WO2023008166A1 - インクジェット記録装置 - Google Patents
インクジェット記録装置 Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2023008166A1 WO2023008166A1 PCT/JP2022/027296 JP2022027296W WO2023008166A1 WO 2023008166 A1 WO2023008166 A1 WO 2023008166A1 JP 2022027296 W JP2022027296 W JP 2022027296W WO 2023008166 A1 WO2023008166 A1 WO 2023008166A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- wiper
- treatment liquid
- wiping
- recording apparatus
- Prior art date
Links
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 373
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 19
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 claims description 104
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 claims description 27
- 238000007639 printing Methods 0.000 claims description 23
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000000976 ink Substances 0.000 description 251
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 37
- 230000032258 transport Effects 0.000 description 23
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 19
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 19
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 14
- 238000012805 post-processing Methods 0.000 description 11
- 238000002203 pretreatment Methods 0.000 description 10
- 238000010926 purge Methods 0.000 description 9
- 239000002699 waste material Substances 0.000 description 8
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 description 8
- 238000007781 pre-processing Methods 0.000 description 7
- 230000002776 aggregation Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000004220 aggregation Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000000049 pigment Substances 0.000 description 5
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 5
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- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- 239000004744 fabric Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000005192 partition Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000004753 textile Substances 0.000 description 4
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000003086 colorant Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000001035 drying Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000007641 inkjet printing Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000002904 solvent Substances 0.000 description 3
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- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 2
- 210000000078 claw Anatomy 0.000 description 2
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- 239000007921 spray Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000011230 binding agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 125000002091 cationic group Chemical group 0.000 description 1
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000011109 contamination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007812 deficiency Effects 0.000 description 1
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- 239000002985 plastic film Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920001296 polysiloxane Polymers 0.000 description 1
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- 239000002759 woven fabric Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- 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
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to an inkjet recording apparatus including a treatment liquid head that ejects treatment liquid and an ink head that ejects ink.
- An inkjet recording apparatus such as an inkjet printer includes an ink head that ejects ink for image formation onto a recording medium, and a treatment liquid head that ejects a predetermined treatment liquid.
- the recording medium is a fiber sheet such as a woven or knitted fabric or a plastic sheet
- a pretreatment liquid and a posttreatment liquid to the recording medium before and after ink is ejected onto the recording medium.
- the pretreatment liquid is, for example, a treatment liquid for improving fixability of ink to a recording medium and cohesion of ink pigments.
- a post-treatment liquid is, for example, a treatment liquid that enhances the fastness of the printed image.
- the inkjet recording apparatus is provided with a treatment liquid head for ejecting the pretreatment liquid and the posttreatment liquid in addition to the ink head.
- An inkjet recording apparatus generally includes a maintenance area for the ink head and the treatment liquid head in addition to a print area for performing print processing (for example, Patent Document 1).
- a maintenance area for the ink head and the treatment liquid head in addition to a print area for performing print processing (for example, Patent Document 1).
- processing such as removing clogging of nozzles for ejecting ink or processing liquid and removing contamination from the nozzle array surface of the head is performed.
- a purge operation for discharging pressurized liquid from the nozzles, a wiping operation for wiping the nozzle array surface with a wiper having a wiping member such as a blade, and the like are performed.
- An inkjet recording apparatus includes a treatment liquid head that ejects treatment liquid, an ink head that ejects ink, a treatment liquid wiper that wipes the treatment liquid head, and an ink wiper that wipes the ink head. and an ink container having a first opening for receiving the ink.
- a movement range of the treatment liquid wiper during the wiping is set to a position avoiding a position directly above the first opening. It should be noted that the "position avoiding the position directly above” means a position outside the upper space of the first opening, or a position where another member is interposed between a partial region of the first opening and the processing liquid wiper. including where you are.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an inkjet printer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the carriage and maintenance unit shown in FIG. 1;
- FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the carriage and maintenance unit.
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the inkjet printer.
- FIG. 6 is an overall perspective view of the maintenance unit.
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the maintenance unit shown in FIG. 6 with the cleaning unit removed.
- 8A is a perspective view of the state in which the wiping unit is further removed from the state of FIG. 7;
- FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the treatment liquid container in FIG. 8A.
- the top view of FIG. 9 is a plan view of the wiping unit, and the bottom view of FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the ink heads mounted on the carriage.
- FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one wiper included in the wiping unit.
- FIG. 11A is a perspective view of the maintenance unit with a perspective direction different from that of FIG. 7;
- FIG. 11B is an enlarged view of the drive system portion of the wiping unit.
- FIG. 12 is a perspective view for explaining the moving direction of the wiping unit.
- FIG. 13 is a top view of the maintenance unit showing the movement path of the wiping unit.
- FIG. 14A is a schematic diagram showing an example of arrangement of the treatment liquid container avoiding the position directly above the opening of the ink container, and is a cross-sectional view of the treatment liquid container in the left-right direction.
- FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view in the left-right direction similarly showing an arrangement example of the processing liquid container.
- FIG. 14C is also a cross-sectional view in the left-right direction showing an arrangement example of the treatment liquid container.
- FIG. 14D is also a top view showing an arrangement example of the treatment liquid container.
- FIG. 15A is a schematic diagram for explaining the movement range of the treatment liquid wiper during wiping.
- FIG. 15B is a schematic diagram for explaining the movement range of the treatment liquid wiper during wiping.
- FIG. 15A is a schematic diagram for explaining the movement range of the treatment liquid wiper during wiping.
- FIG. 15C is a schematic diagram for explaining the movement range of the treatment liquid wiper during wiping.
- FIG. 16A is a schematic side view showing an ink wiper and its cleaning member;
- FIG. 16B is a perspective view of main parts of the maintenance unit showing the arrangement of the cleaning members;
- FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the inclined arrangement of the ink blade and the treatment liquid blade.
- FIG. 18A is a diagram showing a wiping situation of the head with a non-tilted blade.
- FIG. 18B is a diagram showing a wiping state of the head by a treatment liquid blade and an ink blade having an inclination.
- FIG. 18C is a diagram showing a wiping state of the head by a treatment liquid blade and an ink blade having an inclination.
- FIG. 19 is a plan view showing another example of tilted arrangement of wipers.
- an inkjet printer equipped with an ink head for ejecting ink for image formation onto a wide and long recording medium will be exemplified.
- the inkjet printer of the present embodiment is suitable for digital textile printing, in which images such as characters and patterns are printed on a recording medium made of fabric such as woven fabric or knitted fabric by an inkjet method.
- the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present disclosure can also be used for printing various inkjet images on recording media such as paper sheets and resin sheets.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an inkjet printer 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure
- FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.
- the inkjet printer 1 is a printer that prints an image on a wide and long work W by an inkjet method, and includes a device frame 10 and a work transport section 20 and a carriage 3 incorporated in the device frame 10 .
- the horizontal direction is the main scanning direction in printing on the work W
- the direction from the rear to the front is the sub-scanning direction, which is the conveying direction F of the work W.
- the device frame 10 forms a framework for mounting various components of the inkjet printer 1 .
- the work conveying unit 20 is a mechanism that intermittently feeds the work W so that the work W advances in the conveying direction F from the rear to the front in the printing area where the inkjet printing process is performed.
- the carriage 3 carries an ink head 4, a pre-processing head 5, a post-processing head 6, and sub-tanks (not shown), and reciprocates in the horizontal direction during the ink jet printing process.
- the device frame 10 includes a center frame 111, a right frame 112 and a left frame 113.
- the central frame 111 forms a framework for mounting various components of the inkjet printer 1 , and has a lateral width corresponding to the work transport section 20 .
- the right frame 112 and the left frame 113 are erected on the right and left sides of the center frame 111 and the center frame 111, respectively.
- the area between the right frame 112 and the left frame 113 is the print area 12 where the work W is printed.
- the right frame 112 forms the maintenance area 13.
- the maintenance area 13 is an area in which the carriage 3 is retracted when the printing process is not executed.
- a maintenance unit 7 is arranged in the maintenance area 13 .
- the maintenance unit 7 is positioned below the retracted carriage 3 .
- the maintenance unit 7 is a unit for performing a wiping process for wiping the lower surfaces (nozzle array surfaces) of the ink head 4, the pretreatment head 5, and the posttreatment head 6, and a nozzle purging process.
- the maintenance unit 7 also functions as a cap that prevents the heads 4, 5, and 6 from drying when they are at rest.
- the left frame 113 forms a folding area 14 for the carriage 3 .
- the turn-around area 14 is an area where the carriage 3 that has scanned the print area 12 from right to left in the printing process temporarily enters before scanning in the reverse direction.
- a carriage guide 15 is assembled on the upper side of the device frame 10 to allow the carriage 3 to reciprocate in the left-right direction.
- the carriage guide 15 is a flat plate-shaped member elongated in the left-right direction, and is arranged above the work transport section 20 .
- a timing belt 16 is attached to the carriage guide 15 so as to be rotatably movable in the horizontal direction (main scanning direction).
- the timing belt 16 is an endless belt, and is driven by a drive source (not shown) so as to circulate leftward or rightward.
- the carriage guide 15 is equipped with a pair of upper and lower guide rails 17 extending in parallel in the horizontal direction.
- the carriage 3 has engaging portions for the guide rails 17 .
- Carriage 3 is fixed to timing belt 16 . As the timing belt 16 revolves leftward or rightward, the carriage 3 moves leftward or rightward along the carriage guide 15 while being guided by the guide rail 17 .
