JP2002127390A - Ink jet printer, ink jet recovery method, and manufacturing method for ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet printer,an ink jet recovery method, and a manufacturing method for the ink jet printer which can accurately recognize a stop position of a carriage, improve productivity, and eliminate variation of the stop position by product through cumulative errors including mounting errors at assembly of each part occur. SOLUTION: The ink jet printer comprises an image forming means and a maintenance means arranged in the scanning direction. The image forming means records on a recording paper by reciprocating scan of the carriage having one or plural ink jet heads mounted thereon and by jetting ink, and the maintenance means maintains the ink jet heads in the case of no recording. At a part of the maintenance means, an original position detecting means for detecting the original position of the carriage to be detected is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, a method for recovering ink ejection, and a method for manufacturing an ink jet printer, and more particularly to a method including a maintenance unit having a cleaning function for cleaning nozzles of an ink jet head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink-jet printer of this type, ink droplets are ejected from nozzles of an ink-jet head only during recording, so that ink at the nozzle openings is exposed to the atmosphere for a long time, and only the solvent of the ink evaporates. Ejection of liquid droplets may become unstable or clogged.

[0003] In order to prevent such a situation, when the apparatus is not operated, the opening of the nozzle is closed with a lid such as a suction cup or the like, and capping for preventing evaporation of the solvent of the ink filled in the nozzle is performed. It has been done. In addition, cleaning such as sucking which sucks ink in the nozzle by applying a negative pressure to the nozzle and cleaning the nozzle with a wiper blade or the like is also performed regularly or when the apparatus is started up.

FIG. 5 shows an ink-jet printer for performing such maintenance of the ink-jet head such as cleaning.

[0005] The ink jet printer 20 shown in FIG.
At 0, a carriage 202 provided with an inkjet head that ejects ink droplets onto a recording paper 201 in an image forming area is guided by a carriage rail 203 and scanned in the direction of the arrow.

A wiping unit 204 for performing wiping and a sucking unit 2 for performing sucking along the scanning direction.
A maintenance area such as 05 is formed.

At the time of forming an image, the recording paper 202 is discharged, and the carriage 20 is moved within the image forming area in FIG.
3 moves in the direction of the arrow, and an image is formed on the recording paper 201.

At the time of maintenance, the carriage 203 moves to the maintenance area, stops above one of the sucking section and the wiping section of the maintenance unit, and performs maintenance.

For example, when performing sucking, a carriage 203 having a plurality of ink jet heads is
It is moved along the carriage rail 203 and stopped at the sucking position in the maintenance area, where it is pressure-bonded, sucked by a pump and depressurized and sucked. by this,
Remove the clogged ink.

Here, for example, the carriage rail 2
A detection sensor 206 for detecting a home position serving as a reference for a stop position of the carriage 203 is provided in an area on one end side of the reference numeral 03.

The position of the carriage 202 on the carriage rail 203 is determined by reading the home position (origin position) by the detection sensor 206, recognizing the position as zero, and moving from the origin to, for example, the position of X1. The distance from the origin is calculated in such a manner as to perform sucking and wiping at the position of X2.

In the sucking, the carriage 20
The ink jet head in 2 closely adheres to the slit portion of the cap in the sucking portion 205 and is sealed so as not to enter the air. However, the accuracy of the stop position of the carriage 10 on the carriage rail 20 is, for example, based on the desired position X1. If the ink jet head 12 does not stop with an accuracy of about ± 0.7 mm, the ink jet head 12 and the cap come into contact with each other in a displaced state. That is, it is necessary to stop the carriage 202 at a predetermined position with an accuracy of, for example, about ± 0.7 mm.

[0013]

By the way, when the detection sensor 206 is installed at a conventional position, for example, the detection sensor 206 and the sucking section 20 in the maintenance area are provided.
5, the accumulated error due to the accumulation of individual components due to the attachment of many components increases.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the mounting error δ1 of the detection sensor 206, the mounting error and dimensional error of the carriage rail, the mounting error and dimensional error of the carriage,
A cumulative error δ2 such as a mounting error and a dimensional error of the sucking portion 205 in the maintenance area occurs.

