JP2016179549A - Inkjet printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet printer capable of preventing cleaning ununiformity of a print head by a wiper blade.SOLUTION: A wiper cleaner unit 43 moves a wiper wiping part 47 in a direction orthogonal to an aligning direction of a plurality of ink jet heads 19 in linkage with a cap 29 moving to a cap position, thereby wiping a wiper blade 35 positioned at a stand-by position in the direction orthogonal to the aligning direction of the plurality of ink jet heads 19. Therefore, ink drops adhered to the wiper blade 35 can be easily cleaned and removed by a cleaning fluid of the wiper wiping part 47.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus that prints characters, images, and the like on a print medium by ejecting ink droplets while relatively moving the print medium and the print head, and in particular, wiping the nozzles of the print head. It relates to the technology around the wiper blade.

  Conventionally, as an apparatus of this type, a print head in which a plurality of ink jet heads are arranged, a cap position that closes each nozzle of the plurality of ink jet heads in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of ink jet heads, and each A cap unit that moves over a standby position that opens a nozzle, and a wiper blade that moves in the direction of arrangement of a plurality of inkjet heads and wipes each nozzle when the cap unit is in the standby position. Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Inkjet printers that discharge ink droplets to print on printing paper regularly perform a purge to suck or press all the nozzles of the print head so that non-ejection nozzles do not occur due to ink with increased viscosity It is common to do this. As a result, ink droplets accumulate on the ejection surface of the print head in which the ejection ports of all the nozzles are open, so that the ejection surface of the print head is wiped by the wiper blade while the cap unit is moved to the standby position. Thereby, the ink droplets accumulated on the ejection surface of the print head are removed.

JP 2012-157899 A

However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, in the conventional apparatus, ink droplets remain attached to the wiper blade that wipes the ejection surface of the print head. If the wiper blade to which the ink droplets are attached is left unattended, the ink droplets are solidified on the wiper blade, and the solidified ink droplets are accumulated on the wiper blade by wiping several times, resulting in unevenness on the wiper blade. In such a state, wiping unevenness due to the wiper blade occurs, which causes a problem of uneven cleaning on the discharge surface of the print head. Conventionally, in order to prevent the above-described cleaning unevenness, it is necessary to clean the wiper blade every several days, which takes time for maintenance. As a result, the operating rate of the apparatus may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printing apparatus that can prevent uneven cleaning of a print head by a wiper blade by cleaning the wiper blade.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, the invention described in claim 1 is an inkjet printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets onto a print medium. A print head that is arranged and prints by discharging ink droplets onto the print medium from the discharge surfaces of the plurality of inkjet heads, a cap position that closes the discharge surface of the print head, and the discharge surface of the print head is opened. And a wiper blade perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads, the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads from the standby position separated from the print head. And wipe the ejection surfaces of the plurality of inkjet heads with the wiper blade. A wiper unit and a wiper wiping unit moistened with an ink cleaning solution, and the wiper wiping unit is moved in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads in conjunction with the cap unit moving to the cap position. And a wiper cleaner unit that wipes the wiper blade positioned at the standby position in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 1, the wiper cleaner unit wipes the wiper in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads in conjunction with the movement of the cap unit to the cap position. By moving the part, the wiper blade positioned at the standby position is wiped in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads. Thereby, ink droplets adhering to the wiper blade can be easily cleaned and removed by the cleaning liquid of the wiper wiping unit, and therefore, the cleaning unevenness of the print head by the wiper blade can be prevented.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the wiper wiping portion is suspended from above the wiper blade.

  Since the cleaning liquid accumulates below the wiper wiping portion, the wiper blade located below the wiper wiping portion can be efficiently cleaned.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the wiper wiping portion does not leak the cleaning liquid except for a portion in contact with the wiper blade.

  It is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from leaking from the wiper wiping portion and contaminating the inside of the apparatus.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the wiper wiping portion includes a liquid holding member having excellent cleaning liquid holding properties at a portion in contact with the wiper blade.

  Since the liquid holding member is excellent in retention of the cleaning liquid, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from leaking except during wiping, and the wiper blade can be cleaned with the cleaning liquid that has oozed out by contact during wiping.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the liquid holding member includes a slit having a width narrower than the thickness of the wiper blade, and the slit is formed with a slit in the thickness direction of the wiper blade at an upper portion thereof ( Claim 5).

