JP4631457B2 - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste liquid removal structure provided in a waste liquid tank and a liquid ejecting apparatus including such a waste liquid removal structure.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus that is a liquid ejecting apparatus includes an ink jet recording head that is a liquid ejecting head. This ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as “recording head”) is provided with a large number of nozzles arranged in a row in order to eject ink onto recording paper or the like.
In order to maintain good ink discharge from the recording head, a suction operation may be performed to discharge the ink.
Also, if the nozzle is left as it is during non-printing (resting) when ink is not ejected from the nozzle on the recording paper, the ink in the nozzle dries, etc., resulting in ejection failure when printing is started. There is a possibility that ink may be ejected idle from the recording head at a predetermined timing.

Waste ink as waste liquid discharged by these operations is guided to a waste liquid tank provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus via a waste liquid tube and stored in the waste liquid tank (for example, Patent Documents). 1).
JP 2003-94692 (FIG. 3, FIG. 4 etc.)

FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of the waste liquid tank.
In the illustrated waste liquid tank T, a tube 1 that guides the waste liquid into the tank opens to a predetermined height in the tank. More specifically, a recess is formed in the vicinity of the bottom 3 of the waste liquid tank T with an absorbent material surrounded by an absorbent, and the opening of the tube 1 is disposed at a predetermined height in the recess as shown in FIG. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 9, the waste ink 4 guided by the tube 1 falls from the opening 2 of the tube 1 and is impregnated with the surrounding absorbent material.
However, as shown in FIG. 10, when the waste ink 4 is dried and gradually accumulated, it may reach the opening 2 of the tube 1, adhere to the opening 2, and be blocked.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and a waste liquid removing structure for preventing a waste liquid accumulated in a tank from blocking a tube opening that guides the waste liquid into the waste liquid tank. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus having a removal structure.

In the present invention, the above-described object is to provide a waste liquid removal unit for removing waste liquid that has been dried and accumulated under the tube opening in a waste liquid tank in which a tube for guiding the waste liquid is opened at a predetermined height. This is achieved by the waste liquid removal structure.
According to the above configuration, the waste liquid dropped from the tube opening in the waste liquid tank is removed from below, so that the waste liquid dripped onto the tank bottom surface and dried and gradually accumulated reaches the tube opening. Without being blocked.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus having a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle for ejecting liquid to a target, wherein the waste liquid tank stores the waste liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting head. In the waste liquid tank, a tube that guides the waste liquid is opened at a predetermined height, and a waste liquid removing unit for removing the waste liquid that has been dried and accumulated at a position below the tube opening. This is achieved by a liquid ejecting apparatus provided with
According to the above configuration, in the waste liquid tank of the liquid ejecting apparatus, the waste liquid dropped from the tube opening that guides the waste liquid is removed from below, so that it is dropped on the tank bottom surface, dried, and gradually accumulated. The waste liquid does not reach the tube opening and is prevented from being blocked.

Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the waste liquid removing unit includes transport means for transporting the waste liquid dropped from the tube opening in a direction displaced in a horizontal direction from at least a position directly below the opening.
According to the above configuration, the waste liquid dripping from the tube opening is captured below and transported in the horizontal direction, so that the gradually accumulated waste liquid does not reach the tube opening and is prevented from being blocked. Is done.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removing unit attached to the transport unit and configured to remove the waste liquid adhering to the tube opening. In addition to transporting the waste liquid, it is possible to remove the remaining waste liquid by sticking to the periphery of the tube opening or closing the opening.
Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the conveying means is a belt-type conveyor disposed immediately below the tube opening.
According to the above configuration, when the waste liquid dropped from the tube opening is conveyed in the horizontal direction, the waste liquid can be easily removed by capturing the waste liquid on the belt.

In another aspect of the present invention, the belt is erected from the bottom surface of the waste liquid tank, and adheres to the conveyor belt when the conveyor belt of the belt type conveyor is reversed in a direction opposite to the direction toward the tube opening. A scraping means for scraping off the waste liquid is provided.
According to the above configuration, the waste liquid dropped from the tube opening may be trapped on the belt, and then the waste liquid may be deposited on the belt. Can be prevented.

