JP2002172795A - Cleaning method for ink ejection section, cleaning device thereof an ink jet device having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively remove dirt such as ink without destroying a meniscus and irrespective of the surface shape or the like of an ink discharge portion, and further prolong the life of the ink discharge portion. Provided are a cleaning device for an ink discharge unit, an ink discharge device having the cleaning device for an ink discharge unit, and a method for cleaning an ink discharge unit. An ink ejection unit cleaning device for cleaning the ink ejection unit when ink ejection of the ink ejection unit is stopped, including a roller unit that contacts and rotates with the ink ejection unit. The elastic body 211 is disposed on the surface of the roller unit, thereby constituting the cleaning device 200 for the ink discharge unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for an ink discharge section of an ink discharge apparatus such as an ink jet head used in a printer, an ink discharge apparatus having the cleaning apparatus for an ink discharge section, and an ink discharge apparatus. The present invention relates to a method of cleaning a part.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printer or the like has an ink jet head. This ink jet head has a large number of nozzles arranged on its ink discharge surface, and can print on paper or the like by discharging ink from these nozzles. Further, a piezoelectric element or the like is arranged in the ink jet head, and when a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element is deformed in accordance with the voltage, and ink is ejected from a nozzle. For this reason, the ink jet head is configured to easily control ink ejection. Such a method of ejecting ink is called an ink jet method.

[0003] By the way, many nozzles arranged in such an ink jet head of the ink jet system eject the liquid ink or stop the ejection as described above. Has a structure in which ink adheres to the tip and the like. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the nozzle surface may have a concave portion of about 10 μm for the purpose of protecting the flat surface, and the ink easily adheres to the corner. Here, FIG. 7A is a sectional view of the nozzle head, and FIG. 7B is a front view of the nozzle head. If the nozzle to which the ink is attached is used as it is, the ejection angle of the ink ejected from the nozzle may be changed by the attached ink (flight bending of the ink), which causes a nozzle ejection failure. Was. For this reason, various types of ink jet head nozzle cleaning devices have been proposed.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a method of rubbing a nozzle or the like using a rubber blade having a flat surface to remove the adhered ink, a method of removing dry ink by applying dry paper or cloth to the nozzle, and the like are used. is there.

[0005]

However, when the above-mentioned rubber blade having a flat surface is brought into contact with the nozzle of the ink jet head, the ink adhering to the corner of the concave portion of the nozzle forming surface is removed by the blade. There was a problem that it was not possible. Further, as shown in FIG.
For 0 μm, the meniscus of the ink ejection portion is 10 μm.
It is known that if this cannot be maintained, it may cause variations in the amount of ink ejected and warp.However, the method of contacting dry paper or cloth with the nozzle to remove the adhering ink requires dry paper. There is a problem in that a proper meniscus of the nozzle is destroyed by the ink or the cloth, which hinders good ink ejection from the nozzle. Further, in particular, when a cloth is used, there is a problem that the ink in the nozzle is pulled out more than necessary due to a capillary phenomenon.

Further, in the method of removing adhering ink using dry paper or cloth, the contact pressure on a nozzle or the like may be relatively high in order to enhance the effect. At this time, the contact pressure is particularly high on the surface of the ink jet head where the nozzles are formed, which causes a problem and shortens the life of the ink jet head. In view of the above, the present invention can effectively remove dirt such as ink without destroying the meniscus, regardless of the surface shape of the ink discharge portion, and further compare the life of the ink discharge portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device for an ink discharge unit that can be made longer, an ink discharge device having the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit, and a method for cleaning an ink discharge unit.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus for an ink discharge section for cleaning an ink discharge section when the ink discharge section stops discharging the ink. The present invention is achieved by a cleaning device for an ink discharge section, which has a roller section that contacts and rotates with the discharge section, and an elastic body is disposed on a surface of the roller section.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the roller portion has an elastic body disposed on the surface thereof, the surface of the ink discharge portion has, for example, an uneven portion, and even if dirt adheres to each of the portions. Each dirt can be reached by the elastic deformation of the elastic body. Further, since the roller portion rotates, the dirt can be scraped out efficiently. Since the elastic body is rotated by the roller unit, the elastic body comes into contact with the ink ejection unit at a low contact pressure, thereby suppressing damage to the ink ejection unit and extending the life of the ink ejection unit. can do.

