JPS6223669B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a nozzle cleaning device that removes ink adhering to the nozzle end face of an inkjet printer and prevents the ink from solidifying in the nozzle portion.

Generally, in an inkjet printer, ink is force-fed from an ink supply device to a nozzle via an ink pipe, and mechanical vibrations are applied to the ink at this nozzle, causing the ink to become particles and ejected from the nozzle. A charging electrode selectively charges the charge, and a pair of deflection electrodes then deflects the charge according to the amount of charge to reach the recording paper, thereby performing desired printing. Further, ink particles not used for recording reach the gutter and are returned to the ink supply device.

In such an inkjet printer, minute ink droplets ejected from a nozzle hole during a recording operation adhere to the end face of the nozzle. This attached ink solidifies if left for a long time.
Also, when recording is stopped and the ink jetting is stopped, the ink inside the nozzle is at rest at a position slightly retracted from the tip of the nozzle hole, and if it remains stationary for a long time due to contact with air, the nozzle may The ink solidifies within the recording medium, and this solidification of ink adversely affects recording.

The present invention provides a nozzle cleaning device for preventing such effects of solidification of ink on ink particle formation and, ultimately, on recording.

The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment of the drawings.

A recording head 1 moves back and forth in the row direction in front of the recording paper 4, and is guided by guide rods 2, 2 suspended from side plates 3a, 3b of the apparatus.

The recording head 1 includes a nozzle 5 and a deflection electrode 6.
, a gutter 7 for collecting unnecessary ink, and a moving member 9 provided with a charging electrode 8 to be described later. The moving member 9 is placed on the recording head 1,
At a position in front of the nozzle 5, it can move in a direction perpendicular to the direction of ink ejection from the nozzle 5, that is, in the same direction as the head 1, while being guided by front and rear guide rails 10 and 11.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, this movable member 9 has a cylindrical electrically charged member that is attached to the surface of the member 9 facing the nozzle 5 so as to pass through the member 9, and that forms an ink flight path therein. An electrode 8 is provided, and an ink absorber 12 made of Japanese paper, cloth, etc. is provided on the left side of the electrode 8 on the surface facing the nozzle, and an ink absorber 12 made of rubber is further provided on the left side of the absorber 12 of the nozzle 5. Sealing body 1 for closing the nozzle hole
3 is installed. When the member 9 moves in the direction of arrow A, the ink absorber 12 comes into contact with the tip of the nozzle 5 and wipes off the ink adhering to the nozzle 5, and then the sealing body 13 covers and closes the hole of the nozzle 5. It is becoming.

The movement of this member 9 in the direction of arrow A and the movement of this member 9 in the direction of arrow A
Movement in the opposite direction is regulated by stopper means formed by engaging protrusions provided on the front and rear guide rails 10, 11 and the member 9, respectively.
The restriction when moving in the direction is that the sealing body 13 is in a position where it just closes the hole of the nozzle 5, and the restriction when moving in the opposite direction of arrow A is that the charging electrode 8 is exactly opposite the hole of the nozzle 5. It has become a location. Furthermore, a buffer body 15 such as a spring is provided on the left end surface of the member 9.

On the other hand, a solenoid mechanism 16 and a pressing member 17 that is moved in the direction of arrow B by the excitation of the solenoid mechanism are provided close to the home position (left margin) of the recording head 1. When the solenoid mechanism 16 is not energized, the pressing body 17 is in a position that does not interfere with the recording operation of the recording head 1, and when the solenoid mechanism 17 is in a position that does not interfere with the recording operation of the recording head 1. The mechanism 16 is excited and the pressing body 17 moves in the direction of arrow B. At this time, when the recording head 1 is located at the left margin, which is the home position, the pressing member 17 moves the moving member 9 through the buffer member 15 along the arrow A.
Press and move in the direction. Further, after the pressing body 17 is energized, it is moved back in the opposite direction of arrow B by means such as a spring. A reset post 18 is provided close to the right margin position of the recording head 1, and a spring 19 is attached to the tip of the reset post 18. This reset post 18 functions to move the moving member 9 in the opposite direction of arrow A.

In such an inkjet printer, in a normal recording state, the charging electrode 8 of the movable member 9 is set at a position exactly facing the hole of the nozzle 5 (a position where the movement of the movable member 9 is restricted in the opposite direction of arrow A). Therefore, the ink particles from the nozzle 5 are charged to the charging electrode 8,
It passes through the deflection electrode 6 and is guided to a desired position on the recording paper 4 to form a recording pattern. Then, by moving the recording head 1 in the row direction, a recording operation for one row is performed.

Thereafter, when the device is turned off and recording is stopped, the solenoid mechanism 16 is energized. At this time, recording head 1 is in a standby state at the home position at the left margin. Therefore, when the solenoid mechanism 16 is energized, the pressing body 17 moves in the direction of arrow B, and the moving member 9 is moved through the buffer body 15.
Press and move in the direction of arrow A.

This movement of the moving member 9 first causes the ink absorber 12 to
wipes off ink droplets adhering to the tip of the nozzle 5 and further moves in the direction of arrow A, causing the sealing body 13 to face the nozzle hole of the nozzle 5 and close the nozzle 5.
In this closed position of the sealing body 13, movement of the moving member 9 in the direction of arrow A is restricted. For this reason, the nozzles 5 of the recording head 1 are closed by the sealing body 13 and standby during the recording stop, and this closure prevents the ink from solidifying within the nozzles 5.

Furthermore, when the apparatus is operated again and the power is turned on, the recording head 1 is moved horizontally to the right margin position before this ink jetting is started. When the recording head 1 reaches the right margin, the spring 19 of the reset post 18 collides with the moving member 9, and the moving member 9 is pushed leftward. As a result, the moving member 9 is moved to the movement restriction position in the opposite direction of arrow A, and the charging electrode 8
is set at a position exactly facing the nozzle 5.

As described above, the nozzle cleaning device for an inkjet printer according to the present invention uses a moving member provided on the head and a pressing body that moves the moving member in conjunction with the movement of the head when the printer stops recording. The structure is such that the ink droplets adhering to the nozzle are first wiped off, and then the nozzle hole is covered and closed by the sealing body, so by simply adding a simple structure that utilizes the movement of the head, ink droplets adhering to the nozzle end face can be removed. It is possible to provide an inkjet printer that can prevent solidification of ink and solidification of ink within a nozzle, and can perform high-quality recording without always having an adverse effect on ink particle formation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the configuration of the moving member. 1: Recording head, 4: Recording paper, 5: Nozzle,
6: Deflection electrode, 7: Gutter, 8: Charging electrode, 9:
Moving member, 12: ink absorber, 13: sealing body.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A nozzle provided on the head generates a stream of ink droplets, directs the ink droplets along a predetermined path toward the medium to be printed, and directs the head toward the line of the medium. In an inkjet printer that performs a desired recording operation by reciprocating the ink droplet in a direction, the inkjet printer is provided on the head, is located in front of the nozzle, is movable in a direction perpendicular to the path of ink droplets from the nozzle, and a moving member having, on a surface facing the hole, an ink absorber for absorbing ink adhering to the end of the nozzle and a sealing member for closing the nozzle arranged in parallel in the moving direction; The head is provided at the standby position so that when the head moves to a predetermined standby position due to a pause, the head collides with the moving member and moves the moving member in a direction in which the sealing body closes the nozzle. a pressing body, by moving the moving member by the pressing body as the head moves to a standby position during a recording pause, after the ink adhering to the nozzle end is removed by the ink absorbing body; A nozzle cleaning device for an inkjet printer configured such that a sealing body closes a nozzle hole.