JPH0596740A - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] It is possible to clean an inkjet head and prevent ink from drying without polluting hands, sheets, etc. during maintenance, and without increasing the size or complexity of the structure. [Structure] A cap member 31 and a wiper 30 are arranged vertically and held by a holder 13. The holder 13 can be vertically moved by separately guiding the upper side and the lower side by the vertical guide grooves 25 and 26. Then, the holder 13 is pushed up to the uppermost position in a tilted state in which the lower side is slightly separated from the inkjet head 10, and then the lower side is moved closer to the inkjet head 10 side and lowered vertically to move the wiper 30 to the ink ejection surface 10a. The cap member 31 is retracted upward while it is in contact with. Then, when the holder 13 descends to the lowermost position, the upper side is further moved to the inkjet head 10 side to cover the head cap 32 on the ink ejection surface 10a, while the wiper 30 is retracted downward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer for recording on a sheet on a platen by reciprocating a carriage carrying an ink jet head to eject ink from the ink jet head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in an ink jet printer, a cap member for covering an ink jet head to prevent the ink ejection port from drying, and a cleaning member for cleaning ink adhering to the ink ejection port are provided. Some are provided for non-printed areas. And
In these printers, a cap member and a cleaning member are both provided at a non-printing position on one side in the carriage movement direction, and the cleaning member is fixed to a frame or the like by the carriage movement path and the inkjet head mounted on the frame is cleaned when the carriage passes. There is a configuration in which a member is contacted and cleaned.

In other printers, a cap member and a cleaning member are separately provided at non-printing positions on both sides in the carriage movement direction, and the cap member is driven when the carriage moves to a predetermined position on one side. There is also a configuration in which the inkjet head can be covered and the inkjet head can be cleaned by driving the cleaning member when the inkjet head moves to a predetermined position on the other side.

However, in the former configuration of these conventional ink jet printers, the cleaning member is installed near the printing position in the non-printing position on one side, so that the sheet or the operator's hand touches the cleaning member during maintenance such as jam processing. There was a problem that it got dirty.

Further, in both configurations, the carriage has to be moved to a predetermined position of the non-printed portion on one side or both sides, and the carriage moving distance between the non-printed portions becomes longer by that much, and the entire printer becomes large accordingly. There is a problem.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown below, there has been a structure in which both the cap member and the cleaning member are provided at the same position on the non-printing portion on one side.

That is, in this conventional ink jet printer, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, a cap lever 1 is provided so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum 1a, and one end 1b of the cap member C and the other end 1c of the cap lever C. The roller 2 is supported, and the spring 3 is attached to the other end of the cap lever 1.
, And the cap lever 1 is always urged to rotate clockwise in the drawing, and the rotatable roller 2 is pressed against one eccentric cam 4. In addition to the cap lever 1, a wiper lever 5 is provided so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum 5a, and a wiper (cleaning member) W is attached to a base end 5c at a tip 5b thereof.
The roller 7 is supported by the projecting portion 5d which is close to the roller. Then, a spring 8 is hooked on the wiper lever 5 to constantly urge the wiper lever 5 to rotate clockwise in the drawing, so that the rotatable roller 7 is fixed to the other eccentric cam 9 coaxially fixed to the one eccentric cam 4. It is configured to press.

In the illustrated ink jet printer, the eccentric cams 4 and 9 are rotated, the cap lever 1 is rotated to move the cap member C, and the wiper lever 5 is rotated to move the wiper W up and down. And the cap member C
While covering the ink ejection surface h of the ink jet head H with the wiper W retracted from the ink jet head H and contacting the wiper W with the ink ejection surface h to wipe off the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface h. The member C was retracted from the inkjet head H.

[0009]

However, in this conventional ink jet printer, there is a problem that the cap member C and the wiper W need a mechanism for independently transmitting the driving force, which makes the structure complicated. ..

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the ink jet recording apparatus from cleaning the ink jet head and preventing the ink from drying without causing the hands and sheets to be contaminated at the time of maintenance in the ink jet recording apparatus, and without increasing the size and complexity of the structure. Is to enable.

[0011]

Therefore, an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention has a cap member 31 and a wiper 3 as shown in, for example, the following illustrated embodiments.
A cleaning member such as 0 is held by a holder 13 and arranged vertically, and the holder 13 can be moved up and down. When the holder 13 is moved up and down, the upper side and the lower side are separately guided. The upper and lower guide grooves 25, 26 for contacting the cleaning member with it and retracting the cap member 31 and retracting the cleaning member from the inkjet head 10 for non-recording and covering the inkjet head 10 with the cap member 31 It is characterized in that such a guide is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, for example, as shown in the following embodiment shown in the drawings, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the holder 13 is attached to the rotary lever 1.
It is characterized in that it is supported by No. 1 and the turning habit is given to the turning lever 11 and pressed against the eccentric cam 16 via the roller 14, for example.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, in which the ink jet head 10 is used as shown in the following illustrated embodiments.
When the cap member 31 is covered with, the cap member 31 is provided with an urging member such as a spring 34 for urging the cap member 31 so as to be capable of retracting against the urging force.

