JPH03227648A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the exchanging frequency of a liquid absorbing material and to improve the cleaning efficiency by providing a wiper at the upper side of the stream of a recording paper transfer path and the liquid absorbing material at the lower side, thereby to clean the unnecessary ink on a transfer belt by the wiper and liquid absorbing material. CONSTITUTION:A mounting plate 131 of a plate-like or chip-like wiper 130 is fixed to an angle 132 rotatably arranged to a rotary pin 133 which is parallel to a roller 102. A casing 121 of a liquid absorbing material 119 is secured to a mounting angle 122 rotatably mounted to the rotary pin 133. For cleaning, the blade wiper 130 is brought into pressed contact with a belt 101, so that the part of the belt where the ink is adhered is moved and almost cleaned by the wiper 130. When the ink is fully scraped and the wiper 130 is stopped, the wiper 130 is separated from the belt. Thereafter, the belt 101 is moved by the distance with which the wiper 130 is brought into pressed contact with the absorbing material 119. Then, the liquid absorbing material 119 is pressed in contact with the belt to clean the ink drops remaining on the belt 101 after an edge of the blade wiper cleans the belt. The liquid absorbing material 119 is separated from the belt after a suitable time in the pressed state against the belt.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is used as an inkjet recording device having functions such as a facsimile, 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.

[Background Art] Non-impact recording methods have 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,
Furthermore, the inkjet recording method, which allows recording on so-called plain paper, is an extremely powerful recording method.

In an ink jet recording apparatus, when recording liquid is ejected onto a recording paper, ink that is the recording liquid may be ejected from the recording paper transport belt due to an abnormality in the paper feeding system, and the ink adheres to the transport belt. For this reason, the next time a recording operation is performed, the back side of the recording paper will be stained with ink. Therefore, in order to prevent this, a belt cleaning device is required.

FIG. 13 shows an inkjet recording apparatus.

Inkjet head IC, LM, IY and lBk
As shown in the figure, the ink ejection nozzle is placed on the bottom surface,
It faces a conveyor belt 101 that conveys recording paper.

The conveyor belt cleaner is located on the paper ejection side, and is connected to the drive roller 102.
It consists of a liquid absorbing material 119 and a case 120.

The belt 101 is provided with an opening to discharge ink to the outside. Cleaning of the conveyor belt 101 is performed simultaneously with the recording operation. A liquid absorbent material 119, which is an ink absorber, is always brought into contact with the belt 101, and when the belt 101 is rotating, the belt 101 is always cleaned by the liquid absorbent material 119.

In this figure, 301 is a part of the scanner, 3o2 is a printer section, 303 is a paper feed section, 304 is a belt conveyance section, 3o5
306 is a recording head section, 306 is a recovery cap section, and 3o7 is a fixing paper discharge section. 401 is a document; 402 is a rod array lens 403; a reading sensor 404; and an exposure means 4.
This is a document scanning unit including 05. 411 is a recording paper cassette, 412 is a pick-up roller, 413 414
is a roller for conveying recording paper, and 415 and 416 are register rollers.

417, 418, and 419 are conveyance guides, respectively. 420 is a paper discharge tray. 213 is a paper ejection sensor, and 214 is a paper ejection roller.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned inkjet recording device, when a large amount of unnecessary ink adheres to the belt 101 or when the inkjet recording device is frequently used, the liquid absorbing material is removed in a relatively short period of time. 119 is filled with unnecessary ink, which causes a problem in that the cleaning performance is lost. Furthermore, since the cleaner is in constant contact with the belt, unnecessary fluctuations are caused in the conveyance system, which has a considerable negative effect on image quality. In addition, because the cleaner is constantly sliding, the cleaner must have abrasion resistance, so it must be made of a material that has both abrasion resistance and ink absorption performance, which is expensive, and the best material has ink absorption properties. Since it is not possible to select the material for the belt, the cleaning performance of the belt has not been satisfactory.

An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with a belt cleaning function that has performance exceeding the limits of the leaner.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording material by ejecting ink. a conveying means, a wiper provided so as to be able to contact the conveying means on the downstream side of the recording section with respect to the conveying direction of the recording material, and a wiper on the downstream side of the recording section with respect to the conveying direction of the recording material. , and a liquid-absorbing material provided so as to be able to come into contact with the conveyance means.

