JP2002166575A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To prevent the generation of ink mist by reliably collecting unnecessary ink droplets. SOLUTION: A suction passage forming member 26 forming a suction passage 25 in an area corresponding to a movable range of a recording head 16.
To the nozzle plate 19 of the recording head.
Is arranged on the back side of the recording paper 2 in a state where the recording paper 2 is opposed. An air pump is connected to the suction passage so that the pressure can be reduced. By opening the suction passage partially with the recording paper while the air pump is operating, the suction corresponding to the edge of the recording paper is performed. The opening area of the passage is narrowed to increase the speed of the air flow, and unnecessary ink droplets discharged from the nozzle opening are sucked into the suction passage.

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 for recording characters and images on a sheet-like print recording medium such as recording paper or recording film by discharging ink droplets from nozzle openings of an ink jet head. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus such as a printer or a plotter includes, for example, a paper feeding section for feeding a recording sheet to a recording section, and a recording section for recording on the fed recording sheet. There is. The recording unit ejects ink droplets from a recording head attached to the carriage as the carriage reciprocates, and conveys the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction. Then, the recording operation on the recording paper is performed by synchronizing the operation of discharging the ink droplets and the operation of transporting the recording paper.

In such a recording apparatus, ink droplets discharged outside the recording sheet stain the recording sheet and the inside of the apparatus. Further, ink droplets ejected outside the recording paper are likely to be mist, and if the ink mist adheres to the vicinity of the nozzle opening of the recording head, ejection of the ink droplet becomes unstable due to the adhered ink mist. In order to prevent such a problem caused by unnecessary ink droplets, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-341848 discloses that an ink absorbing material that absorbs unnecessary ink droplets discharged outside the recording paper is provided on the back side of the recording paper. The disclosed recording device is disclosed. In this printing apparatus, an ink absorbing material having a size corresponding to a printable area is provided.

Some recording apparatuses of this type are provided with a so-called borderless printing mode for printing over the entire area of recording paper. In the borderless printing mode, print data in a range slightly larger than the area of the recording paper is prepared, and ink droplets are ejected to a region exceeding four sides. Therefore, in this recording apparatus, similarly to the conventional recording apparatus, an ink absorbing material is provided on the back side of the recording paper.

[0005]

Incidentally, the amount of the ink droplets which may be mist is generally extremely small. The extremely small amount of the ink droplet is strongly affected by the viscous resistance of the air, so that the flight distance is extremely short. For this reason, if the ink absorbing material of the conventional device is simply arranged, there is a possibility that some of the ink droplets may not be able to reach the ink absorbing material and become mist.

Further, there is a strong demand for higher image quality in this type of recording apparatus, and accordingly, the amount of ink droplets is extremely small, for example, 2 pL (picoliter). Therefore, when recording is performed in the above-described borderless printing mode using such a very small amount of ink droplets, the ink absorbing material is disposed on the back side of the recording paper, so that the ink absorbing material is disposed outside the recording paper. There is a risk that the ink droplets ejected in the step may become mist without reaching the ink absorbing material.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reliably collect unnecessary ink droplets and prevent the generation of ink mist.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above object. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzle openings is formed in a nozzle surface. A recording head, a head scanning mechanism for moving the recording head in the recording width direction, and a medium transport mechanism for transporting a sheet-shaped print recording medium in a medium feeding direction orthogonal to the recording width direction. An ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a print recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings while operating a scanning mechanism and a paper feeding mechanism, including an upright wall that partitions a side surface and a bottom member that partitions a bottom surface. A suction passage forming member that forms a suction passage in an area corresponding to the movable range of the print head, and the print recording medium in a state where the opening of the suction passage faces the nozzle surface of the print head. The suction drive source is connected to the suction passage so that the pressure can be reduced, and the opening of the suction passage is partially covered with a print recording medium while the suction drive source is operated. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that unnecessary ink droplets near an edge portion of a recording medium are sucked into a suction passage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the suction passage forming member is arranged so that the opening-side end of the upright wall can contact the back surface of the print recording medium. This is an ink jet recording apparatus.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of long ribs extending in a medium feeding direction are provided in an opening of the suction passage in a recording width direction. This is an ink jet recording apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the suction communication port through which the suction passage and the suction drive source communicate with each other is opened at a position corresponding to the center in the width direction of the printable recording medium having the minimum recordable width. An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the bottom member is
5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is made of an ink absorbing material capable of absorbing ink droplets.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the width of the suction passage in the medium feeding direction is wider than the length of the nozzle row. This is an ink jet recording apparatus.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the length of the suction passage in the recording width direction is longer than the width of the printable recording medium having the maximum recordable width.
An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an ink jet printer (hereinafter, simply referred to as “printer”) will be described as an example of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

