JPH02187366A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively absorb ink due to preliminary discharge by using ink absorbers of necessary minimum limit by disposing the ink absorbers near one of members for heating during operation and composing an ink jet recorder, or bringing at least one of the ink absorbers into close contact therewith. CONSTITUTION:A carriage 7 is moved in a direction (b), a discharge port 12a is opposed to an ink absorber 29, and a predetermined quantity is preliminarily discharged. The discharged ink is absorbed to ink absorbers 29 by a capillary phenomenon to be diffused into the whole ink absorber 29. A carrier motor 19 is disposed near the ink absorber 29, and the carrier motor 19 is raised to a predetermined temperature (about 30-50 degrees) during operation. Thus, the carrier motor 19 is operated as the function of a drier for the ink absorber 29, the ink absorbed to the ink absorber 29 is gradually evaporated, and it is no fear that the ink is absorbed and held in the absorption capacity or more of the ink absorber 29. Therefore, it is not necessary to replace the ink absorber 29 to improve its operability.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device, and more specifically, an inkjet recording device equipped with an ink absorber for absorbing and removing ink ejected from an ejection port of a head during preliminary ejection. Regarding equipment.

[Conventional technology]

Recording devices such as printers and facsimiles can be classified into thermal types, wire dot types, inkjet types, etc. depending on the recording method.

Among these, the inkjet method (inkjet recording device) supplies ink to a recording head that has at least one fine-diameter ejection port, and also drives an energy generator provided in the liquid path based on print data. It is configured to expand and contract the ink in the liquid path to cause ink droplets to fly from the ejection port, and these ink droplets are attached to a sheet such as paper or a thin plastic plate to form a tosoto pattern. .

By the way, this type of ink shared recording device uses ink before printing starts (or ink in an unused liquid path even during printing).
However, the viscosity of the ink may increase due to evaporation of the ink solvent, or the liquid path may become clogged due to adhesion of dust or inclusion of air bubbles. In order to prevent this and ensure stable ejection, preliminary ejection is performed. The preliminary ejected ink is configured to soak into an ink absorber as shown in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 10, the ink absorber 50 is detachably attached to a holder 51, and the holder 51 is disposed at a home position or the like so as to face the ink droplet ejection surface of the head.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, a configuration has been proposed in which the amount of ink absorbed is increased and the ink absorber does not need to be replaced. That is, the absorber 53 is as large as the bottom area of the head.
A small-sized absorber 52 is connected vertically to this absorber 53 to directly receive ink from preliminary ejection.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in such a conventional inkjet recording apparatus, when an ink absorber having the structure shown in FIG. 10 is used,
Although it has the advantage of saving space, the ink storage capacity is small, requiring periodic ink replacement, and the usability and operability are poor.

Further, when an ink absorber having the structure shown in FIG. 11 is used, the absorber becomes large, which results in an increase in cost. In addition, since a large space is required, there is a problem that the entire recording apparatus becomes larger.

〔the purpose〕

An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording device that can solve the problems of the prior art and can effectively absorb ink through preliminary ejection while using the minimum necessary ink absorber. be.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention provides an inkjet recording apparatus that includes a recording head for recording by discharging ink through discharge ports, means for discharging ink that is not used for recording, and an ink absorber for absorbing the discharged ink. The above object is achieved by arranging the ink absorber in close proximity to one of the members that generates heat during operation and constituting the inkjet recording device, or by bringing at least a portion of the ink absorber into close contact with it. It is something to do.

As the heat generating member, a motor for driving a carriage, a voltage transformer, a heel dryer array, etc. can be used.

[Effect]

By configuring as in claim 1, the heat from the heat generating member is radiated or transferred to the ink absorber, and the ink in the ink absorber evaporates. Therefore, the absorption capacity of the ink absorber does not reach its limit and is always in a state where it can absorb ink. Therefore, even though a small ink absorber is used, there is no need to replace the ink absorber, and there is no reduction in operability.

Further, with the configurations according to claims 2 to 4, heat from the heat generating member is effectively applied to the ink absorber, and the absorbed ink is quickly evaporated. Therefore, the ink absorption ability is further enhanced, and excess heat does not adversely affect the ejection characteristics of the head.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a base on which the following members are mounted, and side plates 1a, 1b and an intermediate side plate 1c are erected. A lead screw 2 is rotatably supported on the side plate 1a, lb, and has a feed screw portion 2a and a groove 2b formed with a predetermined lead pitch. 3 is a transmission gear provided at one end of the lead screw 2; 4 is slidably engaged with the transmission gear 3 in the axial direction, and is placed close to the transmission gear 3 so that driving force is transmitted in the rotational direction; This is a clutch gear that is externally fitted onto the lead screw 2.

