JP2002273896A - Ink-jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the reliability on an operation of a wiping means and ensure a full wiping ability. SOLUTION: An ink-jet recorder is provided with a carriage movable back and forth to a fixing base 46, a recording head set on the carriage for discharging ink drops from a nozzle formation face correspondingly to printing data, and the wiping means 20 having a wiping member 21 arranged to the vicinity of a movement path of the recording head to freely move back and forth for wiping the nozzle formation face. A guide face 46b for guiding the wiping means 20 in the back-forth direction is set to the fixing base 46. Projecting parts 22A and 22B slidable on the guide face 46b are set to the wiping means 20. These projecting parts 22A and 22B are constituted of projecting parts extending in the back-forth direction of the wiping means 20 and arranged in parallel in a direction at right angles to the extension direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with wiping means (cleaner) for scraping ink adhered to a nozzle forming surface of a recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording apparatuses have been used in many types of printing, including color printing, in recent years, since noise during printing is relatively small and small dots can be formed at a high density. . Such an ink jet type recording apparatus is provided with an ink jet type recording head which receives supply of ink from an ink cartridge, and a paper feeding means for moving a recording sheet relatively to the recording head. Then, recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets on recording paper to form dots while moving the recording head in accordance with the print signal. In this case, a recording head capable of ejecting, for example, black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks is mounted on the carriage, and full-color printing is enabled by changing the ejection ratio of each ink.

As described above, the ink jet type recording apparatus has the following problems in relation to printing by discharging ink as ink droplets from nozzles onto recording paper. That is, clogging occurs in the nozzle opening due to an increase in ink viscosity due to evaporation of the ink solvent from the nozzle opening, solidification of ink on the nozzle forming surface, and adhesion of dust, and furthermore, bubbles are mixed in the recording head,
This is a problem of causing printing failure.

For this reason, the ink jet type recording apparatus includes a capping means for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head during non-printing, a suction pump for sucking and discharging ink into the capping means, and a method for discharging ink by the suction pump. A wiping means (cleaner) for cleaning the nozzle forming surface of the recording head after suction and discharge. And
In order to prevent the occurrence of clogging of the nozzle openings and the incorporation of air bubbles into the print head, ink is forcibly sucked and discharged from the print head into the capping means by a suction pump, and then the nozzles of the print head are formed by a cleaner. Wiping the surface is performed.

[0005] Forcibly discharging the ink, which is performed to eliminate the clogging of the recording head or when bubbles remain in the recording head, is called a cleaning operation. This is executed when printing is resumed after a long pause in the recording apparatus, or when the user recognizes a print quality defect such as blurred print and operates the cleaning switch.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a conventional wiping means. In the figure, a wiping member indicated by reference numeral 100 is a slide member (holder) 101.
And is formed upright by a rectangular piece made of an elastic material such as rubber. The cleaning head is configured to advance from the standby position to the movement path (wiping position) of the recording head during cleaning, and to retract from the wiping position to the standby position after cleaning is completed.

During the cleaning of the ink jet type recording apparatus, the wiping member 100 is moved by the wiping member 100 along with the movement of the recording head 102 toward the printing area (in the direction of arrow A) as shown in FIG. It is elastically deformed while contacting the forming surface. Further, as the recording head 102 moves in the direction of arrow A, the distal end of the wiping member 100 elastically deforms and slides on the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 102 to wipe the surface. on the other hand,
After the cleaning is completed (immediately after the recording head 102 has passed the position where the wiping member 100 is disposed), FIG.
As shown in (b), the wiping member 100 returns in the direction of arrow C by the elastic restoring force (self-restoring force), and is restored to the initial shape.

[0008]

However, in this type of ink jet recording apparatus, the recording head 102
Is not provided with a function of restricting the rotation of the wiping member 100 (wiping means) about an axis perpendicular to each of the horizontal and vertical planes including the moving path of the wiping means. I was As a result, there is a problem that the smooth movement of the wiping unit cannot be obtained, and the reliability of the operation of the wiping unit decreases.
Further, the lack of the function of restricting the rotation of the wiping means (particularly in the vertical plane) causes a variation in the wiper margin (the contact dimension of the wiping means) with respect to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 102, resulting in a sufficient wiping ability. There is also a problem that cannot be guaranteed.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an ink jet recording apparatus capable of improving the reliability of the operation of the wiping means and ensuring a sufficient wiping ability. The purpose is to provide.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a carriage reciprocally movable with respect to a fixed base;
An ink jet recording head mounted on the carriage and ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle forming surface in accordance with print data; and an ink jet recording head disposed movably near a moving path of the recording head to wipe the nozzle forming surface. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a wiping member having a wiping member, wherein a guide surface for guiding the wiping member in the reciprocating direction is provided on the fixed base, and a plurality of protrusions slidable on the guide surface. A part is provided on the wiping means, and these convex parts are characterized by comprising convex parts extending in the direction of movement of the wiping means and juxtaposed in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction.

