JP2013111748A - Maintenance device, and liquid droplet ejection device - Google Patents

Abstract

A cleaning effect of a wiper on a surface provided with a nozzle is stably obtained for a long period of time.
A maintenance device 10 for a head 31 of a droplet discharge device 60 that performs printing includes a wiper 1 that wipes off deposits, absorbing portions 21 and 22 that absorb the deposits on the wiper 1, and a resin that moves the wiper 1. The track on which the wiper 1 is moved by the resin belt 4 is a track on which the wiper 1 contacts the absorbing portions 21 and 22 a plurality of times.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a maintenance device and a droplet discharge device.

  Patent Document 1 describes a liquid ejecting apparatus provided with a liquid wiping portion for wiping off liquid adhering to a wiping member for wiping a nozzle surface.

JP 2006-95704 A (published April 13, 2006)

  However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the wiping member is not sufficiently cleaned, and the cleaning efficiency of the nozzle surface by the wiping member is lowered.

  In particular, in the case of ink that tends to increase in viscosity due to drying, the ink that has increased viscosity tends to adhere to the wiper that wipes the nozzle surface and the member that cleans the wiper. In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the remaining ink is easily fixed, and the wiper cannot be cleaned with a desired efficiency. In a printer that performs a large amount of printing for a long time, the cleaning efficiency is particularly low.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a problem, and it aims at providing the maintenance apparatus which can acquire the cleaning effect of the wiping part in the surface in which the nozzle was provided more stably for a long period of time.

  A maintenance device according to the present invention is a maintenance device for the above-mentioned head of a droplet discharge device that performs printing on a recording medium by discharging droplets from a nozzle provided in the head. A wiping portion for wiping off the deposit on the surface provided with, an absorbing portion for absorbing the deposit on the wiping portion, and a moving mechanism for moving the wiping portion, and the movement of the wiping portion by the moving mechanism The trajectory is a trajectory in which the wiping portion contacts the absorbing portion a plurality of times.

  Since the wiping portion comes into contact with the absorption portion a plurality of times, the efficiency with which the absorption portion removes the deposit on the wiping portion is improved. Therefore, the wiping portion can be kept clean for a longer period, and the cleaning efficiency of the surface provided with the nozzle of the head can be maintained for a longer period. Therefore, the cleaning effect of the wiping portion on the surface on which the nozzle is stably provided for a long period of time can be obtained.

  In the maintenance device according to the present invention, it is more preferable that the maintenance device further includes an absorption unit support unit that supports the absorption unit and an absorption unit replacement mechanism that replaces the absorption unit supported by the absorption unit support unit.

  The said absorption part contaminated when the wiping part contacts the absorption part can be replaced with a new absorption part. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the effect of removing the deposits on the wiping portion by the stable absorbing portion for a longer period, and consequently the cleaning effect by the wiping portion that is stable for a longer period of time.

  The maintenance device according to the present invention further includes an absorption unit replacement mechanism control unit that controls replacement of the absorption unit by the absorption unit replacement mechanism, and the absorption unit replacement mechanism control unit is supported by the absorption unit support unit. More preferably, the absorbent unit is replaced after the wiping unit contacts the absorbent unit a predetermined number of times.

  By replacing with a new absorbent after contacting a predetermined number of times, it is possible to obtain the removal effect of the wiping part by the stable absorbent part for a longer period of time, and by the stable wiping part for a longer period of time. A cleaning effect can be obtained.

  In the maintenance device according to the present invention, the trajectory along which the wiping portion moves by the moving mechanism is more preferably a trajectory in which the wiping portion contacts the absorbing portion from at least two different directions.

  By bringing the wiping portion into contact with the absorbing portion from two or more different directions, the adhering matter adhering in various directions of the wiping portion can be absorbed by the absorbing portion. Therefore, the removal effect of the wiping portion by the absorbing portion can be improved, and the cleaning effect by the wiping portion can be further improved.

  In the maintenance device according to the present invention, a plurality of the absorption unit support portions are provided, and the trajectory of the wiping unit that is moved by the moving mechanism is a trajectory that contacts the absorption unit supported by each of the absorption unit support portions at least once. It is more preferable that

  By providing a plurality of absorbing portions and adsorbing the adhering matter at least once each, the adhering matter removing effect by the absorbing portion can be improved. Further, by providing a plurality of absorbing portions, the wiping portion can be easily brought into contact with the absorbing portions a plurality of times, and the structure of the maintenance device can be simplified.

  In the maintenance apparatus according to the present invention, it is more preferable that the absorbing portion support portion supplies a solvent for dissolving the deposit to the absorbing portion.

  By supplying a solvent to an absorption part, the removal efficiency of the deposit | attachment of the wiping part by an absorption part can be improved more.

