that was not received by the liquid receiving unit 21 is received by the liquid receiving unit 21. That is, the liquid receiving unit 21 can receive the liquid ejected by the liquid injection head 14 and protruding from the medium S during borderless printing.

The liquid injection head 14 discharges a liquid unrelated to printing toward the liquid receiving portion 21 or the cap 31 in the open position before and after the printing operation for the purpose of clearing or preventing clogging of the nozzle 13. Preliminary discharge (also referred to as flushing) may be performed. In this way, the liquid receiving unit 21 receives the liquid protruding from the medium S by edgeless printing and the liquid discharged by flushing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid injection device 11 has a box-shaped mounting portion 17 to which a liquid recovery container 40 capable of accommodating waste liquid is detachably mounted and waste liquid at a position below the medium support portion 20. It includes an introduction needle 18 provided at the downstream end of the suction tube 33 for introduction into the liquid recovery container 40, and a relay portion 50 arranged in a region communicating with both the liquid receiving portion 21 and the mounting portion 17.

For example, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 2, the liquid recovery container 40 is inserted into the mounting portion 17 from below the housing 12, and then laterally moved in the mounting direction (to the right in FIG. 2) toward the introduction needle 18. The connection portion 43 is connected to the introduction needle 18. As a result, the liquid recovery container 40 is in a state of being attached to the liquid injection device 11. The position where the insertion of the introduction needle 18 into the connection portion 43 is completed by laterally moving the liquid recovery container 40 in the mounting direction is referred to as the mounting position of the liquid recovery container 40 in the liquid injection device 11.

The maintenance mechanism 30 performs a maintenance operation of discharging the liquid as waste liquid from the liquid injection head 14 in order to maintain good injection characteristics of the liquid injection head 14. For example, the maintenance mechanism 30 drives the suction pump 34 in a capped state to perform suction cleaning for forcibly flowing out the liquid in the liquid injection head 14 from the nozzle 13.

The liquid injection device 11 can also perform pressure cleaning to discharge the liquid from the nozzle 13 by pressurizing the liquid in the liquid injection head 14. Cleaning including suction cleaning and pressure cleaning may be performed at the time of initial filling in which the flow path to the nozzle 13 is filled with liquid, or when the nozzle 13 is clogged and a liquid injection failure occurs. , It may be performed as manual cleaning to eliminate the injection failure by the user's operation. It is also possible to periodically perform cleaning every time a certain period of time elapses.

After cleaning, the inside of the cap 31 is opened to the atmosphere by moving the cap 31 to the evacuation position, and the suction pump 34 is driven again by air suction to suck the waste liquid remaining in the cap 31. Then, the liquid flowing out from the liquid injection head 14 by cleaning and air suction is stored in the liquid recovery container 40 through the suction tube 33 as a waste liquid containing bubbles and solute components of the thickened liquid.

The liquid recovery container 40 includes a storage case 41 that opens on one side (upper surface side in the mounted state), a lid member 42 that is attached to the opening of the storage case 41, and a connecting portion 43 into which the introduction needle 18 is inserted at the time of mounting. The storage case 41 includes absorption members 44 and 45 capable of absorbing liquids stored in a vertically stacked state. The number, size and shape of the absorbing members 44 and 45 can be arbitrarily changed.

One or a plurality of insertion holes 42a are formed in the lid member 42. Further, in the absorbing member 44 arranged immediately below the lid member 42, an insertion hole 44a is formed at a position corresponding to the insertion hole 42a. The connecting portion 43 is preferably arranged near the bottom of the accommodating case 41 at a position in contact with the absorbing member 45 arranged below the absorbing member 44. In the liquid recovery container 40, a notch 45a is formed in a part of the absorbing member 45, and the absorbing members 44 and 45 are urged toward the relay portion 50 in the notch 45a (a urging member 46 ( For example, a coil spring) may be accommodated.