[0011] With this configuration, each projection slides on the guide surface of the fixed base along the direction of movement of the wiping means. Therefore, since the rotation of the wiping means can be restricted in a horizontal / vertical plane including the moving path of the recording head, it is possible to prevent rattling due to the advancing / retreating operation of the wiping means. Thereby, the smooth movement of the wiping unit can be obtained, and the reliability of the operation of the wiping unit can be improved. In addition, the ability to restrict the rotation of the wiping means can prevent the occurrence of variation in the wiper margin with respect to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, and can ensure sufficient wiping ability.

[0012] In this case, it is preferable that a sliding protrusion having a predetermined curvature is provided on the convex portion. With such a configuration, the sliding area of the convex portion with respect to the guide surface of the fixed base is reduced by the protrusion, so that the smooth movement of the wiping means can be more effectively obtained. Further, the guide surface is arranged on the printing area side of the fixed base. With this configuration, the projection of the wiping unit slides on the guide surface of the fixed base from the printing area side.

It is preferable that the projection is formed by a hook-shaped locking claw. With this configuration, the wiping unit advances and retreats in a direction perpendicular to the moving path of the recording head in a state where the locking claw is locked to the fixed base. It is preferable that an elongated hole is provided in the fixed base in a direction in which the wiping unit moves forward and backward, and one of the convex portions is inserted through the elongated hole. With such a configuration, the wiping unit moves forward and backward by locking one convex portion to the edge of the long hole, and prevents the wiping unit from coming off from the printing region side of the fixed base to the non-printing region side. Will be

It is preferable that a wiper cleaner for removing deposits on the wiping member is fixed in the vicinity of an advancing / retreating path of the wiping means. With this configuration, the wiper cleaner removes deposits on the wiping member by sliding contact with the wiping unit when the wiping unit advances and retreats. At this time, the movement of the wiping means is restricted in the movement direction of the carriage, and the wiper cleaner slides on the wiping member with a certain contact dimension.

Further, the drive mechanism of the wiping means comprises a pump drive shaft for driving the ink suction pump and a cam mechanism having a gear device driven by rotation of the pump drive shaft. With such a configuration, when the pump drive shaft rotates, this rotational force is transmitted to the wiping means as the advance / retreat force via the gear device. In this case, it is desirable that the fixed base be a frame mounting base of the ink suction pump. With such a configuration, the drive mechanism of the wiping means is disposed on the frame mounting base.

The wiping means applies a driving force such that the drive mechanism advances the pump drive shaft to the moving path by rotation in the suction direction and retreats from the movement path by rotation in the direction opposite to the suction direction. May be adopted. With this configuration, when the pump drive shaft rotates in the ink suction direction, the wiping unit moves from outside the print head movement path to the inside of the movement path. On the other hand, when the pump drive shaft rotates in the direction opposite to the ink suction direction, the wiping unit retracts from within the movement path of the recording head to outside the movement path.

In this case, the driving force is a reciprocating force in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the carriage. With this configuration, the rotation of the pump drive shaft causes the wiping unit to advance and retreat in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving path of the recording head.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. 1 and 2 schematically show the configuration of a capping unit and a wiping unit in an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Figure 1
FIG. 2 shows the non-capping state and the capping state as viewed from the side. The carriage denoted by reference numeral 1 is coupled to a part of a timing belt (not shown) that reciprocates by a carriage motor (described later). And
It is configured to be guided by the guide rod 2 and reciprocally move in parallel to the paper guide plate 3.

A recording head 5 is mounted on the carriage 1 so as to face the recording paper 4 on the paper guide plate 3 during printing. Thus, when the recording head 5 receives the supply of the ink, the recording head 5 is configured to discharge the ink droplets onto the recording paper 4 on the paper guide 3 in accordance with the print data to execute the printing.

A capping means 6 capable of sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is arranged at a non-printing area (home position) at one end of the recording apparatus. The capping means 6 has a cap member 7 made of an elastic material such as an elastomer, which can seal the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5. And
A function of sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 during non-printing to prevent drying of the ink in the nozzle openings, and forcing the ink from the recording head 5 by receiving a negative pressure from a suction pump described later during the cleaning operation. It has a function to discharge.

An ink outlet (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the cap member 7 arranged in the capping means 6. One end of a tube (not shown) constituting a part of a suction pump (described later) is connected to the ink discharge port of the cap member 7. Accordingly, when a cleaning command is received, a negative pressure by the suction pump is applied to the internal space of the capping unit 6 in a state where the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is sealed, and ink is forcibly discharged from the recording head 5. Can be discharged. An ink absorbing sheet (not shown) is accommodated in the cap member 7 so as to absorb ink from the recording head 5 and temporarily hold the ink.