For this reason, even if the carriage comes to the suction or wiping preparation position, it differs from the actual suction or wiping position, and a position shift occurs.

Further, when assembling and manufacturing an ink jet printer, a sucking position, a wiping position, and the like are measured after assembling. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, software is set to stop theoretically at the X1 position. Has to be corrected to the set value of A1 (= X1− (δ1 + δ2)).

Therefore, for example, when assembling a plurality of ink jet printers 200 (for example, 10 ink jet printers),
Despite all ten units should be able to suction from the position of the detection sensor 206 at, for example, the position of X1, with respect to one ink jet printer, the set value is soft-corrected to, for example, A1, and another one is set. With respect to the ink jet printer, the set value is, for example, corrected to B1 by software, and it is necessary to measure and correct the displacement of each of the ten printers.

[0018] Such a problem causes a work load, particularly during production, causes a decrease in productivity, and causes variations in products.

Further, in addition to the sucking portion for performing suction, it is necessary to measure the deviation amount of the wiping position and the like, and to softly correct the deviation amount.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to accurately determine the stop position of a carriage despite the occurrence of accumulated errors including mounting errors when assembling each part. In addition to improving the productivity by reducing the work load during production,
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer, an ink ejection recovery method, and a method of manufacturing an ink jet printer that can eliminate variations in stop positions due to products.

[0021]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a carriage on which one or a plurality of ink jet heads are mounted is reciprocally scanned to eject ink onto a recording paper for recording. An image forming unit for performing the maintenance, and a maintenance unit for performing maintenance of the inkjet head when this recording is not performed, and an inkjet printer in which the inkjet head is arranged in the scanning direction, and a part of the maintenance unit And an origin position detecting means for detecting an origin position of the carriage to be scanned.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the carriage includes a sensor cutting plate for cutting the origin position detecting means.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the maintenance means includes a capping means for closing an opening of a nozzle of the ink jet head.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the maintenance means includes a sucking means for sucking ink in nozzles of the ink jet head.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the maintenance means includes a sucking means having both a capping function for closing an opening of a nozzle of the ink jet head and a sucking function for sucking ink in the nozzle. It is characterized by:

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the maintenance means includes a wiping means for wiping ink on a nozzle surface of the ink jet head.

Further, the invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the maintenance means includes a cleaning means for cleaning nozzles of the ink jet head with a cleaning liquid.

Further, the invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the maintenance means includes a sucking means for suctioning the inside of the cap by applying a negative pressure.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the maintenance means includes means for permitting the ink jet head to perform idle discharge.

Further, the invention according to claim 10 further comprises a paper discharge roller having an axis parallel to the scanning direction of the ink jet head and holding the recording paper on a peripheral surface and discharging the paper. The maintenance means is provided outside one end face of the paper discharge roller.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming area in which a carriage on which one or a plurality of ink jet heads are mounted scans and ejects ink onto recording paper to perform recording, and a case in which this recording is not performed. A plurality of maintenance areas for performing ink ejection recovery of the inkjet head, and an inkjet printer that is arranged in the scanning direction of the inkjet head, according to the maintenance performed in each maintenance area, at least one An origin position detecting means for detecting an origin position of the carriage to be scanned is provided in the maintenance area.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet head which scans a carriage on which one or more ink jet heads are mounted and ejects ink onto recording paper to perform recording. An ink ejection recovery method for an ink jet printer that performs maintenance for ink ejection recovery at a predetermined position in the scanning direction, wherein the origin of the maintenance area is determined based on a suction operation start signal for suctioning ink in the nozzles of the ink jet head. An origin reading step of moving the carriage along the scanning direction to an arrangement position of the position detecting means to perform an origin reading operation; and a stop for stopping and controlling the carriage to a suction position in the scanning direction after the origin reading step. A control step, and a suction step of sucking ink in the nozzles of the inkjet head It is characterized in that it comprises a.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the carriage is moved in the scanning direction to a position where the origin position detecting means in the maintenance area is provided, based on a wiping blade operation start signal for wiping ink on the nozzle surface of the ink jet head. , An origin reading step of performing an origin reading operation, a stop control step of controlling the carriage to stop at the wiping position in the scanning direction after the origin reading step, and wiping ink on a nozzle surface of the inkjet head. And a wiping blade operation step.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an ink jet printer, wherein a maintenance unit for maintaining the ink jet head is provided with an origin position detecting means in advance, and at least the maintenance unit is arranged in the scanning direction of the ink jet head. It is characterized by installing.

