Inkjet recording device

Abstract

To provide an inkjet recording device in which a nozzle surface can be surely wiped off.SOLUTION: An inkjet recording device comprises: an ascendable / descendable recording head 37; a blade wiping a nozzle surface N of the recording head 37; and a cleaning liquid supply member 73 movable between a separation position where it is separated from the nozzle surface N and a supply position where it can supply cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface N. The cleaning liquid supply member 73 includes a supply port 97 of the cleaning liquid and a sheet 99. The sheet 99 is supported in such a manner that it can rotate from an inclined posture inclined upward to a supply posture. When the recording head 37 moves down after the cleaning liquid supply member 73 moves to the supply position, the distal end of the sheet 99 comes in contact with the nozzle surface N, the cleaning liquid supply member 73 rotates to the supply posture while the distal end of the sheet 99 moves along the nozzle surface N, and consequently the sheet 99 is spanned over between the supply port 97 and the nozzle surface N.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11B

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with a blade for wiping off ink adhering to a nozzle face of a recording head. [Background technology]

[0002] Inkjet recording devices are equipped with a wiping unit that moves a blade along the nozzle surface of a recording head to wipe off ink adhering to the nozzle surface. As the blade moves along the nozzle surface, cleaning liquid is supplied downstream of the blade movement start position. The blade moves along the nozzle surface while retaining the supplied cleaning liquid.

[0003] The recording head of the inkjet recording device described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a cleaning liquid (washing liquid) supply port between the nozzle surface and the blade movement start position. When the blade moves, cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply port, and the ink adhering to the nozzle surface is wiped off by the blade together with the washing liquid.

[0004] However, in the inkjet recording device described in Patent Document 1, the cleaning liquid supplying member is provided adjacent to the nozzle surface of the recording head. In other words, since the cleaning liquid supplying member is provided integrally with the recording head, the ink supplied to the cleaning liquid supplying member is adjacent to the nozzle surface even during printing. For this reason, if paper passing under the recording head bends upward during printing, the paper comes into contact with the cleaning liquid supplying member, causing problems such as the paper being contaminated by the cleaning liquid or the cleaning liquid supplying member being damaged by the paper. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-108711 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Therefore, the cleaning liquid supplying member may not be provided integrally with the recording head, but may be provided movable between a position adjacent to the nozzle surface and a position spaced apart from the nozzle surface. In this case, a sheet is provided on the cleaning liquid supplying member to close the gap between the cleaning liquid supplying member and the recording head. When the cleaning liquid supplying member moves to a position adjacent to the nozzle surface, the sheet abuts against the nozzle surface from below and is stretched between the nozzle surface and the supply port. After that, when the blade is moved from the movement start position, the blade passes through the supply port and moves along the sheet to the nozzle surface. Then, a wiping operation is performed in which the blade moves along the nozzle surface. By this wiping operation, the ink remaining on the nozzle surface N is wiped off by the blade together with the cleaning liquid supplied to the supply port.

[0007] However, when a sheet is provided in this manner, cleaning liquid may get in between the sheet and the nozzle surface and adhere to the nozzle surface, causing problems such as poor ink ejection from the nozzle surface.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with a wiping unit that can reliably wipe the nozzle surface while preventing contamination of paper with cleaning liquid. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording head that is provided with a nozzle surface in which ink ejection ports of a plurality of nozzles are open downward and is supported so as to be able to rise and fall; the cleaning liquid supplying member has a supply port that holds the supplied cleaning liquid, and a sheet that is provided forward of the supply port in the movement direction when the cleaning liquid supplying member has moved to the supply position, and the sheet is supported rotatably from an inclined position in which the sheet is inclined upward toward the front in the movement direction to a supply position in which the sheet extends forward in the movement direction, and when the cleaning liquid supplying member has moved to the supply position and the recording head is lowered, a leading edge of the sheet comes into contact with the nozzle surface, and then the leading edge of the sheet moves forward along the nozzle surface in the movement direction while the cleaning liquid supplying member rotates from the inclined position to the supply position, and the sheet is stretched between the supply port and the nozzle surface.

[0010] The present invention may be characterized by comprising a wiping unit including the blade and the cleaning liquid supplying member.

