JP3582395B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus including a recording head mounted on a carriage that moves in the width direction of recording paper, and a capping unit configured to be movable in a direction toward and away from the recording head. Particularly, the present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus capable of maintaining an accurate positional relationship between a recording head and a capping unit during a flushing operation and a capping operation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording apparatuses have been used in many types of printing including color printing in recent years because noise during printing is relatively small and small dots can be formed with high density. Such an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with an ink jet recording head that receives supply of ink from an ink cartridge, and a paper feeding unit that moves recording paper relative to the recording head, and moves the recording head on a carriage. Recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets onto the recording paper while moving in the width direction of the recording paper.
[0003]
On the carriage, for example, a black ink recording head that ejects black ink and a color recording head that ejects yellow, cyan, and magenta inks are mounted. By changing the ratio, full-color printing is possible.
[0004]
The above-described ink jet recording head performs printing by ejecting each ink pressurized in the pressure generating chamber as ink droplets from the nozzle opening to the recording paper, so that the ink viscosity increases due to evaporation of the solvent from the nozzle opening. In addition, there is a problem that printing failure occurs due to solidification of ink, adhesion of dust, and mixing of air bubbles.
[0005]
For this purpose, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with capping means for sealing the nozzle openings of the recording head during non-printing and a wiping member for cleaning the nozzle plate as required. This capping means not only functions as a lid for preventing drying of the ink in the nozzle openings when printing is stopped, but also seals the nozzle plate when clogging occurs in the nozzle openings, and allows the suction pump to With the negative pressure, the ink is sucked from the nozzle opening to eliminate clogging due to solidification of the ink in the nozzle opening and a function of eliminating ink ejection failure due to air bubbles entering the ink flow path.
[0006]
The process of forcibly sucking and discharging ink to eliminate clogging of the recording head and the incorporation of bubbles into the ink flow path is called a cleaning operation. The operation is performed when the user operates the cleaning switch after recognizing that the quality of the recorded image has deteriorated. After the ink is discharged by negative pressure, the nozzle of the recording head is formed by a wiping member made of an elastic plate such as rubber. This is a process that involves a wiping operation of wiping the formation surface.
[0007]
It also has a function to prevent clogging of the recording head by periodically applying a drive signal unrelated to printing to the recording head and causing ink droplets to be ejected idle. This is called a flushing operation. ing. During the flushing operation, the capping unit approaches the recording head, and the capping unit can function as an ink receiver during the flushing operation.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the above-described printing apparatus, for example, at the time of the flushing operation, the ink ejected due to the flushing operation is configured to be received by the capping unit. If the accuracy of the positional relationship between the two is reduced due to the accuracy of molding and the accuracy at the time of assembling, there arises a problem that the ejected ink accompanying the flushing flies out of the capping means and flies to the outside.
[0009]
In addition, even when extreme displacement does not occur as described above, the ejection ink accompanying the flushing may be ejected to the sealing portion of the cap unit that constitutes the capping means. At the time when the means is released from the recording head, a problem occurs in that the ink is scattered and spreads to contaminate the inside of the apparatus. Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to improve the molding accuracy and the assembly accuracy of each part, but it is not possible to expect an effect commensurate with the increase in cost, and furthermore, the position due to aging changes It becomes impossible to cope with the increase in the deviation.
[0010]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the conventional recording apparatus, and includes a regulating unit that regulates a positional relationship between a recording head and a capping unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which can surely take ink drops to be taken into capping means.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above-described object, is mounted on a carriage that moves in the width direction of the recording sheet, and ejects ink droplets from nozzle openings to form an image on the recording sheet. Ink-jet recording head for recording, while receiving ink droplets ejected from the recording head at the time of flushing operation, sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head if necessary, receiving negative pressure from negative pressure generating means An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a capping unit that sucks an ink droplet from a nozzle opening of a recording head, wherein the capping unit includes a flushing guide member that regulates a positional relationship between the recording head and the capping unit during a flushing operation. , And during the capping operation for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head. A guide member for capping that regulates the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means is provided, and the guide member for flushing and the guide member for capping are each constituted by at least one pair of guide claws, and the guide claws are arranged on the side wall of the recording head. It has an inclined surface and a substantially parallel surface, and the substantially parallel surfaces of the guide claws are located outside the both side walls of the recording head during the flushing operation and the capping operation, respectively, so that the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means The projecting length of the substantially parallel surface of the flushing guide member is longer than the projecting length of the substantially parallel surface of the capping guide member, and a pair of the flushing guide member is formed. Of the substantially parallel surfaces of the capping guide member Compared to the spacing of a plane substantially parallel pair are wider configuration.