[0035]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment (Schematic Description) First, an overall schematic configuration of an ink jet printer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the entire inkjet printer of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment has a carriage 10 on which a plurality of ink jet heads 12 for performing recording while ejecting ink onto a recording paper 30 and scanning the carriage 10. A carriage rail 20 for guiding movement along the direction X, a discharge roller 32 for discharging the recording paper 30, a support 22 for supporting the discharge roller 32 and the carriage rail 20, and a scanning direction (movement) of the carriage 10. direction)
And a maintenance unit 40 that is a maintenance unit installed on the support 22.

The carriage 10 includes a carriage rail 20
The inkjet heads 12 are arranged in a plurality in the scanning direction X to eject ink onto the recording paper 30 for recording, and a sensor disposed at one end of the carriage 10. And a cutting plate 14.

The ink jet head 12 includes a recording paper 30
For example, in this example, eight ink droplets of a total of eight shades of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are formed in this example. In the inkjet head 12, a plurality of nozzles are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction X. Ink is supplied to the inkjet head 12 from an ink cartridge (not shown) via an ink supply system (not shown).

The moving means for moving the carriage 10 includes a pulley fixed to a motor shaft of a motor which is a carriage driving means (not shown), a pulley held rotatably with the pulley, and a pulley wound around each pulley. A belt that is hung and fixed to the carriage 10. The carriage 10 is reciprocated in the X direction in the figure by the operation of a motor serving as a carriage driving means, whereby the inkjet head 12 can scan.

The carriage rail 20 is
Are movably engaged and provided in parallel with the axis of the discharge roller 32 to regulate the position of the carriage 10 in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the discharge roller 32.

The recording paper 30 preferably has an image recording surface on which an ink adsorbing layer having a large amount of ink adsorbed per unit area is exposed, so that a good density from a high density to a low density can be obtained. Gradation reproduction becomes possible. Recording paper 3
The surface opposite to the image recording surface of No. 0 is formed as a slippery surface. For the recording paper 30, for example, a plurality of recording sheets are used in a small inkjet printer, and for example, in a large inkjet printer, roll paper wound in advance such as A0 size is used.

The discharge roller 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape which is driven to rotate about an axis, over the image forming area, and the recording paper 30 is placed on the circumferential surface.

The maintenance unit 40 includes an origin position sensor 42 serving as origin position detecting means disposed in the moving direction (scanning direction X) of the carriage 10 and a maintenance area outside one end face of the discharge roller 32. A wiping unit 46 provided to clean the nozzles of the inkjet head 12 in parallel with the scanning direction X of the inkjet head 12, that is, wipe the ink of the nozzles with a wiper blade or the like;
Suction unit 5 which is a sucking unit having a capping function for closing the nozzle opening of No. 2 and a sucking function for sucking ink in the nozzles of the inkjet head 12.
0.

In addition, in the moving direction of the carriage 10 (scanning direction X), other sensors (detecting means) such as an overrun sensor for detecting an overrun and preventing the carriage 10 from turning over. (Not shown).

In the wiping section 46, the ink is wiped off by operating a wiper blade on the surface of the ink jet head 12. After the wiping, the inkjet head 1 is cleaned to clean the inkjet head 12.
The ink is sucked by bringing a cap of the suction unit 50 into close contact with a cap of a suction unit 50 and a pump (not shown) is driven, and is discharged into an ink drainage tank (not shown) to prevent ink clogging of the inkjet head 12. .