[0011] In the present invention, the cleaning liquid supplying member may be rotated into the inclined position by a biasing member or its own weight. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, as the cleaning liquid containing member rotates from an inclined position to a supplying position when the recording head descends, the leading edge of the sheet rubs against the nozzle surface, so that the sheet can rub off any cleaning liquid or ink remaining on the nozzle surface. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1]1 is a front view showing a schematic internal structure of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2A] 1 is a plan view illustrating a head unit and a maintenance device of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2B] 1 is a front view showing a schematic diagram of a head unit and a maintenance device of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3A] 1 is a side view showing a recording head of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3B] FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing a print head of an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cap unit of the inkjet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a wiping unit and a cleaning liquid supply mechanism of the inkjet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6A] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a carriage and a cleaning liquid supplying member (in a state where a cleaning liquid containing member has been rotated to an inclined position) of the wiping unit of the inkjet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6B] 1 is a side view showing a carriage and a cleaning liquid supplying member (in a state in which a cleaning liquid containing member has been rotated to a supplying position) of a wiping unit of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a carriage and a cleaning liquid supplying member of a wiping unit of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8A] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a carriage that has moved to a movement start position in a wiping unit of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8B] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a carriage that has been moved to a movement end position in a wiping unit of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cleaning liquid supplying section lowered to an insertion position in a wiping unit of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 2 is a block diagram showing a control unit of the inkjet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 11A] 1 is a side view showing a cleaning liquid containing member of a wiping unit (with the leading edge of the sheet in contact with the nozzle surface of a recording head) in an inkjet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 11B] 1 is a side view showing a cleaning liquid containing member of a wiping unit (in a state where the leading edge of the sheet is moving along the nozzle surface of a recording head) in an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 11C] 1 is a side view showing a cleaning liquid containing member of a wiping unit (in a state rotated for supply) in an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] First, the overall configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 1, Fig. 2A, and Fig. 2B. Fig. 1 is a front view showing the inside of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. Fig. 2A is a plan view showing the head unit 11 and the maintenance unit 13, and Fig. 2B is a side view showing the head unit 11 and the maintenance unit 13. Hereinafter, the front side of the paper in Fig. 1 is the front side (front side) of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. In each figure, U, Lo, L, R, Fr, and Rr respectively indicate top, bottom, left, right, front, and rear.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet recording device 1 is an inkjet type image forming device that forms an image by ejecting ink. The inkjet recording device 1 includes a rectangular parallelepiped main housing 3. A paper feed cassette 5 that stores paper and a paper feed roller 7 that feeds paper from the paper feed cassette 5 are provided at the bottom inside the main housing 3. A transport unit 9 that transports paper is provided above the paper feed cassette 5. Four head units 11M, 11C, 11Bk, and 11Y (collectively referred to as head unit 11) and four maintenance units 13 are provided above the transport unit 9 (see also FIGS. 2A and 2B). A pair of discharge rollers 15 that discharges paper on which an image has been formed, and a discharge tray 17 on which the discharged paper is stacked are provided at the upper left of the main housing 3.

[0017] A transport path 19 is provided inside the main body housing 3, which extends from the paper feed cassette 5 through the transport unit 9 to the discharge roller pair 15. The transport path 19 is provided with a plurality of transport roller pairs 21 for transporting the paper.

[0018] Next, the transport unit 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The transport unit 9 includes an endless transport belt 25. The transport belt 25 has a large number of through holes penetrating in the thickness direction. The transport belt 25 is wound around a drive roller 27A and a driven roller 27B that are arranged spaced apart from each other on the left and right. The drive roller 27A is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown). The rotation of the drive roller 27A causes the transport belt 25 to run in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1. The transport belt 25 running along the upper track forms a transport path 19 along which the paper is transported in the transport direction from right to left in FIG. 1.

[0019] A conveying plate 29 and a suction device 31 are provided in the hollow portion of the conveying belt 25. The conveying plate 29 has a large number of through holes penetrating in the thickness direction. The conveying plate 29 comes into contact with the inner surface of the conveying belt 25 that runs along the upper track. The suction device 31 is provided below the conveying plate 29 and attracts the paper to the conveying belt 25 by sucking air through the through holes of the conveying belt 25 and the conveying plate 29.

