JPH0241254A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce in size the recording head recovery, wiper and cap mechanisms, and to prevent color from mixing on a nozzle face by cleaning by so disposing both the wiper and cap mechanisms in the recovery mechanism as to connect at the same position with respect to the nozzle face, and providing a plurality of wiper members corresponding to nozzles in the former. CONSTITUTION:A recording head 50 and a wiper 140 are opposed, and a cap 120 is set in a standby that at the rear position of the wiper 140. When a motor is driven, the wiper 140 is moved down, the cap 120 is moved forward by a cam to be opposed to the head 50. Accordingly, even when the position of the head 50 is disposed in any state, it is held at the same position. The heads 50 has a plurality of nozzles 50a for supplying different color inks, wiper blades 141 are respectively disposed at opposite positions of the nozzles 50a, and rotated in a direction of an arrow F. Thus, the moving range of the head on a nonprinting region can be reduced, and inks are not mixed at the time of cleaning the head.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a recording device, and in particular to an inkjet recording system, in which the nozzle surface of a recording head is maintained in an optimal state to improve ink flying characteristics, and color ink. The present invention relates to a recording device equipped with a cleaning mechanism that prevents nozzle color mixing due to

[Prior Art] Various inkjet recording systems have been proposed and put into practical use depending on their principles, configurations, etc.

Among these, the so-called on-demand method, in which ink droplets are ejected at the appropriate location and a desired recorded image is obtained during recording, is becoming mainstream among inkjet recording methods because it is suitable for downsizing and simplifying the apparatus. Furthermore, as a recent trend, the rise of color inkjet recording devices that realize recording of color images by combining the use of multiple nozzles and the use of color ink has become remarkable.

Under these circumstances, inkjet recording devices use a recording method that ejects liquid ink from the nozzles of a head composed of minute diameters at the appropriate time, so it is important to maintain the nozzle surface condition optimally. This is an important element in ensuring quality. In other words, the key to achieving high reliability of a recording device is a mechanism that prevents various problems such as twisting and misalignment of ink droplets, non-ejection of ink, and color mixing of ink due to fine ink particles and dust adhering to the vicinity of the nozzle. It is what it is. Conventional head recovery mechanisms include various methods,
Mechanisms have been realized, but their configuration is generally a combination of a wiper mechanism that forcibly cleans the nozzle surface of the recording head and a cap mechanism that hermetically closes the nozzles of the recording head.

FIG. 9 is a layout diagram showing the relationship between a conventional recovery mechanism and a recording head. In the figure, the recording head 220 repeatedly moves back and forth while being mounted on a carriage (not shown) with the range indicated by arrow B as a recording area. When printing is finished or there is a problem with the nozzle, it moves to the position 220a or 220b facing the wiper mechanism 200 or the capping machine +11210 and performs a predetermined recovery process.

Here, the wiper mechanism 200 and the cap mechanism 210 are installed parallel to and parallel to the moving direction of the recording head 220, so the moving distance of the recording head in the non-printing area is the boundary between the side plate 215 and the printing area. This is an area L surrounded by 216.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the operating state of a conventional wiper mechanism. In the figure, a plurality of nozzles 222 are formed on a nozzle surface 221a of a nozzle section 221 of the recording head. Blade 20 formed from an elastic body such as rubber
5 functions to wipe away ink droplets and dust attached to the nozzle surface 221a by moving in the direction of arrow C and scanning the nozzle surface 221a.

[Problems to be solved by the invention However, in such a conventional recording device,
The following issues have been raised:

First, because the wiper mechanism and cap mechanism are arranged in parallel to the direction of movement of the recording head, the carriage carrying the recording head needs to travel a long distance, making the structure unsuitable for downsizing the device. thing.

Second, the wiper blade is configured to scan the nozzle surface of the recording head integrally and over the entire surface, which makes it possible to produce color images, especially when using multiple nozzles that use several color inks. In heads equipped with this type of head, multiple nozzles corresponding to each color must be scanned together with a single wiper blade, resulting in color mixing of ink on the nozzle surface, which causes problems when ejecting the next time. The problem is that the color of the ink will be different.

