JP4848720B2 - Maintenance device and liquid ejecting apparatus in liquid ejecting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a maintenance device and a liquid ejection device in a liquid ejection device.

  Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus is known as one of liquid ejecting apparatuses. The ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head (liquid ejecting head), and printing by the recording head is performed by ejecting ink droplets from the recording head while relatively moving the recording head and the recording paper. In order to perform high quality printing by ejecting ink droplets well from the recording head, the recording head should be cleaned at an appropriate time during printing or during printing suspension to prevent problems such as clogging of nozzle holes. It needs to be resolved and prevented. For this reason, the ink jet recording apparatus is equipped with a maintenance device for the recording head.

  The maintenance device includes a wiper having a wiping member formed of an elastic material in a strip shape, a cap serving as a lid for capping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head to prevent drying of ink in the nozzle, and a nozzle on the nozzle forming surface A suction pump that applies a negative pressure for forcibly sucking ink from the opening. During the ink suction operation, the nozzle forming surface is capped and sealed, and the suction pump is driven to apply a negative pressure to the sealed space, thereby forcing the ink from the nozzle openings of the recording head. Ink and bubbles that are thickened by suction are discharged. Usually, wiping by a wiper is performed continuously with this suction operation, and ink or paper dust adhering to the nozzle forming surface is scraped off or the liquid meniscus in the nozzle hole is adjusted. Further, during printing suspension, the nozzle forming surface is covered with a cap to prevent the ink in the nozzle from drying. There is also known a maintenance device including a lock lever that restricts the carriage to a cleaning position so that capping can be performed with the recording head disposed at a predetermined position (for example, Patent Document 1). In this maintenance device, the wiper and the lock lever are driven via the same power transmission mechanism.

  By the way, in the maintenance device, it is necessary to individually operate the wiper, the cap, the suction pump, and the like. However, if the rotation drive source is individually prepared, a plurality of rotation drive sources and individual power transmission mechanisms are required. The structure becomes complicated and large. Thus, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a maintenance device that operates a wiper, a cap, and a suction pump using a common rotational drive source. According to this maintenance device, although one rotational drive source can be provided, when the inkjet recording device is equipped, at least one rotational drive source for feeding and discharging recording paper and a recording head are mounted. In addition to the rotational drive source that reciprocates the carriage, another rotational drive source is required.

  For example, Patent Documents 3 and 4 disclose an ink jet printer in which a rotation drive source common to a wiper, a cap, and a suction pump constituting a maintenance device (maintenance mechanism) is a paper feed motor that drives a paper feed roller and a transport roller. Has been. In this printer, the paper feed motor is driven to rotate forward when the paper feed roller and transport roller are driven, and the paper feed motor is driven to rotate reversely when the wiper, cap and suction pump are operated. The suction pump is driven when the paper feed motor is driven in reverse rotation, and is released when the paper feed motor is driven forward, so that negative pressure is not generated during paper supply / discharge.

Further, when the carriage is positioned at the home position (during cleaning), the clutch mechanism is configured not to transmit the rotation of the paper feed motor to the auto sheet feeder. Further, in Patent Documents 3 and 4, there is a backfeed process in which the paper feed motor is driven in reverse during the cueing process for positioning the fed paper at a predetermined position. Since a rotation transmission delay of about one rotation occurs between the input and output of the means, the maintenance mechanism is configured not to operate during this backfeed process.
JP 2002-1977 JP 2003-154686 A JP 2005-144690 A JP-A-10-202916

  However, according to the conventional apparatus, it is necessary to provide a mechanism of the transmission delay means, and there is a problem that the configuration of the maintenance apparatus is easily complicated. Further, the paper feed motor is allowed to reversely rotate within the delay rotation amount of the transmission delay means, but when the electric motor is reversely driven with the rotation amount exceeding the delay rotation amount of the transmission delay means, the wiper or cap is raised. I was supposed to. As a result, if the carriage moves to the home position after the paper feed motor is driven reversely by a rotation amount exceeding the delay rotation amount for paper conveyance, there is a risk that the recording head contacts the raised wiper or cap. was there. For this reason, it is not possible to respond to a request to reversely drive the paper feed motor with a rotation amount exceeding the delay rotation amount, such as adding a function to reversely feed the recording paper (back feed) for other purposes in the conveyance process. There was a problem. In this way, in the configuration in which the rotation drive source is shared between the transport system mechanism and the maintenance device, the operation of the transport system and the cleaning system are not interfered, and the paper feed motor is driven in reverse to reversely feed the recording paper. In order to give freedom to control, it was necessary to solve the above problems.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to provide maintenance parts such as a lock member and a wiper even if the rotational drive source is shared with the transport drive unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide a maintenance device and a liquid ejecting apparatus in a liquid ejecting apparatus that can appropriately operate the apparatus.

The present invention is a maintenance device that is provided in a liquid ejecting apparatus in which a carriage having a liquid ejecting head is movably provided and performs maintenance on the liquid ejecting head, and is engaged with the carriage or the liquid ejecting head. Shared with at least one maintenance component that reciprocates between a possible operating position and an unengageable retracted position, and a transport driving unit that transports a medium on which liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head is landed A power transmission mechanism that inputs and transmits power from a rotational drive source and outputs power that reciprocates the maintenance component between the operating position and the retracted position, and includes clutch means on the power transmission path. By reciprocating the maintenance part by moving the power transmission at a position on the power transmission path between the clutch surface of the clutch means and the maintenance part. And the power transmission mechanism having a movable member for transmitting the power,
A cap for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the liquid jet head;
The moving means having a slider mounted with the cap and reciprocatingly moving the cap between the retracted position and the sealing position, and the carriage or the liquid ejecting head is moved in the process of moving the carriage to the cleaning position. The slider that slides along a slide path that can move the cap from the retracted position to the sealing position by engaging the engaged portion of the slider and pressing the slider, and the slider as a slide path A guide means for guiding the slider to move along, and an urging means for urging the slider in a direction in which the cap moves from the sealing position toward the retracted position, and when the carriage moves away from the cleaning position. The slider moves the cap from the sealed position to the retracted position by the biasing force of the biasing means. It said moving means is configured to slide in the direction to the movable body provided in a position opposite to the movable body in the slider at the position to place the cap in the retracted position in conjunction with the move of the slider there in a locking mechanism having a stopper moving rather in the direction separably, and the maintenance component the engaged portion to which the stopper in the movable body when in the retracted position is provided on lockable located When the stopper is disposed at the locking position in conjunction with the movement of the slider when the carriage moves away from the cleaning position, the locked portion of the movable body when the maintenance component is at the retracted position When the stopper is locked to the movable body, the movable body is locked so as not to move to prevent transmission of the power of the rotational drive source to the maintenance part, while the carriage is closed. When the stopper in conjunction with movement of the slider when placed Ningu position is disposed unlocking position, the locking of the stopper into the locked portion of the movable body is released And the locking mechanism for releasing the lock of the movable body and allowing the power of the rotational drive source to be transmitted to the maintenance component. The maintenance parts here refer to the position and orientation of the liquid ejecting head so that the maintenance can be performed easily or easily in addition to the maintenance parts in the narrow sense that perform maintenance such as cleaning by contacting the liquid ejecting head. Also included are maintenance parts provided to perform maintenance support operations such as setting conditions such as the above. This point is the same in the following inventions unless otherwise specified. The liquid is not limited to ink used for recording (printing), but also includes a liquid material containing a specific functional material used as a liquid when an electronic circuit board is manufactured at least partially using an ink jet method.

According to this, the carriage stopper in conjunction with movement of the time away from the cleaning position Ru is disposed in the locking position, the stopper is engaged in the engaged portion of the variable dynamic body when the maintenance part is in the retracted position It is stopped. Even if the rotational drive source is driven under this locked state , the movable body is locked so as not to move, so that the power is not transmitted to the maintenance part via the power transmission mechanism, and the maintenance part is in the retracted position. Cannot move to the operating position. For this reason, for example, even if the rotation drive source is used in common with the conveyance drive unit and the power of the rotation drive source driven for the purpose of operating the conveyance drive unit is input to the power transmission mechanism, the maintenance component Does not move from the retracted position to the operating position. On the other hand, when the carriage is placed in cleaning position, the stopper which has been engaged with the engaged portion of the movable member is disposed in the unlocking position, the locking of its is released. If the rotational drive source is driven under this non-locking state, the power is transmitted to the maintenance part via the power transmission mechanism, and the maintenance part moves from the retracted position to the operating position. For this reason, it is possible to perform maintenance (including maintenance support work) on the carriage or the liquid ejecting head using maintenance parts. Incidentally, the maintenance and the relative carriage, refers to maintenance support work done in order that that the conditioned such as the position and attitude of the liquid jet head and the like to engage the carriage.

Further, among the plurality of maintenance parts, the cap reciprocates between the retracted position and the sealing position by a moving means different from the power transmission mechanism. The slider constituting the moving means slides while engaging with the carriage or the liquid ejecting head in the process of moving the carriage to the cleaning position, and is displaced upward by being guided by the guide means in the sliding process. Is moved from the retracted position to the sealing position. When the carriage moves away from the cleaning position, the slider returns from the raised position to the lower position by the urging force of the urging means, and the cap returns from the sealed position to the retracted position. The stopper is provided on the slider and moves in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the cap. Since the locking mechanism is constructed using the moving means for the cap, it is not necessary to provide a separate mechanism for moving the stopper in conjunction with the carriage. That is, the locking mechanism can be easily constructed simply by providing a stopper on the slider constituting the moving means for the cap. Accordingly, it is difficult to increase the size of the maintenance device while adding the locking mechanism.

In the maintenance device of the present invention, the movable body is a cam body having a cam portion engageable with a cam follower provided in the maintenance component, and the cam body is converted by the conversion means including the cam portion and the cam follower. The movement is converted into the movement of the reciprocating movement of the maintenance part, and when the carriage is arranged at the cleaning position, the stopper of the stopper to the locked portion of the cam body is released. In this state, the rotary drive source is driven, and the cam body moves with the power of the rotary drive source, whereby the maintenance component is moved from the retracted position through the engagement between the cam portion and the cam follower. When the carriage is moved to the operating position and the carriage is separated from the cleaning position, the cover of the cam body is in a state in which the maintenance component is returned from the operating position to the retracted position. It is preferable that the stopper stop portion is configured to be locked.

  According to this, the movement of the cam body is converted into the reciprocating movement of the maintenance part through the engagement between the cam portion and the cam follower. When the carriage is not at the cleaning position, the stopper is locked to the locked portion of the cam body, so that the operation of the maintenance part is locked. The cam body also serves as a locked part (movable body) that becomes the locking point of the stopper, and it is not necessary to prepare a locked part separately from the cam body. For this reason, the number of parts of the power transmission mechanism can be reduced, and the power transmission mechanism can have a relatively simple configuration. For example, although the locking mechanism is provided, it is difficult to increase the size of the maintenance device.

  In the maintenance device of the present invention, the maintenance component includes a lock member for engaging the carriage and positioning the carriage at a cleaning position, and the lock member is engaged with a lock position engageable with the carriage. It is preferable to reciprocate between the impossible retreat positions.

  According to this, since the lock member is disposed at the lock position, the carriage can be positioned at the cleaning position. Under this state, the cap is moved to the wiping position to thereby move the nozzle on the nozzle forming surface of the liquid ejecting head. On the other hand, an appropriate position can be capped.

  In the maintenance device according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the maintenance part includes a wiper for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the liquid jet head, and the wiper reciprocates between a wiping position and a retracted position.

According to this, by disposing the wiper at the wiping position, the nozzle forming surface of the liquid ejecting head can be wiped by the wiper .

The present invention provides a liquid ejecting apparatus including a carriage having a liquid ejecting head, a transport driving unit that transports a medium on which the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head is landed, and a transport driving unit for transport driving. A rotation drive source for supplying power, and the maintenance device according to the invention, the maintenance device having the stopper interlocked with the movement of the carriage , wherein the rotation drive source supplies power to the maintenance device. It is also characterized by serving . According to this, also in the liquid ejecting apparatus, the effect of the maintenance apparatus can be obtained similarly.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a basic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus 10) as a liquid ejecting apparatus has a base 11 (main body frame), and a carriage 12 can reciprocate relative to the base 11. Is provided. A guide shaft 13 having both ends fixed to the left and right side walls in the figure is installed inside the base body 11, and the carriage 12 is fixed to a part of the timing belt 14 while the guide shaft 13 is inserted into the insertion hole 12a. Has been. For this reason, when the carriage motor 16 is driven, the timing belt 14 is driven, and the carriage 12 reciprocates in the main scanning direction (X direction in the figure) by driving the timing belt 14.

  An ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as recording head 18) as a liquid ejecting head is mounted below the carriage 12, and the lower surface of the recording head 18 is formed to eject ink as liquid. In addition, a nozzle forming surface 18a (see FIGS. 2 and 9) in which a plurality of nozzle holes are opened. A platen 15 that defines the interval between the nozzle forming surface 18 a of the recording head 18 and the recording paper 17 is provided at a position facing the recording head 18 in the substrate 11. A black ink cartridge 19 that supplies ink to the recording head 18 and a color ink cartridge 20 that individually stores three colors of yellow, cyan, and magenta, for example, are detachable on the carriage 12. Is loaded. Ink is supplied from the ink cartridges 19 and 20 to the recording head 18. The recording head 18 to which ink is supplied from the ink cartridges 19 and 20 can eject (discharge) ink from each nozzle hole of the nozzle forming surface 18a.

  On the back side of the recording apparatus 10, a paper feed tray 21 (see FIG. 2) on which a large number of recording papers 17 can be stacked, and the topmost one of the many recording papers 17 stacked on the paper feeding tray 21. And a paper feeding device 22 that feeds the paper only downstream in the sub-scanning direction Y. Further, various rollers 23 to 26 (see FIG. 2) for conveying the recording paper 17 are rotatably provided on the base 11, and among the various rollers 23 to 26, the rollers 23 and 25 for driving are rotated. By being driven, the recording paper 17 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction in FIG. 1). Then, the ink is ejected from the nozzle forming surface 18a of the recording head 18 to the recording paper 17 while the carriage 12 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction X, and the recording paper 17 is conveyed by a predetermined conveyance amount in the sub-scanning direction Y. Recording (printing) is performed on the recording paper 17 by alternately repeating the operation.

