JP6007624B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus provided with a recording head for discharging droplets.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying apparatus, a plotter, and a complex machine of these, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus is known as an image forming apparatus of a liquid discharge recording method using a recording head for discharging ink droplets . This liquid discharge recording type image forming apparatus ejects ink droplets from a recording head onto a conveyed paper to form an image (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously). Serial type image forming device that forms an image by ejecting droplets while the recording head moves in the main scanning direction, and a line type that forms images by ejecting droplets without the recording head moving There is a line type image forming apparatus using a head.

  In the present application, the “image forming apparatus” of the liquid discharge recording method is an apparatus that forms an image by landing ink on a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics or the like. In addition, “image formation” means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium (simply It also means that a droplet is landed on a medium). The term “ink” is not limited to what is referred to as ink, but is used as a general term for all liquids that can perform image formation, such as recording liquid, fixing processing liquid, resin, and liquid. . The term “paper” is not limited to paper, but includes the above-described OHP sheet, cloth, and the like, and means that ink droplets adhere to the recording medium, recording medium, recording paper, recording It is used as a general term for what includes what is called paper.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the recording head performs recording by ejecting ink from the nozzles onto the paper, so that the ink viscosity increases due to the evaporation of the solvent from the nozzles, the ink is solidified, and the dust is attached. In addition, since there is a problem in that a recording failure occurs due to an ejection failure due to bubbles or the like, a maintenance recovery mechanism for maintaining and recovering the performance of the recording head is provided.

  For example, a cap (also referred to as a capping unit or a cap member) that seals the nozzles of the recording head is provided, and capping of the recording head is performed when the apparatus is not in operation, thereby suppressing drying and thickening of ink in the nozzles. To be able to. In addition, before and after the recording operation and during the recording operation, ink droplets that do not contribute to the recording operation are discharged, and the ink dried and thickened in the nozzles is discharged so that the discharge performance can be recovered and maintained. .

  The ejection of ink droplets that do not contribute to image formation for maintaining the ejection performance of the nozzles is called preliminary ejection or idle ejection, and can be ejected to a dedicated idle ejection receiver or ejected to a cap. Is called.

  When performing the maintenance recovery operation (maintenance operation), after discharging the ink, the nozzle surface of the recording head is wiped with a wiper member (also referred to as a wiper blade, wiping means, etc.) to bring the nozzle meniscus into a normal state. I try to return it.

  When the wiper wipes and cleans the nozzle surface, the ink attached to the nozzle surface adheres to the wiper. If the ink adhering to the wiper is left as it is, when the wiper wipes and cleans the nozzle surface again, the adhering ink is transferred and adhered to the nozzle surface, and ink ejection cannot be maintained normally. Therefore, various wiper cleaning means (wiper cleaners) that remove ink transferred and adhered to the wiper are known. For example, there are some equipped with scraping means such as a scraping blade and scraping mylar for removing waste liquid on the side surface and top surface of the wiper member.

  Further, Patent Document 1 has a web-like wiper cleaner that is wound around a feed roller and is wound up sequentially by a take-up roller, and ink that adheres to the side surface of the wiper and the top surface on different surfaces of the wiper cleaner each time. An image forming apparatus to be removed is disclosed.

  However, in this device, when the wiper is cleaned with a cleaner, the ink adheres on the cleaner and spreads irregularly. The amount of winding must be increased. When the amount of winding of the cleaner is increased, the number of possible cleanings, that is, the service life becomes very short, and the cleaner needs to be frequently replaced. In addition, there is a problem that the ink on the cleaner spreads to another wiper cleaning surface and the cleaning property is deteriorated.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the wiper is efficiently cleaned by maximizing the effective use of the cleaner without reducing the cleaning performance even if the amount of winding of the cleaner is reduced once, and improving the life of the cleaner. Objective.

In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a plurality of recording heads having nozzles for ejecting liquid droplets, a wiper member for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head, and a wiper for removing liquid droplets attached to the wiper member. In the image forming apparatus including the cleaning unit, the wiper cleaning unit includes a movable web-like cleaner and a feed amount detection sensor for the cleaner, and the cleaner includes the wiper member. A plurality of vertical slits are formed in parallel, and the cleaner is provided with a scale that is read by the feed amount detection sensor at substantially the same interval as the vertical slits. , so as to clean the side surfaces and top surface of the wiper member in different parts of each said cleaner, the cleaner is to be sent by a distance of rows and columns of the vertical slit We propose an image forming apparatus according to claim.

