JP2009241366A - Liquid discharge apparatus and cleaning method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

In an ink jet printer using pigment ink and dye ink, deterioration in cleaning performance due to unwiping of the pigment ink is prevented.
An ink jet printer includes a wiper blade for cleaning a discharge surface of a recording head, and a blade cleaner for cleaning the wiper blade. The blade cleaner 40 is attached to the support mechanism 41. The support mechanism 41 moves the blade cleaner 40 between a first position in contact with the wiper blade 36 and a second position in contact with the absorber. When the blade cleaner 40 moves to the second position, the support mechanism 41 makes the cam 65 contact the support shaft 55 and tilts the blade cleaner 40 so that the position of the dye ink is higher than the position of the pigment ink. . Thereby, each ink is mixed on the wiping surface 40a, and the pigment ink is dissolved and easily absorbed by the absorber.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus that wipes off pigment ink and dye ink adhering to an ejection surface of a liquid ejection means with a wiping member, and a cleaning method thereof.

  An ink jet printer is known as one of liquid ejecting apparatuses. The ink jet printer includes an ink ejection type recording head provided with an ejection port for ejecting ink. The ink is ejected as droplets from the recording head and is attached to a recording medium to record an image. An ink cartridge for storing ink is detachably attached to the ink jet printer. The ink jet printer supplies ink from the ink cartridge to the recording head. The recording head includes, for example, a nozzle having a discharge port and a diaphragm driven by a piezo element. The recording head draws ink from the ink cartridge to the nozzle and ejects it from the ejection port using a pressure change caused by vibration of the diaphragm.

  In such an ink jet printer, for example, when ink thickened by drying adheres to the vicinity of the ejection opening of the recording head or foreign matter such as paper dust or dust from the recording medium adheres, the ejection opening becomes clogged. It becomes a cause of ejection failure such that ink is not ejected or ink is ejected in an unintended direction. Further, when bubbles enter the inside of the nozzle, the ink discharge state from the discharge port becomes unstable.

  For this reason, many ink jet printers have a capping mechanism that covers the discharge surface of the recording head during recording standby or storage, such as during storage, and prevents the ink from drying near the discharge port, or a cap. By driving a suction pump connected to the cap in a state, a suction recovery mechanism that sucks and removes the thickened ink and bubbles in the nozzle together with the ink, and a wiper blade formed of an elastic material such as rubber A wiping mechanism for wiping off dirt such as unnecessary ink and paper dust adhering to the ejection surface by sliding on the ejection surface is provided, and the recording head is cleaned as necessary.

  In the wiping mechanism as described above, if the wiped dirt is left attached to the wiper blade, the ink is solidified and the cleaning performance of the wiper blade is deteriorated. In order to prevent this, the ink jet printer described in Patent Document 1 absorbs and removes dirt adhering to the wiper blade with a wiper foam that slides on the wiper blade, and cleans the wiper foam that has absorbed the dirt with a cleaner. Thus, the cleaning performance of the wiper blade is maintained.

  In recent years, ink jet printers that record color images by ejecting black, yellow, magenta, and cyan inks have also appeared. Generally, pigment ink is used for black ink. On the other hand, dye ink is used for yellow, magenta, and cyan color inks. In this case, the pigment ink has a problem that the time until the ink is thickened or solidified is shorter than that of the dye ink, and the absorbability with respect to an absorbent body such as a wiper foam is poor, so that wiping residue is likely to occur. If the ink that has been wiped off adheres to the wiper blade, the cleaning performance deteriorates as described above. In addition, if the ink fixed to the wiper blade is forcibly scraped off with a wiper foam or the like, the wiper blade or the wiper foam may be damaged.

In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 2 includes a wiping mechanism for pigment ink and a wiping mechanism for dye ink. The wiping mechanism for pigment ink wipes the discharge surface of the dye ink, thereby wiping the wiper for pigment ink. It is described that the pigment ink fixed to the wiper blade for pigment ink is dissolved with the dye ink by attaching the dye ink to the blade. If the pigment ink is dissolved in this way, the absorbability with respect to the absorber is improved, so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in cleaning performance due to unwiping.
JP-A-9-234878 JP 2002-103646 A

  However, if the dye ink discharge surface is wiped by the pigment ink wiping mechanism as in Patent Document 2, the pigment ink adheres to the dye ink discharge surface, which may cause unnecessary color mixing. In the configuration of Patent Document 2, the recording head is moved from the state where the dye ink ejection surface and the dye ink suction recovery mechanism face each other to the state where the dye ink ejection surface and the pigment ink wiping mechanism face each other. There is also a problem that it takes time for cleaning because it must be moved.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a liquid ejection apparatus such as an ink jet printer using pigment ink and dye ink, unnecessary color mixing of pigment ink and dye ink, and longer cleaning time. The purpose of the present invention is to prevent the cleaning performance from being deteriorated due to unwiping of the pigment ink.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid discharge apparatus according to the present invention includes a liquid discharge unit having a discharge surface provided with a pigment ink discharge unit for discharging pigment ink and a dye ink discharge unit for discharging dye ink, and the discharge A first wiping member for wiping the ink adhering to the surface; and a second wiping member having a wiping surface for wiping the ink adhering to the first wiping member by contacting the first wiping member And an ink mixing means for mixing the inks on the wiping surface by moving the dye ink adhering to the wiping surface to the pigment ink side along the wiping surface. Features.