[Operation] According to the present invention, a wiper is provided on the upstream side of the recording paper conveyance path, a liquid absorbing material is provided on the downstream side, and the wiper is brought into contact with and slides on the conveyance belt. After that, a liquid-absorbing material is brought into contact with the area where the wiper marks are present to clean unnecessary ink on the conveyor belt.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described 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 FIG. 1, the same parts as in FIG. 13 are given the same reference numerals.

In this figure, 301 is a part of a scanner that reads a document and converts it into an electrical signal. A signal based on the converted signal is sent to the recording head section 30 of the printer section 302.
5 is given a drive signal. Scanner part 30
1, 401 is a document, and 402 is a document scanning unit that scans the document.

The document scanning unit 402 includes a rod array lens 40.
3. A same-magnification color separation line sensor (color image sensor) 4o4 and exposure means 405 are built-in.

At least the document scanning unit 402 scans the document 4 on the document table.
When moving and scanning in the direction of arrow A to read the image 01, the exposure lamp in the exposure means 405 built in the document scanning unit 402 is turned on, and the reflected light from the document 401 is guided by the rod array lens 403. The light is focused on a same-magnification color separation line sensor (hereinafter referred to as a reading sensor) 404, which is a color information reading sensor, and the color image information of the document is read for each color and converted into electrical digital signals. This digital signal is also sent to the printer section 302, and sent to the recording head for each color.
Drive signals based on these signals are supplied, and liquid is ejected in accordance with image information. The recording head is provided with an electrothermal transducer for ejecting the liquid,
This electrothermal converter applies thermal energy to the ink liquid to cause film boiling.

Recording paper, which is an example of a recording material, stored in the paper feed section 303 is fed sheet by sheet toward the belt conveyance section 304 when necessary. When this 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 sheet discharge section 307.

Note that 306 is a recovery cap section, which has a function to maintain the recording/rad section 305 in a recordable state at all times. Hereinafter, the main parts of each of the above configurations will be explained in detail.

First, the ink supply to the full-line elongated recording head used in this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the elongated recording head and ink supply means. 1601 is the print head, 1652 is a common liquid chamber in the print head 1601, and 1653 is placed on the print liquid ejection surface 1654. This is a discharge port for skin discharge.

Therefore, the number of ejection ports 1653 in this embodiment is arranged in the same number as the recordable width of the target recording material.
By selectively driving heating elements provided in liquid paths (not shown) leading to the individual ejection ports 1653, it is possible to eject the recording liquid and perform printing 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.
01 common liquid chamber 1652. Furthermore, when replenishing recording liquid, it is possible to replenish the supply tank 1655 with recording liquid from the main tank 1656 via a one-way replenishment rectifier valve 1658 with a recovery pump 1659 .

1660 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 the recovery rectifier valve 1660 is interposed, and 1662 is the same as described above. A solenoid valve 1663 interposed in the first supply pipe 1657 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 liquid path (not shown).
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.
The recording liquid can be sent to the common liquid chamber 1652 through the circulation pipe 1661 and returned from the common liquid chamber 1652 to the supply tank 1655 through the first supply pipe 1657 for circulation.

Furthermore, during 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 discharges the recording liquid from the discharge port 1653 as the bubbles are discharged. can be done.

Such a recording head is normally left with ink remaining inside the ink ejection openings during non-recording. By providing a capping means having a bondable cap on the ejection port surface or the ejection port side of the print head, and bonding the cap and the print head when not printing,
In other words, by covering the recording head with a lid and sealing it from the surrounding atmosphere, and filling the air layer at the joint with ink vapor, the space formed by the cap and the recording head is brought to the saturated vapor pressure of the ink. This prevents the ink liquid in the wave path from evaporating, the resulting increase in viscosity, and the ink in the liquid path from drying out.

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 in the liquid path from evaporating. During printing after the printing pause period, it may not be possible to prevent ink from being ejected from the ejection ports or from being ejected unstablely. In this specification, the problem of whether or not ink is ejected for the first time after stopping is hereinafter referred to as the "starting problem."

To solve this problem, the recovery pump 16
59 to circulate and pressurize the ink, and also use an ink circulation and pressure means arranged to discharge the ink from all the ejection ports of the recording head.

In addition, when the above-mentioned non-ejection condition is slight, the entire energy generating means of the C head is driven to perform an ink ejection operation similar to that for recording on paper or the like.

This is not ejection for recording an image), and therefore is hereinafter referred to as "dry ejection" in the present invention.