  In FIG. 1, the carriage 12 is stopped at a so-called home position (cleaning position). The home position is a stop position outside the main scanning range (printing area) at the time of recording execution, and is the standby position of the carriage 12 in the recording execution standby state. At the same time, the home position is also the reference start position (origin position) for recording execution control, and maintenance such as cleaning of the recording head 18 is also performed with the carriage 12 stopped at the home position.

  Therefore, a maintenance unit 50 (maintenance device) is disposed at the home position. The maintenance unit 50 introduces a negative pressure into the cap 100 having a substantially square shape that functions as a lid for preventing the nozzle opening of the recording head 18 from being dried, the wiper 40 for wiping the nozzle forming surface 18a, and the cap 100. And a carriage lock lever (hereinafter referred to as a lock lever 45) (lock member) that restricts the carriage 12 to the cleaning position. When the carriage 12 moves to the home position and the recording head 18 is positioned directly above, the cap 100 is raised so that the nozzle forming surface 18a can be sealed. At the time of this sealing, the lock lever 45 is disposed in an upright state (lock position) and engages with the lower portion of the carriage 12, so that the cap 100 has the nozzle forming surface 18 a under the state where the carriage 12 is positioned at the cleaning position. Abut.

  The cap 100 caps the nozzle forming surface 18a of the recording head 18 in addition to the lid function (capping function) for the purpose of preventing the nozzle opening from drying, and the negative pressure from the suction pump 29 is sealed in the sealed space. And a function as a part of liquid suction means for sucking and discharging ink from the recording head 18. Waste liquid such as ink sucked during the liquid suction operation (ink suction operation) passes through a tube 30 (shown in FIG. 2) extending from the cap 100 through the suction pump 29 to a waste liquid tank 31 disposed below the platen 15. It is supposed to be discharged.

  The wiper 40 is provided at a position adjacent to the printing area side of the cap 100 so as to be movable up and down. The wiper 40 is configured to rise during the liquid suction operation, and the nozzle forming surface 18a is disposed on the wiper 40 that stands by at the lift position (wiping position) in the process in which the carriage 12 moves from the home position to the printing region side after the liquid suction operation is completed. The nozzle forming surface 18a is wiped by making the sliding contact. The maintenance unit 50 according to the present embodiment serves as a rotational drive source for driving the transport driving rollers 23, 25, and 32 (see FIG. 2) used for feeding, transporting (paper feeding) and discharging the recording paper 17. The electric motor 27 (paper feed motor) (see FIG. 2) is driven by power. The maintenance unit 50 according to the present embodiment includes three parts as a maintenance part: a lock lever 45, a wiper 40, and a cap 100. Of these, the lock lever 45 (first maintenance part) and the wiper 40 (second maintenance part). Is operated by the power of the electric motor 27 as a rotational drive source.

  FIG. 2 shows an electrical configuration of the recording apparatus. In FIG. 2, the already described carriage 12, carriage motor 16, electric motor 27 (paper feed motor), suction pump 29, waste liquid tank 31, wiper 40, lock lever 45, and cap 100 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the following description, a part of the configuration of the driving device for the paper feed system, the transport system, and the paper discharge system will be supplemented. In the figure, the carriage drive system and the paper transport system (paper feeding / conveying / paper discharging system) are depicted as schematic views viewed from different directions by 90 ° for convenience of explanation.

  The paper feeding device 22 has a paper feeding roller 32 on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction Y of the paper feeding tray 21. A large number of recording papers 17 stacked on the paper feed tray 21 are pressed against a paper feed roller 32 made up of a friction roller having a substantially D shape when viewed from the side by a hopper (not shown) provided on the paper feed tray 21. Only the topmost recording paper 17 is separated and fed by the driving rotation of the roller 32 in the paper feeding direction and its frictional resistance. The paper feed roller 32 is rotationally driven by an electric motor 27. A mechanically operated clutch (not shown) is provided between the electric motor 27 and the paper feed roller 32 and is disconnected when the carriage 12 reaches the cleaning position. Is not transmitted to the paper feed roller 32.

  Further, the recording apparatus 10 is provided with rollers 23 and 24 for conveying driving and conveying driven for intermittently conveying the fed recording sheet 17 in the sub-scanning direction Y. The transport driving roller 23 is rotationally driven by an electric motor 27. The recording paper 17 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y by the rotation of the roller 23. A plurality of transport driven rollers 24 are provided, each of which is individually urged by a transport driving roller 23, and when the recording paper 17 is transported by the rotation of the transport driving roller 23, In contact with the recording sheet 17, the recording sheet 17 rotates following the conveyance of the recording sheet 17.

  Further, the recording apparatus 10 is provided with rollers 25 and 26 for paper discharge driving and paper discharge driven for discharging the recording paper 17 after execution of recording. The discharge driving roller 25 is rotationally driven by an electric motor 27. By the rotation of the roller 25, the recording paper 17 after recording is discharged in the sub scanning direction Y. The paper discharge driven roller 26 is a toothed roller having a plurality of teeth around it and sharply sharpened so that the tip of each tooth makes point contact with the recording surface of the recording paper 17. The paper discharge driven rollers 26 are individually urged to the paper discharge driving rollers 25 by a biasing force that is weaker than the biasing force of the transport driven roller 24, and the recording paper 17 is used for paper discharge driving. When the paper is discharged by the rotation of the roller 25, the recording paper 17 is driven to rotate while being in contact with the recording paper 17 by the biasing force. Then, the recording sheet 17 after recording is discharged to the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction Y by a discharge driving roller 25 and a discharge driven roller 26. On the downstream side of the discharge driving roller 25 and the discharge driven roller 26, a discharge tray (not shown) for discharging the recording paper 17 on which recording has been performed is disposed.

  The power of the electric motor 27 is input to a power transmission mechanism 60 that constitutes the maintenance unit 50, and is used as power for operating the suction pump 29, the wiper 40, and the lock lever 45. As described above, in the recording apparatus 10, the paper feeding device 22 that is a driving device for the paper feeding system, the transport system, and the paper discharging system, the transport device, the paper discharging device, the wiping device that is the cleaning (maintenance) driving device, and the carriage The lock device and the suction pump 29 use one electric motor 27 as a common drive source. In the electric motor 27, the driving rotation direction (forward rotation driving direction) when the recording paper 17 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y and the driving rotation direction (reverse rotation driving direction) when the maintenance unit 50 is operated are reversed. It is set to be oriented.

  In the control unit 33, as an input system, for example, a cleaning switch 28 disposed on an operation panel (not shown), a sheet detection sensor S for detecting the leading end of the fed recording sheet 17, and a carriage 12 An encoder 36 that outputs a detection signal (pulse signal) corresponding to the moving position is connected. Further, a head drive circuit 34 and motor drive circuits 35 and 38 are connected to the control unit 33 as an output system. The control unit 33 sends drive signals to these drive circuits, whereby the recording head 18, The carriage motor 16 and the electric motor (paper feed motor) 27 are individually driven and controlled.

  The control unit 33 generates bitmap data based on print data from a host computer (not shown), generates a drive signal based on this data, sends the drive signal to the head drive circuit 34, and sends the drive signal to the recording head 18. Has a function of ejecting ink droplets. The recording head 18 has a piezoelectric element (piezo element) (not shown) for each nozzle, and when a drive voltage (pulse voltage) output from the head drive circuit 34 is applied to the piezoelectric element based on the drive signal, the current is supplied to the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element expands and contracts due to the distortion action, and the expansion and contraction expands and compresses the compartment (ink chamber) communicating with the nozzles, thereby ejecting (discharging) ink droplets from the nozzle holes.

  The encoder 36 has a function of optically detecting the movement position of the carriage 12, for example. For this purpose, a slit tape 37 in which a large number of optical slits are arranged along the track of the carriage 12 is stretched. The encoder 36 (linear encoder) having the slit tape 37 outputs a detection signal (pulse signal) having a number of pulses corresponding to the number of intermittent light passing through the slits as the carriage 12 scans. . The control unit 33 recognizes the moving direction of the carriage 12 based on two types (A phase and B phase) of pulse signals having different phases included in the detection signal from the encoder 36. Then, the control unit 33 obtains the obtained value by counting the number of pulses corresponding to the number of intermittent light in an internal counter (not shown) by, for example, a method of incrementing when the carriage moves forward and decrementing when the carriage moves backward. Based on the count value, the movement position of the carriage 12 from the origin position (for example, the home position) is detected.

  The control unit 33 performs a speed control of the carriage 12 and a traveling direction switching control by sending a drive signal corresponding to the movement position of the carriage 12 to the motor drive circuit 38 to drive the carriage motor 16. Further, the control unit 33 uses the detection signal (pulse signal) from the encoder 36 to generate an ejection timing signal that defines the ejection timing of the ink droplets ejected from the recording head 18, and this signal is used as the head drive circuit 34. Is sent as one of the control signals to control the ejection timing at which the ink droplets are ejected from the recording head 18.

  The control unit 33 includes a timer 39 that counts the set time. The timer 39 has a function of measuring a set time set in advance for each type of cleaning (flushing, suction operation, etc.), and notifies the control unit 33 when the set time has elapsed since the reset. . As one of the set times, for example, there is a time interval (for example, 10 seconds) at which flushing is executed during printing, and the control unit 33 receives a notification from the timer 39 that the set time has passed during printing. Then, the carriage 12 is moved to the flushing position outside the printing area to perform the flushing. As another set time, there is a time interval (for example, several hours to several days) at which the ink suction operation is executed. When the time counted from the previous suction operation exceeds the set time, the control unit 33 causes the ink suction operation to be executed when the time exceeds or after the first power-on. The control unit 33 is also configured to execute an ink suction operation when an ON signal is input by turning on the cleaning switch 28.

  When executing the ink suction operation (that is, when operating the maintenance unit 50), the control unit 33 sends a reverse rotation signal to the motor drive circuit 35 to drive the electric motor 27 in the reverse direction. The power when the electric motor 27 is driven in reverse is transmitted to the suction pump 29 via the power transmission mechanism 60, and the pump is driven by rotation of the suction pump 29 in a predetermined direction. A negative pressure is applied to the space surrounded by the nozzle forming surface 18 a, and ink is sucked and discharged from the nozzle openings of the recording head 18. In addition, after the suction discharge (suction operation), the suction pump 29 is driven again in a state where the cap 100 is separated from the nozzle forming surface 18a, so that the waste ink tank discharged to the cap 100 is discarded in the waste liquid tank 31. Yes. The power at the time of reverse drive of the electric motor 27 is also transmitted to the wiper 40 via the power transmission mechanism 60, and the wiper 40 is configured to rise from the retracted position to the wiping position before and after the ink suction operation. The detailed configuration of the maintenance unit 50 including the suction pump 29 and the wiper 40 will be described later.

  When the reverse rotation driving of the electric motor 27 by the predetermined rotation amount is finished and the ink suction operation is finished, the control unit 33 sends a driving signal to the motor driving circuit 38 to move the carriage 12 from the home position to the printing area side. Do. During the movement process of the carriage 12, the nozzle forming surface 18a is slidably contacted with the wiper 40 waiting at the wiping position, so that the nozzle forming surface 18a is wiped.

  Further, the control unit 33 sends a normal rotation signal to the motor drive circuit 35 to drive the electric motor 27 in normal rotation when performing paper feeding / conveying / paper discharging operations. However, in the recording apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, there is a case where conveyance control (reverse feed control) is performed in which the recording paper 17 is fed back in the anti-sub-scanning direction (−Y). The control unit 33 sends a reverse rotation signal to the motor drive circuit 35 when performing this type of reverse feed control, and drives the electric motor 27 to run in reverse. An example of reverse feeding of the recording paper 17 in this way is a cueing process for the recording paper 17. In this cueing process, when the sensor S detects the front edge of the fed recording paper 17, the recording paper 17 is fed forward by a predetermined amount from the cueing position to the downstream position. Then, the recording paper 17 is cued by reverse feeding a predetermined amount. The reverse feed (back feed) during the cueing process is performed to remove the skew of the recording paper 17 and also has a wrinkle removing function.

<Configuration of maintenance unit>
Next, the configuration of the maintenance unit 50 applied to the above-described recording apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7 show the maintenance unit, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the main part, FIG. 5 is a perspective view seen from the upper surface side, FIG. 6 is a perspective view seen from the rear surface side, FIG. In the following description, the carriage movement direction (X direction) is the front-rear direction, and the direction in which the carriage 12 approaches the home position (upward in FIG. 4) is the front. The sub-scanning direction (Y direction) is the left-right direction.

  One of the features of the maintenance unit 50 of the present embodiment is that even if the electric motor 27 is driven in reverse for purposes other than the maintenance operation, such as during reverse feed (back feed), it is locked to a part of the power transmission mechanism 60. In addition, there is provided a locking means (a stopper 86 described later) for blocking the power transmission to the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 in the middle of the power transmission path. The locking means is configured to release the locking during the maintenance time when the carriage 12 is disposed at the cleaning position. In the present embodiment, as a mechanism for raising and lowering the cap 100, the slider mounted with the cap slides in an oblique direction including the vertical component by moving the cap 100 up and down by engaging the carriage 12 within a predetermined range before reaching the cleaning position. The slider driving method described later is adopted. For this reason, the locking means is interlocked with the raising and lowering of the cap 100.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the maintenance unit 50 has a housing frame (hereinafter referred to as a frame 51) serving as a base material, and the frame 51 is attached and fixed to the base 11 using screws. Thus, the base 11 is disposed at a position corresponding to the home position of the inner end.

  The frame 51 includes a box-shaped guide frame portion 52 that is open at the top and bottom, a guide portion 53 formed at the rear end of the guide frame portion 52, and a rear side and a rear side of the guide portion 53 (left side in FIG. 3). And a pump casing portion 55 connected to the back side of the gear housing portion 54. The box-shaped guide frame portion 52 is a portion that is accommodated in a state in which the slider 80 is guided so as to be slidable along a guide route in an oblique direction including a front-rear direction and a vertical direction component. Moreover, the guide part 53 is a part which guides the wiper 40 to an up-down direction so that raising / lowering is possible. A support plate (not shown) is attached with screws so as to cover the rear side of the gear housing portion 54, thereby forming a gear chamber in which the power transmission mechanism 60 is accommodated. The pump casing portion 55 has a bottomed cylindrical shape, and functions as a casing of the suction pump 29 by assembling the cover 56 so as to cover the opening on the rear end side.