  The ink mixing means may move the dye ink to the pigment ink side by tilting the second wiping member so that the position of the dye ink is higher than the position of the pigment ink. preferable.

  Further, a recovery means for recovering each ink attached to the wiping surface by contacting the wiping surface, a first position for bringing the wiping surface into contact with the first wiping member, and the recovery means An ink collecting moving means for moving the second wiping member between the second position for contacting the wiping surface, and the ink mixing means is configured such that the ink collecting moving means is in the first position. It is preferable that the second wiping member is tilted while the second wiping member is moved from the second position to the second position.

  Further, the second wiping member is formed in a substantially rectangular thin plate shape, and has a support shaft formed so as to protrude from both end surfaces on the short side, and the ink mixing means includes the support shaft A rotary shaft that is substantially parallel to the rotary shaft, and a long hole that is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft, and that engages with the support shaft. A pair of arms for attaching a member to the rotary shaft; biasing means for biasing the second wiping member so as to attract the rotary shaft; and attached to the rotary shaft and rotating about the rotary shaft. When the second wiping member moves from the first position to the second position, the second wiping member comes into contact with the second wiping member and follows the elongated hole against the urging force of the urging means. It is preferable to comprise a cam that tilts the second wiping member by being moved.

  The first wiping member has an ejection surface cleaning moving means for causing the first wiping member to wipe the ejection surface by moving the first wiping member in parallel, and the ink collection moving means includes the ejection surface. It is preferable to move the second wiping member between the first position and the second position by transmitting the driving force of the cleaning moving means to the second wiping member.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the arrangement direction of each said discharge part and the wiping direction of a said 1st wiping member are substantially orthogonal.

  Furthermore, the liquid discharge apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid discharge means having a discharge surface provided with a pigment ink discharge portion for discharging pigment ink and a dye ink discharge portion for discharging dye ink, and the above-mentioned liquid discharge means attached to the discharge surface. A first wiping member for wiping off each ink, and a wiping surface for wiping off each ink adhering to the first wiping member by contacting with the first wiping member, from the position of the wiped pigment ink The wiped surface is inclined so that the position of the wiped dye ink is higher, and a lower end portion of the wiping surface is formed, and the dye ink is moved to the pigment ink side along the lower end portion, thereby wiping the dye ink. The structure which provides the 2nd wiping member which mixes each said ink on the surface may be sufficient.

  The cleaning method of the present invention includes a liquid discharge means having a discharge surface provided with a pigment ink discharge portion that discharges pigment ink and a dye ink discharge portion that discharges dye ink, and each of the above attached to the discharge surface. A first wiping member for wiping ink, a second wiping member having a wiping surface for wiping the ink adhering to the first wiping member by contacting the first wiping member, and the wiping surface A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a collecting unit that collects each ink adhering to the wiping surface by contact; wiping the ink adhering to the ejection surface with the first wiping member; A step of wiping the ink adhering to the wiping member with the second wiping member, and causing the dye ink adhering to the wiping surface to travel on the wiping surface By moving the pigment ink side, and having a step of mixing the respective ink on the wiping surface, and recovering said intermingled each ink in the collecting means.

  In the present invention, the ink mixing means for mixing the inks on the wiping surface is provided by moving the dye ink adhering to the wiping surface of the second wiping member along the wiping surface to the pigment ink side. Accordingly, the pigment ink is dissolved by the dye ink and is easily absorbed by the absorber or the like, so that it is possible to prevent the cleaning performance from being deteriorated due to unwiping of the pigment ink. Further, since different inks do not adhere to the pigment ink discharge portion and the dye ink discharge portion, unnecessary color mixing is not caused by cleaning. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to move the recording head or the like in order to dissolve the pigment ink, there is no need to increase the cleaning time.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of an ink jet printer (liquid ejection device) 2. The ink jet printer 2 includes a recording unit 4 provided with a recording head (liquid ejecting means) 12 for recording an image by ejecting and adhering ink to a paper 10, and an ejection surface 12a of the recording head 12 (see FIG. 2). A head cleaning unit 6 that performs the above-described cleaning, and a controller 8 that comprehensively controls each unit of the inkjet printer 2.

  The recording unit 4 includes a carriage 13 to which the recording head 12 is attached, a pair of guide bars 14 and 15, and a head moving mechanism 16. Further, the recording unit 4 has a transport roller (not shown) that feeds the paper 10 in the sub-scanning direction indicated by Y in the drawing. The guide bars 14 and 15 are arranged substantially in parallel with the width direction of the paper 10 (hereinafter referred to as the main scanning direction) indicated by X in the drawing. The head moving mechanism 16 includes a pair of pulleys 17, an endless belt 18 wound around each pulley 17, and a motor 19 that rotationally drives one pulley 17. The motor 19 is connected to the controller 8 and rotationally drives the pulley 17 in accordance with a drive signal from the controller 8.

  The carriage 13 is slidably attached to the guide rods 14 and 15. The carriage 13 is connected to an endless belt 18. The head moving mechanism 16 moves the carriage 13 in the main scanning direction by rotating the pulley 17 by the motor 19 and rotating the endless belt 18 following the pulley 17.

  Under the control of the controller 8, the recording unit 4 performs line recording of an image while reciprocating the recording head 12 together with the carriage 13 in the main scanning direction. The controller 8 drives the transport roller every time the recording head 12 reciprocates in the main scanning direction, and feeds the paper 10 in the sub-scanning direction by the recording width of the recording head 12. By repeating this operation, an image for one screen is recorded on the paper 10.

  At one end of the head moving mechanism 16, an area where the recording head 12 and the paper 10 do not face each other (hereinafter referred to as a home position) is provided. The controller 8 holds the carriage 13 at the home position during non-recording such as when the power is turned off or during recording standby.

  The carriage 13 is formed with a slot (not shown). The slot has a first ink cartridge 20B containing black ink, a second ink cartridge 20Y containing yellow ink, a third ink cartridge 20M containing magenta ink, and a fourth ink cartridge containing cyan ink. Four ink cartridges 20B, 20Y, 20M, and 20C of 20C are detachably attached.

  Pigment ink is used as the black ink contained in the first ink cartridge 20B. On the other hand, dye ink is used for the yellow, magenta, and cyan color inks stored in the second to fourth ink cartridges 20Y, 20M, and 20C.

  In the slot, four ink supply needles (not shown) corresponding to the ink cartridges 20B, 20Y, 20M, and 20C are provided. Each ink supply needle is formed in a pipe shape like an injection needle and constitutes a part of a flow path for feeding ink to the recording head 12. When each of the ink cartridges 20B, 20Y, 20M, and 20C is inserted into the slot, the ink supply needle is inserted into the ink take-out portion 21 provided at the bottom of the ink cartridges 20B, 20Y, 20M, and 20C. The ink stored in each of the ink cartridges 20B, 20Y, 20M, and 20C is supplied to the recording head 12 via the ink take-out portion 21 and the ink supply needle.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 13 b for exposing the ejection surface 12 a of the recording head 12 is formed on the bottom surface 13 a of the carriage 13. The recording head 12 exposes the ejection surface 12 a substantially flush with the bottom surface 13 a of the carriage 13. The recording head 12 includes a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink supplied from the ink cartridges 20B, 20Y, 20M, and 20C. On the discharge surface 12a, the discharge port 24 of each nozzle is exposed.

  Each ejection port 24 has a black ejection port group (pigment ink ejection unit) 26B that ejects black ink supplied from the first ink cartridge 20B in order from the left when viewed from the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction, and a second ink. Yellow discharge port group (dye ink discharge unit) 26Y for discharging yellow ink supplied from the cartridge 20Y, and magenta discharge port group (dye ink discharge unit) for discharging magenta ink supplied from the third ink cartridge 20M ) 26M, a cyan discharge port group (dye ink discharge portion) 26C for discharging cyan ink supplied from the fourth ink cartridge 20C. The discharge port groups 26B, 26Y, 26M, and 26C are arranged along the main scanning direction.

  The recording head 12 is provided with a vibration plate driven by a piezoelectric element corresponding to each nozzle. The recording head 12 sucks ink by a pressure change in the flow path due to vibration of the vibration plate and ejects the ink from the ejection port 24. The recording head 12 records a color image on the paper 10 by ejecting ink of each color from each ejection port 24 of each ejection port group 26B, 26Y, 26M, and 26C.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the head cleaning unit 6 includes a wiper unit 30 that wipes off dirt such as ink and paper dust attached to the ejection surface 12 a of the recording head 12 with a wiper blade (first wiping member) 36, and the wiper blade 36. A blade cleaning unit 32 that cleans the wiper blade 36 by wiping off dirt adhering to the nozzles, and a suction recovery unit 34 that prevents clogging of each nozzle provided in the recording head 12. Each part of the head cleaning unit 6 is disposed at the home position. The ejection surface 12a is cleaned by the head cleaning unit 6 at a predetermined timing, for example, before or after image recording or when the head cleaning is instructed by the user.

  The wiper unit 30 includes a wiper blade 36 and a moving mechanism (discharge surface cleaning moving means) 37. The wiper blade 36 is formed in a substantially rectangular thin plate shape so that one side end portion (hereinafter referred to as an upper end portion) of the longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to the main scanning direction and is substantially perpendicular to the ejection surface 12a. Has been placed. The wiper blade 36 is formed such that the length of the upper end portion is slightly longer than the width of the ejection surface 12a in the main scanning direction. The wiper blade 36 is made of an elastic material such as rubber.

  The moving mechanism 37 moves the wiper blade 36 between the initial position positioned downstream of the recording head 12 in the sub-scanning direction and the wiping end position positioned upstream of the recording head 12 in the sub-scanning direction. Translate to. The moving mechanism 37 is connected to the controller 8. The moving mechanism 37 normally holds the wiper blade 36 at the initial position, and moves the wiper blade 36 to the wiping end position in accordance with an instruction from the controller 8. Then, after the wiper blade 36 is moved to the wiping end position, the wiper blade 36 is returned to the initial position.

  When the wiper blade 36 moves between the initial position and the wiping position, the wiper blade 36 contacts the discharge surface 12a so that the upper end portion thereof is slightly elastically deformed. The wiper unit 30 moves the wiper blade 36 in parallel and slides on the discharge surface 12a, thereby wiping off dirt such as ink and paper dust attached to the discharge surface 12a.

  The blade cleaning unit 32 includes a blade cleaner (second wiping member) 40 formed into a substantially rectangular thin plate shape by an elastic material such as rubber, and a support mechanism (ink mixing unit, ink collecting unit) that supports the blade cleaner 40. (Moving means) 41 and an absorbent body (collecting means) 42 composed of a sponge or a porous body. The blade cleaner 40 is disposed so as to face the wiper blade 36 on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the recording head 12 and on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the wipe end position of the wiper blade 36.

  The blade cleaner 40 comes into contact with the wiper blade 36 that moves to the wiping end position by driving the moving mechanism 37, thereby wiping off ink or the like adhering to the wiper blade 36 and cleaning the wiper blade 36.

  The support mechanism 41 supports the blade cleaner 40 and rotates the blade cleaner 40 around the main scanning direction as a rotation axis so that the wiping surface 40a of the blade cleaner 40 contacts the wiper blade 36 (solid line in the figure). And a second position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in the drawing) where the wiping surface 40a is in contact with the absorbent body 42 is moved. The support mechanism 41 moves the blade cleaner 40 to the second position after the blade cleaner 40 cleans the wiper blade 36. As a result, dirt such as ink adhering to the blade cleaner 40 is absorbed by the absorber 42 and the blade cleaner 40 is cleaned.

  The suction recovery unit 34 includes a cap 45, an elevating mechanism 46, and a pump 47. The cap 45 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped open box shape having a recess 45a. The cap 45 is made of an elastic material such as rubber. The cap 45 is disposed so as to face the ejection surface 12a of the recording head 12 moved to the home position. The elevating mechanism 46 moves the cap 45 in the vertical direction. The cap 45 is driven by the elevating mechanism 46 to move between a position that contacts the discharge surface 12a and seals the discharge surface 12a and a position that retreats from the discharge surface 12a and allows the recording head 12 to move. . The suction recovery unit 34 prevents the ink in the nozzles from drying by sealing the ejection surface 12a with the cap 45 during non-recording.

  The pump 47 is connected to the cap 45 through a pipe. The pump 47 sucks ink in a thickened state from each nozzle provided in the recording head 12 by setting the pressure in the recess 45a to a negative pressure while the cap 45 seals the ejection surface 12a. Prevent clogging. The lifting mechanism 46 and the pump 47 are connected to the controller 8. The controller 8 controls the clogging prevention operation of each nozzle by the suction recovery unit 34.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the wiper unit 30 and the blade cleaning unit 32. The wiper blade 36 is attached to the base member 50. A connection part 50a is formed at one end of the base member 50, and a rack gear 52 is attached via the connection part 50a. The rack gear 52 is attached to the base member 50 so that its longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to the sub-scanning direction. Further, a flat portion 52a where no gear is formed is provided at one end of the rack gear 52 on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction. The flat portion 52a is formed to the downstream side of the wiper blade 36 in the sub-scanning direction.

  The blade cleaner 40 is provided with a support shaft 55 formed in a quadrangular prism shape at one end on the long side. The support shaft 55 is formed so as to protrude from both ends on the short side of the blade cleaner 40. The support mechanism 41 includes a pair of arms 60 and 61 that engage with both ends of the support shaft 55, and a rotation shaft 62 that supports the arms 60 and 61. Each arm 60, 61 is formed with a substantially rectangular slot 60a, 61a through which the support shaft 55 is inserted. Each arm 60, 61 is rotatably supported on a rotating shaft 62 via a bearing or the like. The rotation shaft 62 is disposed substantially parallel to the main scanning direction and is fixed to a support member (not shown).

  The blade cleaner 40 is rotatably supported by the rotary shaft 62 via the arms 60 and 61 by the engagement of the support shaft 55 and the long holes 60a and 61a. The blade cleaner 40 and the arms 60 and 61 are normally held at a first position depending on the vertical direction as shown in FIG. The blade cleaner 40 is substantially parallel to the wiper blade 36 in the first position. Further, the height of the blade cleaner 40 is determined so that the lower end portion of the blade cleaner 40 is in contact with the upper end portion of the wiper blade 36 in the first position.

  A pair of coil springs (biasing means) 63 and 64 are attached between the support shaft 55 and the rotation shaft 62. The coil spring 63 is attached in the vicinity of the middle between the one end face on the short side of the blade cleaner 40 and the arm 60. Similarly, the coil spring 64 is attached in the vicinity of the middle between the other end face on the short side of the blade cleaner 40 and the arm 61. Each of the coil springs 63 and 64 urges the blade cleaner 40 to attract the rotating shaft 62. Thus, the blade cleaner 40 is held in a state where the support shaft 55 is in contact with the rear end surface of each arm 60, 61 of each of the long holes 60a, 61a (the state shown in FIG. 3).

  The rotating shaft 62 is provided with a cam 65 and a gear 66 formed in a substantially egg shape. The cam 65 is fixed so that the long axis faces the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction and forms an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. Further, the cam 65 is disposed between the arms 60 and 61 and close to the arm 60 side (left side as viewed from the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction).

  The diameter of the cam 65 is adjusted so as not to contact the blade cleaner 40 in the first position. The cam 65 contacts the support shaft 55 of the blade cleaner 40 when the blade cleaner 40 and the arms 60 and 61 rotate about the rotation shaft 62. When the support shaft 55 and the cam 65 come into contact with each other, the blade cleaner 40 is guided to the long holes 60a and 61a and moves toward the distal end side of the arms 60 and 61 against the bias of the coil springs 63 and 64. At this time, since the cam 65 is disposed close to the arm 60 side, the blade cleaner 40 rotates about the direction substantially orthogonal to the wiping surface 40a, so that the arm 61 side is higher than the arm 60 side. Tilt (see FIG. 11).

  The gear 66 is disposed outside each arm 60, 61 and close to the arm 60. The gear 66 is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 62 via a bearing or the like. The gear 66 is provided with an engaging member 67 that engages with the arm 60. The engaging member 67 is formed in a substantially quadrangular prism shape and engages with the side surface of the arm 60 on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction. As a result, as indicated by the arrow A, when the gear 66 rotates in the clockwise direction when viewed from the arm 60 side, the engagement between the engagement member 67 and the arm 60 causes the arms 60 and 61 and the blade cleaner 40 to move. Follow and rotate clockwise.

  The gear 66 meshes with the gear 68. The gear 68 is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 69 via a bearing or the like. The rotating shaft 69 is disposed substantially parallel to the rotating shaft 62 and is fixed to a support member (not shown). The gears 66 and 68 have the same diameter and position in the main scanning direction so that the gear 68 meshes with the rack gear 52 when the wiper blade 36 moves to the wiping end position.

  When the gear 68 meshes with the rack gear 52 that moves to the wiping end position, as indicated by the arrow B, the gear 68 rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the arm 60 side. When the gear 68 rotates counterclockwise, the gear 66 meshing with the gear 68 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow A. When the gear 66 rotates in the clockwise direction, the arms 60 and 61 and the blade cleaner 40 rotate in the clockwise direction by the engagement between the engaging member 67 and the arm 60 as described above.

  As described above, the support mechanism 41 transmits the driving force of the moving mechanism 37 to the blade cleaner 40 via the rack gear 52, the gears 66 and 68, and the engaging member 67, thereby rotating the blade cleaner 40, and The blade cleaner 40 is moved between the position and the second position. Further, the blade cleaner 40 that has moved to the second position returns to the first position in a procedure opposite to that described above, as the wiper blade 36 moves from the wiping end position to the initial position.

  The support mechanism 41 is provided with a stopper 70. The stopper 70 is formed in a quadrangular prism shape, and one end thereof is fixed to a support member (not shown). The stopper 70 regulates the rotation of the arm 61 by engaging with the side surface of the arm 61 on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction. As a result, the blade cleaner 40 and the arms 60 and 61 are subjected to a counterclockwise rotational force indicated by an arrow B by the contact between the wiper blade 36 and the blade cleaner 40 that move to the wiping end position. Rotation to the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction from the first position is prevented.

  Next, the operation of the inkjet printer 2 configured as described above will be described with reference to the operation diagrams of FIGS. 4 to 8, the illustration of the arm 61, the coil springs 63 and 64, and the stopper 70 is omitted for the sake of convenience. When the inkjet printer 2 is in a recording standby state, as shown in FIG. 4, the wiper blade 36 is held at the initial position downstream of the recording head 12 in the sub-scanning direction, and the blade cleaner 40 is held at the first position. Is done. When in the recording standby state, the recording head 12 is disposed at a position facing the cap 45 of the suction recovery unit 34 and is held in a state where the ejection surface 12 a is sealed by the cap 45.

  When the controller 8 is in the recording standby state and is instructed to clean the ejection surface 12 a of the recording head 12, the controller 8 first drives the pump 47 to suck unnecessary ink from each nozzle provided in the recording head 12. To do. When the controller 8 sucks unnecessary ink, the controller 8 drives the lifting mechanism 46 to retract the cap 45 from the ejection surface 12a. Then, the motor 19 is driven to move the recording head 12 to a position facing the wiper blade 36.

  When the recording head 12 is moved, the controller 8 drives the movement mechanism 37 to start the movement of the wiper blade 36 at the initial position to the wiping end position. When the wiper blade 36 starts to move to the wiping end position, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the wiper blade 36 is brought into contact with the discharge surface 12a, and the dirt adhering to the discharge surface 12a is wiped off.

  As described above, the ejection port groups 26B, 26Y, 26M, and 26C formed on the ejection surface 12a of the recording head 12 are arranged along the main scanning direction (see FIGS. 2 and 9). Accordingly, the wiper blade 36 moving in the sub-scanning direction wipes the ejection surface 12a in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the ejection port groups 26B, 26Y, 26M, and 26C. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the black ink 80B, the yellow ink 80Y, the magenta ink 80M, and the cyan ink 80C are attached to the wiper blade 36, respectively. By wiping the ejection surface 12a in this manner, unnecessary color mixing due to cleaning, for example, black ink entering the ejection ports 24 of the yellow ejection port group 26Y is prevented.

  The wiper blade 36 wipes off the dirt on the discharge surface 12a, and then brings its tip into contact with the lower end of the blade cleaner 40 as shown in FIG. In this state, the gear 68 faces the flat portion 52 a of the rack gear 52, and the driving force of the moving mechanism 37 is not transmitted to the blade cleaner 40. Further, the blade cleaner 40 is prevented from rotating upstream of the first position in the sub-scanning direction due to the engagement between the arm 61 and the stopper 70. Thereby, the dirt adhering to the wiper blade 36 is wiped off by the blade cleaner 40 held at the first position.

  As shown in FIG. 10, inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C of each color adhere to the wiping surface 40a of the blade cleaner 40 from which the dirt has been wiped off. The inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C for the respective colors are arranged in the same order as the ejection port groups 26B, 26Y, 26M, and 26C, and the black ink 80B that is a pigment ink is located at the left end when viewed from the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction. It is attached.

  When the wiper blade 36 passes through the blade cleaner 40, the rack gear 52 and the gear 68 mesh with each other. The gear 68 rotates counterclockwise by meshing with the rack gear 52. When the gear 68 rotates counterclockwise, the gear 66 that meshes with the gear 68 rotates clockwise. When the gear 66 rotates clockwise, the arms 60 and 61 and the blade cleaner 40 rotate clockwise as shown in FIG. 7 due to the engagement between the engagement member 67 and the arm 60.

  When the blade cleaner 40 rotates clockwise, the support shaft 55 and the cam 65 come into contact with each other, and the blade cleaner 40 tilts so that the arm 61 side is higher than the arm 60 side, as shown in FIG. As a result, the color inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C attached to the blade cleaner 40 are higher in the positions of the color inks 80Y, 80M, and 80C than the positions of the black ink 80B.

  When the blade cleaner 40 is tilted in this way, the color inks 80Y, 80M, and 80C move toward the black ink 80B along the wiping surface 40a, and the inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C of the respective colors move to the wiping surface 40a. Mix together.

  When the wiper blade 36 moves to the wiping end position, as shown in FIG. 8, the blade cleaner 40 rotates approximately 90 degrees from the first position and moves to the second position, and the wiping surface 40 a of the blade cleaner 40 absorbs the absorber 42. To touch. At this time, since the cam 65 is fixed so as to form an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction, when the blade cleaner 40 moves to the second position, the contact between the support shaft 55 and the cam 65 is released. The wiping surface 40a and the absorber 42 are in contact with each other with the inclination corrected. The absorber 42 absorbs the mixed ink 82 mixed on the wiping surface 40a to clean the blade cleaner 40. Thus, the dirt wiped off from the ejection surface 12a is finally collected by the absorber 42.

  Thus, the cleaning of the ejection surface 12a is completed. When the cleaning of the discharge surface 12 a is completed, the controller 8 returns the wiper blade 36 moved to the wiping end position to the initial position, moves the recording head 12 to a position facing the cap 45, and moves the discharge surface 12 a with the cap 45. Seal.

