JPH11221928A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain a stable cleaning capacity for a long period of time by permitting the discharge surface of recording means to be rotatable immediately before a contact part to be cleaned comes in contact with the discharge surface, and fixing its rotation as in contact therewith. SOLUTION: At the time of ordinary paper feeding, the shaft part 8a of a paper ejection roller is rotated in the opposite direction of arrow B, and a wiping arm 17 is held at a position where no contact member (wiping member) 12 comes in contact with any of the recording head and shaft part 8a of the paper ejecting roller. A decision is made as the performance of wiping operation, a paper feeding motor is actuated reversely at a predetermined rate and speed; simultaneously, the wiping arm 17 is also put into a rotational movement about the axis 17d in the direction of arrow B, so that a wiping holder 16 and wiping shaft 15 mounted on the wiping arm slidably are oscillation operated, and the wiping member 12 comes in a rectilinear motion along the discharge surface 51 of a recording head 1A. The contact member 12 is put in press contact with the discharge surface 51 under a predetermined pressure, thereby rendering wiping operation (cleaning operation) possible stably positively.

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 having a cleaning mechanism for cleaning an ink discharge surface of an ink jet recording means for performing recording by discharging ink to a recording material, and comprising a roller type cleaning mechanism. To an ink jet recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having a function such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device such as a composite electronic device including a computer or a word processor, or a workstation, records on the basis of recording information. An image (including characters and symbols) is recorded on a recording material such as a sheet of paper or a plastic thin plate. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type and the like according to a recording method.

[0003] Among them, an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) to a recording material, and it is easy to make the recording means compact. High-definition images can be recorded at high speed, and can be recorded on plain paper without requiring special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise,
In addition, there is an advantage that it is easy to record a color image using various types of inks (for example, color inks).

There are various requirements for the material of the recording material. In recent years, developments have been made to meet these requirements, and paper (including thin paper and processed paper) which is a general recording material has been developed.
In addition to paper and resin thin plates (OHP, etc.), recording devices using cloth, leather, nonwoven fabric, metal, or the like as a recording material have come to be used.

In the above ink jet recording apparatus,
Ink is ejected from a fine ejection port formed on the ejection surface of the recording head onto the recording sheet, and recording is performed by relatively moving the recording sheet and the recording head. For this reason, ink droplets, dust, paper powder may adhere to the ejection surface, or the adhered matter may adhere to the ejection surface, which may affect the ejection state of the ink and may cause non-ejection in some cases. There was also. In order to improve such a situation, a cleaning mechanism is generally provided in a printing apparatus, and a cleaning operation is performed on a discharge surface of a print head periodically or at a predetermined timing, so that ink droplets, dust, paper powder, and adhered matter are removed. This is one of the important technical elements in ink jet recording.

Various structures have been proposed as cleaning examples employed in ink jet recording apparatuses. For example, a configuration in which a plate-like elastic body is rubbed against an ejection surface (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 6-3400082 and 7-9).
No. 674), a configuration in which an absorbent member is rubbed against a discharge surface (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-52396), and a configuration in which a rotating body is rotated to rub the discharge surface (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-63267). JP-A-57-193369, JP-A-62-2
88047, JP-A-6-255117 and JP-A-7-96604).

FIGS. 11 to 14 are diagrams schematically showing examples of the cleaning mechanism. FIG. 11 shows an example of a configuration in which cleaning is performed using a plate-like elastic body (wiping blade). One end of the recording apparatus 101 outside the recording area is adjacent to the capping mechanism 103 as one of the recovery mechanisms 102. In addition, a wiping blade 104 is provided. The wiping blade 104 performs cleaning by rubbing the ejection surface using the movement of the recording head 106 mounted on the carriage 105 to the recovery mechanism 102.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of a cleaning mechanism provided with the absorbing member 110. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, an absorbent member 110 is disposed at a position adjacent to the wiping blade 104 in order to satisfactorily remove the adhered matter that cannot be removed by the wiping blade 104, and the recording head 106 is connected to the recovery mechanism 10
Cleaning is performed by rubbing the ejection surface by utilizing the movement to the portion 2.

FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a cleaning mechanism using a rotating body 111. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 13, the cleaning is performed by rotating the rotating body 111 itself in contact with the ejection surface 106a of the recording head 106 without using the movement of the carriage. The example of FIG. 13 is a configuration in which a rotating body 111 is arranged inside a cap mechanism 103, and the recording head 1
06 is capped by the capping member, and as shown in FIG.
06a, and receives the rotating force in the direction a of another rotating body 112 connected to the driving source to rotate the rotating body 111a.
Rotates in the direction b to clean the ejection surface 106a. When the cleaning is completed, the rotating body 111 moves to the initial position away from the ejection surface 106a in the direction e as shown in FIG. 13B.

FIG. 14 is a view showing another example of a cleaning mechanism using a rotating body. The cleaning mechanism of FIG. 14 is configured so that the entire rotating surface 111 can be cleaned by moving along the discharging surface 106a while rotating. In the configuration shown in FIG. 14, the rotating body 111 performs the rotating operation by transmitting the rotating operation from another rotating body 112, and performs another rotating body 11.
By moving the rotating body 111 from one side of the discharge surface 106a to the other by moving the arm 113 extending from the center of rotation to the rotating body 111 as a radius, the discharge surface 106a
Clean the whole. At this time, the moving direction of the rotating body 111 (arrow m in FIG.
1 are in the same direction (arrow j in FIG. 14 (a),
Arrow (p) in (b) indicates a strong cleaning operation.

[0011]

However, in the above-described conventional cleaning mechanism, for example, in the case of a cleaning member using an absorbent member, the adhering substances are left with an increase in the number of times of rubbing, so that a sufficient amount of adhering matter remains. Cleaning performance may not be expected. In addition, the surface of the absorbent member may be roughened by increasing the number of times of rubbing on the ejection surface, and the cleaning performance may gradually deteriorate. Further, in a configuration in which the rotation of the rotating body and the rotating direction of the rotating body are performed in the same direction, the load on the ejection surface is large, which results in the deterioration of the characteristics of the rotating body, or the repelling applied to the ejection surface. There is a possibility that the water treatment process may be cut off, or these may be combined to damage the ejection surface, and the ink ejection performance may not be able to be recovered despite performing the recovery process. .

The present invention has been made to improve the situation described above, and an object of the present invention is to maintain a stable cleaning performance for a long time when cleaning the ejection surface of a recording means (recording head). It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which includes a cleaning means which can perform stable ink ejection for a long time. A further object is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which provides a configuration in which a sufficient cleaning effect can be obtained while reducing the load on a cleaning member in cleaning, ensures sufficient cleaning performance, and maintains ink ejection performance. That is.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means to a recording material, in order to achieve the above object. The contact member is rotatable until immediately before the contact member contacts the discharge surface, and the rotation is fixed when the contact member contacts the discharge surface.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording material, a contact member for cleaning a discharge surface of the recording means. The discharge surface and the contact member are relatively moved while being in contact with each other at the time of paper feed reverse rotation, and the contact member and the retransfer member are in rotational contact at the time of further paper feed reverse rotation, and the contact member is at the time of paper feed forward rotation. It is characterized by returning to the initial position.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means to a recording material in order to achieve the above object. And a cap member for protecting the ejection surface, wherein the contact member and the cap member are arranged on opposite sides of the recording area.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a carriage 2 on which two types of recording heads (recording means) 1A and 1B are mounted is guided and supported movably in the left-right direction along a guide shaft 3.
A recording material (not shown) such as recording paper fed from an automatic sheet feeder (auto sheet feeder / ASF) or the cassette 5 or the cassette 6 is fed to a recording unit by a paper feed roller (line feed roller / LF roller) 7. The recording material supplied and recorded by the recording head 1 is discharged to a stacker 9 by a discharge roller 8.

A recovery system (recovery device) 10 having a cap 11 and the like is disposed on the right side in FIG. Recovery system 1
0 is provided with six caps 11, which correspond to a total of six discharge surfaces including three discharge surfaces of the print head 1A and three discharge surfaces of the print head 1B. doing. On the other hand, on the left side in FIG. 1, three contact members (wiping member / wiper) 12 slidable on the ejection surface of the recording head 1 and a retransfer member 13 contactable with these contact members 12. Are arranged. In this embodiment, the retransfer member 13 is mounted around the left shaft of the paper feed roller 7.

