JP2006272771A - Liquid ejecting apparatus and processing liquid mist collecting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of realizing sheet suction and floating mist collection on a platen without increasing the size and cost of the apparatus.
SOLUTION: In an ink jet printer 1 that ejects ink liquid from a liquid print head 44 that is reciprocated in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction with respect to a sheet P conveyed on a platen 91, the sheet P being conveyed The suction means 61 for sucking the liquid from the lower part of the platen 91 communicates the suction holes 63 and 64 formed in the platen 91 in an area wider than the maximum width of the paper P, and the suction holes 63 and 64 and the outside of the apparatus case. Suction ducts 66 and 67, suction fans 68 and 69 provided in the suction ducts 66 and 67, and mist capturing means 71 provided in the suction ducts 66 and 67 and capturing floating mist.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects processing liquid from a liquid ejecting head that is reciprocally moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to a transporting direction with respect to an object to be transported on a platen, and a processing liquid mist collecting method.

An ink jet printer, which is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects processing liquid from a liquid ejecting head, performs printing that is reciprocated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction with respect to a sheet (object to be processed) transported on a platen. Ink liquid (treatment liquid) is ejected from the head (liquid ejection head).
The print head is usually mounted on a carriage that can reciprocate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and a pair of conveyance rollers for conveying the paper is placed on a platen that is located immediately below the reciprocation area of the carriage. Can not be provided.

Therefore, in a conventional printer, a pair of paper feed transport rollers is provided behind the platen in the paper transport direction, and a paper discharge transport roller pair is provided in front of the paper transport direction.
Therefore, the leading edge region and the trailing edge region of the paper passing over the platen are in a free state in which they are not nipped and conveyed by the conveying roller pair after passing through the paper feeding conveying roller pair and reaching the paper discharging conveying roller pair. When the front and rear edges of the paper are curled, the paper is lifted.

  In recent years, with such an ink jet printer, as the printing speed increases, the number of nozzles equipped in the print head increases, and the print head becomes larger. As a result, even if the paper is lifted at a slight angle, interference with the print head or carriage may occur, and a failure such as printing stains or paper jam may occur.

  Therefore, in order to prevent the sheet from floating on the platen, a sheet suction means for pressing the sheet onto the platen by the suction force of the suction fan is provided at the lower part of the platen, and printing is performed while the sheet is attracted to the platen. Such a printer has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, in an ink jet printer, a minute ink droplet ejected from an ink ejection nozzle of a print head may float in the apparatus case as a minute ink mist without adhering to a printing surface of a sheet. Such ink mist (floating mist) floating in the apparatus case may adhere to a conveying means or the like in the apparatus case and cause a decrease in print quality.
Therefore, a printer equipped with mist collecting means for adsorbing and collecting floating mist in the device case has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

International Publication Number WO00 / 34049 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-237691

  However, the conventional sheet sucking means and mist collecting means are dedicated to each other. If both of them are equipped, the equipment such as the suction fan and the suction duct are duplicated, resulting in an increase in the size of the device and the cost of the device. There was a problem that it increased significantly.

  On the other hand, the paper suction means described in Patent Document 1 has suction holes arranged at appropriate intervals in an area within the paper width of the platen. As a result, when a paper having a narrow paper width is conveyed while being sucked, the result is as follows. A suction hole located outside the paper sucks floating mist. In the case of such a paper suction means, since the suction duct is not equipped with a mist capturing means such as a filter, the sucked floating mist is discharged from the exhaust port to the outside of the printer, and the periphery of the printer can be soiled. There was sex.

Further, in the case of the paper suction means described in Patent Document 1, when the paper having the maximum width set is printed, the transported paper covers all the suction holes on the platen, so the suction holes suck in the floating mist. There is no such thing, and no operation as a mist collecting means can be expected.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and a liquid ejecting apparatus and a processing liquid mist capable of realizing sheet suction and floating mist collection on a platen without increasing the size and cost of the apparatus. It is to provide a recovery method.

