JP7020174B2 - Wiping member for liquid discharge device, wiping device for liquid discharge head, wiping method for liquid discharge head, and liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wiping member for a liquid discharge device, a wiping device for a liquid discharge head, a method for wiping the liquid discharge head, and a liquid discharge device.

A liquid ejection device represented by an inkjet printer ejects droplets from a liquid ejection head to form an image on a recording medium. In such a liquid ejection device, foreign matter adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid ejection head causes problems such as ejection failure, so it is necessary to periodically clean the nozzle forming surface.

As a wiping member used for cleaning such a nozzle-forming surface, a method of cleaning by combining a sheet-shaped wiping member typified by a non-woven fabric or a woven cloth is known.
For example, as a wiping member for wiping the liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface, it has a first layer on the nozzle forming surface side and a second layer on the opposite side to the nozzle forming surface side, and droplets are applied from the first layer to the second layer. There has been proposed a wiping member capable of achieving an efficient wiping effect by inducing and absorbing in the second layer (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Further, there has been proposed an inkjet recording device having a wiping device provided with an ink absorbent having a three-layer structure in which the absorption action becomes larger toward the bottom side when mounted on a casing (see, for example, Patent Document 2). ).
Further, as a liquid container to be mounted on a holder of a liquid consuming device such as an ink cartridge, a powder containing sodium polyacrylate as a main component has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wiping member for a liquid discharge device which is excellent in wiping property and can reduce the amount of the wiping member used.

The wiping member for a liquid discharge device of the present invention as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems wipes the liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head by relatively moving the liquid discharge head and the wiping member. A wiping member for a liquid discharge device
The wiping member is composed of at least two layers from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface, has a first layer from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface, and has a layer other than the first layer, and the first layer. The other layers contain the liquid immobilizing agent.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wiping member for a liquid discharge device which is excellent in wiping property and can reduce the amount of the wiping member used.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a wiping member for a liquid discharge device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing another example of the wiping member for a liquid discharge device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of the wiping device for the liquid discharge head of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of the liquid discharge device of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of a liquid discharge head in the liquid discharge device of the present invention.

(Wipe member for liquid discharge device)
The wiping member for a liquid discharge device of the present invention is a wiping member for a liquid discharge device that wipes off excess liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head by relatively moving the liquid discharge head and the wiping member. The wiping member comprises at least two layers from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface, has a first layer from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface, and has a layer other than the first layer. A layer other than the layer contains a liquid immobilizing agent and, if necessary, has other members.
In addition, "liquid discharge" discharges a droplet.

In the wiping member for a liquid ejection device of the present invention, in the cleaning using the wiping member of the prior art, when the liquid ink is wiped, the ink absorbed in the wiping member spreads and the amount of the wiping member used increases. It is based on the knowledge.
Further, in the conventional patent document 3, the wiping member for a liquid discharge device of the present invention uses a powder type polymer absorber having a large particle size, and is a fine component such as a nozzle forming surface of a liquid discharge head. It is based on the finding that when applied to, the contact points become uneven and wiping becomes insufficient.

In the present invention, a liquid fixing agent is contained in a layer other than the first layer on the nozzle forming surface side, and the liquid is specifically held in a layer that does not come into direct contact with the nozzle forming surface, thereby wiping the same surface multiple times. Therefore, the amount of wiping member used can be reduced.
Further, in the present invention, by forming a multi-layer structure having at least two layers having a first layer as a wiping member and a layer other than the first layer containing a liquid fixing agent, the object can be scraped and absorbed. By separating the function from the operation, the wiping ability can be enhanced.

