WO2020121601A1 - Inkjet recording device and method for cleaning inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Inkjet recording device and method for cleaning inkjet recording device Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2020121601A1
WO2020121601A1 PCT/JP2019/032965 JP2019032965W WO2020121601A1 WO 2020121601 A1 WO2020121601 A1 WO 2020121601A1 JP 2019032965 W JP2019032965 W JP 2019032965W WO 2020121601 A1 WO2020121601 A1 WO 2020121601A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
ink
cleaning
cleaning liquid
print head
recording apparatus
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/JP2019/032965
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French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
達夫 松本
光雄 猪狩
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株式会社日立産機システム
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Publication of WO2020121601A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020121601A1/en

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/165—Preventing or detecting of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/18—Ink recirculation systems
    • B41J2/185—Ink-collectors; Ink-catchers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a continuous type inkjet recording device and a cleaning method for the inkjet recording device.
  • ⁇ Continuous system inkjet recording devices are equipped with an ink supply circuit that supplies ink to the nozzles in the print head.
  • the ink supply circuit supplies an ink supply path for supplying the ink in the ink container provided in the main body to the print head, a supply pump provided in the middle of the ink supply path, and supplies and stops the ink in the path. It is composed of an on-off valve (supply valve) to be controlled.
  • the print head is a nozzle that ejects the supplied ink into ink particles and ejects the ink, a charging electrode that imparts a charge to the ejected ink, and a deflection electrode that deflects the charged ink particles to fly and land on a print target.
  • An ink recovery circuit is provided to recover the ink captured by the gutter in the ink container and reuse it.
  • the ink recovery circuit includes a recovery path for supplying the ink captured by the gutter to the ink container in the main body, a recovery pump provided in the middle of the recovery path, and an opening/closing valve (recovery valve).
  • the main body and the print head are connected by a cable.
  • the length of the cable is generally about 2 to 6 [m].
  • the inside of the print head is cleaned when printing is completed and the time until the start of the next printing is expected to be a certain time or more.
  • the cleaning is performed by "cleaning the inside of the nozzle" for cleaning the ink flow path inside the nozzle and “cleaning the inside of the print head” for cleaning the ink ejection port of the nozzle, the charging electrode, the deflection electrode and the like.
  • a technique for cleaning the inside of the nozzle and the inside of the print head is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-136934 (Patent Document 1).
  • Patent Document 1 describes that the cleaning of the inside of the print head is performed by using a cleaning nozzle, but how to collect the cleaning liquid remaining at the bottom of the inside of the print head after the cleaning is performed. Is not described.
  • the cleaning liquid remaining inside the print head can be collected on the main body side by providing a dedicated collecting circuit for collecting the cleaning liquid, but in that case, the piping inside the cable increases and the size increases.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording apparatus and a cleaning method for an inkjet recording apparatus that can reliably collect the cleaning liquid after cleaning the inside of the print head to the main body side without increasing the number of pipes in the cable. Is to provide.
  • the present invention uses a main body that supplies ink and a solvent to a print head, the print head that receives the supply of the ink to perform printing, and the print head.
  • An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a gutter that captures the ink that has not been captured and an ink recovery circuit that recovers the ink captured by the gutter in the main body, and supplies the solvent to a cleaning nozzle during cleaning. Then, a cleaning circuit for cleaning the inside of the print head and a cleaning liquid introducing unit for guiding the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head to the ink recovery circuit by the cleaning by the cleaning nozzle are provided and introduced into the cleaning liquid introducing unit. It is an inkjet recording device that collects the cleaning liquid in the main body using the ink recovery circuit.
  • a main body that supplies ink and a solvent to a print head, the print head that receives the ink and prints, and the print head A method for cleaning an inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a gutter that captures the ink that has not been used for the ink, and an ink recovery circuit that recovers the ink captured by the gutter in the main body.
  • a gutter that captures the ink that has not been used for the ink
  • an ink recovery circuit that recovers the ink captured by the gutter in the main body.
  • the present invention is configured so that the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head is guided into the ink recovery circuit by the cleaning liquid introducing portion, the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head is reliably recovered in the main body without increasing the number of pipes. be able to.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a basic printing configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control unit in the embodiment shown in FIG.
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of the cleaning liquid introducing unit in the embodiment shown in FIG.
  • FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of the cleaning liquid introducing section in the embodiment shown in FIG.
  • FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of printing.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control unit in the first embodiment (FIG. 1) of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are diagrams illustrating a specific configuration example of the cleaning liquid introducing unit in the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 1 is a main body of an inkjet recording apparatus
  • 2 is a print head
  • 4 is a cable (conduit).
  • the main body 1 and the print head 2 are controlled by a control unit 3 described later.
  • the main body 1 is provided with a main ink container 18, an auxiliary ink container 19, a solvent container 20, and a cleaning liquid recovery container 21.
  • the ink 7A in the main ink container 18 can be supplied to the nozzles 8 in the print head 2 through the ink supply path 51.
  • the ink supply path 51 is provided with a viscosity measuring device 48, a supply valve (open/close valve) 34, a supply pump 24, a filter 28, a pressure reducing valve 33, a pressure gauge 31, and an open/close valve 35, and these constitute an ink supply circuit.
  • a viscosity measuring device 48 a viscosity measuring device 48
  • a supply valve (open/close valve) 34 a supply pump 24, a filter 28, a pressure reducing valve 33, a pressure gauge 31, and an open/close valve 35, and these constitute an ink supply circuit.
  • the on-off valve used in this embodiment is an electromagnetic type (electromagnetic valve).
  • the ink supplied to the nozzle 8 installed in the print head 2 is ejected as ink particles by the nozzle 8.
  • the ink particles are charged by the charging electrode 11 and deflected by the deflection electrode 12. Then, the deflected ink particles adhere (land) to an object to be printed (not shown), and printing is performed on the object to be printed.
  • Reference numeral 5 is a charge amount sensor. The detailed description of the printing operation will be described later.
  • Ink particles that have not been charged by the charging electrode 11 go straight through the electrode and are captured by the gutter 14.
  • the ink captured by the gutter 14 is recovered in the main ink container 18 by an ink recovery circuit including the recovery path 61, the filter 30, the opening/closing valve 36, the recovery pump 25, and the opening/closing valve 41.
  • the amount of the ink 7A in the main ink container 18 is measured by the liquid level sensor 46, and when the liquid level becomes lower than a predetermined value due to ink consumption, the ink in the auxiliary ink container 19 is replenished.
  • Ink replenishment can be performed by a configuration in which the replenishment path 52 joins the ink supply path 51 at the input side of the supply pump 24. That is, at the time of ink replenishment, the opening/closing valve 37 provided in the middle of the replenishment path 52 is controlled to the open state, and the supply valve 34 is controlled to the closed state.
  • the supplementary ink in the auxiliary ink container 19 is pressure-fed by the drive of the supply pump 24, and is ejected from the nozzles 8 in the print head 2 and captured by the gutter 14.
  • the supplementary ink captured by the gutter 14 flows into the ink recovery circuit, passes through the recovery path 61, and is supplied to the main ink container 18 via the filter 30, the opening/closing valve 36, the recovery pump 25, and the opening/closing valve 41. To be done.
  • the series of operations (controls) are executed by the control unit 3. Detailed description of the control unit 3 will be given later.
  • the viscosity of the ink 7A is measured by the viscosity measuring device 48, and when the viscosity becomes a predetermined value or more, the solvent in the solvent container 20 is composed of the intensification liquid pump 27, the solvent supply path 81, and the opening/closing valve 38.
  • the solvent is supplied to the main ink container 18 by the solvent supply circuit, and the viscosity is adjusted. Further, in this embodiment, in order to make the cleaning liquid (solvent as a main component) recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 available for adjusting the viscosity of the ink, the supply path 84, the on-off valve 43 provided in the path 84, and the adjustment. And a pump 22. These series of controls are performed by the control unit 3.
  • FIG. 1 it has a function of performing “cleaning of the inside of the nozzle” for cleaning the inside of the nozzle 8 and “cleaning of the inside of the print head” for cleaning the inside of the print head 2.
  • a cleaning solvent supply path 82 branched from the solvent supply path 81 is provided, and the cleaning solvent supply path 82 is connected via the opening/closing valve 44. And merges with the ink supply path 51.
  • the intensifying liquid pump 27 is driven and the opening/closing valve 44 is opened (at this time, the opening/closing valve 35, the opening/closing valve 38, and the opening/closing valve 39 are closed), so that the solvent is supplied to the nozzle 8 to perform cleaning inside the nozzle.
  • Control of these pumps and on-off valves is executed by the control unit 3 described later.
  • the cleaning liquid washed with the solvent is captured by the gutter 14, passes through the gutter 14, and is constituted by an ink recovery circuit (in this embodiment, a recovery path 61, a filter 30, an opening/closing valve (recovery valve) 36, and a recovery pump 25. Is used to pass through the cleaning liquid recovery circuit and is recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21.
