JPH03234645A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable ink stuck to an orifice surface of a recording head to be thoroughly removed by a method wherein two cleaning components of large and small sizes are provided, and the small size cleaning component is first brought into contact with a recording head in cleaning. CONSTITUTION:Blades 50, 52 are made from flexible material such as good abrasive resistant rubber or the like and straightnesses of respective tip parts 50a, 52a are strictly controlled in straightness. Further, the blade 50 is fixed to a wiper stay 49, and the blade 52 is fixed to a wiper stay 51. The wiper stays 49, 52 are made of metal such as stainless steel having rigidity or the like, and are screwed to a recovery frame 60. A discharge opening formed surface 38b of a recording head are successively cleaned by using two blades 50, 52. At that time the blade 50 coming first in contact with a metal head is made different in size from the blade 52 coming successively in contact with the metal head. That is, each blade 50, 52 is established to have a length so that its tip part comes in contact with the discharge opening surface in a transfer path which pivots centering a recording head axle 36.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink onto the recording medium.

[Prior Art] Wiper means for wiping off ink adhering to the orifice surface of an inkjet head has been known. This wiper means is configured to move the orifice surface of the inkjet head in a direction perpendicular to the wiper, bring it into contact with the wiper, and wipe away ink.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional example described above, the orifice surface can be wiped only once, and ink remains on the orifice surface.
There was a problem that had a negative effect on the image. Furthermore, when the hardness of the wiper is increased or the thickness of the wiper is increased, the contact pressure of the wiper against the orifice surface increases, and the wiper itself is scraped due to wear. There was a problem in that it caused image defects.

[Means for Solving the Problems (and Effects)] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an inkjet recording apparatus that records on a recording medium by ejecting ink onto the recording medium. In order to perform the cleaning, the cleaning method includes an inkjet recording head that ejects ink, a dog-sized cleaning member for cleaning the orifice surface of the inkjet recording head, and a small-sized cleaning member smaller than the large-sized cleaning member. According to one aspect of the present invention, the small-sized soning member is arranged so as to come into contact with the recording head first.

Furthermore, if the plurality of cleaning members described above are made to have different shapes, materials, etc., each cleaning member can wipe off droplets of various diameters, resulting in more stable and complete ink removal. became possible.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on Examples.

FIG. 1(A) is a central cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus that characteristically represents the present invention. FIG. 1(B) is a plan view of the upper crosspiece, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the open state. The facsimile apparatus of this embodiment is roughly composed of an original conveyance system A, an optical system B, a power supply section C1, an electric circuit board D, a recording paper conveyance system E, a decal system F, a supply system G1, and a recovery system H. Here, the document conveying system A and the optical system B constitute a document reading section for setting and taking a document image. As a basic operation of a facsimile machine, when a document 2 is set during transmission or copying, the document conveyance system A drives the document fA2 from a drive means (not shown) in order to read the document image of the document 2. roller rows (rollers R1, R2, R
3 and R4). Then, the document line information at the document reading line (main scanning line) position fixed during transportation is transmitted to the line CCD 100 by the condensing lens Le through the reflected optical path of the optical system B (lamp L tomirror M1M2).
It is converted into an electrical signal and the document information is read. During reception or copying, the recording paper conveyance system E sequentially conveys the recording paper 1 wound into a roll along the path shown in the figure by a row of rollers driven by a drive means (not shown), and rolls the recording paper 1 along the route as shown in FIG. The recording head 38
Ink is ejected from the ejection opening and recorded. Ink is ejected from the ejection openings of the recording head 38 using thermal energy. And this thermal energy is
This is generated by an electrothermal transducer included in the recording head 38. Note that the power supply section C normally obtains general AC power, converts it into all necessary voltages and currents within the device, and supplies the converted voltages and currents to each section. The electric circuit, centered on the electric circuit board, controls the functional operation of each part of this device, centered on the microcomputer system, and also controls the connection and release of the transmission line and the human output of image information signals. Let's do it. The supply system G supplies ink to the recording head, and the recovery system H performs cleaning and capping of the ejection opening surface necessary for the head.

As shown in FIG. 1(B), the roll recording paper 1 is located almost at the center of the apparatus, and on the left side, the document conveyance system A, the optical system B, and the power supply section C are arranged vertically in line. ing. Also, on the right side are ``recording heads 38'' in order from the top. A recording head recovery system H and an ink supply system G including an ink tank 86 are arranged. Since the recording head 38°, the recording head recovery system H, and the ink supply system G equipped with the ink tank 786 are arranged in this order from the top, in this embodiment, even if the apparatus is tilted, the recording head 38 can be The ratio of pressure change from the ink tank 86 to the orifice surface is reduced (the pressure force is made uniform for each ejection port), and good recording is possible. This is because the distance between the orifice surface of the recording head and the ink tank can be increased even though the apparatus has been made smaller.

Each configuration and operation will be explained below.

First, the operation of transporting recording paper will be explained step by step. A roll of recording paper 1 is loaded, and this recording paper 1 passes through a decurling system F for correcting curling, and is sandwiched between a driving conveyance roller 7 and a driven roller (platen roller) 8 that comes into contact with the conveyance roller 7. transported. The conveying roller 7 is driven by a driving means (not shown), and uses a stepping motor as a driving source, for example.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship of parts in the longitudinal direction around the driven roller 8 (platen roller). A first platen side plate 13 fixed to or integrally formed with the recording frame 19
a and the second platen side plate 13b support the driven roller 8 with play, with the shaft passing through an opening 13c larger than the shaft diameter. Then, E is attached to both ends of the shaft portion of the driven roller 8.
Rings 29 and 30 are attached as pull-out stops. Furthermore, the coaxiality of the inner diameter and outer diameter is precisely defined in both shaft parts, and a bearing 10 is fitted to the core part of the driven roller 8 and is rotatable.
a and 10b are arranged.

On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the first platen side plate 13a and the second platen side plate 13b are slidably disposed with platen pressing shafts 12a and 12b fitted on the inner surfaces thereof, respectively. One end of the platen pressing shafts 12a, 12b is configured to apply contact pressing force to the bearings 10a, 10b of the driven roller 8 by the action of the springs lla, 11b.

Now, returning to FIG. 1, the recording head 38 is in the recording position, and at this time, the driven roller 8 exerts a pressing force against the conveying roller 7 and the bearing 10a against the recording head 38. and 10b, they are brought into contact and positioned in two directions. That is, the direction of the pressing force of the platen pressing shafts 12a, 12b on the driven roller 8 is as described above, and the direction of the pressing force of the driven roller 8 on the conveying roller 7 and the bearing 1°a,
10b is set in a direction in which it abuts against the recording head 38. At the same time, the flexible thin plate recording guide 14 rotates the recording head 38 about the head shaft 36 to come to the recording position.

In this way, the sheet path is aligned with the recording line position, and the recording head 38 discharges ink at the recording line position from the discharge opening during recording.

Next, the recording paper 1 is guided by the first curvature guide 15 and the first paper ejection guide 20, and the roller rows 17a to 17g and the roller row 18a contact the first paper ejection roller 21 and the paper ejection roller 21. It is guided and conveyed while being sandwiched between ~18g.

