JPH08219014A - Pump device and ink jet recording device having the pump device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To lessen the number of pumps in use in the condition that the treating liquid is serviceable by furnishing a pair of suction ports and also a pair of discharge ports on the sides of a cylinder in the piston reciprocating direction, and allowing inks and a recordability enhancing liquid to flow correspondingly into the flow paths including chambers on both sides of the piston. CONSTITUTION: In the condition that a piston 2 is moving in the direction of Arrow A, a negative pressure is generated by volume expansion in the first chamber 10 of a cylinder 1, and a suction valve 12V moves in the direction of opening so that the suction port 12 is opened to the external field. A discharge valve 13V moves in the direction of closing, and the discharge port 13 is tightly shut against the external field. A positive pressure is generated by volume expansion in the second chamber 11 in the cylinder 1, and another suction valve 14V moves in the direction of the closing so that the suction port 14 is shut tightly, while another discharge valve 15V moves in the direction of opening so that the discharge port 15 is opened. This constitution enables execution of the suction and discharge operations of two systems of the first and second chambers 10, 11 by reciprocative motions of the piston 2, and different color inks and a recordability enhancing liquid are allowed to flow correspondingly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pump device and an ink jet recording device having the pump device, and the pump is preferably used as a recovery means used for stably operating discharge of a recording liquid of the ink jet recording device. It is what is done.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording method is one in which a small droplet of a recording liquid is ejected and applied onto a recording medium such as paper to perform recording. Conventionally, there have been problems that dust or liquid ink thickens due to drying, causing clogging of nozzles, and bubbles occurring in nozzles, resulting in ejection failure. As a means for recovering such ejection failure, a method of decompressing with a pump and sucking ink from the nozzle tip is generally used. In recent years, there has been a strong demand for color recording, and the number of color inkjet recording apparatuses equipped with recording heads capable of ejecting a plurality of color inks is increasing. The following recovery apparatuses have been developed to cope with this. .

(1) A pump according to the number of colors / a suction system according to the number of colors is mounted, and a plurality of pumps are operated simultaneously.

(2) One pump / one suction system is mounted and a plurality of recording heads are operated in a time division manner.

(3) One pump / suction system corresponding to the number of colors is mounted and operated.

Further, the inks used in conventional ink jet recording generally contain water as a main component and a water-soluble high-boiling point solvent such as glycol for the purpose of preventing drying and clogging. , When recording on plain paper using such ink, sufficient fixability may not be obtained, or uneven image may occur due to uneven distribution of filler or sizing agent on the recording paper surface. I did it.
Further, particularly when a color image is to be obtained, different inks have different colors because other inks are successively superposed on the paper before the ink attached first among the inks of a plurality of colors is fixed on the paper. At the boundary portion of the image, colors were bleeding or mixed unevenly, and a satisfactory image was not obtained.

Therefore, in order to improve the above-mentioned problems, there has been disclosed a method of applying a liquid for improving an image on a recording medium as a recording property improving liquid prior to ejection of the recording ink.

Incidentally, the improvement of the recording property means the density,
Includes improving image quality such as saturation, sharpness of edge portion, dot diameter, etc., improving ink fixability, improving water resistance, weather resistance such as weather resistance, that is, image storability. .

As a conventional method of applying the above-mentioned recording property improving liquid, for example, JP-A-5-202328 discloses an ink composition containing at least one chemical dye agent having at least one carboxyl group; A method of obtaining a good image by applying a polyvalent metal salt solution to a recording medium using a metal salt solution and then applying an ink composition is disclosed.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-63185 discloses a technique of depositing a treatment liquid for insolubilizing a dye on a recording paper by an ink jet recording head.

[0011]

However, regarding the recovery device in the recording device using the above-mentioned processing liquid, the pump corresponding to the number of colors and the suction system corresponding to the number of colors are mounted as described above, and a plurality of The method of simultaneously operating the pumps has the following drawbacks.

(1) When a plurality of pumps / suction systems are mounted, the volume occupied by the pumps increases, and the size of the recovery device and thus the recording device as a whole increases. In addition, the cost of the main body increases accordingly.

(2) The number of parts increases and the size increases, which leads to an increase in cost.

(3) Since the ink cannot be selectively sucked, unnecessary ink is consumed and the running cost is increased.

Further, the method of mounting one pump / suction system as described above and operating a plurality of recording heads in a time division manner has the following drawbacks.

(1) Since all of the suction systems contacting the recording head are common, the ink and the treatment liquid are mixed on the nozzle surface before ejection, so that proper ejection cannot be obtained due to thickening / solidification. That is, the purpose of utilizing the processing liquid cannot be achieved.

(2) Since the time-divisional driving is performed, the time required for the recovery process becomes long and the throughput of the entire apparatus is lowered.

Further, the method of mounting and operating the suction system corresponding to 1 pump / color number as described above has the following drawbacks.

(1) Since the ink and the treatment liquid are mixed in the pump, the proper suction / discharge operation is not performed due to the thickening / solidification, and the reliability is lowered. That is, the purpose of utilizing the processing liquid cannot be achieved.

(2) Since the ink cannot be selectively sucked, the insoluble ink is consumed and the running cost is increased.