<First layer>
The first layer has a function of pressing against the nozzle forming surface of the liquid ejection head, which is the object of wiping, to scrape off the fixed ink, or to take in the ink dissolved by the cleaning liquid.
The shape, material, size, structure, etc. of the first layer are not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose.
The shape and size of the first layer can be appropriately selected according to the object to be wiped.
The material of the first layer is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, in the case of a non-woven fabric, semi-synthetic fiber cupra, synthetic fiber polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), etc. Examples thereof include a porous body made of polyethylene (PE), nylon (Ny), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the like, woven fabric, knitted fabric and the like.
The layer thickness of the first layer is more preferably 0.1 mm or more and 0.3 mm or less.
The maximum void size of the first layer is preferably 40 μm or more and 200 μm or less, and more preferably 45 μm or more and 150 μm or less.
The maximum void size of the first layer can be measured, for example, by observing with an electron microscope within a randomly extracted 2 mm square range.
As the first layer, one appropriately manufactured may be used, or a commercially available product may be used. Examples of the commercially available product include Benlyse NE507 manufactured by Asahi Kasei Corporation and Axter M1020-8T manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.
Examples of the method for manufacturing the first layer include a spunlace method and a thermal bond method.

<Layer other than the first layer>
As the layer other than the first layer, a second layer may be provided, and a third layer may be further provided. When it has a second layer, it has a two-layer structure, and when it has a third layer, it has a three-layer structure.
The layers other than the first layer are the same as the first layer except that they contain a liquid immobilizing agent. In the case of a two-layer structure having a second layer, the second layer contains a liquid immobilizing agent. Further, in the case of a three-layer structure having a third layer, the third layer contains a liquid immobilizing agent.
It is preferable that the liquid fixing agent is a polymer absorber because it can absorb a large amount of liquid and immobilize it.
The polymer absorber is preferably a powder. If the polymer absorber is a powder, there is an advantage that it can be easily added into the wiping member.
The polymer absorber of the powder is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. Examples thereof include sodium polyacrylate.
The average particle size of the polymer absorber of the powder is preferably 10 μm or more and 3,000 μm or less, and more preferably 50 μm or more and 1,000 μm or less. If the average particle size of the polymer absorber is too large, it is difficult for the polymer absorber to become uniform in the wiping member, and there is a possibility of wiping at a portion where the polymer absorber does not exist.
The average particle size of the polymer absorber can be measured by, for example, a laser diffraction / scattering type particle size distribution meter.
The average particle size of the polymer absorber of the powder is preferably 1.1 times or more and 20 times or less the maximum void size of the first layer from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface of the wiping member. More preferably, it is fold or more and 6 times or less.
By using a polymer absorber larger than the maximum void size of the first layer, it is possible to prevent the polymer absorber before absorption from moving to the first layer and absorbing and immobilizing the liquid in the first layer. can do.

The liquid fixing agent is preferably a fibrous polymer absorber because it can improve the absorption performance and prevent the polymer absorber from being detached from the wiping member. The fibrous polymer absorber is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. Examples thereof include Lanseal manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.
The layers other than the first layer containing the fibrous polymer absorber are made of non-woven fabric, and the proportion of the fibrous polymer absorber in the layers other than the first layer containing the fibrous polymer absorber is liquid. The mass ratio before absorption is preferably 5% by mass or more and 95% by mass or less, and more preferably 20% by mass or more and 60% by mass or less. Good absorption performance is exhibited in this numerical range.

In the present invention, the polymer absorber is contained in a layer other than the first layer on the side that comes into contact with the nozzle forming surface, and the liquid is specifically held in the layer that does not directly touch the nozzle forming surface on the same surface. Since it becomes possible to wipe the cloth multiple times, the amount of the wiping member used can be reduced.

Here, FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a sheet-shaped wiping member for a liquid discharge device of the present invention. The sheet-shaped wiping member 320 of FIG. 1 is made of a non-woven fabric and has a two-layer structure of a first layer 610 and a second layer 620 from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface.
The first layer 610 is made of a polyolefin fiber, and a non-woven fabric having a thickness of 0.1 mm is used.
As the non-woven fabric of the first layer 610, for example, two types having a maximum void size of 150 μm and 45 μm are used.
As the second layer 620, a non-woven fabric made of cellulosic fibers and having a thickness of 1.2 mm is used.
The second layer 620 contains a powder polymer absorber 630 as a liquid immobilizing agent. Examples of the polymer absorber include powder of sodium polyacrylate (highly absorbent resin Sunfresh ST-500D * manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.).
The average particle size of the polymer absorber of the powder is preferably 1.1 times or more and 20 times or less the maximum void size of the first layer.