Note that the first paper ejection roller 21 receives driving force from the same drive system as the transport roller 7, and the peripheral speed of the first paper ejection roller 21 is slightly faster than the peripheral speed of the transport roller rough. It is set to be.

Here, a perspective view showing the relationship of parts in the longitudinal direction around the first paper ejection roller 21 is shown in FIG. Rollers 17a to 17g and rollers 18a to 18g are arranged alternately with first curvature guides 15a to 15f, and are rotatably supported by shafts 31 and 32, respectively, and both ends of the shafts are fixed with E rings or the like. There is. Further, the shaft 32 has both ends, a first paper discharge roller receiving side 9a and a second paper discharge roller receiving side 19 fixed to or integrally formed with the recording frame 19.
b, and in the horizontal direction it is regulated by being passed through a vertical hole that fits with the diameter of the shaft 32, and furthermore, both sides are regulated by E-rings (
(not shown). The figure shows 16 representative
Springs 16a to 16f, shown only at a, create a compressive force between the recording chassis 19 and the first curvature guides 15a to 15f (see FIG. 1).
18g comes into contact with the paper discharge roller 21 with a pressing force. As a result, when the recording paper l is pinched, a conveying force is generated. Then, the recording paper 1 passes between the two blades 22a and 22b of the cutter 22 that cuts the recording paper for each received page, is roughly guided by the upper paper discharge guide 23 and the rear paper discharge guide 24, and is then sent to the second paper discharge. It is guided and conveyed by the roller 25 and the rollers 27a to 27g and rollers 28a to 28g that contact the roller 25.

Further, the second paper ejection roller 25 receives a driving force from a drive system, and its circumferential speed is set to be slightly faster than the circumferential speed of the first paper ejection roller 21. Here, similarly to the area around the first paper ejection roller 21 described above, the rollers 27a to 27g and the rollers 28a to 28g are arranged alternately with the second curvature guides 26a to 26f and are rotatably supported by the shafts 33 and 34, respectively. There is. The shaft 34 is prevented from being pulled out with E-rings or the like at both ends, and the shaft 33 is fitted with the diameter of the shaft 33 in the horizontal direction of paper discharge roller receiving sides 19c and 19d, which are fixed to or integrally formed with the recording frame 19 at both ends. It is regulated by being passed through the vertical hole in the hole, and both ends are secured with E-rings, etc. to prevent it from coming out. The recording chassis 19 and the second curvature guides 26a to 2 are connected by the springs 35a to 35f.
A compressive force is generated between the rollers 27a and 6f (see Fig. 1), and the rollers 27a to
27g and the rollers 28a to 28g abut against the second paper discharge roller 25 with a pressing force, and when the recording paper 1 is nipped, a conveyance force is generated. The recording paper that has been recorded in this way is ejected,
Each page is cut by a cutter and is further subjected to the conveyance force of the discharge roller 39, and the leading edge is smoothly received and held by the stacker 40. As a result, the operator can take out the recording paper held in the stacker 40.

The recording paper conveyance system is configured and operates as described above. Here, the state shown in FIG. 1 represents the time of recording, and the recording frame 19 can be opened and closed with the hinge 19e of the recording frame 19 as the axis center when replacing the recording paper or in the event of trouble in conveying the recording paper. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, it can be opened just at the recording paper transport path, and each component is connected to the recording frame 19 on the upper side and the main body frame 6 on the lower side.
It is designed to belong to the 3rd side.゛The assembled state of this recording frame 19 and its components is shown in the fifth figure.
I'll list it in the diagram.

In this way, in this embodiment, the recording heads 38 .
A recording head recovery system H and an ink supply system G are arranged.

Then, the recording paper 1 on which recording was performed by the recording head 38
is guided in the horizontal direction above the recording head 38 and then lowered and stored in the discharge stacker 40. The path for guiding the recording paper in the horizontal direction is in contact with the opening of the main body. Therefore, according to this embodiment, even if a paper jam occurs, it is easy to remove it, and even if a paper jam occurs, capping can be performed without damaging the head surface. Furthermore, even if ink leaks during capping, the recording paper will not be soiled.

Next, positioning of the driven roller 8 (platen roller 8) will be explained.

First, FIG. 6 shows the state of parts around the driven roller 8 when the main body of the apparatus is in a standby state. The recording guide 14 is arranged so as not to come into contact with the driven roller 8 when no external force is applied. Therefore, in the standby state, the recording paper 1 contacts the outer periphery of the driven roller 8 at a smaller angle than in the printing state. At this time, the position of the driven roller 8 is such that the outer periphery of the driven roller 8 is pressed by the platen pressing shafts 12a, 12b and comes into contact with the conveyance roller 7, and the core metal of the driven roller 8 is provided on the platen side plates 13a, 13b. A through hole 1 that is 0.1 mm to several mm larger than the outer circumference of the core metal
It is determined by contacting 3c. The conveying roller 7 and the driven roller 8 both have a core made of a rigid iron ring and a roller made of a flexible material such as rubber arranged around the outer periphery.

Next, Fig. 7 shows a state in which the recording head 38 is rotating clockwise around the head shaft 36 in order for this device to enter the recording state from the standby state. It is something. First, by driving the motor KM, the head 38 rotates as described above, and the plurality of protrusions 38c provided on the recording surface of the head 38 come into contact with the tip of the recording guide 14.
The recording guide 14 begins to be elastically deformed. head 3 here
The protrusions 38c provided on the recording surface of No. 8 become higher toward the corners. Therefore, the recording guide 14 and the recording head 38 are elastically deformed apart from each other by the height of the protrusion (6 in the figure).

The reason why the projections 38c become higher toward the corners is to facilitate the removal of ink during a wiping operation of the recording surface of the head, which will be described later.

When the recording head 38 further rotates clockwise and moves to the recording state shown in FIG. 1, both ends of the recording surface of the recording head 38 come into contact with the bearings 10a and 10b. This determines the distance between the recording surface of the recording head 38 and the platen roller (driven roller) 8. In this embodiment, the outer periphery of the bearings 10a and 10b is larger than the outer periphery of the driven roller 8, and the amount thereof is set to be several millimeters smaller than the height δ of the protrusion of the recording head 38. ing. As a result, the guide 14 reliably contacts the outer periphery of the platen roller 8, and the recording paper can be conveyed. At the time of recording, the conveyance roller 7
rotates clockwise, and the external force causes the platen roller 8 to rotate counterclockwise and move toward the recording head 38. Therefore, with the above-described configuration, the platen roller 8 comes into contact with the guide 14 through the recording paper. Therefore, the springs lla and 11b described above are not necessarily necessary, and the platen roller 8 can be brought into contact with its own weight alone.

Next, the configuration of peripheral parts of the recording head 38 will be explained using the perspective view of FIG. 8. The recording head 38 includes a head main body part 38f including a heat generating part, an electric component part, and a glass ink liquid chamber part, a filter front part 38d, a filter rear part 38e, and a head front plate 3 disposed on the outside of the head main part.
8c. In addition, the front 38d of the filter and the back 38e of the filter include a front 38d1 of the head ink connection portion and a rear 38e of the head ink connection portion, respectively.
The ink supply tube 71 and the ink supply tube are screwed into each other in a strictly hermetically sealed manner and connected to each other with a sealing member (not shown) in between.