The cap member 7 is provided integrally with the cap holder 9 by, for example, a two-color molding method. The cap holder 9 is formed of a rectangular box, and a flat plate-like spring receiving portion (not shown) is provided on each side wall so as to protrude in the horizontal direction. The cap holder 9 is held on a slider 10 constituting a slider elevating mechanism, and is constantly moved to the recording head side by a compression spring 11 elastically mounted between the slider 10 and a spring receiving portion (not shown). Being energized.

An engaging portion (not shown) is provided at the center of one end of the cap holder 9 and at both sides of the other end, and engaging members (not shown) corresponding to these engaging portions, respectively. Are provided on the slider 10. Thus, the cap holder 9 is restricted from moving upward, that is, moving to the recording head side, by the engaging portions being locked by the locking members.

A pair of long holes 1 are formed at the bottom of the slider 10.
2 are formed so as to extend substantially in the horizontal direction. A pair of first horizontal shafts 15a located at the free ends of the arms 14 for pivoting the slider are respectively movably held in these elongated holes 12. I have. The opposite free end of the arm 14 is rotatably held by the frame member 13 via the second horizontal shaft 15b. Thus, the slider 10 can rise up with an arc-shaped locus with respect to the frame member 13 via the arm 14.

Guide pieces 10b are provided at both end portions of the slider 10 on the non-printing area side. Each of the guide pieces 10b is
Are configured to be held by the respective guide grooves 16 provided in the guide groove 16. A low portion 16a and a high portion 16b are disposed at both ends of each of the guide grooves 16, and an inclined portion 16c is disposed between the both portions 16a and 16b.

Further, one of the two guide pieces 10b is connected to the frame member 13 as shown in FIG.
Are connected to each other via a tension spring 17. This allows
The slider 10 is urged downward in a direction approaching the printing area and away from the recording head 5, that is, in a state shown in FIGS.

When the carriage 1 moves directly above the capping means 6 as shown in FIG. 1, the engaging member 1a provided on the carriage 1
The slider 10 stands up via the arm 14 against the elasticity of the tension spring 17 as shown in FIG. As a result, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is
Can be sealed.

When the carriage 1 moves to the printing area, the contact of the engaging member 1a with the engaging portion 10c is released, and the slider 10
The state shown in FIG. Thereby, the sealing of the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 by the cap member 7 can be released.

The sealing surface of the cap member 7, that is, the upper end surface which contacts the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5, is not parallel to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 as shown in FIG. It is arranged to become. In other words, the sealing surface of the cap member 7 is
The print area side end is slightly inclined below the home position side (right side in FIG. 1) end.

When sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5, the cap member 7 first comes into contact with the nozzle forming surface from the home position side end, and
As the pressure rises, it acts to seal the entire nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5. Further, the cap member 7
When the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is unsealed, first, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is separated from the print area side end, and the upper end surface of the cap member 7 is made non-parallel. .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 1 is located on the printing area side adjacent to the capping means 6.
A wiping means (cleaner) 20 for wiping (wiping) the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 with the movement of the recording head 5 is arranged. The wiping means 20 has a wiping member (cleaning member) 21 made of an elastic material such as rubber, for example, and a holder 22 for holding the wiping member 21.

The wiping means 20 moves in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the carriage 1 as described later, advances to a wiping position in the moving path of the recording head 5, and moves from the moving position to the wiping position. It is configured to retreat outside. Therefore, dust and paper dust adhering to the nozzle forming surface before ink suction is removed by the wiping member 21 during the cleaning operation, and ink adhering to the nozzle forming surface after ink suction is wiped off.

In this case, the moving operation of the wiping means 20 and the suction operation of the pump for reducing the internal space of the capping means 6 to a negative pressure are performed by a paper feed motor (for transporting the recording paper 4 on the paper guide 3). (To be described later) is used. The wiping means 20 (wiping member 21) is configured to advance and retreat in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the carriage 1 inside and outside the moving path of the recording head 5 with the driving operation of the suction pump.

In the above configuration, when the carriage 1 moves from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the non-printing area (home position) side by driving the carriage motor, the engaging body 1a of the carriage 1 engages with the engaging portion 10c of the slider 10. Combine. Then, as the carriage 1 still moves to the home position side, the slider 10 rises via the arm 14 against the elasticity of the tension spring 17 as shown in FIG. In this case, the guide piece 10b of the slider 10 is moved from the low portion 16a of the guide groove 16 to the high portion 16 through the inclined portion 16c.
Move to b. Thus, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is sealed by the cap member 7. In this way, when the sealing of the nozzle forming surface by the cap member 7 is completed, the cap member 7 shuts off the communication with the atmosphere to be in an airtight state, and suppresses the evaporation of the ink from the nozzle openings.
Clogging of the recording head 5 is prevented.

On the other hand, when the carriage 1 moves to the printing area side by driving the carriage motor from the state shown in FIG. 2, the engaging body 1a of the carriage 1 separates from the engaging portion 10c of the slider 10. Therefore, the slider 10 is lowered via the arm 14 by the elastic force of the tension spring 17. In this case, the guide piece 10b of the slider 10 moves from the high portion 16b to the low portion 16a via the inclined portion 16c. Thereby, the sealing state of the recording head 5 by the cap member 7 is released.