[0020] Next, the head unit 11 will be described. The four head units 11Y, 11Bk, 11C, and 11M correspond to yellow, black, cyan, and magenta inks, respectively, and are arranged above the transport unit 9 at predetermined intervals along the transport direction. Ink containers 33Y, 33Bk, 33C, and 33M filled with yellow, black, cyan, and magenta inks, respectively, are connected to the four head units 11. Each head unit 11 includes three recording heads 37 and a plate 39 that supports the three recording heads 37, as shown in Figures 2A and 2B.

[0021] The recording head 37 will be described with reference to Figs. 3A and 3B. Fig. 3A is a side view of the recording head 37, and Fig. 3B is a bottom view of the recording head 37. The recording head 37 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the width direction (front-rear direction) that intersects with the transport direction. The recording head 37 has a large number of nozzles (not shown) to which ink is supplied, and a piezoelectric element (not shown) provided for each nozzle. The nozzles have ejection openings that open on the bottom surface of the recording head 37. When the piezoelectric element is driven, the ink in the nozzles is ejected downward from the ejection openings. As shown in Fig. 3B, the surface including the area N where the ejection openings are opened is referred to as the nozzle surface N.

[0022] The three recording heads 37 are arranged in a staggered manner along the width direction (front-rear direction) as shown in Fig. 2A. In detail, two recording heads 37 are arranged side by side in the width direction, and one recording head 37 is arranged adjacent to the two recording heads 37 in the transport direction (left-right direction). The recording heads 37 are supported such that their lower ends protrude from the plate 39 as shown in Fig. 3A.

[0023] Each of the four head units 11 is supported by a head unit lifting mechanism 41 (see FIG. 10) so as to be movable up and down between a printing position and a retracted position. The printing position is a position where the nozzle surface N of the recording head 37 of the head unit 11 faces the conveyor belt 25 running along the upper track with a predetermined gap (for example, 1 mm) therebetween (see FIG. 1). The retracted position is a position where the nozzle surface N of the recording head 37 of the head unit 11 is spaced above the conveyor belt 25 from the printing position, forming a space above the conveyor unit 9 that can accommodate a cap unit 51 and a wipe unit 53 of the maintenance unit 13, which will be described later. The head unit lifting mechanism 41 is electrically connected to the control unit 201 (see FIG. 10).

[0024] Next, the maintenance units 13 will be described. The four maintenance units 13 have the same structure, and are provided for each of the four head units 11. The maintenance units 13 are disposed adjacent to the corresponding head units 11 in the transport direction. In this example, the maintenance units 13 are disposed downstream (left side) of the corresponding head units 11.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2B, the maintenance unit 13 includes a cap unit 51 that covers the nozzle surfaces N of the three recording heads 37 of the head unit 11, a wiping unit 53 that cleans the nozzle surfaces N of the three recording heads 37 of the head unit 11, and a cleaning liquid supply section 55 that supplies cleaning liquid to the wiping unit 53.

[0026] The cap unit 51, the wipe unit 53, and the cleaning liquid supply unit 55 are supported by a housing 57. The housing is disposed downstream (on the left side) of the corresponding head unit 11. The housing 57 has a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the width direction, and the surface facing the corresponding head unit 11 (the right surface) is open.

[0027] First, the cap unit 51 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the cap unit 51. The cap unit 51 includes three caps 61 that cover the nozzle faces N of the three recording heads 37. The three caps 61 are arranged in a staggered manner along the width direction (front-rear direction) to correspond to the three recording heads 37 of the head unit 11, and are supported by a support plate 63. Each cap 61 includes a recess 61a with an open top surface, and an outlet (not shown) provided at the bottom of the recess 61a.

[0028] The cap unit 51 can be moved in the transport direction and the opposite direction (left and right) between a standby position (see FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B) and a capping position by a capping unit moving mechanism (not shown). The standby position is a position where the capping unit 51 is accommodated in the lower space of the housing 57. The capping position is a position where the capping unit 51 is accommodated in the space below the head unit 11 that has risen to the retracted position. When the capping unit 51 moves to the capping position and the head unit 11 descends to a predetermined height, the nozzle surfaces N of the three recording heads 37 are covered with the three caps 61. The capping unit 51 can be moved between the capping position and the standby position through a right opening of the housing 57.

