JPH0470351A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shrink a bubble in an ink flow path to ensure the removal of the bubble to conduct a proper printing by a method wherein bubbles and the like stagnating inside a head and a buffer tank are pressurized by a pressurizing pump as well as sucked by a suction pump. CONSTITUTION:When bubbles or the like stagnate inside a head 1, a buffer tank 2, or the like, a motor 27 is driven with the head 1 capped with a cap 4 to actuate a pressurizing pump 28, and a motor 6 is driven to actuate a suction pump 7. In this manner, a pressurizing air is fed from a pressure supply port 24 of the cap 4 to an ink tank 3 through a pressure connection port 21, whereby ink in the buffer tank 2 and an ink flow path of the head 1 is pressurized. On the other hand, by sucking a nozzle 1a of the head 1 from an ink suction port 22 by the suction pump 7, the pressurized ink and bubble in the head 1 are sucked out of the nozzle 1a to be discharged to a waste liquid tank 8. In addition, an ink residual amount sensor 18 stops the drive of the pressurizing pump 28 when detecting the exhaustion of ink in the path from the ink tank 3 to the buffer tank 2.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an inkjet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink from a head toward a sheet of paper. This invention relates to an inkjet printer that makes it possible to remove

[Prior Art] Generally, inkjet printers, which perform desired printing on paper by ejecting ink fed to a head from its nozzles, are widely used due to their quietness and other reasons.

FIG. 5 shows an outline of such a conventional inkjet printer. A head 1, which is mounted on a carriage (not shown) and has a nozzle (not shown) at its tip, is connected to a head 1 through a buffer tank 2. An ink tank 3 filled with ink is connected. Each of these members is
mounted on a carriage.

Further, a cap 4 that covers the head 1 when not printing is provided at a position corresponding to the reference position of the head 1, and this cap 4 has an ink suction port connected to a nozzle of the head 1. (not shown) is formed. A suction pump 7 operated by a motor 6 is connected to the cap 4 via a check valve 5, and a waste liquid tank 8 is connected to this suction pump 7 via another check valve 5. ing.

According to the conventional inkjet printer described above, an ink jetting mechanism (not shown) of the head 1 is operated based on a predetermined print signal to ink of a desired color supplied from the ink tank 3 via the buffer tank 2. By jetting the liquid toward the paper, desired printing can be performed.

When printing is completed, the carriage is returned to a predetermined reference position, and the cap 4 is attached to the head 1 at this reference position.
This prevents ink from drying out in the ink nozzles.

In addition, if air bubbles or the like accumulate inside the head 1 or the buffer tank 2, the motor 6 is driven to operate the suction pump 7 while the cap 4 is attached. By suctioning air bubbles etc. from the nozzles, the air bubbles inside the head 1 and the like are removed together with the ink and discharged into the waste liquid tank 8.

FIG. 6 schematically shows another conventional ink jet printer, in which a suction pump 7 is connected to a buffer tank 2 via a check valve 5.

According to the conventional inkjet printer shown in FIG.
When air bubbles etc. accumulate inside the head 1, etc., the suction pump 7 is operated to suck out the air bubbles etc. from the nozzle of the head 1, and also from the buffer tank 2 side, so that the air bubbles etc. are collected together with the ink. Air bubbles in the head 1 and the like can be removed and discharged to the waste liquid tank 8.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in each of the conventional inkjet printers described above, the suction pump 7 is operated to
Since air bubbles and the like inside the head 1 are removed by suctioning, the negative pressure generated during the suction causes the air bubbles to swell and block the ink flow path. The problem is that ink and air bubbles cannot be suctioned smoothly and air bubbles cannot be completely removed. For this reason, there is a problem in that the head 1 cannot properly eject ink, resulting in poor printing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer that can reliably remove air bubbles in an ink flow path and perform proper printing.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an inkjet printer of the present invention includes a head that ejects ink onto paper based on a predetermined drive signal, and a cap that covers the head when the head is not printing. In an inkjet printer comprising an ink tank filled with ink of a predetermined color connected via a buffer tank, a discharge valve connected to the buffer tank discharges air and overflow ink to a waste liquid tank; a pressure pump that supplies pressurized air; a suction pump connected to the cap that sucks ink flowing out from the head when pressurized by the pressure pump and sends it to the waste liquid tank; the pressure pump and the buffer tank; It is characterized in that it is provided with an ink remaining amount sensor disposed between.