  First, a schematic configuration of the maintenance unit 50 will be described. The wiper 40 is supported on the frame 51 so as to be movable up and down while being guided by the guide portion 53. The wiper 40 includes a wiper holder 41 and a wiping member 42 (wiper blade) supported by the wiper holder 41. A guide pin 43 projects from the center of the back surface of the wiper holder 41. The guide pin 43 engages with a movable body, a rotating body, and a cylindrical cam 67 as a cam body, which are components of the power transmission mechanism 60, with the wiper 40 assembled to the guide portion 53. It functions as a cam follower that is guided in the vertical direction by forward and reverse rotation. Thus, the wiper 40 moves up and down as the guide pin 43 moves up and down by the reciprocating rotation of the cylindrical cam 67. The cylindrical cam 67 will be described in detail when a specific configuration of the power transmission mechanism 60 is described.

  In addition, the slider 80 on which the cap 100 is mounted is supported by the guide frame portion 52 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction (vertical direction in FIG. 4). In the supported state, the slider 80 rises as it slides from the rear side (lower side in the figure) toward the front side (upper side in the figure), and on the contrary, slides from the front side to the rear side. It is guided by an oblique route that sometimes descends. A pair of projecting members 98 project upward from the front end (right end in the figure) of the slider 80, and the carriage 12 that has moved to the home position collides with the projecting member 98 as shown in FIG. The slider 80 is raised by being pushed. In FIG. 9, one end of a flexible cable 113 is connected to the carriage 12 to supply a driving signal and driving power to the recording head 18, history information for the IC memory of the ink cartridges 19 and 20, and the like. The rewriting and reading are performed via the flexible cable 113.

  Further, the slider 80 is urged rearward and downward by a coil spring 115 (tensile spring) shown in FIG. Slide down to the bottom. A semi-cylindrical extending portion 80a extends downward from the lower end of the slider 80, and a stopper 86 as a locking means protrudes vertically (rearward) from the rear end surface of the extending portion 80a. Yes. When the slider 80 is lowered and the cap 100 is in the lowered position (retracted position), the stopper 86 engages with the cylindrical cam 67 that is a part of the power transmission mechanism 60 to make it inoperable. The lifting operation of the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 when the cap 100 is lowered is prevented. A locking mechanism including a stopper 86 that prevents the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 from rising will be described later.

Hereinafter, each component of the maintenance unit 50 will be described in detail.
First, the power transmission mechanism 60 that transmits the power input from the electric motor 27 to the suction pump 29 and the wiper 40 will be described.

<Power transmission mechanism>
By fixing a support plate (not shown) to the end face of the gear housing portion 54 with screws, the power transmission mechanism 60 is accommodated in the gear chamber formed between them. The power transmission mechanism 60 is a gear mechanism composed of a plurality of gears, and includes an input gear 61, a two-stage gear 62 that meshes with the input gear 61 at one location, and the input gear 61 and other locations. And a friction clutch gear mechanism 65 that meshes with the gear 64. The two-stage gear 62, the gear 64, and the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 are rotatably supported by shaft portions 54a, 54b, and 54c that protrude perpendicularly from the inner wall surface of the gear housing portion 54, respectively.

  The input gear 61 is a gear to which the power from the electric motor 27 is first transmitted and input among the components of the power transmission mechanism 60. Specifically, the gear 61 is configured by a pinion gear fixed to the tip of the output shaft of the electric motor 27 or a gear operatively connected to the pinion gear.

  The two-stage gear 62 includes a first gear portion 62a having a small tooth pitch and a second gear portion (not shown) having a large tooth pitch. The input gear 61 meshes with the first gear portion 62 a, and the second gear portion 62 b meshes with the pump gear 63 that is operatively connected to the drive shaft of the suction pump 29. The number of teeth of the pump gear 63 is several times (for example, 2 to 3 times) the number of teeth of the second gear portion, and the rotation of the gear 61 is reduced and transmitted to the pump gear 63 via the two-stage gear 62.

  This input gear 61 meshes with the gear 64 at other locations in addition to the two-stage gear 62, and the power transmission path is one power transmission path to the suction pump 29 via the two-stage gear 62. And another power transmission path that reaches the wiper 40 via the gear 64.

  A friction clutch gear mechanism 65 that is rotatably supported by the shaft portion 54c is disposed at a position adjacent to the gear 64 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). As shown in FIG. 3, the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 includes a cylindrical gear 66, a cylindrical cam 67, and a coil spring 69 (compression spring). The coil spring 69 is assembled in a compressed state between the one end surface of the cylindrical gear 66 and the support plate, so that the cylindrical gear 66 is urged toward the cylindrical cam 67 in the axial direction so as to contact each other (clutch surface). ) Are in pressure contact with each other with a predetermined force, and the cylindrical gear 66 and the cylindrical cam 67 are assembled and held in a frictional engagement state. The gear 64 meshes with the cylindrical gear 66. When the cylindrical gear 66 is rotated by the power transmitted from the gear 64, the cylindrical cam 67 frictionally engaged with the cylindrical gear 66 is rotated integrally. The cylindrical cam 67 has an arcuate cam groove 70 (shown in FIG. 8) that engages with the guide pin 43 of the wiper 40, and the rotational movement of the cylindrical cam 67 is caused by the cam groove 70 that is a cam and the cam follower. By being engaged with the guide pin 43, the wiper 40 is converted into a moving motion in the vertical direction.

<Suction pump>
Next, the operation and configuration of the suction pump 29 will be described. The direction in which the gears constituting the power transmission mechanism 60 rotate when the electric motor 27 is driven in the reverse direction is defined as the normal rotation direction.

  When the electric motor 27 is driven in reverse and the gear 61 is rotated forward in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7, the pump gear 63 is rotated forward in the direction of the arrow, and the suction pump 29 is rotationally driven so as to perform the pump action. On the other hand, when the electric motor 27 is driven to rotate in the forward direction, the suction pump 29 enters the release state with the pump gear 63 reversely rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow.

  The suction pump 29 is a tube pump in detail, and accommodates the tube 30 in an annularly drawn state inside (the tube 30 is broken at a position immediately before being introduced into the suction pump 29 in FIG. 6). Drawn in). A delay member (not shown) that delays the rotation start timing of the drive shaft relative to the rotation start timing of the pump gear 63 is rotatably supported on the drive shaft (rotation shaft) of the suction pump 29. The delay member is interposed between the pump gear 63 and the drive shaft, and transmits the rotation of the pump gear 63 to the drive shaft of the suction pump 29 after being delayed by a predetermined timing. That is, after the pump gear 63 rotates by a predetermined angle (for example, a constant value within a range of 100 ° or more and less than 360 °), the drive shaft of the suction pump 29 rotates and the suction pump 29 starts to drive.

  The suction pump 29 has a rotating body that rotates integrally with the drive shaft therein, a roller that is rotatably provided on the outer periphery of the rotating body, and is wound more than once on the outer periphery of the rotating body, and both sides are outside. And the tube 30 drawn out. The roller is urged radially outward with respect to the rotating body by a spring (not shown), and is displaced outwardly in the radial direction when the rotating body rotates in the forward direction, and is biased by the spring when the rotating body reverses. The rotating body is provided in the state guided by the guide hole so as to be displaced radially inward.

  When the electric motor 27 is driven in reverse to rotate the pump gear 63 in the forward direction, the tubes 30 accommodated in the suction pump 29 are sequentially crushed by rollers, and air, ink, etc. in the tubes 30 are pushed out. A negative pressure is generated in the tube 30 upstream of the pump 29. Further, when the electric motor 27 is driven in the forward direction and the pump gear 63 is rotated in the reverse direction, the suction pump 29 is in a release state in which the roller is retracted inward in the radial direction of the rotating body and does not crush the tube 30, and no negative pressure is generated. .

<Carriage lock device>
Next, the configuration of the carriage lock device that operates the lock lever 45 will be described. The carriage lock device includes the electric motor 27, a portion of the power transmission mechanism 60 that serves as a power transmission path to the lock lever 45 (a portion including the friction clutch gear mechanism 65), the lock lever 45, and the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, a rectangular parallelepiped lock lever 45 is rotatably attached to the gear housing portion 54 at a position adjacent to the friction clutch gear mechanism 65. The lock lever 45 is for locking the carriage 12 at the home position (position regulation). A pair of shaft portions 46 (only one is shown in the figure) protrudes from the base end portion of the lock lever 45 from both sides in the front-rear direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 7). . The lock lever 45 has a pair of shaft portions 46 pivotally supported by an insertion hole provided on the inner wall surface of the gear housing portion 54 and an insertion hole (both not shown) on the support plate side. Is supported so as to be rotatable.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 11, the front end portion of the lock lever 45 is a restriction surface 45 a that can be engaged with the carriage 12. Further, a portion of the lock lever 45 opposite to the restriction surface 45a and the shaft portion 46 is provided with a protrusion 47 protruding in a direction opposite to the restriction surface 45a side, and a position adjacent to the protrusion 47. A spring receiving portion 48 is provided so as to protrude diagonally to intersect the axis. The protrusion 47 functions as a cam follower at a portion that engages with the convex portion 75 (cam) of the cylindrical cam 67 constituting the friction clutch gear mechanism 65. In addition, the front-end | tip part outer peripheral surface (engagement surface) engaged with the convex part 75 in the protrusion 47 is formed in circular arc surface shape.

  A coil spring 49 (tensile spring) is stretched between the spring receiving portion 48 and a spring receiving portion 54e (see FIG. 7) protruding from the inner surface of the side wall 54d of the gear housing portion 54. Thus, the lock lever 45 is urged clockwise in FIG. 7 by the tensile force of the coil spring 49 with the head protruding from the opening (gap) between the side wall 54d and the upper wall 54f of the gear housing portion 54. It is in the state that was done. Therefore, the position of the lock lever 45 is restricted by contacting the upper end 54g (see FIG. 7) of the side wall 54d of the gear housing 54 when the projection 47 is not engaged with the convex 75, as shown in FIG. In this way, it is arranged at the retracted position (unlock position) where the posture is inclined obliquely. Further, when the projection 75 and the projection 47 of the cylindrical cam 67 are engaged, the lock lever 45 is arranged in a lock position where the lock lever 45 rotates counterclockwise against the urging force of the coil spring 49 and assumes an upright posture. It has become. In addition, the convex portion 75 (cam portion) and the protrusion 47 (cam follower) convert the rotational motion of the cylindrical cam 67 into a single reciprocating swing motion between the retracted position and the locked position of the lock lever 45. Conversion means is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a restricting plate 12 c extends downward from a position behind the recording head 18 (left side in the figure) below the carriage 12. When the carriage 12 is located at the home position shown in the figure, the restricting plate 12c is disposed at a position facing the restricting surface 45a of the lock lever 45 disposed at the lock position with a slight gap therebetween. The carriage 12 is configured to be regulated to the home position in the state where it is disposed at the lock position.

<Wiping device>
Next, the configuration of the wiping device that operates the wiper 40 will be described. The wiping device includes the electric motor 27, a portion of the power transmission mechanism 60 that serves as a power transmission path to the wiper 40, the wiper 40, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the wiper 40 is configured by attaching a plate-like wiping member 42 in a state of protruding a predetermined amount from the upper surface of a rectangular plate-like wiper holder (wiper support member) 41. The guide portion 53 has a pair of guide grooves 53a facing each other with a predetermined interval in the left-right direction (the direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the up-down direction), and the groove direction of each guide groove 53a extends in the up-down direction. . Both end portions in the width direction (left-right direction) of the wiper holder 41 are guided portions that are loosely inserted into the guide grooves 53a. By being loosely inserted into the groove 53a, the groove 53a is attached so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The upper end portion of the wiper holder 41 is a restricting portion 41a that protrudes wider than the portion that is inserted into the guide portion 53. When the wiper holder 41 is inserted into the guide portion 53, the restricting portion 41a of the wiper holder 41 is the guide portion. By hitting the upper surface of 53, the lowest lowered position of the wiper 40 is defined. Further, the wiper holder 41 is formed with a recess 41b at a portion facing the stopper 86, and the stopper 86 disposed at the locking position with the cap 100 lowered to the retracted position passes through the recess 41b and is cylindrical. The cam 67 is inserted into the locking hole 71. The frame 51 is also formed with an insertion hole 53b (see FIG. 3) that can be penetrated in the process of disposing the stopper 86 at the locking position at a portion facing the stopper 86.

  Further, the columnar guide pin 43 projecting vertically from the center of the rear surface (the surface facing the power transmission mechanism 60) of the wiper holder 41 is connected to the cam groove 70 ( 8, 9, and 11 (a)). As the guide pin 43 is guided along the cam groove 70 by the reciprocating rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 and is displaced in the vertical direction, the wiper 40 moves up and down. The wiping device includes the wiper 40, the guide portion 53, the power transmission mechanism 60, the parts that serve as a power transmission path to the wiper 40 (the input gear 61, the gear 64, the friction clutch gear mechanism 65), and the electric motor 27. Composed. The cam groove 70 (cam portion) and the guide pin 43 (cam follower) constitute second conversion means for converting the rotational movement of the cylindrical cam 67 as the cam body into the lifting movement of the wiper 40.

  Here, the wiper 40, the slider 80, and the cap 100 are arranged such that the horizontal center lines of the respective left and right directions are substantially the same in the left and right direction. Further, the cylindrical cam 67 of the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 is disposed at a position facing the slider 80 disposed at the lowest lowered position in the front-rear direction (carriage movement direction). For this reason, the wiper 40 and the cylindrical cam 67 are opposed to each other in the front-rear direction so that the horizontal width center line of the wiper 40 and the axial line of the cylindrical cam 67 substantially coincide with each other in the left-right direction. The guide pin 43 protruding from the center of the back surface of the wiper 40 is engaged with the cam groove 70 at a portion above the axis of the cylindrical cam 67. Between the slider 80 and the cylindrical cam 67, the wiper 40 and a part of the guide part 53 (a part serving as a partition wall with the gear chamber and a part also serving as the gear housing part 54) are arranged. For this reason, a recess 41 b is formed in the center of the lower end of the wiper holder 41 in order to secure a moving path for locking the stopper 86 protruding rearward from a position near the center line in the width direction of the slider 80 to the cylindrical cam 67. An insertion hole 53b (see FIG. 3) is formed in the partition wall portion of the guide portion 53 below the shaft portion 54c. In the present embodiment, when the cylindrical cam 67 is in the first rotation position (rotation angle position when the wiper is lowered), the locking hole 71 is formed at the lower end portion, and the stopper 86 is the wiper 40. It is comprised so that it may insert in the locking hole 71 by the path | route which penetrates the recessed part 41b.