[0013]
In a preferred embodiment, the capping means is configured to be able to move in the direction of contact and separation with respect to the recording head, and at the time of the flushing operation, the capping means is positioned close to the recording head in a state in which the flushing guide member is provided. Are arranged outside the both side walls of the recording head to restrict the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means. In a preferred embodiment, the capping means is configured to be movable in the direction of contact and separation with respect to the recording head, and at the time of capping operation, only substantially parallel portions of the capping guide member are formed on both side walls of the recording head. Outside of the recording head, the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means is regulated, and the guide claws constituting the flushing guide member are positioned so as to be separated from the side wall of the recording head. The configuration is such that claws are arranged.
[0014]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus configured as described above, the flushing guide member and the capping guide member are disposed in the capping means, respectively. Therefore, in the flushing state in which the capping means is close to the recording head, the flushing is performed. The positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means is regulated by the guide member. Further, when the capping unit approaches the recording head and enters a capping state in which the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by the capping unit, the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping unit is regulated by the capping guide member.
[0015]
Therefore, at the time of flushing, the ink droplets ejected from the recording head can be reliably taken into the capping means, and at the time of capping, all the nozzles of the recording head are moved to the internal space by the cap member of the capping means. It works so that it can be sealed inside.
[0016]
Here, the required accuracy of the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means differs between flushing and capping, and stricter positional accuracy is required during capping than during flushing. The reason is that at the time of capping, the flexible rubber member forming the seal portion of the capping means is closely adhered to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, and crushing occurs. The phenomenon of entering the market occurs. In addition, at the time of cleaning the recording head, the internal space of the capping means is sucked by the negative pressure, so that a phenomenon occurs in which the flexible rubber member constituting the seal portion falls further toward the center of the nozzle forming surface.
[0017]
Even under the condition such as the above-mentioned cleaning, the nozzle row formed on the nozzle forming surface is not covered with the seal portion made of the flexible rubber member, in other words, the entire nozzle row is formed by the internal space formed by the seal member. Need to be considered to be located within. Therefore, it is desirable to adopt a form in which the flushing guide member and the capping guide member are each constituted by at least a pair of guide claws, and the pair of guide claws are arranged on both side walls of the recording head.
[0018]
In this case, the longer the protruding length of the guide claw, the more difficult it is to provide the guide claw with a higher spacing accuracy. Therefore, the projecting length of the flushing guide claws is longer than the projecting length of the capping guide claws, and the gap between the capping guide claws is narrower than the gap between the flushing guide claws. By doing so, the capping means guided by the flushing guide claws and approaching the recording head further enters the space between the capping guide claws, and the positional accuracy with the recording head during capping is further ensured. .
[0019]
According to such a configuration, since each of the guide claws can be easily formed integrally with, for example, a synthetic resin constituting the capping means, the guides can easily match the positional relationship between the two without increasing the cost. A member can be realized.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage, and a guide member 4 is provided via a timing belt 3 which reciprocates by driving a carriage motor 2. And is reciprocated in the axial direction of the platen 5.
[0021]
On the side of the carriage 1 facing the recording paper 6, that is, on the lower bottom surface of the carriage 1, a recording head described later is mounted. Above the recording head, a black ink cartridge 7 for supplying ink to the recording head and a color ink The cartridge 8 is detachably mounted. In the drawing, reference numeral 9 denotes capping means arranged outside the non-printing area (home position). When the carriage 1 moves to the home position, the capping means 9 moves to the carriage 1 as described later. It is configured to give a rising movement toward the mounted recording head.
[0022]
Below the capping means 9, a suction pump 10 as a negative pressure generating means for applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the capping means 9 is arranged. Further, on the printing area side adjacent to the capping means 9, a wiping member 11 formed by forming an elastic plate such as rubber into a strip shape is arranged so as to be able to advance and retreat in the horizontal direction on the movement locus of the recording head. The wiping member 11 can perform a wiping operation for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head as needed.