[0029] Next, the wiping unit 53 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The wiping unit 53 includes three carriages 71, three cleaning liquid supply members 73, and a waste liquid tray 75 on which the three carriages 71 and the three cleaning liquid supply members 73 are supported.

[0030] First, the waste liquid tray 75 will be described. The waste liquid tray 75 is a tray with an open top, and has dimensions corresponding to the head unit 11. The waste liquid tray 75 is provided with three rails 79 along the width direction (front-rear direction). The three rails 79 are arranged in a staggered manner along the width direction, similar to the three recording heads 37 of the head unit 11.

[0031] Next, the carriage 71 and the cleaning liquid supplying member 73 will be described with reference to Figures 6A, 6B, and 7. Figures 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views showing the carriage 71 and the cleaning liquid supplying member 73, and Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the carriage 71 and the cleaning liquid supplying member 73. Figure 7 shows a state in which the cleaning liquid containing member 91 has been rotated to an inclined position.

[0032] First, the carriage 71 will be described. The carriage 71 has a moving body 81, a blade 83, and a holder 85 that supports the blade 83 and is supported by the moving body 81. The moving body 81 engages with a rail 79 provided on the waste liquid tray 75, and can be moved along the rail 79 between a movement start position and a movement end position by a carriage movement mechanism 87 (not shown in Figs. 6A and 6B, and Fig. 7, see Fig. 10). In this example, the movement start position is a position corresponding to the rear of the nozzle surface N, and the movement end position is a position corresponding to the front of the nozzle surface N. The direction from the movement start position to the movement end position (in this example, the direction from the rear to the front) is defined as the movement direction X1 of the carriage 71. The carriage movement mechanism 87 is electrically connected to a control unit 201 (see Fig. 10).

[0033] The blade 83 is a plate-like member having a width wider than the width of the nozzle surface N, and is made of a flexible resin or the like. The blade 83 is supported at its lower end by the holder 85 in a posture inclined toward the upstream side in the moving direction X1 and inclined in a blade width direction X2 (left-right direction) intersecting with the moving direction X1. The lower end of the holder 85 is supported by the moving body 81 on the upstream side of the blade 83 in the moving direction X1 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 89 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). As a result, the blade 83 can rotate about the rotation shaft 89 together with the holder 85 to the upstream side and downstream side in the moving direction X1. The holder 85 also has a pair of arms 85a extending upward from both sides in the blade width direction X2.

[0034] Next, a description will be given of the cleaning liquid supplying member 73. The cleaning liquid supplying member 73 is provided separately from the carriage 71, and has a cleaning liquid containing member 91 and a pair of holders 93 that support the cleaning liquid containing member 91 and are supported by the rails 79.

[0035] The cleaning liquid containing member 91 is a rectangular plate-like member, and the upper surface is formed flat. A recess 91a is formed on the lower surface of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 along the blade width direction X2. The downstream side of the recess 91a in the moving direction X1 is inclined toward the downstream side of the moving direction X1. The cleaning liquid containing member 91 has a tip portion 91b downstream of the recess 91a in the moving direction X1, and a base portion 91c on the upstream side. The tip portion 91b is formed to be thinner than the base portion 91c. The lower surface of the tip portion 91b is formed in a flat shape that is inclined slightly upward toward the downstream side of the moving direction X1.

[0036] A single supply port 95 is formed in the upper surface of the tip portion 91b. A plurality of supply ports 97 are formed in the lower surface of the tip portion 91b. A hollow portion (not shown) for containing a cleaning liquid is provided in the tip portion 91b. The hollow portion is in communication with the supply port 95 and the supply port 97.

[0037] A rectangular sheet 99 protruding downstream in the moving direction X1 is attached to the lower surface of the tip portion 91b. The sheet 99 extends downstream (forward) in the moving direction X1 along substantially the same plane as the lower surface of the tip portion 91b. The sheet 99 has a plurality of through holes 101 that communicate with the plurality of supply ports 97 of the tip portion 91b.