First, the overall configuration of the printer will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of the printer, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the inside of the printer. As shown in these drawings, the printer 1 includes a paper feed unit 3 for feeding a recording sheet 2 which is a kind of sheet-shaped print recording medium, and a recording unit for recording an image or the like on the fed recording sheet 2. Part 4,
A paper discharge unit 5 that conveys the recorded recording paper 2 in the paper discharge direction
And

The paper feed unit 3 functions as a medium supply unit, and is provided at a rear portion of the printer 11. The paper feed unit 3 is configured to support a plurality of recording papers 2... In a state of being stacked in the paper thickness direction, and to feed the recording papers 2 on the support plate 6 to the recording unit 4 by friction. The recording apparatus includes a paper roller 7 and a guide plate 8 for guiding the recording paper 2 fed by the paper feed roller 7 to the recording unit 4 side. The support plate 6 is provided with a pair of left and right edge guides 9 that regulate the position of the recording paper 2 by abutting the side edges (that is, edge portions) of the recording paper 2 in the width direction. That is, the edge guide 9 includes a right edge guide 9A located on the right side when viewed from the front of the printer 1, and a left edge guide 9B located on the left side.

In this embodiment, the right edge guide 9A is provided integrally with the support plate 6 at the right end of the support plate 6, and the left edge guide 9B is provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction which is the recording width direction. ing. For this reason, a guide groove 10 in which a mounting base (not shown) of the left edge guide 9B is fitted extends in the left and right direction on the support plate 6, and the left edge guide 9B extends along the guide groove 10. It is mounted so as to be movable in the recording width direction. Then, the user operates the left edge guide 9B according to the paper width of the recording paper 2 to be used.
Is moved in the left-right direction, and the guide surfaces of both edge guides 9A and 9B are brought into contact with the side edges of the recording paper 2 in the width direction, thereby regulating the position of the recording paper 2 supported on the support plate 6. Thus, the pair of edge guides 9A and 9B can regulate the position of the recording paper 2 of a plurality of sizes from, for example, a postcard size to an A4 size. The edge guides 9A and 9B can also guide the recording sheet 2 straight from the sheet feeding section 3 to the recording section 4.

Here, the postcard-size recording paper 2 corresponds to the minimum-recordable recording paper in this embodiment, and the A4-size recording paper 2 corresponds to the maximum-recordable recording paper. However, the recordable paper size is not limited to this example, and can be arbitrarily determined. For example, the recordable paper size may be determined within a range from a business card size smaller than a postcard size to an A3 size larger than an A4 size.

A rotation shaft of a paper feed motor 11 (see FIG. 3) is connected to the paper feed roller 7, and the paper feed roller 7 is rotated by a driving force of the paper feed motor 11. When the paper feed roller 7 rotates, the uppermost recording paper 2 among the plurality of recording papers 2 supported on the support plate 6 comes into contact with the surface of the paper feed roller 7 and feeds paper. The sheet is conveyed with the rotation of the roller 7 and supplied to the recording unit 4. The paper feed motor 11 is electrically connected to a printer controller 12 shown in FIG.
The operation is controlled by the drive signal from the controller.