[0023]
The capping means 9 functions as a lid for preventing the nozzle openings of the recording head from drying during the idle period of the recording apparatus, and also applies a drive signal unrelated to printing to the recording head to remove ink droplets. It functions as an ink receiver at the time of a flushing operation for discharging, and also has a function as a cleaning unit that suctions ink from the recording head by applying a negative pressure from the suction pump 10 to the recording head.
[0024]
2 and 3 show the configuration of the capping means 9 disposed at the home position, FIG. 2 shows a side view thereof, and FIGS. 3 (A) and (B) show the cap unit in FIG. The state where the mounting part was seen from the left end surface side and the right end surface side is shown. 2 and 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a recording head disposed on the lower bottom surface of the carriage 1.
[0025]
In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes a slider, which is connected to a base 24 by an arm 23 which rotates in one surface direction. The carriage 1 moves to the home position side, and a contact piece 1a integrally formed with the carriage 1 is provided. Is configured to move following the movement of the carriage 1 when it comes into contact with the flag piece 25 formed on the slider 22. A valve unit 28 is fixed to the slider 22, while a valve member 29 for opening and closing the valve unit 28 is slidably disposed on a base 24 via a compression spring 30.
[0026]
A convex piece 26 is formed on the lower end side of the flag piece 25, and the convex piece 26 is configured to abut on the inclined guide surface 31 formed on the base 24 and slide on the surface thereof. ing. Accordingly, the slider 22 can be moved up and down while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture by cooperating with the turning operation of the turning arm 23 described above.
[0027]
A cap unit mounting portion 32 is mounted on the slider 22. That is, the cap unit mounting portion 32 has a projection 33 formed substantially at the center of both side walls, and the slider 22 has a receiving portion 34 for receiving the projection 33. As a result, the cap unit mounting portion 32 is mounted on the slider 22 so that the cap unit mounting portion 32 can slightly rotate around the protrusion 33 in one surface direction.
[0028]
The cap unit mounting portion 32 is provided with a cap unit 35 whose opening is formed in a square shape by a soft member such as rubber. The cap unit 35 is not shown in the drawing, but is a compression spring. Is mounted on the mounting section 32 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. Thereby, at the time of a capping operation described later, it is possible to maintain good adhesion of the cap unit 35 to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 21.
[0029]
The cap unit mounting section 32 includes a flushing guide member 36 for regulating the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means during a flushing operation described later, and a recording operation during the capping operation for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head. A capping guide member 37 for regulating the positional relationship between the head and the capping means is formed.
[0030]
The flushing guide member 36 and the capping guide member 37 are each constituted by a pair of guide claws as shown in FIG. 3, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, each guide constituting the flushing guide member is provided. The claw 36 is arranged on the end portion side of the home position, and each guide claw 37 constituting the capping guide member is arranged on the printing area side. Since the flushing guide member 36 and the capping guide member 37 are each constituted by a pair of guide claws, the respective guide claws are located on both side walls of the recording head 21 so that the capping is performed with respect to the center line of the recording head. The center line of the unit 35 can be aligned, and the positional relationship between the two can be easily determined.
[0031]
Here, as shown in FIG. 3A, the interval W1 between the pair of guide claws 36 forming the flushing guide member is slightly wider than the interval W2 between the pair of guide claws 37 forming the capping guide member. (W1> W2), and the projecting length of the pair of guide claws 36 forming the flushing guide member is greater than the projecting length of the pair of guide claws 37 forming the capping guide member. It is configured to be longer, that is, to have a difference of h in the height direction in the figure.
[0032]
Although not shown in the drawing, an ink suction port is formed at the lower bottom of the cap unit 35, and is connected to a suction pump (for example, a tube pump) 10 shown in FIG. 1 via a tube (not shown). . Similarly, an opening to the atmosphere (not shown) is formed in the lower bottom portion of the cap unit 35. The other end of a tube (not shown) having one end connected to the opening to the atmosphere is connected to the valve unit. 28.
[0033]
FIG. 4 is a side view of the capping means 9 during a flushing operation, and FIG. 5 shows a state where the cap unit mounting portion 32 at this time is viewed from the left end face side and the right end face side, respectively. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the same main components as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0034]
At the time of the flushing operation, the carriage 1 further moves rightward in the drawing from the state shown in FIG. 2, and accordingly, the contact piece 1 a integrally formed with the carriage 1 becomes a flag formed on the slider 22. It comes into a state of being slightly in contact with the piece 25. At this time, the recording head 21 enters between a pair of guide claws 36 constituting a flushing guide member by the movement of the carriage 1.
