JPS59222360A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of the state of non-discharge of ink without using additional components or the like, by providing means of releasing a cap and making a recording head discharge ink on trial when a prescribed time passes after sucking and returning operations are ended. CONSTITUTION:A rotary lever 17 is pushed, and thereby a switch 23 is turned ON. Thereafter, when the rotary lever 17 returns to a capping position and thereby the switch 23 is turned OFF, this state is detected by CPU through a signal line l1, so as to operate a timer TM. After a prescribed time passes, a pulse is delivered to a signal line l3 to turn a transistor TR ON, whereby a current is supplied to a solenoid 31. Then the locked state by a lock lever 26 is released, and the rotary lever 17 rotates to return automatically, releasing a cap 13 from a recording head. Detecting the end of suction by the solenoid 31 through a signal line l4, CPU drives a motor 32 to move a carriage 34 in relation to recording paper, and drives a driver DR3 for jetting ink on trial at a prescribed position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to an inkjet printer that covers the tip of a recording head that discharges ink with a cap and includes a suction recovery means that performs suction recovery of the recording head.

(Prior Art) FIG. 1 shows an inkjet printer equipped with a suction recovery means for a recording head.

In FIG. 1, numerals 1 and 2 indicate main tanks, each of which houses an ink bag 6.

Each ink bag 5 of the main tanks 1 and 2 is connected to a sub tank 5 mounted on the carriage side via a supply tube 4.
connected to the side.

A thin supply pipe 6 is housed in the sub-tank 5, which is the recording head, and one end thereof is connected to the nozzle 7 side. The other end of the supply pipe 6 is immersed in ink 8 in the sub-tank 5.

On the other hand, the reference numeral 9 indicates a pump, and the pump 9 is provided with a piston 10, and an operating lever 11 is connected to the piston 10.

A suction tube 1 is connected between the pump 9 and the sub-tank 5.
Further, the pump 9 and the ink suction cap 13 are connected via a nozzle tube 14.

Although not shown, the nozzle 7 is provided with a cylindrical piezo element (piezoelectric element), and a voltage is applied to this piezo element according to the printing command, causing the glass tube that constitutes the nozzle to contract. This causes ink to be ejected to perform printing.

Further, the reference numeral 15 indicates a return pipe that serves to return the fillet/ink from the pump 9 to the return ink chamber 16 on the main tank 1 side.

By the way, to explain the positional relationship between the suction tube 12 and the nozzle tube 14, the suction tube 12 is located at a higher position, and the nozzle tube 14 is located at a lower position.

Therefore, push the operating lever 11 to release the piston 1 of the pump 9.
When the upper side of 0 is made negative pressure, first of all, suction tube 1
Negative pressure is supplied to the 2 side, and at this time the nozzle tube 14
The side is closed.

Therefore, in the first step, the pressure inside the sub-tank 5 is reduced, and ink is sucked into the sub-tank 5 from the main tanks 1 and 2.

Furthermore, by pushing down the piston 10,
Ink from the nozzle 7 is sucked through the cap 16.

When ink enters the sub-tank and enters the suction tube 12 by operating the pump 9, the suction tube 12
The resistance on the side increases, and after that, ink is mainly sucked from the nozzle side.

As a result, it is possible to remove air bubbles and the like within the nozzle and restore ink ejection.

On the other hand, when ink is sucked from the suction tube 12 and nozzle tube 14 by suction from the pump, the pressure inside the sub-tank 5 is reduced. Therefore, if the cap 16 is removed before the internal pressure of the sub-tank 5 returns to its original pressure after suction, the nozzle 7
This causes outside air to be sucked in from the nozzle, which in turn draws air into the nozzle, causing non-discharge.

Therefore, it is necessary to wait for the cap to be released until the internal pressure returns to its original level due to the supply of ink from the main tank.

Therefore, it is conceivable to count this time electrically after pump operation and notify it by blinking a lamp or the like.

However, since the user of the mining equipment can freely operate the pump and release the cap, it is possible to release the cap even if the user does not understand the meaning of the blinking lamp or is careless. There is a drawback in that, even after the ejection recovery operation has been performed, releasing the cap may instead result in a non-ejection state of ink.

(Purpose) The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional technology, and it is possible to release the cap without using many unnecessary parts and to prevent ink from being ejected. An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer configured to perform the following operations.

(Embodiment) FIG. 2 and subsequent figures illustrate one embodiment of the present invention. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted.

Figure 2 shows the relationship between the sub-tank 5, which is the recording head, and the suction recovery mechanism. It is supported by the fixed part.