  Thus, by laying out the cam groove 70, the locking hole 71 and the convex portion 75 on one cylindrical cam 67, a locked part to which the stopper 86 is locked, a wiper cam body, A configuration is realized in which one functional part, the cylindrical cam 67, serves as the four functional parts, which are the cam body for the lock lever and one structural part of the friction clutch gear mechanism 65.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the friction clutch gear mechanism. 11 to 13 are rear views for explaining the operation of the friction clutch gear mechanism. 11A to 13A are front views for explaining the lifting and lowering operation of the wiper and the swinging operation of the lock lever based on the rotational movement of the cylindrical cam 67 engaged with the guide pin and the protrusion 47. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between the cylindrical cam and the stopper, which is represented by a cross section along line AA in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the gear 64 (drive gear) meshes with a cylindrical gear 66 that constitutes the friction clutch gear mechanism 65. The friction clutch gear mechanism 65 is assembled so that the cylindrical gear 66 and the cylindrical cam 67 can rotate relative to each other in a coaxial state in which the opposing end surfaces are in contact with each other. 66 and the cylindrical cam 67 are frictionally engaged by the contact surface (clutch surface). Friction contacting and separating on the clutch surface by a contact surface (clutch surface) between the cylindrical gear 66 and the cylindrical cam 67 and a coil spring 69 biased with a predetermined force necessary to frictionally engage the contact surface. A clutch 68 is configured. When the cylindrical gear 66 rotates, when the load applied to the cylindrical cam 67 located on the downstream side in the power transmission direction from the clutch surface is equal to or less than a predetermined value (predetermined load value), the contact friction force (engagement friction force) of the contact surface ) Causes the cylindrical cam 67 to rotate integrally. On the other hand, when the load applied to the cylindrical cam 67 exceeds a predetermined value, slippage occurs on the clutch surface of the friction clutch 68, and the rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 is regulated by the idle rotation of the cylindrical gear 66. The predetermined value is determined from the contact frictional force that can be frictionally engaged on the clutch surface, and is a value that varies slightly depending on the contact state on the clutch surface and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the cylindrical cam 67 has a convex portion 75 in which a part of its outer peripheral surface protrudes in a trapezoidal shape, and both end portions of the outer peripheral surface have a radius from the axis of the cylindrical cam 67. The slope is a gradual change in the distance in the direction, and the tip of the outer peripheral surface is an arc surface. In the process in which the cylindrical cam 67 rotates in one direction, the lock lever 45 rises when the slope on the start end side of the convex portion 75 is engaged with the projection 47, and the arc surface of the convex portion 75 is the projection 47. It is held in the locked position in the process of being engaged, and further descends when the slope on the terminal side of the convex portion 75 is engaged with the protrusion 47.

  Further, as described above, the guide pin 43 of the wiper 40 is engaged on the end surface opposite to the clutch surface of the cylindrical cam 67, and the substantially arc-shaped cam shown in FIGS. A groove 70 is formed. As shown in FIG. 11A, the cam groove 70 moves from the axial center of the cylindrical cam 67 to the cam groove as it advances along the forward rotation direction (clockwise direction in the figure) indicated by an arrow in the figure. It is formed in a predetermined path in which the radial distance up to 70 is gradually increased. The shift amount in which the radial distance from the axial center of the cylindrical cam 67 to the cam groove 70 in the process from one end to the other end of the cam groove 70 coincides with the lift stroke length of the wiper 40. For this reason, as the cylindrical cam 67 rotates forward from the state shown in FIG. 11A in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 11A, the guide pin 43 is guided by the cam groove 70 and moves upward, and FIG. By being in the state shown in a), the wiper 40 is lifted from the retracted position by the lift stroke length and disposed at the wiping position. Further, as the cylindrical cam 67 reverses in the arrow direction shown in FIG. 13A from the state where the wiper 40 is in this wiping position, the guide pin 43 inserted into the cam groove 70 is guided to the cam groove 70. By moving downward and entering the state shown in FIG. 11A, the wiper 40 is lowered from the wiping position by the up / down stroke length and arranged at the retracted position.

  The cylindrical cam 67 is formed with a locking hole 71 (locking recess) at a position opposite to the cam groove 70 across the axis. The locking hole 71 is a hole for locking the stopper 86 to the cylindrical cam 67 when the cap 100 is in the lowered state and the slider 80 is lowered. Part. When the cap 100 is in the retracted position and the slider 80 is in the lowered position, the stopper 86 is disposed in the locking position.

  When the cylindrical cam 67 is in the first rotation position shown in FIG. 11A when the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 are lowered to the retracted position, the stopper 86 in the locking position is in the locking hole 71. It is inserted (see FIG. 11B). For this reason, when the cap 100 is at the retracted position, the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 are locked at the retracted position by the locking by the stopper 86. In this locked state, even if the power from the electric motor 27 is transmitted to the cylindrical gear 66 and the cylindrical gear 66 rotates, a load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the cylindrical cam 67 due to the restriction by the locking of the stopper 86. As a result, the friction clutch 68 slips and the cylindrical gear 66 is idled.

  Then, when the cap 100 that has been in the retracted position rises to the sealing position due to the lift of the slider 80, the stopper 86 comes out of the locking hole 71, and the cylindrical cam 67 moves from the first rotation position to the second rotation position ( 13 (a)), the wiper 40 can be lifted from the retracted position to the wiping position.

  A recess 73 is formed in the cylindrical cam 67 at a position facing the stopper 86 that is returned to the locking position as the slider 80 is lowered in the state where the cylindrical cam 67 is in the second rotation position shown in FIG. Since the carriage 12 moves from the home position to the printing area side after the ink suction operation is completed, the cap 100 descends prior to wiping when the carriage 12 leaves the home position. At this time, the stopper 86 that has returned to the locking position rotates the second rotation. It will be inserted into the recess 73 of the cylindrical cam 67 at the position (see FIG. 13C). The recess 73 enables the slider 80 to return to the same lowest position as when the stopper 86 is inserted into the locking hole 71 even when the slider 80 is lowered while the wiper 40 is in the wiping position. The stopper 86 is provided in order to prevent the stopper 86 from strongly colliding with the cylindrical cam 67 due to the urging force of the coil spring 115 during lowering.

  In the recess 73, when the cylindrical cam 67 tries to reversely move from the second rotation position (FIG. 13A) to the first rotation position (FIG. 11A), a stopper inserted in the recess 73 An inner wall surface on the moving direction side in which 86 moves relative to the cylindrical cam 67 is formed on the inclined surface 74. The inclined surface 74 is an inclined surface that gradually decreases in depth from the same depth as the bottom surface of the recess 73 toward the relative movement direction side of the stopper 86 when the cylindrical cam 67 is rotated in the reverse direction. For this reason, if the electric motor 27 is driven forward in the state of FIG. 13A, the stopper 86 can ride on the slope 74 and escape from the recess 73 as shown in FIG. 13D. The reverse rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 is allowed. That is, the inclined surface 74 allows the stopper 86 to move on the path from the recess 73 to the locking hole 71 so that the reverse rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 for moving the wiper 40 from the wiping position to the retracted position can be permitted. It is a permissible movement surface. The slope 74 serving as a movement-permitting surface constitutes a locking prevention means.

  Further, a tooth portion 72 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical cam 67 over a predetermined angle range (about 90 degrees in this example). When the wiper 40 is moved up and down by the guide pin 43 being guided by the cam groove 70 when the cylindrical cam 67 rotates, the tooth portion 72 is in the central region (intermediate region) of the lifting stroke excluding the retracted position and the wiping position. Further, it is formed at a predetermined portion of the cylindrical cam 67 so as to be directly meshed with the gear 64. That is, the cylindrical cam 67 is formed at a predetermined portion of the cylindrical cam 67 so that it can be directly meshed with the gear 64 when it is in the middle region of the finite rotation range of the cylindrical cam 67. Therefore, when the gear 64 rotates, power is directly transmitted from the gear 64 to the tooth portion 72 when the wiper 40 is in the middle region of the lifting stroke, so that the cylindrical cam 67 is reliably rotated. Further, the portion where the tooth portion 72 is not formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical cam 67 is an arc surface that cannot mesh with the gear 64, and the guide pin 43 is positioned near both ends of the cam groove 70. When in the rotating position, the gear 64 cannot be engaged. For this reason, when the cylindrical gear 66 is not meshed with the tooth portion 72, the rotation is transmitted to the cylindrical cam 67 only through frictional engagement with the cylindrical gear 66. Therefore, when the guide pin 43 hits one end (first end surface 70a) of the cam groove 70, the friction clutch 68 slips, the cylindrical gear 66 rotates idly, and the cylindrical cam 67 rotates further (forward rotation). Being regulated. Similarly, when the guide pin 43 hits the other end (second end surface 70 b) of the cam groove 70, the friction clutch 68 is slipped and the cylindrical gear 66 is idled, and the cylindrical cam 67 exceeds that of the cylindrical cam 67. The rotation (reverse rotation) is restricted. In this way, the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 is a finite range rotation type in which the cylindrical cam 67 reciprocates only within a predetermined angle range regardless of whether the cylindrical gear 66 continues to rotate in either the forward or reverse direction. The mechanism is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the formation position of the convex portion 75 and the central angle with respect to the cylindrical cam 67 so that the convex portion 75 engages with the projection 47 only in one range in the middle of the finite range of the cylindrical cam 67. (About 30 degrees in this example) is set. The convex portion 75 starts to engage with the protrusion 47 after the cylindrical cam 67 is rotated by a predetermined rotation amount from the first rotation position. Therefore, as can be seen from FIGS. 11 (a) to 13 (a), the wiper 40 first starts to rise, and the lock lever 45 starts to rise from the middle of its rise to reach the lock position, from which the cylindrical cam 67 further increases. Is set to an operation timing at which the wiper 40 reaches the wiping position after it is lowered from the lock position and returned to the retracted position after rotating about 30 degrees. This is because the lock lever 45 is returned to the retracted position when the wiper 40 is waiting at the wiping position. In addition, the lock lever 45 reciprocates once in the process of reversing the cylindrical cam 67 in order to return the wiper 40 from the wiping position to the retracted position after the wiping is completed, but the lock lever 45 is delayed after the wiper 40 starts to descend. By setting the operation timing of the reciprocating motion as one reciprocal motion, it also serves to prevent the lock lever 45 from contacting the recording head 18 more reliably. Further, when capping during printing suspension, the lock lever 45 is disposed at the lock position, and at this time, the wiper 40 is not disposed at the wiping position.

  In this embodiment, the portion of the cam portion for the lock lever 45 that is engaged so as to be disposed at the lock position is the convex portion 75, but instead of the convex portion 75, the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical cam 67. It may be a part of (arc surface). In this case, the cylindrical cam 67 has a small-diameter portion having a smaller radius than the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, and the lock lever 45 is disposed at the retracted position when the small-diameter portion and the protrusion 47 are opposed to each other.

  Thus, in this embodiment, when the cylindrical cam 67 rotates in one direction within a finite range, the lock lever 45, which is the first maintenance component, is caused to perform one reciprocating swing motion, and the second maintenance component Two types of cam surfaces are set on the cylindrical cam 67 so that a certain wiper 40 moves in one direction in ascending or descending. Further, the cam surface of the cam portion is set so that the reciprocating motion of the first maintenance component is performed in the middle of the unidirectional movement of the second maintenance component.

  Next, the raising and lowering operations of the carriage lock device and the wiping device will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, a part of the frame 51 located between the wiper and the power transmission mechanism is omitted. In FIG. 14A, the cylindrical cam 67 is in the first rotation position. In this first rotation position, the lock lever 45 is disposed in the retracted position with the projection 47 not engaged with the convex portion 75, and the guide pin 43 is located near the first end surface 70 a of the cam groove 70. The wiper 40 is located at the retracted position. When the cap 100 is in the retracted position, the stopper 86 is inserted into the locking hole 71 and the wiper 40 is locked so that it cannot be raised. When the cap 100 is disposed at the sealing position, the stopper 86 comes out of the locking hole 71, and when power in a direction to rotate the cylindrical cam 67 in this state is input, the wiper 40 starts to rise. Then, the lock lever 45 starts to rise slightly after the start of the rise of the wiper 40.

  FIG. 14B shows that the cylindrical cam 67 rotates forward from the first rotation position by a predetermined amount (half the rotation amount between the first rotation position and the second rotation position (for example, about 30 degrees)). The pin 43 is located in the middle of the guide path of the cam groove 70, and the wiper 40 is in the middle position between the retracted position and the wiping position. Thus, when the wiper 40 is positioned in the middle of the lifting stroke, the gear 64 and the tooth portion 72 mesh with each other, the rotation of the gear 64 is directly transmitted to the cylindrical cam 67, and the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 are reliably lifted and lowered. . Further, when the projection 47 engages with the convex portion 75 while the wiper 40 is moving up and down, the lock lever 45 is disposed at the lock position shown in FIG. Held in the locked position.

  FIG. 14C shows a state when the cylindrical cam 67 is in the second rotation position. The guide pin 43 is located in the vicinity of the second end face 70b, and the wiper 40 is set at the wiping position. Further, before the wiper 40 is arranged at the wiping position, the engagement between the projection 47 and the projection 75 is released, and the lock lever 45 is arranged at the lock position shown in FIG.

  Therefore, when the cylindrical cam 67 rotates forward with the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 in the retracted position of FIG. 14A, the wiper 40 moves up from the retracted position and the lock lever 45 is moved in the middle of FIG. 14B. As shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 14 (c), the engagement between the projection and the convex part is released and the lock lever 45 returns to the retracted position, and then the wiper 40 is arranged at the wiping position as shown in FIG. 14 (c). Is done. On the other hand, when the cylindrical cam 67 reverses in a state where the wiper 40 and the lock lever 45 are in the wiping position in FIG. 14C, the wiper 40 passes through the intermediate position in FIG. 14B from the wiping position in FIG. 14A. Arranged in the retracted position. Then, while the wiper 40 is descending, the lock lever 45 reciprocates between the retracted position and the locked position.