Further, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a sheet-shaped wiping member for a liquid discharge device of the present invention. The sheet-shaped wiping member 320 of FIG. 2 is made of a non-woven fabric and has a two-layer structure of a first layer 610 and a second layer 620 from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface.
As the first layer 610, for example, a non-woven fabric made of a polyolefin fiber and having a thickness of 0.1 mm is used.
The second layer 620 uses a non-woven fabric having a thickness of 1.2 mm, which is a mixture of cellulosic fibers and a fibrous polymer absorber at a constant ratio.
The second layer 620 contains a fibrous polymer absorber 640 as a liquid immobilizing agent. As the fibrous polymer absorber 640, for example, Lanseal manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd. can be used. The proportion of the fibrous polymer absorber in the layers other than the first layer containing the fibrous polymer absorber is preferably 5% by mass or more and 95% by mass or less in terms of the mass ratio before liquid absorption.

(Liquid discharge head wiping device and liquid discharge head wiping method)
The liquid discharge head wiping device of the present invention is a liquid discharge head wiping device that wipes excess liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head.
As the wiping member, the wiping member for the liquid discharge device of the present invention is provided.
It is preferable to impregnate the wiping member for the liquid discharge device with a cleaning liquid and wipe it in a wet state.
The wiping operation is performed by applying a certain amount of cleaning liquid to the wiping member and then moving the wiping device of the liquid discharge head and the liquid discharge head relatively while the wiping member is pressed against the nozzle forming surface.

-Cleaning solution-
The cleaning liquid applied at the time of wiping dissolves and swells the fixed ink to facilitate wiping, and also acts as a lubricant at the time of wiping. The sticking ink that has been scraped off and the pigment contained in the ink act on the abrasive during wiping, which is one of the causes of deteriorating the water-repellent film on the nozzle-forming surface. By setting the amount of the cleaning liquid to 90% by mass or more with respect to the amount of ink existing on the nozzle forming surface, deterioration of the water repellent film on the nozzle forming surface at the time of wiping can be suppressed by the lubricating action.
The amount of cleaning liquid can be appropriately adjusted according to the configuration of the wiping member. The residue of the cleaning liquid on the nozzle forming surface after wiping may be examined and adjusted.
Examples of the cleaning liquid include a lower alcohol and a solution using a lower alcohol as a solvent. Examples of the lower alcohol include ethylene glycol.
Since a lower alcohol or a solution using a lower alcohol as a solvent has good solubility of dried products such as ink and high volatility, a high cleaning effect can be obtained by using it as a cleaning liquid and it remains on the nozzle forming surface. It is difficult to do, and a sufficient wiping effect can be obtained.

The method for wiping the liquid discharge head of the present invention is a method for wiping the liquid discharge head that wipes off excess liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head.
As the wiping member, the wiping member for the liquid discharge device of the present invention is used, and the wiping member for the liquid discharge device is brought into contact with the nozzle forming surface for wiping.

Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the wiping device for the liquid discharge head of the present invention. The liquid discharge head wiping device 300 of FIG. 3 has a sheet-shaped wiping member 320 for the liquid discharge device of the present invention, a delivery roller 410 for sending out the sheet-shaped wiping member, and a nozzle forming surface 310 for the sent out wiping member. It is composed of a pressing roller 400 that presses against the surface and a winding roller 420 that collects the wiping member used for wiping.
The pressing roller 400 can adjust the pressing force by adjusting the distance between the sheet-shaped wiping member 320 and the nozzle forming surface 310 by using a spring. In addition to the sheet-shaped wiping member 320, a rubber blade or the like may be provided.

