JPH06270408A - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] A cleaning operation is performed on each ink ejection port on an average basis by a linear movement parallel to the direction in which the ink ejection ports are arranged, and a rack (10a) with a trigger slider that is interlocked with the carrier position Locking on / off mechanism (2a, 7) with pinion (9b) driven by paper feed motor (6)
Thus, an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cleaning mechanism with low loss torque, high efficiency, and a small number of parts is provided. In a cleaning mechanism for wiping and cleaning a discharge port surface 51 of a recording head 1 with a rubber-like elastic blade 11, the blade 11 is substantially linear in parallel with the discharge port surface 51 and in an array direction of the discharge ports 52. To move the blade 11, the drive means of the blade 11 is moved to the rack and pinion mechanism 9b,
10a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means onto a recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine and a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a multifunction machine or a workstation including a computer, a word processor, etc., is a sheet or a plastic thin plate based on image information. An image (including characters and symbols) is recorded on a recording material (recording medium) such as (OHP). The recording device can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a heat sensitive type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type and the like depending on the recording system of the recording means used.

In a serial type recording apparatus which employs a recording system in which a main scanning is performed in a direction intersecting a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position and then the recording material is set. An image (including characters, symbols, etc.) is recorded by a recording unit (recording head) mounted on a carriage that moves (main scanning) along, and after one line of recording is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (sub-scan). An image is recorded in a desired range of the recording material by repeating the operation of performing (scanning) and then recording (main scanning) the image of the next row. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records a recording material only in the sub-scanning direction in which the recording material is fed in the transport direction, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and one line of recording is continuously performed at one time. A predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch feed) is performed, and an image is recorded on the entire recording material.

Among them, the ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus) is a means for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material, and it is easy to make the recording means compact and high definition. Images can be recorded at high speed, plain paper can be recorded without requiring special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise and uses multicolor inks. Therefore, it has an advantage that it is easy to record a color image.

In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for ejecting ink by utilizing heat energy,
Through the semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering, the electrothermal converter formed on the substrate, the electrode,
By forming the liquid passage wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a liquid discharge device having a high-density liquid passage arrangement (ejection port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. Further, by utilizing the advantages of IC technology and micro processing technology, it is easy to make the recording means long and planar (two-dimensional), and it is also easy to make the recording means full-multi and high-density mounting. is there.

In the above ink jet recording apparatus,
Foreign matter such as ink liquid, dust, dust, and paper dust may adhere to the ejection opening surface of the recording head (inkjet head) during recording operation. To remove the foreign matter, rubber-like elasticity made of urethane rubber, etc. A cleaning mechanism is provided for rubbing the body blade (cleaning member or wiper blade) against the ejection port surface.

As the cleaning blade (wiper blade), there has been proposed, for example, one in which a carrier motor is used as a drive source and is operated in a direction of drawing an arc locus. In this case, a gear clutch mechanism that switches from the carrier lead to the carrier system and the recovery system is provided, and the blade operation is performed by the rotational movement using the clutch gear.

[0008]

However, the above structure has the following disadvantages. First, it was necessary to slow down the blade operation relative to the carrier speed, and it was necessary to install a speed reducer in the middle of the operating system. Secondly, since the blade moves in an arc shape, the cleaning force varies depending on the position where the ink ejection ports are arranged. Third, the clutch mechanism is complicated, the number of parts is large, the cost is high, and the failure frequently occurs. Fourthly, when the blade is operated, the carrier head is held and switched to the recovery system by the clutch mechanism.
When the blade is returned, it has a head and is wiped back.
Further, in order to avoid back wiping, it is necessary to provide a blade folding mechanism. Fifthly, the cleaning operation is performed in the motor overload state by holding the carrier head, friction torque cloth of the speed reducer, and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to perform uniform cleaning operation for each ejection port of the recording means and to have a simple structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet recording device capable of efficiently cleaning the ejection port surface. Specifically, a linear motion parallel to the ejection port arrangement direction by a rack gear or the like can perform a uniform cleaning operation for each ejection port, and a paper feed motor can be driven by a trigger slider that is interlocked with the position of the carrier. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet recording apparatus provided with a cleaning mechanism which is efficient in reducing loss torque and has a small number of parts, by providing a mechanism for turning on and off the engagement between a pinion serving as a drive source and the rack.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording material, a rubber-like elastic body for cleaning a discharge port surface of the recording means. The above-mentioned object is achieved by adopting a constitution in which a driving means for linearly moving the blade of (1) is moved substantially parallel to the discharge port surface. In addition to the above-mentioned structure, the driving means may control the engagement between the rack provided on the blade support, the pinion engaged with the rack, and the engagement between the rack and the pinion. The above object can be achieved more efficiently by adopting a configuration including a combination control means or a configuration in which the pinion is rotationally driven by a paper feed motor.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Figure 1
In, the recording means (recording head) 1 is mounted on the carrier 2. The carrier 2 is guided and supported by a lead screw 3 and a guide shaft 4 installed in the apparatus body.
A carrier motor 5 for moving the carrier 2 is attached to one end of the apparatus body, and the lead screw 3 driven by the carrier motor 5 causes the carrier 2 to reciprocate in the main scanning direction.