Preferably, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cleaning apparatus of the ink discharge section, wherein the elastic body is a rubber section. Claim 2
According to the configuration, since the elastic body is the rubber portion, the elastic deformation of the rubber is caused by the elastic force of the rubber, and the rubber comes into contact with the ink ejection portion, so that damage to the ink ejection portion can be suppressed. it can. Also, unlike a cloth or the like, the rubber portion does not have dust such as a fluff on the surface thereof, so that the dirt on the ink ejection portion can be scraped out more effectively.

Preferably, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cleaning apparatus of the ink discharging section, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply section for supplying a cleaning liquid to the rubber portion. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies the cleaning liquid to the rubber unit is provided, the cleaning liquid can be immediately supplied to the rubber unit as needed.

Preferably, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the constitution of the second or third aspect, a transfer section for transferring dirt or the like adhered to the rubber section is provided. This is a cleaning device for the discharge unit. According to the configuration of claim 4, the dirt attached to the rubber portion, for example, a strong dirt component is transferred to the transfer portion.

Preferably, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the fourth aspect, there is provided a transfer section scraping means for scraping off dirt or the like transferred to the transfer section. It is a cleaning device. According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, since there is provided a transfer section scraping means for scraping off the stains and the like transferred to the transfer section, the stains and the like transferred to the transfer section are removed by the scraping means.

Preferably, according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, a roller portion scraping means for scraping dirt or the like on the surface of the roller portion is provided. This is a cleaning device for the ink discharge section. According to the configuration of claim 6, since there is provided a roller portion scraping means for scraping off dirt or the like on the surface of the roller portion, of the dirt on the surface of the roller portion, for example, a relatively untransferred portion is not transferred by the transfer portion. The components of the weak stain are also removed by the roller portion scraping means.

Preferably, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the sixth aspect, a dirt storage portion for storing dirt or the like which has been scraped off by the transfer portion scraping means and the roller portion scraping means is provided. A cleaning device for an ink discharge unit, comprising: According to the configuration of claim 7,
Since the transfer section scraping means and the roller section scraping means have a dirt accommodating section for accommodating dirt and the like scraped off, the scraped dirt and the like can be easily disposed of.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 8, in the constitution of any one of claims 1 to 7, the contact is a line contact, and the apparatus is a cleaning device for an ink discharge section. According to the configuration of claim 8, since the contact is a line contact, the roller section makes a line contact with the ink ejection section. Can be prevented beforehand.

Preferably, according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the ink discharge section includes a plurality of nozzles, and the plurality of nozzles are simultaneously in line contact with each other. An apparatus for cleaning an ink discharge unit, comprising: a roller unit capable of being provided.
According to the configuration of the ninth aspect, since the ink discharge unit includes a plurality of nozzles and the roller unit that can simultaneously contact the plurality of nozzles with the plurality of nozzles, the plurality of nozzles are simultaneously cleaned. be able to.

Preferably, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention,
10. The cleaning device for an ink discharge unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover that covers the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit; and an exhaust unit that exhausts the inside of the cover. It is. According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the cover unit that covers the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit is provided, the device on which the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit is disposed is not stained. In addition, since an exhaust portion for exhausting the inside of the cover portion is provided, the surrounding atmosphere can be kept clean.

