JPH04161343A - Purging device for ink jet printer head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit purging with a simple structure by providing a slider movable toward and away a printer head in the unprinted area of a carrier, a bellow pipe held thereby and having one end facing a nozzle and a check valve releasable by the inner pressure of the bellows pipe. CONSTITUTION:A carrier 1 is moved toward unprinted area in the direction of the arrow A, a printer head 3 contacts a projecting part 8 of a slider 4 and, as the moving action of the carrier 1 is continued, the slider 4 is moved upward. A nozzle 3a is then closed with the top part of a bellow pipe 11 to isolate the outside air, thereby preventing an ink in the nozzle 3a from drying. In the event of the nozzle 3a being clogged up, when the carrier 1 is made reciprocally moved in the unprinted area, the slider 4 is reciprocally moved vertically in conjunction therewith and, upon the upward movement of the slider, the bellows pipe 11 is pressed together and, by its rising inner pressure, a check valve 14 is released. Upon the downward movement of the slider, the negative pressure is produced in the bellow pipe, an ink is sucked out from the nozzle 3a and, when the check valve 14 is released, it is absorbed by a purge strip 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a purging device for an inkjet printer head.

Conventional technology Ink shed printers prevent the nozzles from drying out during non-printing by blocking the nozzles of the inkjet printer head with caps when not printing, and when the nozzles become clogged, a purging system is used to suck out ink from the nozzles. Is going.

Representative examples of purging devices for inkjet printer heads are shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 below.

1 is a carrier, and this carrier 1 is a carrier shaft 2
It is slidably fitted into the Although this carrier 1 is not shown, a part of a wire driven by a motor that can freely rotate forward and backward is fixed to the carrier 1. Therefore, by rotating the motor forward and backward, the carrier I is reciprocated along the carrier shaft 2. It is something that will be done. An inkjet printer head 3 having a large number of nozzles with an opening at the bottom end is mounted on this carrier l. Further, a slider 4 is provided in a non-printing area at the end of the moving range of the carrier I. A plurality of bottles 5 are erected on both sides of the slider 4, and these bottles 5 are held in elongated holes 7 formed on both sides of the support 6.

These elongated holes 7 are gradually inclined upward toward the non-printing area of the carrier 1. That is, the interlocking mechanism 10 is formed by the support body 6 having a plurality of elongated holes 7 and the plurality of bins 5 protruding from both sides of the slider 4. Furthermore, a rubber cap 20 is provided on the upper surface of the slider 4 to close the nozzle 3a of the inkjet printer head 3, and a protrusion 8 that abuts the carrier I is formed at the end. Furthermore, a spring 9 is provided between the support body 6 and the slider 4 to urge the slider 4 along the carrier shaft 2. Furthermore, a motor 2 is provided below the slider 4.
1 is provided with a pump 22 driven by the pump 22.
The ends of tubes 23 and 24 are connected to the discharge side and the suction side of the tube 23, a purge paper 25 is provided below the tube 23 on the discharge side, and the tube 24 on the suction side is connected to the tube 23, as shown in FIG. It is connected to the inside of the rubber cap 20.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the carrier l moves in the direction of arrow A toward the non-printing area, and as shown in FIG. 7(b)
When the inkjet printer head 3 comes into contact with the protrusion 8 of the slider 4 as shown in FIG. 7, and the movement of the carrier l progresses as shown in FIG. As a result of this action, it is displaced upward while moving in the moving direction of the carrier 1. During the process of the slider 4 approaching the inkjet printer head 3, the nozzle 3a of the inkjet printer head 3 is sealed by the rubber cap 20 and isolated from the outside air, thereby preventing the ink in the nozzle from drying. Purging is performed when the nozzle 3a becomes clogged. That is, pump 22
to suck out ink from the nozzle. The sucked out ink flows through the tubes 24 and 23 and is absorbed by the purge paper 25.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Conventional purging devices require an expensive pump 22 to suck out ink from the nozzle 3a, and installation of the pump 22 requires piping work.
Cost increases.

A carrier held so as to be able to reciprocate in a linear direction; an inkjet printer head held on the carrier;
a slider held so as to be able to approach and separate from the inkjet printer head in a non-printing area of the moving range of the carrier; and a retractable slider held by a second slider with one end facing the nozzle of the inkjet printer head. It is composed of a bellows tube, a check valve provided on the slider and opened by the pressure inside the bellows tube, and a drainage reservoir section facing the check valve.

