JP2009233896A - Head cleaning mechanism and image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a head cleaning mechanism capable of suitably cleaning the discharge surface of an ink-jet head, even when ink, etc. having a high viscosity are adhered and to provide an image recording apparatus using the head cleaning mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The head cleaning mechanism includes: a cleaning unit having an ejection means for ejecting cleaning liquid to a liquid droplet discharge surface and a first wiping means for wiping the liquid droplet discharge surface which are arranged in one direction; and a moving means for relatively moving the cleaning unit and the ink-jet head in the arrangement direction of the ejection means and the first wiping means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet head cleaning mechanism for cleaning a droplet discharge surface of an inkjet head, and an image recording apparatus using the same.

2. Description of the Related Art Inkjet image recording is used as various image recording apparatuses such as printers, copying apparatuses, and facsimiles.
Also, in a photo printer that reproduces an image taken by a camera such as a digital camera as a print, it has been proposed to use an inkjet instead of a so-called silver salt photograph printer.

As is well known, image recording by ink jet is to record an image using an ink jet head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) in which nozzles for discharging ink droplets are arranged in one direction.
Specifically, while moving the recording head and the recording medium (media) in a direction orthogonal to the nozzle arrangement direction, the ink droplets are modulated by modulating the driving of each nozzle according to the image to be recorded. Is ejected to record an image on a recording medium.

In an ink jet recording head, as the image is recorded, ink or the like bounced off the recording medium adheres to the ink droplet ejection surface, and the ejection surface becomes dirty.
When such contamination of the ejection surface proceeds, the ejection of ink droplets from the nozzles and the flying of ink droplets become inappropriate, causing image quality degradation. In a severe case, the nozzle is blocked and ink cannot be ejected from the nozzle.
For this reason, in an inkjet recording head, it is necessary to clean (clean) the ejection surface periodically or as necessary.

  As a cleaning method for the ejection surface of the recording head, a cleaning method is known in which a wiping member (wiping blade) made of sponge or rubber is used, and the ejection surface and the wiping member are slid in contact with each other for wiping (wiping / wiping). It has been.

For example, in Patent Document 1, in an inkjet recording head that cleans an ejection surface by wiping with a wiping member, after wiping is finished, the wiping member holds the cleaning liquid, and then sucks the wiping member. An ink jet recording head is disclosed in which the remaining ink and cleaning liquid are reduced to restore the suction ability of ink and foreign matters by the wiping member.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-259542 discloses a recording head discharge surface cleaning apparatus that cleans the discharge surface by wiping with a wiping member, and a means for applying a cleaning liquid to the wiping member, and ink and cleaning liquid adhering to the wiping member. By having the means, it is disclosed that the wiping member is prevented from being soiled, thereby improving the cleaning effect of the wiping member.

JP-A-6-79880 JP 2006-272579 A

According to the recording head cleaning method disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, by keeping the wiping member clean, wiping can be suitably performed to clean the ejection surface of the recording head.
However, in some cases, such as when the viscosity of the ink adhering to the ejection surface is high, sufficient cleaning may not be possible by wiping alone.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and it is preferable to clean an ink jet head even when cleaning is difficult, such as when the viscosity of ink adhering to a discharge surface is high. It is an object to provide an ink jet head cleaning mechanism and an ink jet image recording apparatus using the ink jet head cleaning mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a head cleaning mechanism for cleaning a droplet discharge surface of an inkjet head, comprising: an ejection unit that sprays a cleaning liquid onto the droplet discharge surface; and the droplet discharge surface. A cleaning unit having first wiping means arranged in one direction for wiping; and a moving means for relatively moving the cleaning unit and the inkjet head in an arrangement direction of the ejection means and the first wiping means. Provided is a head cleaning mechanism.