The recording head 1 (1A, 1B) is an ink jet recording head that selectively discharges ink from a plurality of discharge ports to perform recording by applying energy according to a recording signal. Also, this recording head 1
An ink jet recording means for discharging ink using thermal energy, comprising an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Further, the recording head 1 performs recording by discharging ink from a discharge port using a pressure change generated by growth and shrinkage of bubbles caused by film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. It is. The electrothermal transducer is provided corresponding to each of the ejection ports, and discharges ink from the corresponding ejection port by applying a pulse voltage to the corresponding electrothermal transducer in accordance with a recording signal.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection section (one ejection port array) of the recording means (recording head) 1. In FIG. 2, a plurality of discharge ports 52 are provided at a predetermined pitch on a discharge surface 51 facing a recording material (recording paper or the like) with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.3 to 2.0 mm). Are formed, and an electrothermal converter (heating resistor, etc.) 55 for generating energy for ink discharge is provided along the wall surface of each liquid path 54 communicating the common liquid chamber 53 and each discharge port 52. Have been. The recording head 1 is guided and supported in a positional relationship such that the discharge ports 52 are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning movement direction (the moving direction of the carriage 2 in this embodiment mounted on the carriage 2). Thus, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 55 is driven (pulse voltage is applied) based on the image signal or the ejection signal, and the liquid path 54 is
A recording unit (recording head) 1 is configured to cause ink in the film to boil and eject ink droplets from an ejection port 52 by a pressure generated at that time.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view partially showing the structure of the contact member 12 and its vicinity in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front side view, and FIG. 5 is a schematic side sectional view viewed from an arrow line 5-5 in FIG. 3 to 5, the contact member 12 is disposed between the paper feed roller 7 and the paper discharge roller 8, and the retransfer member 13 is mounted around the shaft 7a of the paper feed roller 7. . This retransfer member 13 is formed of an ink absorbing member. Reference numeral 14 denotes a wiping base for supporting the contact member 12 and a driving system described below.

The contact member (wiping member) 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has a through hole formed in the center thereof. Each of the three contact members 12 corresponding to the three discharge surfaces 51 of the inkjet recording head 1A is fixed to the wiping shaft 15 by the through hole. The wiping shaft 15 is rotatably supported by a wiping holder 16 at left and right ends thereof. Thereby, the cylindrical contact member (wiping member) 12 is rotatable around the center of the cylinder.

The wiping holder 16 is held so as to be slidable up and down (in the direction of arrow Z) with respect to the wiping arm 17, and the wiping arm 17 is rotatable about its rotation center 17d. It is mounted on the wiping base 14. Further, the wiping control member 18 is also provided for the wiping holder 16.
Similarly to the above, the wiping arm 17 is held so as to be slidable in the vertical direction (the direction of the arrow Z). A wiping spring 19 is mounted between the wiping control member 18 and the wiping arm 17, and the wiping control member 18 is urged upward in FIG. 5 by the wiping spring 19 (its elastic force). A wiping control unit 18a is provided above the wiping control member 18, and urges the wiping member (contact member) 12 upward through the wiping control unit 18a. A stopper 18b is provided below the wiping control member 18 so that the wiping control member 18 does not move beyond a predetermined amount. That is, the wiping control unit 18a of the wiping control member 18
The biasing force of the wiping spring 19 with respect to the contact member 12, which is exerted via the wiping control member 18, disappears when the wiping control member 18 moves upward by a predetermined amount.

3 to 5, the wiping spring 19 causes the wiping member (abutting member) 12, the wiping holder 16 and the wiping shaft 15 for supporting the wiping member 12 to rotate.
Also receives an upward biasing force (spring elastic force) at the same time. The wiping control member 18 described above is also provided in the wiping holder 16.
Similarly to the above, a stopper 16a for the wiping arm 17 is provided to prevent the wiping holder 16 from moving upward in FIG. 4 by more than a predetermined amount. That is, the stopper portion 16a is
6 is a stopper for the wiping arm 17. Here, before the stopper 16a of the wiping holder 16 operates, the urging force of the wiping spring 19 is eliminated by the stopper 18b of the wiping control member 18 described above.
Therefore, when at least the contact member (wiping member) 12 is not in contact with the ejection surface 51 or the like of the inkjet recording head 1A, the urging force of the wiping spring 19 does not act on the contact member 12.