The recording section 4 includes a carriage 17 having a cartridge holding section for detachably holding the ink cartridge 15 and a recording head 16 attached thereto.
A guide shaft 18 for guiding the carriage 17 along a main scanning direction (paper width direction) which is a recording width direction;
And a carriage 17 for transporting the carriage 17 with the guide shaft 1
And a carriage scanning mechanism for moving along the carriage 8 and an ink droplet suction mechanism for sucking ink droplets ejected outside the printing paper.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the recording head 16
The nozzle plate 19 is disposed on the surface (lower surface) facing the recording paper 2 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4C, the nozzle plate 19 is provided with a plurality of nozzle rows 20 in which a plurality of nozzle openings are formed in rows. Therefore, the outer surface of the nozzle plate 19 functions as a nozzle surface in the present invention. In the present embodiment, seven nozzle rows 20 are arranged side by side, and the arrangement direction of these nozzle rows 20 is aligned in the recording width direction.
The length W1 of each nozzle row 20 is set to be shorter than the width W2 of the nozzle plate 19 in the paper feeding direction. Then, in the recording head 16, the ink supplied from the ink cartridge 15 is ejected from each nozzle opening according to the print data. The recording head 16 may have any configuration as long as ink droplets can be ejected from the nozzle openings. For example, a recording head 16 using a piezoelectric vibrator, which is a type of electromechanical transducer, can be used as the pressure generating element. Alternatively, the recording head 16 may use a magnetostrictive element, which is a type of electromechanical transducer, as the pressure generating element. Further, the recording head 16 may use a heating element as the pressure generating element.

The paper feed mechanism functions as a medium transport mechanism in the present invention, and transports the recording paper 2 in a paper feed direction orthogonal to the recording width direction (corresponding to the medium feed direction in the present invention). The paper feed mechanism of the present embodiment includes a paper feed roller 2
2, the paper feed motor 23 shown in FIG. 3, and the printer controller 12 also shown in FIG. The paper feed roller 22 includes a large-diameter drive roller located on the lower side and a small-diameter driven roller located on the upper side. The drive roller is connected to a rotating shaft of a paper feed motor 23, and the drive roller rotates by the driving force of the paper feed motor 23. The driven roller rotates following the rotation of the driving roller. The paper feed motor 23 is electrically connected to the printer controller 12, and its operation is controlled by a drive signal from the printer controller 12.

The carriage scanning mechanism functions as a head scanning mechanism in the present invention, and moves the carriage 17 in the main scanning direction. The carriage scanning mechanism of the present embodiment includes:
A pulse motor 24 shown in FIG.
And a printer controller 12 for controlling the operation of the pulse motor 24. The power transmission unit may have any configuration. For example, the power transmission unit is provided at one of the left and right ends of the printer 1, and is provided at a drive pulley connected to the rotation shaft of the pulse motor 24 and at the other of the left and right ends of the printer 1. Idle pulley, and a timing belt that is bridged between the drive pulley and the idle pulley and that is connected to the carriage 17. In the carriage scanning mechanism, the recording head 16 can be moved in a range wider than the width of the recording paper 2 having the maximum recordable width.
In the present embodiment, it is possible to move in a range wider than the width of the A4 size recording paper 2 which is the maximum recordable width.

The ink drop suction mechanism is disposed on the back side of the recording paper 2 and defines a suction passage forming member 26 for defining a suction passage 25 for sucking ink drops, and an exhaust port for sucking air sucked from a suction port 27a. 27b, an air pump 27 for evacuating the air, a suction passage forming member 26, and an air pump 27.
And a suction path 28 connecting the suction port 27a to the suction port 27a. The operation of the air pump 27 reduces the pressure in the suction path 25 to suck unnecessary ink droplets discharged from the nozzle opening into the suction path 25. It is to collect. In addition,
This ink droplet suction mechanism will be described later in detail.

The paper discharge section 5 has a paper discharge roller 29 composed of a large-diameter drive roller and a small-diameter driven roller adjacent above the drive roller. The drive rollers include
A paper discharge motor 30 (see FIG. 3) whose operation is controlled by the printer controller 12 is connected. And
The driving roller rotates by the driving force of the paper discharge motor 30, and the driven roller rotates following the rotation of the driving roller. Then, the recording sheet 2 on which recording has been performed is nipped between the driving roller and the driven roller and transported in the discharge direction.

Next, the electrical configuration of the printer 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 1 includes a printer controller 12 and a print engine 33.