In another aspect of the present invention, a suction pump for sucking the waste liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting head is provided, and a driving unit of the suction pump also serves as a driving unit of the conveying unit. It is characterized by.
According to the said structure, it is not necessary to prepare an independent drive means about the said conveyance means in the said waste-liquid removal structure, space saving can be achieved and the manufacturing cost can also be suppressed.
Further, by interlocking the suction pump and the transport means, the operation of discharging the waste liquid by the suction pump and the operation of transporting the waste liquid can be easily synchronized.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “recording apparatus”) 100 according to an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus of the invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 100 includes a carriage 101. The carriage 101 is guided by a guide member 104 via a timing belt 103 driven by a carriage motor 102 and reciprocally moves in the axial direction of the platen 105. It is configured to be.

  For example, an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as “recording head”) 110 (see FIG. 2), which is a liquid ejecting head, which will be described later, is mounted on the side of the carriage 101 in FIG. In addition, an ink cartridge section 106 for supplying, for example, ink, which is a liquid to the recording head 110, is detachably loaded on the top thereof. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, the ink cartridge unit 106 that is one form of the ink tank includes a plurality of ink cartridges that can be independently replaced.

As shown in FIG. 1, a capping unit 120, a suction pump 130, and a wiping member 140 are disposed in a non-printing area (home position) where the recording paper 200 is not disposed.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state where the carriage 101 of FIG. 1 has moved to the home position and the capping means 120 is in contact with the recording head 110.
As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a nozzle plate 111 that is a nozzle forming member in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink is formed is disposed on the lower surface of the recording head 110.

In addition, the nozzle plate 111 abuts against the wiping member 140 when the recording head 110 moves together with the carriage 101 from the home position to the print region in FIG. 1, and the nozzle plate surface 111 is wiped by the wiping member 140 to perform cleaning. It becomes the composition which is done.
As shown in FIG. 2, the capping unit 120 includes a cap holder 121 having an open upper surface and a concave shape, and a cap member 122 accommodated in the cap holder 121.
Further, for example, an ink absorbing material 123 which is a liquid holding means impregnated with ink is disposed on the inner bottom of the cap member 122. The ink absorbing material 123 is preferably formed of a hydrophilic material, and can be formed of, for example, a sponge made of polyvinyl alcohol which is a foaming material.
The capping means 120 has a slider 124 and a rotating arm 125 for moving the slider 124 up and down.

  Then, when the capping unit 120 is moved by the rotating arm 125 and the cap member 122 of the capping unit 120 contacts the nozzle plate 111 of the recording head 110 as shown in FIG. 2, the capping unit 120 covers the nozzle. Will be placed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the capping means 120 is connected to the atmosphere opening port 128 and the suction pump 130.
For this reason, when the atmosphere in the capping unit 120 is sucked by the suction pump 130 with the air opening 128 opened, the atmosphere in the capping unit 120 becomes negative pressure and the ink impregnated in the ink absorbing material 123 is sucked into the suction pump. It is configured to be discharged by 130.

Here, liquid replenishment may be performed by ejecting ink droplets from an opening (not shown) of the recording head 110 to the ink absorbing material 123 accommodated in the cap member 122 of the capping unit 120 of FIG.
This is because if the ink absorbing material 123 is dried, even if the capping unit 120 covers the nozzle during non-printing, the nozzle cannot be effectively dried, and the ink remaining in the nozzle is dried. Because it will end up.
For this reason, the ink discharge operation is performed, and such an ink discharge operation is called flushing. This is the same as the operation of ejecting ink at the time of printing, and the target is not the printing paper 200 (see FIG. 1) as a target, but the ink stored in the cap member 122 of the capping unit 120 at the home position. It differs in that it is performed on the absorbent material 123.

Also, if bubbles are mixed in the ink in the recording head 110 or there is thickened ink in the ink path or pressure chamber, the normal flow of the ink is hindered and normal ink ejection cannot be performed. is there. In this case, the ink is forcibly discharged by the function of the suction pump 130 described in FIG.
The ink forcibly discharged by the suction pump 130 is sent as waste liquid through a waste liquid tube (hereinafter referred to as “tube”) 11 and dropped from the tube opening 12 in the waste liquid tank 13.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a structure around the waste liquid tank 13, and more specifically, a schematic perspective view of a lower case 17 which is a part of a casing of the ink jet recording apparatus (FIG. 1).
FIG. 3 shows specific modes of the cap member 122 and the suction pump 130 described in FIG.
In FIG. 3, a groove-shaped guide 11 a extends from the vicinity of the suction pump 130 to the bottom of the lower case 17. The guide 11a accommodates the tube 11 described with reference to FIG. A wall 14 for partitioning is erected on the bottom of the lower case 17, and the inside thereof is a waste liquid tank 13. Inside the wall 14, for example, a sponge-like ink absorbing material (hereinafter referred to as “absorbing material”) 15 is disposed, and the waste ink is guided to the tube 11 and sent to the bottom of the lower case 17. And is absorbed by the absorbent material 15.
An opening 16 is formed in a part of the absorbent material 15 arranged at the bottom of the lower case 17, and the tip of the guide 11 a is located at a predetermined height from the bottom of the waste liquid tank 13 in the opening 16. It arrange | positions with the holding | maintenance part 11b.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic front view showing the vicinity of the opening 16 provided in the absorbent 15 at the bottom of the lower case at a front position facing the tube opening 12, and FIG. 5 is a schematic side view thereof. .
In these drawings, the opening 12 of the tube 11 is fixed at a predetermined height position from the bottom of the waste liquid tank. Below the tube opening 12 and directly below it, a belt type conveyor 21 arranged horizontally is arranged. This belt type conveyor 21 is one aspect of the waste liquid removing structure or the waste liquid removing unit of the liquid ejecting apparatus.

