JP2005238771A - Ink jet recording apparatus and maintenance mechanism thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To collect ink discharged during a purge operation so as to hardly leak and to reduce running cost.
A carriage 22 capable of reciprocating along one direction parallel to an ink discharge surface 4a, and a purge attached to the carriage 22 and facing the ink discharge surface 4a according to the position of the carriage 22. A purge sheet 21 that can take a position and a printing position that does not face the ink ejection surface 4a is provided. When the purge sheet 21 is at the purge position, the ink ejected from the ink ejection surface 4a and adhering to the purge sheet 21 due to the gravity of the purge sheet 21 in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 22 is reduced. The shape is movable toward the center.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a printing medium, and a maintenance mechanism thereof.

  In an inkjet head for ejecting ink provided in an inkjet printer, a plurality of nozzles from which ink is ejected, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with each nozzle, and a plurality of pressure chambers arranged to correspond to each pressure chamber A device provided with an actuator is known. When each actuator is driven, the volume of the pressure chamber corresponding to the actuator is reduced, and the reduced volume of ink is ejected from the nozzle. In such an ink jet head, high-viscosity ink may stick to the inside of the nozzle, or impurities or bubbles flowing from the ink tank may be mixed. In such a state, the ink ejection characteristics are disturbed, and good printing results cannot be obtained. For this reason, a large amount of ink is periodically ejected from all the nozzles, and a purge operation is performed to discharge high-viscosity ink, impurities, and bubbles present in the nozzles.

  In order to collect the ink ejected by the purge operation, there is known one provided with a cap that is disposed at a position facing the ink ejection surface and receives the ink ejected by the purge operation. However, since a large amount of ink is ejected in the purge operation, there is a problem that the cap and the mechanism for moving the cap are increased in size. Therefore, a technique including a flexible and ink-absorbing sheet (maintenance sheet) instead of a cap is known (Patent Document 1). In this technique, a sheet is placed at a position facing the ink ejection surface to perform a purge operation, and the ink ejected by the purge operation is retained by absorbing the sheet. Thereby, the ejected ink can be reliably collected without leaking. Furthermore, since the sheet has flexibility and can be stored in a wound state, a certain amount of space can be saved as compared with a cap.

JP 2000-168062 A (FIG. 1)

  However, in the above-described technique, when the sheet absorbs a predetermined amount of ink, the sheet must be replaced, and as a result, the running cost of printing increases. In view of this, it is conceivable to collect ink in a separately prepared waste ink tank upon receipt of ink ejected from a sheet having no ink-absorbing property. However, when a flexible sheet receives a large amount of ink, the sheet is expected to bend due to the weight of the ink, and there is a concern that the ink leaks from the end of the bent sheet.

  A main object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can collect ink ejected during a purge operation so as not to leak and has a low running cost, and a maintenance mechanism thereof.

Means and effects for solving the problems

  The maintenance mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention includes a carriage that can reciprocate along one direction parallel to the ink discharge surface of the ink jet head, and is attached to the carriage, depending on the position of the carriage. And at least a part of the inkjet head including an ink receiving position facing the ink ejection surface and a recording permitting position not entirely facing the ink ejection surface. When in the ink receiving position, the ink ejected from the inkjet head and adhered onto the sheet has a shape capable of moving toward the center of the sheet with respect to the width direction of the sheet perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage by gravity. I can take it.

  From another viewpoint, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention includes an ink jet head having an ink discharge surface on which a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink on a print medium are formed, and along one direction parallel to the ink discharge surface. A reciprocating carriage, and an ink receiving position that is attached to the carriage, and at least a part of the carriage is opposed to the ink ejection surface below the inkjet head, depending on the position of the carriage. A sheet that can take a print permitting position that does not face the ink ejection surface, and a carriage control means that issues a command to move the carriage so that the sheet moves between the ink receiving position and the print allowance position; A discharge control means for supplying an ink discharge signal to the inkjet head; and When in the ink receiving position, the sheet is deformed so that ink on the sheet ejected from the inkjet head moves toward the center of the sheet with respect to a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage by gravity. The ejection control means supplies an ink ejection signal to the inkjet head after the sheet has moved to the ink receiving position based on a command issued by the carriage control means.

  According to the present invention, when the sheet is at an ink receiving position (a position that the sheet can take when the purge operation or the flushing operation is performed), the ink ejected on the sheet is related to the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage. Since the ink moves toward the center of the sheet, ink hardly leaks from the edge of the sheet. Further, since there is no need to replace the sheet, the running cost of printing can be reduced.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the sheet has flexibility. According to this, since the occupied area of the sheet in the horizontal plane (surface substantially parallel to the ink ejection surface) when the sheet is at the recording allowable position can be reduced, the apparatus can be miniaturized.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that when the sheet is in the ink receiving position, a cross section of the sheet has a concave shape that swells to a surface side that does not face the inkjet head. When the sheet is deformed in this way, the ink adhered on the sheet can be easily moved toward the center in the width direction of the sheet.

  In this case, when the sheet is at the ink receiving position, it is more preferable that both end portions of the sheet in a region facing the ink ejection surface are bent toward the ink ejection surface. According to this, the ink attached on the sheet can be efficiently moved to the center of the sheet in the width direction of the sheet.

  In the present invention, when the sheet is at the ink receiving position, the sheet preferably has a concave cross section due to its internal stress. According to this, the ink attached on the sheet with a simpler structure can be easily moved toward the center in the width direction of the sheet.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, when the sheet is at a position facing the ink ejection surface, a support member is disposed to support the sheet so as to be concave on the surface side of the sheet facing the ink jet head. It is preferable that According to this, since it becomes easy to maintain the state which the sheet | seat deform | transformed into the concave shape, the ink adhering on a sheet | seat can be reliably moved toward the center in the width direction of a sheet | seat.

  In this case, a moving mechanism that moves the support member from a position where the sheet can be supported to a position where the sheet is not supported before the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. It is more preferable to provide further. According to this, it is possible to prevent interference between the support member, the print medium, and the carriage.

  Further, in this case, a plurality of the supporting members are arranged along the moving direction of the carriage, and the moving mechanism moves the carriage as the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. It is even more preferable that the sheet is moved from a position where the sheet can be supported to a position where the sheet is not supported, in order from the support member closer to. According to this, even when the sheet is moved, the ink attached on the sheet can be reliably moved toward the center in the width direction of the sheet.

  In the present invention, the carriage is attached with a wiper that removes ink adhering to the ink ejection surface as the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. Is preferred. According to this, since the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface can be removed using a mechanism for moving the sheet (mechanism for moving the carriage), the structure of the maintenance mechanism can be simplified.

  Further, in the present invention, the carriage has a plurality of protrusions, and an ink receiving member that receives the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface between the protrusions by contacting the protrusions is attached. The ink receiving member is preferably positioned downstream of the wiper with respect to the carriage moving direction when the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. According to this, since the ink receiving member removes most of the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface, and then the wiper removes the remaining ink, the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface is efficiently removed. can do.

  In this case, it is more preferable to provide a restricting member that protrudes below the lower end of the ink receiving member so that the protrusion does not contact the sheet facing the lower surface of the carriage. According to this, since a gap can be secured between the ink receiving member and the sheet, the received ink can be efficiently dropped onto the sheet by gravity.

