JPH11179927A - Cap for ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording head in which a nozzle can be hermetically sealed reliably at low cost. SOLUTION: An ink jet recorder performing printing through an ink jet recording head mounted on a carriage and having a plurality of nozzles for jetting ink drop comprises a cap 10 for sealing the nozzle by abutting against the end face of the head wherein the cap 10 comprises a box-like cap body 11 covering the end face of the head, and a resilient member 14 provided on the face of the cap body 11 abutting against the end face of the head in order to seal the nozzle hermetically in the cap body 11. According to the structure, the nozzle can be hermetically sealed surely and a cap for ink jet recording head can be obtained at low cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cap for an ink jet recording head for sealing an end face of an ink jet recording head having a nozzle for discharging ink droplets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the prior art.

[0003] A conventional ink jet recording apparatus is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the carriage 102 on which the inkjet head 101 is mounted is mounted on a carriage shaft 103 mounted on a frame 107 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The driving force of the driving motor 104 is transmitted to the carriage 102 via a plurality of gears (not shown) and a timing belt 105, so that the carriage 102 on which the inkjet head 101 is mounted is moved to the carriage shaft 10.
3 is free to move. On the other hand, the frame 10
7 is provided with a platen 106 along the carriage shaft 103. The platen 106 can be rotated by a driving force of a paper feed motor (not shown), and a recording sheet S, which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller, is wound around the platen 6 and conveyed. It has become so.

[0004] Generally, on the side of the platen 106, which is the end in the moving direction of the carriage 102, ie, in the non-printing area, the end face of the head 101 is sealed to prevent the nozzle from drying. A cap 110 for performing a recovery process of the head 101 is provided. This cap 1
Reference numeral 10 is usually formed by integral molding of an elastic member such as rubber.

[0005]

However, the cap has a low rigidity because it is integrally formed of an elastic member.
There is a problem that capping becomes unstable. Also,
There is a problem that it takes time to form the elastic member and the cost is high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cap for an ink jet recording head which can reliably seal a nozzle and is inexpensive.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets and having an ink-jet recording head mounted on a carriage for printing. A cap provided in the recording device and abutting against the head end face of the ink jet recording head to seal the nozzle; a cap body forming a box-shaped body covering the head end face; and a cap body contacting the head end face of the cap body. An elastic member provided on a surface in contact with the head and abutting against the head end surface to seal the nozzle in the cap body.

In the first aspect, since only the portion in contact with the end face of the head is formed of an elastic member, the nozzle can be securely sealed and an inexpensive ink jet recording head cap can be realized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a groove is formed in at least a part of an end surface of the cap body facing the head end surface, and the elastic member is fitted in the groove. And a cap for an ink jet recording head.

In the second aspect, since the elastic member is fitted into the groove, it is securely fixed to the cap body, so that the nozzle is more securely sealed.

A third aspect of the present invention is the cap for an ink jet recording head according to the second aspect, wherein the groove is formed wider at the bottom than at the opening.

In the third aspect, the elastic member is more securely fixed to the cap body.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the contact side of the elastic member with the head end face is formed wider than the cap body side. To be used in an ink jet recording head cap.

In the fourth aspect, the nozzle is reliably sealed even if the head is misaligned with the end face.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, an abutting surface of the elastic member with the head end surface is formed in an R shape. Located on the recording head cap.

In the fifth aspect, the elastic member and the end face of the head come into line contact, and the sealing performance is improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, at least one porous member having a mesh structure is provided inside the cap body. To be used in an ink jet recording head cap.

In the sixth aspect, when the ink jet recording head is flushed in the cap, bubbling of the ink in the cap is prevented.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the porous member is formed of a plurality of layers of porous materials, and the plurality of layers of porous materials have different mesh diameters, respectively. The cap for an ink jet recording head is characterized in that the head end face has the coarsest mesh diameter.

In the seventh aspect, bubbling of the ink in the cap and drying of the head are prevented.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the cap is movable in the moving direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage and the head end face is moved by the moving. Mounted on a slider that is rotatably supported on a support shaft that is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the direction.When the inkjet recording head moves toward the capping position, the slider is moved together with the inkjet recording head. The cap for an ink jet recording head is characterized in that the elastic member comes into contact with the head end surface by moving and displacing in the head end surface direction.