Reference numeral 38a is a two-dot chain line in an imaginary figure that connects the straight lines in which the nozzles are lined up and the center lines of the nozzles.
Multiple 8's are lined up. Although it will be referred to as a nozzle 38a hereinafter, it actually has a hole several tens of meters in diameter, and the hole is connected to the ink supply tube 71.7'2. Here, the opposite ends of the ink supply tubes 71 and 72 are a supply pipe joint front 84 and a supply pipe joint rear 84, which will be described later.
5. Now, the surface on which the nozzle 38 is opened is denoted by 38b in the figure, and will be called the orifice surface. Here, the head front plate 38g is formed of metal or a molded member, and the space between the orifice surface 38b and the head front plate 38g is filled with silicone rubber or the like and is completely sealed. The filters 38d and 38e are for preventing dust in the ink from entering the nozzle portion. 37a and 37b are the front and rear parts of the head arm, and are made of engineered plastic, which is rigid and does not easily deform due to heat at high temperatures, or sintered metal, die-cast metal, etc., and are fixed to the BJ head 38 with screws, etc., respectively. has been done.

Since the head arm front 37a and the head arms f and 37b are fixed to the head shaft 36 by screws, as described above, the head shaft 36 and the BJ head 38 are fixedly mounted. The head lI&36 is rotatably supported by the main body frame 56 via a bearing (not shown), and the head shaft 36 is connected to a drive system composed of gears, belts KB, etc., and further connected to a stepping motor KM. has been done.

Next, the configuration of peripheral parts of the cap 41 will be explained using the perspective view of FIG. 9. Although the shape of the cap 41 will be described in detail later, the cap 41 is made of a flexible material such as silicone rubber that is resistant to mechanical creep and has a high permeability to gases such as water vapor. 42 is a cap keel made of a rigid material such as aluminum or stainless steel, and short shafts 46a, 46b, 46c, 46d, and 46e are fixed to the cap keel 42 by screws as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. are doing.

The short shafts 46a to 46e are preferably made of a rust-resistant and rigid material such as stainless steel. In this embodiment, the short axis 46 a - e
are screwed together, but they may also be joined by press-fitting, gluing, etc. Also, the cap keel 42 and the short shaft 46 a
-e may be integrally formed by molding or the like.

Here, in forming the cap 41, as described above, first the cap keel 42 and the short shafts 46a to 46e are combined, and the combined cap keel 42 and the short shafts 46a to 46e are combined.
The cap 41 is integrally formed with the cap keel 42 by embedding the cap 46e in an open mold and injecting or sandwiching silicone rubber, which is a raw material for the cap 41. Here, it goes without saying that the shape of the mold described above matches the external shape of the cap 41. Now, 60 is a recovery frame made of a rust-resistant and rigid material such as stainless steel, and the four sides are bent (60a to 60d) to increase the rigidity of the recovery frame. The recovery frame 60 includes a short shaft 46a.
Short shaft bearings 61 a, 61 b, which receive ~46e,
61c, 61d, and 61e are fixed with screws (not shown) or the like. Note that the frame 6 of the bearings 61a to 61e
The method of bonding to 0 may be welding or adhesion. Further, as described later, the short axis 46a is long and the short axis 46a is long.
b-c-d are fitted into so-called stupid holes, and the short shaft 46e is fitted in position. That is, the outer diameter of each of the short shafts 46a to 46e is the same, and the inner diameter portion 61e1 of the short shaft bearing 61e and the short shaft 46e are the same.
The outer diameter of the short shaft bearings 61a to 61a are made of a polyacetal resin that has good sliding properties against the short shaft 48e made of stainless steel.

In contrast to the short shaft bearing ale, the short shaft bearing 61a has an elongated hole 6 extending in the longitudinal direction of the cap 41 as shown in FIG.
1a1 is formed. The length of the elongated hole 61a in the short direction is made to fit with the short shaft 46g. The diameter of the holes 61b1, 61c, 61d+ opened in the short shaft bearings 61b, 61c, 61d is the same as that of the short shaft 46.
It is made larger in the range of 0.1 mm to 1 mm than the external shape of b to 46d. Next, compression springs 47a to 47e are attached to the outside of the short shafts 46a to 46e, respectively, as shown in 5 in the figure, from the back side of the recovery frame 60 to the short shaft stops 56a to 56e.
Pinch and tighten the screws.

As a result of being screwed, the compression springs 47a to 47e are in a compressed state with the cap keel and the short shaft bearings 61a to 61e being sandwiched. The movement of the cap 41 at this time will be described in detail later.

Next, 50 and 52 are the front of the first wiper and the second wiper, which are made of a flexible material such as rubber with good abrasion resistance, and are the tips of the first wiper 50 and the second wiper 52, respectively. Some 50a.

The straightness of the straight portion 52a is strictly controlled to ensure that there are no edges or dirt. The first wiper 50 is fixed to the first wiper stay 49, and the second wiper 52 is fixed to the second wiper stay 51 with screws (not shown). It is made of metal such as stainless steel, which is rust-resistant and rigid.

Furthermore, the first wiper stay 49 and the second wiper stay 51 are screwed to the recovery frame 60 as shown in FIG. 9.

At this time, the protrusion 41a of the cap 41, which will be described later, and the wiper tips 50a and 52a are arranged so that their parallelism is accurate. Further, the wiper tip 50 of the protrusion 41a1
a.52a and the wiper stay 49 of the recovery frame 60
・51 is installed on the surface, cam gear front 59a1 cam gear rear 5
The two-dot chain line α in FIG. 9, which is an imaginary line connecting the center lines of the respective boss portions 59a and 59b, is arranged so that the parallelism thereof is accurate as will be described later. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the height of the tip 52a of the second wiper relative to the recovery frame 6o is higher than the height of the tip 50a of the first wiper relative to the recovery frame 6o.

For this configuration, the heights of the above-mentioned flexible parts such as rubber of the first wiper 5o and the second wiper rear 52 may be changed, or the heights of the first wiper stay 49 and the second wiper stay 51 may be changed.
The height of the rigid part may be changed. Next, 54 is a recovery frame bearing, and a recovery frame shaft 55 shown in FIG. 1 (center sectional view) is fitted into the long portion 54a of the recovery frame bearing 54 in the short direction C thereof. Here, the recovery frame shaft 55 is fixed to the main body frame 63, but the recovery frame shaft 55 may be rotatably supported by the main body frame 3. The material of the recovery frame bearing 54 is sliding. It is made of polyacetal resin with good dynamic performance and is fixed to the recovery frame 60 with screws.At this time, the recovery frame bearing 54
The fixed position with respect to the recovery frame 60 is indicated by the arrow β in FIG.
In this direction, the center of the elongated portion 54a in the depth direction is located at the center of the recovery frame 60. Further, the center of the hole 61C of the short shaft bearing 61c is also shown in the figure, and is located at the center of the recovery frame 6° in the direction of the arrow β. Furthermore, the center of the hole 61b1 of the short shaft bearing 61b,
The center of the hole 61d of the short shaft bearing 61d is located symmetrically about 61c in the direction of the arrow β. Further, the center of the elongated hole 61a1 of the short shaft bearing 61a in the direction of arrow β and the center of the hole 61-e of the short shaft bearing 61e are similarly located in the hole 61c.
, and are located symmetrically in the direction of the arrow β. Now, the distance between the center of the hole 61a and the center of the hole 61b1,
The center of 1b1 and the hole 61c.