Next, a driving force transmission mechanism for the wiping means of the recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows an example of a driving force transmitting means (common) for a paper feeding / discharging mechanism, a suction pump, and a wiping means provided in the above-described recording apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes a paper feed roller. A gear 32 is disposed at one end of the paper feed roller 31, and a pinion 34 disposed on a shaft of a paper feed motor 33 is connected to an idler 3.
5. A gear 37 is disposed at one end of the feed roller driving shaft 36, and the gear 3 is moved via a moving gear 38 which constitutes a clutch mechanism.
2, the power is transmitted to a cut sheet feeder (not shown), and the recording paper is fed (loaded).

The moving gear 38 is normally held at a position away from the gears 32 and 37 by a spring (not shown) as shown in FIG. 3, and is pressed by the carriage 1 moving to the end opposite to the home position. The gears move in the axial direction (the direction of arrow A) and are interposed between the two gears 32 and 37 so as to realize meshing between them.

On the other hand, the power from the paper feed motor 33 is transmitted to the pinion 34, the idler 39, and the paper discharge roller gear 40 on the paper discharge roller 41, and the power from the paper discharge roller gear 40 is similarly transmitted to the paper discharge roller 41. Upper gear 42,
The power is transmitted to the drive shaft 43 via the idler 44 and the driven gear 45, and the suction pump is driven. The suction pump is assembled with a fixed base (a base for mounting the pump frame) 46 made of sheet metal with a pump frame (described later) mounted. Drive shaft 4 of suction pump
3 is rotatably supported by the fixed base 46 and a pump frame (described later).

Next, a tube pump as the above-mentioned suction pump will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show a tube pump as a suction pump mounted on the above-described recording apparatus. FIG. 4 shows a case in which the tube pump is driven to rotate forward to perform the pumping action, and FIG. 5 shows a case in which the tube pump is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to be in the release state. 4 and 5, a tube pump (suction pump) indicated by reference numeral 50 is
A pump frame 53 as a fixed base, a pump wheel 54 rotated by the drive shaft 43, and a roller 55 rotated and rolled by the rotation of the pump wheel 54.
a, 55b.

The pump frame 53 has a tube support surface 52 for regulating the outer shape of the flexible tube 51 into an arc shape. The pump wheel 54 intersects the radial direction of the wheel between the center of the wheel and the outer periphery of the wheel. It has a pair of roller support grooves 54a and 54b having such a gradient. Further, the rollers 55a and 55b are provided with roller shafts 55A and 55B that can move in the respective roller support grooves 54a and 54b.
have.

In such a tube pump, the rollers 55a and 55b are rotated by rotating the pump wheel 54 in the forward direction (the direction of arrow C) as shown in FIG.
(The roller shafts 55A and 55B) are connected to the roller support grooves 54a and 5
The flexible tube 51 is moved to the outer periphery of the foil 4b, and the flexible tube 51 is continuously crushed in the wheel rotation direction. Thereby, a pressure is generated in the flexible tube 51 to apply a negative pressure to the capping means 6. Then, the ink is forcibly discharged from the recording head 5 by the negative pressure, and the ink discharged into the capping unit 6 is further sent to a waste tank (not shown).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
By rotating the roller 4 in the reverse direction (the direction of arrow D), the rollers 55a and 55b (roller shafts 55A and 55B) are moved to the wheel center portions (wheel inner peripheral portions) of the roller support grooves 54a and 54b. 55a and 55b are in a release state in which they contact the flexible tube 51 slightly. This prevents a failure such as sticking of the flexible tube 51 to each of the rollers 55a and 55b.

Further, guide members 57a, 5a are provided at portions of the pump frame 53 facing the tube support surface 52.
Lock grooves (L-shaped grooves) 56a and 56b for attaching the damper member 7b and the damper member 58 are provided. Each of the guide members 57a and 57b is formed of an elastic material such as rubber. With this, the rollers 55a and 55b are moved by the guide members 57a and 55a with the rotation of the pump wheel 54.
When the roller shafts abut on the roller shaft 57b, the respective roller shafts 55A and 55B are guided in the direction opposite to the wheel rotation direction of the roller support grooves 54a and 54b.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the pump wheel 54 is driven to rotate forward, the rollers 55a and 55b are pushed back by the guide members 57a and 57b in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the pump wheel 54, The roller shafts 55A and 55B move to the wheel outer peripheral portions of the roller support grooves 54a and 54b. Therefore, the flexible tube 51 is continuously crushed in the wheel rotation direction by the rollers 55a and 55b, and the reliability of the pump driving operation is improved.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Is driven in reverse, the rollers 55a and 55b are brought into contact with the guide members 57a and 57b and are pushed back. In other words, the rollers 55a, 55b move to the inner peripheral portions of the roller support grooves 54a, 54b while tilting the guide members 57a, 57b with the rotation of the pump wheel 54, thereby crushing the flexible tube 51. Is released and a release state is set.