[0021]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a pump device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a pump device in which a piston reciprocates within a predetermined range inside a cylinder to generate pressure inside. In, a pair of inlets and outlets are provided on both sides of the cylinder in the reciprocating direction of the piston, and ink containing a colorant and ink are provided in a flow path including chambers on both sides separated by the piston in the cylinder. The recording-characteristic improving liquid for improving the recording characteristics is flowed correspondingly.

A pump device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the pump device according to the first aspect, characterized in that the inner diameter of the cylinder is different at both ends and at the center.

A pump device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the pump device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the piston has a cleaning means, and a sliding surface with the piston inside the cylinder is reciprocated when the piston reciprocates. It is characterized by cleaning.

A pump device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the pump device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the recording property improving liquid agglomerates the coloring material in the ink. To do.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention includes the pump device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects as a recovery unit for stably holding or recovering the ink ejection state from the ink jet recording head. It is characterized by using.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet recording apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the surface tension of the recording property improving liquid is lower than the surface tension of the ink.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the recording apparatus according to the fifth or sixth aspect, wherein the recording property improving liquid contains a cationic substance having a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the ink is It is characterized by containing an anionic dye.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8 of the present invention is the recording apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the recording property improving liquid contains a cationic substance having a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the ink is An anionic dye is contained, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment are contained.

Furthermore, an ink jet recording apparatus according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the fifth to eighth aspects, wherein the ink jet recording head generates thermal energy used for ejecting ink. It is characterized by comprising a heat energy generating means for

[0030]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, since a pair of intake ports and discharge ports are provided on both sides of the cylinder in the piston reciprocating direction, a single pump constitutes two flow passage systems,
By separating the two, it is possible to reduce the number of pumps used in a state where the processing liquid can be used, the pump size is small, and the cost can be suppressed. Moreover, since two lines of suction can be performed by one reciprocating operation, the recovery time can be shortened and the throughput of the entire recording apparatus can be improved. In addition, the running cost can be suppressed by reducing the suction amount.

In the present invention, coagulation or insolubilization means that (i) when the coloring agent used in the ink is a water-soluble dye having an anionic group, the anionic group and the recording property improving liquid The cationic group of the contained cationic substance interacts ionicly to generate an ionic bond,
This means a phenomenon in which the dye that has been uniformly dissolved in the ink separates from the solution. Further, (ii) when the colorant used in the ink is a pigment, the pigment dispersant or the pigment surface and the cationic group of the cationic substance contained in the recording property improving liquid cause an ionic interaction, It means that the dispersion of the pigment is destroyed and the particle size of the pigment becomes large. Normal,
The viscosity of the ink increases with such aggregation or insolubilization.

[0032]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state during operation of a pump according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a piston 2 reciprocates in a cylinder 1 in directions A and B shown in the drawing. It is movable (in FIG. 1, the piston 2 is shown moving in the direction of arrow A in the drawing). Reference numeral 3 denotes an O-ring that is locked to the tip of the piston 2 so that the inside of the cylinder 1 is the first chamber 10 and the second chamber 1.
Airtightness is independently maintained in each of the 1st and 2nd sections. Reference numeral 4 is an O-ring that maintains airtightness between the first chamber 10 and the outside. On both sides of the cylinder 1, a pair of suction ports 12,
14, discharge ports 13 and 15 are provided. Inlet 1
2 and 14 are intake valves 1 having flexibility inside the cylinder.
2V and 14V are provided, and each is a one-way valve that opens only when the inside of the first and second chambers 10 and 11 becomes negative pressure. In addition, a pair of outlets 13, 1
5, a discharge valve 13V having flexibility on the outside of each discharge port,
15V is provided, and each of the first and second chambers 1
It is a one-way valve that opens only when the inside of 0 and 11 becomes positive pressure.

Next, the operation of the pump having such a structure will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIG. 1, when the piston 2 is moving in the direction of arrow A in the drawing, negative pressure is generated in the first chamber 10 of the cylinder 1 due to volume expansion, and the suction valve 12V at the suction port 12 is Since it is a one-way valve that is open to the negative pressure, the suction port 12 is open to the outside world. Further, since the discharge valve 13V at the discharge port 13 is a one-way valve in the closing direction with respect to the negative pressure, the discharge port 1
3 is airtight. In this way, only the suction from the suction port 12 is possible. On the other hand, positive pressure is generated in the second chamber 11 of the cylinder 1 due to volume compression, and the suction valve 14V at the suction port 14 is a one-way valve in the closing direction with respect to the positive pressure. It is sealed to the outside world. Further, since the discharge valve 15V at the discharge port 15 is a one-way valve that is open in the positive pressure direction, the discharge port 15 is open to the outside world. In this way, only the discharge from the discharge port 15 is possible.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the piston 2 is moving in the direction of the arrow B in the drawing from the state shown in FIG. Since the suction valve 12V is a one-way valve that is closed in the positive pressure direction, the suction port 12 is sealed from the outside. Further, the discharge valve 13V at the discharge port 13 is
Since it is a one-way valve that is open to the positive pressure, the discharge port 13 is open to the outside world. In this way outlet 1
Only the discharge from 3 is possible. On the other hand, negative pressure is generated in the second chamber 11 of the cylinder 1 due to volume expansion, and the suction valve 14V at the suction port 14 is a one-way valve that opens in response to the negative pressure. Open to. Further, since the discharge valve 15V at the discharge port 15 is a one-way valve in the closing direction with respect to the negative pressure, the discharge port 15 is hermetically sealed from the outside. In this way, only the suction from the suction port 14 is possible. Here, each of the intake / exhaust valves 12 to 15V is a member made of, for example, rubber, a metal thin plate, or a synthetic resin thin plate, and has flexibility in the opening / closing direction according to the pressure difference that can occur in the cylinder 1. Is what you are doing.