  In such a head cleaning mechanism of the present invention, it is preferable that the cleaning unit has a second wiping unit for wiping the droplet discharge surface at a position sandwiching the ejection unit together with the first wiping unit. The moving means is for moving the ink-jet head, and a retracting position of the ink-jet head is preferably set downstream of the first wiping means in a direction from the ejecting means toward the first wiping means, Furthermore, it is preferable that the ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to a place other than the nozzle on the droplet discharge surface.

  The image recording apparatus of the present invention includes an inkjet head that ejects ink droplets, a scanning unit that relatively moves the inkjet head and the recording medium, and the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention. An image recording apparatus is provided.

The head cleaning mechanism of the present invention cleans the ink droplet discharge surface of an ink jet head, and wipes (wipes / wipes off) the droplet discharge surface with an ejection unit that jets cleaning liquid onto the droplet discharge surface. The first wiping means has a cleaning unit arranged in one direction.
In such a head cleaning mechanism of the present invention, when cleaning the droplet discharge surface, the cleaning unit and the inkjet head are relatively moved in the direction from the ejection unit to the first wiping unit, The cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the droplet discharge surface by the ejecting means, and then the liquid droplet discharge surface coated with the cleaning liquid is wiped by the first wiping means.
Preferably, it further has a second wiping unit so as to sandwich the ejection unit together with the first wiping unit, and first, the liquid droplet ejection surface by the second wiping unit is moved by relative movement between the cleaning unit and the inkjet head. After the wiping is performed, the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the droplet discharge surface by the spraying unit, and then the droplet discharge surface coated with the cleaning liquid is wiped by the first wiping unit.

Therefore, according to the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention, after cleaning with the cleaning liquid, further wiping with the wiping member is performed, so that it is possible to remove the cleaning liquid adhering to the droplet discharge surface and to easily remove dirt. In this state, cleaning by wiping is also performed, so that the inkjet head can be cleaned very efficiently.
Therefore, according to the inkjet head cleaning mechanism of the present invention, it is possible to suitably clean the droplet discharge surface even when cleaning is difficult, such as when the viscosity of the ink adhering to the discharge surface is high. In addition, the image recording apparatus of the present invention using this can greatly suppress ejection failure due to ink or the like adhering to the ejection surface, and can stably eject ink droplets.

  Hereinafter, a head cleaning mechanism and an image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 conceptually shows an image recording apparatus of the present invention that uses an example of the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention.
An image recording apparatus 10 (hereinafter, referred to as a recording apparatus 10) illustrated in FIG. 1 is an ink jet printer that records an image on a recording medium P by ink jet, and includes a supply unit 12, a transport unit 14, and an image recording unit 16.
In addition to the members shown in the drawing, the recording apparatus 10 includes a known guide provided in various image recording apparatuses such as a conveyance guide and conveyance means for the recording medium P, and various sensors for detecting the recording medium P. Members are arranged as needed.

In the recording apparatus 10, the supply unit 12 is a part that supplies the recording medium P to the transport unit 14, and includes a magazine loading unit 24 and a cassette loading unit 26 thereabove.
The magazine loading unit 24 is a part for loading a magazine 38 containing a recording medium roll 48 formed by winding a long recording medium P in a roll shape at a predetermined position.

The magazine 38 is a casing that can be opened and closed, and has flange rotation rollers 42 and 44 and a feed roller pair 46.
The flange rotation rollers 42 and 44 are rollers that are spaced apart from each other in the supply direction (conveyance direction) of the recording medium P. As an example, the flange rotation roller 42 is a drive roller that is rotated by a drive source (not shown), and the flange rotation roller 44 is a driven roller.

The feed roller pair 46 is a conveyance roller pair that conveys the recording medium P, and the two rollers are configured to be able to contact and separate by a known means.
Although not shown, one of the rollers of the feed roller pair 46 has a rotating shaft protruding outside the magazine 38 and a gear fixed to the end. When the magazine 38 is loaded at a predetermined position of the magazine loading unit 24, the gears of the feed roller pair 46 and the gears engaged with the drive source disposed in the magazine loading unit 24 are engaged with each other. As a result, the feed roller pair 46 is rotated by the drive source, and the recording medium P is sent out from the magazine 38 and conveyed to the conveying unit 14, or the recording medium P is drawn into the magazine 38.