The printer controller 12 functions as a controller for controlling operations of the recording unit 4, the paper feeding unit 3, and the like. The printer controller 12 includes an interface 34 for receiving print data and the like from a host computer (not shown) and a RAM 3 for storing various data.
5, a ROM 36 storing control routines and the like for various data processing, a control unit 37 including a CPU, an oscillation circuit 38 for generating a clock signal, and a drive signal for generating a drive signal to be supplied to the recording head 16. A generating circuit 39;
An interface 40 is provided for transmitting print data obtained by developing print data for each dot, a drive signal, and the like to the print engine 33. Further, the print engine 33 includes the pulse motor 24, the sheet feeding motor 11,
Paper feed motor 23, paper discharge motor 30, air pump 2
7 and a recording head 16.

The interface 34 receives print data including, for example, one of character codes, graphic functions, and image data or a plurality of data from a host computer or the like. In addition, a control command (recording mode setting information) for specifying a recording mode and a control command for specifying borderless printing mode (marginless printing mode setting information) transmitted from the host computer are also input through the interface 34. On the other hand, the interface 34 outputs a busy signal (BUSY), an acknowledge signal (ACK), and the like to the host computer.

The control section 37 controls the operation of the printer 1. That is, each unit constituting the print engine 33 is operated based on print data and control commands transmitted from the host computer, and control routines stored in the ROM 36.

Next, the ink droplet suction mechanism, which is a main part of the present invention, will be described in detail. As described above, the ink droplet suction mechanism includes the suction passage forming member 26, the air pump 27, and the suction passage 28.

As shown in FIG. 4, the suction passage forming member 26
The casing 51 made of a synthetic resin, which is formed as a box-shaped body elongated in the recording width direction with the surface facing the recording head 16 opened, and the bottom surface of the suction passage 25 arranged inside the casing 51, And the ink absorbing material 52 that constitutes it. The casing 51 includes a bottom plate 53 made of a rectangular plate-like member, an upright wall 54 that stands upright from each side of the bottom plate 53 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface direction of the bottom plate 53, and an opening of the upright wall 54. It comprises an elongated rib 55 provided at the side end in the paper feed direction.

The width of the bottom plate 53 on the paper feed direction side is set to be slightly larger than the width of the nozzle surface of the recording head 16 as shown by reference numeral W3 in FIG. Further, the length of the bottom plate 53 in the recording width direction is set to be slightly longer than the movable range of the recording head 16 as indicated by reference numeral L in FIG. Accordingly, the opening shape of the casing 51 also becomes a rectangular shape having a width W3 and a length L similarly to the bottom plate 53. The bottom plate 53 is provided with a bottom communication port 53a through which the suction port of the suction path 28 communicates in the thickness direction. The bottom communication port 53a is opened at substantially the center in the width direction of the bottom plate 53 and substantially at the center in the width direction of the recording paper 2A having the minimum recordable width. In the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (b), a bottom communication port 53a is opened at a position corresponding to the center in the width direction of the postcard-size recording paper 2A. The rib 55 is a beam member having a rectangular cross section, and its thickness in the vertical direction and width in the recording width direction are
For example, it is set in a range of about 1 to 3 mm. This rib 55
The upper surface is located on the same plane as the opening-side tip of the upright wall 54 or slightly lower than the tip of the upright wall 54, and a plurality of them are arranged at regular intervals along the recording width direction. I have.

The ink absorbing material 52 functions as a bottom member of the present invention, and is a block-shaped member made of a material capable of absorbing and retaining ink, for example, felt or sponge. Casing 5
It is machined into a shape that just fits in the internal space of No. 1. The height of the ink absorbing material 52 is set to be slightly lower than the height H2 of the upright wall 54, as shown by reference numeral H1 in FIG. Specifically, the ink absorbing material 52 is
1 when pushed into the bottom plate 53 side, the opening side surface of the ink absorbing material 52 is slightly lower than the lower surface of the rib 55 (that is,
On the bottom plate 53 side, for example, the height is determined to be about 1 to 3 mm lower. As a result, when the ink absorbing material 52 is mounted, a relatively narrow step is generated between the opening end of the upright wall 54 and the opening surface of the ink absorbing material 52,
The space formed by this step functions as the suction passage 25. That is, the upright wall 54 on the opening side of the ink absorbing material 52 defines the side surface of the suction passage 25.