  In the present invention, the carriage further includes a fixing member to which a leading end side portion of the sheet in the moving direction is fixed, and the fixing member is rotatable with respect to the main body of the carriage. It is preferable. According to this, the stress with respect to the sheet | seat which generate | occur | produces with the movement of a carriage can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the fixing member extends in the sheet width direction and is shorter than the width of the sheet, and the leading edge of the sheet is fixed to the lower surface and both end surfaces of the fixing member. It is preferable that According to this, since the cross section of the sheet is likely to be concave, it is easy to move the ink attached on the sheet to the center of the sheet in the width direction of the sheet.

  In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the surface of the sheet facing the ink jet head is subjected to water repellent treatment. According to this, the ink adhered on the sheet can be efficiently moved toward the center in the width direction of the sheet.

  In the present invention, when the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position, the ink guide that guides the ink ejected on the sheet toward the center of the sheet in the sheet width direction. It is preferable to further include a member. According to this, when the sheet moves, the ink attached on the sheet can be moved more reliably toward the center in the width direction of the sheet.

  Further, in the present invention, when the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position, an ink scraping member that scrapes off the ink discharged on the sheet, and an ink discharged on the sheet. It is preferable that a waste ink tank is further provided, and the waste ink tank is disposed at a position where the ink scraped off by the ink scraping member can be received. According to this, the ink on the sheet can be efficiently discharged to the waste ink tank.

  In addition, in the present invention, the sheet take-up is disposed below the ink jet head and winds up the sheet as the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. It is preferable to further include a mechanism. According to this, since the sheet plane is inclined downward toward the sheet take-up mechanism, the ink attached on the sheet can be efficiently moved toward the sheet take-up mechanism. Further, since the sheet is stored in a wound state, space saving can be achieved.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the plane of the sheet is inclined so that the ink on the sheet moves toward the waste ink tank when the sheet is at the ink receiving position. According to this, the ink on the sheet can be discharged more efficiently.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink jet recording apparatus further includes a transport mechanism that transports a print medium on which the ink ejected from the ink jet head is landed, and the carriage control means is configured to be configured to print the print medium when the transport medium is jammed. It is preferable that the sheet moves to the ink receiving position based on the issued command. According to this, it is possible to prevent the ink discharge surface from coming into contact with foreign matter such as the operator's hand during the print medium removing operation when the print medium is jammed, and the ink discharge surface can be protected.

  In this case, it is more preferable to further include a cleaning plate that removes ink adhering to the surface of the sheet opposite to the surface that receives ink when the sheet moves. According to this, it is possible to prevent the operator's hand from becoming dirty during work performed when the print medium is jammed.

  Furthermore, in this case, it is more preferable that a water repellent treatment is performed on the opposite side of the sheet receiving surface of the ink. According to this, the ink adhering to the opposite side of the sheet receiving surface of the sheet can be efficiently removed.

  A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment. The ink jet printer 101 includes four ink jet heads 1, a paper transport mechanism 10 that transports printing paper (printing medium), a maintenance mechanism 20 that performs maintenance of the ink jet head 1, and a control that controls operations of the ink jet printer 101. The apparatus 80 and the main frame 91 which supports these are provided.

  The paper transport mechanism 10 is configured to transfer a print sheet fed from the right side (hereinafter referred to as “paper feeding side”) to the left side (hereinafter referred to as “paper ejection side”) in the figure. It is comprised so that a conveyance path | route may be formed. The paper transport mechanism 10 also includes a paper transport belt 11 that travels so that the transport surface moves along the transport path, two paper belt rollers 12 and 13 that travel the paper transport belt 11, and a paper belt roller. And a paper belt drive motor 14 for driving 13. The paper transport belt 11 is a ring-shaped belt that is wound around two paper belt rollers 12 and 13. In addition, the outer peripheral surface of the paper transport belt 11, i.e., the transport surface, is subjected to silicone treatment, and the printing paper is held on the transport surface of the paper transport belt 11 by its adhesive force while the paper belt roller 13 in FIG. The sheet can be conveyed from the sheet feeding side to the discharge side by rotating around (in the direction of the arrow 115).

  The inkjet head 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head 1 in the short direction. FIG. 3 is an external view of the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head 1. The inkjet head 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is arranged such that the longitudinal direction thereof is along the width direction of the paper transport belt 11. Four inkjet heads are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the paper transport belt. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink jet head 1 includes a block 3 and a head body 2. The head body 2 is disposed at a position facing the transport surface of the paper transport belt 11. The block 3 is connected to the side opposite to the side facing the transport surface of the head body 2. As shown in FIG. 3, in the block 3, two ink supply channels 6 formed along the longitudinal direction of the block 3 are arranged along the short direction of the block 3. The ink supply flow path 6 includes an ink inflow flow path 6 a into which ink flows from an opening formed on the side opposite to the side connected to the head main body 2, and ink in the ink supply flow path 6. And an ink outflow passage 6b that flows into the head main body 2 from an opening formed at a position connected to the head main body 2 respectively.

  The head body 2 has a laminated structure in which the flow path unit 4 and the actuator unit 5 are laminated in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance surface of the paper conveyance belt 11. The flow path unit 4 includes an ink ejection surface 4 a in which a large number of nozzles 8 are formed on a surface facing the conveyance surface of the paper conveyance belt 11. In addition, a plurality of ink flow paths including nozzles 8 and pressure chambers for discharging ink from the nozzles 8 are formed inside the flow path unit 4. The actuator unit 5 includes a plurality of actuators for reducing the volume of the pressure chamber of the flow path unit 4. The actuator unit 5 is disposed in a gap formed between the block 3 and the flow path unit 4 so that each actuator faces each pressure chamber. When the control device 80 drives each actuator, the volume of the pressure chamber corresponding to the actuator is reduced, and the ink corresponding to the reduced volume is ejected from the nozzle 8.

  Next, the maintenance mechanism 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the maintenance mechanism 20. The arrows in the figure indicate the ink flow. The maintenance mechanism 20 is for collecting the ejected ink in a purge operation in which ink is ejected from all the nozzles 8 to remove impurities and high-viscosity ink in the ink flow path. As shown in FIG. 4, the maintenance mechanism 20 is viewed from the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the printing paper (hereinafter referred to as “main body rear side”, and the opposite side of the main body rear side is referred to as the main body front side) Arranged on the right side in the longitudinal direction of the inkjet head 1 (hereinafter referred to as “the right side of the main body”), the purge sheet 21, the carriage 22, the tension unit 24, the sheet take-up shaft 25, the ink guide blade 26a, An ink scraping blade 26b, a cleaning blade 26c, a waste ink tank 27, and a maintenance drive mechanism 28 are provided.

  The purge sheet 21 is a long sheet having flexibility, and has an internal stress in which both end portions in the width direction bend toward one side so that the cross section in the width direction has a concave shape ( Hereinafter, the concave surface is referred to as “sheet surface”, and the convex surface is referred to as “sheet back surface”). The purge sheet 21 has a water-repellent finish on the sheet surface and the sheet back surface. One end side of the purge sheet 21 in the longitudinal direction is fixed to the carriage 22, and the other end side is fixed to the sheet take-up shaft 25. As will be described later, during normal printing, the purge sheet 21 is arranged (stored) at a position wound around the sheet take-up shaft 25 (recording allowable position). When the purge sheet 21 is arranged at a recording permissible position (hereinafter referred to as a printing position), recording on the printing paper is permitted. Further, during the purge operation, the purge sheet 21 is disposed at a position (ink receiving position) where the sheet surface faces the ink ejection surface 4 a of the head body 2. When the purge sheet 21 is disposed at an ink receiving position (hereinafter referred to as a purge position), it faces the ink ejection surface 4a of the inkjet head 1.