In this way, the carrier 2 is reciprocated by the forward and reverse rotations of the carrier motor 5, and the position of the carrier 2 (position of the recording head 1) is controlled by the rotation amount of the carrier motor 5.
Recording is performed by ejecting ink from the ejection ports of the recording head 1 toward the recording material while the carrier 2 is moving. The recording means (recording head) 1 of the present embodiment is composed of a replaceable ink cartridge (or head cartridge) in which an ink tank for supplying ejected ink is integrated.

The recording head 1 is an ink jet recording means for ejecting ink by utilizing heat energy, and is provided with an electrothermal converter for generating heat energy. Further, the recording head 1 performs recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port by utilizing a pressure change caused by growth and contraction of bubbles due to film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter. Is.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejection portion of the recording means (recording head) 1.
In FIG. 2, the ejection port surface 5 that faces the recording material 10 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm).
1, a plurality of discharge ports 52 are formed at a predetermined pitch,
An electrothermal converter (a heating resistor or the like) 55 for generating energy for ejecting ink is disposed along the wall surface of each liquid passage 54 that connects the common liquid chamber 53 and each ejection port 52. In this example, the recording head 1 has the ejection port 52.
Are mounted on the carrier 2 in such a positional relationship that they are arranged in a direction intersecting with the scanning direction of the carrier 2. Thus
A recording head that drives (energizes) a corresponding electrothermal converter 55 based on an image signal or an ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid path 54 to film-boil and eject the ink from the ejection port 52 by the pressure generated at that time. 1 is configured.

In FIG. 1, the ejection port surface 5 of the recording head 1
1, a platen (not shown) having a length that substantially covers the width of the recording material is provided in parallel with the lead screw 3. This platen has a function of holding the recording material at the correct recording position at the recording position, preventing deformation of the recording material, and maintaining an appropriate gap between the recording material and the ejection port surface 51. ing. A conveying roller 8 is arranged in parallel to the lead screw 3 at a position upstream of the recording position of the platen in the sheet passing direction. The transport roller 8 is rotationally driven by the paper feed motor 6.

A pinch roller (not shown) is brought into pressure contact with the conveying roller 8, and the recording material fed from an automatic paper feeding device (not shown) is conveyed to a recording position (a position facing the ejection port surface 51). Is configured. The pinch roller is pressed against the conveying roller 8 to rotate by rotation, and the pressing force of the pinch roller is given by a leaf spring or the like.

A paper discharge roller (not shown) and a spur (not shown) for discharging the recording material that has passed through the recording position are provided at a position downstream of the recording position of the platen from the recording position. Also here, the recording material is sent out (conveyed) by the frictional conveyance force between the paper discharge roller and the spur. The spur is pressed against the paper discharge roller and is driven to rotate. The pressure contact force of the spur is applied by a leaf spring or the like through a spur holder or the like (not shown). The pinch roller and the spur can be separated (opened) by operating a lever or the like when the recording material is taken out when the paper is jammed or the like.

When the recording material is conveyed in front of the recording head 1, the paper discharge roller removes the slack of the recording material to prevent an error in the recording position and the contact of the recording material with the recording head 1. Has a function to prevent. Therefore, the peripheral speed of the paper discharge roller is usually set to be slightly higher than the peripheral speed of the transport roller 8, and is driven synchronously with the transport roller 8.

In FIG. 1, a recovery device is provided at a position within the moving range of the carrier 2 and outside the recording area. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning mechanism of the recovery device includes a blade holder 10 that supports a blade 11 for cleaning the ink ejection portion 1a of the cartridge head 1. The blade holder 10 is provided with a rack 10a, and the pinion 9 is attached to the rack 10a.
b is engaged. Further, the latch portion 10b projects from the blade holder 10, and the latch portion 10b
The tip of b is engaged with the stopper 12. Further, a cam follower 7 is formed on the blade holder 10, and a carrier cam portion 2a provided on the carrier 2 is engaged with the cam follower 7. A pinion 8a provided at one end of the conveying roller meshes with the pinion 9a which is linked with the pinion 9b. Thus, the pinion 9b and the blade holder 10
As a result, the blade 11 is configured to be driven by the paper feed motor 6.

The cleaning operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. When the cartridge head 1 moves and the ink ejection portion 1a moves to the cleaning operation position, the carrier cam portion 2a engages with the cam follower 7 and moves it. As the cam follower 7 moves, the pinion 9b meshes with the rack 10a, and the latch portion 10b disengages from the stopper 12. When the pinion 9b and the rack 10a are meshed with each other, the paper feed motor 6 rotates the pinion 9a via the transport roller 8 and the pinion 8a. The blade holder 10 linearly moves with the rotation of the pinion 9a, and the blade 11 cleans the ink ejection portion 1a linearly and uniformly. When the ink ejecting portion 1a returns to the position separated from the blade 11, the pinion 9b reverses, the blade 11 returns without contacting the ink ejecting portion 1a, and the latch portion 10b stops at the stopper 12.
And is held at the toothless portion of the rack 10a.