As described above, the suction / discharge of the two systems of the first chamber 10 and the second chamber 11 can be executed by one reciprocating motion of the piston 2.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing one state during operation of a pump according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same constituent elements are designated by the same reference numerals. , Description is omitted. The pump of this embodiment has a structure in which the intake / exhaust valves are simplified as compared with the pump of the first embodiment. In the figure, the cylinder 1 includes a first chamber 10 and a second chamber 1.
1 has a part with a small inner diameter for each,
The O-ring 3 is in sliding contact with this portion. The piston 2 has valve pistons 31, 32 on both sides with an O-ring 3 interposed therebetween.
Each of them has an outer diameter slidably movable to the inner diameter of the cylinder 1 and has an inner diameter loosely fitted to the shaft portion of the piston 2 so as to form a predetermined gap. Spaces formed on both sides of the valve pistons 31 and 32 and the O-ring 3 are a third chamber 16 and a fourth chamber 17, respectively.
Closed flange portions 22 and 23 are integrally formed on the piston 2, and the outer diameter of the flange is smaller than the inner diameter of the cylinder 1 and larger than the inner diameters of the valve pistons 31 and 32. further,
Open flange portions 21 and 24 are integrally formed in the piston 2, and the outer diameter of the flange is smaller than the inner diameter of the cylinder 1 and larger than the inner diameters of the valve pistons 31 and 32. further,
The open flange portions 21 and 24 have a plurality of holes 21A and 24A, respectively, each having a size corresponding to the inner diameters of the valve pistons 31 and 32, and at least a part of the openings overlapping each other. .

Next, the operation of the pump having the above construction will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be explained.

In the state where the piston 2 is moving in the direction of the arrow B in the drawing between FIGS. 3 and 4, the valve pistons 31 and 32 are in sliding contact with the cylinder 1, so that In this state, the O-ring 3 is moved and the positive pressure is generated by the volume compression of the first chamber 10 via the third chamber 16 and the hole 21A. The contents are holes 21
It is discharged to the first chamber 10 through A, and is further discharged from the discharge port 13 which is in an open state (direction of arrow in FIG. 4). Similarly, a negative pressure is generated in the second chamber 11 through the fourth chamber 17 and the hole 24A due to volume expansion, and suction is performed from the suction port 14 and the discharge port 15 (arrow direction in FIG. 4). Here, since the flow resistance of the suction port 14 is set to be larger than the flow resistance of the hole 24A, inhalation from the suction port 14 is not actually performed, but only from the discharge port 15 is performed. . Specifically, the diameter of the suction port 14 is made smaller than that of the discharge port 15 and the hole 24A, and the flow path length of the suction port 14 is set to the discharge port 15.
In addition, by setting the flow path length of the hole 24A to be long, it is possible to perform suction from only the discharge port 15.

Next, in the state in which the piston 2 is moving in the direction of the arrow B shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 5,
The closed flange portion 22 is in contact with the valve piston 31 and moves in a state of separating the first chamber 10 and the third chamber 16 from each other. In addition, the open flange portion 24 makes the valve piston 3
The first chamber 11 and the fourth chamber 17 are in contact with each other and are moving. Therefore, positive pressure is generated in the first chamber 10 due to volume compression, and the contents in the first chamber 10 are discharged from the discharge port 13 (FIG. 5).
(Indicated by arrow). Similarly, in the third chamber 16,
Due to the change in the inner diameter of the cylinder 1, negative pressure is generated due to volume expansion, and suction is performed from the suction port 12 (arrow direction in FIG. 5). Through the fourth chamber 17 and the hole 24A,
A negative pressure is generated in the second chamber 11 due to volume expansion, and the discharge port 1
5 is inhaled (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5).

Next, in the state in which the piston 2 is moving in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG. 5 to FIG.
Since the outer circumferences of the valve pistons 31 and 32 are in sliding contact with the inside of the cylinder 1, the valve pistons 31 and 32 are still stopped in the illustrated state.
As the ring 3 moves, negative pressure is generated in the first chamber 1 due to volume expansion through the third chamber 16 and the hole 21A, and suction is performed from the suction port 12 and the discharge port 13 (see FIG. 6). Arrow direction). Here, since the flow resistance of the suction port 12 is set to be larger than the flow resistance of the hole 21A, the suction is not actually performed from the suction port 12 but is only performed from the discharge port 13. . Specifically, the diameter of the suction port 12 is set to the discharge port 13 and the hole 21A.
It is possible to perform suction from only the discharge port 13 by making the flow path length of the suction port 12 smaller than that of the discharge port 13 or setting the flow path length of the suction port 12 longer than the flow path length of the discharge port 13 and the hole 21A. Similarly, through the fourth chamber 17 and the hole 24A, a positive pressure is generated in the second chamber 11 due to volumetric compression, and the contents in the fourth chamber 17 are discharged to the second chamber 11 through the hole 24A, Further, it is discharged from the discharge port 15 which is in the open state (the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 6).

