JP2013091273A - Inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording apparatus capable of reliably removing dirt of a nozzle surface of a recording head.SOLUTION: In the inkjet recording apparatus 30 that includes, a recording head 32 that ejects the ink toward the media 31 from the nozzle surface 32a, and a cleaning device 40 that cleans the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32, the cleaning device 40 includes: a surface wiper 34 that touches the nozzle surface 32a and wipes the dirt of nozzle surface 32a off; a driving means 37 to drive the surface wiper 34 to make a surface wiper 34 do the surface wipe operation, the guides 44, 52, and 70 to maintain the distance between the nozzle surface 32a and the surface wiper 34 of the recording head 32 constant are provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cleaning device for cleaning a recording head.

In an ink jet recording apparatus that prints on a medium, ink is ejected onto the medium from a recording head provided with a nozzle.
By the way, the nozzle surface (the surface facing the medium) of the recording head is often contaminated due to condensation, mist / splash adhesion, or the like. When the nozzle surface becomes very dirty, a part of the nozzle is clogged, and this part may cause nozzle omission that makes it impossible to discharge at all, or cause ink to fall off. Also, if the nozzle surface becomes dirty, the recording head must be replaced.
Therefore, it is considered necessary to periodically remove dirt on the nozzle surface of the recording head during printing.

In order to remove dirt on the nozzle surface of the recording head, for example, a configuration as shown in Patent Document 1 is disclosed.
In this configuration, both ends of a long cloth for wiping the nozzle surface are wound up in a roll shape, and the cloth is pulled out between the two rolls by the rotational drive of the two rolls. The pulled-out cloth is disposed so as to face the nozzle surface of the recording head, and comes into contact with the nozzle surface to wipe off dirt on the nozzle surface of the recording head.

JP 2009-12224 A

In Patent Document 1 described above, the recording head is wiped off with a cloth that moves in the longitudinal direction. However, there are also problems such as dimensional accuracy of components and stacking errors, and there is a problem between the nozzle surface of the recording head and the cloth. In some cases, it is difficult to keep the distance between them constant.
As described above, unless the distance between the nozzle surface of the recording head and the cloth is kept constant, there is a problem that the nozzle surface interferes with the operation and generation of malfunction or the contamination of the nozzle surface cannot be reliably wiped off.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of reliably removing dirt on the nozzle surface of a recording head.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus including the recording head that discharges ink from the nozzle surface toward the medium and the cleaning device that cleans the nozzle surface of the recording head, the cleaning device includes the nozzle A surface wiping member that abuts on the surface and wipes off dirt on the nozzle surface, and a driving means for driving the surface wiping member to cause the surface wiping member to perform a surface wiping operation. A guide portion is provided for maintaining a constant distance from the surface wiping member.
By adopting this configuration, the nozzle surface of the recording head and the surface wiping member are always arranged at stable positions, so that the contamination on the nozzle surface can be reliably removed.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the guide portion is a contact portion formed on the surface wiping member so as to contact the nozzle surface of the recording head.
According to this, since a guide part will contact | abut directly to a nozzle surface, the positional accuracy of a nozzle surface and a surface wiping member can further be improved.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, the surface wiping member includes an elastic member for wiping the nozzle surface containing a solvent, and the contact portion contacts the nozzle surface of the recording head. It is preferable that a protective part is formed, and the elastic member is in contact with the nozzle surface in an elastically deformed state to perform a surface wiping operation.
According to this, since the surface wiping member can be brought into contact with the nozzle surface in an elastically deformed state, dirt on the nozzle surface can be reliably removed, and the positional relationship between the water absorbing member and the nozzle surface is stabilized. be able to.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the cleaning device is formed with a concave portion that is recessed downward below the elastic member.
According to this, when the nozzle surface of the recording head is pressed against the upper surface of the elastic member, the elastic member can bend in the direction of the recess, so that the nozzle surface and the elastic member can be brought into contact with each other with a weak force. It is possible to prevent the nozzle surface from being damaged due to the elastic member being in strong contact with the nozzle surface. In addition, since the solvent can be stored in the concave portion, the solvent is always supplied to the elastic member, and the dirt on the nozzle surface is further improved.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of grooves are formed in the cleaning device below the elastic member.
According to this, since the solvent can be stored in the groove, the solvent is always supplied to the elastic member, and the contamination of the nozzle surface is further improved.