The damper member 58 is disposed at a position facing the tube support surface 52 in the pump frame 53, and is entirely formed of an arc-shaped body made of an elastic material such as rubber. Thereby, the rollers 55a,
The rollers 55a, 5b are arranged so as to be in contact with the damper member 58 even if the 55b is out of the contact area with the flexible tube 51.
5b (roller shaft 55A, 55B) roller support groove 54
a, 54b, the free movement is restricted. In other words, with the movement of the rollers 55a, 55b, the guide members 57a,
At the moment when the deformation of the 57b is elastically restored, the rollers 55a,
The collision operation with the end of the roller support groove 55b is performed by the damper member 5.
8 prevents the generation of an impact sound.

Next, the essential parts of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 11 show a wiper reset (cleaner reset) state in which the wiping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied is retracted from the moving path of the recording head. 12 to 15 show a wiper set (cleaner set) state in which the wiping means in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied is advanced to the moving path of the recording head. 6 to 8, a guide surface 46b for guiding the wiping unit 20 in the reciprocating direction is provided on a side of a printing area of the fixed base 46. The wiping unit 20 is configured to perform a stable forward / backward operation. As shown in FIG. 8, the fixed base 46 has an elongated hole 4 extending in the direction in which the wiping unit 20 advances and retreats.
6d are provided.

10 to 13, reference numeral 71 denotes a driving mechanism (cam mechanism) of the wiping means (cleaner) 20, and as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the fixed base 46 and the pump frame 53. It is arranged between and. The drive mechanism 71 includes the drive shaft (pump shaft) 43 having the sun gear 72 and the drive shaft 43.
The cleaner driving lever 73 and the gear holding lever 74 are located before and after in the head moving direction (the reciprocating direction of the carriage 1).

The cleaner drive lever 73 has an annular base 73a through which the drive shaft 43 is inserted and an annular base 73a.
3a, a tongue-shaped lever portion 73b protruding from the gear holding lever 74 is provided on the opposite side of the pump, and a predetermined rotation stroke (the rotation stroke is defined as the rotation angle θ Then, it is rotatably supported within a range satisfying θ ≦ 66 °). A cylindrical drive pin 75 protruding toward the pump (in the horizontal direction) is provided integrally with the lever portion 73b of the cleaner drive lever 73. Also,
A base portion 73a of the cleaner driving lever 73 is integrally provided with a flat fan-shaped extending portion 76 protruding on the opposite side to the lever portion 73b and having a rising wall 76a on the outer peripheral edge. Internal teeth 77 along the circumferential direction are provided on the rising wall 76 a of the extending portion 76.

The holder 22 of the wiping means 20 has a pair of convex portions 22A, 22 extending in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the carriage 1 and arranged in parallel in the vertical direction.
B is provided. These convex portions 22A and 22B are
As shown in FIG. 7, the distal end surface (sliding surface) is formed by a hook (reverse L-shaped) locking claw having protrusions 222a and 222b having a predetermined curvature. Of these, the upper convex portion 22A covers the upper edge of the fixed base 46, and the lower convex portion 22B is inserted into the long hole 46d. On the guide surface 46b, each of the protrusions 222a,
222b is configured to be slidable.

The holder 2 in the wiping means 20
At the upper end of 2, a triangular prismatic claw 22a for attaching the wiping member 21 and a cylindrical slide pin 22b protruding toward the pump are provided. At the lower end of the holder 22, a concave groove 22c extending in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving path of the recording head 5 is provided. Further, the holder 22 extends in the vertical direction,
Further, a concave groove 22d for guiding the drive pin 75 is provided.

At the upper end of the pump frame 53,
A groove 53a extending in the left-right direction (a direction perpendicular to the moving path of the recording head 5 and the extending direction of the groove 22d) and guiding the slide pin 22b is provided. On the head moving path side of the pump frame 53, there is provided a cylindrical fixing pin 53b projecting toward the wiping means and facing the inside of the concave groove 22c. At the lower end of the pump frame 53, two stoppers 53 corresponding to two rotation stop positions of a gear holding lever 74 to be described later and arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction as shown in FIGS.
c, 53d are provided.

On the side of the head moving path of the pump frame 53, a wiper cleaner 202 facing an advancing / retreating path of the wiping means (cleaner) 20 is provided with a rising portion 5.
It is fixed via 3e. Then, the wiper cleaner 202 is elastically deformed by the sliding contact of the wiping member 21 when the wiping means 20 advances and retreats, so that the ink wiping portion of the wiping member 21 (the non-printing area side of the wiping member 21) can be cleaned. Is configured.

