JPH02179759A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive a compact device by encasing a recording head part, a supporting means and a moving means for the head part, a head-recovering system and a driving means for the recovering system, in one body as a unit, and enabling the integral unit to be detachably fitted to a main body. CONSTITUTION:A signal based on a signal from a scanner part 301 for reading a manuscript and converting its reading into an electrical signal is given to a recording head part 305 in a printer part 302 as a driving signal. Recording papers as recording material contained in a paper supplying part 303 are fed out toward a belt feeding part 304, by one sheet at a time as required. When the paper is passed through the belt feeding part 304, image recording is conducted on the paper by a recording head part 305, and the paper is fed out through a fixing and paper-discharging part 307 into a tray 420. A recovering and recovery capping part 306 functions to maintain the head part 305 constantly in a condition ready for printing. Thus, a highly reliable device capable of providing a high image quality for a long time can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is used as an inkjet recording device having functions such as a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and a printer, and as an output device such as a multifunction device and a workstation having such functions. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device.

[Conventional technology]

The non-equivalent recording method has recently attracted attention because the noise generated during recording is so small that it can be ignored. Among them, there is a possibility of high-speed recording,
Moreover, the inkjet recording method is an extremely powerful recording method that can perform recording on so-called plain paper without requiring any specific fixing process.

A recording head applied to an inkjet recording device generally includes a fine liquid ejection opening (orifice), a liquid path, an energy acting part provided in a part of this liquid path, and a droplet forming device that acts on the liquid in the acting part. It is equipped with an energy generation means for generating energy.

Energy generating means for generating such energy include recording methods using electromechanical transducers such as piezo elements, irradiating electromagnetic waves such as lasers, absorbing them into the liquid and generating heat, and the effect of the heat generated. A recording method using an energy generating means that ejects and flies droplets, or a recording method using an energy generating means that ejects a liquid by heating the liquid with an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistor. There is. Among these, the recording head used in the inkjet recording method, which discharges liquid using thermal energy, has a high density array of liquid discharge ports (orifices) for discharging recording droplets to form flying droplets. This makes it possible to record with high resolution. Among these, a recording head that uses an electrothermal converter as a thermal energy generating means is easy to make the overall size of the recording head [2], and is compatible with ICs, which have undergone remarkable technological advances and improved reliability in the semiconductor field in recent years. It is possible to fully utilize the advantages of technology and micro-processing technology, and it is easy to make it long and planar (two-dimensional), making multi-nozzle and high-density packaging easy, and mass production. It is possible to provide an inkjet recording head that is inexpensive to manufacture and an apparatus having the head.

In this way, using an electrothermal converter as an energy generation means,
An inkjet recording head manufactured through a semiconductor manufacturing process generally has a liquid path corresponding to each orifice, and applies thermal energy to the liquid filling the liquid path for each liquid path to draw the liquid from the corresponding orifice. An electrothermal transducer is provided as a means for ejecting liquid to form flying droplets. Moreover, the structure is such that liquid is supplied to these liquid passages from a common liquid chamber communicating with each liquid passage.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of such an inkjet recording head, in which an electrothermal transducer 1103, an electrode 1104, and An inkjet recording head is shown that includes a liquid path wall 1105 and a top plate 1106.

A recording liquid 1112 is supplied from a liquid storage chamber (not shown) through a liquid supply pipe 1107 into a common liquid chamber 1108 of the recording head 1101. In the figure, 1109 is a liquid supply pipe connector. The liquid 1112 supplied into the common liquid chamber 1108 is supplied into the liquid path 1110 by a so-called capillary phenomenon, and is stably held by forming a meniscus at the discharge port surface (orifice surface) at the tip of the liquid path. By supplying electricity to the electrothermal converter 1103, the liquid on the surface of the electrothermal converter is rapidly heated, bubbles are generated in the liquid path, and the expansion and contraction of the bubbles causes the liquid to be discharged from the discharge port 1111. A droplet is formed. With the above-described configuration, a high-density ejection port arrangement such as an ejection port density of 16 nozzles/mm, 128 ejection ports or 256 ejection ports, or even a multi-nozzle inkjet in which ejection ports are arranged over the entire recording width can be achieved. A recording head can be formed.

FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration example of an inkjet printing apparatus in which the above-described inkjet printing head is actually arranged in the printing apparatus. In the figure, a print head 1101 similar to the above-described print head is driven by a motor 1.
It is constructed integrally with a carriage 1214 that is reciprocated on the rail 1213a by the drive of the carriage 1216. Ink tank 1222Y, 1222M.

The ink contained in 1222C and 1222B is supplied into the recording rad 101 by pumps 1223Y, 1223M, 1223C and 1223B. Recorded member (
The recording paper (recording paper) is conveyed along the platen roller 1212 and temporarily stopped. Then, the recording head l 101 is connected to the rail 1
Image recording is performed by ejecting ink while moving forward along lines 213a and 1213b. After recording an image of a predetermined paper width, the recording head 1101 moves to the rail 1213a again.

It moves back along 1213b and returns to the home position, but
During this time, the recording paper is conveyed by a desired amount by the platen roller 1212 and stopped again. Then, image recording is performed by repeating such operations.

A recording method in which printing is performed while reciprocating the recording head on the stopped recording paper is hereinafter referred to as a serial scan method.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, if the recording head is made to have multiple orifices and is made long and has almost the same width as the recording paper, the recording method will be different from the conventional serial scan method. A variety of different issues arise, among them image quality, reliability, and durability.

Regarding the recovery operation (recovery system) of the head, which has a large effect on the lifespan, etc., especially with long multi-nozzle types, the absolute number of ejection ports increases, so it is necessary to ensure stable ejection from all ejection ports and prevent non-ejection. 9th grade becomes important. Therefore, the performance of the recovery system is so important that it determines the performance of the entire device.

Therefore, the present invention solves the problem that affects the performance of the recovery system when configuring an inkjet recording device that uses a multi-nozzle recording head that is long enough to cover the width of the recording paper, and achieves high image quality. The object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable inkjet recording device that can be used for a long period of time.

[Means to solve the problem]

An inkjet recording apparatus having a multi-orifice type elongated head according to the present invention has a main body in which a recording head section, its holding means and moving means, a head recovery system, and its driving means are integrated into a unit. The integrated unit is configured to be detachable from the body.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an inkjet recording apparatus for explaining one embodiment of the present invention. First, the outline of the inkjet recording apparatus of this embodiment will be explained using FIG. In the figure, 301 is a scanner unit that reads a document and converts it into an electrical signal. A signal based on the converted signal is given to the recording head section 305 of the printer section 302 as a drive signal. Paper feed section 303
The recording paper, which is one of the recording members stored in the recording paper, is sent out sheet by sheet toward the belt conveyance section 304 when necessary.

When the recording paper passes through the belt conveyance section 304, an image is recorded by the recording head section 305, and the recording paper is sent out to the tray 420 via the fixing paper discharge section 307. In addition, 30
Reference numeral 6 denotes a recovery cap section, which has a function to maintain the recording head section 305 in a state where printing is possible at all times. Each of the above configurations will be explained in detail below.

First, the ink supply to the full-line elongated recording head used in this embodiment will be explained using FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the elongated recording head and ink supply means, in which 1601 is the recording head, 1652 is a common liquid chamber in the recording head 1601, and 1653 is a recording liquid ejection surface. 1654 is a discharge port for discharging liquid. However, the discharge port 1 of this embodiment
Numerals 653 are arranged in number across the recordable width of the target recording material, and selectively drive heating elements provided in liquid paths (not shown) leading to the individual ejection ports 1653. This makes it possible to eject the recording liquid and perform recording without moving or scanning the head itself.