An object of the present invention is a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a processing liquid from a liquid ejecting head that is reciprocally moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to a transport direction with respect to an object to be transported on a platen,
A suction means for sucking the object to be processed from the lower part of the platen,
Suction holes arranged in the platen in a region wider than the maximum width of the workpiece;
A suction duct communicating the suction hole and the outside of the device case;
A suction fan provided in the suction duct;
Mist capturing means provided in the suction duct for capturing floating mist;
It is achieved by a liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:

  According to the liquid ejecting apparatus having the above-described configuration, even if the workpiece to be transported has the maximum width on the platen, suction holes that are not blocked by the workpiece are always provided on both sides of the workpiece. The suction hole that exists and hides under the workpiece being transported prevents the workpiece from being lifted by sucking the workpiece, and prevents the occurrence of failures due to the workpiece being lifted can do.

  Further, the suction holes exposed on both sides of the object to be processed suck and collect floating mist floating in the apparatus case by the processing liquid ejection from the liquid ejecting head, and each part in the apparatus case is soiled by the floating mist. To prevent that. Since the suction duct is equipped with a mist capturing means, the floating mist sucked into the suction duct from the suction hole is reliably captured by the mist capturing means, and the floating mist is discharged to the outside of the device case and around the device. It does not pollute the environment.

  That is, the single suction means provided at the lower part of the platen is used for both the suction of the object to be processed on the platen and the collection of the floating mist. In comparison, the arrangement of the suction holes and the suction duct is facilitated, and the suction of the object to be processed and the floating mist collection on the platen can be realized while suppressing the increase in size and cost of the apparatus.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus having the above-described configuration, the suction unit may include a suction switching unit that allows suction only from the suction hole in a region corresponding to the outside of the width of the workpiece to be conveyed on the platen. desirable.

  According to the above configuration, when the portion other than the front end portion and the rear end portion of the object to be processed passes through the conveyance, the suction to the object to be processed is stopped, so that the occurrence of the obstacle due to the floating of the object to be processed on the platen is prevented. The workpiece suction to be prevented can be realized with a small suction force. Furthermore, the suction of the workpiece is limited to the front end portion and the rear end portion of the workpiece, thereby reducing the influence of an increase in the sliding load of the workpiece to be transported. An increase in size can be prevented.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus configured as described above, it is preferable that the suction switching unit includes a variable shutter that opens and closes the suction hole in a region corresponding to the width of the object to be conveyed.

  According to the above configuration, the suction operation from the suction hole within the width of the workpiece is turned on / off by opening / closing the suction hole in the region corresponding to the width of the workpiece by the opening / closing operation of the variable shutter. Therefore, it is possible to realize suction switching that enables suction only from the suction holes in the region corresponding to the outside of the object to be processed with a relatively simple mechanism.

  Further, in the liquid ejecting apparatus having the above configuration, the suction switching unit corresponds to a workpiece suction duct communicating with the suction hole in a region corresponding to the width of the workpiece, and outside the width of the workpiece. It is desirable to have a mist suction duct that communicates with the suction holes in the region and a pair of suction fans provided in each of the suction ducts.

  According to the above configuration, the suction holes within the width of the object to be processed are controlled by the on / off control of the suction fan provided in the object suction duct communicating with the suction holes in the region corresponding to the width of the object to be processed. Can be turned on and off independently of the mist suction side, and suction switching can be facilitated so that suction can be performed only from the suction holes in the region corresponding to the outside of the width of the workpiece.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus configured as described above, it is desirable that the mist capturing unit has a recovery tank or a mist filter.

  According to the said structure, the floating mist attracted | sucked from the suction hole can be capture | acquired and collect | recovered easily, and the contamination by the floating mist inside and outside an apparatus case can be prevented reliably.

In addition, the object of the present invention is to provide a processing liquid mist in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a processing liquid from a liquid ejecting head that is reciprocated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction with respect to an object conveyed on the platen. A collection method,
Of the suction holes arranged on the platen over an area wider than the maximum width of the workpiece, the suction holes in the area hidden under the workpiece to be transported on the platen are The suction hole is activated only during a period in which the front end portion and the rear end portion of the treatment object pass over the suction hole, and the treatment object enters the platen through the suction holes exposed on both sides of the treatment object. Until it finishes passing,
The floating mist sucked into the suction hole is achieved by a processing liquid mist collecting method characterized in that it is captured and collected.

  According to the processing liquid mist collection method having the above-described configuration, even if the workpiece to be transported has a maximum width on the platen, suction that is not blocked by the workpiece on both sides of the workpiece is always performed. The suction hole that is hidden under the workpiece to be transported, which has holes, prevents the workpiece from being lifted by sucking the workpiece, and the occurrence of failures due to the workpiece being lifted. Can be prevented.

