JP2008290313A - Fluid discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to remove deposits adhering to a wiper without solidifying.
[Solution]
The wiper 46 immersed in the cleaning liquid tank 60 is rotated counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 50 and is brought upright, and then the print head 24 is moved toward the wiper 46 (see FIG. 6A). At this time, since the wiper 46 comes into contact with the nozzle forming surface 23a, the nozzle forming surface 23a is wiped, and the wiper 46 is adhered with ink, dust and the like when wiped (see FIG. 6B). Then, when the print head 24 reaches the home position, the wiping of the nozzle forming surface 23a is completed (see FIG. 6C), and the wiper 46 is rotated clockwise about the rotation shaft 50 to the cleaning liquid tank 60. After immersing and closing the lid 58, the wiper 46 is swung. By doing so, the deposits attached to the wiper can be quickly and reliably removed without solidifying.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejection device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a fluid ejection device that can clean a wiper for wiping a nozzle forming surface of a print head is known. Such a wiper adheres ink, dust, etc. when the nozzle forming surface is wiped, and therefore, if the nozzle forming surface is wiped again without cleaning as it is, deposits such as ink, dust, etc. are formed on the nozzle forming surface. The nozzles may become clogged, which may cause troubles such as ejection failure of the print head. In view of this, for example, in the fluid ejection device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a cleaning head is provided that is provided with a cleaning head next to the print head, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the cleaning head onto the wiper immediately before wiping the nozzle forming surface. .
JP 2001-253081 A

  However, since the wiper is not cleaned immediately after wiping the nozzle forming surface in the fluid ejecting apparatus of Patent Document 1, the deposit may solidify when the interval between wiping is long. If the wiper is cleaned immediately before the surface is wiped, the solidified deposits may not be removed. In particular, in a print head that uses ink having a high viscosity, there are cases where the deposit cannot be completely removed even before the deposit is completely solidified.

  The fluid ejection device of the present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has as its main object to provide a fluid ejection device that can remove deposits adhering to the wiper without solidifying.

  The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the above-mentioned object.

The fluid ejection device of the present invention is
A discharge head having a nozzle forming surface on which a plurality of nozzles for discharging a fluid to a target are formed;
A wiper that wipes the nozzle forming surface while moving in contact with the nozzle forming surface and moving relative to the ejection head;
A cleaning liquid tank for storing a cleaning liquid and immersing and cleaning the wiper;
Moving means for moving the wiper between a position in contact with the nozzle forming surface and a position in which the wiper is immersed in the cleaning liquid tank;
It is equipped with.

  In this fluid ejection device, when wiping the nozzle forming surface, the wiper is moved to a position where the wiper contacts the nozzle forming surface, and when the wiper is cleaned, the wiper is moved to a position where the wiper is immersed in the cleaning liquid tank. By doing so, the deposits attached to the wiper when the nozzle forming surface is wiped can be removed without solidifying.

  In the fluid ejection device of the present invention, the moving means may swing the wiper when the wiper is immersed in the cleaning liquid tank. In this way, it is possible to remove the deposits adhering to the wiper faster and more reliably than when simply immersing in the cleaning liquid tank.

  In the fluid ejection device of the present invention, a lid that can freely open and close the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank through which the wiper enters and exits, and when the wiper contacts the nozzle forming surface, the lid is opened in advance, and the wiper When immersed in the cleaning liquid tank, lid opening / closing means for closing the lid may be provided. In this way, when the wiper is swung, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from being scattered around and to prevent the foreign matter from falling into the cleaning liquid tank.

  In the fluid ejection device of the present invention, the moving means may rotate the wiper about a rotation axis. In this way, the wiper can be moved relatively easily.

  In the fluid ejection device of the present invention, the lid opening / closing means may open and close the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank by rotating the lid around the rotation axis. By doing so, the wiper and the lid have a common rotation axis, so that the space can be reduced.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a configuration of an ink jet printer 10 which is an embodiment of a fluid ejection device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a wiper device 45, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cleaning liquid tank 60. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 10 of the present embodiment has a printer mechanism 21 that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets onto a sheet S that is conveyed from the back to the front of the platen 44 by a paper feed roller 35. A wiper device 45 installed near the right end of the platen 44, a capping device 40 installed on the right side of the wiper device 45, a controller 70 for controlling the entire inkjet printer 10, and a user inputs various instructions. An operation panel 80 for notifying the user of various types of information is provided.