Next, in the state in which the piston 2 is moving in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 7,
The operation of the pump is the same as that from FIG. 5 to FIG.

Next, in the state in which the piston 2 is moving in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG. 7 to FIG.
The open flange portion 21 is in contact with the valve piston 31 and is moving in a state where the first chamber 10 and the third chamber 16 are in communication with each other. In addition, the open flange portion 23 makes the valve piston 3
The second chamber 11 and the fourth chamber 17 are in contact with each other and move in a state of being isolated from each other. Therefore, through the first chamber 10 and the hole 21A, the third chamber 16
A negative pressure is generated due to the volume expansion, and suction is performed from the discharge port 13 (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 8). More positive pressure is generated in the second chamber 11, and the contents in the second chamber 11 are discharged from the discharge port 15 (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 8).
Similarly, in the fourth chamber 17, a negative pressure is generated by volume expansion due to a change in the inner diameter of the cylinder 1, and suction is performed from the suction port 14 (direction of arrow in FIG. 8).

As described above, one reciprocating motion of the piston 2 allows the intake / exhaust of two systems of the combination of the first chamber 10 / the third chamber 16 and the combination of the second chamber 11 / the fourth chamber 17. It is configured to be executable.

In this embodiment, the cylinder 1 has a large inner diameter, a small inner diameter, and suction ports 12 and 1 depending on a desired suction pressure.
4. The positions of the discharge ports 13 and 15 in the cylinder longitudinal direction and the stroke of the piston 2 can be arbitrarily determined. By determining the stroke, the distance between the open flange portions 21 and 23 and the closed flange portions 22 and 24, and the gap between the O-ring 3 and the closed flange portions 22 and 24 are determined. Further, the valve pistons 31 and 32, like the O-ring 3,
Since it comes into sliding contact with the cylinder 1 and acts as a partition, it is made of flexible rubber, resin, or the like, like the O-ring 3. Furthermore, the valve pistons 31, 32 are
As illustrated, simplification is achieved by reversing and using parts of the same shape.

In the present invention, the number of flow passage systems mounted on one pump is not limited to the combination of two flow passage systems per pump as described in the embodiment. The absence is obvious. For example, one pump can expand two flow paths,
It is possible to further increase the number of channel systems such as systems. Specifically, if the cylinder 1 further comprises an intake / exhaust port of another system, a valve piston, an O-ring, and an open flange / closed flange portion, the same effect can be obtained with the flow system of three systems. That is clear.

In any of the embodiments of the pump described above, for example, suction tubes are provided at the suction ports 12 and 14 to connect to the member to be sucked, and the discharge port is opened to the atmosphere as shown in the drawing. In that case, the desired effect can be obtained in the two flow path systems by the reciprocating motion of one piston.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a sectional view showing a pump according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those of the pump of the above embodiment have the same reference numerals. Is added and the description is omitted. The structure of the pump of this embodiment can be applied to any of the pumps of the first and second embodiments. In FIG. 9, the cylinder 1
Is divided into a first chamber 10 and a second chamber 11, and a 0-ring 3 is in sliding contact with the boundary portion thereof. O
-The space divided by the ring maintains airtightness independently for each chamber, and the absorber Q is positioned and arranged as a cleaning member in the space. When the piston 2 moves in the A or B direction, the O-ring 3 moves while maintaining airtightness, but the ink containing the coloring material or the recording property improving liquid for aggregating the coloring material in the ink is slightly present on the inner wall of the cylinder 1. However, it remains. Therefore, by disposing the absorber Q at the boundary between both chambers, it is possible to prevent the aggregation of the coloring material in the ink by wiping the inner diameter of the cylinder 1 with the absorber to clean it when the piston 2 moves. is there.

In the present embodiment, one absorber was used as the cleaning member, but of course, separate absorbers were used for the ink containing the coloring material and the recording property improving liquid for aggregating the coloring material in the ink. I don't care. Further, the wiper W as shown in FIG. 10 may be used as the cleaning member, or the absorber and the wiper may be used at the same time.

(Embodiment 4) This embodiment is an embodiment of a recovery device and a recording device, and a case where the above-described pump device is used in the recovery device of the recording device will be described.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a recovery device using a pump device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 03 denotes a recovery device, which is a pump 51 having, for example, the two flow passage systems shown in the second embodiment in the casing 50,
52 and 53 are arranged. Each of the two discharge ports of the pumps 51 to 53 is directed downward in the drawing and is discharged to the outside of the recovery device 503 through the hole 50A formed in the housing 50. Further, each of the two suction ports of the pumps 51 to 53 is connected to six cap members 62 to 67 that come into contact with a recording head (not shown) via flexible tubes. Each cap member 62-67
Are locked to the cap holder 60. In addition, the cap holder 60 has the shaft portion 61 at both ends, so that the housing 50 is
It is supported so as to be rotatable and biasable in the recording head contact direction. Further, each of the pumps 51 to 53 has a toothed shape at the tip of the piston shaft and meshes with the pinion 54. Further, the pinion 54 meshes with a drive source (for example, a motor) (not shown), and reciprocates by the forward and reverse rotations of the drive source.