  • the cleaning liquid recovery circuit is composed of a cleaning liquid recovery path 62 branched from a recovery path 61 and an opening/closing valve 40 on the output side of the recovery pump 25.
  • the structure for cleaning the inside of the print head is as follows. That is, the solvent in the solvent container 20 is supplied to the cleaning nozzle 15 provided in the print head 2 via the cleaning liquid supply path 83 branched from the cleaning solvent supply path 82. The cleaning nozzle 15 ejects the supplied solvent into the print head to clean the inside of the print head.
  • An on-off valve 39 is provided in the middle of the cleaning liquid supply path 83 in order to perform cleaning for a necessary time when needed. The control of these pumps and on-off valves is carried out by the control of the control unit 3.
  • the cleaning liquid that has cleaned the inside of the print head 2 drops inside the print head 2 and collects at the bottom, but a cleaning liquid introduction unit 100 is provided to guide this cleaning liquid to the ink recovery circuit.
  • the cleaning liquid introducing unit 100 is configured by a gutter moving device 110 that moves the gutter 14 in the embodiment shown in FIG.
  • Reference numeral 120 denotes a reservoir provided to efficiently collect the cleaning liquid remaining on the bottom of the print head 2 (specifically, the bottom of the print head cover).
  • the air inflow path 85, the air pump 23, and the air nozzle 16 are provided to dry the inside of the print head 2 after the cleaning operation.
  • FIG. 2 mainly describes the devices related to the printing operation in the configuration of FIG. 1, the same devices as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the configuration will be omitted.
  • 9 is an electrostrictive element that vibrates at a predetermined frequency when a voltage is applied
  • 7B is an ink column
  • 7C is an ink particle.
  • the ink 7A in the main ink container 18 is sucked and pressurized by the supply pump 24 and supplied to the nozzles 8 and is discharged from the nozzles 8 as ink columns 7B.
  • the nozzle 8 is provided with an electrostrictive element 9, and vibrates the ink at a predetermined frequency to atomize the ink columns 7B ejected from the nozzle 8.
  • the number of the ink particles 7C generated by this is determined by the frequency of the nozzle drive voltage (excitation voltage) applied to the electrostrictive element 9, and is the same number as that frequency.
  • the ink particles 7C are applied with a voltage having a magnitude corresponding to the print information by the charging electrode 11 to be given an electric charge.
  • the ink particles 7C charged by the charging electrode 11 fly in the electric field between the deflection electrodes 12.
  • the deflection electric field is formed between the high-voltage electrode to which a high voltage of 5 to 6 [kV] is applied and the grounded ground electrode, and the charged ink particles 7C receive a force proportional to the charge amount. And deflects to fly to the print target 13 and land.
  • the landing position of the ink particles 7C in the deflecting direction changes according to the charge amount, and the production line moves the print target 13 in the direction orthogonal to the deflecting direction, so that the ink particle 7C also moves in the direction orthogonal to the deflecting direction. It becomes possible to land particles.
  • a character is composed of a plurality of landed ink particles, and the character is printed.
  • the non-charged ink particles 7C that have not been used for printing fly linearly between the deflection electrodes 12, are captured by the gutter 14, and are collected in the main ink container 18 via the ink recovery circuit.
  • reference numeral 301 is an MPU (micro processing unit).
  • the MPU 301 determines the operation of the entire control unit based on a built-in program, data, etc., and outputs a control command to each control circuit.
  • 302 is a ROM (Read Only Memory).
  • the ROM 302 stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the MPU 301.
  • Reference numeral 303 is a RAM (random access memory). The RAM 303 temporarily stores data and the like necessary for control.
  • 304 is an operation display unit.
  • the operation display unit 304 gives an operation instruction to the control unit 3 and displays operation contents and the like.
  • a video RAM 305 stores video data for charging the ink particles 7C.
  • Reference numeral 306 is a nozzle drive circuit for driving the nozzle 8.
  • Reference numeral 307 is a charging voltage generation circuit that uses video data as a charging signal.
  • Reference numeral 308 is a deflection voltage generation circuit.
  • Reference numeral 309 is a charge amount amplifier circuit, and the charge amount is controlled by the detection value of the charge amount sensor 5.
  • a pump control circuit 320 controls all the pumps in FIG. The pump control circuit 320 controls the start/stop of the pump based on the control command from the MPU 301.
  • 330 is a valve control circuit.
  • the valve control circuit 330 controls opening/closing and switching of all the valves in FIG. 1 based on the control command of the MPU 301.
  • Reference numeral 340 is a mobile device control circuit.
  • the moving device control circuit 340 controls the gutter moving device 110 of FIG. 1 according to the control command of the MPU 301.
  • Reference numeral 310 is a bus for transmitting data and signals between the constituent devices in the control unit.
  • the MPU 301 outputs a control command to each device in the control unit via this bus.
  • the cleaning liquid (mainly composed of a solvent) after the nozzle cleaning is captured by the gutter 14 and recovered in the main body 1 by the ink recovery circuit, as in the case of the ink recovery.
  • the cleaning liquid captured by the gutter 14 is taken into the main body using the recovery path 61, the filter 30, the open/close valve 36 (open), and the recovery pump 25 (drive). Then, it is further recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 via the cleaning liquid recovery path 62 branched from the recovery path 61 and the opening/closing valve 40 (open).
  • These series of controls are executed by the control unit 3 in FIG.
  • the MPU 301 outputs a control command to the pump control circuit 320 and the valve control circuit 330, and the pump control circuit 320 and the valve control circuit 330 relate each pump and each on-off valve based on this control command. To control.
  • the inside of the print head 2 is cleaned (cleaning of the print head).
  • the intensification liquid pump 27 in the middle of the solvent supply path 81 is driven and the opening/closing valve 39 is opened to supply the solvent to the cleaning nozzle 15, and the cleaning nozzle 15 ejects the solvent into the print head.
  • the solvent is ejected from the cleaning nozzle 15 to clean the discharge port of the nozzle 8, the charging electrode 11, the deflection electrode 12, the gutter 14, and the like.
  • the open/close valve 44 is closed.
  • the cleaning liquid used to clean the inside of the print head remains (falls) at the bottom of the print head, so it cannot be captured by the gutter 14 as it is.
  • the remaining cleaning liquid is stored in the recessed liquid storage portion 120 provided at the bottom of the print head. Therefore, in order to capture the cleaning liquid remaining in the liquid storage unit 120 with the gutter 14, the gutter moving device 110 moves the gutter 14 downward. As a result, the cleaning liquid can be captured by the gutter 14, and the cleaning liquid remaining in the liquid storage section 120 can be guided into the ink recovery circuit (recovery path 61).
  • the print head cover that covers the print head 2 has a closed structure (at least the lower part of the print head is a closed structure) so that the cleaning liquid does not leak out.
  • the gutter moving device 110 As the gutter moving device 110, the gutter 14 is rotationally moved to receive the cleaning liquid at the bottom of the print head.
  • the gutter 14 is attached to the L-shaped shaft 111, and the gutter 14 is rotationally moved by the rotational driving force of the motor 113 supplied via the bearing 112. By this rotation operation, the gutter 14 can be moved to a position for receiving the cleaning liquid remaining in the liquid storage portion 120 provided at the bottom of the print head.
  • the gutter moving device 110 may be capable of moving the gutter vertically as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the motor 116 rotates the spline shaft 114, and the spline nut 115 moves the gutter 14 in the vertical direction.
  • the gutter moving device may be other than these. With such a gutter moving device 110, the gutter 14 can be lowered to a position where the cleaning liquid can be captured, and the cleaning liquid can be introduced into the ink recovery circuit.
  • the recovery of the cleaning liquid introduced into the ink recovery circuit to the main body side is the same as the recovery of the cleaning liquid when cleaning the inside of the nozzle. That is, it is recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 via the filter 30, the open/close valve 36 (open), the recovery pump 25 (drive) via the recovery route 61, and further via the cleaning liquid recovery route 62 and the open/close valve 40 (open). It These series of controls are executed by the control unit 3 in FIG.
  • the print head 2 is usually provided with a slit through which ink particles for printing pass. When cleaning the peripheral portion of the nozzle, the cleaning liquid may leak from the slit, so it is preferable to close the slit.
  • the cleaning liquid remaining at the bottom of the print head is exclusively collected by simply adding a simple structure for moving the gutter when cleaning the inside of the print head. Since the ink can be led to the ink collecting circuit without providing a circuit, the ink can be reliably collected in the main body by using the ink collecting circuit.
  • FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 6 are the same as those in FIG. 1, and the description thereof is omitted. Further, the series of controls shown in FIG. 6 is performed by the control unit, but the configuration of the control unit 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. Here, the description of FIG. 6 will be focused on the content different from that of FIG.
  • the configuration of the cleaning liquid introducing unit 100 is different from that of the embodiment of FIG.