Furthermore, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, in order to bring the surface wiping member into contact with the nozzle surface in an elastically deformed state, the surface wiping member is biased in the nozzle surface direction of the recording head. Means are preferably provided.
According to this, the surface wiping member can be reliably brought into contact with the nozzle surface in an elastically deformed state, and the dirt on the nozzle surface can be reliably removed.

  According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, dirt on the nozzle surface of the recording head can be reliably removed.

1 is a schematic front view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the surface wiping member in a 1st embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the place which made the surface wiping member and recording head of FIG. 2 contact. It is a perspective view which shows the form by which the upper surface of the contact member is formed in planar shape. It is a perspective view which shows the form by which the recessed part is formed in the upper surface of a contact member. It is a perspective view which shows the form by which the some groove | channel is formed in the upper surface of a contact member. It is a perspective view of the surface wiping member in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the place which made the surface wiping member and recording head of FIG. 7 contact, and was seen from the downward direction.

(First embodiment)
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment. The front here refers to the position where the apparatus is viewed from the downstream side in the medium transport direction (direction perpendicular to the recording head transport direction).
The ink jet recording apparatus 30 is an apparatus that performs printing by ink jetting on a medium 31 disposed on a platen 36. The ink is ejected from a recording head 32 that has a plurality of ejection nozzles for each color and reciprocates in the scanning direction.
The medium 31 is an object to be printed, and is a concept that includes objects to be printed of various materials such as paper, film, and cloth in the present invention.

  The recording head 32 is movable along a guide rail 35 that extends in the scanning direction. For the movement of the recording head 32 in the scanning direction, for example, a system in which a belt is driven by rotation of a motor can be employed (not shown).

  A cleaning device 40 for cleaning the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32 on which the discharge nozzles are arranged is provided on the side of the platen 36. Since the cleaning device 40 is disposed on the side of the platen 36, even during printing of the recording head 32, cleaning can be easily performed by slightly extending the moving distance of the recording head 32 in the scanning direction.

  In FIG. 1, a surface wiping member 34 is located at the upper part of the cleaning device 40 and wipes dirt on the nozzle surface 32 a (see FIG. 3) of the recording head 32. Below the surface wiping member 34, driving means 37 is provided for moving the surface wiping member 34 in the horizontal direction with respect to the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the surface wiping member, and FIG. 3 shows a position where the recording head is located on the surface wiping member.
In the configuration described in the following embodiment, a portion of the surface wiping member 34 that contacts the nozzle surface 32a is formed in a flat shape.
The surface wiping member 34 includes a cloth 42 that abuts the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped abutting member 44 that has a flat upper surface so that the cloth 42 can be disposed on the upper surface, and an abutting member 44. And a U-shaped fixing member 46 opened upward.

As the cloth 42, for example, technic cloth, which is a non-woven fabric developed for maintenance of the recording head 32, can be used. The cloth 42 corresponds to the elastic member in the claims, but is not limited to the nonwoven fabric.
The cloth 42 is fixed to the contact member 44 with an adhesive or the like. However, it is preferable not to use an adhesive at a position facing the nozzle surface, but to fix the adhesive member 44 on the side surface of the contact member 44 with an adhesive or the like. The fixing means of the cloth 42 is not limited to an adhesive, and may be fixed by adopting a configuration in which an end portion of the cloth 42 is sandwiched (not shown).

The abutting member 44 is attached to the side wall 46a of the fixing member 46 so as to be movable up and down along the long hole 47 by a bolt 49 inserted into a long hole 47 formed long in the vertical direction. Further, a spring 48 is provided between the lower surface of the abutting member 44 and the bottom surface of the fixing member 46 to constantly urge the abutting member 44 upward. As a result, the abutting member 44 is in a state in which the bolt 49 is in contact with the upper end portion of the elongated hole 47, and is always urged upward in the fixing member 46.
The cloth 42 and the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32 are arranged in a positional relationship that interferes with each other. Accordingly, when the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32 comes into contact with the cloth 42 during wiping, the abutting member 44 moves downward against the biasing force of the spring 48 due to the pressing force to lower the recording head 32. To do. Thus, by providing the spring 48, the contact pressure of the cloth 42 in the surface wiping member 34 to the nozzle surface 32a can be adjusted. Further, by providing the spring 48, the cloth 42 can be elastically deformed and brought into contact with the nozzle surface 32a, and dirt on the nozzle surface 32a can be effectively removed.

  Although not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a driving means 37 is connected to the fixing member 46, and the driving means 37 moves back and forth (the conveyance direction of the media 31) or left and right direction (recording) the entire surface wiping member 34. It is reciprocated in a plane parallel to the nozzle surface 32a in the scanning direction of the head 32). As an example of the driving means 37, an electric actuator or the like can be used.

Next, various forms of the abutting member 44 are shown in FIGS.
The abutting member 44 shown in FIG. 4 has a flat upper surface on which the cloth 42 is disposed. By employing the abutting member 44 having such a shape, the cloth 42 can maintain a flat shape following the shape of the abutting member 44, and the entire cloth 42 can reliably contact the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32. be able to.
In addition, the planar upper surface of the abutting member 44 corresponds to a guide portion referred to in the claims. That is, since the upper surface of the abutting member 44 is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 32a via the cloth 42, the positional relationship between the nozzle surface 32a and the cloth 42 can always be stabilized, and the cloth 42 is elastically deformed. Thus, the nozzle surface 32a can be brought into contact with the nozzle surface 32a, and the dirt on the nozzle surface 32a can be effectively removed.

  In the form shown in FIG. 4, the dirt can be reliably removed by preliminarily containing the cleaning liquid (solvent) in the cloth 42. When the content of the cleaning liquid decreases, the cleaning liquid may be dropped on the cloth 42 each time.

  A concave portion 50 that is recessed downward is formed on the upper surface of the abutting member 44 shown in FIG. The depth of the recess 50 is assumed to be about 0.5 mm. A cleaning liquid (solvent) for cleaning dirt on the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32 can be stored in the recess 50. For this reason, the cleaning liquid is always supplied to the cloth 42 without removing the dirt when the cleaning liquid is reduced as in the configuration shown in FIG. Further, when the cloth 42 is pressed against the recording head 32, the cloth 42 bends in the direction of the recess 50. Therefore, the contact force between the recording head 32 and the cloth 42 can be made weak, and the nozzle surface 32a can be prevented from being damaged due to contact with a strong force.

  Further, the edge portion 52 formed so as to surround the periphery of the recess 50 is a portion with which the cloth 42 abuts. The cloth 42 disposed on the edge 52 can contact the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32 more reliably than the portion disposed on the recess 50. The edge portion 52 is a portion that reliably contacts the nozzle surface 32a, and this edge portion 52 corresponds to a guide portion in the claims. That is, since the edge portion 52 is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 32a via the cloth 42, the positional relationship between the nozzle surface 32a and the cloth 42 can always be stabilized, and the cloth 42 is elastically deformed to cause nozzles. It is possible to make contact with the surface 32a, and it is possible to effectively remove the dirt on the nozzle surface 32a.

A plurality of grooves 54 are formed on the upper surface of the abutting member 44 shown in FIG. The depth of each groove 54 is about 0.5 mm. By forming the plurality of grooves 54 in this way, the cleaning liquid (solvent) can be stored in the grooves 54. For this reason, the cleaning liquid is always supplied to the cloth 42 without removing the dirt when the cleaning liquid is reduced as in the configuration shown in FIG.
Further, the upper end surface of the convex portion that is formed between the grooves 54 and constitutes the groove 54 is provided to have the same height as the upper end surface of the edge portion 52. Therefore, the portion where the groove 54 is provided can increase the flatness of the cloth 42 as compared with the concave portion 50 shown in FIG. 5, and can reliably contact the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32.

  Similarly to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the edge 52 formed so as to surround the periphery of the groove 54 is a portion with which the cloth 42 abuts. The cloth 42 disposed on the edge 52 can contact the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32 more reliably than the portion disposed on the groove 54. The edge portion 52 is a portion that reliably contacts the nozzle surface 32a, and this edge portion 52 corresponds to a guide portion in the claims. That is, since the edge portion 52 is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 32a via the cloth 42, the positional relationship between the nozzle surface 32a and the cloth 42 can always be stabilized, and the cloth 42 is elastically deformed to cause nozzles. It is possible to make contact with the surface 32a, and it is possible to effectively remove the dirt on the nozzle surface 32a.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described based on FIGS.
In 2nd Embodiment, in the surface wiping member 34, the site | part which contacts the nozzle surface 32a is formed in the curved surface form.
The surface wiping member 34 of the present embodiment rotatably holds a cylindrical roller body 56 that is rotatable about the axial direction, a water absorbing member 58 disposed on the surface of the roller body 56, and the roller body 56. Holding member 60. The holding member 60 is formed in a U-shape that opens upward. The roller body 56 is disposed so that an axis passing through the center of a circular circle of the cylinder faces a direction (horizontal direction) parallel to the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32.

  In this embodiment, when the water absorbing member 58 contacts the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32, the excess ink adhering to the nozzle surface 32a is absorbed. As the water absorbing member 58 absorbs the ink, the stain on the nozzle surface 32a can be removed. As the water absorbing member 58, a sponge or the like can be used.

The holding member 60 is further attached to a fixing member 62 to which the holding member 60 is attached so as to be movable up and down.
The holding member 60 is attached to the side wall 62a of the fixing member 62 so as to be movable up and down along the long hole 63 by a bolt 65 inserted into a long hole 63 formed long in the vertical direction. Further, a spring 68 that constantly biases the holding member 60 upward is provided between the lower surface of the holding member 60 and the bottom surface (not shown) of the fixing member 62. As a result, the holding member 60 is always disposed upward in the fixing member 62.

  As described above, when the surface wiping member 34 is biased upward, when the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32 comes into contact with the water absorbing member 58 during wiping, the pressing force to lower the recording head 32 is reached. As a result, the holding member 60 moves downward against the biasing force of the spring 68. Thus, by providing the spring 68, the contact pressure to the nozzle surface 32a of the water absorbing member 58 in the surface wiping member 34 can be adjusted.

  Further, metal guide portions 70 are provided on the outer sides of the water absorbing members 58 at both ends in the axial direction of the cylindrical body of the roller body 56. The surface of the guide part 70 is provided at substantially the same height as the surface of the water absorbing member 58. When the guide portion 70 abuts on the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32, the positional relationship between the water absorbing member 58 and the nozzle surface 32a can be stabilized.

  The roller body 56 is attached to the holding member 60 so as to be rotatable about the axis of the cylinder. That is, the rotating shaft 72 is provided to project in the axial direction at both ends of the cylindrical body of the roller body 56, and a storage recess 73 for storing the rotating shaft 72 is formed at the upper end of the holding member 60. ing. A rotating shaft 72 is rotatably housed in the housing recess 73.

In the present embodiment, the holding member 60 that holds the roller body 56 and the fixing member 62 to which the holding member 60 is attached so as to be movable up and down are in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the roller body 56 (arrow direction in FIG. 7). It is movable. An electric actuator or the like can be employed as the driving means 37 that moves the fixing member 62.
When cleaning the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32, the nozzle surface 32 a is brought into contact with the guide portion 70, and then the driving member 37 drives the fixing member 62 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the roller body 56 (arrow in FIG. 7). Direction). Then, the roller body 56 in contact with the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32 is driven to rotate, whereby the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32 can be cleaned.
A slight gap is formed between the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32 and the water absorbing member 58 of the roller body 56.

FIG. 8 shows the recording head 32 as viewed from below, but as shown here, a guide portion 70 formed on the roller body 56 is provided around the nozzle surface of the recording head 32. It is preferable that a metal protection part 74 is formed at the abutting position. The surface of the protection part 74 and the surface of the nozzle surface 32a are formed to be substantially the same surface.
The protection unit 74 can further stabilize the positional relationship between the water absorbing member 58 and the nozzle surface 32 a in cooperation with the guide unit 70 formed on the roller body 56.

In each of the embodiments described above, the point of providing the contact member 44 or the guide portion 70 formed on the surface wiping member so as to contact the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32 has been described as the guide portion of the claims. .
However, as the guide portion according to claim 1 of the claims. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured to abut against a portion other than the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32, and anyway, the distance between the nozzle surface of the recording head and the surface wiping member is kept constant. As long as it has a function, it may be provided at any location.

  In the first and second embodiments described above (see FIGS. 2 to 8), the surface wiping member 34 is provided with the contact member 44 and the guide part 70 so as to contact the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32. Therefore, the positional relationship between the surface wiping member 34 and the nozzle surface 32a can be stabilized.

  Moreover, in 2nd Embodiment (refer FIGS. 7-8), it has the water absorption member 58 which is an elastic member containing the solvent, and it contacts the nozzle part 32a for the guide part 70 to contact | abut The protective portion 74 is formed, and the water absorbing member 58 is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 32a in an elastically deformed state and the surface wiping operation is performed. Therefore, the water supply member 58 is in contact with the nozzle surface 32a in an elastically deformed state. Therefore, the dirt on the nozzle surface 32a can be reliably removed, and the positional relationship between the water absorbing member 58 and the nozzle surface 32a can be stabilized.

  Further, in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5), a recess 50 that is recessed downward is formed below the cloth 42, so that when the nozzle surface 32 a of the recording head 32 is pressed against the cloth 42, the cloth 42. Can be bent in the direction of the recess 50, the nozzle surface 32a and the cloth 42 can be brought into contact with each other with a weak force, and the nozzle surface 32a can be damaged due to the cloth 42 being in strong contact with the nozzle surface 32a. Can be prevented. In addition, since the solvent can be stored in the recess 50, the solvent is always supplied to the cloth 42, and the nozzle surface 32a is more easily cleaned.

  Further, in the first embodiment (see FIG. 6), since the plurality of grooves 54 are formed below the cloth 42, the solvent can be stored in the grooves 54. The solvent is always supplied, so that the dirt on the nozzle surface 32a is further improved.

  Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 7), the surface wiping member is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 32a in a state of being elastically deformed. By providing urging means 48 and 68 for urging the nozzle 34 in the direction of the nozzle surface 32a of the recording head 32, the surface wiping member 34 reliably contacts the nozzle surface 32a, and the nozzle surface 32a is reliably soiled. Can be removed.

30 Inkjet recording device 31 Media 32 Recording head 32a Nozzle surface 34 Surface wiping member 35 Guide rail 36 Platen 37 Driving means 40 Cleaning device 42 Cloth (elastic member)
44 Abutting member 46 Fixing member 46a Side wall 47 Long holes 48, 68 Energizing means 49 Bolt 50 Recess 52 Edge 54 Groove 56 Roller body 58 Water absorbing member 60 Holding member 62 Fixing member 62a Side wall 63 Long hole 65 Bolt 70 Guide portion 72 Rotation Shaft 73 Storage recess 74 Protection part

Claims (6)

In an inkjet recording apparatus comprising a recording head that ejects ink from a nozzle surface toward a medium, and a cleaning device that cleans the nozzle surface of the recording head,
The cleaning device has a surface wiping member that abuts on the nozzle surface and wipes off dirt on the nozzle surface, and a driving unit that drives the surface wiping member to cause the surface wiping member to perform a surface wiping operation.
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a guide portion for maintaining a constant distance between a nozzle surface of the recording head and the surface wiping member.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is an abutting portion formed on the surface wiping member so as to abut on a nozzle surface of the recording head. The surface wiping member has an elastic member for wiping the nozzle surface containing a solvent,
A protective portion for contacting the contact portion is formed on the nozzle surface of the recording head, and the elastic member is contacted with the nozzle surface in a state of being elastically deformed to perform a surface wiping operation. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein   4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning device is formed with a recessed portion recessed downward below the elastic member.   4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning device is formed with a plurality of grooves below the elastic member.   In order to bring the surface wiping member into contact with the nozzle surface in an elastically deformed state, urging means for urging the surface wiping member in the nozzle surface direction of the recording head is provided. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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