  In general, the time for thickening or solidifying the pigment ink is shorter than that for the dye ink. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, when the wiping surface 40a of the blade cleaner 40 is brought into contact with the absorber 42 in a state where the inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C of the respective colors are individually attached, the black ink that is the pigment ink There is a concern that 80B is not normally absorbed by the absorber 42 and the remaining ink 80B is solidified on the wiping surface 40a. When the ink is solidified on the wiping surface 40a, the cleaning performance of the blade cleaner 40 is lowered and the cleaning performance of the wiper blade 36 is lowered accordingly. As a result, the ejection surface 12a cannot be properly cleaned. .

  In contrast, in the present embodiment, the inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C of the respective colors are mixed on the wiping surface 40a. When the inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C of the respective colors are mixed, the black ink 80B that is the pigment ink is dissolved by the color inks 80Y, 80M, and 80C that are the dye inks, so that they are easily absorbed by the absorber 42. . Accordingly, the black ink 80B is prevented from solidifying on the wiping surface 40a, so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in the cleaning performance of the blade cleaner 40 and the wiper blade 36. Further, in the present embodiment, since the inks are mixed while the blade cleaner 40 moves from the first position to the second position, there is no need to increase the cleaning time.

  In the above embodiment, the blade cleaner 40 is moved between the first position and the second position by transmitting the driving force of the moving mechanism 37 to the blade cleaner 40. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Driving means such as a motor and an actuator may be provided separately, and the blade cleaner 40 may be moved by the driving force of the driving means. Further, when the blade cleaner 40 is moved using the driving means, the blade cleaner 40 may be moved to the second position after being stopped for a predetermined time while being tilted. In this way, the pigment ink can be more reliably dissolved. Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the blade cleaner 40 was rotationally moved between the 1st position and the 2nd position, you may move linearly between each position, without restricting to this.

  In the above-described embodiment, the absorber 42 is shown as the collecting unit. However, the collecting unit is not limited to this, and for example, the ink 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C may be sucked by a pump or the like. In the above embodiment, the black ink 80B is a pigment ink, and the color inks 80Y, 80M, and 80C are dye inks. However, the color of the pigment ink and the dye ink is not limited to this, and may be any color. It's okay.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each ink cartridge 20B, 20Y, 20M, 20C is attached to one recording head 12, and each recording head 12 discharges each color. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A recording head may be provided for each color. However, when using a plurality of recording heads, the ejection surfaces of the recording heads must be substantially flush.

  In the configuration of the above embodiment, the wiper blade 36 and the blade cleaner 40 are in contact with each other when the blade cleaner 40 returns from the second position to the first position. When this contact affects the durability of the wiper blade 36 or the blade cleaner 40, for example, a lifting mechanism or the like is provided on one of the wiper blade 36 and the blade cleaner 40 so as not to contact when returning to the first position. Alternatively, one of them may be retracted.

  In the above embodiment, the blade cleaner 40 is tilted while moving from the first position to the second position. However, the present invention is not limited to this, like the blade cleaner 102 of the blade cleaning unit 100 shown in FIG. You may comprise. The blade cleaner 102 is formed in a trapezoidal shape in which the left side is longer than the right side when viewed from the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction, and has a lower end 102a inclined upward.

  On the wiping surface 102b of the blade cleaner 102, similarly to the blade cleaner 40 of the above-described embodiment, each color ink 80B, 80Y, 80M, in order of black, yellow, magenta, cyan from the left side when viewed from the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction. 80C adheres. At this time, the positions of the respective color inks 80Y, 80M, 80C are higher than the position of the black ink 80B in the respective color inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, 80C due to the lower end portion 102a inclined to the right. Accordingly, the color inks 80Y, 80M, and 80C move toward the black ink 80B through the lower end portion 102a, and the color inks 80B, 80Y, 80M, and 80C are mixed on the wiping surface 102b. The same effect as the embodiment can be obtained.

  With this configuration, a mechanism for tilting the blade cleaner 102 is not necessary, and the cost of the blade cleaning unit 100 can be suppressed. On the other hand, in the blade cleaner 102 in which the inclined lower end portion 102a is formed, there is a concern that one end of the long projecting side may cause a so-called partial reduction. Therefore, whether to configure as the blade cleaning unit 32 shown in FIG. 3 or the blade cleaning unit 100 shown in FIG. 12 is appropriately determined according to the cost of the inkjet printer 2 and the required performance. That's fine.

  Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the pigment cleaner and the dye ink are mixed by tilting the blade cleaner or forming the lower end portion tilted from the beginning. The pigment ink and the dye ink may be mixed by blowing wind on the cleaner and moving the dye ink by the wind. Further, the pigment ink and the dye ink may be mixed by vibrating the blade cleaner and moving the dye ink by the vibration.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of an inkjet printer schematically. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a configuration of an ejection surface of a recording head. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the structure of a wiper part and a blade cleaning part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of each part at the time of being in a recording standby state. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which a wiper blade wipes off the wiping surface. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the wiper blade and the blade cleaner contacted. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the blade cleaner rotated about 45 degree | times. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the wiper blade moved to the wiping completion position, and the blade cleaner moved to the 2nd position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the ink adhered to the wiper blade which wiped off the discharge surface. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the ink adhered to the blade cleaner. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which inclined the blade cleaner and each ink mixed. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the blade cleaner formed by inclining a lower end part.

Explanation of symbols

2 Inkjet printer (liquid ejection device)
12 Recording head (liquid ejection means)
12a Discharge surface 26B Black discharge port group (pigment ink discharge part)
26Y Yellow discharge port group (dye ink discharge part)
26M Magenta ejection port group (dye ink ejection section)
26C Cyan discharge port group (dye ink discharge part)
36 Wiper blade (first wiping member)
37 Moving mechanism (moving means for discharging surface cleaning)
40, 102 Blade cleaner (second wiping member)
41 Support mechanism (ink mixing means, ink collecting moving means)
42 Absorber (Recovery means)
55 Support shaft 60, 61 Arm 60a, 61a Long hole 62 Rotating shaft 63, 64 Coil spring (biasing means)
65 cams

Claims (8)

A liquid discharge means having a discharge surface provided with a pigment ink discharge portion for discharging pigment ink and a dye ink discharge portion for discharging dye ink; and a first wiping member for wiping off each ink adhering to the discharge surface; In a liquid ejection device comprising:
A second wiping member having a wiping surface for wiping the ink adhering to the first wiping member by contacting the first wiping member;
Ink mixing means for mixing the respective inks on the wiping surface is provided by moving the dye ink adhering to the wiping surface to the pigment ink side along the wiping surface. Liquid ejecting device.   The ink mixing unit moves the dye ink toward the pigment ink by tilting the second wiping member so that the position of the dye ink is higher than the position of the pigment ink. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1. A collecting means for collecting each ink adhering to the wiping surface by contacting the wiping surface;
Ink recovery for moving the second wiping member between a first position for bringing the wiping surface into contact with the first wiping member and a second position for bringing the wiping surface into contact with the recovery means. Moving means,
The ink mixing means tilts the second wiping member while the ink collecting moving means moves the second wiping member from the first position to the second position. 2. The liquid ejection device according to 2. The second wiping member is formed in a substantially rectangular thin plate shape, and has a support shaft formed so as to protrude from both end surfaces on the short side,
The ink mixing means includes a rotation shaft that is substantially parallel to the support shaft, a long hole that is rotatably attached to the rotation shaft, and that engages with the support shaft. The long hole and the support shaft A pair of arms for attaching the second wiping member to the rotating shaft by engagement, an urging means for urging the second wiping member to be pulled toward the rotating shaft, and attached to the rotating shaft. When the second wiping member moves from the first position to the second position by rotating about the rotation shaft, the second wiping member comes into contact with the second wiping member and resists the urging of the urging means. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a cam that tilts the second wiping member by being moved along the elongated hole. Displacement surface cleaning moving means for causing the first wiping member to wipe the discharge surface by moving the first wiping member in parallel;
The ink collecting moving means transmits the driving force of the ejection surface cleaning moving means to the second wiping member, thereby moving the second wiping member between the first position and the second position. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is moved.   6. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an arrangement direction of the ejection units and a wiping direction of the first wiping member are substantially orthogonal to each other. A liquid discharge means having a discharge surface provided with a pigment ink discharge portion for discharging pigment ink and a dye ink discharge portion for discharging dye ink; and a first wiping member for wiping off each ink adhering to the discharge surface; In a liquid ejection device comprising:
It has a wiping surface for wiping the ink adhering to the first wiping member by contacting with the first wiping member, and the position of the dye ink wiped off from the position of the wiped pigment ink is more A lower end portion of the wiping surface is formed so as to be inclined, and the dye ink is moved to the pigment ink side along the lower end portion, whereby the respective inks are mixed on the wiping surface. A liquid discharge apparatus comprising a wiping member. A liquid discharge means having a discharge surface provided with a pigment ink discharge portion for discharging pigment ink and a dye ink discharge portion for discharging dye ink; and a first wiping member for wiping off each ink adhering to the discharge surface; A second wiping member having a wiping surface for wiping the ink adhering to the first wiping member by contacting the first wiping member; and a second wiping member having a wiping surface contacting the first wiping member; In the method for cleaning a liquid ejection apparatus comprising a collecting means for collecting each of the inks,
Wiping the ink adhering to the ejection surface with the first wiping member;
Wiping the ink adhering to the first wiping member with the second wiping member;
Mixing the inks on the wiping surface by moving the dye ink adhering to the wiping surface to the pigment ink side along the wiping surface; and
And a step of collecting the mixed inks by the collecting means.

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