JPH05201011A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an ink jet recording device wherein the length of ink tube to be arranged between an ink tank and a recording head can be minimized and ink can be efficiently supplied, making the device compact and improving the reliability thereof. CONSTITUTION:An ink cartridge 18 accommodating ink and a pump 9 for feeding the ink to a recording head 1 are provided on a carriage 24 which carries the recording head 1 and moves. As a result, the distance between the cartridge and the recording head 1 is minimized, resulting in the minimized length of ink tube to be laid therebetween.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets from an ejection nozzle onto recording paper at high speed for recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among various currently known recording systems, it is a non-impact recording system that produces almost no noise during recording, is capable of high-speed recording, and does not require a special fixing process on plain paper. The so-called ink jet recording method capable of recording is a very useful method for realizing various printers, printers such as copying machines and word processors.

Regarding this ink jet printer recording method, various methods have been proposed so far, some of which have been improved and commercialized, and some of which are still being put into practical use.

In the ink jet printer recording system, small ink droplets are ejected according to various operating principles, and the droplets are adhered to a recording material such as paper for recording. Such an ink jet recording apparatus is generally an ink jet head for forming ink droplets, an ink supply means for supplying the ink to the ink jet head, a recovery processing means for ink discharged from the head except during a recording operation, and the head. The jet nozzle and the clogging recovery processing means for eliminating the clogging of the flow path.

[0005]

As described above, the ink jet recording system is a very excellent recording system having a simple apparatus structure, but it also has a problem.

One of the problems is clogging of the injection nozzle. There are about two causes of clogging, and one is that the evaporation of the solvent from the ejection nozzle surface increases the viscosity of the ink at the nozzle tip and causes ejection failure.

The other one is that fine dust in the ink liquid enters the ejection nozzle to cause ejection failure.

Further, as another problem, when bubbles in the ink liquid enter the jet nozzle, the flying energy is absorbed by the air bubbles to cause ejection failure or dispersion of droplets, so-called splash. Is.

As a means for treating the above-mentioned problems, generally, the clogging recovery processing means with a pump means interposed is provided. There are two ways of interposing the pump means included in the ink flow path system with respect to the system. One of them is between the ejection head and the ink tank and presses the ink in the ink tank to the head, and The high-viscosity ink is one in which fine dust or bubbles in the ink liquid is discharged as waste ink from the tip of the nozzle for processing.

The other is a nozzle in which high-viscosity ink or fine dust or bubbles in ink liquid in the head and in a flow path for supplying ink to the head by sucking the ink from the tip of the nozzle is used as waste ink. It is to perform suction processing from the tip.

During the recovery operation by the recovery processing means, the nozzle surface is covered with the waste ink leaked from the nozzle.

In the case of a head nozzle having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a row on the nozzle surface, if the ink discharged from the upper nozzle covers the lower nozzle, the ink is ejected from the lower nozzle during the recording operation. Will not be done. Further, if the ink is left for a long time with the nozzle surface covered, the ink solvent evaporates, and thus the remaining dye or the like forms a thin film on the nozzle surface, so that the nozzle covered by the film causes ejection failure. There were drawbacks such as.

Yet another problem is that the conventional ink jet recording apparatus has an ink tank for storing ink to be supplied to the recording head and a supply pump for supplying the ink in the apparatus body. From the print head to the print head, the crawl of the ink tube becomes longer,
It was difficult to supply ink efficiently. Also, a space for a device for crawling the ink tube was required. Further, in the case of a serial type recording apparatus, since one end of an ink tube that has been crawled for a long time is attached to a moving carriage, it is necessary to take certain measures such as preventing the ink tube from coming off.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to circulate the ink tube from the ink tank to the recording head with a minimum necessary amount, to efficiently supply the ink, to make the apparatus compact, and to have high reliability. An object is to provide an inkjet recording device.

[0015]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, an ink jet recording comprising a carriage means for moving the recording means and a cap means for capping the recording means. In the apparatus, the carriage means has a configuration including an ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to the recording means, and a pump means that acts on an ink passage that connects the ink tank and the recording means.

