JP2719175B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that uses heat radiated from an ink jet recording head as a heat source of a fixing unit.

[Conventional technology]

A liquid jet recording apparatus that discharges a recording liquid from a recording head to record information such as characters and images has a lower operation noise than other recording methods, has a simple mechanical structure, and is easy to colorize. Has advantages. In recent years, an ink jet recording apparatus using an ink jet recording head has been proposed in response to a demand for higher speed. Therefore, temperature control is basically required. In particular, in the case of an ink jet recording head, the amount of thermal energy generated depending on the print pattern becomes enormous. Therefore, when controlling the temperature, it is necessary to provide not only a heating means but also a heat radiating means. Furthermore, depending on the type of recording paper and the recording speed, the recording liquid may be discharged without drying, and image stains may occur.Therefore, fixing methods include a method of pressing a hot plate from the back of the recording paper and a method of using a recording head. There is a method in which a hot air generating source is provided as a fixing unit separately from the heating unit and the heat radiating unit, and the hot air generated by the hot air generating source is blown.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above-described conventional technology, heat generated by the ink jet recording head and heat generated by the heating unit are dissipated wastefully, and since the fixing unit is provided with a separate hot plate or hot air generation source, power consumption increases accordingly. There is a problem that the ink jet recording apparatus also becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and in the case of high-speed printing, heat is radiated from the inkjet print head because it is found that a method of blowing warm air is more effective. An object of the present invention is to provide a compact ink jet recording apparatus that consumes less heat as a heat source for generating warm air for fixing and consumes less power.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording member by discharging ink from an inkjet recording head to a recording member according to the present invention includes: A discharge unit for radiating heat, and the ink of the recording member is discharged across a width direction of the recording member on a downstream side of a region where recording is performed on the recording member by the inkjet recording head. A fixing unit having an opening facing the surface; and, in order to guide heat radiated from the heat radiating unit to the fixing unit via air, generate an air flow from the heat radiating unit to the fixing unit, and And a blower that guides the flow from the heat radiator to the fixing unit. A plurality of wall members are provided along the width direction of the recording member to face the air flow flowing inside the fixing unit and blow the air flow from the opening to the recording member. The air flow extends from the upstream side to the downstream side of the air flow so as to extend in the fixing unit inward with respect to the opening.

Further, it is effective that the heat radiating means has a fin or a heat pipe and a fin.

Further, the blower may have a fan and a duct, and the ink jet recording head may have an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink.

[Action]

The heat generated by the ink jet recording head is radiated by the heat radiating means, and the radiated heat heats the air flow by the blowing means to generate hot air, which is applied to a portion of the recording member on which recording is performed. The ink that has been sprayed and printed on the recording member is fixed.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, representative examples of the present invention will be described.

Example 1 FIG. 5 shows Example 1, in which a plurality of fins 7 are provided.
Is directly connected to a line-type inkjet recording head
1 (referred to as a “recording head”). The recording head 1 has the same configuration as that of FIG.

 Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

 FIG. 6 shows the operation of this embodiment.

Turn on the recording start switch (not shown) (step 20).
1), paper feeding is started (step 202), and at the same time, the fan 9 is started (step 203). When the recording member 12 passes through the recording head 1, heat is applied by an electrothermal converter according to an image signal. The recording liquid (ink) is ejected by the thermal energy, but thermal energy that is not necessary for the ejection remains in the recording head 1, and the thermal energy is guided to the fins 7 via the support member 2, and Then, the hot air is sent to the fixing unit 14 through the duct 13. This hot air is blown onto the recording liquid on the recording member 12,
The fan 9 fixes the recording liquid by drying it with warm air. The fan 9 continues to blow air until paper feeding is completed (step 9).
204), and stops when paper feeding is completed (step 205).

(Embodiment 2) Next, another embodiment of the present invention having a heat pipe and fins as heat radiation means will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recording head 1 is disposed in a direction intersecting the direction of arrow A, which is the traveling direction of the recording member 12, and a print is performed on the recording member 12 downstream thereof. A fixing unit 14 for fixing the recording liquid is provided substantially parallel to the recording head 1.

