JPH11115174A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording device which is capable of recovering an ink in a purging process, under a simple construction and almost without power consumption and realizing smooth ink recovery process without piling the ink. SOLUTION: In the recording device with a head 19 for melting an ink which sets at a normal temperature into a liquid from and discharging the ink to a paper as a recording medium, an ink receiving part 26 which receives the ink discharged from a head 19 and sets the ink in a position in which the head 19 is not opposed to the paper and a lever 36 as an ink removing means which removes the set ink 47 in the ink receiving part 26 from a position in which the ink is set by causing an external force to act upon the ink 47 are provided. Under this construction, the set ink 47 to which the external force is applied, does not fall or roll and further, does not stay in a single spot, piling up, so that the set ink 47 can be recovered efficiently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly, to an ink jet recording apparatus using a so-called hot melt ink which solidifies at room temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, high-speed recording is possible and the recorded ink has good weather resistance. A so-called hot melt ink which solidifies at room temperature, is melted into a liquid state by heating, and the molten ink is heated. An ink jet type recording apparatus which discharges ink from a nozzle of a head toward a recording medium such as paper is well known.

In this type of ink jet type recording apparatus using hot melt ink, ink residue or dust easily adheres to the nozzle surface of the head on which the nozzle rows are formed, and air bubbles accumulate in the head. Therefore, in order to avoid clogging of the nozzle and to recover and maintain the head in a good ejection state, a purging process is usually performed. In this purging process, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, after the carriage 1 on which the head 2 is mounted is moved to a position not facing the paper, the ink is forcibly discharged from the nozzles formed in the nozzle row 3 of the head 2. And eject the head 2
Air bubbles in the inside, ink scum or dust adhering to the nozzle surface 4 are discharged together with the ejected ink. The discharged ink travels along the nozzle surface 4, drips from the lower end thereof, and accumulates in the waste ink tank 5. The waste ink tank 5 is provided with a heater 6 at the bottom thereof, and melts the ink so that the dripping ink does not solidify in an icicle shape and accumulate.

However, in such a purging process, it is necessary to keep the heater 6 of the waste ink tank 5 always on during the purging process to melt the ink. In 278229 gazette,
The ink ejected by the purge is once dropped on a gutter-shaped ink tray, the ink is solidified on the ink tray, and after the purging process is completed, the ink of the solidified ink is heated by a heater provided at the bottom of the ink tray. It has been proposed to achieve good ink recovery by causing the solidified ink to fall by its own weight into the ink recovery container by heating and melting the contact portion with the tray.

[0005]

However, in each of the above-mentioned methods, a heater is provided when ink is collected, which complicates the apparatus and increases the cost of the apparatus, and also requires the heater to operate. Power consumption. In the configuration described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-278229, the ink falling from the ink tray always falls onto the ink collecting container from the lower end of the ink tray, that is, from a certain position, and contacts the ink tray. Since the bottom surface which has been heated and melted, there is a possibility that when it falls, it adheres and deposits on the ink recovery container or on the ink that has already fallen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to collect ink in a purging process or the like with a simple configuration, with little power consumption, and to deposit ink. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus which can be satisfactorily collected without causing the recording apparatus to recover.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an ink which solidifies at room temperature is melted into a liquid state by heating the ink, and the melted ink is formed on paper or the like. While discharging toward the recording medium
In a recording apparatus provided with a head for forming a predetermined image on the recording medium, an ink receiving portion for receiving and solidifying ink discharged from the head at a position where the head does not face the recording medium, And an ink removing means for removing the solidified ink solidified in the portion from the solidified position by applying an external force.

With such a configuration, for example, at the time of purging, the ink is ejected at a position where the head does not face the recording medium, and the ejected ink is solidified in the ink receiving portion. Since the ink is removed from the solidified position by applying an external force from the ink removing means, at this time, the solidified ink to which the external force has been applied may fall and roll, so that the ink stays in one place and accumulates. There is no. Further, since only an external force is applied to the solidified ink, a heater for melting the ink is not required, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified, and power consumption is hardly consumed.