The inside of the recording apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a partial schematic perspective view of the recording apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 400 denotes a recording head unit in which heads for ejecting the processing liquid, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively, are integrally formed. 100,
Treatment liquid, yellow, magenta, cyan, black,
Cartridges 150R, 150Y, 1 corresponding to processing liquid
50M, 150C, 150K, 150L (hereinafter 150R
To L) are fixed to the carriage. The carriage 400 scans in the directions of arrows B and C in the figure via a belt 302 by a drive source 401. Carriage 40
0 is the recording head unit 100 and the cartridge 1
A head cover 421 for fixing 50R to 50L to the carriage 400 is provided so as to be rotatable and engageable. 30
6 is the recording head unit 100 on the carriage 400.
It is a cable for transmitting a drive signal to. 505
Is a guide shaft for moving the carriage 400, and 502 is a support shaft for supporting and guiding one end of the carriage 400. Recording head unit 10
0 uses thermal energy to form the ink droplets,
It has a form of forming an image, and is connected to the cartridges 150R to 150L through the ink flow path in a state of being mounted on the carriage 400. A linear scale 300 extends in the scanning direction of the carriage 400. Reference numeral 405 is a sheet-metal chassis that supports the above-described components, and 501 is a locking member for elastically locking the guide shaft 505. The recovery device 503 is a chassis 405.
Is fixed to the recording head unit 100 to protect the recording head unit 100 during standby and eliminate clogging of the recording heads 101R to 101L and ink thickening. Chassis 405 integrally configured as described above
Are fixed on the bottom case 504. The bottom case 504 is further covered with an exterior component (not shown) to complete the recording apparatus.

Here, any of the cartridges 150R to 150L can be used, and only the liquid contained therein is different. Further, regarding 150R and 150L, all of the liquids to be stored are processing liquids for improving the recording property, and although the reference numerals are different, they may be the same cartridge in reality.

Next, the printing and recovery operations will be described.

In FIG. 12, when the carriage 400 starts scanning in the directions B and C shown in the drawing, a reading element (not shown) fixed on the carriage 400 relatively moves on the linear scale 300 fixed on the chassis 405. As a result, a position signal is generated, and a recording head drive signal that is synchronized with the position signal is generated and transmitted to the recording head unit 100 to drive the recording head, and the corresponding ink droplet or The treated liquid droplets are ejected onto the recording medium. When the printing is completed and the carriage 400 is in the standby state, the print heads retracted to the position of the recovery device 503, and the print heads configured in the print head unit 100 are
The cap holder 60 of the recovery device 503 is protected by swinging / contacting. In this state, for example, if any of the cartridges 150R to 150L is replaced, it becomes necessary to flow the ink into the recording head, and the recovery device 5
03 will be operated. FIG. 13 shows a recovery device 50.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which suction is performed from the recording head unit 100. Since the cap holder 60 which can be swung in the directions of arrows C and D in the drawing is biased in the direction of the arrow C in the drawing, the cap 62 is in contact with the nozzle surface of the recording head. When the pump 51 is operated in this state, the processing liquid is sucked from the cap 62 in one reciprocating motion,
Black ink can be independently sucked from the cap 63. The same applies to the pumps 52 and 53, and the recovery operation can be performed in a small space and in a short time. Furthermore, since each color can be sucked independently, it is possible to avoid mixing of ink / treatment liquid, and it is possible to improve the reliability of the operation of the pump and the reliability of the recording head. Since the respective colors can be sucked independently and again, the sucked inks of the respective colors can be collected again and the printing can be executed, which is also effective in the recording apparatus which is required to reduce the running cost.

Further, in this embodiment, the pumps 51 to 51
Although the configuration of driving up to 53 at the same time is shown, for example, in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the cap holder 60 is divided into the number of caps, and the caps 60 can be independently swung with respect to the shaft 62 so as to come into contact with the recording head. On the other hand, it is obvious that any kind / number of pieces can be individually and sufficiently sucked.

The number of pumps mounted in the present invention is not limited to the combination of three pumps in which four color inks and two processing liquids are connected to each two systems as described in the embodiment. It is clear that there is no limit.

For example, a plurality of inks of different densities corresponding to single-color inks may be provided. That is, for example, as the recording mode of the recording apparatus, not only a general recording mode using yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, but also a recording mode of multiple colors of different colors or full-color recording modes that realize gradation expression by density modulation For devices equipped with at least one of
The present invention is extremely effective. Further, for example, the present invention is extremely effective also in single-color recording with the treatment liquid and black.

Further, although the serial type ink jet recording apparatus is shown in the above embodiment, the present invention is effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum recordable width. it can. For example, it is apparent that the desired effect can be obtained by sequentially connecting the suction head and the pump device corresponding to each of the recording heads ejecting the treatment liquid and the recording heads ejecting black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. . Further, the full-line type recording head may be either a so-called stagger type that fills the length by a combination arrangement of a plurality of recording heads or a so-called in-line type that is integrally linearly configured.

In the above-mentioned constitution of the present invention, the recording property improving liquid, that is, the treatment liquid for insolubilizing the ink dye can be obtained as follows, for example.

