JP2009292108A - Inkjet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recorder which can prevent the tip end of a recording medium from being caught and reduce the occurrence of ink mist even when a depressed portion is formed in a platen in order to perform marginless recording. <P>SOLUTION: The threading surface of a platen 22 includes a first depressed portion 30 for receiving a squeezed-out ink for performing marginless recording at the ends in the machine direction and a second depressed portion 31 for receiving a squeezed-out ink for performing marginless recording at the ends in the lateral direction. A first ink impact surface 60a and a second ink impact surface 61a are formed in the first depressed portion and the second depressed portion, respectively, by the surface of an ink absorbing member 6 mounted inside of the first depressed portion and the second depressed portion. The distance between the first ink impact surface 60a and a recording head 3 is set larger than the distance between the second ink impact surface 61a and the recording head 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that records an image by ejecting ink from a recording head onto a recording medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which a platen that supports a recording medium at a position facing a recording head is provided with a concave portion for receiving ink that is ejected when there is no margin printing.

  A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a composite device or a workstation including a computer records an image on a recording medium by a recording head based on image information. To go. Various recording systems are used as recording apparatuses, and one of them is an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink from a discharge port provided in a recording head to a recording medium. Further, the recording apparatus can be divided into a line method in which main scanning for each line and sub-scanning by pitch conveyance are alternately repeated, and a line method in which recording is performed only by sub-scanning while recording one line at a time. it can. In the recording apparatus, a platen having a sheet passing surface for guiding and supporting the conveyance of the recording medium is disposed at a position facing the recording head, and the platen defines the position of the recording medium when forming an image. ing.

  In the case of an ink jet recording apparatus, a gap for flying ink droplets is provided between the recording head and the recording medium, and this gap should be managed at an appropriate distance in order to land the ink droplets accurately. Is requested. Further, in normal recording by an ink jet recording apparatus, recording is performed with margins provided at the front and rear end portions and the left and right end portions of the recording medium. However, recording may be performed without providing margins. When performing printing without margins, in order to prevent ink stains on the platen and the recording medium, a recess is provided at a position corresponding to the end of the recording medium on the sheet passing surface of the platen, and the ink ejected by protruding the end is disposed on the recess. The structure which accepts in is taken.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an ink jet recording apparatus configured to receive ink discharged and ejected when performing marginless recording in a concave portion formed on the upper surface of the platen so as to cover the entire width of the recording medium. Has been. It is also disclosed that an ink absorbing member is loaded inside a recess formed in the platen in order to prevent the discarded ink from bouncing back and to prevent ink from spilling when the recording apparatus is transported.

Patent Document 2 discloses that an ink landing surface can be moved up and down in a region lower than a sheet passing surface of a platen, and ink adhesion to a recording medium and a platen is prevented by moving the ink landing surface away from a recording head. It is also disclosed to reduce the amount of ink floating ink by bringing the ink landing surface closer to the recording head.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-118058 JP 2003-285433 A

  However, in a platen that forms a recess over the entire width of the recording medium as in Patent Document 1, the leading end portion of the corrugated recording medium is caught by the recess, or the trailing end portion of the recording medium is soiled by ink in the recess. There was a problem. If the ink landing surface is moved away from the platen paper passing surface in order to solve these problems, the flying distance of the ejected ink will increase, the amount of ink mist that will float without landing will increase, and the platen and recording medium will be soiled. There was a problem that it was easy.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can prevent the leading end of a recording medium from being caught and reduce the occurrence of ink mist even when the platen is provided with a recess for performing marginless recording. is there.

  The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head that records an image by discharging ink onto a recording medium; and a platen that supports the recording medium at a position facing the recording head. A first concave portion for receiving ink ejected by being ejected at the end portion in the front-rear direction of the recording medium and a margin at the end portion in the left-right direction of the recording medium. A second recess for receiving the ink ejected in the first recess, and a first ink landing surface in the first recess by the surface of the first recess and the ink absorbing member loaded in the second recess. And a second ink landing surface is formed in the second recess, and the distance between the first ink landing surface and the recording head is set to be the second ink landing surface and the recording head. Characterized by greater than the distance.