In FIG. 4, the belt type conveyor 21 has pulleys 22 and 22 that are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, and a conveyor belt (hereinafter referred to as “belt”) 23 is stretched between the pulleys 22 and 22. It is installed.
As shown in FIG. 5, the drive shaft 31 is connected to one of the pulleys 22 and 22 in FIG. 4, and the drive shaft 31 is a drive means via a predetermined speed reduction means 28 such as a gear (gear train). The motor 26 is connected. The motor 26 as the driving means may be provided alone, but preferably it is also used as the motor of the suction pump 130 in FIG. Thereby, space saving is achieved and manufacturing cost is also suppressed.

  On the bottom surface (upward surface) of the waste liquid tank, a scraper 24 as a scraping means stands up directly below the belt type conveyor 21. The tip of the scraper 24 is positioned so as not to reach the lower surface of the belt type conveyor 21 slightly. That is, the waste liquid removing unit includes a belt type conveyor 21 and, additionally, a scraper 24. The tip of the scraper 24 may come into contact with the belt 23, but it is a position where it does not reach slightly because it becomes a load when the belt is driven. If the load is at an acceptable level, the contact can surely be removed.

In this embodiment, the waste liquid removal structure is configured as described above. Next, the operation thereof will be described.
In FIG. 5, when the motor 26 as the driving means is rotated, the rotation is reduced to a predetermined rotational speed by the speed reducing means 28, and the pulley 22 on the driven side of the belt type conveyor 21 in FIG. 4 is rotated. . Thus, when the driving pulley 22 is rotated in the arrow direction, the belt 23 is moved in the arrow direction, and the driven pulley 22 is also rotated in the arrow direction.

  In this state, when the waste ink is dropped from the opening 12 of the tube 11, the ink falls on the belt 23 and is conveyed in the horizontal direction as it is, as indicated by reference numeral 25. If the belt 23 continues to move in the direction of the arrow as it is, the belt 23 reverses and the surface of the belt 23 faces away from the direction facing the opening 12 of the nozzle 11, that is, faces downward in FIG. It reaches the erected place. Here, since there is only a very small gap between the scraper 24 and the belt 23, the ink 25-1 on the belt 23 is scraped against the scraper 24 and removed by lowering the wall surface of the scraper 24. Is done. Alternatively, the ink 25-1 on the belt naturally falls by its own weight until reaching the scraper 24. Instead of scraping with a scraper, instead of or in addition to this, the ink may be absorbed by a member that absorbs ink formed of a material having liquid absorbency.

Here, the belt-type conveyor 21 may be always driven while the liquid ejecting apparatus is activated or in the sleep state, or is intermittently driven at a driving interval with a predetermined time. May be.
Further, as described above, when the driving means of the suction pump 130 and the motor 26 are used in combination, the belt-type conveyor 21 is driven in accordance with the driving of the suction pump 130, thereby opening the opening 12 of the tube 11. Thus, the ink 25 dropped on the belt 23 can be immediately removed.
As described above, in the liquid ejecting apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the waste liquid accumulated in the tank from blocking the tube opening that guides the waste liquid into the waste liquid tank.

FIG. 6 shows another configuration example of the waste liquid removal structure.
This example differs from the structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 only in that the scraping means is arranged not on the waste liquid tank side but on the belt type conveyor side.
That is, the scraper 27-1 is integrally formed on the belt 23 of the belt type conveyor 21 so that the scraper 27-1 stands from the surface thereof, and the scraper does not stand on the bottom surface of the waste liquid tank.