1655 is a recording liquid supply tank for supplying recording liquid to the recording head 1601; 1656 is a main tank for replenishing the supply tank 1655 with recording liquid;
55 to the recording head 16 through a supply pipe 1657.
When replenishing the recording liquid, the recording liquid can be refilled from the main tank 1656 to the supply tank 1655 by a recovery pump 1659 via a one-way replenishment rectifier valve 1658. Also, 16
60 is a one-way recovery rectifier valve used during a recovery operation to recover the ejection function of the recording head 1601;
1661 is a circulation pipe in which a recovery rectifier valve 1660 is interposed, and 1662 is the above-mentioned first supply pipe 16.
A solenoid valve 57 is installed, and 1663 is an air vent valve for the supply tank.

In the recording head 1601 and its recording supply system and recovery system configured in this way, when recording is performed, the solenoid valve 16
62 is kept in an open state, and recording liquid is supplied from the supply tank 1655 to the common liquid chamber 1652 by its own weight, and from the liquid chamber 1652 to the discharge port 165 via a branch (not shown).
I am guided by 3. In addition, during a recovery operation performed to remove air bubbles remaining in the common liquid chamber 1652 and the supply system and to cool the recording head 1601, the recovery pump 1659 is driven to supply the recording liquid to the common liquid chamber 16 through the circulation pipe 1661.
52 and from the common liquid chamber 1652 to the first supply pipe 16
57 allows the recording liquid to be returned to the supply tank 1655 for circulation. Furthermore, at the time of initial filling of the liquid path, etc., with the solenoid valve 1662 closed, the pump 1659 pumps the recording liquid through the circulation pipe 1661 to the common liquid chamber 1652, and as the bubbles are discharged, the recording liquid is discharged from the discharge port 1653. can be done.

Normally, such a recording head is left with ink remaining inside the ink ejection openings when not recording. A capping means having a cap that can be joined to the ejection port surface or the ejection port side of the print head is provided, and the cap and the print head are bonded during non-printing, so that the print head can be covered with a cap and the surroundings can be covered. The evaporation of the ink liquid in the liquid path and its attendant effects are avoided by sealing the air space at the joint part with ink vapor and bringing the space formed by the cap and the recording head to the saturated vapor pressure of the ink. Prevents increase in viscosity and drying of ink in the liquid path. However, in low-humidity environments or when recording is stopped for a long period of time, the viscosity of the ink may increase even if the above-mentioned capping is performed to prevent the ink liquid from evaporating in the crossroads. During recording after the pause period, it may not be possible to prevent ink from being ejected from the ejection ports or from being ejected unstablely. In the present invention, the problem of whether or not ink is ejected for the first time after a pause is solved as follows.
called "problem". To solve this problem, as described above, the recovery pump 1659 is driven to circulate and pressurize the ink, and an ink circulation and pressure means is also used to discharge the ink from all the ejection ports of the recording head. There is. Furthermore, if the above-mentioned non-ejection condition is slight, the entire energy generating means of the head is driven to perform an ink ejection operation similar to that used for recording on paper or the like. Since this is not ejection for recording an image, it is hereinafter referred to as "dry ejection" in the present invention.

As mentioned above, if the ink dries up due to being left in a non-recording state for a long time and its viscosity increases and it becomes stuck in the ejection port and/or the liquid path, pressurized circulation of the ink will cause the non-recording state to occur again. If the stuck state is slight in a relatively short period of time, the head is rotated to a state where printing can be performed by an idle ejection operation.

A recording member suitably used in this embodiment will be described.

In the inkjet recording method, small droplets of recording liquid called ink are ejected and recorded by adhering them to the surface of a recording paper such as paper. It is necessary that the image does not become blurry. In addition, the ink adhering to the recording member is quickly absorbed into the recording member, and there is no phenomenon of ink flowing out or seeping, especially when ink of different colors is repeatedly adhering to the same spot within a short period of time. It is preferable to have characteristics that can suppress the spread of printed dots to an extent that does not impair the clarity of the image quality. These characteristics may not be fully satisfied with copy paper called plain paper used in electrophotographic copying machines and other paper used as general recording paper. When printing with only one color or superimposing two colors on these papers, it is often possible to obtain a somewhat satisfactory image quality, but for example, when printing a full-color image by superimposing three or more colors of ink, When the amount of ink that adheres to the paper increases, it may not be possible to record a sufficiently satisfactory image quality.

In the inkjet recording apparatus of this embodiment, the paper that satisfies the above-mentioned characteristics is coated with a coating (for example, finely powdered silicic acid) on the base paper that can obtain the above-mentioned characteristics, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 148583/1983. It is preferable to use a recording member that has been subjected to. The ink is attached to the coating surface of the recording member. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to record a higher quality image, coated paper is used when recording an image using ink of three or more colors, and coated paper is used when recording an image using ink of one or two colors. I try to select and use non-coated paper (paper that is not coated as described above). However, it is perfectly acceptable to record images using coated paper using one or two color inks.

In the scanner part 301, 401 is a document, and 402 is a document scanning unit that scans the document. The document scanning unit 402 includes a rod eye lens 403, a life-size color separation line sensor (color image sensor) 404, and an exposure means 405. When the document scanning unit 402 moves and scans in the direction of arrow A to read the image of the document 401 on the document table, the exposure lamp in the exposure means 405 in the document scanning unit 402 is turned on.
Reflected light from a document 401 is guided by a rod array lens 403 to a 1-magnification color separation line sensor (hereinafter referred to as a reading sensor) 40 which is a color information reading sensor.
4, reads the color image information of the document for each color, and converts it into electrical digital signals. This digital signal is sent to the printer section 302. Driving signals based on these signals are supplied to the recording heads for each color, and liquid is ejected.

FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are schematic cross-sectional views of main parts of a printer section in an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention, respectively. The state of the recording head during the recovery operation will be explained using FIG. 2(a). IC, IM, IY,
IBk is cyan, respectively.

This is an inkjet recording head to which inks of magenta, yellow, and black colors are supplied. Each head is fixed to the head block 6 with high precision, and the parallelism of each head, the distance between the heads, etc. are guaranteed within a desired precision. These color head ICs, LM, IY,
Near the ejection ports of the IBk, there are ink absorbers, 3C, for absorbing ink corresponding to the ejection ports of each head.
3M, 3Y, and 38k are installed. Ink absorber 3
C, 3M, 3Y.

38 is supported by an absorber guide 7 so as to be movable toward and away from the ejection surfaces of the recording heads IC, IM, IY, and IBk. The ink absorbers 3C and 3Y in FIG. 2(a) are shown separated from the ejection surfaces of the recording heads IC and IY. In addition, ink absorbers 3M and 3B
k indicates the position where the recording heads IM and IBk are brought into contact with the ejection surfaces. An ink partition plate 8 is provided between the ink absorbers. Further, an ink seal 4 is provided between each partition plate 8 and the head block 6 to seal ink between each color.

In addition, an ink squeezing member 5 is provided near each ink absorber.
is provided, and the ink absorbed by the ink absorbers 3C, 3M, 3Y, and 38k can be squeezed out and dropped by a lever (not shown). Figure 2 (a
) shows a state in which the ink absorber 3Y of the yellow head IY is squeezed.

Recording head IC, 1), 1. The head block 6 to which IY and IBk are fixed is attached to the rail 1 on the block stay 9.
5 and is inserted removably. Moreover, this block stay 9 is rotated around the rotation center N as an axis, and the head block 7 is
And it can rotate together with each color head. The recovery system container 2 can be moved from the recovery operation state in FIG. 2(a) to the retreat position shown by the two-dot chain line by a moving mechanism (not shown). Further, an ink discharge 13 is provided at the bottom of the recovery system container 2, and the recording head Ic, IM,
It is ejected from IY, IBk, and the ink absorbers 3C, 3M,
The ink absorbed and recovered by 3Y and 3Bk is led to a discharge ink tank (not shown) via a discharge ink hose (not shown).