[0038] Each of the pair of holders 93 is an L-shaped plate-like member when viewed from the side. A support shaft 103 is provided at one end of the holder 93. The support shaft 103 is accommodated in a recess 79a provided in the rail 79, upstream of the movement start position of the carriage 71 in the movement direction X1. A base end 91c of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 is supported at the other end of the holder 93 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 105. This allows the cleaning liquid containing member 91 to rotate about the rotation shaft 105 between an inclined position (see FIG. 6A) in which the upper surface is inclined upward toward the downstream side (forward) in the movement direction X1 and a supply position (see FIGS. 6B and 7) in which the upper surface is aligned horizontally. Such rotation of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 causes the sheet 99 to rotate between an inclined position inclined upward toward the downstream side in the moving direction X1 (see FIG. 6A) and a supply position extending downstream in the moving direction X1 (see FIGS. 6B and 7). A torsion coil spring (not shown) is fitted around the rotating shaft 105. The torsion coil spring biases the cleaning liquid containing member 91 to the inclined position.

[0039] Next, the movement of the carriage 71 will be described with reference to Figures 8A and 8B. Figure 8A shows the carriage 71 moved to the movement start position, and Figure 8B shows the carriage 71 moved to the movement end position. Figures 8A and 8B show the cleaning liquid containing member 91 rotated to the supply position.

[0040] When the carriage 71 moves to the movement start position (see FIG. 8A), the tip of the blade 83 is accommodated in the recess 91a of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 (see FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 7). The carriage 71 moves from the movement start position (see FIG. 8A) to the movement end position (see FIG. 8B) by the carriage movement mechanism 87 (see FIG. 10). Here, the cleaning liquid supplying member 73 is supported immovably on the rails 79 of the waste liquid tray 75 as described above, so that the cleaning liquid supplying member 73 does not move even if the carriage 71 moves.

[0041] Next, the movement of the wiping unit 53 will be described. The wiping unit 53 (carriage 71, cleaning liquid supply member 73, waste liquid tray 75) can be moved between a standby position (see FIG. 2B) and a wiping position in the transport direction and the opposite direction (left and right direction) by a wiping unit moving mechanism 109 (see FIG. 10). The standby position is a position where the wiping unit 53 is accommodated in the upper space of the housing 57. The wiping position is a position where the wiping unit 53 is accommodated in the space below the head unit 11 that has risen to the retracted position. After the head unit 11 moves to the retracted position, the wiping unit 53 moves to the wiping position, and the head unit 11 descends to a predetermined height, so that the blade 83 can come into contact with the nozzle surface N of the recording head 37. The wiping unit 53 can move between the standby position and the wiping position through the right opening of the housing 57. The wiping unit moving mechanism 109 is electrically connected to the control unit 201 (see FIG. 10).

[0042] Next, the cleaning liquid supply unit 55 will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 9. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the cleaning liquid supply unit 55 lowered to the insertion position.

[0043] The cleaning liquid supply unit 55 is provided in the housing 57 (see FIG. 2B), and supplies cleaning liquid to the three cleaning liquid supply members 73 of the wiping unit 53. As shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning liquid supply unit 55 includes three supply pipes 111, a cleaning liquid tank 113, and a pump 115.

[0044] First, the three supply pipes 111 will be described. The three supply pipes 111 are supported by a support plate 121 supported by the housing 57 in an orientation that is aligned in the up-down direction. The three supply pipes 111 are arranged so as to correspond to the supply ports 95 of the three cleaning liquid supply members 73 of the wiping unit 53 that has moved to the standby position.

[0045] 9, a pair of positioning pins 131 are formed on the lower surface of the support plate 121 on both sides of each supply pipe 111 in the blade width direction X2. Furthermore, a pair of rectangular parallelepiped protrusions 133 spaced apart in the blade width direction X2 are formed on the lower surface of the support plate 121 upstream of each supply pipe 111 in the movement direction X1.

