JP5446827B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus provided with a recording head for discharging droplets.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, a plotter, and a complex machine of these, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording head for discharging ink droplets is known. This ink jet recording apparatus means a sheet on which ink droplets are conveyed from a recording head (not limited to paper, including OHP, and can be attached to ink droplets and other liquids). Or a recording medium, recording paper, recording paper, medium, etc.) to form an image (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously). A line using a serial type image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting droplets while the recording head moves in the main scanning direction, and a line type head that forms images by ejecting droplets without moving the recording head There is a type image forming apparatus.

  In the present application, “image forming apparatus” means an apparatus that forms an image by ejecting ink onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, In addition, “image formation” not only applies an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a medium but also applies an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium (simply applying a droplet to the medium). It also means to land on. The “ink” is not limited to the ink, but is used as a general term for all liquids that can perform image formation, such as a recording liquid, a fixing processing liquid, and a liquid.

  Such a liquid ejection type image forming apparatus includes a maintenance recovery mechanism that maintains and recovers the performance of the recording head. The maintenance / recovery mechanism includes a cap for sealing the nozzle surface of the recording head, a wiper member for wiping the nozzle surface, and the like, for example, by sealing the nozzle surface with a cap and driving a suction pump connected to the cap. Decompressing the space formed by the nozzle surface and cap performs a cleaning operation that forcibly discharges bubbles, thickened ink, etc. from the nozzle, and also suppresses thickening of ink in the nozzle during standby Operations such as sealing the nozzle surface with a cap are performed.

  Conventionally, as a mechanism for raising and lowering the cap with respect to the nozzle surface of the recording head, as described in Patent Document 1, the head cap is slid in a direction (sub-scanning direction) orthogonal to the moving direction of the recording head. Capping the nozzle surface, as described in Patent Document 2, the capping mechanism has a guide groove extending obliquely, and the capping member includes a slide unit that moves up and down while moving along the guide groove. Things are known.

  Further, as described in Patent Document 3, a slider that is lifted and lowered while being supported at one end side by a cylindrical cam, and a cap that is supported by the slider and seals the nozzle surface when the slider is lifted are provided. It is also known that the slider is moved up and down by a rack and pinion mechanism.

  Further, as described in Patent Document 4, the vertical movement mechanism is linked to a motion conversion member that converts the rotation of the drive motor into a horizontal linear motion, a guide plate that is provided below the base plate, and the motion conversion member. A roller that rolls into a guide groove formed in the guide plate extending in a substantially horizontal direction, an arm having one end pivoted to the roller and the other end pivoted to the base plate, and the base plate moving in the vertical direction. There is also known one constituted by a movement regulating member that regulates movement in the horizontal direction while allowing it.

JP 2003-94674 A JP 2004-142190 A JP 2007-130896 A JP 2007-313727 A

  By the way, there is an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of recording heads are arranged in a zigzag pattern to expand an area where printing can be performed at once. Moisturizing caps arranged so as to seal the nozzle surface of each recording head, and some of the moisturizing caps are also used as suction caps that communicate with a suction pump to suck up clogged nozzles. Suction operations are sequentially performed while scanning the carriage on which the recording head is mounted.

  At this time, all the suction caps and moisturizing caps, or several suction caps and moisturizing caps are moved up and down to perform the suction operation, so that the cap nip portion does not interfere with the nozzle of the recording head to be capped during the suction operation. It must be arranged, that is, a plurality of recording heads must be arranged so as not to interfere with other caps.

  For this reason, it is necessary to secure a certain interval between the adjacent recording heads. As the number of mounted recording heads increases, the array width of the recording heads in the scanning direction increases, and the size of the maintenance / recovery device also increases.

  In this case, if an elevating mechanism is provided for each suction cap and moisturizing cap, the number of parts increases. Therefore, the suction cap and the moisturizing cap are grouped in accordance with the recording head group arranged in a staggered manner, and a plurality of caps are set as one unit. Providing an elevating mechanism can reduce the number of parts, and the part shape (particularly the main frame) is not complicated.