[0016]

According to such a structure, since the ink tank and the pump means are provided in the carriage means together with the recording means, the crawling of the ink tube from the ink tank to the recording means via the pump means may be minimized.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 6 illustrate one embodiment of the present invention.
Shows the details of the ink supply system.

This ink supply system comprises a recording head 1, a pump 9 and an ink cartridge 18.

Details of each part are as follows.

The recording head 1 has two parts, a substrate 1e.
And a cover 1g.

The cover 1g is formed as a flat casing having one side open, and the injection nozzle 1a formed as a plurality of grooves is formed along the open end, and the ventilation is also formed as a groove. The nozzle 1b is formed.

These jet nozzle 1a and ventilation nozzle 1
b communicates with the ink chamber 1c which occupies the center of the cover 1g.

Further, an ink passage 1h is formed on the other side of the ink chamber 1c, the upper end of which communicates with the ink chamber 1c via the passage, and the lower end thereof via a small hole on the pump side, which will be described later. Connected to.

On the other hand, the jet nozzle 1a is provided on the substrate 1e side.
A plurality of heating elements (not shown) are formed at positions corresponding to each other, and liquid level detection electrodes 1f are arranged vertically at a fixed distance.

The above-mentioned heating element and level detection electrode 1f
Can be extremely easily formed on the substrate 1e by a thin film forming means such as vapor deposition or sputtering.

The substrate 1e and the cover 1g having the above-described structure are integrated in a state where the jet nozzle 1a and the heating element are superposed.

Then, the cover 1g whose one side surface is opened is closed by the substrate 1e.

Of course, the level detecting electrode 1f may be separately formed and provided on the substrate 1e by adhesion or other means.

When a predetermined pulse voltage is applied as an applied signal to the recording head 1 having such a structure, a predetermined heating element generates heat and the ink guided into the ejection nozzle 1a expands instantaneously. , Is ejected from the tip of the ejection nozzle 1a toward the recording paper.

By the way, the heating element is not used only for ejecting ink, but is also used for the following purposes.

That is, the ink used in the ink jet printer has a vapor pressure as low as possible.
A medium having a large molecular weight is used. For this reason, 10 ° C
In many cases, the viscosity of the ink increases at the following temperatures.

It is conventionally proposed to heat the vicinity of the recording head or the inside of the printer when the temperature is low, because the increase in the viscosity of the ink causes the non-ejection of the ink.

However, it takes an extremely long time and a large amount of energy to heat a portion having a large heat capacity such as the vicinity of the recording head or the inside of the printer to obtain a predetermined temperature.

Therefore, in the present invention, a current is supplied to the heating element so that the heating element is heated to a temperature at which ink is not ejected, and the portions of the ejection nozzle 1a and the ink chamber 1c can be heated in a short time with a small amount of energy. Is being threatened.

On the other hand, the ink passage 1h is connected to the head pedestal 3 via an O-ring 4 which shuts off the connection with the outside air.

The head pedestal 3 has a liquid passage 3a connected to the ink passage 1h and a liquid passage 3b continuous with the liquid passage 3a, and a space between them is separated by a filter 3c.

The filter 3c is for removing fine dust in the ink 2, and is constituted by bundling thin glass hollow needles having a diameter of about 20 to 30 .mu.m into a slice. In addition to the role of removing dust, the filter 3c also has the effect of increasing the hydraulic resistance in the liquid passage behind the ejection nozzle 1a when ejecting ink from the ejection nozzle 1a.

On the other hand, a cap 7 is provided corresponding to the recording head 1.
Is provided. The cap 7 is attached so as to be rotatable about a shaft 7b, and can be displaced between a state in which the portion of the injection nozzle 1a is covered and a state in which it is separated from the state.

The cap 7 has an absorber 8 for absorbing ink leaking or ejected from the jet nozzle 1a and the ventilation nozzle 1b, and a large number of small holes 7a for discharging ink from the absorber formed on the back surface thereof. Have and.

On the other hand, the pump 9 is constructed as follows.

A rotor 9a rotated by a motor 10 is rotatably mounted in a circular space formed in a casing of a tube pump 9 serving as a rotary pump. A plurality of rollers 9c are rotatably supported via a shaft 9b while being separated at equal angles.

