KR100671806B1 - Device for and method of ink sucking, ink jet recording head recovering device, and ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An inkjet recording apparatus provided with a negative pressure flow is provided between a tube provided with a valve and a tube provided with a pump. After the cap is brought into close contact with the ink ejecting surface of the recording head portion, the valve is closed to block the flow of fluid in the tube. When the pump is driven, the pressure is reduced by driving the pump between the valve of the tube and the negative pressure flow, within the negative pressure flow, and from one end of the tube to the position where the roller first contacts the tube, and negative pressure is generated. When the valve is opened after the pump stops driving, this negative pressure acts momentarily in the cap for ink suction. By using this negative pressure as a large suction force, ink is sucked from inside the recording head unit.

Record Head Unit, Plunger

Description

Ink suction device, ink jet recording head recovery device, ink jet recording device and ink suction method {DEVICE FOR AND METHOD OF INK SUCKING, INK JET RECORDING HEAD RECOVERING DEVICE, AND INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS}

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a recording head carriage and its vicinity of an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink jet recording head recovery apparatus provided with an ink suction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partially broken perspective view showing an inkjet recording head recovery apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet recording head recovery apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink suction device constituting the ink jet recording head recovery device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a timing chart showing in time series each step of the ink suction step by the ink suction device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an explanatory diagram partially showing a conventional inkjet recording head recovery apparatus.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram partially showing a conventional inkjet recording head recovery apparatus.

* Brief description of the main parts of the drawing

10 ink suction device

12 inkjet recording device

14 recording head carriage

16 Recording medium conveyance member

18 Guide member

20 Maintenance Device

P recording medium

The ink suction device which sucks ink from the ink discharge port of the ink jet recording head which discharges ink droplets to a recording medium based on image information, the ink jet recording head recovery device provided with this ink suction device, and this ink jet recording head recovery device An ink jet recording apparatus provided with an ink jetting apparatus and an ink suction method for sucking ink at an ink discharge port of an ink jet recording head by the ink suction apparatus.

In inkjet recording apparatuses that discharge ink droplets from a ink ejection port of an inkjet recording head based on image information to a recording medium such as paper, and record an image, surplus ink or foreign matter (particularly in a nozzle) in the inkjet recording head (dust or foam) And the like) are sucked by a suction device, so that the ink jet recording head can be restored to a state optimal for ejection of ink droplets. For example, in the method for recovering the ink jet recording apparatus described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2831804, the tube 118 is strongly pressed by squeezing by rotating the pressure roller 114 around the pump shaft 112, and the ink in the nozzle is pressed. It is suctioned and sent to a waste ink absorber (Fig. 6).

However, in such a configuration in which the tube 118 is strongly pressed by the pressure roller 114 (sucked with only a roller pump), a high negative pressure necessary to suck and remove excess ink or foreign matter in the nozzle is instantaneously generated. Since it is difficult and requires a long time to obtain a high negative pressure, it wastes time and ink unnecessarily.

In contrast, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2801388 discloses a configuration in which a pressure roller 126 is provided between the pump 122 and the cap 124 (FIG. 7). In this configuration, by driving the pump 122 in a state where the tube 128 is closed by the pressure roller 126, a high negative pressure is maintained in the tube 128 between the pressure roller 126 and the pump 122. Can be. For this reason, by moving the press roller 126 in this state and opening the tube 128, it becomes possible to make high suction force act in the cap 124 instantaneously.

However, even if a high negative pressure is generated between the pressure roller 126 and the pump 122, the negative pressure generated between the pressure roller 126 and the pump 122 when the content between the pressure roller 126 and the cap 124 is large. It is absorbed between the press roller 126 and the cap 124. Therefore, a high suction force cannot be applied in the cap 124.

In view of the above fact, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to efficiently suck ink at an ink discharge port of an inkjet recording head by applying a high suction force momentarily.

