JPH03205156A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize labor and time required for cleaning by a user by providing a cleaning device which cleans a lower surface, on a movement path on a lower surface below from the lower end of an orifice surface of the surface of a holding member opposite to a recording sheet. CONSTITUTION:A cleaning device for cleaning a lower surface is provided on the movement path of the lower surface of the surface 2c of a holding member opposed to a recording sheet which covers an area near the orifice surface 1c of a recording head 1. Subsequently, any contaminant such as ink sticking to the lower surface is automatically cleaned each time the recording head 1 scans back and forth during recording process. Therefore, if recording takes place at high printing rate, contamination of the recording sheet or the fouling of an area below the movement path of the lower surface due to the rundown of ink inside an ink jet recording device are eliminated. Thus the labor and time required for cleaning by a user of the ink jet recording device are minimized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus in which a holding member that holds a recording head that discharges ink from an orifice surface moves back and forth on a movement path along a recording paper.

[Prior Art] In a conventional inkjet recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 5, a holding member 52 holds one or more (four in the figure) parallel recording heads 5l and moves back and forth on a movement path. , each orifice surface 51a is left with an opening 52a for exposing each orifice surface 51a.
A holding member surface 52c is formed to cover the vicinity of the periphery of the holding member surface 52c, and the holding member surface 52c faces a recording paper (not shown) at a distance of about 0.4 mm.

Further, each orifice surface 51a and the holding member surface 5
2c gets dirty with ink or dust, but
In particular, there is a printing function recovery device that cleans dirt from each orifice surface 51a.

FIG. 6 shows a printing function recovery device, in which an ink absorber 65,
The cap member 63 is composed of a cap member 63 equipped with an air injection pipe 64, etc., and is moved by a moving mechanism (not shown) linked to the movement of the holding member 52 before or after recording starts.
The entire circumference of the top portion 63a is pressed against the holding member surface 52c, and in this state, thickened ink, etc. is discharged from the orifice surface 51a, and a high-speed air stream is blown from the air jet tube 64 onto the orifice surface 51a to remove dust and dirt. The remaining ink is dropped onto the ink absorber 65 and absorbed. Note that the absorbed ink is collected by a waste liquid container 67.

Further, a head cleaning blade 58 (FIG. 5) is provided to clean the dirt on the orifice surface 51a. The head cleaning plate 58 is installed at one end of a platen (not shown) that holds the recording paper, and is attached to the holding member 52 that has moved in the direction of the arrow Y in the drawing on the movement path.
When it passes, the holding member surface 52c is wiped clean within the range of the illustrated width Z.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional inkjet recording device described above, the printing function recovery device that cleans the dirt on the orifice surface removes dust and residual ink blown away by the high-speed airflow, which is absorbed by the ink absorber. Anything that floats on the surface of the cap member will adhere again to the orifice surface, the surface of the holding member, or the frame of the cap member, and in particular, the ink or the like that has adhered to the frame will be transferred to the surface of the holding member so as to leave a mark.

Of the ink and other stains attached to or transferred to the surface of the holding member, the area from the bottom to the top of the orifice surface is cleaned by the head cleaning blade each time the holding member passes, but the rest of the area is cleaned. The dirt will remain as is. Even if the cleaning range is expanded by extending the head cleaning blade, there will be some residue left on the orifice surface due to the difference in level between the orifice surface and the surface of the holding member.

Due to the influence of gravity, dirt such as ink remaining on the surface of the holding member described above is removed from the surface of the holding member.
It becomes especially noticeable on the lower surface, which is the area below the lower end of the orifice surface, and eventually reaches the point where it reaches the opposing recording paper, staining the recording paper, or flows down and stains the inside of the inkjet recording device. There is a problem with this.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology, and dirt such as ink adhering to the lower surface of the holding member surface is cleaned every time the holding member moves back and forth, and the dirt is removed from the recording paper or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet recording device that does not stain the inside of the inkjet recording device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object, there is an inkjet recording device according to the present invention, in which a holding member that holds a recording head reciprocates on a movement path, wherein an orifice surface of the recording head A cleaning means for cleaning the lower surface is provided on the movement path of the lower surface below the lower end of the orifice surface among the surfaces of the holding member facing the recording paper covering the vicinity of the periphery of the holding member. be.

Further, the cleaning means is a cleaning blade, or when the cleaning means moves the ink absorber and the lower surface thereof to a position opposite to the ink absorber, the cleaning means moves the ink absorber downward. It may also include a pressing mechanism that presses against the surface.

[Function] In the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, a cleaning means for cleaning the lower surface of the holding member surface is provided on the movement path of the lower surface. Each time the surface moves along its travel path and passes the cleaning means, dirt such as ink is cleaned.

In the case where the cleaning means is a cleaning blade, the lower surface moves along the moving path and passes the cleaning blade, thereby cleaning dirt such as ink by wiping off the tip of the lower surface.