FIG. 2(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of essential parts showing the state of the recording head during image recording. After the recovery system container 2 moves to the retracted position from the state shown in FIG. 2(a) (after moving to the area indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2(a)), the recording head moves as shown in FIG.
As shown in b), it has been rotated to the horizontal position. In this state, ink is ejected based on the image recording signal of each head, and an image is formed on the recording paper that is conveyed at a desired distance from the ejection surface P of the recording head.

FIG. 3(a) and FIG. 3(b) are schematic explanatory diagrams for explaining the recording head and positioning and fixing parts, respectively.
FIG. 3(a) is a schematic top view, and FIG. 3(b) is a schematic side view. In FIG. 3(a), 20.21 is a head fixing member, and the abutment portions 1a at both ends of the head 1 are
Fixed member 20. 21, the position in the directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 3(a) and the position in the vertical direction (direction of arrow C in FIG. 3(b)) are determined by the positioning axis. 18.19. In addition, 22 is a pressing pin, \rad fixing member 20. The head inserted into the head 21 is brought into contact with the abutting portions 20a and 21a via the pressing pin 22 by the repulsive force of the spring 23, whereby the head is positioned and fixed. Further, reference numeral 24 has an adjustment screw, which allows the position of each head to be adjusted in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3(a), that is, in the direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction (hereinafter referred to as "left margin").

25 is an eccentric piece for adjusting the head inclination direction. In FIG. 3(a), the position of each head is moved in the direction of arrow B by moving the head abutting portion 1a by the amount of eccentricity generated by rotating the top 25, and each head can be adjusted independently. It is possible.

With the above adjustment mechanism, the mounting position of each head can be easily adjusted. Therefore, it is easy to correct the deviation of images drawn in each color and record higher quality images.

Next, the moving mechanism of the head section will be explained using the schematic cross-sectional views of main parts of the printer section shown in FIGS. 4(i) and 4(b). Incidentally, FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show the printer section viewed from the opposite side to the previous FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), respectively.

26 is a head unit drive motor, and the drive of this motor is transmitted to the head frame 28 via a gear 27. The head frame 28 is rotatable about the rotation axis l in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4(a). The head frame 28 also has a rail 29 for inserting and removing the head block.
A head block 6 on which the head 1 is positioned and mounted can be taken out and replaced integrally with each recording head l.

To remove and insert the head block 6, use the head frame 28.
is a notch (not shown) provided in a part of the front side plate of the unit.
It is held at a location that overlaps with the There are four stopping positions of the head frame 28: (1) recovery position, (2) printing position, (2) retreat position, and (2) head unit attachment/detachment position. Figure 4(a)
And FIG. 4(b) shows the recovery position. ■ The retracted position is the retracted position of the recording head section 305 when moving the recovery container 2, as will be described later in FIGS. 12(b) and (e), and ■ the printing position is as shown in FIG. 12(d). This is the head-down position, which will be described later. In the present invention, the (1) retracted position and (2) head unit attachment/detachment position are configured to be the same position. Detection of each of these positions is performed accurately by shielding light from the detection portions of the sensors 51 arranged corresponding to the respective stop positions by a light shielding plate 52 provided on the head frame 28.

FIG. 4(b) shows an example in which a worm decelerator is used in the drive section of the head moving mechanism described above. 59 is warm, 6
0 is the worm wheel. As a result, the head frame 28 can only be moved by driving from the motor side due to the characteristics of the worm decelerator, and the head frame itself will not naturally fall due to the weight of the plurality of heads mounted within the head frame. There is no accident of putting it away, and it is also possible to fix the position of the head frame at the position where the motor is stopped.

(Hereinafter, 'Sakura F white) □'-1,,, Figure 5 (a) and (b) are schematic side views of the main parts for explaining the drive mechanism of the head recovery device. 4(a) and 4(b), as seen from the same side as in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b). FIG. 5(C) is a schematic partial enlarged view of the left side portion of the drive mechanism of the recovery device shown in FIG. 5(a) when viewed from the back side.

In these figures, 30 is a motor for driving the recovery device, and the drive of the motor is transmitted to a drive screw 37 via gear trains 31 to 36. The drive screw 37 converts the driving force transmitted from the motor 30 into linear motion, and the linear motion of the screw nut 38 meshed with the drive screw 37 moves the recovery container 2 from the recovery position, that is, the capping position, to the retracted position. move it.

The nut holder 39 engaged with the screw nut 38 and the recovery container 2 are connected by a connecting pin 40, and the motor 3
0 enables reciprocating movement of the recovery container 2.

Further, two arm portions 41 and 42 (the opposite side is not shown) are rotatably supported on the front and rear sides of the recovery system container 2, respectively. The arm portion 42 has rollers 45 (
The opposite side (not shown) is rotatably supported. on the other hand,
A unit side plate 47 facing the arm portion 42 of the recovery container 2
(The opposite side is not shown) is provided with a roller 45a (the opposite side is not shown). Note that rollers similar to the rollers 45 and 45a are also provided on the arm portion 4I side. Also, the rail 48 is provided with a groove into which the recovery container 2 is reciprocated. 49 are provided on both sides of the recovery container 2, respectively. Further, each of the arm portions 41 and 42 is provided with a torsion coil spring 44 so that each roller is urged against the groove of the rail. The rotational force of the motor 30 is transmitted through gear trains 31 to 36. Screw 37. Natsu 38. Nut holder 39, arm part 41, 42 via connecting bottle 40
and is converted into a reciprocating motion of the recovery container 2. At this time, the rollers 45, 45a rotatably attached to the arm portions 41, 42 are urged along the grooves provided in the rails 48, 49 by the repulsive force of the torsion coil spring 44. It moves loosely (moves along the groove. Therefore,
Depending on the shape of the rails 48, 49, it is possible to cause the recovery container 2 to move with a desired trajectory. Like this,
Since a plurality of rollers for moving the container 2 are used for one arm, the load caused by the container 2 is distributed.
Therefore, the container 2 can be moved smoothly. Furthermore, since the arm portions and rollers are provided on both sides of the container 2, the driving force can be transmitted smoothly enough if only one screw is used to drive the container 2. - The stopping positions of the recovery container 2 are a recovery position 2a and a retreat position 2b, and at each position, a light shielding plate 50 attached to the nut holder 39 is connected to a sensor (photograph) arranged corresponding to each stop position. This is done accurately by shielding the detection section of the interrupter (interrupter) 51 from light.

Next, capping with a cap and empty discharge.

A recovery mechanism such as pressurized ink circulation will be explained.

FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are schematic side views for explaining the cap driving section of the recovery device according to the present invention.

Figure 6(a) shows the time when the absorber is detached from the ejection surface of the head.
FIG. 6(b) shows the absorber in contact with the ejection surface of the head. 60 is a cap drive motor, and the drive of this motor is transmitted to the rack shaft 65 via gear trains 61 to 64, and further to the cap drive slide arm 68 via members 66 and 67. This slide arm 68 is slidable along a slide pin 72.

The reciprocating movement of the slide arm 68 is converted into the vertical movement of the absorbent guide 7 by the rotating arm 69 that moves the cap up and down. The ink absorbers guided by the absorber guides 7 are each held by absorber stoppers 71, and slide pins 72 provided at both front and rear ends move up and down along guide portions 73a provided on the cap side plates 73. configured to be possible. With this configuration, the driving force of the motor 60 is transmitted as the driving force for bringing the ink absorber 3 into contact with and separating from the ejection surface of the head 1. Further, detection of the position of contact and detachment is performed by detecting the position of the detection member 65a attached to the rack shaft 65 using microswitches 80 and 81 provided in the recovery container 2.