The cap of the suction unit 50 is closed by moving the ink jet head 12 to the position of the cap in order to prevent the nozzles of the ink jet head 12 from drying when the power of the ink jet printer 1 is turned off or when the ink jet printer 1 is stopped. In the suction unit 50, when the origin position detection sensor 42 detects the sensor cut plate 14 at one end of the carriage 10, the inkjet head 12 is controlled to stop on the suction unit 50 to perform sucking. Then, the inside of the cap is suctioned with a negative pressure to prevent ink clogging of the inkjet head 12.

(Maintenance Unit) Next, details of the maintenance unit will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a maintenance unit including the suction unit of the present example.

The maintenance unit 40 of this embodiment is similar to that of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the suction unit 50, a wiping unit 46 as wiping means for performing a wiper blade and the like, supports 70 and 71 supporting the suction unit 50 and the wiping unit 46, and each of the supports 70 and 71 A swing shaft 81 is formed so as to be swingable in the θ direction, and rotating members 82 and 83 constituting a power transmission mechanism included in a driving unit 80 for driving these.

The wiping unit 46 is provided with a blade cleaner 4 formed of an ink absorber for absorbing ink.
6a and a rubber blade 46b.

The suction unit 50 is formed to extend vertically below the bottom wall and to extend below the bottom wall of the scattering prevention wall 52 so as to surround the one or more caps 60a and 60b. Waste ink hose connection 56
And a first groove portion projecting below the bottom wall of the cap 60 a, 60 b forming portion on the side where the waste ink hose connection portion 56 is formed, and communicating with the space portion 53 surrounded by the scattering prevention wall 52. 55, a second groove portion 54 formed directly above the waste ink hose connection portion 56 in communication with the first groove portion 55, and one or more caps 60a, 60b.
It is comprised including.

The waste ink hose connection portion 56 communicates with the second groove portion 54 and has a discharge port 56a for discharging ink.
Is composed.

The cap 60a (60b) is provided with a substantially elliptical lip portion to improve the adsorbability and adhesion to the ink jet head 12.

The first groove 55 is provided with an ink absorber for absorbing ink.

The maintenance unit 4 configured as described above
At 0, when the inkjet head 12 stops at the blade position, the ink jet head 12 is wiped and cleaned by the blade cleaner 46a and the rubber blade 46b.

On the other hand, when the ink jet head 12 stops on the suction unit 50, at least two ink jet heads 12
a and 60b, respectively. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, one end of the suction unit 50 that is inclined by the rotation of the swing shaft 81 rises, and is adjusted to a height position where the suction unit 50 can be in close contact with the inkjet head 12.

At this time, due to the weight of the ink jet head 12, the ink in the ink absorber provided in the first groove 55 is squeezed and discharged from the discharge port 56a. At the same time, the ink in the inkjet head 12 is sucked by a suction pump (not shown), and the cleaning operation is performed.

Thereafter, each of the ink jet heads 12
However, when the ink is separated from the caps 60a and 60b, the ink is scattered.
2 and the ink stored therein is the first
Is absorbed by the ink absorber provided in the groove 52 of the first embodiment.

In the unlikely event that the ink scatters beyond the saturated amount of ink that can be absorbed by the ink absorber, the surplus can be sequentially discharged from the lower discharge port 56a.

(Characteristic Configuration of the Present Invention) Here, the features of the present invention, that is, advantages of the case where the origin position sensor 42 is provided in the maintenance unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the maintenance unit 40 is provided with an origin position sensor 42 and the carriage 10 is provided with a sensor cutting plate 14.

In this example, by attaching the origin position sensor 42 for finding the origin position to the maintenance unit 40, the position at which the carriage 10 stops on the maintenance unit 40 on the software coincides with the distance from the origin position. Therefore, the distance from the origin position to the stop position on the maintenance unit is constant even when a plurality of, for example, ten inkjet printers are assembled. As a result, machine differences and variations do not occur even when a plurality of units are produced despite assembly errors. This eliminates the need for conventional soft adjustment after assembly due to machine differences.