In the medium support portion 20, an insertion hole 21a is formed at a position corresponding to the insertion holes 42a and 44a in the inner bottom portion of the concave liquid receiving portion 21. Then, the liquid absorber 22 has a main body portion arranged in the liquid receiving portion 21, and a plurality of liquid guiding portions 22a extending from the main body portion and hanging below the medium support portion 20 through the insertion hole 21a. Have. It is preferable that the liquid guide portion 22a is arranged in the moving direction X near the region that receives the liquid protruding from the medium S when performing borderless printing.

A through hole 17a is provided at a position corresponding to the liquid guide portion 22a in the mounting portion 17. The relay portion 50 is provided in the through hole 17a in a state of being in contact with the liquid guide portion 22a extending from the liquid absorber 22. That is, the region where the relay portion 50 is arranged communicates with the liquid receiving portion 21 through the insertion hole 21a and communicates with the internal space of the mounting portion 17 through the through hole 17a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the relay portion 50 has a roller 52 having a rotating shaft 51 and a sheet 53 wound around the outer peripheral surface of the roller 52, and the sheet 53 is wound in the mounting portion 17. The rotation shaft 51 of the roller 52 is rotatably held by the mounting portion 17 so that the outer peripheral surface of the roller 52 projects. The sheet 53 is preferably made of a permeation transmitter capable of absorbing a liquid by capillary force.

In this case, the capillary force of the sheet 53 is larger than that of the liquid conducting portion 22a and smaller than that of the absorbing member 44 (see FIG. 2), and the capillary force causes the liquid conducting portion 22a to the relay portion 50 and the relay portion 50 to the absorbing member 44. It is preferable to allow the liquid to move. Further, the axial direction of the rotation shaft 51 of the roller 52 is preferably a direction intersecting the mounting direction of the liquid recovery container 40 with respect to the mounting portion 17 (for example, a direction orthogonal to the mounting direction).

As shown in FIG. 4, in the liquid recovery container 40, the insertion holes 42a and 44a are located at positions corresponding to the through holes 17a of the mounting portion 17 at the time of mounting (positions where the insertion holes 42a and 44a and the openings of the through holes 17a are arranged vertically). It is provided in. However, the insertion hole 42a of the lid member 42 is preferably longer than the insertion hole 44a of the absorption member 44 in the mounting direction.

When the liquid recovery container 40 is inserted into the mounting portion 17 from below the housing 12, the portion of the relay portion 50 protruding into the mounting portion 17 enters the insertion holes 42a and 44a. Then, when the liquid recovery container 40 laterally moves in the mounting direction from that state, the relay portion 50 rides on the absorbing member 44 and exits from the insertion hole 44a. In the relay unit 50, the roller 52 rotates about the rotation shaft 51 in the process of riding on the absorption member 44, so that the sliding resistance to the absorption member 44 is reduced.

When the relay unit 50 rides on the absorption member 44, the roller 52 compresses and deforms the absorption member 44 via the sheet 53, so that the relay unit 50 receives pressing force from the absorption member 44 to be restored and deformed.

By mounting the liquid recovery container 40 on the mounting portion 17 through such a process, the relay section 50 is arranged at a position where the sheet 53 comes into contact with the absorbing member 44 of the liquid recovery container 40 mounted on the mounting section 17. Will be done. Then, the relay unit 50 receives a pressing force due to the compression-deformed absorption member 44 trying to be restored and deformed in a state where the sheet 53 is in contact with the absorption member 44 of the liquid recovery container 40 mounted on the mounting unit 17. As described above, in the relay portion 50, at least the portion in contact with the absorbing member 44 and the portion in contact with the liquid absorber 22 (liquid guiding portion 22a) are permeation transmitters (sheet 53) capable of absorbing liquid by capillary force. ) Is preferable.

As the permeation transmitter constituting the sheet 53, a non-woven fabric made of synthetic fiber or cotton, paper made of pulp or porous metal, a net (filter) woven from synthetic fiber or stainless steel (SUS), or the like is adopted. Can be done. Further, the roller 52 may be made of, for example, resin or metal, or may be made of a foamed plastic (foam material), a non-woven fabric, a porous body made of metal, ceramics, or the like. If the roller 52 itself can exert sufficient capillary force, the relay unit 50 does not have to include the sheet 53.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet 53 wound around the outer peripheral surface of the roller 52 in the relay portion 50 has a convex portion 53a protruding from the axial center of the rotation shaft 51 on one end side of the joint portion, and also has a joint portion. It is preferable to have a concave portion 53b that accommodates the convex portion 53a at the center in the axial direction on the other end side of the above. With such a shape, when the roller 52 rotates while receiving the pressing force from the absorbing member 44, the sheet 53 is less likely to be caught by the absorbing member 44.