A coil spring 5 is installed between the transmission gear 3 and the clutch gear 4 and always biases the clutch gear 4 in the recording direction. In order to restrict the position of the clutch gear 4 biased by the coil spring 5, a C ring 6 is engaged with a groove 3b formed at the end of the transmission gear 3, as shown in FIG.

7 is a carriage, the details of which are shown in FIG. 7a and 7b are bearing parts that fit into the lead screw 2;
7C is a pressing part provided on the bearing part 7a, 7d is a shielding plate provided at the bottom of the carriage 7, 7e is a protruding guide part provided on both sides of the front part, and 7f is made of an elastic plastic material such as polyacetal. using carriage 7
7g is a hook portion formed at the front of the head lock lever 7f, 7h is a carriage lock portion attached to both sides of the carriage 70, and 8 is a predetermined position of the carriage 7. This is a drive pin that is installed obliquely along the lead angle of the lead screw 2 as shown in FIG.

9 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 7 as shown in Figure 3.
It is a U-shaped carriage spring. Reference numeral 9a denotes a pressure contact portion formed at one end of the carriage spring 9, and a guide roller 10 is rotatably provided at the tip end of the carriage spring 9.
The rail portion 101 of the base 1 is pressed by the rail portion 101 of the base 1. 9
As shown in FIG. 6, b is a butt holding part 9 equipped with a pad 11 at the tip to be pressed against the lead screw 2.
C is a flip-up part that makes it easy to remove the head.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a carrier unit that integrally includes a base/nod part 12a provided with an electric heat exchanger for generating thermal energy used for ejecting liquid, and an ink tank 12b for accommodating ink to be supplied to the head part 12a. This is a disposable type of heel that can be detachably mounted on the nozzle 7, and is mounted as shown in Fig. 5. Reference numeral 12c designates a mounting pin that is inserted into the mounting portion of the carriage 7, and 12d designates a hook portion formed at the rear end of the head 12 to which the hook portion 7g is engaged when the head 12 is mounted. 13 is a flexible contact that is mounted on the upper surface of the carriage 7 and can contact the electrode 12; 14 is a paper feed roller that is arranged parallel to the lead screw 2 and feeds the recording paper while winding it; be. 1
5 is a paper feed motor that drives the paper feed roller 15 once;
Reference numeral 16 indicates a printing paper as a recording medium, and 17 indicates a vapor pan that serves as a guide for the printing paper 16 to be sent to the paper feed roller 14.

18 is a paper press plate that prevents the printing paper 16 from bending toward the head 12 at the printing position; 19 is a carriage 7;
The motor 19a is the drive source of the motor 19.
The stay 19b for fixing to the motor 19 is a rotating shaft of the motor 19, 20 is a pinion attached to the shaft end of the rotating shaft 19b, and 22 is meshed with the pinion 20 and the transmission gear 3 to transfer the rotation of the pinion 20 to the transmission gear 3. The gear shaft 21 is pivotally supported by the side plate 1a.

23 is coaxially supported by the idle gear 22 and the cap 2
This is a cap gear that rotates 7. cap gear 23
cam 23 for swinging the cap lever 24
A is provided by body processing.

A camp lever 24 is rotatably attached to the lever shaft 25, and includes a contact portion 24a that contacts the cam 23a and a spring portion 24b that applies rotational force to the cap lever 24. 26 is a cap holder attached to the front surface of the cap lever 24, and 27 is a cap attached to the front surface of the camp holder 26, which has a rib 27a for good adhesion. A blade 28 is attached to the side plate IC and cleans the ejection port surface of the recording head 12 by moving the carriage 7. 29 is an ink absorber that has been subjected to a porous hydrophilic treatment and is attached to the side plate 1c;
is an incretor provided on the bottom surface of the base near the transmission gear 3 for detecting the home position.

Next, the operation of the embodiment with the above configuration will be explained.