By moving the working carrier together with the ink jet printer head to a non-printing area and moving the slider closer to the ink jet printer head, the nozzle is brought into close contact with the end of the bellows tube and is isolated from the outside air. In addition, the bellows tube expands and contracts as the slider moves toward and away from the inkjet printer head, so when the bellows tube expands, negative pressure is generated inside, which keeps the check valve closed and sucks out ink from the nozzle. When the bellows tube is contracted, the increased internal pressure opens the check valve, and the sucked ink is discharged into the drainage reservoir.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 4. The same parts as those of the conventional example explained in FIGS. 5 to 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and explanation thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 1, the slider 4 is provided with an elastic elastic bellows tube 11. Further, a drainage reservoir section 12 is provided below the slider 4. As shown in Figure 2,
A recess 13 is formed in the slider 4, the bellows pipe 11 is fitted into the upper end of the recess 13, and a check valve 14 that is opened by the pressure inside the recess 13 is provided at the lower end of the recess 13. . This check valve 14 includes an elastic piece 15 whose free end is in elastic contact with the lower surface of the recess 13, and this elastic piece 15.
A screw 16 fixes the base of the slider 4 to the slider 4. The drain reservoir 12 has an upper end that is connected to the recess 13.
The purge strip 17 is held by the slider 4 and is opposed to the lower end of the purge strip 17, and the purge paper I8 is opposed to the lower end of the purge strip 17. The purge strip 17 and the purge paper 18 are made of water-absorbing material, and the middle portion of the purge strip 17 is inserted into a non-water-absorbing tube 19.

In such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 3(a),
Carrier 1 moves in the direction of arrow A toward the non-printing area,
As shown in FIG. 3(b), the inkjet printer head 3 comes into contact with the protrusion 8 of the slider 4, and as shown in FIG. 3(C), when the movement of the carrier 1 continues, the slider 4 is displaced upward while moving in the moving direction of the carrier 1. During this process, the nozzle 3a of the inkjet printer head 3 is sealed to the upper end of the bellows tube 11 and is isolated from the outside air, thereby preventing the ink in the nozzle 3a from drying out. Purging is performed when the nozzle 3a becomes clogged. That is, the carrier 1 is reciprocated within the non-printing area.

As can be seen from the operation based on FIG. 3, the slider 4 reciprocates in the vertical direction in conjunction with the reciprocating movement of the carrier 1. When the slider 4 rises, the bellows tube 11 is brought into close contact with the nozzle 3a and compressed, and the elastic piece 15 is pushed downward by the internal pressure that increases inside the bellows tube 11 and the recess 13, as shown in FIG. 4(a). , and the recess 13 is opened. That is, the check valve 14 is opened. When the slider 4 descends, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the bellows tube 11 expands due to its own elasticity, so negative pressure is generated inside the bellows tube 11 and the recess 13. The elastic piece 15 is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the recess 13, and the ink is sucked out from the nozzle 3a. Subsequently, when the slider 4 is raised, the bellows tube 11 is compressed by the nozzle 3a and the internal pressure is increased as shown in FIG. 4(C), so the check valve 14 is opened and the sucked ink is It is absorbed by the purge strip 17.

Ink that cannot be absorbed by the purge strip 17 is absorbed by the purge paper 18.

As described above, the slider 4 is moved toward and away from the inkjet printer head 3 using the reciprocating motion of the carrier 1 as a driving source, and purging can be performed by the expansion and contraction motion of the bellows tube 11 at this time. Can be omitted. Furthermore, assembly work becomes easier, and costs can be reduced.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention includes a carrier held so as to be reciprocally movable in a linear direction, an inkjet printer head held by the carrier, and an inkjet printer head in a non-printing area within a moving range of the carrier. a slider held so as to be able to approach and move away from the head; a telescopic bellows tube held by the slider with one end facing the nozzle of the inkjet printer head; The structure consists of a check valve that opens and a drainage reservoir facing the check valve, so by moving the carrier together with the inkjet printer head to a non-printing area and bringing the slider close to the inkjet printer head, the nozzle can be removed. The bellows tube is tightly attached to the end of the bellows tube and is isolated from the outside air, and the bellows tube expands and contracts as the slider moves toward and away from the inkjet printer head, so when the bellows tube expands, negative pressure is generated inside, so the reverse occurs. The stop valve is kept closed and ink is sucked from the nozzle, and when the bellows tube is contracted, the increased internal pressure opens the check valve, so the sucked out ink is discharged to the drainage reservoir. Moreover, since purging can be performed without using an expensive pump, the structure and assembly work can be simplified and costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a perspective view, Figure 2 is a longitudinal side view of the slider, and Figure 3 is a side view of the slider.
The figure is a front view showing the interlocking operation between the inkjet printer head and the slider, FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional F1 view showing the purging operation, and FIGS. 5 to 7 show conventional examples.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view, Fig. 6 is a vertical side view of the slider, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view.
The figure is a front view showing the interlocking operation of the inkjet printer head and the slider.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A carrier held so as to be able to reciprocate in a linear direction, an inkjet printer head held by this carrier,
a slider held so as to be able to approach and separate from the inkjet printer head in a non-printing area of the movement range of the carrier; and a retractable bellows tube held by the slider with one end facing a nozzle of the inkjet printer head. A purging device for an inkjet printer head, comprising: a check valve provided on the slider and opened by the pressure inside the bellows tube; and a drainage reservoir facing the check valve.