Maintenance equipment

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of maintenance work in maintenance equipment. [Solution] The maintenance device 1 includes a support mechanism 10 that supports the image forming unit 110. This support mechanism 10 supports the image forming unit 110 at the image forming position P0 during image formation and at a plurality of maintenance positions (first maintenance device P1) separated from the image forming position P0 by different paths (first rotation path R1, etc.).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a maintenance device including a support mechanism that supports an image forming unit. [Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a method of moving an inkjet head to a maintenance position different from an image forming position during image formation when performing maintenance on the inkjet head (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-183159 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-285898 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-001687 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] By the way, when the image forming unit is moved between an image forming position and a maintenance position by rotational movement, sliding movement or the like, the position and orientation of the image forming unit change, which changes the area occupied by the image forming unit.

[0005] It is desirable that the image forming unit be deployed in an area that does not interfere with image forming objects on the conveyance path or surrounding structures during maintenance. However, the conditions of the conveyance path and surroundings change daily depending on production conditions and the layout of the production site. Conventionally, the maintenance position (movement destination) of the image forming unit is fixed, and changing the maintenance position requires reconfiguring the mechanism, which imposes a burden on workers. Additionally, moving image forming objects and surrounding structures to other positions to avoid interference with the maintenance position or the movement path to the maintenance position also imposes a burden on workers.

[0006] The objective of the present invention is to provide a maintenance device that can improve the efficiency of maintenance work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In one embodiment, the maintenance device includes a support mechanism for supporting an image forming unit, the support mechanism supporting the image forming unit at an image forming position during image formation and at a plurality of maintenance positions separated from the image forming position by different paths. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the above embodiment, the efficiency of maintenance work can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a front view showing an image forming system in one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the control configuration of a maintenance device according to one embodiment. [Figure 3A] This is an explanatory diagram (part 1) illustrating the first maintenance position of the image forming unit in one embodiment. [Figure 3B] This is an explanatory diagram (part 2) illustrating the first maintenance position of the image forming unit in one embodiment. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the second maintenance position of the image forming unit in one embodiment. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the third maintenance position of the image forming unit in one embodiment. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the fourth maintenance position of the image forming unit in one embodiment. [Figure 7A] This is an explanatory diagram (part 1) illustrating the fifth maintenance position of the image forming unit in a modified example of one embodiment. [Figure 7B]This is an explanatory diagram (part 2) illustrating the fifth maintenance position of the image forming unit in a modified example of one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] A maintenance device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Figure 1 is a front view showing the image forming system 100 in this embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the maintenance device 1 according to this embodiment.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the image forming system 100 comprises an image forming unit 110, a transport mechanism 120, and a maintenance device 1. Note that the up / down, front / back, and left / right directions shown in Figure 1 and Figures 3A to 7B (described later) are examples for the sake of explanation, but the up / down direction is the vertical direction, and the front / back and left / right directions are the horizontal directions.

[0014] The image forming unit 110 has, for example, multiple inkjet heads 111 for each ink color used for image formation, and performs image formation on a corrugated cardboard box B, which is an example of an object to be image formed. As shown in Figure 1, the inkjet heads 111 are located on the left side of the image forming unit 110.

[0015] Each of the multiple inkjet heads 111 ejects ink in a horizontal direction to form an image. This horizontal direction intersects the vertical direction and the transport direction of the cardboard box B in the transport mechanism 120 (forward direction in Figure 1), and is, for example, to the left (horizontal direction). However, the inkjet heads 111 may eject ink in other directions. Also, the image forming unit 110 may be an image forming unit 110 other than the inkjet method, such as a thermal printing method or a flexographic printing method. When the image forming unit 110 performs image formation using an inkjet method as in this embodiment, the image forming unit 110 can be called an ejection unit.

[0016] The conveying mechanism 120 conveys the corrugated cardboard box B. The conveying mechanism 120 is, for example, a conveyor such as a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance device 1 includes a support mechanism 10, a base portion 20, a jig 30, an elevating portion 40, a slider 50, a first rotation axis A1, a second rotation axis A2, a third rotation axis A3, and a fourth rotation axis A4. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance device 1 includes a control portion 61, a storage portion 62, an interface portion 63, a detection portion 70, a display portion 80, and an audio output portion 90.