- the work conveying unit 20 includes a feed roller 21 for feeding the work W before printing, and a winding roller 22 for winding the work W after printing.
- the delivery roller 21 is arranged at the rear lower part of the device frame 10 and is a winding shaft of the delivery roll WA, which is a wound body of the work W before printing.
- the winding roller 22 is arranged in the lower front portion of the device frame 10 and serves as a winding shaft for a winding roll WB, which is a wound body of the work W after printing processing.
- the winding roller 22 is provided with a first motor M1 that rotates the winding roller 22 about its axis and causes the workpiece W to be wound up.
- the path between the delivery roller 21 and the take-up roller 22 and passing through the printing area 12 is the work W transport path.
- a first tension roller 23, a work guide 24, a conveying roller 25, a pinch roller 26, a folding roller 27, and a second tension roller 28 are arranged in this conveying path in this order from the upstream side.
- the first tension roller 23 applies a predetermined tension to the work W on the upstream side of the transport roller 25 .
- the work guide 24 changes the conveying direction of the work W from the upward direction to the forward direction, and carries the work W into the printing area 12 .
- the transport roller 25 generates a transport force that intermittently feeds the work W in the printing area 12 .
- the transport roller 25 is rotationally driven around its axis by a second motor M2.
- the transport roller 25 intermittently transports the work W forward (transport direction F) so that the work W passes through the printing area 12 facing the carriage 3 .
- the pinch roller 26 is arranged to face the transport roller 25 from above and forms a transport nip portion together with the transport roller 25 .
- the return roller 27 changes the conveying direction of the work W that has passed through the printing area 12 from the forward direction to the downward direction, and guides the work W after the printing process to the take-up roller 22 .
- the second tension roller 28 applies a predetermined tension to the work W on the downstream side of the transport roller 25 .
- a platen 29 is arranged below the transport path of the work W in the printing area 12 .
- the carriage 3 reciprocates in the main scanning direction (horizontal direction) intersecting the transport direction F while being cantilevered by the guide rail 17 .
- the carriage 3 includes a carriage frame 30, an ink head 4 mounted on the carriage frame 30, a pre-processing head 5, a post-processing head 6, and sub-tanks (not shown).
- a carriage frame 30 includes a head support frame 31 and a back frame 32 .
- a head support frame 31 is a horizontal plate that holds the heads 4 to 6 described above.
- the back frame 32 is a vertical plate extending upward from the rear edge of the head support frame 31 .
- the timing belt 16 is fixed to the back frame 32 and the guide rail 17 is engaged.
- FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the carriage 3 shown in FIG. 1, with the maintenance unit 7 also shown. 3 shows a conveying direction F (sub-scanning direction) of the workpiece W and a main scanning direction S, which is the moving direction of the carriage 3.
- a carriage 3 is equipped with a plurality of ink heads 4 for ejecting ink for image formation onto a work W, and a pre-treatment head 5 and a post-treatment head 6 for ejecting a non-color-forming treatment liquid. example.
- a plurality of sub-tanks for supplying the ink and the processing liquid to these heads 4, 5 and 6 are also mounted on the actual carriage 3. As shown in FIG.
- Each of the ink heads 4 includes a large number of nozzles that eject ink droplets by an ejection method such as a piezo method using a piezo element or a thermal method using a heating element, and an ink passage that guides ink to the nozzles.
- an ejection method such as a piezo method using a piezo element or a thermal method using a heating element
- an ink passage that guides ink to the nozzles.
- the ink for example, a water-based pigment ink containing a water-based solvent, a pigment, and a binder resin can be used.
- the plurality of ink heads 4 in this embodiment includes first to eighth ink heads 4A to 4H that eject inks of eight different colors.
- the ink heads 4A to 4H for each color are mounted on the head support frame 31 of the carriage 3 so as to be aligned in the main scanning direction S.
- Each color ink head 4A to 4H has two heads.
- the first ink head 4A is arranged at an upstream head 4A1 arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction F and a position downstream of the upstream head 4A1 and shifted to the left side in the main scanning direction S. It is composed of the arranged downstream head 4A2.
- the upstream heads of these ink heads 4B to 4H are aligned in the main scanning direction S at the same position in the transport direction F as the upstream head 4A1. They are arranged in a row in the main scanning direction S at the same position.
- the pretreatment head 5 (treatment liquid head) and the posttreatment head 6 are arranged at positions different from the ink head 4 in the transport direction F.
- the pretreatment head 5 is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction F of the ink head 4 .
- FIG. 3 shows an example in which one pretreatment head 5 is arranged near the left end of the array of ink heads 4 .
- the post-processing head 6 is arranged downstream of the ink head 4 in the transport direction F.
- FIG. 3 shows an example in which two post-processing heads 6A and 6B are arranged side by side in the main scanning direction S near the right end of the array of ink heads 4.
- FIG. 3 shows an example in which two post-processing heads 6A and 6B are arranged side by side in the main scanning direction S near the right end of the array of ink heads 4.
- the pretreatment head 5 ejects a pretreatment liquid for performing a predetermined pretreatment on the work W.
- the pretreatment liquid is ejected from the pretreatment head 5 onto a position of the work W to which ink has not yet been ejected from the ink head 4 .
- the pretreatment liquid is a non-color-developing treatment liquid that does not develop color even if it adheres to the work W.
- the pretreatment liquid is a treatment liquid that develops a function of enhancing the fixability of ink to the work W and the cohesion of ink pigments. .
- a treatment liquid in which a binding resin is mixed with a solvent, or a treatment liquid in which a positively charged cationic resin is mixed in a solvent, or the like can be used.
- the post-treatment head 6 ejects a post-treatment liquid for performing a predetermined post-treatment on the work W to which ink has adhered.
- the post-treatment liquid is ejected from the post-treatment head 6 onto a position on the workpiece W after the ink is ejected from the ink head 4 .
- the post-treatment liquid is a non-color-developing treatment liquid that does not develop color even if it adheres to the work W, and exhibits the function of improving the fixability and fastness of the ink image printed on the work W by the ink head 4. It is a processing liquid that The robustness means resistance to rubbing and scraping.
- a silicone-based treatment liquid or the like can be used as such a post-treatment liquid.
- the non-color-developing treatment liquid refers to a liquid that cannot be recognized as colored by the naked eye when printed alone on a recording medium.
- the color includes black, white, gray, and the like, which have a saturation of 0.
- a non-color-forming treatment liquid is basically a transparent liquid, but when one liter of the treatment liquid is viewed as a liquid, it is not completely transparent and may appear slightly white. . Such colors are very faint, and when printed on a recording medium alone, they cannot be recognized with the naked eye. Note that depending on the type of treatment liquid, when the recording medium is printed alone, there may be changes such as glossiness on the recording medium, but such a state is not color development.
- An opening 31H is provided at the position of the head support frame 31 where the head is arranged.
- the ink heads 4A to 4F, the pre-processing head 5 and the post-processing head 6 are mounted on the head support frame 31 so as to be fitted into their respective openings 31H.
- Nozzles arranged on the lower end surfaces of the heads 4, 5 and 6 are exposed from the respective openings 31H.
- the inkjet printer 1 is an all-in-one printer in which three types of heads, the ink head 4, the preprocessing head 5, and the postprocessing head 6, are mounted on one carriage 3.
- this printer 1 for example, in a digital textile printing process in which inkjet printing is performed on a fabric, a pretreatment liquid ejection process and a posttreatment liquid ejection process can be integrally executed. Therefore, the textile printing process can be simplified and the textile printing apparatus can be made compact.
- FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the front and rear of the carriage 3 and the maintenance unit 7.
- FIG. Maintenance unit 7 includes container unit 70 , wiping unit 8 and cleaning unit 9 .
- the maintenance area 13 (FIG. 1) is an area for removing clogged nozzles of the heads 4, 5, and 6 and removing stains from the nozzle arrangement surface NA of the heads 4, 5, and 6, and the like. For this process, a purge operation, a wiping operation, and a cleaning operation are performed in the maintenance area 13 .
- the purge operation is an operation for forcibly ejecting pressurized ink, pretreatment liquid, and posttreatment liquid from the ink head 4, pretreatment head 5, and posttreatment head 6, respectively.
- the container unit 70 collects the ink, pretreatment liquid, and posttreatment liquid ejected from the heads 4, 5, and 6 during the purge operation.
- the wiping operation is an operation of wiping the nozzle array surface NA with a wiper having a wiping member such as a blade.
- a wiping unit 8 is a unit that performs the wiping operation.
- the cleaning operation is an operation for cleaning the wiping unit 8 that has become dirty due to the execution of the wiping operation.
- the cleaning unit 9 is a unit that performs the cleaning operation. Note that the container unit 70 also collects the cleaning liquid used in the cleaning operation.
- the container unit 70 has a structure that separates and collects the pretreatment liquid, the ink, and the posttreatment liquid.
- a treatment liquid that enhances the fixability of ink and the cohesion of ink pigments is used as the pretreatment liquid. Therefore, when the pretreatment liquid and the ink are mixed, the mixed liquid aggregates, which may hinder recovery to the waste liquid tank.
- the post-treatment liquid used in this embodiment does not cause aggregation or the like even when mixed with the ink. This is the reason for the separate collection in the container unit 70 .
- the container unit 70 includes an ink container 71 , a pretreatment liquid container 72 (treatment liquid container), and a cleaning liquid tray 73 .
- the ink container 71 is a container for collecting the ink and the post-treatment liquid ejected from the ink head 4 and the post-treatment head 6 in the purge operation.