The inner diameter of the circular space of the pump 9 and the rotor 9a
However, the roller 9c is configured so as to be able to rotate while being in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the circular space.

The tube 5 is guided between the rotor 9a and the arc wall 9d located above the circular space of the pump 9.

One end of the tube 5 communicates with the liquid passage 3a on the side of the head pedestal 3, and the other end has a hollow needle 16 inserted into a rubber stopper of an ink cartridge described later.

Further, one end of the tube 6 is connected to the cap 7 side, and the other end is connected to the ink cartridge side.

On the other hand, a through hole 9f is formed on the side of the pump 9, and a pin 11 is slidably fitted in the through hole 9f.

The inner end of the pin 11 faces the arc-shaped space of the pump 9, and the other end of the pin 11 projects outside the pump 9 and contacts the lever 12a of the microswitch 12.

Therefore, the rotor 9a rotates and the roller 9c
Contacting the pin 11, the pin 11 projects in a direction away from the arcuate space, that is, to the outside of the pump 9,
The micro switch 12 can be turned on by pushing the lever 12a.

Therefore, the microswitch 12 is connected to the roller 9
The rotational position of c can be detected, and the number of rotations of the rotor 9a can also be detected by counting this signal.

Further, the micro switch 12 and the motor 10
Are connected to the motor drive circuit 19.

On the other hand, the reference numeral 18 designates an ink cartridge, which has upper limit spaces 18a, 18 by a partition wall 18c.
The ink bag 13 is stored in the space 18a on the upper side.

The ink bag 13 is formed by laminating a polymer film, such as nylon or polyethylene, on an aluminum foil. One end is sealed and the other end is provided with a pipe 14 and a rubber stopper 15. ing. By inserting the hollow needle 16 of the tube 5 into the rubber plug 15 and inserting the hollow needle 16 into the pipe 14, the ink 2 in the ink bag 13 can be guided to the recording head side through the tube 5.

On the other hand, the ink absorber 17 is accommodated in the space 18b below the ink cartridge 18, and absorbs the waste liquid of the ink sucked through the tube 6.

On the other hand, FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the mechanical portion of a printer having the above-mentioned ink supply system.
In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 24 indicates a carriage, which is slidably fitted on guide rails 25 and 26. The carriage 24 is partially connected to a wire 31 stretched endlessly between a pulley 29 fixed to the tip of the output shaft of a motor 28 for driving the carriage and a driven pulley 30, and the guide rail 25, It is free to move along 26.

On the carriage 24, the above-mentioned ink supply system, recording head, etc. are mounted.

On the other hand, the reference numeral 27 indicates a platen.
The recording paper 32 is guided along the platen 27,
The recording paper 32 can be fed in the print digit direction by rotating the platen 27.

Next, the operation of the ink jet printer configured as described above will be described.

First, the ink supply operation will be described.

A controller (not shown) monitors the liquid level of the ink in the ink chamber 1c in the recording head 1 via the level detection circuit 20 every time the printing operation for one page is completed.

Through the level detection circuit 20, the ink chamber 1
When it is detected that the level of the ink in c is equal to or lower than the predetermined level, the control device rotates the motor 10 via the monitor drive circuit 19 to operate the pump 9.

When the ink level in the ink chamber 1c reaches a preset level, the pump 9 rotates for a predetermined number of revolutions and then stops.

The reason why the pump 9 is rotated by a predetermined number of revolutions in this way is that the volume in the ink chamber 1c above the electrode 1f is
This is to supply an extra amount of ink ejected from the nozzles.

On the other hand, the roller 9c of the pump 9 and the sliding pin 1
Micro switch 1 generated by contact with 1
Based on the roller position signal generated from 2, the control device causes the roller 9c to push the sliding pin 11 as shown in FIG.

In this state, the tube 5 is not crushed by the roller 9c, and the liquid path of the tube 5 is open.

By the way, during the printing operation of the recording head 1, the ink chamber 1 caused by the capillary phenomenon due to the surface tension of the ink 2 and the ejection of the ink from the ejection nozzle 1a.
Ink is supplied from the ink bag 13 through the tube 5 into the ink chamber 1c by the negative pressure in c.