The suction passage 25 communicates with the bottom communication port 53a of the bottom plate 53 through a through communication passage 56 that linearly penetrates the height direction of the ink absorbing material 52.
The opening of the through communication passage 56 on the suction passage 25 side functions as a suction communication opening in the present invention, and has the same position as the bottom communication opening 53 a when viewed from the opening side of the casing 51.
In other words, it is opened at the center in the width direction of the postcard-size recording paper 2 and substantially at the center in the width direction of the bottom plate 53 (in other words, the opening in the casing 51).

The suction passage forming member 26 configured as described above is arranged in an area corresponding to the scanning range of the recording head 16 with the opening of the casing 51 facing the surface of the nozzle plate 19. Thereby, the suction passage 25
Are formed along the surface direction of the recording paper 2. And
As shown in FIG. 1, both ends of the suction passage forming member 26 in the longitudinal direction, that is, both ends in the recording width direction are formed of the recording paper 2 </ b> B having the maximum width (A4 size recording paper in this embodiment) supplied to the recording unit 4. Position outside of both side edges. Preferably, the recording paper 2B is located outside the both side edges by one or more recording heads. This is because when performing a so-called flushing operation for forcibly ejecting ink droplets to recover the function of the recording head 16, the ink droplets ejected by the flushing operation are also absorbed by the ink absorbing material 52 of the suction passage forming member 26. It is to make it. That is, the suction passage forming member 26 also functions as a flushing collection unit that collects the ejected ink droplets during the flushing operation. Further, regarding the mounting height of the suction passage forming member 26,
As shown in FIG. 4A, the height at which the opening-side front end surface of the upright wall 54 abuts against the back surface of the recording paper 2 or the front end surface of the upright wall 54 is as close to the back surface of the recording paper 2 as possible. The height is set close to the height.

The air pump 27 is a suction drive source according to the present invention, and as shown in FIG.
and a suction fan 27d rotated by a motor (not shown) in a case 27c provided with the suction fan b. By operating the motor, the suction fan 27d is rotated to generate an airflow from the suction port 27a to the exhaust port 27b. Thereby, air is sucked in from the suction port 27a and exhausted from the exhaust port 27b. The air pump 27 is provided with a suction port 27a.
The configuration is not limited as long as air can be sucked in from above. For example, a so-called "ironing" type air pump may be used in which the tube is sandwiched between rollers and the roller is moved along the tube to exhaust the air in the tube from the end of the tube. Further, the suction path 28
Is made of a flexible tube or a resin molding material. In the present embodiment, it is made of a resin tube. Then, the suction port of the suction passage 28 is connected to the bottom plate 5.
3, and the outlet of the suction passage 28 is connected to the suction port 27a of the air pump 27. Therefore, when the air pump 27 is operated, air is sucked from the suction port 27a of the air pump 27, and the suction passage forming member 26
Suction passage 25, penetrating communication passage 56 of ink absorbing material 52,
And the flow of the air which passes in order through the suction path 28 occurs.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 will be described.

First, the recording paper 2 is set in the paper supply unit 3. First, the left edge guide 9B is set such that the interval from the right edge guide 9A to the left edge guide 9B is wider than the width of the recording paper 2.
Is moved to the left, the recording paper 2 is placed between the right edge guide 9A and the left edge guide 9B, and the left edge of the recording paper 2 contacts the guide surface of the left edge guide 9B. This is done by moving the left edge guide 9B to the right.

After the recording paper 2 is set, the printer 1 performs a recording operation based on print data and control commands transmitted from the host computer. Here, in the present embodiment, the control unit 37 (suction control unit) controls the suction operation of the ink droplets performed by the suction passage forming member 26 based on the control command. That is, the control unit 37
When the print mode control information specifies a borderless print mode based on the print mode control information of the control command,
The air pump 27 is operated during a setting period of the borderless printing mode. As a result, the suction passage 25 is made to have a negative pressure during the period in which the borderless printing mode is set, and the ink passage becomes in a state where ink droplets can be sucked. in this way,
When the air pump 27 is selectively operated in accordance with the setting period of the borderless printing mode, power consumption by the air pump 27 can be suppressed, which contributes to power saving of the printer 1.