The present invention has been made by focusing on such conventional problems, and realizes a recovery mechanism consisting of a wiper cap mechanism with a compact and simplified structure, and mixes colors on the nozzle surface of a recording head consisting of each color. To provide a recording device equipped with a wiper mechanism that can be cleaned without cleaning.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, and includes a recording head whose drive is controlled based on a recording signal, a carriage on which the recording head is mounted, and a recording target. a platen for supporting a medium; a recording medium transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium; a carriage control mechanism for reciprocating the carriage in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the recording medium is transported; In the recording apparatus, the recovery mechanism includes a wiper mechanism that performs a cleaning operation of the nozzle surface of the recording head and is arranged so as to be able to engage with the nozzle surface of the recording head at the same position. The recording head includes a cap mechanism that performs a capping operation, and the wiper mechanism is characterized in that the wiper mechanism is provided with a plurality of wiper members corresponding to each nozzle of the recording head.

[Operation] In the above-described configuration, the wiper mechanism and the cap mechanism are arranged at the same position with respect to the recording head, and the switching mechanism is controlled to selectively operate one of the mechanisms. Furthermore, the plurality of wiper blades corresponding to the nozzles of the recording head are arranged in a manner that corresponds to the nozzle arrangement of the recording head.
It moves in parallel.

Therefore, the recovery operation position in the non-printing area of the recording head is held at a fixed position and does not require any extra device space, and since the wiper structure corresponds to each color nozzle, color mixing of inks can be prevented.

[Example code] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main mechanism of a recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

The frame of the recording device consists of a base frame 1, a left side plate 2,
It is composed of a right side plate 3.

The carriage mechanism section includes a recording head 50 and a recording head 50.
, a main shaft 30, a CR motor 31 that drives the carriage 20, and a drive belt 3.
2. F P for supplying recording signals to the recording head 50
It is composed of parts such as C33, drive pulley 34, and driven pulley 35.

The recording head 50 is attached to the carriage 20 and is movable between the left side plate 2 and the right side plate 3 as the carriage 20 moves. The carriage 20 slides on the main shaft 30 via an integrally configured bearing with high sliding properties. The power source at this time is the CR motor 31, and the CR motor 31 drives the carriage through a drive pulley 84 press-fitted onto the shaft thereof and a toothed drive belt 32 that engages with the drive pulley 34. 20
It transmits power to. The driven pulley 35 is
It is provided at a position facing the drive pulley 34, and applies appropriate tension to the drive belt 32 by a belt tension biasing means 36. In this example, the case where a toothed belt is used as the power transmission member has been described, but there will be no problem if a transmission system such as a wire or rack/binion capable of power transmission is used in place of the toothed belt. do not have.

Next, the recording medium feeding mechanism unit moves the rolled recording medium 6
01 Consists of parts such as a platen 701, a recording medium presser 71, an LF motor 80, and an LF power transmission system 81. The platen 70 has a cylindrical pipe shape made of aluminum or the like, and is supported by two rings 73a at each end provided on the base frame 1 and a biasing means such as a spring. This is achieved by holding the outer diameter of the ring 73b, one at each end, by pressing it against the base frame side. The power transmission mechanism is
The power of the LF motor 80 consisting of a stepping motor etc. is increased in torque through the deceleration mechanism of the LF power transmission system 81.
After subdividing the feed step, the LF (not shown)
The configuration is such that the signal is transmitted to the drive pulley. After this, the L
A plurality of LF belts (with teeth) 74 that engage with the F drive pulley
Power is transmitted to the LF belt 74, and the LF belt 74
The recording medium 60 is fed by a predetermined amount by being driven in the form of a wand that fits in a groove provided on the outer periphery of the recording medium 60 .

As the recording medium 60, various media such as paper, cloth, film sheets, etc. can be mounted. The recording medium presser 71 is formed of a thin steel plate such as stainless steel, and is held between the right side plate 3 and the LF side plate 4 by a holding member 72, and holds the recording medium Boa against the platen 70 by a biasing means (not shown). The recording medium Boa is biased in the direction of pressing against the recording medium Boa, and plays the role of suppressing floating of the recording medium Boa near the recording position. In the figure, reference numeral 75 denotes a rotating roller contacting member installed on an extension of the recording medium presser 71. The rotating roller contacting member 75 is made of a highly rigid steel material, and is connected to the left side plate 2 and the LF side plate 4. is held fixed. 100 is a recording head 50 provided outside the printing area
By operating the recovery mechanism 100 as necessary, cleaning of the nozzle surface of the recording head 50, supply of ink, recovery from non-discharge, prevention of nozzle drying, etc. are performed.