As described above, when various components are mounted, mounting errors are accumulated.
Since the positional relationship between the position of the carriage 10 and the stop position of the carriage 10 is determined only by the position of the maintenance unit 40 from the installation position of the origin position sensor 42, the positional relationship is accurately calculated, and the mounting position accuracy is improved.

Thus, the maintenance unit 40
Positioning can be performed directly assuming that there is an error in the mounting of the carriage 10 and the carriage 10, and even if there is a machine difference between the mounting positions of the carriage 10 and the maintenance unit 40,
Since the positioning of the maintenance unit 40 and the carriage 10 can be performed directly, it is not necessary to correct the positional deviation after the assembly.

As described above, since the positions of the carriage 10 and the maintenance unit 40 are directly positioned, no displacement occurs due to a machine difference between the carriage 10 and the maintenance unit 40.

(Regarding Control System) Next, the configuration of the control system of the ink jet printer 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control system of the ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment includes an origin position detecting sensor 42 for detecting an origin position, and other sensors 43.
Based on the detection positions of the sensors 42 and 43, the carriage driving unit 16 is driven to control the carriage 10 to stop at a predetermined position in the scanning direction, and drives each unit in the maintenance unit 40 during maintenance. And a wiping drive unit 48 for performing various cleaning operations such as various wiping operations of the wiping unit 46, and a various capping operations. Capping driving means 49 for performing the operation, a roller driving means 34 for driving the paper discharge roller 32 during image formation, and other driving means 36 for driving other various mechanisms of the apparatus of the present embodiment.
And control means 2 for controlling these units. It should be noted that a storage unit storing various control programs and setting data, an operation unit for setting various setting values, and a display unit may be configured.

(Operation) Next, the operation of the ink jet printer having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

First, at the time of image formation, the ink jet head 12 ejects ink droplets according to the document image data while rotating the discharge roller 32 holding the recording paper 30 at a predetermined position on the outer peripheral surface. By doing
The recording of a part of the image in the image recording area of the recording paper 30 and the moving of the carriage 10 in the scanning direction X by a moving means (not shown) are alternately performed, so that the entire image recording area of the recording paper 30 is Record the image.

After the image formation is completed, the carriage 10 is moved in the scanning direction X, the ink jet head 12 is moved above the maintenance unit 40, and various maintenances such as sucking and wiping are performed.

Next, during maintenance, the ink jet head 12 moves onto the maintenance unit 4040 and the wiping unit 4 of the maintenance unit 40
6, stop above any one of the suction units 50, and maintenance is performed.

Here, when performing the sucking (suction) operation, first, the control means drives the motor in the forward or reverse direction based on a suction operation start signal for sucking ink in the nozzles of the ink jet head 12. Then, the carriage 10 is moved along the scanning direction to the position where the origin position sensor 42 of the maintenance unit 40 is provided, and an origin reading operation is performed (origin reading step).

When the sensor cutting plate 14 integrated with the carriage 10 blocks the origin position sensor 42, the output signal from the origin position sensor 42 changes to detect the home position.

The output of detecting the home position of the carriage 10 by the origin position sensor 42 is also transmitted to the control means via a signal line.

Next, after the origin reading step, the carriage 10
Is stopped at the suction position in the scanning direction X (stop control step).

Then, the cap is pressed against the ink jet head 12, and the pressure is reduced by suctioning the ink from behind with a suction pump (not shown) to suck the ink in the nozzles (suction step).
This removes the clogged ink.

Further, when performing the blade operation, first, the carriage 10 is moved to the position where the origin position detection sensor 42 of the maintenance unit 40 is disposed based on the wiping blade operation start signal for wiping the ink on the nozzle surface of the ink jet head 12. It is moved along the scanning direction X to perform an origin reading operation (origin reading step).

Next, after the origin reading step, the carriage 10
Is stopped at the wiping position in the scanning direction X (stop control step).

Then, a wiping blade operation for wiping ink on the nozzle surface of the ink jet head 12 is performed (wiping step).