[0018] The above object is attained according to the configuration of claim 11.
An ink ejection device having an ink ejection unit cleaning device that cleans the ink ejection unit when the ink ejection unit stops ejecting ink, the contact device being in contact with the ink ejection unit, and having a rotating roller unit, This is achieved by an ink discharge device having a cleaning device for an ink discharge portion, wherein an elastic body is disposed on the surface of the roller portion.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the roller of the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit provided in the ink discharge device has an elastic body disposed on the surface thereof, For example, there is an uneven portion, even if dirt is attached to each, due to the elastic deformation of the elastic body,
Each stain can be reached. Further, since the roller portion rotates, the dirt can be scraped out efficiently. Since the elastic body is rotated by the roller unit, the elastic body comes into contact with the ink ejection unit at a low contact pressure, thereby suppressing damage to the ink ejection unit and extending the life of the ink ejection unit. can do.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 12,
12. The ink ejection device according to claim 11, wherein the elastic body is a rubber portion. According to the configuration of claim 12, since the elastic body of the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit provided in the ink discharge device is a rubber portion, the elastic deformation is caused by the elastic force of the rubber, and the rubber is deformed. Abuts on the ink ejection section, so that damage to the ink ejection section can be suppressed. Also, unlike a cloth or the like, the rubber portion does not have dust such as a fluff on the surface thereof, so that the dirt on the ink ejection portion can be scraped out more effectively.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 13,
13. The ink discharging apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply unit for supplying a cleaning liquid to the rubber unit. Claim 1
According to the configuration of 3, the cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies the cleaning liquid to the rubber unit of the cleaning device of the ink discharge unit provided in the ink discharge device is provided. A cleaning liquid can be supplied.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 14,
14. The ink discharging apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a transfer section for transferring dirt or the like attached to the rubber section. According to the configuration of claim 14, dirt, for example, a strong dirt component, attached to the rubber portion of the cleaning device of the ink discharge unit provided in the ink discharge device is transferred to the transfer unit.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 15,
15. The ink ejecting apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a transfer section scraping means for scraping off dirt and the like transferred to the transfer section. According to the configuration of claim 15, the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit provided in the ink discharge device includes a transfer unit scraping unit that scrapes dirt and the like transferred to the transfer unit. The dirt and the like transferred to the surface are removed by the scraping means.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 16,
In any one of claims 11 to 15,
An ink discharging apparatus having a cleaning device for an ink discharging section, comprising a roller section scraping means for scraping off dirt or the like on the surface of the roller section. According to the configuration of claim 16, the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit provided in the ink discharge device has a roller unit scraping unit that scrapes off dirt or the like on the surface of the roller unit. Of the surface dirt, for example, relatively weak dirt components not transferred at the transfer unit are also removed by the roller unit scraping means.

Preferably, according to the seventeenth aspect,
17. The ink according to claim 16, wherein the transfer unit scraping unit and the roller unit scraping unit have a dirt storage unit for storing dirt or the like that has been scraped off. It is a discharge device. According to the configuration of claim 17, the cleaning device of the ink discharge unit provided in the ink discharge device is configured to store the dirt and the like scraped off by the transfer unit scraping unit and the roller unit scraping unit. Since the ink discharge device is provided with the dirt accommodating portion, the ink discharge device can be easily disposed outside the ink discharge device without causing the ink discharge device to be contaminated by the scraped dirt or the like.

Preferably, according to the eighteenth aspect,
In any one of claims 11 to 17,
An ink ejection device having a cleaning device for an ink ejection unit, wherein the contact is a line contact. Claim 18
According to the configuration described above, since the contact is a line contact, the roller portion makes a line contact with the ink ejection portion. It can be prevented beforehand.

Preferably, according to the nineteenth aspect,
In any one of claims 11 to 17,
The ink discharge unit includes a plurality of nozzles, and the roller unit capable of simultaneously linearly contacting the plurality of nozzles is provided. According to the configuration of claim 19, the ink discharge unit includes a plurality of nozzles, and the roller unit capable of simultaneously making linear contact with the plurality of nozzles is provided in the ink discharge device. Since it is provided in the apparatus, the plurality of nozzles can be washed at the same time.

Preferably, according to the twentieth aspect,
In any one of claims 11 to 19,
An ink discharge device having a cleaning device for an ink discharge unit, comprising: a cover that covers the cleaning device for the ink discharge unit; and an exhaust unit that exhausts the inside of the cover. According to the configuration of (20), since the ink discharge device includes the cover that covers the cleaning device of the ink discharge unit, the ink discharge device is not contaminated by the cleaning device of the ink discharge unit. . In addition, since the exhaust portion that exhausts the inside of the cover portion is provided, the atmosphere in the ink discharge device can be kept clean.

According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention,
What is claimed is: 1. A method of cleaning an ink ejection unit, comprising: cleaning an ink ejection unit when the ink ejection unit stops ink ejection, wherein an elastic body formed on a surface of a roller unit contacts the ink ejection unit while rotating. A step of supplying a cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply unit to the elastic body, a step of transferring dirt and the like adhered to the elastic body to a transfer unit, and a step of scraping the dirt and the like transferred to the transfer unit by a transfer unit scraping means. This is achieved by a method of cleaning an ink discharge section, comprising: a step of scraping off; and a step of scraping off dirt or the like of an elastic body of the roller section by a roller section scraping means.

