JPH10193629A - Head cleaning mechanism for ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of components of a head cleaning mechanism compared to one heretofore employed having a rotary type hook lever by a method wherein a whole slider is rotated using a fixed lever having a simple structure which is integrally provided to the slider without using a rotary type hook lever, then the slider is temporarily stopped on a position in the way between a returning limit and a forwarding limit. SOLUTION: When a print head 10 is returned to a home position, an actuator 15 of the print head 10 is abutted to a projection section 23 of a slider 20, then the slider 20 is returned and raised. A cap 60 is loaded to a head face 13 of the print head 10 at a returning limit. When the print head 10 is forwarded from the home position, the slider 20 is forwarded and lowered. When the slider 20 reaches the intermediate position, a pawl section 24 is suspended to a hook 40, then the slider 20 is temporally stopped. In this condition, the print head 10 is forwarded, then the head face 13 is wiped by a wiper 70. After the wiping, the print head 10 is abutted to a fixed lever 25 and a carrier 20 is rotated so that the pawl section 24 is released from the hook 40. The slider 20 is temporarily stopped on the intermediate position without using a rotary type lock lever.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head cleaning mechanism for wiping and preventing drying of a head surface of a movable print head provided in an ink jet printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet printing apparatus, printing is performed by ejecting ink from ejection holes formed in the head surface of a reciprocating print head. At the home position, which is the initial position of the print head, a cap is attached to the head surface to protect the head surface and prevent drying of the remaining ink. When the print head moves in and out of the home position, the head surface is wiped by a wiper in order to prevent clogging of the ejection holes due to the remaining ink. The head cleaning mechanism performs wiping and drying prevention of the head surface of the print head near the home position.

FIGS. 9 to 14 are views for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional head cleaning mechanism. FIG. 9A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. 9B is a schematic side view. is there. In this specification, the direction in which the print head 10 retreats to the home position (right in the figure) is referred to as the rear, and the direction in which the print head 10 advances from the home position (left in the figure) is referred to as the front.

The print head 10 includes a carrier 11 that reciprocates and an ink cartridge 12 supported by the carrier 11, and a head surface 13 is provided on a lower surface of the ink cartridge 12. The slider 1 is provided near the home position of the print head 10.

The slider 1 disposed below the moving path of the print head 10 has a pair of front and rear support pins 2, 2 provided on both side surfaces, and a pair of front and rear support pins 2, 3 provided on both sides of the base 3, 3 at an angle. By fitting to the long hole guides 4, 4,
It is supported movably back and forth. And slider 1
Is mounted with a wiper 5 at the front, and a cap 6 at the center.
Is installed. A rotary lock lever 7 is attached to one side surface of the slider 1 to stop the slider 1 halfway along the movement path.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the print head 10 has advanced from the home position, that is, when the print head 10 is not at the home position, the slider 1
Is pulled forward by a spring 8 which also serves to bias the lock lever 7, and is held at the forward end. In the forward limit, the slider 1 is located at a lower stage where the wiper 5 does not contact the head surface 13 of the print head 10.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the print head 10 returns near the home position and comes directly above the slider 1, the carrier 11 of the print head 10 hits a lever 1a provided at the rearmost portion of the slider 1. Thereafter, the slider 1 retreats following the retraction of the print head 10. At this time, the slider 1 is guided by a pair of front and rear guides 4, 4 provided on the bases 3, 3 on both sides inclining, so as to rise while retreating, and to the retreat limit, that is, the print head 10.
11 returns to the home position, the cap 6 is mounted on the head surface 13 of the print head 10 at the upper position as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the print head 10 advances from the home position, the slider 1 is initially pulled by the spring 8 and advances with the print head 10, and descends with the advance, but advances to the middle stage. At the stage of descending, the lock lever 7 is engaged with the hook 9 provided on the base side, so that the lock lever 7 stops halfway at the middle position.
After this, the print head 10 continues to advance, and in this process, the head surface 13 is wiped by the wiper 5. That is, in order to wipe the head surface 13 with the wiper 5, the slider 1
Stops at the middle position during the forward movement.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the wiping of the head surface 13 is completed and the rear part of the print head 10 reaches the front part of the slider 1, the print head 10 hits the lock lever 7, and the lock lever 7 Rotate in the direction to come off. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the slider 1 is pulled by the spring 8 and returns to the lower limit position in the forward limit.