The above-described case of detecting the origin position is performed, for example, every time the carriage moves along the scanning direction, such as a suction operation or a blade operation.

As described above, when recording is not performed, maintenance for recovering ink ejection is performed at a predetermined position in the scanning direction of the ink jet head.

(Manufacturing Method) Next, a case of manufacturing the ink jet printer 1 will be described.

First, an origin position sensor 42 is provided in advance in a maintenance unit 40 for maintaining the ink jet head 12.

Next, at least the maintenance unit 40 is installed in the scanning direction X of the ink jet head 12. After that, each part is assembled and installed to complete the manufacturing. Here, after the completion of the assembly, there is no need for the conventional soft adjustment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the position at which the carriage on the software stops at each part on the maintenance unit can be determined by attaching the origin position detection sensor for determining the origin position to the maintenance unit.
Since the distance from the origin position matches the distance from the origin position to the stop position of each unit on the maintenance unit, even if a plurality of, for example, ten inkjet printers are assembled, each of them becomes constant. As a result, even if a plurality of units are produced, there is no variation such as misalignment between the devices even though there are assembly errors. This eliminates the need for the conventional soft adjustment due to machine differences.

Further, mounting errors are accumulated when various parts are mounted, but the positional relationship between the home position locating sensor and the carriage stop position is determined only by the position from the home position locating sensor of the maintenance unit. The positional relationship is accurately calculated, and the mounting position accuracy is improved.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the following, description of substantially the same configuration of the first embodiment will be omitted, and only different portions will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing the ink jet printer of this example.

In the above-described first embodiment, a sucking section having both a sucking function and a capping function is provided.
Although the configuration of the inkjet printer including the maintenance unit including the wiping unit has been described, the inkjet printer of the present example has a configuration including the maintenance unit including the sucking unit, the capping unit, and the cleaning unit that performs cleaning.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink jet printer 100 of this embodiment has a carriage rail 1
1 and a carriage 102 to be scanned, and a maintenance unit 110 arranged in a maintenance area located at a predetermined position in the scanning direction.

The maintenance unit 110 has a cleaning section, a sucking section, and a capping section. The order in which these units are arranged does not matter.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the functions of the respective parts are different in the maintenance unit, an accurate position can be recognized by the origin position detecting sensor which is the origin position detecting means, and the carriage software The deviation between the stop position on the wear and the actual stop position can be minimized.

When each unit does not constitute an integrated unit as a maintenance unit, an origin position detection sensor may be disposed at the end of each unit, or an origin position detection sensor may be set according to each unit. All you have to do is place a sensor.

Although the apparatus and method according to the present invention have been described according to some specific embodiments thereof,
Those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the embodiments described in the text of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, an ink jet printer in which the sucking position and the capping position are formed at the same position has been described as an example. Inkjet printer may be used.

Alternatively, various configurations such as a second cleaning unit for washing with a cleaning liquid, an ink filling section for filling ink, a maintenance unit having an empty discharge section for performing idle discharge, a maintenance unit having no wiping wiper blade section, and the like are provided. There may be.

Further, as the origin position detecting means,
Although the configuration is such that the sensor cut plate is detected, a configuration may be employed in which a carriage having no sensor cut plate is formed by a sensor or the like capable of directly detecting the carriage.

Further, needless to say, examples include combinations of the above-described embodiments and their modifications.

[0097]

As described above, according to the present invention, the position at which the carriage stops on the maintenance means on the software can be determined by attaching the origin position detection means for finding the origin position to the maintenance means. Since the distance is equal to the distance from the position, the distance from the origin position to the stop position on the maintenance unit is constant for each of a plurality of, for example, ten inkjet printers. As a result, there is no variation even when a plurality of units are produced despite an assembly error. This eliminates the need for the conventional soft adjustment due to machine differences.