  Next, the carriage 22 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8. FIG. 5 is an external view of the maintenance mechanism 20 as viewed from the back side of the main body. For convenience of explanation, the state in which the main frame is transmitted is shown. FIG. 6 is a view showing a guide mechanism of the tension roller 50 shown in FIG. 6A is an enlarged view of the guide mechanism, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 6A. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the carriage 22 in FIG. FIG. 8 is a view of the lower surface of the carriage 22 as viewed from the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt. As shown in FIG. 5, the carriage 22 is on the opposite side of the main body front side near the upper end of the main frame 91 and the rear surface side of the main body 91 from the right side end of the main body with the inkjet head 1 in between (hereinafter referred to as “main body left side”). It reciprocates (moves) along two guide bars 92 extending to the vicinity of the ends. The reciprocating range of the carriage 22 is restricted by end pins 28 a and 28 b attached to the main frame 91 in the vicinity of both ends of the guide bar 92. During normal printing, the carriage 22 moves to a position where it abuts against the end pin 28a on the right side of the main body (hereinafter referred to as "storage position"). At this time, the purge sheet 21 is arranged at the printing position (A in the figure). When performing the purge operation, the carriage 22 moves to a position where it is in contact with the end pin 28b on the left side of the main body (hereinafter referred to as "drawing position"). At this time, the purge sheet 21 is disposed at the purge position (B in the figure). The carriage 22 includes a carriage frame 31, a running belt 32 that runs the carriage 22, a comb unit (ink receiving member) 33, a wiper unit 34, a cam plate 35, and a sheet holder 36. (See FIG. 7).

  The carriage frame 31 is a thin plate member having a C-shape that extends from the main body front side end portion to the main body back side end portion and is concave upward. 2). The two end portions of the carriage frame 31 are slidably attached to the corresponding guide bar 92. The carriage frame 31 supports the comb unit 33, the wiper unit 34, the cam plate 35, and the sheet holder 36 (see FIG. 8).

  The traveling belt 32 is a ring-shaped winding wound around two traveling belt rollers 37 a and 37 b that are rotatably supported in the vertical direction on the main body front side and the main body rear side of the main frame 91. It is a belt. End portions of the carriage frame 31 are fixed above the ring of the traveling belt 32. A sub pulley 38 having a larger diameter than the traveling belt roller 37a is coaxially connected to the traveling belt roller 37a. As will be described later, when the rotational force is transmitted to the sub pulley 38, the traveling belt roller 37a rotates together with the sub pulley 38. As a result, the carriage 22 travels along the guide bar 92.

  The comb unit 33 is for removing ink adhering to the ink discharge surface 4a. The comb-teeth unit 33 extends in one direction (a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the carriage 22), and is a thin plate (four sheets) arranged so that their planes face each other at a predetermined interval. (Projection part) 40, a thin plate holder 41 that supports these four thin plates 40, and a regulating member 43. When the carriage 22 is disposed below the ink ejection surface 4a, the four thin plates 40 have their upper ends opposed to the ink ejection surface 4a and the longitudinal direction thereof is the short direction of the four ink ejection surfaces 4a. It is arranged to cross all. The thin plate holder 41 is supported so as to be displaceable in the vertical direction with respect to the ink ejection surface 4 a of the head body 2, and is urged toward the ink ejection surface 4 a by a spring 42. The regulating member 43 prevents the lower end portion of the thin plate 40 from coming into contact with the purge sheet 21 disposed so as to face the lower surface of the carriage 22 as shown in FIG. Are projected to the sheet conveying belt 11 side (lower side) and three are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the thin plate 40.

  The wiper unit 34 is for removing ink adhering to the ink discharge surface 4 a, and includes four wipers 45 having a thin plate shape extending in one direction and wipers supporting the four wipers 45. Holder 46. Each wiper 45 has an upper end corresponding to the ink ejection surface 4a of the head body 2 and the longitudinal direction thereof when the carriage 22 is disposed below the ink ejection surface 4a of the head body 2. It arrange | positions along the transversal direction of the head main body 2 (refer FIG. 4). The wiper holder 46 is supported so as to be displaceable in the vertical direction with respect to the ink ejection surface 4 a of the head body 2, and is urged upward by a spring 47. When the wiper holder 46 is displaced upward, the upper end of the wiper 45 comes into contact with the ink ejection surface 4a of the head main body 2, and when the wiper holder 46 is displaced downward, the upper end of the wiper 45 is separated from the ink ejection surface 4a of the head main body 2.

  The cam plate 35 is a thin plate-like cam member extending in one direction, and is for controlling the positions of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46. As shown in FIG. 7, the cam plate 35 is disposed so that its longitudinal direction is along the traveling direction of the carriage 22, and is supported so as to be displaceable in the traveling direction of the carriage 22. At the lower end of the cam plate, a cam surface is formed in which a low position area 35a formed on the right side of the main body and a high position area 35b formed on the left side of the main body gently continue. Further, since the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are always urged upward by the springs 42 and 47, the columnar members 41 a and 46 a formed on the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 serve as the lower end of the cam plate 35. It is always in contact with the part.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when the cam plate 35 is displaced to the left side of the main body, the low position region 35a is disposed at a position facing the cylindrical members 41a and 46a of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46. Thereby, the cylindrical members 41a and 46a of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are pushed by the low position region 35a and displaced downward. As shown in FIG. 7B, conversely, when the cam plate 35 is displaced to the right side of the main body, the high position region 35b is disposed at a position facing the thin plate holder 41 and the columnar members 41a, 46a of the wiper holder 46. Since the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are biased upward, the columnar members 41a and 46a of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are displaced upward so as to follow the high position region 35b.

  The sheet holder (fixing member) 36 is rotatably supported on the lower surface side of the carriage frame 31, and one end side of the purge sheet 21 is fixed. The longitudinal direction of the sheet holder 36 is shorter than the width direction of the purge sheet 21, the central portion of one end side of the purge sheet 21 is fixed to the lower surface of the sheet holder 36, and both end portions of one end side of the purge sheet 21. Is fixed to both end faces of the sheet holder 36 in a state of being bent in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. As a result, both end portions in the width direction of the one end side of the purge sheet 21 are bent toward the ink discharge surface 4 a, and accordingly, both end portions in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 are fixed to the sheet holder 36. The bent state toward the ink discharge surface 4a is maintained over a certain distance from the one end side to the other end side fixed to the winding shaft 25.

  Next, returning to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, the tension unit 24 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the tension unit 24 includes a tension roller 50, a displacement arm 51, and a wire roller 52. The tension roller 50 applies tension to the purge sheet 21 by coming into contact with the back surface of the purge sheet 21, and is supported so as to be vertically displaceable below the carriage 22 positioned at the storage position. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the tension roller 50 is guided in the vertical direction by a configuration in which the end portion 50 a of the tension roller 50 is slidably fitted into a long hole 91 b formed in the main frame 91. The peripheral surface of the tension roller 50 is in contact with the back surface of the purge sheet 21 along the width direction of the purge sheet 21. The displacement range of the tension roller 50 is set so that the tension applied to the purge sheet 21 becomes stronger when the position of the tension roller 50 is displaced upward, and the tension applied to the purge sheet 21 becomes weaker when displaced downward. .