A projecting piece 19 is provided protruding from one end side of the rotating lever 17, and a guide hole 19a shaped like a "<" is formed in this part.

A pin 21 of the cap 1'5, which protrudes through the guide hole 20a formed on each side of the cap holder 20, is slidably fitted into the guide hole 9a.

A protrusion 17 a is provided on the back surface of the rotary lever 17 in a position corresponding to the operating lever 11 of the pump 9 .

Furthermore, a pin 17b is provided protruding from the side surface of the rotary lever 17, and a spring 22 is engaged with this pin 17b, thereby imparting a clockwise rotational force to the rotary lever 17.

The reference numeral 26 indicates a switch that detects the operation of the rotary lever 17. This switch 26 is connected to the rotating lever 17.
It is turned on and off by a protruding piece 17c that protrudes from.

By the way, the cap 1'5 is shown enlarged in Fig. 4.
has a cap rubber 13a at its tip, and a spring 24 elastically loaded within the cap holder 20 applies a force in the direction of protruding from the cap holder 20.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a hook 25 is protruded from the lower end of the rotary lever 17, and a lock lever 26 is disposed opposite the hook 25.

The lock lever 26 is configured to be rotatable around a horizontal shaft 27 fixed to the blink body side and tilted in the axial direction of the shaft 27, and the side facing the hook 25 has a hook shape. It is formed with two slopes 26a,
26b is formed.

Further, the lock lever 26 is provided with the ability to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 5 and counterclockwise in FIG. 6 by means of a torsion coil spring 28 mounted on the shaft 27. The rotation limit of is restricted by stopper 29-1, 29-2.

The lower end of the lock lever 26 is rotatably supported on the rod 31a of the solenoid 31 via a shaft 60, and a clearance is provided so that it can freely move in the axial direction of the shaft 60, as shown in FIG. It is given.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as above will be explained.

Before starting the suction recovery operation for ink failure, the rotating lever 17 is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 6 (5), and the bottle 17b is locked to the hook 22. The protrusion 17a is locked away from the operating lever 11 of the pump 9.

The rotating lever 17 is given the habit of rotating clockwise in the figure about the shaft 18 by the force of a spring or the like (not shown).

In this state, the bottle 21 integrated with the cap 16 is
It is located at the upper end of the ``<''-shaped guide hole 19a,
The cap 15 is retracted into the cap holder 2°.

The hook 25 is located at a distance from the lock lever 26 as shown in FIG.
It is tilted to the left in the middle.

If you want to perform a recovery operation for ink failure from this state, first release the engagement between the hook 22 and the bottle 17b,
Push the rotation lever 17 and rotate it counterclockwise in the figure as shown in FIG. 3 (G).

By this operation, the bin 21 integrated with the gap 16 is
It moves along the ``''-shaped guide hole 19a and reaches the bent part.

As a result, the bottle 21 is given the freedom to move in the elongated hole 20a toward the right in FIG. is completely capped.

According to the rotational movement of the rotational lever 17, the hook 25 descends as shown in FIG. Press against the pressing force from the inclined position to the upright position.

Then, it eventually climbs over the slope 26 and is hooked by the hook-shaped hook portion, and the rotating lever 17 is locked so that it cannot return to its original state.

On the other hand, from this state, the rotating lever 17 is further moved as shown in FIG.
), when rotated counterclockwise, the protrusion 17a
presses the operation lever 11 of the pump 9, so the pump 9
is activated, the ink non-discharge recovery operation is performed, and air is sucked from the sub-ink tank.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6(q), the protrusion 17c protruding from the lower end of the rotary lever 17 presses the switch 26, so the switch 26 is turned on.

Since this suction recovery operation is accompanied by the counterclockwise rotation of the rotation lever 17, the hook 25 further descends as shown in FIG. , the lock lever 26 is rotated to the right in FIG. 5 (q) against the pressing force of the torsion coil spring 28.

When the suction recovery operation is completed and the hand is released from the rotating par 17, the operating lever 11 is pushed upward by a spring (not shown) housed in the pump 9.
The rotating lever 17 tries to return to its original state, but
5 is engaged with the lower side of the inclined surface 26a at the upper end of the hook-shaped lock lever 26, and is maintained in the locked state, so that the rotating lever 17 is maintained in the state shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, the cap 16 will not come off the nozzle 7.