  Further, the suction holes exposed on both sides of the object to be processed suck and collect floating mist floating in the apparatus case by the processing liquid ejection from the liquid ejecting head, and each part in the apparatus case is soiled by the floating mist. To prevent that. Then, the floating mist sucked from the suction hole is surely captured and collected, and the floating mist is not discharged to the outside of the apparatus case and does not pollute the environment around the apparatus.

  Further, the suction operation by the suction holes exposed on both sides of the object to be conveyed is performed until the object to be processed passes through the platen and finishes passing, whereas the suction operation is performed under the object to be conveyed. Since the suction operation by the suction hole in the hidden area is performed only during the period when the front end and the rear end of the workpiece pass over the suction hole, the sliding load of the workpiece to be conveyed is increased. The impact can be reduced.

  In the present invention, the front end portion and the rear end portion of the object to be processed are simultaneously nipped and conveyed during conveyance by a pair of paper feed conveyance rollers and a paper discharge conveyance roller pair provided upstream and downstream of the platen. This is the end region of the workpiece that cannot be processed.

  According to the liquid ejecting apparatus and the processing liquid mist collecting method according to the present invention, on the platen, even if the workpiece to be conveyed has the maximum width, the workpiece is always provided on both sides of the workpiece. Suction holes that are not blocked exist, and the suction holes that are hidden under the workpiece to be transported prevent the workpiece from being lifted by sucking the workpiece, so that the workpiece is lifted. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a failure caused by the failure.

  Further, the suction holes exposed on both sides of the object to be processed suck and collect floating mist floating in the apparatus case by the processing liquid ejection from the liquid ejecting head, and each part in the apparatus case is soiled by the floating mist. To prevent that. Since the suction duct is equipped with a mist capturing means, the floating mist sucked into the suction duct from the suction hole is reliably captured by the mist capturing means, and the floating mist is discharged to the outside of the device case and around the device. It does not pollute the environment.

  In other words, the single suction means installed at the bottom of the platen is used for both the suction of the workpiece on the platen and the collection of floating mist, so that it is possible to suppress duplication of equipment such as suction fans and suction ducts. Therefore, the suction of the object to be processed on the platen and the recovery of the floating mist can be realized while suppressing the increase in size and cost of the apparatus.

Hereinafter, a liquid ejecting apparatus and a processing liquid mist collection method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is an external perspective view of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the liquid ejecting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with the paper discharge tray and the upper case removed, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view for explaining a sheet conveyance path in the liquid ejecting apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the platen and the sheet conveyed to the platen shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operation control for the sheet feeding amount of the suction means shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operation control for the sheet width of the suction means shown in FIG.

An ink jet printer 1 as a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first embodiment is a front feed / discharge type printer, and includes an apparatus case including an upper case 2 and a lower case 3 as shown in FIG. A substantially box-shaped paper cassette 5 in which sheets P are stacked and accommodated is detachably inserted in the center of the front surface of 4.
In addition, a paper discharge tray 6 for receiving the printed paper is provided so as to cover the open top surface of the paper cassette 5.
Further, a display unit 7 such as an indicator and an operation unit 8 such as a power switch are disposed on the left and right sides of the front surface of the device case 4.

  Inside the apparatus case 4, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the paper P fed one by one from the paper cassette 5 by the pickup roller (paper feed roller) 21 of the paper feed unit 22 is fed to the U-shaped transport path. A carriage mechanism 11 that is transported along the carriage 13, a carriage 13 that is reciprocally movable in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the paper P in the middle of the U-shaped transport path by the transport mechanism 11, and a carriage 13 that is mounted on the carriage 13. A print head (liquid ejecting head) 44 that performs printing by ejecting minute droplets of recording ink (processing liquid) onto the paper P; ink tanks 15 and 16 that store recording ink supplied to the print head 44; A control unit (CPU) (not shown) that controls the conveyance speed of the paper P by the conveyance mechanism 11, the movement speed of the carriage 13, the ink ejection operation of the print head 44, and the like is provided. .