The operation control of the air pump 27 is not limited to this control. For example, the air pump 27 may be selectively operated during the execution period of the recording operation based on the received print data irrespective of the print mode, or the air pump 27 may be operated in conjunction with the power-on of the printer 1 regardless of the control command. The pump 27 may be operated.

When the control command is received, the printer controller 12 (control unit 37) prints an image or the like on the recording paper 2 by appropriately operating each unit constituting the print engine 33 based on the received control command. . That is, in the paper feeding unit 3, the paper feeding motor 11 is operated to feed the recording paper 2 to the recording unit 4. In the recording unit 4, the pulse motor 24, the recording head 16, and the paper feed motor 23 are operated to perform recording by landing ink droplets on the fed recording paper 2.

More specifically, first, the recording paper 2 is moved from the preparation position shown in FIG. 5A to the leading end detection position shown in FIG. 5B by operating the paper feed motor 23. Here, for example, the preparation position is such that the leading end of the sheet is the upright wall 54a on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction of the suction passage forming member 26.
The leading end detection position is a position where the leading end of the sheet is detected by a sheet detection sensor 57 provided, for example, downstream of the suction passage forming member 26 in the sheet feeding direction.

After the recording paper 2 is positioned at the leading edge detection position, the recording paper 2 is positioned at the recording start position shown in FIG. At this recording start position, the suction passage forming member 2
6, the opening of the through communication passage 56 is covered with the recording paper 2. The conveyance to the recording start position is performed by returning the recording paper 2 to the upstream side in the paper feeding direction by a predetermined distance from the leading end detection position as a reference. At this recording start position, the opening of the suction passage forming member 26 is partially covered by the recording paper 2, so that the suction passage 2 formed along the surface direction of the recording paper 2 is formed.
5, the opening area is reduced. That is, the opening of the suction passage 25 in this state is located at the edge of the recording paper 2 (FIG. 5).
In the state of (c), the leading edge and the left and right side edges correspond to each other. )
And a space between the opening side surface of the ink absorbing material 52 and
The area of this opening is relatively small because the step between the opening-side tip of the standing wall 54 and the opening-side surface of the ink absorbing material 52 is as short as several millimeters. Therefore, when the air pump 27 is operated and the pressure in the suction passage 25 is reduced, the speed of the air flow near the edge of the recording paper 2 can be increased. In the present embodiment, the leading end surface of the upright wall 54 on the opening side is brought into contact with the back surface of the recording paper 2 or as close as possible, so that air is efficiently taken in from the opening of the suction passage 25. Can be.

When the recording paper 2 is positioned at the recording start position, the carriage 17 is operated by the operation of the pulse motor 24.
Is moved in the recording width direction, and while the carriage 17 is moving, the recording head 16 is operated to eject ink droplets from the nozzle openings. That is, the main scanning of the recording head 16 is performed. At this time, in the borderless printing mode, ink droplets are also ejected outside the edge portion of the recording paper 2, but as described above, the speed of the air flow near the edge portion is increased, so that it is not involved in recording. Unnecessary ink droplets are sucked into the suction passage 25 by riding on the airflow with increased speed. As described above, since unnecessary ink droplets are positively sucked and collected, it is possible to reliably prevent the unnecessary ink droplets from becoming mist and floating. Further, since the bottom of the suction passage 25 is formed of the ink absorbing material 52 capable of absorbing the ink droplet, the ink droplet sucked into the suction passage 25 can be absorbed and held by the ink absorbing material 52. It is possible to more reliably prevent the recording paper 2 from being stained by the ink droplets. Further, in the present embodiment, since the plurality of ribs 55 are provided in the opening portion of the casing 51 in the recording width direction, the recording paper 2 is depressed toward the suction passage 25 due to the negative pressure of the suction passage 25 so that the ink is absorbed. The contact with the material 52 can be prevented, and the support can be made straight along the paper feeding direction. That is, the recording paper 2 can be supported without bending. Also, since the air is rectified by the rib 55,
The ink droplets can be absorbed by the ink absorbing material 52 in a relatively uniform state.