According to the twenty-first aspect, after the cleaning liquid is applied to the elastic body, the roller is rotated. At this time, since the roller unit presses the ink ejection unit with an appropriate pressure, it is possible to perform cleaning while suppressing damage to the ink ejection unit, and to prolong the life of the ink ejection unit.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 22,
In the configuration of claim 21, a step of scraping dirt and the like transferred to the transfer unit by a transfer unit scraping unit, and a step of scraping dirt and the like of the elastic body of the roller unit by a roller unit scraping unit. A method for cleaning an ink discharge section, comprising a step of storing a scraped dirt or the like in a dirt storage section. According to the configuration of claim 22, since the transfer unit has a step of storing the dirt and the like scraped off by the transfer unit scraping unit and the roller unit scraping unit in the dirt storage unit, other devices can be cleaned by the dirt and the like. The dirt can be easily disposed of without polluting.

Preferably, according to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention,
23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the contact is a line contact. According to the configuration of Claim 23, since the contact is a line contact, the roller portion makes a line contact with the ink ejection portion. Can be prevented beforehand.

Preferably, according to the invention of claim 24,
23. The cleaning of the ink discharge unit according to claim 21, wherein the ink discharge unit includes a plurality of nozzles, and the roller unit rotates while simultaneously making linear contact with the plurality of nozzles. Is the way. Claim 2
According to the configuration of No. 4, the ink discharge section includes a plurality of nozzles, and the roller section rotates while simultaneously making line contact with the plurality of nozzles, so that the plurality of nozzles can be washed at the same time.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an ink ejection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ejection device 100
It has 0. On the base 110, a Y-axis table 120 on which a color filter used for a display device to be ejected with ink is placed, for example, is provided. The Y-axis table 120 is formed so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction in FIG. Also, on the Y-axis table 120,
An X-axis table 130 is provided movably in the X-axis direction in FIG.

The X-axis table 130 is provided with an ink-jet head 150 serving as an ink ejecting unit. The ink-jet head 150 is movable in the X-axis direction by the X-axis table 130. This ink jet head 150 is specifically shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a substantially straight cubic head body 151 is formed.
And a θ axis 152 for rotating the head body 151 in the direction of the arrow (θ direction) in FIG. 2A. Also, the back surface of the head body 151 (Y-axis table 120 side)
Is provided with a nozzle forming area 151a for arranging a number of nozzles for discharging ink.

The ink is ejected from the nozzles arranged in this manner by an ink jet method. Specifically, a voltage is applied to a piezoelectric element provided inside the ink jet head 150, and the piezoelectric element vibrates. Ink is ejected from the nozzle. At this time, since the ink ejected from the nozzles is in a liquid state, the amount of ink ejected from the nozzles changes depending on the state of the ink in the nozzles, which causes a failure of a color filter to be ejected. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 1, the ink discharge device 100 is provided with an ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 140 on the base. The ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 140 is located on the Y
In a region that does not hinder the movement of the axis table 120, and X
By moving the axis table 130, the nozzle forming region 151a of the inkjet head 150 is formed in a region that can be arranged thereon.

The ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 140 formed on the base section 110 is an area which is always arranged when the ink jet head 150 is not actually ejecting ink to the color filters. is there. That is, before and after the ink is ejected to the color filter, the inkjet head 150
The X-axis table 130 is always moved to this area. Therefore, in the ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 140, as shown in FIG. 3, an ejection confirmation area 141 of the ink ejected from the nozzles and a regular dumping area 143 for preventing the ink from thickening are arranged. ing. Further, a cap 142 for moisturizing the nozzles after ejecting the ink, sucking and removing the thickened ink, and the like is also provided.

Further, between the cap 142 and the regular dumping area 143, a wiping unit 200, which is a cleaning device for the ink discharge section, is disposed. The wiping unit 200 is for cleaning the ink adhered to the nozzles and the like of the inkjet head 150 when the inkjet head 150 finishes or stops the ejection of the ink. In particular, when ink is ejected to a color filter, ink of an organic solvent is used, but the ink of this organic solvent evaporates more easily than water-based ink used for general paper, so that the ink easily adheres to nozzles and the like. There is. Therefore, the wiping unit 200 is particularly important in the ink ejection device 100 of the present embodiment using the ink of the organic solvent.

