JPH10138501A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove readily dusts, ink drops, or substances sticking on a nozzle surface irrespective of existence and nonexistence of unevenness by providing a wiper and scrubbing means to a cleaner, and pressing the scrubbing means against the nozzle surface at scrubbing the nozzle surface of the recording head. SOLUTION: A wiper 2 and scrubbing means 3 are provided on a cleaner, and these are made of a material liable to no deterioration or no decomposition due to ink. Relative to the nozzle surface 1a of the ink jet recording bead, the wiper 2 and scrubbing means 3 are contacted so as to support the scrubbing means 3 resiliently from the rear by the wiper 2, thereby putting the scrubbing means 3 to be contacted by the agency of larger contact force than only the scrubbing means 3 through its contact force. The thickness of the wiper means 2 is made 0.5-1.5mm, and the scrubbing means 3 is made 1-5mm in its thickness. The wiper 2 and scrubbing means 3 are put into more sharply linear contact with the scrubbing means 3, thus achieving effective cleaning.

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 fine ink droplets from nozzles, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cleaner for cleaning a nozzle surface of a head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet recording apparatus for recording images by ejecting minute ink droplets from a nozzle of an ink jet recording head onto a recording medium, the ink droplets are recorded because the ink jet recording head is close to the recording medium during image recording. Ink droplets generated upon collision with the medium bounce off the nozzle surface of the inkjet recording head and contaminate the nozzle surface.

Further, in order to prevent or recover from clogging of the nozzles of the ink jet recording head, ink discharged from the nozzles during non-printing remains on the nozzle surface, thereby contaminating the nozzle surface. Such contamination of the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head causes fibrous or dusty adhesion of the recording medium, adverse effects such as clogging of the nozzles of the ink jet recording apparatus, inability of the ink jet recording head to eject ink, and bending of the ejection direction. Was exerted.

Conventionally, the configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink jet recording head and a wiper for cleaning the recording head has a wiper cleaner disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-128034 shown in FIG. Things were known. The cleaner is made of a wiper 2 made of rubber, foamed plastic, or the like. The free end of the wiper 2 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 1a of the ink jet recording head 1 so that the adhered ink is removed or wiped off for cleaning.

On the other hand, not only liquid ink adheres to the nozzle surface 1a of the ink jet recording head 1 but also ink dye or fiber due to evaporation of the ink solvent is dried and adhered. , Have to deal with. Therefore, as a cleaner,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 128034, a wiping means constituted by a porous elastic body set to a wet condition is preferable. However, when the nozzle surface 1a of the ink jet recording head 1 is cleaned only by such wiping means, the cleaner becomes soiled as the cleaning operation is performed, so that the original cleaning effect is reduced.

For this reason, an ink jet recording apparatus having both the wiper and the wiping means has been proposed. FIG. 8 shows an ink jet recording apparatus having a wiper 2 and a wiping means 3 described in JP-A-2-518. 9 (FIG. 9A, FIG.
(B) has a cleaner composed of a wiping means 3 composed of a porous elastic body set in a wet state and a wiper 2 protruding more than this described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-5647. FIG. 10 (FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (c)) shows an ink jet recording apparatus.
No. 8552 discloses an ink jet recording apparatus having a cleaner in which a wiper 2 and a water absorbing wiping member 3 are integrally joined by an adhesive 81.

The details of the cleaning operation of the cleaner used in each of the ink jet recording apparatuses shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 are described in the above publications (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-128).
No. 034, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-518, and Shokai Sho 61-
No. 5647 and JP-A-4-338552)
Please refer to.

[0008]

However, in the case of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 8, since the wiper 2 and the wiping means 3 are independent, the structure of the cleaning means is complicated, and the structure and control of the cleaning means are complicated. Is complicated. Furthermore, when trying to obtain a sufficient contact pressure by the wiping member itself,
Since the rigidity of the wiping member 3 is generally low, the wiping member 3 must have a certain size or more. In this case, the wiping member does not follow the nozzle surface when the nozzle surface has irregularities. Alternatively, there is a problem that if the thickness of the wiping member is reduced in order to make the wiping member follow the nozzle surface, a sufficient contact load cannot be obtained.