One of the aspects of the present invention is an ink sucking device which sucks ink from an ink ejection opening of an inkjet recording head for ejecting ink droplets on a recording medium based on image information, wherein the cap member abuts on the inkjet recording head to surround the ink ejection opening. A suction device capable of sucking ink in the cap member, an ink conveying member for connecting the cap member and the suction device so that ink can be conveyed, an opening and closing member provided on the ink conveying member to open and close the ink conveying member; And a content increasing device which makes the content of the ink conveying member from the opening and closing member to the suction device larger than the content of the ink conveying member from the cap member to the opening and closing member.

In addition, in the present invention, the "ink" sucked by the ink discharge port is in addition to the surplus ink in the inkjet recording head (especially in the nozzle), and also foreign matter such as dust or dust present in the ink or bubbles generated in the ink. It includes.

With this ink suction device, when ink is sucked from the ink discharge port of the ink jet recording head, first, the cap member is surrounded by the ink discharge port so as to contact the ink jet recording head. And the opening / closing member is made into the closed state, and the ink conveyance member is closed.

When the suction device is driven in this state, a portion between the opening and closing member and the suction device in the ink conveying member is sucked, and negative pressure is generated. Since the content of the ink conveying member from the opening / closing member to the suction device is increased by the content increasing device than the content of the ink conveying member from the cap member to the opening / closing member, it is sufficient for the ink conveying member from the opening / closing member to the suction device. It can keep a big negative pressure. Under the present circumstances, the negative pressure by the drive of a suction apparatus does not generate | occur | produce in the ink conveyance member between a cap member and an opening / closing member.

Next, the suction device is stopped for driving, the opening and closing member is opened, and the ink conveying member is opened. The large negative pressure remaining in the ink conveying member from the opening / closing member to the suction device acts instantaneously in the cap member, and ink can be sucked from the inkjet recording head instantaneously with a large suction force.

 (Example)

Fig. 1 shows an enlarged view of the inkjet recording apparatus 12 and the recording head carriage 14 provided with the maintenance apparatus 20 (inkjet recording head recovery apparatus) according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 3 show the ink suction device 10 of the present invention constituting the maintenance device 20 and FIG. 4.

The inkjet recording apparatus 12 opposes the recording medium conveyance member 16 for conveying the recording medium P (for example, paper, etc.) in a constant direction, and the conveyance path of the recording medium P, A set of guide members 18 provided along a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording medium P is provided. The recording head carriage 14 is supported by these guide members 18. In addition, the maintenance apparatus 20 is arrange | positioned below the guide member 18 and adjacent to the conveyance path | route of the recording medium P, The main | maintenance apparatus, such as capping and suction of ink, with respect to the recording head carriage 14, Do a tenant operation. This maintenance operation is controlled by a control circuit (not shown) to be performed under a predetermined condition or timing.

At the position opposite to the maintenance apparatus 20, the home position (initial position) of the recording head carriage 14 is set, and this position is detected by the position sensor 22. As shown in FIG. The recording head carriage 14, the recording medium conveying member 16, the guide member 18, the maintenance apparatus 20, and the position sensor 22 are supported by the body housing 24. Image information is sent to the recording head carriage 14 via a signal line formed on the flexible substrate.

In addition, in the figure, the moving direction (main scanning direction) of the recording head carriage 14 is shown by arrow M, and the moving direction (sub scanning direction) of the recording medium P is shown by arrow S, respectively.

