KR20020009010A - A cleaning apparatus for recording head of ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A cleaner for the recording head of an ink jet printer is provided to effectively clean the recording head of an ink jet printer by using a specific liquid when the emission port of the recording head is contaminated with the dried contaminants. CONSTITUTION: A cleaner for the recording head(10) of an ink jet printer comprises a cap(20) closely adhered to a recording head to form a closed space(21) around an emission port(11), a cleaning liquid supply unit for supplying a cleaning liquid into the closed space, an oscillating unit for removing the contaminants stuck on the emission port employing the cleaning liquid by vibrating in the closed space, and a suction unit for sucking the fluid including the cleaning liquid from the closed space. The cleaning liquid supply unit consists of a cleaning liquid storage container(30) and a solenoid valve(31). The suction unit consists of a bellows tube(40) connected with the closed space, a waste tank(47) connected with the bellows tube and a driving unit for sucking the fluid from the closed space by shrinking and expanding the bellows tube. The oscillating unit is a piezoelectric element(23) of which middle portion vibrates. The contaminants stuck on the emission port are removed by the vibration of the piezoelectric element. Therefore, the recording head is cleaned even when the emission port is dried.

Description

A cleaning apparatus for recording head of ink jet printer

The present invention relates to a recording head cleaning apparatus of an ink jet printer, and more particularly, to a recording head cleaning apparatus of an ink jet printer improved to be able to be washed with water.

In general, an inkjet printer is an apparatus for printing a predetermined image by releasing droplets of printing ink to a desired position on a recording sheet, and as shown in FIG. 1, a recording head 1 for emitting ink droplets and A carriage (3) mounted on the recording head (1) and moving left and right along the guide rail (2), a scan belt (4) and a scan motor (5) for driving the carriage (3), and the carriage A cap 6 which closes the discharge port 1a (see FIG. 2) of the recording head 1 in a dry position when (3) is in standby at the home position, and is connected to the cap 6 to the discharge port 1a. Suction means (7) for sucking foreign matters from the head is provided.

Here, the cap 6 and the suction means 7 are a type of cleaning device for preventing the discharge port 1a of the recording head 1 from drying out and clogging while the printing operation is stopped. It consists of a system as shown. First, the cap 6 is supported by the holder 6a and moved back and forth in the direction of arrow A or B in the figure. When the recording head 1 is printing, it retreats in the direction of arrow B, and waits. When the recording head 1 returns to the home position, it advances in the direction of arrow A to be in close contact with the surface on which the discharge port 1a is formed. The suction means 7 includes a connector 7a coupled to the cap 6, a suction pump 7b, and a tube 7c connecting the connector 7a and the suction pump 7b. And a waste ink processing unit 7d for accommodating the contents sucked from the cap 6 by the suction pump 7b. Therefore, when the recording head 1 is positioned at the home position, the cap 6 moves forward and closely adheres to the recording head 1 to seal the discharge port 1a to the outside air, and the suction pump 7b is operated at this time. As a result, the remaining bubbles or the foreign matter including the ink residues remaining in the discharge port 1a are sucked out and sent to the waste ink processing unit 7d.

However, even if the cap 6 is put on the discharge port 1a, a small amount of air may seep through and contact with each other, so that the discharge port 1a gradually dries up when the waiting time without printing is prolonged. do. If the discharge port 1a is gradually dried over time and the ink therein becomes completely hardened, ink is not easily discharged thereafter, and the solidified ink is easily sucked up even when the suction pump 7b is operated. Do not lose.

Therefore, there is a need for a recording head cleaning apparatus that can cope effectively with such a situation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a recording head cleaning apparatus of an inkjet printer which can effectively clean the discharge port of a recording head even in a dried state.

1 is a view showing an inkjet printer employing a conventional recording head cleaning apparatus;

2 is a view showing the cleaning device shown in FIG.