- the ink container 71 has a first opening 71H for receiving the ink and the post-treatment liquid on its upper surface.
- the first opening 71H opens upward at a position facing at least the nozzle array surface NA of the ink head 4 and the post-processing head 6 in the vertical direction.
- the ink container 71 also collects ink and post-treatment liquid wiped from the nozzle array surface NA in the wiping operation.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is arranged at a position covering a portion above the first opening 71H.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is a container for collecting the pretreatment liquid discharged from the pretreatment head 5 in the purge operation.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 has a second opening 72H for receiving the pretreatment liquid on its upper surface.
- the second opening 72H opens upward at a position facing at least the nozzle array surface NA of the pretreatment head 5 in the vertical direction.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 also collects the pretreatment liquid wiped from the nozzle array surface NA in the wiping operation.
- the cleaning liquid tray 73 is a container for collecting the cleaning liquid 9A jetted from the cleaning liquid cleaning unit 9 in the cleaning operation.
- the container unit 70 has an overflow passage 741, a processing liquid passage 742 and a relay passage 743 for circulation of the recovered liquid.
- the overflow passage 741 is a passage that has a starting end opening on the bottom surface of the ink container 71 and a terminal side that leads to a waste liquid container (not shown).
- the treatment liquid passage 742 is a passage that has a start end opening near the bottom surface of the pretreatment liquid container 72 and a terminal side that leads to the waste liquid container.
- the relay passage 743 is a passage that has a start end opening on the bottom surface of the cleaning liquid tray 73 and an end opening near the bottom surface of the ink container 71 . That is, the cleaning liquid 9A collected in the cleaning liquid tray 73 is once introduced into the ink container 71 and then collected in the waste liquid container through the overflow passage 741.
- accepting the liquid here means accepting the liquid falling from above.
- Liquid flows into the ink container 71 from the cleaning liquid tray 73 through the relay passage 743, but this is not included in the aforementioned "receiving".
- the liquid flowing from the cleaning liquid tray 73 contains a small amount of ink, pre-treatment liquid and post-treatment liquid in addition to the cleaning liquid.
- a partition may be provided in the cleaning liquid tray 73 so that only the liquid that does not contain the pretreatment liquid flows into the ink container 71 .
- a cap rubber 75 is attached to the upper surface 70A of the container unit 70.
- the cap rubber 75 is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the first opening 71 ⁇ /b>H of the ink container 71 .
- the carriage 3 can move vertically as indicated by an arrow A1 in the drawing. When the carriage 3 is in standby mode in the maintenance area 13 or when the printer 1 is at rest, the carriage 3 is lowered and the lower surface 311 of the head support frame 31 is brought into contact with the cap rubber 75 . As a result, the nozzle arrangement surfaces NA of the heads 4, 5 and 6 are sealed.
- the wiping unit 8 includes a wiper support plate 81 (support plate), an ink wiper 82 supported by the wiper support plate 81, a pretreatment liquid wiper 83 (treatment liquid wiper), and a posttreatment liquid wiper 84.
- the wiping unit 8 can move forward and backward as indicated by an arrow A2 in the drawing.
- the wiper support plate 81 is a plate-like member and moves in the front-rear direction between the carriage 3 and the cleaning unit 9 and the container unit 70 .
- the ink wiper 82 wipes the nozzle array surface NA of the ink head 4 by moving backward while in contact with the nozzle array surface NA.
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 and the posttreatment liquid wiper 84 wipe the nozzle arrangement surfaces NA of the pretreatment head 5 and the posttreatment head 6, respectively.
- the cleaning unit 9 includes a nozzle holding plate 91 and a plurality of cleaning nozzles 92 held by this nozzle holding plate 91 .
- the nozzle holding plate 91 is made of a flat member and is fixedly arranged so as to face the cleaning liquid tray 73 of the container unit 70 .
- a plurality of cleaning nozzles 92 are arranged at positions corresponding to each of the ink wiper 82 , the pre-treatment liquid wiper 83 and the post-treatment liquid wiper 84 mounted on the wiper support plate 81 . That is, when the wiping unit 8 moves to a predetermined position directly below the cleaning unit 9, the cleaning nozzles 92 are held by the nozzle holding plate 91 at positions facing the wipers 82, 83, and 84 from above. there is
- the cleaning nozzle 92 radiates the cleaning liquid 9A in a fan-shaped spray.
- the cleaning nozzle 92 is supplied with the cleaning liquid 9A from a cleaning liquid tank (not shown) through a cleaning liquid hose
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing part of the control configuration of the printer 1. As shown in FIG.
- the printer 1 includes a controller 33 , a carriage drive motor 34 , a carriage elevation motor 35 , a wiper movement motor 36 , a cleaning water supply pump 37 and a head drive section 38 whose operations are controlled by the controller 33 .
- the carriage drive motor 34 generates driving force to move the carriage 3 in the left-right direction within the range of the turn-back area 14, the print area 12 and the maintenance area 13 (FIG. 1).
- Carriage drive motor 34 drives timing belt 16 (FIGS. 1-3).
- the carriage lift motor 35 generates driving force for moving the carriage 3 vertically in the maintenance area 13 .
- the wiper movement motor 36 generates driving force for moving the wiping unit 8 in the front-rear direction.
- the cleaning water supply pump 37 is connected to the cleaning liquid hose 93 and supplies the cleaning liquid 9A to the cleaning nozzle 92 at a predetermined pressure.
- the head drive unit 38 executes the operation of ejecting ink, pretreatment liquid, and posttreatment liquid from the heads 4, 5, and 6.
- the controller 33 controls the wiper movement motor 36 to move the wiping unit 8 backward to the retracted position below the cleaning unit 9 .
- the controller 33 controls the head driving section 38 to eject the ink, the pre-treatment liquid and the post-treatment liquid from the heads 4, 5 and 6 at high pressure to clean the nozzles.
- the ink and post-treatment liquid ejected by the purge operation are recovered in an ink container 71, and the pre-treatment liquid is recovered in a pre-treatment liquid container 72, respectively.
- the controller 33 controls the wiper movement motor 36 to move the wiping unit 8 to the most forward wiping start position.
- the controller 33 controls the carriage elevation motor 35 to lower the nozzle arrangement surface NA of each head 4 , 5 , 6 to a height position in contact with the wipers 82 , 83 , 84 of the wiping unit 8 .
- the controller 33 moves the wiping unit 8 rearward.
- the ink and post-treatment liquid wiped from the nozzle array surface NA by the wiping of the ink wiper 82 and the post-treatment liquid wiper 84 are recovered in the ink container 71 .
- the pretreatment liquid wiped from the nozzle arrangement surface NA by wiping of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is recovered in the pretreatment liquid container 72 .
- the controller 33 controls the wiper movement motor 36 to move the wiping unit 8 backward to the retracted position below the cleaning unit 9 .
- the controller 33 controls the cleaning water supply pump 37 to supply the cleaning liquid 9A to the cleaning nozzle 92 through the cleaning liquid hose 93 .
- the cleaning liquid 9A is sprayed onto each of the wipers 82, 83, 84 of the wiping unit 8, and the foreign matter adhered by the wiping is removed.
- the cleaning liquid 9A is collected in a cleaning liquid tray 73. As shown in FIG.
- FIG. 6 is an overall perspective view of the maintenance unit 7
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view with the cleaning unit 9 removed from FIG. 6
- FIG. 8A is a perspective view with the wiping unit 8 removed from the state of FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the pretreatment liquid container 72 of FIG. 8A.
- FIGS. 6 and 7 show a state in which the wiping unit 8 is in a standby state waiting for a wiping command or a state in which the cleaning operation is being executed, and the wiping unit 8 is moved to the rearmost side.
- the maintenance unit 7 includes the container unit 70, the wiping unit 8 and the cleaning unit 9.
- the container unit 70 is attached to the apparatus frame 10 (FIG. 1) so as to be able to be drawn forward in the maintenance area 13 .
- the wiping unit 8 is attached to the container unit 70 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.
- the cleaning unit 9 is fixedly attached to the device frame 10 .
- the container unit 70 includes a frame structure 700 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape slightly elongated in the front-rear direction, an ink container 71 and a pretreatment liquid container 72 arranged in front of the frame structure 700, and a cleaning solution tray 73 positioned on the side.
- the frame structure 700 includes a pair of left and right side frames 701 extending in the front-rear direction, and a front frame 702 connecting the front ends of the side frames 701 together.
- a handle 703 for drawing out the container unit 70 forward is attached to the front frame 702 .
- a plurality of waste liquid hoses 704 are pulled out from below the front frame 702 .
- the waste liquid hose 704 connects an overflow passage 741 communicating with the cavity of the ink container 71, a processing liquid passage 742 communicating with the cavity of the pretreatment liquid container 72, and a waste liquid tank (not shown).
- Sliders 705 are attached to the outer side surfaces of the pair of side frames 701 .
- the slider 705 engages with a guide rail (not shown) fixed to the device frame 10 to allow the container unit 70 to be pulled forward from the device frame 10 .
- a chain protector 706 is provided below the frame structure 700 to accommodate electrical cables and hoses. The chain protector 706 deforms as the container unit 70 is pulled out.
- the ink container 71 is a saucer-shaped container having a rectangular first opening 71H elongated in the left-right direction on the upper surface.
