JPH10217441A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly and surely perform capping and wiping operations by reducing a cost and a size of this printer. SOLUTION: This printer comprises a support member 231 that supports a cap member 246 and a wiper blade 249 and a moving driving means that moves the support member 231 to make the cap member 246 to be opposed to an ink ejection hole of an ink jet nozzle 200 for each color. Cleaning of the ink ejection hole is performed by the wiper blade 249 by utilizing the moving operation of the support member 231.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer capable of printing by discharging ink onto a printing medium held on the outer peripheral surface of a rotatable drum.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A nozzle unit for each color is reciprocated over the entire length in a row direction, and printing is performed during each forward movement to print one line, and after one line printing, a printing medium (plain paper, OHP paper, etc.). Compared to a so-called serial type ink-jet printer which feeds M by one line in the column direction and repeats them, printing speed can be drastically increased and continuous printing operation can be performed over a large number of sheets. The present applicant has proposed an ink-jet printer capable of achieving a great reduction in size (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 8-296959).

That is, in FIG. 3, a drum 10 is rotatable at a constant peripheral speed and can hold a print medium M on an outer peripheral surface 11 thereof. Rotation of this drum 10 (Y)
A nozzle unit (print head) 200 for each color (C, M, Y, B) is provided in the direction.

[0004] Therefore, an integrated nozzle unit 200 for each color or an integrated nozzle unit 200 for each color in which a plurality of nozzle unit elements are arranged in the row direction (for example, between the ink jet nozzles). While continuously or intermittently reciprocating by the pitch (for example, 1/75 inch), ink is sprayed from the ink discharge ports of the inkjet nozzles 207 for each color onto the rotating print medium M to print in the row direction. Printing in the column direction can be performed while utilizing the rotation of the drum 10 during the forward movement of the intermediate pitch. That is, since the line-direction printing and the column-direction printing can proceed simultaneously, the printing speed can be greatly increased.

[0005] Further, since the nozzle unit 200 for each color and the ink tank (ink cassette) 213 for each color are arranged at a distance from each other, the nozzle unit 2 for each color is provided.
00 can be lightened, and the reciprocating movement speed in the row direction can be greatly increased. This further promotes higher printing speed, and the capacity of the ink tank (ink cassette) 213 for each color can be greatly increased. Can be continuously printed.

In order to realize these, a medium feeding means 60 and a medium feeding means 90 are provided on one side (right side in FIG. 3) of the drum 10, and a medium is provided on the other side (left side in FIG. 3). Peeling means 140, medium discharging / conveying means 160, and direction switching means 1
90 are provided.

The medium feeding means 60 includes a cassette feeding means 7.
The print medium M can be selectively fed one sheet at a time from either one of the manual feeding means 61 and the manual feeding means 61. Medium supply means 90
Supplies the fed print medium M to the drum 10 at a predetermined timing.

The medium peeling means 140 peels the print medium M from the drum 10 after printing, and the medium discharge / transport means 160 discharges and transports the peeled print medium M leftward in FIG.
The direction switching unit 190 selectively switches between the discharge tray 192 and the upper discharge tray 193.

Thus, the feeding, supply, holding, rotational transfer, printing, peeling, discharging and conveying of the printing medium M and drying promotion can be continuously performed.
Multi-color printing can be performed for the size.

[0010]

Incidentally, since the previously proposed printer is also of the ink jet type, it is necessary to remove the ink adhering to the ink discharge port of each ink jet nozzle 207 and its vicinity. This is so-called wiping. Further, after printing is completed, it is necessary to close the ink ejection ports of each inkjet nozzle 207 using a cap member in order to prevent the ink from drying. This is so-called capping.

In a conventional ink jet printer, capping and wiping are performed by using a different moving drive means. That is, the cap member is moved by using the dedicated movement driving means, and the ink jet nozzle 2 is moved.
In addition to performing capping in close contact with the ink ejection port of No. 07, wiping is performed by moving the wiping member using another moving drive means.