3 shows a recording head cleaning apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the suction means of the recording head cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing oscillation means in the recording head cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 3;

6a to 6c is a view showing a process of deforming the piezoelectric element of the oscillation means shown in FIG.

7 is a view showing a deformable example of the oscillation means shown in FIG.

8a and 8b are views showing the operation of the suction means shown in FIG.

Fig. 9 shows a recording head cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10.Recording head 11 ... Discharge port

20 ... cap 21 ... space

22 Sponge 23 Piezoelectric element

30.Reservoir 31.Valve

40 Bellows tube 47 Waste tank

The recording head cleaning apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object is for cleaning the discharge port of the recording head from which the ink is discharged, the cap being in close contact with the recording head to form a sealed space around the discharge port; Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying the cleaning liquid into the space portion, oscillating means installed in the space portion to vibrate the cleaning liquid to shake off the foreign matter stuck to the discharge port, and fluid containing the cleaning liquid from the space portion It characterized in that it comprises a suction means for sucking and removing.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a recording head cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, first, when the recording head 10 is positioned at the home position, the recording head 10 is brought into close contact with the formation surface of the discharge port 11 of the recording head 10, whereby the space 21 sealed around the discharge port 11 is formed. Cap 20 is provided to form. The cap 20 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid into the space 21 and a suction means for sucking fluid from the space 21.

The cleaning liquid supply means includes a storage tank 30 in which the cleaning liquid is stored, and a solenoid valve 31 disposed between the storage tank 30 and the cap 20 to adjust whether the cleaning liquid passes. Various liquids may be used as the cleaning liquid, but here, the use of general water as the cleaning liquid will be exemplified. And the drive source for pulling up the water in this reservoir 30 to the space part 21 of the cap 20 will share the thing of the suction means described below.

The suction means contracts and expands the bellows tube 40 connected to the space 21 through a connecting hose, the waste tank 47 connected to the bellows tube 40, and the bellows tube 40. It comprises a drive unit for sucking the fluid from the space 21 to send to the waste tank (40).

In this case, the driving unit simultaneously generates a force that pulls the water of the reservoir 30 into the space 21 as described above, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bellows tube 40. A base plate 41 for fixing and supporting one end of the elevating plate 42 and a lifting plate 42 formed at the other end of the bellows tube 40 and having a through hole 42a communicating with the inside of the bellows tube 40. Guide pins 43 for lifting and lowering the elevating plate 42 relative to the base plate 41, and rotatably installed at the hinge coupling portion 42b of the elevating plate 42, and one end thereof is rotated. A driving lever 44 for selectively opening and closing the through hole 42a, a press lever 45 coupled to the other end of the drive lever 44, and a press lever 45 coupled to the other end of the press lever 45; Rotating rotating plate 48 and the rotating plate 48 when rotating It is configured to include a driving motor 46. Therefore, when the rotating plate 48 is rotated by the drive motor 46, the pressure lever 45 coupled thereto is moved up and down, and at this time, the drive lever 44 and the lifting plate connected to the pressure lever 45. 42 moves up and down to deflate and expand the bellows tube 40. When the pressure lever 45 pushes up the drive lever 44, the drive lever 44 is raised while the one end rotates in the direction of opening the through hole 42a. It comes down while rotating in the closing direction.

On the other hand, in the space portion 21 of the cap 20, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, a piezoelectric element 23 that vibrates while being reversibly deformed when a voltage is applied is provided as an oscillating means. Both ends of the piezoelectric element 23 are fixed to the inner wall of the cap 20, so that the center portion of the piezoelectric element 23 is bent up and down and vibrated as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C. However, as shown in FIG. 7, only one end of the piezoelectric element 23 ′ may be fixed, and the other free end may be bent up and down to vibrate. When the piezoelectric element 23 vibrates as described above, the vibration is transmitted to the discharge port 11 through the water supplied in the space 21 so that the foreign matter stuck to the discharge port 11 around the vibration port is affected by the vibration. Will fall. And the sponge 22 is provided on the piezoelectric element 23, so that the vibration of the piezoelectric element 23 can be more effectively transmitted to the discharge port (11). Reference numeral 20a denotes an air hole.