- the ink container 71 includes a rectangular bottom surface 711 elongated in the left-right direction, four tapered surfaces 712 extending upward from four edges of the bottom surface 711, and an upper end flange 708 formed along the periphery of the first opening 71H. .
- the ink container 71 is separate from the frame structure 700 and is fitted into the frame structure 700 .
- a top flange 708 of the ink container 71 is supported by the side frame 701 and the front frame 702 .
- a starting end opening of the overflow passage 741 protrudes upward from the bottom surface 711 by a predetermined length.
- a terminal opening of the relay passage 743 protrudes from near the lower end of the tapered surface 712 on the left side.
- the size of the first opening 71H in the left-right direction is substantially equal to the distance between the pair of side frames 701.
- the size of the first opening 71 ⁇ /b>H in the front-rear direction is slightly larger than half of the front-rear width of the container unit 70 .
- a cap rubber 75 is attached to the upper surface of the upper end flange 708 so as to surround the first opening 71H.
- the upper end flange 708 is a portion corresponding to the upper surface 70A shown in the schematic diagram of FIG.
- the head support frame 31 of the carriage 3 has a size larger than the area surrounded by the cap rubber 75 .
- the arrangement area of the heads 4, 5, 6 held by the head support frame 31 is slightly smaller than the size of the first opening 71H.
- the cap rubber 75 abuts against the lower surface 311 of the head support frame 31 on the outer periphery of the arrangement area of the heads 4, 5, 6 to seal the nozzle arrangement surface NA of the heads 4, 5, 6.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is arranged at the left rear position of the ink container 71 so as to partially cover the first opening 71H.
- the arrangement position of the pretreatment liquid container 72 is the position where the pretreatment head 5 held by the carriage 3 faces directly during wiping.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is also arranged at a corresponding position.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 has a rectangular second opening 72H elongated in the front-rear direction so as to correspond to the shape of the nozzle array surface NA of the pretreatment head 5 on its upper surface.
- the second opening 72H is at the same height position as the first opening 71H. In other words, the second opening 72H occupies part of the area of the original first opening 71H.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is formed by a front wall 721 , a rear wall 722 , a right wall 723 and a left wall 724 .
- the rear wall 722 uses the upper end portion of the rear tapered surface 712 of the ink container 71
- the left wall 724 uses the upper end portion of the left tapered surface 712 .
- the front wall 721 is a wall near the upper end of the left tapered surface 712 and protrudes rightward from near the center in the front-rear direction.
- the right wall 723 is a wall that connects the right edges of the front wall 721 and the rear wall 722 .
- the right wall 723 extends substantially vertically upward from the left tapered surface 712 that is inclined to the lower right.
- the cleaning liquid tray 73 is a container with a shallower depth than the ink container 71, having a rectangular top opening that is elongated in the left-right direction.
- the bottom surface of the cleaning liquid tray 73 includes an inclined surface 731 and a liquid collection surface 732 .
- the inclined surface 731 is a surface that slopes gently downward from the right end of the cleaning liquid tray 73 toward the left end.
- the liquid collecting surface 732 is positioned near the left end of the cleaning liquid tray 73 and is a flat surface forming the deepest part of the bottom surface.
- the left edge of the inclined surface 731 continues to the right edge of the liquid collecting surface 732 .
- the starting end of the relay passage 743 is open to the liquid collecting surface 732 .
- the wiping unit 8 includes a wiper support plate 81 , an ink wiper 82 , a pretreatment liquid wiper 83 , a posttreatment liquid wiper 84 and a wiper driver 85 .
- 9 is a plan view of the wiper support plate 81 holding the wipers 82, 83, 84, and the bottom view of FIG.
- FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the arrangement, showing the correspondence with wipers 82, 83, and 84.
- FIG. The layout of the heads 4, 5, 6 shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 9 is the same as the embodiment exemplified in FIG.
- the wiper support plate 81 is formed by punching a thin flat plate member, and has a plurality of strip-shaped projecting plates 811 .
- the plurality of convex plates 811 protrude in the rearward direction, which is the movement direction during wiping.
- a recess 812 recessed forward is formed between adjacent convex plates 811 .
- An ink wiper 82 for wiping the nozzle arrangement surface NA of the ink head 4 is attached to the edge (rear edge) of the convex plate 811 and the edge of the recess 812 .
- the ink wiper 82 arranged at the edge of the convex plate 811 is for wiping the upstream head of each color ink head 4, such as the ink wiper 82A1 arranged for the upstream head 4A1 of the first ink head 4A.
- the ink wiper 82 arranged at the edge of the recess 812 is for wiping the downstream head of each color ink head 4, such as the ink wiper 82A2 arranged for the downstream head 4A2.
- the support area supporting the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 that wipes the nozzle array surface NA of the pretreatment head 5 projects more rearward in the movement direction during wiping than the other area of the wiper support plate 81. It is placed in the position where Specifically, a convex piece 814 extends further rearward from the rear end of the leftmost convex plate 811 .
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is attached to the edge (rear end) of the projecting piece 814 .
- a window portion 815 corresponding to the recess 812 is provided on the front side of the projecting piece 814 .
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is arranged to be supported at a portion of the wiper support plate 81 that protrudes most in the moving direction, the pretreatment liquid wiped by the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 during wiping is applied to the wiper support plate 81 . becomes difficult to adhere to other parts of the
- the pretreatment head 5 and the downstream head 4A2 of the first ink head 4A are arranged at positions where they entirely overlap each other in the movement direction (backward direction) during wiping. It is That is, the preprocessing head 5 and the downstream head 4A2 are arranged side by side on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction F at the same position in the left-right direction of the head support frame 31 . With such an arrangement, the path through which the ink wiper 82A2 passes when heading from the wiping area to the cleaning unit 9 overlaps the path wiped by the pretreatment liquid wiper 83.
- the pretreatment head 5 and the downstream head 4A2 are arranged in a positional relationship in which they completely overlap in the moving direction during wiping, they may be arranged so as to be slightly shifted in the left-right direction. .
- the right end side of the wiper support plate 81 is a support area that supports a post-treatment liquid wiper 84 that wipes the nozzle array surface NA of the post-treatment head 6 .
- two post-processing heads 6A and 6B are arranged side by side in the main scanning direction.
- the post-processing head 6A on the left side is the upstream head 4G1 of the seventh ink head 4G
- the post-processing head 6B on the right side is the upstream head 4H1 of the eighth ink head 4H. side and downstream side.
- the wiper support plate 81 has a pair of holding pieces 816 and a window portion 817 near its right end.
- the holding piece 816 supports ink wipers 82G1 and 82H1 for wiping the upstream heads 4G1 and 4H1 at its rear edge.
- Ink wipers 82G2 and 82H2 for wiping the downstream heads 4G2 and 4H2 are supported at the edge of the recess 812 adjacent to the left side of each holding piece 816.
- the window 817 is an opening arranged in front of the holding piece 816 .
- Post-treatment liquid wipers 84 (84A, 84B) for wiping the post-treatment heads 6A, 6B are respectively supported at the opening edge on the front side of the window portion 817. As shown in FIG.
- the wiper support plate 81 has a plurality of protrusions 813 arranged in association with each of the wipers 82, 83, 84 described above.
- the convex portion 813 is connected to the rear end of the convex plate 811, the proximal edge of the recess 812, the rear end of the convex piece 814, and the proximal edge of the window portion 817, respectively.
- These protrusions 813 are small protrusions that protrude in the direction of movement during wiping when viewed from above.
- the wipers 82 , 83 , 84 are arranged on the associated projections 813 . Such an arrangement makes it difficult for the ink or treatment liquid adhering to the wipers 82 , 83 , 84 to adhere to the wiper support plate 81 .
- FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the detailed structure of the ink wiper 82.
- FIG. The pre-treatment liquid wiper 83 and the post-treatment liquid wiper 84 also have the same structure as the ink wiper 82 shown here.
- the ink wiper 82 includes a wiper blade 821 (ink blade or treatment liquid blade), a first holder 822 and a second holder 823 .
- the wiper blade 821 is a plate member that actually comes into contact with the nozzle array surface NA to perform a wiping operation.
- the upper end of wiper blade 821 is located at a position protruding upward from the upper surface of wiper support plate 81 .
- the first holder 822 and the second holder 823 are members that sandwich and hold the wiper blade 821 .
- the first holder 822 is fitted into a recess provided in the projection 813 and fixed with screws to support the lower back surface of the wiper blade 821 .
- the second holder 823 is attached to the front lower portion of the wiper blade 821 .
- the second holder 823 has a pair of openings 824
- the wiper blade 821 also has through holes at the same positions as the openings 824 .
- the first holder 822 has a pair of claws 825 .
- the claw portion 825 is inserted through the through hole and the opening 824 and locks the second holder 823 at the periphery of the opening 824 .
- the wiper blade 821 is sandwiched between the first holder 822 and the second holder 823 by this locking force.
- the wiper blade 821 is held at a position that protrudes further than the projecting end face of the projection 813 .
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 and the posttreatment liquid wiper 84 may have the same structure, shape and material as the ink wiper 82 shown in FIG. good.
- the shape and material of the wiper blade 821 and the support structure of the wiper blade 821 may be different from the ink wiper 82 for the pre-treatment liquid wiper 83 and/or the post-treatment liquid wiper 84 depending on the properties of the ink and treatment liquid.
- the wiper blade 821 a blade made of rubber or resin material having a predetermined rigidity is used.
- the pretreatment liquid has the property of drying faster than the ink and is relatively difficult to wipe off.