Here, in the printer proposed above,
The inkjet nozzle 207 for each color is displaced in the rotation direction of the drum 10 and the drum outer peripheral surface 11 being rotated.
, For example, with a gap of 0.5 to 1 mm. Therefore, when performing the capping and the wiping, the entire nozzle unit 200 for each color is retreated to the left in FIG.
07, a large space in which the cap member and the wiping member can move is ensured.

If the conventional cap member driving system and wiping member driving system are employed in the ink jet printer having such a configuration, the mechanism becomes complicated and large, and it is difficult to reduce the size and cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer capable of smooth and reliable capping and wiping while reducing the size and cost.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print head for performing printing by discharging ink from an ink discharge port onto a print medium held on an outer peripheral surface of a rotatable drum, and a print head for the print head. A cap member capable of closing the ink ejection port, a wiping member capable of cleaning the ink ejection port of the print head, a support member supporting the cap member and the wiping member, and moving the support member toward the ink ejection port side of the print head. And a movement drive unit for moving the support member, wherein the cleaning operation of the ink ejection port is performed by the wiping member using the movement operation of the support member.

In this invention, the capping member can be moved to the ink ejection port side of the print head by performing the capping by moving the supporting member using the moving driving means, and the moving operation of the supporting member can be performed. The ink ejection port can be wiped by the wiping member using the wiping member.

As described above, since capping and wiping can be performed using the common moving drive means, the structure can be simplified and the number of parts can be reduced. Therefore,
Capping and wiping can be performed smoothly and reliably while reducing the size and cost.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the movement driving means is formed so as to be able to move the support member in a vertical direction, and performs cleaning of the ink discharge port when the support member is lowered. It is an inkjet printer.

In this invention, the wiping is performed when the support member is lowered, so that the scattering of ink during wiping can be minimized, and the weight of the support member can be used, so that the load on the moving drive means can be further reduced. . Therefore, capping and wiping can be performed more smoothly and reliably while reducing the size and cost.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the movement driving means guides the support member along a predetermined movement path, a belt connected to the support member and capable of moving the support member, An inkjet printer including a belt drive mechanism having a drive source capable of driving the belt, and an elastic member for absorbing the displacement of the belt, wherein the support member is movable along a movement path while displacing the belt. It is.

According to this invention, even when the arrangement of a plurality of print heads is changed, for example, the moving path is formed in a shape corresponding to the arrangement of each print head (ink ejection port), so that each ink ejection port is formed by the wiping member. Cleaning can be performed reliably.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This inkjet printer is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2, the basic structure is the same as that of the previously proposed inkjet printer.
6 and the wiping member (wiper blade 249) are supported by the supporting member (231), and the supporting member (231) is moved using the movement driving means 240 so that capping and wiping can be performed. I have.

The same components as those of the previously proposed ink jet printer (FIG. 3) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

In FIG. 2, the drum 10 is rotatable in the Y direction about an axis, and the outer peripheral surface 11 of the drum 10 can hold a print medium M in cooperation with a medium holding means (not shown). Around the drum 10, nozzle units (print heads) 200 for the respective colors are arranged to be displaced in the rotation (Y) direction. Each nozzle unit 200 has a large number (for example, 636) of inkjet nozzles 2 arranged at a constant pitch (for example, 1/75 inch) in the row direction.
07.

The support member supports the cap member 246 and the wiping member (249), and is formed of a waste ink receiver 231 in this embodiment. The waste ink receiver 231 is vertically movable between a pair of brackets (5L, 5R) arranged in the printer housing 1 in a direction orthogonal to the plane of FIG. I have.

The movement driving means 240 is provided with a support member (23
1) is a means for moving each cap member 246 to face the ink discharge port of each ink jet nozzle 207 by moving 1). Utilizing the movement of the support member (231), the wiping member (249) cleans the ink discharge ports. In this embodiment, the cleaning of the ink discharge ports is performed during the lowering operation of the support member (231).

Specifically, the movement driving means 240 includes a guide mechanism 242, a belt driving mechanism 243, and an elastic member (24).
5), and the support member (231) is formed to be movable along the movement path while displacing the belt 243B.