  By handling the wiper blade with the slit, ink droplets adhering to the wiper blade can be cleaned and removed. Therefore, the wiper wiping portion can be made a simple structure, and the device cost can be suppressed. Further, since the slit in the thickness direction of the wiper blade is formed at the upper part of the slit, it is possible to suppress the contact area from being reduced even when the liquid holding member is dragged by the wiper blade when the wiper blade is handled. Therefore, the cleaning liquid can be sufficiently supplied to the wiper blade, and it can be suppressed that the cleaning is insufficient.

  Further, in the present invention, the liquid holding member has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the slit is formed along the long side of the liquid level holding member, and the periphery, upper surface, and part of the side surface of the slit of the liquid holding member. It is preferable to provide a container that covers the surface of the liquid holding member except for (Claim 6).

  Of the liquid holding member having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the liquid holding member is accommodated in the container except for a part of the periphery, upper surface, and side surface of the slit. Therefore, the leakage of the cleaning liquid from the liquid holding member to the surroundings can be suppressed, and the cleaning liquid can be easily replenished from the upper surface. Further, the replenishment state of the cleaning liquid can be easily confirmed visually from a part of the side surface.

  Further, in the present invention, the liquid holding member is formed with the slits at two central positions from a vertical center line to both side surfaces that bisect the two opposing surfaces of the liquid holding member. (Claim 7).

  Even if the liquid holding member is rotated around the center line in the vertical direction and the liquid holding member is accommodated in the container with either the front surface or the back surface facing one side, the ink droplets can be cleaned and removed by the slit. Therefore, since the liquid holding member can be set in the container without being aware of the front and back directions of the liquid holding member, the workability of replacing the liquid holding member can be improved.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the slits are formed vertically symmetrically with respect to a horizontal center line that bisects two opposing surfaces of the liquid holding member having the largest area (Claim 8). .

  Even if the liquid holding member is rotated around the horizontal center line and the liquid holding member is accommodated in the container from either the upper surface or the lower surface, the ink droplets can be cleaned and removed by the slit. Therefore, since the liquid holding member can be set in the container without being aware of the vertical direction of the liquid holding member, the workability of replacing the liquid holding member can be improved.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the container is formed with a drop prevention portion that abuts on the surface of the liquid holding member and generates resistance when the liquid holding member moves upward. ).

  When the slit of the liquid holding member handles the wiper blade, a force is applied obliquely upward with respect to the liquid holding member. However, the liquid holding member can be prevented from coming out of the container due to the resistance of the drop prevention portion.

  The present invention further includes a cleaning liquid replenishing unit comprising a cleaning liquid tank for storing cleaning liquid, a pipe communicating the cleaning liquid tank and the wiper wiping unit, and an on-off valve for controlling the flow of the cleaning liquid in the pipe. It is preferable that the opening / closing valve is opened to replenish the wiper wiping portion with the cleaning liquid (claim 10).

  By opening the on-off valve, the cleaning liquid can be replenished to the wiper wiping portion through the pipe from the cleaning tank. Therefore, since the cleaning liquid can be easily replenished, the maintainability can be improved.

  According to the inkjet printing apparatus according to the present invention, the wiper cleaner unit moves the wiper wiping unit in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads in conjunction with the movement of the cap unit to the cap position. Thus, the wiper blade positioned at the standby position is wiped in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads. Thereby, ink droplets adhering to the wiper blade can be easily cleaned and removed by the cleaning liquid of the wiper wiping unit, and therefore, the cleaning unevenness of the print head by the wiper blade can be prevented.

It is a schematic structure which shows the whole ink jet printing system concerning an example. It is a perspective view of a printing unit. It is a front view of a printing unit. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of a wiper blade and a wiper cleaner unit. It is a front view at the time of printing of a printing unit. It is a side view at the time of printing of a printing unit. It is a front view at the time of the maintenance of a printing unit. It is a side view at the time of the maintenance of a printing unit. It is a front view at the time of wiping by the wiper unit of a printing unit. It is a side view at the time of wiping by the wiper unit of a printing unit. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a washing | cleaning-liquid replenishment unit.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration illustrating the entire inkjet printing system according to the embodiment.