Further, mounting errors are accumulated when various parts are mounted, but the positional relationship between the origin position detecting means and the carriage stop position is determined only by the position of the maintenance means from the position of the origin position detecting means. Therefore, the positional relationship is accurately calculated, and the mounting position accuracy is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an inkjet printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a maintenance unit of the inkjet printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the inkjet printer of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of another inkjet printer of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet printer 10 Carriage 12 Ink-jet head 14 Sensor cutting plate 20 Carriage rail 22 Support 30 Recording paper 32 Discharge roller 40 Maintenance unit 42 Origin position detection sensor 46 Wiping unit 50 Suction unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C056 EA24 EB11 EB36 EC11 EC23 EC24 EC35 EC54 EC57 FA10 JA13 JB04 JB15 JC20 JC23

Claims (14)

[Claims] An image forming means for performing recording by ejecting ink onto recording paper by reciprocally scanning a carriage on which one or more inkjet heads are mounted, and performing maintenance of the inkjet head when the recording is not performed A maintenance means, and an inkjet printer in which the inkjet head is arranged in the scanning direction of the inkjet head, wherein a part of the maintenance means is provided with an origin position detection means for detecting an origin position of the carriage to be scanned. Characteristic inkjet printer. 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the carriage includes a sensor cutting plate for cutting the origin position detecting means. 3. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance unit includes a capping unit that closes an opening of a nozzle of the inkjet head. 4. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance unit includes a sucking unit that sucks ink in a nozzle of the inkjet head. 5. The maintenance means according to claim 1, wherein said maintenance means includes a sucking means having both a capping function for closing an opening of a nozzle of said ink jet head and a sucking function for sucking ink in said nozzle. The inkjet printer according to claim 4. 6. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance unit includes a wiping unit that wipes ink on a nozzle surface of the ink jet head. 7. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance unit includes a cleaning unit that cleans a nozzle of the inkjet head with a cleaning liquid. 8. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance unit includes a sucking unit that suctions the inside of the cap by applying a negative pressure. 9. The ink-jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance unit includes a unit that allows idle discharge of the ink jet head. 10. A paper discharge roller having an axis parallel to the scanning direction of the ink jet head and discharging the paper while holding the recording paper on a peripheral surface thereof, wherein the maintenance unit includes a paper discharge roller. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet printer is provided outside one end face. 11. An image forming area in which a carriage on which one or a plurality of inkjet heads are mounted is ejected on a recording paper by scanning to perform recording, and an ink ejection recovery of the inkjet head when the recording is not performed. A plurality of maintenance areas for performing, the inkjet printer is arranged in the scanning direction of the inkjet head, according to the maintenance performed in each maintenance area,
An ink jet printer, wherein at least one maintenance area is provided with origin position detecting means for detecting an origin position of the carriage to be scanned. 12. A recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a carriage on which one or a plurality of inkjet heads are mounted scans and ejects ink onto recording paper to perform recording. When the recording is not performed, ink is recorded at a predetermined position in the scanning direction of the inkjet head. An ink ejection recovery method for an ink jet printer that performs maintenance for ejection recovery, based on a suction operation start signal for sucking ink in the nozzles of the ink jet head, to a position where an origin position detection unit in a maintenance area is provided. An origin reading step of moving a carriage along the scanning direction to perform an origin reading operation; after the origin reading step, a stop control step of controlling the carriage to stop at a suction position in the scanning direction; and a nozzle of the inkjet head. And a suction step of sucking ink in the inside. Click the discharge recovery method. 13. An origin reading operation based on a wiping blade operation start signal for wiping ink on a nozzle surface of the ink jet head, moving the carriage along the scanning direction to a position where an origin position detecting means in a maintenance area is provided. And a stop control step of stopping and controlling the carriage at the wiping position in the scanning direction after the origin read step; and a wiping blade operation step of wiping ink on a nozzle surface of the inkjet head. An ink ejection recovery method, characterized in that: 14. A method for manufacturing an ink jet printer, comprising: a maintenance unit that performs maintenance of an ink jet head; a home position detection unit provided in advance; and at least a maintenance unit is installed in a scanning direction of the ink jet head. Printer manufacturing method.