  In the maintenance device according to the present invention, the absorbing portion is a part of a sheet-like member and is a portion supported by the absorbing portion support portion, and the absorbing portion replacement mechanism sends the sheet-like member. It is more preferable to change the part supported by the absorption part support part.

  With a simple structure, it is possible to replace an absorbing part that has been contaminated and has a reduced removal efficiency with a new absorbing part.

  In the maintenance device according to the present invention, the absorption part is a part of a sheet-like member and is supported by the absorption part support part, and the absorption part replacement mechanism sends the sheet-like member. The length of the sheet-like member sent by the absorbent part replacement mechanism at a time is changed by the length of the part supported by the absorbent part support part. The trajectory along which the wiping unit moves by the moving mechanism is supported by any one of the plurality of absorption unit support units for the first time among the absorption units supported by the plurality of absorption unit support units. It is preferable that the track is such that the wiping portion first contacts the absorption portion having the longest elapsed time.

  The length of the sheet-like member sent by the absorbing portion replacement mechanism at a time is equal to or shorter than the length of the portion supported by the absorbing portion supporting portion, and all the absorbing portions are part of the sheet-like member. Therefore, by replacing the absorption part, at least a part of the part supported by any one of the absorption part support parts is again supported by another absorption part support part and used as the absorption part. Renewing all of the absorbing parts to which the adhering matter has been attached results in an increase in cost due to renewal of the contamination due to the adhering matter, but according to the above configuration, the sheet-like member once used as the absorbing part also Where the contamination is mild, it can be used again as an absorption part. Therefore, the usage-amount of a sheet-like member can be suppressed and cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the absorption part that has been used for the longest time after being supported by the absorption part support part comes into contact with the wiping part first, the absorption part with the higher contact frequency with the wiping part comes into contact with the wiping part first and is wiped off. The absorbing part having the smaller number of contact with the part comes into contact with the wiping part next. Therefore, after a certain amount of deposits are first absorbed by the absorbing portion where the contamination is most advanced, the wiping portion can be cleaned by the absorbing portion where the contamination is not advanced, and the cleaning efficiency is improved.

  Further, a droplet discharge device according to the present invention includes the maintenance device described above.

  By providing the maintenance device, it is possible to obtain the cleaning effect of the wiping portion on the surface on which the nozzle is stably provided for a longer period of time.

  As described above, the maintenance device according to the present invention has an effect that the cleaning effect of the wiping portion of the surface on which the nozzle is provided can be stably obtained for a longer period of time.

It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the droplet discharge apparatus 60 which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the maintenance apparatus 10 which is one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating that the carriage 30 of the droplet discharge device 60 according to the embodiment of the present invention reciprocates in the direction of an arrow X1 and scans on the medium 100. It is a figure which shows that the wiper 1 and the wiper support part 2 moved to the arrangement | positioning location before wiping. It is a figure which shows that the carriage has moved in the direction of arrow X2 and has stopped on the maintenance device 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating that the wiper 1 is moved in the Z1 direction after the wiper 1 is moved in the Z1 direction, and is then moved in the Z2 direction to be cleaned by the wiper cleaning unit 20. It is a figure which shows that the wiper 1 is cleaned by the absorption parts 21 and 22 because the wiper support part 2 reciprocates in the arrow Y4 direction.

[Configuration of Droplet Discharge Device 60]
First, the configuration of a droplet discharge device 60 that is an embodiment of a droplet discharge device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the droplet discharge device 60.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the droplet discharge device 60 includes a maintenance device 10, a carriage 30, a flushing station 40, and a guide mechanism 50. The droplet discharge device 60 is a device for discharging ink (droplets) to the medium (recording medium) 100 and printing figures, characters, and the like.

  The maintenance device 10 is a device for wiping (wiping) an adhesion portion on a surface (face) provided with a nozzle 32 of a head 31 to be described later using the wiper 1. Further, the maintenance device 10 cleans the wiper 1 by causing the wiper cleaning unit 20 to absorb deposits attached to the wiper 1 by cleaning the head 31. The detailed configuration of the maintenance device 10 will be described later.

  The carriage 30 has a head 31 mounted thereon. The head 31 stores ink and discharges ink to the medium 100. A plurality of nozzles 32 are provided on the surface of the head 31 facing the medium 100. When the carriage 30 supported by the guide mechanism 50 reciprocates in the direction of the arrow X and scans the medium 100, the head 31 inks from the nozzles 32 to the medium 100 according to information such as graphics to be printed. Is discharged.