In the case of the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the U-shaped transport path through which the paper P is transported by the transport mechanism 11 is an arc-shaped transport that transports the paper P fed from the paper cassette 5 as shown in FIG. A path A and a linear transport path B connecting the arcuate transport path A to the paper discharge tray 6 are configured.
Further, the transport mechanism 11 has an auto sheet feeder (ASF) unit and a paper feeding unit.

  The auto sheet feeder unit is equipped with a sheet feeding unit 22 for feeding a plurality of sheets P stacked and accommodated in the sheet cassette 5 one by one to the entrance of the arcuate conveyance path A at the rear of the apparatus, and the arcuate conveyance path A. Then, the sheet P fed out by the sheet feeding unit 22 is fed along the outer circumference of the intermediate roller 31 and the assist roller 33 for sandwiching and conveying the sheet P between the pair of sheet feeding rollers 41 that is separated by a predetermined distance downstream. And a guide portion 34 that regulates the conveyance direction of the sheet P to be an arc shape reaching the exit of the arc-shaped conveyance path A.

  The intermediate roller 31 as a driving roller sandwiches and conveys the paper P by sandwiching the paper P with the assist roller 33 as a driven roller. A retard roller 32 is provided on the upstream side of the assist roller 33 to prevent a plurality of sheets P from being fed out to the arcuate conveyance path A.

The paper feeding section is transported from the arc-shaped transport path A by the paper feed roller pair 41 composed of a paper feed roller 41a and a driven roller 41b as driving rollers set on the linear transport path B. This is a paper feeding unit that conveys the incoming paper P onto a platen 91 having a platen surface (printing reference surface) 91a set downstream thereof (see FIG. 3).
In the case of the present embodiment, the paper feed roller pair 41 is configured such that the driven roller 41b presses and biases the upper surface of the paper P against the paper feed roller 41a as a driving roller that contacts the lower surface of the paper P. Nipping and conveying.

  Further, inside the apparatus case 4, a print head 44 is incorporated as a liquid ejecting head for printing an image such as characters and figures on the paper P conveyed on the platen surface 91 a of the platen 91. The paper P that has been printed by the print head 44 is nipped and conveyed by a paper discharge roller pair 48 including a paper discharge roller 48a that is a driving roller and a star wheel 48b that is a driven roller, and a U-shaped conveyance path. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 6 at the exit.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed unit 22 is configured such that the rear end of a frame 25 having a pickup roller 21 for feeding at the front end can be rotated in the vertical direction in the figure by a support pin 24. The sheet feeding unit 22 can bring the pickup roller 21 into contact with the uppermost sheet P in the sheet cassette 5 by swinging the sheet feeding lever 25 in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed unit 22 keeps the pickup roller 21 away from the paper P on the paper cassette 5 while the paper feed lever 25 is maintained substantially horizontal as shown in FIG. It is.
When paper is fed, the pickup roller 21 is pressed against the uppermost paper P in the paper cassette 5 by the downward rotation of the paper feeding lever 25 around the support pin 24, and the paper cassette is rotated by the rotation of the pickup roller 21. The sheet P in the sheet 5 comes into contact with the inclined friction pad 23 and is fed out to the arcuate conveyance path A one by one while being separated by the frictional force and the waist strength of the sheet P.

At this time, the retard roller 32 applies a force in a direction to push the paper P back to the paper cassette 5 and sandwiches it between the intermediate rollers 31 so as to separate the paper P one by one and to provide a downstream arcuate conveyance path. Separately conveyed to A.
When feeding is completed and printing is started by the print head 44, the feeding lever 25 is returned to the original horizontal state as shown in FIG.

An auxiliary guide member 35 is provided on the upper side of the guide portion 34 together with an assist roller 33 for feeding the conveyed paper P toward the linear transport path B side.
The auxiliary guide member 35 is rotatably supported at the rear end side with respect to the guide portion 34 and is swingable at the front end side. The auxiliary guide member 35 holds the sheet P conveyed from the arcuate conveyance path A to the linear conveyance path B by its own weight from above, and the ink jet printer 1 along the linear conveyance path B. Guide to the front side.