  However, when raising and lowering a plurality of caps held by the holder, an elevating mechanism is required to ensure that the caps can be in close contact with the nozzle surface without rattling.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow each cap to be in close contact with the nozzle surface with sufficient adhesion when the caps are moved up and down as a unit. To do.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A plurality of recording heads having nozzles for discharging droplets;
A maintenance and recovery mechanism having a plurality of caps that seal the nozzle surface of each recording head,
The maintenance and recovery mechanism is
A lifting mechanism for sealing the plurality of recording heads by the plurality of caps by lifting and lowering the plurality of caps integrally;
The lifting mechanism is
A slider member disposed so as to be movable up and down holding the plurality of caps;
Wherein disposed on the lower side of the slider member, and two side wall portions and a bottom portion, said two guide grooves located in the height direction is changed to the side wall portion are respectively formed on both sides of the slider member A slider rail member movably engaged with each of the guide grooves, the support pin member provided on the surface ;
Reciprocating means for reciprocating the slider rail member in the horizontal direction,
When the slider rail member reciprocates in the horizontal direction, the support pin member moves along the guide groove, and the slider member moves up and down, so that the cap moves relative to the recording head. Go up and down,
The reciprocating means is
A rotating member in which a rotating shaft is arranged vertically and a rotating body is arranged horizontally;
Driving means for rotating the rotating member,
The rotating member is capable of abutting projections are provided alternately to the two engagement wall provided in mutually spaced composed of the reinforcing ribs formed on the bottom surface of the slider rail member,
By rotating the rotating member in one direction around the rotating shaft by the driving means, the slider rail member is reciprocated in the horizontal direction by pressing the protrusion against the reinforcing rib, and the slider It was set as the structure which raises / lowers a member up and down without sliding a member horizontally.

According to the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, even in a state of holding a plurality of cap slider member, can be adhered with no sufficient adhesion rattle caps the nozzle surface of the recording head.

1 is an external perspective view illustrating an example of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of a printing mechanism unit of the recording apparatus. It is a perspective explanatory view of a carriage and a maintenance recovery mechanism part. It is a perspective explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the cap raising / lowering mechanism of a maintenance recovery mechanism. It is a principal part perspective view similarly seen from the bottom face side. It is a side explanatory view similarly. It is bottom explanatory drawing similarly. It is side surface explanatory drawing when a maintenance recovery mechanism exists in a decap state. It is side explanatory drawing when it is in the state of a cap raising process similarly. It is side surface explanatory drawing similarly in a cap state. It is bottom explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of operation | movement of the rotation member of a maintenance recovery mechanism, a slider rail member, and a slider member. It is a bottom explanatory view of the state following Drawing 11 similarly. It is a bottom explanatory view of the state following Drawing 12 similarly. It is a bottom explanatory view of the state following the same FIG. It is a bottom surface explanatory view of the state following Drawing 14 similarly. It is a bottom explanatory view of the state following the same FIG. FIG. 17 is an explanatory bottom view of the same state following FIG. 16. It is a bottom view explanatory drawing used for description of forced cancellation of capping. It is bottom explanatory drawing similarly. It is typical plane explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the carriage structure in other embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view for explaining the configuration of the maintenance / recovery mechanism. It is side surface explanatory drawing of the decap state of a cap raising / lowering mechanism. It is side explanatory drawing of a cap state similarly. It is a principal part perspective view similarly seen from the bottom face side. It is the principal part perspective view similarly seen from upper direction. It is bottom explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of operation | movement of the rotation member of a maintenance recovery mechanism, a slider rail member, and a slider member. FIG. 27 is an explanatory bottom view of the same state following FIG. 26. FIG. 28 is an explanatory bottom view of the same state following FIG. 27. It is the bottom explanatory drawing of the state following the same FIG. FIG. 30 is an explanatory bottom view of the same state following FIG. 29. It is a bottom view explanatory drawing used for description of forced cancellation of capping. It is bottom explanatory drawing similarly. It is typical bottom explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of manual operation of the cap of a maintenance recovery mechanism, and a decap. It is a typical bottom face explanatory drawing for explanation at the time of a cap similarly. It is a typical bottom explanatory drawing similarly. It is a typical bottom face explanatory drawing for explanation at the time of decap similarly. It is a typical bottom explanatory drawing similarly.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. An example of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of the external appearance of the recording apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a printing mechanism portion of the recording apparatus, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view of a carriage and a maintenance / recovery mechanism portion.