That is, after mixing and dissolving the following components,
Further, after performing pressure filtration with a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.22 μm (trade name: Fluoropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.), the pH can be adjusted to 4.8 with NaOH to obtain a treatment liquid Al.

[Component of Al] Low molecular component of cationic compound Stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride 2.0 parts (trade name; Electrostop QE, manufactured by Kao) Polymer component of cationic compound Polyamine sulfone (average molecular weight: 5000) 3 0.0 parts (trade name; PAS-92, manufactured by Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd.) Thiodiglycol 10 parts Water balance Also, the following can be mentioned as preferable examples of the ink which is insolubilized by mixing with the treatment liquid.

That is, the following components are mixed, and the mixture is filtered under pressure with a membrane filter (trade name: Chloropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries) having a pore size of 0.22 μm, and then the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks Y are mixed.
1, M1, C1, K1 can be obtained.

Y1 C. I. Direct Yellow 142 2 parts Thiodiglycol 10 parts Acetylenol EH (Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 0.05 parts Water balance M1 Dye I. Acid Red 289; C1 dye having the same composition as Y1 except that 2.5 parts was used. I. Acid Blue 9; Same composition as Y1 except that 2.5 parts was used. I. Food Black 2; Same composition as Y1 except that 3 parts are replaced with each other. In the above-described mixing of the treatment liquid (liquid composition) and the ink, in the present invention, the treatment liquid and the ink described above are applied to a printing material or a printing material. As a result of mixing at the position where it penetrates into the printing material, as a first step of the reaction, among the cationic substances contained in the treatment liquid, the low molecular weight component or cationic oligomer and the anionic group used in the ink are mixed. The water-soluble dye or the anionic compound used in the pigment ink has an association due to an ionic interaction, and instantaneously separates from the solution phase. As a result, dispersion destruction occurs in the pigment ink, and pigment aggregates are formed.

Next, in the second stage of the reaction, the aggregate of the dye and the low molecular weight cationic substance or cationic oligomer or the aggregate of the pigment is adsorbed by the polymer component contained in the treatment liquid. In addition, the size of aggregates of dyes or aggregates of pigments generated by association becomes even larger, making it difficult for the aggregates to enter into the gaps between fibers of the print material, and as a result, only the liquid portion that is solid-liquid separated into the recording paper. By soaking in, both print quality and fixability are achieved. At the same time, the low molecular weight component of the cationic substance generated by the mechanism as described above or a cationic oligomer, an aggregate formed of an anionic dye and a cationic substance or an aggregate of the pigment has a high viscosity,
Since the liquid medium does not move with the movement of the liquid medium, even if adjacent ink dots are formed of different color inks as in the case of full-color image formation, they do not mix with each other, and bleeding does not occur. Also,
The aggregates are essentially water insoluble and the water resistance of the formed image is perfect. Further, it also has the effect of improving the light fastness of the image formed by the shielding effect of the polymer.

As the insolubilization or agglomeration used in the present specification, one example thereof is the phenomenon of the first stage only, and another example is the phenomenon including both the first stage and the second stage.

Further, in carrying out the present invention, it is not necessary to use a cationic polymer substance having a large molecular weight or a polyvalent metal salt as in the prior art, or even if it is necessary to use the present invention, Since it is only necessary to supplementarily use it to further improve the effect, the amount used can be minimized. As a result, the reduction of the color developability of the dye, which is a problem when trying to obtain the water resistance effect using the conventional cationic polymer substance or polyvalent metal salt, is eliminated. Can be listed as the effect of.

The material to be printed used in carrying out the present invention is not particularly limited, and so-called plain paper such as conventionally used copy paper and bond paper can be preferably used. Of course, a coated paper specially prepared for inkjet printing and a transparent film for OHP can also be suitably used, and general high-quality paper and glossy paper can also be suitably used.

In carrying out the present invention, the ink to be used is not limited to the dye ink in particular, and a pigment ink in which a pigment is dispersed may be used, and the treatment liquid to be used is one in which the pigment is aggregated. Can be used. The following may be mentioned as an example of the pigment ink that causes aggregation by mixing with the above-mentioned colorless liquid A1. That is, as described below, yellow, magenta, and pigment containing a pigment and an anionic compound, respectively,
Cyan and black inks Y2, M2, C2 and K2 can be obtained.

Black ink K2 anionic polymer P-1 (styrene-methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate, acid value 400, weight average molecular weight 6,0
00, an aqueous solution with a solid content of 20%, a neutralizing agent: potassium hydroxide) was used as a dispersant, and the following materials were charged into a batch type vertical sand mill (made by AIMEX) and 1 mm diameter glass beads were filled as a medium. The dispersion treatment was performed for 3 hours while cooling with water. The viscosity after dispersion was 9 cps and the pH was 10.0. This dispersion was centrifuged to remove coarse particles, to prepare a carbon black dispersion having a weight average particle diameter of 100 nm.

(Composition of carbon black dispersion) -P-1 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) 40 parts-Carbon black Mogul L (manufactured by Cablack) 24 parts-Glycerin 15 parts-Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether 0.5 parts- Isopropyl alcohol 3 parts water 135 parts Next, the dispersion obtained above was sufficiently dispersed to obtain a black ink K2 for ink jet containing a pigment. The solid content of the final preparation was about 10%.