Also, in the case of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 9, a sufficient contact force cannot be obtained by the wiping member 3, and the effect of the wiping member 3 cannot be sufficiently exerted. Particularly, the contact force could hardly be expected depending on the degree of wetting. Further, since the cleaner is always used, high durability is required.

Further, in the case of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 10, the time and labor for integrally joining the wiping member 3 and the wiper 2, the durability of the joined portion, the selection of an adhesive for joining, etc. There are problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve these problems and to remove dust, dirt, ink droplets and the like adhering to a nozzle surface regardless of the presence or absence of unevenness and to firmly attach the nozzle surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus having a cleaning means capable of easily removing the adhered matter attached to a recording medium with a simple structure.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has a wiping mechanism which follows an unevenness of a nozzle surface by pressing a wiping member against the nozzle surface with a wiper and has a sufficient and controlled contact force. An ink jet recording apparatus having a cleaning means is employed.

[0013]

Next, an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows an ink jet recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The recording device is a paper feeding unit 10
1, paper feed unit 102, paper discharge unit 103, carriage unit 10
4. The cleaning unit 105 is provided. The carriage unit 104 is provided with an electrical contact unit that connects to the head cartridge when the head cartridge is mounted. The electrical contact portion is provided at an end of the flexible cable 106, and the other end of the flexible cable 106 is attached to an electric board in a main body (not shown). The carriage 104 reciprocates along a guide shaft 107 for reciprocating scanning in a direction perpendicular to the recording paper conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction). At this time, the ink jet recording head provided in the head cartridge is driven by an ink jet recording head. The droplets are ejected to perform printing. When printing is not performed for a predetermined time or longer, the ink jet recording head is moved to a standby position where the cleaning unit is located and stands by.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the cleaner of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a standby state, and FIG.
FIG. 2B shows a cleaning operation by a wiper, and FIG.
(C) shows a state in which cleaning with a wiping member is performed on the nozzle surface. FIG. 2A shows that the ink jet recording head 1 is on standby and stopped at a stop position. Both the wiper 2 and the wiping member 3 must be made of a material that does not cause deterioration or deterioration due to ink. For example, as the wiper 2, urethane rubber, silicon rubber, HNB
R and the like are preferred. As the wiping member 3, a porous body having high water absorption in addition to ink resistance is particularly preferable. For example, Rubicell Clean (trade name of Toyo Polymer),
A nonwoven fabric or the like using fine fibers is suitable.

According to an experiment, cleaning with the wiper 2 must be frequently performed in a normal use state, but the contact force with the ink jet recording head is 5 g.
/ Cm or more provides a sufficient effect. However, the cleaning with the wiping member 3 requires 50 g / cm, although the frequency at which the cleaning is required is much less than the wiping operation.
To 100 g / cm or more and a total load of 100 to 100 g / cm is preferable in consideration of damage to the head.
About 300 g is preferable. In order to obtain such a large contact force, the conventional method solves the problem by using a large wiping amount for a thick wiping member. However, by making the wiping member thick, it is difficult to follow irregularities on the nozzle surface. FIG. 3 shows a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the head nozzle surface, and shows a state where cleaning is performed by the wiping member 3. As shown in FIG. 3, a portion where the wiping member did not contact occurred in the concave portion, particularly in the corner portion.

When the cleaner according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 2 is used, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the wiper 2 contacts the nozzle surface 1a of the ink jet recording head, the wiper itself is used. When the wiping member 3 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 1a with the contact force due to the elastic force of the wiping member 3 as shown in FIG. 2C, the wiping member 3 is elastically supported from behind by the wiper 2, The wiper 2 applies a contact force from behind, and the wiper member 3 can be brought into contact with a stronger contact force than the wiper member 3 alone.

For example, the wiper 2 in the drawing has a thickness of 1 mm,
When urethane rubber having a hardness of 75 ° and a free length of 8 mm is used, and the wiping member 3 in the drawing is made of 1.5 mm thick and a free length of 10 mm, Rubicell Clean (trade name of Toyo Polymer), the contact force during the wiping operation Is about 10 g / cm, and the contact force during the wiping operation is about 80 g / cm. During this wiping operation, the wiper 2 needs to be covered by the wiping member 3, and if sufficiently covered, the distance between the wiper 2 and the wiping member 3 and their free length are arbitrary.
Regarding the thickness, the thickness of the wiper 2 is preferably 0.5
And the thickness of the wiping member 3 is 1 to 5 m.
m, and the wiping member 3 is slightly thicker than the wiper 2.