<Capping device>
Next, the capping device will be described in detail.
The guide frame portion 52 has a pair of side walls 52a and 52b that confront each other in the left-right direction, and a pair of guide holes (a first guide hole 58 and a second guide hole 59) are formed on both side walls 52a and 52b, respectively. Has been. The first and second guide holes 58 and 59 are formed in an oblique shape that gradually increases from the rear end side to the front end side of the frame 51 in the moving direction of the recording head 18 (longitudinal direction of the frame 51). . In the guide frame portion 52, a slope is formed by the bottom surfaces of the pair of guide holes 58 and 59.

  In the first guide hole 58, a horizontal lower step portion 58a, an inclined portion 58b, and a horizontal upper step portion 58c are continuously formed. In the second guide hole 59, a horizontal lower step portion 59a, an inclined portion 59b, and a horizontal upper step portion 59c are continuously formed. It should be noted that at least one of the first guide hole 58 and the second guide hole 59 can be replaced with a notch whose one end is opened or a guide groove (guide recess). In addition, a cam is constituted by these guide holes 58 and 59.

  The slider 80 is formed with a first support pin 82 on the front side of one side surface 81a and a second support pin 83 on the rear side of the side surface 81a so as to protrude outward. Similarly, a first support pin 84 and a second support pin 85 are formed so as to protrude outward from the other side surface 81b. Among these, the first support pins 82 and 84 are inserted into the first guide holes 58, and the second support pins 83 and 85 are inserted into the second guide holes 59. The first support pins 82 and 84 and the second support pins 83 and 85 constitute a cam follower for the cam described above.

  The first support pins 82 and 84 and the second support pins 83 and 85 slide along the guide holes 58 and 59, so that the slider 80 is slidable with respect to the frame 51. The slider 80 can slide in the moving direction of the recording head 18 (vertical direction in FIG. 4), lifts when sliding forward (upward in FIG. 4) with respect to the frame 51, and slides backward (downward in FIG. 4). It will sink when you return.

  As shown in FIG. 6, on the back surface side of the maintenance unit 50, a spring receiving portion 52 c protruding from the bottom front side of one side wall 52 a and a spring receiving portion 88 protruding from the bottom rear side of the slider 80. A coil spring 115 (tensile spring) is stretched between the two. The slider 80 is biased toward the rear side (printing area side) and the lower side by the coil spring 115. The guide holes 58 and 59 and the support pins 82 to 85 described above constitute means for converting the movement of the carriage 12 into the vertical movement of the cap 100 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the slider 80 has a two-stage shape in which one end side (front side) is high and the other end side (rear side) is low. Among these, as shown in FIG. 4, a coil spring 120 (compression spring) is assembled to the bottom 87 of the lower step on the other end side so that the axis of the cap 100 and the axis are aligned. The cap 100 is assembled so as to be slidable in the height direction with respect to the slider 80 while being urged upward by the coil spring 120. The upper limit position and the lower limit position of the slidable range of the cap 100 are regulated by the engagement with the slider 80. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper end position of the cap 100 is regulated by the guide portions 89 and 90 of the slider 80 being guided by the center portion of the front end and the left and right end portions on the rear end side. It is supported so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. Further, the cap 100 has a pair of flange portions 112 extending outward in the left-right direction, and the flange portion 112 collides with upper end portions of the pair of side surfaces 81a and 81b surrounding the lower step of the slider 80. A lower limit position is defined. A pair of L-shaped guide arm portions 91 extend upward from the left and right end portions of the cap 100, and when the cap 100 is raised to the sealing position, the pair of guide arm portions 91 are connected to the recording head 18. The guide can be guided so as to sandwich the left and right side walls.

  Further, a circular hole 95 (see FIG. 6) is formed in the bottom portion 87 of the lower step so that the axial center of the coil spring 120 coincides, and a connecting pipe (not shown) of the cap 100 protruding to the back side of the slider 80. The tube 30 connected to (1) is led out from the circular hole 95. The tube 30 is introduced to the negative pressure side of the suction pump 29.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of protruding members 98 are formed at the front end portion of the slider 80 so as to protrude upward. As shown in FIG. 9, the projecting member 98 is a portion where the lower front end surface 12b collides when the carriage 12 moves to the home position, and the slider 80 moves to the front side due to the collision of the carriage 12, and the slider 80 is lifted. The slider 80 and the frame 51 having the guide holes 58 and 59 constitute an elevating means (elevating mechanism) for elevating the cap 100.

  The cap 100 includes a cap holder 101 serving as a main body thereof, and a sealing wall 102 made of an elastic member, for example, a rubber material (elastomer or the like) formed in a surrounding shape. In this example, the sealing wall 102 is provided integrally with the main body of the cap 100 which is a resin molded product by two-color molding. In this example, the enclosure shape of the sealing wall 102 is formed such that the planar shape is a rectangle. Further, a liquid absorbing member 110 is accommodated in a recess surrounded by the sealing wall 102 in the cap 100. The tube 30 communicates with a through hole formed at the bottom of the recess in which the liquid absorbing member 110 is accommodated, and the inner space of the cap 100 communicates with the suction pump 29 through the tube 30.

Next, the operation of the recording apparatus and the maintenance unit 50 configured as described above will be described.
When the recording paper 17 is fed / conveyed (paper fed) / discharged, the electric motor 27 is driven forward. The recording paper 17 fed by the rotation of the paper feed roller 32 is sandwiched between the pair of rollers 23 and 24, and the electric motor 27 is continuously driven to rotate forward, whereby the transport driving roller 23 continues to rotate and feeds. The recording paper 17 is conveyed continuously to the paper. When the leading edge of the recording paper 17 is detected by the paper detection sensor S during the conveyance, the control unit 33 moves the recording paper 17 from the detection position of the sensor S to the set paper according to the cueing position at that time. The sheet is further conveyed (sequentially) by the feed amount, and when the conveyance is completed, the electric motor 27 is driven to rotate forward to perform a cueing process. Here, the control unit 33 obtains print setting information such as a top margin from print data received from a host computer (not shown), and obtains a cue position from the top margin information. In this way, the recording paper 17 is once transported (sequentially) to a position beyond the cueing position, then pulled back (reversely fed) and cueed, and then the electric motor 27 is driven slightly forward to drive the back. By performing rush removal, high-precision cueing processing is performed. As described above, in addition to the control method in which the recording paper 17 is fed forward at the time of cueing, the paper detection sensor is disposed at a position closer to the paper discharge side than the recording head 18, for example. With respect to the model, there is a case where a control for cueing by applying a predetermined amount of reverse feeding operation after the leading edge of the recording paper 17 is detected by a paper detection sensor can be used. In addition, when a predetermined switch on the operation panel is operated in order to remove the recording paper 17 from the paper feeding side when a so-called paper jam occurs in which the recording paper 17 is jammed between the rollers 23 and 24, the control unit There is a case in which the control unit 33 reversely drives the electric motor 27 and reversely rotates the rollers 23 and 24 to feed the recording paper 17 backward.

  Here, when the electric motor 27 is driven to rotate forward during cueing, the input gear 61 of the power transmission mechanism 60 is reversed. Since the reverse rotation of the gear 61 reverses the pump gear 63, the suction pump 29 is held in the release state. The reverse rotation of the gear 61 is also transmitted to the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 through the gear 64. At this time, since the wiper 40 and the cap 100 are both disposed at the retracted position, the slider 80 is at the lowered position and the stopper 86 is inserted into the locking hole 71 of the cylindrical cam 67. Further, the protrusion 47 of the lock lever 45 is not engaged with the convex portion 75 of the cylindrical cam 67, and the guide pin 43 of the wiper 40 is positioned in the vicinity of the first end surface 70 a in the cam groove 70 of the cylindrical cam 67. ing. Therefore, even if rotation in the reverse direction is transmitted to the friction clutch gear mechanism 65, a load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the cylindrical cam 67 due to the restriction by the locking by the stopper 86 and the contact of the guide pin 43 with the first end surface 70a. Therefore, slip occurs in the friction clutch 68, and the cylindrical gear 67 does not rotate only by the idle rotation of the cylindrical gear 66. As a result, both the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 are held at the retracted position.

  Further, when the electric motor 27 is driven in reverse to reversely feed the recording paper 17 at the end of the cueing operation, the gear 61 rotates forward. The pump gear 63 rotates forward by the normal rotation of the gear 61. If the back feed amount of the recording paper 17 falls within the rotation amount delayed by the function of the delay member of the pump gear 63, suction is performed. The pump 29 is not driven. On the other hand, when the back feed amount exceeds the delay rotation amount delayed by the function of the delay member, the suction pump 29 is driven to generate a negative pressure. During this cueing process, the carriage 12 performs printing. Since it is already away from the home position toward the start position, there is no inconvenience just by performing an empty suction operation on the cap 100. Also during the reverse feeding, the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 are both held in the retracted position because the cylindrical cam 67 is locked so as not to rotate by the stopper 86 being locked. At this time, even if the back feed amount of the recording paper 17 exceeds the delay rotation amount delayed by the function of the delay member of the pump gear 63, both the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 can be held at the retracted position.

  When the cueing of the recording paper 17 is completed, the movement of the carriage 12 in the main scanning direction (X direction in FIG. 1) and the movement of the recording paper 17 by a predetermined amount in the sub scanning direction (Y direction in FIG. 1) alternate. In this main scanning process, ink is ejected (ejected) from the recording head 18, whereby a predetermined character string or image corresponding to the print data is printed on the recording paper 17.

  Thereafter, for example, when the user recognizes the recording failure and operates the cleaning switch 28, the cleaning operation is executed when the timer 39 measures the set time and the cleaning time (ink suction operation time) comes. During this cleaning operation, the carriage 12 moves from the printing area to the home position side.

  The control unit 33 controls the carriage motor 16 to move the carriage 12 to the home position. The carriage 12 is engaged with the projecting member 98 just before it reaches the home position after leaving the printing area, and further advances to the home position while pushing it in, so that the slider 80 is guided to the guide holes 58 and 59 and moved forward. Lift up while sliding. As the slider 80 rises, the cap 100 rises from the retracted position to the sealing position, and seals the nozzle forming surface 18a. Further, as the slider 80 slides forward, the stopper 86 moves from the locking position to the locking release position and comes out of the locking hole 71, so that the cylindrical cam of the stopper 86 is interlocked with the rise of the cap 100. The lock to 67 is released.

  When recognizing that the movement position of the carriage 12 grasped based on the signal from the encoder 36 has reached the cleaning position (home position), the control unit 33 reversely rotates to the motor drive circuit 35 to start the cleaning operation. Send a signal. As a result, the electric motor 27 is driven in the reverse direction, the gear 61 rotates in the normal direction, and the pump gear 63 rotates in the normal direction. Then, after the pump gear 63 finishes rotating by a predetermined delay rotation amount by the function of the delay member, the power of the pump gear 63 is transmitted to the drive shaft of the suction pump 29, and the drive of the suction pump 29 is started. A negative pressure is applied to the internal space of the cap 100 by the pumping action by driving the suction pump 29, and ink is sucked and discharged from the nozzle opening of the nozzle forming surface 18a. Then, the discharged and discharged waste liquid is discharged from the cap 100 to the waste liquid tank 31 through the suction pump 29.

  On the other hand, before and after the suction pump 29 is driven, the gear 64 meshing with the input gear 61 is rotated forward by the normal rotation of the input gear 61. The rotation of the gear 64 is transmitted to the friction clutch gear mechanism 65. At this time, since the stopper 86 has come out of the locking hole 71 and the cylindrical cam 67 is in the unlocked state, when the rotation of the gear 64 is transmitted to the cylindrical gear 66, the cylindrical cam 67 is moved to the cylindrical gear 66. , And rotate forward from the first rotation position (FIG. 11A) to the second rotation position (FIG. 13A).

  In the course of this rotation, the gear 64 meshes with the tooth portion 72 as shown in FIG. 12A, and the rotational force of the gear 64 is directly transmitted to the cylindrical cam 67. For this reason, when the wiper 40 ascends in the middle of the moving range, the load applied to the cylindrical cam 67 varies slightly due to the frictional resistance of the sliding part, or the clutch surface of the friction clutch 68 slightly slips than usual. Even if it becomes easy, the cylindrical cam 67 can be reliably rotated forward. For this reason, the lock lever 45 can be reliably raised to the lock position and then returned to the retracted position, and the wiper 40 can be reliably raised to the wiping position.

  Therefore, when the carriage 12 reaches the home position and stops, the lock lever 45 is arranged at the lock position as shown in FIG. Therefore, the movement of the carriage 12 from the home position to the printing area side is restricted, and the cap 100 abuts the nozzle forming surface 18a in a state where the carriage 12 is correctly arranged at the home position, so that capping is correctly performed.

  After the capping, the rotation amount of the pump gear 63 exceeds the delay rotation amount, and the drive shaft of the suction pump 29 is driven, and negative pressure is introduced into the cap 100 to perform the ink suction operation. During the ink suction operation, the reverse rotation of the electric motor 27 is continued, but the guide pin 43 abuts against the first end surface 70a of the cam groove 70 and further forward rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 is restricted. When the friction clutch 68 slips and the cylindrical gear 66 rotates idly, the cylindrical cam 67 is held at the second rotation position (FIG. 13A). As a result, the lock lever 45 is held at the retracted position and the wiper 40 is held at the wiping position.

  When the electric motor 27 finishes the reverse rotation of the preset rotation amount and finishes the ink suction operation, the control unit 33 drives the carriage motor 16 to move the carriage 12 from the home position toward the printing area. Move. During the movement of the carriage 12, the slider 80 biased rearward by the coil spring 115 moves rearward following the movement of the carriage 12, and the support pins 82 to 85 are respectively connected to the first guide hole 58 and the first guide hole 58. By being guided along the second guide hole 59, it is lowered in the process of sliding backward. As a result, the cap 100 mounted on the slider 80 is lowered, the sealing of the nozzle forming surface 18a by the cap 100 is released, and the cap 100 returns to the retracted position.

  Then, after the slider 80 reaches the lowest position, the carriage 12 further moves to the printing area side by a predetermined distance (for example, 10 to 20 mm) and passes through the wiping position. The nozzle forming surface 18a is wiped (wiped) by bringing the nozzle forming surface 18a into sliding contact with the wiping member 42. By this wiping, the ink adhering to the nozzle forming surface 18a is scraped off and the meniscus of the ink in the nozzle hole is adjusted.

  When this wiping is completed (when the carriage 12 has passed the wiping position), the slider 80 has already been lowered to the stop position, and the stopper 86 has returned to the locking position (FIG. 13 (b) → FIG. 13 (c)). ), And the stopper 86 is in a state of being inserted into the concave portion 73 of the cylindrical cam 67 at the second rotation position shown in FIG. By inserting the stopper 86 into the recess 73 in this manner, the cap 100 can be lowered to a position substantially equal to the lower limit position when the stopper 86 is inserted into the locking hole 71. Further, the presence of the recess 73 prevents the stopper 86 from strongly colliding with the cylindrical cam 67 due to the urging force of the coil spring 115 when the slider 80 is lowered, so that the components of the power transmission mechanism 60 are shocked. Is avoided.

  When recognizing that the movement position of the carriage 12 grasped based on the signal from the encoder 36 has reached the wiping end position, the control unit 33 sends a forward rotation signal to the motor drive circuit 35. As a result, the electric motor 27 is driven to rotate forward, and the cylindrical cam 67 is reversely rotated from the second rotation position (FIG. 13A) to the first rotation position (FIG. 11A). At this time, due to the presence of the inclined surface 74, the stopper 86 is prevented from being locked to the cylindrical cam 67 so that the stopper 86 is not locked anywhere. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13 (d), the stopper 86 rides up the slope 74 and escapes from the recess 73, and further moves relative to the end surface of the cylindrical cam 67 while drawing an arc locus to the locking hole 71. Finally, it is inserted into this locking hole 71. Thus, the cylindrical cam 67 can be reversed from the second rotation position to the first rotation position without being locked to the stopper 86. By the reverse rotation of the cylindrical cam 67, the guide pin 43 guided in the cam groove 70 is displaced downward by a distance equal to the lift stroke length of the wiper 40. As a result, the wiper 40 is lowered from the wiping position to the retracted position. Even in the lowering process of the wiper 40, the gear 64 meshes with the toothed portion 72 in the middle of the lowering (FIG. 12A), and the rotational force of the gear 64 is directly transmitted to the cylindrical cam 67. It can be reliably lowered to the retracted position.

  When the wiper 40 is lowered to the retracted position, the guide pin 43 comes into contact with the second end face 70b of the cam groove 70, and the reverse rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 is restricted. For this reason, even after the cleaning is completed, even if the electric motor 27 is driven to rotate forward for the purpose of paper feeding or the like, the friction clutch 68 slips and the cylindrical gear 66 rotates idly so that the power transmission direction from the friction clutch 68 (clutch surface) It is avoided that an excessive load is applied to the components including the cylindrical cam 67 that is stopped at the first rotation position shown in FIG. The operation for returning the wiper 40 to the retracted position may be performed together when the electric motor 27 is driven to rotate forward in order to feed the recording paper 17 for the first time after cleaning. When the cylindrical cam 67 reverses during the lowering process of the wiper 40, the lock lever 45 reciprocates once between the retracted position and the lock position. However, since the carriage 12 has moved to the printing area side, the lock lever 45 is There is no interference with the recording head 18.

  In the recording apparatus 10, flushing is performed as another cleaning. Each time the timer 39 measures the set time of the flushing interval time, the carriage 12 is moved to the flushing position, the recording head 18 is disposed at a position facing a waste liquid receiving portion (not shown), and the waste liquid is discharged from the recording head 18. Flushing is performed to eject ink droplets toward the receiving portion. At this time, the control unit 33 applies a drive signal unrelated to the print data to the recording head 18 to eject ink droplets from the nozzle holes of the recording head 18. No wiping is performed during this flushing. Of course, wiping may be performed after flushing. For example, the flushing is configured to eject ink droplets toward the cap 100, the carriage position where the cap 100 is raised to an intermediate position between the retracted position and the sealing position is the flushing position, and the stopper is stopped when the cap 100 is raised to the intermediate position. 86 comes out of the locking hole 71 and the locking is released. By doing so, the stopper 86 is unlocked at the time of flushing, and the wiper 40 can be raised to the wiping position, and wiping can be performed after flushing. After completion of the flushing, the carriage 12 moves from the flushing position to the printing area again, and the recording operation by the recording head 18 is resumed.

  In the present embodiment, measures have been taken for reverse feeding during the cueing operation. However, a function of feeding the recording paper backward and pulling it out from the paper feed port when a paper jam occurs may be added. In this case, if the carriage 12 is at a position other than the home position, the cylindrical cam 67 is locked to the stopper 86, so that even if the electric motor 27 is reversely driven to reversely feed the recording paper 17 by the switch operation. The lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 which are maintenance parts do not rise. At this time, it is possible to reversely feed the recording paper 17 without any limitation on the back feed amount. Further, when it is desired to provide a function for driving the electric motor 27 in the reverse direction when the carriage is at the home position (cleaning position), the following control may be added. That is, when the control unit 33 recognizes that the carriage 12 is at the cleaning position when starting the reverse feeding operation, the carriage 33 is driven and controlled to move the carriage 12 to the printing region side by a small amount to move the cap and the cap. Control is performed to open a gap between the nozzle forming surface and the nozzle forming surface. In this way, even if the suction pump 29 is driven and a negative pressure is applied to the cap 100 when the recording paper is fed backward, the ink suction operation to the recording head is not performed due to the presence of the gap, and only the idle suction is performed. When the stopper 86 engages the cylindrical cam 67, the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 are locked inoperable. Therefore, in this case as well, the recording paper 17 can be reversely fed without any limitation on the back feed amount.

  Even if the carriage 12 is moved to the home position and the cap 100 is arranged at the sealing position during the discharge of the recording paper 17, the suction pump 29 is rotated in the release direction at this time, so that the ink is sucked and discharged from the nozzle opening. Is never done. When there is a request to prevent the conveyance drive unit including the paper feed roller 32 from being driven in the reverse direction during the pump drive of the suction pump 29 performed in a state where the carriage 12 is disposed at the cleaning position, the carriage 12 It is preferable to provide a clutch that cuts off the power transmission path from the electric motor 27 to the transport drive unit when in the cleaning position.

  When the carriage 12 moves to the home position during the printing pause time, the electric motor 27 is driven in a small amount reversely, and the cylindrical cam 67 is stopped at the rotational position shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 14 (b). 45 is placed in the locked position. As a result, the carriage 12 at the printing pause time is capped on the nozzle forming surface 18a in a state where the position is regulated at the home position. In this capping state, the wiper 40 is raised to the intermediate position, but after the capping is released, when the electric motor 27 is driven forward for the purpose of paper feeding or the like, the wiper 40 is moved from the intermediate position to the retracted position. Since it goes down and does not go through the wiping position, wiping is not performed after capping. This can be realized by setting the operation timing of both maintenance parts so that the lock lever 45 reaches the lock position before the wiper 40 reaches the wiping position when the electric motor 27 is driven in reverse rotation.

As mentioned above, according to this embodiment mentioned above, there exist the following effects.
(1) When the carriage 12 is not in the cleaning position (the cap 100 is in the retracted position), the stopper 86 is inserted into the locking hole 71 to lock the cylindrical cam 67 in a non-rotatable manner. Even if the electric motor 27 is reversely driven by control of the transport system such as a reverse feeding operation at the end of the cueing operation of the recording paper 17, the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 can be held in the retracted position without being raised. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the recording head 18 comes into contact with the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 when the carriage 12 subsequently moves to the home position. Further, the recording paper 17 can be reversely fed without being limited to the back feed amount equal to or less than the delay rotation amount as in the case where the transmission delay means described in Patent Document 3 is provided. Since the back feed amount exceeding the delay rotation amount of the transmission delay means can be reversed in this way, for example, when a paper jam occurs, the recording paper 17 is reversely fed by operating a switch on the operation panel. It becomes easy to add other functions related to reverse feeding to the recording apparatus 10.

  (2) A stopper 86 is provided on the slider 80 constituting the raising / lowering means of the cap 100, and one of the components of the power transmission mechanism 60 is located downstream of the clutch surface of the friction clutch gear mechanism 65, which is the clutch means. A stopper 86 is inserted into a locking hole 71 formed as a locked portion in the component (cylindrical cam 67). Then, at a time other than cleaning when the carriage 12 is not in the cleaning position, the stopper 86 is inserted into the locking hole 71 to lock the power transmission mechanism 60 so that power is not transmitted to the maintenance parts. For this reason, a simple configuration in which a stopper 86 is added to the slider 80 constituting the raising / lowering means of the cap 100 and a locked portion is provided in one component of the power transmission mechanism 60 at the corresponding position, except for cleaning. At this time, the carriage lock device and the wiping device can be locked inoperative. That is, since the locking mechanism of the stopper 86 is constructed by using the lifting / lowering means of the cap 100, the number of parts to be added to the provision of the locking mechanism is small. In addition, since the stopper 86 is inserted into the locking hole 71 formed in the cylindrical cam 67, even if the stopper 86 and the locking hole 71 are added, the component accommodation space of the maintenance unit 50 is hardly increased. The maintenance device can be made small despite the provision of a simple locking mechanism.

  (3) Since the cylindrical cam 67 which is a cam body is selected as the part to be locked to which the stopper 86 is locked, it is necessary to provide a part to be locked as a component of the power transmission mechanism 60 in addition to the cam body. In addition, the number of parts of the power transmission mechanism 60 can be reduced. For this reason, the power transmission mechanism 60 can be configured compactly with a small number of parts, and the maintenance unit 50 can be downsized.

  (4) A locking part 71 (locked portion) is provided in one component constituting the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 (clutch means), and a locked part (cylindrical cam 67) serving as a locking destination of the stopper 86. The friction clutch gear mechanism 65 and the part to be locked are shared with each other. For this reason, the power transmission mechanism 60 can be made compact with a small number of parts, and the maintenance unit 50 can be made relatively simple. For example, the maintenance unit 50 can be downsized.

  (5) A single cam body includes a convex portion 75 that is a first cam portion that constitutes a first conversion means for the lock lever 45 that is a first maintenance component, and a second for the wiper 40 that is a second maintenance component. A cam groove 70 which is a second cam portion constituting the converting means is provided, and a plurality of cam portions are provided in one cylindrical cam 67 which is a cam body. For this reason, the power transmission mechanism 60 can be configured more compactly with a smaller number of parts compared to a configuration in which one cam body is provided for each cam portion constituting a plurality of conversion means for a plurality of maintenance parts, and the maintenance unit 50 is further increased For example, the maintenance unit 50 can be downsized.

  (6) The convex part 75 and the cam groove 70 are provided in one part constituting the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 (clutch means) to constitute a cylindrical cam 67 which is a cam body, and the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 and a plurality of cams Parts are shared with a cam body having a portion. For this reason, since the power transmission mechanism 60 can be configured compactly with a small number of parts, the maintenance unit 50 can be further simplified, and for example, the maintenance unit 50 can be downsized.

  (7) One component constituting the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 (clutch means) includes a convex portion 75 as the first cam portion constituting the first conversion means, and a cam serving as the second cam portion constituting the second conversion means. By providing the groove 70 and the locking hole 71 which is the locked portion, one functional part, the cylindrical cam 67, serves as four functional parts. Therefore, the power transmission mechanism 60 can be configured compactly with a small number of parts, and the configuration of the maintenance unit 50 can be further simplified.

  (8) A finite range rotation type carriage lock mechanism and a wiper lifting mechanism for reciprocally rotating the cylindrical cam 67 within a finite range are employed, and the suction pump 29, the carriage lock device, and the wiping device have a common rotational drive source. The electric motor 27 was used. Further, in the power transmission mechanism 60, the power to the suction pump 29 is distributed by the gear 61 which is a position upstream of the clutch surface of the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 which is a clutch means in the power transmission direction. Therefore, even if the suction pump 29 is continuously driven for the time required for the ink suction operation, the friction clutch 68 slips and the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 of the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 is moved when the rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 is restricted by the guide pin 43. By disconnecting, the lock lever 45 can be held at the retracted position and the wiper 40 can be held at the wiping position. In addition, the suction pump 29 can be continuously driven by continuing to drive the electric motor 27 that is the rotational drive source even after the maintenance component reaches the predetermined position. For this reason, the suction pump 29 can be continuously driven for a necessary time or a necessary rotation amount without being defined within the finite range of the cylindrical cam 67 which is a cam body. Therefore, an ink suction operation for sucking ink from the nozzle opening of the nozzle forming surface 18a can be appropriately performed.

  (9) Since the paper feed motor (electric motor 27) originally provided in the recording apparatus 10 is used as the rotation drive source of the maintenance unit 50, it is not necessary to add an electric motor dedicated to the maintenance unit 50. For this reason, it is not necessary to increase the number of electric motors to be mounted on the recording apparatus 10. Furthermore, since the electric motor 27 also serves as a rotational drive source for the paper feeding device, the paper discharging device, and the suction pump 29, the number of electric motors to be mounted on the recording device 10 can be reduced. For this reason, the installation space of the electric motor can be kept narrow, which can contribute to the downsizing of the recording apparatus 10.

  (10) The friction clutch gear mechanism 65 is disposed at a position opposite to the slider 80 disposed at the lowest position and the front-rear direction (carriage movement direction). For this reason, the stopper 86 is protruded toward the cylindrical cam 67 from the rear end surface portion of the extended portion 80 a of the slider 80 facing the cylindrical cam 67, and the locking hole 71 is formed at the stopper relative portion of the cylindrical cam 67. The locking mechanism can be realized with a relatively simple configuration.

  (11) Further, the wiper 40 is disposed at a position facing the slider 80 disposed at the lowest position in the front-rear direction, and the wiper 40 is engaged with the latched part 71 having the locking hole 71 in the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 ( It was made to be opposed to the cylindrical cam 67). For this reason, the guide pin 43 is protruded from the wiper 40 toward the cylindrical cam 67, and the second conversion means is configured with a relatively simple configuration in which the cam groove 70 is formed at the guide pin relative position of the cylindrical cam 67. Can be realized. Further, since the lock lever 45 is disposed adjacent to the cylindrical cam 67 which is a cam body that also serves as a component of the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 (clutch means), each of the cylindrical cam 67 and the lock lever 45 that are cam bodies is provided. The first conversion means can be realized with a simple configuration in which only the convex portions 75 and the protrusions 47 are added.

  (12) The cylindrical cam 67 is arranged so that the center line in the left-right width direction of the slider 80, the center line in the left-right width direction of the wiper 40, and the axial center of the cylindrical cam 67 substantially coincide with each other in the left-right direction (Y direction). is doing. For this reason, the protruding position of the stopper 86 can be set in the vicinity of the center line of the slider 80, and the locking hole 71 is disposed at a relatively low position near the lower end of the cylindrical cam 67. It is possible to employ a layout in which the cam groove 70 is arranged on the upper side portion that is opposite to the locking hole 71 across the pin. Therefore, since the locking hole 71 is disposed at the lower end portion of the cylindrical cam 67, the stopper 86 can be inserted through a path passing through the lower side of the wiper 40. In addition, the rotation of the cylindrical cam 67 can be engaged with the guide pin 43 at a position above the center of rotation where the wiper 40 can be converted into a lifting motion. Thereby, the cam groove 70 and the locking hole 71 can be arrange | positioned at one rotation body (cylindrical cam 67).

  (13) The cylindrical cam 67 serves as each component of the clutch means, the first conversion means, and the second conversion means, and the lock lever 45 (first maintenance part) is reciprocated once when rotating in one direction within the finite range. The wiper 40 (second maintenance part) is moved in only one direction during reciprocation. For this reason, the lock lever 45 can be quickly retracted after locking the carriage 12, and the wiper 40 can be kept in the wiping position until wiping when the carriage 12 moves from the cleaning position. Therefore, it is possible to cause each of the plurality of maintenance parts to perform different operations at different timings using a small number of components.

  (14) When the friction clutch gear mechanism 65 is employed and the electric motor 27 continues to be driven reversely for the ink suction operation, after the lock lever 45 finishes reciprocating between the retracted position and the locked position, After the wiper 40 has been lifted to the wiping position, the friction clutch 68 slips and power transmission from the electric motor 27 to the cylindrical cam 67 is cut off. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an excessive load on the carriage lock device and the wiping device.

  (15) The tooth portion 72 is formed on the cylindrical cam 67, and the power of the gear 64 can be directly transmitted to the cylindrical cam 67 by the meshing of the gear 64 and the tooth portion 72 in the middle of the lifting stroke of the wiper 40. Therefore, the lock lever 45 can be lifted and lowered reliably, and the wiper 40 can be lifted and lowered reliably. For this reason, even when the wiper 40 is moved up and down, even if, for example, the frictional resistance of the sliding portion is increased and the load applied to the cylindrical cam 67 is somewhat increased, or the clutch surface of the friction clutch 68 is somewhat slippery, the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 can be moved up and down reliably without timing delay. For example, the lock lever and wiper cannot be raised or lowered, the raising and lowering timing is delayed, and subsequent carriage lock or wiping cannot be performed properly, or the lock lever or wiper may come into contact with the recording head 18. Can be prevented.

  (16) Since the inclined surface 74 is provided on the cylindrical cam 67, when the wiper 40 is finished and the wiper 40 is moved from the wiping position to the retracted position, even if the stopper 86 has already returned to the locking position, the stopper 86 rides on the inclined surface 74. Thus, the stopper 86 that prevents the cylindrical cam 67 from rotating (reversely rotating) in the wiper retracting direction can be prevented. Therefore, the wiper 40 can be returned to the retracted position even at the end of wiping. Further, in order to lower the wiper 40 to the retracted position after the wiping is completed, in addition to the method of the present embodiment, for example, the carriage is again moved to the home position to raise the slider again, and the stopper is temporarily moved from the concave portion having no slope. A method of driving the electric motor 27 in the forward direction after extraction is also conceivable. However, when this method is employed, an extra operation of moving the carriage 12 to the home position again is added, resulting in a deterioration in printing throughput. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, such an extra operation of the carriage 12 is not accompanied, so that the wiper 40 can be appropriately operated without reducing the printing throughput.

In addition, embodiment of invention is not limited to the said embodiment, You may change as follows.
(Modification 1) In the above embodiment, the slider is integrally formed with the slider, and the stopper moves in conjunction with the lifting and lowering operation of the slider. However, the stopper is not limited to being integrated with the slider. For example, the stopper is operated by another locking mechanism that does not use the cap moving means, and the stopper is moved from the locking position when the carriage engaging portion pushes the engaged portion in the process of moving the carriage to the cleaning position. A locking mechanism that is actuated to the unlocking position may be employed. In this case, a mechanism may be employed in which the carriage pushes the slider and raises the cap as the cap moving means. Even when this locking mechanism is adopted, the stopper moves in conjunction with (follows) the movement in a predetermined range before reaching the carriage cleaning position and the raising and lowering of the cap.

  (Modification 2) In the above embodiment, the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 are made inoperable by locking the stopper 86 to the movable body (cylindrical cam 67). The part may be one of the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40. That is, the maintenance component that is driven by the power transmitted by the power transmission mechanism 60 may be either the lock lever 45 or the wiper 40. Also in this case, even if the electric motor 27 is driven for the operation of another device at a time other than cleaning, one of the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 can be prevented from being operated. For example, the lock lever 45 is abolished and only the wiper 40 is operated by the power transmission mechanism 60, or the wiper is provided with a wiping member on the main body (cap holder) of the cap 100 so that the lock lever 45 is integrated with the cap 100. Only the power transmission mechanism 60 can be used. As described above, even when only one of the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 is operated by the power transmission by the power transmission mechanism 60, the lock lever 45 moves toward the lock position during the operation timing of other devices. The wiper 40 can be prevented from moving toward the wiping position. The lock member is not limited to a lever structure that reciprocates between the retracted position and the lock position by swinging (turning), and a slide structure that slides in the vertical direction can also be employed.

  (Modification 3) The maintenance parts operated by the power of the rotational drive source are not limited to the two parts of the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40. For example, a configuration in which the cap is a maintenance part and the cap is operated via a power transmission mechanism by power from the electric motor 27 serving as a rotational drive source can be employed. In this case, it is possible to eliminate the lock lever 45 and adopt a configuration in which the maintenance parts are two parts of the cap and the wiper and a structure in which the lock lever and the cap are two parts. Further, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the maintenance parts that are operated via the power transmission mechanism are the lock lever, the wiper, and the cap. In the case of two parts, a wiper and a cap, for example, the configuration described in Patent Document 3 is adopted, and a stopper is provided so as to be able to be locked to a movable body (rotating body, cam body) that is a constituent part of a power transmission mechanism. . Furthermore, other maintenance parts can be adopted for the above three parts, so that the number of maintenance parts operated via the power transmission mechanism can be four or more.

  (Modification 4) The movable body that is the object to be locked by the locking means may be the maintenance component itself (for example, the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40). For example, in the case of a lock lever, a locked portion (for example, a protrusion 47, a locking recess or a locking through hole) is provided on the lock lever, and the stopper is locked to the locked portion of the lock lever 45. In the case of the wiper 40, the wiper 40 is provided with a locked portion (for example, a locking recess or a locking through hole), and the stopper is locked to the locked portion of the wiper 40. In this case, the stopper is preferably provided at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of maintenance parts. For example, in addition to the wiper stopper 86, a stopper extending from the extending portion 80a of the slider 80 is disposed at a position corresponding to the lock lever, and the stopper engages with the protrusion 47 of the lock lever 45 at the locking position so that the lock lever The configuration is such that the movement from the retracted position 45 to the lock position is impossible.

  (Modification 5) In the above-described embodiment, the cylindrical cam 67, which is one component of the friction clutch gear mechanism, is used as the cam body. However, other portions may be used as the cam body. For example, a rotating body or gear that can rotate integrally with the cylindrical cam of the friction clutch gear mechanism is provided, and a cam portion is formed on the rotating body, or the gear is operated via at least one gear therebetween. You may form a cam part in the connected rotary body. Moreover, you may form a to-be-latched part in such a rotation body.

  (Modification 6) In the embodiment, the movable body (rotating body) having the locked portion (locking hole 71) to which the stopper is locked, the lock lever and the wiper are moved to the retracted position and the operating position. Although the cam body serves as the cylindrical cam 67 which is one movable body (rotating body), the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a movable body having a locked portion (locking hole 71) on which the stopper is locked, and a cam portion (convex portion 75, engaging with each cam follower (projection 47, guide pin 43) of the lock lever and wiper. A cam body having a cam groove 70) may be provided separately. According to this structure, since the freedom degree of the arrangement position of the stopper 86, the lock lever 45, and the guide pin 43 increases, the freedom degree of the layout of the component of a maintenance apparatus can be raised.

  (Modification 7) In the embodiment described above, a locked portion (locking hole) in which a locked portion is provided on a rotating body (cylindrical cam 67) constituting a clutch means (friction clutch gear mechanism) and the stopper is locked. The movable body having 71) is also configured to serve as the rotating body of the clutch means, but is not limited thereto. For example, it is good also as a structure provided separately with the movable body (part to be locked) which has a to-be-latched part (locking hole 71), and the rotation body which is one structural component of a clutch means. According to this configuration, since it is not necessary to limit the arrangement position of the clutch means to a position where the stopper can be locked, the degree of freedom of the arrangement position of the clutch means and the stopper increases, and the degree of freedom of the layout of the components of the maintenance device Can be increased.

  (Modification 8) In the above embodiment, the cam body (cylindrical cam 67) for moving the wiper to the retracted position and the wiping position is provided in the rotating body constituting the clutch means (friction clutch gear mechanism). Although the rotating member of the clutch means serves as the structure, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a rotating body constituting the clutch means and a cam body having cam portions (convex portions 75, cam grooves 70) engaged with the cam followers (projections 47, guide pins 43) of the lock lever and the wiper are separately provided. It is good also as a structure provided. According to this structure, since the freedom degree of the arrangement position of a clutch means and a cam body increases, the freedom degree of the layout of the component of a maintenance apparatus can be raised.

  (Modification 9) Although the locked portion to which the stopper is locked is a concave locking hole (concave), it may be a through hole. That is, it may be a hollow portion such as a concave portion or a through hole. Further, the locked portion may be a convex portion provided on the movable body, and a hollow portion (such as a concave portion or a through hole) that can be engaged with the convex portion may be formed at the tip of the stopper.

  (Modification 10) In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a maintenance device provided with a slider driving type lifting / lowering means for sliding the slider 80 in conjunction with the movement of the carriage as the moving means of the cap. You may apply this invention to the maintenance apparatus provided with the direct-motion type moving means to raise / lower to a direction. That is, when the elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the cap support is a direct acting type, a stopper is provided on the support of the cap 100 (a support holder that supports the cap to be biased upward), and the support is lowered. A mechanism is employed in which the stopper is inserted into the locking hole of the cylindrical cam. As this mechanism, for example, a stopper is provided at the bottom of the support body so as to be movable in the horizontal direction parallel to the carriage movement direction, and this stopper is urged in a direction of retracting (extracting) from the locking hole 71 by a spring. In addition, the support is provided with a lever that, when pressed from below, pushes the stopper horizontally toward the locking hole against the biasing force of the spring by lever action, and the operated portion of this lever is on the bottom side of the support. positioned. When the support body is lowered, the operated part collides with the contact member arranged on the bottom surface of the frame, and the lever is pushed horizontally against the biasing force of the spring by the lever action and inserted into the locking hole. The It is preferable that the direct-acting lifting / lowering means has a configuration in which the rotational drive source is shared with the wiper.

(Modification 11) In the above embodiment, a locking mechanism is provided by using a moving mechanism (slider 80, guide holes 58, 59, coil spring 115, etc.) for reciprocating the cap and providing a stopper 86 on the slider 80. Although constructed, it is not limited to this. The locking mechanism having a stopper includes a lever that engages with a part of the carriage (including the liquid ejecting head) immediately before the carriage reaches the cleaning position. By operating this lever, the stopper is moved to the locking position. A mechanism that moves to the unlocking position is adopted. In addition, the locking mechanism is provided with a spring (biasing means) that applies a biasing force to the lever in a direction to move the stopper to the locking position. When the carriage hits the engaged portion of the lever in the process of reaching the cleaning position and pushes the lever, and the lever is rotated by the pushing force, the stopper is disposed at the locking position, while the carriage is separated from the cleaning position. Then, the lever is rotated in the return direction by the biasing force of the spring, so that the stopper is disposed at the unlocking position. In the configuration in which the wiping member is integrally attached to the support body (cap holder) that supports the cap, the power transmission mechanism of the present invention is adopted as the moving means of the cap, and a stopper that interlocks with the movement of the carriage is provided. The present invention can also be applied by adding the above-described locking mechanism.
(Modification 12) In the above-described embodiment, a paper feed motor is used as the rotation drive source, and the wiping device after the maintenance device, each drive device of the paper feed system / conveyance system / discharge system, and the suction pump share the rotary drive source. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the rotation drive source of the suction pump may not be shared, and the rotation drive source of the carriage lock device and the wiping device may be shared with at least one of the drive devices of the paper feed system, the transport system, and the paper discharge system.

  (Modification 13) If there is no concern that an excessive load is generated on the cylindrical cam 67 so as to cause the friction clutch 68 to slip in the course of raising or lowering the wiper 40, the tooth portion 72 can be eliminated. Even in this configuration, even when the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 are moving up and down, the cylindrical gear 66 and the cylindrical cam 67 are integrally rotated by the frictional engagement of the friction clutch 68, so that the lock lever 45 and the wiper 40 are substantially moved. It can be moved up and down reliably.

  (Modification 14) In the above-described embodiment, the cam body is a rotating body (cylindrical cam 67) that is rotated by power from a rotational drive source. However, the cam body is not limited to a rotating body. For example, the cam body may be a lever having a predetermined shape such as a fan shape or an L shape, and may be a rocking body that rocks and moves by power from a rotational drive source.

  (Modification 15) In the above embodiment, the suction / discharge means is adopted as the means for discharging the liquid from the liquid ejecting head, and the suction pump constituting a part of the suction / discharge means is provided. A means for discharging may be provided. For example, in place of the suction pump, a pressure-type liquid discharge means that discharges the liquid from the nozzle by pressurizing the liquid chamber in the liquid ejecting head is used, and the liquid is discharged to the cap by the pressure method. Can also be adopted. In this case, the suction pump is abolished from the maintenance device.

