JPH10157153A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sustain a mutually separated state when it is not desired to abut a cap directly on a jetting means at the time of suction recovery by abutting a part of caps on the jetting means while allowing a selective capping operation for sustaining the remaining caps in separated state. SOLUTION: Since a cap holder spring charged upward is pushed downward when a protrusion 31 on a cap holder for a pretreatment liquid cap 4S abuts on the lower surface 23f of a carriage 23, the cap 4S is sustained in a state separated from a jetting means (e.g. the jet head 1K for black ink). More specifically, the cap 4S is sustained in a state separated from any jetting means 1 at the time of ink sucking (suction recovering) operation thereof. The cap 4S does not abut on ink jetting means 1K, 1C, 1M and 1Y and a mutually separated state can be sustained between the cap and the jetting means at the time of suction recovery if direct abutting is not desired.

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 which performs recording by discharging ink from a discharge means to a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having a function such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like, or a recording device used as an output device such as a composite electronic device including a computer or a word processor or a workstation, is based on paper based on the recording information. It is configured to record an image (including characters and symbols) on a recording medium (recording material) such as a recording medium or a plastic thin plate. The recording apparatus, depending on the recording method, inkjet type, wire dot type, thermal type,
It can be divided into laser beam type and the like.

In a serial type recording apparatus that performs recording while performing main scanning in a direction crossing the transport direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording medium, the recording medium is set at a predetermined recording position and then moved along the recording medium. By combining the recording operation by the recording means (ejection means) and the conveyance operation for feeding the recording medium in a direction crossing the moving direction of the recording means,
Recording of the entire recording medium is performed.

On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that performs recording only by sub-scanning in which a recording medium is transported in a transport direction, the recording medium is set at a predetermined recording position, and recording for one line is continuously performed collectively. While feeding a predetermined amount of paper (pitch feed), an image is recorded on the entire recording medium.

[0005] Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording medium. It is easy to make compact and can record high-definition images at high speed.
Recording can be performed on plain paper without special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise, and it is easy to record color images using multicolor inks. It has advantages such as Above all, a line type using a full multi-type recording means in which a large number of ejection ports are arranged in the paper width direction,
Further high-speed recording is possible.

[0006] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
Through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., an electrothermal converter, an electrode,
By forming the liquid path wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. On the other hand, there are various demands for the material of a recording medium (recording material). In recent years, in addition to ordinary recording media such as paper and resin thin plates (OHP, etc.), thin paper or processed paper (for filing) has been used. Bunch holes, perforated paper, paper of any shape, etc.) have been required to be used.

In a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, a configuration in which a capping operation of a recording head (ejection means) is executed by using a carriage operation in a main scanning direction is disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 949,197 and JP-A-63-400.
No. 0 publication. In this configuration, the recording head can be capped without the need for a complicated cap up-and-down mechanism, and even when only two driving systems, that is, the driving of the recording medium conveyance system and the driving of the carriage, are provided. There is an advantage that the capping operation can be easily performed as needed during the recording of one recording medium.

That is, if the capping operation is performed by the recording medium transport drive system, the recording medium is moved in addition to the normal step feed operation when the recording head is capped during recording, so that the recording medium transport accuracy is reduced. It is not desirable. In addition, when the capping operation is required, it is possible to interrupt the drive transmission of a part of the drive sequence for transporting the recording medium and perform the capping operation without moving the recording medium unnecessarily. In this case, play is caused in the recording medium conveyance drive train, which is also undesirable in terms of the recording medium conveyance accuracy.

On the other hand, when the print data is high-resolution color information or the like, the data is transferred from the computer to the printing apparatus every time the carriage in which the ejection means (print head) is mounted scans in the main scanning direction. In order to prevent drying and thickening of the ink near the discharge port of the ink jet recording head during that time, it is necessary to protect (cover) all the recording heads with capping means even during recording. It becomes necessary. As a result, when only two drive systems, that is, the drive of the recording medium transport system and the drive of the carriage, are provided, the above-described main method is used to protect and cap the print head without adversely affecting the accuracy of transporting the print medium. It is effective to perform the capping operation using the carriage operation in the scanning direction.