- the wiper blade 821 of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 it is desirable to use a blade having higher rigidity than that of the ink wiper 82, or to increase the protrusion height of the wiper blade 821 to increase the wiping power. .
- FIG. 11A is a perspective view of the maintenance unit 7 with a perspective direction different from that of FIG. 7, and is a diagram for explaining the wiper drive section 85.
- FIG. FIG. 11B is an enlarged view of the XIB portion enclosed by the dotted line in FIG. 11A.
- the wiper drive unit 85 is a mechanism for moving the wiper support plate 81 holding the wipers 82, 83, 84 in the front-rear direction.
- the wiper driver 85 includes a servomotor 851 , a ball screw 852 and a slider 853 .
- a servo motor 851 is a motor corresponding to the wiper moving motor 36 shown in FIG.
- the servomotor 851 generates driving force to move the wiper support plate 81 .
- a servo motor 851 is attached to the right end of the rear plate 707 of the container unit 70 .
- the ball screw 852 is driven to rotate forward or backward around its axis by a servomotor 851 .
- the ball screw 852 extends in the front-rear direction along the right side frame 701 .
- a guide bar (not shown) extending in the front-rear direction is attached to the left side frame 701 .
- the slider 853 contains a nut member that is screwed onto the ball screw 852 . When the ball screw 852 rotates forward or backward, the slider 853 moves back and forth along the ball screw 852 .
- the slider 853 is connected to the wiper support plate 81.
- a connecting plate 818 made of an elongated flat plate member is attached to the upper portion of the slider 853 .
- the right end portion 81E of the wiper support plate 81 is placed on the connecting plate 818, and both are fastened with a fixing screw 819.
- the left end of the wiper support plate 81 is also supported by members equivalent to the connecting plate 818 and the slider 853 and guided along the guide bar.
- the movement range of the wiper support plate 81 is between the front end (wiping area) and the rear end (cleaning area) of the container unit 70 .
- the servomotor 851 is driven to rotate forward by the controller 33, the slider 853 is sent forward, and the wiper support plate 81 fixed to the slider 853 also moves forward.
- the wiper support plate 81 moves backward.
- cleaning unit 9 includes nozzle holding plate 91 and a plurality of cleaning nozzles 92 .
- the nozzle holding plate 91 is a U-shaped frame member including a top plate 911 and a pair of left and right side plates 912 .
- the top plate 911 is a flat plate having a width slightly larger than the lateral width of the container unit 70 .
- a pair of side plates 912 are flat plates hanging down from the left and right ends of the top plate 911 and face the left and right side frames 701 respectively.
- the nozzle holding plate 91 is fixed in place on the device frame 10 (Fig. 1). In a state where the container unit 70 is loaded at a predetermined position on the apparatus frame 10, the nozzle holding plate 91 has a positional relationship such that it is fitted into the rear region of the container unit 70 from above. A portion where the nozzle holding plate 91 covers the container unit 70 serves as a cleaning area for cleaning the ink wiper 82 , the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 and the posttreatment liquid wiper 84 .
- the top plate 911 vertically faces the cleaning liquid tray 73 of the container unit 70 with a predetermined gap therebetween. The gap has a vertical width that allows the wiping unit 8 to enter between the top plate 911 and the cleaning liquid tray 73 .
- a plurality of cleaning nozzles 92 are arranged at appropriate positions on the top plate 911 so as to match the layout of the wipers 82 , 83 , 84 on the wiper support plate 81 .
- the plurality of cleaning nozzles 92 includes nozzles 92A for cleaning the ink wiper 82, nozzles 92B for cleaning the pretreatment liquid wiper 83, and nozzles 92C for cleaning the posttreatment liquid wiper 84.
- FIG. These nozzles 92A, 92B, and 92C eject the cleaning liquid 9A in fan-shaped sprays from their lower end surfaces (see FIG. 4) to clean the wipers 82, 83, and 84. As shown in FIG.
- FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the initial position of the wiping unit 8 during wiping.
- the wiping unit 8 moves backward from the initial position so as to face the cleaning area where the cleaning unit 9 is arranged.
- Wiping areas where the wipers 82 , 83 , 84 wipe the heads 4 , 5 , 6 are above the first opening 71 ⁇ /b>H of the ink container 71 and the second opening 72 ⁇ /b>H of the pretreatment liquid container 72 .
- the preprocessing head 5 is supported by the carriage 3 at the leftmost position alongside the downstream head 4A2 of the first ink head 4A. Accordingly, the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is also arranged at the leftmost position on the wiper support plate 81 .
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is positioned closer to the print area 12 than the other ink wipers 82 except for the ink wiper 82A2 for the downstream head 4A2. are placed.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is naturally arranged near the left end of the ink container 71 . In this case, it is possible to realize an arrangement in which the pretreatment head 5 does not pass through the first opening 71H of the ink container 71 during the pit-in. Therefore, the pretreatment liquid attached to the pretreatment head 5 can be made difficult to drop into the ink container 71 .
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is supported by the wiper support plate 81 at a position closest to the cleaning area among the wipers 82, 83, and 84 in the movement direction from the wiping area to the cleaning area. That is, as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 9, the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is arranged on the end edge of the protruding piece 814 that protrudes most rearward in the wiper support plate 81 when viewed from above. Therefore, it is possible to introduce the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 into the cleaning area as soon as possible to carry out the cleaning process. For example, when the pretreatment liquid has a property of quick-drying, if the nozzle 92B (FIG. 6) for cleaning the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is arranged at the most front side of the nozzle holding plate 91, it can be immediately dried. It becomes possible to clean the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 .
- FIG. 13 is a top view of the maintenance unit 7 showing the movement path MW of the wiping unit 8 during wiping.
- the position indicated by the dotted line in the drawing is the initial position of the wiping unit 8 and the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 during wiping.
- the positions of the wiping unit 8 indicated by solid lines are the wiping completion position where the wipers 82, 83, and 84 are cleaned, and the waiting position for waiting for a wiping operation execution instruction.
- the movement path MW (movement range) during wiping of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is set at a position avoiding the position directly above the first opening 71H of the ink container 71 .
- the range of movement of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 during the wiping operation in the wiping area is set immediately above the second opening 72 ⁇ /b>H of the pretreatment liquid container 72 .
- the first opening 71H does not substantially exist directly below the area where the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 wipes the nozzle array surface NA of the pretreatment head 5, and most or all of the area is the second opening 71H. It is arranged to face the opening 72H in the vertical direction.
- the first opening 71H of the ink container 71 is arranged at a position other than the area where the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 wipes the nozzle array surface NA.
- the pretreatment liquid wiped by the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 during wiping can be reduced from entering the ink container 71 through the first opening 71H. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of chemical reactions such as aggregation of ink.
- the ink container 71 and the pretreatment liquid container 72 are viewed in the direction along the movement path MW (the front-rear direction), a portion of the first opening 71H (left front portion) and the second opening 72H are arranged in series. It can be said that there is (see FIG. 13). That is, the arrangement is such that a part of the first opening 71H is on the front side and the second opening 72H is on the rear side.
- the orientation direction of the movement path MW that is, the movement direction of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is from the front side to the rear side. In other words, the moving direction of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is the direction away from the first opening 71H.
- FIG. 13 The orientation direction of the movement path MW, that is, the movement direction of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is from the front side to the rear side. In other words, the moving direction of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is the direction away from the first opening 71H.
- the rear edge (rear wall 722) of the pretreatment liquid container 72 is flush with the rear edge (rear tapered surface 712) of the ink container 71.
- the first opening 71H is not interposed between the rear edge of the pretreatment liquid container 72 and the cleaning area on the movement path MW. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of pretreatment liquid that may scatter when the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 finishes wiping the pretreatment head 5 and separates from the nozzle array surface NA from entering the ink container 71 .
- the orientation direction of the movement path MW is the direction in which the cleaning area in which the cleaning unit 9 is arranged is located.
- Such an arrangement also contributes to preventing the pretreatment liquid from scattering. That is, when the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is separated from the nozzle array surface NA of the pretreatment head 5, even if the pretreatment liquid adhering to the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 scatters, the scatter destination becomes the cleaning area. In the cleaning area, the scattered pretreatment liquid is diluted with a relatively large amount of cleaning liquid and collected by the cleaning liquid tray 73 . Therefore, it is possible to realize an operation in which droplets of the pretreatment liquid are less likely to enter the ink container 71 .
- FIG. 14A to 14D are schematic diagrams showing various layout examples of the pretreatment liquid container 72, avoiding the position directly above the first opening 71H of the ink container 71.
- FIG. 14A to 14C are schematic cross-sectional views of the maintenance unit 7 in the horizontal direction, and
- FIG. 14D is a top view.
- “A position avoiding the position directly above” means a position outside the upper space of the first opening 71H, and another member intervening between a partial region of the first opening 71H and the pretreatment liquid wiper 83. including positions where
- FIG. 14A shows an example in which the pretreatment liquid container 72 is arranged at a position covering part of the first opening 71H, so that the movement range of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is set to a position that avoids being directly above the first opening 71H. is shown.
- the example of FIG. 14A is similar to the example shown in FIG. 8A above.
- the movement range of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is set above the first opening 71H, and the second opening 72H of the pretreatment liquid container 72 is arranged below the movement range. "A position avoiding the position directly above the opening 71H" is achieved.
- FIG. 14B simply shows an example in which the movement range of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is set to a position outside the space above the first opening 71H.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is naturally arranged at a position not vertically overlapping the first opening 71H.