The recording apparatus having the above configuration operates as follows. When trying to obtain desired characters or images, a recording signal is sent to the recording head 50 via the FPC 33, and at the same time a C
The R motor 31 is driven to cause the carriage 20 to reciprocate. At this time, by feeding the recording medium Boa at a predetermined pitch in synchronization with the reciprocating movement of the carriage, characters, images, etc. are formed on the recording medium as a collection of dots. When printing is completed, the carriage 20 carrying the recording head 50 moves to a non-printing area, that is, a position facing the recovery mechanism 100, and the nozzle surface of the recording head 50 is cleaned and capped.

FIGS. 2 to 6 are explanatory diagrams showing the structure and operation of the recovery mechanism 100 in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the recovery mechanism, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the cap mechanism, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the wiper mechanism, and FIG. 5 is a cap,
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the operation of both wiper mechanisms, and FIG. 6 is a side view thereof. The same reference numerals in the figures refer to the same parts.

First, the overall structure of the recovery mechanism 100 is as shown in FIG. Wiper 140 and a mechanism group 160 for operating these caps 120 and wiper 140
, a drive system 185 that transmits power to the mechanism group 160, a solenoid valve 190 connected to the cap 120 via a tube 196, and a cylinder 195. The widths of the cap 120 and the wiper 140 are formed to be wider than the width of the recording head (not shown), and the positions in contact with the recording head are determined to be constant by the mechanism.

In FIG. 3, the cap 120 is movably disposed in the direction indicated by the arrow by fitting fulcrums 120a integrally formed on both sides of the cap 120 into horizontal grooves 121a formed in the guide 121.

A compression spring 122 supported by the support column 120b functions to always bias the cap 120 toward the recording head. On the other hand, the cap cam 127 which receives the power of the motor 123 via the motor gear 124, the drive gear 125, and the shaft 126 rotates the roller 128 in contact with the cam shape around the shaft 129,
The cap lever 130 engaged with the fulcrum 120a of the compression spring 122 acts to move the cap 120 in a direction opposite to the biasing direction of the compression spring 122 and separate it from the recording head.

In FIG. 4, the wiper 140 has wiper blades 141 arranged at predetermined intervals corresponding to the nozzle intervals in the longitudinal direction of a shaft 142 that horizontally passes through the inside of the wiper 140.
The wiper blade 141 is fixed to the shaft 142 and rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the shaft 142. The wiper 140 is held movably in the direction of arrow E by engagement between fulcrums 140a formed on both sides thereof and vertical grooves 121b formed in the guide 121. A tension spring 146 provided between the wiper lever 145 and the base 149 acts to urge the wiper 140 downward along the vertical groove 121b of the guide 121.

On the other hand, the wiper cam 1 receives the power of the motor 123 via a motor gear 124, a drive gear 125, and a shaft 126.
47 rotates a roller 148 in contact with the cam shape around the shaft 129, and the wiper 140
The wiper lever 145 that engages with the fulcrum 140a of the wiper lever 145 acts to lift the wiper 140 in a direction opposite to the urging direction of the tension spring 146, that is, in an upward direction, against the elastic force of the tension spring 146. Further, the wiper blade 141 is rotationally driven by engaging one end of the belt 144 that engages with the roller 148 with a pulley 143 fixed to a shaft 142 provided on the wiper 140.