On the other hand, if the level detection circuit 20 determines that the ink level is set, the above operation is not performed.

Next, the ink out detection and the recovery operation are performed as follows.

If the ink does not reach the level detection electrode 1f even after the above-described ink supply operation is performed for a certain period of time and the level detection circuit 20 does not detect the ink, the control device stores the ink in the ink bag 13. Judge that there is no.

Then, the control device notifies the ink shortage by means such as turning on a light emitting element (not shown) or generating an alarm sound, and stops the recording operation.

On the other hand, the operation when replacing the ink cartridge 18 is as follows.

When the cartridge without ink is removed and a new cartridge with ink is installed, the motor 1
0 rotates, the pump 9 operates, and the ink 2 in the ink bag 13 is sent to the ink chamber 1c by the tube 5 or the like. Then, when the ink reaches the inlet of the ventilation nozzle 1b, the pump 9 stops at a predetermined position.

During this operation, the ink leaked from the ventilation nozzle 1b and the jet nozzle 1a is absorbed by the absorber 8, and the absorbed ink is discharged into the absorber 17 of the cartridge 18 through the pipe 6.

Next, the first recovery operation after printing is not performed for a long time will be described.

When the apparatus is turned off and has not been used for a long time, or when the power is turned on but the printing operation has not been performed for a long time, the first printing is not performed or the print density is low. Accidents may occur, such as thin paper or ink splashing and stains on the recording paper.

The cause is that the viscosity of the ink at the tip of the ejection nozzle is increased due to the evaporation of the solvent of the ink from the tip of the ejection nozzle 1a.

When printing has not been performed for a long time, the control device first detects that the printing operation has not been performed for a predetermined time, and also detects the ink level via the level detection circuit 20. When the ink level has not reached the predetermined level, the ink supply operation described above is performed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the ink level is at the predetermined level, the pump 9 is rotated a predetermined number of times and stopped. This is the same as the volume supply in the ink chamber 1c from the level detection electrode 1f, as described in the ink supply operation.
This is to supply an extra amount of ink ejected from the nozzles.

Next, the operation of the cap 7 and the operation of sucking the waste liquid by the cap 7 will be described.

The cap 7 is rotated about the shaft 7b by driving a motor (not shown) in a position other than the printing operation, that is, in the range of the home position, and covers the entire surface of the jet nozzle 1a. In this state, it is possible to prevent evaporation of the ink solvent from the ejection nozzle 1a and adhesion of dust to the nozzle surface.

On the other hand, when the cap 7 is fitted, the ink absorber 8 absorbs the ink leaking from the ejection nozzle 1a, and the pump 9 is operated to cause the ink in the cap 7 to pass through the tube 6. Then, it is forcibly discharged into the absorber 17 in the space 18b for storing the waste liquid of the ink cartridge 18.

The specific operation of the cap 7 is as follows.

That is, when the operation of the pump 9 is started as described above, the cap 7 is fitted into the injection nozzle 1a, and when the recovery operation is completed, the operation of the pump 9 is stopped and the cap 7 is removed from the nozzle 1a. Leave.

On the other hand, when the recording operation for one page is completed, the recording head 1 returns to the home position, but when the recording head returns to the home position, the cap 7 is fitted on the tip of the jet nozzle 1a. To be done. Immediately before the printing operation for the next page is started, the cap 7 is separated from the ejection nozzle 1a, and the normal printing operation is performed.

By the way, when the ink cartridge 18 is not attached when the pump 9 is operating during the recovery operation as described above, waste liquid is discharged into the apparatus, and therefore the operation of the pump 9 is performed with the ink cartridge 18 attached. It is performed only when the signal is on.

Next, the details of an embodiment of the cap device portion applied to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

A bearing member 34 provided on the substrate 33,
A screw shaft 36 is pivotally supported by 35.
The rotation of the motor 39 is transmitted to the screw shaft 36 via gears 37 and 38. The screw shaft is a box body 4
Since it meshes with the leg portions 40a and 40b of No. 0, the box body 40 approaches the head 1 or retracts by the rotation of the motor 39.