  (Modification 16) The clutch means, like a friction clutch gear mechanism, transmits power through frictional engagement of the contact surface while the downstream load is small, and slips to the contact surface when a large load is applied downstream. However, the present invention is not limited to the friction clutch means having a friction clutch that generates power and cannot transmit power. A mechanism that transmits power by a method other than friction is adopted. When the load on the downstream side is small, power is transmitted by mechanical engagement by the mechanism, and when a large load is applied on the downstream side, It is also possible to employ clutch means that disengages and cannot transmit power. As such an engagement mechanism, an engagement portion that is urged and projected by an elastic body such as a spring from an end surface of a gear that constitutes the clutch means, and the engagement portion on the end surface of the rotating body that constitutes the clutch means. When a load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the engaged portion provided to be engageable and the rotating body, the engagement portion and the engaged portion are disengaged against the urging force of the elastic body. And a device having a combination release means (for example, a curved surface provided at an engagement portion). In such a clutch means, the engagement surface between the engaging portion and the engaged portion becomes the clutch surface.

  (Modification 17) In the embodiment described above, the movement of the cylindrical cam 67, which is a movable body (rotating body, cam body) having a locked portion, is a rotation, but the movement of the movable body is not limited to the rotation. For example, it may be a movement motion in which the movable body moves on a straight path or a curved path to change the position. For example, a movable body that moves on a straight path includes a rack that forms a rack and pinion mechanism. Moreover, as a structure of the movable body which moves on a linear path | route, the movable body which has the axial part (cam follower) engaged in the cam groove of the rotation body is mentioned. Further, the movable body moving on the curved path is a movable body connected to a shaft portion provided on the end face of the rotating body, and is guided along an arcuate guide path according to the rotating motion of the rotating body. And a movable body that moves so as to draw an arc locus. It is good also as a structure which provides a to-be-latched part in the movable body which performs such a movement movement, and is latched by a stopper.

  (Modification 18) In the above embodiment, the power transmission mechanism 60 including the clutch means is integrated with the frame 51 of the maintenance unit 50. However, the clutch means of the power transmission mechanism 60 is other than the frame 51. For example, a structure assembled to the base of the recording apparatus may be used. In this case, the maintenance device is constituted by the maintenance unit having the power transmission mechanism portion not including the clutch means and the power transmission mechanism portion including the clutch means assembled to the base.

  (Modification 19) In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied in the ink jet recording apparatus 10. However, the liquid ejecting apparatus is not limited to this, and a liquid other than ink (a liquid in which functional material particles are dispersed) is used. It is also possible to embody the invention in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects the For example, for manufacturing liquid chips and biochips for spraying liquid materials containing dispersed or dissolved materials such as electrode materials and color materials used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays, and surface-emitting displays. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a biological organic material to be used, or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid as a sample that is used as a precision pipette. And the maintenance apparatus of this invention which has a maintenance component which performs the maintenance with respect to a liquid ejecting head is applicable to any one of these liquid ejecting apparatuses.

Hereinafter, the technical idea grasped | ascertained from the said embodiment and each modification is described.
(1) The slider (80) according to any one of claims 3 to 17, wherein the moving unit is slid by being pushed by the carriage or the liquid ejecting head in the process of moving the carriage toward the cleaning position. Guide means (58, 59, 82 to 85) for guiding the slider up when the slider is pushed and slid by the carriage or the liquid ejecting head, and urging the slider in a direction of being guided downward by the guide means. Urging means (115) for performing the liquid ejection, wherein the cap is provided on the slider, and the stopper that moves following the raising and lowering of the cap is provided on the slider. Maintenance device in the device.

According to this, since the cap moves (lifts / lowers) in conjunction with the movement of the carriage, the configuration of the moving means is simplified, and the maintenance device can be simplified.
(2) In any one of claims 2 to 17 and the technical idea (1), the cam body as the movable body is the slider disposed at a position when the cap is lowered to the retracted position. The stopper is provided at a portion facing the cam body with respect to the slider. According to this, the structure which provides a stopper in the slider which raises / lowers a cap, and also latches a stopper to a cam body is realizable comparatively easily.

  (3) In any one of Claims 2 to 17 and the technical idea (1), the clutch means is a position facing the slider disposed at a position when the cap is lowered to the retracted position. The stopper is provided at a portion facing the clutch means with respect to the slider. According to this, it is possible to relatively easily realize a configuration in which the stopper is provided on the slider for raising and lowering the cap and the stopper is locked to the component (rotating body) on the downstream side in the power transmission direction from the clutch surface of the clutch means. The locked portion is provided on the rotating body.

  (4) In the technical idea (3), the wiper as the maintenance part is disposed at a position opposite to the slider disposed at a position when the cap is lowered to the retracted position. The means is disposed at a position facing the slider with the wiper interposed therebetween, and the locked portion and the cam portion are provided on the rotating body that is a component downstream of the clutch surface of the clutch means in the power transmission direction. The rotating body also serves as the cam body. According to this, since the rotating body which is a component part of the clutch means also serves as the cam body, the number of parts can be reduced, and the wiper is disposed at a position facing the rotating body. The cam follower can also be configured easily. In addition, it is preferable that a maintenance apparatus has the guide part (53) which supports the said wiper so that a movement is possible, and the guide part is provided with the hollow part (53b) which can penetrate the said stopper. According to this, the stopper can be locked to the locked portion of the rotating body (cam body) located on the back side of the guide portion without being obstructed by the guide portion of the wiper.

  (5) In the maintenance device in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 17, the moving means includes a support body on which the cap is mounted, and an elevating mechanism for moving the support body up and down. The stopper is provided on the support body, and the movable body locked by the stopper is disposed at a position facing the support body in a lowered position when the cap is disposed at the retracted position. The movable body has a locked portion at a position opposite to the stopper disposed at the locking position.

  According to this, when the support body is placed at the lowered position by the lifting mechanism and the cap moves to the retracted position, the stopper that has been lowered together with the support body is located at a position that faces when the support body is placed at the lowered position. It is latched by the to-be-latched part with respect to the arrange | positioned movable body. Therefore, by adopting a configuration in which a stopper is provided on the support and the lifting means is used, the stopper moving mechanism (locking mechanism) can be easily configured.

  (6) In the maintenance device in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, the clutch means can transmit power as long as a load applied to the downstream side in the power transmission direction is a predetermined value or less. It has a clutch that is connected and disconnected when a load exceeding the predetermined value is applied so that the power cannot be transmitted.

  (7) In the maintenance device in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4 to 17, the stopper is interlocked with the movement of the carriage and is engaged when the carriage is not in the cleaning position. When the maintenance part is not in the retracted position even when the stopper is operating at the locking position, the stopper is operated at the locking position. Locking prevention means (74) for blocking the locking of the maintenance part to the movable body by the stopper that restricts the movement of the maintenance part from the operating position to the retracted position is further provided. According to this, even after the carriage leaves the cleaning position, the maintenance component can be returned from the operating position to the retracted position.

  (8) In the maintenance device in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 17, the stopper is arranged at a locking position when the cap is at a retracted position in conjunction with the movement of the cap. And when the maintenance part is not in the retracted position even when the stopper is operating in the locking position, the maintenance part is Locking prevention means (74) for blocking the locking of the movable body by the stopper that restricts movement from the operating position to the retracted position is further provided. According to this, even after the cap moves from the sealing position to the retracted position side, the maintenance component can be returned from the operating position to the retracted position.

  (9) In the technical idea (7) or (8), the movable body (67) is the cam body, and the cam body is configured to reciprocately rotate in a finite range, The maintenance part is configured to be raised when the cam body is rotated in one direction by the conversion means and to be lowered when the cam body is rotated in the other direction. The first drive position (first time) when the cam body places the maintenance part at the retracted position from the second drive position (second rotation position) taken when the maintenance part is placed at the operating position. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising a movement allowing surface (74) that allows the stopper at the locking position to move relative to the surface of the cam body in the process of moving to the moving position). Maintenance equipment. Note that it is sufficient that the movement-permitting surface is provided on at least one of the cam body and the stopper. Furthermore, the movement permissible surface is not limited to a slope, and may be a curved surface or a flat surface. According to this, since the stopper at the locking position can move relative to the movement allowable surface, the cam body can move or rotate from the second driving position to the first driving position. Even in such a case, the maintenance component can be returned from the operating position to the retracted position.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the recording apparatus. The exploded perspective view of a maintenance unit. The partial top view of a maintenance unit. The perspective view of a maintenance unit. The bottom perspective view of a maintenance unit. The rear view of a maintenance unit. The perspective view of a friction clutch gear mechanism. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state where a carriage is disposed at a cleaning position. The principal part perspective view of a maintenance unit. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the friction clutch gear mechanism at the time of raising / lowering of a lock lever and a wiper, (a) is a front view around a friction clutch gear mechanism, (b) is the AA line of the same figure (a) of a cylindrical cam. FIG. FIG. 5 is also an operation explanatory view of the friction clutch gear mechanism, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a friction clutch gear mechanism similarly, (a) is also a front view, (b)-(d) is a schematic sectional drawing. (A)-(c) is a front view explaining the raising / lowering mechanism of a lock lever and a wiper.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Recording apparatus as liquid ejecting apparatus, 12 ... Carriage, 17 ... Recording paper as medium (recording medium), 18 ... Recording head as liquid ejecting head, 18a ... Nozzle formation surface, 23, 24, 25, 26 ... Roller constituting a conveyance drive unit, 27... Electric motor (paper feed motor) as a rotational drive source, 29... Suction pump, 40. Wiper as maintenance part (second maintenance part), 41. , 43 ... guide pins as cam followers constituting the conversion means (second conversion means), 45 ... maintenance parts (first maintenance parts) and a carriage lock lever as a lock member, 47 ... conversion means (first conversion means) Protrusions constituting 58, 59... Guide holes constituting the moving means (elevating means) and the elevating mechanism and constituting the slider guiding means, 50 Maintenance unit as a maintenance device, 51 ... frame, 60 ... power transmission mechanism, 64 ... gear as drive gear, 65 ... friction clutch gear mechanism as clutch means and friction clutch means, 66 ... gears constituting friction clutch means Cylindrical gear, 67... Power transmission mechanism and friction clutch means and movable body, rotating body, cylindrical cam as cam body, 68... Friction clutch, 70... Cam portion constituting conversion means (second conversion means) Cam groove, 71 ... locking hole as locked part, 72 ... tooth part, 73 ... recess, 74 ... slope, 75 ... constituting the conversion means (first conversion means) and the cam part (first cam) , 80 ... moving means (lifting means) and a locking mechanism and a slider as a support, 82 to 85 ... moving means Elevating means) and a support pin constituting the elevating mechanism and the guiding means of the slider, 86 ... a stopper constituting the locking mechanism, 98 ... a protruding member as an engaged portion, 100 ... a cap, 115 ... an urging means .

Claims (5)

A maintenance device that is equipped in a liquid ejecting apparatus provided with a movable carriage having a liquid ejecting head and performs maintenance on the liquid ejecting head,
At least one maintenance component that reciprocates between an operating position engageable with the carriage or the liquid ejecting head and a retracted position not engageable;
Inputs and transmits power from a rotational drive source shared with a transport drive unit that transports a medium on which the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head is landed, and transmits the maintenance component between the operating position and the retracted position. A power transmission mechanism for outputting power reciprocated between the clutch means, a clutch surface of the clutch means and a position on the power transmission path between the clutch surface of the clutch means and the maintenance part. The power transmission mechanism having a movable body that transmits power for reciprocating motion to the maintenance component by
A cap for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the liquid jet head;
The moving means having a slider mounted with the cap and reciprocatingly moving the cap between the retracted position and the sealing position, and the carriage or the liquid ejecting head is moved in the process of moving the carriage to the cleaning position. The slider that slides along a slide path that can move the cap from the retracted position to the sealing position by engaging the engaged portion of the slider and pressing the slider, and the slider as a slide path A guide means for guiding the slider to move along, and an urging means for urging the slider in a direction in which the cap moves from the sealing position toward the retracted position, and when the carriage moves away from the cleaning position. The slider moves the cap from the sealed position to the retracted position by the biasing force of the biasing means. Said moving means is configured to slide in a direction which,
A dynamic rather stopper detachably direction to the movable body in conjunction with moving of the slider provided in a position opposite to the movable body in the slider at the position to place the cap in the retracted position, the A locking mechanism having a locked portion provided at a position where the stopper can be locked in the movable body when the maintenance part is at the retracted position, and the slider when the carriage leaves the cleaning position When the stopper is arranged at the latching position in conjunction with the movement of the movable body, the movable body is latched by the stopper of the movable body when the maintenance part is at the retracted position. the lock so as not to exercise to prevent transmission to the maintenance part of the power of the rotation driving source, while the movement of the slider when the carriage is placed in cleaning position When the stopper is disposed at the unlocking position by moving, the stopper of the movable body is released from the locked portion, thereby unlocking the movable body and driving the rotation. The locking mechanism allowing transmission of power of the source to the maintenance part;
Maintenance device in the liquid jet apparatus comprising the. The maintenance device in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The movable body is a cam body having a cam portion engageable with a cam follower provided in the maintenance part,
The conversion means including the cam portion and the cam follower is configured to convert the motion of the cam body into the reciprocating motion of the maintenance component,
When the carriage is disposed at the cleaning position, the rotation drive source is driven and the power of the rotation drive source is used in a state where the stopper of the cam body is released from the locked portion. When the cam body moves, the maintenance component moves from the retracted position to the operating position via the engagement of the cam portion and the cam follower, and the maintenance component is moved away from the cleaning position. A maintenance device in a liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the stopper is locked to the locked portion of the cam body that is in a state of returning from the operating position to the retracted position . In the maintenance apparatus in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The maintenance part includes a lock member for engaging the carriage and positioning the carriage at a cleaning position, and the lock member is between a lock position engageable with the carriage and a retracted position not engageable. A maintenance device in the liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the maintenance device is reciprocally moved. In the maintenance apparatus in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A maintenance device for a liquid ejecting apparatus, comprising: a wiper for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the liquid ejecting head as the maintenance component, wherein the wiper reciprocates between a wiping position and a retracted position. In a liquid ejecting apparatus including a carriage having a liquid ejecting head,
A transport driving unit for transporting a medium on which the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head is landed;
A rotational drive source for applying power for transport driving to the transport drive unit;
A maintenance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the maintenance device having the stopper interlocked with the movement of the carriage,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotational drive source also serves as a rotational drive source that provides power to the maintenance device .

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