Further, in addition to performing the capping operation by the carriage operation in the main scanning direction, a pump for suction recovery is connected to the capping means, and the pump is operated to eliminate or increase ink clogging of the recording head. The removal of the viscous ink has been performed, thereby maintaining good image quality. Documents disclosing such a suction recovery mechanism include, for example, JP-A-1-125239 and JP-A-6-8460.

However, in the configuration shown in the above-mentioned conventional example, in an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a plurality of ejection means (recording heads) to cope with color recording or the like,
There is an inconvenience that it is not possible to selectively recover only one recording head by suction. That is, in the conventional configuration in which the capping operation is performed on the recording head by the carriage operation in the main scanning direction, a plurality of recording heads are simultaneously capped at once, so that when the suction pump connected to each cap is operated, Ink is sucked from all the print heads including the print heads for which the recovery process is not necessary yet, and there is a disadvantage that the ink is wasted. Therefore, various methods for solving the above inconvenience have been proposed.

[0012]

However, in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of discharge ports (recording heads), drying around the discharge ports of the discharge means (recording head) and thickening of the ink. In the case where a plurality of protective caps are used to prevent dust adhesion and the like, some of the caps also serve as suction caps for suction recovery, and the number of suction means is smaller than the total number of discharge means, the following description will be given. In some cases, such inconveniences may occur.

That is, when performing suction recovery of a plurality of ejection units using inks of different colors, a case may occur in which each cap comes into contact with ejection units of a different color from those when the protection cap is used. As a result, the residual ink adhering to the caps of different colors is transferred to the discharge port surface of the discharge means, and the ink of different colors on the discharge port surface is pushed into the discharge ports by the wiping operation after the suction recovery. It is necessary to discharge the mixed color ink to the outside of the discharge port by performing a corresponding idle discharge in order to remove it.

Therefore, there is an advantage that the total number of caps can be reduced by using both the protective cap and the suction cap. However, there is also a disadvantage that extra ink is required and a recovery time becomes longer due to idle discharge. I have.

[0015] Further, there are provided ink discharge means for discharging ink containing a color material, and pretreatment liquid discharge means for discharging a pretreatment liquid for aggregating the color material in the ink, and the number of the discharge means is smaller than the number of ink discharge means. When the ink suction means and the pretreatment liquid suction means are independently provided, if the ink and the pretreatment liquid come into contact with each other, the coloring material in the ink aggregates, which may cause the following inconveniences. .

That is, even if the suction means is made independent of two systems, one for ink and the other for pretreatment liquid, as described above, the pretreatment liquid adheres to the ejection port surface of the ink ejection means when performing ink suction recovery. Since the coloring material in the ink aggregates due to dripping or intrusion into the ejection port, non-ejection of the ink, deflection of the ejection direction, and air leak at the time of capping may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of such a technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to maintain a state in which a cap and a discharge means are separated from each other when it is not desired to directly contact the cap and the discharge means at the time of suction recovery. Therefore, it is possible to prevent color mixing of different inks in the ejection openings, and even when using a pretreatment liquid for aggregating the coloring material in the ink, the pretreatment liquid does not discharge the ink when the suction recovery is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which can prevent the ink from adhering to or intruding into the ejection port surface.

[0018]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a discharge means to a recording medium, wherein a plurality of discharge means and a carriage having the discharge means are reciprocated. A main scanning drive system, a plurality of caps for the ejection unit, and a capping unit for performing a capping operation by moving the carriage, wherein a part of all the caps is brought into contact with the ejection unit and the remaining caps are separated. The above object is achieved by adopting a configuration capable of performing a selective capping operation for maintaining a state.

According to the invention of claims 2 and 3, in addition to the constitution of claim 1, all cap simultaneous capping operation for bringing all of the plurality of caps into contact with the discharging means and a part of the caps contacting the discharging means are performed. A selective capping operation of bringing the remaining caps into contact with each other and keeping the remaining caps separated, or at least one of the plurality of caps is connected to suction means for sucking liquid from the discharge means. With such a configuration, the above object is achieved more efficiently.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the above aspects, there is provided an ink discharge means for discharging an ink containing a color material, a pretreatment liquid discharge means for discharging a pretreatment liquid, and an ink discharge means. A configuration in which a number of ink suction units less than the number of units and a pretreatment liquid suction unit are provided, and a cap connected to the pretreatment liquid suction unit is kept apart from the ejection unit during the ink suction operation. By doing so, the above object is achieved more efficiently.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the first embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied when the cap is opened, and FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 when all the caps are collectively capped. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a state before the ink suction recovery of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 is started, and FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a state of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 at the time of ink suction recovery. It is.