[0018] The support mechanism 10 includes a first arm 11 and a second arm 12, and supports the image forming portion 110. Each of the first arm 11 and the second arm 12 is, for example, arranged as one pair in the front-rear direction, at the front portion and the rear portion of the image forming portion 110, respectively. Note that the first arm 11, the second arm 12, and the support mechanism 10 itself can also be referred to as a frame.

[0019] The second arm 12 is connected at the second rotation axis A2 to the upper end of a first leg portion 21 of the base portion 20 described later, and extends leftward from the second rotation axis A2.

[0020] The first arm 11 is connected at the third rotation axis A3 to the left end of the second arm 12, and extends upward from the third rotation axis A3. The first rotation axis A1 is provided below the center of the first arm 11 in the vertical direction, and the fourth rotation axis A4 is provided at the upper end of the first arm 11. The first arm 11 supports the image forming portion 110 on at least one of the first rotation axis A1 and the fourth rotation axis A4.

[0021] Here, an example of the configuration of the first to fourth rotation axes A1 to A4 will be described. In this embodiment, the rotational movement of the image forming unit 110 is performed entirely manually, but a configuration is adopted in which a drive unit is used to move the image forming unit 110 to at least one of the first to fourth maintenance positions P1 to P4, and the power of the drive unit may be transmitted to the support mechanism 10 or the image forming unit 110 via a power transmission means such as gears. In this embodiment, an example is described in which the first rotation axis A1 and the fourth rotation axis A4 are provided on the first arm 11, but the first rotation axis A1 and the fourth rotation axis A4 may be provided on the image forming unit 110 and supported by the first arm 11. Thus, the first to fourth rotation axes A1 to A4 are merely an example of multiple rotation axes for separating the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 via different rotational paths, and the configuration of the first to fourth rotation axes A1 to A4 can be arbitrarily changed.

[0022] The first rotation axis A1 is positioned as a front-to-rear pair on the front and rear of the image forming unit 110. The first rotation axis A1 is supported, for example, by the first arm 11 and inserted into recesses (not shown) on the front and rear of the image forming unit 110. The first rotation axis A1 is a rotation axis for moving the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 to the first maintenance position P1 by rotating the image forming unit 110 along the first rotation path R1 (see Figure 3A), which will be described later, when the fixing between the fourth rotation axis A4 and the image forming unit 110 by thumb screws, hooks, etc. is released. When the image forming unit 110 is rotated with the first rotation axis A1 as the center of rotation, it is preferable to maintain the position of the image forming unit 110 after rotation adjustment by using thumb screws, hooks, etc. provided at the position of the first rotation axis A1.

[0023] The second rotation axis A2 is, for example, a shaft extending in the front-rear direction, and is the rotation axis for moving the second arm 12 along the second rotation path R2 (see Figure 4), which will be described later, to separate the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 to the second maintenance position P2. When rotating the second arm 12 with the second rotation axis A2 as the center of rotation, it is advisable to release the relative angle between the first leg portion 21 and the second arm 12 using a hook, thumbscrew, etc., before adjusting the rotation, and to restore the relative angle after adjusting the rotation.

[0024] The third rotation axis A3 is, for example, a shaft extending in the front-rear direction, and is a rotation axis for moving the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 to the third maintenance position P3 by rotating the first arm 11 along the third rotation path R2 (see Figure 5), which will be described later. When rotating the first arm 11 with the third rotation axis A3 as the center of rotation, it is advisable to release the relative angle between the first arm 11 and the second arm 12 using a hook, thumbscrew, etc., before adjusting the rotation, and to restore the relative angle after adjusting the rotation.

[0025] The fourth rotation axis A4 is positioned in a front-to-rear pair on the front and rear of the image forming unit 110. The fourth rotation axis A4 is supported, for example, by the first arm 11 and inserted into recesses (not shown) on the front and rear of the image forming unit 110. The fourth rotation axis A4 is a rotation axis for moving the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 to the fourth maintenance position P4 by rotating the image forming unit 110 along the fourth rotation path R4 (see Figure 6), which will be described later, when the fixing between the first rotation axis A1 and the image forming unit 110 by thumb screws, hooks, etc. is released. When the image forming unit 110 is rotated with the fourth rotation axis A4 as the center of rotation, it is preferable to maintain the position of the image forming unit 110 after rotation adjustment using thumb screws, hooks, etc. provided at the position of the fourth rotation axis A4.

[0026] The base portion 20 has a first leg portion 21, a second leg portion 22, and a base 23 located below the first leg portion 21 and the second leg portion 22. The base portion 20 supports the support mechanism 10, and thereby supports the image forming unit 110.