Conventionally, the wiping member has been required to have two performances, that is, control of contact pressure and wiping performance. However, according to the present invention, the two required performances can be separated. In other words, by controlling the contact pressure of the wiping member 3 by the wiper 2, the range of wiping load that can be performed is widened, and the conditions required for the wiping member 3 are relaxed. Can be used.

In this embodiment, wiping and wiping are performed by a combination of a pair of wipers and a wiping member. However, a separate wiper is provided, and the wiping operation is performed without using the wiper combined with the wiping member at the time of wiping. It can be used only for controlling the contact pressure in the wiping operation at the time, and is more effective in a system where wiping conditions are more severe.

In both the case of wiping as shown in FIG. 2B and the case of wiping as shown in FIG. 2C, both the wiper 2 and the wiping member 3 have a more prominent edge with respect to the nozzle surface. Thus, cleaning can be performed more efficiently by contacting with a line than by a surface. This is because the contact pressure becomes larger when the contact is made with a line than when the contact is made with a surface, and it becomes difficult to generate a residue of the ink or the thickened material due to the wiping or wiping operation. According to the present invention, it is easy to form an edge by adjusting the thickness, free length, penetration amount, and the like of the wiper.

(Embodiment 2) In Embodiment 1, the cleaner is configured to move with respect to the ink jet recording head. In Embodiment 2, however, the cleaner is arranged so as not to move in the main scanning direction. Then, cleaning is performed using the movement of the ink jet recording head.

FIG. 4 shows an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the cleaner is located within the movable range of the ink jet recording head, and uses the movement of the ink jet recording head to clean the nozzle surface. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 21 denotes a guide shaft, reference numeral 22 denotes a printing area, and reference numeral 23 denotes a cleaner (wiper 2 and wiping member 3).

FIG. 4A shows a state in which the ink jet recording head performs printing in the printing area.

FIG. 4B shows a state in which the ink jet recording head has passed in front of a cleaner (wiper 2 and wiping member 3) arranged between the printing area and the standby position. If printing has not been performed for a certain period of time or longer, the ink jet recording head returns to the standby position, but shows the state at that time. In this embodiment, the cleaner is disposed between the printing area and the standby position. However, the cleaner may be located anywhere within the moving range of the ink jet recording head.

FIG. 4C shows a case where wiping is performed by a wiper. When moving from the standby position to the printable area, the ink jet recording head passes in front of the pushed-out cleaner. At this time, the nozzle surface 1a is wiped by the wiper 2 of the cleaner.

FIG. 4D shows a case where a wiping operation is performed by a wiping member. When performing the wiping operation, move the inkjet recording head from the standby position to the printable area side from the cleaner, and then move the cleaner to a position where it interferes with the inkjet recording head, and the inkjet recording head waits from the printable area side. Move to the position side.
At this time, the nozzle surface 1a of the inkjet recording head 1 is cleaned by the wiping member 3.

Here, the reason why the wiper 2 is arranged on the standby position side with respect to the wiping member 3 is that if the wiper 2 is arranged on the printable area side with respect to the wiping member 3, the ink adhered to the wiper by the wiping will be removed. When the deflection is released, the print area may be jumped toward the printable area and contaminate the print area. Therefore, the jump direction is set to the standby position side to prevent contamination.

The wiping speed shown in FIG.
The wiping speed shown in (d) may be the same or different. Wiping is 80 m with the arrangement of the second embodiment.
When wiping was performed at a speed of 50 mm / sec at a speed of m / sec, good results were obtained.

According to experiments, the required number of wiping operations is very small as compared with wiping. Therefore, the printing efficiency can be improved by shortening the time required for wiping that is frequently performed. By positioning the wiper on the standby position side, the time required to move to the print start position after wiping is reduced, and the printing efficiency can be improved. Here, the recovery operation has been described as being limited to wiping and wiping, but wiping and wiping may be performed by other means, for example,
Naturally, it is possible to use suction, preliminary discharge, and the like in various orders, times, and combinations, and by doing so, it is possible to further improve the cleaning efficiency.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a recovery sequence including the aforementioned suction and preliminary discharge. First, a recovery operation is started (step S1). As shown in FIG.
The inkjet recording head 1 is moved to the standby position (Step S2). At this time, the cleaner is at the lower evacuation position. Next, after suction at the standby position (step S3), as shown in FIG. 4 (c), the wiping is performed by the wiper 2 by moving the inkjet recording head 1 to the printable area side (step S4). At this time, the cleaner is brought to the upper operating position. Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, the wiping operation is performed by the wiping member 3 by moving the ink jet recording head 1 to the standby position (Step S5), and then preliminary ejection is performed (Step S6). The recovery operation ends (Step S7).