The invention described in claim 2 is the first invention.
In the invention described in (1), a solidified ink reservoir for storing the solidified ink removed by the ink removing means is provided. According to the present invention, by providing the solidified ink reservoir, a fixed amount of the solidified ink that has been removed can be stored, so that it is not necessary to frequently collect the solidified ink from the recording apparatus.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the solidified ink reservoir is provided at a position lower than the ink receiving portion. With this configuration, when the solidified ink removed in the ink receiving portion is removed, the solidified ink drops and rolls into the solidified ink reservoir due to the action of the external force, so that the solidified ink accumulates in a part of the solidified ink reservoir. Therefore, the solidified ink can be stored more efficiently, and more solidified ink can be stored.

The invention described in claim 4 is the first invention.
In the invention described in any one of (3) to (3), the ink removing means is a lever that swings in a horizontal direction and acts on the solidified ink from a side surface. By configuring the ink removing means with such a lever,
Since an external force can be easily applied from the side of the solidified ink, the solidified ink can be removed with a simple configuration and reliably.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of an ink jet type recording apparatus using hot melt ink, showing one embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a plate-shaped platen 12 for receiving a sheet 11 as a recording medium is provided in the main body of the ink jet recording apparatus. Above the platen 12, there are provided a main roller 13 for feeding the paper 11, and a pressing roller 14 opposed to the main roller 13 with the paper 11 interposed therebetween. Further, below the platen 12, there are provided a paper discharge roller 15 for discharging the paper 11, and a pressing roller 16 opposed to the paper discharge roller 15 with the paper 11 interposed therebetween. These main rollers 13
The paper discharge roller 15 is rotated by a drive mechanism including a motor and a gear train (not shown), and sequentially moves the paper 11 sandwiched between the two press rollers 14 and 16 in the direction of arrow 17. Such a main roller 1
3. A paper feeder is constituted by the pressing roller 14, the paper discharging roller 15, the pressing roller 16, and the driving mechanism.

At a position facing the platen 12, a carriage 20 that is scanned in the left-right direction (recording direction) is arranged. The carriage 20 has hot melt ink,
That is, a head 19 having a nozzle row 18 (see FIG. 2) in which nozzles for ejecting ink that is solidified at room temperature and melted into a liquid state by heating, and an ink tank that stores hot melt ink And a heater 22 for heating the head 19 and the ink tank 21 to melt the hot melt ink into a liquid state. The carriage 20 is moved by two guide bars 23 and 24 provided in parallel with the platen 12.
It is supported so as to be able to move left and right, and is moved in parallel in the left and right direction to face the sheet 11 by a carriage driving device (not shown). The guide bars 23 and 24 are provided so as to extend to a purge position on the right outer side of the platen 12 where the head 19 does not face the paper 11.