  The paper feed roller 41a and the driven roller 41b constituting the paper feed roller pair 41 are provided at a predetermined distance from the exit end of the arcuate conveyance path A (downstream end of the guide portion 34) on the front side of the apparatus. The sheet P that has been fed from the arcuate conveyance path A to the linear conveyance path B is sandwiched and conveyed under the print head 44 that is the printing position. The paper P can be positioned with respect to the print head 44 by controlling the rotational driving amount of the paper feed roller 41a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the print head 44 has a discharge nozzle 46 that discharges ink toward the paper P. The print head 44 detects the paper P on the upstream side of the transport path from the discharge nozzle 46. A PW sensor 47 for detecting the width is provided.
The PW sensor 47 detects the presence or absence of the paper P by detecting the reflected light of the light irradiated toward the paper P, and detects the width of the paper P by the movement of the carriage 13.
In the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment, similarly to the PW sensor 47, a paper detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of the paper P by detecting reflected light is provided at an appropriate position in the transport path. .

The carriage 13 disposed above the platen 91 is driven in the paper width direction by a carriage driving mechanism 50 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage driving mechanism 50 supports the carriage 13 movably in the paper width direction by a pair of carriage shafts 52 and 53 extending in the paper width direction, and a timing belt 54 to which the carriage 13 is fixed. Is driven by the carriage motor 14 to move the carriage 13 to an arbitrary position in the paper width direction.

The ink jet printer 1 controls the ink ejection from the print head 44 mounted on the carriage 13 with the transport direction of the paper P as the sub-scanning direction and the moving direction of the carriage 13 as the main scanning direction. Perform image recording (printing) of characters and graphics.
Further, the carriage drive mechanism 50 of this embodiment is provided with a position detection sensor that detects the position of the carriage 13 that is moved by the carriage motor 14 in the paper width direction.
The position detection sensor includes a linear linear scale (main scale) 55 arranged in parallel along the carriage shaft 53, and an encoder that reads the scale on the linear scale 55 that is mounted on the carriage 13 and faces the carriage when moving. The carriage motor 14 composed of a DC motor is controlled on the basis of a detection signal detected by the encoder.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the ink jet printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a suction unit 61 that sucks the sheet P being conveyed on the platen 91 from the lower part of the platen 91.
The suction means 61 includes suction holes 63 and 64 arranged in the platen 91 in a region So wider than the maximum width Wo of the maximum size paper P among various paper sizes that can be printed by the ink jet printer 1, and these Suction ducts 66 and 67 communicating with the outside of the apparatus case, suction fans 68 and 69 provided in the middle of these suction ducts 66 and 67, and suction ducts 66 and 67. And mist capturing means 71 for capturing floating mist flowing into these ducts.

In the case of the present embodiment, of the suction holes 63 and 64 formed in the platen 91, the round suction hole 63 is equipped to suck the conveyed paper P and prevent it from being lifted. 1 are formed in a matrix at predetermined intervals within the range of the maximum width Wo of the maximum size paper P among the various paper sizes that can be printed.
On the other hand, the elongated hole-like suction hole 64 extending along the conveyance direction of the paper P is for sucking floating mist generated by the ejection of ink droplets from the print head 44, and is the largest of the largest size paper P. It is formed outside the range of the significant Wo.

In the present embodiment, the suction duct 66 is a paper suction duct that communicates with the suction holes 63 in the region corresponding to the width Wo of the paper P. The suction duct 67 is a mist suction duct that communicates with the suction hole 64 in a region corresponding to the outside of the width Wo of the paper P.
Note that a control device (not shown) that controls on / off of the operations of the pair of suction fans 68 and 69 provided in the suction ducts 66 and 67 in the present embodiment performs suction of a region corresponding to the width outside the paper P. It functions as a suction switching means that enables suction only from the hole 64.
In the case of this embodiment, the mist capturing means 71 uses a porous mist filter having air permeability.

In the ink jet printer 1, during the printing process in which the paper P is conveyed onto the platen 91, the suction operation by the suction holes 63 and 64 provided in the platen 91 is controlled based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. To do.
The flowchart of FIG. 6 controls the suction operation by the suction holes 63 and 64 according to the amount of feed in the transport direction of the paper P transported to the print head 44.

First, a length L (see FIG. 9) in the transport direction of the paper P is input (step S101).
Then, the suction fan 68 provided in the paper suction duct 66 is operated to switch the paper suction force from OFF to ON, and at the same time, the suction fan 69 provided in the mist suction duct 67 is stopped. Thus, the mist suction force is switched from ON to OFF (step S101).
Then, the sheet feed amount LF from the upstream end of the platen 91 (feed roller pair 41) based on the sheet detection of the PW sensor 47 mounted on the print head 44 is initialized (step S103).