  The flushing station 40 is a place for performing flushing, and is provided adjacent to the maintenance device 10. The head 31 is flushed after moving to the flushing station 40, and the nozzle 32 is cleaned. Here, “flushing” refers to a vibration element (not shown; for example, a piezoelectric element) provided in the head that vibrates an ink storage chamber that communicates with the nozzle, thereby ejecting ink from the nozzle. The discharge of mixed ink.

The guide mechanism 50 supports the carriage 30 and defines the movement range of the carriage 30. When the carriage 30 scans the medium 100, it reciprocates along the guide mechanism 50 in the arrow X direction. The carriage 30 moves onto the maintenance device 10 when it is necessary to wipe the surface of the head 31, and moves onto the flushing station 40 when flushing is necessary.

[Configuration of Maintenance Device 10]
Next, an embodiment of a maintenance apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the maintenance apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The maintenance device 10 includes a wiper (wiping unit) 1, a wiper support unit 2, a planar member 3, a resin belt (moving mechanism) 4, and a wiper cleaning unit 20.

  The wiper 1 is a member for wiping off deposits on the surface by moving while keeping contact with the surface of the head 31 provided with the nozzles 32. The wiper support portion 2 is a member that supports the wiper 1 and moves the wiper 1. Further, the wiper support portion 2 is provided with a shaft portion therethrough.

  The wiper 1 is preferably flexible so as not to damage the surface of the head 31, for example, formed of resin. As a material of the wiper, a material having elasticity that does not damage the head and having a certain degree of chemical resistance is preferable. Examples thereof include natural rubber and synthetic rubber.

  The planar member 3 is disposed so as to cover the resin belt 4, and the planar member 3 is provided with two rows of grooves. The groove is provided along the direction in which the wiper 1 is moved, and the wiper support 2 is located between the opposing planar members 3. Then, both ends of the shaft portion provided in the wiper support portion 2 are fitted in the grooves of the planar member 3 facing each other, and the wiper support portion 2 moves along the grooves. Further, the groove of the planar member 3 defines the moving range and moving method of the wiper support 2.

  The resin belt 4 is a moving mechanism for moving the wiper support 2. On the resin belt 4, both ends of the shaft portion fitted in the groove are placed. By operating the resin belt 4, the shaft portion is carried on the resin belt 4, and the wiper support portion 2 moves along the groove.

  The wiper cleaning unit 20 is a cleaning member for removing deposits attached to the wiper 1 by wiping, and is provided on the planar member 3. Hereinafter, the wiper cleaning unit 20 will be described in detail.

  The wiper cleaning unit 20 includes absorption units 21 and 22, absorption unit support units 23 and 24, an absorption member (sheet-like member) 25, a solvent supply unit 26, an absorption unit replacement mechanism 27, and an absorption unit replacement mechanism control unit (absorption unit replacement). Mechanism control means) 28.

  The absorbers 21 and 22 remove the deposits attached to the wiper 1 by contacting the wiper 1 after wiping. The absorption part support parts 23 and 24 are members for supporting the absorption parts 21 and 22, respectively. Note that any number of absorbing portions may be provided, and the number of absorbing portions is not limited to two as in the present embodiment. In addition, the number of absorbent support members also changes according to the number of absorbent parts. Here, the “absorbing part” is a part of the absorbing member 25 described later, and indicates a part supported by the absorbing part support part.

  The removal efficiency can be further improved by providing a plurality of absorbing portions. Moreover, the wiping part can be easily brought into contact with the absorption part a plurality of times, and the structure of the maintenance device 10 can be simplified.

  The absorbing member 25 is a sheet-like member, and the absorbing portions 21 and 22 are part of the absorbing member 25. As the absorbing member 25, any member such as cloth, paper, or sponge can be used as long as it is a sheet-like member.

  The solvent supply unit 26 is provided on the absorption unit support units 23 and 24 in order to supply the absorption units 21 and 22 with a solvent that dissolves the deposits. The solvent supplied from the absorption unit support units 23 and 24 and the solvent supply unit 26 is supplied to the absorption units 21 and 22. Thereby, the removal efficiency of the deposit | attachment of the wiper 1 by the absorption parts 21 and 22 can be improved more. When a volatile solvent is used, the solvent is supplied only to the absorbing portions 21 and 22 that are in contact with the wiper 1 and is supplied to the absorbing member 25 that is not in contact with the wiper 1 in order to suppress the amount of volatilization. More preferably not.

  Since it is preferable that the absorbent parts 21 and 22 with which the wiper 1 after wiping comes into contact are appropriately impregnated with the solvent, the solvent is added to the absorbent parts 21 and 22 from the solvent supply part 26 via the absorbent part support parts 23 and 24. Has been. For example, the solvent may be supplied from the solvent supply unit 26 to the absorption units 21 and 22 by making holes in the absorption unit support units 23 and 24, respectively.