  The displacement arm 51 is for displacing the tension roller 50. The displacement arm 51 is a thin plate-like member extending in one direction, and the other end of the main frame 91 on the right side of the main body 91 on the front side of the main body and the rear side of the main body is centered on one end in the longitudinal direction. Is supported in a swingable manner in a state of being disposed on the lower side. The other end of each displacement arm 51 is connected to a corresponding shaft end of the tension roller 50 via a wire 54. The displacement arm 51 is formed with a columnar member 51 a that abuts against a contact member 31 a formed on the carriage frame 31. The displacement arm 51 is biased by a spring 55 in a direction to swing to the left side of the main body. The wire roller 52 is rotatably mounted coaxially with the traveling belt roller 37 a to guide the wire 54, and the movement of the displacement arm 51 of the wire 54 in the swing direction of the tension roller 50 is changed. It assists the action of converting into motion.

  The spring 55 biases the displacement arm 51 in a direction to swing the left side of the main body, and the displacement arm 51 is always biased in a direction to swing to the right side of the main body.

  The sheet take-up shaft 25 takes up and stores the purge sheet 21 clockwise when viewed from the back side of the main body, and is disposed below the tension roller 50. Further, the sheet take-up shaft 25 includes a rotational force transmission mechanism 60.

  Next, the rotational force transmission mechanism 60 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the rotational force transmission mechanism 60. As shown in FIG. 9, the rotational force transmission mechanism 60 includes a winding gear 64 to which rotational force is transmitted, an input plate 61 that is coaxially connected to the winding gear 64, the winding gear 64, and the input plate. An output plate 62 which is independent from the sheet winding shaft 25 and coaxially connected to the sheet take-up shaft 25; a spring receiving portion 56 which is coaxially arranged with the output plate 62 via a coil spring 63 therebetween; A bearing 57 fixed to the main frame 91 and in contact with the spring receiving portion 56 is provided. In addition, the input plate 61 and the output plate 62 are arranged coaxially so that their planes face each other. The output plate 62 has a plane that can be displaced with respect to the axial direction, and is biased by a spring 63 in a direction approaching the plane of the input plate 61 along the axial direction. Thus, the input plate 61 and the output plate 62 are always in contact with each other with a predetermined pressure. The spring receiving portion 56 is rotatable with respect to the sheet take-up shaft 25 and is in contact with the bearing 57 so as to have a frictional force. When no tension is applied to the purge sheet 21, the input plate 61 and the output plate 62 rotate together, and the rotational force transmitted from the winding gear 64 to the input plate 61 is further applied to the output plate 62. As a result, the sheet take-up shaft 25 rotates. When the tension applied to the purge sheet 21 exceeds the frictional force generated between the input plate 61 and the output plate 62, the output plate 62 slips with respect to the input plate 61. The rotational force transmitted from 64 to the input plate 61 is not transmitted to the output plate 62.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, each blade 26 a to 26 c controls the flow of ink on the purge sheet 21, and is formed on the side in the longitudinal direction of the thin plate member extending in one direction. Ink stripping members 39a to 39c are attached. By bringing the ink stripping members 39a to 39c into contact with the purge sheet 21, the ink attached on the purge sheet 21 is stripped or guided. The two ink guide blades (ink guide plates) 26a are for guiding the ink on the sheet surface to the center in the width direction of the purge sheet 21, and between the tension roller 50 and the sheet take-up shaft 25, the sheet surface The ink stripping members 39a are disposed at both ends in the width direction so that the distance between the ink stripping members 39a decreases as the sheet winding shaft 25 is approached. The ink guide blade 26 a causes the ink stripping member 39 a to contact the sheet surface in the direction from the sheet take-up shaft 25 toward the tension roller 50.

  The ink scraping blade (ink scraping plate) 26b is for scraping off the ink guided to the center of the sheet surface in the width direction by the ink guiding blade 26a from the sheet surface, and its longitudinal direction is below the ink guiding blade 26a. The purge sheet 21 is disposed along the width direction. Further, the ink scraping blade 26b makes the ink stripping member 39b contact the sheet surface in the direction from the sheet take-up shaft 25 toward the tension roller 50. The cleaning blade (cleaning plate) 26c is for scraping off ink adhering to the back of the sheet when the purge sheet 21 moves from the printing position to the purge position, and the tension roller 50 and the sheet take-up shaft 25 are removed. The longitudinal direction is arranged along the width direction of the purge sheet 21. Further, the cleaning blade 26 c causes the ink peeling member 39 c to contact the back surface of the sheet in the direction from the tension roller 50 toward the sheet take-up shaft 25.

  The waste ink tank 27 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped tank and stores ink discharged from the head main body 2 by the purge operation. The waste ink tank 27 is disposed below the sheet take-up shaft 25 at a position where the ink scraped off by the ink scraping blade 26b naturally falls over the ink scraping blade 26b (see FIG. 4).

  Next, the maintenance drive mechanism 28 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the maintenance drive mechanism 28 shown in FIG. The maintenance drive mechanism 28 is for driving the carriage 22 and the sheet take-up shaft 25. The maintenance drive motor 65, the maintenance drive gear 66, the carriage gear 67, the carriage gear pulley 68, and the carriage gear belt 69 are driven. And a planetary gear 70. The maintenance drive motor 65 is a motor that generates a rotational force in an arbitrary rotation direction (clockwise direction: CW, counterclockwise direction: CCW) based on an instruction from the control device 80, and is below the sheet winding shaft 25. The end of the output shaft is disposed so as to face the back side of the main body. The maintenance drive gear 66 is a gear directly connected to the output shaft of the maintenance drive motor 65.

  The carriage gear 67 is a gear for causing the carriage 22 to travel, and is disposed above the maintenance drive gear 66 in a state of being engaged with the maintenance drive gear 66. The carriage gear pulley 68 is connected to the carriage gear 67 coaxially. The carriage gear belt 69 is an endless belt wound around the carriage gear pulley 68 and the sub pulley 38 of the traveling belt roller 37a. Thereby, the rotational force of the carriage gear 67 is transmitted to the sub pulley 38 via the carriage gear pulley 68 and the carriage gear belt 69.

  The planetary gear 70 is a gear for transmitting the rotational force to the take-up gear 64 to rotate the sheet take-up shaft 25, and is engaged with the carriage gear 67 in the state where the take-up gear 64 of the rotational force transmission mechanism 60 is engaged. Located on the right side of the main unit. The planetary gear 70 includes a connection plate 71 that connects the rotation shaft of the planetary gear 70 and the rotation shaft of the carriage gear 67, and revolves around the outer periphery of the carriage gear 67 as a sun gear. When the planetary gear 70 revolves to the left side of the main body, the planetary gear 70 meshes with the take-up gear 64 to transmit the rotational force from the planetary gear 70 to the take-up gear 64 (A in the figure). Conversely, when the planetary gear 70 revolves to the right side of the main body, the planetary gear 70 is separated from the take-up gear 64 and no rotational force is transmitted from the planetary gear 70 to the take-up gear 64 (A ′ in the figure). Note that the revolution range of the planetary gear 70 is regulated so as not to interfere with the maintenance drive gear 66 and the like when the planetary gear 70 revolves in the front direction of the main body.