The recording medium roll 48 is formed by winding a long recording medium P around a cylindrical core material.
Flange 40 is attached to both end faces of this recording medium roll 48. The flange 40 is a disk-shaped object having a diameter larger than that of the unused recording medium roll 48 and has a convex portion that is fitted into the core of the recording medium roll 48 at the center.

The recording medium roll 48 is mounted with the circumferential portion of the flange 40 on the flange rotation rollers 42 and 44 with the flange 40 mounted at both ends, and the front end of the recording medium P is sandwiched between the feed roller pair 46. In the state, it is accommodated in the magazine 38. Therefore, the flange rotation rollers 42 and 44 are arranged apart from each other in the conveyance direction of the recording medium P by a distance that allows the flange 40 to be stably placed.
As described above, the flange rotation roller 42 is a drive roller, and when the magazine 38 is loaded in the magazine loading unit 24, the feed roller pair 46 is engaged with the drive source of the recording apparatus 10. Accordingly, the recording medium roll 48 is rotated by the rotation of the flange rotation roller 42 to send out the recording medium P, and the recording medium P sent out from the recording medium roll 48 is conveyed to the conveying unit 14 by the feed roller pair 46. Is done.

The cassette loading unit 26 is a part for loading the cassette 28 at a predetermined position, and includes a loading table 30 and a feed roller 52.
The cassette 28 is a housing that accommodates a cut sheet-shaped recording medium P cut into a predetermined size and that has an upper surface (or only an opening for discharging the recording medium P) opened. The loading table 30 is a table for mounting and holding the cassette 28 in a predetermined position by a known housing mounting / holding means.

The feed roller 52 is a so-called D-roller (half-moon roller) in which a part of the side surface is cut out to be a flat surface.
The feed roller 52 is disposed at a position where only the circumferential surface comes into contact with the uppermost recording medium P with a certain pressure when the cassette 28 containing the recording medium P is loaded at a predetermined position on the loading table 30. The The cassette 28 is a known means such as a mechanism using a plate material that supports the recording medium P from below and a spring that biases the plate material upward, and the uppermost recording medium P always has a predetermined height. Configured as follows.
Accordingly, when the feed roller 52 rotates, the circumferential surface of the feed roller 52 comes into contact with the uppermost recording medium P of the cassette 28, and this recording medium P is conveyed / discharged from the cassette 28 by pressure and frictional force. Then, the toner is supplied to the conveyance roller pair 70 of the conveyance unit 14.

The conveyance unit 14 is a part that conveys the recording medium P supplied from the supply unit 12 (the magazine loading unit 24 and the cassette loading unit 26) to the image recording unit 16, and includes a cutter 54, a back printing unit 56, and a width guide. 58, a guide roller 62, and eight conveyance roller pairs 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, and 78.
Here, the guide roller 62, the conveyance roller pairs 64, 66 and 68, and the cutter 54 correspond only to the recording medium P supplied from the magazine loading unit 24, and the conveyance roller pair 70 and 72 are from the cassette loading unit 26. Only the supplied recording medium P corresponds, and the other conveyance roller pairs 74, 76 and 78, the back printing unit 56, and the width guide 58 correspond to all the recording media P.

  The long recording medium P supplied from the magazine loading unit 24 is changed by the guide roller 62 from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction, and is conveyed by the conveying roller pairs 64, 66, and 68, and all the recording media P are supplied. It is conveyed to the conveyance roller pair 74 corresponding to the medium P.

Here, a cutter 54 for cutting the recording medium P is disposed between the conveying roller pairs 64 and 66.
For sending out the recording medium P from the magazine 38 and transporting the recording medium P by the transport roller pairs 64 and 66, the length of the recording medium P downstream from the cutting position by the cutter 54 is a length corresponding to the print size. When it is time to stop. Next, the cutter 54 is driven to cut the recording medium P, and the long recording medium P is used as a cut sheet-shaped recording medium P corresponding to the print size.