The guide mechanism 242 includes two brackets (5
L, 5R) formed in the two guide grooves (242A, 2R).
42B) and guide projections (232A, 232B) projecting from both ends of the support member (231) and slidably fitted in the respective guide grooves (242A, 242B).

The belt drive mechanism 243 includes a support member (23).
1), a belt 243B capable of moving the support member 231 and capable of driving the belt 243B, and a drive source 244 capable of driving the belt 243B. The support member 231 is formed so as to be vertically movable along a movement path. ing.

The belt 243B is made of an endless pulley (243) that is opposed to the belt 243B at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction.
C, 243D). The driving source 244 is
A drive motor 244M capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation, and a gear train (gears 244G1, 244G2, 244G3, 24) connecting the drive motor 244M and the pulley 243C.
4G4), so that the pulley 243C can be driven to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise in the drawing.

The elastic member is a means for absorbing the displacement of the belt 243B. Specifically, the elastic member is a pulley 2
It is formed from a spring member 245 that elastically supports the 43D bearing member 243S movably in the vertical direction.

Therefore, by rotating the drive motor 244M in the normal direction and rotating the pulley 243C in the clockwise direction in the figure, the support member (231) is moved in the guide groove (242).
A, 242B), and rises while the drive motor 244M is rotated counterclockwise in the reverse direction to lower the support member (231).

As shown in FIG. 2, the ink jet printer is provided with an advancing / retreating means 220 for moving the nozzle unit 200 for each color away from the drum outer peripheral surface 11 so as to smoothly perform capping and wiping. ing. The forward / backward moving means 220 includes a rack 221 provided on a table provided with the unit moving means 110 (the reciprocating mechanism 111), and a pinion rotatably mounted on a bracket in the printer housing 1 and meshing with the rack 221. 222.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Printing medium M held on rotating drum outer peripheral surface 11
The printing is performed by spraying each color ink from the nozzle unit 200 for each color. After printing is completed, the forward / backward moving means 22
0 is driven, and each color nozzle unit 200 is retreated (separated) to the left in FIG.

After retreating, the drive motor 244M of the moving drive means 240 is rotated forward, and the support member (231) is raised together with the cap member 246 and the wiper blade 249 to between the drum 10 and the nozzle unit 200 for each color.

At this time, the nozzle unit 200 for each color
Since it is sufficiently separated from the drum 10, even if the wiper blade 249 moves up, it does not come into contact with the ink ejection port of the nozzle unit 200. Further, the support member (231) is provided with the guide protrusions (232A, 232B).
1 moves along the guide grooves (242A, 242B), the belt 243B is displaced as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
The displacement of B is absorbed.

After the support member (231) is raised, the nozzle unit 200 for each color is slightly advanced (closed) to the right in FIG. 2, and then the drive motor 244M is rotated reversely to lower the support member (231). You. Then, wiper blade 2
The nozzle 49 descends along the movement locus MP and wipes the ink discharge ports of the nozzle units 200 for each color to perform cleaning. The ink wiped by the wiper blade 249 is collected by the support member (waste ink receiver 231).

After the wiping is completed, the drive motor 244M is rotated forward after the nozzle unit 200 for each color retreats, and the support member (231) is raised. Thereafter, the ink discharge ports of the nozzle units 200 for each color are moved to the respective cap members 246.
The nozzle units 200 are moved rightward (approached) in FIG. Thereby, the wiping and capping of the nozzle unit 200 for each color is completed.

In the printing standby mode, the nozzle unit 200 for each color slightly retreats (separates) to the left in FIG.
Then, bubbles, dust, and the like in each nozzle 207 are discharged together with the ink due to the spits, primes, and the like. The discharged dust and ink are transferred to a support member (a waste ink receiver 23).
Collected by 1).

Then, after each color nozzle unit 200 is slightly retreated (separated) to the left in FIG. 2, the support member (231) is lowered. The ink discharge ports of the nozzle units 200 for each color are cleaned by the wiper blade 249 using the lowering operation of the support member (231). The wiped ink is collected via a waste ink receiver 231 as a support member.

After the support member (231) is lowered and retracted from between the nozzle unit 200 for each color and the drum 10, the nozzle unit 200 for each color is brought close to a predetermined position on the outer peripheral surface 11 of the drum. Thus, the printing standby is completed.

In this embodiment, the cap member 246 and the wiper blade 249 are supported by the support member (23).
1) and capping and wiping can be performed by moving the support member (231) using the movement driving means 240, so that capping can be performed smoothly and securely while reducing the size and cost. And can be wiped.

Further, the movement driving means 240 is formed so that the support member (231) can be moved in the vertical direction, and when the support member (231) is lowered, the nozzle unit 200 for each color is formed.
Cleaning of the ink ejection port of, so that the scattering of ink during wiping is minimized,
Since the weight of the support member (231) can be used, the load applied to the movement driving means 240 can be further reduced.

The movement driving means 240 includes a guide mechanism 242, a belt driving mechanism 243, and a spring member 245 for absorbing the displacement of the belt 243B, and moves the support member (231) along the movement path while displacing the belt 243B. For example, even when the arrangement of the plurality of nozzle units 200 for each color is changed, the ink path of the ink ejection port can be changed by the wiper blade 249 by forming the movement path according to the arrangement of the ink jet nozzles 207. Can be reliably cleaned.

In the above embodiment, wiping is performed before and after printing, but either one (before printing, after printing).
May be performed.

Although the ink ejection ports are cleaned by the wiper blade 249 when the support member (231) is lowered, the cleaning may be performed when the support member (231) is raised. In this case, since the ink at the time of wiping scatters upward, it is necessary to separately provide means for collecting the ink.

Further, the action of spouting air bubbles, dust, and the like in the nozzles 207 of the nozzle units 200 for each color together with the ink may be performed before or after printing or by one of spits and primes.

[0048]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, capping and wiping can be performed by supporting the cap member and the wiping member with the support member and moving the support member using the moving drive means. Since it is formed, capping and wiping can be performed smoothly and reliably while reducing the size and cost.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
The moving drive means is formed so that the support member is movable in the vertical direction, and performs cleaning of the ink discharge ports when the support member is lowered, so that the same effect as in the invention of claim 1 can be obtained, and wiping can be achieved. At the same time, the scattering of the ink at the time can be minimized, and the weight of the support member can be used, so that the load applied to the movement driving means can be further reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the moving driving means includes a guide mechanism, a belt driving mechanism, and an elastic member for absorbing the displacement of the belt, and moves the supporting member along the moving path while displacing the belt. In addition to the above advantages, the present invention can provide the same effects as those of the first and second aspects of the present invention. In addition, for example, even when the arrangement of a plurality of print heads is changed, the movement path is changed by the nozzles of each print head. By adopting a shape corresponding to the arrangement, each nozzle can be reliably cleaned by the wiping member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a previously proposed inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 200 Nozzle unit for each color (print head) 207 Ink jet nozzle (nozzle) 231 Waste ink receiver (support member) 240 Movement drive means 242 Guide mechanism 243 Belt drive mechanism 244M Drive motor 245 Spring member (elastic member) 246 Cap member 249 Wiper blade (Wiping member)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A print head for performing printing by discharging ink from an ink discharge port to a print medium held on an outer peripheral surface of a rotatable drum, a cap member capable of closing the ink discharge port of the print head, A wiping member capable of cleaning the ink ejection port of the print head, a support member for supporting the cap member and the wiping member, and a movement driving unit for moving the support member to the ink ejection port side of the print head; An ink jet printer characterized in that a cleaning operation of an ink discharge port is performed by a wiping member using a moving operation of the ink jet printer. 2. An ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein said moving drive means is formed so as to be able to move said support member up and down, and performs cleaning of said ink discharge port when said support member is lowered. . 3. A guide mechanism for guiding the support member along a predetermined movement path, a belt connected to the support member and capable of moving the support member, and a drive capable of driving the belt. 3. The belt driving mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: a belt driving mechanism having a source; and an elastic member configured to absorb a displacement of the belt, wherein the supporting member is movable along a moving path while displacing the belt. Inkjet printer.