  Since the cleaner is cut by the vertical slit, the ink does not spread sideways beyond the slit when the wiper is cleaned. Since the spread of ink is suppressed to the distance between the rows of slits, it is not necessary to send extra ink in consideration of the spread of ink when sending the cleaner to a new cleaning surface, and the cleaner is used effectively to the maximum. . In addition, since the spread of the ink is suppressed to the amount of one feed of the cleaner, the cleaner is always sent to a clean unused part, and the wiper can be easily cleaned. In addition, since the cleaner can be manufactured simply by cutting the slits at equal intervals, the cost of the cleaner can be kept low.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a recording head unit. It is explanatory drawing of the maintenance recovery operation | movement by a maintenance recovery unit. It is a schematic block diagram of a wiper cap cleaner. It is a figure which shows the basic cleaning method of the maintenance recovery unit by a wiper cap cleaner. It is the schematic of the conventional cleaner which does not provide a slit. It is the schematic of the cleaner of this invention which provided the slit. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a guide plate. It is a figure which shows an example of the cleaning by a cleaner, and a feeding method.

An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The sheets 100 stacked on the sheet feeding tray 101 are fed one by one by a sheet feeding roller 102 and are conveyed to a dotted conveyance path in the drawing. The sheet 100 transported to the transport path is transported to the belt transport unit 104 via the registration roller pair 103.

  The belt conveyance unit 104 includes a conveyance roller 105 that is driven at a predetermined timing, a tension roller 106, and a conveyance belt 107 that is an endless belt wound around these. The holding of the paper 100 by the belt conveyance unit 104 can use electrostatic adsorption, adsorption by air suction, or other known means. The paper 100 is transported to the belt transport unit 104, passes under the recording head unit 108, and an image is formed on the paper.

  The recording head unit 108 is composed of a line type liquid discharge head having a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets are arranged in a length corresponding to the paper width. The recording head unit 108 includes a plurality of recording heads for each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) (hereinafter also simply referred to as “heads”) 108y, 108m, 108c, and 108k. I have. As a serial type image forming apparatus, a recording head may be mounted on a carriage and configured to be movable.

  In order to maintain and recover the performance of the recording head unit 108, a maintenance and recovery unit 200 is provided. The maintenance / recovery unit 200 includes maintenance mechanisms 200y, 200m, 200c, and 200k for the respective colors. Each color maintaining mechanism includes caps 201y, 201m, 201c, and 201k for sucking ink of the recording heads 108y, 108m, 108c, and 108k, and wipers 202y and 202m as wiper members for wiping off ink adhering to the head when sucked. , 202c, 202k. Further, when the performance of the head unit 108 is recovered by the maintenance / recovery unit 200, a wiper cap cleaner 300 is provided as a wiper cleaning means for removing ink adhering to the maintenance / recovery unit 200.

  Undried ink adheres on the paper 100 on which an image is formed by the recording head unit 108. In order to dry the undried ink, although not shown, a drying mechanism such as a heater for sending warm air may be provided between the recording head unit 108 and the decurler unit 109.

  After the image is formed by the recording head unit 108, the paper 100 is conveyed to the decurler unit 109 and the curl is corrected to be flat (decurled). When the paper 100 that has passed through the decurler unit 109 is discharged as it is, it is transported by the separation claw 110 via the transport path 111 to the paper discharge roller 112 and discharged outside the apparatus. When reverse paper discharge or printing is also performed on the reverse side, the paper 100 passes through the conveyance path 113 by the switching of the separation claw 110 and is sent to the tapping roller 115 via the separation claw 114. Here, the sheet 100 is conveyed in the reverse direction by the hitting roller 115, and is sent to the double-side reversing roller 116 through the separation claw 114. At the time of reverse paper discharge, the double-side reverse roller 116 rotates counterclockwise, and the paper 100 passes through the transport path 117 and is sent to the paper discharge roller 112 for paper discharge. When printing on the back side, the double-side reversing roller 116 rotates clockwise, passes through the conveyance path 118, is sent to the registration roller pair 103, and is discharged after image formation as described above.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the recording head unit 108.
Each of the recording heads 108y, 108m, 108c, and 108k includes a plurality of (for example, ten) heads 120 and is arranged on the base member substantially in parallel with the wiper 202. Each head has a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for discharging droplets arranged in two rows on the nozzle surface. Two rows of heads 120 of each recording head are arranged in a staggered manner. Although not shown, the wipers 202y, 202m, 202c, and 202k are also composed of two rows of staggered wiper portions, and are arranged in the same manner as the head 120. Accordingly, each head 120 of the recording head 108y at the predetermined position is cleaned by the wiper portion of the wiper 202y at the predetermined position, and ink adheres to the wiper 202y in the same manner as the arrangement of the heads 120. The same applies to wipers and recording heads of other colors.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the maintenance / recovery operation by the maintenance / recovery unit in this image forming apparatus.
When an image is being formed by discharging droplets from the recording head unit 108 (during printing), as shown in FIG. 3A, the maintenance / recovery unit 200 stands by upstream of the head unit 108 in the sheet conveyance direction. doing. When printing is completed or a head maintenance signal or a head standby signal is input, the head unit 108 moves up as shown in FIG. After the head unit 108 is raised, the maintenance / recovery unit 200 moves below the head unit 108 as shown in FIG. When the maintenance mechanisms 200y, 200m, 200c, and 200k for the respective colors of the maintenance unit 200 are disposed under the recording heads 108y, 108m, 108c, and 108k for the respective colors of the head unit 108, the head unit 108 is lowered.