  The ink jet printing system according to the embodiment includes a paper feed unit 1, an ink jet printing apparatus 3, and a paper discharge unit 5.

  The paper feed unit 1 holds the roll-shaped continuous paper WP so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis, and unwinds and supplies the continuous paper WP to the inkjet printing apparatus 3. Further, the paper discharge unit 5 winds the continuous paper WP printed by the ink jet printing apparatus 3 around the horizontal axis. When the supply side of the continuous paper WP is the upstream side and the discharge side of the continuous paper WP is the downstream side, the paper feeding unit 1 is disposed on the upstream side of the ink jet printing apparatus 3, and the paper discharge unit 5 is the ink jet printing apparatus 3. It is arranged on the downstream side.

  The ink jet printing apparatus 3 includes a drive roller 7 for taking in the continuous paper WP from the paper supply unit 1 on the upstream side. The continuous paper WP unwound from the paper feeding unit 1 by the driving roller 7 is conveyed along the plurality of conveying rollers 9 toward the paper discharge unit 5 on the downstream side. A driving roller 11 is arranged between the most downstream conveying roller 9 and the paper discharge unit 5. The drive roller 11 feeds the continuous paper WP conveyed on the conveyance roller 9 toward the paper discharge unit 5.

  The ink jet printing apparatus 3 includes a printing unit 13, a drying unit 15, and an inspection unit 17 in that order from the upstream side between the driving roller 7 and the driving roller 11. The drying unit 15 dries a portion printed by the printing unit 13. The inspecting unit 17 inspects the printed portion for dirt or missing.

  The printing unit 13 includes an inkjet head 19 that ejects ink droplets. In general, a plurality of printing units 13 are arranged along the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP. For example, in many cases, four printing units 13 are individually provided for black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). However, in the following description, it is assumed that only one printing unit 13 is provided in order to facilitate understanding of the invention. Further, the printing unit 13 includes a plurality of inkjet heads 19 in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP. The printing unit 13 includes a plurality of inkjet heads 19 that can perform printing without moving the printing area in the width direction of the continuous paper WP. In other words, the ink jet printing apparatus 3 in this embodiment does not move the ink jet head 19 in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP for main scanning, and continuously feeds the continuous paper WP while keeping the position fixed. Printing is performed on the paper WP.

  The printing unit 13 described above corresponds to the “print head” in the present invention.

  Here, the above-described printing unit 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a perspective view of the printing unit, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the printing unit.

  The printing unit 13 in this embodiment includes, for example, 24 inkjet heads 19 and an inkjet head holding unit 21 that holds these inkjet heads 19 in a lump. The 24 inkjet heads 19 are arranged along the width direction of the continuous paper WP perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP, and are arranged in four rows in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP, and the inkjet head holding unit 21 is held. All the ink jet heads 19 penetrate the bottom surface of the ink jet head holding unit 21 so that ink can be ejected from the lower surface of the ink jet head holding unit 21 toward the continuous paper WP. Note that the number of the inkjet heads 19 included in the inkjet head holding unit 21 is not limited to 24 as in the present embodiment.

  The printing unit 13 in the present embodiment is not configured to eject single color ink droplets, but, for example, ejects four color ink droplets of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). be able to. That is, in this printing unit 13, as shown in FIG. 2, the first row inkjet head 19 ejects black (K) ink droplets, and the second row inkjet head 19 ejects cyan (C) ink droplets. Assume that the third row inkjet head 19 ejects magenta (M) ink droplets, and the fourth row inkjet head 19 ejects yellow (Y) ink droplets. Note that the inkjet head 19 is denoted by a symbol indicating the color of the ink droplets as necessary, like the inkjet head 19B.

  In the left-right direction of the inkjet head holding unit 21 (the width direction of the continuous paper WP), the linear guide 23 is disposed in a substantially vertical posture. The inkjet head holding part 21 is supported by a pair of linear guides 23 so as to be movable up and down. In addition, a pair of left and right ball screws 25 are arranged in a substantially vertical posture in the left-right direction of the inkjet head holding portion 21. The inkjet head holding part 21 is screwed to a pair of ball screws 25 via a nut (not shown). The pair of ball screws 25 are driven to rotate around the vertical axis by a pair of motors 27 disposed on the upper left and right sides of the inkjet head holding unit 21. Accordingly, when the pair of motors 27 are operated, the inkjet head holding unit 21 is moved up and down.