Examples of the sheet-shaped wiping member 320 include a porous body made of a non-woven fabric, a woven cloth, a knitted cloth, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), an olefin resin, and the like. Among these, it is preferable to use a non-woven fabric that easily holds the liquid fixing agent and can be easily multi-layered. In particular, when a fibrous polymer absorber is used as a liquid fixing agent, the layer containing the polymer-absorbing fiber is made into a non-woven fabric, and the fibers constituting the layer and the fibrous polymer absorber are entangled to form a layer. Can be formed, so that it is possible to prevent the polymer absorbing fiber from being detached from the wiping member.
Examples of the fiber material used for the non-woven fabric include cupra and rayon, which are recycled fibers, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), nylon, and acrylic, which are synthetic fibers.

The wiping operation is performed by applying a certain amount of cleaning liquid to the wiping member and then moving the liquid discharge head and the wiping member relative to each other while the wiping member is pressed against the nozzle forming surface.
The moving speed is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose, but is preferably set in the range of, for example, 30 mm / s to 100 mm / s.
The smaller the moving speed, the more effective the wiping can be, but it is preferable to set it comprehensively in consideration of productivity.

(Liquid discharge device)
The liquid discharge device of the present invention has the liquid discharge head wiping device of the present invention, and further has other means as needed.
Examples of the other means include heating means, control means, and the like.

Here, the liquid discharge device provided with the liquid discharge head wiping device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 shows an example of a serial type image forming apparatus as a liquid ejection device. The carriage 3 is movably held by a main guide member 1 and a slave guide member (not shown) that are laid horizontally on the left and right side plates (not shown). Then, the main scanning motor 5 reciprocates in the main scanning direction (carriage moving direction) via the timing belt 8 bridged between the drive pulley 6 and the driven pulley 7.
The carriage 3 is equipped with recording heads 4a and 4b (referred to as "recording head 4" when not distinguished) composed of a liquid discharge head. The recording head 4 ejects ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K), for example. Further, the recording head 4 has a nozzle 4n composed of a plurality of nozzles arranged in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and is mounted with the drop ejection direction facing downward.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recording head 4 has two nozzle rows Na and Nb in which a plurality of nozzles 4n are arranged.
As the liquid discharge head constituting the recording head 4, for example, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element or a thermal actuator that utilizes a phase change due to boiling of a liquid film using an electric heat conversion element such as a heat generating resistor can be used. ..
On the other hand, in order to transport the paper 10, the transport belt 12 is provided as a transport means for electrostatically adsorbing the paper 10 and transporting the paper 10 at a position facing the recording head 4. The transport belt 12 is an endless belt and is hung between the transport roller 13 and the tension roller 14.
Then, the transport belt 12 orbits in the sub-scanning direction by rotationally driving the transport roller 13 via the timing belt 17 and the timing pulley 18 by the sub-scanning motor 16. The transport belt 12 is charged (charged) by a charging roller (not shown) while moving around.
Further, on one side of the carriage 3 in the main scanning direction, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 20 for maintaining / recovering the recording head 4 is arranged on the side of the transport belt 12, and on the other side, the recording head 4 is arranged on the side of the transport belt 12. Empty discharge receivers 21 that perform empty discharge from the air are arranged.

The maintenance / recovery mechanism 20 is, for example, a cap member 20a that caps the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 4, a wiping device for the liquid discharge head of the present invention (not shown), and a droplet that does not contribute to image formation is not shown. It consists of an empty discharge receiver and the like.
Further, the discharge detection unit 100 is arranged in an area outside the recording area between the transport belt 12 and the maintenance / recovery mechanism 20 and capable of facing the recording head 4. On the other hand, the carriage 3 is provided with a cleaning unit 200 for cleaning the electrode plate of the discharge detection unit 100.
Further, an encoder scale 23 forming a predetermined pattern is attached between the plates on both sides along the main scanning direction of the carriage 3, and the carriage 3 is an encoder sensor 24 composed of a transmissive photo sensor that reads the pattern of the encoder scale 23. Is provided. These encoder scales 23 and encoder sensors 24 constitute a linear encoder (main scanning encoder) that detects the movement of the carriage 3.
Further, a chord wheel 25 is attached to the shaft of the transport roller 13, and an encoder sensor 26 composed of a transmissive photo sensor for detecting a pattern formed on the chord wheel 25 is provided. These code wheels 25 and an encoder sensor 26 constitute a rotary encoder (secondary scanning encoder) that detects the movement amount and movement position of the transfer belt 12.