The recording head carriage 14 is comprised of the carriage frame 26 arrange | positioned so that the movement along the guide member 18, and the recording head unit 28 accommodated in the predetermined accommodating part in this carriage 26 is carried out. The lower portion of the inkjet recording head unit 28 has a nozzle 33 therein, and an ink ejection opening 37 for ejecting ink in the nozzle 33 to the ink ejecting surface 33 (lower side of the recording head portion 32). Is a recording head portion 32 (Fig. 4). Further, above the recording head portion 32, a sub ink tank 30 for supplying ink to each recording head portion 32 is disposed, and the recording head is provided with the sub ink tank 30 and the recording head portion 32. FIG. The unit 28 is comprised. The number of sub ink tanks 30 corresponds to the number of recording head units 28, and is four in this embodiment. Therefore, for each of the sub ink tanks 30, ink of different colors (for example, black (Bk), yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C)) is supplied to the recording head unit 28, and ink droplets are supplied. By discharging, it is possible to record a full color image. And the inkjet recording apparatus 12 of this embodiment conveys the recording medium P to the recording medium conveyance member 16, and discharges ink droplets according to the image information while reciprocating the recording head carriage 14, An image is recorded on the recording medium P (Fig. 1).

 Next, the maintenance apparatus 20 has the housing 34 arrange | positioned below a home position (FIGS. 2-4). The motor 36 is disposed in the housing 34. Moreover, the rocking arm 38 is axially supported by the side wall of the housing 34 so that the rocking arm 38 can pivot. The rotational driving force of the motor 36 acts on one end of the rocking arm 38. When the motor 36 rotates forward, the rocking arm 38 swings in the direction of arrow S in FIG. 2, and the rocking arm 38 The output gear 40 provided at the other end of the upright member engages with the cam drive gear train 42 (two dashed-dotted line in Fig. 2). As a result, the rotational driving force of the motor 36 acts on the cam drive gear train 42. This rotational driving force is also transmitted to a cam shaft 44 having a plurality of cams (not shown). The cam of the cam shaft 44 is one of the cam shafts 44 so that the cap holder 48, the valve 58, and the wiper blade support plate 70, which will be described later, are lifted, opened, and reciprocated at predetermined timings, respectively. Each movement is assigned an angle for rotation. In addition, the rotation angle of the cam shaft 44 is detected by a photo sensor (not shown), and a control circuit controls the rotation amount (rotation angle) of the cam shaft 44 based on this information.

On the other hand, when the motor 36 rotates in reverse, the swinging arm 38 swings in the direction opposite to the arrow S, and as shown by the solid line, the output gear 40 is aligned with the pump drive gear train 46. Because of the bite, the rotational driving force of the motor 36 acts on the pump drive gear train 46.

The rotation of the motor (forward rotation and reverse rotation) is controlled by a control circuit (not shown), the recovery operation to the recording head unit 28 by the maintenance apparatus 20, and the image recording operation (ink) Droplet discharge, main scanning and sub scanning) are not performed at the same time.

The cap holder 48 is provided on the upper part of the housing 34 so that the cap holder 48 can be lifted up and down, and is lifted from a cam (not shown) by a link mechanism (not shown) according to the rotation angle of the cam shaft 44. Force is to work. On this cap holder 48, four caps 50 corresponding to each of the recording head portions 32 are disposed. These caps 50 are formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape in which the upper portion is opened. When the cap holder 48 is raised when the recording head carriage 14 is located at the home position, for each corresponding recording head portion 32, The ink discharge port 37 is surrounded to be in close contact with the ink discharge surface 35. This prevents unexpected drying of the ink from the ink discharge port 37, mixing of foreign matters, and the like, and keeps the recording head unit 28 in the state most suitable for ejecting the ink droplets.

Of the four caps 50, the specific cap 50 (cap located on the left side of FIG. 2 in this embodiment) is connected to one end of the tube 52 at the bottom thereof, and the ink suction cap ( 50B) (Fig. 4). The tube 52 is made of a flexible material having resistance to ink, and the inside thereof is closed by bending or partially pressing the whole shape into a desired shape so that the flow of fluid can be blocked.

The valve 58 is provided in the middle of this tube 52, and the other end is connected to the upper part of the negative pressure flow 60 arrange | positioned in the housing 34. As shown in FIG. The valve 58 is opened and closed at a predetermined timing through the cam and link mechanism (not shown) by the rotation of the cam shaft 44. Accordingly, the tube 52 also takes a state in which fluid can flow (tube communication state) or a state in which fluid cannot flow (tube blocking state) at a predetermined timing.