  Next, the operation of the maintenance mechanism 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an external view showing the operation of the maintenance mechanism 20. The operation of the maintenance mechanism 20 includes a purge preparation operation for moving the purge sheet 21 from the printing position to the purge position and an ink recovery operation for moving the purge sheet 21 from the purge position to the printing position. This will be described in order below.

  First, the purge preparation operation will be described. In the normal printing state, as shown in FIG. 11A, the carriage 22 stands by at the storage position, and the purge sheet 21 is wound around the sheet take-up shaft 25 and disposed at the printing position. At this time, since the columnar member of the displacement arm 51 is pushed by the contact member 31a (see FIG. 1) of the carriage 22 and the displacement arm 51 swings to the right side of the main body, the spring is moved by the distance of the fed wire 54. The tension roller 50 is pulled downwards 53 and displaced downward. Further, since the cam plate 35 is pushed by the end pin 28a and displaced to the left side of the main body, the cylindrical members 41a and 46a of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are disposed at positions facing the low position region 35a. Accordingly, the columnar members 41a and 46a of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are pushed downward by the cam curve low position region 35a and displaced downward.

  The control device 80 starts the purge preparation operation by determining that the purge operation of the head body 2 is to be performed. First, the control device 80 moves the paper transport mechanism 10 downward. Thereafter, the control device 80 rotates the maintenance drive motor 65 in the CW direction (clockwise: first direction when the maintenance drive motor 65 is viewed from the front of the main body). The rotation force of the maintenance drive motor 65 rotated in the CW direction is transmitted as a counterclockwise rotation force to the carriage gear 67 via the maintenance drive gear 66. The rotational force transmitted to the carriage gear 67 is transmitted to the carriage gear belt 69 via the carriage gear pulley 68, and further transmitted as a counterclockwise rotational force to the sub pulley 38 of the traveling belt roller 37a. The rotational force transmitted to the sub pulley 38 is transmitted as a counterclockwise rotational force to the traveling belt roller 37a via the traveling belt roller 37a. As the traveling belt roller 37a rotates counterclockwise, the carriage 22 fixed above the traveling belt 32 starts traveling from the storage position toward the left side of the main body.

  At the same time as the rotational force is transmitted to the carriage gear 67, the carriage gear 67 revolves the planetary gear 70 to the right side of the main body and separates the planetary gear 70 from the winding gear 64. When the planetary gear 70 is separated from the take-up gear 64, the sheet take-up shaft 25 becomes rotatable with a predetermined frictional resistance.

  When the carriage 22 starts traveling from the storage position, the contact member 31a of the carriage frame 31 moves in a direction to separate from the displacement arm 51, and the displacement arm 51 biased to the left side of the main body moves to the contact member of the carriage frame 31. Swing to the left side of the main body so as to follow 31a. When the displacement arm 51 swings to the left side of the main body, it is pulled by the wire 54 and the tension roller 50 is displaced upward. Further, as the carriage 22 travels, the purge sheet 21 fixed to the sheet holder 36 is pulled out. The purge sheet 21 is pulled out by the carriage 22 and unwound from the sheet take-up shaft 25. At this time, the ink adhering to the back surface of the purge sheet 21 is peeled off by the cleaning blade 26c. The ink peeled off by the cleaning blade 26 c falls into the waste ink tank 27.

  As the carriage 22 further travels, the purge sheet 21 is further unwound from the sheet take-up shaft 25, and the tension roller 50 is further raised until the carriage frame contact member is separated from the columnar member of the displacement arm 51. Displace in the direction. Since the height of the tension roller 50 approaches the height of the sheet holder 36 of the carriage 22 as the tension roller 50 is displaced upward, the inclination of the purge sheet 21 positioned between the sheet holder 36 and the tension roller 50 is inclined. Changes to become loose. And the sheet holder 36 rotates according to this angle.

  When the carriage 22 further travels, as shown in FIG. 11B, the carriage frame 31 comes into contact with the end pin 28b and the carriage 22 reaches the drawing position. At this time, since the cam plate 35 is pushed by the end pin 28b and displaced to the right side of the main body, the cylindrical members 41a and 46a of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are disposed at positions facing the high position region 35b. Thereby, the columnar members 41a and 46a of the thin plate holder 41 and the wiper holder 46 are displaced upward so as to follow the high position region 35b.

  Thereafter, the control device 80 slightly rotates the maintenance drive motor 65 in the CCW direction (counterclockwise when viewed from the front of the main body: second direction). The rotational force of the maintenance drive motor 65 rotated in the CCW direction is transmitted as a clockwise rotational force to the carriage gear 67 via the maintenance drive gear 66. The rotational force transmitted to the carriage gear 67 is transmitted to the carriage gear belt 69 via the carriage gear pulley 68, and further transmitted as a clockwise rotational force to the sub pulley 38 of the traveling belt roller 37a. The rotational force transmitted to the sub pulley 38 is transmitted as a clockwise rotational force to the traveling belt roller 37a via the traveling belt roller 37a. As the traveling belt roller 37a rotates clockwise, the carriage 22 fixed above the traveling belt roller 37a travels slightly from the pull-out position toward the right side of the main body.

  At the same time as the rotational force is transmitted to the carriage gear 67, the carriage gear 67 revolves the planetary gear 70 to the left side of the main body and meshes the planetary gear 70 with the take-up gear 64. Is transmitted as rotational force in the counterclockwise direction. When the planetary gear 70 is engaged with the winding gear 64, the rotational force of the planetary gear 70 is transmitted to the input plate 61 as a clockwise rotational force via the winding gear 64. Since the rotational force of the input plate 61 against the output plate 62 does not exceed the frictional resistance generated between the input plate 61 and the output plate 62, the rotational force of the input plate 61 is transmitted to the output plate 62. The rotational force transmitted to the output plate 62 is further transmitted to the sheet take-up shaft 25. As a result, the sheet take-up shaft 25 rotates in the clockwise direction to take up the purge sheet 21 slightly. At this time, since the speed at which the sheet take-up shaft 25 takes up the purge sheet 21 is faster than the speed at which the carriage 22 moves the purge sheet 21, the sheet take-up shaft 25 pulls the purge sheet 21 and tensions the purge sheet 21. Is generated. This tension is set such that the input plate 61 and the output plate 62 slip. This completes the purge preparation operation. At this time, the purge sheet 21 is disposed at the purge position, and both ends in the width direction at one end in the longitudinal direction are bent toward the ink discharge surface 4a by its own internal stress and the sheet holder 36. ing. Further, since the sheet holder 36 is located above the tension roller 50, the purge sheet 21 is inclined downward from the sheet holder 36 toward the tension roller 50.

  Thereafter, the controller 80 performs a purge operation by ejecting a predetermined amount of ink from all the nozzles 8. The ink ejected by the purge operation is received on the surface of the purge sheet 21. As described above, since the cross section in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 is concave toward the ink ejection surface 4 a, the ink on the sheet surface moves to the center of the purge sheet 21 along the movement direction of the carriage 22. . Since the surface of the purge sheet 21 is water-repellent, most of the ink on the sheet surface flows down to the tension roller 50 side (side closer to the waste ink tank 27) according to the inclination of the purge sheet 21. The ink that has flowed down to the tension roller 50 further flows along the sheet surface of the purge sheet 21 toward the ink guide blade 26a. The ink that has flowed to the ink guide blade 26a is guided to the center of the sheet surface in the longitudinal direction by the ink guide blade 26a. The ink guided to the center is scraped off by the ink scraping blade 26 b disposed downstream thereof and is poured into the waste ink tank 27.

