JPH0225630Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an inkjet printer, and more particularly, to an inkjet printer equipped with a cleaning member for cleaning the ejection surface of an ink ejection head that ejects ink droplets. It is something.

(b) Prior Art Figure 1 shows this type of inkjet printer. A cylindrical drum 1 supports a recording paper 2 wound closely around its surface, and a guide rod 3 is arranged parallel to the axis of the cylindrical drum. The guide rod 3 is used to slidably mount a carriage 4. The carriage 4 has an arch shape extending in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical drum 1 parallel to the surface of the drum, and has first to third grooves on its inner surface.
Fourth ink ejecting heads 5a to 5d are arranged and fixed in a dispersed manner. These first to fourth heads 5a to
5d can eject magenta, cyan, yellow, and black inks, respectively, and therefore the cylindrical drum 1
A color image is recorded on the recording paper 2 by appropriately ejecting ink from the first to fourth heads 5a to 5d according to the recording image signal, with the rotation of the cartridge 4 serving as a main scan and the movement of the carriage 4 serving as a sub-scan. .

FIG. 2 shows the structure of each of the ink ejecting heads 5a to 5d. Such heads themselves are well known, and their structure and operation will be briefly described below. When the piezoelectric vibrator 10 deforms in response to a recording signal and pressure is applied to the pressure propagation medium 12 in the horn chamber 11, the thin plate 13 provided at the opening of the horn chamber protrudes toward the ink chamber 14 in contact with it. The ink chamber 14 is always filled with ink 25 via the ink introduction pipe 15. Therefore, due to the protrusion of the thin plate 13, the ink in front of the protrusion protrudes from the inner nozzle 16, and then coaxially with the inner nozzle 16. Ink droplets 18 are ejected from a certain outer nozzle 17 . Air introduction pipe 1
The air pumped from the nozzle 9 gathers in the center in the air chamber 20 provided between the inner nozzle 16 and the outer nozzle 17, and then blows out from the outer nozzle 17 to form a high-speed air flow. Therefore, the ink droplets 18 are assisted by this flow and have a sufficient flying speed necessary for high-speed recording.

By the way, this type of inkjet printer is
Since the ink ejecting head comes close to the recording paper during the printing operation, ink droplets generated when ink droplets collide with the recording paper bounce back onto the ejection surface and contaminate the ejection surface.

Such stains on the ejecting surface of the ink ejecting head attract fibers and dust from the recording medium, which causes the nozzles of the ink ejecting head to become clogged if left unused for a long period of time. Particularly in the case of on-demand type ink ejection heads that eject ink droplets by applying a weak pressure change to the ink near the nozzle, as mentioned above, the ink droplets are ejected onto the recording medium due to the weak pressurizing force. Despite the fact that only a gap of several millimeters is formed and ink droplets often bounce back, once clogging occurs, the clogging cannot be easily repaired by itself.

In order to prevent ink droplets from rebounding and adhering to the ink ejecting head and adhering to fibers and dust, inject printers have been developed which are equipped with a cleaning member for the purpose of cleaning before being left unused for a long period of time. It is disclosed in Publication No. 57-26635, etc.

That is, a cleaning member 30 integrally formed with a porous structure such as urethane foam is disposed between the print position of the ink ejecting heads 5a to 5d and the home position HP, and each contact portion is cleaned with water or the like. It is set to a wet state with cleaning solution.
During the process in which the ink ejecting heads 5a to 5d move between the print position and the home position HP, the contact portion of the cleaning member 30 and the ejecting surfaces of the ink ejecting heads 5a to 5d come into sliding contact and may become attached. It cleans by removing ink droplets, dust, etc.

Now, in the above-mentioned apparatus, when the ink ejecting head comes into contact with the cleaning member and moves, the cleaning member may be pulled up from the holder that holds the cleaning member, and the cleaning member is positioned within the holder. Misalignment may occur and the desired cleaning operation may not be possible.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support part 32 of the cleaning member 30 is inserted into the holding part 35 of the holder 33, and the support part 31 is fixed to the holding part 35 with a pin 36 or the like. , the movement of the cleaning member 30 was prevented.

However, the contact portion of the cleaning member 30 is subject to significant wear and tear, and the cleaning member 30 must be replaced frequently. However, if the cleaning member is fixed with a pin as in the past, replacing the cleaning member is troublesome.

(c) Purpose of the invention The purpose of the invention is to provide an inject printer whose cleaning member can be easily replaced.