The negative pressure flow 60 is formed in a substantially normal form (cylindrical form or angular form form, but may be cylindrical in the present embodiment), and the inside is hollow. By providing the negative pressure flow 60 having such a cavity, the inner volume V2 of the ink conveying member 56 from the valve 58 to the pump 62 described later is released from the cap 50B. It becomes larger than the internal volume V1 of the ink conveyance member 56 until it reaches (58). In other words, the negative pressure flow 60 is arrange | positioned at the suitable position which satisfy | fills the above-mentioned condition V1 <V2.

In the housing 34, the pump 62 driven by the rotation drive force from the pump drive gear train 46 is arrange | positioned. As can be seen from Fig. 4, the pump 62 is a so-called roller pump, and one or a plurality of rollers (small rollers) 66 are rotatably mounted at predetermined positions around the rotating plate 64. have.

In the housing 34, a tube 54 whose one end is connected to the lower portion of the negative pressure flow 60 is disposed. Similar to the tube 52, the tube 54 is made of a flexible material having resistance to ink, but is thicker than the tube 52 and has a high strength. The ink conveyance member 56 which concerns on this invention is comprised by the tube 52 and the tube 54. As shown in FIG.

The middle portion of the tube 54 is wound around the circumference of the rotating plate 64 constituting the pump 62 over about an accompaniment, the tube 54 being partially pressed by the roller 66 and have. Therefore, when the pump 62 is driven and the rotary plate 64 rotates in the direction of the arrow R, the crushed and crushed portion by the roller 66 gradually moves to the other end side of the tube 54, and the fluid in the tube 52 moves to the other end side. Is moved.

Moreover, the wiper blade support plate 70 is arrange | positioned at the upper part of the housing 34 so that a movement along the shaft 68 is possible (FIG. 2). On the wiper blade support plate 70, four wiper blades 72 corresponding to the respective ink ejecting surfaces 35 (Fig. 4) of the recording head portion 32 are mounted. The wiper blade support plate 70 moves (backward movement) in the direction of arrow A at a predetermined timing by the rotation of the cam shaft 44, and moves in the opposite direction to the arrow A at a predetermined timing (return (returning) Operation). As the wiper blade support plate 70 reciprocates in this manner when the recording head carriage 14 is in the home position, the wiping blades 72 wipe the ink discharge surface 35 of the recording head portion 32 to which the wiper blades 72 respectively correspond. Then, the foreign matter adhering to the ink discharge surface 35 is removed.

 Next, the operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 12 and the maintenance apparatus 20 of this embodiment will be described.                     

The ink is ejected from the recording head unit 28 in accordance with the image information, and the recording head carriage 14 moves in the main scanning direction and the recording medium P moves in the sub scanning direction, thereby causing an image on the recording medium P. This is recorded.

When the recording head unit 28 is in a predetermined state requiring maintenance, a control circuit (not shown) moves the recording head carriage 14 to the home position. And a control circuit (not shown) rotates the motor 36 forward. Since the rocking arm 38 swings in the direction of arrow S in FIG. 2, the rotational driving force of the motor 36 rotates the camshaft 44 via the cam drive gear train 42. Accordingly, first, the wiper support plate 70 reciprocates in the direction of arrow A and the opposite direction. The ink ejecting surface 35 of the recording head 32 is wiped by the wiper blade, and foreign matter adhering to the ink ejecting surface 35 is removed.

After the wiping operation, when the cam shaft 44 is rotated further by the forward rotation of the motor 36, the cap holder 48 is raised, and the cap 50 is the ink ejecting surface 35 of the recording head portion 32. To be in close contact with each other (contact step, FIG. 4). As a result, the periphery of the nozzle 33 (ink discharge port 37) of the recording head 32 is sealed, so that unexpected drying of ink from the recording head unit 28 and mixing of foreign matters are prevented.