In the next step S104, it is determined whether or not the feed amount LF of the paper P from the upstream end of the platen 91 is equal to or greater than the reference value Dfree. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the reference value Dfree is the interval between the paper feed roller pair 41 and the paper discharge roller pair 48. When the feed amount LF is less than the reference value Dfree, the paper P If the leading edge of the sheet does not reach the paper discharge roller pair 48 and the leading edge of the sheet is curled, the sheet may be lifted from the platen 91. In step S104, suction is performed only from the sheet suction duct 66 in the state set in step S102 until it is determined that the feed amount LF is equal to or greater than the reference value Dfree. That is, only the sheet suction is performed until the leading edge of the sheet P reaches the paper discharge roller pair 48.
If the leading edge of the paper P reaches the paper discharge roller pair 48 and it is determined in step S104 that LF ≧ Dfree, the setting of the suction operation is switched in the next step S105.

  In step S105, the suction fan 68 provided in the paper suction duct 66 is stopped, the paper suction force is switched from ON to OFF, and the suction fan 69 provided in the mist suction duct 67 is operated in parallel therewith. The mist suction force is switched from OFF to ON.

  Next, in the next step S106, it is determined whether or not the feed amount LF of the sheet P from the upstream end of the platen 91 has become L or more. In LF = L-Dfree, the rear end of the paper P reaches the paper feed roller pair 41, and in the subsequent paper conveyance, the rear end of the paper P is released from being nipped by the paper feed roller pair 41. When the trailing edge of the sheet is curled, there is a possibility that the sheet rises from the platen 91. If it is determined in step S106 that LF ≧ L-Dfree, the process proceeds to the next step S107.

In step S107, the sheet suction force is switched from OFF to ON, and the mist suction force is switched from ON to OFF. In other words, when the length Dfree of the trailing edge of the sheet is conveyed, the sheet P is sucked by the suction holes 63 of the platen 91.
When all the printing processes on the paper P are completed and the paper P is discharged (step S108), the process proceeds to the next step S109, and the suction fans 68 and 69 are stopped. After setting, both the sheet suction force and the mist suction force are switched to OFF, and the process ends.

The flowchart of FIG. 7 controls the suction operation by the suction holes 63 and 64 according to the case classification for the paper width of the paper P conveyed to the print head 44.
First, the left end position (Wleft) of the conveyed paper P is input by a PW sensor or the like mounted on the carriage 13 (step S201).
In the next step S202, the suction hole 63 on the right side of the paper left end position (Wleft) detected in step S201 is set for paper suction, and the suction hole 64 on the left side of the paper left end position (Wleft) is set for mist suction. Then, the suction fans 68 and 69 provided in the respective suction ducts are operated.

  The suction operation set in step S202 is continued until the printing is finished and the paper P is discharged to the paper discharge tray 6 (step S203).

  When printing is completed and the paper P is discharged to the paper discharge tray 6, the suction setting set in step S202 is canceled (step S204).

The ink jet printer 1 according to the present embodiment performs sheet suction and floating mist suction as follows under the control of the suction processing shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
That is, the suction holes 63 and 64 arranged on the platen 91 over an area wider than the maximum width of the paper P are hidden under the paper P conveyed on the platen 91 (that is, the width of the paper P). The suction holes 63 in the area of Wo) are operated for suction only while the front and rear ends of the paper P pass over the suction holes 63, and the suction holes 64 exposed on both sides of the paper P are The sheet P is sucked until it passes through the platen 91 and then passes through.
Then, the floating mist of the ink droplet generated in the apparatus by the ink ejection by the print head 44 and sucked into the suction hole 64 is guided to the mist capturing means 71 by the suction duct 67 connected to the suction hole 64, Captured and recovered.

  According to the ink jet printer 1 according to the first embodiment described above, on the platen 91, even if the paper P to be transported has the maximum width, both sides of the paper P are always blocked by the paper P. The suction hole 63 that is hidden under the transported paper P prevents the paper P from being lifted by sucking the paper P, and prevents the paper P from being lifted. Occurrence can be prevented.