Reference numeral 41 denotes an elastic member made of rubber or the like, which is provided around the opening of the box body 40 with respect to the head 1 and increases the airtightness when the box body 40 and the head 1 are relatively joined. Work.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the ink liquid absorber 42 is used.
As the material, a solid synthetic fiber or a spongy synthetic resin is used. The absorber 42 is fixed to a moving shaft 44 via a plate member 43.

In FIG. 4, a motor 45 is provided on a motor mounting portion 40c at the rear of the box 40, and a motor 45 is attached to a cam disk 48 via a gear 46 and a gear 47 provided on the motor shaft. The rotation is transmitted.

The cam disk 48 is engaged with the rear end rising portion 44a of the moving shaft 44.

The upper end 44b of the rising portion 44a and the box body 4
Since the spring 49 is stretched between the end portions 40d of 0, the urging force in the direction approaching the head 1 is always acting on the absorber 42 via the moving shaft 44.

In FIG. 6, reference numerals 50 and 51 are diaphragm plates, 52 is a shaft member for rotatably supporting the diaphragm plate, 5
Reference numeral 3 denotes a diaphragm plate drive cam inserted between the lower end portions 50a and 51a of the diaphragm plates 50 and 51 while being fixed to the shaft 54.

The rotation of the motor 55 is transmitted to the shaft 54 via gears 56 and 57. The tip of the L-shaped hollow tube portion 40e provided at the bottom of the box body 40 has the carriage 2 as shown in FIG.
When 4 is located at the home position, it projects into the waste ink container inlet 18d of the ink cartridge 18.

Reference numeral 58 is a valve member for blocking the ink accumulated at the bottom of the box body 40 from flowing out to the hollow tube portion 40e, and the valve is opened and closed in conjunction with the suction element 59 driven by the electromagnet 60. Be done.

In FIG. 3, the screw shaft 36 provided between the shaft support members 34 and 35 is the leg portion 4 of the box body 40.
It penetrates through the bearings provided in 0a and 40b, and guides the linear movement of the box body 40 with respect to the head 1.

Next, the operation of the cap device section described above will be described for each operation item.

(1) Capping Operation In FIG. 2, when the carriage 24 stops at a predetermined home position, the motor 39 shown in FIGS.
Rotates, and then the screw shaft 36 rotates via the gears 38 and 37.

The box body 40 screw-connected to the screw shaft 36 approaches the head 1 by the rotation of the screw shaft 36, contacts the peripheral portion of the nozzle 1a through the rubber elastic member 41, and then the box body 40 Movement stops.

In this state, since the nozzle 1a is shielded from the outside air by the rubber elastic member 41, the evaporation of the ink solvent at the tip of the nozzle 1a is prevented.

(2) Leakage ink suction operation When the rotation of the motor 45 is transmitted by the gears 46 and 47, the cam disk 48 rotates and the rising portion 44a of the moving shaft 44 driven by the cam disk 48 is shown in FIG. 4, the spring 49 moves from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line to the position indicated by the solid line. By the movement of the shaft 44, the entire surface of the absorber 42 contacts the ejection port surface of the nozzle 1a of the head 1. When the pump 9 shown in FIG. 1 operates in the above state and the ink 2 leaks from the tip of the nozzle 1a, the absorber 42 absorbs the leaked ink and does not leave the ink liquid on the ejection surface of the nozzle 1a.

(3) Operation for squeezing out ink in the absorber 42 When the absorber 42 has saturated its absorbing power due to leaked ink, or after absorbing a predetermined number of times, the motor 45 reversely rotates to move the moving shaft. 44 is returned from the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line. Therefore, the absorbent body 42 has the moving shaft 4
Move away from head 1 in conjunction with 4.

On the other hand, the absorber 42 separated from the head 1 is positioned between the diaphragm plates 50 and 51 and stops.

The rotation of the motor 55 is transmitted to the shaft 54 by the gears 56 and 57. When the diaphragm member drive cam 53 is changed from the vertical state to the horizontal state in association with the rotation of the shaft 54, the upper portions of the diaphragm plates 50 and 51 are moved to each other. Close to. Therefore, diaphragm plate 5
The ink liquid in the absorber that is sandwiched between 0 and 51 and crushed flows out from the absorber 42, travels through the lower ends 50a and 51a of the diaphragm plates 50 and 51, and accumulates at the bottom of the box 40.