Next, the operation of the liquid injection device 11 configured as described above will be described.
In the liquid injection device 11, the droplets protruding from the edge of the medium S by edgeless printing and the liquid discharged by flushing are received by the liquid receiving unit 21 and absorbed by the liquid absorber 22, and then the liquid is conducted. It is absorbed by the sheet 53 of the relay unit 50 along the unit 22a. Further, the liquid absorbed by the sheet 53 moves toward the absorbing member 44 in contact with the sheet 53.

Further, the waste liquid discharged from the liquid injection head 14 to the cap 31 due to the maintenance operation of the liquid injection head 14 such as cleaning is a liquid recovery container through the suction tube 33, the introduction needle 18 and the connection portion 43 by the drive of the suction pump 34. It is housed in 40 and absorbed by the absorbing member 45.

In this way, the waste liquid that has fallen along the liquid guide portion 22a is absorbed by the absorbing member 44 via the relay portion 50, while the waste liquid introduced from the connecting portion 43 is arranged below the absorbing member 44. It is absorbed by the absorbing member 45. Therefore, the absorbing members 44 and 45 housed in the liquid recovery container 40 can efficiently absorb the waste liquid generated inside the transport path and the waste liquid generated outside the transport path.

Then, when the liquid storage capacity of the liquid recovery container 40 is full, the liquid recovery container 40 is moved in the lateral direction (leftward in FIG. 2) opposite to the mounting direction to connect the connecting portion 43 and the introduction needle 18. After releasing the above, the liquid recovery container 40 is moved downward and taken out from the mounting portion 17. Even when the liquid recovery container 40 is taken out, the roller 52 of the relay unit 50 rotates with the lateral movement of the liquid recovery container 40, so that the liquid recovery unit 44 presses the relay unit 50. The container 40 can be moved smoothly.

After taking out the used liquid recovery container 40, the unused liquid recovery container 40 is mounted on the mounting portion 17. Even if the liquid recovery container 40 is repeatedly attached and detached in this way, the relay portion 50 keeps protruding to the mounting portion 17 while being in contact with the liquid guiding portion 22a connected to the liquid absorber 22, so that the newly mounted liquid The absorption member 44 of the collection container 40 can be appropriately contacted.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the relay unit 50 is arranged in the region communicating with the liquid receiving unit 21, the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit 21 can be moved toward the relay unit 50. Since the relay unit 50 is arranged at a position where it comes into contact with the absorbing member 44 of the liquid recovery container 40, the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit 21 is absorbed by the absorbing member 44 of the liquid collecting container 40 via the relay unit 50. Can be made to. Therefore, the liquid can be appropriately introduced into the liquid recovery container 40 which is detachably attached.

(2) By accommodating the main body portion of the liquid absorber 22 in the liquid receiving portion 21, it is possible to suppress the scattering of the liquid received by the liquid receiving portion 21. Further, the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit 21 can be moved toward the relay unit 50 while suppressing the scattering of the liquid through the liquid guiding portion 22a extending from the main body portion of the liquid absorber 22.

(3) The liquid absorbed by the liquid absorber 22 in the liquid receiving portion 21 can be moved toward the liquid recovery container 40 by the capillary force of the sheet 53 made of the permeation transmitter provided in the relay portion 50. .. Further, by absorbing the liquid in the sheet 53 which is a permeation transmitter, it is possible to suppress the scattering of the liquid in the process of introducing the liquid into the liquid recovery container 40.