  An ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing the tip of the recording medium from being caught and reducing the occurrence of ink mist and preventing ink contamination of the recording medium and the platen even when the platen is provided with a recess for performing marginless recording. Is provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment. In the present embodiment, a case where the recording medium is roll paper P will be described as an example. A sheet roll 34 wound with roll paper is rotatably mounted on a spool 42 provided in the recording apparatus. The roll paper P drawn from the sheet roll 34 is fed by the feed roller pair 35 through the roll paper path 44 to the nip between the transport roller 9 and the pinch roller 12, and then driven by the transport roller 9 to form the image forming unit 40. It is conveyed to. The image forming unit 40 is provided with a platen 22 for supporting the conveyed roll paper P at a position facing the recording head 3. In the image forming unit 40, recording is performed on the roll paper supported on the paper passing surface of the platen 22 by ejecting ink from the recording head 3 mounted on the carriage 2. The recorded roll paper P is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 32 through a paper discharge guide 33 by a paper discharge roller 16 and a spur 17. At that time, after the recording of the predetermined length of the roll paper P is finished, the rear end portion thereof is cut by a cutter (not shown) and placed on the paper discharge tray 32.

  The carriage 2 can reciprocate in a direction crossing the transport direction by a carriage motor (not shown) along a guide shaft 7 and a guide rail 8 installed in parallel to each other. On the surface of the recording head 3 that faces the platen 22, an ejection surface 3 a in which a plurality of ejection port arrays of minute ejection ports are formed is provided. In the case of color recording, a plurality of ejection port arrays for ejecting different inks are provided. Ink is supplied from the ink tank 4 through the supply tube 5 to the recording head 3. An image is recorded on the surface of the roll paper P by ejecting ink from the ejection port of the recording head 3 to the roll paper P based on the image information. In this embodiment, an image is formed line by line by ejecting ink from the recording head 3 in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 2. By alternately repeating the image formation of one line and the pitch conveyance of the roll paper P, an image is recorded in an area of the roll paper P having a predetermined length.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a platen according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of a platen according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first recess and a second recess of the platen according to the embodiment along line 5-5 in FIG. In the image forming unit 40, an image having a width D in the transport direction is formed by the recording head 3 on the roll paper P supported on the paper passing surface 11 of the platen 22. On the sheet passing surface 11 of the platen 22, concave portions for performing marginless recording are formed at the ends of the roll paper P in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. This recess is composed of a first recess 30 and a second recess 31. The first concave portion 30 is a concave portion for receiving ink that is ejected and ejected when marginless recording is performed at the front and rear end portions of the roll paper P, and the second concave portion is the left and right end portions of the roll paper P. In addition, it is a recess for receiving the ink ejected when it is printed without margins.

  The first recess 30 is disposed near the upstream side of the sheet passing surface 11 of the platen 22 and is formed by a recess having a predetermined width that covers the entire width of the maximum width roll paper P. The illustrated first recess 30 is formed over substantially the entire length of the platen 22 in the left-right direction. A plurality of suction holes 13 for applying a negative pressure suction force for causing the roll paper P to be attracted to the paper surface 11 are provided in a region of the transport surface 11 on the downstream side of the first recess 30. In the present embodiment, the plurality of suction holes 13 are arranged in a suction recess 48 formed in a predetermined pattern. The suction hole 13 and the suction recess 48 are connected to a suction fan (not shown) through a duct (not shown), and suck the back surface of the roll paper P with a predetermined negative pressure suction force applied by the control drive of the suction fan. Thereby, the roll paper P on the paper passing surface 11 is prevented from being lifted, and the gap with the recording head 3 is properly maintained.

  Since the second concave portion 31 is a concave portion for accepting ink ejected by being ejected when marginless recording is performed at the left and right end portions of the roll paper P, the left and right end portions for each size of the roll paper P are provided. Are provided at a plurality of positions corresponding to. Each of the second recesses 31 has a predetermined length (for example, a range slightly longer than the recording width D on the sheet passing surface 11) in the transport direction in an area covering a predetermined range inside and outside the edge of the roll paper P. Is formed. Each of the second recesses 31 is formed on the downstream side of the first recess 30 in the transport direction and in a region in the same range as the suction recess 48 described above in the transport direction. The reason for this is that in order to prevent the floating mist of the ink ejected into the second concave portion 31 from entering the gap between the roll paper P and the paper passing surface 11, the marginless recording at the end in the left-right direction is performed on the roll paper P. This is because it is preferably performed in the region adsorbed on the sheet passing surface 11 by the negative suction pressure.