The head 19 is moved in parallel with the platen 12 by the carriage driving device, and performs predetermined recording on the paper 11 while discharging the molten hot liquid ink from the selected nozzle. . 1
When the scanning is completed, the paper 11 is fed by the paper feeder, and the next print sequence is positioned at the print position. By repeating this recording operation sequentially, a predetermined image is formed on the sheet 11.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the ink jet type recording apparatus at a purge position, and FIG. 3 is a top view of a main part of the ink jet type recording apparatus at a purge position.
An ink recovery mechanism for recovering ink ejected from the head 19 in a purge process or the like will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, a purge position on the right outside of the platen 12 where the head 19 does not face the sheet 11 is a head 19 in a purging process or the like.
There is provided a waste ink tank 25 for collecting ink ejected from the printer. The waste ink tank 25 has a box shape with the opposite side opened when the head 19 is located at the purge position, and an ink receiving unit 26 that receives and solidifies ink discharged from the head 19 in a purge process or the like, A solidified ink reservoir 27 for storing solidified solidified ink 47 (see FIG. 2) is provided. More specifically, the waste ink tank 25 includes a pair of side walls 32 erected from the left and right ends of the bottom wall 28 in opposition, a rear wall 33 erected from the rear end, and a front part having a step. With a wall 34,
As shown in FIG. 2, the front wall 34 having a step portion includes a lower front wall 29 erected from a front end of the bottom wall 28 at a slightly forward inclination from a substantially vertical direction, and an upper end of the lower front wall 29. A shelf wall 30 extending substantially horizontally from the front wall, and an upper front wall 31 extending substantially vertically from a front end of the shelf wall 30. Shelf wall 30
Is located at a position where the lower end of the nozzle surface 10 of the head 19 located at the purge position is opposed, and at least this shelf wall 30 constitutes an ink receiving portion 26 for receiving and solidifying the ink discharged from the head. doing. Further, the bottom wall 28 provided at a position lower than the shelf wall 30,
A solidified ink reservoir 2 for storing at least the solidified ink 47
7. In addition, unlike the illustrated embodiment, the shelf wall 30 is inclined such that the bottom wall 28 is lowered so that the received ink does not drop down to the bottom wall 28, and the solidified ink by the lever 36 described later is provided. When the solidified ink 47 is removed, the solidified ink 47 may be properly guided to the solidified ink reservoir 27.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper front wall 31
An elongated hole 35 extending in the horizontal direction is formed at an intermediate position in the vertical direction. A lever 36 is inserted through the elongated hole 35. The lever 36 is configured as an ink removing unit that removes the solidified ink 47 from a position where the solidified ink 47 is solidified by applying an external force. As shown in FIG. With a fulcrum 38 provided in the middle in the length direction as a center,
It is configured to swing horizontally along the elongated hole 35. The operating portion 37 of the lever 36 is operated in the operating direction 4 so that the solidified ink 47 falls well into the solidified ink reservoir 27.
6 is slightly warped in the opposite direction.

An end of the lever 36 opposite to the action portion 37 is rotatably connected to an end of a connecting piece 39, and the other end of the connecting piece 39 is connected to the solenoid 4
It is rotatably connected to the zero advance / retreat shaft 41. Lever 3
6, a tension spring 42 having one end fixed to a fixed position in the recording apparatus is attached at an intermediate position between the fulcrum 38 and the end of the connecting piece 39.

Thus, the lever 36, the connecting piece 39,
The lever swing device 44 is constituted by the solenoid 40 and the tension spring 42. The lever swinging device 44 normally advances the reciprocating shaft 41 of the solenoid 40 (in the direction of arrow 45) so that the action portion 37 of the lever 36 is located on the left side of the ink drop position 43, This state is maintained by the urging force of the tension spring 42. On the other hand, when the lever 36 is swung in the horizontal direction so as to act from the side surface of the solidified ink 47,
The advance / retreat shaft 41 of the solenoid 40 is retracted in the direction of the arrow 48 against the urging force of the tension spring 42. At this time, the lever 36 is swung horizontally about the fulcrum 38,
The action portion 37 of the lever 36 acts so as to cross the ink drop position 43.

Next, a description will be given of a method of recovering ink by taking a purge process as an example in the printing apparatus thus configured. This purging process is performed periodically or appropriately when the head 19 has a discharge failure, but normally, the purging process is automatically performed when the power of the recording apparatus is turned on. When a power switch (not shown) of the printing apparatus main body is turned on, a motor is supplied to the carriage driving device by the control device, and the head 19 moves to the purge position indicated by a broken line in FIG. When the head 19 arrives at the purge position, ink is forcibly ejected from the nozzles formed in the nozzle row 18, and bubbles in the head 19, ink scum and dust adhering to the nozzle surface flow out together with the ink. It is. Since the ejection speed at this time is not as fast as when recording on the paper 11, the ink flows downward along the nozzle surface 10 without jumping into the air as shown in FIG. Drops as drops. At this time, the ink drops to the ink drop position 43 on the ink receiving section 26 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.