By the way, in the middle of the operation returning to FIG. 6 (from C1 to FIG. 6), the switch 26 is disengaged from the stopper 17c and is turned off. After this OFF state is maintained for a certain period of time by a timer of a control circuit, which will be described later, until confirmation of the end of over-binging, the solenoid 61 is energized. When the rod 31a is operated in the retracting direction as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6, the lock lever 26 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 27 in FIG.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5), the lock lever 26 is shifted to the side of the hook 25, so that the locked state of the hook 25 by the lock lever 26 is released.

When the rotation lever 17 is unlocked by the lock lever 26, the rotation lever 17 automatically returns to the 40-shaped frame shown in FIG. 6 by the biasing force of the spring 22. Further, the lock lever 26 is also rotated back to the state shown in FIG. 5 (5) by the force of the torsion coil spring 28. Thereafter, the nozzle 7 performs a test injection by a control circuit to be described later, and waits in a recording state.

In this way, the cap can be completely locked so that it will not be released while the pumping operation is being performed, and the cap will not be released during pumping due to careless actions by the user, allowing for recovery from ink failure. The paradoxical accident of ink non-ejection during operation does not occur.

After a predetermined period of time, when the pumping operation is completely completed and the generated negative pressure sufficiently approaches atmospheric pressure, the cap 16 is automatically released and a test injection is performed from the nozzle 7.
The recovery status of the nozzle can be checked, and the suction recovery operation of the nozzle can be performed more reliably.

By the way, the operation control of the rotary lever and the nozzle test injection described above are performed by a control circuit shown in FIG.

That is, the rotary lever 17 is pushed and the switch 23 is turned to O.
When the turning lever 17 returns to the capping position and the switch 26 turns off, the CPU (central processing unit) detects this turning off via the signal line 11. The CPU then operates the timer TM via the signal line 12.

The timer TM is set with an experimentally determined time until the pressure in the sub-tank 5 returns to its original atmospheric pressure.

When the timer TM is activated and a certain period of time has elapsed, the signal line!
3, the monostable multivibrator MM operates, outputs a signal for a certain period of time, turns on the transistor TR via the converter 1, supplies current to the solenoid 61, and locks the lock lever as described above. 26 is released. As a result, the rotating lever 1
7 automatically rotates back to release the cap 16 from the recording head.

Thereafter, the CPU detects the end of suction by the solenoid 61 through the signal line j4, drives the motor 32 via the driver D1 through the signal lines FF and FB, and moves the carriage 64 onto the recording paper 65 using the belt 66 in FIG. Move it in the direction of the arrow. At this time, the signal from the slit 36 is
The speed of the carriage 64 is controlled by the sensor 37, 38 (a combination of a light emitting diode and a phototransistor) and the amplifier API, AP2, and the driver D 6 is driven at a predetermined position to open the nozzle 7. Operate the piezo 69 to test ink. For example, if printing in four colors is to be performed using four nozzles, the piezo of each color is driven at a predetermined position, and each ink is ejected to perform printing.

The carriage 64 moves in the horizontal direction, but by driving the driver DR2, the pulse motor 4° is operated to feed the paper, thereby moving the carriage 64 in the vertical direction to complete the entire printing.

In this way, the caps on the nozzles are released by the suction of the solenoid 31, and then as described above, for example, in the case of multicolor printing, by printing each ink color, ink suction recovery is performed normally, and the ink from each nozzle is It is possible to check whether ink ejection has been performed normally.

Incidentally, it is preferable that the test NR projection of the present invention is performed on non-printing digits.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, after pumping,
By prohibiting the release of the cap for a predetermined period of time and automatically releasing the cap after one predetermined period of time to perform a test injection, it is possible to improve the reliability of the nozzle suction recovery operation and obtain good records (printing). It is easy to see that the predetermined time has elapsed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view explaining a conventional structure, FIG. 2 and the following are illustrations of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
6(5) to (C) are explanatory diagrams showing the structure and operation of the rotating lever, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the cap part,
Figures 5 (5) to (D) are explanatory diagrams showing the structure and operation of the lock mechanism, Figure 6 is a front view of the lock lever, Figure 7 is a bottom view showing how the lock lever is installed, and Figure 8 9 is a block diagram of the control circuit, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the carriage mechanism. 5...Skewer...Recording head 16...Cap 7@
...T Nozzle 9m-・9・Pump 17@・・-e Rotating lever 26・・■・Switch 22・・・・Spring
25...Hook 26...Lock lever

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an inkjet printer that has a recording head that discharges ink and a suction recovery means that seals the tip of the recording head with a cap and performs suction recovery of the recording head, the cap is removed after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the suction recovery operation, and the recording head is closed. An inkjet printer characterized by having means for test-discharging.