  Next, the ink recovery operation will be described with further reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an ink collecting operation of the thin plate 40 and the wiper 45. In addition, the arrow in a figure has shown the advancing direction of the thin plate 40 and the wiper 45. FIG. The control device 80 starts an ink collecting operation for the ink attached to the surface of the purge sheet 21 and the ink attached to the ink discharge surface 4a of the head body after the purge operation is completed. First, the control device 80 rotates the maintenance drive motor 65 in the CCW direction. As described above, the rotational force from the maintenance drive motor 65 is sequentially transmitted, and the carriage 22 travels toward the storage position. At substantially the same time, the sheet take-up shaft 25 rotates to take up the purge sheet 21, and the purge sheet 21 moves from the purge position to the printing position. Therefore, the purge sheet 21 does not sag.

  At this time, since the speed at which the sheet take-up shaft 25 takes up the purge sheet 21 is faster than the speed at which the carriage 22 moves the purge sheet 21 to the printing position, the sheet take-up shaft 25 pulls the purge sheet 21 to purge the purge sheet 21. Generate tension. When the tension exceeds the frictional resistance, the output plate 62 slips with respect to the input plate 61 and the rotational force transmitted to the input plate 61 is not transmitted to the output plate 62. When the rotational force transmitted to the input plate 61 is not transmitted to the output plate 62, the tension of the purge sheet 21 decreases, and when the frictional force generated between the input plate 61 and the output plate 62 becomes smaller, the input force is input again. The plate 61 and the output plate 62 rotate together. Thus, the rotational force transmission mechanism 60 intermittently transmits the rotational force of the input plate 61 to the sheet take-up shaft 25, so that the purge sheet 21 moves from the purge position to the printing position while maintaining a predetermined tension. To do.

  As the carriage 22 travels toward the storage position, as shown in FIG. 12A, the upper end portions of the four thin plates 40 of the thin plate holder 41 displaced upward are the ink ejection surfaces of the head main body 2. Located in the vicinity of 4a. As a result, the upper end portions of the four thin plates 40 come into contact with the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface 4a. As a result, the ink adhering to the ink discharge surface 4a is sucked by the capillary force between the planes of the four thin plates, and the sucked ink is fed from the lower end of the thin plate holder 41 to the sheet on the purge sheet 21 by gravity. Dropped on the surface. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12B, the upper end portion of the wiper 45 of the wiper holder 46 displaced upward comes into contact with the ink discharge surface 4a. By moving the upper end of the wiper in contact with the ink ejection surface 4a, the remaining ink adhering to the ink ejection surface 4a is scraped off the sheet surface of the purge sheet 21. At this time, a uniform meniscus is formed on all the nozzles 8. As described above, since the cross section in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 is concave toward the ink ejection surface 4 a, the ink on the sheet surface moves to the center of the purge sheet 21 along the movement direction of the carriage 22. .

  When the carriage 22 travels and reaches the vicinity of the storage position, the contact member 31a of the carriage frame 31 contacts the column member 51a of the displacement arm 51 swinging to the left side of the main body. When the carriage 22 further travels, the contact member 31a of the carriage frame 31 pushes the columnar member 51a of the displacement arm 51 to swing the displacement arm 51 to the right side of the main body. When the displacement arm 51 swings to the right side of the main body, the wire 54 connected to the displacement arm 51 is sent out, so that the tension roller 50 connected thereto is displaced downward. As the tension roller 50 is displaced downward, the distance from the sheet holder 36 increases and the inclination of the purge sheet 21 increases during this time.

  In this way, the ink dropped on the surface of the purge sheet 21 by the four thin plates 40 and the wiper 45 flows along the sheet surface of the purge sheet 21. Then, the ink flowing on the sheet surface passes over the tension roller 50 and further flows toward the ink guide blade 26a. The ink that has flowed to the ink guide blade 26a is guided to the center of the sheet surface in the longitudinal direction by the ink guide blade 26a. The ink guided to the center is scraped off by the ink scraping blade 26 b disposed downstream thereof and is poured into the waste ink tank 27. This completes the ink collection operation.

  When a paper jam occurs in the paper transport mechanism 10, the control device 80 executes the purge preparation operation described above. Thereby, the ink discharge surface 4a of the head main body 2 is covered with the purge sheet 21 arranged at the purge position. Thereafter, the control device 80 prompts the user to clear the paper jam and waits until the user clears the paper jam. If the paper jam is eliminated, the control device 80 executes an ink collecting operation. As a result, the purge sheet 21 is moved to the storage position to return to the normal printing state.

  According to the first embodiment described above, when the purge sheet 21 is at the purge position, the vicinity of the end in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 is bent toward the ink ejection surface 4a due to its internal stress. With this configuration, the cross section in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 can be concave toward the ink discharge surface 4a, and the ink on the purge sheet 21 can be easily placed in the center of the purge sheet 21 along the movement direction of the carriage 22. Can be moved. Thereby, all ink can be collected without leaking ink from the end of the purge sheet 21. Moreover, since it is not necessary to replace the purge sheet 21, the running cost of printing can be reduced.

  In particular, since both ends in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 are bent and fixed to the side surface of the sheet holder 36, the cross section of the purge sheet 21 tends to be concave toward the ink ejection surface 4a.

  Further, since the purge sheet 21 has flexibility, the purge sheet 21 can be wound around the sheet take-up shaft 25 and stored during normal printing. Thereby, the maintenance mechanism 20 can be reduced in size.

  In addition, since the wiper 45 is attached to the carriage 22, the movement of the purge sheet 21 and the removal of the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface 4a can be performed by moving the carriage. Thereby, the maintenance mechanism 20 can be reduced in size.

  Further, when the purge sheet 21 is moved from the purge position to the printing position, the thin plate 40 of the comb-teeth unit 33 is disposed on the upstream side of the wiper 45, so that the thin plate 40 adheres to the ink ejection surface 4a. Most of the ink is removed, after which the wiper 45 removes the remaining ink. Thereby, the ink adhering to the ink discharge surface 4a can be efficiently removed.

  Furthermore, since the end of the thin plate 40 does not contact the sheet surface of the purge sheet 21 due to the regulating member 43, the ink received by the thin plate 40 can be efficiently dropped onto the purge sheet 21 by gravity.

  In addition, since the sheet holder 36 is rotatable, the stress on the purge sheet 21 that occurs as the carriage 22 moves can be reduced.

  In addition, since the water repellent process is performed on the sheet surface and the back surface of the purge sheet 21, the ink on the sheet surface and the back surface of the purge sheet 21 can be efficiently moved. Further, the ink on the sheet surface and the sheet back surface can be efficiently removed.

  Further, since the ink on the purge sheet 21 can be guided to the discharge position by the two ink guide blades 26a, the ink can be efficiently discharged.

  Furthermore, since the ink scraping blade 26b scrapes off the ink on the surface of the purge sheet 21 to the waste ink tank, the ink can be efficiently discharged.

  In addition, since the plane of the purge sheet 21 is inclined downward toward the sheet take-up shaft 25, the ink on the sheet surface can be discharged efficiently.

  Further, when the printing paper is jammed, the control device 80 moves the purge sheet 21 to the purge position, so that it directly contacts a foreign object such as an operator's hand during the operation of removing the printing paper clogged with the ink ejection surface 4a. do not do. Thereby, the ink discharge surface 4a can be protected. At this time, since the ink attached to the back surface of the purge sheet 21 is removed by the cleaning blade 26c, the operator's hand is not soiled.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The ink jet printer of the second embodiment is substantially the same as the ink jet printer 101 of the first embodiment except that it includes a purge sheet support unit (moving mechanism) described later. Therefore, in the drawings and description according to the second embodiment, members that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  Hereinafter, the purge sheet support unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 13, 14, and 15. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line XIII-XIII shown in FIG. Note that only the purge sheet support unit 23, the main frame 91, and the carriage frame 31 are shown for convenience of explanation of the top surface of the inkjet printer. Further, the upper side in the figure is the right side of the main body, and the lower side in the figure is the left side of the main body. FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the purge sheet support unit 23 when the carriage 22 is located at the storage position. 14A is a view of the purge sheet support unit 23 as viewed from above, and FIG. 14B is a view of the purge sheet support unit 23 as viewed from the left side of the main body. FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the purge sheet support unit 23 when the carriage 22 is located at the pull-out position. 15A is a view of the purge sheet support unit 23 as viewed from above, and FIG. 15B is a view of the purge sheet support unit 23 as viewed from the left side of the main body.

  The purge sheet support unit 23 is for making a cross section in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 disposed at a position facing the ink discharge surface 4a concave toward the ink discharge surface 4a, as shown in FIG. The main frame 91 is arranged in groups of three along the traveling direction of the carriage 22 on each of the main body front side and the main body rear side. The purge sheet support unit 23 includes a support member 95, a support member cam 96, and leaf springs 97a and 97b. The support member 95 supports the purge sheet 21 from the back side of the sheet. One end of the support member 95 is rotatably supported on the outside of the side wall of the main frame 91, and the opposite end which is an open end is formed. The plate member extends downward. A curved portion 95 a that is curved toward the carriage frame 31 is formed in the open side end region of the support member 95. The support member 95 is urged by a spring 98 in a direction rotating toward the inside of the main frame 91 (see FIGS. 14B and 15B).

  The support member cam 96 is a cam that controls the rotational position of the support member 95, and is a plate member having a cam curve formed on the outer peripheral portion so that the plane thereof has a substantially elliptical shape. The support member cam 96 is disposed so that its plane passes through a hole 91a formed in the side wall of the main frame 91, and is supported to be rotatable in the horizontal direction. Further, a support member 95 urged by a spring 98 is in contact with a side surface of the support member cam 96 that is disposed outside the side wall of the main frame 91. When the support member cam 96 is rotated, the rotation position of the support member 95 is displaced so as to follow the cam curve formed on the outer peripheral portion of the support member cam 96. A projecting member 96 a projecting in the vertical direction is formed on the side surface of the support member cam 96. The leaf springs 97a and 97b restrict the operating range of the protruding member 96a of the support member cam 96. The leaf spring 97a is located on the right side of the main body of the support member cam 96 and the leaf spring 97b is located on the inner side of the main frame 91. Located on the left side of the main unit.

  Interference members 31b that interfere with the protruding members 96a of the support member cam 96 when the carriage 22 travels are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the carriage frame 31, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 14, when the carriage 22 is located at the storage position, the support member cam 96 is rotated so that the protruding member 96a contacts the leaf spring 97a. At this time, the support member cam 96 is arranged such that the side end portion in the longitudinal direction protrudes outside the main frame 91, and the side end portion further pushes the support member 95 to the outside of the main frame 91. . The position of the support member 95 at this time is a retracted position where the support member 95 does not interfere with the carriage 22.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when the carriage 22 travels from the storage position side to the pulling position side, the interference member 31b of the carriage frame 31 interferes with the protrusion member 96a of the support member cam 96, and the protrusion member 96a becomes the leaf spring 97b. The support member cam 96 is rotated so as to come into contact with. At this time, the support member cam 96 is disposed so that the end portion in the short direction protrudes to the outside of the main frame 91, and the support member 95 is configured to follow the end portion in the short direction. It arrange | positions so that it may contact | adhere to a side wall. The position of the support member 95 at this time is such that the cross section in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 that is pulled out by the carriage 22 and disposed at a position facing the ink discharge surface 4a is concave toward the ink discharge surface 4a. This is a support position for supporting the curved portion of the purge sheet 21 from the back surface of the sheet. That is, as the carriage 22 travels from the storage position side to the withdrawal position side, the interference member 31b interferes with the protruding member 96a in order from the side closer to the carriage 22, and the support member 95 is displaced from the support position to the retracted position. It has become.

  According to the second embodiment described above, the support member 95 is formed such that the cross section in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 disposed at a position facing the ink discharge surface 4a is concave toward the ink discharge surface 4a. Since the purge sheet 21 is supported, the ink on the sheet surface can be reliably moved to the center of the purge sheet 21 along the movement direction of the carriage 22.

  Further, since the support member 95 can move from the support position to the retracted position, interference between the support member 95 and the printing paper or the carriage 22 can be prevented.

  Further, since the support member 95 is displaced from the support position to the retracted position in order from the side closer to the carriage 22 as the carriage 22 travels from the storage position side to the withdrawal position side, the discharge is performed by the purge operation. Even during the ink transport, the ink on the surface of the purge sheet 21 can be reliably moved to the center of the purge sheet 21 along the movement direction of the carriage 22.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made as long as they are described in the claims. For example, in the present embodiment, the purge sheet 21 has a flexible structure, but the present invention is not limited to such a structure, and the purge sheet does not have flexibility and has a large number of bent portions. The structure which has may be sufficient.

  In the first embodiment, when the purge sheet 21 is arranged at a position facing the ink discharge surface 4a, the cross section in the width direction of the purge sheet 21 has a concave shape toward the ink discharge surface 4a. Thus, although it is the structure which bends the both ends of the width direction toward one side, if ink is moved to the center, a cross-sectional shape will not be specifically limited. For example, the cross section of the purge sheet in the width direction may have a V shape toward the ink ejection surface 4a. Further, as long as a member for moving the ink to the center is further provided on the sheet surface, the purge sheet may have a flat cross section in the width direction.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the purge sheet 21 has a configuration in which the cross section in the width direction is concave with respect to the ink discharge surface 4a due to its internal stress, but the configuration is limited to such a configuration. Instead, the cross section may have another shape due to its own internal stress, or may have a configuration without its own internal stress.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the blades 26a to 26c are provided, and the ink on the purge sheet 21 is removed or guided. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and two inks are used. A configuration including only the guide blade 26a or only the ink scraping blade 26b may be used, or a configuration including neither of them may be used.