This ink jet recording apparatus is a serial type ink jet recording apparatus,
Inside the recording apparatus main body 1, a guide rod 3 and a guide rail 4 are spanned on both side plates (not shown), and a carriage 5 is held on the guide rod 3 and the guide rail 4 so as to be slidable in the main scanning direction. Yes. The guide rail 4 is configured such that a sub guide roller 6 rotatably supported on the rear portion of the carriage 5 is in contact with the guide rail 4.

  A main scanning mechanism that moves and scans the carriage 5 is disposed on one side in the main scanning direction, a driving pulley 12 that is rotationally driven by the driving motor 11, and on the other side in the main scanning direction. A driven pulley 13 and a timing belt (belt member) 14 wound around the drive pulley 12 and the driven pulley 13 are provided. The driven pulley 13 is tensioned outward (in a direction away from the drive pulley 12) by a tension spring.

  Here, the driving pulley 12 and the driven pulley 13 are arranged such that the pulley axial direction is located in a direction along the ink droplet ejection direction. The belt member 14 hung between the driving pulley 12 and the driven pulley 13 is partly fixed and held by a belt fixing portion provided on the back side of the carriage 5 so that the main scanning direction can be obtained. It is arranged on one side of the carriage 5 in the orthogonal direction.

  The carriage 5 has ten recording heads 20a to 20j each including a liquid discharge head having nozzles for discharging ink droplets of black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C). (When not distinguished, it is referred to as “recording head 20”) is arranged on a head base (not shown). Here, the recording heads 20a and 20b and the recording heads 20c and 20d are used in a staggered arrangement with their positions shifted in the paper transport direction, for example, as heads that eject black ink droplets. The recording heads 20e to 20g and the recording heads 20h to 20j are shifted in the paper conveyance direction to form a staggered arrangement. For example, the recording heads 20e and 20h have cyan ink droplets, and the recording heads 20f and 20i have magenta ink droplets. The recording heads 20g and 20j are used as heads for ejecting yellow ink droplets, respectively, so that the area in the paper feed direction for two heads can be printed by the same main scanning.

  On the other hand, in the recording area of the main scanning area of the carriage 5, the paper 10 is intermittently conveyed by a platen member in a direction (sub-scanning direction) perpendicular to the main scanning direction of the carriage 5 by a paper feed mechanism (not shown). Is done. The platen member is disposed to face the recording head 20 at least in the recording area along the main scanning area of the carriage 5.

  In addition, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 8 that performs maintenance / recovery of the recording head 20 is disposed in one end side region of the main scanning region. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 8 includes caps 30a to 30j for sealing (capping) the nozzle surfaces of the recording heads 20a to 20j, a wiper member for wiping the nozzle surfaces (not shown), and the like. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 8 is unitized and is detachable from the apparatus main body 1 as indicated by a virtual line in FIG.

  In this ink jet recording apparatus, the carriage 5 is moved in the main scanning direction, and the recording head 20 is driven according to the image information while the paper 10 is intermittently sent in the sub-scanning direction, thereby ejecting droplets. A required image is formed on 10.

Next, the cap raising / lowering mechanism of the maintenance / recovery mechanism 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is an explanatory perspective view of the cap lifting mechanism, FIG. 5 is an explanatory perspective view of the main part viewed from the bottom side, FIG. 6 is an explanatory side view, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory bottom view.
As shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance / recovery mechanism 8 includes an elevating mechanism that integrally lifts and lowers four caps 30a to 30d that seal (capping) the nozzle surfaces of the recording heads 20a to 20d, and the recording heads 20e to 20e. And an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering six caps 30e to 30j for capping each nozzle surface of 20j. In the following, a description is given of a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the caps 30e to 30j, but a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the caps 30a to 30d has the same configuration.