(Function) According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, when air bubbles or the like accumulates inside the head or the buffer tank, the pressurizing pump is operated with the cap attached to the head. By supplying pressurized air to the ink tank, the ink in the buffer tank and the ink flow path of the head is pressurized, and this pressurization contracts the air bubbles in the ink flow path, causing the air bubbles to block the ink flow path. This can prevent blockages and smooth the flow of ink.On the other hand, by operating the suction pump to suction the head, the pressurized ink and air bubbles in the head are sucked out of the nozzle and discharged to the waste liquid tank. This allows air bubbles to be reliably removed, ink to be ejected appropriately, and printing quality to be improved.

Additionally, when the remaining ink level sensor detects that the ink between the ink tank and the buffer tank has run out, the drive of the pressurizing pump is stopped and the pressurizing operation is stopped, allowing excess air to be sent to the buffer tank. It is possible to prevent this from happening.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an inkjet printer according to the present invention, in which a cylindrical platen 10 is disposed inside a printer main body 9 so as to be freely rotatable. , two guide shafts 11.
11 are arranged along the axial direction of the platen 10. Each of these guide shafts 11 has a carriage 1
2 is disposed so as to be able to reciprocate along a guide shaft 11, and a head 1 for ejecting ink of each color, for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, is mounted on this carriage 12.

Further, the carriage 12 is equipped with a plurality of ink cartridges 3A each containing an ink tank 3 for supplying ink of each color to the head 1. A pump unit 13 is provided for removing air bubbles and the like in the ink flow path to the spatula 1. Furthermore, the printer main body 9
A continuous sheet of paper 14 wound into a roll is disposed on the rear side of the platen 10, and this sheet 14 is guided along the outer periphery of the platen 10 to a predetermined printing position. It has become.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an ink supply and bubble discharge mechanism applied to the inkjet printer, and a buffer tank 2 is connected to the head 1 via filters 15, 15, . This buffer tank 2 contains, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M
), yellow (Y), and black (B) ink tanks 3 are connected thereto. The buffer tank 2 includes buffer tank discharge ports 16, 16, . . .
Discharge valves 17, 17, . 18... are provided. Further, a repeater 20 is connected to the ink tank 3 via a filter 15 and a valve 19, and a pressurizing connection port 2 is connected to the repeater 20 via the filter 15.
1 is connected. Each of the members is connected to the carriage 1.
This will be installed on the 2nd.

On the other hand, on the side of the printer main body 9, a cap 4 is provided that covers the head 1 and is connected to the bulk tank outlet 16 and the pressurizing connection port 21. an ink suction port 22 connected to the nozzle 1a of the tank 1;
6 and the pressurizing connection port 2
1 are formed in substantially the same plane in the vertical direction of the cap 4.

Each ink suction port 22 of the cap 4 is connected to a relay device 25 that collects ink from each ink suction port 22, and this relay device 25 is connected to a suction pressure release valve that communicates with the outside. A valve 26 is connected. Further, a suction pump 7 operated by a motor 6 is connected to the repeater 25 via a check valve 5, and a waste liquid tank 8 is connected to the suction pump 7 via another check valve 5. is connected.

Further, in the vicinity of the ink discharge port 23 of the cap 4, for example, each of the discharge valves 17 is provided when the ink discharge port 23 is connected to the buffer 1 tank discharge port 16.
A driving element (not shown) such as a solenoid for driving a bottle (not shown) that opens and closes the bottle is protrusively provided. Also, each ink discharge port 23 is connected to the waste liquid tank 8. has been done.