On the other hand, the gear holding lever 74 has an annular base 74a through which the drive shaft 43 is inserted, and the base 74a.
It has a rectangular piece-shaped lever portion 74b protruding in the radial direction of a, and is rotatably supported by the drive shaft 43 between two rotation stop positions. The lever portion 74 of the gear holding lever 74
b is provided with stopper engaging portions 74C and 74D that can be engaged with the stoppers 53c and 53d. Also,
A planetary gear 78 meshable with the internal teeth 77 of the cleaner drive lever 73 is rotatably held on the lever portion 74b while meshing with the sun gear 72. The lever portion 74b is configured to be elastically deformable by receiving an external force due to the rotation of the cleaner driving lever 73 when the stopper engaging portions 74C and 74D are engaged with the stoppers 53c and 53d. Have been. As a result, the gear holding lever 74 stops rotating, and the cleaner driving lever 73
The impact caused by the meshing between the planetary gear 78 and the internal teeth 77 when is rotated is absorbed.

When the engagement between the internal teeth 77 and the planetary gear 78 is released, the cleaner driving lever 73 may be positioned between the wiper set position and the wiper reset position by a torsion spring (not shown). desirable. In this case, the resilience of the torsion spring is set so as not to hinder the smooth rotation of the cleaner driving lever 73 when the wiping means 20 moves forward and backward. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the cleaner driving lever 73 from rattling at the wiper set position and the wiper reset position when the lever is positioned, and to obtain a stable cleaning (wiping) operation.

In the above configuration, when the sun gear 72 (drive shaft 43) starts rotating in the forward direction (counterclockwise) from the wiper reset state shown in FIG. The power is transmitted to the gear holding lever 74, and the gear holding lever 74 rotates counterclockwise (direction of arrow e). In this case, when the gear holding lever 74 rotates in the direction of arrow e, the stopper engaging portion 74D separates from the stopper 53d. In the rotation start state of the sun gear 72, since the engagement between the planetary gear 78 and the internal teeth 77 is released, the cleaner drive lever 73 does not receive the driving force from the sun gear 72, and is shown in FIG. As described above. In addition, the drive pin 75 and the slide pin 22b are positioned at the start end (upper end) of the groove 22d and the start end (left end) of the groove 53a, respectively, and the fixing pin 53b is positioned at the start end (left end) of the groove 22c. Right end)
It is positioned in.

When the sun gear 72 is still rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the gear holding lever 74 is further rotated in the direction of the arrow e, and the stopper engaging portion 74C is engaged with the stopper 53c to rotate one side. It is located at the motion stop position. In this case, when the gear holding lever 74 rotates in the direction of arrow e, the planetary gear 78 meshes with the internal teeth 77 and rolls on the internal teeth 77 while rotating clockwise. For this reason, the stopper engaging portion 7
Until 4C engages with the stopper 53c, the cleaner drive lever 73 does not rotate in the direction of the arrow f (the direction in which the wiping means 20 advances).

In this state, that is, the stopper engaging portion 74C
Is engaged with the stopper 53c while the sun gear 72
Further rotates counterclockwise, the planetary gear 78 rotates clockwise, and the cleaner drive lever 73 starts rotating clockwise (direction of arrow f). In this case, the sun gear 7
2 is transmitted to the gear holding lever 74 via the planetary gear 78, but since the stopper engaging portion 74C of the lever portion 74b is engaged with the stopper 53c, the gear holding lever 74 is moved counterclockwise. It does not rotate (in the direction of arrow e). Therefore, when the rotational power from the sun gear 72 is transmitted to the gear holding lever 74 via the planetary gear 78, the lever portion 74b bends in a direction to press the stopper engaging portion 74C.

When the sun gear 72 further rotates counterclockwise, the planetary gear 78 further rotates clockwise, and the cleaner driving lever 73 rotates in the direction of arrow f.
In this case, while the wiping means 20 slides on the guide surface 46b of the fixed base 46, the wiping means 20 moves from the position shown in FIG. 16A to the position shown in FIG. I do. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the recording head 5 advances from the outside of the movement path to the inside of the movement path along the direction of arrow g, and the nozzle formation surface is wiped off as the print head 5 moves. Further, as the wiping unit 20 advances, the wiper cleaner 202 slides on the wiping member 21, and the attached matter such as the ink waste liquid is removed from the wiping member 21.

The wiping means 20 is connected to the recording head 5
(The cleaner driving lever 73 rotates clockwise 66 ° from the rotation start position), the lever portion 74b of the gear holding lever 74 elastically returns, and as shown in FIG. The mesh between the internal teeth 78 and the internal teeth 77 is released. For this reason, the cleaner driving lever 73 moves the sun gear 72
It is arranged at the rotation end position without receiving the driving force from the motor. Further, the drive pin 75 moves from the start end (upper end) of the concave groove 22d and is positioned at the end (lower end).
The slide pin 22b moves from the start end (left end) of the groove 53a and is positioned at the end (right end). Also,
The fixing pin 53b is positioned at the end (left end) of the groove 22c.