  First, the slider member 33 is held in a case 32 provided in the maintenance / recovery unit housing 31 so as to be movable up and down. Here, the support pin member 35 provided on the slider member 33 is engaged with the guide groove 34 provided on the case 32 so as to be moved up and down. The slider member 33 holds six caps 30e to 30j for capping each nozzle surface of the recording heads 20e to 20j.

A slider rail member 36 that is movably mounted on the inner bottom surface of the case 32 is disposed below the slider member 33. The slider rail member 36 has a side wall portion 37 and a bottom surface portion 38, and the side wall portion 37 is provided with guide grooves 41, 41 whose position in the height direction changes. Support pin members 42 and 42 provided on both side surfaces of the slider member 33 are movably engaged. As a result, the slider rail member 36 reciprocates in the horizontal direction, whereby the support pin member 42 moves along the guide groove 41, and the slider member 33 moves up and down, thereby causing the cap 30 to move up and down the recording head 20. Move up and down.

  That is, when performing the capping operation, as shown in FIG. 8, the support pin member 42 of the slider member 33 is at the lowest position of the guide groove 41 of the slider rail member 36, and the cap 30 caps the nozzle surface of the recording head 20. When the slider guide rail member 36 moves in the arrow A direction from the decap state, the support pin member 42 of the slider member 33 extends along the guide groove 41 of the slider rail member 36 as shown in FIG. Since the slider member 33 is also lifted in the direction indicated by arrow B, and the slider rail member 36 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow A, the support pin 42 is positioned at the highest position of the guide groove 41 as shown in FIG. The slider member 33 is also raised most in the direction indicated by the arrow B, and the nozzle surface of the recording head 20 by the cap 30 It is capped. When the decap operation is performed from the capping state, the slider member 33 is lowered by moving the slider rail member 36 in the reverse direction as described above.

Next, a reciprocating mechanism for reciprocating the slider rail member 36 in the horizontal direction will be described.
The reciprocating mechanism has a rotating member 56 formed with an intermediate gear 53 that meshes with the motor gear 52 of the drive motor 51, an intermediate gear 54 that meshes with the intermediate gear 53, and a gear 55 that meshes with the intermediate gear 54. A boss portion 57 is provided as a portion. The boss portion 57 of the rotating member 56 can be engaged (contacted) with two engaging walls (work walls) 61 and 62 provided on the bottom surface portion 38 of the slider rail member 36 so as to be separated from each other in the main scanning direction. It is said. The engaging walls 61 and 62 use the reinforcing ribs formed on the bottom surface of the slider rail member 36 as they are.

Here, the rotation of the rotating member 56 and the movement of the slider rail member 36 and the slider member 33 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the state shown in FIG. 11 represents a state in which the rotating member 56 has rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow C, and the boss portion 57 has pushed through the engaging wall 61 of the slider rail member 36. This is a state where capping of 20 nozzle surfaces is completed. Then, the rotating member 56 is further rotated in the direction indicated by arrow C from the position shown in FIG. 11 to the position shown in FIG. 12, and the rotating member 56 is stopped, and this time is the cap state (the state shown in FIG. 10). It is said.

  When shifting from the capped state (stopped state) to the decap state, as shown in FIG. 13, the boss portion 57 of the rotating member 56 starts to push the engaging wall 62 by rotating the rotating member 56 in the arrow C direction. The slider rail member 36 is moved in the arrow D direction. When the rotating member 56 is further rotated, the boss portion 57 pushes the engagement wall 62 as shown in FIG. 14, and the rotating member 56 is rotated from this position and stopped at the position shown in FIG. The state is a decap state (the state shown in FIG. 8).

  The transition operation from the decap state to the cap state is performed by rotating the rotating member 56 in the direction of arrow C as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 from the position shown in FIG. 15 and engaging with the boss portion 57 of the rotating member 56. After pushing the wall 61 and moving the slider rail member 36 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 17 to the state shown in FIG. 11, the rotating member 56 is stopped at the position shown in FIG.

  As described above, the slider rail having the side wall and the bottom surface and having the guide groove formed on the side wall reciprocates in the horizontal direction, whereby the slider member provided with the support pin member to be inserted into the guide groove becomes the guide groove. , The cap can be brought into close contact with the nozzle surface of the recording head with sufficient adhesiveness even when a plurality of caps are held on the slider member.

Next, the case of forcibly shifting to the decap state will be described with reference to FIGS.
As described above, the engaging walls 61 and 62 are formed on the bottom surface of the slider rail member 36 so that the boss portion 57 of the rotating member 56 contacts. However, as shown in FIG. Is provided. Accordingly, by manually pushing the slider rail member 36 in the direction of arrow E in a state where the rotating member 56 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 18, the region 63 without the engaging wall 61 is formed as shown in FIG. Since the boss portion 57 of the rotating member 56 moves, the slider rail member 36 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow D, and can be in a decap state.

  That is, when the maintenance / recovery mechanism 8 is removed from the apparatus main body 1, if the maintenance / recovery mechanism 8 is taken out with the cap 30 sealed with the nozzle surface of the recording head 20, the nozzle surface of the recording head 20 or the cap 30 is removed. The nip portion will be damaged. Therefore, the nozzle surface and the cap can be prevented from being damaged by taking out the maintenance / recovery device 8 after forcibly entering the decap state as described above. In addition, when the recording head 20 is replaced, the nozzle surface and the cap can be prevented from being damaged by being in a decap state in the same manner.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the slider rail member is moved in the horizontal direction in the direction along the sub-scanning direction (paper feeding direction). First, the outline of the structure of the carriage and the structure of the maintenance / recovery mechanism according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
Here, a black carriage 105k in which a black head 120k that discharges black liquid droplets is displaced along the moving direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording medium, and three colors that discharge color liquid droplets. The black carriage 105k and the color carriage 105c are configured so as to be separable and connectable, and only the black carriage 105k is moved and scanned during monochrome printing to form a monochrome image. A color carriage 105c is coupled to the black carriage 105k, and both move together to form a color image.

  On the other hand, the maintenance / recovery mechanism 108 has two caps 130a and three caps 130b for sealing (capping) the nozzle surfaces of the recording heads 120k and 120c, and the two caps 130a are not shown. The suction and moisturizing caps are connected to the means, and the three caps 130b are moisturizing caps. Here, the present invention is applied to an elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the cap 130b.

  Therefore, an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the three caps 130b will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 is an explanatory side view of the lift mechanism in the decap state, FIG. 23 is an explanatory side view of the cap state, FIG. 24 is an explanatory perspective view of the main part viewed from the bottom side, and FIG. It is principal part perspective explanatory drawing.

  The cap 130 b is held by the holder 132 and held by the slider member 133. The slider member 133 can be moved up and down by engaging a support pin member 142 provided on the slider member 133 with a guide groove 141 provided on the slider rail member 136. The slider member 133 is guided up and down by the engagement between the housing 170 and the engagement pin 135 as in the above embodiment.

  The slider rail member 136 has a side wall portion 137 and a bottom surface portion 138, and the side wall portion 137 is provided with guide grooves 141 and 141 whose positions in the height direction change. The support pin members 142 and 142 provided on both side surfaces of the slider member 133 are movably engaged. As a result, the slider member 133 reciprocates in the horizontal direction, whereby the support pin member 142 moves along the guide groove 141, and the slider member 133 moves up and down, thereby causing the cap 130b to move to the recording head 120c. Move up and down.

