JPH04278358A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an adhesion of dust or the like on a wiper member during a non-cleaning time and efficiently clean the wiper member by a method wherein the wiper member for cleaning the delivery port surface of a recording means is traveled to a side opposite to the delivery port surface when a cleaning is not required, and a cleaning member is provided in a travel path. CONSTITUTION:A recording means (recording head) 10 is provided with an electrothermal energy conversion body generating a thermal energy for the delivery of ink. The ink is delivered from a delivery port 52 by a film boiling occurring in the ink by the thermal energy. A wiper member 12 is provided for cleaning the delivery port 52 of the recording head 10. For preventing the adhesion of dust, ink mist, and the like on the wiper member 12, a holder 13 holding the wiper member 12 is rotated about a support shaft 4 during a non- cleaning time so that the wiper member 12 is separated from the delivery port. In addition, a cleaning member l made of an ink absorbing body is provided in the travel path to clean the both surfaces of the wiper member 12.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means onto a recording material.

0002

[Prior Art] Recording devices that have functions such as printers, copiers, and facsimiles, or that are used as output devices for multifunction machines and workstations including computers, word processors, etc., print paper or thin plastic sheets based on image information. It is configured to record images on recording materials such as. The recording apparatus can be classified into inkjet type, wire dot type, thermal type, laser beam type, etc. depending on the recording method.

Among these, the inkjet type (inkjet recording device) performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material, and is capable of recording high-definition images at high speed. Advantages include the ability to record on plain paper without requiring any special processing, the non-impact method that produces less noise, and the ease of recording color images using multi-colored ink. have. Among these, a line-type apparatus that uses a line-type recording means in which a large number of ejection ports are arranged in the width direction of the paper can achieve even higher recording speeds.

In particular, inkjet recording means (recording heads) that eject ink using thermal energy,
Electrothermal converters, electrodes, etc. formed on a substrate through semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering,
By forming the liquid path walls, the top plate, etc., it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement). On the other hand, there are various requirements for recording materials, and in recent years, in addition to the usual recording materials such as paper and thin resin plates (OHP, etc.), thin paper and processed paper (with punch holes for filing) Paper, perforated paper, paper of arbitrary shapes, etc.) are now required to be used.

[0005] In the above inkjet recording device,
If impurities such as ink mist or paper powder or dust adhere to the ejection port surface where the ejection ports are formed, ejection failures such as non-ejection or wobbling may occur, which may cause deterioration in the quality of recorded images. Therefore, one treatment method to eliminate the cause of such discharge failure is to perform a cleaning operation such as wiping off the deposits on the discharge port surface with a wiper member made of a blade made of rubber-like elastic material at a predetermined timing. It is being done. The wiping operation of the discharge port surface is performed by sliding the wiper member and the discharge port surface, and in this case, there are two methods: one method is to move the discharge port surface, and the other method is to move the wiper member.

[0006]

If the ink etc. adhering to the wiper member which has been subjected to such head cleaning (cleaning of the ejection port surface) is left unattended, the ink etc. will stick to the wiper member. Therefore, performing a continuous wiping operation may cause re-adhesion of the ink and foreign matter removed by wiping, and it may not be possible to improve the ink ejection condition. Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-14 discloses a configuration in which the wiper member is cleaned after the wiper member performs head cleaning.
No. 964, JP-A-62-251145, JP-A-63-
No. 227347 and the like can be mentioned. This results in
The wiper member can be refreshed to support continuous head cleaning operations.

However, since such a wiper member is always disposed in an area facing the head, when the wiper is not in use, for example, during recording, paper dust emitted from the recording material and discharged from the head can be removed. There is a risk that ink mist or the like may adhere to the wiper member surface. In this case,
Even if the wiper member is once refreshed, its cleaning effect is reduced by half.