In the serial type image forming apparatus as the liquid ejection device configured as described above, the paper 10 is fed onto the charged transport belt 12 from a paper feed tray (not shown) and is adsorbed, and the paper 10 is moved around the transport belt 12. The paper 10 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction.
Therefore, by driving the recording head 4 in response to the image signal while moving the carriage 3 in the main scanning direction, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 10 to record one line. Then, after transporting a predetermined amount of the paper 10, the next line is recorded.
When the recording end signal or the signal that the rear end of the paper 10 reaches the recording area is received, the recording operation is ended and the paper 10 is discharged to a paper output tray (not shown).
When maintaining and recovering the recording head, the carriage is moved to the maintenance and recovery mechanism 20 while waiting for printing (recording), and cleaning is performed by the maintenance and recovery mechanism 20.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recording head 4 shown in FIG. 4 has two nozzle rows Na and Nb in which a plurality of nozzles 4n are arranged. One nozzle row Na of the recording head 4a ejects a droplet of black K, and the other nozzle row Nb ejects a droplet of cyan C. One nozzle row Na of the recording head 4b ejects a droplet of magenta M, and the other nozzle row Nb ejects a droplet of yellow Y.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

(Example 1)
In the first embodiment, the sheet-shaped wiping member 320 shown in FIG. 1 is made of a non-woven fabric and has a two-layer structure of a first layer 610 and a second layer 620 from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface.
For the first layer 610, a non-woven fabric having a thickness of 0.1 mm made of a polyolefin fiber was used. The maximum void size of the first layer nonwoven fabric was 150 μm. The maximum void size was determined by observing a randomly extracted 2 mm square area with an electron microscope (the same applies to the following Examples and Comparative Examples).
For the second layer 620, a non-woven fabric having a thickness of 1.2 mm made of cellulosic fibers was used.
The second layer 620 contains 20% by mass of a powder polymer absorber 630 (highly absorbent resin Sunfresh ST-500D * manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd., average particle size: 3,000 μm) as a liquid fixing agent. Includes.
As described above, the sheet-shaped wiping member of Example 1 shown in FIG. 1 was produced.

(Examples 2 to 7)
In Example 1, as shown in Table 1, a highly absorbent resin (Sunfresh ST-500D *, average particle size 3,000 μm, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.) as a polymer absorber was used using an elbow jet. The sheets of Examples 2 to 7 are the same as in Example 1 except that the average particle size of the polymer absorber was changed to 50 μm, 200 μm, 500 μm, 800 μm, 900 μm, and 1,000 μm. A shape-shaped wiping member was produced.
In Examples 6 and 7, a non-woven fabric having a maximum void size of 45 μm was used as the first layer.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Example 1, a sheet-shaped wiping member of Comparative Example 1 was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the second layer did not contain a polymer absorber.

(Example 8)
The sheet-shaped wiping member 320 shown in FIG. 2 is made of a non-woven fabric and has a two-layer structure of a first layer 610 and a second layer 620 from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface.
For the first layer 610, a non-woven fabric having a thickness of 0.1 mm made of a polyolefin fiber was used.
For the second layer 620, a non-woven fabric having a thickness of 1.2 mm containing a cellulosic fiber and a fibrous polymer absorber 640 (Lancele manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) as a liquid fixing agent was used.
The proportion of the fibrous polymer absorber in the second layer containing the fibrous polymer absorber is 40% by mass in terms of the mass ratio before liquid absorption.
As described above, the sheet-shaped wiping member of Example 8 was produced.

