JP2001162830A - Ink supply mechanism in serial printer and method for controlling driving of the ink supply mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink supply mechanism in a serial printer and a method for controlling driving the mechanism whereby ink supply nozzles can be kept in a clean state at all times. SOLUTION: The serial printer has a carriage to which a recording head for executing printing and a sub tank for supplying an ink to the recording head are loaded, and an ink supply stand with ink supply nozzles which can couple the sub tank with a main tank where an ink for replenishing the ink of the sub tank when the carriage comes to a predetermined position is stored. The ink is discharged by the recording head, thereby executing recording in the serial printer. The serial printer is provided with a closing means 20 for tightly closing leading end parts of the ink supply nozzles.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink supply mechanism for a serial printer, and more particularly to an ink supply mechanism for a serial printer such as a copying machine or a facsimile which supplies ink to a recording head and ejects ink by the recording head to perform recording. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a serial printer which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording head, it is necessary to supply a stable ink to obtain stable recording. An ink cartridge mounted on a carriage is usually used for supplying ink. This method is the most popular method because it is the simplest configuration, but it is faster, more accurate,
There are some problems when miniaturization is achieved. First, the ink cartridge must be replaced with a new one each time it becomes empty. In particular, if the frequency of use is high, the number of times the cartridge needs to be replaced increases, so that the work becomes complicated and the ink cartridge must be stored in reserve. Increase. Further, since a large number of waste cartridge containers are generated, there are many problems in running cost and environment.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the ink cartridge.However, this naturally increases the weight of the entire carriage, necessitating an increase in the size of the apparatus and an increase in the output of the carriage drive motor. Therefore, there are significant disadvantages in high-speed driving of the carriage, cost, noise, vibration, and the like. Further, since the weight fluctuation of the carriage also increases, the operating characteristics of the carriage change during use of the printer, and it is difficult to secure stable printing accuracy.

In order to solve these problems, an ink supply means without loading an ink cartridge on a carriage is used. As a means therefor, there is a tube suction system in which the ink cartridge is stored separately from the carriage and ink is supplied using a coupling tube and a small-capacity sub-tank mounted on the carriage. According to this tube suction method, since no ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, all of the above problems can be solved, but new problems also occur. Since many printers adopting this method are compatible with high-speed printing, the carriage speed and the like are high, and the durability of the tubes and their joints is high.
Problems such as air bubble mixing and ink supply pressure fluctuation occur.

[0004] Another method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-13889.
No. 9 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 1) and JP-A-9-240
No. 020 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 2) and JP-A-8-
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 99413 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 3), the ink cartridge is stored in a place different from the carriage, and the carriage has a small-capacity sub-tank mounted thereon. There is a stand supply system in which ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the sub-tank only when it comes to the position. According to this stand supply system, the carriage operates freely during the printing operation, so that the problem that occurs in the tube suction system described above does not occur.

[0005]

However, according to the stand supply method, there is a concern that air bubbles are mixed in, an appropriate amount of ink is supplied, ink properties change when the printer is not operated, and ink supply nozzles are clogged. You. In particular, even when the ink supply nozzle is sealed with a bubble or the like on the inside, ink droplets adhere to the supply nozzle, and if the ink is a pigment ink especially when left for a long time,
Ink sticks due to drying. Further, when the dust including the dust grows, the ink supply nozzles are blocked and the supply performance is reduced, and the fitting with the sub tank is deteriorated. Also, even if you do not go that far, the ink density near the ink supply nozzle increases due to drying,
This leads to a decrease in output image quality. Further, in the above-described conventional example 1 and conventional example 2, the configuration near the ink supply nozzle is adopted such that the outside air does not come into contact with the inside of the main tank unless the ink is supplied. No drying prevention means or dust adhesion prevention means are taken. Further, in the third conventional example, although the nozzle is provided on the carriage side, no measure is taken for measures against ink drying and fixing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and has as its object to provide an ink supply mechanism and a drive control method for the mechanism in a serial printer that can always keep the ink supply nozzles in a clean state. And