That is, here, the ink dries in the nozzle,
This is because if it adheres, it becomes an obstacle near the exit of the nozzle, the ink ejection direction is not as desired, and it causes a failure of the color filter from which the ink has been ejected. FIG. 4 shows such an important wiping unit 200. FIG. 5 is a view from the direction of arrow A in FIG.
It is. As shown in FIG. 4, the wiping unit 200
Is provided with a head cleaning roller 210 which is a roll portion disposed so as to make linear contact with a nozzle forming region 151 formed in a head main body 151 of the inkjet head 150. Head cleaning roller 2
As shown in FIG. 4, 10 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, and a rubber portion 211 is formed on the surface thereof with a constant width.

More specifically, the rubber portion 211 comes into line contact with the nozzle forming surface 151a of the head main body 151 as shown in FIG. At this time, the nozzle forming surface 151a
Even if there are some uneven portions, the rubber portion 211 which is an elastic body
Due to the elastic deformation of the substrate, the unevenness is absorbed and the concave portion can be contacted. In addition, it is possible to prevent the contact pressure from being reduced due to the elastic deformation of the rubber portion 211, which is an elastic body, and to damage the nozzle forming surface 151a. By the way, the head cleaning roller 210 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. With this rotation, the rubber portion that is in linear contact with the head forming surface 151a scrapes out the attached ink. At this time, the head forming surface 151a
Is a line contact, so that only the attached ink can be removed without destroying the meniscus state formed in the nozzle.

A cleaning liquid supply head 220, which is a cleaning liquid supply unit, is arranged on the left side of the head cleaning roller 210 thus configured in FIG. The cleaning liquid supply head 220 is arranged in contact with the head cleaning roller 210 as shown in FIG. 5, and supplies an appropriate amount of the cleaning liquid to the surface of the rubber portion 211 of the head cleaning roller 210. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning liquid supply head 220 is provided in the same length as the longitudinal direction in which the rubber portion 211 is formed. Therefore, the cleaning liquid can be uniformly supplied to the surface of the rubber portion 211. On the other hand, at the lower right of the head cleaning roller 210 in FIG. The transfer roller 230 is formed in a columnar shape as shown in FIG. 4, and has a length in the longitudinal direction similar to that of the head cleaning roller 210.

The transfer roller 230 is arranged so as to be in contact with the head cleaning roller 210 as shown in FIG. 5, and when the head cleaning roller 210 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, the transfer roller 230 also rotates in the direction of the arrow. It is supposed to. By making contact with the transfer roller 230 in this manner, the transfer roller 230 removes, for example, a strong stain component of the ink from the adhered ink on the surface of the rubber portion 211 of the head cleaning roller 210.
Is transferred to The transfer roller 230 has a scraping roller 24 serving as a transfer unit scraping means at the lower right of FIG.
0 is arranged. This scraping roller 240
The whole is formed in a columnar shape, the core 242 at the center is made of stainless steel, and a scraping roller rubber portion 241 is formed with a constant width on the surface thereof. This scraping roller 240 is also set to the same length as the length of the transfer roller 230 in the longitudinal direction. Since the scraping roller rubber portion 241 on the surface of the scraping roller 240 and the transfer roller 230 are arranged so as to be in contact with each other, the strong component of the ink transferred to the transfer roller 230 by the scraping roller rubber portion 241 and the like. Is scraped off.

The ink scraped off in this way is shown in FIG.
5, and is stored in a waste liquid tank 250 which is a dirt storage section shown in FIG. By the way, at the lower left of the head cleaning roller 210 in FIG. 5, a second stage scraping roller 260 made of stainless steel, which is a roller portion scraping means, is formed in a columnar shape. The length in the longitudinal direction of the second-stage scraping roller 260 is substantially the same as the length of the head cleaning roller 210. Also, 2
Since the step scraping roller 260 is in contact with the head cleaning roller 210 as shown in FIG. 5, the ink not transferred by the transfer roller 240 in FIG.
The second-stage scraping roller 260 scrapes off the surface of the rubber portion 211 and stores it in the waste liquid tank 250.

The head cleaning roller 2 as described above
10, the cleaning liquid supply head 220, the transfer roller 230, the scraping roller 240, the waste liquid tank 250, and the second-stage scraping roller 260 are covered with an entire cover 270 as shown in FIGS.
0 is provided with an exhaust port (not shown). Therefore, the atmosphere in the wiping unit 200 is exhausted, and the atmosphere in the ink ejection device 100 is kept in a clean state.