  • the cleaning liquid introduction unit 100 in FIG. 6 has a suction port 130 installed at a position where the cleaning liquid in the liquid storage unit 120 provided at the bottom of the print head 2 can be sucked, and is collected from the suction port 130 via the suction path 140.
  • a switching valve 150 is installed so that it can communicate with the path 61.
  • the cleaning liquid that has cleaned the inside of the print head 2 with the cleaning nozzle 15 is stored in the liquid storage unit 120. By switching the switching valve 150 to the suction path 140 side, the stored cleaning liquid can be sucked in from the suction port 130 and flow into the ink recovery circuit.
  • the switching valve 150 is switched to the suction path 140 side, the recovery pump 25 is driven, and the opening/closing valve 36 and the opening/closing valve 40 are opened. At this time, the on-off valve 41 is closed.
  • the cleaning liquid is recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 via the recovery route 61 and the cleaning liquid recovery route 62.
  • the switching valve 150 is an electromagnetic valve (electromagnetic valve) operated by the control unit 3 in this embodiment, but a manual valve may be used. Moreover, instead of the switching valve, an on-off valve may be used to guide the recovery path 61. That is, it can be implemented by providing a valve that allows the cleaning liquid in the suction path 140 to flow into the ink recovery circuit.
  • the cleaning liquid can be introduced into the ink recovery circuit simply by switching the switching valve, the structure becomes simpler, and the cleaning liquid staying at the bottom of the print head is collected in the exclusive recovery circuit. It is possible to surely collect in the main body without providing.

Abstract

Provided is an inkjet recording device with which it is possible to recover cleaning fluid to a body side after a printing head interior is cleaned, without increasing the number of tubes inside a cable.　For this purpose there are provided a cleaning circuit that supplies a solvent to a cleaning nozzle and performs cleaning of the printing head interior, and a cleaning fluid introduction part that guides the cleaning fluid accumulated in the bottom part inside the printing head after cleaning to an ink recovery circuit. The cleaning fluid introduced into the cleaning fluid introduction unit is then guided to the ink recovery circuit, and the ink recovery circuit is used to recover the cleaning fluid into the body. This makes it possible to reliably recover cleaning fluid remaining inside the printing head into the body without increasing the number of tubes.

Description

インクジェット記録装置およびインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法Inkjet recording apparatus and method for cleaning inkjet recording apparatus
　本発明は、コンティニュアス方式のインクジェット記録装置およびインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法に関する。 The present invention relates to a continuous type inkjet recording device and a cleaning method for the inkjet recording device.
　コンティニュアス方式のインクジェット記録装置は、インクを印字ヘッド内のノズルに供給するためのインク供給回路を備えている。インク供給回路は、本体内に設けられるインク容器内のインクを印字ヘッドに供給するインク供給用経路と、インク供給用経路の途中に設けられた供給ポンプと、経路内のインクの供給と停止を制御する開閉弁（供給弁）とから構成される。印字ヘッドは、供給されたインクをインク粒子にして噴出するノズルと、噴出されたインクに電荷を付与する帯電電極と、帯電されたインク粒子を偏向して被印字対象に飛翔させ着弾させる偏向電極と、帯電電極により帯電されないインク粒子を捕捉する（受取る）ガターとを有する。また、このガターにより捕捉されたインクをインク容器に回収して再利用するために、インク回収回路が設けられている。インク回収回路は、ガターで捕捉したインクを本体内のインク容器まで供給する回収用経路と、回収用経路の途中に設けた回収ポンプと、開閉弁（回収弁）とから構成される。そして、本体と印字ヘッド間は、ケーブルで接続されている。ケーブルの長さは一般的に２～６［ｍ］程度である。 ㆍContinuous system inkjet recording devices are equipped with an ink supply circuit that supplies ink to the nozzles in the print head. The ink supply circuit supplies an ink supply path for supplying the ink in the ink container provided in the main body to the print head, a supply pump provided in the middle of the ink supply path, and supplies and stops the ink in the path. It is composed of an on-off valve (supply valve) to be controlled. The print head is a nozzle that ejects the supplied ink into ink particles and ejects the ink, a charging electrode that imparts a charge to the ejected ink, and a deflection electrode that deflects the charged ink particles to fly and land on a print target. And a gutter that captures (receives) ink particles that are not charged by the charging electrode. An ink recovery circuit is provided to recover the ink captured by the gutter in the ink container and reuse it. The ink recovery circuit includes a recovery path for supplying the ink captured by the gutter to the ink container in the main body, a recovery pump provided in the middle of the recovery path, and an opening/closing valve (recovery valve). The main body and the print head are connected by a cable. The length of the cable is generally about 2 to 6 [m].
　このようなインクジェット記録装置では、印字が終了し、次の印字開始までの時間が一定以上の時間が想定される場合には印字ヘッド内の洗浄が行われる。洗浄は、ノズル内部のインク流路を洗浄する「ノズル内部洗浄」と、ノズルのインク噴出口、帯電電極、偏向電極などを洗浄する「印字ヘッド内部洗浄」とが行われている。ノズル内部洗浄と、印字ヘッド内部洗浄を行っている技術は、例えば、特開２０１５－１３６９３４号公報（特許文献１）に開示されている。 In such an inkjet recording device, the inside of the print head is cleaned when printing is completed and the time until the start of the next printing is expected to be a certain time or more. The cleaning is performed by "cleaning the inside of the nozzle" for cleaning the ink flow path inside the nozzle and "cleaning the inside of the print head" for cleaning the ink ejection port of the nozzle, the charging electrode, the deflection electrode and the like. A technique for cleaning the inside of the nozzle and the inside of the print head is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-136934 (Patent Document 1).
特開２０１５－１３６９３４号公報JP, 2005-136934, A
　ところで、特許文献１に記載された技術は、印字ヘッド内部洗浄を洗浄ノズルにより洗浄することについての記載はあるが、その洗浄後に印字ヘッド内部の底部に残る洗浄液をどのようにして回収するのかについての記載がない。印字ヘッド内部に残る洗浄液を本体側に回収するには、洗浄液回収用の専用回収回路を設けることで実施できるが、その場合、ケーブル内の配管が増加し、サイズが大型化する。 By the way, the technique described in Patent Document 1 describes that the cleaning of the inside of the print head is performed by using a cleaning nozzle, but how to collect the cleaning liquid remaining at the bottom of the inside of the print head after the cleaning is performed. Is not described. The cleaning liquid remaining inside the print head can be collected on the main body side by providing a dedicated collecting circuit for collecting the cleaning liquid, but in that case, the piping inside the cable increases and the size increases.
　そこで、本発明の目的は、印字ヘッド内部を洗浄した後の洗浄液をケーブル内の配管の数を増加させずに確実に本体側に回収することができるインクジェット記録装置およびインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法を提供することである。 Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording apparatus and a cleaning method for an inkjet recording apparatus that can reliably collect the cleaning liquid after cleaning the inside of the print head to the main body side without increasing the number of pipes in the cable. Is to provide.
　上記課題を解決するために、本発明は、その一例を挙げるならば、インクおよび溶剤を印字ヘッドに供給する本体と、該インクの供給を受けて印字を行う該印字ヘッドと、該印字に使用されなかった該インクを捕捉するガターと、該ガターが捕捉した該インクを前記本体内に回収するインク回収回路とを備えたインクジェット記録装置であって、洗浄時において、前記溶剤を洗浄ノズルに供給し前記印字ヘッド内を洗浄する洗浄回路と、前記洗浄ノズルによる洗浄により前記印字ヘッド内に残留している洗浄液を前記インク回収回路に導く洗浄液導入部とを設け、前記洗浄液導入部に導入された前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路を用いて前記本体内に回収するインクジェット記録装置である。 In order to solve the above problems, the present invention, to give an example thereof, uses a main body that supplies ink and a solvent to a print head, the print head that receives the supply of the ink to perform printing, and the print head. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a gutter that captures the ink that has not been captured and an ink recovery circuit that recovers the ink captured by the gutter in the main body, and supplies the solvent to a cleaning nozzle during cleaning. Then, a cleaning circuit for cleaning the inside of the print head and a cleaning liquid introducing unit for guiding the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head to the ink recovery circuit by the cleaning by the cleaning nozzle are provided and introduced into the cleaning liquid introducing unit. It is an inkjet recording device that collects the cleaning liquid in the main body using the ink recovery circuit.