As mentioned above, if the ink dries and increases viscosity due to a long period of non-printing, and the ink is stuck in the ejection port and/or liquid path, pressurized circulation of the ink will cause the ink to return to the non-printing state. However, in the case of a relatively short period of time and a slight sticking state, the dry ejection operation is used to restore the printable state to a printable state.

Next, a recording member suitably used in this embodiment will be explained.

In the inkjet recording method, recording is performed by ejecting small droplets of a recording liquid called ink and attaching 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 that adheres 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 adhered to the same location within a short period of time. Moreover, it is preferable that the spread of the recorded dots be suppressed to an extent that does not impair the clarity of the 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. 56-148583. ) is preferably used. 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 three or more color inks, and coated paper is used when recording an image using one or two color inks. I try to select and use non-coated paper (paper that is not coated as described above). However, it is perfectly acceptable to record an image using coated paper using one or two color inks. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this, and various known recording materials may be used as appropriate.

FIGS. 3 and 4 schematically show a part of a cleaner in an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of the belt cleaning device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a top view of essential parts of the belt cleaning device shown in FIG. 1. Details of the embodiment of the present invention will be explained using FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

In FIG. 3, the recording paper 110 is conveyed by the conveyor belt 101 from the right side to the left side at a constant recording speed. However, due to an inconvenience during the conveyance of the recording paper, the recording paper
10 is not conveyed and does not reach the paper discharge tray 420 shown in FIG. 1, the paper discharge sensor 213 displays a paper jam indication and at the same time, the recording operation is temporarily stopped. The user of this machine will use the machine again after clearing the jammed paper inside the machine, but in this case, the cleaning device of the machine will operate automatically or manually before reuse. Cleaning is performed.

Next, the main components of the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 3 and 4. Plate-shaped or chip-shaped wiper 13
0 is fixed to the mounting plate 131.

A mounting plate 131 is fixed to an angle 132 rotatably attached to a rotating bin 133 arranged parallel to the roller 102. The liquid absorbent material 119 is fixed to a case 121, and the case 121 is fixed to a mounting angle 122 rotatably attached to a rotary bottle 133.

The plunger angle 140 to which the plunger 143 for bringing the wiper 130 into and out of contact with the belt 101 and the plunger 144 for bringing the liquid absorbing material 119 into contact with and away from the belt 101 are attached is attached to the plunger angle 140 before the roller 102 is attached. It is attached to arm 150 and rear arm 151. Also, the stroke of the plunger 143 is determined by the mounting plate 132.
a drive arm 141 for transmitting power to the plunger 1;
A drive arm 142 for transmitting 44 strokes to the mounting plate 122 is rotatably mounted on a support pin 145146 fixed to the plunger angle 140. So plunger 143 and plunger 1
A tension spring 134 is provided between the mounting plate 132 and the plunger angle 140, and a tension spring 134 is provided between the mounting plate 122 and the plunger angle 140 so that the wiper 130 and the liquid absorbing material 119 are separated from the belt 101 when the suction is not performed. A nine-tension spring 135 is hooked between them.

In FIG. 3, 103, 104 and 105 are conveyance rollers, 6 is a head holder, 100 is a guide, 106 is a charger, 121 is an opening, 107 is a pinch roller, 6H is a head holding seal member, and 6P is a head holding member. 115 is a platen, 116 is a spacer for forming a gap ρ between the head and the platen, 117 is a pressure spring for pressing the platen against the head holding member 6 via the spacer 116, 11g is the platen 115 A pressure spring 117 is wound around the support shaft.

The wiper 130 is brought into pressure contact with the conveyor belt 101 to ensure that the wiper edge is in contact with the belt 101. In this state, the belt 101 is moved, and the unnecessary ink on the belt is transferred to the wiper 130, and the ink is scraped off from the belt 101. Further, since the wiper 130 is brought into pressure contact, it is brought into contact with a portion that is difficult to deform even when pressure is applied. In this embodiment, it is brought into pressure contact with the driving roller section 102. The wiper mounting surface is arranged to be nearly vertical so that the ink scraped off by the wiper 130 drips quickly from the wiper 130.

Further, waste ink is collected in an ink receiver 123. In order to prevent dirt from entering the inside of the machine, an absorber 124 is provided inside the ink receiver 123 to hold ink. Furthermore, most of the waste ink will dry and evaporate naturally, but if there is a large amount of waste ink, the ink receiver 123 is placed in a separate tank (not shown).
Let it guide you from there.