[0027] The jig 30 is a maintenance jig used for maintaining the image forming unit 110, and for example, it has an ink pan to receive the purge ink ejected by the image forming unit 110 and a plurality of wipers to wipe the image forming unit 110. The wipers wipe the inkjet head 111 when it is facing downwards. Therefore, the image forming unit 110 is facing sideways (left) when ejecting ink, but needs to be moved to face downwards during maintenance. If the jig 30 has an ink pan, the purge ink received by the jig 30 may be collected in a waste liquid container via a flexible waste liquid tube connected to the jig 30.

[0028] The lifting mechanism 40 raises and lowers the jig 30. The lifting mechanism 40 is, for example, a pantograph mechanism and is used to manually raise and lower the jig 30. As the lifting mechanism 40 extends and retracts in the vertical direction, the jig 30 installed on the lifting mechanism 40 moves up and down.

[0029] The slider 50 has a lifting section 40 and slides in the left-right direction. Therefore, as the slider 50 slides in the left-right direction, the jig 30 can move in the left-right direction.

[0030] The control unit 61 shown in Figure 2 has, for example, one or more processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit) that function as arithmetic processing units that control the operation of the maintenance device 1. This processor functions as a monitoring unit 61a and a determination unit 61b by reading and executing a predetermined program, for example, from the storage unit 62 or from a storage medium (non-transient computer-readable recording medium) that can be attached to or removed from the maintenance device 1. In this way, the control unit 61 (or the maintenance device 1) functions as an example of a computer that executes a program.

[0031] The monitoring unit 61a monitors the surrounding conditions of the image forming unit 110. For example, the monitoring unit 61a may determine the presence or absence of cardboard boxes B or structures (e.g., jigs 30, low ceilings, etc.) that the image forming unit 110 may come into contact with when moving the image forming unit 110 to the first to fourth maintenance positions P1 to P4, based on the surrounding conditions of the image forming unit 110 detected by the detection unit 70, such as sensors and cameras. Alternatively, the monitoring unit 61a may monitor the surrounding conditions of the image forming unit 110 by acquiring information on the transport of cardboard boxes B by the transport mechanism 120, or by acquiring operational information (e.g., position information such as image forming position and maintenance position) of other devices (e.g., other image forming units arranged opposite the image forming unit 110 and performing image forming on the opposite side of the cardboard boxes B).

[0032] Furthermore, the monitoring unit 61a may inform the user of the presence or absence of structures that may come into contact with the image forming unit 110 when moving it to the first to fourth maintenance positions P1 to P4 according to the maintenance purpose, or inform the user when the image forming unit 110 approaches a structure that may come into contact with it while moving. Notification to the user may be made using the display unit 80 or the audio output unit 90. If a configuration is adopted in which a drive unit is used to move the image forming unit 110 to at least one of the first to fourth maintenance positions P1 to P4, the monitoring unit 61a may control the drive unit so that the image forming unit 110 does not come into contact with the structure, based on the presence or absence of structures that may come into contact with it or the presence or absence of structures approaching it as described above.

[0033] The determination unit 61b determines the movement timing (operation plan) for each of the first to fourth rotation paths R1 to R4 of the image forming unit 110. The determination unit 61b may also determine the first to fourth rotation paths R1 to R4 that the image forming unit 110 will move along. The determination unit 61b may determine the movement timing for each of the first to fourth rotation paths R1 to R4 in such a way that the area occupied by the movement trajectory of the image forming unit 110 is small, or in such a way that the image forming unit 110 may avoid structures that it may come into contact with. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the determination unit 61b may determine a movement timing (operation sequence) in which the image forming unit 110 is rotated in the fourth rotation path R4 and then rotated in the third rotation path R3, or a movement timing in which the image forming unit 110 is rotated simultaneously in multiple rotation paths. The determination unit 61b may inform the user of the determined movement timing using the display unit 80 or the audio output unit 90. Furthermore, if a configuration is adopted that includes a drive unit for moving the image forming unit 110 to at least one of the first to fourth maintenance positions P1 to P4, the determination unit 61b may control the drive unit using the determined movement timing.

[0034] The storage unit 62 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is pre-recorded, a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a semiconductor memory that can be written to and read at any time and used as a working memory area as needed when the processor executes various control programs, and a hard disk drive.