It is desirable that the four distances described above be equal: the distance between the center of the hole 61c and the center of the hole 61d, and the distance between the center of the hole 61d and the center of the hole 61e. Next, reference numeral 62 denotes a recovery frame shaft, which is disposed across both side plates of the main body frame 63. This recovery frame axis 6
2 is a bearing (not shown) disposed on the main body frame 63;
It is rotatably supported around the Furthermore, idler gears 57a and 57b are fixed to this recovery frame shaft 62 so as to be located inside both main body frames 63 and outside of a cap guide front 48a and a cap guide rear 48b, which will be described later. The means for fixing the idler gears 57a and 57b to the recovery frame shaft 62 is a parallel pin or a spring pin (both not shown) and an E-shaped retaining ring due to the installation of the recovery frame shaft 62 into the main body frame 63. has been done. Further, as shown in the figure, the recovery frame shaft 62 is provided with an outer idler gear 5 with the main body frame 63 in between.
8 is fixed to the recovery frame shaft 62 using a D cut portion formed at the end thereof as a rotation stopper. Next, cam gears 59a and 59b are arranged to mesh with the idler gears 57a and 57b. Cam gear 59a
・The position of 59b is outside the cap guides 48a and 48b and inside the main body frame 63, and is located on the inside of the main body frame 63.
It is rotatably supported around cam gear shafts 70a and 70b fixed to 3. Here gears 57a and 57b
- 59a and 59b are modules and have the same number of teeth. Furthermore, the gear 58 and the gears 57a, 57b, 59a, and 59b have the same number of teeth. Here, the gear 58 is connected to a stepping motor CM.

The cam gear 59 has the above-mentioned number of teeth.
When a and 59b rotate once, by connecting gears that rotate exactly once, the rotation angle and rotation position of the gears can be detected by a microswitch slit type sensor (not shown), etc., and the cam gear This is to detect the positions of the boss portion 59a1 of the cam gear 59a and the boss portion 59b1 of the cam gear 59b. Therefore, the cam gears 59a and 59
If a gear, timing pulley, etc. that rotates once in synchronization with one rotation of b is present in the drive system, if the position of the gear, timing pulley, etc. is detected, the gears 57a and 57b can be detected as in this embodiment. - It is not necessary to make the number of teeth of 59a and 59b the same. The recovery frame 60 also includes a cap guide 4.
8a and 48b are fixed. This cap guide 4
The material of 8a and 48b is made of polyacetal resin with good sliding performance. And cap guide 48a・
48b has boss portions 59a+ of cam gears 59a and 59b.
, 59b1 and grooves 48al and 48 that fit in the widthwise direction.
b, and are fitted as shown in FIG. Here, the boss portion 59a+, and the boss portion 59b1
are placed exactly opposite each other.

With the above-mentioned configuration, when the outer idler gear 58 rotates, the recovery frame 60 swings about the recovery frame shaft 55 in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 10 (center sectional view). I will do it.

Now, the parts around the recovery frame 60 are configured as described above. Therefore, in FIG. 9, the recovery frame 60 is positioned by a plane formed by the two-dot chain line α and the recovery frame axis 55. Here, the two-dot chain line α and the head axis 36 are arranged so that their parallelism is accurate. Although the recovery frame 60 is positioned by the plane formed by the two-dot chain line α and the recovery frame axis 55, it is not fixed by the above-mentioned components, and is not fixed in the direction indicated by the arrow θ and in the direction indicated by the curved arrow γ in FIG. In this case, the recovery frame 60 has a flexible structure.

Next, the first cap guide 48a and the second cap guide 4
The arrangement position of 8b on the recovery frame 60 in the direction of arrow θ in the figure will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First cap guide 48a, i2 cap guide 48b
U-sized large-shaped portions 48a1 and 48b are formed on both of the holes, and the intervals between the U half-hole portions are formed with high accuracy. The distance between the 0-shaped holes 48a1 and 48b1 is indicated by an arrow in the figure. And the U half-hole portion 48aI・4
8b, the first cap guide 48a and the second cap guide 48 are aligned so that the center of the width of the protrusion 41a of the cap 41 in the transverse direction (indicated by the arrow in the figure) is located at the center of the interval 8b.
b is arranged in the recovery frame 60.

Next, the first Herad arm 3a, the second Herad arm 37
b has circular protrusions, 37a, and 37b1, which are located at the front of the head arm 37a and at the rear of the head arm, respectively.
7b. Then, the circular protrusion 37
The arrangement positions of a1 and 37b1 are configured such that the ink outlet of the nozzle portion 38a is located at the center of the circular protrusion. Further, the circular protrusion 37 a
The diameter of + and 37 bl is formed to fit exactly into the interval between the U half-hole shaped portions of the cap guides 48a and 48b.

Now, since the configuration is as described above, when the capping recovery frame 60 is raised by the rotation of the cam gears 59a and 59b, the cap guides 48a and 48b
Attach the head arm 37a to the U half-hole portion 48a+-48b.
The circular protrusions 37a and 37b1 of 37b are guided respectively, and the nozzle part 38a and the protrusion 41 of the cap 41
a will be exactly opposite.

Here, in this embodiment, the recovery frame 80 can be displaced in the θ direction and the γ direction shown by the arrows (FIG. 9) due to the above-described configuration. Therefore, in this embodiment, the U half-hole portions 48a, 48bl and the projections 37a, 37b are
Even if there is a slight positional shift when 1 is fitted, the protrusion 37a.

37b is the U half-hole portion 48a, and the slope 48 of 48b is
As long as it contacts the slope 48c and the hole 4
Recovery frame 8 while being guided by 8a, 48 b l
0 can be reliably fitted while being displaced in the horizontal direction.

A cap 41 and a head front plate 38, which will be described further below.
Positioning with c will also inevitably be performed. Furthermore, even if the recovery frame 60 approaches the nozzle orifice surface 38b with an inclination, the protrusion 41a and the nozzle part 38a approach while maintaining the opposing positional relationship.

Next, cap 41. Cap keel 42. Valve 43, valve cover 44. The shape and operation of the waste ink tube 45 are
This will be explained using FIGS. 0 to 15.

FIG. 10 shows the state immediately after the head 38 and the cap 41 come into contact, FIG. 11 shows the state where the head 38 and the cap 41 are separated, and FIG. 12 shows the state when the cap 41 has moved toward the head 38. In FIG. 13, the protrusion 41a presses and seals the nozzle 38a, and the spring 4
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state in which cap 41 is being moved away from head 38, and FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a standby state. Also, in each figure,
(A) is a side view viewed from the side plate direction, (B) is a cross-sectional view in the transverse direction, and (C) is a cross-sectional view in the longitudinal direction. However, in FIG. 11, (A) is a similar side view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view.

First, in Fig. 10, Fig. 10(A), Fig. 10(B)
), FIG. 10(C) is a diagram showing the state at the moment when the cap 41 contacts the head front plate 38C. The cap 41 has not yet been deformed. In FIG. 10(B),
The cross-sectional shape of the cap 41 will be explained in detail. The side portions of the cap 41 are formed with an inclination such that the distance between the side portions increases as the distance increases upward as shown in FIG. 10(B).