A one-way clutch 20 is provided on the shaft 8a of the paper discharge roller 8. The one-way clutch 20 is configured to transmit a driving force at the time of reverse rotation and to idle at the time of normal rotation, and to provide a driving force for rotating the wiping arm 17 around the shaft portion (rotation axis) 17d at the time of reverse rotation. To communicate. Gear part 2 of one-way clutch 20
0a meshes with the large-diameter gear portion 21a of the idle gear 21, which is a two-stage gear. The wiping arm 1 is driven by the driving force from the one-way clutch 20 through the large-diameter gear portion 21a and the small-diameter gear portion 21b of the idle gear 21 as a two-stage gear and the gear portion 17a of the wiping arm 17.
7 can be driven to rotate.

When the gear portion 17a of the wiping arm 17 rotates by a predetermined amount or more, gear transmission (drive transmission by a gear) is released by the toothless portion 17b (FIG. 5). The idle gear 21 has an idle rubber ring 22.
The friction transmitting portion 17c of the wiping arm 17 frictionally engages with the idle rubber ring 22 immediately before the release of the gear transmission (release of the drive transmission by the gear) described above. As a result, even after the drive transmission by the gear is released, the wiping arm 17 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow B in FIG.

When the discharge roller 8 is further continuously rotated in the reverse direction, the wiping member (contact member) 12 comes into contact with the retransfer member 13 due to the further rotation of the wiping arm 17 in the direction of arrow B. Rotation is blocked. At this time, the friction transmission unit 1 of the idle rubber ring 22 and the wiping arm 17
7c. At this time, the small-diameter gear portion 21 b of the idle gear 21 is located at the toothless portion 17 b of the wiping arm 17, and the gear portion 1
Since it is sufficiently far from the gear 7a, no gear rubbing noise is generated.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a series of operations for cleaning a print head in an embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic side sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing a state immediately before contact with the head, and FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the contact member is in contact with the recording head in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a corresponding schematic side sectional view, and FIG. 9 is a schematic side sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing a state in which the contact member is in contact with the retransfer member in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. Next, a series of operations by the cleaning device described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.

During normal paper feed forward rotation, the shaft 8a of the discharge roller 8 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7, and the one-way clutch 20 idles at a predetermined torque. . This predetermined torque acts on the idle gear 21 in the direction of arrow A, and also acts on the wiping arm 17 in the direction of arrow A. Therefore, in the state of FIG.
The wiping arm 17 is located at a position stopped by a stopper (not shown), that is, as shown in FIG.
12 is held at a position where it does not contact either the recording head 1 (1A or 1B) or the discharge roller shaft 8a.

If it is determined in step S1 of FIG. 6 that the wiping operation is to be performed, first in step S2, the carriage 2
The recording head 1 mounted on the wiping base 14 on which the contact member 12 is mounted. Which recording head 1 is to be wiped or which ejection surface 51 is to be wiped is determined by the position of the carriage 2. In the present embodiment, the recording head 1A is provided with a triple discharge surface 51, and a black ink and a discharge surface of a liquid for insolubilizing the dye are arranged at the center between the black ink and the discharge surface. On the other hand, the recording head 1B is also provided with three discharge surfaces 51, and discharge surfaces for yellow, magenta, and cyan ink are provided. Since the recording head 1A has a discharge surface of a liquid that insolubilizes the dye, the thickened ink that is difficult to wipe off with a wiper or the like formed of an elastic member such as rubber easily adheres. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the three contact members (wiping members) 12 are arranged at positions corresponding to only the three discharge surfaces of the recording head 1A and not corresponding to the recording head 1B.