The wiping unit 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention and the ink discharge device 100 having the same are
Although the configuration is as described above, the operation and the like will be described below. First, a color filter is arranged on the Y-axis table 120 in FIG. At this time, the inkjet head 150 is moved by the X-axis table 130 to the base unit 110.
A predetermined ejection preparation operation is performed in the ejection confirmation area 141, the cap 142, or the regular dumping area 143 shown in FIG. 3 which is arranged on the ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 140 above.

Next, the X-axis table 130 moves, and the inkjet head 130 is arranged on the color filter.
Discharge ink. As soon as the ejection of the ink is completed or stopped, the X-axis table 130 moves to the ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 140. When performing the wiping operation, the wiping unit 2 shown in FIG.
The ink-jet head 150 is disposed on the ink jet head 150, and the nozzle forming surface 151 a of the ink-jet head 150 is
11. At this time, since the rubber portion 211 is formed of an elastic body, the contact pressure on the nozzle forming surface 151a can be kept low, so that the life of the nozzle forming surface 151a can be extended.

In this state, the head cleaning roller 210 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 while supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply head 220 to the surface of the rubber portion 211. Then, the rubber portion 211 rotates while making a line contact with the nozzle forming surface 151a of the inkjet head 150. At this time, even if there is slight unevenness on the nozzle forming surface 151a, the unevenness is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the rubber portion 211. In addition, the rubber portion 211 sufficiently contacts the nozzle forming surface 151a even if the contact pressure against the nozzle forming surface 151a is lowered due to the elastic deformation of the rubber portion 211. Therefore, the rubber portion 211 can remove the ink attached to the nozzle forming surface 151a. Further, at this time, since the rubber portion 211 is in line contact, the meniscus formed in the nozzle is not broken.

On the other hand, the ink jet head 150 is also shown in FIG.
Since the ink moves on the rubber portion 211 in the left-right direction, the attached ink can be more effectively removed. When the cleaning roller 210 rotates as described above, the transfer roller 230 also rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 to remove the strong component of, for example, ink adhered to the rubber portion 211 to the transfer roller 23.
Transfer to the 0 surface. The transferred ink is scraped off by the scraping roller 240 that is in contact with the transfer roller 240, and is stored in the waste liquid tank 250. Also,
The ink that has not been transferred to the transfer roller 230 and adheres to the surface of the rubber portion 211 of the head cleaning roller 210 is scraped off by the second-stage scraping roller 260 shown in FIG. 5, and is stored in the waste liquid tank.

At this time, since the atmosphere in the wiping unit 200 is exhausted by the exhaust port provided in the entire cover 250, the ink ejection device 100
The atmosphere on the side is also kept clean. Further, in the wiping unit 200 according to the present embodiment, all nozzles formed on the single inkjet head 150 are wiped by the single head cleaning roller 210, so that wiping and cleaning can be performed efficiently. Even when the cleaning of the wiping unit 200 or the like is completed as described above, the inkjet head 150 remains in the ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 140 and performs a predetermined operation until the ink is again ejected to the color filter. Preparations are made so that the ink ejection from the nozzles is always in the best condition. By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. The configuration of the above embodiment may omit a part of the configuration,
It can be changed to any other combination not described above.

[0050]

According to the present invention, dirt such as ink can be effectively removed without destroying the meniscus and irrespective of the surface shape of the ink discharge portion, and the life of the ink discharge portion is relatively long. It is possible to provide a cleaning device for an ink discharge unit that can be lengthened, an ink discharge device having the cleaning device for an ink discharge unit, and a method for cleaning an ink discharge unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an ink ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view showing the inkjet head of FIG. 1; FIG. 2B is a schematic view illustrating a nozzle formation surface of the inkjet head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the wiping unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram viewed from a direction A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a wiping method using a rubber blade.