  Even when the carriage 30 is provided with a heat source such as a heater, as described above, the solvent is impregnated by the heat source by impregnating only the absorbing portions 21 and 22 with which the wiper 1 is in contact with the solvent. Can be suppressed.

  The absorbing part replacement mechanism 27 can replace the absorbing part contaminated by the wiper 1 coming into contact with the absorbing parts 21 and 22 with new absorbing parts 21 and 22. Specifically, the absorbing portions 21 and 22 are replaced by sending the sheet-like absorbing member 25. Therefore, the wiper 1 does not come into contact with the absorbing parts 21 and 22 that are contaminated and the removal efficiency is lowered, and a more stable cleaning effect can be obtained for a longer period of time.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the absorbent part replacement mechanism 27 can change the parts of the absorbent parts 21 and 22 supported by the absorbent part support parts 23 and 24 by sending the absorbent member 25. That is, with a simple structure, it is possible to replace an absorbing part that has been contaminated and has a reduced removal efficiency with a new absorbing part.

  The absorber replacement mechanism control unit 28 controls the absorber replacement mechanism 27 to replace the absorbers 21 and 22 after the wiper 1 contacts the absorbers 21 and 22 a predetermined number of times. That is, by setting the number of contacts before the contamination efficiency is significantly lowered due to contamination to a predetermined number of times, it is possible to replace with a new absorption section before the removal efficiency is significantly lowered.

  Further, the wiper cleaning unit 20 may be provided with a sensor for notifying that the absorbing member 25 to be replaced has disappeared when the absorbing member 25 is sent. In addition, the installation of a new absorbing member may be performed by providing a mechanism for replacing the absorbing member in the wiper cleaning unit 20 or manually.

  Next, the operation of the droplet discharge device 60 from when the surface of the head 31 is wiped until the wiper 1 is cleaned by the wiper cleaning unit 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating that the carriage 30 of the droplet discharge device 60 according to the embodiment of the present invention reciprocates in the direction of the arrow X1 and scans the medium 100. As shown in FIG. 3, while the carriage 30 scans the medium 100, the wiper 1 and the wiper support unit 2 are waiting under the wiper cleaning unit 20 as shown in FIG. 2.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing that the wiper 1 and the wiper support part 2 have moved to the arrangement location before wiping. FIG. 5 shows that the carriage 30 moves in the direction of the arrow X2 and the maintenance device 10 It is a figure which shows having stopped. The carriage 30 scans a predetermined number of times, or when it is necessary to clean the surface of the head 31 by detecting that a certain amount of deposits such as ink has adhered to the head 31. Moves onto the maintenance device 10. Further, the wiper support unit 2 moves in the direction of the arrow Y1 before moving the carriage 30 onto the maintenance device 10 and stands by at the left end of the maintenance device 10.

  A purge operation may be performed before wiping. Here, “purging” refers to cleaning the nozzles by ejecting ink from the nozzles by raising the supply pressure when supplying ink to the heads without vibrating the heads. Purge is appropriately performed by raising the supply pressure to, for example, atmospheric pressure or higher. When purging, a member for collecting ink ejected by the purge may be provided in the maintenance device 10.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating that the wiper 1 is moved in the Z1 direction after the wiper 1 is moved in the Z1 direction, and then the wiper 1 is cleaned by the wiper cleaning unit 20. In addition, when the carriage 30 moves onto the maintenance device 10, the carriage 30 is positioned between the wiper support portion 2 and the wiper cleaning portion 20.

  First, the wiper support part 2 moves in the direction of the arrow Y′2 by the operation of the resin belt 4. Thereby, when the wiper support part 2 reaches | attains a position (a), the wiper 1 contacts a face. At this time, the wiper 1 performs wiping while moving in the arrow Z1 direction. And when the wiper support part 2 arrives at a position (b), wiping is complete | finished. By performing wiping, the adhered matter adhering to the surface provided with the nozzle 32 is wiped off by the wiper 1 to clean the surface, and the adhered matter adheres to the wiper 1. Note that the wiper support portion 2 may perform wiping by reciprocating between the position (a) and the position (b).