The slanted side surface section is connected to the curved section 8 in the figure, and the thickness of section a is thinner than the other parts as shown in the figure. In this embodiment, part a has a curved shape that changes smoothly, but it may also have an etch shape that changes suddenly. In the case of an etched shape, the thickness of the etched portion is reduced. Similarly, the 10th
In Figure (C), the cross-sectional shape of the cap 41 in the lateral direction is also formed to open outward as it goes upward in the drawing.

In the lateral cross-sectional shape of the cap 41, the wall thickness of the cap 41 that contacts the head front plate 38c is the same as that of the contact portion with the head front plate 38c in the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the cap 41 shown in FIG. 10(B). It is made thicker. This is because, in the present embodiment described above, the positioning of the cap 41 with respect to the head 38 in the short direction is performed accurately, but the positioning in the longitudinal direction is not performed accurately. If the positioning in the direction is accurately performed with respect to the head 38, it is not necessary to configure it as in this embodiment. Now, returning to Figure 10 (C), cap 4
The shape of the side surface portion 1 is connected to a smoothly changing curved portion similar to that shown in FIG. 10(B), and the wall thickness of portion b is thinner. In addition, in this example, FIG. 10 (
In both the shape of the cap 41 shown in FIG. 10B) and FIG. 10C, the thickness changes smoothly such that it becomes thinner as it goes downward in the figure. Now, the first
Returning to Figure 0 (B), inside the sealed space of the cap 41,
A protrusion 41a integrally formed with the cap 41 is provided. The protrusion 41a is located at the nozzle portion 38.
A rounded portion 41c of the protrusion 41a is located opposite to a.
The length of the T protrusion 41a in the longitudinal direction at the position where the apex of the nozzle part 38a is located is longer than the entire length of the nozzle part 38a arranged at both ends. Next, a through hole 41b is opened in the cap 41, and the through hole 41b of the cap 41 also communicates with a through hole 41be opened in the cap keel 42. A valve 43 is provided in the through hole 41b. Even if no pressure is applied to the valve 43, since the valve 43 is formed of a flexible member, a sealed state from the atmosphere can be created. Here valve 43
can function as a valve because the cap keel 42 is made of a rigid member as described above, and the flatness of the contact surface of the cap keel 42 with the valve 43 is made with high accuracy. It's for a reason.

Next, there is a valve cover 44 around the valve 43.
A cap keel 42 and a valve cover 44 are sealed and fixed around the valve keel 42 . Further, the valve cover 44 is connected in a sealed manner to a waste ink tube 45. cap 4
1 starts approaching the recording head 38 from the particular state in FIG. 10 by rotating the cam gears 59a and 59b in FIG. 10(A) in the direction of arrow d in the figure.

As the cam gears 59a and 59b move, the side surface of the cap 41 moves in the direction of arrow C in FIGS. 10(B) and 10(C) while maintaining contact with the head front plate 38C. start. This movement is because the side surface of the cap 41 is formed to open as it goes upward. Now, the reason why the cap 41 moves in the direction of arrow C is not only due to the shape of the cap 41 as described above, but also because the pressure in the sealed space of the cap 41 increases due to the volume reduction in the sealed space of the cap 41. It's also because we start. As the pressure within the sealed space of the cap 41 increases, the valve 4
3 begins to open, and the atmosphere in the sealed space and waste ink (not shown) begin to flow from the valve 43 toward the waste ink tube 45.

FIG. 12 shows the state when the cam gears 59a and 59b are further rotated in the direction of arrow d.

In FIG. 12(B), the side surface of the cap 41 comes into contact with a rising portion at the edge of the head front plate 38c, and movement in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 10 is stopped. As described above, the side surface portion of the cap 41 in the width direction shown in FIG. 12(C) is thicker than the side surface portion in the longitudinal direction. Movement in the direction will stop. In this embodiment, as described above, the wall thickness of the side surface of the cap 41 in FIG. 12(C) is changed; If it is formed as thin as the wall thickness, it will come into contact with the rising part of the edge of the front plate 38C, and the same function as this embodiment can be realized.

Now, in FIG. 12(B), the side portion of the cap 41 is subjected to bending stress at the portion shown at the rear portion 8 which comes into contact with the edge of the head front plate 38c.

It deforms as shown in the figure. The thick portion of the side surface of the cap 41, including the surface that comes into contact with the head front plate 38c, receives a buckling load, and the portion a is bent and deformed, so that it does not buckle. The above contents are
Similar deformation of the side surface of the cap 41 occurs, including the deformation of portion b in FIG. 12(C). Here, in FIG. 12(C), the compression spring 47a
has not yet begun to undergo deformation.

In FIG. 12(B), the pressure in the sealed space created by the cap 41 becomes higher than the pressure in the state shown in FIG. 10, and the valve 43 is opened and the cap 41
The atmosphere in the sealed space 1 and the aforementioned waste ink are sent to the waste ink tube 45.

Here, when the cam gears 59a and 59b further rotate in the direction of arrow d, the cap 41 further approaches the head 38, and the protrusion 41a of the cap 4T) comes into contact with the nozzle 38a. Here, the deformation of the cap 40 is the protrusion 41a
It is almost never done except in some parts. When the cam gears 59a and 59b further rotate in the direction of arrow d, the compression spring 47a begins to deform, and the reaction force of the compression spring 47a is applied to the nozzle portion 38 of the protrusion 41a of the cap 41.
It acts as a pressing force on a. Note that from FIG. 10 to FIG. 15, only the compression spring 47a is shown in the figures, but the other compression springs 47b, 47c, 47d, 4
7e also moves in the same way as the compression spring 47a. Here, the time during which the protrusion 41a presses the nozzle 38a is approximately several seconds required for circulating the ink liquid within the head 38. At this time, the pump operates to circulate the ink liquid.

Now, as described above, FIG. 13 shows a state in which the compression spring 47a is deformed and the boss portions 59a, -59b of the cam gears 59a, 59b are located at the uppermost position. In FIG. 13, there is almost no change in the volume of the closed space formed by the cap 41, the valve 43 is only in a state of sealing off the atmosphere, and the pressure in the closed space and the pressure of the atmosphere are in equilibrium. 13th
The state of each part when the cam gears 59a and 59b rotate in the direction of arrow e from the state shown in the figure is shown below.

Here, the rotation direction of the cam gears 59a and 59b is determined by the boss portion 5.
9a1 and 59b1 are required to move from the top to the bottom or from the bottom to the top in the drawings. For example, in FIG. 13, the cam gears 59a and 5
Even if 9b rotates in the opposite direction to the direction of arrow e, the operations described below occur in the same way. In FIG. 14, cap 4
The volume of the sealed space 1 increases again, the inside of the sealed space becomes a negative pressure state with respect to the atmosphere, and the valve 43 becomes closed as shown in the figure. Therefore, cap 4
1, the recording head 38
Ink is discharged from the nozzle portion 38a, and the ink is discharged from the nozzle portion 8a.
The ink in a will be refreshed.