On the back surface of the support member 2 of the recording head 1, a heat pipe 6 longer than the support member 2 is integrally provided as a heat transfer member by bonding or the like. It has a protruding portion that protrudes more laterally than 2. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the projecting portion is formed with a heat radiating portion in which a plurality of fins 7 are fitted with a gap therebetween. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 13a denotes a cover for covering the fins 7. The cover 13a is open on two opposing surfaces, and one of the open surfaces is provided with a blowing means for forced air cooling together with the cover 13a. For example, constituting a fan 9
The enlarged end of the duct 13 is connected to the other open surface side, and the other end of the duct 13 is connected to one end of the fixing unit 14.

A heater 8 is fixed to the center of the back surface of the heat pipe 6, and a temperature sensor 10 is provided between the heat pipe 6 and the support member 2, and the heater 8 and the temperature sensor 10 are respectively connected to a controller 11. .

The recording head 1 may be the same as the conventional one. For example, as shown in FIG.
The ink chamber 5 is provided with a large number of orifices 4. Although not shown, an electrothermal converter for applying heat energy used for discharging ink (recording liquid) is provided on each of the plurality of orifices 4 on the substrate member 3. The recording liquid is ejected from the orifice 4 when thermal energy is applied by the electrothermal converter according to an image signal.

 Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

 FIG. 4 shows the operation of the embodiment.

A set value corresponding to the set temperature of the recording head 1 is input to the controller 11 in advance. When a recording start switch (not shown) is turned on (step 101), the temperature sensor 10 detects the temperature of the recording head 1, and this detection signal is sent to the controller.
11 and compared with the set value (step 10
2). As a result, if the value of the detection signal is smaller than the set value, the heater 8 is energized to heat the support member 2 via the heat pipe 6 (step 107). At this time, the support member 2 side of the heat pipe 6 becomes a condensing part, and the working liquid in the heat pipe 6 is heated and evaporated by the heater 8, spreads uniformly, moves to the support member 2 side, is condensed, and releases latent heat. The support member 2 is uniformly heated by a uniform heat flow rate. When the temperature of the support member 2 reaches the set temperature, the power supply to the heater 8 is stopped, and the recording member 12 is transported in the direction of arrow A by a transport unit (not shown). An image signal is sent, thermal energy is applied to the ink, the ink is ejected from the orifice 4, and printing is performed on the recording member 12 (step 103). On the other hand, the fan 9 is started at the start of recording and blows air to the heat radiating portion of the heat pipe 6, and the air flow is heated by the heat radiated through the fins 7 to become hot air, which is fixed through the duct 13. The recording liquid flows into the unit 14 and is blown onto the recording member 12 from an air outlet (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the fixing unit 14, and the printed recording liquid is fixed by hot air drying (step
104).

With the progress of printing, that is, with the elapse of time, the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer remains in the recording head 1, the temperature of the recording head 1 increases, and the temperature of the support member 2 rises accordingly. Therefore, the temperature becomes equal to or higher than the set temperature of the controller 11. As a result, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10 reaches the set temperature. Even in this state, the fan 9 continues to blow air until the paper is completely fed. The recording liquid flows into the fixing unit 14 through the outlet 13 and is blown onto the recording member 12 from the outlet to fix the recording liquid by hot-air drying. That is, the heat radiated from the heat radiating portion of the heat pipe 6 is effectively used as a heat source for generating hot air to the fixing unit 14 (step 105).

On the other hand, the controller 11 continues the temperature detection by the temperature sensor 10 until the paper feeding is completed (step 108).
When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10 becomes lower than the set temperature, the heater 8 is energized again to heat the support member 2 via the heat pipe 6 (step 109). When paper feeding is completed,
The fan 9 stops (step 106).

Third Embodiment In addition to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a temperature at which the temperature of hot air sent to the fixing unit 14 via the fin-side heater 15 and the fin 7 is measured as shown in FIG. And a sensor 16. The heater 15 and the temperature sensor 16 are connected to the controller 11.

 Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 9 shows the operation of this embodiment. Steps 301, 302, 311, 303, and 304 in FIG. 4 correspond to steps 101, 102, 107, 103, and 104 in FIG.