Next, the sequence of image recording after power-on of the apparatus will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S1, due to the pressurized ink circulation operation, the device is stopped for a long time before the power is turned on, and the ink increases in viscosity (drying, that is, the viscosity increases due to evaporation of the solvent).
It is possible to prevent non-ejection of ink due to sticking or generation of bubbles. This 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 environment where the ink tends to thicken, or if the ink is left unused or left unused for a long time after the power is turned on, problems such as ink sticking or bubble formation as described above may occur. Taking this into consideration, the problem is solved by performing the pressurized ink circulation operation at regular intervals using a timer means or the like.

Unless a recording start signal is input here, the recovery cap section 306 maintains the capping state shown in FIG. 6. When a recording start signal is input, step 'S-2
Move to the state shown in . - Recording head section 30 shown in FIG.
By increasing or decreasing the number of pulses for dry ejection based on a signal output from a humidity sensor (not shown) in the vicinity of 5, the structure is configured such that the occurrence of non-ejection can be prevented only by the dry ejection operation.

Next, in step S3, the recovery cap section 306 separates backward from the recording head section 305, and the recovery cap section 306 moves away from the recording head section 305.
is lowered in the same way as the recording paper transport section. The operation is completed when a predetermined gap is reached between the conveyor belt and the recording head.

Next, the process moves to step S4, and a paper feeding operation is performed. Step S
5, the recording member stored in the cassette 411 in FIG. 1 is fed by the pickup roller 412,
The stopped register roller pair 415 and 41 passes through the transport rollers 413 and 414 and the guide section 419.
It is sent to the nip section of No.6.

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 further fed out by the conveyance rollers 413 and 414 for a while, and a loop is formed in the guide portion 419 by that amount. be done. This operation is a means of registration that is normally performed by electrophotographic copying machines and the like, 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 guide 417, 418, but 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, LM, IY, and IBk. The recording paper fed onto the conveyor belt 101 is brought into close contact with the surface of the conveyor belt 101 sequentially from its tip by electrostatic adsorption force, and the recording heads Ic, IM,
When passing directly under IY and IBk, recording is performed with the above-described means maintaining an appropriate gap between the head ejection surface and the recording paper surface.

After that, the paper is conveyed to the fixing/discharge unit 307, but when the paper is passed from the conveyor belt 101 to the guide 213, the diameter of the drive roller 102 is set relatively small, and the stiffness of the paper is This is done by means of so-called curvature separation, which causes natural separation.

Here, the diameter of the drive roller 102 is determined by the distance that the surface of the belt 101 that is frictionally driven by one rotation thereof moves between the ejection ports of the first head IC and the fourth head IBk. is set to be equal to the distance of .

This is because if there is an eccentric component in the diameter of the drive roller 102,
This is done in consideration of the occurrence of registration misalignment on the image. Ideally, the surface of the belt 101 should be driven by one revolution of the drive roller, but considering mechanical strength, the distance between the discharge ports of each of the adjacent heads is
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, resulting in an increase in the size of the device.

Therefore, the distance between the first head and the fourth head is considered as the distance between the first head and the fourth head, which is the distance between the first and fourth heads.

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

Next, the fixing process of the recording paper sent to the fixing paper discharge section 307 is not normally necessary, so no means is provided. However, when non-coated paper called plain paper is used in a so-called electrophotographic copying machine, a fixing means is required.

That is, since the fixing speed of ink on recording paper is slow in the case of non-coated paper and is impossible within the process speed (conveyance speed), the fixing time is increased by providing a heating means.

The paper ejection operation is detected by the paper ejection sensor 213, and if the paper passes within a predetermined range, the paper ejection operation ends, and the process moves to step S6 to wait for the presence or absence of a recording start signal for the next sheet. If there is a next sheet, the recording operation is repeated; if there is no next sheet, the image recording sequence ends here.

Next, the sequence of benosite cleaning will be explained using the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8. The sequence of the present apparatus has been described above, but if a jam occurs during the recording operation of this normal sequence, the cleaning sequence of the present invention is performed in step S94. in FIG. S9
5 and S96.

In FIG. 1, even when the recording paper does not reach the paper discharge sensor 213, the recording head 1 has some time to eject ink according to the recording signal, so the paper discharge sensor 213
3, the ink may be ejected not onto the recording paper (or onto the belt) until the recording operation stops.