[0014]

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the holder 13 is moved up and down by separately guiding the upper side and the lower side of the holder by the guides, and when cleaning the ink jet head 10, the holder 13 is cleaned by the cleaning member. , The cap member 31 is retracted, and when not recording, the cleaning member is retracted from the inkjet head 10 and the inkjet head 10 is covered with the cap member 31.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second aspect, the eccentric cam 16 is appropriately rotated, and the rotation lever 11 is rotated to move the holder 13 up and down.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the third aspect, when the ink jet head 10 is covered with the cap member 31, the cap member 31 is brought into close contact with the ink jet head 10 by the urging force of the urging member.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a main part of an ink jet printer which is an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 10 in the figure is an inkjet head. Inkjet head 10
Forms the ink ejection surface 10a on the left side in the figure. Although not shown, a carriage is movably mounted on a guide shaft parallel to the platen in the printer body along the guide shaft, and the inkjet head 10 is mounted on the carriage. Then, the carriage is reciprocated, the sheet set on the platen is conveyed, and ink is ejected toward the sheet to perform recording on the sheet.

Further, this ink jet printer is provided with a turning lever indicated by reference numeral 11 in FIG. 1 at a non-printing portion on one side in the carriage moving direction in the printer body, and a fulcrum 12 provided with the turning lever 11 at one end 11a thereof. It can be rotated around the center. Then, the other end 11b of the rotation lever 11 holds the holder 13 and the other end 11a of the rotation lever 11 causes the roller 1 to move.
Hold 4 Further, the spring 1 is attached to the turning lever 11.
5, the rotation lever 11 is always given a habit of clockwise rotation in the drawing, and the roller 14 is pressed against the eccentric cam 16 which is rotatably supported by a supporting member.

As shown in FIG. 2, the holder 13 is formed by horizontally extending an intermediate plate portion 18 between U-shaped frame plate portions 17. The frame plate portion 17 is provided with protrusions 19 outwardly from the upper side of the side plate portions 17a on both sides thereof in the drawing. Similarly, the projections 20 are provided outward from the lower side of the side plate portion 17a, and the projections 21 are provided inwardly on the same axis as the projections 20. Further, in the side plate portion 17a, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the guide elongated hole 22 and the round hole 23 are formed on the right and left sides in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the holder 13 is arranged between the fixed frames 24, and the inward projection 21 has the other end 11b of the rotating lever 11.
It engages with the long groove 11c provided in. As a result, upper and lower outward projections 19 and 20 are provided on the upper and lower sides of the fixed frame 24, respectively, and as shown in FIG.
Engages 25 and 26.

Of the guide grooves, the upper guide groove 25 is
The lower end groove portion 25 is formed to be long in the vertical direction in the drawing, and is inclined toward the inkjet head 10 (toward the right in the drawing) on the lower end side thereof.
a is formed. On the other hand, the lower guide groove 26 is formed to be relatively wide, and the switchback groove portion 2 is formed at each of the upper and lower ends.
6a and 26b are formed. Then, the leaf spring 27 is attached to the center in the vertical direction. The upper and lower ends of the leaf spring 27 are bent in opposite directions to form bent portions 27a and 27b. The leaf spring 27 divides the inside of the lower guide groove 26 into left and right parts to form two passages 26c and 26d. Then, the right side passage 26d is the upper guide groove 25.
Formed on the same line as the inkjet head 10
Equalize the distance from. The left side passage 26c is formed at a position farther from the inkjet head 10 than the right side passage 26d.

In the holder 13 described above, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wiper (cleaning member) 30 is fixed to the lower side of the intermediate plate portion 18 by adhesion or the like, and the frame plate portion is provided above the wiper 30. A cap member 31 is arranged inside 17. The wiper 30 has a flat plate shape and is provided with its tip projecting toward the inkjet head 10. Cap member 31
Has a box shape, and the convex portions 3 on the right and left sides in FIG.
It has 1a and 31b. Further, a head cap 32 is provided at the front end on the inkjet head 10 side, and one end of a tube 33 is connected to the rear end. The other end of the tube 33 is connected to an ink suction pump (not shown). Then, in the cap member 30, the convex portion 31 a is engaged with the guide elongated hole 22 and the convex portion 31 b is inserted into the large hole 23 with a margin. Then, the spring (biasing member) 34 is attached to the convex portion 31b.
Wrap one end of. The spring 34 has its other end hooked on the holder 13 and constantly urges the cap member 31 toward the inkjet head 10.