In addition, when the camshaft 44 rotates by the forward rotation of the motor 36, the valve 58 will be closed (close process, FIG. 5). Accordingly, the tube 52 is blocked at the middle portion, and the fluid does not flow inside.

In this state in which the tube 52 is blocked, the control circuit (not shown) rotates the motor 36 in reverse. The swinging arm 38 swings in the opposite direction to the arrow S (FIG. 2), and the rotational driving force of the motor 36 is transmitted to the pump 62 through the pump driving gear train 46, so that the pump 62 Is driven (drive process). As a result, the fluid in the tube 54 is sent to the other end side of the tube 54, so that the pressure in the tube 54 is gradually reduced. In addition, at this time, since the tube 52 is interrupted | blocked by the valve 58 in the middle part, it depressurizes only in the part from the valve 58 to the negative pressure flow 60, and the inside of the ink suction cap 50B and ink suction Negative pressure does not occur in the tube 52 reaching the valve 58 from the cap 50B. That is, between the valve 58 of the tube 52 and the negative pressure flow 60, the pump 62 passes between the negative pressure flow 60 and one end of the tube 54 to the position where the roller 66 first contacts. It becomes the decompression space which pressure-reduces by drive of

At this time, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, since the negative pressure flow 60 is provided, the volume of the decompression space (compared to that of the configuration in which such negative pressure flow 60 is not provided) V2) is large. Moreover, the volume V2 of the decompression space is larger than the volume V1 of the space (non-decompression space) in the tube 52 reaching the valve 58 from the ink suction cap 50B. For this reason, by the drive of the pump 62, the space in which negative pressure is generated becomes large, and it is possible to keep a sufficiently large negative pressure in the decompression space.

When the driving of the pump 62 reaches a predetermined time and the constant negative pressure stays in the decompression space, the control circuit again rotates the motor 36 forward. As a result, the swing arm 38 swings in the direction shown by the arrow S in FIG. 2, so that the driving of the pump 62 is stopped. Subsequently, the cam shaft 44 is rotated, and as can be seen from Fig. 5, the valve 58 is in an open state (opening step). As a result, the negative pressure generated in the decompression space acts instantaneously in the ink suction cap 50B, so that ink can be sucked from the recording head unit 28 (particularly within the nozzle 33) with a large suction force. have. The sucked ink is discharged ink and is discharged to a discharged ink tank (not shown) provided on the other end side of the tube 54.

Finally, when the motor 36 further rotates forward, the cap holder 48 descends, so that the cap 50 is separated from the recording head unit 28. Of course, in order to prevent drying of ink from the recording head unit 28 and mixing of foreign matters normally, the cap holder 48 is not lowered and the cap 50 is brought into close contact with the recording head unit 28. You may keep it.

In this embodiment, the ink can be sucked from only the recording head unit 28 corresponding to the specific ink suction cap 50B among the plurality of caps 50. Therefore, the recording head carriage 14 is moved by a predetermined amount in the arrangement direction (scanning direction) of the cap 50, so that the recording head unit 28, which should suck ink, is positioned above the ink suction cap 50B. By doing so, ink can be sucked from all the recording head units 28. Of course, the entire cap 50 may be the ink suction cap 50B, and ink may be sucked from all the recording head units 28 without moving the recording head carriage 14.

As described above, in the ink suction device 10 (maintenance device 20) of the present embodiment, the cap 50 (the ink suction cap 50B) and the cap 50 to the valve 58 are separated. Since the internal volume V2 in the tubes 52 and 54 (decompression space) from the valve 58 to the pump 62 is increased rather than the internal volume V1 in the tube 52 of the negative pressure, the large negative pressure in the decompression space is increased. The negative pressure can be momentarily acted in the cap 50 by causing the valve 58 to open. For this reason, ink can be sucked in from the recording head unit 28 (particularly in the nozzle 33) with a large suction force. Since the suction of the ink is completed in a short time and the ink is not excessively sucked, the suction can be performed efficiently.