Next, by retracting the reciprocating shaft 41 of the solenoid 40 and swinging the lever 36 in the horizontal direction, the operating portion 37 of the lever 36 rotates in the operating direction 46,
It hits the side of the icicle-like solidified ink 47. The solidified ink 47 to which the external force is applied from the side surface is broken from the root and falls down, is removed from the solidified position, and
The ink drops into the solidified ink reservoir 27 and rolls, and accumulates in the solidified ink reservoir 27. At this time, by merely operating the solenoid 40 and swinging the lever 36, an external force can be applied to the solidified ink 47 easily and reliably to remove the solidified ink 47, so that the ink is melted as in the related art. This eliminates the need for a heater, thereby simplifying the configuration of the apparatus and reducing the cost of the apparatus. Further, since power consumption is almost negligible, the operating cost can be reduced.

Further, since a fixed amount of the removed solidified ink 47 can be stored in the solidified ink reservoir 27, it is not necessary to frequently collect the solidified ink 47 from the recording apparatus, and the handling property can be improved. . Further, since the solidified ink reservoir 27 is provided at a position lower than the ink receiving portion 26, the solidified ink reservoir 2 is provided.
The solidified ink 47 that falls to 7 does not roll and stay in one place in the solidified ink reservoir 27 and does not accumulate like a mountain, so that the solidified ink 47 can be stored more efficiently and more solidified ink 47 can be stored. The solidified ink 47 can be stored.

The ink removing means is provided with a solidified ink 47 by an external force, that is, a physical acting force from the outside.
If the solidified ink reservoir 2 can be removed, the solidified ink reservoir 2 may be moved while pressing the solidified ink 47 from one direction without being limited to the lever 36 to be applied from the side.
7, the operating mechanism is not limited to the solenoid 40. For example, the lever 36 or the pressing member may be attached to the carriage 20 or actuated in conjunction therewith. Is also good.

[0023]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the solidified ink can be satisfactorily collected without being deposited, and the apparatus has a simple structure, so that the cost of the apparatus can be reduced. Operation cost can be reduced, and the operation cost can be reduced because power consumption is hardly accompanied.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a fixed amount of the solidified ink can be stored in the solidified ink storage section, it is not necessary to frequently collect the solidified ink from the recording apparatus, thereby improving the handleability. Can be. According to the third aspect of the present invention, with a simple configuration in which the solidified ink reservoir is simply positioned at a position lower than the purge ink receiver, the solidified ink is not deposited on a part of the solidified ink reservoir, More solidified ink can be efficiently stored, and more excellent ink recovery can be realized.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the solidified ink can be easily and reliably removed by the lever which swings in the horizontal direction and acts on the solidified ink from the side, so that a simple structure is employed. And good ink recovery can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of an ink jet type recording apparatus using a hot melt ink, showing one embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of an ink jet type recording apparatus at a purge position.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a main part at a purge position of the ink jet recording apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 in a conventional recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 paper 19 head 26 ink receiving portion 27 solidified ink reservoir portion 36 lever 47 solidified ink

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A head for forming a predetermined image on a recording medium while heating the solidified ink at room temperature to melt it into a liquid state and discharging the molten ink toward a recording medium such as paper. In a recording apparatus comprising: at a position where the head does not face the recording medium,
An ink receiving unit for receiving and solidifying the ink ejected from the head; and an ink removing unit for removing the solidified ink solidified in the ink receiving unit from the solidified position by applying an external force. Characteristic recording device. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a solidified ink reservoir for storing the solidified ink removed by the ink removing unit. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the solidified ink reservoir is provided at a position lower than the ink receiver. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink removing unit is a lever that swings in a horizontal direction and acts on the solidified ink from a side surface.