At step S3 in FIG. 6, the paper feed motor (LF motor) is rotated at a predetermined speed V by a predetermined amount v. The operation at this time will be described below with reference to FIG. That is, the discharge roller 8 rotates in the direction of arrow B as shown in FIG. 8, and the one-way clutch 20 also rotates in the direction of arrow B. As described above, since the gear portion 20a of the one-way clutch 20 is engaged with the idle gear 21, the idle gear 21 also rotates in the direction of arrow B. Further, the small-diameter gear portion 21b of the idle gear 21 and the wiping arm 17
The wiping arm 17 is also driven to rotate about the axis 17d in the direction of arrow B by engagement with the gear portion 17a.

With the rotation operation of the wiping arm 17, the wiping holder 1 slidably mounted on the wiping arm is provided.
The wiping shaft 15 and the wiping shaft 15 perform a swinging operation, and the wiping member (contact member) 12 supported by the wiping shaft 15 also performs a swinging operation. On the other hand, the discharge surface 51 of the recording head 1A is located directly above the wiping member 12, and the upward movement of the wiping member 12 is prevented (restricted). That is, in the state of FIG. 8, the wiping spring 19 is in a charged state, and the stopper 18b of the wiping control member 18 is connected to the wiping arm 1.
7, the wiping control unit 18a of the wiping control member 18 is engaged with and urges the wiping member 12 (wiping holder 16).

Accordingly, the wiping member (contact member) 12 linearly moves along the ejection surface 51 of the recording head 1A with the swinging operation of the wiping arm 17 in the direction of arrow B.
When the contact member 12 is in contact with the ejection surface 51 of the recording head 1A, the contact member 12 is pressed against the ejection surface 51 by a wiping spring 19 at a predetermined pressure, and slides under a predetermined pressure contact force. Move. Further, a contact member 1 rotatably supported by a shaft.
2 normally rotates when performing a linear motion while contacting the ejection surface 51 of the recording head 1A, but as described above, the wiping control unit 18a of the wiping control member 18 is engaged from the opposite side of the recording head 1A. Therefore, the rotation of the contact member (wiping member) 12 can be stopped using the wiping control unit 18a. In this manner, the wiping member 12 is moved to the discharge surface 51 at a predetermined pressure.
A stable and reliable wiping operation (cleaning operation) becomes possible. Also, the wiping member 1
By stopping the rotation of 2, it is possible to perform not only simple contact but also reliable scraping operation.

The predetermined speed V in step S3 in FIG. 6 is selected to be an optimum speed for the wiping operation. Further, the predetermined reverse rotation amount v in step S3 in FIG. 6 is changed from the start to the end of the wiping operation, that is, the state of the wiping member 12 from the state of FIG. 7 to the state of FIG.
(The position where the contact is made).

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the operation performed in step S3 in FIG. The two-dot chain line X is a locus drawn by the uppermost end of the contact member 12 when the head 51 is not present. For example, when the contact member 12 is at the position indicated by m, the head 51 pushes in the distance Y. I have. Contact member 12
Is at k, it is rotatable, the contact with the head 51 starts near the position 1 and the rotation is gradually fixed by passing the position 1 and approaching the position m. By starting to abut on the head 51 in a rotatable state, the abutting member 12 can start to abut on the head 51 smoothly, and no extra swing driving force is required. Thereafter, the head 51 is separated from the position near the position n via the position m, and can be rotated as the position approaches the position o. When the position o is reached, the contact member 12 becomes rotatable.

Next, as shown in step S4 in FIG. 6, the reversing operation is further continued, and the wiping member (contact member) 12
Is performed by the retransfer member 13.
Hereinafter, this cleaning step will be described with reference to FIG. By the reverse rotation operation of the paper discharge roller 8 (rotation in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 9), the wiping arm 17 swings in the same direction as in FIG. 8, and the contact member (wiping member) 12 As shown in FIG. 9, a position is taken in contact with the retransfer member 13.