  The inkjet head holding unit 21 moves up and down over the “cap height” indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3, the “wiper height” indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3, and the “print height” indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. To do. In addition, at the wiper height, the wiper unit 28 located on the left side in FIGS. 2 and 3 moves in the horizontal direction along the inkjet head 19 so that the foreign matter attached to the ejection surface of the inkjet head 19 is wiped off. .

  The printing unit 13 includes 24 caps 29 arranged corresponding to the 24 inkjet heads 19. These caps 29 block the discharge surface formed by the ink discharge portion of each inkjet head 19 from the surroundings. Each cap 29 prevents drying and contamination in the vicinity of the ink discharge portion in the inkjet head 19. Each cap 29 is held by a cap holding portion 31.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cap holding unit 31 holds a plurality of caps 29, and the “cap position” below the inkjet head holding unit 21 and the back side of the inkjet head holding unit 21 (see FIG. 3). It is configured to be movable over the “retracted position” on the back side of the drawing, the position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. In FIG. 3, the retracted position is not shown.

  The cap 29 and the cap holding portion 31 described above correspond to the “cap unit” in the present invention.

  The wiper unit 28 described above includes a base member 33, four wiper blades 35, and a wiper drive unit 37.

  The base member 33 is formed long in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP. On the ink jet head 19 side of the base member 33, four wiper blades 35 are erected so as to be linear in the transport direction in plan view. Here, one wiper blade 35 is provided corresponding to each row of the four rows of inkjet heads 19. Specifically, the first row of inkjet heads 19K that eject black (K) ink droplets is provided with a wiper blade 35K, and the second row of inkjet heads 19C that eject cyan (C) ink droplets is provided in the second row of inkjet heads 19C. The fourth row inkjet head 19M, which is provided with a wiper blade 35C and ejects magenta (M) ink droplets, is provided with a wiper blade 35M and ejects yellow (Y) ink droplets. The head 19Y is provided with a wiper blade 35Y. In the following, the wiper blade 35 is denoted by a symbol indicating the color of the ink droplet as necessary.

  Each wiper blade 35 is made of, for example, a resin having a thin plate shape, is formed wide in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP, and is thin in the width direction of the continuous paper WP. A wiper drive unit 37 is disposed at the base end portion of the base member 33 (the back side of the inkjet head 19).

  The wiper drive unit 37 includes a motor 39 and a timing belt 41. The timing belt 41 is disposed along the lower surface of the inkjet head 19 at the wiper position from the motor 39 side to the opposite side across the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP. The timing belt 41 is stretched over a rotating shaft of the motor 39 and a pulley (not shown) on the opposite side across the conveyance direction of the continuous paper WP. The base member 33 is fixed to one part of the timing belt 41. Therefore, when the motor 39 is driven, the wiper blade 35 moves along the width direction of the continuous paper WP along the lower surface of the inkjet head 19, and removes ink droplets and foreign matter adhering to the ejection surface of the inkjet head 19. Wipe away. The position of the wiper unit 28 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is the “standby position”.

  A wiper cleaner unit 43 is disposed on the cap holding unit 31 on the wiper unit 28 side.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the wiper blade and the wiper cleaner unit.

  The wiper wiping portion 47 includes a suspension support member 48, a storage portion 49, and a wiper wiping member 51. That is, the wiper wiping portion 47 is suspended from above the wiper blade 35.

  The accommodating portion 49 holds the wiper wiping member 51 so that the wiper wiping member 51 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape is orthogonal to the wiper blade 35 in a plan view.

  The wiper wiping member 51 corresponds to the “liquid holding member” in the present invention.

  The wiper wiping member 51 is formed of a member having excellent retention of cleaning liquid containing a chemical that dissolves ink. Examples of the member include a polyurethane sponge having a high porosity and continuous fine pores. Furthermore, it is preferable that the liquid absorption amount is large and the dust generation property is low. Since the cleaning liquid, which is a liquid, gradually moves below the wiper wiping member 51 due to the influence of gravity, the wiper blade 35 positioned below the wiper wiping portion 47 can be efficiently cleaned by using the suspension type. Further, since the wiper wiping member 51 is excellent in the retention of the cleaning liquid, it is possible to suppress the leakage of the cleaning liquid except during wiping, and the wiper blade 35 can be cleaned with the cleaning liquid exuded by contact during wiping.