When the machine detects a jam in step S71 of FIG. 7, it stops the recording operation. Then, in steps S72 and S73, when the user turns on the reset button after finishing the jam processing, the sequence mode for cleaning the conveyor belt is entered.

Next, the cleaning operation will be explained in detail according to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S81,
A blade wiper 130 is pressed against the belt 101. Thereafter, in step S82, the portion to which the ink is attached is moved and most of it is cleaned by the wiper 130. Next, when the wiper 130 is stopped after scraping, the wiper 130 separates from the belt in step S83.

Then, in step S84, the belt 101 is moved by the distance on the belt when the wiper 130 and the liquid absorbent material 119 are in contact with the belt.

This is to clean the remaining drops of the blade wiper edge marks remaining on the belt 101 with the liquid-absorbing material.

Then, in step S85, the liquid absorbent material 119 is brought into pressure contact with the belt, and after being in contact for a suitable time, it is released from the belt in step S386. At this point, the belt adhesion J-ning sequence ends, and the sequence returns to the one at the end of the paper ejection operation.

Depending on the mechanism of the recording device, the following sequence may be suitable. When the wiper 130 is brought into pressure contact with the belt, if there is insufficient driving force for the belt 101, the wiper 130 may be less able to scrape off ink on the belt 101. At this time, the liquid absorbing material 11
9 to the belt at the same time as the wiper 130,
It can complement cleaning.

FIG. 1O shows the cleaning sequence.

First, in step 5101, the blade wiper 13
0 and the liquid absorbing material 119 are pressed against the belt 101, and then the belt 101 to which the ink is attached is moved, and the wiper 1
30 and scrape off the ink with a liquid-absorbing material. Next, separate only the wiper from the belt, and then remove the wiper 130 and liquid absorbent material 1.
The belt is moved by the distance on the belt when it is in contact with belt No. 19. After stopping in this state for a suitable time,
Separate the liquid absorbent material 119 from the belt. At this point, the belt cleaning sequence ends, and step S96 in FIG.
Return to sequence.

FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

A pressure contact plate 124, which is fixed in position with respect to the conveyance unit, is arranged inside the belt 101 at a location where the liquid absorbing material 119 of the cleaning device comes into contact with the conveyance belt 101. Other components are the same as those shown in FIG. 3. The pressure with which the liquid absorbing material 119 is pressed against the belt can be increased by using the pressure plate 224. Even with such a configuration, the effects of the present invention can be obtained. Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a predetermined pressure with a smaller amount of penetration than when the pressure contact plate 224 is not provided.

FIG. 12 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the cleaning device is located on the downstream side of the conveyor belt 101, and placed at a location where the conveyor belt 101 is horizontal.

A roller-type liquid-absorbing material 125 in which a liquid-absorbing material is attached to the outer periphery of a roller 121 is arranged downstream of the wiper 130. wiper 1
30 and the roller-type liquid absorbing material 125 are positioned on opposing surfaces with the pressing plate 155 sandwiching the belt 101 therebetween so that pressure contact occurs.

After or at the same time as being pressed and slid by the wiper 130, the roller type liquid absorbing material 125 is brought into pressure contact and rotated by the veil 101. Even with such a configuration, the effects of the present invention can be exhibited.

(Others) The present invention brings about excellent effects particularly in a bubble jet type recording head and recording apparatus among inkjet recording types.

This is because such a system can achieve higher recording density and higher definition.

As for typical configurations and principles thereof, it is preferable to use the basic principles disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to arrange the liquid (ink) in accordance with the sheet and liquid path that hold it. The electrothermal converter that is
Generating thermal energy in the electrothermal transducer and producing film boiling on the thermally active surface of the recording head by applying at least one drive signal that corresponds to recorded information and provides a rapid temperature rise above nucleate boiling. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal, which is effective. The growth and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. If this drive signal is in the form of a pulse, bubble growth and contraction will occur immediately and appropriately.
Particularly responsive liquid (ink) ejection can be achieved,
More preferred. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262.
Those described in the specification are suitable. Furthermore, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 concerning the invention regarding the temperature increase rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, even more excellent recording can be performed.