In this case, immediately before the contact member (wiping member) 12 comes into contact with the retransfer member 13, the small-diameter gear portion 21 b of the idle gear 21 changes from the meshing state with the gear portion 17 a of the wiping arm 17 to the toothless portion 17 b To a state (disengagement state) opposite to. In the subsequent further reverse rotation, the drive transmission is performed by the frictional force between the idle rubber ring 22 mounted on the idle gear 21 and the friction transmission portion 17c of the wiping arm 17. When the contact member 12 is in contact with the retransfer member 13, the driving force of the discharge roller 8 idles at the friction transmitting portion 17c. In addition, the idling force generated at this time is caused by the contact member 12 and the retransfer member 13.
Contact pressure (pressure contact force).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the paper discharge roller 8 rotates in reverse, the paper feed roller 7 also performs
The retransfer member 13 mounted on the shaft portion 7a of the paper feed roller 7 also rotates in the direction of arrow C. This retransfer member 13 is formed of an ink absorbing member. Further, the rotation of the retransfer member 13 in the direction of arrow C causes the wiping member (contact member) 1 in contact with the member.
2 is also driven to rotate in the direction of arrow C, and the wiping member 12 is also cleaned at the same time. At this time, the wiping control member 18 described with reference to FIG. 8 is held at a fixed position by the stopper portion 18b, and the wiping member 12 can rotate freely.

The predetermined speed W of the paper feed motor in step S4 in FIG. 6 is selected to be an optimum speed for cleaning, and the predetermined reverse rotation amount w is determined from the following three viewpoints. First, at least the wiping member 12 rotates at least one rotation so that the entire wiping member 12 is sufficiently cleaned. Secondly, the wiping member 12 is rotated by a predetermined amount so that the position of the contact portion of the wiping member 12 sequentially shifts (changes) at the next contact with the recording head 1A. Third, in the next forward rotation drive transmission, the toothless portion 17
When returning from the friction transmitting state at b to the meshing state of the gear parts, a predetermined amount of reverse rotation must be performed so that interference of the gear teeth does not occur.

Next, after the carriage 2 is retracted (moved to another position) from the position of the wiping member 12 in step S5 in FIG. 6, the wiping member 12 is returned by the normal rotation operation of the paper feed motor in step S6. Perform the operation. The operation at this time is performed in the manner described with reference to FIG. That is, the discharge rollers 8
The rotation in the direction of arrow A of each member shown in FIG. The idling torque generated by the one-way clutch 20 is considerably smaller than the torque generated at the time of the reverse rotation shown in FIG. 8, but is sufficient to return the wiping member 12 because the recording head 1A is retracted (moved) to another position. Torque can be easily set, and is set as such.
After sufficient forward rotation is performed, the state shown in FIG. 7 is maintained. By the series of operations described above, foreign substances such as thickened ink adhered to the ejection surface 51 of the recording head 1 can be reliably wiped and removed in a stable state.

According to the configuration described above, the rotator is rotatable according to the direction of movement at the position where the rubbing of the recording head is started. It can enter well and does not generate a large load on the rotating body and the recording head. Also,
When the rotating body passes near the discharge port, the rotating body is fixed, so that not only ink and dust but also fixed matter can be reliably cleaned. The area of the discharge surface where the rotating body has started to contact is also sufficiently cleaned by the contact of the rotating body.

In particular, with respect to the cleaning mechanism configured to rotate against the traveling direction of the rotating body, the load on the cleaning member and the recording head is reduced. Stability and long-term stable ejection of the recording head can be achieved. Since only necessary portions can be firmly and effectively cleaned in this manner, the ejection surface of the recording head and the cleaning member are not easily deteriorated, stable cleaning characteristics can be maintained for a long time, and the recording head is not easily damaged. Stable ink ejection can be achieved over a long period, and good recording can be maintained.

In the above embodiment, a serial recording type ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording while moving the recording means relative to the recording material has been described as an example. The present invention can be similarly applied to an ink jet recording apparatus of a line recording system in which recording is performed only by sub-scanning using a line type recording unit having a length covering the entire width or a part, and the same effect can be achieved. Things.

The present invention also provides a recording apparatus using one recording means, a color recording apparatus using a plurality of recording means for recording with inks of different colors, or a plurality of recording means for recording the same color at different densities. The present invention can be similarly applied to a gradation recording device to be used, or a recording device combining these, and can achieve the same effect.

Further, the present invention provides a configuration using a replaceable ink cartridge in which a recording head and an ink tank are integrated, a configuration in which the recording head and the ink tank are separated, and the space between them is connected by an ink supply tube or the like. The present invention can be similarly applied to any arrangement of the recording head and the ink tank, and the same effect can be obtained.