  The first recess 30 and each second recess 30 are formed as continuous groove-shaped recesses, and the ink absorbing member 6 is loaded in these recesses. The ink absorbing member 6 is an integral member. In other words, the first absorbent member portion 60 loaded in the first recess 30 and the plurality of second absorbent material portions 61 loaded in the plurality of second recesses 31 are constituted, and the first recess 30 and the first 2 has a shape and dimension corresponding to the recess 31. A first ink landing surface 60 a for landing the ink discharged into the first recess 30 is formed by the surface of the first absorbent material portion 60. Similarly, a second ink landing surface 61 a for landing the ink discharged into each second recess 31 is formed by the surface of each second absorbent material portion 61. In the present embodiment, the first recess 30 and each second recess 31 are formed as continuous recesses, but these may be constituted by a plurality of recesses divided by partitions or the like. Further, the ink absorbing member 6 has a divided structure, and the first absorbent member portion 60 and the plurality of second absorbent member portions 61 are respectively constituted by individual members, and the first ink landing surface 60a and the first ink landing surface 60a formed on the surfaces thereof are formed. The two ink landing surfaces 61aa may be formed individually.

  The first ink landing surface 60a formed inside the first recess 30 forms a surface on the end portion in the front-rear direction of the recording medium P for landing the ink ejected by protruding the end portion when recording without margins. is doing. The second ink landing surface 61a formed inside each second concave portion 31 is a surface on which the ink ejected by protruding from the end portion of the recording medium P is printed at the left and right end portions of the recording medium P. Forming. The first ink landing surface 60 a and the second ink landing surface 61 a are disposed at a position lower than the sheet passing surface 11 of the platen 22.

  In addition, the ink landing surface 60 a in the first recess 30 is preferably located at a position that is lower than the sheet passing surface 11 of the platen 22 by a certain distance in order to avoid contact with the front end portion of the curled roll paper P. On the other hand, the ink landing surface 61 a in the second recess 31 is formed on the sheet passing surface 11 of the platen 22 in order to reduce the amount of ink mist generated by the ink ejected by protruding from the left and right ends of the roll paper P. It is preferable to arrange in a relatively shallow position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the first ink landing surface 60 a of the first absorbent member portion 60 is arranged at a deeper position away from the sheet passing surface 11 than the second ink landing surface 61 a of the second absorbent member portion 61. Has been. That is, the arrangement configuration is such that the distance between the first ink landing surface 60 a and the ejection surface 3 a of the recording head 3 is larger than the distance between the second ink landing surface 61 a and the ejection surface 3 a of the recording head 3. Yes. In the illustrated example, the thickness of the ink absorbing member 6 is made substantially uniform, and the first recess 30 is made deeper than the second recess 31, but this is also the case where the thickness of the ink absorbing member is changed. good.

  In addition, a slope 10 is formed at the end of the first recess 30 on the downstream side of the conveyance from the wall surface of the recess to the sheet passing surface 11. By providing the inclined surface 10, it is possible to more reliably prevent the leading end portion of the conveyed roll paper P from being caught on the platen 22. Further, ink contamination due to the roll paper P coming into contact with the ink landing surface 60a in the first recess 30 can be prevented more reliably. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the first ink landing surface 60 a is in a positional relationship such that it is at a position lower than the lower edge of the slope 10.

  In the above configuration, the ink ejected from the edge of the recording medium when performing marginless recording is absorbed by the ink absorbing member 6 after landing on the ink landing surfaces 60a and 61a. As a result, it is possible to perform marginless recording without staining the recording medium P or the platen 22 with ink. Further, the ink discarded in each of the recesses 30 and 31 is collected by a method such as suction by a suction means connected to these recesses or replacement of the ink absorbing member. In this case, it is also possible to collect ink by a method of landing ink on the surface of plastic or the like separately from the method of absorbing the ink by the ink absorbing member 6 as described above.

