JPH09136406A - Ink-jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cap when a power switch or the like is turned off and reduce costs without complicating a control mechanism. SOLUTION: The apparatus has an ink-jet head 11 having a plurality of discharge openings formed on a nozzle plate 11a, a carriage 13, a carriage shaft 14 supporting the carriage 13 and a spacing motor for running the carriage 13 along the carriage shaft 14. Moreover, the apparatus has an urging means for urging the carriage 13 to a home position with a smaller urging force than a running force by the spacing motor, a cap 16 arranged at the home position which selectively takes an open position for opening the nozzle plate 11a and a closed position for closing the nozzle plate 11a, and an interlocking mechanism which interlocks with the operation of the carriage 13 to set the cap 16 at the closed position when the carriage 13 returns to the home position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, ink is ejected from a plurality of ejection openings formed in a nozzle plate and adhered to a medium for printing. In this case, if printing is not performed for a long time, ink dries and the discharge ports are clogged, or if dust adheres to the nozzle plate, dot dropouts occur and print quality deteriorates. Or, the printing becomes impossible.

Therefore, when printing is completed, the ink jet head is automatically returned to the standby position, that is, the home position, and the nozzle plate is closed by the cap provided at the home position to perform capping. The outside air is cut off.
The capping is performed by driving a capping motor.

By the way, for example, in the printing operation state, when the ink jet head is moved in a region other than the home position and the operator mistakenly turns off the power switch or the like to shut off the power, the vehicle is running. The inkjet head of the above is stopped at that place, and capping cannot be performed. Therefore, when it is detected that the power switch etc. has been turned off, the cutoff of the power supply is delayed, the inkjet head is returned to the home position and capping is performed, and the power supply is cut off after these operations are completed. ing.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional ink jet recording apparatus, it is confirmed by a signal or the like that the power switch or the like has been turned off, the interruption of the power supply is delayed, and an instruction is given to the motor driver. Since it is necessary to return the inkjet head to the home position, drive the capping motor to perform capping, and turn off the power after confirming that the capping has been performed, the control becomes complicated.

Further, the cost is increased by the provision of the capping motor. The present invention solves the problems of the conventional inkjet recording apparatus described above, and when the power switch is turned off, the inkjet head can be returned to the home position for capping, and the control is complicated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can be manufactured at a low cost.

[0007]

Therefore, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, an ink jet head having a plurality of ejection openings formed in a nozzle plate, a carriage on which the ink jet head is mounted, and a carriage for supporting the carriage. It has a carriage shaft and a spacing motor for causing the carriage to travel along the carriage shaft.

[0008] Further, an urging means for urging the carriage toward the home position with an urging force smaller than the traveling force of the spacing motor, an open position for arranging the carriage at the home position and opening the nozzle plate, It has a cap that selectively takes a closed position to close the nozzle plate, and an interlocking mechanism that puts the cap in the closed position in synchronization with the operation of the carriage when the carriage returns to the home position.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a printing operation state of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a capping state of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a drop-on-demand type ink jet head, which ejects ink from a plurality of ejection ports (not shown) formed in a nozzle plate 11a of the ink jet head 11 and adheres it to a medium (not shown) for printing. Is supposed to do. An ink cartridge 12 containing black or color ink is fixed to the inkjet head 11.

The ink jet head 11 has a piezoelectric body (not shown). By deforming the piezoelectric body, the ink in the ink cartridge 12 can be pressurized and ejected from the ejection port. There is. Further, a heating element is provided in place of the piezoelectric element, the heating element is heated to generate bubbles, the ink in the ink cartridge 12 is pressurized by the bubbles, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port. You can also

The ink jet head 11 is mounted on a carriage 13 together with an ink cartridge 12, and the carriage 13 is supported by a carriage shaft 14.
You will be guided. Then, by driving a spacing motor (not shown), the carriage 13 can be moved in the direction of arrow A along the carriage shaft 14.