  Further, the widths of the two rows of grooves formed in the planar member 3 (the height difference between the two rows of grooves) need not always coincide with each other. There may be a wide part and a narrow part. 2 and 6, the shaft portion fitted in the upper groove is placed on the resin belt 4, and in the case of FIG. 4, the shaft portion fitted in the lower groove is placed on the resin belt. It is in contact with the belt 4. That is, when the wiper support 2 is moved along the groove by operating the resin belt 4, the wiper 1 rises or tilts due to the difference in the width of the groove. The method for fixing the shaft portion to the resin belt 4 is not particularly limited, but the shaft portion that is fitted to the lower groove (linear groove) is fixed to the resin belt 4 and the shaft is fitted to the upper groove. The part is preferably not fixed to the resin belt 4. By fixing the resin belt 4 to the shaft portion fitted in the linear groove, the trajectory of the resin belt 4 can be made constant even if the angle of the wiper 1 is changed, and the influence on the conveyance torque and the conveyance speed. Can be suppressed. What is necessary is just to adjust a width | variety so that it may become a position which can be pressed to the position which wipes a face when the wiper 1 gets up, or the absorption parts 21 and 22. FIG. Since the height of the wiper 1 can be adjusted simply by adjusting the width in this way, the configuration of the apparatus is simplified.

  After the wiping is completed, the carriage 30 may move along the guide mechanism 50 to the flushing station 40 to perform flushing. After the flushing is completed, the carriage 30 moves onto the medium 100, ejects ink to the medium 100 while reciprocating in the direction of the arrow X1, and resumes printing.

  Next, after the wiping is completed, the wiper support portion 2 further moves in the direction of the arrow Y′2 and moves to the front of the wiper cleaning portion 20. Next, the wiper support portion 2 moves in the direction of the arrow Y′3, and the wiper 1 contacts the absorbing portions 21 and 22. Thereby, the deposit | attachment adhering to the wiper 1 is absorbed by the absorption parts 21 and 22 of the wiper cleaning part 20. FIG. At this time, the wiper 1 moves in the direction of the arrow Z2 and first comes into contact with the absorbing portion 21. And much of the deposit | attachment on the wiper 1 is absorbed by the absorption part 21, and also contacts the absorption part 22 by moving the wiper 1 to the arrow Z2 direction. Then, the deposit that has not been absorbed by the absorbing portion 21 is absorbed by the absorbing portion 22. Thus, the trajectory of the movement of the wiper 1 and the wiper support portion 2 by the resin belt 4 is a trajectory that contacts the plurality of absorbing portions 21 and 22 at least once. By using such a trajectory, the ink attached to the wiper 1 can be cleaned more efficiently.

  In addition, here, the absorbing portion 21 is sent from the roller before the absorbing portion 22 and is supported by the absorbing portion supporting portion. That is, after the absorption part 21 is supported by the absorption part support part 24, it is further sent and supported by the absorption part support part 23. Accordingly, the wiper 1 first comes into contact with the absorbing portion 21 of which the longest time has elapsed since being supported by the absorbing portion supporting portion among the absorbing portions 21 and 22. Then, the wiper 1 comes into contact with the absorbing portion 22 that is less frequently contacted with the wiper 1 than the absorbing portion 21. As will be described later, since the absorbing member 25 is sent with a length equal to or shorter than the length of the absorbing portions 21 and 22 supported by the absorbing portion supporting portions 23 and 24, the absorption once used for absorbing the deposits. The part 22 is always supported by another absorbing part support part 23 again. Therefore, the usage amount of the absorbing member can be suppressed and the cost can be reduced.

  Next, the wiper 1 is reciprocated in the direction of the arrow Y4 to bring the wiper 1 into contact with the absorbing portions 21 and 22 a plurality of times. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing that the wiper 1 is cleaned by the absorbing portions 21 and 22 by the reciprocating motion of the wiper support portion 2 in the direction of the arrow Y4. Since the wiper 1 contacts the absorbing portions 21 and 22 a plurality of times, the removal efficiency of the deposits on the wiper 1 is improved.

  In addition, as described above, the trajectory of the movement of the wiper 1 and the wiper support portion 2 by the resin belt 4 is activated from two or more different directions so that the wiper 1 contacts the absorbing portions 21 and 22 from a plurality of directions. The wiper 1 can be cleaned. For example, both the front and back surfaces of the wiper 1 can be cleaned by bringing the wiper 1 into contact with the absorbing portions 21 and 22 while reciprocating like the present embodiment. Therefore, the wiper 1 can be kept clean for a longer period, and the cleaning efficiency of the face can be maintained for a longer period. In the present invention, the contamination of the wiping portion depends on the wiping direction of the face by the wiping portion. Therefore, if the cleaning part of the wiping part (the wiper cleaning part 20 of the present embodiment) is arranged on the movement path of the wiping part that reciprocates the face, the wiping part has a different wiping direction by reciprocating the wiping part. A kimono can each be pressed on an absorption part and a contaminated wiping off part can be cleaned effectively.

  Further, when the wiping portion is brought into contact with the absorbing portion a plurality of times by reciprocating, the maintenance device according to the present invention can be downsized as compared with the case where a plurality of absorbing portions are provided. The reciprocating motion of the wiping portion support portion can be performed with simple control.