The present invention can be applied to a case where the ink jet recording apparatus uses a recording means using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element.
In particular, the present invention brings about an excellent effect in an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means of a method of discharging ink by using thermal energy. According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the position of the contact portion of the contact member with the discharge surface can be shifted not at a fixed position but sequentially. It is possible to prevent or reduce contamination and surface deterioration of the ink, and to maintain the cleaning performance of the discharge surface for a long period of time, so that stable ink discharge can be performed for a long period of time.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means to a recording material, comprising a contact member for cleaning a discharge surface of the recording means. The contact member is rotatable until immediately before it comes into contact with the discharge surface, and the rotation is fixed when the contact member comes into contact with the discharge surface. Cleaning performance can be maintained for a long time, and stable ink ejection can be performed for a long time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a retransfer member that comes into contact with the abutting member is provided. By cleaning the contact portion of the member with the discharge surface with the retransfer member, the contact member can be prevented from being stained, and as a result, the cleaning performance of the discharge surface can be maintained for a long period of time, and the stable ink can be maintained for a long period of time. Discharge can be performed.

According to the third to ninth aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect, when the contact member comes into contact with the discharge surface, the contact member and the retransfer member are separated from each other, and the contact member is separated. A configuration in which the contact member contacts the retransfer member when the contact member does not contact the discharge surface; a configuration in which the contact member and the retransfer member are rotatable; and a configuration in which the contact member contacts the retransfer member. The contact member rotates when the retransfer member rotates, the contact member rotates at least once when the contact member contacts the retransfer member, and the contact member rotates the retransfer member. A configuration in which a contact portion of the contact member with the discharge surface moves by rotation of the contact member when the contact member contacts, a configuration in which the retransfer member is provided around a paper feed roller, or the contact portion when the paper feed reversely rotates. The member is Since a structure in contact with the copy member, it can be achieved more efficiently the effects of the claim 2.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the contact member contacts the discharge surface, the contact member contacts the rotation control member. A configuration in which the rotation control member is biased by elastic force,
When the contact member comes into contact with the discharge surface, the contact member is urged by a necessary elastic force via the rotation control member, and when the contact member does not contact the discharge surface, the contact member is urged. A configuration that is not performed, a configuration in which the contact member is formed of an absorbent member, a configuration in which a unit that supports the contact member is rotationally driven, and the contact member that is in contact with the discharge surface when the contact member contacts the discharge surface is substantially A configuration in which the unit supporting the contact member is driven by a paper feed motor; and a cleaning operation of the ejection surface is performed when the unit is rotationally driven in a predetermined direction by the paper feed motor. A configuration in which the contact member is returned when the rotary driving is performed; a configuration in which the cleaning operation of the ejection surface is performed during the paper feed reverse rotation; a configuration in which the driving force of the unit is transmitted from a paper discharge roller; A structure in which the driving force of the knit is transmitted via a clutch, a structure in which the driving force of the unit is transmitted via a one-way clutch and a gear missing part, or a means for transmitting the driving force of the unit is a gear missing part And the friction drive unit, the effect of claim 1 can be achieved more efficiently.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording material, comprising a contact member for cleaning an ejection surface of the recording means, A configuration in which the discharge surface and the contact member move relative to each other while being in contact with the paper in the reverse direction, and the contact member and the retransfer member come into rotational contact with each other in the reverse rotation of the paper feed, and return to the initial position in the normal rotation of the paper feed. Since the contact portion of the contact member with the discharge surface can be cleaned by the retransfer member at the time of the reverse rotation of the paper feed, it is possible to prevent the contact member from being stained with a simple control. The cleaning performance can be maintained for a long time, and stable ink ejection can be performed for a long time.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means to a recording material, a contact member for cleaning the discharge surface of the recording means and the discharge surface are formed. A protective cap member is provided, and the contact member and the cap member are arranged on opposite sides of the recording area, so that the position of the contact portion between the contact member and the ejection surface is sequentially shifted. (Change) or a sufficient space for cleaning the contact portion by the retransfer member, thereby preventing or reducing contamination and surface deterioration of the contact member and discharging surface. Cleaning performance can be maintained for a long time, and stable ink ejection can be performed for a long time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink discharge unit of a recording unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view partially showing a configuration of a contact member and its vicinity in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view as viewed from an arrow line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in a cleaning step of a recording unit in an embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5, showing a state immediately before a contact member comes into contact with a recording unit in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

8 is a schematic side sectional view showing a state in which the wiping arm is rotated from the state of FIG. 7 and the contact member is in contact with the recording means.