On the other hand, there are methods for wiping off ink and other deposits on the surface of the wiper member as described above, such as by driving the carriage side to clean both sides, or by rotating the wiper member in one direction. Cleaning the wiper member may put an excessive burden on the carriage drive, and although the surface can be cleaned by rotating in one direction, as mentioned above, paper dust and ink mist that have gotten around to the back side of the wiper member cannot be removed. Can not. Also, for example, when suction recovery processing is performed to improve the ejection condition of the print head, a large amount of ink adheres to the head surface, and when that ink is wiped, the ink is removed toward the surface in the wiping direction. Some ink not only adheres to the wiper member, but also wraps around to the back side. If this condition is left untreated, it will lead to an increase in the amount of ink stuck to the back side of the wiper member. This may also have an effect, leading to a decrease in the wiping performance of the wiper member.

The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to prevent paper dust, ink mist, etc. from adhering to the wiper member during non-cleaning (when head cleaning is not performed). It is possible to prevent this and efficiently clean both sides of the wiper member, eliminating poor cleaning of the ejection port surface and clogging of the ejection port due to accumulation and adhesion of ink and dust, and ensuring constant stability. An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording device capable of ejecting ink in a manner similar to that described above.

0010

[Means for solving the problem] As a result of intensive studies to improve these problems, the wiper member is operated and stored in an area where paper dust and the like do not enter much when not cleaning. We have found that the above-mentioned problem can be improved by providing a member that efficiently and reliably cleans both sides of the wiper member during the storage operation. The present invention has been made based on such knowledge, and provides a wiper member for cleaning the ejection opening surface of the recording means in an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from the recording means onto a recording material. is provided so as to be moved to a position facing opposite to the discharge port surface when cleaning is not required, a cleaning member is disposed in the movement path of the wiper member, and the wiper member is moved after cleaning the discharge port surface. The above object is achieved by configuring the wiper member to be cleaned by the cleaning member.

[0011] With this configuration, both sides of the wiper member can be efficiently cleaned by the storage operation of the wiper member, and since the wiper member can be stored well, paper dust can be removed from the refreshed wiper member. It is possible to prevent the adhesion of ink mist, etc., and it is possible to maintain excellent wiping characteristics even during long-term use.

0012

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 5, the recording materials 16 loaded in the cassette 20 are fed through the recording section one by one in the direction of arrow C by driving an unillustrated pickup roller and paper feed roller by an unillustrated motor. A guide rail 24 runs across the recording material 16.
and encoders 17 are installed parallel to each other. The guide rail 24 and encoder 17 include
4 recording means (recording heads) 10B, 10C, 10M
, 10Y is guided and supported so that it can reciprocate. The carriage 15 has a motor 19
As a result, it is driven in the main scanning direction via drive belts 25a and 25b. In the following description, all or any one of the four recording means 10B, 10C, 10M, and 10Y will be simply referred to as the recording means 10 or the recording head 10.

The recording means (recording head) 10 includes an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy used to eject ink. Further, the recording means 10 ejects ink from the ejection opening based on changes in the state of the ink, including the formation of bubbles due to film boiling that occurs in the ink due to thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejecting section of the recording means (recording head) 10. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, a plurality of ejection ports 52 are formed at a predetermined pitch on an ejection port surface 51 that faces the recording material 16 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 1.5 mm). Each liquid path 5 communicates the common liquid chamber 53 and each discharge port 52.
An electrothermal transducer (heating resistor, etc.) 55 for generating energy for ink ejection is disposed along the wall surface of the printer 4. In the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG. 5, each recording means (recording head) 10 is mounted on the carriage 15 in a positional relationship such that the plurality of ejection ports 52 are lined up in a direction intersecting the main scanning direction (moving direction) of the carriage 15. It is installed in. In this way, the corresponding electrothermal converter 55 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal, and the liquid path 54 is
A recording means (recording head) 10 is configured to film-boil the ink in the recording medium and discharge the ink from the discharge ports 52 using the pressure generated at that time.

