JPS58173670A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To wash a nozzle and a cap simultaneously, in the impulse type ink jet recording device, by compressing the cap provided with an outer lid and an inner lid to the opening part of the nozzle, and flowing washing liquid in the space between the inner lid and the end surface of a head. CONSTITUTION:An outer lid 11 and inner lid 12 are coated by a material such as rubber and Teflon. The entie cap is made of a flexible member. When the ink head is returned to the specified position at the end of printing, supporting rods 23 of the cap, which can be moved in the directions of arrows A, compress the outer lid 11 of the cap to a head 220. Under such a situation, the washing liquid is flowed to a space 25 through a supply pipe 21 in the direction of an arrow B, and the end surface of the head and the inner lid 12 of the cap are washed. Thereafter, the inner lid 12 of the cap is compressed to the opening part of a nozzle 222 by a sliding rod 24. Under this state, drying of the ink solvent at the nozzle part can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device, and particularly to a clogging prevention cap suitable for an impulse type inkjet recording device.

Conventional clogging prevention devices include: 1) Pressing a nozzle opening with a rubber member or the like to shut off the ink inside the nozzle from fire. 2) Place a cap over the nozzle opening and maintain the saturated water vapor pressure inside the cap. 3) Methods such as filling the inside of the Φ tube with anti-clogging liquid have been devised. Regarding 2) and 3), completely remove the inside of the cap and the atmosphere! ! Compared to this method, method 1), which involves simply attaching a flat plate such as a rubber plate to the nozzle opening, is easier to implement. However, the cap member becomes stained with ink and needs to be cleaned.

An object of the present invention is to clean the nozzle opening and the vicinity of the nozzle opening of the head while simultaneously cleaning the gap.
) is to provide a capping means by the method.

Simply crimping a rubber plate onto the nozzle opening has a considerable effect on preventing clogging.

However, it is necessary to clean the contact surfaces before crimping. On the other hand, if ink drips during printing or after purging to remove clogging or air bubbles, it is necessary to clean the head end surface near the nozzle opening. By integrating this cleaning means and the cap, it is possible to newly remove the ff of the cap.
T! There is no need to provide means.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 shows an example of a cap embodying the present invention. An outer cover 11 and an inner cover 12 are covered with a substance such as rubber or Teflon, and the cap as a whole is made of a flexible material. The capping operation procedure will be explained using Fig. 2. At the end of printing, when the ink head returns to a predetermined position INK, the support rod 23 of the cap, which is movable in the direction of arrow A, presses the outer cover 11 of the cap against the head 220, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 2(a). In this state, the supply pipe 21
A cleaning liquid pipe is routed to the cabinet 25 between the middle scoop and the head through the pipe. This cleaning liquid cleans the head end face and the inner lid 12 of the cap. Thereafter, the inside 1112 of the cap is pressed against the opening 8IsK of the nozzle 222 by the sliding rod 24. (Condition in Figure 2 (b)) When not printing, the inside of the nozzle is quickly isolated from the atmosphere in this state to prevent evaporation of the ink solvent and prevent clogging.When starting printing, first move the sliding rod Return to the original state and remove the inner cover from the cap, then move the cap support rod away from the head and remove the outer cover from the head. When purging is performed, the outer cover of the cap is pressed onto the head 4rfi in the same way as when printing is completed, and purging is performed while the cleaning liquid is flowing, or cleaning is performed after the purge is completed. With the cap mechanism of the present invention, the problems of waste liquid treatment and cleaning after purging can be solved all at once.