- 14C shows an example in which another member is interposed between the first opening 71H and the pretreatment liquid wiper 83.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72 is arranged adjacent to the ink container 71 .
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is positioned above the first opening 71H for wiping of the pretreatment head 5 arranged above the first opening 71H.
- a guide plate 76 is arranged below the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 so as to be inclined downward toward the second opening 72H. The pretreatment liquid wiped from the pretreatment head 5 by the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is guided through the guide plate 76 to the second opening 72H.
- FIG. 14D shows an example in which "the position avoiding the position directly above the first opening 71H" is achieved by devising the shape of the ink container 71.
- the ink container 71 has a notch portion 713 at a position corresponding to the lower portion of the arrangement area of the pretreatment head 5 . Therefore, the movement range of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is out of the first opening 71H.
- a pretreatment liquid container 72 is arranged in the notch 713 .
- FIG. 15A shows the actual wiping range d1 in which the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 substantially performs the wiping operation.
- the actual wiping range d1 corresponds to the width of the nozzle array portion 51 in which a large number of nozzles for ejecting the pretreatment liquid are arranged in the pretreatment head 5 .
- d1 is the length from the upstream end (front end) to the downstream end (rear end) of the nozzle array portion 51 in the moving direction of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 .
- the nozzle array portion 51 is a portion to which the pretreatment liquid actually adheres. Therefore, the period during which the actual wiping range d1 is moved is a section in which the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 (wiper blade 821) substantially performs the work of wiping the pretreatment liquid.
- the wiped pretreatment liquid drops from the wiper blade 821 along the second holder 823 (see FIG. 10). The dropped pretreatment liquid is received by the pretreatment liquid container 72 .
- a pretreatment liquid container 72 having a second opening 72H having a front-to-rear width covering the actual wiping range d1 and the thickness of the pretreatment liquid wipers 83 in front and behind thereof is positioned below the pretreatment head 5.
- FIG. An example of placement is shown.
- the second opening 72 ⁇ /b>H may have the same size as or slightly larger than the actual wiping range d1.
- FIG. 15B shows the container area range d2 where the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 exits the wiping area from the actual wiping start position.
- the actual wiping start position is the upstream end of the nozzle array portion 51, as in FIG. 15A. Since the wiping area is the range covered by the first opening 71H of the ink container 71 in this embodiment, the position where the wiping area passes is the rear edge of the first opening 71H.
- FIG. 15B shows an example in which a pretreatment liquid container 72A having a second opening 72H covering such a container area range d2 is arranged below the pretreatment head 5. As shown in FIG.
- the pretreatment liquid dripping from the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 while heading to the cleaning area after the completion of the actual wiping is collected in the pretreatment liquid container 72A. be able to.
- FIG. 15C shows the entire range d3 of the predetermined movement path MW (FIG. 13) along which the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 moves when performing wiping.
- the rear end of the movement path MW is the standby position and operation completion position of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 .
- the front end of the movement path MW is the position where the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 moves most forward in a series of wiping operations. That is, the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 advances from the rear end to the front end of the movement path MW during the wiping operation, and after the carriage 3 descends and the nozzle array surface NA reaches a predetermined wiping height, the movement path MW is reached. Move back from the front end to the rear end.
- the space between the front edge of the pretreatment head 5 and the upstream end of the nozzle array section 51 is defined as the front end of the movement path MW. Also good.
- FIG. 15C shows an example in which a pretreatment liquid container 72B having a second opening 72H covering the entire range d3 is arranged below the pretreatment head 5.
- the pretreatment liquid container 72B has a partition plate 725 at the boundary between the wiping area and the cleaning area. The rear portion of the pretreatment liquid container 72B enters the cleaning area. By providing the partition plate 725, the pretreatment liquid recovered in the wiping area can be isolated and recovered through an independent path.
- the ink wiper 82A2 (FIG. 9) arranged for the downstream head 4A2 located on the leftmost side is the ink wiper 82A2 (FIG. 9), which is located in the pretreatment liquid container 72 when the wiping unit 8 heads toward the cleaning area. It passes over the second opening 72H. During this passage, the ink adhering to the ink wiper 82A2 may drop into the pretreatment liquid container 72 and cause aggregation or the like. An example that addresses this deficiency is shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B.
- FIG. 16A is a schematic side view showing the periphery of the ink wiper 82A2.
- the wiper blade 821 of the ink wiper 82A2 is supported by the protrusion 813 of the wiper support plate 81 while being held by the first holder 822 and the second holder 823 .
- the ink wiper 82A2 wipes the downstream head 4A2 of the first ink head 4A, the wiped ink or the like may remain as deposits T without dropping from the lower end of the ink wiper 82A2.
- FIG. 16B is a perspective view of main parts of the container unit 70 showing the arrangement of the sponge 77.
- the second opening 72H is arranged downstream of the first opening 71H in the moving direction of the ink wiper 82A2 toward the cleaning area.
- the sponge 77 is arranged upstream of the second opening 72H at a height position contacting the lower end surface of the ink wiper 82A2.
- a support plate 78 protrudes near the upper end of the left tapered surface 712 of the ink container 71 and upstream of the second opening 72H.
- a lower end of the sponge 77 is fixed to the upper surface of the support plate 78 .
- the deposit T containing ink is removed by the sponge 77 before the ink wiper 82A2 reaches the second opening 72H. Therefore, it is possible to prevent ink from entering the pretreatment liquid container 72 .
- FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the inclined arrangement of the ink wiper 82 and the pretreatment liquid wiper 83.
- the ink wiper 82 has a wiper blade 821A (ink blade) extending in a direction (horizontal direction) that intersects the moving direction (front-rear direction) during wiping.
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 also has a wiper blade 821B (treatment liquid blade) extending in the left-right direction.
- the wiper blade 821A of the ink wiper 82 is arranged at an angle so that its left end side protrudes more than its right end side in the moving direction of the ink wiper 82 during wiping.
- the ink wiper 82A1 that wipes the upstream head 4A1 of the first ink head 4A located to the right of the pretreatment head 5.
- FIG. 18C the wiper blade 821A of the ink wiper 82A1 has a left end 82L (first end) on the side where the treatment liquid container 72 exists and a right end 82R (second end) on the opposite side. It is arranged at an angle so as to protrude further in the direction of movement.
- the post-treatment liquid wipers 84A, 84B for wiping the post-treatment heads 6A, 6B are also inclined so that the left end protrudes in the moving direction more than the right end.
- the wiper blade 821B of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is inclined so that its right end side protrudes more than its left end side in the moving direction of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 .
- the wiper blade 821B of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 has a right end 83R (third end) on the side adjacent to the first opening 71H of the ink container 71 on the right, and a left end on the opposite side. It is arranged at an angle so as to protrude further in the movement direction than the portion 83L (fourth end portion).
- FIG. 18A is a diagram showing wiping of the head 40 by the non-tilted wiper blade 8210.
- FIG. A liquid L adheres to the head 40 .
- Wiper blade 8210 is arranged to extend in a direction perpendicular to the wiping direction.
- the liquid L wiped from the head 40 drips from the left and right sides of the head 40 as indicated by the arrows in the figure.
- the wiper blade 8210 is applied to the pretreatment liquid wiper 83
- the pretreatment liquid dripping from the right side of the pretreatment head 5 may enter the ink container 71 .
- the wiper blade 8210 is applied to the upstream head 4A1 of the first ink head 4A, there is a risk that the ink dripping from the left side of the upstream head 4A1 may enter the pretreatment liquid container 72.
- FIG. 18B is a diagram showing the wiping of the pretreatment head 5 by the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 having an inclined wiper blade 821B.
- the wiper blade 821B has an inclination such that the right end portion 83R protrudes in the wiping direction. Therefore, the pretreatment liquid L1 wiped from the pretreatment head 5 by the wiper blade 821B drips exclusively from the left side of the pretreatment head 5 . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the pretreatment liquid L1 drips into the first opening 71H of the ink container 71 adjacent to the right side of the second opening 72H of the pretreatment liquid container 72 .
- FIG. 18C is a diagram showing how the ink head 4 (upstream head 4A1) is wiped by the ink wiper 82 having the tilted wiper blade 821A.
- the wiper blade 821A has an inclination such that the left end 82L protrudes in the wiping direction. Therefore, the ink L2 wiped from the upstream head 4A1 by the wiper blade 821A drops exclusively from the right side of the upstream head 4A1. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the ink L2 dripping into the second opening 72H during wiping.
- the inclined arrangement of the wiper blades 821A and 821B makes it possible to control the dropping destinations of the pretreatment liquid L1 and the ink L2 wiped by wiping. . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the pretreatment liquid L1 and the ink L2 are mixed in the ink container 71 or the pretreatment liquid container 72 .
- the tilted arrangement of the wiper blades 821A and 821B can suppress the mixing of the pretreatment liquid L1 and the ink L2, then part or all of the movement range during wiping of the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is the first opening 71H. may be set immediately above the .
- FIG. 19 is a plan view showing another example of tilted arrangement of wipers.
- six ink heads 4F11, 4F12, 4F13, 4F14, 4F15, and 4F16 are arranged on the front side as the ink heads 4, and six ink heads 4R11, 4R12, 4R13, 4R14, and 4R15 are arranged on the rear side. , 4R16.
- one pre-processing head 5 is provided on the upstream side of the ink head group 4, and two post-processing heads 6A and 6B are provided on the downstream side.