First, when the motor 19 rotates, driving force is transmitted via the pinion 20 and the idle gear 22, causing the transmission gear 3 to rotate. When the transmission gear 3 rotates, the lead screw 2 rotates, and the lead screw 2 rotates, and when the carriage 7 rotates in the A direction, the carriage 7 moves in the a direction. Conversely, when the lead screw 2 rotates in the direction B, the carriage 7 moves in the direction b. The lead screw 2 alternately rotates in directions a and b according to the recorded information, reciprocates the carriage 7, and in the process...
Ink droplets are ejected from the second ejection port. Next, preliminary ejection is performed when the ink in the flow path may thicken, such as when no print data is input after a certain period of time during printing, or after opening the cap when the power is turned on. I will explain about it.

First, the carriage 7 is moved in the b direction, the ejection port 12a is opposed to the ink absorber 29, and a predetermined amount of preliminary ejection is performed. The ejected ink is absorbed by the ink absorber 29 by capillary action and diffused throughout the ink absorber 29.

A carrier motor 19 is disposed close to the ink absorber 29, and the carrier motor 19 rises to a temperature (approximately 30 to 50 degrees) during operation. Therefore, for the ink absorber 29, the carrier motor 19 functions as a dryer, and the ink absorbed by the ink absorber 29 gradually evaporates. None. Therefore, the ink absorber 29
There is no need to replace the parts, etc., and operability is improved.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the main part of the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the ink absorber 29 is wrapped around about half the casing of the carrier motor 19, so that the heat generated by the carrier motor 19 can be effectively absorbed by the ink. It is designed to be transmitted to the body 29.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the main part of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the ink absorber 29 is brought into close contact with the casing of the power transformer 54 of the device, and the heat generated by the power transformer 54 is directly transmitted to the ink absorber. 29.

Furthermore, FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the main part of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which an ink absorber 29 is brought into close contact with a head driver array 55.

Since the head driver array 55 generates heat as the heads are driven, this heat can be used as a drying heat source for the ink absorber 29.

According to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the ink absorber 29 is forcibly dried by some kind of drying heat source, so that the ink absorber 29 absorbs less water than the embodiment shown in FIG. The ink quickly evaporates and the ink absorber 29
The amount of ink retained can be reduced.

In particular, in a configuration that uses a print head that uses thermal energy to eject ink as in this embodiment, excess heat generated within the device has a subtle effect on the temperature of the print head and the ink inside the head. Although there is a risk of changing the size and density of the droplets, this effect is suppressed as much as possible by using such heat to dry the pre-discharged ink.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it produces the effects described below.

An inkjet recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a recording head for performing recording by discharging ink through discharge ports, a means for discharging ink that is not used for recording, and an ink absorber for absorbing the discharged ink. In the inkjet recording device equipped with the inkjet recording device, the ink absorber is disposed in close proximity to one of the members that generates heat during operation and constitutes the inkjet recording device, or at least a portion of the ink absorber is brought into close contact with it. The evaporation of ink is promoted, making it unnecessary to replace the ink absorber while using a small ink absorber, making it possible to provide an inexpensive and compact inkjet recording device.

In the inkjet recording apparatus according to claims 2 to 4, a motor for driving a carriage, a power transformer, or a head driver array is used as the heat generating member.
Evaporation of ink from the inkjet absorber can be further promoted.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing details of the transmission gear section of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing details of the carriage. 4 is a schematic side view showing the engagement between the drive pin and the feed screw part, FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing the state in which the head is attached to the carriage, and FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the state in which the butt is attached. The schematic side views shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 are the second to FIG.
A perspective view showing the fourth embodiment, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing the structure of an ink absorber of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus. 1-・-----1--base, 2-111-・-・
-Lead screw 3-111--Transmission gear,
4-------Clutch gear, 7 cartridge, 12-
---・-=-head, 12a-・head part, 19--
−−・−−−−・Motor, 22−・−・−・−Idle gear, 23・−1−−−−−−−Cap gear,
24-- Camp lever 27-- Cap, 29-- Ink absorber, 54-- Power transformer, 55-- Head driver array.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In an inkjet recording device equipped with a recording head for recording by discharging ink through discharge ports, means for discharging ink not used for recording, and an ink absorber for absorbing the discharged ink. , one of the members that generates heat during operation and constitutes an inkjet recording device,
An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that the ink absorbers are disposed close to each other or at least a portion of the ink absorbers are brought into close contact with each other. (2) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat generating member is a motor for driving a carriage. (3) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat generating member is a power transformer. (4) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat generating member is a head driver array.