  That is, when the capping operation is performed, as shown in FIG. 22, one support pin member 142 of the slider member 133 is at the lowest position of the guide groove 141 of the slider rail member 136, and the cap 130b covers the nozzle surface of the recording head 120c. When the slider guide rail member 136 moves in the direction of arrow E from the decapped state where capping is not performed, the support pin member 142 of the slider member 133 moves up along the guide groove 141 of the slider rail member 136, so the slider member 133 As shown in FIG. 23, the support pin 142 moves to the highest position of the guide groove 141 as shown in FIG. 23 by the slider rail member 136 moving in the arrow E direction. 133 also rises the most in the direction of arrow F and is pushed by the cap 130b. The nozzle surface of the recording head 120c are capped. When performing the decap operation from the capping state, the slider member 133 is lowered by moving the slider rail member 136 in the opposite direction as described above.

Next, a reciprocating mechanism for reciprocating the slider rail member 136 in the horizontal direction will be described with reference to FIGS.
The reciprocating mechanism includes an intermediate group gear 153 that meshes with the motor gear 152 of the drive motor 151, and a rotating member 156 that is formed with a gear 155 that meshes with the intermediate group gear 153. The rotating member 156 is provided with a boss portion 157 as a protrusion. It has been. The boss 157 of the rotating member 156 can be engaged (contacted) with two engaging walls (work walls) 161 and 162 provided on the bottom surface 138 of the slider rail member 136 so as to be separated from each other in the sub-scanning direction. It is said. The engaging walls 161 and 162 use reinforcing ribs formed on the bottom surface of the slider rail member 36 as they are.

  Since it comprised in this way, like the said embodiment, first, in the state shown in FIG. 26, the rotation member 156 rotated to the arrow G direction, and the boss | hub part 157 pushed the engagement wall 161 of the slider rail member 136 completely. In this state, the capping of the nozzle surface of the recording head 120c by the cap 130b has been completed. Then, the rotating member 156 is further rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow G from the position shown in FIG. 26 to the position shown in FIG. 27, and the rotating member 156 is stopped. This state is a cap state (state shown in FIG. 23). It is said.

  When shifting from the cap state (stop state) to the decap state, the boss portion 157 of the rotation member 156 starts to push the engagement wall 162 by rotating the rotation member 156 in the arrow G direction as shown in FIG. The slider rail member 136 is moved in the arrow H direction. When the rotating member 156 is further rotated, the boss portion 157 pushes the engagement wall 162 as shown in FIG. 30 through a state before the boss portion 157 pushes the engagement wall 162 as shown in FIG. The member 156 is stopped at the position of FIG. 30, and this state is a decap state (the state shown in FIG. 22).

  In the transition operation from the decap state to the cap state, the rotating member 156 is rotated in the arrow G direction as shown in FIG. 26 from the position shown in FIG. 30, and the engaging wall 161 is moved by the boss 157 of the rotating member 156. The slider rail member 136 is pushed and moved in the direction of arrow E, and the rotating member 156 is stopped at the position shown in FIG.

Next, the case of forcibly shifting to the decap state will be described with reference to FIGS. 31 and 32. FIG.
As described above, the engagement walls 161 and 162 with which the boss 157 of the rotating member 156 abuts are formed on the bottom surface of the slider rail member 136, but the engagement walls 161 and 162 are not formed as shown in FIG. Regions 163 and 164 are provided.

  Therefore, in a state where the rotating member 156 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 27, the slider rail member 136 is manually pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow H as shown in FIG. Since the boss portion 157 of the rotating member 156 moves, the slider rail member 136 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow H, and the decap state can be achieved.

  In the state where the rotating member 156 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 30, the slider rail member 136 is manually pushed in the direction of arrow E as shown in FIG. Since the boss portion 157 of the rotating member 156 moves, the slider rail member 136 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow E, so that the cap state can be obtained.