In the above configuration, when the recording head 10 is positioned at the home position, the cap 20 is brought into close contact with the formation surface of the discharge port 11 of the recording head 10, and in this state, the bellows tube 40 of the suction means. ) Draws water in the reservoir 30 into the space 21 while repeating contraction and expansion, and sucks water mixed with foreign matter from the space 21 into the waste tank 47. . Of course, the piezoelectric element 23 is vibrating at this time.

Looking at the operation of the bellows tube 40 in more detail, it consists of the operation shown in Figure 8a and 8b. First, when the pressure lever 45 is raised while the rotating plate 48 is rotated by the drive motor 46, as shown in FIG. 8A, the drive lever 44 coupled with the pressure lever 45 and the drive are driven. The lifting plate 42 coupled to the lever 44 all rises together and contracts the bellows tube 40. Accordingly, the fluid introduced into the bellows tube 40 is pushed out to the waste tank 47 through the connection hose. In this case, the driving lever 44 is rotated slightly in the clockwise direction of the drawing by the rising of the pressure lever 45, so that the through hole 42a is opened so that air can escape during contraction.

Subsequently, when the rotating plate 48 rotates 180 ° and the pressure lever 45 descends to the state shown in FIG. 8B, the driving lever 44 and the lifting plate 42 are also lowered to extend the bellows tube 40. At this time, since the through-hole 42a is blocked while the drive lever 44 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, negative pressure is formed in the bellows tube 40 by the increased space. The negative pressure causes the fluid to be sucked out of the space 21 of the cap 20 toward the bellows tube 40. If the valve 31 of the cleaning liquid supply means is opened, the water in the reservoir 30 is also increased. It is attracted to the space 21.

Therefore, when such an operation is repeated according to the rotation of the rotary plate 48, water is supplied to the space portion 21 of the cap 20 while the piezoelectric element 23 is vibrated and drained to the waste tank 47. The cleaning operation is performed continuously. Therefore, in the structure of this invention, since vibration washing with water is possible, even if the discharge port 11 dries and dries, it can fully remove it.

Such a cleaning apparatus of the present invention may be configured to be used in four modes. First, the valve 31 of the cleaning liquid supply means may be divided into a case of using in an open state and a case of using in a closed state. Since the valve 31 is in the open state, the water is supplied to the cap 20 space 21 and is cleaned, which is the same as the above-described embodiment, and since the water is not supplied in the cloth state, the conventional simple suction described in FIG. The way is done. Therefore, when the cleaning period is short, suction is performed while the valve 31 is closed. Otherwise, when the discharge port 11 is dried, the valve 31 is opened to wash the water. Can be selected. Each of these modes can be divided into a mode in which the cap 20 is in close contact with the recording head 10 and a mode in which the cap 20 is not in close contact with the recording head 10. The state in which the cap 20 is in close contact with the recording head 10 is performed to clean the area around the discharge port 11 as in the above-described embodiment, and the operation in the non-close state is performed by the cleaning apparatus including each connection hose. This is done to remove foreign substances in the pipeline. In this way, the cleaning operation can be divided into four modes of opening / closing the valve 31 and closing / disconnecting the cap 20 to select and operate the required mode.

In addition, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention may optionally be configured as shown in FIG. 9. This omits the reservoir and the valve which are the cleaning liquid supply means in the above embodiment. In this case, the ink sucked from the discharge port 11 wets the sponge 22 according to the contraction and expansion of the bellows tube 40. In this state, when the piezoelectric element 23 oscillates, the sponge 22 is wetted with the sponge 22. The ink ink acts as a vibration transmission medium to shake off foreign matters around the discharge port 11. To this end, by installing a suction valve 49 on the pipeline, while the piezoelectric element 23 is vibrating, the ink is moistened with the sponge 22 to close the pipeline so as to act as a vibration transmission medium, After the end, the suction valve 49 may be opened and sucked out into the waste tank 47. Of course, in such a configuration, since no cleaning liquid is supplied as compared with the above-described embodiment, a cleaner cleaning cannot be expected. However, if necessary, the cleaning operation can be performed by using the ink sucked from the discharge port 11 as a vibration transmission medium without installing a separate equipment for supplying water. In the case of washing with water, there is a possibility that water buried around the discharge port 11 may be mixed and the color may be blurred when the next printing is performed, but such a problem does not occur when the configuration shown in FIG. 9 is selected.