The principle of the cleaning operation of the above embodiment can be applied to the feeding operation of the idle ejection ink absorber. That is, the paper feed motor is used as the drive source for the operation of feeding the ink absorber, and the feeding operation of the ink absorber and the locking of the operation drive source are turned on / off according to the position of the carrier. Further, it is obvious that the cleaning operation of the above embodiment can be applied to the capping operation of the ink ejection port and the pump operation of the ink suction and the idle suction.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. First, since the operation of the blade 11 is linear and the ink ejection surface can be uniformly cleaned, ink scattering is reduced. Secondly, since the paper feed motor has a torque allowance and matches the blade operation, it is possible to perform cleaning gently without a speed reducer. Thirdly, since the blade operation can be performed independently of the carrier motor, the blade folding mechanism and the like are not required, and the apparatus can be simplified.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case of the serial type recording apparatus in which the recording head 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 has been described as an example. However, in the present invention, the entire width or a part of the width of the recording material is set. The present invention can be similarly applied to a recording apparatus using a line type recording head having a covering length, and the same effect can be obtained. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment,
Although the case of recording with one recording head 1 is illustrated, the present invention is a color ink jet recording apparatus using a plurality of recording heads recording with different colors, or a plurality of recording heads recording with inks of the same color but different densities. The present invention can be widely applied regardless of the number of recording heads and recording colors, such as an inkjet recording device for gradation recording using the same, and similar effects can be obtained.

Further, the present invention uses the replaceable head cartridge in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated as described above, and the recording head and the ink tank are separated and connected by a tube or the like. No matter what the arrangement of the head and the ink tank is, the same can be applied and the same effect can be achieved.

The present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, but among them, thermal energy is used. In this way, an excellent effect is brought about in an ink jet recording apparatus of the type that ejects ink. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
This is preferably done using the basic principles disclosed in 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type, but particularly in the case of the on-demand type, a liquid (ink) is used.
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling. , Generates heat energy in the electrothermal converter to cause film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording means (recording head), and as a result, bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. So effective.

Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make the driving signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be ejected. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,633,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Incidentally, US Pat. No. 43131 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface.
If the conditions described in the specification of No. 24 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a structure based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 138461/1984, which discloses a structure in which the above is associated with the discharge portion. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, as described above, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording material (recording medium) which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. . As such a recording head,
Either a structure that satisfies the length by combining a plurality of recording heads or a structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used. In addition, even with the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the device main body,
Alternatively, a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be electrically connected to the device body and supply ink from the device body when mounted on the device body, or an ink tank is integrally provided on the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when the cartridge type recording head described above is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means or preliminary auxiliary means to the recording head provided as a constitution of the recording apparatus in the present invention because the effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, in addition to the above-mentioned capping means, cleaning means, and suction recovery means for the recording head, a pressure-type recovery means, an electrothermal converter, or a heating other than this. It is also effective to perform stable recording by performing a preliminary heating means using an element or a combination thereof and a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection different from recording.

As described above, regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of recording heads having different recording colors and densities are provided. A plurality of inks may be provided corresponding to the ink. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be either the recording head is integrally configured or a combination of a plurality of recording heads may be used. The present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of color colors or full colors by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet. In the method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It may be in a liquid form. in addition,
Whether the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink that solidifies when left standing for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink is used. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying the thermal energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink is ejected,
The present invention is also applicable to the case of using an ink that has a property of being liquefied only by thermal energy, such as one that has already started to solidify when it reaches the recording medium.

The ink in such a case is described in JP-A-54-
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a form in which the electrothermal converter is opposed to a liquid sheet or a solid material held in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet. May be In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, besides the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. And the like may be used.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the invention of claim 1, in the ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from the recording means to the recording material,
Since the rubber-like elastic blade for cleaning the ejection port surface of the recording unit is provided with the drive unit for linearly moving substantially parallel to the ejection port surface, each ejection port of the recording unit is provided. There is provided an inkjet recording apparatus capable of performing uniform cleaning operation, and capable of efficiently cleaning the ejection port surface with a simple configuration.

In addition to the above-mentioned structure, the drive means includes a rack provided on a blade support, a pinion engaged with the rack, and an engagement between the rack and the pinion. Since the pinion is configured to be driven by a paper feed motor, an inkjet recording apparatus capable of achieving the above effect more efficiently is provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection portion of the recording means in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial side view for explaining a cleaning operation in the inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 recording means (recording head) 2 carrier 3 lead screw 4 guide shaft 5 carrier motor 6 paper feed motor 7 cam follower 8 paper feed roller 8a gear part 9a pinion 9b pinion 10 blade holder 10a rack 10b latch part 11 blade 12 Stopper

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. In an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording material, a rubber-like elastic blade for cleaning an ejection surface of the recording means is made substantially parallel to the ejection surface. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a driving unit for linearly moving. 2. The drive means includes a rack provided on a support for the blade, and a pinion engaged with the rack.
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an engagement control unit that controls engagement of the rack and the pinion. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pinion is rotationally driven by a paper feed motor. 4. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording means is an inkjet recording means including an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used for ejecting ink. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording means ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter. .