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a carriage having a recording head for performing printing and a sub-tank for supplying ink to the recording head is provided.
An ink supply stand having an ink supply nozzle capable of connecting the main tank and the sub tank for storing the ink for replenishing the ink in the sub tank when the carriage comes to a predetermined position; A serial printer that performs recording by ejecting ink is characterized by having sealing means for sealing the tip of the ink supply nozzle. It is also characterized by having a cleaning means for cleaning the ink supply nozzle. Further, it is characterized by having both the sealing means and the cleaning means. Therefore, the sealing means prevents drying of the ink at the nozzle tip of the ink supply nozzle when the power of the serial printer is turned off or when the recording head is on standby, etc., keeps the ink supply nozzle clean at all times, and further cleans the ink by the cleaning means. The contamination of the supply nozzle of the supply stand can be removed, and the characteristic change of the ink supply nozzle can be prevented.

The cleaning means includes a projection which is inserted into the nozzle of the ink supply nozzle and has a brush to clean the inside of the ink supply nozzle attached thereto, and a brush for cleaning the outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle. With this, it is possible to clean the inside and the outer periphery of the ink supply nozzle, and it is possible to supply ink without impurities immediately after the cleaning. Note that the brush is rotatable in the circumferential direction of the ink supply nozzle.

Further, the cleaning means includes a projection which is inserted into the nozzle of the ink supply nozzle and to which a felt containing a solvent for dissolving the ink which has adhered to the inside of the ink supply nozzle adheres, and an outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle. By having a felt containing a solvent for cleaning the ink, the inside and the outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle can be cleaned, and ink free from impurities can be supplied immediately after the cleaning.

Further, the ink sucked by the cleaning means is filtered by the filtering means and returned to the main ink tank again, so that the amount of waste ink can be reduced.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a drive control method for an ink supply mechanism, wherein a sealing operation by a sealing means for sealing a tip end portion of an ink supply nozzle is performed when a power supply is turned off and in a standby state to clean the ink supply nozzle. The cleaning operation by the cleaning means is characterized in that the cleaning operation is performed after a lapse of a predetermined time after the completion of the previous cleaning operation and when the serial printer enters the first standby state. Therefore, when the power is turned off or in the standby state, the sealing operation is performed to keep the ink supply nozzles in a clean state at all times.Furthermore, by not performing the cleaning operation more than necessary, the print wait time can be reduced, the power consumption can be reduced. The amount of waste ink can be reduced.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sealing means for sealing the tip of an ink supply nozzle and a cleaning means for cleaning the ink supply nozzle are provided.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a serial printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration at the time of ink supply of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration at the time of nozzle cleaning. 1, 2 and 3, a recording head 12 mounted on a carriage 11 of the serial printer of the present embodiment for performing recording by discharging ink is supported by a main guide rod 13 and a front guide rod 14. Have been. The carriage 11 on which the recording head 12 is mounted reciprocates along two guide rods (arrow A in the figure), and the recording head 1
2, printing is performed by discharging ink toward the recording medium. A sub-tank 21 for storing ink at a certain time is mounted on the carriage 11, and ink is supplied from the sub-tank 21 to the recording head 12. The capacity of the sub-tank 21 is the minimum necessary for reducing the weight of the carriage 11 as the printer speeds up. For example, it is desirable to set the capacity such as the amount of ink necessary for A4 size solid printing + the safety factor. Therefore, when the amount of ink in the sub tank 21 becomes low, it is necessary to supply ink.