  The printer mechanism 21 includes a drive motor 33 that rotationally drives the paper feed roller 35, a carriage 22 that reciprocates in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) along a guide 28 by a carriage belt 32 and a carriage motor 34, and the carriage 22. And an ink cartridge 26 individually containing ink of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and pressure applied to each ink supplied from each ink cartridge 26 A print head 24 and a nozzle 23 that discharges ink droplets pressurized by the print head 24 onto the paper S are provided. A linear encoder 25 that detects the position of the carriage 22 is disposed on the rear surface of the carriage 22, and the position of the carriage 22 can be managed using the linear encoder 25. The print head 24 may employ a method in which ink is pressurized by bubbles generated by applying voltage to a heating resistor (for example, a heater) to heat the ink.

  The wiper device 45 is installed at a position off the right side in FIG. 1 from the printable area of the platen 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper device 45 is a flat wiper 46 made of an elastic member such as synthetic rubber, a support portion 48 made of a plastic member that supports the wiper 46, and the center of rotational movement of the wiper 46. A rotating shaft 50, a wiper moving motor 54 using a stepping motor capable of transmitting rotational force to the rotating shaft 50 with a belt 56 to rotate the wiper 46 and stop it at a predetermined position, and pure cleaning liquid A cleaning liquid tank 60 for storing water and immersing the wiper 46 for cleaning, a supply valve 62 for opening the supply valve 64 and supplying a new cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid tank 60, and a discharge valve 68 for opening the discharge liquid 68 are discharged from the cleaning liquid tank 60. A waste liquid tank 66 for receiving the cleaning liquid is included. The cleaning liquid tank 60 includes a lid 58 that can open and close the upper surface through which the wiper 46 enters and exits. As shown in FIG. 3, the lid 58 has a hollow cylindrical portion 58c formed by cutting out a part so that protrusions 52a and 52b (see FIG. 2) provided on the rotary shaft 50 protrude. The rotary shaft 50 is inserted through the lid 58 so that the lid 58 can rotate independently of the rotation of the rotary shaft 50. Further, the lid 58 rotates in the direction in which the cleaning liquid tank 60 is closed by rotating the rotating shaft 50 clockwise in FIG. 2 in a state where the protrusion 52a of the rotating shaft 50 is in contact with the outer surface 58a. The rotating shaft 50 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 in a state where the protrusion 52b is in contact, thereby rotating the cleaning liquid tank 60 in the opening direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the capping device 40 includes a housing that is installed on the right side of the wiper device 45 and that has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is open at the top. The capping device 40 is used when the print head 24 is sealed in order to prevent the print head 24 from drying during a printing pause or the like. Further, the capping device 40 performs a so-called flushing operation in which ink droplets are ejected periodically or at a predetermined timing regardless of print data in order to prevent the ink from drying and solidifying at the tip of the nozzle 23. Sometimes used. The position on the capping device 40 is also referred to as a home position.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 70 is configured as a microprocessor centered on the CPU 72, and has a ROM 73 that stores various processing programs such as a wiper operation routine, and temporarily stores data and stores data. A RAM 74, a flash memory 75 capable of writing and erasing data, an interface (I / F) 76 for exchanging information with an external device, a timer 77 used for timing, and an input / output port (not shown) It has. A position detection signal from the linear encoder 25, a control signal from the operation panel 80, an on / off signal from the power switch 82, and the like are input to the controller 70 via an input port (not shown). Etc. are input via the I / F 76. Further, from the controller 70, a control signal to the print head 24, a control signal to the drive motor 33, a control signal to the carriage motor 34, a control signal to the wiper moving motor 54, a display command signal to the operation panel 80, and the like. Are output via an output port (not shown), and print status information and the like are output to the user PC 90 via the I / F 76.

  Next, the function of the ink jet printer 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, in particular, the operation of moving the wiper 46 to wipe the nozzle forming surface 23a and then cleaning the wiper 46 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a wiper operation routine, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for moving the wiper 46 from the dipping position to the wiping position, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for the wiper 46 wiping the nozzle forming surface 23a. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of moving the wiper 46 from the wiping position to the dipping position and swinging it in the cleaning liquid tank 60. This wiper operation routine is stored in the ROM 73, and when a predetermined time elapses during printing of the print job, or when the operator determines that the nozzle forming surface 23a needs to be wiped from the state of the printed material and presses a cleaning button (not shown). Executed.

  When this routine is started, the CPU 72 first determines whether or not the print head 24 is in the standby position based on the value of the linear encoder 25 (step S100). This standby position is stored in advance in the ROM 73 as a position that does not come into contact with the print head 24 even when the lid 58 rotates (see FIG. 6A). When the print head 24 is not in the standby position, the CPU 72 controls the carriage motor 34 so that the print head 24 moves to the standby position based on the value of the linear encoder 25 (step S110). On the other hand, when the print head 24 is in the standby position, the wiper moving motor 54 is driven to move the wiper 46 from the dipping position to the wiping position (step S120). This immersion position is a position where the entire wiper 46 is immersed in the cleaning liquid tank 60 (see FIG. 5A), and the wiping position is a position where the wiper 46 is in contact with the nozzle forming surface 23a substantially vertically (see FIG. 5). 5 (c)), both are stored in the ROM 73 in advance. The wiper 46 rises while rotating from the immersion position by driving the wiper moving motor 54 (see FIG. 5B), and stops at the wiping position by stopping the wiper moving motor 54 (see FIG. 5C). At this time, the lid 58 rotates in a direction to open the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank 60 by the projection 52b coming into contact with the inner surface 58b, and therefore, the lid 58 rotates by its own weight after rising straight (see FIG. 5B). Then (see FIG. 5C), the outer surface 58a comes into contact with the protrusion 52a and stops (see FIG. 5D).