- Ink wipers 82F1, 82F2, 82F3, 82F4, 82F5 and 82F6 for wiping are provided for the ink heads 4F11 to 4F16 on the front side, respectively.
- Ink wipers 82R1, 82R2, 82R3, 82R4, 82R5 and 82R6 for wiping are also provided for the ink heads 4R11 to 4R16 on the rear side, respectively.
- a pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is provided for the pretreatment head 5
- posttreatment liquid wipers 84A and 84B are provided for the posttreatment heads 6A and 6B, respectively.
- a first feature of the embodiment shown in FIG. 19 is that the liquid wiped off by each wiper at the boundary between the ink container 71 and the pre-treatment liquid container 72A and the boundary between the ink container 71A and the post-treatment liquid container 72B.
- They are arranged so as to incline in the direction of going away.
- the pretreatment liquid wiper 83 is tilted so that the right end side protrudes more than the left end side at the boundary between the ink container 71 and the pretreatment liquid container 72A. are placed.
- the ink wipers 82F1 and 82R1 for wiping the ink heads 4F11 and 4R11 are inclined so that the left end protrudes more than the right end.
- This arrangement is similar to the example of FIG. 17, and makes it easier to separate and collect the pretreatment liquid and the ink. That is, the pretreatment liquid can escape to the left side to be reliably collected in the pretreatment liquid container 72A, and the ink can escape to the right side to make it difficult for the ink to mix into the pretreatment liquid container 72A.
- the post-treatment liquid wiper 84A is inclined so that the left end protrudes in the moving direction more than the right end.
- the ink wipers 82F6 and 82R6 for wiping the ink heads 4F16 and 4R16 are inclined so that the right end protrudes in the movement direction more than the left end.
- a second feature of the embodiment shown in FIG. 19 is that in the ink wipers 82F1-F6, 82R1-R6, pairs of adjacent wipers are slanted in a direction in which the wiped liquid moves away from each other, and the wiped liquid moves away from each other. This is the point at which there is a pair inclined in the approaching direction. For example, looking at the pair of ink wipers 82F2, 82F3 and the pair of ink wipers 82F4, 82F5 in the front wiper row, they are slanted so that the wiped liquid moves away from each other.
- the pair of ink wipers 82R2 and 82R3 and the pair of ink wipers 82R4 and 82R5 are pairs that are inclined in the direction in which the wiped liquid moves away from each other.
- a partition plate or the like in the ink container 71A at a position corresponding to the pair of ink wipers 82F2 and 82F3, the ink wiped off from the ink heads 4F12 and 4F13 can be separated and collected.
- the wiper row on the front side looking at the pair of ink wipers 82F1 and 82F2, the pair of ink wipers 82F3 and 82F4, and the pair of ink wipers 82F5 and 82F6, they are inclined in the direction in which the wiped liquid approaches each other.
- the pair of ink wipers 82R1 and 82R2, the pair of ink wipers 82R3 and 82R4, and the pair of ink wipers 82R5 and 82R6 are pairs inclined in the direction in which the wiped liquid moves away from each other.
- Inks that can be mixed include, for example, cyan and light cyan, blue and cyan, green and cyan, and magenta and light magenta.
- the pair of ink wipers for wiping the ink head that ejects ink that allows color mixing is tilted in the direction in which the wiped liquid approaches each other, and the pair of ink wipers for ink that does not allow color mixing wipes off the liquid.
- Ink can be collected efficiently by selectively using the arrangement in which the two are tilted in directions in which the two separate from each other.
- Inkjet printer (inkjet recording device) 4 ink head 5 pretreatment head (treatment liquid head) 6 post-treatment head 7 maintenance unit 70 container unit 71 ink container 71H first opening 72 pre-treatment liquid container (treatment liquid container) 72H Second opening 77 Sponge (removal part) 8 wiping unit 81 wiper support plate (support plate) 812 recess 813 protrusion 82 ink wiper 821A wiper blade (ink blade) 821B wiper blade (treatment liquid blade) 82L, 82R left end, right end (first end, second end) 83 Pretreatment liquid wiper (treatment liquid wiper) 83R, 83L right end, left end (third end, fourth end) 9 Washing unit (washing area) MW movement path
Abstract
Description
図1は、本開示の一実施形態に係るインクジェット式プリンター1の全体構成を示す斜視図、図2は、図1のII-II線の模式的な断面図である。インクジェット式プリンター1は、広幅且つ長尺のワークWにインクジェット方式で画像を印刷するプリンターであって、装置フレーム10と、この装置フレーム10に組み込まれたワーク搬送部20及びキャリッジ3とを含む。なお、本実施形態では、左右方向がワークWに対する印刷の際の主走査方向、後方から前方に向かう方向が副走査方向であってワークWの搬送方向Fである。
キャリッジ3について、さらに説明を加える。図3は、図1に示すキャリッジ3の拡大斜視図であり、メンテナンスユニット7も併記されている。図3には、ワークWの搬送方向F(副走査方向)と、キャリッジ3の移動方向である主走査方向Sとが示されている。図3では、ワークWに対して画像形成用のインクを吐出する複数のインクヘッド4と、非発色性の処理液を吐出する前処理ヘッド5及び後処理ヘッド6とが、キャリッジ3に搭載されている例を示している。実際のキャリッジ3には、これらヘッド4、5、6に前記インク及び前記処理液を供給する複数のサブタンクも搭載される。
図4は、キャリッジ3及びメンテナンスユニット7の前後に沿った模式的な断面図である。メンテナンスユニット7は、容器ユニット70、ワイピングユニット8及び洗浄ユニット9を含む。メンテナンスエリア13(図1)は、ヘッド4、5、6のノズルの目詰まり解消や、ヘッド4、5、6のノズル配列面NAの汚れ等を除去する処理を行うエリアである。この処理のためメンテナンスエリア13では、パージ動作、ワイピング動作及び洗浄動作が実行される。
図5は、プリンター1の制御構成の一部を示すブロック図である。プリンター1は、コントローラ33と、コントローラ33により動作が制御されるキャリッジ駆動モーター34、キャリッジ昇降モーター35、ワイパ移動モーター36、洗浄水供給ポンプ37及びヘッド駆動部38を含む。
続いて、上述のメンテナンスユニット7の一つの具体的実施形態を例示し、その詳細構造について説明する。図6は、メンテナンスユニット7の全体斜視図、図7は、図6から洗浄ユニット9を取り除いた状態の斜視図、図8Aは、図7の状態からさらにワイピングユニット8を取り除いた状態の斜視図、図8Bは、図8Aの前処理液容器72付近の拡大図である。図6及び図7では、ワイピング指令待ちの待機状態乃至は前記洗浄動作が実行される状態であって、ワイピングユニット8が最も後端側に移動されている状態を示している。
容器ユニット70は、前後方向にやや長い直方体の形状を有するフレーム構造体700と、このフレーム構造体700の前方側に配置されたインク容器71及び前処理液容器72と、フレーム構造体700の後方側に配置された洗浄液トレイ73とを含む。フレーム構造体700は、前後方向に延びる左右一対のサイドフレーム701と、これらサイドフレーム701の前端同士を繋ぐフロントフレーム702とを含む。
図7に示すように、ワイピングユニット8は、ワイパ支持板81、インクワイパ82、前処理液ワイパ83、後処理液ワイパ84及びワイパ駆動部85を含む。図9の上図は、ワイパ82、83、84を保持したワイパ支持板81の平面図、図9の下図は、キャリッジ3に搭載されたインクヘッド4、前処理ヘッド5及び後処理ヘッド6の配置を示す平面図であって、ワイパ82、83、84との対応関係を示す図である。図9の下図に示すヘッド4、5、6の配置態様は、先に図3に例示した態様と同じである。
図6を参照して、洗浄ユニット9は、ノズル保持板91及び複数の洗浄ノズル92を備える。ノズル保持板91は、天板911及び左右一対の側板912を含むU字型のフレーム材である。天板911は、容器ユニット70の左右幅よりもやや大きい幅を有する平板である。一対の側板912は、天板911の左端及び右端から垂下する平板であり、左右のサイドフレーム701と各々対峙する。
続いて、ワイピングユニット8の周辺部材に対する位置関係を含めて、ワイピング時における移動経路について説明する。図12は、ワイピングユニット8のワイピング時における初期位置を示す斜視図である。ワイピング時にワイピングユニット8は、洗浄ユニット9が配置されている洗浄エリアに向かうよう、前記初期位置から後方へ移動する。インク容器71の第1開口71H及び前処理液容器72の第2開口72Hの上方が、ワイパ82、83、84がヘッド4、5、6の払拭を行うワイピングエリアとなる。
上記の「第1開口71Hの直上を回避した位置」について、そのバリエーションを説明しておく。図14A~図14Dは、インク容器71の第1開口71Hの直上を回避した、前処理液容器72の各種配置例を示す模式図である。図14A~図14Cはメンテナンスユニット7の左右方向の模式的な断面図、図14Dは上面図である。「直上を回避した位置」とは、第1開口71Hの上方空間を外れた位置にある場合のほか、第1開口71Hの一部領域と前処理液ワイパ83との間に他の部材が介在している位置を含む。