(Example 9)
In Example 8, the ratio of the fibrous polymer absorber in the second layer containing the fibrous polymer absorber is 10% by mass in the mass ratio before liquid absorption, except that the proportion is 10% by mass. Similarly, the sheet-shaped wiping member of Example 9 was produced.

(Comparative Example 2)
In Example 8, the sheet of Comparative Example 2 was used in the same manner as in Example 8 except that a non-woven fabric having a thickness of 1.2 mm made of cellulosic fibers containing no fibrous polymer absorber was used as the second layer. A shape-shaped wiping member was produced.

Next, using an inkjet printer (IPSiO SG3100, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.), a certain amount of ink overflows from the nozzle, and then using the wiping members of Examples 1 to 9 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, FIG. 3 Using the liquid discharge head wiping device shown in the above, the nozzle forming surface was wiped with a pressing force of 3N and a relative speed of 80 mm / s between the wiping member and the nozzle forming surface. Prior to wiping, 50 μL of ethylene glycol was dropped onto the wiping member as a cleaning liquid.

<Wipeability (remaining amount of ink on the nozzle surface)>
The nozzle forming surface after wiping was visually confirmed, and the wiping property was evaluated according to the following criteria.
[Evaluation criteria]
×: About 70%, ink remains on the nozzle forming surface Δ: About 40%, ink remains on the nozzle forming surface ○: Almost no ink adheres to the nozzle forming surface

<Retransferability of absorbed ink>
The wiped web was pressed again against a clean nozzle-forming surface, and the ink retransferability to the nozzle-forming surface was evaluated according to the following criteria.
[Evaluation criteria]
X: The nozzle forming surface becomes dirty in almost the same manner as when the ink overflows. Re-wiping on the same surface is not possible Δ: Ink is re-transferred to the nozzle forming surface, although not as much as when the ink overflows, but re-wiping on the same surface is possible ○: Slightly nozzle Ink is re-transferred to the forming surface, but it can be wiped again on the same surface. ◎: Ink is not re-transferred to the nozzle forming surface.

<Foreign matter adhesion derived from wiping member>
After the above wiping, it was visually confirmed whether or not foreign matter (mainly a polymer absorber) derived from the wiping member adhered to other members such as the nozzle forming surface, and the evaluation was made according to the following criteria.
[Evaluation criteria]
×: Adhesion of foreign matter is confirmed and affects ejection △: Adhesion of foreign matter is confirmed and there is no effect on ejection at present, but there is a possibility that it may affect ejection in some cases ○: Almost no foreign matter can be confirmed. No effect on discharge ◎: No foreign matter can be confirmed

From the results in Table 1, when Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Example 1 are compared, in Examples 1 to 7, the amount of the wiping member used while maintaining the wiping property by including the polymer absorber in the second layer. Can be reduced.
From the results in Table 2, comparing Examples 8 to 9 and Comparative Example 2, Examples 8 to 9 can suppress the adhesion of foreign matter derived from the wiping member by using the fibrous polymer absorber. On the other hand, when a powder polymer absorber is used, if the average particle size of the polymer absorber is smaller than the maximum void size of the first layer, the polymer absorber is detached from the wiping member and the absorption performance is deteriorated. As the amount of the wiping member used increases, the desorbed polymer absorber adheres as a foreign substance derived from the wiping member, and the risk of ejection failure increases.
Further, when the average particle size of the polymer absorber of the powder is large, it becomes difficult to uniformly include the polymer absorber of the powder in the wiping member, and the distance between the polymer absorbers in the wiping member is large. turn into. When the portion where the wiping member contacts the nozzle forming surface is small, there is a possibility of wiping with a portion where the polymer absorber is small, and the ability of the polymer absorber cannot be fully exhibited, as shown in Examples 1 and 2. In addition, the re-transferability may be slightly reduced.