  According to the embodiment described above, even when a recess for performing marginless recording is provided at each end in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction on the sheet passing surface of the platen, the leading end of the recording medium to be recorded is caught by the recess. This can be prevented. Further, it is possible to reduce the amount of ink mist generated at the left and right ends of the recording medium. Thereby, an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing recording without margins without ink contamination of the recording medium or the platen is provided.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a platen according to a modified example of the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a partial plan view of a platen according to a modification of the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first recess and a second recess of the platen according to a modified example of the embodiment along line 8-8 in FIG. The platen 122 according to this modified example is obtained by reversing the positional relationship between the first concave portion 30, the second concave portion 31, and the suction hole 13 in the transport direction with respect to the platen 22 according to the above-described embodiment. This has the same configuration. In other words, the sheet passing surface 11 of the platen 122 that supports the recording medium P is provided with a first recess 30 for receiving the ink that is ejected when the recording medium P is printed without margins at the front and rear ends. It has been. In the present modification, the first recess 30 is disposed closer to the conveyance downstream side of the sheet passing surface 11. On the upstream side of the first recess 30 disposed on the downstream side of the transport, there is a second recess 31 for receiving the ink ejected when the marginless recording is performed at the left and right ends of the recording medium P. It is arranged. Further, a suction hole 13 for applying a negative pressure suction force for adsorbing the recording medium P to the paper surface 11 is also arranged on the upstream side of conveyance of the first concave portion 30 arranged on the downstream side of the conveyance.

  The individual configurations of the concave portions 30 and 31 and the ink absorbing member 6 provided on the platen 122 are all the same as those of the platen 22 described above. Therefore, in the platen 122, parts corresponding to those in the case of the platen 22 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Accordingly, the ink jet recording apparatus using the platen 122 according to this modified example can achieve the same operational effects as those of the ink jet recording apparatus using the platen 22 described above.

  In the above embodiment, the ink jet recording apparatus that uses paper (roll paper) wound in a roll shape as a recording medium has been described as an example. The present invention can be similarly applied to an ink jet recording apparatus that uses a recording medium of another form such as a cut sheet cut to a fixed size as a recording medium. In addition, the present invention can be applied to any inkjet recording apparatus regardless of the number and type of recording media to be used, and regardless of the number and arrangement of grooves in the width direction.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the serial type ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording with the recording head mounted on the carriage that moves along the recording medium is taken as an example. The present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to an ink jet recording apparatus of another recording method such as a line type ink jet recording apparatus that records only by sub-scanning. Further, the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus, regardless of the number of recording heads, the number of ink types used or the properties thereof, and the type of paper, plastic sheet, photographic recording paper, etc., which are recording media. Regardless, it is equally applicable.

1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inkjet recording device which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a perspective view of the platen concerning one embodiment. It is a fragmentary top view of the platen concerning one embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the 1st recessed part and 2nd recessed part of the platen which concern on one Embodiment along line 5-5 in FIG. It is a perspective view of the platen which concerns on the example of a change of one Embodiment. It is a fragmentary top view of the platen which concerns on the example of a change of one Embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the 1st recessed part and 2nd recessed part of the platen which concern on the example of a change of one Embodiment along line 8-8 in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Carriage 3 Recording Head 6 Ink Absorbing Member 60a First Ink Landing Surface 61a Second Ink Landing Surface 10 Slope 11 Paper Passing Surface 13 Suction Hole 22 Platen 30 First Concave 31 Second Concave 122 Platen P Roll Paper

Claims (7)

In an inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head that records an image by ejecting ink to a recording medium; and a platen that supports the recording medium at a position facing the recording head.
There is no margin at the end of the recording medium in the front-rear direction on the sheet passing surface of the platen, and there is no margin at the end of the recording medium in the left-right direction. A second recess for receiving the ink ejected by ejection when performing recording;
A first ink landing surface is formed inside the first recess by the surface of the ink absorbing member loaded inside the first recess and the second recess, and the second ink landing is inside the second recess. Forming a surface,
An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a distance between the first ink landing surface and the recording head is set larger than a distance between the second ink landing surface and the recording head.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first ink landing surface and the second ink landing surface are at a position lower than the sheet passing surface.   3. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inclined surface connected to the sheet passing surface is formed at an end of the first recess on the downstream side of conveyance.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first ink landing surface is at a position lower than a lower edge of the slope.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first ink landing surface and the second ink landing surface are formed on a surface of an integral ink absorbing member.   The first concave portion is arranged near the upstream side of the sheet passing surface, and the two concave portions and the recording medium are attracted to the sheet passing surface on the downstream side of the first concave portion arranged near the upstream side of the conveying. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a suction hole for applying a negative pressure suction force.   The first concave portion is arranged near the downstream side of the sheet passing surface, and the two concave portions and the recording medium are attracted to the sheet passing surface on the upstream side of the first concave portion arranged near the downstream side of the conveying. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a suction hole for applying a negative pressure suction force.

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