Next, one preferred embodiment of the squeezing mechanism for the ink absorber of the recovery/cap section of the present invention will be described. 7th
FIG. 7(a) and FIG. 7(b) are schematic explanatory views for explaining the ink absorber squeezing mechanism of the recovery device according to the present invention, and FIG. 7(a) shows the standby state, FIG. 7(b) shows the absorber when it is squeezed. Reference numeral 60 denotes an aperture drive motor, which in this embodiment also serves as the aforementioned cap drive motor. The driving of the cap mechanism and the diaphragm mechanism is transmitted by switching the driving with an electromagnetic clutch (not shown). The drive transmitted by a clutch (not shown) is transmitted to the aperture drive cam 79 via gear trains 75 to 78. Here, the rotation of the cam 79 is converted into a reciprocating motion of the slide arm 82.

The slide arm 82 is capable of linear movement along a slide pin 83 provided on the side plate of the cap, and is thereby further transmitted to the ink absorber squeezing member 5 via the lever 84 to absorb the ink absorber 3. By pressing and deforming the ink absorber toward the body guide 7 side, it is possible to squeeze out the ink that has soaked into the ink absorber and make it fall (7th
Figure (b)). Further, the aperture members of each color are connected by a connecting bar 86, and the drive from the motor can be transmitted to the gold color at the same time.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, the aperture mechanism is controlled to operate when the aforementioned cap, that is, the ink absorber 3 is removed from the head ejection surface, and the aperture mechanism is detected by a microcontroller provided on the cam 79. This is done by detecting the rotation of the cam using the switch 87. Normally, one rotation of the cam, that is, one rotation of the aperture, constitutes one operation. The ink absorber 3, whose ink absorbing power has been increased again by these squeezing operations, is brought into contact with the ejection surface of the head again to perform complete cleaning.

Next, a mechanism for wiping the head ejection surface will be described. 8th
FIG. 8(a) and FIG. 8(b) are schematic explanatory views for explaining the head ejection surface wiping mechanism of the recovery device according to the present invention, and FIG. 8(a) shows the standby state, FIG. 8(b) shows the driving state.

In this embodiment, a cleaning blade 88 is used to wipe the head ejection surface. Reference numeral 60 denotes a blade drive motor, which also serves as the ink absorber diaphragm drive motor mentioned above in this embodiment, and also in sequence:
Since it is driven in conjunction with the diaphragm drive, the drive of only the wiping mechanism is not particularly changed. Similar to the aperture drive described above, the drive of the motor 60 transmitted to the cam 79 via the gear trains 75 to 78 is transmitted to the blade drive slide arm 90. The slide arm 90 is capable of linear movement along a slide pin 91 provided on the side plate of the cap, which further allows the blade rotation arm 9 to move in a straight line.
2, and the blade 88 mounted on the blade stand 93 interlocked with this is rotated about the shaft 94. Needless to say, this center of rotation is selected at a position where ink droplets, fixed ink, or dust adhering to the head ejection surface can be efficiently wiped away. As described above, the driving source is the same as that for driving the ink absorber aperture, and the blade is similarly configured to be driven when the ink absorber is separated from the head ejection surface. Detection is also performed by a microswitch 87 provided on the cam 79 in the same way as the aperture drive.
The ink absorber aperture drive and blade drive are performed by a motor 60.
This is simultaneously performed in a state where the ink absorber 3 is separated from the head ejection surface by driving.

(hereinafter referred to below)) Next, the recovery operation by the recovery system will be explained in more detail.

For convenience, the recovery operation is divided into three parts: (1) capping, (2) preliminary (empty) ejection, and (2) ink discharge, and these operations will be explained in order.

First, the capping operation will be explained.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the capping state of the recording head. In this figure, recording heads Ic, IM, and IY are arranged side by side within a head block 6.

IBk is a recovery/cap part 30 as a discharge recovery means.
6. The recovery system container 2 includes an ink seal 4, a partition plate 8, and ink absorbers 3C and 3M.

3Y and 3Bk are arranged, and the ink absorbers usually have a certain gap from the head ejection surface. As a result, the vicinity of the ejection ports of the recording heads IC, IM, IY, and IBk are covered by the ink seal 4, the partition plate 8, and the ink absorbers 3C, 3.
Surrounded by M, 3Y, and 3Bk, it is possible to maintain an appropriate moist state and prevent the head ejection port from drying out. As described above, capping prevents ink from being ejected when the recording head is at rest, during standby, etc., and also protects the ejection ports and prevents dust and the like from adhering to or entering the vicinity of the ejection ports.

Next, (1) preliminary (empty) ejection operation will be explained. 1st
FIG. 0 is a schematic diagram showing the idle ejection operation. Similar to the above-described capping operation, the ink absorbers 3C, 3M, and 3Y are held with a certain gap from the ejection surface of the capped recording head.

For 38k, an arbitrary number of ink ejection pulses are applied to the ejection energy generating means of all the print heads IC, LM, IY, and IBk. In this way, it is possible to prevent ejection failure due to ink sticking to all ejection ports, and prevent ejection failure and image disturbance due to ink with a changed viscosity. Normally, the idle ejection operation is set to be performed when copying is turned on.

Next, (1) ink ejection operation will be explained. FIGS. 11(1) to 11(4) are schematic diagrams showing the operation of the recovery/cap section 306 when performing an ink pressurization circulation operation in the ink supply system as an ink discharge operation. The operations in the recovery/cap section 306 include (1) normal capping, (2) pressurized ink circulation, (3) absorbent squeezing/wiping,
(4) There is a cycle of (1) to (4) of absorber contact. (1) to (4) in FIG. 11 correspond to these.

First, (1) capping refers to the aforementioned capping, which is a normal standby state or hibernation state. In this state, if the pressurized ink circulation mode is selected, for example, by a command from the user or the postcomputer, the state shown in FIG. 11(2) is reached. That is, each of the ink absorbers 3C, 3M, 3Y, and 3Bk, which were held with a certain gap, is moved to the recording head IC.

IM, IY, 1. Abuts on each of Bk. In this state, the corresponding ink absorbers and head ejection surfaces are joined together. In this state, each recording head 3C, 3M,
Ink supply pumps (not shown) are driven in 3Y and 3Bk to forcibly increase the ink supply pressure. Due to this,
Ink circulates through the ink supply system through the head to remove internal air bubbles, and pressurized ink is also discharged from the ejection ports. As a result, dust and the like adhering to the ejection surface are also removed together with the discharged ink, and the vicinity of the ejection port is cleaned. As described above, the ink discharged from the head discharge ports is absorbed by the ink absorber 3 (3C) which is in contact with the discharge surface.
, 3M, 3Y, 3Bk) without leaking to other parts, and the ink that exceeds the maximum saturation amount in the absorber falls through the absorber due to its own weight and falls into the recovery container 2, and is discharged. The ink is guided through the ink tank 13 into a drain ink tank (not shown) by a drain ink hose 12. The pressurized circulation time at this time, that is, the pressurizing time of the supply pump, is usually 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000,000.
It is preferably about 5 seconds to several seconds.

Next, (3) absorbent squeezing and wiping will be explained.

(2) When the pressurized circulation is completed, the ink absorber 3 that was in contact with the head ejection surface is separated from the ejection surface again. In this state, the ink that is almost saturated in the ink absorber 3 is squeezed out by the squeezing member 5. The squeezed ink travels through the absorber guide 7 and the partition plate 8 due to its own weight, falls into the recovery container 2, and is discharged into the ink drain tank 13.
The ink is guided through the ink drain hose 12 into the drain ink tank.