The suction holes 64 exposed on both sides of the paper P suck and collect floating mist floating in the apparatus case by ejecting ink liquid from the print head 44, and each part in the apparatus case is soiled by the floating mist. To prevent that.
Since the suction ducts 66 and 67 are equipped with the mist capturing means 71, the floating mist sucked into the suction ducts 66 and 67 from the suction holes 63 and 64 is reliably captured by the mist capturing means 71, and the floating mist Is not discharged outside the device case and does not contaminate the environment around the device.

  That is, since the suction means 61 provided at the lower part of the platen 91 is used for both the suction of the paper P on the platen 91 and the floating mist collection, it is compared with the case where a dedicated suction means is provided for each application. Then, the arrangement of the suction holes and the suction duct is facilitated, and the suction of the paper P on the platen 91 and the collection of the floating mist can be realized without increasing the size and cost of the apparatus.

  Further, in the first embodiment, when a portion other than the leading edge and the trailing edge of the paper P is being transported, the suction to the paper P is stopped, thereby causing a failure due to the floating of the paper P on the platen 91. The sheet suction (processing object suction) for preventing the image can be realized with a small suction force. Further, since the sheet suction is limited to the leading end and the trailing end of the sheet P, the influence of an increase in the sliding load of the sheet P to be conveyed can be reduced, and the driving means for conveyance can be increased in size. Can be prevented.

  In the first embodiment, the suction within the width of the paper P is controlled by the on / off control of the suction fan 68 provided in the paper suction duct 66 communicating with the suction hole 63 in the area corresponding to the width of the paper P. The suction operation from the hole 63 can be turned on / off independently of the mist suction side, and the suction switching that enables suction only from the suction hole 64 in the region corresponding to the outside of the width of the paper P can be facilitated. it can.

  In the first embodiment, the dedicated mist capturing means 71 including a mist filter is provided for each of the suction ducts 66 and 67, so that the floating mist sucked from the suction holes 63 and 64 can be reliably captured and collected. It is possible to prevent fouling due to adhesion of floating mist inside and outside the device case.

  In the ink jet printer 1, when a small size paper P is printed, a part of the suction hole 63 arranged in accordance with the maximum size paper width is not hidden by the paper and exposed. The suction hole 63 sucks the floating mist when the sheet is sucked. However, since the paper suction duct 66 communicating with the suction hole 63 is also equipped with the mist capturing means 71, the floating mist is not released to the outside.

  FIG. 8 is a side sectional view for explaining a sheet conveyance path in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a plan view of the platen and the sheet conveyed to the platen shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 9.

  The ink jet printer according to the second embodiment is equipped with suction means 73 instead of the suction means 61 shown in the first embodiment, and the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. About a common structure, a same sign is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The suction means 73 of the second embodiment sucks the paper P being conveyed from the lower part of the platen 91. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the suction means 73 is one of various paper sizes that can be printed by the printer. Suction holes 63 and 64 arranged in the platen 91 in a region So wider than the maximum width Wo of the maximum size paper P, and a single suction duct 75 communicating these suction holes 63 and 64 with the outside of the apparatus case. A suction fan 76 provided in the middle of the suction duct 75, a mist capturing means 77 provided in the suction duct 75 for capturing floating mist flowing into the duct, and an area corresponding to the width outside the paper P And a variable shutter 78 as a suction switching means that enables suction only from the suction hole 64.

Since the suction holes 63 and 64 formed in the platen 91 are common to the suction holes 63 and 64 of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
Unlike the suction ducts 66 and 67 of the first embodiment, the suction duct 75 is not divided for sheet suction and mist suction, and is a single one. The mist capturing unit 77 uses a mist filter in the same manner as the mist capturing unit 71 of the first embodiment.

The variable shutter 78 is a plate material that is slidable along the paper width direction (the direction of arrow C in FIG. 10) on the lower surface side of the platen 91, and communicates with the variable shutter 78 corresponding to the arrangement of the suction holes 63 on the platen 91. A hole 79 is formed.
Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the variable shutter 78 slides in the paper width direction by a half of the interval p between the suction holes 63 adjacent in the paper width direction. Is selectively switched to a state in which the suction hole 63 is closed or a state in which the suction hole 63 is closed.