In FIG. 5, a cap member 11 facing the recording head 10 is disposed at the home position of the recording head 10. As shown in FIG. This home position is set at a predetermined position outside the recording area, for example, at the left end position of the movement range of the carriage 15. The cap member 11
is made of an air-impermeable rubber-like elastic material, and is movable in the direction of arrow B (direction of pressure contact with and separation from the ejection port surface 51 of the recording head 10) by a driving means (not shown). When recording is not performed, the carriage 15 is moved to the home position and the cap member 11 is advanced to seal the ejection ports 52 of each recording head 10. Such capping prevents the ejection port 52 from clogging due to coagulation of ink caused by evaporation of ink solvent or adhesion of dust. In addition, in order to eliminate unstable ejection or clogging of the ejection ports 52 of the recording head 10 that are used less frequently, an idle ejection operation is also performed to eject ink into the cap member 11 during printing. Furthermore, with the ejection port 52 sealed with the cap member 11, ink is sucked out from the ejection port 52 by a suction pump (not shown) and guided to the suction pump, thereby normalizing the ejection port 52 that has caused ejection failure. Recovery operations are also performed to return to normal.

A wiper member 12 attached to a holder 13 is provided at a position adjacent to the recording area side of the cap member 11 (a position outside the recording area). The wiper member 12 is formed of a plate-like member (blade) made of a rubber-like elastic material such as silicone rubber or urethane rubber. Therefore, the wiper member 12 and the holder 13 are moved to the upward position (in use) as shown in the drawing by a driving means (not shown).
It is rotatable in the direction of arrow A between the downward position and the downward position. Further, a cleaning member 1 for cleaning the wiper member 12 is disposed in the middle of the rotation (movement) path of the wiper member 12.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 14 indicates a guide plate 18 for regulating the position of the recording material 16 in the recording section.
21a and 21b are ink supply tubes for supplying ink to each recording means (recording head) 10; 21a and 21b are ink cartridges in which recording ink is stored; 22 and 2;
3 is a pair of conveyance rollers for conveying the recording material 16.

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are partial perspective views of the wiper member 12 in a used state and a non-used state (standby state) when viewed from the front side, and FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are )
, (c) and (d) are partial front views showing the operation of the wiper member 12 and cleaning member 1. Figure 1
In FIG. 2, the holder 13 is attached to a support shaft 4 that can be rotated by a drive means (not shown) so as to rotate integrally therewith. This support shaft 4 is the recording head 1
The wiper member 12 is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction that is substantially perpendicular to the moving direction D (FIG. 2) of the wiper member 12, and by rotating the support shaft 4 with a drive means (such as a motor) not shown, the wiper member 12 is moved to the discharge port. It can be rotated between an upward position where it can slide into surface 51 (FIG. 2) and a downward position opposite thereto (approximately 180 degree rotation position). Further, the cleaning member 1 is disposed in the middle of the rotation path of the wiper member 12, that is, at a position where the wiper member 12 comes into sliding contact during rotation. The cleaning member 1 is made of an ink absorber having excellent ink absorption performance, such as a porous member or a fibrous member.

Next, the operation of the above ink jet recording apparatus will be explained. The illustrated inkjet recording apparatus is configured to perform recording by ejecting ink from a recording head 10 mounted downward onto a recording material 16 kept horizontally. As shown in FIG. 1(a) and FIG. 2(a), when the wiper member 12 is facing upward, each recording head 1
By moving the carriage 15 in the upward direction in the direction of arrow D and passing the recording head 10, the discharge opening surface 51 of each recording head 10 is sequentially wiped and cleaned. do. After cleaning each discharge port surface 51, the wiper member 12 and holder 13 are rotated about the support shaft 4 as shown in FIGS. 2(b) to 2(d). At this time, the foreign matter 30 (FIG. 2) such as ink that adheres to the wiper member 12 during cleaning of the ejection port surface 51 is removed by the sliding contact of the wiper member 12 with the cleaning member (ink absorber) 1 (FIG. 2). It is wiped off by the cleaning member 1 as shown in c). The wiper member 12 thus cleaned rotates to a position opposite to the discharge port surface 51 as shown in FIG.
Wait in that position until the time of cleaning in step 1.

When cleaning the ejection port surface 51, the wiper member 12 is rotated in the opposite direction to that described above, and the cleaning member (ink absorber) 1 is used to clean the ejection port surface 51 in the middle of the cleaning process. Set it to the cleaning position (usage state) shown in FIG. 2(a). Next, as shown in FIG. 2A, the recording means (recording head) 10 is moved in the direction of arrow D to sequentially wipe and clean the ejection port surface 51 of each recording head 10. The timing of cleaning the ejection port surface 51 by the wiper member 12 is managed based on the image recording time, the number of scans of the carriage 15, and the like. Further, in order to recover from the ejection failure of the ejection port 52, a recovery operation is performed in which ink is sucked from the ejection port 52 while the ejection port 52 is sealed with the cap member 11.
The cleaning of the ejection port surface 51 by No. 2 is also performed after the recovery operation in order to remove ink adhesion caused by the recovery operation.

According to the embodiment described above, the discharge port surface 5
Each time the wiping cleaning described in step 1 is performed, the wiper member 12 is moved in the opposite direction to the ejection port surface 51 (in the illustrated example, to the downward storage position), and a cleaning member (ink absorber) is placed along the movement path of the wiper member 12. ) 1 so that they can be slid into contact with each other, it is possible to efficiently clean both sides of the wiper member 12 by the retracting operation of the wiper member 12, and the wiper member 12 is less susceptible to adhesion of paper powder, ink mist, etc. It can be stored in good condition, and the excellent wiping characteristics (cleaning function) of the discharge port surface can be maintained even during long-term use. For this reason, deterioration of the wiper member 12 and deposits from being pushed into the discharge port 52 are eliminated, and the wiper member 12 is always kept clean.
2, it became possible to wipe the ejection port surface 51, and it became possible to always perform stable ink ejection.

FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are front views of the wiper member 12 of another embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, in a used state and a non-used state (standby state). It is a perspective view, and (a) and (b) of FIG.
and (c) is a partial side view showing the operation of the wiper member 12 and cleaning member 1 shown in FIG. 3. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the holder 13 holding the wiper member 12 is attached to a support shaft 8 that can be rotated by a drive means (not shown) so as to rotate integrally therewith. The support shaft 8 in this embodiment is arranged approximately parallel to the moving direction D (FIG. 2) of the recording head 10, and by rotating the support shaft 8, the wiper member 12 is moved to the ejection port surface 51 (
It can be rotated between an upward position where it can be slid into contact with FIG. 2) and a downward position opposite thereto (about a 180 degree rotation position). In this case, the wiper member 12 and the holder 1
3 rotates in a plane substantially perpendicular to the moving direction D (FIG. 2) of the recording means 10. Therefore, below the support shaft 8, a cleaning member 2 is provided which has a groove 3 into which the wiper member 12 can slide. The cleaning member 2 is made of an ink absorber having excellent ink absorption performance, such as a porous member or a fibrous member. This example differs from the previous example in the above points, but
Other parts have substantially the same configuration.

Next, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be explained. The inkjet recording device of this example also
It is configured to perform recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) 10 mounted downward onto a recording material 16 held substantially horizontally. Figure 3(a)
4A, when the wiper member 12 is facing upward, the ejection port surface 51 of each recording head 10 (FIG.
), and in this upward position, the carriage 1
5 in the direction of arrow D (FIG. 2) and passing through the recording head 10, the ejection port surface 5 of each recording head 10 is
Wipe and clean 1 in sequence. After cleaning each discharge port surface 51, the wiper member 12 and holder 13 are moved around the support shaft 8 through the state shown in FIG.
Rotate it approximately 180 degrees to the position shown in (c). that time,
Foreign matter such as ink that adheres to the wiper member 12 during cleaning of the discharge port surface 51 is wiped off by the cleaning member 2 as the wiper member 12 comes into sliding contact with the inner surface of the groove 3 of the cleaning member (ink absorber) 2. It will be done. The wiper member 12 thus cleaned is shown in FIG. 3(b).
and as shown in FIG. 4(c), it is held in the groove 3 of the cleaning member 2 in an attitude opposite to the discharge port surface 51,
It waits at that position until the next time the discharge port surface 51 is cleaned.