次に、前処理液ワイパ83の移動範囲と前処理液容器72の第2開口72Hとの位置関係について説明を加える。図15A~図15Cは、前処理液ワイパ83のワイピング動作時における移動範囲を説明するための模式図である。図15Aは、前処理液ワイパ83が実質的にワイピング動作を行う実ワイピング範囲d1を示している。実ワイピング範囲d1は、前処理ヘッド5において前処理液を吐出する多数のノズルが配列されたノズル配列部51の幅に相当する。つまりd1は、前処理液ワイパ83の移動方向において、ノズル配列部51の上流端(前端)から下流端(後端)までの長さである。ノズル配列部51は、前処理液が現に付着する部分となる。従って、この実ワイピング範囲d1を移動する間が、前処理液ワイパ83(ワイパブレード821)が実質的に前処理液を払拭する仕事を行う区間となる。ワイピングが行われると、拭われた前処理液がワイパブレード821から第2ホルダ823(図10参照)を伝って滴下する。滴下した前処理液は、前処理液容器72で受け取られる。
ワイピングユニット8が備える複数のインクワイパ82のうち、最も左側に位置する下流側ヘッド4A2用に配置されたインクワイパ82A2(図9)は、ワイピングユニット8が洗浄エリアに向かう際、前処理液容器72の第2開口72Hの上空を通過することになる。この通過の際、インクワイパ82A2に付着したインクが前処理液容器72内に滴下して凝集等を惹起し得る。この不具合に対処する例を図16A及び図16Bに示す。
続いて、インクワイパ82及び前処理液ワイパ83の好ましい配置例を示す。図17は、インクワイパ82及び前処理液ワイパ83の傾き配置を示す平面図である。図10に示したように、インクワイパ82は、ワイピング時における移動方向(前後方向)に対して交差する方向(左右方向)に延びるワイパブレード821A(インクブレード)を備えている。同様に、前処理液ワイパ83も、左右方向に延びるワイパブレード821B(処理液ブレード)を有している。
4 インクヘッド
5 前処理ヘッド(処理液ヘッド)
6 後処理ヘッド
7 メンテナンスユニット
70 容器ユニット
71 インク容器
71H 第1開口
72 前処理液容器(処理液容器)
72H 第2開口
77 スポンジ(除去部)
8 ワイピングユニット
81 ワイパ支持板(支持板)
812 凹所
813 凸部
82 インクワイパ
821A ワイパブレード(インクブレード)
821B ワイパブレード(処理液ブレード)
82L、82R 左端部、右端部(第1端部、第2端部)
83 前処理液ワイパ(処理液ワイパ)
83R、83L 右端部、左端部(第3端部、第4端部)
9 洗浄ユニット(洗浄エリア)
MW 移動経路
Claims (15)
- 処理液を吐出する処理液ヘッドと、
インクを吐出するインクヘッドと、
前記処理液ヘッドをワイピングする処理液ワイパと、
前記インクヘッドをワイピングするインクワイパと、
前記インクを受け入れる第1開口を備えたインク容器と、を備え、
前記処理液ワイパの前記ワイピング時における移動範囲が、前記第1開口の直上を回避した位置に設定されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液を受け入れる第2開口を備えた処理液容器をさらに備え、
前記処理液容器は、前記第1開口の上方の一部を覆う位置に配置され、
前記処理液ワイパの前記ワイピング時における移動範囲が、前記第2開口の直上に設定されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項2に記載のインクジェット記録装置であって、前記処理液ワイパの前記ワイピング時における移動方向に沿う方向に前記第1開口と前記第2開口とが直列的に配置されている場合において、
前記処理液ワイパの前記移動方向が、前記第1開口から離れる方向に設定されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~3のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパは、前記ワイピングを実行するに際して予め定められた移動経路に沿って移動するものであり、
前記移動経路の全体が、前記第1開口の直上を回避した位置に設定されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~4のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパ及び前記インクワイパを洗浄するための洗浄エリアをさらに備え、
前記ワイピングが行われるエリアから前記洗浄エリアへの移動方向において、当該洗浄エリアに対して前記処理液ワイパが前記インクワイパよりも近い位置に配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~4のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパを洗浄するための洗浄エリアをさらに備え、
前記処理液ワイパの前記ワイピング時における移動方向が、前記洗浄エリアが位置する方向に設定されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項3に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記インクワイパを洗浄するための洗浄エリアと、
前記インクワイパ又はその支持部材に付着したインクを除去する除去部と、をさらに備え、
前記インクワイパの前記洗浄エリアへの移動方向において、前記第2開口が前記第1開口の下流側に配置され、
前記除去部は、前記第2開口よりも上流側に配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~7のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記インクヘッドにインクを吐出させて画像を形成する印刷エリアをさらに備え、
前記印刷エリアから前記ワイピングが行われるエリアへの移動方向において、当該印刷エリアに対して前記処理液ワイパが前記インクワイパよりも近い位置に配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~8のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパ及び前記インクワイパを支持する支持板をさらに備え、
前記支持板の上面視の形状において、前記支持板の前記処理液ワイパを支持する支持領域が、前記支持板の他の領域よりも前記ワイピング時の移動方向に突出している、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~8のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパ及び前記インクワイパを支持する支持板をさらに備え、
前記支持板の上面視の形状において、当該支持板は前記処理液ワイパ及び前記インクワイパの各々に対応付けられた複数の凸部を有し、
前記処理液ワイパ及び前記インクワイパは、それぞれ対応付けられた前記凸部に配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~8のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパ及び前記インクワイパを支持する支持板をさらに備え、
前記支持板の上面視の形状において、当該支持板は前記ワイピング時の移動方向に突出する複数の凸板と、これら凸板の間の凹所とを備え、
前記処理液ワイパ及び前記インクワイパは、前記凸板の端縁又は前記凹所の端縁にそれぞれ配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~11のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパと前記インクワイパとは、その形状又は材質を異にしている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項2又は3に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記インクワイパは、前記ワイピング時における移動方向に対して交差する方向に延びるインクブレードからなり、
前記インクブレードは、前記処理液容器が存在する側の第1端部が、その反対側の第2端部よりも前記移動方向に突出するように、傾いて配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~12のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記処理液ワイパは、前記ワイピング時における移動方向に対して交差する方向に延びる処理液ブレードからなり、
前記処理液ブレードは、前記インク容器が存在する側の第3端部が、その反対側の第4端部よりも前記移動方向に突出するように、傾いて配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。 - 請求項1~12のいずれか1項に記載のインクジェット記録装置において、
前記ワイピング時における移動方向において、前記処理液ヘッドと前記インクヘッドとが互いに全体的に重なる位置に配置されている、インクジェット記録装置。
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EP22849230.2A EP4357140A1 (en) | 2021-07-29 | 2022-07-11 | Inkjet recording device |
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CN202280052683.8A CN117715761A (zh) | 2021-07-29 | 2022-07-11 | 喷墨记录装置 |
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WO2023008166A1 true WO2023008166A1 (ja) | 2023-02-02 |
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PCT/JP2022/027296 WO2023008166A1 (ja) | 2021-07-29 | 2022-07-11 | インクジェット記録装置 |
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EP (1) | EP4357140A1 (ja) |
JP (1) | JPWO2023008166A1 (ja) |
CN (1) | CN117715761A (ja) |
WO (1) | WO2023008166A1 (ja) |
Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH09254400A (ja) * | 1996-03-26 | 1997-09-30 | Canon Inc | インクジェット記録装置 |
JP2001246759A (ja) * | 2000-03-06 | 2001-09-11 | Canon Inc | インクジェット記録装置 |
JP2005262561A (ja) | 2004-03-17 | 2005-09-29 | Seiko Epson Corp | 液体噴射装置 |
JP2008143039A (ja) * | 2006-12-11 | 2008-06-26 | Fuji Xerox Co Ltd | 液滴吐出装置 |
JP2008246786A (ja) * | 2007-03-29 | 2008-10-16 | Fujifilm Corp | インクジェット記録装置及びインクジェット記録方法 |
JP2014151503A (ja) * | 2013-02-06 | 2014-08-25 | Ricoh Co Ltd | 画像形成装置 |
US20180147830A1 (en) * | 2016-11-28 | 2018-05-31 | Océ Holding B.V. | Inkjet printing assembly and inkjet printing method |
-
2022
- 2022-07-11 WO PCT/JP2022/027296 patent/WO2023008166A1/ja active Application Filing
- 2022-07-11 JP JP2023538407A patent/JPWO2023008166A1/ja active Pending
- 2022-07-11 CN CN202280052683.8A patent/CN117715761A/zh active Pending
- 2022-07-11 EP EP22849230.2A patent/EP4357140A1/en active Pending
Patent Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH09254400A (ja) * | 1996-03-26 | 1997-09-30 | Canon Inc | インクジェット記録装置 |
JP2001246759A (ja) * | 2000-03-06 | 2001-09-11 | Canon Inc | インクジェット記録装置 |
JP2005262561A (ja) | 2004-03-17 | 2005-09-29 | Seiko Epson Corp | 液体噴射装置 |
JP2008143039A (ja) * | 2006-12-11 | 2008-06-26 | Fuji Xerox Co Ltd | 液滴吐出装置 |
JP2008246786A (ja) * | 2007-03-29 | 2008-10-16 | Fujifilm Corp | インクジェット記録装置及びインクジェット記録方法 |
JP2014151503A (ja) * | 2013-02-06 | 2014-08-25 | Ricoh Co Ltd | 画像形成装置 |
US20180147830A1 (en) * | 2016-11-28 | 2018-05-31 | Océ Holding B.V. | Inkjet printing assembly and inkjet printing method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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CN117715761A (zh) | 2024-03-15 |
EP4357140A1 (en) | 2024-04-24 |
JPWO2023008166A1 (ja) | 2023-02-02 |
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