Yellow ink Y2 anionic polymer P-2 (styrene-acrylic acid-methyl methacrylate, acid value 280, weight average molecular weight 1
1,000%, an aqueous solution with a solid content of 20%, a neutralizing agent: diethanolamine) was used as a dispersant, and the following materials were used to carry out a dispersion treatment in the same manner as in the production of the black ink K2. A 103 nm yellow color dispersion was prepared.

(Composition of Yellow Dispersion) 35 parts of P-2 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 180 24 parts (Novapalm Yellow PH-G, manufactured by Hoechst) -Triethylene glycol 10 parts-Diethylene glycol 10 parts-Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether 1.0 part-Isopropyl alcohol 0.5 parts-Water 135 parts Obtained as above The yellow dispersion was sufficiently diffused to obtain an inkjet yellow ink Y2 containing a pigment. The solid content of the final preparation was about 10%.

Cyan Ink C2 Using the anionic polymer P-1 used in the preparation of the black ink K2 as a dispersant, the following materials were used, and the same dispersion treatment as in the case of the carbon black dispersion described above was performed. Then, a cyan color dispersion having a weight average particle diameter of 120 nm was produced. (Composition of cyan color dispersion) P-1 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) 30 parts C.I. I. Pigment Blue 15: 3 24 parts (Fast Gemble-FGF, Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) ・ Glycerin 15 parts ・ Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether 0.5 parts ・ Isopropyl alcohol 3 parts ・ Water 135 parts Cyan color dispersion obtained above Was sufficiently stirred to obtain a cyan ink C2 for ink jet containing a pigment. The solid content of the final preparation was about 9.6%.

Magenta Ink M2 The anionic polymer P-1 used in the preparation of the black ink K2 was used as a dispersant, and the following materials were used to carry out the same dispersion treatment as in the case of the above carbon black dispersion. Then, a magenta color dispersion having a weight average particle diameter of 115 nm was produced.

(Composition of magenta color dispersion) P-1 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) 20 parts C.I. I. Pigment Red 122 (Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Inc.) 24 parts-Glycerin 15 parts-Isopropyl alcohol 3 parts-Water 135 parts Magenta ink for ink jet containing a pigment by sufficiently diffusing the magenta color dispersion obtained above. M2
I got The solid content of the final preparation was about 9.2%.

In the present invention, the means for applying the printability improving liquid to the recording medium may be the same discharge means as the ink discharge, or may be applied by a roll, or other well-known methods. It is possible to use a coating means. Further, the recording property improving liquid may be applied before the ink is applied, at the same time, or after the ink is applied.

Further, in the structure of the present invention, the ink is injected into the ink tank (ink container) by connecting an ink supply pipe or the like to the ink container to form an ink introduction path for introducing the ink. Ink can be injected into the ink container through the introduction path. As the ink supply port on the ink container side, it is possible to use a supply port to the ink jet recording head side, an atmosphere communication port, a hole formed on the wall surface of the ink container, or the like. When the ink is injected as described above, it is desirable to also inject the recording property improving liquid at the same time, and this recording property improving liquid can also be injected by the same means and procedure as the ink injection. it can.

As a form of the recording device provided with a recording mechanism using the liquid jet recording head of the present invention, a recording device used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying device combined with a reader, and the like, May take the form of a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration when the recording apparatus of the present invention is applied to an information processing apparatus having a function as a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile apparatus, a copying apparatus.

In the figure, reference numeral 1801 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus, which includes a CPU such as a microprocessor and various I / Os.
It has a port and outputs control signals, data signals, etc. to each section, and controls by inputting control signals and data signals from each section. A display unit 1802 displays various menus, document information, image data read by the image reader 1807, and the like on this display screen. A transparent pressure-sensitive touch panel 1803 is provided on the display unit 1802. By pressing the surface of the touch panel 1803 with a finger or the like, items or coordinate positions can be input on the display unit 1802.

1804 is an FM (Frequency M)
sound source section, the music information created by a music editor or the like is stored in the memory section 1810 or the external storage device 18
The data is stored as digital data in 12, and is read from the memory or the like to perform FM modulation. FM
The electric signal from the sound source unit 1804 is converted into an audible sound by the speaker unit 1805. The printer unit 1806 has the recording apparatus of the present invention applied as an output terminal of a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile apparatus, and a copying apparatus.

Reference numeral 1807 denotes an image reader unit for photoelectrically reading and inputting original data, which is provided in the middle of the original conveying path and reads various originals such as facsimile originals and copy originals. The image reader unit 1808
It is a transmission / reception unit of a facsimile (FAX) that transmits the original data read in 07 by facsimile and receives and decodes the transmitted facsimile signal, and has an interface function with the outside. Reference numeral 1809 denotes a telephone unit having various telephone functions such as a normal telephone function and an answering machine function.

Reference numeral 1810 denotes a ROM for storing a system program, a manager program, other application programs, etc., a character font, a dictionary, etc.,
It is a memory unit including an application program loaded from the external storage device 1812, document information, a video RAM, and the like.

Reference numeral 1811 denotes a keyboard unit for inputting document information and various commands.