Now, in the above-mentioned ink jet printer, during non-recording, the eccentric cam 16 is appropriately rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1 to rotate the rotating lever 11 counterclockwise against the spring 15. Then, the upper and lower sides of the holder 13 are separately guided by the upper and lower guide grooves 25 and 26 and pushed up. That is, as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 3, the protrusion 19 rises from the engagement position indicated by the symbol A along the upper guide groove 25, while the protrusion 20 moves the protrusion 20 of the leaf spring 27 as indicated by the arrow a. 27b and rises through the left passage 26c of the lower guide groove 26, whereby the holder 13
Is pushed up in a tilted state in which the lower side from the upper side is slightly separated from the inkjet head 10. And protrusion 1
9 is moved up to the upper end of the upper guide groove 25, the projection 20 is pushed away by the bent portion 27a and moved up to the switchback groove 26a, and the holder 13 is pushed up to the uppermost position to bring it into the state shown in FIG. After that, further eccentric cam 1
When 6 is rotated, this time, the rotating lever 11 is rotated clockwise by the urging force of the spring 15 to separately guide the holder 13 by the upper and lower guide grooves 25 and 26 and move downward. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion 19 descends from the position B along the upper guide groove 25 as indicated by an arrow B, and the protrusion 2
0 is guided by the bending portion 27a and descends through the right side passage 26d as indicated by an arrow b in the figure, whereby the holder 13
Is moved downward with its lower side being close to the inkjet head 10 side. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the wiper 30 is brought into contact with the ink ejection surface 10a of the inkjet head 10, and the tip is ejected at the ink ejection surface 10a.
Wipe off the ink on the surface to clean it. At the time of cleaning, the cap member 31 is in the upper retracted position as shown. And while the holder 13 is further cleaned,
The protrusion 20 is pushed through the right side passage 26d from the intermediate position of C in FIG.
While descending to b, the protrusion 19 descends to a position indicated by D through the lower end groove portion 25a. Then, the holder 13
As shown in FIG. 6, the upper side is inclined toward the inkjet head 10 side at the lowermost position, and the head cap 32 is covered on the ink ejection surface 10a. Then, the head cap 32 is pressed against the urging force of the spring 34 to be in close contact with the ink ejection surface 10a. When the head cap 32 is put on, the wiper 30 is at the lower retracted position as shown. Then, the ink suction pump is appropriately operated to suck the residual ink in the inkjet head 10 through the ink passage in the holder 13 and the tube 33. In this way, it is prevented that the residual ink dries and the ink flow deteriorates.

After that, when recording on the sheet, the holder 13 at the lowermost position is rotated by the eccentric cam 16, guided by the upper and lower guide grooves 25 and 26, and slightly pushed up to return to the state shown in FIG. return.

By the way, in the illustrated embodiment described above, when the holder 13 descends, the wiper 30 is brought into contact with the inkjet head 10 to clean the inkjet head 10, and the cap member 31 is put on the inkjet head 10. But,
On the contrary, when the holder is lowered and then raised and returned, the wiper may be contacted to clean the inkjet head and the cap member may be covered with the inkjet head.

[0025]

Therefore, according to the present invention, since both the cap member and the cleaning member are held by the holder at the non-recording location on one side, it is possible to eliminate the conventional harmful effects of soiling hands, sheets and the like during maintenance. be able to. Further, the holder is guided by a guide so that it can be moved up and down, the cap member is retracted when the inkjet head is cleaned, and the cleaning member is retracted when the inkjet head is covered with the cap member. This makes it possible to clean the inkjet head and prevent the ink from drying without complicating it.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the ink jet head is capped, the cap member is covered with the biasing member to cover the ink jet head.
It is possible to more closely prevent the ink from drying out more closely.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the shapes of upper and lower guide grooves in the inkjet printer.

FIG. 4 is a state explanatory view showing the positional relationship with the inkjet head when the holder of the inkjet printer is at the uppermost position.

FIG. 5 is a state explanatory view showing a state in which the holder is at an intermediate position and the inkjet head is cleaned.

FIG. 6 is a state explanatory view showing a state in which the holder is at the lowermost position and the ink jet head is covered with the cap member.

FIG. 7 is a partial schematic configuration diagram of the conventional inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Inkjet head 11 Rotating lever 13 Holder 16 Eccentric cam 25 Upper guide groove (guide) 26 Lower guide groove (guide) 30 Wiper (cleaning member) 31 Cap member 34 Spring (biasing member)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cap member and a cleaning member are held by a holder and arranged vertically, and the holder is movable up and down. When the holder moves up and down, the upper side and the lower side are separately guided, and when cleaning an inkjet head. Contacts the cleaning member to retract the cap member,
An inkjet recording apparatus comprising a guide for retracting the cleaning member from the inkjet head during non-recording and covering the inkjet head with the cap member. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holder is supported by a turning lever, and the turning lever is given a turning habit and pressed against an eccentric cam. 3. The inkjet according to claim 1, wherein when the inkjet head is covered with the cap member, the cap member is provided with a biasing member that biases the cap member so as to be capable of retracting against the biasing force. Recording device.