A platen 15 is arranged parallel to the carriage shaft 14 and is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown). Then, the platen 15 is driven by driving a line feed motor (not shown).
Can be rotated to hold and convey the medium.
Therefore, in the printing operation state, the carriage 1
Printing can be performed by causing 3 to run in the direction of arrow A and moving the medium while ejecting ink from the ejection port during that time.

When printing is not performed for a long time, ink dries and the ejection ports are clogged, or when dust adheres to the nozzle plate 11a, dot omission occurs and the printing quality deteriorates. Or, the printing becomes impossible. Therefore, when printing is completed, the inkjet head 11 is automatically returned to the home position,
Capping mechanism 20 disposed at the home position
Cap the nozzle plate 11a with
The ink is blocked from the outside air.

The capping mechanism 20 includes a spring 17 as an urging means for urging the carriage 13 toward the home position, an arm 18 as an interlocking mechanism which is swingably supported about a pin 21, and It consists of a cap 16 attached to one end of an arm 18. The cap 16 selectively takes an open position for opening the nozzle plate 11a and a closed position for closing the nozzle plate 11a, and the contact surface 16a is formed of rubber or the like.

When the printing is completed, the ink jet head 11 is returned to the home position and stopped as shown in FIG. At this time, the convex portion 1 disposed at an appropriate position of the inkjet head 11
1b abuts against the other end of the arm 18 and presses it. As a result, the arm 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow B in conjunction with the operation of the carriage 13, and the cap 16 is gradually raised to the closed position. When the inkjet head 11 is completely returned to the home position, the nozzle plate 11a is closed by the cap 16 and capping is performed.

By the way, in the printing operation state, the ink jet head 11 is moved in the area other than the home position in the direction of the arrow A, but if the power switch or the like is turned off during that time, the power is cut off and The pacing motor is stopped. In this case, when the inkjet head 11 is stopped in a region other than the home position in accordance with the stop of the spacing motor and a state in which printing is not performed continues for a long time, the ink dries and the ejection port is clogged. Dust may adhere to the nozzle plate 11a.

Therefore, the ink jet head 11 is returned to the home position by the urging force of the spring 17. In this case, when the power switch or the like is turned off, the power is cut off and the inkjet head 11 is automatically returned to the home position by the urging force of the spring 17. Then, the nozzle plate 11a is closed by the capping mechanism 20 arranged at the home position for capping, and the ink and the outside air are shut off.

The urging force of the spring 17 is set to be smaller than the running force of the spacing motor. Therefore, when the inkjet head 11 is moved in the direction of arrow A in the printing operation state, it does not affect the operation of the spacing motor. In this way, when the power switch is turned off and the power is cut off, the inkjet head 11 is automatically returned to the home position and capping is performed, so that the ink dries and the ejection port is clogged. No dust is attached to the nozzle plate 11a. Therefore, it is possible to prevent missing of dots and deterioration of print quality, and to prevent printing from becoming impossible.

Further, since each operation is mechanically performed after the power is cut off, the control can be simplified. Further, since it is not necessary to dispose the capping motor, the cost can be reduced. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a capping state of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the description is abbreviate | omitted by giving the same code | symbol. In this case, the capping mechanism 30 includes a winder 27 as an urging means for urging the carriage 13 toward the home position, an arm 28 as an interlocking mechanism swingably supported around the pin 21, and It consists of a cap 16 attached to one end of the arm 28.

The winding device 27 and the carriage 13 are connected by a winding wire 31, and the ink jet head 1 is connected.
When 1 moves to the left in the figure, the winding wire 31 moves to the winder 27.
The take-up wire 31 is wound up in the winder 27 when the inkjet head 11 moves to the right in the drawing. The winding wire 31 is always urged in the winding direction.