[0010]

The recent severe price competition has made it important to reduce the number of parts, and the printing apparatus is no exception. In the case of the above-described conventional head cleaning mechanism, in order to wipe the head surface 13 with the wiper 5, it is necessary to temporarily stop the slider 1 at the middle position in the middle of forward movement. Although the lock lever 7 is provided, from the viewpoint of reducing the number of parts, it is required to omit the lock lever 7 and to ensure the same function as the conventional one.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an ink jet printing apparatus capable of reducing the number of parts by omitting a rotary lock lever while securing the same function as that of the related art. It is an object of the present invention to provide a head cleaning mechanism.

[0012]

A head cleaning mechanism for an ink jet printing apparatus according to the present invention is disposed near a home position of a movable print head provided in an ink jet printing apparatus, and cleans the head surface of the print head. A wiper to be wiped and a cap mounted on the head surface thereof, and a slider that rises while retreating following the movement of the print head when the print head retreats to the home position, and moves the slider forward from the retreat limit. A slider that is urged in the direction of movement and a hook that is pulled by the spring and engages with the slider while descending while moving forward from the retreat limit to stop the slider at a middle position on the movement path; Is rotatably supported in the direction from the hook at the middle stop position on the movement path, and the home position is Print head to advance the down it is, by striking the fixed lever provided integrally with the slider, is characterized in that by rotating in a direction deviating from the hook is released from the restriction by the hook.

The slider is guided by the inclined guide and rises with the retreat, and is located at the upper end at the retreat limit, and the cap is mounted on the head surface of the print head. Engagement stops at the middle position.In this state, the wiper comes into contact with the head surface of the print head, and the fixed lever reaches the height of the print head.In the lower limit position of the forward limit, the print head moves above the wiper and the fixed lever. It is preferable to configure so as to have a passing height.

[0014] It is preferable that the slider has support pins on both sides to be engaged with the guide, and that the slider is configured to rotate as a whole around the support pins.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B are drawings of a head cleaning mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view, FIG. 1B is a schematic side view, and FIG. FIGS. 3 to 8 are schematic side views showing a guide formed on a base used in a head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment, and FIGS. ) Is a schematic plan view,
Each figure (b) is a schematic side view. In this specification, as described above, the direction in which the print head retreats to the home position is referred to as backward, and the direction in which the print head advances from the home position is referred to as front.

As shown in FIG. 1, the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a print head 10 near a home position which is an initial position of the print head 10.
Slider 20 movably provided along the moving path of
A spring 30 for urging the slider 20 forward;
A hook 40 for stopping the slider 20 halfway between the retreat limit and the forward limit.

As described above, the print head 10 includes the carrier 11 which reciprocates and the ink cartridge 12 supported by the carrier 11, and a head surface 13 is provided on the lower surface of the ink cartridge 12. The carrier 11 has a pair of front and rear arms 14 and 15 extending from the main body supported by the guide rod onto the slider 20.
During this time, the ink cartridge 12 is supported. The rear arm 15 is an actuator for operating the slider 20.

The slider 20 is located below the moving path of the print head 10 and has a pair of front and rear support pins 21 and 2 on both sides.
2 is provided. The support pins 21 and 22 are formed by a pair of front and rear long hole guides 51 and 52 provided on the bases 50 on both sides.
, Thereby supporting the slider 20 movably in the front-rear direction with a constant stroke. Here, Guide 5
Reference numerals 1 and 52 are inclined rearward, that is, upward toward the home position. Therefore, the slider 20 moves up as it moves backward from the forward limit.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guides 51 and 52 have lower flat portions 511 and 521 to stop the slider 20 at the lower position of the forward limit, the middle position on the way, and the upper position of the retreat limit, respectively. , Middle position flat portions 512, 5
22 and upper position flat portions 513 and 523 are provided, respectively. Also, the rear guide 52 is supported at the middle position in the middle so that the slider 20 that stops at the middle position in the middle can rotate about the support pin 21 on the front side.
Is allowed to move in the vertical direction. Further, a recess 512A into which the support pin 21 is fitted is formed in the middle position flat portion 512 of the guide 51.