[0035] The interface unit 63 exchanges various types of information with external devices such as the image forming unit 110 and the transport mechanism 120. For example, the interface unit 63 can obtain maintenance start information from the image forming unit 110 or transport information for cardboard box B from the transport mechanism 120.

[0036] The detection unit 70 is a sensor that detects proximity to cardboard boxes B or structures around the image forming unit 110, or an imaging unit (such as a camera that captures video or still images) that captures images of the area around the image forming unit 110. When a sensor is used as the detection unit 70, it is preferable to place the sensor on the image forming unit 110. When an imaging unit is used as the detection unit 70, it is preferable to place the imaging unit in a position separate from the image forming unit 110 in order to capture images of the area around the image forming unit 110.

[0037] The display unit 80 is a display that shows various information. The audio output unit 90 outputs sound. The display unit 80 and the audio output unit 90 are an example of a notification unit that provides the above-mentioned notification to the user. The audio output unit 90 may also be an audio output unit that emits an alarm sound such as a buzzer.

[0038] The control unit 61, storage unit 62, interface unit 63, display unit 80, audio output unit 90, etc. of the maintenance device 1 may be the same as those provided in the image forming unit 110 or the control device that controls the image forming unit 110, or components common to the image forming unit 110 and the control device may be placed in the image forming system 100.

[0039] Next, we will explain the movement of the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 to the first to fourth maintenance positions P1 to P4.

[0040] First, as shown in Figure 3A, if there is no cardboard box B to the left of the image forming unit 110 (the position when cardboard box B is present is shown by a dashed line), the image forming unit 110 can be moved to the first maintenance position P1 with the inkjet head 111 facing downwards by rotating it 90 degrees counterclockwise in Figure 3A along the first rotation path R1 with the first rotation axis A1 as the center of rotation, from the image forming position P0 (shown by a dashed line).

[0041] Then, as shown in Figure 3B, for example, the user can manually slide the slider 50 to the left and raise the jig 30 using the lifting unit 40, thereby positioning the jig 30 directly below the inkjet head 111 and allowing the jig 30 to receive the purge ink. The jig 30 is provided with, for example, two pins that protrude upward, and these pins are inserted into positioning recesses in the image forming unit 110 to position the jig 30 and the image forming unit 110.

[0042] Next, as shown in Figure 4, if there is a cardboard box B to the left of the image forming unit 110, the image forming unit 110 can be moved to the upper right from the image forming position P0 (shown by a dashed line) by rotating the second arm 12 (and the first arm 11) 90 degrees clockwise in Figure 4 along a second rotation path R2 with the second rotation axis A2 as the center of rotation. In this state, the inkjet head 111 of the image forming unit 110 is facing upwards, so the image forming unit 110 can be moved to the second maintenance position P2 with the inkjet head 111 facing downwards by rotating the image forming unit 110 180 degrees along a first rotation path R1 with the first rotation axis A1 as the center of rotation. After this, by sliding the slider 50 and raising the jig 30 with the lifting unit 40, it becomes possible to receive purge ink with the jig 30, similar to the first maintenance position P1.

[0043] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, if there is a cardboard box B to the left of the image forming unit 110, the image forming unit 110 can be moved away from the image forming position P0 to the third maintenance position P3 on the jig 30 by first rotating the image forming unit 110 90 degrees counterclockwise along the fourth rotation path R4 with the fourth rotation axis A4 as the center of rotation (see the fourth maintenance position P4 in Figure 6, described later), and then rotating the first arm 11 slightly less than 90 degrees clockwise along the third rotation path R3 with the third rotation axis A3 as the center of rotation. Note that as the third rotation path R3 moves, the inkjet head 111 tilts from facing downwards to facing a different direction. Therefore, it is preferable to maintain the downward orientation of the inkjet head 111 of the image forming unit 110 by rotating the image forming unit 110 along the fourth rotation path R4 with the fourth rotation axis A4 as the center of rotation even while the third rotation path R3 is moving. Furthermore, at the third maintenance position P3 of the image forming unit 110, the initial position of the jig 30 is predetermined so that it is unnecessary to move the jig 30 when the image forming unit 110 moves to the third maintenance position P3, or the slider 50 is slid to move the jig 30 in advance before the image forming unit 110 reaches the third maintenance position P3.