  The track on which the wiping unit moves by the moving mechanism such as the resin belt 4 may be a track in which the wiping unit comes into contact with the absorption unit from three or more different directions. In order to make the track in contact with the absorber from three or more directions, the track of the wiper support unit 2 may be a flat or three-dimensional track instead of a straight line. Further, when a plurality of absorbing portions are provided, as shown in FIG. 6, it is more preferable that the trajectory along which the wiping portion by the moving mechanism moves is a trajectory that contacts each absorbing portion at least once.

  In FIG. 6, the track of the wiper 1 by the moving mechanism such as the resin belt 4 is in a straight line, and the head 31 to be wiped and the wiper cleaning unit 20 are located on the straight line. Further, a driving mechanism other than the resin belt 4 is not required when wiping. Therefore, the maintenance apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be configured with a simple structure.

  When the absorbing parts 21 and 22 and the wiper 1 are in contact with each other a predetermined number of times, the cleaning of the wiper 1 by the wiper cleaning part 20 is finished. When the cleaning of the wiper 1 is completed, the wiper support portion 2 is disposed at the standby position in FIG. When wiping is required again, the operation described so far is repeated.

  Next, it will be described that the absorbent portion replacement mechanism 27 is replaced with a new absorbent portion.

  When the wiper 1 comes into contact with the absorbing portions 21 and 22 a predetermined number of times, the absorbing portion replacement mechanism control means 28 controls the absorbing portion replacement mechanism 27 so that the new absorbing portions 21 and 22 are replaced. In FIG. 2, when the absorber replacement mechanism 27 is operated, the absorber replacement mechanism 27 sends out the absorber 25. And the site | part of the absorption member 25 supported by the absorption part support parts 23 and 24 is changed, and the site | part of the new absorption member 25 becomes the absorption parts 21 and 22, and is supported by the absorption part support parts 23 and 24. At this time, depending on the length of the absorbing member 25 sent by the absorbing portion replacement mechanism 27 at a time, the portion supported by the absorbing portion support portion 24 can be supported by the absorbing portion support portion 23 again.

  For example, if the length of the absorbing member 25 sent by the absorbing portion replacement mechanism 27 at a time is equal to or shorter than the length of the portion supported by the absorbing portion supporting portion 23, the absorbing portion 25 is sent several times. At least a part of the portion supported by the support portion 24 is again supported by the absorption portion support portion 23 and used as the absorption portion 21. Since the site | part once used as the absorption part 22 can be used again as the absorption part 21 at this time, the usage-amount of the absorption member 25 can be suppressed and cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, after the part of the absorption member 25 used as the absorption part 21 is replaced, it is not used as the absorption part but is discarded.

  Since the part of the absorbent member 25 supported by the absorbent part support part 24 first contacts the wiper 1 as the absorbent part 21, the absorbent part 21 having a higher contact frequency with the wiper 1 first contacts the wiper 1, The absorption part 22 having a smaller number of times of contact with the wiper 1 comes into contact with the wiper 1 next. Therefore, the deposit | attachment adhering to the wiper 1 can be efficiently removed by the first contact of a wiper and the absorption part 21. FIG.

  In addition, in this embodiment, although the two absorption parts and the absorption part support parts are provided, it is not limited to this. That is, even if there is one absorption part and an absorption part support part, the wiper 1 should just be able to contact in multiple times, and there may be three or more absorption parts and absorption part support parts. When there are three or more absorbent parts, etc., in the cleaning of the wiping part, the absorbent part that the wiping part first contacts becomes the absorbent part that has passed the longest time since it was supported by the absorbent part support part. The absorption part which lasted the shortest time after the absorption part which contacts last is supported by the absorption part support part. That is, the first contacted absorbent part is more contaminated with deposits than the other absorbent parts because the number of times it has contacted the wiping part so far compared to the other absorbent parts. By contacting this absorption part, the deposit | attachment adhering to the wiping off part can be removed efficiently.

  Further, when the wiper 1 and the wiper support portion 2 are reciprocated as shown in FIG. 7, the wiper 1 may repeatedly contact only the absorbing portion 22. In this case, since the adhering portion 21 that contacts first absorbs much of the adhering matter and is more contaminated, the absorbed dirt is prevented from adhering to the wiper 1 again by the reciprocating motion. Even when there are three or more absorbing portions, the wiping portion may reciprocate between the absorbing portions other than the absorbing portion that the wiping portion first contacts.

[Additional Notes]
A maintenance device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a maintenance device 10 for a head 31 of a droplet discharge device 60 that performs printing on a medium 100 by discharging ink from nozzles 32 provided on the head 31. A wiper 1 for wiping off deposits on the surface of the head 31 on which the nozzles 32 are provided; absorbers 21 and 22 for absorbing deposits on the wiper 1; a resin belt 4 for moving the wiper 1; And the trajectory along which the wiper 1 moves by the moving mechanism is a trajectory in which the wiper 1 contacts the absorbing portions 21 and 22 a plurality of times.