Further, before the cutting by the cutter 54, the conveying roller pair 68 is stopped, and a loop (bending) of the recording medium P is formed between the conveying roller pairs 66 and 68 as indicated by a dotted line in the drawing. It is formed.
As will be described later, a back print (back print) is recorded on the back surface of the recording medium P by the back print unit 56 while being transported later. Here, as described above, at the time of cutting by the cutter 54, the conveyance of the recording medium P is stopped. Therefore, at this time, if the leading edge of the recording medium P reaches the back print, it is necessary to stop the recording of the pack print.
On the other hand, by forming such a loop of the recording medium P upstream of the back printing unit 56, it is possible to make it unnecessary to stop the pack print recording due to the cutting by the cutter 54. Thus, it is possible to stably print on the back side, and to prevent the impact due to cutting from affecting the recording of the pack print. Further, by forming a loop of the recording medium P upstream of the conveying path (conveying roller pair 74) corresponding to all the recording media P, while the conveyance of the recording medium P for cutting by the cutter 54 is stopped, The recording medium P can be supplied from the magazine loading unit 26 to the conveyance roller pair 74, and highly efficient print output is possible.

  When the cutting by the cutter 54 is completed, the conveyance by the conveyance roller pairs 66 and 68 is started, and the cut sheet-shaped recording medium P cut to the size corresponding to the print is conveyed to the conveyance roller pair 74.

  On the other hand, the cut sheet-shaped recording medium P supplied from the cassette loading unit 26 (cassette 28) by the feed roller 52 is transported by the transport roller pair 70 and 72 and transported to the transport roller pair 74.

The recording medium P conveyed to the conveying roller pair 74 corresponding to all the recording media P is conveyed by the conveying roller pairs 74, 76, and 78 and reaches the width guide 58.
Here, the back printing unit 56 is disposed between the pair of conveying rollers 74 and 76. While the recording medium P is conveyed by the conveyance roller pairs 74 and 76, a back print (back printing) is recorded on the back surface (back surface of the image recording surface) by the back printing unit 56.
The back printing unit 56 is configured using, for example, a dot impact printer or an ink jet printer. Further, the back print information is exemplified by an image file name, image correction information, and the like.

The width guide 58 adjusts the position in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the transport direction = main scanning direction) of the recording medium P supplied to the image recording unit 16 (sub-scanning roller pair 80).
The width guide 58 is not particularly limited, and any known sheet-like position adjustment and positioning means can be used.

The recording medium P that has been positioned in the width direction by the width guide 58 is conveyed to the image recording unit 16 by the conveying roller pair 78.
2 is a top view of the image recording unit 16, FIG. 3A is a front view thereof (viewed from the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium P), and FIG. (Viewed from the same direction as 1) are conceptually shown.
The image recording unit 16 is a part that records (draws) an image on the recording medium P by inkjet, and includes a sub-scanning roller pair 80, a recording unit 82, a platen 84, a belt conveyor 86, and a cleaning unit 88 (see FIG. 1 is omitted), a head evacuation area 90 (not shown in FIG. 1), a drying unit 92, and a pair of conveying rollers 93. In FIG. 3B, the cleaning unit 88 and the head withdrawal area 90 are omitted in order to show the relationship between the head unit 94 and the main scanning means 96 described later.

  The image recording unit 16 in the illustrated example has a predetermined conveyance length corresponding to the length of the nozzle row of the inkjet head, and intermittently conveys the recording medium P, while the conveyance is stopped, the inkjet head is orthogonal to the conveyance direction. This is a so-called serial type (shuttle type) ink jet recording unit that moves in a direction (hereinafter referred to as a main scanning direction) and performs image recording.