　また、上記課題を解決するために、本発明の他の一例を挙げるならば、インクおよび溶剤を印字ヘッドに供給する本体と、該インクの供給を受けて印字を行う該印字ヘッドと、該印字に使用されなかった該インクを捕捉するガターと、該ガターが捕捉した該インクを前記本体内に回収するインク回収回路とを備えたインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法であって、洗浄時において、前記溶剤を洗浄ノズルに供給して前記印字ヘッド内を洗浄し、前記洗浄ノズルによる洗浄により前記印字ヘッド内に残留している洗浄液を前記インク回収回路に導入し、該導入された前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路を用いて前記本体内に回収するインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法である。 In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, to give another example of the present invention, a main body that supplies ink and a solvent to a print head, the print head that receives the ink and prints, and the print head A method for cleaning an inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a gutter that captures the ink that has not been used for the ink, and an ink recovery circuit that recovers the ink captured by the gutter in the main body. To the cleaning nozzle to clean the inside of the print head, and the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head by the cleaning by the cleaning nozzle is introduced into the ink recovery circuit, and the introduced cleaning liquid is recovered into the ink. It is a method of cleaning an inkjet recording device that collects the ink in the main body using a circuit.
　本発明は、印字ヘッド内に残る洗浄液を洗浄液導入部によりインク回収回路内に導くように構成したので、印字ヘッド内に残る洗浄液を確実に、かつ配管の数を増やすことなく本体内に回収することができる。 Since the present invention is configured so that the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head is guided into the ink recovery circuit by the cleaning liquid introducing portion, the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head is reliably recovered in the main body without increasing the number of pipes. be able to.
図１は、本発明の実施例１のインクジェット記録装置の回路構成を示す図である。1 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 図２は、インクジェット記録装置の印字の基本構成を示す斜視図である。FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a basic printing configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus. 図３は、図１に示す実施形態における制御部の構成を示す図である。FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control unit in the embodiment shown in FIG. 図４は、図１に示す実施形態における洗浄液導入部の具体的な構成例を示す図である。FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of the cleaning liquid introducing unit in the embodiment shown in FIG. 図５は、図１に示す実施形態における洗浄液導入部の具体的な構成例を示す図である。FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of the cleaning liquid introducing section in the embodiment shown in FIG. 図６は、本発明の実施例２のインクジェット記録装置の回路構成を示す図である。FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
　以下、本発明を実施するための実施形態について図面を用いて説明する。なお、本発明は以下に説明する実施例に限定されるものではない。 An embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the examples described below.
　本発明の実施例１のインクジェット記録装置について、図１～図５を用いて説明する。図１は、本発明の実施例１のインクジェット記録装置を示す図である。図２は、印字の基本構成を示す図である。図３は、本発明の実施例１（図１）における制御部の構成を示す図である。図４と図５は、実施例１における洗浄液導入部の具体的な構成例を示す図である。 An inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of printing. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control unit in the first embodiment (FIG. 1) of the present invention. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are diagrams illustrating a specific configuration example of the cleaning liquid introducing unit in the first embodiment.
　（実施例１の装置構成）
　まず、図１により実施例１におけるインクジェット記録装置の装置構成を説明する。図１において、１はインクジェット記録装置の本体、２は印字ヘッド、４はケーブル（導管）である。本体１および印字ヘッド２は、後述する制御部３により制御される。本体１には、主インク容器１８、補助インク容器１９、溶剤容器２０、洗浄液回収容器２１が備えられている。主インク容器１８内のインク７Ａは、インク供給用経路５１により印字ヘッド２内のノズル８に供給することができる。インク供給用経路５１には、粘度測定器４８、供給弁（開閉弁）３４、供給ポンプ２４、フィルタ２８、減圧弁３３、圧力計３１、開閉弁３５が設けられ、これらによりインク供給回路が構成されている。なお、この実施例における開閉弁は電磁式のもの（電磁弁）を用いている。 (Device configuration of Example 1)
First, the apparatus configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 1 is a main body of an inkjet recording apparatus, 2 is a print head, and 4 is a cable (conduit). The main body 1 and the print head 2 are controlled by a control unit 3 described later. The main body 1 is provided with a main ink container 18, an auxiliary ink container 19, a solvent container 20, and a cleaning liquid recovery container 21. The ink 7A in the main ink container 18 can be supplied to the nozzles 8 in the print head 2 through the ink supply path 51. The ink supply path 51 is provided with a viscosity measuring device 48, a supply valve (open/close valve) 34, a supply pump 24, a filter 28, a pressure reducing valve 33, a pressure gauge 31, and an open/close valve 35, and these constitute an ink supply circuit. Has been done. The on-off valve used in this embodiment is an electromagnetic type (electromagnetic valve).
　印字ヘッド２内に設置されるノズル８に供給されたインクは、ノズル８にてインク粒子として噴出される。このインク粒子は、帯電電極１１で帯電され、偏向電極１２で偏向が行われる。そして、偏向したインク粒子は、図示しない被印字物に付着（着弾）し、被印字物への印字が行なわれる。５は電荷量センサである。印字動作の詳細な説明は後述する。 The ink supplied to the nozzle 8 installed in the print head 2 is ejected as ink particles by the nozzle 8. The ink particles are charged by the charging electrode 11 and deflected by the deflection electrode 12. Then, the deflected ink particles adhere (land) to an object to be printed (not shown), and printing is performed on the object to be printed. Reference numeral 5 is a charge amount sensor. The detailed description of the printing operation will be described later.
　帯電電極１１で帯電されなかったインク粒子は、電極内を直進しガター１４に捕捉される。ガター１４が捕捉したインクは、回収用経路６１、フィルタ３０、開閉弁３６、回収ポンプ２５、開閉弁４１により構成されるインク回収回路により主インク容器１８に回収される。 Ink particles that have not been charged by the charging electrode 11 go straight through the electrode and are captured by the gutter 14. The ink captured by the gutter 14 is recovered in the main ink container 18 by an ink recovery circuit including the recovery path 61, the filter 30, the opening/closing valve 36, the recovery pump 25, and the opening/closing valve 41.
　主インク容器１８内のインク７Ａの量は、液面センサ４６により計測され、インク消費により液面が所定値より低くなると補助インク容器１９内のインクを補充する。インクの補充は、補充用経路５２を供給ポンプ２４の入力側にてインク供給用経路５１と合流させる構成により実行できる。すなわち、インク補充時には、補充用経路５２途中に設けられた開閉弁３７は開状態に制御され、供給弁３４は閉状態に制御される。そのため、供給ポンプ２４の駆動により補助インク容器１９内の補充用インクは圧送され、印字ヘッド２内のノズル８から噴出しガター１４に捕捉される。ガター１４に捕捉された補充用のインクはインク回収回路内に流入し、回収用経路６１を通り、フィルタ３０、開閉弁３６、回収ポンプ２５、開閉弁４１を経由して主インク容器１８に供給される。これら一連の操作（制御）は、制御部３により実行される。制御部３の詳細説明は後述する。 The amount of the ink 7A in the main ink container 18 is measured by the liquid level sensor 46, and when the liquid level becomes lower than a predetermined value due to ink consumption, the ink in the auxiliary ink container 19 is replenished. Ink replenishment can be performed by a configuration in which the replenishment path 52 joins the ink supply path 51 at the input side of the supply pump 24. That is, at the time of ink replenishment, the opening/closing valve 37 provided in the middle of the replenishment path 52 is controlled to the open state, and the supply valve 34 is controlled to the closed state. Therefore, the supplementary ink in the auxiliary ink container 19 is pressure-fed by the drive of the supply pump 24, and is ejected from the nozzles 8 in the print head 2 and captured by the gutter 14. The supplementary ink captured by the gutter 14 flows into the ink recovery circuit, passes through the recovery path 61, and is supplied to the main ink container 18 via the filter 30, the opening/closing valve 36, the recovery pump 25, and the opening/closing valve 41. To be done. The series of operations (controls) are executed by the control unit 3. Detailed description of the control unit 3 will be given later.
　インク７Ａの粘度は、粘度測定器４８により計測され、粘度が所定値以上になると、溶剤容器２０内の溶剤が、補力液ポンプ２７と、溶剤供給経路８１と、開閉弁３８にて構成される溶剤供給回路により主インク容器１８に供給され、粘度の調整が行われる。また、この実施例では、洗浄液回収容器２１に回収された洗浄液（溶剤が主成分）をインクの粘度調整に利用可能にするために、供給経路８４と、その経路に設けた開閉弁４３および調整ポンプ２２とを備えている。これらこれら一連の制御は制御部３により行われる。 The viscosity of the ink 7A is measured by the viscosity measuring device 48, and when the viscosity becomes a predetermined value or more, the solvent in the solvent container 20 is composed of the intensification liquid pump 27, the solvent supply path 81, and the opening/closing valve 38. The solvent is supplied to the main ink container 18 by the solvent supply circuit, and the viscosity is adjusted. Further, in this embodiment, in order to make the cleaning liquid (solvent as a main component) recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 available for adjusting the viscosity of the ink, the supply path 84, the on-off valve 43 provided in the path 84, and the adjustment. And a pump 22. These series of controls are performed by the control unit 3.
　また、図１の実施例では、ノズル８内部を洗浄する「ノズル内部洗浄」と、印字ヘッド２内部を洗浄する「印字ヘッド内部洗浄」を行う機能を有する。 Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it has a function of performing “cleaning of the inside of the nozzle” for cleaning the inside of the nozzle 8 and “cleaning of the inside of the print head” for cleaning the inside of the print head 2.