  Next, the CPU 72 drives the carriage motor 34 to move the print head 24 rightward from the standby position (step S130). At this time, since the wiper 46 abuts on the nozzle forming surface 23a, the nozzle forming surface 23a is wiped off, and ink, dust and the like when wiping are attached to the wiper 46 (see FIG. 6B). Then, it is detected whether or not the print head 24 has reached the home position (step S140). If the print head 24 has not reached the home position in step S140, the process returns to step S130. If it has reached, the wiping of the nozzle forming surface 23a has been completed (see FIG. 6C). The moving motor 54 is driven to move the wiper 46 from the wiping position to the dipping position (step S150). The wiper 46 moves while rotating from the wiping position by driving the wiper moving motor 54 (see FIG. 7A), and stops at the immersion position by stopping the wiper moving motor 54 (see FIG. 7B). . At this time, the lid 58 rotates in a direction to close the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank 60 by the protrusion 52a coming into contact with the outer surface 58a. Therefore, the lid 58 rotates by its own weight after rising straight (see FIG. 7B). Then, the inner surface 58b comes into contact with the cleaning liquid tank 60 and stops (see FIG. 7C).

  Next, the CPU 72 drives the wiper moving motor 54 to swing the wiper 46 based on a predetermined swing condition, and measures the elapsed time by the timer 77 (step S160). The predetermined swing condition includes the rotation speed (swing speed) of the wiper moving motor 54, the forward / reverse rotation period, the amplitude of the wiper 46, the swing time, and the like, which are obtained in advance through experiments and stored in the ROM 73. . Here, a plurality of swing times are obtained by experiments and stored as necessary times according to the amount of deposits attached to the wiper 46 and the degree of drying with respect to a constant swing speed. The optimal swing time is determined in consideration of the amount of deposits that will adhere to the wiper 46 and the degree of drying from the time interval from the execution of this routine. Then, it is determined whether or not the predetermined swing time has elapsed based on the value of the timer 77 (step S170). If the predetermined swing time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S160 again and has elapsed. For example, the driving of the wiper moving motor 54 is stopped and the swing of the wiper 46 is stopped (step S180), and this routine is finished. As described above, since the wiper 46 is swung in the cleaning liquid tank 60 (see FIG. 7D), the adhered matter such as ink and dust attached to the wiper 46 is quickly and surely removed without solidifying. (See FIG. 7E).

  Further, the CPU 72 stores the cumulative number of times that the wiper operation routine has been executed in the flash memory 75, and controls the opening and closing of the discharge valve 68 and the supply valve 64 when the predetermined number of times is reached, so that the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 60 is drained. The liquid is discharged to the tank 66 and a new cleaning liquid is supplied from the supply tank 62. Note that the predetermined number of times is obtained in advance by experiments or the like and stored in the ROM 73 as the number of times that the cleaning liquid becomes dirty and the sufficient cleaning ability cannot be exhibited.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The ink jet printer 10 of this embodiment corresponds to the fluid discharge device of the present invention, the print head 24 corresponds to the discharge head, the wiper moving motor 54 corresponds to the moving means, the ink droplet corresponds to the fluid, and the paper S Corresponds to the target.

  According to the ink jet printer 10 of the present embodiment described in detail above, the wiper moving motor 54 moves the wiper 46 to the wiping position when wiping the nozzle forming surface 23 a, and the wiper moving motor 54 is moved when cleaning the wiper 46. Since the wiper 46 is moved after being moved to the immersion position and then swung, it is possible to quickly and reliably remove the deposits attached to the wiper 46 without solidifying.

  Further, since the lid 58 of the cleaning liquid tank 60 is closed when the wiper 46 is swung, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from splashing around and prevent foreign matter from falling into the cleaning liquid tank 60.

  Further, since the wiper 46 and the lid 58 are rotationally moved around the rotation shaft 50, the wiper 46 can be moved relatively easily and a space can be reduced.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, the swing of the wiper 46 is timed by the timer 77 and terminated, but may be always performed during immersion. Further, the swing may be performed according to the number of executions of the wiper operation routine. Even if it does in this way, the effect similar to embodiment mentioned above is acquired.