The scraper 27-1 of FIG. 6 is fixed on the belt 23 or formed integrally with the belt 23, and stands upright. In FIG. 5, the arrangement position of the scraper 27-1 is indicated by a chain line. As shown in the drawing, the scraper 27-1 is formed so that its tip reaches at least the opening 12 of the tube 11 or higher than this, and does not interfere with the tube 11 at a slight distance. Has been placed. The tube 11 and the scraper 27-1 may be in a positional relationship of interfering with each other as long as there is no problem of ink splattering when the tube 11 and the scraper 27-1 are in contact with each other or the load of driving the belt type conveyor 21.
Preferably, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of scrapers may be provided at different positions on the belt 23 with the same configuration. In the illustrated case, a scraper 27-1 and a scraper 27-2 are provided. ing.

In the above configuration, when the belt-type conveyor 21 is driven and the belt 23 moves in the arrow direction, the scrapers 27-1 and 27-2 also move in the arrow direction. In this case, the ink 25 on the belt 23 is conveyed in the horizontal direction by the movement of the belt 23. In addition to this, the ink 25-3 stuck in the semi-dried state on the periphery of the opening 12 of the tube 11 is scraped off by the scraper 27-1, and at the position where the belt 23 is reversed, the location of the scraper 27-2. The ink 25-4 is removed from the wall surface as shown in FIG. Instead of scraping with a scraper, instead of or in addition to this, the ink may be absorbed by a member that absorbs ink formed of a material having liquid absorbency.
As described above, in this example, not only ink dropped from the opening 12 of the tube 11 but also ink stuck to the periphery of the opening 12 can be removed.

7 and 8 are schematic perspective views showing the relationship between the extending direction of the tube 11 and the arrangement position of the belt type conveyor 21. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the belt-type conveyor 21 may be arranged in a direction orthogonal to or intersecting with the direction in which the tube 11 extends, and the conveying method is performed in the same direction as the direction in which the tube 11 extends as shown in FIG. The belt type conveyor 21 may be arranged.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Furthermore, a part of the configuration of each embodiment described above may be omitted, or may be configured in combination with each other. The present invention is not limited to an ink jet recording apparatus, but a recording head used in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a color material ejecting head used in manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and an FED Electrode material ejecting heads used for electrode formation such as displays), liquid ejecting apparatuses using liquid ejecting heads for ejecting liquids such as bioorganic ejecting heads used for biochip manufacturing, sample ejecting apparatuses as precision pipettes, etc. Applicable.

1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the carriage in FIG. 1 is moved to a home position and a capping unit is in contact with a recording head. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a structure around a lower case of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a waste liquid removal structure of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a waste liquid removal structure of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1. The figure which shows the modification of the waste liquid removal structure of FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the relationship between the extending direction of a tube and the arrangement position of a belt-type conveyor. The schematic perspective view which shows the relationship between the extending direction of a tube and the arrangement position of a belt-type conveyor. The expansion perspective view of the bottom part of the waste liquid tank in the conventional liquid ejecting apparatus. The enlarged side view of the bottom part of the waste liquid tank in the conventional liquid ejecting apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Tube, 12 ... (Tube) opening, 13 ... Waste liquid tank, 21 ... Belt type conveyor, 23 ... Belt, 24, 27, 27-1, 27-2 ... Scraping means, 100 ... ink jet recording apparatus, 101 ... carriage, 102 ... carriage motor, 103 ... timing belt, 104 ... guide member, 105 ... platen, 120 ... Capping means, 121 ... cap holder, 122 ... cap member

Claims (2)

A liquid ejecting apparatus having a liquid ejection head having nozzles for ejecting liquid onto a data Getto,
A suction pump for sucking waste liquid discharged from the liquid jet head;
A waste liquid tank for storing the waste liquid discharged from the liquid jet head;
Guiding the waste liquid into the waste liquid tank, and a tube having an opening in the waste liquid tank;
A waste liquid removing unit that removes the waste liquid led into the waste liquid tank from the opening of the tube, and
The waste liquid removing unit
A belt type conveyor having an annular conveying belt that receives and conveys the waste liquid derived from the tube opening;
A removing means that stands up from the inner surface of the waste liquid tank, is disposed at a position facing the conveyor belt of the belt type conveyor on the bottom surface side of the waste liquid tank, and removes the waste liquid adhering to the conveyor belt; And a liquid ejecting apparatus. 2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the removing unit is disposed downstream of a position directly below the tube opening in a moving direction of the transport belt on a bottom surface side of the waste liquid tank.

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