Finally, FIG. 15 shows the cap 41 in a standby state, when the apparatus shown in this embodiment is not performing any recording, recovery, etc.
It shows the status of peripheral parts including. In this figure, the cam gear has stopped rotating. Figure 15 (
In B), the pressure in the sealed space of the cap 41 and the atmospheric pressure are in equilibrium. At this time, the valve 43
Although no external force is acting to open or close the valve 43, the shape of the valve 43 causes the cap 4 to close.
The water vapor in the sealed space of No. 1 is no longer released to the atmosphere.

Next, we will discuss the In-4 supply and recovery system. This unit is composed of an ink tank, an ink tube, a pump, etc., and has the functions of holding ink, supplying ink normally to the recording head, and preventing air bubbles from forming in the conduit.
If the nozzle becomes clogged, it has the function of removing it.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the present invention in detail. In FIG. 16, 38 is a recording head, 76 is an ink pump, 86 is an ink cartridge having an ink tank and a waste ink absorber, and 87 is an air opening called a breather.

Initial supply of ink to the recording head 38 is performed as follows. In other words, the state in which the cap 41 is brought into close contact with the recording head (first
As shown in FIG. 3, the ink pump 76 is operated with the protrusion 41a inside the cap 41 in close contact with the nozzle part 38a of the recording head 38, and the ink is circulated from the ink cartridge 86 in the direction shown by the arrow E. Fill the inside of the pipes, including the inside of the recording head, with ink. At this time, the cap 41
Some ink also flows out, but this is returned to the ink cartridge 86 through the waste ink tube 45 and collected in the built-in waste ink absorber 96.

When the initial supply of ink is completed, the recording head 38 becomes ready for ejection, but since the ink pump used in this embodiment is a pump that does not block the flow path when stopped, the ink supply during ejection is as follows. Head ink connection part front and rear 38d, 38
This is done from both e.

When the amount of ink decreases due to ejection, the same amount of air as the amount of decrease must enter the tank, and the breather 87 serves as an opening for opening to the atmosphere. This breather 87 has check valves arranged inside it in both directions that open with a very small pressure difference, and will open even if a slight negative or positive pressure occurs in the tank, essentially functioning as an air hole. , to suppress the intrusion and evaporation of dust.

Reference numeral 92 denotes an ink-out detection section, which detects the absence of ink in the tank 94, and the detection is performed as follows. That is, since the float chamber 90 is exposed to the atmosphere through a breather 87 that is common to the ink tank 94, the liquid level inside the float chamber 90 and the floating float 89 are at the same water level 91a as the ink liquid level 91 in the uncrank 94. shows. Therefore, a sensor 88 that detects the interruption of the light beam is arranged at a suitable location in the lower part of the float chamber 90, and as the ink liquid level 91 decreases, that is, the water level 91a of the detection section decreases, the float 89
decreases and blocks the light beam from the sensor 88, thereby detecting the absence of ink.

Next, the recovery operation will be described. The recovery operation is an operation to remove air bubbles and clogging that prevent normal ejection, and is performed in conjunction with the recovery system according to the recovery sequence described later, but the recovery operation is exactly the same as the initial supply of ink. . In other words, the ink pump 76 is operated with the cap 41 in close contact with the recording head 38 (this state is shown in FIG. 13), the ink is circulated along the path shown by arrow A, and air bubbles are drawn into the ink tank. Collect and release outward from the breather.

In addition, clogging in the nozzle can be removed by releasing the contact between the protrusion 41a in the cap 41 and the nozzle 38a and driving the pump. At this time, pressurized ink also flows into the float chamber 90, but the ink does not enter the breather 87 because the float 89 rises and comes into close contact with the upper surface of the float chamber 90, blocking the flow path to the breather 87. do not have.

FIG. 17 shows a supply recovery system embodying the configuration of this embodiment,
It is a perspective view of a component. In this FIG. 17, 73 is a base of this unit, and an ink cartridge 8, which will be described later.
Reference numeral 74 is a member called a joint plate, which is formed by fixing various flow path connecting portions, respectively.The joint plate 74 has a cartridge guide 78 for positioning the ink cartridge 86; When installing the ink cartridge 86, draw out the ink,
Cartridge joints 79a, 79b, and 79c connect pipe lines for venting to the atmosphere, and the waste ink generated during the recovery operation is passed through the waste ink tube 45 to the waste ink absorber provided inside the ink cartridge 86. body 9
6, an air joint 80 for connecting a breather to the atmosphere with an air tube 83, and an air joint 80 for connecting a breather to the air tube 83, and a waste ink joint 81 for leading the ink to the first ink to the recording head. The first ink supply tube 71,72 is connected to the second ink supply tube 71,72. A second supply pipe joint 84, 85 and an ink pump 76 driven by a pump motor 77 are coupled. The ink joint 79 connected to the ink tank 94 housed in the ink cartridge 86 supplies ink during recording to the first ink supply section 79a and the second ink supply section 79b.
A first ink supply port 95a1 and a second ink supply port 95b have a corresponding relationship with the ink tank 94 side.
, and the atmosphere communication port 95c.

Therefore, the atmosphere communication part to the ink tank was achieved by a joint, and the ink tank was formed using a hard resin material that made it possible to store a large amount of ink without using an ink tank format using an ink bag. I was able to take it.

Further, a first ink supply port 95a, a second ink supply port 9
5b and the first ink supply section 79C1 and the second ink supply section 79
b, and during recording, ink is supplied from both supply areas, and during initial ink filling and recovery operations, the ink passes through the recording head via a pump between the ink tank and circulates back to the ink tank. Configure routes.

In other words, as mentioned above, the tank, the supply path, and the atmosphere communication part are directly jointed, so although the ink tank is made of hard resin, functions such as sub-tanks that were conventionally necessary for stable supply are omitted. It became possible. In this example, these members are individually fixed to the joint plate 74, but they may be integrally formed with the joint plate.

Furthermore, the joint plate 74 has a flow path groove 7 that becomes an ink flow path.
A flow path plate 75 provided with the ink flow path 5a is combined, and most of the piping and connections of the ink flow path are configured in this portion.

That is, by fixing the joint part 79 attached to the joint plate 74 connected to the ink tank 94, it is possible to create a configuration in which the ink path 75a does not need to move in that part. It becomes.

For this purpose, the flow path plate forming the flow path is connected to the joint plate 79.
By simply bonding it to the back surface of the ink tank 94, a part of the ink path from the ink tank 94 to the recording head can be formed.

On the other hand, as will be described later, the ink tank 94 disposed within the ink cartridge 86 is housed with a degree of freedom within the housings 93a and 93b that constitute the cartridge 86.

By storing the ink tank side with a degree of freedom, it is possible to easily ensure the engagement state of the mounting part when mounting the cartridge to the fixed joint part 79, and the mounting of the cartridge can be ensured. The quality can be ensured.

By forming the flow path by joining the joint plate 74 and the flow path plate 75 in this manner, the ink path from the ink tank can be configured without complicated crawling.

As shown in FIG. 18, the ink cartridge 86 includes an ink tank 94 made of resin with good liquid contact properties, and
A waste ink absorber 96 made of a water-absorbing material with excellent ink absorption and retention properties, such as felt or porous material, is housed in common housings 93a and 93b made of a material with good impact resistance. The supply of ink and the release to the atmosphere are carried out at the joint part 9.
The joint plate 74 is connected to the cartridge 79 via the joint plate 5. In this way, the entire ink cartridge 86 is configured to be removable from the base 73 on the apparatus side.