　まず、ノズル内部洗浄を行う構成については、溶剤をノズル８に供給するために、溶剤供給経路８１から分岐した洗浄用溶剤供給経路８２を設け、この洗浄用溶剤供給経路８２を開閉弁４４を介してインク供給用経路５１と合流させている。この構成により、補力液ポンプ２７を駆動し、開閉弁４４を開くこと（このとき開閉弁３５、開閉弁３８および開閉弁３９は閉）により溶剤がノズル８に供給され、ノズル内洗浄が実施される。これらのポンプ、開閉弁の制御は、後述する制御部３により実行される。溶剤により洗浄された洗浄液は、ガター１４で捕捉され、ガター１４を経由し、インク回収回路（この実施例では、回収用経路６１、フィルタ３０、開閉弁（回収弁）３６、回収ポンプ２５により構成される）を使用し、洗浄液回収回路を通り洗浄液回収容器２１内に回収する。洗浄液回収回路は、回収ポンプ２５の出力側において、回収用経路６１から分岐した洗浄液回収経路６２、開閉弁４０で構成される。 First, regarding the configuration for cleaning the inside of the nozzle, in order to supply the solvent to the nozzle 8, a cleaning solvent supply path 82 branched from the solvent supply path 81 is provided, and the cleaning solvent supply path 82 is connected via the opening/closing valve 44. And merges with the ink supply path 51. With this configuration, the intensifying liquid pump 27 is driven and the opening/closing valve 44 is opened (at this time, the opening/closing valve 35, the opening/closing valve 38, and the opening/closing valve 39 are closed), so that the solvent is supplied to the nozzle 8 to perform cleaning inside the nozzle. To be done. Control of these pumps and on-off valves is executed by the control unit 3 described later. The cleaning liquid washed with the solvent is captured by the gutter 14, passes through the gutter 14, and is constituted by an ink recovery circuit (in this embodiment, a recovery path 61, a filter 30, an opening/closing valve (recovery valve) 36, and a recovery pump 25. Is used to pass through the cleaning liquid recovery circuit and is recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21. The cleaning liquid recovery circuit is composed of a cleaning liquid recovery path 62 branched from a recovery path 61 and an opening/closing valve 40 on the output side of the recovery pump 25.
　一方、印字ヘッド内部洗浄を行う構成は、次のようなものである。すなわち、溶剤容器２０内の溶剤が、洗浄用溶剤供給経路８２から分岐した洗浄液供給経路８３を経由して印字ヘッド２内に設けられた洗浄ノズル１５に供給される。洗浄ノズル１５は、この供給された溶剤を印字ヘッド内に噴出させ印字ヘッド内部の洗浄を行う。必要時に必要な時間の洗浄を行うために、洗浄液供給経路８３の途中に開閉弁３９が設けられている。なお、これらポンプ、開閉弁の制御は、制御部３の制御により実施される。 On the other hand, the structure for cleaning the inside of the print head is as follows. That is, the solvent in the solvent container 20 is supplied to the cleaning nozzle 15 provided in the print head 2 via the cleaning liquid supply path 83 branched from the cleaning solvent supply path 82. The cleaning nozzle 15 ejects the supplied solvent into the print head to clean the inside of the print head. An on-off valve 39 is provided in the middle of the cleaning liquid supply path 83 in order to perform cleaning for a necessary time when needed. The control of these pumps and on-off valves is carried out by the control of the control unit 3.
　印字ヘッド２内を洗浄した洗浄液は、印字ヘッド２内を落下して底部に集まるが、この洗浄液をインク回収回路に導くために、洗浄液導入部１００を設けている。洗浄液導入部１００は、この図１に示す実施例ではガター１４を移動させるガター移動装置１１０により構成している。１２０は印字ヘッド２の底部（具体的には、印字ヘッドカバー底部）に残留している洗浄液を効率よく回収するために設けた貯留部である。なお、エア流入経路８５、エアポンプ２３、エアノズル１６は、洗浄動作後に印字ヘッド２内を乾燥するために設けられている。 The cleaning liquid that has cleaned the inside of the print head 2 drops inside the print head 2 and collects at the bottom, but a cleaning liquid introduction unit 100 is provided to guide this cleaning liquid to the ink recovery circuit. The cleaning liquid introducing unit 100 is configured by a gutter moving device 110 that moves the gutter 14 in the embodiment shown in FIG. Reference numeral 120 denotes a reservoir provided to efficiently collect the cleaning liquid remaining on the bottom of the print head 2 (specifically, the bottom of the print head cover). The air inflow path 85, the air pump 23, and the air nozzle 16 are provided to dry the inside of the print head 2 after the cleaning operation.
　（印字動作の説明）
　次に、図１及び図２を用いて、インクジェット記録装置の印字動作を説明する。図２は、図１の構成において印字動作に関係する機器を中心に記載しており、図１と同じ機器には同じ符号を付しその構成の説明は省略する。図２において、９は電圧を印加すると所定の周波数で振動する電歪素子、７Ｂはインク柱であり、７Ｃはインク粒子である。 (Explanation of printing operation)
Next, the printing operation of the inkjet recording device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 mainly describes the devices related to the printing operation in the configuration of FIG. 1, the same devices as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the configuration will be omitted. In FIG. 2, 9 is an electrostrictive element that vibrates at a predetermined frequency when a voltage is applied, 7B is an ink column, and 7C is an ink particle.
　図１および図２において、主インク容器１８内のインク７Ａは、供給ポンプ２４に吸引され加圧されてノズル８に供給され、インク柱７Ｂとなってノズル８から吐出される。ノズル８には、電歪素子９が備えられており、インクに所定の周波数で振動を加えてノズル８から吐出されるインク柱７Ｂを粒子化する。これにより生成されるインク粒子７Ｃの数は、電歪素子９に印加するノズル駆動電圧（励振電圧）の周波数により決定され、その周波数と同数となる。インク粒子７Ｃは、印字情報に対応した大きさの電圧を帯電電極１１にて印加され電荷が与えられるようになっている。 In FIGS. 1 and 2, the ink 7A in the main ink container 18 is sucked and pressurized by the supply pump 24 and supplied to the nozzles 8 and is discharged from the nozzles 8 as ink columns 7B. The nozzle 8 is provided with an electrostrictive element 9, and vibrates the ink at a predetermined frequency to atomize the ink columns 7B ejected from the nozzle 8. The number of the ink particles 7C generated by this is determined by the frequency of the nozzle drive voltage (excitation voltage) applied to the electrostrictive element 9, and is the same number as that frequency. The ink particles 7C are applied with a voltage having a magnitude corresponding to the print information by the charging electrode 11 to be given an electric charge.
　帯電電極１１により帯電されたインク粒子７Ｃは、偏向電極１２間の電界中を飛翔する。偏向電界は、５～６［ｋＶ］の高電圧が印加された高圧電極と接地されたグランド電極との間に形成されており、帯電したインク粒子７Ｃは、その帯電量に比例した力を受けて偏向し、印字対象物１３へ向かって飛翔して着弾する。その際、インク粒子７Ｃは帯電量に応じて偏向方向の着弾位置は変化し、さらに偏向方向と直交する方向に生産ラインが印字対象物１３を移動させることで、偏向方向と直交した方向にも粒子を着弾させることが可能となる。このようにして複数の着弾したインク粒子により文字が構成され、文字の印字が行なわれる。印字に使用されなかった非帯電のインク粒子７Ｃは偏向電極１２間を直線的に飛翔して、ガター１４により捕捉され、インク回収回路を経由して、主インク容器１８に回収される。 The ink particles 7C charged by the charging electrode 11 fly in the electric field between the deflection electrodes 12. The deflection electric field is formed between the high-voltage electrode to which a high voltage of 5 to 6 [kV] is applied and the grounded ground electrode, and the charged ink particles 7C receive a force proportional to the charge amount. And deflects to fly to the print target 13 and land. At that time, the landing position of the ink particles 7C in the deflecting direction changes according to the charge amount, and the production line moves the print target 13 in the direction orthogonal to the deflecting direction, so that the ink particle 7C also moves in the direction orthogonal to the deflecting direction. It becomes possible to land particles. In this way, a character is composed of a plurality of landed ink particles, and the character is printed. The non-charged ink particles 7C that have not been used for printing fly linearly between the deflection electrodes 12, are captured by the gutter 14, and are collected in the main ink container 18 via the ink recovery circuit.
　（制御部の説明）
　次に、図１における実施例の各機器を制御する制御部の概略構成を図３により説明する。図３における制御部３は計算機を用いて実現する。図３において、３０１はＭＰＵ（マイクロプロセッシングユニット）である。ＭＰＵ３０１は、内蔵するプログラムや、データ等に基づき制御部全体の動作を決定し各制御回路に制御指令を出力する。３０２はＲＯＭ（リードオンリーメモリ）である。ＲＯＭ３０２は、ＭＰＵ３０１の動作に必要なプログラムやデータ等が記憶されている。３０３はＲＡＭ（ランダムアクセスメモリ）である。ＲＡＭ３０３は、制御に必要なデータ等を一時的に記憶する。３０４は操作表示部である。操作表示部３０４は、制御部３に対する操作指示するとともに動作内容等を表示する。３０５は、インク粒子７Ｃに帯電させるビデオデータを記憶しておくビデオＲＡＭである。３０６は、ノズル８を駆動するためのノズル駆動回路である。３０７は、ビデオデータを帯電信号にする帯電電圧発生回路である。３０８は偏向電圧発生回路である。３０９は電荷量増幅回路であり、電荷量センサ５の検出値により電荷量が制御される。３２０は、図１における全てのポンプを制御するポンプ制御回路である。ポンプ制御回路３２０は、ＭＰＵ３０１からの制御指令に基づきポンプの起動停止を制御する。３３０は弁制御回路である。弁制御回路３３０は、ＭＰＵ３０１の制御指令に基づいて図１における全ての弁の開閉や切替を制御する。３４０は移動装置制御回路である。移動装置制御回路３４０は、ＭＰＵ３０１の制御指令により図１のガター移動装置１１０を制御する。３１０は制御部内の各構成機器間でデータや信号を伝達するためのバスである。ＭＰＵ３０１は、このバスを介して制御部内の各装置に対し制御指令を出力する。 (Explanation of control unit)
Next, a schematic configuration of a control unit that controls each device of the embodiment in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 3 in FIG. 3 is realized by using a computer. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 is an MPU (micro processing unit). The MPU 301 determines the operation of the entire control unit based on a built-in program, data, etc., and outputs a control command to each control circuit. 302 is a ROM (Read Only Memory). The ROM 302 stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the MPU 301. Reference numeral 303 is a RAM (random access memory). The RAM 303 temporarily stores data and the like necessary for control. 304 is an operation display unit. The operation display unit 304 gives an operation instruction to the control unit 3 and displays operation contents and the like. A video RAM 305 stores video data for charging the ink particles 7C. Reference numeral 306 is a nozzle drive circuit for driving the nozzle 8. Reference numeral 307 is a charging voltage generation circuit that uses video data as a charging signal. Reference numeral 308 is a deflection voltage generation circuit. Reference numeral 309 is a charge amount amplifier circuit, and the charge amount is controlled by the detection value of the charge amount sensor 5. A pump control circuit 320 controls all the pumps in FIG. The pump control circuit 320 controls the start/stop of the pump based on the control command from the MPU 301. 330 is a valve control circuit. The valve control circuit 330 controls opening/closing and switching of all the valves in FIG. 1 based on the control command of the MPU 301. Reference numeral 340 is a mobile device control circuit. The moving device control circuit 340 controls the gutter moving device 110 of FIG. 1 according to the control command of the MPU 301. Reference numeral 310 is a bus for transmitting data and signals between the constituent devices in the control unit. The MPU 301 outputs a control command to each device in the control unit via this bus.
　（洗浄動作の説明）
　図１の実施例では、ノズル内部洗浄と、印字ヘッド内部洗浄とを実施する。
  ノズル内部洗浄は次のように行われる。すなわち、溶剤供給経路８１の途中に設けた補力液ポンプ２７を駆動し、開閉弁４４を開き、開閉弁３５、開閉弁３９を閉じることにより、ノズル８内に溶剤を供給する。これにより、ノズル８の内部に溶剤が供給されノズル内部の洗浄が行われる。ノズル内への溶剤の供給時間は予め定めておく。このノズル洗浄後の洗浄液（溶剤が主成分）は、インク回収の場合と同様に、ガター１４に捕捉されインク回収回路により本体１内に回収される。具体的には、ガター１４で捕捉した洗浄液を、回収用経路６１を使って、フィルタ３０、開閉弁３６（開）、回収ポンプ２５（駆動）を経由し、本体内に取込む。そして、さらに回収用経路６１から分岐した洗浄液回収経路６２、開閉弁４０（開）を経て洗浄液回収容器２１に回収される。これら一連の制御は、図３の制御部３により実行される。具体的には、ＭＰＵ３０１が、ポンプ制御回路３２０および弁制御回路３３０に制御指令を出力し、ポンプ制御回路３２０および弁制御回路３３０が、この制御指令に基づいて関連する各ポンプおよび各開閉弁等を制御する。 (Explanation of cleaning operation)
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the nozzle and the inside of the print head are cleaned.
Cleaning of the inside of the nozzle is performed as follows. That is, the intensification liquid pump 27 provided in the middle of the solvent supply path 81 is driven to open the opening/closing valve 44 and close the opening/closing valve 35 and the opening/closing valve 39 to supply the solvent into the nozzle 8. As a result, the solvent is supplied to the inside of the nozzle 8 to clean the inside of the nozzle. The time for supplying the solvent into the nozzle is determined in advance. The cleaning liquid (mainly composed of a solvent) after the nozzle cleaning is captured by the gutter 14 and recovered in the main body 1 by the ink recovery circuit, as in the case of the ink recovery. Specifically, the cleaning liquid captured by the gutter 14 is taken into the main body using the recovery path 61, the filter 30, the open/close valve 36 (open), and the recovery pump 25 (drive). Then, it is further recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 via the cleaning liquid recovery path 62 branched from the recovery path 61 and the opening/closing valve 40 (open). These series of controls are executed by the control unit 3 in FIG. Specifically, the MPU 301 outputs a control command to the pump control circuit 320 and the valve control circuit 330, and the pump control circuit 320 and the valve control circuit 330 relate each pump and each on-off valve based on this control command. To control.
　このノズル内部洗浄が終了すると、今度は印字ヘッド２内の洗浄（印字ヘッド内部洗浄）を実施する。印字ヘッド内部洗浄は、溶剤供給経路８１途中の補力液ポンプ２７を駆動し、開閉弁３９を開くことにより溶剤が洗浄ノズル１５に供給され、洗浄ノズル１５が溶剤を印字ヘッド内に噴出することで実施される。すなわち、洗浄ノズル１５より溶剤が噴出されて、ノズル８の吐出口や帯電電極１１や偏向電極１２やガター１４等を洗浄する。このとき、開閉弁４４は閉じられている。 After the cleaning of the inside of the nozzle is completed, the inside of the print head 2 is cleaned (cleaning of the print head). For cleaning the inside of the print head, the intensification liquid pump 27 in the middle of the solvent supply path 81 is driven and the opening/closing valve 39 is opened to supply the solvent to the cleaning nozzle 15, and the cleaning nozzle 15 ejects the solvent into the print head. Will be implemented in. That is, the solvent is ejected from the cleaning nozzle 15 to clean the discharge port of the nozzle 8, the charging electrode 11, the deflection electrode 12, the gutter 14, and the like. At this time, the open/close valve 44 is closed.
　ここで、印字ヘッド内部を洗浄した洗浄液は、印字ヘッドの底部に残留する（落下する）ので、そのままではガター１４で捕捉することができない。この残留する洗浄液は、印字ヘッド底部に設けた窪み状の液貯留部１２０に溜められる。そのため、液貯留部１２０に残留している洗浄液をガター１４で捕捉するために、ガター移動装置１１０によりガター１４を下方に移動させる。これにより、ガター１４による洗浄液の捕捉を可能にし、液貯留部１２０に残留している洗浄液をインク回収回路（回収用経路６１）内に導くことができる。印字ヘッド２を覆っている印字ヘッドカバーは、洗浄液が漏れ出ないように、密閉構造（少なくとも印字ヘッドの下方部分は密閉構造）となったものを使用する。 The cleaning liquid used to clean the inside of the print head remains (falls) at the bottom of the print head, so it cannot be captured by the gutter 14 as it is. The remaining cleaning liquid is stored in the recessed liquid storage portion 120 provided at the bottom of the print head. Therefore, in order to capture the cleaning liquid remaining in the liquid storage unit 120 with the gutter 14, the gutter moving device 110 moves the gutter 14 downward. As a result, the cleaning liquid can be captured by the gutter 14, and the cleaning liquid remaining in the liquid storage section 120 can be guided into the ink recovery circuit (recovery path 61). The print head cover that covers the print head 2 has a closed structure (at least the lower part of the print head is a closed structure) so that the cleaning liquid does not leak out.
