JPH04110156A - Maintaining method for ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To again make a glass surface wettable by ink to recover a delivery device so that the front surface thereof is covered with a thin and uniform ink layer by using a maintenance liquid of a specific pH value in an ink jet recorder equipped with an ink delivery device made of a glass. CONSTITUTION:By washing the front surface of an ink delivery device made of a glass with a maintenance liquid having a pH value of 9 or more, foreign particles attracted on the surface of the glass are dissolved. The glass surface is activated. Furthermore, hydroxyl groups are attracted on the surface to improve hydrophilic properties, thus resulting in a good wettability. With a higher pH value, this action is more improved. In this manner, delivered ink cannot be flown askew, a nozzle cannot be clogged, and printing characteristics are stabilized. A flexible blade 7 integrally or separately provided on the peripheral part of a belt 6 rotated by a drive source in a direction B is intermittently abutted on the front surface of a glass substrate 2 provided with nozzles, whereby a wiping action is conducted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application 1] The present invention relates to a maintenance method for an inkjet recording device using an inkjet device made of glass material.

[Prior Art] Inkjet recording has the advantage that it generates little noise during recording and can perform high-speed recording. There are various types of ink ejection devices available for ink ejection, such as piezoelectric element control, electric field control, 8-electroelectric control, and thermal inkjet, but in any case, the way ink accumulates in front of the ejection device has a large effect on the flight state of the ejected ink droplets. In order to stabilize the ejection without causing flight deflection, it was necessary for the ink to accumulate thinly and uniformly on the front surface of the ejector as shown in Fig. 1.2.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when an ink ejection device made of glass is used, the glass surface dries under high temperature and low humidity conditions, changes the surface condition, and becomes difficult to wet with ink. As shown in Fig. 4, ink accumulates thickly and unevenly on the front surface of the ejecting device, causing the ejected ink droplets to bend in flight, resulting in irregular printing.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to solve the problem when the ejected ink droplet flight deflects because the surface condition of the glass changes and the ink becomes difficult to wet in an ink ejecting device made of glass material. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a maintenance method for returning the glass surface to a state where ink is easily wetted so that the ink is thinly and uniformly accumulated on the front surface of the ejection device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a maintenance method for an inkjet recording device using an ink ejection device made of a glass material, in which a maintenance liquid having a pH value of 9 or more and a maintenance liquid on the front surface of the ejection device are used. It is characterized by using a cleaning method.

[Function 1] In general, glass surfaces are extremely active and tend to adsorb various gases, liquids, solids, etc., so the surface properties change easily. When foreign matter adsorbs to the glass surface, the ink tends to get wet, and if it is cleaned, it becomes easy to get wet again. Furthermore, when water is adsorbed onto the glass surface, it becomes even more likely to get wet. In other words, when the front surface of an ink ejection device made of glass is cleaned with a maintenance liquid with a pH value of 9 or higher, foreign substances adsorbed to the glass surface are dissolved, the glass surface is activated, and hydroxyl groups are further adsorbed to the surface, increasing hydrophilicity. Therefore, it becomes easy to get wet. This effect is greater as the pH value increases.

This eliminates ink ejection deflection and nozzle clogging, and stabilizes printing characteristics.

[Example 1] The maintenance liquid used in the present invention contains potassium hydroxide for the purpose of adjusting the pH value to 9 or higher, as well as adjusting the viscosity, adjusting the surface tension, adjusting the electrical conductivity, preservative, and preventing metal salt precipitation. ,
Sodium hydroxide, notium hydroxide, aqueous ammonia, morpholine, 2-dimethylaminoethanol, glycerin, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, polyethylene glycol #200, #3
00, #400, methanol, ethanol, triethanolamine, triethylene glycol, monomethyl ether, formamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-
Water-soluble organic solvents such as vinyl-2-pyrodone, dimethyl sulfoxide, and diethylethanolamine, various anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants, and 2-sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) can be used as additives. .

Ink discharge bag is the cleaning method! There is a method of supplying maintenance liquid from an ink supply port inside the printer and sucking it from the front of the ejection device. Further, it is more effective to attach the front protective cap 5 of the ink ejection device as shown in FIG. 5 with the maintenance liquid filled inside the ink ejection device and leave it as it is for several minutes. Furthermore, at this time, the front of the dispensing device is
Mechanical wiping using a wiping device such as that shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 7 is more effective.

The wiping device shown in FIG. 6 has a retractable blade 7 formed integrally or separately on the outer periphery of a belt 6 that rotates in direction B by a drive source (not shown) in front of a glass substrate 2 on which a nozzle is formed. The wiping operation is performed by intermittently contacting the The wiping device shown in FIG. 7 also includes a cam 8 and a cam 8 that are linked to a drive source (not shown). The wiping operation is performed by bringing the collapsible blade 7 into contact with the front surface of the glass substrate 2 on which the nozzle is formed, and by separating it and setting it.

Examples of the maintenance liquid will be shown below to explain the present invention in further detail.

Example 1 Diethylene glycol 30wt% ethanol 30wt% potassium hydroxide 1wt% pure water
A mixture with a composition of 39 wt% or more
Heat and stir at 0°C for 1 hour. The obtained solution was filtered through a membrane filter with a pore size of 10 μm to remove dust, and a maintenance solution was obtained. pH value is 13.0
Met.

Example 2 Triethanolamine 20wt% Polyethylene glycol #300 20wt% Pure water
60wt% A maintenance liquid having the above composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. The pH value was 105.