  In the above-described embodiment, the swing time of the wiper 46 is variable. However, the swing speed may be variable. Here, a plurality of rocking speeds are obtained by experiments and stored as necessary speeds according to the amount of deposits attached to the wiper 46 and the degree of drying for a certain rocking time. The optimum rocking speed is determined in consideration of the amount of deposits that will adhere to the wiper 46 and the degree of drying from the time interval from the execution of this routine. In this way, even when the rocking time is limited to a short time, the deposits attached to the wiper 46 can be reliably removed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the attached matter is easily removed by swinging the wiper 46. However, the attached matter on the wiper 46 is removed by performing ultrasonic cleaning that propagates ultrasonic waves to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 60. It may be easy to remove.

  In the above-described embodiment, pure water is used as the cleaning liquid, but a cleaning liquid containing an ink solvent as a main component and a surfactant contained in the ink may be used. Alternatively, the cleaning liquid may be heated to increase the cleaning power.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lid 58 is rotated by providing the protrusions 52 a and 52 b on the rotating shaft 50 of the wiper 46. However, the lid 58 is provided with the lid rotating shaft 92 and the lid rotating motor 94 and the belt 96. The lid 58 may be rotated (see FIG. 8). In addition, about the same component as embodiment mentioned above in FIG. 8, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank 60 may be opened and closed by adopting a winding shutter or a sliding lid without rotating.

  In the above-described embodiment, the wiper 46 is rotated about the rotation shaft 50. However, the wiper 46 may be moved up and down using an elevating mechanism.

  In the above-described embodiment, the wiper movement motor 54 is driven by the control of the CPU 72 to move or swing the wiper 46. The wiper 46 may be driven to move or swing. Alternatively, the operator may directly move or swing the wiper 46 manually.

  In the embodiment described above, the wiper 46 cleans the nozzle forming surface 23a while the print head 24 moves. However, the wiper 46 may move. Although the inkjet printer 10 has been described as a serial printer, it may be a line head type printer in which nozzles are arranged in the same length as the paper width.

  In the above-described embodiment, ink is ejected onto the paper S. However, printing may be performed by ejecting any fluid to any target such as various disks such as CDs and DVDs, glass plates, and metal plates.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an outline of the configuration of an inkjet printer. Explanatory drawing of the wiper apparatus 45. FIG. The perspective view of the washing | cleaning-liquid tank 60. FIG. Explanatory drawing showing an example of a wiper action | operation routine. Explanatory drawing which moves the wiper 46. FIG. Explanatory drawing in which the wiper 46 wipes off the nozzle formation surface 23a. Explanatory drawing which makes the wiper 46 move and rock | fluctuates. An explanatory view of another example of the wiper device 45. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inkjet printer, 21 Printer mechanism, 22 Carriage, 23 Nozzle, 23a Nozzle formation surface, 24 Print head, 25 Linear encoder, 26 Ink cartridge, 28 Guide, 32 Carriage belt, 33 Drive motor, 34 Carriage motor, 35 Paper feed Roller, 40 Capping device, 44 Platen, 45 Wiper device, 46 Wiper, 48 Support, 50 Rotating shaft, 52a, 52b Protrusion, 54 Wiper moving motor, 56 Belt, 58 Lid, 58a Outer surface, 58b Inner surface, 58c Hollow cylindrical part, 60 cleaning liquid tank, 62 supply tank, 64 supply valve, 66 waste liquid tank, 68 discharge valve, 70 controller, 72 CPU, 73 ROM, 74 RAM, 75 flash memory, 76 interface (I / ), 77 timer, 80 control panel, 82 power switch 90 the user PC, 92 cover rotating shaft, 94 a lid rotating motor, 96 a belt.

Claims (5)

A discharge head having a nozzle forming surface on which a plurality of nozzles for discharging a fluid to a target are formed;
A wiper that wipes the nozzle forming surface while moving in contact with the nozzle forming surface and moving relative to the ejection head;
A cleaning liquid tank for storing a cleaning liquid and immersing and cleaning the wiper;
Moving means for moving the wiper between a position in contact with the nozzle forming surface and a position in which the wiper is immersed in the cleaning liquid tank;
A fluid ejection device comprising: The moving means swings the wiper when the wiper is immersed in the cleaning liquid tank.
The fluid ejection device according to claim 1. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2,
A lid that can freely open and close the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank into and out of the wiper;
A lid opening / closing means for opening the lid in advance when the wiper contacts the nozzle forming surface, and closing the lid when the wiper is immersed in the cleaning liquid tank;
A fluid ejection device comprising: The moving means rotates the wiper about a rotation axis;
The fluid ejection device according to claim 1. The lid opening / closing means opens and closes the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank by rotating the lid around the rotation axis;
The fluid ejection device according to claim 4.

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