[0044] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, for example, if a user (operator) crawls under the image forming unit 110 to perform manual maintenance such as wiping the inkjet head 111 or replacing parts, the image forming unit 110 can be moved from the image forming position P0 (shown by a dashed line) to the upper fourth maintenance position P4 by rotating it 90 degrees counterclockwise in Figure 6 along the fourth rotation path R3 with the fourth rotation axis A4 as the center of rotation. Here, if the jig 30 is in a position to interfere with the rotation of the image forming unit 110, the user will stop moving the image forming unit 110 and move the slider 50 to the left to move the jig 30 to the right if they sense the possibility of contact with the jig 30 while moving the image forming unit 110. Alternatively, the user may move the slider 50 to the right and retract the jig 30 to the right based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 61a during or before the movement of the image forming unit 110 (that the image forming unit 110 may come into contact with the jig 30).

[0045] In the above description, the image forming system 100 comprises a maintenance device 1, an image forming unit 110, and a transport mechanism 120. However, the image forming system 100 only needs to include the maintenance device 1 and the image forming unit 110.

[0046] Furthermore, while the above explanation cited cardboard box B as an example of an object to be image-formed, it is preferable that the object to be image-formed be a three-dimensional object on which the image is formed on its side, but other shapes such as a sheet may also be used.

[0047] Furthermore, the above description described an example in which the first to fourth maintenance positions P1 to P4 of the image forming unit 110 are all separated by a rotational path (first to fourth rotational paths R1 to R4) from the image forming position P0. However, the multiple maintenance positions separated by different paths may also be positions separated by a sliding path (sliding path S) from the image forming position P0. In other words, the multiple maintenance positions separated by different paths from the image forming position P0 may be any multiple maintenance positions separated from the image forming position P0 by a plurality of paths that include at least one of the rotational path and the sliding path. Now, a modified example in which the image forming unit 110 is separated from the image forming position P0 by a sliding path S will be described with reference to Figures 7A and 7B.

[0048] Figures 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams illustrating the fifth maintenance position P5 of the image forming unit 110 in a modified example of this embodiment.

[0049] As shown in Figure 7A, the image forming system 200 in this modified example can be the same as the image forming system 100 described above, except that it includes a maintenance device 201 instead of the maintenance device 1. Furthermore, the maintenance device 201 can be the same as the maintenance device 1 described above, except that it includes a support mechanism 210 instead of the support mechanism 10.

[0050] The support mechanism 210 has an arm 211 and a rail 212, and supports the image forming unit 110. The arm 211 and the rail 212 are arranged in a front-to-rear pair, for example, at the front and rear of the image forming unit 110.

[0051] The arm 211 is movable in the left-right direction along a rail 212 that extends in the left-right direction. The rail 212 only needs to be supported by the base portion 20. A first rotation axis A1 is provided at the upper end of the arm 211. As described above, this first rotation axis A1 is a rotation axis for moving the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 to the first maintenance position P1 by rotating the image forming unit 110 along a first rotation path R1.

[0052] As shown in Figure 7A, if there is no cardboard box B to the left of the image forming unit 110, the image forming unit 110 can be moved to the first maintenance position P1 with the inkjet head 111 facing downwards by rotating the image forming unit 110 90 degrees counterclockwise in Figure 7A along the first rotation path R1 with the first rotation axis A1 as the center of rotation.

[0053] Then, as shown in Figure 7B, for example, the user can manually slide the arm 211 along the rightward sliding path S to move the image forming unit 110 to the fifth maintenance position P5 above the jig 30. After this, the jig 30 can be raised by the lifting unit 40, allowing the jig 30 to receive the purge ink.

[0054] In the embodiment described above, the maintenance device 1 includes a support mechanism 10 that supports the image forming unit 110. This support mechanism 10 supports the image forming unit 110 at the image forming position P0 during image formation and at a plurality of maintenance positions (for example, the first to fifth maintenance positions P1 to P5) separated from the image forming position P0 by different paths (for example, the first to fourth rotation paths R1 to R4 or the slide path S).

[0055] Thus, because the image forming unit 110 can move to multiple maintenance positions separated from the image forming position P0 via different paths, the user can select a path to separate the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 when moving the image forming unit 110, depending on the cardboard box B and surrounding structures (such as the jig 30 and the low ceiling). Therefore, the user can avoid tasks such as rearranging the support mechanism 10 or other mechanisms to change the maintenance position, or moving the object to be image formed (cardboard box B) or surrounding structures to other locations so as not to interfere with the maintenance position or movement path. Thus, according to this embodiment, the efficiency of maintenance work can be increased.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the maintenance device 1 further includes a plurality of rotation axes (for example, first rotation axes A1 to A4) for separating the image forming unit 110 from the image forming position P0 via mutually different paths (for example, first to fourth rotation paths R1 to R4).