When cleaning the discharge port surface 51, the wiper member 12 is rotated in the opposite direction to that described above. During this rotation, the wiper member 12 is cleaned by slidingly contacting the inner surface of the groove 3 of the cleaning member (ink absorber) 2, and then rotates upward as shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 4(a). It is set to the position (usage position). Next, the recording means (recording head) 10 is moved in the direction of arrow D (FIG. 2) to sequentially wipe and clean the ejection port surface 51 of each recording head 10. The timing of cleaning the ejection port surface 51 by the wiper member 12 is managed based on the image recording time, the number of scans of the carriage 15, and the like. Further, in order to recover from the ejection failure of the ejection port 52, a recovery operation is performed in which ink is sucked from the ejection port 52 while the ejection port 52 is sealed with the cap member 11.
Cleaning of the ejection port surface 51 is also performed after the recovery operation to remove ink adhesion caused by the recovery operation.

Also in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each time the discharge port surface 51 is wiped and cleaned, the wiper member 12 is moved in the opposite direction to the discharge port surface 51 (in the illustrated example,
Since the cleaning member (ink absorber) 2 is slidably disposed on the moving path of the wiper member 12 (downward storage position), both sides of the wiper member can be efficiently cleaned by the storage operation of the wiper member 12. Furthermore, the wiper member 12 can be stored in a good condition where paper dust and ink mist are not likely to adhere to it, and the wiping property (cleaning function) of the discharge port surface is always excellent even during long-term use. ) has become possible to maintain. In this embodiment, since the wiper member 12 is housed in the groove 3 of the ink absorber 2, it is possible to more reliably prevent paper powder, ink mist, etc. from adhering to the wiper member 12 during recording operations. Can be done. For this reason, deterioration of the wiper member 12 and deposits on the discharge port 5
In addition to eliminating the need to push the ink into the ink cartridge 2, it is now possible to always wipe the ejection port surface 51 with a clean wiper member 12, and it has become possible to always perform stable ink ejection.

In each of the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to the recording means 1 on the carriage 15 that moves along the recording material 1.
Although the description has been made by taking as an example a case of a serial type recording device equipped with The present invention can be applied in the same way regardless of the type of scanning method, such as a recording device, and can achieve the same effect.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the case of a color recording apparatus equipped with a plurality of recording means for recording in different colors has been exemplified, but the present invention uses a single recording means. It can be applied in the same way regardless of the number of recording means, such as a recording device or a recording device for gradation recording that uses multiple recording means of the same color but different density, and can achieve the same effect. It is something. Furthermore, the recording means (recording head) 10 may be a replaceable cartridge-type recording means in which the recording head and ink tank are integrated, or the recording head and ink tank may be separated, for example, through a coupler and a tube. Various structured recording means can be used, such as a coupling structured recording means.

The present invention can be applied to inkjet recording devices that use a recording means (recording head) that uses an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. This provides excellent effects in an inkjet recording apparatus that ejects ink. This is because, according to such a system, higher recording density and higher definition can be achieved.

For its typical configuration and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
Preferably, this is done using the basic principles disclosed in the '796 specification. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but
In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, the electrothermal transducer placed corresponding to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the liquid path is required to respond to the recorded information and rapidly exceed nucleate boiling. By applying at least one drive signal that causes a temperature increase, the electrothermal transducer generates thermal energy that causes film boiling on the heat-active surface of the recording means (recording head), resulting in a pair of It is effective because it can form bubbles in the liquid (ink).

The growth and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one drop. It is more preferable to use this drive signal in a pulse form, since the growth and contraction of bubbles can be carried out immediately and appropriately, so that ejection of liquid (ink) with particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in US Pat.
Those described in Japanese Patent No. 463359 and Japanese Patent No. 4345262 are suitable. Incidentally, US Pat.
If the conditions described in No. 24 are adopted, even more excellent recording can be achieved.