The sub-scanning roller pair 80 intermittently conveys the recording medium P for image recording onto the recording medium P by ink jet, and is a normal conveying roller pair.
Further, the belt conveyor 86 performs the same intermittent conveyance of the recording medium P after the rear end of the recording medium P is separated from the sub-scanning roller pair 80, and also moves the recording medium P that has finished image recording downstream. Similarly, it is a normal belt conveyor that conveys the paper (discharged from the image recording unit 16).
That is, the sub-scanning roller pair 80 and the belt conveyor 86 are sub-scanning conveying means in serial type ink jet.

The platen 84 is a flat plate-like table that holds a recording medium P used for image recording by ink jet at a predetermined recording position (a predetermined distance with respect to the ink jet head). The sub scanning roller pair 80 conveys the recording medium P to the platen 84.
The platen 84 has holding means for holding the recording medium P on the platen with a weaker force than the conveying force of the sub-scanning roller pair 80 or the belt conveyor 86 using suction, static electricity, or the like as necessary. May be.

  The recording unit 82 performs image recording by inkjet, and includes a head unit 94 and a main scanning unit 96.

The head unit 94 is a head assembly having four inkjet heads (hereinafter referred to as recording heads).
Specifically, the recording head 98C that ejects C (cyan) ink, the recording head 98M that ejects M (magenta) ink, the recording head 98Y that ejects Y (yellow) ink, and the K (black) ink are ejected. The recording head 98K is held by a holder 99 with the direction of the droplet discharge surface (formation surface of the nozzle that discharges ink droplets) and the direction of the nozzle row aligned and perpendicular to the nozzle row. It will be.
In the present invention, each of the head unit 94 and the recording heads 98C to 98K is a known one, and uses a piezoelectric method that utilizes vibration caused by a piezoelectric element (piezoelectric element), and uses a pressure of bubbles generated in ink by a heating element. All known ink jet recording heads such as a thermal method that performs the above-described thermal method and an electrostatic method that uses the electric charge applied to the ink droplets can be used.

The main scanning unit 96 reciprocates (main scans) the head unit 94 (that is, the recording head) in the main scanning direction.
In the illustrated example, the main scanning unit 96 conveys the head unit 94 by screw transmission, and includes a drive shaft 100, a guide shaft 102, and a rotation drive source 104.

  The drive shaft 100 is a so-called feed screw (screw shaft / lead screw), is arranged extending in the main scanning direction, and is rotated by the rotary drive source 104. As with the drive shaft 100, the guide shaft 102 is a long cylindrical guide member that extends in the main scanning direction.

The head unit 94 matches the nozzle rows of the recording head 98C, the recording head 98M, the recording head 98Y, and the recording head 98K with the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording medium P, and ejects droplets from each recording head. The drive shaft 100 and the guide shaft 102 are inserted through the holder 99 with the surface facing the platen 84 and held by both shafts. Further, the insertion portion of the drive shaft 100 of the holder 99 is a screw (nut), and this screw is screwed into the drive shaft 100.
Accordingly, when the rotational drive source 104 rotates the drive shaft 100, the head unit 94 (four recording heads) is conveyed in the main scanning direction orthogonal to the nozzle rows of the recording head.

  As described above, since the recording apparatus 10 is a serial type ink jet printer, the image recording unit 16 conveys the head unit 94 in the main scanning direction by the scanning unit 82 when the conveyance of the recording medium P is stopped. (Main scanning is performed). At this time, ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles of the heads according to the image to be recorded to record the image. When one main scanning is completed, the recording medium P is loaded by a predetermined amount. The image is recorded on the entire surface of the recording medium P by repeating conveyance and recording the image by conveying the head unit 94 in the main scanning direction again.

Here, in the illustrated recording apparatus 10, the drive shaft 100 and the guide shaft 102 extend beyond the (image) recording area to a region beyond a cleaning unit 88 and a head evacuation area 90 described later.
As will be described later, the main scanning unit 96 conveys the head unit 94 (inkjet recording head) to the cleaning unit 88 and the head evacuation area 90, and the relative relationship between the cleaning unit and the inkjet head in the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention. It also serves as a convenient means of transportation.