  As shown in FIG. 3D, the head unit 108 is lowered to a predetermined position where the head unit 108 is sucked by the cap 201, and is sucked by the cap 201. After suction with the cap 201, the head unit 108 ascends to a position where the wiper 202 wipes the nozzle surface, as shown in FIG. Then, the nozzle surface of the head unit 108 is wiped by the wiper 202 when the maintenance unit 200 moves to the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction. Thereafter, the maintenance unit 200 moves to the wiper cap cleaner 300 and is cleaned by the wiper cap cleaner as described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the wiper / cap cleaner 300.
The wiper cap cleaner 300 has a supply roller 301, a collection roller 302, and a web-like cleaner 303 that is wound around these and arranged to be movable. A guide plate 304 bent in an L shape is disposed between the supply roller 301 and the collection roller 302, and the cleaner 303 is guided and slid outside the guide plate 304. When the guide plate 304 is pressed against the cap 201 and the wiper 202 together with the cleaner 303, the cleaner 303 comes into contact with the cap 201 and the wiper 202 and the ink attached to the wiper 202 is removed and cleaned.

  When ink adheres to the cleaner in the vicinity of the guide plate 304, the DC motor 305 connected to the recovery roller 302 rotates and the recovery roller 302 is rotated so that the cleaner at the portion where the ink has been applied is recovered. It has become. A cleaner tension maintaining member 306 is also provided between the supply roller 301 and the guide plate 304 to keep the tension of the cleaner 303 of the wiper / cap cleaner 300 constant. A cleaner feed amount detection roller 307 is also provided. When the cleaner is collected, the cleaner feed amount detection roller 307 rotates together. At this time, the encoder attached to the cleaner feed amount roller 308 rotates, and the feed amount detection sensor 309 detects the encoder to detect and control the feed amount.

  Further, an end detection filler 310 and an end detection sensor 311 are provided above the supply roller 301, and when the cleaner of the supply roller 301 is about to end, the end detection filler 310 switches on the sensor of the end detection sensor 311. The end of the life of the cleaner is detected. The wiper cap cleaner 300 is configured to rotate around the rotation center roller 312. The rotation center roller 312 is connected to the stepping motor 313 and moves up and down by a desired amount of rotation by the stepping motor 313, and accordingly, the wiper / cap cleaner 300 also moves up and down relative to the wiper 202 and the cap 201. The rotation center roller 312 and the stepping motor 313 constitute a rotation mechanism. Thereby, it is possible to clean the top and side surfaces of the wiper with a simple configuration. Instead of rotation by the stepping motor 313, the wiper / cap cleaner 300 may be moved up and down using a cam or the like.