Further, when the cleaning means is composed of an ink absorber and a pressure contact mechanism, when the lower surface moves to a position facing the ink absorber, the ink absorber is pressed against the lower surface by the pressure contact mechanism. , dirt such as ink is absorbed and cleaned without being wiped away.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a holding member 2 that holds four recording heads 1 arranged in parallel, each ejecting ink of a different color, has an opening 2a for exposing each orifice surface 1a, and each orifice is A holding member surface 2c is formed to cover the vicinity of the periphery of the surface 1a, and a step 2b for preventing dew condensation is provided on the entire periphery of each opening 2a. Each refice surface 1a has 2 steps.
It protrudes a little from b, but about 0 from the holding member surface 2c.
．． ! +am retreated and protected. Note that the holding member surface 2c faces the recording paper 14 at an angle of about 0.4 mm 11.

Further, the holding member 2 is slidably fitted and supported by a guide rail (not shown) extending in the lateral direction of an inkjet recording apparatus main body (hereinafter referred to as "apparatus main body"), not shown. 2 is connected to one point on the belt 12. The second
The belt 12 is looped around between two bobbins 10a and 10b placed at both ends C of the device main body (not shown), and moves back and forth as these bobbies foa and 10b rotate forward and reverse, thereby The holding member 2 is guided by the guide rail and reciprocates on a movement path in the direction of arrow B in the figure.

The ink tank unit 4 has the same structure as the holding member 2, and is reciprocated in synchronization with the holding member 2 by a first belt 11 that is passed between the bobbles 9a and 9b. Ink is supplied to each of the four recording heads 1 through the ink.

The recording paper 14 is attracted by negative air pressure to a platen 16 (not shown) extending in the horizontal direction of the main body of the apparatus, and one line of recording is completed by paper feed rollers 6, 7 in the eight directions shown by the arrows. sent out every time.

On the other hand, an ink absorber 15 made of porous resin or the like is installed at one end of the platen 16 outside the recording paper l4 to absorb the ink ejected by each recording head 1 that has come to the scanning start position. A printing function recovery device l is located in the main body (not shown) further outside the ink absorber l5.
3 is installed. On the other hand, a head cleaning blade 8a is installed at the other end of the platen 16 outside the recording paper l4, and the head cleaning blade 8a cleans the holding member surface 2C as shown in FIG.
It is for cleaning the range of width C1 shown in A), and is made of silicone rubber or polyurethane rubber or the like with a thickness of about 1 to 3 nm+m. In addition, when the tip is not bent, the movement path of the holding member surface 2C is approximately 0.5 mm (Fig. 2 (
The length shown in B) reaches the position beyond D).

A cleaning blade 8 is a cleaning means for cleaning the surface of the holding member surface 2c in the F direction (range of width C2 shown in FIG. 2(A)) in the direction f from the lower end of the orifice 1a.
b is located directly below the head cleaning plate 8a and is provided on the platen 16. The cleaning blade 8b has the same thickness and material as the head cleaning blade 8a, and its tip reaches a position approximately 0.5 mm beyond the movement path of the lower surface when not deflected. However, these do not necessarily have to be the same.

Further, although not shown, instead of the head cleaning blade 8a and the cleaning blade 8b, a wire from the lower end of the holding member surface 2c to the orifice surface 1a in FIG.
) may be provided with one cleaning blade long enough to clean the range of width C3 shown in ), and a notch may be made at a position facing the lower end of the orifice surface 1a. Since this is a simple configuration, the deflection of one side of the notch does not adversely affect the other, so the lower surface is also cleaned without leaving any residue on each onofice surface 1a.

Furthermore, another cleaning blade may be provided for cleaning the upper surface (range of width C4 shown in FIG. 2(A)) of the holding member surface 2c above the upper end of the orifice surface 1a. In that case, the cleaning effect of the holding member surface 2c is improved since the entire surface is cleaned.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 3, the head cleaning blade 38a is the head cleaning blade 8 described in the first embodiment.
A U-shaped member 38c is located at the same position on the moving path of the holding member surface and is fixed to a platen (not shown), corresponding to a.
It is fixed to one end of the recording paper side. A cleaning blade 38b, which is a cleaning means for cleaning the lower surface of the holding member surface, is separated from the head cleaning blade 38a by a distance b shown in the figure on the moving path of the lower surface, and is attached to the U-shaped member 38c. The head cleaning blade 38a is fixed to the end thereof, and its upper end reaches a distance a above the lower end of the head cleaning blade 38a. Since the points other than those described above are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the lower end of the head cleaning blade 38a and the upper end of the cleaning blade 38b wipe the surface of the holding member overlappingly within a distance a, so that no residue is left after wiping, and the head cleaning blade 38b
Even if the ink adhering to the tip of the blade drips down, it will not stain the cleaning blade 38b.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 4, the head cleaning blade 48a is the head cleaning blade 8 described in the first embodiment.
It is the same as a and is installed at the same position on the platen 416.