The cap 16 and the arm 28 are relatively movably connected to each other via a movable portion 28a made of an elastic material such as rubber or spring. Therefore, the projection 11b of the inkjet head 11 and the capping mechanism 3
Even if the dimensional accuracy of each part such as the arm 28 of 0 is not high,
Since the movable portion 28a follows, the nozzle plate 11
Capping can be performed by securely closing a with the cap 16.

Further, even when the ink jet recording apparatus is repeatedly used and misaligned, and the backlash occurs, the nozzle plate 11a can be reliably closed by the cap 16 and capping can be performed. Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the description is abbreviate | omitted by giving the same code | symbol.

In this case, in the printing operation state, the ink jet head 11 can be moved in the area other than the home position in the direction of arrow A, but during that time, the reception of print data from an unillustrated host device is interrupted or the print data is printed. When the reception of data is completed or the state of waiting for reception of print data is entered, the control device (not shown) shuts off the power immediately or after a certain period of time has elapsed.

As a result, the spacing motor (not shown) is stopped, the ink jet head 11 is returned to the home position by the urging force of the spring 17, and capping is performed. As described above, when the reception of the print data from the host device is interrupted or when the reception of the print data is completed, the power is cut off, the inkjet head 11 is automatically returned to the home position, and capping is performed. As a result, the ink is not dried and clogged in the ejection port, and dust is not attached to the nozzle plate 11a. Therefore, it is possible to prevent missing of dots and deterioration of print quality, and to prevent printing from becoming impossible.

Further, since the power supply is cut off while waiting to receive the print data, it is possible to reduce the consumption of electric energy. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified based on the gist of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

[0028]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus, an ink jet head having a plurality of ejection openings formed in a nozzle plate, and a carriage on which the ink jet head is mounted,
A carriage shaft that supports the carriage and a spacing motor that runs the carriage along the carriage shaft are provided.

In this case, printing can be performed by driving the spacing motor to move the carriage, ejecting ink from the ejection port of the nozzle plate and adhering it to the medium. Further, an urging means for urging the carriage toward a home position with an urging force smaller than a traveling force by the spacing motor, an open position arranged at the home position and opening the nozzle plate, and the nozzle plate. A cap that selectively takes a closed position for closing the carriage, and an interlocking mechanism that places the cap in the closed position in synchronization with the operation of the carriage when the carriage returns to the home position.

In this case, when the power switch or the like is turned off in the printing operation state, the power is cut off and the spacing motor is stopped. Then, the ink jet head is automatically returned to the home position by the biasing force of the spring. Since the interlocking mechanism places the cap in the closed position in conjunction with the operation of the carriage, the nozzle plate is capped and the ink and the outside air are shut off.

Therefore, since the ink is not dried and clogged in the ejection port and dust is not attached to the nozzle plate, dot dropout occurs and the print quality is deteriorated or printing is disabled. Will disappear. Further, since each operation is mechanically performed after the power is cut off, the control can be simplified and the cost for the capping motor can be reduced because the capping motor need not be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a printing operation state of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a capping state of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a capping state of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Inkjet head 11a Nozzle plate 13 Carriage 14 Carriage shaft 16 Cap 17 Spring 18, 28 Arm 27 Winder 28a Movable part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Shimosugi 4-11, Shibaura 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo In the Oki data of the stock company

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet head having a plurality of ejection openings formed in a nozzle plate, (b) a carriage for mounting the inkjet head, (c) a carriage shaft for supporting the carriage, and (d). A spacing motor that drives the carriage along the carriage shaft; and (e) a biasing unit that biases the carriage toward the home position with a biasing force smaller than the running force of the spacing motor. A cap that is disposed at the home position and selectively takes an open position that opens the nozzle plate and a closed position that closes the nozzle plate; and (g) operation of the carriage when the carriage returns to the home position. An interlocking mechanism for interlocking the cap with the cap in the closed position. Inkjet recording device. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a movable portion which is arranged between the cap and the interlocking mechanism and which relatively movably connects the cap and the interlocking mechanism. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spacing motor is stopped while waiting to receive print data.