The configuration of the recording head is as follows: In addition to the combination configuration of ejection ports, liquid paths, and electrothermal converters (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, there is also a heat acting part. The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which the wafer is placed in a bending region. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1989-5 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part of a plurality of electrothermal converters.
No. 9-123670 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59/1989 which discloses a configuration in which a discharge portion is made to correspond to an opening that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy.
The effects of the present invention are also effective even if the structure is based on the publication No.-138461. In other words, regardless of the form of the recording head, recording can be performed reliably and efficiently.

Furthermore, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium that can be recorded by a recording apparatus.

Such a recording head may have either a configuration in which the length is satisfied by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration in which a single recording head is formed in one direction. In addition, even the serial type shown above can be installed on the main body of the device, allowing for electrical connection to the main body of the device and supply of ink from the main body of the device.Replaceable chip type recording heads. Alternatively, the present invention is also effective when using a cartridge type recording head that is integrally provided with the recording head itself.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus, to the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressure or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element, or a combination thereof; It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

In addition, regarding the type and number of recording heads installed, for example, in addition to one type that corresponds to single-color ink, there is also a plurality of recording heads that correspond to multiple inks with different recording colors and densities. It may be something that can be done.

In addition, the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention may be used as an image output terminal for information processing equipment such as a computer (in addition to being used as an image output terminal for information processing equipment such as a computer), it may also be used as a copying device combined with a reader, etc., or as a facsimile device having a transmitting/receiving function. It may also be one that takes

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the present invention, both the wiper and the liquid-absorbing material are used, so the frequency of replacing the liquid-absorbing material is dramatically reduced. In comparison, the cleaning performance has been improved, and since the wiper has a life span of about the same as the product life, the cost of replacing the liquid absorbing material is low when maintenance costs are included (it is economical, and it is only used during the recording operation as it is only used during the jam detection operation). It has many excellent effects, such as not causing vibrations that are detrimental to image quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the main part of the belt cleaning device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a top view of the main part of the belt cleaning device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a normal view of the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cap state of the recording head shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the sequence of the jam detection operation according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the sequence of the jam detection operation according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the sequence of the belt cleaning operation in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the sequence of the belt cleaning operation in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the sequence of the belt cleaning operation in the embodiment of the present invention. 12 is a sectional view of a main part of a belt cleaning device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a main part of a belt cleaning device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 100... Guide, 101... Conveyance belt, 102... Drive roller, 103, 104.105... Conveyance roller, 106...
・Charger, 107... Pinch roller, 110... Recording paper, 119... Liquid absorbing material, 120... Case, 121... Opening, 122, 131.132... Mounting plate, 123... Ink receiver, 124... Absorber, 130... Wiper 133... Rotating pin, 134, 135... Tension spring,... Plunger angle, 142... Drive arm, 144 ... Plunger 146 ... Support pin, ... Front arm, ... Rear arm, ... Pressing plate, ... Paper ejection sensor ... Paper ejection roller ... Pressure plate, ・...part of the scanner, ...paper feed section, ...belt transport section, ...belt transport section, ...recording head section, ...recovery cap section, ...fixing paper ejection section, ...Original, ...Original scanning unit, ...Rod array lens, 404...1-magnification one-resolution line sensor, 405...
Exposure means, 411...Recording paper cassette, 412...Pickup roller, 413414...Conveyance roller, 415, 416...Register roller, 417.41
8... Guide, 419... Guide portion, 420... Paper ejection tray, 1601... Recording head, 1652... Common liquid chamber, 1653... Discharge port, 1654... Recording liquid discharge 1655...Recording liquid supply tank, 1656...Main tank, 1657...First supply pipe, 1658...Refill rectifier valve, 1659...Recovery pump, 1660...Recovery rectifier Valve, 1661... Circulation pipe, 1662... Electromagnetic pipe, 1663... Air vent valve. Figure 0G Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) An inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording material by ejecting ink, comprising: a conveying means for conveying the recording material; and a recording device for recording in the conveying direction of the recording material. a wiper provided so as to be able to come into contact with the conveyance means on the downstream side of the section; and a liquid absorbent material provided so as to be able to come into contact with the conveyance means on the downstream side of the recording section with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material. An inkjet recording device comprising: 2) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wiper is located upstream of the liquid absorbing material with respect to the direction in which the recording material is conveyed. 3) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wiper and the liquid absorbing material automatically come into contact with and separate from each other with respect to the conveyance means. 4) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning sensor is disposed downstream of the recording section with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material. 5) The inkjet recording device according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording device applies thermal energy that causes film boiling to the ink using an electrothermal converter.