The ink absorber 45, which is part of the cleaning means for cleaning the lower surface of the holding member surface 42c, is made of elastic porous resin or the like, and is large enough to cover the entire lower surface. It is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and is fixed to the supporting member 46a by fixing means such as screws on one of the outer sides of the head cleaning blade 48a.

Further, the pressure contact mechanism constituting the other part of the cleaning means is constructed as follows. The support member 46a is slidably fitted into a guide groove (not shown) formed in a support rail 46b fixed to the platen 416, and is constantly pressed against the cam 46c by a spring (not shown). The cam 46c rotates in conjunction with the rotation of a pulley (see pulleys 10a and 10b in FIG. 1) that reciprocates the holding member described in the first embodiment, and the lower surface of the holding member surface 42c absorbs the ink. When the ink absorber 45 is moved to a position facing the body 45, the ink absorber 45 is pushed out to the outermost side and is brought into pressure contact with the lower surface. Note that the ink absorber 45
The ink absorbed by the ink is collected into a waste liquid container 47 installed below the ink.

To explain the operation of the pressure contact mechanism along the movement of the holding member 42, when the ink absorber 45 is on the moving path within the range (not facing the holding member 42 or the ink absorber 45), the ink absorber 45 moves inside the platen 416. When the holding member 42 approaches the ink absorber 45 on the moving path, it is gradually pushed out by the rotation of the cam 46C, and the holding member 42 or the head cleaning plate 48a is pushed out. Immediately after passing, it is pressed to the f-direction surface of the holding member surface 42c in the most outwardly pushed state. At the same time, the holding member 42 also stops, and after a few seconds starts moving in the opposite direction, and as the holding member 42 moves away, the ink absorber 45 retracts toward the inside of the platen 416. Note that the ink absorbing surface 45a of the ink absorber 45 does not need to be completely retracted into the platen 416.

Since the points other than those described above are the same as those of the first embodiment, the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, since the ink absorber 45 is placed below the head cleaning plate 48a, it has the advantage that it can absorb the ink that has been wiped away by the head cleaning plate 48a. be.

In addition, in each of the embodiments of the present invention that have been described since 2000, the position of the cleaning step for cleaning the lower surface in the parts table rA7 is in the position of the top of the head cleaning plate. However, as long as the moving path is in the downward direction, it may be placed at any position and there is no need to stick to that position.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as explained below,
It produces the effects described below.

Of the surfaces of the holding member facing the recording paper that covers the vicinity of the periphery of the orifice surface of the recording head, a 76-sweeping means for cleaning the J-direction surface is provided on the downward-facing movement path holder, thereby cleaning the J-direction surface. The adhered ink and other particles are automatically cleaned off each time the recording head scans back and forth during recording, so even when recording with a high printing rate, there is no chance of staining the recording paper or causing it to run off. It is no longer possible to warp -■ of the movement path of the F-direction surface within the ink jet recording device. This reduces the effort required to determine the name of the inkjet recording device.

Further, the effect described in t2 can be obtained simply by making the clear #4 stage have a simple structure of a clear link plate.

Furthermore, with the structure using an ink absorber and a pressure contact mechanism, in addition to the above-mentioned effects, dirt such as ink attached to the lower surface is absorbed by the ink absorber without being wiped away, so that inkjet recording is possible. The inside of the device is not contaminated, and the cleaning effort for the user is further reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

'fJ1 Figure is a perspective view of the main part of the first embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 shows the holding member of the first embodiment of the present invention, (A) is a front view, and CB) is the E- of (A). 3 is a perspective view of a cleaning plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a sectional view of essential parts of a cleaning means according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. The figure shows the holding member of a conventional ink sheet/soto recording device.
) Main part cross section 12I along line X-X. 6th EA1 is a sectional view of a main part of the printing function recovery device. 1.41...Recording head, la, 41a...Office surface, 2.42...Holding member, 2a...Open ['', 2b...Step, 2c. 42c...Surface of holding member, 3...Ink supply pipe, 4...Ink tank unit, 6.7...Paper feed roller, 8a, 38a 48a...Hetsu1kusonink plate, 8b. 38b...Cleaning plate, 9a, 9b
．． 10a, 10b-Pulley, 11...First helt, 12...Second helt, 13...Printing function recovery device, 14...Recording paper, 15...Ink absorber, 16,416- ...Platen, 38c...U-shaped member, 45...Ink absorber, 45a...Ink absorption surface, 46a...Support member 5 46b...Support rail, 46c...Cam, 47... Waste liquid container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an inkjet recording apparatus in which a holding member that holds a recording head reciprocates on a movement path, among the surfaces of the holding member facing the recording paper that covers the vicinity of the periphery of the orifice surface of the recording head, An inkjet recording apparatus characterized in that a cleaning means for cleaning the lower surface is provided on a moving path of the lower surface below the lower end of the orifice surface. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning means is a cleaning blade. 3. The cleaning means comprises an ink absorber and a pressure contact mechanism that presses the ink absorber against the lower surface when the lower surface moves to a position facing the ink absorber. inkjet recording device.