(d) Structure of the invention The present invention comprises an ink ejection head that ejects ink droplets, a carriage that movably supports the ink ejection head, and an ejection surface of the ink ejection head that elastically abuts against the ink ejection head. a cleaning member having a contact portion for cleaning the contact portion and a support portion for supporting the contact portion; a holder provided between a print position and a home position of the ink ejecting head and holding the cleaning member; The holding body is provided with a holding part into which the support part of the cleaning member is inserted, and a locking body formed of a spring material and having a locking part that engages with the support part is attached to the holding body. , an inkjet printer characterized in that the cleaning member is fixed to the holding body by engaging the locking part of the locking body with the holding part of the holding body.

(E) Embodiments Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the cleaning member 30 viewed from the home position (HP) toward the drum 1. FIG. As is clear from the figure, the cleaning member 3
0 indicates each ink ejecting head 5a, 5b, 5c, 5
Four contact parts 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d divided to independently and elastically contact d.
and an arch-shaped support portion 32 that commonly supports the corresponding contact portions 31a, 31b, 31c, and 31d. The cleaning member 30 is an integrally molded porous structure made of urethane foam or the like.

A cleaning liquid, such as water, is stored in the base 34 of the arch-shaped holder 33 that holds the support part 32 of the cleaning member 30, and an ink solvent that is the same as the solvent of the ink used is stored in each abutting part 31a, 31 by capillary action.
b, 31c, and 31d are set to a wet state.

The arch-shaped holding body 33 is the cleaning member 30
a holding part 35 for inserting and holding the supporting part 32;
It includes a gutter 37 through which ink is discharged, and a flange portion 38 for attaching the holder 33 to the main body. In order to prevent the nozzles of the ink ejecting heads from clogging, this holder 33 is further attached with a lid 40 that covers the ink ejecting heads 5a to 5d during non-printing operations. The ejection head is filled with ink to prevent nozzle clogging, which is mainly caused by ink drying. The filled ink is discharged from the ink ejecting head to the gutter 37 prior to the printing operation.

Now, in the present invention, in order to fix the cleaning member 30 to the arch-shaped holder 33, a locking body 42 formed of a leaf spring material and provided with a locking part 41 is attached to the arch-shaped holder 33, and The support portion 32 of the cleaning member 30 is fixed to the holding portion 35 of the arch-shaped holding body 33 by the stopper 42 . That is, one end of a locking body 42 made of a plate spring material is fixed to the vicinity of the flange portion 38 of the arch-shaped holding body 33 with a screw 43 or the like. Cleaning member 3
0 to the arch-shaped holder 33, the support part 32 of the cleaning member 30 is inserted into the holder 35 of the arch-shaped holder 33. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the locking body 42 is bent in the direction of the broken line in the figure against the urging force. Then, with the support portion 32 of the cleaning member 30 inserted into the holding portion 35 of the arch-shaped holding body 33, the locking portion 41 of the locking body 42 is engaged with the holding portion 35, thereby locking the locking body 42. The urging force fixes the cleaning member 30 and prevents the cleaning member 30 from moving and rotating.

Next, when replacing the cleaning member 30, contrary to the above-described operation, first disengage the locking body 42 from the holding part 35, remove the cleaning member 30, and then replace the new cleaning member 30 as described above. It can be fixed by the operation of , and then replaced.

(f) Effects of the invention As explained above, according to the invention, the cleaning member can be replaced, that is, installed and removed, by simply changing the engagement state of the locking body, so that the cleaning member can be easily replaced. Replacement is extremely easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an inkjet printer, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of an ink ejection head, Figs. 3 and 4 show a conventional cleaning member mounting structure, and Fig. 3 shows a conventional cleaning member mounting structure. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view and a sectional view. Figures 5 to 7 show the main parts of the present invention, and Figure 5 is a side view;
6 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 7 is a sectional view, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a specific embodiment of the present invention. 4...Carriage, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d...
...Ink ejection head, 30...Cleaning member, 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d...Contact portion, 32...Support portion, 33...Holder, 35...
Holding part, 41...locking part, 42...locking body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An ink ejecting head that ejects ink droplets, a carriage that movably supports the ink ejecting head, a contact portion that elastically contacts the ink ejecting head and cleans the ejecting surface of the ink ejecting head, and this contact. a cleaning member having a support part that supports the cleaning member; and a holder that is provided between a print position and a home position of the ink ejecting head and holds the cleaning member; A holding part into which the support part of the member is inserted is provided, and a locking body made of a spring material having a locking part that engages with the holding part is attached to the holding body, and the locking part of this locking body is attached to the holding part. An inkjet printer characterized in that the cleaning member is fixed to the holder by engaging with a holder of the holder.