Figure 19(a) shows the structure of this part in more detail.
, (b). FIG. 19(a) is a side cross-section of the ink cartridge showing the main part of the ink cartridge main body 86, and FIG. 19(b) is a part of the joint portion 95 when connected to the cartridge joint portion of the supply system. It is shown cut. To prevent ink from leaking when the ink cartridge 86 is removed, a metal ball 99 is built into the joint portion 95 and is pressed against the joint opening 95a by a spring 98. 99 is seal rubber 1
01, and has a structure that seals the opening 95a of the joint portion.

In addition, this figure 19 (a), (b) and the second figure showing the front cross section.
As shown in FIG. 0, the ink tank 94 has an inclined bottom surface. That is, an inclined surface 94a that collects the ink flow from behind the joint portion 95e and an inclined surface 94b that collects the ink flow from the side of the ink tank 94 to the joint portion 95 are provided. The ink is introduced into the outlet tube 1 which is bent so that it opens at the deepest part.
00 and is sent to the supply system. By forming the inclined surfaces 94a and 94b at the bottom of the ink tank in this way, all the ink can be collected near the outlet tube 100, making it possible to use the ink without wasting it. Furthermore, even if the device is installed with a slight inclination, ink can be taken out without wasting it. With such a configuration, the aforementioned waste ink absorber 96 is housed in a substantially U-shape in the area within the resulting casing.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the joint portion 95 has three channels,
In other words, there are two ink supply paths and one atmosphere release path.
However, in order to ensure reliable connection at this point, the ink tank 94 must be able to move freely within the housings 93a and 93b by an appropriate amount, as shown in FIG. It is held with a gap 97 in between.

In particular, when connecting multiple joints, not only the degree of freedom in the vertical and horizontal directions but also the degree of freedom in the rotational direction is required. In this example, in order to obtain the degree of freedom in the rotational direction of the joint portion 95 with respect to the central axis, the ink tank 94 is constructed using a gap 97a provided at both ends of the ink tank 94 and a flexible felt-like waste ink absorber 96. By supporting it, it is held rotatable by a certain amount. This makes it possible to perform a reliable connection without positional deviation. Furthermore, in this case, the ink tank 9 can be removed by vibration shock force, etc.
In order to prevent the waste ink absorber 96 from moving and causing abnormal noise or damaging the housing, and to make effective use of space, the vicinity of the center of the waste ink absorber 96 is removed as shown in FIG. The deepest part of the ink tank 94 is fitted into this part and held by the remaining outer periphery, so that the flexibility of the waste ink absorber 96 absorbs the shock, and the structure is such that the degree of freedom can be maintained. In this way, the waste ink absorber is inserted into the deepest part of the ink tank 94 and held at the outer periphery, and since it is made of soft material such as felt, the ink tank can be protected from external impact, and as mentioned above. This will prevent the ink tank from shaking.

Next, the recovery sequence will be described. In this operation, the recovery system and supply system work together to remove air bubbles and clogging in the flow path.
This is an operation necessary to maintain normal records. FIG. 22 shows a flowchart of this operation, and FIG. 23 shows a schematic diagram of the operation. In FIG. 23, for ease of explanation, a unit consisting of a recording head 38, a head arm, etc. is shown as a head unit 65, a cap 4, a wiper 50, and so on.
52 and a recovery frame 60 and the like will be referred to as a cap unit 64. The head unit 65 is the head shaft 3
6, the cap unit 64 is connected to the recovery frame axis 5
Each can be rotated around 5. The recovery operation procedure will be explained below.

In the normal standby state, as described above, the relationship between the recording head 38 and the cap 41 is maintained in a sealed state as shown in FIG. 15, where the periphery of the cap is slightly bent. The recovery operation begins with the cam gear 5 as shown in FIG.
9a and 59b rotate to press the protrusion 41a inside the cap 41 against the nozzle 38a at the tip of the recording head (the position of the cap unit at this time is called the pressing position) (S22-1). Next, in this state, the ink pump 76
to circulate the ink in the supply path (S22-2),
Remove bubbles from the pipeline. The reason why the protrusion 41a is pressed against the nozzle 38a is to prevent part of the ink from being circulated due to the pressure of the ink pump and flowing out from the nozzle, resulting in wasted waste ink.

Next, the cap unit 64 is lowered as shown at the center opening F in FIG. 23(a) (this state is called the retracted position) (S
22-3), and the head unit 65 as shown in FIG. 3(b).
The center opening G and the cap unit 64 rotate as shown in the center opening H in FIG. 23(b) to reach the wiping start position (S
22-4).

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 23(C), the head unit 65 rotates in the direction of arrow I in the figure, and the wipers 50 and 52 installed on the cap unit 64 remove the ink droplets from the ejection orifice forming surface 38b of the recording head. The user performs an operation of wiping off dirt, dust, etc. (S22-5).

FIG. 23(C) The central opening (■) is the ejection port forming surface 3 of the recording head.
8b is shown passing through the first wiper, but in this example, there are two wipers, so
When the second wiper has finished removing the wiper, the cap unit 64 moves back to the retracted position as shown in the center opening J of FIG. 23(d), and the head unit 65 returns to its original position (S22-7). Finally, the cap unit 64 rises and returns to the normal standby state as shown in FIG.
S22-8) The recovery operation ends.

As mentioned above, the print head used in this example is a so-called full-line type in which ejection ports are formed over the entire print width of the print medium. It is. However,
When the ejection port forming surface becomes extremely long in this manner, cleaning the ejection port surface only once using one plate is insufficient for cleaning the ejection port surface. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to make the pressing force on the discharge port surface of the spray uniform over the entire width due to the length.

Therefore, in this example, the reliability of cleaning is ensured by sequentially cleaning the discharge port surface using the blades 50 and 52 and two blades.

Particularly during cleaning, it is important that the two blades independently contact the ejection orifice forming surface of the recording head to perform cleaning, thereby obtaining the so-called Mitaka-buki effect. By sequentially arranging two blades in this way, the cleaning time is shorter than when performing two leaning operations with one blade. Further, in this example, the blade 50 that first contacts the recording head and the blade 52 that contacts the recording head subsequently have different sizes.

This is because the length is set so that the tip of the blade comes into contact with the ejection port surface during the movement path of the print head in order for the print head to rotate around the head shaft 36. It is. Therefore, by driving the cap unit together with the rotating operation of the recording head, cleaning can be performed even if the lengths of the blades 50 and 52 are the same or have the same feed length relationship as in this example. can.

For cleaning with blades, it is not necessary to use two blades as described above, but more than two blades may be used, or in this example, both blades 50.5
Although the same material is used in both cases, the same material or different materials having different properties may be used to enhance the cleaning effect.

Next, FIG. 24 shows the sequence at the start of printing.

The start of recording is performed as follows. First step 52
4-1, a print start signal is input to the print head which is in a standby state where the ejection port forming surface of the print head is simply covered by the cap. Then, as shown in step 524-2, the recording head and the cap are separated from each other as shown in FIG. 11, that is, the cap unit is retreated to the retracted position.