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 shows an ink jet recording apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention in which the wiper of the cleaner of the present invention has an irregular shape. FIG. 6A is a side view,
(B) is a front view on the wiper side. Since the width of the tip of the wiper is narrower than the width of the root side (more specifically, the shape of the tip of the wiper is substantially complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the recess on the nozzle surface), it is possible to achieve a larger contact pressure. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6C showing the wiping operation and FIG. 6D which is a sectional view thereof, the wiping member 3 surely comes into contact with the corner of the concave portion of the nozzle surface 1a of the ink jet recording head 1. Becomes possible.

The contact pressure can also be increased by increasing the thickness at the root side of the wiper 2 as compared with the tip end, and by adjusting this thickness, a certain free length and width can be obtained. Thus, it is possible to control the contact pressure desired for the wiper having an intrusion amount. Here, the shape has been described as an example of a wiper that is symmetrical along the center line, but it is obvious that the shape is not limited to the symmetrical shape. Further, with respect to the thickness, an example in which the thickness is tapered from the root to the tip is given, but the thickness is not limited to the tapered shape.

[0034]

According to the present invention, the wiper and the wiping member of the cleaner have a structure in which the wiping member is pressed against the nozzle surface by the wiper during the wiping operation of the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head. Regardless of the presence or absence of unevenness, dust and dirt attached to the nozzle surface,
A cleaning unit that can remove ink droplets and the like and can easily remove adhered matter firmly adhered to the nozzle surface with a simple structure can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a conventional wiping member wipes an uneven face surface.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a recovery sequence.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a conventional cleaner.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another conventional cleaner.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a cleaner of a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a cleaner of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink jet recording head 1a Head nozzle surface 1b nozzle 2 Wiper 3 Wiping member 21 Guide shaft 22 Printing area 23 Cleaner 81 Adhesive 101 Paper feed unit 102 Paper feed unit 103 Paper discharge unit 104 Carriage unit 105 Cleaning unit 106 Flexible cable 107 Guide shaft

Claims (9)

[Claims] An ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle, a cleaner for contacting the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head to clean the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head, and controlling the cleaner means to contact the nozzle surface. In the ink jet recording apparatus having means, the cleaner is constituted by a wiper having an elastic force and a wiping member, and when the wiping member is operated, the cleaner is brought into contact with the nozzle surface by the wiper. Inkjet recording device. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wiper controls a contact force of the wiping member with respect to the nozzle surface. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a free length of said wiping member is equal to or larger than a free length of said wiper. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a speed of wiping by the wiper is equal to or greater than a speed of a wiping operation by the wiping member. 5. An ink jet recording head having a concave nozzle surface for discharging ink droplets, a cleaner means for cleaning the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head by contacting the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head, and the cleaner means. In the ink jet recording apparatus having control means for bringing the nozzle into contact with the nozzle surface, the cleaner is constituted by a wiper having an elastic force and a wiping member, and when the wiping member is operated, the wiper abuts on the nozzle surface. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by being cleaned. 6. An ink jet recording head that ejects ink droplets from nozzles, a cleaner that contacts the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head to clean the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head, and controls the cleaner to contact the nozzle surface. Means, the cleaner comprises a wiper having an elastic force, a porous wiping member, the wiper and the wiping member are arranged side-by-side, when the wiping operation by the wiping member, When the wiping member contacts the nozzle surface, the wiper elastically supports the wiping member from behind. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the cleaner is disposed between a printable area of the ink jet recording head and a standby position. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the wiper of the cleaner is arranged on a standby position side of a wiping member of the cleaner. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the nozzle surface has a concave portion, the shape of the wiper is substantially complementary to a cross-sectional shape of the concave portion of the nozzle surface. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by being formed in.