The ink supply is performed by the ink supply stand 15 when the carriage 11 reaches a predetermined position. The ink supply stand 15 for each of the four colors of YMCK is
The main tank 18 for each color of YMCK is directly connected via a tube or the like, and a constant head pressure is always applied. The ink supply stand 15 has an ink supply nozzle 16
And the valve 22 are provided, and when it becomes necessary to supply ink, the valve 22 is opened and the ink supply nozzle 1 is opened.
6, the ink flows out from the ink supply nozzle 16 and the ink supply nozzle 16 is simultaneously moved to the actuator 23 as shown in FIG.
Moves in the direction of arrow B in the figure, enters the carriage 11, contacts the ink supply port of the sub tank 21,
Supply of ink to the sub tank 21 becomes possible. When the ink supply is completed, the ink supply nozzle 16 is moved by the actuator 23 to the ink supply side in the direction of arrow B 'so as not to hit the carriage 11 during the carriage operation.
At the same time, the valve 22 is closed to prevent the ink from flowing out, and this state is maintained until the next ink supply. However, when the ink is not supplied, the outlet of the ink supply nozzle is opened to the atmosphere, and the ink remaining inside the ink supply nozzle and the ink droplets scattered near the outlet may be dried or adhered including dust and the like. .

In order to solve this problem, a cleaning means 20 is provided. The ink supply stand 15 is held by a rotating blanket 17 so as to be rotatable about an axis in the direction of travel of the carriage 11. And
The cleaning means 20 is provided at a position avoiding the carriage 11 immediately outside the trajectory of the tip of the ink supply nozzle 16 when the ink supply stand 15 rotates. As shown in FIG. 3, when it is determined that cleaning of the ink supply nozzle 16 is necessary, the ink supply stand 15 rotates and stops so that the direction of the ink supply nozzle 16 is directed to a position of the cleaning unit 20. Then, the ink supply nozzle 16 is moved in the direction of arrow C in FIG. The cleaning means 20 is for cleaning a portion of the ink supply nozzle 16 to which ink or dust is likely to adhere, and is capable of reliably cleaning the outer peripheral portion and the inner side of the nozzle near the nozzle opening. The ink and dust from the ink supply nozzle 16 inserted into the cleaning unit 20 are sucked, removed by the filtering unit 24 provided in the pump unit 19, and supplied to the main tank 18 again.

There are various forms of this cleaning means, and an example will be described below. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the cleaning unit in the present embodiment. In the figure, the ink supply nozzle 16 and the cleaning means 20
Since it is difficult to accurately position the ink supply nozzle 16 due to mechanical assembly, when the ink supply nozzle 16 moves in the direction of arrow C in FIG. Enter along. In addition, one of the two is attached so as to be able to freely move, and a reasonable guide is possible. Then, the ink supply nozzle 16 passes through the cap rubber 20-b having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the ink supply nozzle 16. Therefore, the inside and outside of the cleaning unit 20 can be shut off. Here, when the power is off or in a standby state for a certain period, the cap rubber 20-
By inserting the ink supply nozzle 16 into b, it is possible to prevent the ink at the tip of the ink supply nozzle 16 from drying out. Further, when the ink supply nozzle 16 advances and fits into the projection 20-e, a cleaning brush 20-d for cleaning the outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle 16 and a projection 20-e for cleaning the inside of the nozzle are provided. The brush comes in contact with the brush provided around. These brushes are rotatably mounted in the cleaning unit 20, and each of the brushes is further rotated in the circumferential direction of the ink supply nozzle 16 by the rotation unit 20-c. Therefore, ink and dust adhered to the inside and the outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle 16 can be removed. The removed ink and dust are collected in the main tank 18 via the filtering means 24 shown in FIGS.