On the other hand, from the wiper set state shown in FIG. 13, the sun gear 72 (drive shaft 43) is turned in the opposite direction (clockwise).
When the rotation starts, the rotation power is transmitted to the gear holding lever 74 via the planetary gear 78, and the gear holding lever 74
Rotates clockwise (direction of arrow f). In this case, when the gear holding lever 74 rotates in the direction of the arrow f, the stopper engaging portion 74C separates from the stopper 53c. In the rotation start state of the sun gear 72, since the engagement between the planetary gear 78 and the internal teeth 77 is released, the cleaner driving lever 73 does not receive the driving force from the sun gear 72, and FIG.
As shown in (5), it remains stopped at the rotation end position. The drive pin 75 and the slide pin 22b are positioned at the end (lower end) of the groove 22d and the end (right end) of the groove 53a, respectively.
3b is positioned at the terminal end (left end) of the concave groove 22c.

When the sun gear 72 still rotates clockwise, the gear holding lever 74 further rotates in the direction of arrow f to engage the stopper engaging portion 74D with the stopper 53d and rotate the other side. It is located at the stop position. in this case,
When the gear holding lever 74 rotates in the direction of arrow f, the planetary gear 78 meshes with the internal teeth 77 and rolls on the internal teeth 77 while rotating counterclockwise. Therefore, the stopper engaging portion 74
Until D engages with the stopper 53d, the cleaner driving lever 73 does not rotate in the direction of arrow e (the direction in which the wiping means 20 is retracted).

In this state, that is, the stopper engaging portion 74D
Is engaged with the stopper 53d and the sun gear 72
Further rotates clockwise, the planetary gear 78 rotates counterclockwise, and the cleaner drive lever 73 starts rotating counterclockwise (direction of arrow e). In this case, the rotational power from the sun gear 72 is transmitted to the gear holding lever 74 via the planetary gear 78. However, since the stopper engaging portion 74D of the lever portion 74b is engaged with the stopper 53d, the gear holding lever 74 does not rotate in the direction of arrow f. Therefore, when the rotational power from the sun gear 72 is transmitted to the gear holding lever 74 via the planetary gear 78, the lever 74
b bends in such a direction as to press the stopper engaging portion 74D.

When the sun gear 72 further rotates clockwise, the planetary gear 78 rotates counterclockwise, and the cleaner driving lever 73 rotates in the direction of arrow e. In this case, the wiping means 20 is connected to the guide surface 4 of the fixed base 46.
6B, while moving over the position shown in FIG. 16C through the position shown in FIG. 16B, to the position shown in FIG. 16C, and the recording head 5 is moved in the direction of arrow h in FIG. Evacuate from inside the moving route to outside the moving route. Further, with the retreat operation of the wiping means 20, the wiper cleaner 202 comes into sliding contact with the wiping member 21, and the attached matter such as ink waste liquid is removed from the wiping member 21.

The wiping means 20 is connected to the recording head 5
When the cleaner drive lever 73 is rotated 66 degrees counterclockwise from the end position of rotation, the lever portion 74c of the gear holding lever 74 elastically returns to the position shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the engagement between the planetary gear 78 and the internal teeth 77 is released. For this reason, the cleaner driving lever 73 moves the sun gear 7
2 and is arranged at the rotation start position without receiving the driving force.
Here, when the wiping unit 20 is separated from the recording head 5 by the retreat operation, the recording head 5 moves from the cleaning position to the printing area side. That is, the recording head 5
Immediately before passing through the cleaning position in the movement path, the engagement between the planetary gear 78 and the internal teeth 77 is released, and the cleaning operation ends.

The drive pin 75 moves from the end (lower end) of the groove 22d to be positioned at the start end (upper end), and the slide pin 22b moves from the end (right end) of the groove 53a. And is positioned at the start end (left end). Further, the fixing pin 53b is positioned at the start end (right end) of the groove 22c.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the protrusions 222a, 22b of the projections 22A, 22B move on the guide surface 46b of the fixed base 46 along the direction of movement of the wiping means 20.
222b slides. This makes it possible to restrict the rotation of the wiping unit 20 in each of the horizontal and vertical planes including the moving path of the recording head 5, so that it is possible to prevent rattling of the wiping unit 20. For this reason, the smooth movement of the wiping unit 20 can be obtained, and the reliability of the operation of the wiping unit can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the ability to restrict the rotation of the wiping means 20 in the vertical plane can prevent the generation of a variation in the wiper allowance with respect to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5, so that sufficient wiping ability can be obtained. Can be guaranteed. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the ability to restrict the rotation of the wiping means 20 in each of the horizontal and vertical planes including the movement path of the recording head 5 means that the wiper cleaner 202 slides on the wiping member 21 with a predetermined contact dimension. Therefore, good cleaning of the wiping means 20 by the wiper cleaner 202 can be performed.