After the execution of step 304, the temperature of the hot air in the fixing unit 14 is measured by the temperature sensor 16 (step 305). If the temperature of the hot air is lower than a predetermined value (set temperature),
The heater 15 provided on the fin 7 side is heated to adjust the temperature of the hot air (step 312). Next, printing is started (step 306), the temperature is detected by the temperature sensor 10 (step 307), and when the detected temperature is lower than the set temperature, the heater 8 provided on the heat pipe 6 side is turned off. The temperature of the recording head is adjusted so that stable printing can be performed by energization (step 313). Thereafter, the temperature of the hot air is measured again by the temperature sensor 16 (step 308). If the temperature of the hot air is lower than a predetermined value, the heater 15 is heated to readjust the hot air temperature. (Step 314). When the paper feeding is completed (Step 309), the fan 9 stops (Step 310). Thereby, warm air having a stable temperature can be sent, and stable fixing can be performed.

In the first, second, and third embodiments, in order to uniformly apply warm air to the recording surface in the fixing unit 14, as shown in FIG.
The wall member 21 is provided by receiving warm air, and the bottom of the fixing unit on the recording surface side is formed of a mesh 22. Thereby, the warm air sent from the blower side uniformly hits the recording surface, so that the recorded image can be dried and fixed satisfactorily. The configuration of the fixing unit 14 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be any configuration as long as warm air is uniformly applied to the recording surface, and various configurations are employed.
For example, in the case of the one shown in FIG. 7, the height of the wall member 21 is higher (extends longer in the fixing unit inner direction than the opening) toward the downstream side in the blowing direction.

As still another embodiment, the number of recording heads is not limited to one, and the invention can be applied to a plurality of recording heads in the case of colorization or the like.

〔The invention's effect〕

The present invention is configured as described above, and has the following effects.

The heat radiated from the ink jet recording head is effectively used as a heat source for generating hot air in the fixing unit. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a separate heating unit in the fixing unit, so that power consumption is reduced and the ink jet recording apparatus is reduced accordingly. Can also be compact and small.

Further, the fixing unit blows the hot air uniformly and simultaneously over the width direction of the recording member, so that the ink discharged to the recording member can be dried and fixed satisfactorily. In particular, the larger the opening area, the more uniformly the warm air can be blown in the width direction of the recording member.

Also, if heat pipes and fins are used for heat dissipation means,
Efficient heat conduction is performed, and power consumption can be further reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a second embodiment which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording head, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a heat pipe, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment, and FIG. 7 is an example of the fixing unit of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink-jet recording head, 2 ... Support member, 3 ... Substrate member, 4 ... Orifice, 5 ... Ink chamber, 6 ... Heat pipe, 7 ... Fin, 8 ... Heater, 9 ... Fan , 10 ... temperature sensor, 11 ... controller, 12 ... recording member, 13 ... duct, 13 a ... cover, 14 ... fixing unit, 15 ... heater, 16 ... temperature sensor, 21 ... wall Material, 22 ... mesh, 101-109, 201-205, 301-314 ... step.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masafumi Wataya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshiyuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Ken Doi 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Shujiro Kadowaki 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 56) References JP-A-51-56134 (JP, A) JP-A-56-130383 (JP, A) JP-A-55-130781 (JP, A) JP-A-62-71682 (JP, A) Showa 63-25544 (JP, U) Actually open Showa 57-60954 (JP, U)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from an ink jet recording head to a recording member to perform recording on the recording member, wherein the heat generated by the ink jet recording head is radiated from the ink jet recording head for heat radiation. Means, and an opening facing the surface of the recording member on which the ink has been ejected, across the width direction of the recording member, downstream of a region where recording is performed on the recording member by the inkjet recording head. A fixing unit comprising: a heat generating unit that guides the heat radiated from the heat dissipating unit to the fixing unit via air, generates an air flow from the heat dissipating unit to the fixing unit, and dissipates the air flow to the heat dissipating unit. And a blowing unit for guiding the fixing unit to the fixing unit. A plurality of wall members facing the flowing air flow and blowing the air flow from the opening to the recording member are provided along the width direction of the recording member, and the plurality of wall members further include the air flow member. An ink jet recording apparatus, which extends from the upstream side to the downstream side in the fixing unit inwardly with respect to the opening. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said heat radiating means is a fin. 3. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said heat radiating means has a heat pipe and fins. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blower has a fan and a duct. 5. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink jet recording head has an electrothermal transducer for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink.