JP2962873B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having a function such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a multifunction machine or a workstation including a computer or a word processor is based on paper or a plastic thin plate based on image information. It is configured to record an image on a recording medium such as an OHP. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a recording method of a recording unit to be used.

In a serial type recording apparatus employing a recording method in which a main scanning is performed in a direction intersecting with a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording medium, the recording medium is set at a predetermined recording position, and is then moved along the recording medium. An image is recorded (main scanning) by a recording unit mounted on a moving carriage, and after a recording of one line is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (pitch conveyance).
Is performed, and then the operation of recording (main scanning) the image of the next line is repeated, thereby performing image recording on the entire recording medium. On the other hand, in a line-type printing apparatus that prints only by sub-scanning in which the printing medium is fed in the transport direction, the printing medium is set at a predetermined printing position,
After the recording for the line is performed, a predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch feed) is performed, and further, the operation of collectively recording the next line is repeated, thereby performing image recording on the entire recording medium.

Among them, the ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) to a recording medium, so that the recording means can be easily made compact and a high-definition image can be obtained. High-speed recording, recording on plain paper without special processing, low running cost, low noise due to non-impact method, and use of multi-color ink. This makes it easy to record a color image. Above all, a line-type apparatus using a line-type recording means in which a large number of discharge ports are arranged in the paper width direction can further increase the recording speed.

[0005] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
Through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., an electrothermal converter, an electrode,
By forming the liquid path wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement), and to further reduce the size.

In the above ink jet recording apparatus,
Generally, a print head with an array of fine discharge ports is used, so that ink is not suitable for discharge or printing when bubbles or dust enter the inside of the discharge ports or due to viscosity increase due to evaporation of the ink solvent. Even in the case where there is no ejection state, the ejection recovery processing for removing the cause of the ejection failure by refreshing the ink is performed.

[0007]

As one form of means for performing such an ejection recovery process, a cap capable of covering an ejection port forming surface of a recording head, and a pump communicating with the cap and acting on a suction force are provided. Some are provided. The operation of the ejection recovery processing includes an operation of ejecting ink by driving an ink ejection energy generating element inside the ejection port in a facing state in which the cap is opposed to the ejection port forming surface, and a step of placing the cap on the ejection port forming surface. There is an operation of forcibly sucking ink from the ejection port by applying a suction force in a capping state in which the cap is pressed and sealed.

On the other hand, during recording or after the suction operation, ink droplets adhere to the periphery of the discharge port and become wet, so that the ink discharged from the discharge port is attracted to the adhering ink, resulting in defective recording (distortion). May occur. In order to eliminate such a recording failure, it is necessary to perform an appropriate process for removing the ink adhering around the ejection port by securely wiping (wiping and cleaning) the periphery of the ejection port.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned technical problems, and the cleaning characteristics can be stabilized by always performing a repetitive cleaning with a constant penetration amount. Further, the present invention aims to prevent the occurrence of partial cleaning state unevenness on the discharge port forming surface and to maintain a uniform cleaning state, and is mounted on a carriage to achieve this purpose. Cleaning the discharge port forming surface by parallel movement using scanning of the carriage with respect to the discharge port forming surface of an ink jet head having an ink discharge port for performing recording by discharging ink onto a recording medium by scanning. A plate-shaped cleaning blade having a cleaning portion to be cleaned, and a cap member for covering the discharge port forming surface of the inkjet head. In the above-described ink jet recording apparatus, the cleaning port contacts the ink jet head or the carriage at the time of cleaning, moves together with the cleaning blade without changing the relative positional relationship of the cleaning blade with the cleaning unit, and forms the discharge port during the cleaning operation. A copying member is provided, which regulates the amount of the cleaning blade entering the surface to be constant.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a document creating apparatus (word processor) as an example of an apparatus suitable for using an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a keyboard unit serving as an input device, and 2 denotes a display unit for displaying an input document or the like. The display unit 2 is rotatably held, and can be folded so as to overlap the keyboard unit 1 when not in use. Reference numeral 3 denotes a transparent or translucent protective cover which can be opened and closed at a viewing opening for checking the operation state of the recording means (recording head). Reference numeral 4 denotes a spur cover for holding the spur. These will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 is a recording sheet or plastic thin plate (O
A paper supporter 6 for supporting a recording medium such as an HP film, and a knob 6 for manually feeding and discharging the recording medium.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an essential structure of an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 9 denotes a cartridge type recording unit (head cartridge) in which a recording head and an ink tank are integrated, and 11 denotes a carriage for mounting the recording unit 9 and performing main scanning in the direction of arrow S in FIG. It is. 13
Is a hook for attaching the head cartridge 9 to the carriage 11, and 15 is a lever for operating the hook 13. Reference numeral 19 denotes a support plate that supports an electrical connection to the head cartridge 9. Reference numeral 21 denotes an FPC for connecting the electrical connection unit and the main body control unit. This FPC
21 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 23 denotes a guide shaft for guiding the carriage 11 in the direction of arrow S, and reference numeral 25 denotes a bearing of the carriage 11 through which the guide shaft 23 is inserted. 2
Reference numeral 7 denotes a timing belt coupled to the carriage 11 for transmitting power for reciprocating the carriage 11 in the direction of arrow S. 29A and 29B are disposed on both sides of the recording apparatus to stretch the timing belt 27. A pulley 31 is connected to one pulley 29B via a transmission mechanism such as a gear, and is a carriage motor as a drive source for driving the carriage 11.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a transport roller for regulating the recording surface of a recording medium (hereinafter also referred to as recording paper) and transporting the recording medium during recording or the like. 37 is a paper pan for guiding the recording medium to the recording position from the paper supporter 5 side;
And a feed roller for applying a transport force by pressing the feed roller toward the feed roller. Reference numeral 34 denotes a platen that faces the discharge port of the head cartridge 9 and regulates the recording surface of the recording medium.
Reference numeral 41 denotes a discharge roller disposed downstream of the recording position in the transport direction for discharging the recording medium toward a discharge port (not shown). Reference numeral 42 denotes a spur provided corresponding to the paper discharge roller 41, which presses the recording medium against the paper discharge roller 41 to generate a conveying force of the recording medium by the paper discharge roller 41. Reference numeral 43 denotes a release lever for releasing the pressing force by separating the feed roller 39 and the spur 42 when setting a recording medium or the like.

The platen 34 is rotatably supported at both ends by a shaft 41A of a discharge roller 41, and a paper pan 37 is moved from a stop position of the left and right plates 75, 75.
Are urged toward the front surface portion 45. At a plurality of positions of the transport roller (platen roller) 33, relief portions 33A having a reduced diameter are provided. On the other hand, an ear portion 34A is formed at a position of the platen 34 corresponding to the escape portion 33A. Therefore, when there is no recording paper, the ear 34A of the platen 34 is in contact with the inside of the front surface 45 of the paper pan.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 51 denotes a cap facing the ejection port forming surface of the recording head (head cartridge) 9 where the ink ejection ports are formed at the home position of the carriage 11. The cap 51 is formed of a rubber-like elastic material, and is supported so as to be able to abut / remove from the discharge port forming surface. Note that this cap 51
Is used for protection of a recording head (ejection port forming surface) at the time of non-recording or the like, and for ejection recovery processing of the recording head. In the ejection recovery process, the ink is ejected from all the ejection ports by driving the energy generation element provided inside the ink ejection port and used for ink ejection, with the cap 51 facing the ejection port formation surface, by this,
Preliminary ejection for removing the cause of ejection failure such as bubbles and dust, and ink that has become unsuitable for printing due to thickening, or ink is forcibly ejected from the ejection openings while being covered with the ejection opening formation surface and the cap 51 separately. This is a process for removing the cause of the ejection failure by discharging the ink to the nozzle.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a pump used for the discharge recovery processing. The pump 53 is used for applying a suction force for forcibly discharging the ink and for sucking the ink received in the cap 51 at the time of the discharge recovery processing by the forced discharge and the discharge recovery processing by the preliminary discharge.
55 is a first waste ink tank for storing waste ink sucked by the pump 53, and 57 is a pump 53
And a tube that communicates with the waste ink tank 55. Reference numeral 70 denotes a second waste ink tank, which is a tube 71
Through the first waste ink tank 55.

Reference numeral 59 denotes a blade for wiping the ejection port forming surface of the recording head, which protrudes toward the recording head and performs retraction without engaging with the ejection port forming surface. It is movably supported in the position. Reference numeral 61 denotes a motor, and 63 denotes a cam device for receiving power from the motor 61 to drive the pump 53 and move the cap 51 and the blade 59.

Next, the details of the head cartridge 9 will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the head cartridge 9. In FIG. 3, a head cartridge 9 includes an ejection unit 9a which is a main body of a recording unit (recording head).
And the ink tank 9b.
In this embodiment, as a recording unit (recording head),
Since a head cartridge 9 in which a so-called recording head (discharge unit 9a) and an ink tank 9b are integrated is used, in order to simplify the description, the head cartridge 9 or the discharge unit 9a is simply replaced by the recording means 9 or the recording head. 9 in some cases.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 906e denotes a pawl hooked on a hook 13 provided on the carriage 11 when the head cartridge 9 is mounted. As shown, the nail 9
Reference numeral 06e is provided inside a portion depressed from the surface of the recording head 9. A positioning abutment (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the ejection unit 9 a on the front side of the head cartridge 9. Reference numeral 906f denotes an opening into which the support plate 19 erected on the carriage 11 is inserted. The support plate 19 is a flexible substrate (electric connection part) described later.
And a rubber pad.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are an exploded perspective view and an external perspective view of the head cartridge shown in FIG. The head cartridge 9 includes a recording head (ejection unit)
9a and an ink container (ink tank) as an ink supply source
9b is of a disposable type. In FIG. 4A showing the components of the discharge unit 9a, reference numeral 911 denotes a heater board. The heater board 911 supplies an electric heat conversion element (discharge heater) on a Si substrate and supplies power thereto. And a wiring made of aluminum or the like formed by a film forming technique. Reference numeral 921 denotes a wiring board for the heater board 911, and the corresponding wiring is connected by, for example, wire bonding.

Reference numeral 940 denotes a top plate provided with a partition for limiting the ink flow path, a common liquid chamber, and the like. In this embodiment, the top plate is formed of a resin material having a discharge port plate unit integrally. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the top plate 940. As shown in FIG. 6, the ejection port forming surface is inclined by a predetermined angle θ with respect to a plane parallel to the recording surface of the recording medium (recording paper), and has a step 940a near the ejection port. I have. This is performed to arrange the flow path in the discharge port plate portion and the flow path behind it at a predetermined angle in order to process the discharge port by irradiating a laser beam from the flow path side provided on the top plate 940. It is a thing.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 930 denotes a support made of, for example, a metal, and reference numeral 950 denotes a presser spring. The presser spring 950 is engaged with the heater board 911 and the top plate 940 while holding the heater board 911 and the top plate 940 therebetween. The heater board 911 and the top plate 940 are pressed and fixed by the urging force.
Note that the support 930 serves as a reference for positioning the head cartridge 9 with respect to the carriage 11 while the wiring substrate 921 is fixed by bonding or the like. Also,
The support 930 also functions as a member for radiating and cooling the heat of the heater board 911 generated when the recording unit 9 is driven.

Reference numeral 960 denotes a sub-tank for receiving ink supply from the ink storage unit 9b serving as an ink supply source and guiding ink to a common liquid chamber formed by joining the heater board 911 and the top plate 940. . Reference numeral 970 denotes a filter disposed in the sub-tank 960 near the ink supply port to the common liquid chamber, and 980 denotes a cover member of the sub-tank 960.

Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating the ink, which is disposed in the ink tank body 9b. 120
Numeral 0 is a supply port for supplying ink to a recording element (ejection unit) 9a composed of the above-mentioned respective components 911 to 980, and is a step before the recording element 9a is arranged in the portion 1010 of the ink tank body 9b. By injecting ink from the supply port 1200, the absorber 90
0 ink impregnation can be performed. Reference numeral 1100 denotes a lid member of the cartridge main body, and 1300 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere.

In FIG. 4, when the ink filling into the ink tank 9b through the supply port 1200 is completed, the ejection unit 9a including the components 911 to 980 is moved to the part 1
010. The positioning or fixing at this time is performed, for example, by using the projection 1 provided on the ink tank body 9b.
012 and the corresponding holes 93 in the support 930
The head cartridge 9 shown in FIG. 5 is completed.

The ink in the ink tank 9b is supplied to the supply port 12
00, a hole 932 provided in the support 930, the sub tank 96
0 is supplied into the sub-tank 960 via an inlet provided on the back side in FIG. The ink in the sub tank 960 flows into the common liquid chamber from the outlet through an appropriate supply pipe and the ink inlet 942 of the top plate 940. A packing such as a silicone rubber or a butyl rubber is disposed at the connection portion for ink communication described above, whereby sealing is performed to secure an ink supply path.

The discharge port unit 9a serving as the recording head (recording means) is an ink jet recording means for discharging ink using thermal energy, and has an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. It is. The recording head 9a performs recording by causing ink to be ejected from an ejection port by utilizing a pressure change caused by growth and shrinkage of bubbles caused by film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. It is.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejection section of the recording head (ejection port unit) 9a. In FIG. 7, a plurality of ejection openings 22 are arranged at a predetermined pitch on an ejection opening forming surface 221 facing a recording material with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm).
2 are formed, and an electrothermal converter (heat generating resistor or the like) 225 for generating energy for ink discharge is arranged along a wall surface of each liquid path 224 communicating the common liquid chamber 223 and each discharge port 222. Has been established. In this example, the recording head 9a is mounted on the carriage 11 in a positional relationship such that the ejection openings 222 are arranged in a direction crossing the moving direction (main scanning direction) of the carriage 11. In this manner, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 225 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid path 224 to boil, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port 222 by the pressure generated at that time. The recording head 9a is configured.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 2, and the structure and operation of the platen 34 and the paper pan front part 45 will be described in more detail. In FIG. 8, a gap (head gap) S between the ejection port 222 of the head cartridge 9 and the front surface of the platen 34 is adjusted to an optimal value for printing. The recording paper inserted in the direction of arrow A is urged toward the transport roller 33 by the feed roller 39, and is fed by the frictional force. The leading end of the recording paper is moved between the rake portion 34A of the platen 34 and the paper pan front portion 45 in the direction of arrow B about the shaft 41A against the force of the spring 82 (provided on both sides). Enter while displacing. The gap between the paper pan front surface portion 45 and the discharge port forming surface 221 is appropriately adjusted and fixed.

Therefore, the distance between the recording paper on the platen 34 and the ejection port forming surface 221 of the recording head 9a is determined by the fact that the platen 34 escapes in the direction of arrow B in accordance with the thickness of the recording paper. Regardless of the thickness, a constant optimum value is always maintained. Then, even when the platen 34 escapes in the direction of arrow B, the contact point between the paper discharge roller 41 and the spur 42 is located on an extension of the front surface of the platen 34. Therefore, the leading end of the recording sheet is formed by the discharge roller 41 and the spur
You can easily enter between. In addition, the difference between the head caps above and below the recording unit h due to the inclination of the platen 34 is negligibly small because the distance H between the rotation center of the platen 34 and the center of the recording position is large. .

The center of rotation of the platen 34 does not necessarily have to be concentric with the shaft 41A of the paper discharge roller 41.
Further, the front portion 45 does not necessarily need to be formed integrally with the paper pan 37, but may be fixed by bonding or screwing, or may be fixed to another portion of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the recording apparatus section showing the carriage 11, the head cartridge 9, the spur 42, the spur cover 4, the protective cover 3 provided at the viewing opening, and the like in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 9, the spur cover 4
Is overhanging on the upper part of the head cartridge 9 to form a portion for holding the spur 42. For this reason, if the protective cover 3 is transparent or translucent, the operation of the head cartridge 9 can be visually observed even in the cover state as shown, but the discharge port forming surface (discharge port portion) of the discharge unit 9a at the capping position. 221 is difficult to confirm visually. Therefore, a means for visually confirming the discharge port forming surface 221 at the capping position is required.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a conventional electronic device (word processor or the like). Referring to FIG. 10, in the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the discharge port forming surface 221 at the capping position is visually confirmed. Explain why you can't. In FIG. 10, the standby position of the head cartridge 9 in the capping state is set to a position indicated by a broken line 9 deviating from the sheet passing position of the recording medium. In addition, the exterior member 85 other than the protective cover 3 in the viewing opening 3A is generally formed of an opaque mold member. Therefore, in the capping state shown by the broken line, the position of the head cartridge 9, the ejection unit 9a,
The discharge port forming surface 221 and the like cannot be visually confirmed. Further, even if the opening 3A for visual recognition is simply widened in the width direction of the printing apparatus, the ejection port forming surface 221 and the like cannot be visually confirmed.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the electronic apparatus of FIG. 1 provided with an embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the viewing opening 3A is widened in the width direction of the recording apparatus up to the upper portion of the head cartridge 9 in the capped state.
Discharge port forming surface 22 of discharge port unit (recording head) 9a
1 is formed up to the upper region. That is, as shown in the figure, it is formed in an L-shape as a whole. The viewing opening 3A is covered with a transparent or translucent openable and closable protective cover 3 having the same shape. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, in the capping state, not only the head cartridge 9 but also the recording head (discharge port unit) 9a and its discharge port formation surface 22
It has become possible to easily confirm even 1 by visual inspection.

In this embodiment, as described above, since the cover member (protective cover) 3 is provided in the viewing opening 3A, each component inside the apparatus such as the head cartridge 9 is protected even in the non-recording state. can do. Further, the cover member 3 may be made of various materials, but if it is formed of a transparent or translucent member as described above, even when the cover member 3 is left covered, The discharge port forming surface 221 and the like can be visually confirmed.
The cover member 3 may be opaque if the cover member 3 is configured to be openable / closable or easily detachable and the opening 3A can be opened immediately if necessary.

Next, the structure relating to the FPC 21 of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 are partial front views showing the FPC 21 of the printing apparatus. FIG. 12 shows a state where the carriage 11 is at the home position, and FIG. 13 shows a state where the carriage 11 is moving. 12 and 13, a left and right frame 75 (FIG. 2) standing upright from the frame 91 of the recording apparatus rotatably supports a transport roller 33 extending left and right. Are fixed. The carriage 11 is guided and supported so as to be movable left and right along a guide shaft 23.
The head cartridge 9 is mounted on the carriage 11.

12 and 13, an FPC 21 for electrically connecting a control circuit (not shown) to the head cartridge 9 via a connector or the like provided thereon is fixed to the carriage 11. Also, this FPC 21
Is fixed to the frame 91. Further, a friction sheet 97 for preventing the FPC 21 from slipping is provided near the portion where the FPC 21 forms the minimum radius on the frame 91. This friction sheet 97 is joined to the frame 91 by an adhesive applied to one side thereof.

In the configuration shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the carriage 11 is moved from the home position in FIG. 12 in the direction of arrow SR along the guide shaft 23 by operating the motor 31 (FIG. 2). Moving. During this movement, the controller 1 controls the carriage 1 via the FPC 21.
A recording signal is sent to the ejection unit 9a of the head cartridge 5 mounted on the printer 1, and the ejection unit 9a ejects ink onto recording paper in accordance with the recording signal, thereby performing recording. After the printing of one line is completed, the carriage 11 is stopped, and the conveyance roller 33 is driven to rotate by a driving means such as a motor 35 (FIG. 2), whereby sub-scanning (paper feeding) of the recording paper is performed.

Thereafter, the carriage 11 moves in the direction of the arrow SL in the figure, and recording of the next line is performed. FIG. 13 shows the moving state of the carriage 11. In this embodiment, since the friction sheet 97 is provided on the frame 91,
Due to the frictional force between the C21 and the friction sheet 97, the FP
C21 moves while forming the arc portion 21A without causing slippage with the frame 91. Therefore, F
The PC 21 does not get caught in the lower part of the carriage 11.

FIG. 14 is a partial front view showing the state of the FPC 21 in a conventional recording apparatus without the friction sheet 97. In FIG. 14, the friction sheet 97
Is not provided, the movement of the carriage 11 causes
Sliding occurs between the FPC 21 and the frame 1 in the lower area of the carriage 11, so that the FPC 21 is slackened 21B. If the carriage 11 further moves in the direction of the arrow SR in a state where the slack 21B has occurred, there is a possibility that the FPC 21 may be caught in the carriage 11.

According to this embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13,
By adopting a simple configuration in which a member (friction sheet 97) having a high friction coefficient is provided on the frame 91 of the recording apparatus, the running of the FPC 21 can be stabilized, and the height of the running section of the FPC 21 can be reduced. This makes it possible to reduce the size and weight of the recording apparatus. As an example of the friction sheet 97, a sheet material made of, for example, silicon can be used. In this embodiment, the connection between the head cartridge 9 and the control circuit is made by the FPC 21. However, the electrical connection means is not limited to the FPC, and may be a flat cable or a bundled cable. Other configurations of electrical connection means may be used.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a recovery device including the cap 51, the pump 53, the blade 59, the motor 61, the cam device 63 and the like in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. In FIG. 15, reference numeral 501 denotes an ink absorber disposed inside the cap 51, reference numeral 503 denotes a holding member for holding the cap 51, and reference numeral 505 denotes a cap lever attached so as to be rotatable around a pin 507.
The cap lever 505 has a function of causing the cap 51 to come into contact with / separate from the discharge port forming surface 221 of the discharge unit 9a by a force applied to the pin 507. 51
Reference numeral 1 denotes a pin that is engaged with the end 509 of the cap lever 505 to restrict the rotation range of the cap lever 505.

In FIG. 15, reference numeral 513 denotes a carrever 5.
A jig having a hole into which the pin 507 is inserted. The jig is used to attach the cap lever 505 to a support 515 provided on the pump 53. Reference numeral 516 is a fastening member for securing the attached state. Reference numeral 517 denotes an action portion for applying a force to the cap 51 to come into contact with the discharge port forming surface, and engages substantially at the center of the rear side of the cap 51. The action section 517 has an introduction port 517A (FIG. 17C) for introducing the sucked ink. Also,
Inside the cap lever 505, the inside of the pin 507, the inside of the jig 513, and the inside of the support 515, an ink flow path for guiding the sucked ink is formed.
When the pump 53 exerts a suction force, the discharge port 22
The ink sucked out of 2 is introduced into the pump 53 from the inlet 517A through the respective ink flow paths as indicated by arrows in the figure.

Reference numeral 519 denotes a shaft protruding from the center of the end face of the pump 53 and having an ink flow path therein, and is rotatably attached to the side wall 520. When the pump 53 itself rotates,
The rotational displacement is applied to the cap lever 5 via the support 515.
05 is transferred as a linear displacement of the cap lever 50.
Due to the displacement of 5, the cap 51 advances and retreats with respect to the discharge port forming surface 221. 521 is a flow path forming member connected to the pump shaft 519, and 523 is a mounting member for mounting the tube 57 leading to the first waste ink tank 55 (FIG. 2). That is, ink flow paths are formed inside the pump shaft 519, the flow path forming member 521, and the mounting member 523, respectively. As shown in the drawing, the ink is further introduced into the waste ink tank 55 (FIG. 2) through the tube 57.

In FIG. 15, reference numeral 525 denotes a piston of the pump 53, and 527 denotes a piston shaft which is the shaft of the piston.
29 is a packing and 531 is a cap of the pump 53. Reference numeral 533 denotes a pin attached to the piston shaft 527. The pin 533 has a function of receiving a driving force for operating the piston 525. Reference numeral 535 denotes a blade lever to which the blade 59 is attached.
It is rotatably supported around 19. By rotating the blade lever 535, the blade 59 is rotated.
Can be projected or retracted toward the recording head 9a (details will be described later). 537 is a blade lever 535
Is a spring that applies a turning force in a direction in which the blade 59 is projected. Reference numeral 539 denotes a spring that gives the pump 53 itself a turning behavior in the direction in which the cap 53 moves toward the recording head 9a.

In FIG. 15, the blade lever 53
5, a rotatable blade roller 535A is attached. The blade roller 535A is
The discharge port forming surface 221 is used as a scanning surface and abuts against the discharge port forming surface 221 to always maintain the amount of penetration of the blade 59 into the discharge port forming surface 221 at an optimum constant value. In this embodiment, the blade roller 535A is disposed near the upper portion of the blade 59 and at a position shifted by a predetermined distance K from the center of the blade 59 in the wiping direction in the direction in which the blade bends during wiping. The details of the wiping mechanism having the copying member such as the blade roller 535A will be described later with reference to FIGS. 26 and 27.

Reference numeral 541 denotes a cam device 63 for rotating the motor 61.
Gear train to be transmitted to the vehicle. The cam device 63 includes a pump 53
A cam 547 for engaging and rotating the engaging portion 545 provided on the piston, a cam 549 for operating the pump by engaging a pin 533 provided on a piston shaft 527 of the pump 53, and a blade. Engaging portion 551 provided on lever 535
And a cam 557 which engages with a switch 555 for detecting the home position of the cam device 63. The operation of these cams will be described later.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing details of the cap 51 and the holding member (holder) 503. FIG.
6, the cap 51 in the present embodiment is
0 (FIGS. 4 and 6) is formed of a rubber-like elastic material to improve the adhesion to the discharge port plate portion (discharge port forming surface 221).
It is pressed against the discharge port plate portion (discharge port formation surface 221) of the top plate with a pressing force of g. The tip of the rib portion, that is, the edge portion facing the discharge port forming surface 221 is formed to be parallel in this example corresponding to the above-mentioned inclination angle θ (see FIG. 6), and the step 940a of the discharge port position ( In order to follow (FIG. 6), it has a trapezoidal cross section that is tapered and thick at the base.

In order to prevent a side slip when pressed against the top plate 940 corresponding to the angle θ, the holding member (cap holder) 503 includes ribs 503b and 503c.
Is provided. That is, the rubber cap itself is prevented from being deformed by the rib 503c, and the rib 503b prevents the cap 51 and the entire cap holder 503 from being turned sideways on the mounting surface of the cap lever 505.

FIG. 17 is a view showing details of the cap 51. In FIG. 17, (A) is a front view, (B) is a plan view, and (C) is a view taken along line MM in (A). It is sectional drawing. In FIG. 17, an ink suction port 561 is opened at a vertically lower portion of the cap 51.
1 is the cap lever 50 through the ink flow path 563.
5 is connected to an ink introduction port 517A provided in the action section 517. In addition, the ink absorber 501 in the cap 51
Are arranged so as not to completely cover the ink suction port 561.

The head cartridge 9 set on the carriage 11 is driven by the carriage motor 31 such that the discharge port 222 is substantially at the center of the recovery system cap 51, and a series of operations such as capping, preliminary discharge, and suction operation are performed. An ejection recovery process is performed. At this time, the top plate 940 of the recording head 9a is not horizontal with respect to the recording surface of the recording medium,
The pressing direction is not a right angle but a predetermined angle θ (θ is about 5 degrees in the present embodiment) and a small step (about 0.2 mm in the present embodiment) is provided. In addition, the stop position of the carriage 11 is
In the case where a step motor is used, a deviation of a predetermined amount (for example, about ± 0.5 mm) from the target position may occur.

In FIG. 17, in order to follow the shape of the discharge port plate portion 221 of the top plate 940 (FIG. 6), the tip rib 51a of the cap 51 is preferably small and low in hardness. To withstand the pressure and maintain the airtightness, the rib 51a needs a certain strength. Further, since the discharge port plate portion of the top plate 940 has an angle θ, a force in the direction of pushing and spreading the ribs 51a of the cap 51 acts, and permanent deformation when left for a long time becomes a problem. . In consideration of these, in the present embodiment, the shape of the rib 51a is selected as follows.

That is, in FIG. 17C, the shape of the rib 51a is W ₁ = 0.3 mm and W ₂ =
The above problem could be solved by setting 0.5 mm, H = 0.4 mm, and setting the rubber hardness of the rubber-like elastic material forming the rib 51 to 60 degrees. At the same time, the rib 51a
By making the shape and dimensions of the outer peripheral portion 51b outside the shape of the rib 51a sufficiently large, for example,
By setting the outer width of the rib 51a to 2 to 3 mm or more and the thickness of the peripheral portion 51b to 2 to 3 mm or more, the above problem can be solved more reliably.

As the rubber-like elastic material used for the cap 51, butyl rubber, chlorinated butyl rubber, silicon rubber, or the like can be used. By the way, the discharge port formation surface and the plane formed by the edge of the rib 51a do not necessarily have to be parallel. The reason is that, when the cap 51 is parallel, the entire edge portion simultaneously comes into contact with / separates from the discharge port forming surface when the cap 51 comes into contact with / separates from the discharge port forming surface, and a large pressure fluctuation occurs instantaneously in the airtight space inside the cap 51. Therefore, the ink meniscus in the discharge port may not be properly held. That is, the non-parallel shape causes the edge of the rib 51a to gradually come into contact with the discharge port forming surface until the whole is brought into a close contact state at the time of capping. The edge of the rib 51a gradually separates before the separation is performed, which is rather preferable.

From such a viewpoint, the configuration of the cap 51 shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 is not necessarily applied only to the discharge port forming surface shown in FIG. That is, the cap 51 having the above configuration can be applied to, for example, a discharge port forming surface formed in parallel with a non-recording surface of a recording medium. Similarly, from the above viewpoint, the plane formed by the edge of the rib 51a does not necessarily have to be in the direction shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, and the direction can be appropriately selected. Further, the plane formed by the edge of the rib 51a does not necessarily have to be a plane, and the edge may be provided with irregularities.

Next, a recovery system of the ink jet recording apparatus according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a contour curve of each cam of the cam device 63 (FIGS. 2 and 15), and FIG. 19 shows an operation state of each cam except for the pump 53 of the cam device 63 at a main cam position. FIG. 20 is an explanatory view, and FIG. 20 is a sectional view showing a state of the pump 53 at a main operation position. The operation positions a, b, and
c, d, f, and h correspond to the operating positions a, b, c, d, f, and h of the respective cams except for the pump in FIG.
The numerical values in FIG. 18 indicate the rotation angles of the cams.

The function of the recovery system unit of the ink jet recording apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 18 and 19, the state a is the home position of the pump cam 549, and is the standby state of the recovery device during the recording operation. At this time, the home position switch 555 is on, the cap 51 is in a state of being separated from the discharge port forming surface of the recording head (hereinafter referred to as an open state), and the blade 59 is in the off state, that is, is separated from the recording port discharge surface of the recording head. It is in a state of having done. The pump 53 is at the top dead center (see FIG. 20).

In FIGS. 18 to 20, the next state b is a capping state, in which the recording operation is not performed, and the discharge port forming surface is covered with the cap 51 for protection. At this time, the home position switch 555 is turned off, the cap 51 comes into contact with the discharge port forming surface and is closed, the pump 53 is at the top dead center, and the blade 59 is in the off (separated) position.

The state of c is a state where the pumping is completed. At this time, the home position switch 555 is on, the cap 51 is in the closed state (capping state), and the pump 53 is in a state where the valve is fully opened but has not yet reached the bottom dead center. Also blade 5
9 is in the off position.

In FIGS. 18 to 20, the state of d indicates that the cap 51 is opened after the pumping is completed, and at the same time, the ink filled in the cap 51 and the cap lever 505 is taken into the pump 53. This is a state where the suction has been completed. At this time, the home position switch 555 is on, the cap 51 is about half open, the pump 53 is at bottom dead center, and the blade 59 is off.

Next, the state of g will be described first. This state of g is a preparation position for starting idle suction for discharging the ink filled in the pump 53 into the waste ink tank 55 (FIG. 2) by pumping. At this time, the home position switch 555 is on, the cap 51 is open, and the pump 53 is at a position slightly lower than the top dead center. The blade 59 is in the off state.

In FIGS. 18 to 20, the state of e and the state of f are the stop positions when the sky suction and the hollow suction are performed, respectively. In either position, the home position switch 555 is on, the cap 51 is open, and the blade 59 is off. However, the pump 53 is at the bottom dead center in the state of e, but is completely lowered in the state of f. Not.

State h is a state when wiping is performed. At this time, the home position switch 555 is on, the cap 51 is open, and the pump is at the top dead center.
The blade 59 is in the ON state, and the carriage 11 on which the head cartridge 9 is mounted moves in this state, whereby wiping (wiping and cleaning) of the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 9a can be executed.

FIG. 20A shows a state in which the piston 525 is at the bottom dead center in the pump 53. In the state of (A), pumping works by the negative pressure created by the space on the left side of the piston 525 in the pump 53.
531 is a valve port for transmitting the negative pressure to the cap 51. This state (A) is a state in which the piston 525 has passed over the valve port 531 and further advanced to the right.
In this state, the piston 525 is connected to the piston shaft 5 from the left side.
27 is pressed by and adhered to the flange portion 527a of the cap 27, so that the generated negative pressure does not leak to the cap 51.
Conveyed to the side. Further, the ink stored in the right side of the piston 525 is pushed out to the waste ink tank 55 (FIG. 2).

FIG. 20B shows a state in which the piston 525 is at the top dead center in the pump 53. Note that the piston 525 has reached the right side of the valve port 531.
The valve port 531 is not closed. That is, in this state, the inside of the cap 51 is in the air communication state. Next, FIG. 20C shows the state of the pump 53 in the state of c in FIG. In this state (C), the piston 525 has passed the valve port 531 and has been slightly advanced to the right.

FIG. 20D shows the state of the pump 53 in the state of g in FIG. The air suction is performed by reciprocating between the state (D) and the state (A), and reciprocating between the state (D) and the state (E) described later. Performs hollow suction. It should be noted here that the valve port 531 is closed by the piston 525. The pump 53 according to the present embodiment is not provided with a valve equivalent to a valve of a normal pump.
The ink may flow backward to the side. For this reason, in the pump 53 of the present embodiment, the valve port 531 is used except when necessary.
Is closed to prevent backflow of ink.

FIG. 20E shows the state of the pump 53 when the hollow suction has been completed. Note here that
That is, it stops immediately after the piston 525 has passed over the valve port 531. The reason is that if the piston 525 is moved to the position of the bottom dead center of (A), the valve port 531 is returned when returning to the top dead center of (B) or the empty suction preparation position of (D).
This is because the time during which is open becomes long, and during that time, a positive pressure is generated in the space on the left side due to the resistance of the flow path and the like, and there is a possibility that the ink flows backward. However, although a slight gap is formed between the sliding portion of the piston shaft flange 527a and the piston 525, and by communicating with the space on the right side of the piston 525, the left side space is configured so that no positive pressure is generated. With this alone, it may not be possible to prevent a positive pressure from being generated in the left space due to the resistance of the flow path. In the present embodiment, as described above,
An operation of returning from the position of (E) to the position of (A);
Since the two kinds of operations of returning from the position (D) to the position (D) are adopted, it is possible to reliably prevent the backflow of the ink.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control system of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 21, the capping position and the movement position of the carriage 11 can be known based on the detection of the recovery system home sensor 65 and the carriage home sensor 67. In FIG. 21, reference numeral 1000 denotes an MPU for executing the control procedures and the like shown in FIGS. 22 to 25 to control each unit, 1001 denotes a ROM storing programs and the like corresponding to the control procedures, 100
2 is a RAM used as a work area when the control procedure is executed, 1003 is a timer for measuring time,
1004 is an interface unit. Note that command data, recording data, and the like can be input from the keyboard unit to the control system in FIG.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation procedure of the ejection recovery processing by the recovery system unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The symbols a to h in FIG. 22 correspond to the timings a to h in FIG. The numerical values in FIG. 22 correspond to the numerical values indicating the rotation angles of the cams in FIG. In FIG. 22, the operation of the ejection recovery process starts from the capping state of b in FIG. 18 (step S1). Next, it moves to the state a in FIG. 18 to release the capping state (step S2). Next, the cap 51 is returned to the capping state b again, and the cap 51 is pressed against the discharge port forming surface 221 to improve the pressure contact state therebetween (Step S).
3). After a good pressure contact state is obtained in this way, the pump 53 is moved to the state c in FIG. 18 to perform pumping (step S3). In this state, the operation is stopped for, for example, 3 seconds so that the ink suction is sufficiently performed (step S5).
At the same time as opening the cap at d in FIG. 18, suction of small air is performed (step S7). In order to take in the ink in the cap 51 and the cap lever 505, the state is stopped, for example, for one second (step S).
9).

Next, idle suction for discharging the ink filled in the pump 53 is performed in the following procedure. First, the process proceeds to the idle suction preparation position for g in FIG. 18 (step S).
11) From there, for example, 3
Hollow suction is performed by reciprocating twice (steps S13 to S19). Next, the air suction is performed by moving from the empty suction preparation position of g to the stop position after the air suction of e (step S21). Due to the suction of the sky, the ink in the pump 53 is sufficiently discharged to the waste ink tank 5.
It is pushed out to the 5 side. Subsequently, the g is moved to the idle suction preparation position (step S23) to perform the preliminary ejection (step S25), and then the h is set to the wiping position, and the blade 59 is protruded (step S27). The wiping operation of the discharge port forming surface is performed by the step 59 (step S29). After performing the above operations, the operation returns to the initial capping state of b (step S31), and a series of ejection recovery processing operations ends.

The operation of the above-described ejection recovery process (cleaning) including the recovery process by suction, the idle suction, the preliminary ejection, and the like can be executed at a predetermined timing by the main control routine of the recording apparatus, or the operation of the operator can be performed. It can be started up appropriately according to the instruction.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing an example of idle suction operation for taking in the ink accumulated by the preliminary ejection which is appropriately executed during printing into the waste ink tank. In FIG. 23, this operation procedure is a process performed by interrupting this during recording, and therefore starts from the standby state of a in FIG. 18 (step S41). In this state, the cam device 63 is rotated in the reverse direction to move the g to the empty suction preparation position (step S43), and the hollow device is moved from the position g to the stop position after the hollow suction of f (step S45). . Next, in step S47, after moving to the empty suction preparation position for g and setting the position again, the empty suction is executed by moving from the position of g to the stop position after the empty suction of e (step S49). Next, returning to the standby state of a, the cap 51 is opened (step S51), and the idle suction operation ends. After the above-described idle suction operation is completed, recording is performed.

FIG. 24 and FIG. 25 are flowcharts showing an example of a recording and printing processing procedure in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 24, when the power is turned on, the recovery system unit is set to the recovery system home position in step S61, the cap is opened, and then the carriage 11 is set to the home position in step S63. Next, in step S65, (in this example 15 times or 7 times) predetermined preliminary discharge count and resets the counter N ₁ used to start the air-suction when reached, and closes the cap at step S67 Waits for a recording (printing) data signal (step S6).
9).

When the recording signal is input, step S71
At start the paper feed, after open the cap at step S73, to increment with the counter N ₁ by +1 perform preliminary discharge by setting the carriage 11 in step S75 to the home position. Next, step S7
7 is started it resets the timer T ₁ of the for starting the preliminary discharge at predetermined time intervals during the recording operation (for example, every 30 seconds) at, executes recording of one line in step S79. Thereafter, in step S81, the timer T
_It is determined whether or not the value of ₁ exceeds 30 seconds. If the determination is affirmative, step S8 similar to steps S75 and S77 is performed.
After 3 and S85, the process proceeds to step S87. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made, the process immediately proceeds to step S87.

[0075] the value of the step S87 the counter N ₁ is,
It is determined whether or not "15" has been reached. If the determination is affirmative, idle suction in the middle of printing one page is performed in step S89.
At this time, the procedure shown in FIG. 20 is started. Then, reset the counter N ₁ at step S91 is restarted, the process proceeds to step S93. Step S8
If a negative determination is made in step 7, the process immediately proceeds to step S93.

In step S93, it is determined whether recording of one page has been completed and a page break has been instructed. If not, the flow proceeds to step S95 to determine the presence or absence of a recording signal. If an affirmative determination is made in step S95, it is determined in step S97 whether or not there is an END signal to end the recording. If a negative determination is made, the flow shifts to step S79 to perform the next line recording.

[0077] On the other hand, when the recording signal by Tesuppu S95 is not input, the process proceeds to step S99, the timer T ₂ to be used to perform the capping is reset when the recording data is not a predetermined time (e.g. 5 seconds) Input ,
Restart. Next, in step S101, the presence or absence of a recording signal is determined. If the determination is affirmative, the process returns to step S79 to execute recording of the next line. On the other hand, step S101
Watch contents of timer T ₂ is determined whether or not more than 5 seconds, if a negative determination process proceeds to step S104, and returns to step S101 if there is no input of the END signal but at step S103 if a negative determination .

On the other hand, if 5 seconds have elapsed in step S103, the cap is closed in step S105.
Then, at step S107, stops the timer T _1, the timer T ₃ for starting a preliminary ejection after a predetermined time (e.g. 60 seconds) capped state continues
Reset and restart. Next, it is determined whether or not the END signal and the recording signal are input (step S10).
9 and S111). If there is a recording signal, step S1
13, the cap 51 is opened, and step S115
It determines whether watch the content of the timer T ₃ is greater than the 60 seconds at. If it has exceeded 60 seconds in step S115, the process proceeds to step S75 to perform preliminary ejection and the like, and then returns to step S79. On the other hand, step S115
If it in does not exceed 60 seconds, and returns to step S79 after the timer is started T ₁ at step S117.

[0079] Incidentally, when the page break command is input at step S93, the process proceeds to step S119, determines whether the contents of the counter N ₁ is equal to or greater than "7". If an affirmative determination is made in this case, performs the page between the idle suction in step S121, after performing a reset / start counter N ₁ in step S123, performs the operation of the wiping proceeds to step S125. On the other hand, step S11
If a negative determination is made in step 9, the process immediately proceeds to step S125 to perform the wiping operation. And step S
At step 127, the cap 51 is closed, and step S1 is executed.
After the recording medium (recording paper) on which recording has been completed is ejected at 29, the process proceeds to step S69 to wait for a recording signal for the next page.

If the END signal is detected in step S97 or S109, the end operation of step S131 is executed. This termination operation, as shown in FIG. 25, the idle suction (step S141), the reset / start counter N ₁ (step S143), the wiping of the discharge port forming surface (step S145), closing of the cap 51 (step S147) And discharge of the recording medium (recording paper) (step S149).

The main operations described above can be summarized as follows. In the present embodiment, the preliminary ejection is performed immediately before printing, and thereafter, the preliminary ejection is performed at intervals of 30 seconds. The timer T ₁ is used for the integration of the 30 second interval. T _1, since at least 5 seconds without a recording signal entered in the capping state is stopped when the elapsed, not counted in the 30 second interval time during capping. If the capping is performed for 60 seconds or longer, the control procedure returns to the preliminary ejection, and after the cap is opened, the preliminary ejection is performed before recording.

In this embodiment, the preliminary ejection is performed in the cap 51. Therefore, when the preliminary ejection is repeatedly performed, it is necessary to perform idle suction for taking the ink accumulated in the cap 51 into the waste ink tank 55 side. This idle suction is the idle suction described with reference to FIG. Basically, idle suction is performed between pages where no recording is performed. When the preliminary discharge counter N ₁ after one page Record is 7 or more small idle suction in FIG. 18 (a state of d) is carried out. However, if N ₁ is also in the middle page in recording it becomes 15 or more, i.e., in the sentence requires a long recording time performing the sky suction in FIG. 18 (state of e). At the end of recording, idle suction is always performed. Next, the wiping is for cleaning the ejection port forming surface 221 in which the ink has leaked after recording, and is generally controlled to be performed after one page and all the recording are completed.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By performing twice the same operation as the idle suction after the ink suction during the printing or at the end of the printing, the effect that the ink accumulated in the cap 51 due to the preliminary ejection during the printing is efficiently sent to the waste ink tank 55 is obtained. can get. Further, the amount of ink accumulated in the cap 51 by the preliminary ejection is very small compared to the amount at the time of ink suction during the ejection recovery process (cleaning) performed for the ejection recovery. Therefore, the number of times of idle suction during printing is sufficiently smaller than the number of times of idle suction during the ejection recovery process, and reducing the number of times of idle suction during printing as much as possible increases the effective printing speed of the printing apparatus. Is effective.

Note that the number of times of idle suction during the ejection recovery process or during printing is not limited to the above-mentioned number of times, but may be set to an appropriate number. Further, according to the present embodiment, the back stroke of the ink is reduced by shortening the stroke of the piston at first in several times of the idle suction and making the stroke reach the bottom dead center in the last few times. In addition, the ink in the cap 51 is reliably taken into the pump 53, and most of the ink in the pump 53 is sent to the waste ink tank 55, so that the amount of ink remaining in the pump 53 can be reduced. Empty suction can be performed. In addition, about the method of changing the stroke of the idle suction operation, in the above-described embodiment,
Although the short stroke (hollow suction) is set to three times and the long stroke (hollow suction) is set to one time, these numbers can be appropriately changed.

Next, the wiping mechanism of the ejection port forming surface 221 in the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment and its operation will be described. FIG. 26 shows a blade (wiper) 59 and a discharge port forming surface 221 (top plate 94) during wiping.
(A) is a partially enlarged plan view showing a state of the discharge port surface formed at 0, (A) is a state in which one end of the blade 59 is in contact, and (B) is a state in which an antinode of the blade 59 is in contact. Is shown. The blade 59 is made of a rubber-like elastic material (for example, HN
BR, silicon rubber, etc.), and the ejection port forming surface 2 of the recording head 9 that moves with the carriage 11.
21 is provided so as to be in sliding contact therewith.

The blade 59 is most excellent when it comes into contact with the discharge port forming surface 221 moving in the direction shown by the arrow on one side of its end (tip) as shown in FIG. It exerts a wiping effect (wiping effect), which has been confirmed by experiments and the like. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
When the antinode portion is in sliding contact with the discharge port forming surface 221,
A sufficient wiping effect cannot be obtained. Furthermore, in the state where the antinode portion of FIG. 26B is in contact, the blade 59 is strongly pressed against the discharge port forming surface 221.
The discharge port forming surface 221 is easily damaged, and it is necessary to improve the strength of the discharge port forming surface in order to secure durability.
There is a problem that the cost is significantly increased.

In the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the discharge port forming surface 221 is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the moving direction of the recording head 9 and a step 940 a is formed near the discharge port 222. A region is formed. Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus, the penetration amount of the blade 59 into the discharge port forming surface 221 is determined by simply increasing the component tolerance, the recording head 9 → the carriage 11 →
The tolerances of the carriage guide shaft 23 → base plate → components of the ejection recovery mechanism → blade 59 are gathered, and it is quite difficult to stably secure the accuracy of the amount of intrusion. Further, as described with reference to FIG. 8, in this embodiment, if a mechanism for moving the carriage guide shaft 23 is provided, the gap between the discharge port forming surface 221 and the paper pan front surface portion 45 can be adjusted to an appropriate value. It is configured as follows.

For the above reasons, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, the recording means 9 or the guide surface of the carriage 11 comes into contact with the portion where the blade 59 for wiping the discharge port forming surface 221 of the recording means 9 is mounted. A configuration in which a copying member is provided is employed. In this embodiment,
First, as shown in FIG. 15, by rotating the blade lever 535 by the cam 553, the blade 59 is rotated.
The blade roller 535A is rotatable at a predetermined position of the blade lever 535 (in the illustrated example, at a position near the upper portion of the blade 59). Supported. The blade roller 535 </ b> A is configured to perform a copying operation while rotating in synchronization with the movement of the recording head 9 by contacting the ejection port forming surface 221 during wiping.

The blade roller 535A is not at the center (directly above) of the blade 59, but in the direction in which the blade 59 bends during wiping, as shown in FIG.
It is provided at a position displaced from the center of the blade 59 by a predetermined distance K. According to such a configuration, the spring 53 is not affected by the inclination (for example, the angle θ) of the discharge port forming surface 221.
7 (FIG. 15), the blade roller 535A can easily follow the blade roller 535A.
35A → blade lever 535 → blade 59 only, the stacking error can be greatly reduced, an optimal blade penetration amount can always be secured to the discharge port forming surface 221, and a reliable wiping operation can be performed. A wiping mechanism is obtained. Thus, the blade roller 5
By the copying operation of 35A, the penetration amount of the blade 59 into the discharge port forming surface 221 is accurately maintained at an appropriate amount, and a wiping state excellent in the wiping effect as shown in FIG. An ink jet recording apparatus is configured.

In the present embodiment, the copying surface with which the blade roller 535A as the copying member comes into contact is the discharge port forming surface 2.
The copying surface is formed at the periphery of the discharge port 222 of the nozzle 21, but this copying surface may be formed at another appropriate portion of the recording head 9 or at an appropriate portion of the carriage 11. Also, the copying member may be a member that rolls like the above-mentioned blade roller 535A, or a member that slides without rolling if it has a small coefficient of friction.

FIG. 27 is a partial perspective view showing another example of the structure of the wiping mechanism. In FIG. 27, blade 5
9, blade rollers 535A are provided above and below the blade holder 100, the blade lever 535 supports the blade holder 100 so that the blade holder 100 can swing vertically, and the blade holder 100 is urged vertically toward the recording head 9. . This configuration example is different from the wiping mechanism of FIG. 15 in the above points, but has substantially the same configuration in other portions.
A detailed description thereof will be omitted. According to this configuration example, a more uniform and optimum blade penetration amount can be easily secured even in the vertical direction of the discharge port forming surface 221, and the same effect as in the above-described configuration example can be obtained.

In the above-described configuration examples of the wiping mechanism, the roller 535A attached to the blade lever 535 is configured to follow the discharge port forming surface 221.
The present invention is not limited to this, and a portion (for example, the carriage 11) other than the discharge port forming surface 221 is provided with a copying surface having the same shape as the discharge port forming surface 221, and is configured to follow the surface. The same operation and effect can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the recording is performed by one recording unit 9 is exemplified. However, the present invention relates to a color ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of recording units for recording in different colors, or a color ink jet recording apparatus. Regardless of the number of recording means (recording heads), such as an ink jet recording apparatus for gradation recording using a plurality of recording means for recording with the same ink having different densities, the present invention can be applied in the same manner, and the same effect Can be achieved. Further, in the above embodiment,
Although the case of using the cartridge type recording means (head cartridge) 9 in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated has been described as an example, in the present invention, the recording head and the ink tank are separately provided, and these are supplied with ink. The present invention can be similarly applied to an ink jet recording apparatus having another configuration of the recording head and the ink tank, such as one connected by a pipe or the like, and the same effect can be obtained.

The present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus using, for example, a recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. This provides an excellent effect in an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means of a method of ejecting ink. According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical structure and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
Preferably, this is done using the basic principles disclosed in US Pat. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which Then, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the film is boiled on the heat-acting surface of the recording means (recording head). As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with the driving signal. It is valid.

The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in 463359 and 4345262 are suitable. In addition, US Pat. No. 4,431,131 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface.
If the conditions described in the specification of JP-A No. 24 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

The configuration of the recording head is not limited to the combination of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above specification. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, the recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head. In addition, even with the serial type printer as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main unit or attached to the main unit enables electrical connection with the main unit and supply of ink from the main unit. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip type print head or a cartridge type print head having an ink tank provided integrally with the print head itself is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus in the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
For the recording head, a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressurizing or suctioning unit, a preheating unit using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and a discharge other than recording. Performing the preliminary ejection mode is also effective for performing stable printing.

The types and the number of recording heads to be mounted are, for example, not only one provided for a single color ink but also a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. May be provided in plurality. That is, for example, as the recording mode of the recording apparatus, not only the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black,
The recording head may be formed integrally or by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, but the present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of multiple colors of different colors or full color by mixing colors.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or below and which softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet ink is used. In general, in the method, the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. What is necessary is just to be liquid. in addition,
Whether to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or use ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink In any case, the ink is liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal, and the liquid ink is ejected,
The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time by thermal energy, such as one that starts to solidify when it reaches a recording medium, is used.

The ink in such a case is disclosed in
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a form in which the liquid sheet or the solid sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter while being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It may be. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also has a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further has a transmission / reception function. A facsimile apparatus may be used.

[0104]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, scanning is performed while being mounted on a carriage,
A cleaning unit that cleans the ejection port forming surface by performing parallel movement using scanning of the carriage with respect to the ejection port forming surface of an ink jet head having an ink ejection port that ejects ink to a recording medium to perform recording. A cleaning blade having a plate-like shape, and a cap member for covering a discharge port forming surface of the ink-jet head, in an ink-jet recording apparatus comprising:
A copying member is provided that moves together with the cleaning blade without changing the relative positional relationship between the cleaning blade and the cleaning unit, and regulates a constant amount of the cleaning blade entering the discharge port forming surface during a cleaning operation. By providing a copying member that regulates the amount of intrusion of the blade into the ejection port forming surface of the head during the cleaning operation, the cleaning that is performed repeatedly can always be performed with a constant amount of intrusion. Can be stabilized, and the amount of intrusion into the discharge port forming surface during the cleaning operation is kept constant. Inkjet that can maintain a good cleaning state Recording device is provided. According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the copying member is deviated from a disposition position of the cleaning blade in a bending direction when the discharge port forming surface is cleaned by the cleaning blade. Since the configuration provided at the position, or the bias is configured to coincide with the contact point between the tip of the cleaning blade bent during the cleaning and the discharge port forming surface, the discharge port of the inkjet head Even when there is a step or a curvature on the forming surface, a uniform intrusion amount of the cleaning blade that moves in parallel over the entire discharge port forming surface is ensured, and a uniform cleaning state is achieved. The cleaning blade can have a constant penetration amount to ensure cleaning performance in repeated cleaning. An ink jet recording apparatus is provided that can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a word processor as an embodiment of an electronic apparatus including an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing one embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the head cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the head cartridge of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an assembly view of the head cartridge of FIG. 4;

6 is an external perspective view of an ink ejection unit of the head cartridge of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view illustrating a schematic structure of an ink discharge unit of the head cartridge of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining a head gap adjusting means of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining a spur cover and a viewing window of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining a spur cover and a viewing window of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a plan view for explaining a spur cover and a viewing window of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a partial front view illustrating a state in which the means for preventing FPC entanglement of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is in a carriage standby state.

FIG. 13 is a partial front view showing a state in which the means for preventing FPC entanglement of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is moving when the carriage is moved.

FIG. 14 shows an FP in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a partial front view showing a state in which C is involved.

15 is an exploded perspective view of the ejection recovery mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing details of a cap and a cap holder shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a diagram including a front view, a plan view, and a longitudinal sectional view of the cap shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a contour curve of a cam for operating each part of the ejection recovery mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state of each part at a main cam position of the ejection recovery mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an operation state of the pump at a main cam position of the ejection recovery mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control system of the inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure in an ejection recovery process of the inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of an idle suction process related to the ejection recovery process illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a recording processing procedure of the inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of an end operation of step S131 in FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a schematic enlarged plan view showing a contact state of a blade when wiping an ejection port forming surface of a recording unit.

FIG. 27 is a partial perspective view illustrating another configuration example of the wiping mechanism of the inkjet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Keyboard part 2 Display part 9 Head cartridge 9a Discharge port unit 9b Ink tank 11 Carriage 23 Guide shaft 27 Timing belt 31 Carriage motor 33 Transport roller 34 Platen 35 Transport motor 39 Feed roller 41 Discharge roller 51 Cap 51a Rib 53 Pump 55 Waste ink tank 59 Blade 61 Recovery motor 70 Waste ink tank 63 Cam device (recovery system) 65 Recovery system home sensor 67 Carriage home sensor 100 Blade holder 221 Discharge port forming surface 222 Discharge port 225 Electrothermal converter 535 Blade lever 535A Blade Roller (copying member) 537 Spring 553 Cam (for driving blade) 940 Member having discharge port forming surface (ceiling plate) 940a Step (discharge port forming surface)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink jet head having an ink ejection port, which is mounted on a carriage, is scanned and ejects ink onto a recording medium, and performs recording, on a recording medium.
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a plate-shaped cleaning blade having a cleaning unit for cleaning the ejection port forming surface by parallel movement using scanning of the carriage; and a cap member covering the ejection port forming surface of the ink jet head. In the cleaning, the cleaning blade contacts the ink jet head or the carriage, moves together with the cleaning blade without changing a relative positional relationship of the cleaning blade with the cleaning unit, and cleans the discharge port forming surface during a cleaning operation. An ink jet recording apparatus provided with a copying member that regulates the amount of penetration of a blade to a constant value. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the copying member is provided at a position deviated from a disposition position of the cleaning blade in a bending direction when the discharge port forming surface is cleaned by the cleaning blade. Inkjet recording device. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the deviation coincides with a contact point between the tip portion of the cleaning blade bent during the cleaning and the discharge port forming surface. 4. The ink jet recording device according to claim 1, wherein the recording device is an ink jet recording device having an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for ink ejection.
4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording means discharges the ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. Ink jet recording device.