[0035]
As shown in FIG. 5 (A), the opposing inner surfaces of the pair of guide claws 36 each form an inclined surface that expands toward the printing area, and accordingly, the recording head 21 and the flushing guide are formed. Even if the positional relationship with the member 36 is slightly shifted, the recording head 21 enters between the pair of guide claws 36 while being guided by the inclined surface.
[0036]
Thereby, the positional relationship of the capping means with respect to the recording head 21 is specified, and the nozzle forming surface 21a of the recording head 21 is directly above the cap unit 35 with a slight gap left in the cap unit 35. . In this state, the recording head 21 receives a signal from a flushing control circuit (not shown) to perform idle discharge of ink, and ink droplets discharged from the recording head 21 are received by the cap unit 35.
[0037]
Note that, as described with reference to FIG. 3A, the projecting length of the pair of guide claws 36 forming the flushing guide member is compared with the projecting length of the pair of guide claws 37 forming the capping guide member. During the flushing operation, the pair of guide claws 37 constituting the capping guide member does not reach the recording head 21 and the pair of guide claws 37 constituting the flushing guide member does not reach. The positional relationship between the recording head 21 and the capping means is specified only by the guide claws 36.
[0038]
Next, FIG. 6 is a side view of the capping means 9 at the time of capping operation, FIG. 7 is a state in which the cap unit mounting portion 32 is viewed from the left end face side and the right end face side, respectively, and FIG. FIG. 8 shows a state where a portion A and a portion B in FIG. 7 are enlarged.
[0039]
At the time of the capping operation, the carriage 1 moves further rightward in the drawing than in the state shown in FIG. 4, and accordingly, the contact piece 1a integrally formed with the carriage 1 pushes the flag piece 25 rightward. Act to push forward. Therefore, the convex piece 26 formed on the lower end side of the flag piece 25 rises on the inclined guide surface 31 formed on the base 21, and the arm unit 23 is rotated to turn the cap unit mounted on the cap unit mounting unit 32. Numeral 35 seals the nozzle forming surface 21a of the recording head 21 in close contact therewith.
[0040]
At the same time, the valve unit 28 arranged on the slider 22 comes into contact with the valve member 29 arranged on the base 24, and the compression spring 30 is still contracted. Therefore, the valve unit 28 is closed by the valve member 29, and the internal space of the cap unit 35 via the tube is closed.
[0041]
Further, during the cleaning operation, in the capping state shown in FIG. 6, the suction pump 10 shown in FIG. 1 operates to suck the internal space of the cap unit 35 to a negative pressure. Can be discharged to the cap unit 35 side.
[0042]
During the capping operation, the pair of guide claws 37 constituting the capping guide member rise along the side walls of the recording head 21 as the cap unit mounting portion 32 rises, as shown in FIG.
[0043]
At this time, as shown in FIGS. 7 (A) and 8 (A), the opposing inner side surfaces of the upper end portions of the pair of guide claws 37 constituting the capping guide member are respectively expanded upward. Since the recording head 21 is guided by the inclined surface, the recording head 21 is positioned between the pair of guide claws 37 even if there is a slight displacement in the positional relationship between the recording head 21 and the flushing guide member 36. Get into it. Thereby, the positional relationship of the capping unit with respect to the recording head 21 is specified.
[0044]
Here, as described with reference to FIG. 3A, the distance W1 between the pair of guide claws 36 forming the flushing guide member is compared with the distance W2 between the pair of guide claws 37 forming the capping guide member. Therefore, during the capping operation, only the guide claws 37 constituting the capping guide member can be brought into contact with the side wall of the recording head 21 during the capping operation, as shown in FIG. The guide claws 36 constituting the flushing guide member are separated from the side wall of the recording head 21.