In the eighth aspect, when the ink jet recording head moves to the capping position, the end face of the head is automatically sealed, and stable capping is always secured.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on one embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cap according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. Note that the ink jet recording head cap of the present embodiment can be used for an ink jet recording apparatus having the same structure as the conventional one,
It is provided on the side of the platen which is the end in the moving direction of the carriage.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cap 10 according to the present embodiment has a band-like elastic member 14 provided over the entire circumference of the cap body 11 and the contact surface of the cap body 11 with the end face of the head. And

Here, the cap body 11 is substantially box-shaped having four side walls and a bottom portion closing one end of these side walls, and defines a concave portion 12 serving as a space for covering the end face of the head. As shown in FIG. 2, the groove 1 has a substantially rectangular cross section.
3 are formed over the entire circumference. The groove 13 is for fitting a part of the elastic member 14 in the thickness direction and securely fixing the elastic member 14. The shape of the groove 13 is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the width of the groove 13 </ b> A is formed to be wider toward the base, so that the elastic member 14 can be fixed more securely. It may be. It is needless to say that the groove 13 may not be formed but fixed by, for example, only an adhesive or the like. The material of the cap body 11 is not particularly limited.
For example, it may be formed using a polyacetal resin or the like.

On the other hand, the elastic member 14 is
It is provided with a contact portion 15 provided in a strip shape on the upper side and contacting the end face of the head 1, and a fitting portion 16 which fits into a groove 13 formed in the cap body 11. The fitting portion 16 may have a shape similar to that of the groove 13 formed in the cap body 11. For example, the fitting portion 16 is slightly larger than the groove 13 so that it can be securely fixed to the groove 13. Is also good. The contact portion 15 is formed to be wider than the width of the fitting portion 13, and when contacting the end surface of the head 1, the contact portion 15 surely contacts the end surface of the head 1 and the end surface of the head 1 and the end surface of the cap body 11. The nozzles are sandwiched in a compressed state between the first and second nozzles to securely seal the nozzle.

In this embodiment, the shape of the contact portion 15 is substantially rectangular, but is not particularly limited.
As shown in (a), the contact portion 15A may be formed to be wider toward the contact surface with the head end surface. In this case, it is possible to reliably seal the nozzle even if a positional deviation occurs between the contact surface and the end surface of the head. FIG.
As shown in (b), the end of the contact surface with the end surface of the head may be a contact portion 15B formed in an R shape. In this case, the head comes into line contact with the end face, so that the sealing performance can be further improved. The material of the elastic member 14 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include foamed rubber. Further, in order to securely seal the nozzle, it is preferable to use a rubber material having a rubber hardness of JIS A 30 ° or less.

A communication port which acts as an air vent until the elastic member 14 comes into close contact with the end surface of the head 1 on the cap body 11 and which is sealed after the contact may be formed.
Thus, the nozzle can be reliably sealed.

In this embodiment, the cap body 11
The concave portion 12 is provided with two porous material layers 17 and 18 having a mesh structure. Each porous material layer 17,
Although the mesh diameter of 18 is not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the porous material 17 in the upper layer has a coarse mesh diameter. In addition, the material is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include foamed polyurethane. This suppresses bubbling of the ink and prevents drying of the head. In the present embodiment, two porous material layers are provided. However, it is needless to say that one or three or more porous material layers may be provided.

Hereinafter, the operation of such a cap 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the cap 10 of this embodiment is mounted on a slider 20 via a shaft 21 so as to be swingable, and is provided in a non-printing area at one end of the carriage 2 in the moving direction. ing. When the carriage 2 on which the head 1 is mounted moves from a print area where printing on a recording medium is performed to a non-print area, the slider 2 moves with the movement.
0 is moved, and the cap 10 comes into contact with the end face of the head 1 to seal the nozzle.

More specifically, a lower part of the slider 20 has an axis 40 perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 2 at the center thereof.
The shaft 40 is rotatably supported on both sides by levers 46. The lower end of the lever 46 is swingably attached to the shaft 41 of the base 30 via the long groove 45. Further, the slider 20 has a lower end fixed to the base 30 and is inclined toward the printing area,
The upper end of the coil spring 47 that bends in a buckling manner is attached to the non-printing area side.

