JPH02194964A - Liquid jet recording device and recovery method for the liquid jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a discharge port for discharging recording liquid from clogging at the time of recording by providing a member for sweeping the outlet and means for forcibly spraying air to the discharge port. CONSTITUTION:When a recording operation is conducted for several minutes, an idle discharge request signal is output from a control circuit 16. The, a pulse motor driver 23 is driven, a carriage 1 is further driven from a record starting position in a direction of an arrow B, and a recording head 2 is moved to a position opposed to a clog preventing unit 31. Then, the clog preventing unit 31 is moved toward the orifice face of the recording head 2 by clogging- preventing unit driving means 32, and an idle discharge is executed according to an idle discharge signal from the control circuit 16. Thereafter, after the idle discharge of the recording head is finished, a sweeping member 33 is brought into contact with the orifice face 47 of the recording head 2 by sweeping member driving means 34 to sweep the ink, dirts adhered to the orifice face 47. Subsequently, the sweeping member 33 sprays an air flow from an air diffuser 35 to spray the dirt remaining on the orifice surface 47 toward a liquid absorbing member 37.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a liquid jet recording device that performs recording by discharging a recording liquid onto a recording material, and in particular cleaning the recording liquid discharge opening to ensure that the recording liquid is constantly discharged. The present invention relates to a liquid jet recording device that can be maintained in a stable state.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, various liquid jet recording devices have been devised that record characters, images, etc. by ejecting recording liquid (ink) from a recording head.

However, in this type of apparatus, in order to keep the recording liquid (ink) in a state where it can be ejected at all times, special considerations not seen in other types of apparatuses are required. That is, the ink on the surface of the orifice (ejection opening) that ejects the recording liquid (ink) tends to dry and stick or deteriorate and stick, and the resulting clogging makes it impossible to eject the ink during recording.

Therefore, various methods have been considered to deal with this problem.

First, a so-called capping operation has been considered in which the orifice of the print head is covered with a cap during non-printing to prevent ink from drying and sticking or spontaneously evaporating.

However, in a dry environment with low humidity or during long periods of rest, the above-mentioned capping operation alone cannot prevent ink from sticking, so pressure is applied to the ink inside the ejection port using a bone pump or the like.

A recovery operation is being performed to forcibly remove the degraded ink from the orifice.

Furthermore, after performing this recovery operation, ink remains on the orifice surface, so a so-called cleaning operation is performed in which the remaining ink is wiped off by contacting a liquid absorbing member with the orifice surface and moving the liquid absorbing member on the orifice surface. It will be done.

This cleaning operation also has the role of removing dust, dirt, etc. on the surface of the orifice that cannot be removed only by the recovery operation of applying pressure to the ink inside the ejector 1 and forcibly discharging the fixed ink.

[-r stage 1 to solve the problem The present invention is intended as a means to solve the above-mentioned problems.

In a liquid jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging a recording liquid onto a recording material-L, a member for wiping an ejection port for discharging the recording liquid.

The present invention provides a liquid jet recording device characterized by comprising means for blowing gas onto the eleventh discharge point.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional example described above, since the liquid suction member is brought into contact with the orifice surface of the liquid ejection port of the recording head, it is not possible to remove dust and dirt attached to the orifice surface of the recording head. However, conversely, there was a drawback in that dirt and debris from the liquid absorbing member, which is usually an elastic body such as a sponge, were transferred to the orifice surface.

[Example j FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

Here, 1 is a carriage on which the recording head 2 is mounted, and 3 is a guide rail that movably holds the carriage 1. An end belt 4 is connected to the carriage l, and the carriage l is driven by a drive motor 5 and moves along the recording portion of the recording sheet 6. 7 is a roller for feeding the recording sheet 6; 8A and 8B are guide rollers for guiding the sheet 6; and 9 is a motor for feeding the sheet.

On the other hand, the recording head 2 is provided with an ejection [11O] for ejecting an ink droplet toward the recording sheet 6, and ejection 1. t
Ink 13 is supplied to the i rl IO from an ink tank 11 via a supply tube 12, and an ejection port 10
An ink ejection signal is selectively supplied to ejection energy generating means (not shown) provided in the ink via a flexible cable 12A. Further, the recording head 2 has a head heating means (head heater) 14 and an f-stage 15 for detecting the temperature of the head 2, and a control circuit that detects the temperature and sends a detection signal from the first stage 15 to the microprocessor. By inputting the signal to the head heater 16, the switch 19 connected to the l2 source 18 via the driver 17 can be turned on and off, thereby controlling the heating by the head heater 14.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a capping means that is attached to an orifice surface 47 that serves as a discharge port for the recording liquid of the RAD 2 when not recording.When not recording, the carriage 1 is moved in the direction of arrow B and the capping means 20 is attached to the orifice surface 47. The steps 20 can be pressed together.

Further, an atmospheric environment temperature detecting means 21 and an atmospheric environment humidity detecting means 22 are attached to the first capping stage 20 to monitor the recording environment of the recording head 2. Furthermore, the capping means 20 has a container-shaped space 2 to be sealed.
A liquid holding member 45 that accommodates a volatile component solution 46 in the ink and is impregnated with the solution 46 is installed in the OA, and the solution 4
The volatile vapor of the ink 13 is filled in the space 20A to prevent the volatile 9A component of the ink 13 from evaporating from the tip orifice 47 of the recording head ejection port 10, and the ratio of the volatile component of the ink 13 in the ejection [110] does not change. It is configured as follows.

Note that as the volatile component solution 46 in the ink used here, a solution of the ink 13 itself or a component obtained by removing paint from the ink is effective, and in the case of an aqueous ink, distilled water or the like is effective. Furthermore, as the liquid holding member 45, a sponge-like porous member, a plastic sintered body, or the like is effective.

Further, 31 is a clogging prevention device for performing a dry discharge operation and a discharge port tip cleaning operation.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2, this anti-clogging bag [1] has a wiping member 33, an air discharge port 35, and a liquid absorbing member 37 for absorbing ink.

As the wiping member 33 and the liquid absorbing member 37, the same material as the liquid retaining member 45 in the capping means 20 can be used.

This clogging prevention device 31 moves in the E force direction when the recording head 2 comes to a position opposite to the first clogging prevention device, and as shown in FIG. It comes into contact with the other person. In this state, the wiping member 33 can contact and retreat from the orifice surface 47 in the E=E force direction, and can also reciprocate in the B force direction. I can command it. Further, in this state, an air flow can be discharged from the air discharge unit 35 toward the orifice surface 47.

Next, each operation in the liquid jet recording apparatus having the above-described configuration will be explained with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, first, during recording, the carriage l is driven and travels in the direction of arrow A from the illustrated recording start position, and each ejection port 10 of the rad 2 is selectively driven to record, and from each ejection port lO. Ink droplets are ejected 711, and +1 ink droplets land on the diagonally shaded recording width portion P in the main scanning direction of the recording sheet 6, thereby performing recording in a dot matrix pattern.

Further, FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of the recording operation described in F as viewed from above, and each component is given the same number as in FIG. 1.

In the figure, 34 is a registration sensor for detecting the recording start position, 35 is a registration sensor for detecting the clogging prevention device 31, and 36 is a registration sensor for detecting the position of the character pink means 20.

In the same figure, in the recording operation, the recording head 2 is sent by the pulse motor 5 from the recording start position MS in the direction of arrow A by P1 pulses, and when the recording of the negative part is completed, the carriage 1
is driven in the direction of arrow B, and the recording starts! At the same time as returning to the position tS, the recording sheet 6 is fed in the direction of the arrow C by the recording width P described above, and the above-described operation is repeated again.

Next, the idle ejection operation will be explained.

In FIG. 1, when the above-described recording operation is performed in several directions, the control circuit 16 outputs a blank discharge request signal.

The timing at which this idle ejection is performed can be appropriately set via the control circuit 16, such as every time the recording disk 2 records a plurality of lines.

The pulse motor driver 23 is driven by the output of the signal 1), and the gear ridge l is further driven in the direction of arrow B from the recording start position, so that the recording rad 2 is connected to the clogging prevention bag ff131 as shown in FIG. 3B. It is moved to the opposing position (place 21 of the position detection sensor 35).

Next, the clogging prevention device 31 is moved toward the orifice surface of the recording head 2 by the clogging prevention device driving means 32, and dummy ejection is executed by the dummy ejection signal from the control circuit 6.

Next, regarding the clogging prevention operation of the present invention, after the idle ejection operation of the recording head is completed, the wiping member 33 is driven in the direction of arrow B by the wiping member driving means 34 shown in FIG.
It is brought into contact with the orifice surface 47 of the recording head 2, and is reciprocated an appropriate number of times in the direction of the arrow to wipe off the adhered ink and dirt on the orifice surface 47.

Thereafter, the wiping member 33 retreats in the direction of arrow E.

An air stream is blown out from the air discharge port 35, and the dirt remaining on the orifice surface 47 is blown away toward the liquid suction member 37.

When these series of clogging prevention operations are completed, the clogging prevention device i31 is retracted, the carriage 1 is again sent to the recording start position (position detection sensor 34), and recording is restarted.

Furthermore, when the recording operation is completed, as shown in Fig. 3C,
M(
After the capping means 20 is moved to the position of the position detection sensor 36), the capping means 20 is brought into contact with the recording pad 2 as shown in FIG. 4 in preparation for the next recording.