  The wiper wiping member 51 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in a vertically long posture. The wiper wiping member 51 has two slits 53 in total, two at the top and two at the bottom. Specifically, among the wiper wiping member 51, the slits 53 are respectively provided at two central positions from a longitudinal center line CV that vertically bisects two opposing surfaces of the largest area to both side surfaces of the wiper wiping member 51. Is formed. In addition, slits 53 are formed symmetrically in the vertical direction across a horizontal center line CH that bisects the two opposing surfaces with the largest area. Each slit 53 is formed with a short cut 55 in the lateral direction at the end on the center line CH side.

  The accommodating portion 49 is configured so that the cleaning liquid contained in the wiper wiping member 51 does not leak out except for one of the slits 53, the upper surface, and a part of the side surface of the wiper wiping member 51. Cover the surface. A slit opening 57 is formed in the housing 49 at a position on the lower side opposite to the inkjet head 21 (left direction in FIGS. 2 and 3). More specifically, the slit opening 57 is formed at the center position from the center line in the vertical direction to the surface opposite to the inkjet head 21. On the side surface opposite to the inkjet head 21, a part of the upper part is cut away to form a side surface opening 59. Since the wiper wiping member 51 is accommodated in such a container 49, the leakage of the cleaning liquid to the surroundings can be suppressed and the cleaning liquid can be easily replenished from the upper surface. In addition, the replenishment state of the cleaning liquid can be easily confirmed visually from the side opening 59.

  Further, the accommodating portion 49 is formed with a drop prevention portion 61 on the surface opposite to the suspension member 48. The pull-out suppressing portion 61 includes a pressing piece 63 formed by being cut out in an inverted U shape. The pressing piece 63 gradually protrudes from the upper end portion toward the lower end portion toward the central portion of the accommodating portion 49. Therefore, the resistance is small when the wiper wiping member 51 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 49, and the resistance is increased when moving upward from the accommodating portion 49. As a result, when wiping the wiper blade 35, it is possible to easily prevent the wiper wiping member 51 from coming out of the housing portion 49 even if a force is applied obliquely upward to the wiper wiping member 51.

  By handling the wiper blade 35 by the slit 53 of the wiper wiping member 51 and the dissolving action by the cleaning liquid, ink droplets attached to the wiper blade 35 can be cleaned and removed. Therefore, the wiper wiping part 47 can be made a simple structure, and the apparatus cost can be suppressed. Further, since a slit 55 in the thickness direction of the wiper blade 35 is formed in the upper portion of the slit 53, the contact area is reduced even when the wiper wiping member 51 is dragged by the wiper blade 35 when the wiper blade 35 is handled. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the cleaning liquid can be sufficiently supplied to the wiper blade 35, and it is possible to suppress the lack of cleaning.

  Since the wiper wiping member 51 has the four slits 53 formed in the above-described positional relationship, the wiper wiping member 51 is turned around the center line CV in the vertical direction and any surface is directed in a predetermined direction. Even in the posture, the positions of the slit openings 57 of the container 49 and any of the slits 53 coincide. Further, even if the wiper wiping member 51 is rotated around the center line CH in the horizontal direction and the wiper wiping member 51 is accommodated in the container 49 from either the upper surface or the lower surface, either the slit opening 57 of the container 49 The position with the slit 53 coincides. Therefore, the wiper wiping member 51 can be set in the container 49 without being aware of the front, back, upper and lower sides of the wiper wiping member 51, so that the workability of replacing the wiper wiping member 51 can be improved.

  The wiper wiping member 51 is replenished with the cleaning liquid by dripping the cleaning liquid from above or by immersing the container 49 together with the container 49 so that the cleaning liquid is absorbed by the wiper wiping member 51. The

  The wiper cleaner unit 43 described above is moved by a moving pin 65 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). One end of the moving pin 65 is fixed to the cap holding portion 31, and the tip of the other end extends to the wiper unit 28 side. The other end side of the moving pin 65 directly or indirectly abuts on the suspension support member 48 of the wiper cleaner unit 43, and each wiper blade 35 is arranged in conjunction with the movement of the cap holding portion 31. The wiper wiping unit 47 is moved in the direction in which the continuous paper WP is conveyed.