Thus, as the structure for increasing the inner volume of the ink conveying member 56 (tubes 52 and 54) from the valve 58 to the pump 62 (that is, the inner volume increasing device of the present invention), the above-described negative pressure flow ( It is not limited to 60). That is, what is necessary is just to have sufficient internal volume in order to increase the internal volume of a pressure reduction space, and to have the strength which does not produce a deformation | transformation or damage even if it reduces pressure. Therefore, for example, the tube 54 may be partially or entirely made larger, and the thickness thereof may be made thicker so that the required strength can be obtained. As a result, the elasticity of the tube 54 is also increased. There is a need to press the roller 66 more strongly. In addition, since the rigidity of the tube 54 is also high, a limitation may occur in the layout and mounting work in the housing 34. On the other hand, if the negative pressure flow 60 is provided as in the present embodiment, the tube 54 itself does not need to have the action of the content increasing device. Therefore, by setting the elasticity and the rigidity appropriately, the roller of the pump 62 is provided. The pressing force of the 66 can be made small, the degree of freedom in layout and mounting workability in the housing 34 can be increased, or the ink suction device 10 can be miniaturized.

The material of the tube 52 is not particularly limited as long as it is resistant to ink as described above. However, when the material is made of a flexible material as in the present embodiment, the layout of the housing 34 is less limited. The suction device 10 can be downsized and the workability of the mounting is improved. In addition, at least the portion opened and closed by the valve 58 (compressed and crushed) is low in elasticity compared with the other portions of the ink conveying member 56, so that the tube 52 (ink conveying member 56) with a small force is provided. It is preferable at the point which can block. In the present embodiment, the tube 52 is made less elastic than the tube 54, so that the entire portion of the ink conveying member 56 that reaches the negative pressure flow 60 from the cap 50 is formed by the ink conveying member ( It is made lower elasticity than the tube 54 which comprises the other part of 56, and the ink conveyance member 56 can be interrupted | blocked with a smaller force. Of course, you may make it low elasticity by thinning only the part pressed and crushed by the valve 58 among the tubes 52. As a specific method of making the tube 52 low elasticity, although the diameter of the tube 52 is made small and thin etc. are illustrated, it is not limited to this, For example, you may select an appropriate material and make elasticity low.

In contrast, at least a part of the portion of the ink conveying member 56 that reaches the pump 62 from the negative pressure flow 60 is higher in strength than the portion that reaches the negative pressure flow 60 from the cap 50. It is preferable to have a. That is, as described above, in the present embodiment, since the negative pressure stays in the negative pressure flow 60, the negative pressure acting on the ink conveying member 56 is small compared with the configuration in which the negative pressure flow 60 is not provided. Negative pressure rises relatively in the part which reaches the pump 62 from (circle). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the tube 54 is made thicker than the tube 52 and the strength is increased so that the ink conveyance member 56 is not deformed by the negative pressure.

The position at which the tubes 52 and 54 are connected to the negative pressure flow 60 is not particularly limited. However, in the present embodiment, when the connection position of the tube 52 is provided above the connection position of the tube 54, Since the flow of ink at the time of ink suction becomes a direction which does not interfere with gravity, it is preferable. In particular, when the connection position of the tube 54 is the bottom of the negative pressure flow 60, all of them can be discharged without remaining ink in the negative pressure flow 60, which is preferable.

The suction device of the present invention is not limited to a rotary pump such as a roller pump such as the pump 62 of the present embodiment, that is, the ink suction device of the present invention may be provided with the necessary suction capacity. Therefore, for example, a pump may be used to obtain suction by using the plunger's reciprocating motion. Using the roller pump as in the present embodiment eliminates the need for a plunger, a cylinder, or the like, and also eliminates the need for a moving space of the plunger, and can be miniaturized as a suction device. Moreover, since it can be used for the drive of a pump without converting the rotational motion of the motor 36 into another motion, since it becomes high efficiency and the suction amount can be fine-adjusted by the rotational angle of the rotating plate 64, it is preferable.