[0057] This allows the image forming unit 110 to be moved to any desired maintenance position, taking into account the cardboard box B and surrounding structures (such as the jig 30 and low ceiling), using a simple configuration that involves rotating the image forming unit 110. Therefore, the efficiency of maintenance work can be further improved.

[0058] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the maintenance device 1 further includes a monitoring unit 61a that monitors the surrounding conditions of the image forming unit 110.

[0059] For example, the monitoring unit 61a can monitor the surrounding conditions of the image forming unit 110 based on detection results from the detection unit 70, such as sensors and cameras, and information on the transport of cardboard boxes B by the transport mechanism 120. This allows the user to be notified of the presence or absence of structures that may come into contact with the image forming unit 110 when it is moved, and whether or not the image forming unit 110 is approaching a structure while it is moving. Alternatively, if a configuration with a drive unit for moving the image forming unit 110 is adopted, the drive unit can be controlled based on the presence or absence of structures that may come into contact with it and whether or not it is approaching a structure. Therefore, the efficiency of maintenance work can be further improved.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the maintenance device 1 further includes a determination unit 61b that determines the movement timing for each of the multiple paths of the image forming unit 110.

[0061] For example, the determination unit 61b can determine the movement timing for each of the first to fourth rotation paths R1 to R4, such as the order of operation, so as to reduce the area occupied by the movement trajectory of the image forming unit 110, or to avoid structures that the image forming unit 110 may come into contact with. This allows the determination unit 61b to notify the user of the determined movement timing. Alternatively, if a configuration with a drive unit for moving the image forming unit 110 is adopted, the drive unit can be controlled using the determined movement timing. Therefore, the efficiency of maintenance work can be further improved.

[0062] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the components can be modified and implemented in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the embodiments described above. For example, all the components shown in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. It goes without saying that various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. Some of the inventions described in the specification and drawings of this application are listed below.

[0063] [Note 1] It is equipped with a support mechanism that supports the image forming section, The support mechanism supports the image forming unit at the image forming position during image formation and at a plurality of maintenance positions separated from the image forming position by different paths. A maintenance device characterized by the following features.

[0064] [Note 2] The image forming unit further comprises a plurality of rotation axes for separating it from the image forming position via different paths. The maintenance device described in Appendix 1, characterized by the features described herein.

[0065] [Note 3] The system further includes a monitoring unit that monitors the surrounding conditions of the image forming unit. A maintenance device as described in Appendix 1 or 2, characterized by the above.

[0066] [Note 4] The image forming unit further comprises a determination unit that determines the movement timing for each of the multiple paths. A maintenance device characterized by any one of the appendices 1 to 3. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1. Maintenance device 10 Support mechanism 11. First Arm 12. Second Arm 20 Base section 21 1st leg 22 Second leg 23. Base 30 jigs 40 Lifting section 50 Slider 61 Control Unit 61a Monitoring Department 61b Decision section 62 Storage section 63 Interface section 70 Detection unit 80 Display section 90 Audio output section 100 Image Forming Systems 110 Image forming unit 111 Inkjet Head 120 Conveying mechanism 200 Image Forming Systems 201 Maintenance equipment 210 Support mechanism 211 Arm 212 rails A1 First rotation axis A2 2nd rotation axis A3 Third rotation axis A4 4th rotation axis B Cardboard box P0 Image forming position P1 1st Maintenance Location P2 Second Maintenance Game P3 3rd Maintenance Team P4 4th Maintenance Location P5 5th Maintenance Location R1 First rotation path R2 Second rotation path R3 Third rotation path R4 Fourth rotation path S slide path

Claims

1. It is equipped with a support mechanism that supports the image forming section, The support mechanism supports the image forming unit at the image forming position during image formation and at a plurality of maintenance positions separated from the image forming position by different paths. A maintenance device characterized by the following features.

2. The image forming unit further comprises a plurality of rotation axes for separating it from the image forming position via different paths. The maintenance device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a maintenance device.

3. The system further includes a monitoring unit that monitors the surrounding conditions of the image forming unit. The maintenance device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a maintenance device.

4. The image forming unit further comprises a determination unit that determines the movement timing for each of the multiple paths. The maintenance device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a maintenance device.

Images