FIG. 7A is a sectional view of a nozzle portion of a head.
(B) It is a front view of the nozzle part of a head.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a meniscus of an ink ejection unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100: ink ejection device 110: base unit 120: Y-axis table 130: X-axis table 140: ink suction / wiping unit arrangement area 141: ejection confirmation area 142: cap 143: periodic dumping area 150: inkjet head 151: head body 151a: nozzle forming area 152: θ axis 200: wiping unit 210: head cleaning roller 211: Rubber part 220: cleaning liquid supply head 230: transfer roller 240: scraping roller 241: scraping roller rubber part 242: core 250: waste liquid tank 260: second stage scraping Roller 270 ・ ・ ・ Overall cover

Claims (24)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device for an ink discharge unit that cleans an ink discharge unit when the ink discharge unit stops discharging the ink, comprising: a roller unit that contacts and rotates with the ink discharge unit; An apparatus for cleaning an ink ejection section, wherein an elastic body is disposed on a surface of the roller section. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is a rubber part. 3. The cleaning device for an ink ejection unit according to claim 2, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the rubber unit. 4. The cleaning device for an ink ejection section according to claim 2, further comprising a transfer section for transferring dirt or the like attached to the rubber section. 5. The cleaning device for an ink discharge section according to claim 4, further comprising a transfer section scraping means for scraping off dirt and the like transferred to the transfer section. 6. The cleaning device for an ink discharge section according to claim 1, further comprising a roller section scraping means for scraping off dirt or the like on the surface of the roller section. 7. The cleaning of the ink discharge unit according to claim 6, wherein the transfer unit scraping unit and the roller unit scraping unit have a dirt storage unit for storing dirt and the like scraped off. apparatus. 8. The cleaning device for an ink ejection unit according to claim 1, wherein the contact is a line contact. 9. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink discharge unit includes a plurality of nozzles, and the roller unit is capable of simultaneously making a line contact with the plurality of nozzles.
A cleaning device for an ink ejection unit according to claim 7. 10. The ink discharge device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover portion that covers the cleaning device for the ink discharge portion, and an exhaust portion that exhausts the inside of the cover portion. Cleaning equipment. 11. When the ink discharge unit stops discharging ink,
An ink ejecting apparatus having an ink ejecting section cleaning device for washing the ink ejecting section, comprising: a roller section that contacts and rotates with the ink ejecting section; and an elastic body is provided on a surface of the roller section. An ink discharge device having a cleaning device for an ink discharge portion, wherein the device is disposed. 12. The ink ejection device according to claim 11, wherein the elastic body is a rubber portion. 13. The ink discharging apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply section for supplying a cleaning liquid to the rubber portion. 14. A transfer unit for transferring dirt and the like adhered to the rubber part.
An ink ejection device comprising the ink ejection unit cleaning device according to claim 13. 15. The ink discharge device according to claim 14, further comprising a transfer portion scraping means for scraping off dirt and the like transferred to the transfer portion. 16. An ink having a cleaning device for an ink discharge section according to claim 11, further comprising a roller section scraping means for scraping off dirt or the like on the surface of said roller section. Discharge device. 17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transfer section scraping means and said roller section scraping means have a dirt storage section for storing dirt and the like that have been scraped off.
An ink discharge device comprising the cleaning device for an ink discharge unit according to claim 1. 18. The ink ejection apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the contact is a line contact. 19. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink discharge unit includes a plurality of nozzles, and the roller unit is capable of simultaneously making line contact with the plurality of nozzles.
An ink ejection device comprising the ink ejection portion cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 17. 20. The ink discharge device according to claim 11, further comprising a cover portion for covering the cleaning device for the ink discharge portion, and an exhaust portion for exhausting the inside of the cover portion. An ink ejection device having a cleaning unit. 21. A method for cleaning an ink ejection section, the method comprising: cleaning an ink ejection section when the ink ejection section stops ink ejection, wherein an elastic body formed on a surface of a roller section rotates with respect to the ink ejection section. Contacting the elastic body with the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply unit, transferring the dirt and the like adhered to the elastic body to the transfer unit, and transferring the dirt and the like transferred to the transfer unit. A method of cleaning an ink discharge section, comprising: a step of scraping off by a part scraping means; and a step of scraping off dirt or the like of an elastic body of the roller part by a roller part scraping means. 22. A step of scraping dirt and the like transferred to the transfer section by a transfer section scraping means, and a step of scraping dirt and the like of an elastic body of the roller section by a roller section scraping means. 22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising a step of storing the stains and the like in the stain storage unit. 23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the contact is a line contact. 24. The ink according to claim 21, wherein the ink discharge unit includes a plurality of nozzles, and the roller unit rotates while simultaneously making line contact with the plurality of nozzles. How to clean the discharge section.