  Reference is now made to FIGS. 5 is a front view during printing of the printing unit, FIG. 6 is a side view during printing of the printing unit, FIG. 7 is a front view during maintenance of the printing unit, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a side view at the time of maintenance of the printing unit, FIG. 9 is a front view at the time of wiping by the wiper unit of the printing unit, and FIG. 10 is a side view at the time of wiping by the wiper unit of the printing unit.

  The inkjet head holding unit 21 that holds the inkjet head 19 is driven up and down by an up-and-down driving unit 67 that includes the motor 27 and the like described above. Specifically, it is moved up and down over the “print height” shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the “cap height” shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the “wiper height” shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the printing height is a height at which the ejection surface of the inkjet head 19 is close to the upper surface of the continuous paper WP. The cap height is a height at which the ejection surface of the inkjet head 19 is positioned above the printing height and is largely separated from the upper surface of the continuous paper WP. The wiper height is a height at which the ejection surface of the inkjet head 19 is located slightly below the cap height.

  The cap holding part 31 is moved by the posture driving part 69 as follows. That is, the cap holding part 31 is moved up and down while being moved to the lower side and the back side of the ink jet head holding part 21 according to the elevation of the printing height and the cap height of the ink jet head holding part 21. Specifically, when the inkjet head holding unit 21 is positioned at the printing height shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cap holding unit 31 wraps around the back side of the inkjet head holding unit 21, and the inkjet head It is moved to a “retracted position” which is a position higher than the 19 discharge surface. When the inkjet head holding part 21 is at the cap height shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cap holding part 31 is moved between the ejection surface of the inkjet head 19 and the continuous paper WP to the “cap position”. The At this time, the wiper cleaner unit 43 is moved by the movement pin 65 in conjunction with the movement of the cap holding portion 31, and the wiper wiping portion 47 wipes the wiper blade 35. Further, when the cap holding part 31 moves from the “cap position” to the “retracted position”, the wiper cleaner unit 43 is moved in conjunction with the movement of the cap holding part 31, and the wiper wiping part 47 moves the wiper blade 35. Wipe away.

  According to the embodiment described above, the wiper cleaner unit 43 moves the wiper wiping unit 47 in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads 19 in conjunction with the movement of the cap 29 to the cap position. The wiper blade 35 positioned at the standby position is wiped in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads 19. As a result, the ink droplets adhering to the wiper blade 35 can be easily cleaned and removed by the cleaning liquid of the wiper wiping unit 47, and therefore, uneven cleaning of the printing unit 13 by the wiper blade 35 can be prevented.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 11, the preferable replenishment system of the cleaning liquid to the wiper wiping member 51 described above will be described.

  The cleaning liquid replenishment unit 71 includes a cleaning liquid tank 73, a pipe 75, and an on-off valve 77. The cleaning liquid tank 73 stores cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid tank 73 is preferably arranged at a suitable position where replenishment is possible when the wiper wiping portion 47 is at a certain position (cap position or retracted position) in consideration of the ease of arrangement of the pipe 75. The cleaning liquid tank 73 may be configured to move with the wiper wiping unit 47. One end of the pipe 75 communicates with the cleaning liquid tank 73, and the other end is disposed on the wiper wiping member 51. The on-off valve 77 controls the flow rate and the flow of the cleaning liquid. When replenishing the cleaning liquid, the on-off valve 77 is opened, and the cleaning liquid is dropped on the wiper wiping member 51 little by little. The wiper wiping portion 51 is excellent in the retention of the cleaning liquid, but it takes time for absorption, and therefore it takes a relatively long time to replenish the cleaning liquid. Therefore, it is preferable to operate the on-off valve 77 when the cleaning liquid is replenished via the control unit 79. Accordingly, the cleaning liquid can be appropriately replenished by setting the timer according to the dripping amount of the cleaning liquid.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the above-described embodiment, the wiper cleaner unit 43 is moved in conjunction with the cap holding unit 31 and the posture driving unit 69, but the present invention is not limited to this mode. For example, the moving pin 65 attached to the cap holding part 31 is omitted, a driving mechanism for moving the wiper wiping part 47 is separately arranged, and the wiper wiping part 47 is moved by the driving mechanism in conjunction with the movement of the cap holding part 31. You may comprise. According to this configuration, the timing of the wiping operation by the wiper wiping unit 47 can be adjusted to a desired timing regardless of the movement of the cap holding unit 41.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, four slits 53 are formed in the wiper wiping member 51. However, five or more slits 53 may be formed, and only one slit 53 is formed. May be.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, the wiper wiping member 51 having a high cleaning liquid retaining property is employed. However, for example, a member having a low retaining property may be employed. In that case, for example, it is preferable to prevent water leakage by applying a water repellent process to the portion excluding the slit 53 and the upper surface, or to suppress the liquid leakage by setting the accommodating portion 49 to a negative pressure.