1 to 4, this embodiment shows a case of a color ink jet recording apparatus, and a discharging means 1 includes a pre-processing liquid discharging means 1S for discharging a pre-processing liquid for aggregating a color material in each ink. A black ink discharging unit 1K for discharging black ink, a cyan ink discharging unit 1C for discharging cyan ink, a magenta ink discharging unit 1M for discharging magenta ink, and a yellow ink discharging unit 1Y for discharging yellow ink. , And a total of five discharging means. In other words, it is composed of one pretreatment liquid ejection head for ejecting the pretreatment liquid and four recording heads (recording means) for ejecting inks of different colors.

The plurality of ejection means 1 are mounted (fixed) on a carriage 2 which is guided and supported so as to be able to reciprocate along a guide rail 3 attached to an apparatus main body (housing). Caps 4S, 4K, 4C, 4M,
4Y is provided. The cap 4S is held by a pretreatment liquid cap holder 5 slidably supported by pins 6 and 7 provided on a housing (chassis) side, and is connected to a pretreatment liquid suction unit (not shown) via a tube 8. It is connected.

Also, caps 4K, 4C, 4M, 4Y
Is held in a predetermined arrangement by an ink cap holder 9 slidably supported by pins 10 and 11 provided on a housing (chassis) side and urged leftward in the figure by a return spring 13. I have. Of these caps, the cap 4K also serves as a suction cap for sucking ink, and is connected to an ink suction unit (not shown) via the tube 12. The pretreatment liquid cap holder 5 and the ink cap holder 9 can be connected by a shaft 14 a of a connecting member 14.

The connecting member 14 is arranged so that its vertical position is regulated by a cam 15 rotatably supported on the housing side via shafts 15a and 15b. When the connection member 14 moves up and down, the shaft portion 14a
Are provided so as to pass through the hole 5a of the pretreatment liquid cap holder 5 and the hole 9a of the ink cap holder 9 or to be separated from one of the holes. In the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shaft portion 14a is inserted into the holes 5a, 9a of the cap holders 5, 9, so that the cap holders 5, 9 move (slide) together in a connected state.

The ink discharge means (recording head) 1 comprises:
An ink jet recording means for ejecting ink using thermal energy, comprising an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. The ink discharge means 1 performs recording by discharging ink from discharge ports by utilizing pressure change caused by growth and shrinkage of bubbles due to film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. It is.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink discharge section of the recording means 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG.
A plurality of discharge ports 82 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge port forming surface 81 facing the recording medium at a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm), and a common liquid chamber 83 and each discharge port are formed. An electrothermal converter (heating resistor, etc.) 85 for generating energy for ink ejection is provided along the wall surface of each liquid passage 84 communicating with the liquid passage 82.

The recording means 1 is mounted on the carriage in a positional relationship such that the discharge ports 82 are arranged in a direction crossing the scanning (moving) direction of the carriage 2. Thus,
A recording means for driving (energizing) the corresponding electrothermal transducer 85 based on an image signal or a discharge signal to cause the ink in the liquid path 84 to boil, and to discharge the ink from the discharge port 82 by the pressure generated at that time. 1 is configured.

Next, a recovery operation and a detailed configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a description will be given of the operation of all-heads collective protection capping performed at the end of the recording operation or at the time of standby during recording. When the carriage 2 in the cap-open state in FIG. 1 is moved rightward in the figure, the notch 2 a of the carriage 2 comes into contact with the projection 9 b of the ink cap holder 9.

When the carriage 2 is further moved rightward in the figure, the respective cap holders 5 and 9 are moved rightward, and the respective concave portions 5c, 5
d and 9c and 9d are gradually raised by being slid along the pins 6, 7 and 10, 11, and finally all the caps 4S, 4K, 4C, 4C as shown in FIG.
M, 4Y correspond to the ejection means 1S, 1K, 1C, 1M,
1Y, and all the heads (ejection means) 1 are in a state of collectively capping. By performing capping in this manner, each ejection unit (head) 1 can be protected.