(4) By setting the position of the relay unit 50 so that the relay unit 50 receives the pressing force from the absorption member 44, the relay unit 50 or the absorption member is caused by a manufacturing error or deformation due to absorption of the liquid. Even if the position of the 44 is displaced, the relay portion 50 and the absorbing member 44 can be reliably brought into contact with each other.

(5) Since the medium support portion 20 has the liquid receiving portion 21 and the support protrusion 23, the liquid receiving portion 21 can receive the liquid protruding from the medium S supported by the support protrusion 23.
(6) Since the outer peripheral surface of the roller 52 constituting the relay portion 50 projects into the mounting portion 17, the relay portion is brought into contact with the absorbing member 44 of the liquid recovery container 40 mounted on the mounting portion 17. The liquid can be introduced into the liquid recovery container 40 via the 50.

(7) When the liquid recovery container 40 is mounted on the mounting portion 17, the roller 52 whose rotation shaft 51 extends in the direction intersecting the mounting direction rotates to reduce the sliding resistance between the relay portion 50 and the absorbing member 44. By reducing the amount, the relay portion 50 can be brought into contact with the absorbing member 44 without interfering with the mounting operation of the liquid recovery container 40.

The above embodiment may be changed as in the modification shown below. In addition, the above-described embodiment and each modification can be arbitrarily combined.
As in the modified example shown in FIG. 6, the liquid recovery container 40 is moved from the insertion portion 12a provided on the side wall of the housing 12 of the liquid injection device 11 to the mounting direction (right direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6). Along with this, it may be mounted on the mounting portion 17.

-As in the modified example shown in FIG. 6, one absorbing member 44 and one absorbing member 45 may be accommodated in the liquid recovery container 40. Alternatively, the liquid recovery container 40 may contain a single absorbing member such as the absorbing members 44 and 45 integrated.

-As in the modified example shown in FIG. 6, the urging member 46 housed in the liquid recovery container 40 may be a leaf spring. In this case, the absorbing member 45 may not be provided with the notch 45a, and a space for inserting the urging member 46 may be provided between the inner bottom portion of the accommodating case 41 and the absorbing member 45. In this case, the waste liquid introduced through the connecting portion 43 along the space formed between the inner bottom portion of the accommodating case 41 and the absorbing member 45 can be distributed to the entire inner bottom portion of the accommodating case 41.

The urging member 46 may not be housed in the liquid recovery container 40, and the pressing force may be applied to the relay portion 50 only by the elastic restoring force of the absorbing members 44 and 45 that are compressed and deformed in contact with the relay portion 50. ..

As in the modified example shown in FIG. 6, the relay portion 50 may be configured to include a core material 54 that does not rotate and a sheet 53 wound around the core material 54 instead of the roller 52. In this case, it is preferable to reduce the sliding resistance at the time of attachment / detachment by making the portion of the core material 54 in contact with the absorbing member 44 a curved surface. Further, it is preferable that the portion of the core material 54 that contacts the liquid guide portion 22a is made flat so that the core material 54 can be reliably contacted with the liquid guide portion 22a.

-The liquid absorber 22a formed as a separate body from the main body of the liquid absorber 22 is brought into contact with the liquid absorber 22 so that the liquid is moved from the liquid absorber 22 to the relay portion 50 via the liquid guide 22a. It may be.

-The relay portion 50 may not include the sheet 53, and a groove may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the roller 52 by molding, sintering, cutting, or the like, and the liquid may be moved along the groove.
-Instead of providing the liquid guiding portion 22a on the liquid absorber 22, an extension portion extending from the relay portion 50 toward the liquid absorber 22 is provided, and the extending portion is brought into contact with the liquid absorber 22 to absorb the liquid. The liquid may be moved from the body 22 to the relay unit 50.

-The liquid absorber 22 may not be housed in the liquid receiving unit 21, and the liquid received by the liquid receiving unit 21 may hang down on the relay unit 50 through the insertion hole 21a.
-While the liquid collected via the liquid receiving unit 21 is introduced into the liquid recovery container 40, the waste liquid collected via the cap 31 may be introduced into another container.