The rear portion of the slider 20 is provided with a convex portion 23 projecting upward. A claw portion 24 is provided on the lower surface of the rear portion of the slider 20 so as to protrude therefrom. A fixed lever 25 protruding upward is attached to the front side surface of the slider 20. The projection 23 has a height that contacts the arm 15 at the rear of the carrier 11 irrespective of the height of the slider 20, and the hook 40 engages with the claw 24 when the slider 20 is at the middle position in the middle. Further, the fixed lever 25 is
Only when 0 is in the middle or higher position,
The print head 10 comes into contact with the arm 15 at the rear of the carrier 11.

A cap 60 is mounted at the center of the slider 20, and a wiper 70 is mounted at the front. The cap 60 has a height to be attached to the head surface 13 of the print head 10 when the slider 20 is located at the upper position, and the wiper 70 has a height to contact the head surface 13 when the slider 20 is at the middle position. .

Next, the operation of the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
When 0 is advanced from the home position, that is, when the print head 10 is not at the home position,
The slider 20 is stopped at the lower limit position of the forward limit by being pulled by the spring 30. When the print head 10 returns to the home position, the print head 10 passes over the slider 20 until the arm 15 at the rear of the carrier 11 hits the protrusion 23 of the slider 20. Because
At this time, since the slider 20 is at the lower position, neither the fixed lever 25 nor the wiper 70 hits the print head 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the arm 15 at the rear of the carrier 11 hits the projection 23 of the slider 20, the carrier 11 is pushed by the carrier 11 and the slider 20 starts retreating toward the retreat limit. , 52 ascending. Then, as shown in FIG.
Is completely retracted into the home position, the slider 20 is located at the retreat limit, and is positioned at the upper stage, so that the cap 60 is mounted on the head surface 13.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the print head 10 starts to advance from the home position, the slider 20 pulled by the spring 30 advances with the advance of the print head 10, and gradually descends with the advance. . When the slider 20 advances to the middle position in the middle, the hook 40 is engaged with the claw portion 24. Therefore, only the print head 10 continues to advance, and the slider 20 temporarily stops at the middle position. That is, the support pins 21 are fitted into the concave portions 512A. Then, as the print head 10 continues to move forward, the head surface 13 is wiped by the wiper 70.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the print head 10 continues to move forward after the wiping of the head surface 13 is completed, the arm 15 at the rear of the carrier 11
Hit 5 Then, since the slider 20 temporarily stopped at the middle position, the front support pin 21 is fitted into the concave portion 512A, so that the rear portion of the slider 20 ascends around the support pin 21 (shown in FIG. 7B). (In the direction of the arrow). For this reason, the claw portion 24 comes off from the hook 40 and is released from the restraint by the hook 40. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the slider 20 is pulled by the spring 30 and advances at a stretch to the lower limit position of the forward limit.

As described above, in the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention, the wiper 70 is
When the slider 20 is temporarily stopped at the middle position between the retreat limit and the forward limit for the purpose of making contact with the slider 20, a simple structure provided integrally with the slider 20 without using a rotary hook lever is used. A simple fixing lever 25 is used.

Therefore, the number of parts is small, and the cost can be reduced from both the parts cost and the assembly cost. In addition, the claw portion 2 is moved by utilizing the descending operation of the slider 20.
4 is securely engaged with the hook 40, and the carrier 11 of the advancing print head 10 abuts against the fixed lever 25 of the slider 20 which stops at the middle position. Hook 40 is securely separated from 24. For this reason, the slider 20 is temporarily stopped at the middle position between the retreat limit and the forward limit even though the rotary hook lever is not used.