The absorber 42, from which the ink in the absorber has been squeezed out by the diaphragm plates 50 and 51, restores the ability to absorb the leaked ink from the nozzle 1a again.

(4) Discharging Operation of Absorbed Ink to Ink Cartridge When the valve 58 is opened with the hollow tube portion 40e of the box body 40 inserted in the ink discharge port 18d of the ink cartridge 18, the box body 40 is opened. The ink collected at the bottom of the hollow tube 40e
Flows into the absorber 17 of the ink cartridge 18 from the tip of the.

When the valve is closed after a predetermined time, the ink stops flowing out into the absorber 17. Further, when the valve 58 is closed, the inside of the box body 40 is shut off from the outside air, so that the vapor pressure inside the box body 40 becomes the same as the vapor pressure of the ink, so that the evaporation of ink from the nozzle 1a is minimized.

Since the waste ink liquid absorbed by the absorber 17 of the ink cartridge may be discarded for each ink cassette when the ink in the ink bag 13 is exhausted, it is necessary to provide a tank for special treatment of the waste liquid. It is possible to provide a device that is very convenient for the user.

(5) State of the cap device portion when the printing operation is stopped and when the recording device is not used The absorber 42 is always separated from the nozzle surface of the head 1 when the recording device is in the stopped state. On the other hand, since the elastic body 41 is in close contact with the periphery of the nozzle 1a, the nozzle 1a
Are shielded from the atmosphere, and the evaporation of ink from the ejection port of the nozzle 1a is suppressed to a small level.

Since the ink squeezing mechanism of the absorbent body 42 of this embodiment can make the width dimension L1 of the absorbent body 42 equal to the width dimension L2 of the diaphragm plates 50 and 51 shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. The absorber 42 can be pressed over a wide area,
Therefore, it has a feature that the liquid throttling effect is large. Also,
Since the diaphragm plates 50 and 51 are thin plates having a spring property, when the diaphragm plate drive cam 53 rotates, if the absorber 42 does not have enough crushing allowance, the diaphragm plates 50 and 51 will bend, so that the diaphragm drive member 53 rotates. Is not disturbed, and has an excellent feature.

Second Embodiment Next, another embodiment of the cap device portion will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the drawings, members having the same functions and shapes as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation of their functions and operations will be omitted.

In FIGS. 7 and 9, 61 is an ink absorber,
Reference numeral 62 denotes a hollow tube for holding the absorbent body, and the hollow tube 62 and the distal end portion 62a of the hollow tube 62 are connected to each other in a state of being inserted into the absorbent body 61. Reference numeral 63 denotes an O-ring, which is interposed between the outer circumference of the hollow tube and the wall portion of the box body 40 so as to measure the airtightness between the outer circumference of the hollow tube 62 and the wall portion of the box body 40 and to make it hollow. It also functions as a bearing when the pipe 62 swings.

Reference numeral 64 denotes a piston shaft, which is slidably provided in a bearing portion 40f provided on the side surface of the box body 40.

The tip portion 64a of the piston shaft has an annular shape, and the hollow tube 62 is inserted inside the annular portion.

A guide member 64b having a slide guide groove is provided at the other end of the piston shaft 64.

The slide pin 65 set up on the gear 47 is engaged with the groove of the guide member 64b.

Next, the operation for discharging the absorbed ink liquid from the absorber 61 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

In the state of FIG. 7, when the motor 45 rotates,
The guide pin 65 is displaced to the position shown in FIG. 8 via the gears 46 and 47.

Since the guide member 64b also moves to the right as shown in FIG. 8 in conjunction with the guide pin 65, the hollow tube 62 is counterclockwise with the O-ring 63 as a fulcrum via the tip 64a of the piston shaft 64. Rotate in the direction.

Therefore, the rear end portion 61b of the absorber 61 is the box body 4
Since the rear end portion of the absorber collides with the wall portion 40g of 0, the ink liquid in the rear end portion 61b is squeezed out to the outside.