  FIG. 5 shows a basic cleaning method of the maintenance / recovery unit 200 by the wiper cap cleaner 300. Since the cleaning method of each color maintenance mechanism 200y, 200m, 200c, and 200k by the wiper cap cleaner 300 is the same, only the maintenance mechanism 200y is shown here. The wiper 202y shown here corresponds to one row of the two rows of wiper portions arranged in a staggered manner (the row in which the head row on the right side of the recording head 108y is cleaned), and the other row (the head on the left side of the recording head 108y). The row where the row is cleaned is also cleaned. The upper drawing of each figure shows the cleaning operation of the cleaner 300, and the lower drawing shows an enlarged sectional view of the cleaning portion of the cleaner at that time. As shown in FIG. 5A, after the recording head 108y is cleaned by the maintenance mechanism 200y, the ink adheres to the contact portion of the cap 201y, the side surface of the wiper 202y, and the top surface. As shown in the figure below, the cleaner 303 is provided with vertical slits 400 at intervals of the cleaner feed amount, and the cap 201y is located directly below the guide plate 304.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the wiper / cap cleaner 300 is lowered by the rotation of the rotation center roller 312 and comes into contact with the cap 201y. As a result, the ink 411 adhering to the contact portion of the cap 201y is absorbed and removed by the cleaner 303. At this time, not only the contact but also the maintenance unit 200y may be moved left and right to wipe the ink. Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the wiper / cap cleaner 300 is raised to the side surface cleaning position of the wiper 202 y by the reverse rotation of the rotation center roller 312. As shown in the figure below, the amount of ink 411 is small and its spread is small.

  As shown in FIG. 5D, the maintenance / recovery unit 200y moves laterally toward the wiper / cap cleaner 300, the side surface of the wiper 202y contacts the cleaner 303, and the ink 412 on the side surface is removed. At this time, it is preferable that the wiper 202y is pressed not only in contact with the cleaner 303 but also in the lateral direction. As shown in the figure below, even if the amount of ink 412 is large, since the cleaners are separated by the vertical slits 400 carved by the cleaner feed amount interval, the ink 412 does not spread to the adjacent cleaner.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5E, the wiper / cap cleaner 300 is further lifted, and the wiper 202y and the cleaner 303 are rubbed together to further remove the ink 412 on the side surface. Ascend to the top surface cleaning position at 202y. At this time, if the center of rotation of the wiper / cap cleaner is positioned above the wiper, the wiper / cap cleaner 300 is lifted so as to abut against the side surface of the wiper 202y and scrub the side surface, so that the ink is more easily removed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (f), the maintenance / recovery unit 200y moves laterally to the top surface cleaning position. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5G, the wiper cap cleaner 300 is lowered, the cleaner 303 comes into contact with the top surface of the wiper 202y, and the ink 413 adhering to the top surface is absorbed and removed by the cleaner 303. Here, normally, the ink 411 attached to the cap 201y is less than the inks 412 and 413 attached to the wiper 202y, and the cleaner between the inks 411 is clean, so the place where the ink 413 on the top surface is removed is the removal of the ink on the cap 201y. Set it in the middle of the part. Here, the cleaning of the wiper 202y corresponding to one row of the two rows of wiper portions arranged in a staggered manner is completed.

  Next, the wiper 202y corresponding to the other row of the two rows of staggered wiper portions is also cleaned in the same manner as in FIGS. 5D to 5G, and the wiper 202y corresponding to the other row is removed. Cleaning ends. Here, since the wiper 202y is arranged in the same manner as the head 120 as described above, when cleaning one row of the wiper and when cleaning the other row, FIGS. 5D and 5G are used. ) In the cleaner 303 does not overlap (the ink removal location shifts in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface). Eventually, the ink adhering to the cleaner 303 does not have a staggered arrangement, and continues from end to end of the cleaner 303.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5 (h), the wiper cap cleaner 300 rises to a position where it does not collide with the maintenance unit 200y. After the ascent, the cleaning roller is fed by a certain amount by the supply roller 301, and the cleaning surface is replaced with a new portion.
This series of operations shown in FIGS. 5A to 5H is performed for each color recording head, and cleaning of the maintenance unit 200 is completed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a conventional cleaner not provided with a slit, FIG. 6 (a) is a plan view of a part of the cleaner, and FIG. 6 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along a one-dot chain line CD.
In the drawing, the horizontal direction is the cleaner feed direction, and the vertical direction is the direction in which the heads of the recording heads are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the direction in which the wiper extends. Here, a state in which the ink in one row of the two rows of wiper portions arranged in a staggered pattern is absorbed by the cleaner, in particular, a state in which the ink is absorbed at the cleaning portion 501 indicated by the dotted line is shown.

  When the top surface of the wiper is cleaned at the cleaning point 501, if no slit or the like is provided, the ink should clean the next continuous cleaning point 502 and the other row of the two rows of staggered wiper portions. It spreads to the next cleaning location 503. Thereby, the cleaning property in the cleaning location 502,503 will fall. In addition, since the ink spreads irregularly, if the cleaner is sent to a location where the ink is not spread without using the next cleaning location 502, the amount of cleaner feed increases and the life of the cleaner decreases. End up.