At the same time, the ink absorber 3 is removed from the head ejection surface, and at the same time as the absorber is squeezed, the ejection surface wiping blade 88 is driven to remove the ejected ink, dirt, and deposits remaining on the head ejection surface. etc. can be wiped out. The wiped ink and the like fall onto the ink absorber 3, but since the above-mentioned squeezing operation is being performed at the same time, these fallen objects also fall into the recovery container 2 along with the squeezed out ink. It is further guided to the waste ink tank. That is, at the same time as the ink absorber 3 is removed from the ejection surface, the blade 88 removes the adhering residue on the ink ejecting surface and squeezes out the adhering material together with the excess ink in the ink absorber. .

This is the above-mentioned (3) absorber squeezing and wiping operation. When the ink absorber 3 is squeezed by the throttle member 5, its absorption capacity is restored and it is ready for the next ink absorption. The ink absorber 3 is preferably made of, for example, PVF resin, which is a highly absorbent sponge, and is preferably one that can withstand repeated use. In this example, Bell Eater (trade name) manufactured by Kanebo Co., Ltd., for example, was used. The absorber, which has squeezed out the absorbed ink, then comes into contact with the ejection surface of the head again. This is (4) absorber contact. In the step (2), the absorber was almost saturated, so the ink that could not be completely absorbed from the ejection surface of the head was squeezed, and the absorption capacity was restored.
It is completely cleaned by contacting the clean absorber.

After performing the series of operations (1) to (4), the capping (1), that is, the standby state is performed again, and the cleaned head is maintained in good condition. Normally, these pressurized circulation operations are performed when the power of the main body is turned on or after a long standby period.

As described above, by performing the recovery operations of ■cap, ■dry discharge, and ■ink pressurization circulation, ink discharge, that is, disturbances in recorded images due to discharge failure during image formation can be prevented (
recovery).

Next, the printing operation will be explained. Figure 12(a)~
(f) is a state diagram when printing operation is started from the standby state of the recovery system described above. First, regarding (a) cap, it is the above-mentioned (2) cap state, which is a normal standby state or a hibernation state. By selecting the print mode (copy ON) in this state, the above-described idle ejection operation is first performed. Next, the 12th
The state shown in FIG. 2B is the head-up state, that is, the state in which the recording head section 305 is retracted upward. In this state, the recovery system container 2 as the recovery/cap part 306 is retracted toward the upper right in the figure. This state is (c) unit oven, and after this state, (d) head down is performed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12(d), the head is placed in a printable state (position), and the recovery system container 2 is placed in the retracted position. In this state, recording paper is passed from the right side in the figure with a constant gap kept from the head ejection surface, while the head IC, IM,
Image signals are input to IY and IBk, ink is ejected, and printing is performed on recording paper.

When the print on the recording paper is completed, that is, the head has finished discharging the ink, the head is moved up again as shown in FIG. 12(e), and then the head is recovered as shown in FIG. 12(f). The system container 2 is moved to the head side position, and the 12th
The printer enters the state shown in Figure (a), that is, the cap state, and enters the standby state in preparation for the next printing. The above (a) to (f)
), a normal copy operation is performed.

In addition, the above-mentioned (1) ink circulation can be performed by (a) capping operation in this operation, that is, by performing it at a predetermined timing during standby operation, for example, when the power is turned on, or every time a certain period of time elapses. It is possible to prevent a decrease in throughput and obtain a good image.

FIG. 13 shows the registration rollers (415 in FIG. 1,
=116), the recording paper reaches the conveyor belt 101 along guide plates 417 and 418. The conveyor belt 101 has an insulating layer (preferably a volume resistivity of 1012 Ω·cm or more) on the recording paper loading side and a conductive layer (a volume resistivity of 10 Ω·cm or more) on the opposite side.
It is desirable that it be less than 'Ω-cm. ) has a two-layer structure. This conveyor belt 101 includes a drive roller lO2,
It is wound around a driven roller 103 and tension rollers 104 and 105, and is attached with a tension of, for example, 2 to 5 kg.

The conveyor belt 101 is moved in the direction of arrow AA in the figure by a motor (not shown) that is connected to a drive roller 102 and applies a driving force to the drive roller 102 .

The recording paper is placed on the conveyor belt 101 immediately in front of the conductive roller 107. At this time, the surface of the conveyor belt 101 is given a potential of several hundred to several thousand volts by the charger 106. When the recording paper placed on the conveyor belt 101 reaches the grounded conductive roller 107, the recording paper and the conveyor belt 10
Since the recording paper 1 is maintained in close contact with the conveyor belt 101 by electrostatic adsorption force, the recording paper adheres closely to the conveyor belt 101 and moves together with the conveyor belt 101.

In this state, the recording paper reaches the recording area facing the recording head section 305. The recording head unit 305 has a head block 6 and recording heads IC, IM, IY, and IBk, and a platen 115 is provided on the side facing the recording heads IC, IM, IY, and IBk via a conveyor belt 101. There is. Further, a bin 116 is provided on the platen 115,
The platen 115 is moved by the spring 117 and the guide bin 118.
is pressed and supported on the recording head section 305 side. In the recording area, set the distance between the recording heads IC, IM, IY, IBk and the recording surface of the recording paper by 100% to the desired setting value.
In order to obtain high-quality image recording, it is desirable to maintain accuracy on the order of μm. For this purpose, the platen 115 is arranged so that the platen II on the surface in contact with the conveyor belt 101 forms a substantially flat surface in the recording area.
The flatness of No. 5 is kept within several tens of μm.

Further, the recording heads IC, IM, IY, and IBk are positioned and fixed to the head block 6 so that the flatness of the plane formed by the ejection port surfaces of all the heads is within about several tens of μm. Further, a pin 116 for positioning is attached to the platen 115. In this state, the platen 115 is guided by the guide pin 118, and the spring 1
If the repulsive force of pin 117 pushes it up in the direction of head block 6, the top of pin 116 and head block 6 will come into contact.
A gap l is formed for the recording paper to pass through. When the recording paper is conveyed with this configuration, the recording paper is in close contact with the conveyor belt 101 due to electrostatic adsorption force, so the distance between the recording surface of the recording paper and the ejection port surface of each recording head in the recording area is Accuracy is kept within the desired range for the setpoint.

When the recording paper passes through this recording area, the recording head IC,
Images are recorded in sequence according to recording information using IM, IY, and 1Bk. At this time, if the speed fluctuation of the conveyor belt 101 is large, the recording position by each head will be shifted, resulting in color misregistration and color unevenness in the color image. In order to prevent this, the thickness accuracy of the conveyor belt 101, the drive roller 10
The outer diameter deflection of No. 2, the rotation accuracy of the drive motor, etc. are kept within desired ranges, and the speed fluctuation of the conveyor belt 101 is configured to be sufficiently small to cause no substantial problem.

The recording paper recorded in the recording area reaches the drive roller 102 while remaining in close contact with the conveyor belt 101, where it is separated from the conveyor belt 101 by the curvature of the conveyor belt formed by the drive roller 102 and is sent to the fixing section.

After that, the surface of the conveyor belt 101 is covered with an ink absorber 119.
It is cleaned by a cleaner 120 equipped with.

The ink absorber 119 is formed of a continuous porous member such as polyvinyl formal resin, and the absorbed ink flows out from the opening 120 and is collected.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the conveyor belt 101 has a two-layer structure having an insulating layer and a conductive layer. Alternatively, it may have a multilayer structure including an insulating layer and a conductive layer.

The configuration of the fixing section will be explained in detail below.

In the inkjet recording method, ink is attached to a recording member, and the ink permeates into the recording member and becomes fixed. Alternatively, the ink is fixed on the recording member through an evaporation process of the ink solvent.

However, the time from when this ink adheres until it is fixed, that is, the fixing speed, not only depends greatly on the composition and physical properties of the recording member, but also varies depending on the external atmosphere. The settling speed cannot be made shorter than a certain time due to physical properties.

In many conventional serial scan recording apparatuses, fixing performance can be addressed with a somewhat simple configuration due to the recording speed. However, in recent years, as high-speed recording and color recording have been performed using line printers and the like, there have been cases where the ink is not sufficiently fixed on the recording member and is transported and discharged outside the apparatus.

Therefore, a fixing means is required to shorten the fixing speed and improve efficiency, and the configuration thereof is shown in FIG.

In the figure, a heating element 200 connects a surface of a recording member 210 to which no ink is attached (non-recording surface) to another heating element 2.
01 heats each surface of the recording member 210 to which ink is attached (recording surface). This heating element may be a halogen lamp, a sheathed heater, a thermistor, etc., but in this configuration, the heating element 200 uses several thermistors with a temperature control function, and is made of aluminum or the like with excellent heat transfer properties. The recorded member 2
10 non-recording surfaces were contact heated. On the other hand, the heating element 20
1 uses a halogen heater, and a fan 203 provided above a heating element 201 sends warm air onto the recording member 210 to heat the recording surface of the recording member 210 in a non-contact manner.

Even if the recording member 210 rises from the conveyor table 202 due to ink adhesion and curls peculiar to inkjet, the recording member 210 is reliably sent along the hot conveyor table 202 because the fan 203 sends warm air downward. . Therefore, since both sides of the recording member 210 are sufficiently dried, ink penetration is promoted, and the fixing speed is significantly reduced due to the synergistic effect.

The fixing temperature is set by a thermistor and a thermostat 204 that controls the temperature of the heater, and can be appropriately controlled according to the paper quality of the recording material. In addition, in order to prevent the fixing heat from affecting the ink in the head and supply system, a partition plate 205 with a heat insulating material such as glass fiber bonded to the surface is installed, and the heater holder 206 is made of heat resistant material such as polyphenylene oxide (PPO). Uses superior resin to prevent excessive transfer of fixing heat. Furthermore, an exhaust fan 207 is provided to exhaust excess fixing heat to the outside of the machine.

In addition, a heater cover 208 such as a wire mesh is installed in consideration of safety in the event of a jam of the recording member.

With the configuration described above, the recording member 210 is fixed by direct heating on the non-recording surface and heating with hot air on the recording surface, which eliminates the problems caused by inkjet recording, especially in color inkjet recording in which ink droplets are overlaid. It is possible to prevent deterioration in fixing performance due to curling of the recording member due to waving.

Next, the sequence of image recording after power-on of this apparatus will be explained using the diagrams of FIGS. 1 to 2, FIGS. 9 to 15, and flowcharts of FIGS. 19 to 27. 20 to 27 show subroutines of the flowchart of FIG. 19.

First, when the inkjet recording device is powered on, the first
As shown in the state diagram in Figure 1, <(1) Capping, (
After a series of operations including 2) ink pressurization circulation, (3) absorber squeezing, and (4) absorber contact (subroutine of FIG. 20: ink pressurization circulation operation), the system returns to the (1) capping state again. Due to this series of operations (Step 1 in Figure 9), the device is stopped for a long time before the power is turned on, and the ink thickens (
It is possible to prevent ink from not ejecting due to sticking due to drying (that is, increase in viscosity due to evaporation of the solvent) or generation of bubbles. The series of operations that follow the above (1) capping, (2) ink pressurization circulation, (3) absorber squeezing, (4) absorber contact, and (1) capping are hereinafter referred to as ink pressurization circulation operation. The ink pressurization circulation operation is not executed only immediately after power is turned on. For example, if the ink is used in a high-temperature or high-humidity environment where it is likely to thicken, or if the power is turned on, it may be left unused or left unused for a long period of time, which may cause problems such as sticking and foaming. This problem is solved by using a timer means or the like to perform the ink pressurization circulation operation at fixed intervals (within an allowable time period in which the above problem does not occur, hereinafter referred to as cycle time). Furthermore, a humidity sensor (not shown) is provided near the print head unit 305, and a humidity sensor (not shown) determines how often the ink pressure circulation operation is performed based on a signal from the humidity sensor.
Also, the ink pressurization time is changed and controlled. That is, when used in a low humidity condition, the cycle time is shortened or the ink pressurization time is lengthened. It has also been confirmed that changing both at the same time is even more effective.

Here, unless a recording start signal is input, the capping state shown in FIG. 9 is maintained. When the signal to start recording is input, as explained in FIG. This is shown in step 2 in Fig. 19.The number of pulses for this idle ejection is also controlled by the signal from the humidity sensor in the same way as during the ink pressure circulation operation described above.In other words, when the humidity is low, idle ejection is performed. The number of pulses is increased.The difference in effectiveness in preventing ejection failure between the ink pressurization circulation operation and the idle ejection operation is greater with the former, so even the idle ejection operation can prevent ejection failure due to ink thickening, sticking, etc. The time required for this to occur is a determining factor in the cycle time for the ink pressure circulation operation.Therefore, when not in use, the capping means shuts off the ejection surface of the recording head from the outside air and prevents the ink from becoming a liquid. It is configured to prevent drying and sticking to some extent, and to enable all the nozzles of the head to eject only with a dry ejection operation.This dry ejection operation is performed as shown in the subroutine flowchart shown in Fig. 21. When the operation is completed, Figs. 12(a) to (d)
As shown in , after the head moves upward and retreats, a unit oven operation is performed in which the head retreats to the upper right direction of the recovery container 2 . This operation is shown in FIG. 22 as a subroutine: unit open operation. Next, the head section 305 swings around the rotation center N so that the head ejection surface is vertically downward, that is, facing the surface of the transport head 101 (head down operation is executed. This is performed in step 3 in FIG. 19).
is shown. ). The head part 305 comes into contact with an abutting surface (not shown) provided on the head block 6 and a bottle 116 provided on the platen 115, and stops at a position where it is pushed down slightly against the spring 117 pushing up the platen 115. do. The stop position is detected by a printing position detection sensor and the printing is stopped. Furthermore, a worm gear (not shown) is used as part of the transmission system for the drive source for swinging the head section 305, and due to the characteristics of the angle of progression, the head section 305 is pushed up by the reaction force of the spring 117. It is possible to maintain a stopped state without any trouble. The head is now ready for printing. Next, the paper feeding operation is performed, as shown in Fig. 23.
As shown in the flowchart, the recording member (paper) stored in the cassette 411 is moved to the pickup roller 412.
A pair of register rollers 415, which is fed by a pair of register rollers 413, 414, and a guide portion 419, and then stops.
416 into the nip section. Here, after the leading edge of the paper comes into contact with the nip portion of the pair of register rollers 415 and 416, the paper is transported by the conveying rollers 413 and 41 for some time.
4, the paper is further fed out, and a loop is formed in the guide portion 419 by that amount. This operation is a means of register alignment normally performed by electrophotographic copying machines, etc., and the loop force is used to align the leading edge of the sheet and correct paper skew.

Next, the register roller pair 415, 416 starts rotating and is sent onto the conveyor belt 101 via the guides 417, 418. Based on the signal to start the rotation of the register roller pair 415, 416, a signal to start scanning the document is generated. A print start signal is issued for each head IC, IM, IY, and IBk. The recording paper fed onto the conveyor belt 101 is sequentially moved from the tip to the conveyor belt l-101 by electrostatic adsorption force.
The recording heads IC, IM, IY, IB
When the recording paper passes directly under the recording paper, printing is performed with the above-described means maintaining an appropriate gap between the head ejection surface and the recording paper surface. This situation is shown as a subroutine flowchart in FIG. After this, the paper is fixed and
The paper is conveyed to the paper discharge section 307, but the paper is
When the receiver is passed from the guide 213 to the guide 213, the drive roller 102
This is done by setting the diameter of the paper to be relatively small and using so-called curvature separation to cause natural separation due to the stiffness of the paper. Here, the diameter of the drive roller 102 is determined by the distance traveled by the surface of the belt 101 that is frictionally driven by one rotation of the drive roller 102 between the first head IC and the fourth head I.
The distance is set to be equal to the distance between the respective discharge ports of Bk. This is done in consideration of the fact that if there is an eccentric component in the diameter of the drive roller 102, it will occur as a registration shift on the image.

Ideally, the surface of the belt lO1 would be driven by one rotation of the drive roller by the distance between the ejection ports of adjacent heads, but in consideration of mechanical strength, the surface of the drive roller 10
There is a limit to the minimum value of the diameter of 2, and when this is taken into account, it is relatively large.

This requires three times the distance between the four heads, leading to an increase in the size of the device.
The interval between the th l\rad and the 4th head is considered.

However, it may be between the first head and the third head, or between adjacent heads, and is not limited to the above. However, some consideration must be given to the diameter of the drive roller and the distance between the heads as described above.

Next, there is a fixing process for the paper sent to the fixing/discharging unit 307, and there are three modes in this regard. This will be explained using the subroutine flowchart of FIG. As described above, when coated paper is used as recording paper, there is no need for fixing, but when non-coated paper called plain paper is used in so-called electrophotographic copying machines, a fixing means is required. That is, the first mode is a plain paper mode, and when recording and printing is performed on plain paper, power is turned on to the heating element A200 and the heating element B201 at the same time in response to the recording start signal. Power is applied to the fan 203 at the timing when the paper is transferred from the conveyor belt 101 to the guide 213 by a timer means in response to the rotation start signal of the register rollers 415 and 416.

This is because it takes about 1 to 2 seconds for the halogen heater of the heating element B201 to rise to the set temperature, and if the fan 203 is rotated and air is applied to the halogen heater from the time it starts up, this rise time will be extended, and the paper will move to the fixing section. 30
This is because the temperature does not reach the set temperature when the toner is conveyed to No. 7, and the fixing effect is degraded. Next, when using the coated paper in the second mode in FIG. 26 as recording paper, a mode key for selecting coated paper is provided on the operation section (not shown).
After selecting this key, image recording is performed in response to a recording start signal, but at this time, power is not turned on for both the heating element A 200 and the heating element B 201. As described above, in coated paper, the ink is quickly absorbed into the paper, so that the above-mentioned fixing assisting means is not necessary. However, in case of an operational error, the first mode, plain paper mode, is the priority mode, and the second mode, coated paper mode, is the priority mode (unless selected by the operator). The fixing auxiliary means is activated.Therefore, even if an image compatible with coated paper is mistakenly printed on plain paper, it is possible to prevent the problem of offset of ink to the discharge roller 211, which will be described later, and disturbing other recording papers.

Furthermore, this device has a third mode as shown in FIG.
HP ) Paper (film) mode.

The OHP paper used in this device is coated with properties similar to those of coated paper, but despite this, if the same area is repeatedly printed in a short period of time, the ink may run out or bleed. Even more completely knee 1
- It takes a long time for the ink to be absorbed into the layer (if something comes into contact with the image surface during the printing time, problems such as image disturbance and offset will occur.To prevent this problem, Next, increase the time for overlapping the images to allow time for the ink to be absorbed.Also, to prevent offset etc., increase the time from printing to contacting the image surface, or use a fixing means during that time. This device solves the above problem by keeping all conveyance speeds related to paper feeding, such as paper feeding speed, belt conveyance speed, and ejection speed, at the ratios adopted in the first mode and second mode. In addition to slowing down the speed to the desired speed (low speed mode), the head drive frequency is also changed at the same time to ensure that an appropriate image is printed.In other words,
The operation unit (not shown) is provided with an OHP mode selection key, and when this mode is selected and a recording start signal is input, the registration roller 415 is moved from the paper feed unit 303.
, 416, the belt conveyance speed of the belt conveyance unit 304, and the discharge speed of the paper discharge rollers 211 and 212 are all set to the low speed mode conveyance, and the heating element A20
0, the heating element B201 and the fan 203 are also powered on at the same timing as in the first mode to assist in fixing.

The plain paper, coated paper, and OHP paper mentioned above are ultimately transported and kicked out by the paper ejection rollers 211 and 212 and stacked on the tray 420, but the transport speed of each paper transport section described above is different. The reasons and contents are described below.

In the configuration of this apparatus, the process speed determined by the recording speed of the apparatus is achieved by the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt 101. That is, the conveyance speed of the conveyor bell) 101 is set to be the same as the process speed. Therefore, if printing from the head is done at a correspondingly accurate speed, if the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt 101 is slower than the set speed, the image will shrink in the conveyance direction compared to the normal one, and conversely, if it is faster, it will expand and print. It will be formed. On the other hand, the conveyance speed of the register rollers 415 and 4L6 is set to be slightly faster than the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt 101. This is because the conveyance force of the register rollers 415 and 416 affects the conveyance force of the belt lot. For example, if the conveyance speed of the register rollers 415 and 416 is set slower than the speed of the belt 101,
The paper is conveyed by register rollers 415 and 416 and passed to the belt 101, where it is electrostatically attracted and held on the surface of the belt, but the leading edge of the paper is still at the position where the first head starts printing. At this time, the conveying force of the register rollers 415 and 416 overcomes the conveying force of the belt lO1, and the register rollers 415 and 416 are attracted.
Since the paper is controlled by the conveyance speed of belt 10
As the conveyance of the paper 1 progresses, the number of sheets being attracted increases, and an abnormal image is formed until the conveyance force overcomes the conveyance force of the rollers 415 and 416. For this reason, in this device, the roller pair 41
The conveyance speed of 5.416 is set higher than the conveyance speed of the belt 101, and distortion of the paper caused by the speed difference is eliminated by forming a loop between the guides 417 and 418. Therefore, in this configuration, the roller pair 415.41
6 does not affect the conveying force of the belt 101. However, if the speed difference is set too thick, the loop will become large and the suction operation will become unstable due to fluttering, etc. Therefore, the speed difference should be zero or very small to the extent that the speed difference does not reverse, and experimentally the ratio is 0~ It has been found that a value of about 1.5% is good.Next, we will discuss the conveyance speed of the paper discharge section.In a normal configuration, the conveyance speed of the belt should be adjusted as in the relationship between the registration roller pair and the conveyance belt described above. 101 and paper ejection rollers 211, 2 so as not to affect the
However, in this apparatus, a fixing means such as a heating element A200 is installed on the downstream side of the belt conveyance device 304, which also serves as a guide, and the sheet is moved along the surface of the conveyance table 202. Since the sheet is heated from the back side, if a loop is formed here, the sheet will not be able to follow the surface of the conveyor table 202, and the fixing effect will be significantly reduced. Therefore, in the configuration of this apparatus, the conveyance speed of the paper discharge rollers 211 and 212 is set to be faster than the conveyance speed of the belt 101, so that the paper does not form a loop. Further, at this time, the conveyance table 20 of the heating element A200 is placed at a position slightly higher than the plane obtained by connecting the suction surface of the belt 101 and the nip position of the paper ejection rollers 211 and 212.
2 paper transport surfaces are set, and when the leading edge of the paper is sandwiched between paper ejection rollers 211 and 212, the paper is further transported along the surface of the transport table 202. Here, the paper ejection roller 211. The conveyance force of the belt 101 is larger than the paper suction force of the belt 101.
12 conveyance force has been optimized. In order to prevent offset during fixing, the surface of the paper ejection roller 211 that comes into contact with the image surface of the paper is flocked with nylon fibers to lower the frictional force.
The conveying force is lower than that of the belt 101.

With the above-described transport speed configuration, continuous recording can be performed without disturbing the image during printing.

Here, the conveying performance of the belt conveying section 304 will be described in detail. As mentioned above, fluctuations in the conveying speed of the conveying section 304 not only affect the expansion and contraction of the image, but also minute fluctuations in speed can affect the color image, etc. In the case where an image is formed by overlapping ink, this may cause image defects such as registration deviation and color unevenness.
The conveyance movement of the belt 101 (belt) 101 must be performed with high precision, taking into account the outside diameter accuracy of the belt 2 and the thickness accuracy of the belt 101. In addition to these factors, consideration must also be given to factors that cause disturbance to the conveying section 304 and worsen wow and flutter. When it is handed over to me, as mentioned above,
The conveyance speed of register roller pair 415 and 416 is belt 1.
Since the conveyance speed is faster than that of No. 01, the belt 101 has a structure in which it is pushed by the paper, and this external force worsens the wow and flutter of the belt 101. If printing is in progress on the preceding paper at this point, the above-mentioned (color unevenness, registration deviation, etc.) will occur in the image.

To prevent this problem, when continuously recording images in this device, the paper is passed onto the belt lot after the trailing edge of the previous paper has passed through the fourth head printing section. By doing this, the belt 10 is
The sequence is such that the next sheet is not transferred to No. 1. This is calculated by calculating the time required for the trailing edge of the paper to pass through the fourth head printing section, taking into account the length of the paper being conveyed in the feeding direction, and calculating the time required for the trailing edge of the paper to pass through the registration roller pair 415 as described above.
This is done by a timer means based on the ON signal of 416.

The above is the operation from the start of recording to the end of printing and paper ejection. When the set number of copies have been recorded, the head is raised, and then the unit is closed, as explained in Fig. 12(e) and (f). Finally, the capping state is reached as shown in FIG. 3, and the series of recording operations is completed. Here, when recording is performed in the first mode and the third mode, the heating element A200 and the heating element B201
And the fan 203 is energized when the trailing edge of the paper is the paper ejection roller pair 2.
It is shut off at the timing when it passes 11,212. This timing is performed by a sensor 213 that is linked to the arm 214 and detects the passage of the leading edge of the paper. This is the second
The subroutine paper ejecting operation is shown in Figure 5.

Step 5 shows how the recording operation is repeated until a predetermined number of sheets are completed.

Next, the above-mentioned ejection failure prevention sequence (step 6 in FIG. 19) will be explained using FIG. 15 and FIG. 27, which are flowcharts of the head control sequence.

As mentioned above, when the power is turned on to the apparatus, an ink circulation recovery operation is performed in consideration of the case where the apparatus has been left in a non-recording state for a long time. Thereafter, the device waits in the capping state until a recording start signal is input, but during this time, when the fixation timer means is activated, the circulation recovery operation is performed again. This fixed timer means prevents ejection failure due to increased ink viscosity when the non-recording state is read for a long time even after the power is turned on.The setting time of the timer varies depending on the characteristics of the ink and the environment in which it is used. However, it is on the order of several hours.

Next, when a recording start signal is input, a blank discharge operation is performed, and then the head is lowered to perform printing.

If the ejection timer is activated during recording, the head is raised to perform a dry ejection operation, and then the head is lowered to continue recording. The above-mentioned ejection timer is used to prevent ejection failure from nozzles that are not used for recording, in case not all nozzles are ejecting during recording. It is something to do. This is to recover from a minor discharge failure using a dry discharge means, and is a relatively short period of time on the order of several minutes. When the set number of images have been recorded in this way, the head down state is maintained for a certain period of time set by the output timer, and the apparatus waits for an input signal to start the next recording. If the signal to start recording is not input within the set time of the emitting timer, the head is raised, the unit is closed, and the unit enters the capping state. If a recording start signal is input within the set time, recording is started immediately and the image recording sequence described above (this is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 27) is taken. Here, a send-remaining timer can be substituted for the send-timer. The remaining timer is the time from the previous empty discharge until the end of image recording, which is subtracted from the output timer time, because it is the standby time when the head is in a head-down state and is not capped. , is set to be slightly shorter than the calculated subtraction time considering that ink dries easily.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the inkjet recording apparatus having a multi-orifice type elongated head according to the present invention, the recording head section, its holding means and moving means, its head recovery system, and its driving means are integrated into a unit. By making the integrated unit removable from the main body, the device was made smaller and more compact. In addition, the kit configuration makes maintenance free, etc.
It has many effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are sectional views of main parts of the head recovery system in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a recording Explanatory diagram of the positioning and fixing part of the head, No. 4
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the drive section of the recording head. Figures 5 (a), (b), and (C) are diagrams each explaining the recovery system drive part. Figures 6 (a) and (b) are respectively diagrams explaining the recovery system cap drive part. 7(a) and 7(b) are detailed views of the recovery system ink absorber diaphragm drive unit, respectively. FIGS. 8(a) and 8(c) are respectively explanatory views of the recording head ejection surface wiping unit, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the recording head in the capped state in FIG. 2, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the idle ejection operation of the head in FIG. 2, FIG. 11 is a state diagram showing the ink pressurization circulation operation, and FIG. Fig. 9 shows each state when the recovery system enters the printing state from the standby state, Fig. 13 is a detailed sectional view of the belt conveyance section in Fig. 1, and Fig. 14 shows the fixing and paper ejection in Fig. 1. 15 is a flowchart showing one sequence of head control, FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the elongated recording head and ink supply means, and FIG. 17 is a conventional FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of an inkjet recording head. FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus in which a conventional recording head is arranged. FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the entire embodiment of the present invention.
0 to 27 are subroutine flowcharts of the flowchart in FIG. 19, and the ink pressurization circulation operation,
A flowchart of a dry ejection operation, a unit open operation, a paper feeding operation, a recording operation, a paper ejection operation, a heating element control, and a fixation timer is shown. Cow p ufu. Pressure squeezing and wiping contact Fig. U Lid ~, = %, l) 0 Sentence 2) Dimensions ゛ Routine〉 Too much fukarol 11 joy 100 breaths 20 Kosu blue hand stamp D Dode sleep 22 pages of sub-routines for paper feeding, 22 figures of sub-routines, 23”1, 1 timer ticket, 270 sub-tables, and a review of the issue. 26 sides of the bag 26 sides of the book written by Yumasa) % formula % Name of the invention Ink Sheet Recording Attachment 3, Relationship with the person making the amendment case

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port onto a recording surface of a recording material, the inkjet head, an inkjet head holding means, an inkjet head moving means,
An inkjet recording characterized in that it has a housing in which an inkjet head recovery device and a recovery device driving means are integrally held, and the integrated housing is configured to be detachable from the main device. Device. (2) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet head and the inkjet head recovery device are movable relative to each other and each has a recovery position, a retreat position, and a printing position. (3) The inkjet head moving means is configured to be rotatable around one rotation center, and the moving means is configured to be able to stop at a recovery position, a retreat position, and a printing position. The inkjet recording device according to item 1.