　次に、このガター移動装置１１０の具体的な構成例を図４及び図５により説明する。
  図４は、ガター移動装置１１０として、ガター１４を回転移動させて、印字ヘッド底部の洗浄液を受け入れるようにしたものである。図４において、ガター１４は、Ｌ字状の軸１１１に取付けられており、軸受１１２を介して供給されるモータ１１３の回転駆動力により、ガターを回転移動させている。ガター１４は、この回転動作により、印字ヘッド底部に設けた液貯留部１２０に残留している洗浄液を受け入れる位置に移動することができる。 Next, a specific configuration example of the gutter moving device 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
In FIG. 4, as the gutter moving device 110, the gutter 14 is rotationally moved to receive the cleaning liquid at the bottom of the print head. In FIG. 4, the gutter 14 is attached to the L-shaped shaft 111, and the gutter 14 is rotationally moved by the rotational driving force of the motor 113 supplied via the bearing 112. By this rotation operation, the gutter 14 can be moved to a position for receiving the cleaning liquid remaining in the liquid storage portion 120 provided at the bottom of the print head.
　また、ガター移動装置１１０は、図５に示すように、上下方向にガターを移動可能にしても良い。図５の例では、モータ１１６によりスプライン軸１１４を回転させ、スプラインナット１１５によりガター１４を上下方向に移動させている。もちろん、ガター移動装置は、これら以外のものでも良い。このようなガター移動装置１１０により、ガター１４が洗浄液を捕捉可能な位置まで下降可能となり、洗浄液をインク回収回路内に導くことができる。 Further, the gutter moving device 110 may be capable of moving the gutter vertically as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the motor 116 rotates the spline shaft 114, and the spline nut 115 moves the gutter 14 in the vertical direction. Of course, the gutter moving device may be other than these. With such a gutter moving device 110, the gutter 14 can be lowered to a position where the cleaning liquid can be captured, and the cleaning liquid can be introduced into the ink recovery circuit.
　インク回収回路内に導かれた洗浄液の本体側への回収は、ノズル内部洗浄時の洗浄液回収の場合と同様である。すなわち、回収用経路６１経由で、フィルタ３０、開閉弁３６（開）、回収ポンプ２５（駆動）を経由し、さらに洗浄液回収経路６２、開閉弁４０（開）を経て洗浄液回収容器２１に回収される。これら一連の制御は、図３の制御部３により実行される。
  なお、印字ヘッド２には、通常、印字するためのインク粒子が通るためのスリットが設けられている。ノズル周辺部を洗浄する際には、スリットから洗浄液が漏れてしまう可能性があるので、スリットを塞ぐと良い。 The recovery of the cleaning liquid introduced into the ink recovery circuit to the main body side is the same as the recovery of the cleaning liquid when cleaning the inside of the nozzle. That is, it is recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 via the filter 30, the open/close valve 36 (open), the recovery pump 25 (drive) via the recovery route 61, and further via the cleaning liquid recovery route 62 and the open/close valve 40 (open). It These series of controls are executed by the control unit 3 in FIG.
The print head 2 is usually provided with a slit through which ink particles for printing pass. When cleaning the peripheral portion of the nozzle, the cleaning liquid may leak from the slit, so it is preferable to close the slit.
　（実施例１の効果）
　図１に示す本発明の実施例１によれば、印字ヘッド内部洗浄を行うに際し、ガターを移動させる簡単な構成を追加するだけで、印字ヘッドの底部に残留している洗浄液を、専用の回収回路を設けることなく、インク回収回路に導くことができるので、インク回収回路を利用して本体内に確実に回収することができる。 (Effect of Example 1)
According to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning liquid remaining at the bottom of the print head is exclusively collected by simply adding a simple structure for moving the gutter when cleaning the inside of the print head. Since the ink can be led to the ink collecting circuit without providing a circuit, the ink can be reliably collected in the main body by using the ink collecting circuit.
　次に、本発明の実施例２を図６により説明する。図６は、本発明の実施例２におけるインクジェット記録装置の回路構成を示す図である。図６の構成機器は、図１の構成機器と同一機器には同一符号を付してその説明を省略する。また、図６に示す一連の制御は、制御部が行うが、この制御部３の構成は図３に示したものと同様のものである。ここでは、図６の説明は、図１と異なる内容を中心に説明する。 Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 6 are the same as those in FIG. 1, and the description thereof is omitted. Further, the series of controls shown in FIG. 6 is performed by the control unit, but the configuration of the control unit 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. Here, the description of FIG. 6 will be focused on the content different from that of FIG.
　図６の実施例では、洗浄液導入部１００の構成が図１の実施例と異なる。図６における洗浄液導入部１００は、印字ヘッド２の底部に設けた液貯留部１２０内の洗浄液を吸込み可能な位置に吸込口１３０を設置し、吸込口１３０から吸込経路１４０を経由して回収用経路６１に連通可能に切替弁１５０を設置している。洗浄ノズル１５により印字ヘッド２内を洗浄した洗浄液は、液貯留部１２０に貯留される。この貯留された洗浄液は、切替弁１５０を吸込経路１４０側に切替えることにより、吸込口１３０から洗浄液を吸込み、インク回収回路に流入可能になる。すなわち、切替弁１５０を吸込経路１４０側に切替え、回収ポンプ２５を駆動し、開閉弁３６と開閉弁４０を開く。このとき、開閉弁４１は閉じられている。このような操作（制御）により、洗浄液は、回収用経路６１、洗浄液回収経路６２を経由して洗浄液回収容器２１に回収される。これらの制御は制御部３により行うが、ほとんど図３に示す制御部３と同様の構成になるので、その説明は省略する。 In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the configuration of the cleaning liquid introducing unit 100 is different from that of the embodiment of FIG. The cleaning liquid introduction unit 100 in FIG. 6 has a suction port 130 installed at a position where the cleaning liquid in the liquid storage unit 120 provided at the bottom of the print head 2 can be sucked, and is collected from the suction port 130 via the suction path 140. A switching valve 150 is installed so that it can communicate with the path 61. The cleaning liquid that has cleaned the inside of the print head 2 with the cleaning nozzle 15 is stored in the liquid storage unit 120. By switching the switching valve 150 to the suction path 140 side, the stored cleaning liquid can be sucked in from the suction port 130 and flow into the ink recovery circuit. That is, the switching valve 150 is switched to the suction path 140 side, the recovery pump 25 is driven, and the opening/closing valve 36 and the opening/closing valve 40 are opened. At this time, the on-off valve 41 is closed. By such an operation (control), the cleaning liquid is recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery container 21 via the recovery route 61 and the cleaning liquid recovery route 62. These controls are performed by the control unit 3, but since the configuration is almost the same as that of the control unit 3 shown in FIG. 3, the description thereof will be omitted.
　なお、切替弁１５０は、この実施例では制御部３により動作する電磁式の弁（電磁弁）を用いたが、手動式の弁を用いても良い。また、切替弁の代わりに、開閉弁を用いて回収用経路６１に導くようにしても良い。すなわち、吸込経路１４０内の前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路に流入可能にする弁を設けることにより実施できる。 The switching valve 150 is an electromagnetic valve (electromagnetic valve) operated by the control unit 3 in this embodiment, but a manual valve may be used. Moreover, instead of the switching valve, an on-off valve may be used to guide the recovery path 61. That is, it can be implemented by providing a valve that allows the cleaning liquid in the suction path 140 to flow into the ink recovery circuit.
　この実施例２によれば、切替弁を切替えるのみで洗浄液をインク回収回路内に導入することができるので、より簡単な構成となり、印字ヘッドの底部に滞留している洗浄液を、専用の回収回路を設けることなく本体内に確実に回収することができる。 According to the second embodiment, since the cleaning liquid can be introduced into the ink recovery circuit simply by switching the switching valve, the structure becomes simpler, and the cleaning liquid staying at the bottom of the print head is collected in the exclusive recovery circuit. It is possible to surely collect in the main body without providing.