Next, an example in which the slider rail member is moved manually will be described with reference to FIGS.
Levers 172A and 172B are movably held on both sides of the maintenance / recovery mechanism 108 on the housing 170 with the slider rail member 136 interposed therebetween. The lever levers 172A and 172B are respectively formed with long holes (including grooves) 174A and 174B in which bosses 173A and 173B provided on the bottom of the slider rail member 136 are movably engaged.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 33, when the slider rail member 136 is positioned at the right end in the X direction (sub-scanning direction) in the decap state, as shown in FIG. 34, the lever 172A is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in the X direction. When pulled, the lever 172A moves the slider rail member 136 in the same direction via the boss portion 173A, so that the slider member 133 rises and becomes a cap state. Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the lever 172A is pushed in in the direction of the arrow to retract the lever 172A. At this time, the boss 173A of the slider rail member 136 is not pushed by the long hole 174A of the lever 172A. The lever 172A can be stored.

  When the lever 172B is pulled in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 36 from the cap position state shown in FIG. 35, the lever 172B hooks the boss portion 173B, and the lever 172B moves through the boss portion 173B. Are moved in the same direction, the slider member 133 is lowered to enter the decap state. Then, as shown in FIG. 37, the lever 172B is housed by pushing the lever 172B in the direction of the arrow, and at this time, the boss 173B of the slider rail member 136 is not pushed by the long hole 174B of the lever 172B, so that it remains in the decap state. The lever 172B can be stored.

  By providing means for reciprocating the slider rail member by manual scanning as described above, the cap can be moved up and down (moved) even when the drive means becomes inoperable.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 5 Carriage 20a-20j Recording head 30a-30j Cap 32 Case 33 Slider member 36 Slider rail member 37 Side wall part 38 Bottom face part 41 Guide groove 42 Support pin member 56 Rotating member 57 Boss part 61, 62 Engagement wall 105k, 105c Carriage 120k Black head 120c Color head 130a, 130b Cap 133 Slider member 136 Slider rail member 137 Side wall portion 138 Bottom surface portion 141 Guide groove 142 Support pin member 156 Rotating member 157 Boss portion 161, 162 Engagement wall 172A, 172B Lever

Claims (5)

A plurality of recording heads having nozzles for discharging droplets;
A maintenance and recovery mechanism having a plurality of caps that seal the nozzle surface of each recording head,
The maintenance and recovery mechanism is
A lifting mechanism for sealing the plurality of recording heads by the plurality of caps by lifting and lowering the plurality of caps integrally;
The lifting mechanism is
A slider member disposed so as to be movable up and down holding the plurality of caps;
Wherein disposed on the lower side of the slider member, and two side wall portions and a bottom portion, said two guide grooves located in the height direction is changed to the side wall portion are respectively formed on both sides of the slider member A slider rail member movably engaged with each of the guide grooves, the support pin member provided on the surface ;
Reciprocating means for reciprocating the slider rail member in the horizontal direction,
When the slider rail member reciprocates in the horizontal direction, the support pin member moves along the guide groove, and the slider member moves up and down, so that the cap moves relative to the recording head. Go up and down,
The reciprocating means is
A rotating member in which a rotating shaft is arranged vertically and a rotating body is arranged horizontally;
Driving means for rotating the rotating member,
The rotating member is capable of abutting projections are provided alternately to the two engagement wall provided in mutually spaced composed of the reinforcing ribs formed on the bottom surface of the slider rail member,
By rotating the rotating member in one direction around the rotating shaft by the driving means, the slider rail member is reciprocated in the horizontal direction by pressing the protrusion against the reinforcing rib, and the slider An image forming apparatus, wherein a member is moved up and down without sliding in a horizontal direction. Of the two engaging walls of the slider rail member, one engaging wall is provided inside the point pushed out by the protrusion of the rotating member,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slider rail member stops without moving when the protrusion moves between the two engaging walls.   3. The image according to claim 1, wherein the moving direction of the slider rail member is a moving direction of the recording head or a moving direction of a recording medium on which an image is formed by the recording head. Forming equipment. A region where the engagement wall is not formed is provided on the bottom surface of the slider rail member,
4. The slider rail member can be moved manually by placing the protrusion in a state where the engagement wall is not formed. 5. Image forming apparatus.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the engaging wall with which the protrusion of the rotating member abuts is disposed near a central portion of the bottom surface of the slider rail member.

Images