In this embodiment, the guide surface 4
Although the case where 6b is arranged on the printing area side of the fixed base 46 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same effect as that of the embodiment can be obtained even if it is arranged on the non-printing area side.
Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the wiper cleaner 202 is attached to the pump frame 53 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be attached to another fixing member such as a wiper cover.

In this embodiment, in order to restrict the rotation of the wiping means 20, the projection 22A covers the upper edge of the fixed base 46, and the projection 22B is
Although the structure slides on the guide surface 46b so as to be inserted into 6d, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the following structures (1) and (2) may be used. (1) The fixed base 46 is provided with two upper and lower long holes (not shown) extending in the advance and retreat direction of the wiping means 20, and the guide surfaces 46b are formed so that the convex portions 22A and 22B are inserted into both the long holes. Structure that slides on top. (2) The upper and lower edges of the fixed base 46 are respectively
A structure in which A and 22B slide on the guide surface 46b so as to cover each other.

[0071]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the reliability of the operation of the wiping means can be improved, and a sufficient wiping ability can be guaranteed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a non-capping state of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing a capping state of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a driving force transmission mechanism such as a suction pump and wiping means.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a roller presses and deforms a flexible tube by a forward rotation of a pump wheel in a suction pump to exhibit a pumping action.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a case where the pump wheel in the suction pump is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to be in a release state.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a wiper reset state in which the wiping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied is retracted from the moving path of the recording head.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a wiper reset state in which the wiping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied is retracted from the moving path of the recording head.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the wiper reset state in which the wiping unit is retracted from the movement path of the recording head in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, as viewed from the printing area side.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a wiper reset state in which the wiping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied is retracted from the movement path of the recording head, as viewed from the non-printing area side.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a wiper reset state in which the wiping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied is retracted from the moving path of the recording head.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a wiping unit and a driving mechanism thereof in a wiper reset state of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a wiper setting state in which a wiping unit is advanced to a moving path of a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, as viewed from a non-printing area side.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a wiper setting state in which the wiping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied is advanced to the moving path of the recording head.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a wiping unit and a driving mechanism thereof in a wiper set state of the inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, as viewed from a non-printing area side.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a wiping unit and a driving mechanism thereof in a wiper set state of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, as viewed from a printing area side.

FIGS. 16A to 16C are plan views shown for explaining the operation of the wiping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a cleaning unit.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are side views showing a wiping operation using the cleaning unit shown in FIG. 17;

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 carriage 2 guide rod 3 paper guide plate 5 recording head 6 capping means 7 cap member 20 wiping means 21 wiping member 22 holder 22b slide pin 22c, 22d concave groove 22A, 22B convex part 222a, 222b protrusion 43 Drive shaft (pump shaft) 46 Fixed base 46b Guide surface 46d Slot 50 Tube pump 53 Pump frame 53a Recessed groove 53b Fixed pin 53c, 53d Stopper engaging portion 71 Drive mechanism 72 Sun gear 73 Cleaner drive lever 74 Gear holding lever 74C, 74D stopper 75 drive pin 77 internal teeth 78 planetary gear

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Shimizu 3-5-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano F-term in Seiko Epson Corporation (reference) 2C056 EA16 EC22 EC23 FA10 HA56 JA02 JA04 JA13 JB04 JB08 JC08 JC20

Claims (10)

[Claims] A carriage reciprocally movable with respect to a fixed base; an ink jet recording head mounted on the carriage and ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle forming surface in accordance with print data; A wiping means disposed movably in the vicinity of the movement path and having a wiping member for wiping the nozzle forming surface, wherein the guide surface guides the wiping means in the forward and backward directions. Is provided on the fixed base, a plurality of protrusions slidable on the guide surface are provided on the wiping means, and these protrusions extend in a direction in which the wiping means moves forward and backward, and are perpendicular to the extending direction. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising convex portions arranged in parallel in various directions. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said projection has a sliding protrusion having a predetermined curvature. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide surface is arranged on a printing area side of the fixed base. 4. The projection according to claim 1, wherein the projection is formed by a hook-shaped locking claw.
An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the above. 5. The fixing base according to claim 1, wherein a long hole is provided extending in a moving direction of the wiping means, and one of the protrusions is inserted through the long hole. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4. 6. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a wiper cleaner for removing the deposits on said wiping member is fixed in the vicinity of an advancing / retreating path of said wiping means. apparatus. 7. The driving mechanism of the wiping means comprises a pump drive shaft for driving an ink suction pump, and a cam mechanism having a gear device driven by rotation of the pump drive shaft. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6. 8. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said fixed base comprises a frame mounting base of said ink suction pump. 9. The wiping unit applies a driving force such that the drive mechanism advances the pump drive shaft to the movement path by rotating the pump drive shaft in a suction direction and retracts the pump drive shaft from the movement path by rotation in a direction opposite to the suction direction. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a driving mechanism for applying the driving force to the recording medium. 10. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the driving force is a horizontal reciprocating force perpendicular to a reciprocating direction of the carriage.