[0031] In addition to the configuration of the recording head, which is a combination of ejection ports, liquid paths, and electrothermal converters (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4 disclose a configuration in which a heat acting part is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 123670 of 1982 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a hole 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 1981, which discloses a configuration in which a discharge portion corresponds to a discharge portion. That is, regardless of the form of the recording head, according to the present invention, recording can be performed reliably and efficiently.

Furthermore, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration in which the length is satisfied by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally. In addition, even with the serial type shown in the example above, the recording head is fixed to the device body, or by being attached to the device body, electrical connection to the device body and ink supply from the device body is possible. The present invention is also effective when using a replaceable chip type recording head or a cartridge type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself.

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

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to one that corresponds to single-color ink, there are also configurations that correspond to multiple inks with different recording colors and densities. A plurality of them may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording device is not only a recording mode for mainstream colors such as black, but also a recording mode for only mainstream colors such as black.
The recording head may be configured integrally or in combination, but the present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one of multiple colors of different colors or full color by mixing colors.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but ink that solidifies at room temperature or below, softens or liquefies at room temperature, or ink jet In this method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within the range of 30°C to 70°C to keep the viscosity of the ink within the stable ejection range. Any liquid may be used. In addition, the temperature rise caused by thermal energy can be actively prevented by using it as energy to change the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or ink that solidifies when left unused is used to prevent ink evaporation. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal, and the liquid ink is ejected, or the ink already begins to solidify by the time it reaches the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable when using ink that is liquefied only by thermal energy.

[0036] The ink used in such a case is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1983-
56847 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-71260, a form in which the porous sheet is held as a liquid or solid in the recesses or through holes and faces the electrothermal converter. You can also use it as In the present invention, the most effective method for each of the above-mentioned inks is to implement the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the inkjet recording device according to the present invention can be used as an image output terminal for information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying device combined with a reader, etc., and a facsimile device having a sending/receiving function. It may also take the form of

[0038]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording material, there is a method for cleaning the ejection opening surface of the recording means. A wiper member is provided so as to be moved to a position facing opposite to the discharge port surface when cleaning is not required, a cleaning member is disposed in a movement path of the wiper member, and the wiper member is removed after cleaning the discharge port surface. Since the wiper member is cleaned by the cleaning member when it is moved, both sides of the wiper member can be efficiently cleaned by the storage operation of the wiper member, and the wiper member can be stored well. It can reliably prevent paper powder, ink mist, etc. from adhering to the wiper member during recording operations, etc.
Provided is an inkjet recording device that can always maintain excellent wiping characteristics even after long-term use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing an ejection port surface wiping cleaning means of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing the operation of the wiping cleaning means of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing an ejection port surface wiping cleaning means of another embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

4 is a partial side view showing the operation of the wiping cleaning means of FIG. 3; FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

6 is a schematic partial perspective view showing the configuration of an ink ejection section of the recording means shown in FIG. 5. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cleaning member (ink absorber) 2
Cleaning member (ink absorber) 3
Groove (cleaning member) 4 Support shaft 8 Support shaft 10 Recording means (recording head) 11 Cap member 12 Wiper member 13 Holder 15 Carriage 16 Recorded material 19 Motor 22 for driving the carriage
Conveyance roller 51 Discharge port surface 52 Discharge port 55 Electrothermal converter

Claims (5)

[Claims] Claim 1: In an inkjet recording device that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording device onto a recording material, a wiper member for cleaning the discharge port surface of the recording device is moved to the side opposite to the discharge port surface when cleaning is not required. A cleaning member is disposed in the moving path of the wiper member, and the wiper member is cleaned by the cleaning member when the wiper member is moved after cleaning the discharge port surface. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: 2. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both sides of the wiper member are cleaned by the cleaning member. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning member is an ink absorber. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording means includes an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for ink ejection. 5. The ink jet recording according to claim 4, wherein the recording means ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing film boiling that occurs in the ink due to thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter. Device.