A pressurizing pump 28 operated by a motor 27 is connected to the pressurizing supply port 24 of the cap 4 via a filter 15 and a check valve 5. Outside air is sucked in through the stop valve 5. Further, between the pressurizing pump 28 and the pressurizing supply port 24 of the cap 4, the pressure of the pressurized air supplied by the pressurizing pump 28 is released to the pressurizing supply port 24. A relief valve 29 for supplying air at a constant pressure, a pressure sensor 30 for detecting the pressure of pressurized air from the pressurizing pump 28, and a pressurization release valve 31 for controlling a position communicating with the outside air, respectively. The pressure sensor 30 further includes an outside temperature sensor 3 used to correct pressure fluctuations due to outside air temperature.
2 is installed.

A configuration for correcting pressure fluctuations due to outside temperature using the outside air temperature sensor 32 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, a temperature signal processing circuit 33 to which the temperature detection signal from the outside air temperature sensor 32 is input, and a pressure signal processing circuit 34 to which the pressure detection signal from the pressure sensor 30 is input are arranged. The temperature detection signal from the temperature signal processing circuit 33 is input to the pressure signal processing circuit 34. This pressure signal processing circuit 34
Accordingly, the pressure detection signal is corrected based on the temperature detection signal from the temperature signal processing circuit 33.

Further, a pressure pump control circuit 35 is provided to which a correction signal from the pressure signal processing circuit 34 is input, and this pressure pump control circuit 35 drives and controls the motor 27 of the pressure pump 28. It looks like this. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the pressure of the pressurized air increases as the outside temperature increases, so for example, when the outside temperature TO>T
When I>T2, the pressure pump 1111111
The circuit 35 controls the driving voltage of the motor 27 of the pressurizing pump 28 to be lowered as the outside temperature increases, and thereby the pressurizing pressure can be appropriately controlled according to the outside temperature. It looks like this.

Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be explained.

First, when performing normal printing, as shown in FIG.
The ink is supplied from the ink tank 3 via the buffer tank 2 by operating an ink jetting mechanism such as a piezoelectric element (not shown) of the head 1 based on a predetermined print signal while moving the ink along the guide shaft 11. By jetting ink of a desired color toward the paper 14, desired printing is performed.

When printing is completed, the carriage 12 is returned to a predetermined reference position, and the cap 4 is attached to the head 1 at this reference position, thereby drying the ink in the nozzles 1a of the head 1. It is designed to prevent such things.

At this time, by attaching the cap 4 to the head 1, the drive element disposed near each ink discharge port 23 is operated, and the bottles are moved from each ink discharge port 23 to each buffer tank discharge port. By protruding in 16 directions, each discharge valve 17 is opened. As a result, excess air and overflow ink in the buff door tank 2 are discharged to the waste liquid tank 8 via the ink discharge port 23.

In addition, if air bubbles or the like accumulate inside the head 1 or the buffer tank 2, the motor 27 is driven to operate the pressure pump 28 while the cap 4 is attached to the head 1. At the same time, the motor 6 is driven to operate the suction pump 7.

As a result, pressurized air is supplied from the pressurization supply port 24 of the cap 4 to the ink tank 3 via the pressurization connection port 21, and the ink in the buffer tank 2 and the ink flow path of the head 1 is pressurized. This pressurization causes the bubbles in the ink flow path to contract, thereby preventing the air bubbles from clogging the ink flow path and allowing the ink to flow smoothly.

On the other hand, by suctioning the nozzle 1a of the head 1 from the ink suction port 22 by the suction pump 7, the head 1
The pressurized ink and air bubbles inside are sucked through the nozzle 1a and discharged into the waste liquid tank 8.