The ink liquid squeezed out of the absorber 61 passes through the hollow tube 62 and collects at the bottom of the box 40.

The ink liquid accumulated at the bottom is L-shaped tube member 40e.
And is discharged into the ink cartridge 18 through the discharge port 18c of the ink cartridge 18. The front surface 61a of the absorber 61 is simultaneously separated from the nozzle surface of the head 1 by the counterclockwise rotation of the hollow tube 64.

As described above, in this embodiment, the operation of squeezing the absorber and the operation of separating the absorber 61 from the surface of the head 1 are performed.
Since it is performed by one driving source, it has a feature that the device is simple. Further, since the hollow tube 62 and the absorber 61 are coupled with a simple structure, the absorber 61 has an excellent feature that the absorber 61 can be easily replaced.

FIG. 10 is a view showing another connecting means of the hollow tube 62 and the absorber 61. A plate 62b having a plurality of pores 62c is provided at an end 62a of the hollow tube 62, and the plate 62b is provided on the right side of the plate 62b. An absorber 61 is provided on the surface and an absorber 66 is provided on the left side surface.

Since the absorbent body 61 is made of a material of which the absorbent body is not easily decomposed, the strips or fibers of the absorbent body 61 do not enter the nozzle 1a of the head 1.

On the other hand, since the absorber 66 is made of a soft material, it is easily crushed by pressing and the ink liquid can be easily ejected.

Third Embodiment Next, another embodiment of the cap device portion will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the drawings, members having the same functions and shapes as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 10 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their functions and operations will not be described.

In FIGS. 11 and 13, 67 is an absorber,
It is held by the frame 68.

69 is a support shaft when the frame 68 swings, 70 is a rubber plate for reducing the wear between the side wall of the box 40 and the absorber 67, and 71 is a slide on the bottom surface of the box 40. Is a shoe member that simultaneously functions as a valve by covering the ink liquid discharge port 40h of the box body 40 and discharging the ink liquid to the outside.

Reference numeral 72 is a spring member for imparting clockwise rotation to the frame 68.

Reference numeral 73 is a sliding pin that transmits clockwise rotation to the frame 68, and 74 is a cam disk that drives the sliding pin 73 in conjunction with the gear 47.

In FIG. 11, the absorber 67 is the frame 6
The surface of the head 1 is in contact with the surface of the head 1 by the force of the spring 72. The ink liquid leaking from the nozzle 1a is absorbed by the absorber 67 in the above state. When the motor 45 rotates in the above state, the cam disc 74 rotates through the gears 46 and 47 to the position shown in FIG. Since the sliding pin 73 moves to the right by the rotation of the cam disc 74, the frame 68 rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 69 against the force of the spring 72, and thus the lower portion of the absorber 67 is rotated. 67a
Since the plurality of pore surfaces 40i provided on the inner wall of the box body 40 come into contact with each other and the absorber lower portion 67a is crushed, the ink liquid in the absorber 67 is squeezed out, and the squeezed ink passes through the pores 40i. The liquid is discharged into the ink cartridge 18 through the connected liquid path 40j, the discharge port 40h, and the L-shaped nozzle 76.

The ink liquid accumulated at the bottom is forcibly discharged to the outside from the discharge port 40h by the shoe member 71 when the frame 68 repeatedly swings.

When the recording operation is not performed, the absorber 67 is separated from the head 1 while the shoe member 71 is used.
Since the discharge port 40h is closed, the ink inside the box 40 does not leak outside.

As a matter of course, the parts of the absorbent body 67 in contact with the head 1 and the parts of the box body 40 in contact with the pore surface 40i may be made of different materials as described in FIG.

Next, referring to FIG. 14 and FIG.
And box 4 that covers the opening facing the head 1 of the
The L-shaped nozzle 76 provided in the lower part of 0 will be described.

Reference numeral 77 denotes a shutter plate, which covers the elastic member 41 provided around the opening of the box 40 during the recording operation of the carriage 24 in FIG.
Is in the home position, it retracts from the elastic member 41.