On the other hand, on the upper surface near the end of the slider 20 on the non-printing area side, there is provided a flag piece 22 which comes into contact with a projection 31 provided at the lower end of the carriage 2, and on the lower surface a guide member 32. Is provided with an engagement piece 23 that abuts on the contact piece. The guide member 32 has a convex portion 32 a for preventing the slider 20 from coming off, and an inclined portion 32 b for displacing the contact position of the locking piece 23 to move the cap 10 to a position for contacting the end surface of the head 1. Are formed. Since the slider 20 has a heavier weight on the side of the locking piece 23 with respect to the shaft 40, the locking piece 23 always comes into contact with the guide member 32.

With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 5A, during non-capping, the slider 20 is supported at the center by the lever 46 and urged by the coil spring 47 toward the printing area to lock. One end of the piece 23 is held in contact with the lowermost end of the inclined surface 47b of the guide member 32, and the cap 10 is held at a distance such that the head 1 does not touch. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, at the time of capping, as the carriage 2 moves rightward in the figure, the slider 20 moves via the protrusion 31. Thereby, the locking piece 23 moves upward along the inclined portion 32b of the guide member 32,
The shaft 40 is pushed upward by the elastic force of the coil spring 47. That is, as the slider 20 moves upward, the cap 20 is pressed against the head 1 and the nozzle on the end face of the head 1 is sealed.

When the carriage 2 moves to the printing area again, the slider 20 is moved to the original position by the elastic force of the coil spring 47.

Therefore, reliable capping can be always performed, and the head can be easily maintained in a good state.

When the cap 10 has the above-described communication port, the communication port can be sealed by the operating rod 24 provided at the end of the slider 20 on the non-printing area side. That is, after the elastic member of the cap 10 is almost completely adhered, the operating rod 24 is
Is pressed into the slider 20 by contacting the
The communication opening can be closed.

In this embodiment, a printer having one ink jet recording head has been exemplified. However, it is apparent that the present invention can be applied to a printer having a plurality of heads such as a color printer.

As described above, the present invention can be applied to ink-jet recording heads having various structures, as long as the gist of the present invention is not contradicted.

[0041]

As described above, according to the cap of this embodiment, the ink jet recording head can stabilize the capping, securely close the nozzle, prevent the head from drying, and reduce the cost. Can be realized. In addition, by stabilizing the capping, the recovery operation can be ensured, and further, a moisturizing effect of the head can be obtained.
Good printing can always be performed, and waste of paper due to poor printing or the like can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording head cap according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an ink jet recording head cap according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a modification of the cap body of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a modification of the elastic member of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of an ink jet recording head cap according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cap 11 Cap main body 12 Concavity 13 Groove 14 Elastic member 15, 15A, 15B Contact part

Claims (8)

[Claims] An ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets and having an ink jet recording head mounted on a carriage for printing is provided in contact with a head end surface of the ink jet recording head. A cap for sealing the nozzle, wherein the cap body is a box-shaped body covering the head end face; and the cap body is provided on a surface of the cap body that contacts the head end face and contacts the head end face to cap the nozzle. An ink jet recording head cap, comprising: an elastic member hermetically sealed in the main body. 2. The ink-jet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a groove is formed in at least a part of an end surface of the cap body facing the head end surface, and the elastic member is fitted in the groove. Type recording head cap. 3. The cap for an ink jet recording head according to claim 2, wherein the groove is formed wider at the bottom than at the opening. 4. The cap for an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a contact side of the elastic member with the head end face is formed wider than the cap body side. 5. The cap for an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a contact surface of the elastic member with the head end surface is formed in an R shape. 6. The cap for an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein at least one porous member having a mesh structure is provided inside the cap body. 7. The head according to claim 6, wherein the porous member is formed of a plurality of layers of porous material, and the plurality of layers of porous materials have different mesh diameters, and the head end face side has the coarsest mesh diameter. A cap for an ink jet recording head, comprising: 8. The support according to claim 1, wherein the cap is movable in the moving direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage, and is displaced in the direction perpendicular to the head end face by the moving. The inkjet recording head is mounted on a slider that is rotatably supported with respect to an axis. When the inkjet recording head moves toward the capping position, the slider moves together with the inkjet recording head and moves in the direction of the head end surface. Wherein the elastic member comes into contact with the end face of the head when the head is displaced.