JPH0586533U - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer in which the ink ejecting device, the ink container, and the cleaning member can be simultaneously replaced, and the consumable parts need to be replaced less frequently. [Configuration] The carriage 42 moves to the left end position at regular intervals, at which time the arm 55 abuts on the end of the arm 52,
The arm 52 is pressed in the direction in which the cleaning member 51 contacts the nozzle plate 21. When the carriage 42 moves from the print position to the left end position and returns to the print position again, the cleaning member 51 slides on the surface of the nozzle plate 21 back and forth once. When the ink ejection device and the ink container are replaced with new ones when the ink is exhausted, the cleaning members are also replaced with new ones at the same time.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an inkjet printer.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, as a printer head, a drop-on-demand type inkjet printer head to which piezoelectric ceramics is applied has been proposed. This is because by changing the volume of the ink liquid chamber by deformation of the piezoelectric ceramic (a type of energy converter), the ink in the ink liquid chamber is ejected as droplets from the nozzle when the volume decreases, and the volume increases. At this time, the ink is introduced into the ink liquid chamber from the other ink introduction path. Then, by arranging a number of such ink ejecting devices in close proximity to each other and ejecting ink droplets from the ejecting devices at the required positions according to the required print data, the desired characters are printed on the recording paper or the like facing the ejecting devices. And forms an image.

As this type of ink ejecting device, for example, there are those described in JP-A-63-247051 and JP-A-63-252750. FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show schematic diagrams of these conventional examples. Hereinafter, the configuration of the conventional example will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 3 showing a cross-sectional view of the ink ejecting apparatus. A piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 having a plurality of side walls 11 and polarized in the direction of arrow 3, and a piezoelectric ceramic plate 2 having a plurality of side walls 12 and polarized in the direction of arrow 4. By bonding via the bonding layer 13, a plurality of ink liquid chambers 14 having a space between each other in the lateral direction are formed. The ink liquid chamber 14 has an elongated shape with a rectangular cross section, and the side walls 11 and 12 extend over the entire length of the ink liquid chamber 14. On the inner surface of the ink liquid chamber 14, a metal electrode 15 for applying a driving electric field is formed on the surface of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1, and a metal electrode 16 is formed on the surface of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 2. Ink is filled in all ink liquid chambers.

Next, the operation of the conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. 4 showing a sectional view of the ink ejecting apparatus. When, for example, the ink liquid chamber 14b is selected according to the required print data in the ink ejecting apparatus, a positive voltage is rapidly applied to the metal electrodes 15c and 16c, and the metal electrodes 15b, 15d, 16b and 16d are grounded. It As a result, a driving electric field acts on the side walls 11b, 11c, 12b, 12c. At this time, since the driving electric field direction and the polarization direction are orthogonal to each other, the side walls 11b, 11c, 12b and 12c are rapidly deformed in the ink liquid chamber 14b due to the piezoelectric thickness sliding effect. This deformation reduces the volume of the ink liquid chamber 14b and increases the ink pressure, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle 22 (FIG. 6). Further, when the application of the drive voltage is stopped, the side wall returns to the position before the deformation, so that the ink pressure in the ink liquid chamber 14b decreases, and the ink is supplied from the ink supply unit 32 (FIG. 6) into the ink liquid chamber 14b. It

Next, a manufacturing method and a configuration of a conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. 5 showing a perspective view of the ink ejecting apparatus. The parallel grooves 17 forming the ink chamber having the above-described shape are formed on the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 polarized in the directions of the arrows 3 by grinding or the like using a thin disk-shaped diamond blade. The metal electrode is formed on the surface of the groove 17 by sputtering or the like. Further, parallel grooves 18 are formed in the piezoelectric ceramic plate 2 which is polarized in the direction of arrow 4. The metal electrode described above is formed on the surface of the groove 18. Next, the surfaces of the piezoelectric ceramic plates 1 and 2 on the groove processing side are bonded so that each groove forms an ink liquid chamber having the above-described shape. Next, a nozzle plate 21 having nozzles 22 provided at positions corresponding to the positions of the ink liquid chambers is bonded to the end faces of the piezoelectric ceramic plates 1 and 2. Further, a manifold plate 31 provided with an ink supply section 32 communicating with all the ink liquid chambers is bonded to the end surface on the opposite side.

Next, a configuration of a conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. 6 showing a perspective view of the inkjet printer. The ink ejecting device 5 and the ink container 33 described above are joined so that the ink supply unit 32 (FIG. 5) and the inside of the ink container 33 communicate with each other. When the ink inside the ink container is exhausted, the ink ejecting device 5 and the ink container 33 are removed from the carriage 42 and replaced with new ones. The carriage 42 reciprocates on the slider 43, and the ink ejecting device 5 prints and records on the recording paper 46 held by the platen 44. The recording paper 46 is moved by the paper feed rollers 45a and 45b in the direction perpendicular to the carriage movement direction. As a result, the ink ejecting device 5 can print and record on the entire surface of the recording paper 46.