  In the recording apparatus 10, the head unit 94 is not transported to the position of the cleaning unit 88 during the above-described image recording, and the transport (main scanning) of the head unit 94 for image recording is a cleaning. This is before the unit 88 (second wiping means 114 described later).

  In the image recording apparatus using the present invention, the conveying method (main scanning method) of the head unit 94 is not limited to screw transmission as shown in the illustrated example. For example, a method using a belt or a pulley, or a method using electrostatic force. For example, a method used in a serial scan type ink jet printer can be used.

In the image recording unit 16, a cleaning unit 88 is disposed outside the platen 84 in the main scanning direction, that is, outside the recording area in the main scanning direction. Further, a head withdrawal area 90 is provided outside the cleaning unit 88.
In the illustrated example, a cleaning unit 88 is disposed at a position shown in FIG. 2 (lower side in the figure) and FIG. 3A (left side in the figure) (in FIGS. 1 and 3B, perpendicular to the paper surface). On the near side of the direction).

  The cleaning unit 88 cleans (cleans) the ink droplet ejection surface (hereinafter referred to as ejection surface) of the recording head 98C, the recording head 98M, the recording head 98Y, and the recording head 98K. The first wiping means 110 and the injection means 112 are comprised. In the illustrated example, as a preferred mode, the first wiping means 110 and the second wiping means 114 are sandwiched between the ejection means.

The first wiping means 110 and the second wiping means 114 are wiping members that perform wiping (wiping / wiping) in sliding contact with the ejection surface of the recording head.
In the illustrated example, the first wiping means 110 and the second wiping means 114 are used when the main scanning means 96 passes the head unit 94 through the cleaning unit 88 according to the transport path of the head unit 94 by the main scanning means 96. The recording head 98C, the recording head 98M, the recording head 98Y, and the recording head 98K are disposed at positions in contact with the ejection surfaces.

In the present invention, both the first wiping means 110 and the second wiping means 114 are basically the same as the wiping means for cleaning the ejection surface used in a known ink jet printer. .
Accordingly, the first wiping means 110 and the second wiping means 114 are rubber wiping members, wiping members formed of various resin materials, and the like, which are used for cleaning the droplet discharge surface of the inkjet head. All (wiping blade / wipe member) are available. Further, the first wiping means 110 and the second wiping means 114 may be porous or non-porous.

The ejection unit 112 ejects the cleaning liquid from the ejection nozzle 112a onto the ejection surface of the recording head. Like the wiping unit, the ejection unit 112 can be applied to the ejection surface according to the transport path of the head unit 94 by the main scanning unit 96. Placed in.
In the present invention, the ejection unit 112 may use a known liquid ejection unit. There is no particular limitation on the cleaning liquid, and water, a solvent or a dispersion medium used for ink, or a cleaning liquid used for cleaning the head during maintenance may be used. Alternatively, a cleaning liquid used for cleaning the wiping member can also be used.

  Here, it is preferable that the ejection unit 112 ejects the cleaning liquid to a region other than the nozzle on the ejection surface. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to suitably prevent the cleaning liquid from adversely affecting the image recording after cleaning by preventing the cleaning liquid from entering the nozzles of the recording head. .