  Since the wiper 1 comes into contact with the absorbing portions 21 and 22 a plurality of times, the efficiency with which the absorbing portions 21 and 22 remove the deposits on the wiper 1 is improved. Therefore, the wiper 1 can be kept clean for a longer period, and the cleaning efficiency of the surface of the head 31 on which the nozzles 32 are provided can also be maintained for a longer period. Therefore, the cleaning effect of the wiper 1 on the surface where the nozzle 32 is provided can be obtained stably for a long period of time.

  The maintenance device 10 further includes an absorption part support parts 23 and 24 that support the absorption parts 21 and 22, and an absorption part replacement mechanism 27 that replaces the absorption parts 21 and 22 supported by the absorption part support parts 23 and 24. More preferably.

  The absorbing parts 21 and 22 contaminated by the wiper 1 coming into contact with the absorbing parts 21 and 22 can be replaced with new absorbing parts. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the effect of removing the deposits of the wiper 1 by the absorbing portions 21 and 22 that are stable for a longer period of time, and consequently the cleaning effect of the wiper 1 that is stable for a longer period of time.

  The maintenance device 10 further includes an absorption unit replacement mechanism control unit 28 that controls replacement of the absorption units 21 and 22 by the absorption unit replacement mechanism 27, and the absorption unit replacement mechanism control unit 28 is supported by the absorption unit support units 23 and 24. More preferably, the absorbers 21 and 22 are replaced after the wiper 1 contacts the absorbers 21 and 22 that have been made a predetermined number of times.

  By replacing with a new absorption part after contacting a predetermined number of times, it is possible to obtain the effect of removing the deposits of the wiper 1 by the stable absorption parts 21 and 22 for a longer period of time, and thus stable for a longer period of time. The cleaning effect obtained by the wiper 1 can be obtained.

  In the maintenance device 10, it is more preferable that the track on which the wiper 1 moves by the resin belt 4 is a track in which the wiper 1 contacts the absorbing portions 21 and 22 from at least two different directions.

  By bringing the wiper 1 into contact with the absorbing portions 21 and 22 from two or more different directions, the adhering matter attached in various directions of the wiper 1 can be absorbed by the absorbing portions 21 and 22. Therefore, the removal effect of the deposits on the wiper 1 by the absorbing portions 21 and 22 can be improved, and as a result, the cleaning effect by wiping can be further improved.

  The maintenance device 10 includes a plurality of absorbing portion support portions 23 and 24, and the trajectory along which the wiper 1 moves by the resin belt 4 is at least once for the absorbing portions 21 and 22 supported by the respective absorbing portion support portions 23 and 24. More preferably, the track is in contact.

  By providing the plurality of absorbing portions 21 and 22 and adsorbing the adhering matter at least once each, the removing effect of the adhering matter on the wiper 1 by the absorbing portions 21 and 22 can be improved. Further, by providing the plurality of absorbing portions 21 and 22, the wiper 1 can be easily brought into contact with the absorbing portions 21 and 22 a plurality of times, and the structure of the maintenance device 10 can be simplified.

  In the maintenance device 10, it is more preferable that the absorbing portion support portions 23 and 24 supply the absorbing portions 21 and 22 with a solvent that dissolves the deposits.

  By supplying the solvent to the absorbers 21 and 22, the removal efficiency of the deposits on the wiper 1 by the absorbers 21 and 22 can be further increased.

  In the maintenance device 10, the absorbing portions 21 and 22 are parts of the absorbing member 25 and are supported by the absorbing portion support portions 23 and 24, and the absorbing portion replacement mechanism 27 sends the absorbing member 25. It is more preferable that the part supported by the absorption part support parts 23 and 24 is changed.

  With a simple structure, it is possible to replace the absorbing portions 21 and 22 that have been contaminated and have reduced removal efficiency with new absorbing portions.

  In the maintenance device 10, the absorbing portions 21 and 22 are parts of the absorbing member 25 and are supported by the absorbing portion support portions 23 and 24, and the absorbing portion replacement mechanism 27 sends the absorbing member 25. Therefore, the length of the absorbent member 25 that the absorbent part replacement mechanism 27 sends at one time is supported by the absorbent part support parts 23 and 24. The trajectory along which the wiper 1 is moved by the resin belt 4 is equal to or less than the length of the portion, and is the first of the plurality of absorption unit support units 23, 22 among the absorption units 21, 22 supported by the plurality of absorption unit support units 23, 24. It is preferable that the track is such that the wiper 1 first comes into contact with the absorbing portion 21 which is the absorbing portion having the longest time elapsed since being supported by any one of 24.