Examples of aspects of the present invention are as follows.
<1> A wiping member for a liquid discharge device that wipes liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head by relatively moving the liquid discharge head and the wiping member.
The wiping member is composed of at least two layers from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface.
A wiping device for a liquid ejection device, which has a first layer from the side abutting on the nozzle forming surface and a layer other than the first layer, and the layer other than the first layer contains a liquid fixing agent. It is a member.
<2> The sheet-shaped wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to <1>.
<3> The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to any one of <1> to <2>, wherein the liquid fixing agent is a polymer absorber.
<4> The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to <3>, wherein the polymer absorber is a powder polymer absorber.
<5> The wiping for a liquid discharge device according to <4>, wherein the average particle size of the polymer absorber of the powder is 1.1 times or more and 20 times or less the maximum void size of the first layer. It is a member.
<6> The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to <3>, wherein the polymer absorber is a fibrous polymer absorber.
<7> The layer other than the first layer containing the fibrous polymer absorber is made of a non-woven fabric, and the fibrous polymer absorber in the layers other than the first layer containing the fibrous polymer absorber. The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to <6>, wherein the ratio of the above is 5% by mass or more and 95% by mass or less in terms of the mass ratio before liquid absorption.
<8> In the liquid discharge head wiping device that wipes off excess liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head.
The liquid discharge head wiping device is characterized by having the liquid discharge device wiping member according to any one of <1> to <7> as the wiping member.
<9> The liquid discharge head wiping device according to <8>, wherein the wiping member for the liquid discharge device is impregnated with a cleaning liquid and wiped in a wet state.
<10> In the method of wiping the liquid discharge head, which wipes the liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head.
As the wiping member, the wiping member for the liquid discharge device according to any one of <1> to <7> is used, and the wiping member for the liquid discharge device is brought into contact with the nozzle forming surface for wiping. This is a method of wiping the liquid discharge head.
<11> The method for wiping a liquid discharge head according to <10>, wherein the wiping member for a liquid discharge device is impregnated with a cleaning liquid to wipe the nozzle-forming surface in a wet state.
<12> A liquid discharge device comprising the liquid discharge head wiping device according to any one of <8> to <9>.

The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to any one of <1> to <7>, the wiping device for a liquid discharge head according to any one of <8> to <9>, and the above <10> to <11>. According to the method for wiping the liquid discharge head according to any one of the above and the liquid discharge device according to <12>, the conventional problems can be solved and the object of the present invention can be achieved.

4 Recording head 300 Liquid discharge head wiping device 310 Nozzle forming surface 320 Wiping member 610 First layer 620 Second layer 630 Powder polymer absorber 640 Fibrous polymer absorber

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-188900 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-169120 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-000752

Claims (8)

A wiping member for a liquid discharge device that wipes liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head by relatively moving the liquid discharge head and the wiping member.
The wiping member is composed of at least two layers from the side that abuts on the nozzle forming surface.
It has a first layer from the side abutting on the nozzle forming surface and a layer other than the first layer, and the layer other than the first layer contains a polymer absorber.
The polymer absorber is a powder polymer absorber, and the average particle size of the powder polymer absorber is 1.1 times or more and 20 times or less the maximum void size of the first layer. A wiping member for a liquid discharge device, characterized in that it is present. The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to claim 1, which is in the form of a sheet. The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the polymer absorber of the powder has an average particle size of 10 μm or more and 3,000 μm or less. The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the maximum void size of the first layer is 40 μm or more and 200 μm or less. The wiping member for a liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the average particle size of the polymer absorber of the powder is 3 times or more and 6 times or less the maximum void size of the first layer. .. In the liquid discharge head wiping device that wipes the liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head.
A liquid discharge head wiping device comprising the wiping member for the liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , as the wiping member. In the method of wiping the liquid discharge head, which wipes the liquid adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the liquid discharge head.
As the wiping member, the wiping member for a liquid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is used, and the wiping member for a liquid ejection device is brought into contact with the nozzle forming surface for wiping. How to wipe the head. A liquid discharge device comprising the liquid discharge head wiping device according to claim 6 .

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