Example 3 Glycerin 29 wt% Triethanolamine 1 wt% Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (surfactant) 0.5 wt% Pure water 69.5 wt% A maintenance liquid having the above composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. pH
The value was 93.

Comparative example 1 Diethylene glycol 30wt% ethanol 30wt% pure water
40wt% A maintenance liquid having the above composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. The pH value was 73.

Comparative example 2 N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone 20wt% polyethylene glycol #300 20wt% pure water
60wt% A maintenance liquid having the above composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. pH value is 8.5
Met.

The following tests were conducted using Seiko Epson's inkjet printer HG-2500, which uses an ink ejection device made of glass material, to evaluate the maintenance method.

l) 1 of the ink ejection device! Printing was carried out using the printing test ink shown below on the HG-2500, and it was confirmed that the ejected ink flight did not hit the target and that the ink accumulated on the front of the ejecting device at that time.
Confirm that the ink is thin and uniform as shown in the figure. Remove the ink ejection device from the printer and leave it in an environment of 40° C. and 20%. One month later, the ejecting device was installed in the printer again and printing was performed, and the third problem was that the ejected ink flew to the wrong place and the ink accumulated on the front of the ejecting device at that time.
Check that it is thick and uneven as shown in Figure 4.

Printing test ink C, 1, Direct Black 154
3wt% diethylene glycol 15
wt% pure water 82wt%
2) Cleaning method ■ Supply maintenance liquid from the ink supply port into the ink ejection device and suction it from the front of the ejection device to flow a sufficient amount to replace ink.

(2) After the operation in (2), the front protective cap 5 of the ejection device installed in the inkjet printer is attached and left for 5 minutes.

(2) After the operation in (2), the front surface of the ejection device is mechanically wiped using the wiping device shown in FIG. 6 or 7, which is installed in the inkjet printer.

3) Evaluation of maintenance method Maintenance liquids of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1.2 and 1)
After cleaning the ink ejecting device using each method shown in 2), printing was performed again using the test ink, and the recovery status of the ejected ink flight and the accumulation of ink on the front of the ejecting device at that time were observed. Check to see if the color has recovered to a thin and uniform state as shown in Figure 1.2, and both the flying target and the ink pooling have completely recovered... ○ The flying target or the ink pooling has completely recovered. Incomplete recovery in either case...△ Incomplete recovery in both flying mortar and ink accumulation...× The results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 As is clear from Table 1, in an inkjet recording device that uses an ink ejection device made of glass, the glass surface dries under high temperature and low humidity conditions, changing the surface condition and making it difficult for ink to get wet. ■,■
, even if the maintenance liquid of Comparative Example 1.2 was used in the cleaning method of
．． When the maintenance liquid No. 2.3 was used, it was possible to recover the ink so that it accumulated thinly and uniformly on the front surface of the ejection device, and the ejected ink flight direction no longer occurred. Here, if the cap 5 is left in the device for 5 minutes using the cleaning method (■),
Activation occurs not only in the ink flow path (but also because the front surface of the nozzle is covered with maintenance liquid.
The front surface of the nozzle, which is most related to flight characteristics, is activated.

When combined with a maintenance liquid having a pH of 9 or more, it has the special effect of stabilizing printing characteristics. In addition, in the cleaning method (■), a wiping device wipes the front of the nozzle.
Apply maintenance liquid to the front of the nozzle. Even in method (2), when combined with a maintenance liquid having a pH of 9 or more, the nozzle front surface is activated and the printing characteristics are stabilized.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the maintenance method of the present invention, a maintenance liquid having a pH value of 9 or more is used for an ink ejecting device made of glass material in which ejected ink has been caused to fly in the wrong direction. Therefore, it is possible to recover in a short period of time so that the flight target does not occur. This is an excellent method for maintaining an inkjet recording apparatus.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which ink is thinly and uniformly accumulated on the front surface of an ink ejecting device made of glass when ink that easily wets glass is used. Figure 2 is a diagram of Figure 1 viewed from direction A. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a situation where ink is thick and unevenly accumulated on the front surface of an ink ejecting device made of glass when ink that is difficult to wet with glass is used. Figure 4 is a diagram of Figure 3 viewed from six directions. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an ink discharging device equipped with a discharging device front protection cap. 6 and 7 are diagrams of a wiping device for mechanically wiping the front surface of the ink ejection device. Ink ejection nozzle Glass substrate outer case where the nozzle is formed, ink ejection device front protection cap, belt, foldable blade cam, spring or more that has accumulated on the front of the ink ejection device

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) An inkjet recording device maintenance method using an inkjet recording device made of glass material, which is characterized in that a maintenance liquid having a pH value of 9 or more is used. (2) The inkjet recording apparatus maintenance method according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance liquid contains at least a basic substance. (3) The inkjet recording apparatus maintenance method according to claim 2, wherein the basic substance is an alkali metal hydroxide. (4) The inkjet recording apparatus maintenance method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the maintenance liquid is supplied into the inkjet apparatus from an ink supply port and sucked from the front surface of the inkjet apparatus. (5) The maintenance liquid is supplied into the ink ejection device from an ink supply port, and after suctioning from the front surface of the ejection device, a front protection cap is attached to the ejection device.
Or the inkjet recording device maintenance method according to 2 or 3. (6) Claim 1 characterized in that the maintenance liquid is supplied into the ink ejection device from an ink supply port, sucked from the front surface of the ink ejection device, and then mechanically wiped by a wiping device.
Or the inkjet recording device maintenance method according to 2 or 3.