9 is a schematic side sectional view showing a state in which the wiping arm is further rotated from the state shown in FIG. 8 and the contact member is in contact with the retransfer member.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining an operation performed in step S3 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a conventional recovery system.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a recovery system of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the conventional recovery system;
(A) shows a head cleaning state and (b) shows a retracted state.

14A and 14B are schematic views showing still another example of the conventional recovery system, in which FIG. 14A is a side view schematically showing the entire cleaning mechanism, and FIGS. 14B and 14C show the cleaning state in order. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording means (recording head) 2 Carriage 3 Guide shaft 4 Automatic paper feeder 7 Paper feed roller (LF roller) 8 Discharge roller 10 Recovery system (recovery device) 11 Cap 12 Contact member (wiping member) 13 Retransfer member 14 Wiping Base 15 Wiping Shaft 16 Wiping Holder 17 Wiping Arm 18 Wiping Control Member 19 Wiping Spring 20 One-Way Clutch 21 Idle Gear 22 Idle Rubber Ring

Claims (24)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording unit to a recording material, comprising a contact member for cleaning an ejection surface of the recording unit, wherein the contact member is provided on the ejection surface. An ink jet recording apparatus, which is rotatable until immediately before contact, and is fixed when the contact member comes into contact with the ejection surface. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a retransfer member that contacts the contact member. 3. The contact member and the retransfer member are separated when the contact member contacts the discharge surface, and the contact member and the retransfer member are separated when the contact member does not contact the discharge surface. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said ink jet recording apparatus is in contact with said ink jet recording apparatus. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said contact member and said retransfer member are rotatable. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the contact member comes into contact with the retransfer member, the contact member is rotated by rotational driving of the retransfer member. 6. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least said contact member makes one rotation when said contact member comes into contact with said retransfer member. 7. When the contact member contacts the retransfer member, the contact of the contact member with the discharge surface moves by rotation of the contact member.
Inkjet recording device. 8. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said retransfer member is provided around a paper feed roller. 9. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said contact member comes into contact with said retransfer member during paper feed reverse rotation. 10. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the contact member contacts the discharge surface, the contact member contacts the rotation control member. 11. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said rotation control member is urged by an elastic force. 12. The contact member is urged by the necessary elastic force via the rotation control member when the contact member contacts the discharge surface, and corresponds when the contact member does not contact the discharge surface. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the contact member is not biased. 13. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said contact member is formed of an absorbent member. 14. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a unit supporting said contact member is driven to rotate. 15. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact member makes a substantially linear movement when the contact member comes into contact with the ejection surface. 16. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit supporting the contact member is driven by a paper feed motor. 17. A cleaning operation of a discharge surface when the unit is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction by the paper feed motor, and a return operation of a contact member is performed when the unit is driven to rotate in the opposite direction. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16. 18. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, wherein a cleaning operation of the ejection surface is performed at the time of paper feed reverse rotation. 19. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the driving force of said unit is transmitted from a paper discharge roller. 20. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the driving force of the unit is transmitted via a clutch. 21. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the driving force of the unit is transmitted through a one-way clutch and a gear missing portion. 22. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the driving force transmitting means of the unit has a gear missing portion and a friction driving portion. 23. An ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording material, comprising a contact member for cleaning the discharge surface of the recording means, and contacting the discharge surface during reverse rotation of the paper feed. An ink jet recording apparatus wherein the contact member moves relative to each other while contacting, the contact member and the retransfer member come into rotational contact during further paper feed reverse rotation, and the contact member returns to the initial position during paper feed normal rotation. . 24. An ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means to a recording material, comprising a contact member for cleaning a discharge surface of the recording means and a cap member for protecting the discharge surface. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the contact member and the cap member are arranged on opposite sides of the recording area.