In the ejection unit 112, the number of ejection nozzles 112a that eject the cleaning liquid onto the ejection surface is not limited to one, and a plurality of ejection nozzles 112a (in the sub-scanning direction can be selected according to the length of the ejection surface in the nozzle row direction. Alternatively, the ejection means 112 itself) may be arranged. That is, in the illustrated example, a plurality of injection nozzles 112a may be arranged in the sub-scanning direction. Furthermore, a plurality of ejection nozzles 112a (same as above) may be arranged in the main scanning direction.
Further, the ejection of the cleaning liquid from the ejection unit 112 is not limited to being performed continuously when the head unit 94 passes through the upper part. For example, as described above, in order to prevent the cleaning liquid from being sprayed to areas other than the nozzles on the ejection surface, the cleaning liquid is intermittently ejected, for example, the cleaning liquid is interrupted in accordance with the passage of the nozzle row. It may be.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the cleaning unit 88, the second wiping unit 114, the ejection unit 112, and the first wiping unit 110 are arranged in this order from the platen 84 side, that is, the image recording side.
In the illustrated image recording unit 16, when cleaning the ejection surface, the main scanning unit 82 transports the head unit 94 in a direction from the platen 84 toward the head withdrawal area 90. That is, at the time of cleaning, the main scanning unit 82 conveys the head unit 94 in the direction from the ejection unit 112 toward the first wiping unit 110.

  Accordingly, when cleaning the ejection surface of the recording head, first, the second wiping means 114 wipes the ejection surface to perform cleaning, and then the ejection means 112 ejects the cleaning liquid to clean the ejection surface. Further, the first wiping means 110 wipes the ejection surface, and along with cleaning, the ejection means 112 ejects the cleaning liquid adhering to the ejection surface.

As is clear from the above description, according to the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention, cleaning is first performed by spraying the cleaning liquid onto the discharge surface of the recording head, and then the discharge surface is wiped by the first wiping means 110. As a result, the ejection surface is cleaned again and the cleaning liquid adhering to the ejection surface is removed.
Therefore, according to the present invention, after cleaning with the cleaning liquid, cleaning by wiping is further performed, so that the cleaning liquid adhering to the droplet discharge surface can also be removed, and dirt is easily removed by the cleaning liquid. As a result, cleaning by wiping is also performed. Therefore, ink with high viscosity can be suitably removed, and the inkjet head can be cleaned very efficiently. Further, since the cleaning liquid is removed by wiping after spraying the cleaning liquid, it is possible to eliminate the adverse effect caused by the cleaning liquid remaining on the discharge surface.
Further, preferably, by having the second wiping unit 114 sandwiching the ejection unit 112 together with the first wiping unit 110 as in the illustrated example, cleaning of the discharge surface by wiping is performed prior to cleaning with the cleaning liquid. It is possible to perform more preferable cleaning of the discharge surface.
In addition, the recording apparatus 10 of the present invention using such a head cleaning mechanism of the present invention can significantly suppress the ejection failure of the ink droplets due to the contamination of the ejection surface of the recording head, and the appropriate ink It is possible to stably produce an appropriate image by stably discharging droplets.

As described above, the head evacuation area 90 is provided further outside the cleaning unit 88 (outside as viewed from the recording area).
The head evacuation area 90 is a position where the head unit 94 evacuates when the recording apparatus 10 is not in operation or when there is no instruction for image recording for a predetermined time or more. The ink in the nozzles is dried and clogged. An anti-drying mechanism 90a is provided to prevent this.
The drying prevention mechanism 90a may be a known drying prevention mechanism provided in an ink jet printer, such as a capping mechanism that closes the ejection surface in the region including the nozzles.

In the recording apparatus 10, when the head unit 94 is moved to the head evacuation area 90, it is preferable to clean the ejection surface by the cleaning unit 88 described above.
Here, when the second wiping means 114 that sandwiches the ejection means 112 together with the first wiping means 110 is provided like the cleaning unit 88 in the illustrated example, the head unit 94 is discharged from the head evacuation area 90 to obtain a recording area. When the ink is conveyed, the discharge surface may be cleaned by the cleaning unit 88.
However, when the second wiping unit 114 is not provided, only when the head unit 94 is transported in the direction from the ejection unit 112 toward the first wiping unit 110 (relative transport between the head unit 94 and the cleaning unit). In addition, the discharge surface is cleaned.