In particular, when a pigment-based ink is used, the pigment component in the ink may be fixed in the cylinder. However, in the rotary pump as in the present embodiment, since the cylinder does not exist, such a pigment component is fixed. This does not happen.

The ink suction apparatus 10 of the present invention does not necessarily need to be assembled to the maintenance apparatus 20 (inkjet recording head recovery apparatus), and is separately provided to the inkjet recording apparatus 12 separately from the maintenance apparatus 20. It may be provided, and the ink suction apparatus 10 may be comprised singly (namely, it is not assembled to another apparatus). Also in the ink suction method of the present invention, the ink suction method does not necessarily need to be performed as part of the maintenance operation, and can be applied as long as ink is sucked from the inkjet recording head (recording head unit 28).

The maintenance operation performed by the maintenance apparatus 20 in which the ink suction device 10 is assembled is also not limited to the above. For example, a so-called dummy jet for removing the clogging of the nozzle 33 may be performed together with the recording head unit 28.

In the present invention, an ink suction device which sucks ink from an ink discharge port of an ink jet recording head which discharges ink droplets to a recording medium based on image information, comprising: a gap member which abuts on the ink jet recording head so as to surround the ink discharge port; A suction device capable of sucking ink in the cap member, an ink conveying member connecting the cap member and the suction device so as to convey ink, an opening and closing member provided on the ink conveying member to open and close the ink conveying member, and the cap Since it has a content increasing device which makes the content of the ink conveying member from the opening and closing member to the suction device larger than the content of the ink conveying member from the member to the opening and closing member, the inkjet recording head is operated by momentarily applying a high suction force. Ink can be sucked efficiently from the ink discharge port.

Claims (11)

An ink suction device which sucks ink from an ink discharge port of an ink jet recording head which discharges ink droplets to a recording medium based on image information,  A cap member abutting the ink jet recording head to surround the ink discharge port;  A suction device capable of sucking ink in the cap member,  An ink conveying member for connecting ink to the cap member and the suction device so as to be able to convey ink;  An opening and closing member provided on the ink conveying member to open and close the ink conveying member;  A content increasing device that enlarges the content of the ink conveying member from the opening and closing member to the suction device, rather than the content of the ink conveying member from the cap member to the opening and closing member. An ink suction device, characterized in that it has a. The method of claim 1, The ink suction device, wherein the internal volume increasing device is a negative pressure flow member provided in the ink conveying member from the opening and closing member to the suction device. The method according to claim 1 or 2, At least a portion of the ink conveying member is made of a flexible tube. The method according to claim 1 or 2, At least a portion of the ink conveying member which is opened and closed by the opening / closing member is lower in elasticity than other portions. The method according to claim 1 or 2,  At least a part of the portion from the opening / closing member to the suction member of the ink conveying member is higher in strength than the other portion. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Ink suction device, characterized in that the suction device is a rotary pump. The method according to claim 1 or 2, An ink inlet through which the ink conveying member from the cap member to the subsidiary flow member is connected to the subsidiary pressure member, and an ink outlet through which the ink conveying member from the subsidiary pressure member to the suction device is connected,  The ink suction device is provided below the ink inlet. The method of claim 7, wherein And the ink outlet is provided at the bottom of the negative flow member. An ink jet recording head recovery device comprising the ink suction device according to claim 1. An inkjet recording head which performs image recording by ejecting ink droplets onto the recording medium in accordance with the image information; An inkjet recording apparatus comprising the inkjet recording head recovery device according to claim 9. An ink suction method for sucking ink at an ink discharge port of an ink jet recording head by the ink suction device according to claim 1 or 2,  A contacting step of bringing the gap member into contact with the inkjet recording head so as to surround the ink ejection opening;  A closing step of closing the ink conveying member by the opening / closing member;  A driving step of driving the suction device;  Opening process of opening the said ink conveying member by making the said opening-closing member open after the drive stop of the said suction device. Ink suction method characterized by having a.

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