In this embodiment, the opening (suction communication port) of the penetrating communication path 56 through which the suction path 25 and the air pump 27 communicate with each other is set in the width direction of the postcard-size recording paper 2 which is the minimum recordable width. In the center, the casing 51
Since the opening is established at a position substantially corresponding to the center of the opening in the width direction, when recording on the recording paper 2 of a plurality of sizes, it is possible to reliably suck the ink droplets on the recording paper 2 of any size. Further, the width W3 of the suction passage 25 in the paper feeding direction is wider than the length W1 of the nozzle row 20.
More specifically, since the width is set to be wider than the width W2 of the nozzle plate 19, the ink droplet can be reliably sucked into the suction passage 25. In this case, if the width W3 of the suction passage 25 in the paper feed direction is set to be wider than the length W1 of the nozzle row 20 and equal to or less than the width W2 of the nozzle plate 19,
In the place off recording paper 2, nozzle plate 1
Since 9 covers the opening of the suction passage 25, the ink droplets can be efficiently sucked at this location.

When the recording head 16 crosses the area to be recorded, the operation of the pulse motor 24 is stopped to stop the carriage 17, and the paper feed motor 23 is operated again to convey the recording paper 2 by one pitch. . For example, FIG.
The position shown in (d), that is, the leading end of the recording sheet 2 is the upright wall 54b on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction of the suction passage forming member 26.
Is transported to a position that covers. When the recording paper 2 has been conveyed by one pitch, the main scanning is performed by operating the pulse motor 24 and the recording head 16. In this case, the opening of the suction passage 25 is a space between the left and right side edges of the recording sheet 2 and the surface of the ink absorbing material 52 on the opening side, and the speed of the air flow can be increased in the same manner as described above. Accordingly, even in this state, unnecessary ink droplets not involved in printing are positively absorbed by the suction passage 25.
The ink droplets can be sucked into the ink droplets, thereby reliably preventing the ink droplets from becoming mist and floating.

Thereafter, the main scanning of the recording head 16 and the conveyance of the recording paper 2 are repeated, and images and the like are recorded sequentially from the upstream side of the recording paper 2 in the paper feeding direction.

Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made based on the description in the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, the air pump 27 is provided with a single air pump 27. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example,
A plurality of sets of the air pump 27 and the suction passage 28 (through communication passage 56) may be provided.

Further, with respect to the edge guide 9, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the right edge guide 9A is arranged in a fixed state and the left edge guide 9B is arranged so as to be movable in the recording width direction has been exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, both left and right edge guides 9
A and 9B may be configured to be movable in the recording width direction.

In the above embodiment, the recording head 16 having the nozzle plate 19 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the recording head 16 may have a nozzle opening formed integrally with a flow path forming member that forms an ink flow path from the common ink chamber to the nozzle opening via the pressure chamber. And in this configuration,
The surface provided with the nozzle openings functions as a nozzle surface.

In the above embodiment, the recording paper 2 has been described as an example of the printing recording medium.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. The print recording medium may be, for example, a sheet-like resin film. Further, the print recording medium is not limited to the sheet-shaped print recording medium, and may be, for example, a print recording medium wound in a roll shape.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, the suction passage forming member for forming the suction passage in the area corresponding to the movable range of the recording head is provided such that the opening of the suction passage faces the nozzle surface of the recording head. The suction drive source is communicated with the suction passage so that the pressure can be reduced, and the opening of the suction passage is opened by the print recording medium while the suction drive source is operated. Unnecessary ink droplets near the edge of the print recording medium are sucked into the suction passage by partially covering, so that the opening area of the suction passage is reduced by the print recording medium, and the flow of the air flow can be increased. Unnecessary ink droplets can be carried on the airflow with increased speed, and the ink droplets can be reliably collected in the suction passage. For this reason, generation of ink mist can be reliably prevented.