　１…本体、２…印字ヘッド、３…制御部、４…ケーブル、５…電荷量センサ、７Ａ…インク、７Ｂ…インク柱、７Ｃ…インク粒子、８…ノズル、９…電歪素子、１１…帯電電極、１２…偏向電極、１３…印字対象物、１４…ガター、１５…洗浄ノズル、１６…エアノズル、１８…主インク容器、１９…補助インク容器、２０…溶剤容器、２１…洗浄液回収容器、２２…調整ポンプ、２３…エアポンプ、２４…供給ポンプ、２５…回収ポンプ、２７…補力液ポンプ、２８…フィルタ、３１…圧力計、３３…減圧弁、３４…供給弁、３５…開閉弁、３６…開閉弁、３７…開閉弁、３８…開閉弁、３９…開閉弁、４０…開閉弁、４１…開閉弁、４３…開閉弁、４４…開閉弁、４６…液面センサ、４８…粘度測定器、５１…インク供給用経路、５２…補充用経路、６１…回収用経路、６２…洗浄液回収経路、８１…溶剤供給経路、８２…洗浄用溶剤供給経路、８３…洗浄液供給経路、８４…供給経路、８５…エア流入経路、１００…洗浄液導入部、１１０…ガター移動装置、１１１…軸、１１２…軸受、１１３…モータ、１１４…スプライン軸、１１５…スプラインナット、１１６…モータ、１２０…液貯留部、１３０…吸込口、１４０…吸込経路、１５０…切替弁、３０１…ＭＰＵ、３０２…ＲＯＭ、３０３…ＲＡＭ、３０４…操作表示部、３０５…ビデオＲＡＭ、３０６…ノズル駆動回路、３０７…帯電電圧発生回路、３０８…偏向電圧発生回路、３０９…電荷量増幅回路、３１０…バス、３２０…ポンプ制御回路、３３０…弁制御回路、３４０…移動装置制御回路 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body, 2... Print head, 3... Control part, 4... Cable, 5... Charge amount sensor, 7A... Ink, 7B... Ink column, 7C... Ink particle, 8... Nozzle, 9... Electrostrictive element, 11... Charging electrode, 12... Deflection electrode, 13... Print target, 14... Gutter, 15... Wash nozzle, 16... Air nozzle, 18... Main ink container, 19... Auxiliary ink container, 20... Solvent container, 21... Wash liquid recovery container, 22... Regulating pump, 23... Air pump, 24... Supply pump, 25... Recovery pump, 27... Intensification liquid pump, 28... Filter, 31... Pressure gauge, 33... Pressure reducing valve, 34... Supply valve, 35... Open/close valve, 36... Open/close valve, 37... Open/close valve, 38... Open/close valve, 39... Open/close valve, 40... Open/close valve, 41... Open/close valve, 43... Open/close valve, 44... Open/close valve, 46... Liquid level sensor, 48... Viscosity measurement Ink supply path, 52... Replenishment path, 61... Recovery path, 62... Cleaning liquid recovery path, 81... Solvent supply path, 82... Cleaning solvent supply path, 83... Cleaning solution supply path, 84... Supply Route: 85... Air inflow route, 100... Cleaning liquid introducing part, 110... Gutter moving device, 111... Shaft, 112... Bearing, 113... Motor, 114... Spline shaft, 115... Spline nut, 116... Motor, 120... Liquid storage Part, 130... Suction port, 140... Suction path, 150... Switching valve, 301... MPU, 302... ROM, 303... RAM, 304... Operation display section, 305... Video RAM, 306... Nozzle drive circuit, 307... Charging voltage Generating circuit, 308... Deflection voltage generating circuit, 309... Charge amount amplifying circuit, 310... Bus, 320... Pump control circuit, 330... Valve control circuit, 340... Moving device control circuit

Claims (8)

  1. 　インクおよび溶剤を印字ヘッドに供給する本体と、該インクの供給を受けて印字を行う該印字ヘッドと、該印字に使用されなかった該インクを捕捉するガターと、該ガターが捕捉した該インクを前記本体内に回収するインク回収回路と、を備えたインクジェット記録装置であって、
    　洗浄時において、前記溶剤を洗浄ノズルに供給し前記印字ヘッド内を洗浄する洗浄回路と、
    　前記洗浄ノズルによる洗浄により前記印字ヘッド内に残留している洗浄液を前記インク回収回路に導く洗浄液導入部とを設け、
    　前記洗浄液導入部に導入された前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路を用いて前記本体内に回収するインクジェット記録装置。     A main body that supplies ink and a solvent to a print head, the print head that receives the ink and prints, a gutter that captures the ink that has not been used for the printing, and an ink that the gutter captures. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising an ink collecting circuit for collecting in the main body,
    At the time of cleaning, a cleaning circuit that supplies the solvent to a cleaning nozzle to clean the inside of the print head,
    And a cleaning liquid introducing section for guiding the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head to the ink recovery circuit by the cleaning by the cleaning nozzle,
    An inkjet recording apparatus that collects the cleaning liquid introduced into the cleaning liquid introducing unit into the main body by using the ink recovery circuit.
  2. 　請求項１記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
    　前記洗浄液導入部は、前記洗浄液を吸込み可能な位置に前記ガターを移動させるガター移動機構であるインクジェット記録装置。     The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1,
    The cleaning liquid introducing unit is an inkjet recording apparatus that is a gutter moving mechanism that moves the gutter to a position where the cleaning liquid can be sucked.
  3. 　請求項１記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
    　前記洗浄液導入部は、前記印字ヘッド内の前記洗浄液を吸いこむ吸込口と、該吸込口により吸込まれた前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路と連通させるための吸込経路と、該吸込経路内の前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路に流入可能にする弁とにより構成するインクジェット記録装置。     The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1,
    The cleaning liquid introducing unit has a suction port for sucking the cleaning liquid in the print head, a suction path for communicating the cleaning liquid sucked by the suction port with the ink recovery circuit, and the cleaning liquid in the suction path. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a valve that allows the ink to flow into the ink recovery circuit.
  4. 　請求項１記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
    　前記洗浄液を受入れる液受容部を前記印字ヘッドのヘッドカバー内に設けたインクジェット記録装置。     The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1,
    An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a liquid receiving portion for receiving the cleaning liquid is provided in a head cover of the print head.
  5. 　請求項１記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
    　前記印字ヘッドを密閉する印字ヘッドカバーにより前記洗浄液の漏出を防ぐインクジェット記録装置。     The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1,
    An inkjet recording device for preventing leakage of the cleaning liquid by a print head cover that seals the print head.
  6. 　インクおよび溶剤を印字ヘッドに供給する本体と、該インクの供給を受けて印字を行う該印字ヘッドと、該印字に使用されなかった該インクを捕捉するガターと、該ガターが捕捉した該インクを前記本体内に回収するインク回収回路と、を備えたインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法であって、
    洗浄時において、前記溶剤を洗浄ノズルに供給して前記印字ヘッド内を洗浄し、前記洗浄ノズルによる洗浄により前記印字ヘッド内に残留している洗浄液を前記インク回収回路に導入し、該導入された前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路を用いて前記本体内に回収するインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法。     A main body that supplies ink and a solvent to a print head, the print head that receives the ink and prints, a gutter that captures the ink that has not been used for the printing, and an ink that the gutter captures. A method for cleaning an inkjet recording device, comprising: an ink recovery circuit for recovering in the main body,
    At the time of cleaning, the solvent is supplied to a cleaning nozzle to clean the inside of the print head, and the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head due to the cleaning by the cleaning nozzle is introduced into the ink recovery circuit, and the cleaning liquid is introduced. A method for cleaning an inkjet recording device, wherein the cleaning liquid is recovered in the main body by using the ink recovery circuit.
  7. 　請求項６記載のインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法において、
    　前記ガターを前記印字ヘッドの底部に残留する前記洗浄液を吸込み可能な位置まで移動させるようにしたインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法。     The method for cleaning an inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6,
    A method for cleaning an inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the gutter is moved to a position where the cleaning liquid remaining on the bottom of the print head can be sucked.
  8. 　請求項６記載のインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法において、
    　前記印字ヘッドの底部に残留する前記洗浄液を吸込み可能な位置に設けた吸込口により、前記洗浄液を前記インク回収回路に導入させるインクジェット記録装置の洗浄方法。     The method for cleaning an inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6,
    A method for cleaning an inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the cleaning liquid is introduced into the ink recovery circuit by means of a suction port provided at a position where the cleaning liquid remaining on the bottom of the print head can be sucked.
PCT/JP2019/032965 2018-12-12 2019-08-23 Inkjet recording device and method for cleaning inkjet recording device WO2020121601A1 (en)

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Citations (6)

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JPS51118919A (en) * 1975-04-11 1976-10-19 Hitachi Ltd Ink jet recorder
JPH0453753A (en) * 1990-06-22 1992-02-21 Toppan Printing Co Ltd Printing head for ink jet printer
JP2001509442A (en) * 1997-07-01 2001-07-24 ヴィデオジェット システムズ インターナショナル インコーポレイテッド On-site cleaning system for ink jet printer head
JP2007529338A (en) * 2004-03-17 2007-10-25 ヴィデオジェット テクノロジーズ インコーポレイテッド Cleaning system for continuous inkjet printer
JP2015136934A (en) * 2014-01-24 2015-07-30 株式会社キーエンス Ink jet recording device and head cleaning method of the same
US20160039216A1 (en) * 2013-03-29 2016-02-11 Markem-Imaje Holding Low-cost ink circuit

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS51118919A (en) * 1975-04-11 1976-10-19 Hitachi Ltd Ink jet recorder
JPH0453753A (en) * 1990-06-22 1992-02-21 Toppan Printing Co Ltd Printing head for ink jet printer
JP2001509442A (en) * 1997-07-01 2001-07-24 ヴィデオジェット システムズ インターナショナル インコーポレイテッド On-site cleaning system for ink jet printer head
JP2007529338A (en) * 2004-03-17 2007-10-25 ヴィデオジェット テクノロジーズ インコーポレイテッド Cleaning system for continuous inkjet printer
US20160039216A1 (en) * 2013-03-29 2016-02-11 Markem-Imaje Holding Low-cost ink circuit
JP2015136934A (en) * 2014-01-24 2015-07-30 株式会社キーエンス Ink jet recording device and head cleaning method of the same

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