When releasing the protective capping of each discharge means 1 from the state of the collective capping shown in FIG. 2, the operation is performed in the reverse order of the above-described operation. That is, when the carriage 2 is moved to the left in FIG. 2, the two cap holders 5 and 9 are provided with the projection 9b and the notch 2a of the carriage 2.
With the contact state of the return spring 13 being maintained, it gradually moves to the left by the urging force of the return spring 13. When the carriage 2 is further moved leftward, the inclined grooves of the recesses 5c, 5d, 9c, and 9d of the cap holders 5 and 9 slide along the pins 6, 7, 10, and 11. As a result, each of the cap holders 5 and 9 is lowered, and the cap 4
S, 4K, 4C, 4M, 4Y are ejection means (head) 1
S, 1K, 1C, 1M, 1Y
Are all open.

Next, the pretreatment liquid suction operation will be described. First, FIG.
As described above, the pretreatment liquid discharging means 1S is capped by the cap 4S. Subsequently, a pretreatment liquid suction unit (not shown) (not shown) is operated to suction the pretreatment liquid from the discharge unit 1S via the tube 8. Thereafter, caps (in this case, all caps 4S, 4K, 4C,
4M, 4Y).

Next, the operation of sucking ink from the ink discharging means will be described. Here, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, cyan ink discharging means (cyan recording head) 1C
The case of recovering by suction will be described as an example. First, the cyan head suction notch 2C of the carriage 2 is
The carriage 2 is moved so as to be directly above the carriage contact portion 14b of No. 4. Thereafter, the cam 15 is rotated around the shafts 15a and 15b to raise the connecting member 14, and
The state is as shown in FIG. In the state shown in FIG.
Of the pretreatment liquid cap holder 5 comes off (disengages) from the hole 5a of the pretreatment liquid cap holder 5.
(Physical connection) between the ink cap holder 9 and
Is released.

Next, when the carriage 2 is moved rightward from the state shown in FIG. 3, the notch 2C for sucking the cyan head of the carriage 2
b. When the carriage 2 is further moved rightward, the pretreatment liquid cap holder 5 remains at the same position, and only the ink cap holder 9 moves rightward. Therefore, the concave portion 9 of the ink cap holder 9
As the inclined grooves c and 9d slide with respect to the pins 10 and 11, only the ink cap holder 9 gradually moves upward while moving rightward, and finally reaches the state shown in FIG.

In the state shown in FIG. 4, the ejection means (in this embodiment, the cyan head 1) to be suction-recovered by the cap 4K connected to the ink suction means via the tube 12.
C) will be capped. Subsequently, by operating an unillustrated ink suction means (suction pump or the like), cyan ink is suctioned from the cyan ink discharge means (cyan recording head) 1C via the tube 12. Thus, the suction recovery operation of only the cyan ink discharging unit is performed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the cap 4S corresponding to the pretreatment liquid discharging means 1S is maintained in a state of being separated from any of the discharging means 1 at the lower position,
There is no contact with the ink ejection means 1K, 1C, 1M and 1Y.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the suction recovery of the cyan ink discharging means 1C is performed is exemplified. However, the suction recovery of the other ink discharging means such as black, magenta, and yellow is also performed by the above-described ink suction recovery procedure. It can be performed according to. According to the embodiment described above, the cap 4 and the ejection unit 1 can be kept separated from each other when it is not desired to directly contact the suction unit at the time of the suction recovery, and the pretreatment liquid for aggregating the color material in the ink can be maintained. Even when the ink is used, it is possible to prevent the pretreatment liquid from adhering to the ejection port surface of the ink ejection unit or entering the ejection port when performing ink suction recovery.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of the second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, with the cap open, and FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic front view showing a state before the start of ink suction recovery of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a schematic front view showing a state of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 6 at the time of ink suction recovery. FIG.

6 to 9, this embodiment also shows a case of a color ink jet recording apparatus using a pretreatment liquid.
The ejection unit 1 includes a pretreatment liquid ejection unit 1S that ejects a pretreatment liquid that aggregates the color material in each ink, a black ink ejection unit 1K that ejects black ink, and a cyan ink ejection unit that ejects cyan ink. 1C, a magenta ink ejection unit 1M that ejects magenta ink, and a yellow ink ejection unit 1Y that ejects yellow ink.
It is composed of a total of five ejection means.