The liquid receiving portion capable of receiving the liquid injected by the liquid injection head 14 does not have to be provided as a part of the medium supporting portion 20. For example, when the liquid injection device 11 does not perform edgeless printing, a liquid receiving portion is provided at the end of the moving region of the liquid injection head 14 on the side opposite to the home side of the medium support portion 20 and directed toward the liquid receiving portion. And flush. If the relay unit 50 is arranged in a region communicating with the liquid receiving unit that functions as such a flushing box, the liquid is transferred to the liquid recovery container 40 mounted on the mounting unit 17 located below the relay unit 50 via the relay unit 50. Can be introduced.

The liquid ejected by the liquid injection head 14 is not limited to ink, and may be, for example, a liquid material in which particles of a functional material are dispersed or mixed in the liquid. For example, recording is performed by injecting a liquid material containing materials such as electrode materials and coloring materials (pixel materials) used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays and surface emitting displays in the form of dispersion or dissolution. It may be configured.

-The medium S is not limited to paper, but may be a plastic film, a thin plate material, or a cloth used for a printing apparatus or the like.
-The medium S may be transported in a state of being brought closer to the home side, or may be transported so that the center of the medium S is aligned with the center of the transport path.

The liquid injection device 11 may be a line head type printer having a line head including a plurality of liquid injection heads 14 arranged in parallel so that the printing range covers the entire width of the medium S as a component. In this case, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the cap capable of receiving the liquid and the medium support portion having the liquid receiving portion alternately move to the region where the line head ejects the liquid to receive the liquid.

11 ... Liquid injection device, 12 ... Housing, 12a ... Insertion part, 13 ... Nozzle, 14 ... Liquid injection head, 15 ... Carriage, 16 ... Guide shaft, 17 ... Mounting part, 17a ... Through hole, 18 ... Introduction needle, 20 ... Medium support, 21 ... Liquid receiver, 21a ... Insertion hole, 22 ... Liquid absorber, 22a ... Liquid guide, 23 ... Support protrusion, 30 ... Maintenance mechanism, 31 ... Cap, 32 ... Wiper, 33 ... Suction tube, 34 ... suction pump, 35 ... moving mechanism, 40 ... liquid recovery container, 41 ... storage case, 42 ... lid member, 42a ... insertion hole, 43 ... connection part, 44 ... absorption member, 44a ... insertion hole, 45 ... Absorbent member, 45a ... Notch, 46 ... Biasing member, 50 ... Relay part, 51 ... Rotating shaft, 52 ... Roller, 53 ... Sheet, 53a ... Convex part, 53b ... Recessed part, 54 ... Core material, S ... Medium, X ... moving direction, Y ... transporting direction, Z ... injection direction.

Claims (5)

A liquid injection head that can inject liquid toward the medium,
A mounting part to which a liquid recovery container containing a liquid absorbing member that can absorb liquid is detachably mounted,
A liquid receiving unit capable of receiving the liquid injected by the liquid injection head,
A relay unit arranged in a region communicating with the liquid receiving unit,
With
The relay portion has a roller rotatably provided in the mounting portion so that the outer peripheral surface projects, and is arranged at a position where the relay portion comes into contact with the absorbing member of the liquid recovery container mounted on the mounting portion. A liquid injection device characterized in that. The liquid receiving portion has a liquid absorber capable of absorbing a liquid and has a liquid absorber.
The first aspect of the present invention, wherein at least a portion of the relay portion that comes into contact with the absorbing member and a portion that comes into contact with the liquid absorber are composed of a permeation transmitter capable of absorbing the liquid by capillary force. Liquid injection device. 1 or claim 1, wherein the relay unit is arranged at a position where it receives a pressing force from the absorbing member in a state of being in contact with the absorbing member of the liquid recovery container mounted on the mounting portion. 2. The liquid injection device according to 2. A medium support portion in which the liquid injection head is arranged in a region for injecting a liquid is provided.
Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the medium support portion includes the liquid receiving portion and a support protrusion portion that projects from the liquid receiving portion and supports the medium. The liquid injection device according to. The liquid recovery container is mounted on the mounting portion as it moves in the mounting direction.
The liquid injection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the roller is a direction intersecting the mounting direction.

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