7A and 7B are schematic views of the cleaner of the present invention provided with slits 400 and 401, FIG. 7A is a plan view of a part of the cleaner 303, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the alternate long and short dash line AB. Show.
In the cleaner 303, a plurality of vertical slits 400 are engraved at equal intervals substantially parallel to the wiper 202, and a plurality of rows of the vertical slits 400 are formed. The rows of vertical slits 400 are formed at equal intervals in the cleaner feed direction. Since the fibers of the cleaner 303 are cut by the longitudinal slit 400, when the wiper 202 is wiped, the ink does not spread laterally beyond the longitudinal slit 400 and moves in the thickness direction of the cleaner. Therefore, the side surface and the top surface of the wiper can always be cleaned with different portions of a clean cleaner only by sending the cleaner 303 at intervals between the rows of the vertical slits 400. As a result, the amount of one-time feeding of the cleaner is reduced, and the cleaner 303 can be effectively used to the maximum extent. The shape of the slit is arbitrary, but it is preferably formed as a groove or a notch in order to reduce the occupation ratio of the slit in the cleaner.

  The cleaner 303 has a plurality of horizontal slits 401 that are substantially parallel to the feed direction of the cleaner between the vertical slits 400, and a plurality of rows of the horizontal slits 401 are formed. The rows of the horizontal slits 401 are formed at intervals of the vertical slits 400 in the direction perpendicular to the feed direction. Therefore, a small area of the cleaner is defined by the vertical slit 400 and the horizontal slit 401, and this small area substantially corresponds to the size of the head 120 of the recording heads 108y, 108m, 108c, and 108k. Since the ink of the wiper 202 does not spread in the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction by the horizontal slit 401, the ink of the wiper 202 is cleaned even in the cleaning of the other row following the cleaning of one row of the two rows of staggered wipers. A clean cleaning surface that is not attached can be used.

  Further, at the end of the cleaner 303, a scale 402 that is read by the feed amount detection sensor 309 is provided for each interval of the vertical slits 400. The scale 402 is attached at the same time when slitting the cleaner 303. As a result, the cleaner feed amount roller 308 is not necessary, and the feed amount can be determined with an inexpensive configuration using only the scale 402 and the feed amount detection sensor 309.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the guide plate 304.
In the guide plate 304 of this example, the portion for cleaning the side surface of the wiper 202 and the portion for cleaning the top surface form an angle larger than 90 °. This ensures that the side surface near the top surface of the wiper 202 that is particularly important for wiping comes into contact with the cleaner. In addition, an elongated hole 403 is opened in the width direction at a position of the guide plate 304 where the top surface of the wiper 202 comes into contact, and the cleaner is bent by the top surface when the top surface is cleaned.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cleaning and feeding method using a cleaner.
Starting from the uncleaned state shown in FIG. 9A, the cap 201y and one row of the wiper 202y and the other row are first cleaned in the procedure shown in FIGS. 5A to 5G (first time). The state shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, the cleaner 303 is sent by the interval of the horizontal slit 401. Next, similarly, one row and the other row of the cap 201m and the wiper 202m are cleaned (second time), and the state shown in FIG. 9D is obtained. Next, as shown in FIG. 9 (e), the cleaner 303 is sent for the second time only by the interval of the horizontal slit 401. Next, similarly, one row and the other row of the cap 201c and the wiper 202c are cleaned (third time), and the state shown in FIG. After the third cleaning, if the cleaner 303 is sent once at the interval of the horizontal slit 401, the portion where the top surface has already been cleaned comes to a position where a new side is to be cleaned, as shown in FIG. The cleaner 303 is fed a lot (four times the interval between the horizontal slits 401) until the side cleaning part becomes a new part, and is reset. The cleaning of one row and the other row of the cap 201k and the wiper 202k may be performed thereafter. In this way, all unused parts of the cleaner are used while reducing the amount of winding of the cleaner once, and the wiper is cleaned only with the unused parts of the cleaner. To make the most of it.