An external storage device using a floppy disk, a hard disk or the like as a storage medium.
2 stores document information, music or voice information, user's application program, and the like.

FIG. 16 is a schematic external view of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1901 denotes a flat panel display using liquid crystal or the like, which displays various menus, graphic information, document information and the like. By pressing the surface of the touch panel 1803 on the display 1901 with a finger or the like, coordinate input or item designation input can be performed.
1902 is a handset used when the device functions as a telephone. The keyboard 1903 is detachably connected to the main body via a cord, and various document information and various data can be input. The keyboard 1903 is also provided with various function keys 1904 and the like. Reference numeral 1905 is an insertion port of a floppy disk into the external storage device 212.

Reference numeral 1906 denotes a sheet placing section for placing an original read by the image reader section 1807. The read original is discharged from the rear of the apparatus. When receiving a facsimile, the data is recorded by the inkjet printer 1907.

Note that, in the above, the display unit 1802 is C
Although it may be RT, a flat panel such as a liquid crystal display using a ferroelectric liquid crystal is preferable. This is because in addition to being small and thin, it is possible to reduce the weight.

When the information processing apparatus functions as a personal computer or a word processor, various information input from the keyboard section 211 is processed by the control section 1801 according to a predetermined program, and the printer section 18 is processed.
It is output as an image in 06.

When functioning as a receiver of a facsimile apparatus, the facsimile information input from the FAX transmission / reception unit 1808 via the communication line is received and processed by the control unit 1801 according to a predetermined program, and the printer unit 1806.
Is output as a received image.

In the case of functioning as a copying machine, a document is read by the image reader unit 1807, and the read document data is transferred to the printer unit 18 via the control unit 1801.
It is output as a copied image in 06. In addition, when functioning as a receiver of a facsimile apparatus, the image reader unit 1
The document data read by 807 is the control unit 180.
After the transmission processing according to the predetermined program by 1,
It is transmitted to the communication line via the FAX transmission / reception unit 1808.

The information processing apparatus described above may be an integral type in which an ink jet printer is built in the main body as shown in FIG. 17, and in this case, it becomes possible to enhance the portability. In the figure, parts having the same functions as those in FIG. 16 are designated by the corresponding reference numerals.

By applying the recording apparatus of the present invention to the multifunctional information processing apparatus described above, a high-quality recorded image can be obtained at high speed and with low noise, so that the function of the information processing apparatus is further improved. It becomes possible.

[0097]

As described above, by providing a pair of inlets and outlets on both sides of the cylinder in the piston reciprocating direction, a single pump constitutes two flow passage systems,
By separating the two, it is possible to reduce the number of pumps used in a state where the processing liquid can be used, the pump size is small, and the cost can be suppressed. Further, since one system of reciprocating operation can suck two or more lines, the recovery time can be shortened and the throughput of the entire recording apparatus can be improved. Further, a highly reliable pump / recovery device capable of suppressing the running cost by reducing the suction amount could be provided.

Further, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus having excellent water resistance of an image, excellent image quality, high speed, low running cost and high reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a pump according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the pump according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a pump according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the pump according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the pump according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the pump according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the pump according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the pump according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a pump according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a modified example of the pump according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of a recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view of a recovery device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration when the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to an information processing apparatus that functions as a word processor or the like.

16 is a schematic external view of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG.

17 is a schematic external view of a configuration in which the ink jet printer of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 15 is built in the main body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cylinder 2 Piston 3 O-ring 10 1st chamber 11 2nd chamber 12 Suction port 12V Suction valve 13 Discharge port 13V Discharge valve 14 Suction port 14V Suction valve 15 Discharge port 15V Discharge valve 31 Valve piston 32 Valve piston 50 Housing 51 ˜53 pump 60 cap holder 61 to 67 cap 100 recording head unit 150 cartridge 300 linear scale 302 belt 400 carriage 405 chassis 502 support shaft 503 recovery system 505 guide shaft Q absorber W wiper

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A pump device in which a piston reciprocates within a predetermined range within a cylinder to generate pressure therein, a pair of suction ports and discharge ports being provided on both sides of the cylinder in the piston reciprocating direction, A pump characterized in that ink containing a coloring material and a recording property improving liquid for improving recording property by the ink respectively flow in a flow path including chambers on both sides separated by the piston in the cylinder. apparatus. 2. The pump device according to claim 1, wherein the inner diameter of the cylinder is different at both ends and at the center. 3. The pump device according to claim 1, wherein the piston has a cleaning means, and a sliding surface inside the cylinder with the piston is cleaned when the piston reciprocates. 4. The pump device according to claim 1, wherein the recording property improving liquid aggregates the coloring material in the ink. 5. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the pump device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is used as a recovery means for stably holding or recovering an ink ejection state from an ink jet recording head. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the surface tension of the recording property improving liquid is lower than the surface tension of the ink. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recording property improving liquid contains a cationic substance of a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the ink contains an anionic dye. . 8. The recording property improving liquid contains a cationic substance of a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the ink contains an anionic dye, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus is an inkjet recording apparatus. 9. The ink jet recording head according to claim 5, wherein the ink jet recording head is provided with a thermal energy generating means for generating thermal energy used for ejecting ink. Recording device.