[0046] The support plate 121 is supported by a lifting mechanism 135 (see FIG. 10) so as to be movable up and down to a plurality of positions including a separated position and an inserted position. In the separated position, the support plate 121 is separated upward from the wiping unit 53 that has moved to the standby position. In the supply position, as shown in FIG. 9, the tips of the three supply pipes 111 are inserted into the supply ports 95 of the three cleaning liquid supply members 73 of the wiping unit 53 that has moved to the standby position.

[0047] In more detail, when the support plate 121 descends from the separated position, the lower surface of the support plate 121 comes into contact with the tip of the sheet 99 of the cleaning liquid containing member 91. When the support plate 121 further descends, the sheet 99 and the cleaning liquid containing member 91 are pushed downward by the lower surface of the support plate 121 and start to rotate from the inclined position to the supply position. When the support plate 121 descends to the supply position, the pair of positioning pins 131 come into contact with the upper surface of the tip portion 91b of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 as shown in FIG. 9. As a result, the tips of the three supply pipes 111 are inserted into the supply ports 95 of the three cleaning liquid containing members 91, and the cleaning liquid containing member 91 rotates to the supply position. In addition, the pair of protrusions 133 press down the pair of arms 85a of the holder 85 of the carriage 71. As a result, the holder 85 rotates relative to the moving body 81, and the blade 83 tilts upstream in the moving direction X1.

[0048] Next, the cleaning liquid tank 113 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The cleaning liquid tank 113 stores cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid is, for example, a liquid containing a solvent and water as main components, excluding coloring materials from ink. Surfactants, preservatives, etc. may also be added as necessary. A pipe 141 is connected to the outlet of the cleaning liquid tank 113. The pipe 141 branches into three branch pipes 143 via joints. The three branch pipes 143 are connected to three supply pipes 111. The cleaning liquid tank 113 is an example of a cleaning liquid supply source in the present invention.

[0049] Next, the pump 115 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The pump 115 is provided in the pipe 141, and pumps up the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid tank 113 to the pipe 141.

[0050] Next, the control unit 201 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the control unit 201. The control unit 201 operates the head unit lifting mechanism 41 to lift and lower the head unit 11 to a plurality of positions including a printing position, a retracted position, and a cleaning position between the printing position and the retracted position. The control unit 201 operates the carriage moving mechanism 87 to move the carriage 71 between a movement start position and a movement end position. The control unit 201 operates the wipe unit moving mechanism 109 to move the wipe unit 53 between the wiping position and the separated position. The control unit 201 operates the support plate lifting mechanism 135 to lift and lower the support plate 121 to the separated position and the inserted position. Furthermore, the control unit 201 operates the pump 115 to start and stop pumping the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid tank 113 to the pipe 141.

[0051] Next, the printing operation and head cleaning operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

[0052] First, the printing operation will be described with reference to Fig. 1. During printing operation, the head unit 11 descends to the printing position, and the cap unit 51 and the wipe unit 53 move to the standby position. The support plate 121 descends to the insertion position, and the three supply pipes 111 of the cleaning liquid supply unit 55 are inserted into the supply ports 95 of the three cleaning liquid containing members 91. The cleaning liquid containing members 91 are also rotated to a supply position.

[0053] First, paper is fed from paper feed cassette 5 by paper feed roller 7. The fed paper is transported by transport roller pair 21 along transport path 19 to transport unit 9. The paper is transported along the upper track of transport belt 25 of transport unit 9. At this time, ink is ejected onto the paper from recording head 37 of head unit 11 corresponding to image data, forming an image on the paper. Thereafter, the paper is transported along transport path 19 by transport roller pair 21, and discharged to discharge tray 17 by discharge roller pair 15.

[0054] In this way, during printing operation, the head unit 11 is moved to the printing position. Each recording head 37 of the head unit 11 is not provided with a configuration for supplying cleaning liquid. Therefore, problems such as the cleaning liquid accidentally coming into contact with the paper do not occur.

[0055] After the printing operation is completed, the wiping operation is performed at a predetermined timing (the capping operation will not be described). As described above, the wiping unit 53 is moved to the standby position. The three supply pipes 111 are inserted into the supply ports 95 of the three cleaning liquid supply members 73 of the wiping unit 53.