FIG. 3 shows an example of mounting the cap mechanism of the present invention on a printer. A support stand attached to the 80-digit printer body.
It supports the cap support rod 23 and sliding rod 24 described above. The cap support rod 23 has a spring 38a1, and the sliding rod 24 has a spring 38a.
A force is applied in the direction of the head 220 at point b. Reference numeral 39 denotes a platen around which a non-recordable object is wound, and it is thought that the support stand 30 should be fixed to the side of the platen, facing the guide rail 31 of the head, as shown in the figure. When the head passes through a specific position (for example, B) on the guide rail, the switch 31 of the electromagnet 37 causes the finger rod 23 and the sliding rod 24 to move backward by the force of the electromagnet, and the head moves to the head movement limiter 32. When it comes into contact with the electromagnet 37b, only the switch of the electromagnet 37b is turned off, and only the cap support rod 23 is pushed in the direction of the head by the force of the spring.
Only the outer cover of the head 10 is crimped onto the head. then 3
The valve 51.35b is opened, and the cleaning liquid in the pressurized tank 33 flows into the waste liquid reservoir 34 via the supply vibrator 21 and the cap 1O, thereby cleaning the end surfaces of the cap 10 and the head 220. When cleaning is completed, first close the valve 35a,
The electromagnet 371 is turned on and the sliding rod 24 is moved in the direction of the head to bring the inner lid into close contact with the opening of the nozzle 222. When a print start signal is sent, the electromagnet 37 is turned on, and when the head passes through point B, it is turned off. Control of these sequences can be easily achieved using a microcomputer installed in the printer.

After printing ends, before printing starts, or when a specific switch is pressed, the routine branches to the routine that controls the capping operation, cleaning operation, etc. mentioned above, and after these series of operations are completed, the normal printer control The program may be programmed to return to the routine of pipe 2 as described in claim 2.
If the inner walls of the pipe 21 and the cap 10 are lined with a liquid impregnating material, the cleaning liquid will act as a wetting agent inside the pipe 21 and the cap 10, and it can be expected that clogging can be more reliably prevented.

When the ink is clogged, by closing the valve 25b while keeping the valve 25M open, pressure is applied to the nozzle from the outside, and the cleaning liquid enters the inside of the nozzle, making it possible to clean the nozzle with the cleaning liquid. Also, by moving the sliding rod 24 back and forth (direction A) after closing the valve 25a,
If the nozzle is pressurized and depressurized alternately, clogging can be removed more effectively. Of course, the sliding rod may be moved back and forth by opening either the valve 251i or the valve 25b, or both.

According to the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously clean the head end face and the cap in the same sequence, and furthermore, the effects of the outer lid and the inner lid can reliably prevent clogging. Even in the event of clogging, the mechanism of the present invention has the effect of providing powerful clogging removal means without changing the ink circulation system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a gap, Fig. 2 is a principle diagram for explaining an example of a capping method, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment when installed in a capping machine (1t-printer). 10. ... Cap, 11... Outer cover, 12... Inner cover, 13... Cleaning liquid inlet, 14... Cleaning liquid outlet,
220... Ink head, 221... Ink chamber, 2
22...-nozzle, 21... cleaning liquid supply vibe, 23
...Head support rod, 24...Sliding rod, 25...Space, 30...Support stand, 31...Guide rail, 32...
...Head transfer 4I7 limiter, 33...Pressure tank, 3
4...I fluid reservoir, 35...Pal'+TI,,',,
1 ≠ 1 Figure 2 Country 1 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Rapidly changing the pressure of an ink chamber in an ink head using an electromechanical transducer or the like, and directing small ink droplets onto a recording material from a nozzle communicating with the ink chamber. In an inkjet recording device that ejects, when the head stops at a predetermined position during non-printing, the inner cover of the cap, which has an outer cover and an inner cover, is pressed against the nozzle opening, and the outer cover closes the space around the inner cover. Airtightness by blocking outside air? This inkjet recording device creates a space between the inner cover and the end face of the head when the outer cover is closed to prevent clogging, and allows the cap and end face of the head to be cleaned by pouring cleaning liquid into the cap with your fist. 2. The inkjet recording device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cap and the inner wall of the vibrator that supplies the cleaning liquid to the cap are lined with a liquid-impregnated material such as corpus cavernosum. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim t41, wherein the inkjet recording device is intended to clean the nozzle section by moving the lid back and forth and alternately applying pressure and suction to the nozzle section.