Since the recording head cleaning apparatus of the inkjet printer according to the present invention as described above can clean the vicinity of the discharge port by vibration through a predetermined liquid, the discharge port can be sufficiently removed even if the discharge port is dried and various foreign substances dry out. There are advantages to it.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that described above and illustrated in the drawings, and that more modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (10)

For cleaning the discharge port of the recording head from which ink is discharged, A cap in close contact with the recording head to form a sealed space around the discharge port; Washing liquid supply means for supplying a washing liquid into the space part; An oscillation means installed in the space part and vibrating to induce the cleaning liquid to shake off the foreign matter stuck to the discharge port; And suction means for suctioning and removing the fluid including the cleaning liquid from the space portion. The method of claim 1, The cleaning liquid supply means, A storage tank in which the cleaning liquid is stored; And a valve installed between the reservoir and the cap so as to be openable and closed to control the supply of the cleaning liquid. The method of claim 1, The oscillation means, And a piezoelectric element that reversibly deforms and vibrates upon application of a voltage. The method of claim 1, The suction means, A bellows tube connected to the space part, A driving unit generating a pressure difference for sucking fluid from the space by contracting and expanding the bellows tube; And a waste tank connected to the bellows tube to receive the fluid sucked from the space portion. The method of claim 4, wherein The drive unit, A base plate fixedly supporting one end of the bellows tube; An elevating plate provided at the other end of the bellows tube and having a through hole communicating with the inside of the bellows tube; A guide pin supporting the lifting plate in a liftable manner with respect to the base plate; A driving lever rotatably installed on the elevating plate, the one end portion selectively opening and closing the through hole during rotation; A press lever having one end coupled to the other end of the driving lever; Rotating plate coupled to the other end of the pressure lever to rotate, the driving lever and the lifting plate connected to the pressure lever, and at the same time, while rotating the drive lever to open and close the through hole, And a drive motor for rotating and driving the rotating plate. The method of claim 1, And a sponge is installed in the space portion. For cleaning the discharge port of the recording head from which ink is discharged, A cap in close contact with the recording head to form a sealed space around the discharge port; A sponge installed in the space to wet ink sucked from the discharge port; An oscillation means installed in the space and vibrating to shake off the foreign matter adhering to the discharge port by using the ink dipped in the sponge as a vibration transmission medium; And a suction means for sucking the fluid from the space part. The method of claim 7, wherein The oscillation means, And a piezoelectric element that reversibly deforms and vibrates upon application of a voltage. The method of claim 7, wherein The suction means, A bellows tube connected to the space part, A driving unit generating a pressure difference for sucking fluid from the space by contracting and expanding the bellows tube; And a waste tank connected to the bellows tube to receive the fluid sucked from the space portion. The method of claim 9, The drive unit, A base plate fixedly supporting one end of the bellows tube; An elevating plate provided at the other end of the bellows tube and having a through hole communicating with the inside of the bellows tube; A guide pin supporting the lifting plate in a liftable manner with respect to the base plate; A driving lever rotatably installed on the elevating plate, the one end portion selectively opening and closing the through hole during rotation; A press lever having one end coupled to the other end of the driving lever; Rotating plate coupled to the other end of the pressure lever to rotate, the driving lever and the lifting plate connected to the pressure lever, and at the same time, while rotating the drive lever to open and close the through hole, And a drive motor for rotating and driving the rotating plate.