  Before cleaning the nozzle surface of the recording head, a maintenance operation for sucking the ink of the recording head with the cap is performed, and a plurality of maintenance operations with different suction forces can be performed. Generally, when the suction force is large, the amount of ink attached to the nozzle surface also increases. Since the ink adhesion amount and the ease of ink wiping change depending on the maintenance mode and environment, it is preferable to change the way the wiper / cap cleaner 300 is applied to each cap 201 and each wiper 202 according to the maintenance mode and environment.

  For example, the image forming apparatus includes a maintenance mode selection unit that selects one of a plurality of maintenance modes in which the discharge amount of droplets from the recording head is different, and a control unit that controls a contact method between the wiper and the wiper / cap cleaner. Preferably it has. For example, in the maintenance mode where the suction force is high, the wiper / cap cleaner is always sent after cleaning the wiper, but in the maintenance mode where the suction force is low, the wiper / cap cleaner is not sent after the wiper is cleaned. May be cleaned. Thereby, even if the amount of waste liquid adhering to the wiper and the cap changes depending on the maintenance mode, the waste liquid can be reliably removed.

  Moreover, you may have a control means which controls the contact method of a wiper and a wiper cap cleaner according to environmental conditions. For example, in general, when the temperature and humidity are low, the cleaner becomes difficult to absorb ink. Therefore, in order to extend the life of the cleaner 303, the cleaner may be cleaned several times before sending the cleaner. Conversely, when the temperature and humidity are high, the cleaner easily absorbs ink. Therefore, in order to maintain high cleanability, it is preferable to send the cleaner to a new surface as soon as it is used once. Thus, even if the amount of waste liquid or the amount of ink absorbed changes depending on the environment, the waste liquid can be reliably removed.

108y, 108m, 108c, 108k Recording head 120 Head 202y, 202m, 202c, 202k Wiper (wiper member)
300 wiper cap cleaner (wiper cleaning means)
303 Cleaner 400 Vertical slit 401 Horizontal slit

JP 2010-253823 A

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus comprising: a plurality of recording heads having nozzles for discharging droplets; a wiper member for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head; and a wiper cleaning unit for removing droplets attached to the wiper member. ,
The wiper cleaning means has a web-like cleaner arranged movably and a feed amount detection sensor for the cleaner ,
In the cleaner, a plurality of vertical slits that are substantially parallel to the wiper member are engraved, and a plurality of rows of vertical slits are formed,
The cleaner is provided with scales read by the feed amount detection sensor at substantially the same intervals as the rows of the vertical slits,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the cleaner is fed by a distance between rows of the vertical slits so that a side surface and a top surface of the wiper member are respectively cleaned by different portions of the cleaner.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of horizontal slits that are substantially parallel to a feed direction of the cleaner are formed between the vertical slits. The recording head has two rows of heads arranged in a staggered manner, and the wiper member has two rows of wiper portions arranged in a staggered manner in the same manner as the heads.
The small area of the cleaner defined by the vertical slit and the horizontal slit substantially corresponds to the size of the head,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein after the side surfaces and the top surface of the two wiper portions are cleaned by the cleaner, the cleaner is fed by a distance between the vertical slits. An image forming apparatus comprising: a plurality of recording heads having nozzles for discharging droplets; a wiper member for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head; and a wiper cleaning unit for removing droplets attached to the wiper member. ,
The wiper cleaning means has a web-like cleaner arranged to be movable,
In the cleaner, a plurality of vertical slits that are substantially parallel to the wiper member are engraved, and a plurality of rows of vertical slits are formed,
The wiper cleaning means further includes a rotating mechanism which allows up and down movement of the wiper cleaning means to said wiper member,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the cleaner is fed by a distance between rows of the vertical slits so that a side surface and a top surface of the wiper member are respectively cleaned by different portions of the cleaner. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a rotation center of the rotation mechanism is located above the wiper member. The cleaner for cleaning the wiper member is guided outside the bent guide plate, and the guide plate portion for cleaning the side surface of the wiper member and the guide plate for cleaning the top surface. the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, parts of which is characterized in that forming the angle is greater than 90 °. When the cleaner is fed by the distance between the rows of the vertical slits, the cleaner is already unused when the location of the cleaner that has already cleaned the wiper member comes to a position to clean the wiper member. partial image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sent until the said position. A maintenance mode selection unit that selects any one of a plurality of maintenance modes in which the discharge amount of droplets from the recording head is different, and a contact method of the wiper member and the wiper cleaning unit according to the selected maintenance mode. the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it has a control means for controlling. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that it comprises a control means for controlling the method of contacting the wiper and the wiper cleaning means in accordance with environmental conditions.

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