The slider 20 is mounted on the inclined guide 5.
The cap 60 is guided by 1, 52 and rises with the retreat.
3 and engages with the hook 40 in the process of moving forward while descending from the retreat limit to stop at the middle position. In this state, the wiper 70 contacts the head surface 13 of the print head 10 and the fixed lever 25 prints. At the lower position of the forward limit, the wiper 70 and the fixed lever 2
5 so that the print head 10 has a height that passes straight through.

Therefore, when the print head 10 retreats to the home position, the fixing lever 25
There is no danger of accidental operation. Moreover, the print head 1
When 0 moves back to the home position, the print head 10
The wiper 70 does not contact the head surface 13 of the print head 1
Only when 0 advances from the home position, the wiper 70 comes into contact with the head surface 13, so that unnecessary wear and the like of the wiper 70 are prevented.

Further, since the front support pin 21 is used as a fulcrum when the slider 20 rotates, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to secure the fulcrum separately.

[0032]

As described above, the head cleaning mechanism of the ink jet printing apparatus according to the present invention does not use a rotary hook lever but uses a fixed lever having a simple structure provided integrally with a slider. By rotating the entire slider, the slider is temporarily stopped at an intermediate position between the retreat limit and the forward limit, so that the number of parts is reduced as compared with a conventional head cleaning mechanism using a rotary hook lever. can do. Therefore, cost reduction can be achieved from both the component cost and the assembly cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B are drawings of a head cleaning mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 1B is a schematic side view.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a guide formed on a base used in the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention step by step, wherein FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 3B is a schematic side view; FIG.

4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention in a stepwise manner, wherein FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. FIG.

5A and 5B are drawings for explaining the operation of the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention step by step, wherein FIG. 5A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 5B is a schematic side view; FIG.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are drawings for explaining the operation of the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention in a stepwise manner, wherein FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view and FIG. FIG.

7A and 7B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention step by step, wherein FIG. 7A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 7B is a schematic side view; FIG.

8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the head cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention step by step, wherein FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 8B is a schematic side view. FIG.

9A and 9B are views for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional head cleaning mechanism, wherein FIG. 9A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 9B is a schematic side view.

10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional head cleaning mechanism, wherein FIG. 10A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 10B is a schematic side view.

11A and 11B are views for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional head cleaning mechanism, wherein FIG. 11A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 11B is a schematic side view.

12A and 12B are diagrams for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional head cleaning mechanism, wherein FIG. 12A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 12B is a schematic side view.

13A and 13B are views for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional head cleaning mechanism, wherein FIG. 13A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 13B is a schematic side view.

14A and 14B are views for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional head cleaning mechanism, wherein FIG. 14A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 14B is a schematic side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Print head 13 Head surface 15 Arm part 20 Carrier 21, 22 Support pin 25 Fixing lever 30 Spring 40 Hook 50 Base 51, 52 Guide 60 Cap 70 Wiper

Claims (3)

[Claims] An ink jet printing apparatus is provided with a wiper disposed near a home position of a movable print head mounted on an ink jet printing apparatus, for wiping a head surface of the print head, and a cap mounted on the head surface. A slider that rises while retreating following the movement of the print head when the head retreats to the home position, a spring that urges the slider to move forward from the retreat limit, and a slider that is retracted by the spring A hook that engages with the slider in the process of descending while moving forward, and stops the slider at a middle position in the middle of the moving path,
The slider is rotatably supported in a direction of coming off the hook at a middle stop position in the middle of the moving path, and a direction in which the print head coming out of the home position comes off the hook by hitting a fixed lever provided integrally with the slider. A head cleaning mechanism for an ink jet printing apparatus, wherein the head cleaning mechanism is rotated to be released from the restraint by the hook. 2. A process in which the slider is guided by an inclined guide and rises with retreat, and is positioned at an upper stage at a retreat limit, a cap is mounted on a head surface of a print head, and the slider is advanced while descending from the retreat limit. Stops at the middle position by engaging with the hook.In this state, the wiper comes into contact with the head surface of the print head, and the fixed lever has the height to hit the print head. 2. The head cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the head has a height at which the head passes. 3. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the slider has support pins on both sides to engage with a guide, and the whole of the slider rotates about the support pins. Equipment head cleaning device.