Next, another example of the cleaning means is shown in FIG. The cleaning means shown in the figure is provided with a member containing a solvent, for example, a felt, a sponge, a foam material or the like instead of the brush shown in FIG. In this example, felt is used. In the figure, the ink supply nozzle 16 is
-G, the cleaning felt 20-f for cleaning the outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle 16
And a projection 20- for cleaning the inside of the nozzle.
It comes into contact with the felt provided around g. A solvent 20-i is always supplied to these felts by a solvent tank 20-h.
Therefore, when the ink supply nozzle 16 comes into contact with these felts, the solvent 20-i dissolves the dirt such as ink and dust adhered to the ink supply nozzle 16. After these cleaning operations, ink containing impurities or ink having an abnormal concentration exists in the ink supply nozzle 16 and the cleaning unit 20.
Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate these inks. For this purpose, a pump (not shown) is provided on the downstream side by the cleaning means 20 so that the waste ink is sucked. In addition, if the absorbed ink has been cleaned using an ink-philic solvent, the ink has a reduced concentration and becomes waste liquid as it is, but if not, it passes through the filtration means 24 of FIGS. 2 and 3. Depending on the frequency of cleaning, the state of the ink is almost the same, and if there is no problem in reusing the ink on the system of the serial printer, the ink is collected in the main ink cartridge through the filtering means 24. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of waste ink when the serial printer system of this embodiment is used.

Incidentally, it is originally desirable that the cleaning operation according to the present embodiment is not performed as much as possible. This is because the cleaning operation requires a certain amount of time, so that the print wait time increases, which wastes power and, in some cases, wastes ink. For this purpose, it is necessary to create an environment that prevents drying of the ink as much as possible. For that purpose, the time during which the ink supply nozzle is released to the outside air must be reduced as much as possible. Therefore, while the ink supply stand does not supply ink to the sub-tank in the carriage, the ink supply nozzle is guided to the side where the cleaning means is provided and capped. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce drying of the ink and adhesion of dust and the like near the ink supply nozzle, and it is possible to reduce the opportunity for operating the cleaning unit. However, it is still difficult to completely eliminate the adhesion of ink and dust on the ink supply nozzle, and therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the ink supply nozzle. Therefore, the cleaning operation is performed at regular intervals so that the frequency becomes necessary and sufficient. After a certain period of time, if the serial printer is in standby, the cleaning operation is performed immediately.If the serial printer is in operation, the cleaning operation is performed after entering the standby state. It is assumed that the cleaning operation is performed immediately after the is input.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and needless to say, various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope of the claims.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A carriage having a recording head for performing printing, a sub-tank for supplying ink to the recording head, a main tank and a sub-tank for storing ink for refilling the sub-tank when the carriage comes to a predetermined position An ink supply stand having an ink supply nozzle capable of connection with the printer, and having a sealing means for sealing a tip end portion of the ink supply nozzle in a serial printer which performs recording by discharging ink by a recording head. There are features. It is also characterized by having a cleaning means for cleaning the ink supply nozzle.
Further, it is characterized by having both the sealing means and the cleaning means. Therefore, the sealing means prevents drying of the ink at the nozzle tip of the ink supply nozzle when the power of the serial printer is turned off or when the recording head is on standby, etc., keeps the ink supply nozzle clean at all times, and further cleans the ink by the cleaning means. The contamination of the supply nozzle of the supply stand can be removed, and the characteristic change of the ink supply nozzle can be prevented.

The cleaning means includes a projection inserted into the nozzle of the ink supply nozzle and having a brush for cleaning the inside of the ink supply nozzle attached thereto, and a brush for cleaning the outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle. With this, it is possible to clean the inside and the outer periphery of the ink supply nozzle, and it is possible to supply ink without impurities immediately after the cleaning. Note that the brush is rotatable in the circumferential direction of the ink supply nozzle.

Further, the cleaning means includes a projection which is inserted into the nozzle of the ink supply nozzle and to which a felt containing a solvent for dissolving the ink adhered to the inside of the ink supply nozzle adheres, and an outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle. By having a felt containing a solvent for cleaning the ink, the inside and the outer peripheral portion of the ink supply nozzle can be cleaned, and ink free from impurities can be supplied immediately after the cleaning.