[0056] First, the control unit 201 controls the head unit lifting mechanism 41 to lift the head unit 11 to the retracted position.

[0057] Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the pump 115 to pump up the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid tank 113 to the pipe 141. The cleaning liquid passes through the pipe 141 and the three branch pipes 143 and is sent to the three supply pipes 111. Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the three supply pipes 111 through the supply ports 95 of the three cleaning liquid supply members 73 to the hollow portions and stored therein. The control unit 201 drives the pump 115 to pump up the cleaning liquid until the supplied cleaning liquid is held in a state of protruding in a hemispherical shape from the supply port 97 (the through hole 101 of the sheet 99), and then stops driving the pump 115. Note that the cleaning liquid forms a concave meniscus inside the supply port 97 and is held inside, except during the head cleaning operation.

[0058] Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the support plate lifting mechanism 135 to lift the support plate 121 from the insertion position to the separated position. Then, the support plate 121 separates from the cleaning liquid accommodating member 91, and the cleaning liquid accommodating member 91 is biased by the torsion coil spring to rotate from the supply position to the inclined position. Note that the biasing force of the torsion coil spring is set to an extent that the cleaning liquid held in the supply port 97 does not drop.

[0059] Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the wiping unit moving mechanism 109 to move the wiping unit 53 (the carriage 71, the cleaning liquid supplying member 73, and the waste liquid tray 75) from the standby position to the wiping position. At this time, the cleaning liquid supplying member 73 moves with the cleaning liquid protruding in a semi-spherical shape from the supply port 97. Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the head unit lifting mechanism 41 to lower the head unit 11 to the cleaning position.

[0060] The operation of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 when the head unit 11 is lowered will be described with reference to Figs. 11A to 11C. Figs. 11A to 11C are side views showing the cleaning liquid containing member 91. First, as shown in Fig. 11A, the leading edge of the sheet 99 of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 comes into contact with the nozzle surface N of the recording head 37. Then, as shown in Fig. 10B, with the lowering of the recording head 37, the leading edge of the sheet 99 moves forward in the movement direction X1 along the nozzle surface N (see arrow A in Fig. 11B), and the cleaning liquid containing member 91 starts to rotate from the inclined posture to the supply posture. This operation of the sheet 99 causes the nozzle surface N to be rubbed by the sheet 99. As a result, the cleaning liquid and ink adhering to the nozzle surface N are scraped off by the sheet 99.

[0061] When the cleaning liquid containing member 91 rotates to the supplying posture, the control unit 201 stops the descent of the wiping unit 53. Then, as shown in Fig. 10C, the lower surface of the tip portion 91b of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 is positioned substantially flush with the nozzle surface N of the recording head 37, and the gap between the lower surface of the tip portion 91b of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 and the nozzle surface N of the recording head 37 is blocked by the sheet 99.

[0062] After that, the control unit 201 controls the carriage movement mechanism 87 to move the carriage 71 from the movement start position to the movement end position. As a result, the blade 83 passes through the supply port 97 of the cleaning liquid containing member 91 and moves along the sheet 99 to the nozzle surface N. Then, a wiping operation is performed in which the blade 83 moves along the nozzle surface N. By this wiping operation, the ink remaining on the nozzle surface N is wiped off by the blade 83 together with the cleaning liquid held in the supply port 97. The wiped ink and cleaning liquid fall from the lower edge and side edges of the blade 83 into the waste liquid tray 75 below.

[0063] Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the head unit lifting mechanism 41 to lift the head unit 11 to the standby position. As a result, the cleaning liquid containing member 91 rotates from the supply position to the inclined position. Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the carriage moving mechanism 87 to move the carriage 71 to the movement start position. Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the wiping unit moving mechanism 109 to move the wiping unit 53 from the wiping position to the standby position. Furthermore, the control unit 201 controls the support plate lifting mechanism 135 to lower the support plate 121 from the separated position to the supply position. As a result, the three supply pipes 111 are inserted into the supply ports 95 of the three cleaning liquid supply members 73 of the wiping unit 53.