The plurality of ejection means 1 are mounted (fixed) on a carriage 23 which is guided and supported so as to be able to reciprocate along a guide rail 3 attached to an apparatus main body (housing). Caps 4S, 4K, 4C, 4C, 4C, 4K, 4C,
M, 4Y are provided. These caps 4S, 4
K, 4C, 4M, and 4Y are respectively housed in individual cap holders 22S, 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y, and these cap holders 22 are disposed in a common holder unit 29. Here, the individual cap holders 22 are attached to the holder units 29 by being urged upward by a pressing spring (not shown).

The holder unit 29 is slidably supported by pins 20 and 21 provided on the housing (chassis) side, and is urged leftward by a return spring 13 in the figure. The caps 4S, 4K, 4
Of C, 4M, and 4Y, one of the cap 4S for the pretreatment liquid and the cap for the ink of each color (the cap 4K for the black ink in the present embodiment) also serves as a suction cap at the time of ink suction. They are connected to pretreatment liquid suction means and ink suction means (not shown) via tubes 8 and 12, respectively.

Carriage 23 and holder unit 29
The relative position can be regulated by the carriage contact portion 24b of the connection member 24. That is, the connection member 24 is arranged so that the vertical position is regulated by the cam 15 that is rotatably supported by the housing via the shafts 15a and 15b. When the connection member 24 is moved up and down, the carriage contact portion 24b is moved to the respective head suction notches 23K, 23C, and 23 of the carriage 23.
M and 23Y are selectively engaged and separated. Further, the pretreatment liquid discharging means 1 of the carriage 23
A notch 23b is formed in the vicinity of S, and the notch 2b is formed in the cap holder 22S of the cap 4S for the pretreatment liquid.
A protrusion 31 engageable with 3b is formed.

Next, a recovery operation and a detailed configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a description will be given of the operation of all-heads collective protection capping performed at the end of the recording operation or at the time of standby during recording. When the carriage 23 in the cap-open state in FIG. 6 is moved rightward in the figure, the notch 23 a of the carriage 23 comes into contact with the projection 29 b of the holder unit 29.

When the carriage 23 is further moved rightward in the figure, the holder unit 29 moves rightward while the inclined grooves of the concave portions 29c and 29d
1 and gradually ascends by being slid along, and finally, as shown in FIG.
K, 4C, 4M, and 4Y correspond to the ejection means 1S, 1K,
1C, 1M, and 1Y are brought into close contact with each other, and all the heads (ejection means) 1 are in a state of being collectively capped. By performing capping in this manner, each ejection unit (head) 1 can be protected.

At this time, the projection 31 of the cap holder 22S holding the cap 4S for the pretreatment liquid has entered the notch 23b of the carriage 23. When releasing the protective capping of each discharge means 1 from the state of the collective capping of FIG. 7, the operation is performed in the reverse order of the above-described operation.
That is, when the carriage 23 is moved to the left in FIG. 7, the holder unit 29 maintains the contact state between the protrusion 29 b and the notch 23 a of the carriage 23 by the urging force of the return spring 13. Move slowly to the left. When the carriage 23 is further moved leftward, the concave portions 29 c and 29
The holder unit 29 is lowered by the sliding movement of the inclined groove d along the pins 20 and 21, and the cap 4
S, 4K, 4C, 4M, 4Y are ejection means (head) 1
S, 1K, 1C, 1M, 1Y
Are all open.

The pretreatment liquid suction operation is performed by bringing the state shown in FIG. 7 into the state shown in FIG. 7 by the above-described all head batch capping operation, and then operating the pretreatment liquid suction means (not shown) (not shown) to discharge the pretreatment liquid via the tube 8. The pretreatment liquid is sucked from 1S.
Thereafter, the cap 4 is opened by an operation similar to the above-described opening operation from the collective capping state.

Next, the operation of sucking ink from the ink discharging means will be described. Here, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, cyan ink discharging means (cyan recording head) 1C
The case of recovering by suction will be described as an example. First, the carriage 23 is moved so that the cyan head suction notch 23C of the carriage 23 is located directly above the carriage contact portion 24b of the connection member 24. Then, the shafts 15a, 15b
The connection member 24 is lifted by rotating the cam 15 about the center of FIG.

Next, when the carriage 23 is moved rightward from the state shown in FIG. 8, the cyan head suction notch 23C of the carriage 23 comes into contact with the carriage contact portion 24b of the connection member 24. When the carriage 23 is further moved rightward, the holder unit 29 gradually rises while moving rightward as the inclined grooves of the concave portions 29c and 29d slide along the pins 10 and 11. Finally, the state shown in FIG. 9 is obtained.

In the state shown in FIG. 9, the ejection means (in this embodiment, the cyan head 1) to be suction-recovered by the cap 4K connected to the ink suction means via the tube 12.
C) will be capped. Subsequently, by operating an unillustrated ink suction means (suction pump or the like), cyan ink is suctioned from the cyan ink discharge means (cyan recording head) 1C via the tube 12. Thus, the suction recovery operation of only the cyan ink discharging unit is performed.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, when the projection 31 of the cap holder 22S of the cap 4S for the pretreatment liquid comes into contact with the lower surface 23f of the carriage 23, the cap holder 22S spring-biased upwards. As a result, the cap 4S of the pretreatment liquid is maintained in a state of being separated from the ejection unit (in this embodiment, the ejection head 1K of the black ink that is opposed thereto). That is, when performing ink suction (suction recovery) of the ink discharge means (print head), the pretreatment liquid cap 4S is maintained in a state separated from any of the discharge means 1, and the ink discharge means 1K, No contact with 1C, 1M, 1Y.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the suction recovery of the cyan ink discharging means 1C is performed is exemplified. However, the suction recovery of the other ink discharging means such as black, magenta, and yellow is also performed by the above-described procedure of the ink suction recovery operation. It can be performed according to. According to the second embodiment described above, the cap 4 and the ejection unit 1 can be kept separated from each other when it is not desired to directly contact the suction unit at the time of the suction recovery, and the pretreatment for aggregating the color material in the ink is also possible. Even when using liquid,
When performing ink suction recovery, it is possible to prevent the pretreatment liquid from adhering to the discharge port surface of the ink discharge unit or entering the discharge port.

That is, according to the embodiment described above,
A plurality of ejection means 1, a main scanning drive system for reciprocating the carriages 2 and 23 on which the ejection means are mounted, a plurality of caps 4 corresponding to the ejection means 1, and a capping means for performing capping by carriage operation. In the ink jet recording apparatus provided, only a part of all the caps is brought into contact with the discharging means, and the remaining caps are kept in a separated state. Contact between the means and the particular cap can be prevented.

Therefore, in an ink jet recording apparatus using a pretreatment liquid for aggregating the coloring material in the ink,
The pretreatment liquid ejection head and the ink ejection head can be prevented from coming into contact with each other at the time of ink suction recovery, and the coloring material in the ink on the ejection port surface of the ejection means or inside the cap at the time of suction recovery or subsequent wiping operation etc. Aggregation can be prevented, clogging of the discharge port, deflection of the discharge direction, air leak at the time of capping, and the like can be prevented, so that good image quality can be maintained.

The present invention is not limited to an ink jet recording apparatus using a pretreatment liquid. That is, even in an ink jet recording apparatus that does not use a pretreatment liquid, by applying the present invention, the cap for the dark color ink such as black and the recording head for the light color ink such as yellow do not come into contact at the time of ink suction recovery. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the dark color ink from entering the discharge port of the light color ink into the discharge port of the recording head at the time of the suction recovery or the subsequent wiping operation, and thereby, the empty space for discharging the mixed color ink to the outside of the discharge port can be prevented. Dispensing operation can be omitted,
The amount of ink used during the recovery operation and the recovery operation time can be reduced.

The present invention uses a replaceable head cartridge in which the discharge means and the discharge liquid tank are integrated, separates the discharge means and the discharge liquid tank, and connects the discharge means and the discharge liquid tube with a liquid supply tube or the like. Regardless of the configuration such as the configuration, the arrangement of the ejection means and the ejection liquid tank can be applied in any case, and the same effect can be obtained.

In the case of an ink jet recording apparatus, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an apparatus using a discharge means using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. The present invention brings about an excellent effect in an ink jet recording apparatus using a discharging means of a discharging method. According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

[0056]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a discharge means to a recording medium, a plurality of discharge means and a discharge means are provided. A main scanning drive system for reciprocating the mounted carriage, a plurality of caps for the ejection unit, and a capping unit for performing a capping operation by moving the carriage, and a part of all the caps are brought into contact with the ejection unit. In addition, since the selective capping operation for maintaining the remaining caps in the separated state is possible, it is possible to maintain the separated state from each other when it is not desired to directly contact the cap and the discharging means at the time of suction recovery. It is possible to prevent color mixing of different inks in the mouth, and when using a pretreatment liquid that aggregates the coloring material in the ink. The ink jet recording apparatus is provided which is capable of preventing the pretreatment liquid or invade discharge port or adhering to the ejection port surface of the ink discharge unit when performing suction recovery.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, an all-caps simultaneous capping operation in which all of the plurality of caps are brought into contact with the discharging means, and a part of the caps are moved to the discharging means And a selective capping operation of contacting the remaining caps with each other and maintaining the remaining caps in a separated state, or at least one of the plurality of caps sucks the liquid from the discharge means. , An ink jet recording apparatus capable of exhibiting the above effects more efficiently is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, an ink discharge means for discharging an ink containing a color material and a pretreatment liquid discharge means for discharging a pretreatment liquid And a pretreatment liquid suction unit having a smaller number of ink suction units than the number of ink ejection units, and the cap connected to the pretreatment liquid suction unit is separated from the ejection unit during the ink suction operation. Since the configuration is maintained, an ink jet recording apparatus capable of exhibiting the above effects more efficiently is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied when a cap is opened.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 at the time of simultaneous capping of all caps.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a state before the ink suction recovery of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 starts.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a state of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 at the time of ink suction recovery.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view schematically showing a structure of an ink ejection unit of the ejection unit in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of a second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied when a cap is opened.

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 6 at the time of batch capping.

8 is a schematic front view showing a state before the ink suction recovery of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 6 starts.

9 is a schematic front view showing a state of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 6 at the time of ink suction recovery.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Discharge means 2 Carriage 2a Notch 3 Guide rail 4 Cap 5 Pretreatment liquid cap holder 5a hole 5c recess 5d recess 6 pin 7 pin 8 tube 9 Ink cap holder 9a hole 9b protrusion 9c recess 9d recess 10 pin 11 pin 12 tube 13 Return spring 14 Connection member 14a Shaft 15 Cam 20 Pin 21 Pin 22 Cap holder 23 Carriage 23a Notch 24 Connection member 24b Carriage contact part 29 Holder unit 29b Projection 29c Recess 29d Recess 31 Projection

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 18, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0007

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

In a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, a configuration in which a capping operation of a recording head (ejection means) is performed by utilizing a carriage operation in a main scanning direction is described in, for example, US Pat. No. 5,563,638 (US Pat. No.) and JP-A-63-4000. In this configuration, the recording head can be capped without the need for a complicated cap up-and-down mechanism, and even when only two driving systems, that is, the driving of the recording medium conveyance system and the driving of the carriage, are provided. There is an advantage that the capping operation can be easily performed as needed during the recording of one recording medium.

Claims (6)

[Claims] An ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a discharge unit to a recording medium, a plurality of discharge units, a main scanning drive system that reciprocates a carriage equipped with the discharge units, and a plurality of discharge units for the discharge units. And a capping means for performing a capping operation by moving the carriage, and capable of performing a selective capping operation in which a part of all the caps is brought into contact with the discharging means and the remaining caps are kept in a separated state. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. A collective capping operation in which all of the plurality of caps are brought into contact with the ejection means, and a selective capping operation in which some of the caps are brought into contact with the ejection means and the remaining caps are kept apart. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus can be selectively executed. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of caps is connected to a suction unit for sucking a liquid from the discharge unit. 4. An ink discharge unit for discharging ink containing a color material, a pretreatment liquid discharge unit for discharging a pretreatment liquid, a smaller number of ink suction units than the number of ink discharge units, and a pretreatment liquid suction unit. Wherein the cap connected to the pretreatment liquid suction means is kept apart from the ejection means during the ink suction operation.
The inkjet recording device according to any one of the above. 5. The ink jet recording means according to claim 1, wherein said recording means is an ink jet recording means having an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said recording means discharges the ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer. .