  The length of the absorbing member 25 sent by the absorbing portion replacement mechanism 27 at a time is equal to or shorter than the length of the portion supported by the absorbing portion support portions 23 and 24, and all the absorbing portions 21 and 22 are connected to the absorbing member 25. It is a part. In the present embodiment, the lengths of the absorption portions 21 and 22 (the lengths of the portions supported by the absorption portion support portions 23 and 24) are the same. The length of is the shorter of the two. By replacing the absorption part in this way, for example, at least a part of the part of the absorption part 22 supported by the absorption part support part 24 is again supported by another absorption part support part 23 and used as the absorption part 21. The That is, since the absorbing member 25 once used as the absorbing portion 22 can be used again as the absorbing portion 21, the amount of the absorbing member 25 used can be suppressed, and the cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the absorption part 21 which is the absorption part in which the longest time has passed since being supported by the absorption part support part first comes into contact with the wiper 1, the absorption part 21 having a larger number of contact with the wiper 1 becomes the wiper 1. The absorber 22 that contacts first and contacts the wiper 1 less contacts the wiper 1 next. After a certain amount of adhering matter is first absorbed by the absorbing portion where the contamination is most advanced, the wiping portion can be cleaned by the absorbing portion where the contamination is not advanced, and the cleaning efficiency is improved.

  A droplet discharge device 60 according to the present invention includes the maintenance device 10 described above.

  By providing the maintenance device 10, it is possible to obtain the cleaning effect of the wiper 1 on the surface where the nozzle 32 is provided stably for a long period of time.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The maintenance device according to the present invention can be used for an inkjet printer or the like.

1 Wiper (wipe off part)
2 Wiper support part 3 Planar member 4 Resin belt (movement mechanism)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Maintenance apparatus 20 Wiper cleaning part 21, 22 Absorbing part 23, 24 Absorbing part support part 25 Absorbing member (sheet-like member)
26 Solvent Supply Unit 27 Absorber Replacement Mechanism 28 Absorber Replacement Mechanism Control Unit 30 Carriage 31 Head 32 Nozzle 40 Flushing Station 50 Guide Mechanism 60 Droplet Discharge Device 100 Media (Recording Medium)

Claims (9)

A maintenance apparatus for the head of a droplet discharge device that performs printing on a recording medium by discharging droplets from a nozzle provided in the head,
A wiping portion for wiping off deposits on the surface of the head on which the nozzle is provided;
An absorbing part that absorbs deposits on the wiping part;
A moving mechanism for moving the wiping portion,
The track on which the wiping unit moves by the moving mechanism is a track on which the wiping unit contacts the absorbing unit a plurality of times. An absorbent support section for supporting the absorbent section;
The maintenance device according to claim 1, further comprising: an absorber replacement mechanism that replaces the absorber supported by the absorber support. An absorber replacement mechanism control means for controlling replacement of the absorber by the absorber replacement mechanism;
The absorbent part replacement mechanism control means replaces the absorbent part after the wiping part contacts the absorbent part supported by the absorbent part support part a predetermined number of times. 2. The maintenance device according to 2.   The trajectory along which the wiping portion moves by the moving mechanism is a trajectory where the wiping portion contacts the absorbing portion from at least two different directions. Maintenance equipment. Provided with a plurality of the absorption part support part,
4. The maintenance device according to claim 2, wherein the trajectory along which the wiping portion is moved by the moving mechanism is a trajectory that contacts at least one absorption portion supported by each of the absorption portion support portions. .   The maintenance device according to claim 2, 3 or 5, wherein the absorption unit support unit supplies the absorption unit with a solvent that dissolves the deposit. The absorption part is a part of a sheet-like member, and is a part supported by the absorption part support part,
The maintenance according to claim 2, 3, 5, or 6, wherein the absorption part replacement mechanism changes a part supported by the absorption part support part by sending the sheet-like member. apparatus. The absorption part is a part of a sheet-like member, and is a part supported by the absorption part support part,
The absorption part replacement mechanism changes the part supported by the absorption part support part by sending the sheet-like member,
The length of the sheet-like member sent by the absorbent part replacement mechanism at a time is equal to or less than the length of the part supported by the absorbent part support part,
The trajectory of movement of the wiping portion by the moving mechanism has elapsed since being supported by any one of the plurality of absorption portion support portions for the first time among the absorption portions supported by the plurality of absorption portion support portions. The maintenance device according to claim 5, wherein the wiping portion first contacts with the absorption portion having the longest time.   A droplet discharge device comprising the maintenance device according to claim 1.

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