When operating the pressure pump 28 mentioned above, the pressure sensor 30 detects the pressure generated by the pressure pump 28, and the outside temperature sensor 32 detects the outside temperature, and the pressure detection value corrected by this outside temperature is used. By controlling the drive of the motor 27 of the pressurizing pump 28 based on this, the pressurizing value can be maintained constant even if the capacity of the ink tank 3 changes or the outside temperature changes. ing. Further, when the pressure of the pressurized air exceeds a certain pressure, the relief valve 29 releases the excess air, so that the pressurized value is always kept constant.

Further, when the ink in the ink tank 3 runs out due to pressurization by the pressure pump 28, the ink remaining amount sensor 18 detects that the ink between the ink tank 3 and the buffer tank 2 runs out. Stopping the pressurizing operation by stopping the driving of the pressurizing pump 28,
The ink tank 3 is refilled with ink. This prevents excess air from being supplied to the buffer tank 2.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the air bubbles in the ink flow path are removed by pressurizing with the pressurizing pump 28 and suctioning with the suction pump 7. Air bubbles can be reliably removed without blocking the ink flow path and interfering with the ink flow. As a result, ink can be properly ejected from the head 1, and printing quality can be improved.

In addition, when pressurizing with the pressurizing pump 28, the pressurizing value can be controlled to be constant using the pressure sensor 30, and even if pressure exceeding the window is applied, the relief valve 29 releases the excess pressure. , it is possible to always obtain a constant pressurization value. Furthermore, the remaining ink amount sensor 18 can reliably prevent excess air from being supplied to the buffer tank 2.

Furthermore, since the discharge valve 17 of the buffer tank 2 is opened and closed by a drive element provided on the side of the cap 4, there is no need to use an octavalent solenoid valve for the discharge valve 17, and manufacturing can be done at low cost. becomes possible. Further, since the ink suction port 22, the ink discharge port 23, and the pressurized supply port 24 are formed on the same side of the cap 4, the structure of the cap 4 can be formed extremely easily. can be manufactured, and
Space efficiency can be improved.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Various changes can be made as necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the inkjet printer according to the present invention, the air bubbles in the ink flow path are contracted and removed by pressurizing with the pressure pump and suctioning with the suction pump. The air bubbles can be reliably removed without clogging the ink flow path and impeding the flow of the ink due to the generation of air bubbles.

As a result, ink can be properly ejected from the head, and printing quality can be improved.

Additionally, when the remaining ink level sensor detects that the ink between the ink tank and the buffer tank has run out, the drive of the pressurizing pump is stopped and the pressurizing operation is stopped, allowing excess air to be sent to the buffer tank. It is possible to prevent this from happening.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an inkjet printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an ink supply and bubble removal mechanism applied to the printer of FIG. 1, and FIG. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the pressure and temperature correction control circuit of the pressure pump in Figure 3. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the pressure due to the outside temperature and the drive voltage of the pressure pump in Figure 3. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another conventional inkjet printer. 1... Head, 2... Buffer tank, 3... Ink tank, 3A... Ink cartridge, 4...
Cap, 7... Suction pump, 8... Waste liquid tank,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12... Carriage, 16... Barrel tank discharge port, 17... Discharge valve, 18... Remaining ink level sensor, 21... Pressure connection port, 22... Ink suction port,
23... Ink discharge mill, 24... Pressure supply port, 28
... Pressure pump, 29 ... Relief valve, 30.
...Pressure sensor, 32...Outside temperature sensor. Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] It has a head that ejects ink onto paper based on a predetermined drive signal, and a cap that covers the head when the head is not printing, and an ink tank filled with ink of a predetermined color is attached to the head as a buffer tank. an inkjet printer connected to the buffer tank through a discharge valve connected to the buffer tank to discharge air and overflow ink to a waste liquid tank; a pressurizing pump supplying pressurized air to the ink tank; and a pressure pump connected to the cap. a suction pump that sucks ink flowing out from the head when pressurized by the pressure pump and sends it to the waste liquid tank;
An inkjet printer comprising: an ink remaining amount sensor disposed between the pressure pump and the buffer tank.