Next, while maintaining the state shown in FIG. 11, sporadic to several hundred preliminary ejections are performed from all the nozzles of the recording head, as shown in step S24-3.

This makes it possible to make the ejection state of the recording head uniform across all nozzles.

After the preliminary ejection is completed, the cap unit and head unit are moved, and as shown in step 524-4, the wiping operation start state shown in FIG. 23(a) is established. Thereafter, as shown in step 524-5, a series of wiping operations are performed as shown in FIGS. Furthermore, move the RAD unit to record and maintain that state. Thereafter, the recording signals are manually input in sequence to achieve the desired recording.

Finally, the recovery operation performed by circulating ink will be described in more detail. This embodiment has an air bubble sensor 103 shown in FIG. 16, which makes it possible to detect air bubbles present in the supply tube. Therefore, two types of recovery operations are possible: automatic recovery that is performed at predetermined intervals, and temporary recovery that is performed when bubble sensor 103 accidentally detects bubbles. The latter can be realized by having the bubble sensor 103, which makes it possible to reduce the accidental non-discharge that has occurred up to now and improve the reliability of the device. especially,
Considerable extra circulation time or number of cycles should be set to ensure that all bubbles are removed, regardless of the amount of bubbles or their location. was. However, in this embodiment, the recording head is concerned. Bubble sensors 103a and 103b are provided both upstream and downstream in the ink flow direction during circulation.

Therefore, when bubbles are not detected by both bubble sensors, the recovery operation is immediately stopped. In particular, if the signal from the bubble sensor 103b installed on the downstream side in the ink flow direction during circulation detects the removal (absence) of bubbles, after some time has elapsed (until the bubbles are discharged from the position of the sensor to the tank). time), the ink pump is stopped, so there is no need to take extra circulation time as in the conventional method, and as a result, the recovery sequence can be completed in a short time. Moreover, since the recovery is stopped after bubble removal is detected, the reliability of bubble removal is increased. ,
As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of ink that was previously consumed by recovery, and it is also possible to avoid running out of ink when receiving FAXs and non-receiving conditions during the recovery operation.

In this embodiment, a recording head having a supply pipe at both ends and performing a recovery operation by circulation is used, but the present invention is applied to a recording head having a single supply pipe and recovering by suction from the front of the nozzle. It goes without saying that it is okay to do so. It is also possible to reduce costs by integrally forming the bubble sensor in the structure of the head.

The present invention brings about excellent effects particularly in bubble jet recording heads and recording apparatuses among ink jet recording systems.

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. By applying at least one drive signal that corresponds to recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the electrothermal transducer, the electrothermal transducer generates thermal energy, and the recording head This is effective because it causes film boiling on the heat acting surface of the liquid (ink), resulting in the formation of bubbles in the liquid (ink) in one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. The growth and contraction of the bubble causes ink to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to use this drive signal in a pulse form because the growth and contraction of the bubbles can be carried out immediately and appropriately, and the liquid (ink) can be ejected with particularly excellent responsiveness. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. No. 4,463,359 and US Pat. No. 4,345,262 are suitable. still,
U.S. Patent No. 4 for the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface.
If the conditions described in No. 313124 are adopted, even better recording can be achieved.

The configuration of the recording head includes, in addition to the combined configuration of a discharge port, seven channels, and an electrothermal converter (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a thermal effect U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,60 disclose a configuration in which the portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 0 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 123670 of 1981 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy is disclosed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461 of 1982, which discloses a configuration corresponding to the discharge section.

Furthermore, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be increased by combining multiple recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either a configuration that satisfies the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that is attached to the device body enables electrical connection to the device body and ink supply from the device body, or a chip-type recording head that is installed integrally with the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head is used.

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 of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include preheating means for the recording head using a cabling means, a cleaning means, a pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal converter, a separate 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.

Furthermore, the recording mode of the recording device is not limited to a recording mode in which only the mainstream color such as black is used; the recording head may be configured integrally or in combination with a plurality of recording heads; According to the present invention, the ink attached to the orifice surface of the recording head can be removed by a plurality of cleaning members, so that the ink can be removed more completely. can. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the plurality of cleaning members are provided with different sizes, the contact angle and contact position of each cleaning member with the orifice surface are different, so that even firmly adhered ink can be removed more completely. It comes.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an inkjet recording apparatus in which residual ink does not have an adverse effect on image formation and can perform higher quality recording.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(A) is a side sectional view of a facsimile machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG. 1(B) is a plan view of its upper frame, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the open state, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the platen roller, Figure 4 is a perspective view of the paper ejection roller, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the recording frame, Figures 6 and 7 are side views of the vicinity of the recording head, and Figure 8 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the recording head. Figure 9 is a perspective view of the recording head; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the cap; Figures 10 (A), (B), and (C) are diagrams showing the state immediately after the head and the cap come into contact; Figure 11 (
A), (B) are diagrams showing the state in which the head and the cap are separated, and Figures 12 (A), (, B), and (C) are diagrams showing the state in which the cap is moving toward the head. , 13th
Figures (A), (B), and (C) show the state in which the protrusion presses and seals the nozzle, and the spring is elastically deformed. Figure 14 (A), (CB), and (C) Figure 15 (A) shows the state in which the cap or head separates from the head.
・(B) ・(C) are diagrams showing a standby state, FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration of an ink supply path of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a standby state. FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the structure of an ink cartridge installed in the inkjet recording device according to the present invention. , FIGS. 19(a) and 19(b) are a partially cutaway side view of an example of the configuration of an ink cartridge, and a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state of engagement with an ink supply means. Figure 20 is a partially cutaway front sectional view of an example of an ink cartridge configuration; Figure 21 is a schematic diagram showing a top surface of an example of an ink cartridge configuration; A flowchart showing an example of a recovery sequence applicable to the inkjet recording apparatus according to the invention, FIGS. 23(a), ('b), (c), and (d) are schematic side views showing the recovery operation in order. , FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence from a standby state to a recording state. 1...Recording paper 2...Original spear height 7...Conveyance roller 14...Recording kite 22...Cutter 38...Recording head 41...Cap 50.52...Wiper 60. ...Recovery frame 86...Ink cartridge/2 (Required figure 1q figure 2z

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) In an inkjet recording device that records on a recording medium by discharging ink onto the recording medium, cleaning an inkjet recording head that discharges ink and an orifice surface of the inkjet recording head in order to perform recording on the recording medium. and a small-sized cleaning member smaller than the large-sized cleaning member, and the small-sized cleaning member is arranged so as to come into contact with the recording head first during cleaning. Inkjet recording device. (2) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head rotates and first contacts the small-sized cleaning member and then contacts the large-sized cleaning member. (3) Claim (1) characterized in that the large size cleaning member and the small size cleaning member are made of different materials.
). (4) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the large-sized cleaning member and the small-sized cleaning member have different ink penetration amounts or contact angles with respect to the ejection opening. (5) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording head is a full-length type in which ejection ports are formed over the entire width of the recording area of the recording medium. (6) Claim (1) characterized in that the inkjet recording head ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes an electrothermal converter for generating the thermal energy. The inkjet recording device described in . (7) The inkjet recording device according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording device is a facsimile device having a document reading section.