  That is, the variable shutter 78 allows the suction hole 63 to communicate with the suction duct 75 when the leading end and the trailing end of the sheet P become free on the platen 91, and the sheet suction is turned on so that the sheet does not have to be lifted. When the intermediate portion of P is conveyed on the platen 91, the suction hole 63 is closed and the sheet suction is turned off.

In the printer provided with the suction means 73 of the second embodiment, the suction hole 63 located within the width of the paper P is opened and closed by the sliding operation of the variable shutter 78 slidably provided below the platen 91. The suction operation from the suction hole 63 within the width of the paper P can be turned on / off, and the suction switching that enables suction only from the suction hole 64 in the region corresponding to outside the width of the paper P is relatively simple. It can be realized with a mechanism.
Further, since the single suction duct 75 and the suction fan 76 are used for both the sheet suction and the mist suction, it is possible to avoid the redundant installation of the suction duct and the suction fan, simplify the structure, reduce the cost, and reduce the size of the apparatus. Can also be achieved.

In each of the embodiments described above, a mist filter is used as the mist capturing means, but a recovery tank may be provided instead of the mist filter.
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention includes a color material ejecting head, an organic EL display, and an FED (surface emitting display) used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, including the ink jet printer exemplified in the above embodiment. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejecting apparatus using a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid, such as an electrode material ejecting head used for electrode formation, a bioorganic matter ejecting head used for biochip manufacturing, a sample ejecting apparatus as a precision pipette, etc. .

1 is an external perspective view of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the liquid ejecting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 with a paper discharge tray and an upper case removed. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a sheet conveyance path in the liquid ejecting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the platen shown in FIG. 3 and a sheet conveyed to the platen. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operation control for the sheet feeding amount of the suction unit shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operation control for the sheet width of the suction means shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a sheet conveyance path in a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the platen illustrated in FIG. 8 and a sheet conveyed to the platen. It is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet printer (liquid ejecting apparatus), 2 ... Upper case, 3 ... Lower case, 4 ... Device case, 5 ... Paper cassette, 6 ... Paper discharge tray, 11 ... Conveyance mechanism, 13 ... Carriage, 14 ... Carriage motor , 44 ... print head (liquid ejecting head), 50 ... carriage drive mechanism, 52, 53 ... carriage shaft, 61 ... suction means 61, 63 ... suction hole, 64 ... suction hole, 66, 67 ... suction duct, 68, 69 ... Suction fan, 71 ... Mist capturing means, 73 ... Suction means, 75 ... Suction duct, 76 ... Suction fan, 77 ... Mist capturing means, 78 ... Variable shutter, 79 ... Communication hole, 91 ... Platen

Claims (7)

A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a processing liquid from a liquid ejecting head that is reciprocated in a direction substantially orthogonal to a transport direction with respect to an object to be transported on a platen,
A suction means for sucking the object to be processed from the lower part of the platen,
Suction holes arranged in the platen in a region wider than the maximum width of the workpiece;
A suction duct communicating the suction hole and the outside of the device case;
A suction fan provided in the suction duct;
Mist capturing means provided in the suction duct for capturing floating mist;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:   2. The liquid according to claim 1, wherein the suction unit includes a suction switching unit that enables suction only from the suction hole in a region corresponding to the width outside the workpiece to be conveyed on the platen. Injection device.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the suction switching unit includes a variable shutter that opens and closes the suction hole in a region corresponding to a width of the workpiece to be conveyed.   The suction switching means includes a workpiece suction duct that communicates with the suction hole in a region corresponding to the width of the workpiece, and a mist that communicates with the suction hole of a region corresponding to the width outside the workpiece. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a suction duct, and a pair of suction fans provided in each of the suction ducts.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mist capturing unit includes a recovery tank.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mist capturing unit includes a mist filter. A processing liquid mist recovery method in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a processing liquid from a liquid ejecting head that is reciprocally moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction with respect to an object to be transported on a platen,
Of the suction holes arranged on the platen over an area wider than the maximum width of the workpiece, the suction holes in the area hidden under the workpiece to be transported on the platen are The suction hole is activated only during a period in which the front end portion and the rear end portion of the treatment object pass over the suction hole, and the treatment object enters the platen through the suction holes exposed on both sides of the treatment object. Until it finishes passing,
The process liquid mist collection method, wherein the floating mist sucked into the suction hole is captured and collected.

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