[0064] As described above, according to the present invention, the wiping unit 53 includes the carriage 71 and the cleaning liquid supplying member 73, and is moved to the separated position during printing. In other words, since the head unit 11 is not provided with a mechanism for supplying cleaning liquid, even if the paper is accidentally curved upward during printing, the cleaning liquid will not adhere to the paper or the paper will not come into contact with the mechanism for supplying cleaning liquid. This prevents contamination of the paper by cleaning liquid and damage to the mechanism for supplying cleaning liquid by the paper.

[0065] Furthermore, as the cleaning liquid containing member 91 rotates from the inclined position to the supplying position when the recording head 37 descends to the printing position, the leading edge of the sheet 99 rubs against the nozzle surface N. As a result, if any cleaning liquid remains on the nozzle surface N, the cleaning liquid and ink can be rubbed off by the sheet 99.

[0066] Furthermore, when the cleaning liquid accommodating member 91 rotates to the supply position, the sheet 99 closes the gap between the underside of the tip portion 91b of the cleaning liquid accommodating member 91 and the nozzle surface N of the recording head 37, so that the cleaning liquid can be reliably transported from the supply port 97 to the nozzle surface N by the blade 83. Furthermore, since the cleaning liquid accommodating member 91 is biased to the inclined position by the torsion coil spring, the sheet 99 comes into contact with the nozzle surface N with a predetermined pressure. Therefore, the sheet 99 can be reliably brought into contact with the nozzle surface N. The cleaning liquid accommodating member 91 may be configured to rotate to the inclined position by its own weight.

[0067] Furthermore, the supply pipe 111 of the cleaning liquid supply unit 55 that supplies cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid containing member 91 only moves vertically together with the support plate 121, and does not move horizontally. In this manner, the movement distance of the supply pipe 111 is relatively short, which prevents the pipe 141 and the branch pipe 143 connected to the supply pipe 111 from being bent, resulting in poor supply. Furthermore, the pipe 141 and the branch pipe 143 can be routed within a narrow space.

[0068] The present invention also includes the case where, as in this embodiment, the sheet 99 is attached to the lower surface of the cleaning liquid accommodating member 91 so as to overlap the supply port 97, and a through hole 101 communicating with the supply port 97 is formed in the sheet 99. That is, it is sufficient that a part of the sheet 99 is provided forward of the supply port 97 in the movement direction X1 when the cleaning liquid supplying member 73 is moved to the supply position. Note that the sheet 99 may be attached forward of the supply port 97 of the cleaning liquid accommodating member 91 in the movement direction X1.

[0069] In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which four head units 11 are provided for each ink color, and a maintenance unit 13 is provided for each head unit 11. However, the four head units 11 may be integrally provided, and the maintenance unit 13 may be configured such that four cap units 51 and four wipe units 53 are integrally provided.

[0070] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art may modify the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1 Inkjet recording device 37 Recording head 53 Wipe Unit 73 Cleaning liquid supply member 83 Blade 97 Supply Inlet 99 sheets

Claims

1. a recording head provided with a nozzle surface in which ink ejection ports of a plurality of nozzles are open downward and supported so as to be movable up and down; a blade that wipes the nozzle surface by contacting the nozzle surface and moving in a predetermined direction; a cleaning liquid supply member movable between a separated position away from the nozzle surface and receiving a cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid supply source, and a supply position capable of supplying cleaning liquid between the nozzle surface and a movement start position of the blade, The cleaning liquid supply member includes: a supply port for holding the supplied cleaning liquid; a sheet provided forward of the supply port in the movement direction when the cleaning liquid supply member is moved to the supply position, the sheet is supported rotatably from an inclined position in which the sheet is inclined upward toward the front in the moving direction to a supply position in which the sheet extends toward the front in the moving direction, An inkjet recording device characterized in that when the recording head descends after the cleaning liquid supplying member moves to the supply position, the leading edge of the sheet contacts the nozzle surface, and then, the leading edge of the sheet moves forward in the movement direction along the nozzle surface while the cleaning liquid supplying member rotates from the inclined position to the supply position and the sheet is stretched between the supply port and the nozzle surface.

2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a wipe unit including the blade and the cleaning liquid supplying member.

3. 2. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid supplying member is rotated into the inclined position by a biasing member or its own weight.

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