In the case where the suction passage forming member is arranged so that the opening end of the upright wall can contact the back surface of the print recording medium, the suction of air is performed by the suction passage corresponding to the edge portion of the print recording medium. Thus, unnecessary ink droplets can be efficiently sucked into the suction passage.

When a plurality of long ribs extending in the medium feeding direction are provided in the opening of the suction passage in the recording width direction, the print recording medium is supported by the ribs. Can support the recording paper without bending it.

If the suction communication port through which the suction passage and the suction drive source communicate with each other is opened at a position corresponding to the center in the width direction of the printable recording medium having the minimum printable width, the print recording medium of a plurality of sizes may be provided. In recording, the ink droplets can be sucked most efficiently.

When the bottom member is made of an ink absorbing material capable of absorbing ink droplets, the sucked ink droplets are absorbed by the ink absorbing material, so that the collected ink droplets leak out. Can be prevented, and the inside of the apparatus can be kept clean.

Further, the width of the suction passage in the medium feeding direction may be wider than the length of the nozzle row, or the length of the suction passage in the recording width direction may be longer than the width of the maximum printable recording medium. In this case, unnecessary ink droplets can be reliably collected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of a printer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the inside of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the structure of a suction passage forming member;
(A) is a cross-sectional view of the suction passage forming member cut along the paper feeding direction, (b) is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the through communication passage,
FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a relationship among the opening width of the suction passage, the width of the nozzle plate, and the length of the nozzle row.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a conveyance state of a recording sheet;
(A) shows a preparation position, (b) shows a leading end detection position, (c) shows a recording start position, and (d) shows a position conveyed by one pitch from the recording start position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet printer 2 Recording paper 3 Paper feed part 4 Recording part 5 Paper discharge part 6 Support plate 7 Paper feed roller 8 Guide plate 9 Edge guide 10 Guide groove part 11 Paper feed motor 12 Printer controller 15 Ink cartridge 16 Recording head 17 Carriage 18 Guide shaft 19 Nozzle plate 20 Nozzle row 22 Paper feed roller 23 Paper feed motor 24 Pulse motor 25 Suction path 26 Suction path forming member 27 Air pump 28 Suction path 29 Paper discharge roller 30 Paper discharge motor 33 Print engine 34 Interface 35 RAM 36 ROM 37 control unit 38 oscillation circuit 39 drive signal generation circuit 40 interface 51 casing 52 ink absorbing material 53 bottom plate 54 upright wall 55 rib 56 penetrating communication path 57 paper detection sensor

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A recording head having a nozzle array formed of a plurality of nozzle openings formed in a nozzle surface, a head scanning mechanism for moving the recording head in a recording width direction, and recording a sheet-shaped print recording medium. An ink-jet recording method for recording on a print recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings while operating a head scanning mechanism and a paper feeding mechanism, comprising a medium transport mechanism for transporting in a medium transport direction orthogonal to the width direction. In the apparatus, an upright wall that divides a side surface and a bottom member that divides a bottom surface are provided, and a suction passage forming member that forms a suction passage in a region corresponding to a movable range of the recording head is provided. The suction drive source was connected to the suction passage, and the suction drive source was connected to the back surface side of the print recording medium in a state where the suction drive source was opposed to the nozzle surface. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by being configured to suck the unwanted ink droplets near the edge portions of the print recording medium by partially covering the printing recording medium the opening of the suction passage in state in the suction passage. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a suction passage forming member is arranged such that an opening-side end of the upright wall can contact the back surface of the print recording medium. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of ribs elongated in a medium feeding direction are provided in an opening of the suction passage in a recording width direction. 4. A suction communication port, in which said suction passage and a suction drive source communicate with each other, is provided at a position corresponding to a widthwise center of a printable recording medium having a minimum printable width. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said bottom member is made of an ink absorbing material capable of absorbing ink droplets.
The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a width of the suction passage in a medium feeding direction is larger than a length of a nozzle row. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of the suction passage in a recording width direction is longer than a width of a print recording medium having a maximum recordable width. Inkjet recording device.