In the ink jet printer as described above, small droplets of ink are generated when ejecting ink droplets, and a part of the droplets adheres to the surface of the nozzle plate. If left undisturbed, ink gradually accumulates on the surface of the nozzle plate, making it impossible to eject ink droplets. Therefore, the carriage 42 moves to the left end position at regular intervals, and the nozzle plate 21 slides on the cleaning member 51 at this time. As a result, ink droplets adhering to the surface of the nozzle plate are absorbed by the cleaning member and removed from the surface of the nozzle plate. If a large amount of ink adheres to the cleaning member, replace it with a new one.

[0008]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the conventional ink ejecting apparatus as described above, there are separate replacement of the ink ejecting apparatus and the ink container when the ink in the ink container is exhausted and the replacement of the cleaning member when a large amount of ink adheres to the cleaning member. However, there was a problem that the frequency of replacement of wear parts increased.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides an inkjet printer in which the ink ejecting device, the ink container, and the cleaning member can be simultaneously replaced, and the consumable parts are not frequently replaced. The purpose is to

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve this object, an ink ejecting apparatus of the present invention is capable of contacting an ink ejecting mechanism having a nozzle, an ink container containing ink to be supplied to the ink ejecting mechanism, and a nozzle portion of the ink ejecting mechanism. A cleaning member and a support member for supporting the cleaning member on the ink ejecting mechanism or the ink container are provided.

[0011]

[Action]

 According to the ink ejecting apparatus of the present invention having the above-described structure, the ink ejected from the ink container is ejected from the nozzle by the ink ejecting mechanism, and the cleaning material supported by the ink ejecting mechanism and the ink container is the nozzle portion. The surface of the nozzle portion is cleaned by abutting against.

[0012]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same members as those of the conventional technique are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

First, the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 showing a plan view of an inkjet printer. The cleaning member 51 composed of a member such as a felt is joined to an arm 52 as a supporting member, and the arm 52 is engaged with a groove 53 provided on the surface of the ink container 33. 52 is movable in the direction of the groove 53. The cleaning member 51 and the arm 52 are pressed by a coil spring 54 in a direction in which the cleaning member 51 is separated from the nozzle plate 21.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 showing a perspective view of the inkjet printer.

The carriage 42 moves to the left end position at regular intervals, and as shown in detail in FIG. 1, the arm 55 contacts the end of the arm 52 and the cleaning member 51 contacts the nozzle plate 21 in this direction. The arm 52 is pressed. When the carriage 42 moves from the printing position to the left end position and returns to the printing position again, the cleaning member 51 slides back and forth on the surface of the nozzle plate 21 once. As a result, ink droplets adhering to the surface of the nozzle plate are absorbed by the cleaning member and removed from the surface of the nozzle plate.

In the ink jet printer of this embodiment, since the cleaning member is engaged with the ink ejecting device and the ink container via the arm, the ink ejecting device and the ink container are newly replaced when the ink in the ink container is exhausted. When it is replaced with a new one, the cleaning member is also replaced with a new one, and the frequency of replacement of consumable parts can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the cleaning operation described above may be performed at the right end position. Further, the cleaning member and the pressing means of the arm may not be a coil spring, but may be a leaf spring formed in a part of the ink container member.

[0018]

[Effect of the device]

 As is clear from the above description, in the inkjet printer of the present invention, the cleaning member is supported by the ink ejecting device and the ink container via the arm, and therefore, when the ink in the ink container is exhausted, the ink ejecting device Also, when the ink container is replaced with a new one, the cleaning member is also replaced with a new one, and it is possible to reduce the frequency of replacement of consumable parts.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the operation of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional inkjet printer.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of a conventional inkjet printer.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a conventional inkjet printer.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a conventional inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 First Piezoelectric Ceramics Plate 2 Second Piezoelectric Ceramics Plate 5 Ink Ejecting Device 21 Nozzle Plate 22 Nozzle 33 Ink Container 51 Cleaning Member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Takahiro Kanegae 15-1 Naesehiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi Brother Industrial Co., Ltd. Incorporated (72) Inventor Masahiko Kinoshita 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi Brother Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ink ejecting mechanism having a nozzle, an ink container containing ink to be supplied to the ink ejecting mechanism, a cleaning member capable of contacting a nozzle portion of the ink ejecting mechanism, and the cleaning member being the ink. An inkjet printer comprising: a jetting mechanism or a supporting member for supporting the ink container.