Further, the ink sucked by the cleaning means is filtered by the filtering means and returned to the main ink tank again, so that the amount of waste ink can be reduced.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a drive control method for an ink supply mechanism, wherein a sealing operation by a sealing means for sealing a tip end portion of an ink supply nozzle is performed when a power supply is off and in a standby state to clean the ink supply nozzle. The cleaning operation by the cleaning means is characterized in that the cleaning operation is performed after a lapse of a predetermined time after the completion of the previous cleaning operation and when the serial printer enters the first standby state. Therefore, when the power is turned off or in the standby state, the sealing operation is performed to keep the ink supply nozzles in a clean state at all times.Furthermore, by not performing the cleaning operation more than necessary, the print wait time can be reduced, the power consumption can be reduced. The amount of waste ink can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a serial printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration when ink is supplied according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration during nozzle cleaning according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of an example of a cleaning unit in the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of another example of the cleaning unit in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: carriage, 12: recording head, 13: main guide rod, 14: front guide rod, 15: ink supply stand, 16: ink supply nozzle, 17: rotary blanket, 18: main tank, 19: pump unit, 20: Cleaning means, 20-a: noise guide means, 20-b: rubber for cap, 20-c: rotating means, 20-d: cleaning brush, 20-e, 20-
g: protrusion, 20-f: cleaning felt, 20-
h: solvent tank, 20-i: solvent, 21: sub tank
22: valve, 23: actuator, 24: filtration means.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A carriage having a recording head for performing printing, a sub-tank for supplying ink to the recording head, and a refill for refilling the sub-tank with ink when the carriage comes to a predetermined position. A serial printer having an ink supply stand having an ink supply nozzle capable of connecting the main tank storing the ink and the sub tank, and performing recording by discharging ink by the recording head; An ink supply mechanism in a serial printer, comprising sealing means for sealing a tip portion. 2. A carriage having a recording head for performing printing, a sub-tank for supplying ink to the recording head, and a refill for refilling ink in the sub-tank when the carriage comes to a predetermined position. A serial printer that has an ink supply stand having an ink supply nozzle capable of connecting the main tank containing ink and the sub tank, and performs recording by discharging ink by the recording head; An ink supply mechanism in a serial printer, comprising a cleaning unit for cleaning. 3. A carriage having a recording head for performing printing, a sub-tank for supplying ink to the recording head, and a refill for refilling ink in the sub-tank when the carriage comes to a predetermined position. A serial printer having an ink supply stand having an ink supply nozzle capable of connecting the main tank storing the ink and the sub tank, and performing recording by discharging ink by the recording head; An ink supply mechanism in a serial printer, comprising: a sealing means for sealing a tip portion; and a cleaning means for cleaning the ink supply nozzle. 4. The serial printer according to claim 2, wherein said cleaning means has a projection which is inserted into a nozzle of said ink supply nozzle and to which a brush for cleaning the inside of said ink supply nozzle is attached. Ink supply mechanism. 5. The ink supply mechanism according to claim 2, wherein said cleaning means has a brush for cleaning an outer peripheral portion of said ink supply nozzle. 6. The ink supply mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the brush is rotatable in a circumferential direction of the ink supply nozzle. 7. A cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein said cleaning means has a projection which is inserted into a nozzle of said ink supply nozzle and to which a member containing a solvent for dissolving ink adhered inside said ink supply nozzle is attached. 3. An ink supply mechanism in the serial printer according to 3. 8. The ink supply mechanism according to claim 2, wherein said cleaning means includes a felt containing a solvent for cleaning an outer peripheral portion of said ink supply nozzle. 9. The ink supply mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the ink sucked by the cleaning unit is filtered by a filtering unit and returned to the main ink tank again. 10. A carriage having a recording head for performing printing, a sub-tank for supplying ink to the recording head, and a refill for refilling ink in the sub-tank when the carriage comes to a predetermined position. A serial printer having an ink supply stand having an ink supply nozzle capable of connecting the main tank storing the ink and the sub tank, and performing recording by discharging ink by the recording head; The sealing operation by the sealing means for sealing the leading end portion is performed when the power is off and in a standby state, and the cleaning operation by the cleaning means for cleaning the ink supply nozzle is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed after the completion of the previous cleaning operation. When the serial printer is in the first standby state Drive control method of the ink supply mechanism in the serial printer, characterized in that it is carried out in the.