The cap mechanism and the wiper mechanism have been explained separately above using FIGS. 3 and 4, but in the present invention, both mechanisms receive power from the same drive system as shown in FIG. The mechanisms are configured to operate in conjunction with each other. These operations will be explained using FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the cap and wiper mechanism,
Looking at the position of the recording head 50 in the figure, in the illustrated state, the recording head 50 and the wiper 140 are in an opposing state, and the cap 120 is in a waiting state at a position behind the wiper 140. When the motor 123 is driven from this state, the wiper 140 moves downward (toward the back of the paper), and the cap 120 moves forward (to the right as viewed from the paper) to face the recording head 50. Become. Therefore, the position of the recording head 50 is always maintained at the same position both in the cap state and in the wiper state.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the cap and wiper mechanism seen from the side. In the figure, a cap 120 and a wiper 14 are shown.
0 moves back and forth or up and down by the rotation of the cap cam 127 and the wiper cam 147, which are fixedly held on one axis of the shaft 129. The illustrated state shows the maximum outer diameter portion 127a of the cap cam 127 and the roller 128.
Also, the maximum outer diameter portion 147a of the wiper cam 147
and roller 148 are in an engaged state, and the cap 120 and wiper 140 are held in the illustrated state against the compression spring 122 and the tension spring 146, which are biasing means. From this state, the motor (not shown)
is driven, and the rollers 128 and 148 are connected to the minimum outer diameter portion 127b of the cap cam 127 and the wiper cam 1.
When the cap 120 is rotated to a position where it engages with the minimum outer diameter portion 147b of 47, the cap 120 faces the recording head 50 due to the biasing force of the compression spring 122, and the wiper 140 is moved to a position facing the recording head 50 due to the biasing force of the tension spring 146. It moves downward from there and enters the standby state. At this time, wiper 1
The inclined shape of the wiper cam 147 is such that the movement of the wiper cam 147 moves before the movement of the cap 120.
The rotation angle is smaller than the inclined shape of No. 27.

The difference in operating time between the wiper 140 and the cap 120 is such that the cap 120 waits at the rear from the position facing the recording head 50, and the wiper 140 waits at the rear of the recording head 50.
When the robot moves to a position opposite to the target, the opposite control to that described above is performed. Furthermore, the cam shape allows the cap 120 and the wiper 140 to be held at standby positions with respect to the recording head 50, and this operation is performed at the timing when the recording head 50 leaves the non-printing area and moves to the printing position. It will be done.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are explanatory diagrams showing the state of contact between the recording head and the wiper.

In the figure, the recording head 50 has a plurality of nozzles 50a, and each nozzle 50a is supplied with ink of a different color. Wiper blades 141 are arranged at positions facing each of these nozzles 50a, and are rotated in the direction of arrow F by a driving force (not shown). The wiper blade 141 is made of a flexible material such as silicone rubber, so that it can be cleaned without damaging the nozzle 50a of the recording head 50.

[Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the recording device of the present invention,
Since both the recording head cleaning operation and the cap recovery operation can be performed while the recording head is held in a fixed position, the movement range of the recording head in the non-printing area can be reduced, contributing to the miniaturization of the device. be.

In addition, since the cap and wiper operations are performed using the same drive mechanism, it is also useful in realizing simplification and cost reduction of the device. Furthermore, for multiple nozzles of the recording head,
By performing head cleaning using independent wipers, color mixing of inks does not occur during head cleaning, and high-quality printing can always be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main mechanism of a recording device as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a recovery mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the configuration of a cap mechanism, and FIG. 4 5 is a plan view of the cap and the wiper mechanism, FIG. 6 is a side view thereof, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the state of cleaning by the wiper mechanism, and FIG. 8 is a side view thereof. It is. FIG. 9 is a layout diagram of a conventional recovery mechanism, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating state of the wiper. 50.220... Recording head 50a... Nozzle 1001111... Recovery mechanism 120... Cap 127... Cap cam 130... Cap renoku-140... Wiper 141... Wiper blade 145...・Wiper lever 147...Wiper cam 195...φ cylinder factor diagram diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] a recording head whose drive is controlled based on a recording signal; a carriage on which the recording head is mounted; a platen that supports a recording medium; a recording medium transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium; In a recording apparatus including a carriage control mechanism that reciprocates in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which a recording medium is transported, and a recovery mechanism for the recording head, the recovery mechanism has the following features: The wiper mechanism includes a wiper mechanism that performs a cleaning operation on the nozzle surface and a cap mechanism that performs a capping operation, which are arranged so that they can be engaged at the same position. A recording device comprising a wiper member.