FIG. 5 shows a series of recording operations, a blank ejection operation, and one embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a flowchart showing a clogging prevention operation and other operations.

First, when the power switch is turned on in step Sl,
In step S2, it is determined that the capping-F stage 20 is in contact with the recording head 2, and if the contact is confirmed,
Based on the print start command in step S3, step S
Cap @AI in 4! The capping means 20 is moved backward by means b 25 and separated from the rad 2 for recording.

Next, the process proceeds to step S5, in which the recording radar 2 is moved to the position of the sensor 34, which is the recording start position, and in step S6, the motor 5 is moved from this position via the motor driver 23.
3A, the recording head 2 is moved back and forth by P1 pulse, and recording is performed during this forward movement.

Next, a dry ejection operation is performed, that is, it is determined in step S7 whether or not a dry ejection signal is output.

If it is determined that there is a dummy ejection signal, the process advances to step S8 and the recording pad 2 is moved to the position of the sensor 35 corresponding to the clogging prevention device 31. In step S9, the El clogging prevention device 31 moves toward the orifice surface 47, and in the next step 510, the recording head 2 performs idle ejection.

Next, the clogging prevention operation of the present invention begins.

In step 311, the wiping member 33 comes into contact with the oriice surface 47, and reciprocates in the direction D shown in FIG. 2 to wipe the oriice surface 47.

The wiping member 33 is released in step S12.

In step S13, an air stream is ejected from the discharge port 35 for a fixed period of time to blow away the dirt on the surface of the oriice.

Upon completion of the clogging prevention operation described above, the clogging prevention device 31 is retracted in step S14.

The capping operation accompanying the end of the recording operation is performed in step S1.
In step 5, it is determined whether or not the print recording path r is reached, and if it is finished, the recording head 2 is moved to a position facing the capping means 20 (position i1 of the sensor 36), and in step 16, the capping means 20 is moved to the position facing the capping means 20. The cap is brought into contact with the spatula 2, and the power is turned off in step 318.

In addition, if it is determined in step S7 that there is no idle ejection signal, the process immediately advances to step S15 to determine whether or not printing has ended. Returning to step S5, print recording is continued.

Further, the number of pulses of the blank ejection ink ejected from the recording head 2 can be set in advance in the control circuit 16, or can be set in advance by the environmental temperature detection means 21, the environmental humidity detection means 22, and the recording head temperature detection means. It is also possible to perform this by controlling the recording head driver 24 by the control circuit 16 based on the temperature and humidity information obtained from the means 15.

In this example, a serial type liquid jet recording device will be explained.
! However, the present invention can also be applied to a line-type device.

The recording head is not limited to a single color head, but can also be applied to a head of multiple colors arranged in parallel.

In the embodiment, a sponge-like material covering the head was used as the wiping member, but this is not limitative! Instead of using a bar, for example, a method may be used in which a thin plate-shaped object such as a blade is brought into contact with the orifice surface of the head and the cleaning operation is performed.

Good results can be obtained even if the air flow from the air outlet is made into a pulse flow.

The airflow from the air outlet can also be blown just before the wiping member contacts the orifice surface of the head, which has the effect of cleaning both the wiping member and the recording head.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained below, according to the present invention, dirt on the recording head that cannot be completely removed even with a wiping operation using a wiping member, and dirt that has adhered to the recording head due to the wiping operation can be removed. By blowing away debris from the wiping member with gas, the recording head can be cleaned more completely. As a result, clogging of the ejection ports during recording can be prevented. This has the effect of enabling more reliable and more beautiful recording.

Further, since it is possible to remove a certain amount of dirt from the head 2 contact surface of the wiping member, this member also has the effect of preventing dirt from adhering to the recording head during the wiping operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation of the clogging prevention device for unoccupied IJJ. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the operation of the recording head during recording. Figure m3B is a diagram showing the operation at the hour of S/J when the recording head is clogged. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing the operation of the recording head during the capping operation. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the capping means. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a series of operations. - Carriage 2, recording head 5, drive motor 6, recording sheet 10, ejection port 13, ink 15, recording head temperature detection means 17, driver 1B, power supply 20, gearing f stage 21, environmental temperature detection means 22, environmental humidity Detecting means 23, motor driver 24, head driver 25, gap driving means 31, Ll clogging prevention device 32, tI clogging prevention ■F installation driving means 33, wiping member 34, wiping member driving means 35, air discharge 1 piece 36, air pump 37, liquid absorbing member 44, elastic body 46, volatile component solution Fig. 2

Claims (1)

[Claims of Claims] A liquid jet recording device that performs recording by discharging a recording liquid onto a recording material, comprising: a member for wiping an ejection port that ejects the recording liquid; and a member that sprays gas against the ejection port. A liquid jet recording device comprising: means.