[0045]
In the embodiment used in the above description, the guide claws 36 constituting the flushing guide member are arranged on the end side of the home position, and the guide claws 37 constituting the capping guide member are arranged on the print area side. However, the same function and effect can be obtained even in a configuration in which both are exchanged with each other, and each guide claw can be arranged at an arbitrary position without being bound by such a specific configuration. . Further, in the embodiment, an example of the two-body structure in which the cap unit mounting portion 32 is mounted on the slider 22 is shown. However, the present invention is also applicable to a configuration in which the slider 22 and the cap unit mounting portion 32 are integrally formed. Can be applied.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the capping unit includes the respective guide members that regulate the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping unit during the flushing operation and during the capping. Therefore, during the flushing operation, the capping unit can regulate the position to a position that accurately receives the ink droplets ejected by the flushing, and also during the capping, the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping unit can be secured with high accuracy. .
[0047]
In particular, during the flushing operation, the recording head and the capping unit are opposed to each other with a gap between them, but due to the presence of the above-mentioned flushing guide member, the ejection ink accompanying the flushing is removed by the capping unit. It is possible to solve the problem of the conventional apparatus in which the ink is ejected to the seal portion of the cap unit and the ink is scattered and diffused when the capping means is released from the recording head. In addition, since each guide member can be easily formed integrally with, for example, a synthetic resin constituting the capping unit, the above-described effects can be obtained without substantially increasing the cost of the capping unit. In addition, since the position is regulated by the flushing guide member, it is possible to reduce the ratio of the area of the entire nozzle formation surface to the effective formation area of the nozzle row in the recording head, thereby reducing the size of the recording head. Can also contribute. Similarly, since the area of the entire nozzle forming surface can be reduced, the number of nozzle plates to be formed can be increased on the manufacturing surface, which can contribute to cost reduction of the recording head.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration of capping means mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a relationship between a cap unit mounting portion and a recording head in the capping unit shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a configuration at the time of a flushing operation in a capping unit mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a relationship between a cap unit mounting portion and a recording head in the capping unit shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a configuration at the time of a capping operation in a capping unit mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a side view showing a relationship between a cap unit mounting portion and a recording head in the capping unit shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of a portion A and a portion B in FIG. 7;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 carriage
1a Contact piece
2 Timing belt
3 Carriage motor
6 Recording paper
7 Black ink cartridge
8 color ink cartridge
9 Capping means
10 Suction pump (negative pressure generating means)
11 Wiping member
21 Recording head
21a Nozzle forming surface
22 Slider
24 bases
25 Flag pieces
28 Valve unit
29 Valve member
32 Cap unit mounting section
35 cap unit
36 Flushing guide member (guide claw)
37 Guide member for capping (guide claw)

Claims (3)

An ink jet recording head mounted on a carriage that moves in the width direction of the recording sheet and ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings to record an image on the recording sheet; and ink droplets ejected from the recording head during a flushing operation And a capping unit for receiving the negative pressure from the negative pressure generating unit and sucking ink droplets from the nozzle opening of the recording head while receiving the negative pressure from the negative pressure generating unit. A recording device,
The capping unit includes a flushing guide member that regulates a positional relationship between the recording head and the capping unit during a flushing operation, and the recording head and the recording head during a capping operation that seals a nozzle forming surface of the recording head. A capping guide member for regulating the positional relationship with the capping means is provided,
The flushing guide member and the capping guide member are each constituted by at least a pair of guide claws, and the guide claws each have a surface inclined and substantially parallel to a side wall of the recording head, and are used for a flushing operation. And during the capping operation, the substantially parallel surfaces of the guide claws are located outside the both side walls of the recording head to regulate the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means. The projecting length of the substantially parallel surface of the guide member is longer than the projecting length of the substantially parallel surface of the capping guide member, and the pair of substantially parallel surfaces of the flushing guide member. Of the pair of the substantially parallel surfaces in the capping guide member. An ink jet recording apparatus as compared to the interval is wider configuration. The capping unit is configured to be movable in the direction of contact and separation with respect to the recording head, and at the time of a flushing operation, the substantially parallel portion of the flushing guide member in a state where the capping unit is close to the recording head. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein only the recording head is located outside both side walls of the recording head to restrict a positional relationship between the recording head and the capping unit. The capping means is configured to be movable in the direction of contact and separation with respect to the recording head, and at the time of capping operation, only the substantially parallel portion of the capping guide member is located outside both side walls of the recording head. The flushing guide member is positioned so as to regulate the positional relationship between the recording head and the capping means, and the guide claws constituting the flushing guide member are positioned so as to be separated from the side wall of the recording head. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a guide claw is arranged.

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