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the printing unit 13 ejects four color ink droplets is employed. However, the present invention may be configured in such a manner that the printing unit 13 ejects single color ink droplets.

  (5) In the above-described embodiment, the inkjet printing apparatus 3 that performs printing on the roll-shaped continuous paper WP has been described as an example. However, in the present invention, the printing medium is not limited to the continuous paper WP. Examples of other print media include a printing film.

WP ... Continuous paper 1 ... Paper feed part 3 ... Inkjet printing device 5 ... Paper discharge part 19 ... Inkjet head 21 ... Inkjet head holding part 28 ... Wiper unit 29 ... Cap 31 ... Cap holding part 33 ... Base member 35 ... Wiper blade 37 ... Wiper drive part 43 ... Wiper cleaner unit 47 ... Wiper wiping part 48 ... Suspension support member 49 ... Housing part 51 ... Wiper wiping member 53 ... Slit 55 ... Cut CV ... Vertical center line CH ... Horizontal center line 57 ... Slit opening 61 ... Omission control part 63 ... Pressing piece 65 ... Moving pin 67 ... Lifting drive part 69 ... Posture drive part

Claims (10)

In an inkjet printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets onto a print medium,
A plurality of inkjet heads arranged in a direction orthogonal to a transport direction relatively moved with respect to the print medium, and a print head that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets from the ejection surfaces of the plurality of inkjet heads to the print medium; ,
A cap unit movable in the transport direction over a cap position for closing the ejection surface of the print head and a standby position for opening the ejection surface of the print head;
A wiper blade orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads, and moving from a standby position spaced apart from the print head in the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads, A wiper unit for wiping with the wiper blade;
A wiper wiping portion moistened with an ink cleaning liquid, and moving the wiper wiping portion in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads in conjunction with the cap unit moving to the cap position; A wiper cleaner unit for wiping the wiper blade located at the standby position in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of inkjet heads;
An ink jet printing apparatus comprising: The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The ink-jet printing apparatus, wherein the wiper wiping unit is suspended from above the wiper blade. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The ink-jet printing apparatus, wherein the wiper wiping unit does not leak cleaning liquid except for a portion that contacts the wiper blade. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 3.
The ink jet printing apparatus, wherein the wiper wiping portion includes a liquid holding member having excellent cleaning liquid absorbability at a portion in contact with the wiper blade. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The liquid holding member includes a slit having a width narrower than the thickness of the wiper blade,
2. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a slit is formed in an upper portion of the slit in a thickness direction of the wiper blade. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
The liquid holding member has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the slit is formed along the long side of the liquid level holding member,
An ink jet printing apparatus comprising: a container that covers a surface of the liquid holding member except a part of a periphery, an upper surface, and a side surface of the slit of the liquid holding member. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
The liquid holding member is characterized in that the slits are respectively formed at two central positions from a longitudinal center line to both side faces that bisect two opposing faces of the liquid holding member having the largest area. Inkjet printing device. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
Each of the slits is formed vertically symmetrically across a horizontal center line that bisects two opposing surfaces of the liquid holding member having the largest area. The inkjet printing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The ink-jet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container is formed with a drop prevention portion that abuts against a surface of the liquid holding member and generates resistance when the liquid holding member moves upward. The inkjet printing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 9,
A cleaning liquid tank for storing the cleaning liquid;
A pipe communicating the cleaning liquid tank and the wiper wiping unit;
An on-off valve for controlling the flow of the cleaning liquid in the pipe;
A cleaning liquid replenishment unit comprising:
An ink jet printing apparatus, wherein the on-off valve is opened to replenish the wiper wiping unit with the cleaning liquid.

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