The shutter plate 77 is held by a guide member 78 so as to be movable left and right. The end portion 78a of the guide member is fixed to the outer surface of the box body 40.

Also, the bent end portion 78b of the guide member 78
Since the spring 79 is stretched between the bent end 77a of the shutter plate 77 and the shutter plate 77, the shutter plate 77 has a habit of always covering the opening.

Reference numeral 80 is a pin provided near the head 1 on the carriage 24. Reference numeral 77b is a bent portion at the other end of the shutter plate 77.

In FIG. 15, during the recording operation of the carriage 24, the pin 80 is located to the right of the position 80 'shown by the chain double-dashed line.
7b is in the position of 77b 'shown by the chain double-dashed line, and therefore the shutter plate 77 is in the position shown by the chain double-dashed line 77', so that the opening of the box 40 is covered by the shutter plate 77 and dust enters. Is prevented, and the surface of the absorber 67 in contact with the head surface is protected from dust.

When the carriage 24 approaches the home position, the pin 80 is moved to the bent portion 77 of the shutter.
When the carriage 24 hits b, and the carriage 24 further moves to the home position, the pin 80 moves the shutter bending portion 77b to the position shown in FIG.
Since the shutter plate 77 is continuously pressed to the position indicated by the solid line 5 in FIG.

Next, the rotating operation of the L-shaped nozzle 76 will be described.

The cylinder tip of the L-shaped nozzle 76, which functions as a conduit for discharging the ink in the box 40 to the waste liquid storage portion of the ink cartridge 18 mounted on the carriage 24, is provided parallel to the moving direction of the carriage 24. While the carriage 24 approaches the home position, the ink cartridge 18 naturally enters the discharge port 18c.

Further, in FIG. 12, the L-shaped nozzle 76 is used.
Is rotatably provided at the outlet of the box 40 via an O-ring 75.

The pin 82 set up in the L-shaped nozzle 76.
The spring 84 stretched between the pins 83 set up in the front part of the box 40 gives the L-shaped nozzle 76 a counterclockwise rotation.

Reference numeral 76a is a cam protrusion provided on the L-shaped nozzle and has a cam surface 76b. 85 is the carriage 24
Is a cam drive member provided in the lower portion of the.

In FIG. 15, when the carriage 24 is away from the home position, the cam drive member 85 and the cam surface 76b are disengaged from each other, so that the position of the L-shaped nozzle 76 is at the position shown by the chain double-dashed line 76 '. It is coming. In this state, the ink inside the nozzle 76 does not spill downward.

On the other hand, as the carriage 24 approaches the home position, the cam drive member 85 moves leftward from the position 85 'shown by the chain double-dashed line, and the left end of the cam drive member 85 is the L-shape. Cam surface 76b 'of nozzle 76
When hit, the L-shaped nozzle 76 rotates to the position shown by the solid line. In this state, the discharge port 18c of the ink cartridge 18 further approaches, and finally the tip of the L-shaped nozzle projects into the discharge port 18c.

[0153]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to crawl the ink tube from the ink tank to the recording head with a minimum necessary amount, and it is possible to efficiently supply the ink and to make the apparatus compact. It is possible to obtain a highly reliable inkjet recording device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an ink supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the recording apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of the cap device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view of the cap device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the ink absorber of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the ink diaphragm mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view of a cap device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view of the cap device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the ink absorber of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another structural example of the ink absorber.

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional side view of a cap device according to still another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the operation of the cap device.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the ink absorber of the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional plan view of the cap device.

FIG. 15 is a front view of the cap device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Head 1a Ejection Nozzle 2 Ink 5, 6 Tube 7 Cap 9 Pump 18 Ink Cartridge 36 Screw Shaft 40 Box 41 Elastic Member 42, 61, 67 Ink Absorber

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a carriage means for moving a recording means and a cap means for capping the recording means, wherein the carriage means stores ink to be supplied to the recording means. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: an ink tank; and a pump unit that acts on an ink passage that connects the ink tank and the recording unit. 2. The recording means according to claim 1, wherein the recording means is capped by the cap means and is pressurized by the pump means while the recording means is at the home position. Inkjet recording device. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage unit has a motor for driving the pump unit.