  In addition, in the first embodiment, the comb-teeth unit 33 is configured to include the regulating member 43. However, the configuration is not limited to such a configuration, and a configuration not including the regulating member 43 may be used. The structure which is not provided with the comb-tooth unit 33 itself may be sufficient.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the purge sheet 21 is fixed to the side surface and both end surfaces of the sheet holder 36, and the sheet holder 36 is rotatably supported. The purge sheet 21 may be fixed only to the bottom surface of the sheet holder 36, or the sheet holder may be supported so as not to rotate.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the water repellent finish is applied to the front surface and back surface of the purge sheet 21, but the invention is not limited to such a configuration. Only the surface of the sheet or only the back of the sheet may be subjected to water repellent treatment, or the water repellent finish may not be applied to any of them.

  In addition, in the first embodiment, the plane of the purge sheet 21 is configured to be inclined downward toward the sheet take-up shaft 25, but is not limited to such a configuration. The structure which inclines at another angle may be sufficient. In this case, it is preferable that a waste ink tank is disposed at the tip of the slope.

  In addition, in the second embodiment, the support member 95 is configured to support the curved portion of the purge sheet 21, but is not limited to such a configuration, and supports the end portion of the purge sheet 21. The structure which supports may be sufficient and the structure which supports the purge sheet 21 whole may be sufficient.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the purge sheet support member 23 has a configuration capable of taking a support position and a retracted position, but is not limited to such a configuration, and the position of the purge sheet support member May be fixed.

  Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the purge sheet support member 23 is configured to move from the support position to the retreat position in order from the one closer to the carriage 22 when the purge sheet 21 moves from the purge position to the storage position. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and all the purge sheet support members 23 may be moved from the support position to the retracted position all at once.

1 is a schematic diagram of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the transversal direction of the inkjet head shown in FIG. It is an external view of the ink discharge surface of the inkjet head shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the maintenance mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is an external view of the maintenance mechanism shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the printing paper. It is a figure which shows the guide mechanism of the tension roller shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the carriage in FIG. 5. It is the figure which looked at the carriage shown in FIG. 1 from the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt. It is an enlarged view of the rotational force transmission mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the maintenance drive mechanism shown in FIG. 5. It is an external view which shows operation | movement of the maintenance mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the ink collection | recovery operation | movement of the thin plate and wiper with which the carriage shown in FIG. 1 is provided. It is sectional drawing for showing the arrangement position of the purge sheet support unit concerning a 2nd embodiment. FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the purge sheet support unit shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the purge sheet support unit shown in FIG. 13.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet head 4 Flow path unit 4a Ink discharge surface 10 Paper conveyance mechanism 20 Maintenance mechanism 21 Purge sheet 22 Carriage 23 Purge sheet support unit 24 Tension unit 25 Shaft 26b Ink scraping blade 26a Ink guide blade 26c Cleaning blade 27 Waste ink tank 28 Maintenance Drive mechanism 33 Comb unit 34 Wiper unit 36 Sheet holder 50 Tension roller 60 Rotational force transmission mechanism 64 Take-up gear 67 Carriage gear 70 Planetary gear 95 Support member 101 Inkjet printer

Claims (22)

A carriage capable of reciprocating along one direction parallel to the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head;
An ink receiving position that is attached to the carriage and that at least partially faces the ink ejection surface below the ink jet head according to the position of the carriage; and a recording allowable position that does not entirely face the ink ejection surface. And a sheet that can take
When the sheet is at the ink receiving position, the ink ejected from the inkjet head and adhered onto the sheet is directed toward the center of the sheet in the width direction of the sheet perpendicular to the carriage movement direction by gravity. A maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus, which is capable of taking a movable shape.   The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has flexibility.   3. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the sheet is in the ink receiving position, a cross section of the sheet has a concave shape that swells to a surface side that does not face the inkjet head. Maintenance mechanism.   The both ends of the sheet in a region facing the ink ejection surface when the sheet is at the ink receiving position are bent toward the ink ejection surface. Maintenance mechanism for inkjet recording apparatus.   5. The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the sheet is at the ink receiving position, the sheet has a concave shape due to its internal stress.   The support member for supporting the sheet so as to have a concave shape on a surface side of the sheet facing the inkjet head when the sheet is at the ink receiving position. The maintenance mechanism of the inkjet recording device of any one of 3-5.   A moving mechanism for moving the support member from a position capable of supporting the sheet to a position not supporting the sheet until the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording permissible position; The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6.   A plurality of the supporting members are arranged along the moving direction of the carriage, and the moving mechanism is arranged so as to move closer to the carriage as the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the maintenance mechanism is moved from a position where the sheet can be supported to a position where the sheet is not supported in order from the support member.   2. A wiper is attached to the carriage for removing ink adhering to the ink ejection surface as the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. The maintenance mechanism of the inkjet recording device of any one of -8.   The carriage has a plurality of protrusions, and an ink receiving member that receives the ink adhering to the ink ejection surface between the protrusions by contacting the protrusions is attached. 10. The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the sheet is positioned downstream of the wiper with respect to a moving direction of the carriage when the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position. .   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a regulating member that projects downward from a lower end of the ink receiving member so that the protrusion does not contact the sheet facing the lower surface of the carriage. Maintenance mechanism. The carriage further includes a fixing member to which a front end side portion of the sheet in the moving direction is fixed,
The maintenance mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing member is rotatable with respect to a main body of the carriage. The fixing member extends in the sheet width direction and is shorter than the width of the sheet,
The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a leading edge of the sheet is fixed to a lower surface and both end surfaces of the fixing member.   The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a water repellent treatment is performed on a surface of the sheet facing the ink jet head.   An ink guide member that guides the ink ejected on the sheet toward the center of the sheet in the sheet width direction when the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording permission position; The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14. An ink scraping member that scrapes off the ink ejected onto the sheet when the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position;
A waste ink tank for storing ink ejected on the sheet,
The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste ink tank is disposed at a position capable of receiving the ink scraped off by the ink scraping member. .   A sheet winding mechanism that is disposed below the inkjet head and winds the sheet as the sheet moves from the ink receiving position to the recording allowable position; The maintenance mechanism for an ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 16.   18. The inkjet according to claim 17, wherein the plane of the sheet is inclined so that the ink on the sheet moves toward the waste ink tank when the sheet is at the ink receiving position. Maintenance mechanism for recording devices. An inkjet head having an ink ejection surface on which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink on a printing medium are formed;
A carriage capable of reciprocating along one direction parallel to the ink ejection surface;
An ink receiving position that is attached to the carriage and that at least partially faces the ink ejection surface below the ink jet head according to the position of the carriage; and a recording allowable position that does not entirely face the ink ejection surface. A sheet that can take
Carriage control means for issuing a command to move the carriage so that the sheet moves between the ink receiving position and the print permitting position;
Discharge control means for supplying an ink discharge signal to the inkjet head;
When the sheet is at the ink receiving position, the ink on the sheet ejected from the inkjet head moves toward the center of the sheet in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage by gravity. A deformation mechanism for deforming the sheet,
The ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the discharge control means supplies an ink discharge signal to the ink jet head after the sheet has moved to the ink receiving position based on a command issued by the carriage control means. A transport mechanism for transporting a printing medium on which ink ejected from the inkjet head is landed;
20. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 19, wherein when the print medium is jammed in the transport mechanism, the sheet moves to the ink receiving position based on a command issued by the carriage control unit.   21. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a cleaning plate that removes ink adhering to a surface opposite to a surface that receives ink of the sheet when the sheet moves. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 20 or 21, wherein a water repellent treatment is performed on the opposite side of the sheet receiving surface of the sheet.

Images