In the recording apparatus 10 using the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention, the timing for cleaning the ejection surface of the recording head is not particularly limited.
As an example, when the power supply of the recording apparatus 10 is turned off, if there is no image recording instruction even after a predetermined time has elapsed, if there is no image recording instruction after image recording, a cleaning execution instruction means set appropriately In the case where the cleaning instruction is issued, the combination of these timings is exemplified. Further, the recording apparatus 10 may include a selection unit that selects the timing of cleaning the ejection surface.

The belt conveyor 86 intermittently conveys the recording medium P as a sub-scanning unit during image recording, but continuously conveys the recording medium P when image recording is completed.
Further, the landed ink is dried on the recording medium P on which the image is recorded by the drying means 92. The drying method using the drying means is not particularly limited, and may be a known means such as drying with a fan, drying with a heater, or a combination of a fan and a heater.

  The recording medium P transported by the belt conveyor 86 and dried with ink is then transported by the transport roller pair 93 and discharged to the tray 118 as a print.

The above example is an example in which the head cleaning mechanism of the recording head of the present invention is used in a serial type ink jet printer, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention uses a so-called line head having a nozzle row exceeding the length in one direction of the recording medium P, and transports the recording medium P in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle row direction of the line head. It can also be suitably used for an ink jet printer that performs image recording by ink jet (or by stopping the recording medium and moving the head).

In addition, the recording apparatus 10 in the illustrated example moves the recording head and the cleaning unit by conveying the recording head (head unit 94), but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the recording head and the cleaning unit may be moved relative to each other by moving the cleaning unit.
The relative movement direction of the recording head and the cleaning unit is not limited to the direction orthogonal to the nozzle row of the recording head, and the relative movement direction of both is performed in the nozzle row direction of the recording head. Also good.
Further, when the head cleaning mechanism of the present invention is used in a serial type ink jet printer such as the recording apparatus 10 in the illustrated example, the recording head scanning means is a relative moving means between the recording head and the cleaning unit. It is not limited to use as, and a relative moving means may be provided separately.

  As described above, the inkjet head cleaning mechanism and the image recording apparatus of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course, you may.

It is a figure which shows notionally an example of the image recording device of this invention using the head washing | cleaning mechanism of this invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual plan view of an image recording unit of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. (A) is a conceptual front view of the image recording unit of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and (B) is a side view of the same.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 (Image) recording device 12 Supply part 14 Conveyance part 16 Image recording part 24 Magazine loading part 26 Cassette loading part 28 Cassette 30 Mounting stand 38 Magazine 40 Flange 46 Feed roller pair 48 Roll-shaped recording medium 50 Recording sheet 52 Feed roller 54 Cutter 56 Back printing unit 58 Width guide 60 Turn roller 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 93 Conveying roller pair 82 Recording means 84 Platen 86 Belt conveyor 88 Cleaning unit 90 Head retraction area 92 Drying Means 94 Head unit 96 Main scanning means 98C, 98M, 98Y, 98K Recording head 99 Holder 100 Drive shaft 102 Guide shaft 104 Rotation drive source 110 First wiping means 112 Injection means 114 Second Y Ring means 118 tray 106 holder

Claims (5)

A head cleaning mechanism for cleaning a droplet discharge surface of an inkjet head,
A cleaning unit having spraying means for spraying cleaning liquid onto the droplet discharge surface, and first wiping means for wiping the droplet discharge surface;
A head cleaning mechanism, comprising: a moving unit that relatively moves the cleaning unit and the inkjet head in an arrangement direction of the ejection unit and the first wiping unit.   The head cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit includes a second wiping unit that wipes the droplet discharge surface at a position sandwiching the ejection unit together with the first wiping unit. The moving means moves the inkjet head,
3. The head cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a retracted position of the inkjet head is set downstream of the first wiping unit in a direction from the ejection unit to the first wiping unit.   The head cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to a place other than the nozzle on the droplet discharge surface.   An inkjet head that ejects ink droplets, a scanning unit that relatively moves the inkjet head and a recording medium, and the head cleaning mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Image recording device.

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