Maintenance device and inkjet recording apparatus

Abstract

To clean a blade with a compact configuration and to suppress scattering of waste liquid.SOLUTION: The maintenance device includes a blade (31) having a tip end portion in contact with a nozzle surface of an inkjet head, a shaft (32) provided at a base end portion of the blade (31) along a width direction of the blade (31), a waste liquid tray (34) supporting the blade (31) via the shaft (32), a sliding device sliding the waste liquid tray (34) in a predetermined traveling direction along the nozzle surface, a rotating device rotating the blade (31) around the shaft (32), and a wiping member (37) provided inside the waste liquid tray (34) and wiping waste liquid by contacting the rotating blade (31).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a maintenance device and an inkjet recording apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In inkjet recording devices, moisture evaporates from the ink in the nozzles of the inkjet head when an image formation job is not being executed, increasing the viscosity of the ink and potentially causing the nozzles to clog. To prevent this, a purging process is performed to eject the ink from the nozzles into the cap. However, leaving ink remaining on the nozzle surface can cause problems, such as the ink dripping onto a sheet or adhering to the nozzle surface during an image formation job. Therefore, technologies for removing ink remaining on the nozzle surface have been studied. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration for removing ink from the nozzle surface by sliding a blade in contact with the nozzle surface.

[0003] However, if the blade is brought into contact with the nozzle face while ink is still attached to it, its ink removal ability will decrease. Therefore, technologies for removing ink from the blade have been studied. For example, Patent Document 2 proposes providing a cleaning member for cleaning the blade on the path along which the blade returns to its home position after removing ink from the nozzle face. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-108711 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-138289 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 2 requires a large space for the cleaning member, which increases the volume of the inkjet recording apparatus. Furthermore, ink adhering to the cleaning member is not collected, which may contaminate the interior of the apparatus. Furthermore, there is a risk of ink scattering when cleaning the blade.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to clean a blade with a compact configuration and to suppress scattering of waste liquid. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the maintenance device of the present invention comprises a blade whose tip contacts the nozzle face of an inkjet head, a shaft provided at the base end of the blade along the width direction of the blade, a waste liquid tray that supports the blade via the shaft, a sliding device that slides the waste liquid tray along the nozzle face in a predetermined direction of travel, a rotating device that rotates the blade around the shaft, and a wiping member that is provided inside the waste liquid tray and comes into contact with the rotating blade to wipe away waste liquid.

[0008] The wiping member may be provided on the front side of the blade in the traveling direction, and the rotation device may rotate the blade in a direction that brings the front surface of the blade in the traveling direction closer to the wiping member.

[0009] The wiping member may be formed in a plate shape, disposed with its thickness direction extending in the up-down direction, and inclined relative to the axial direction.

[0010] The wiping member may be disposed at a position lower than the center of the shaft.

[0011] The wiping member may have a higher rigidity than the blade.

[0012] The maintenance device may include a liquid-absorbing member that has liquid-absorbing properties and comes into contact with the blade after wiping by the wiping member.

[0013] An inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of the maintenance devices described above and the inkjet head. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to clean the blade with a compact configuration and to suppress scattering of waste liquid. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view schematically illustrating the internal configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an inkjet head according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a right side view showing an overview of the maintenance device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a waste liquid tray and a blade. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a waste liquid tray and a blade. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a waste liquid tray and a blade. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing cross section II of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a blade wiping operation. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a blade wiping operation. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a blade wiping operation. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a blade wiping operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] An inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0017] First, the overall configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 will be described. Fig. 1 is a front view that schematically shows the internal configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view that shows the inkjet head 12. In the following description, the front side of the paper in Fig. 1 is the front side (front side) of the inkjet recording apparatus 1, and the left and right directions are described based on the direction when the inkjet recording apparatus 1 is viewed from the front. In each figure, U, Lo, L, R, Fr, and Rr represent up, down, left, right, front, and rear, respectively.

[0018] The inkjet recording device 1 (see FIG. 1) includes a rectangular parallelepiped main body housing 3. A paper feed cassette 4 that stores individual sheets S, such as plain paper or coated paper, and a paper feed roller 5 that feeds the sheets S from the paper feed cassette 4 to the right are provided in the lower part of the main body housing 3. A transport unit 7 that attracts the sheets S and transports them in the Y direction is provided above the paper feed cassette 4. An imaging unit 6 that ejects ink to form an image is provided above the transport unit 7. An ejection roller 8 that ejects the sheets S on which an image has been formed, and an ejection tray 9 on which the ejected sheets S are stacked are provided in the upper right part of the main body housing 3.

[0019] Inside the main body housing 3, there is provided a transport path 10 that runs from the paper feed roller 5 through the gap between the transport unit 7 and the imaging unit 6 to the discharge roller 8. The transport path 10 is mainly formed of plate-like members that face each other with a gap therebetween to allow the sheet S to pass through, and transport rollers 17 that hold and transport the sheet S are provided at multiple locations in the transport direction Y. A registration roller 18 is provided upstream of the imaging unit 6 in the transport direction Y.

[0020] The transport unit 7 includes an endless transport belt 21, a support plate 23, and a suction unit 24. The transport belt 21 has a number of ventilation holes (not shown), and is wound around a drive roller 25 and a driven roller 22. The support plate 23 has a number of ventilation holes, and its upper surface is in contact with the inner surface of the transport belt 21. The suction unit 24 sucks air through the ventilation holes in the support plate 23 and the transport belt 21, thereby adsorbing the sheet S to the transport belt 21. The drive roller 25 is driven counterclockwise by a drive unit (not shown) including a motor and a reduction gear, causing the transport belt 21 to rotate counterclockwise, and the sheet S adsorbed to the transport belt 21 is transported in the Y direction.

[0021] The imaging unit 6 includes head units 11Y, 11Bk, 11C, and 11M (collectively referred to as head units 11). The head unit 11 includes one or more inkjet heads 12, for example, three inkjet heads 12 arranged in a staggered pattern (see FIG. 2). The head units 11Y, 11Bk, 11C, and 11M are connected to ink containers 20Y, 20Bk, 20C, and 20M (collectively referred to as ink containers 20) filled with yellow, black, cyan, and magenta ink, respectively.

[0022] The inkjet head 12 (see FIG. 2) includes a rectangular parallelepiped housing 12H with its longitudinal direction extending in the front-to-rear direction, a nozzle plate 14 provided below the housing 12H, and a socket 12S to which a pipe for supplying ink is connected. The nozzle plate 14 includes a number of nozzles 14N arranged in the front-to-rear direction. Each nozzle 14N includes a branch flow path 14B branching off from the downstream side of the socket 12S and an ejection port 14A provided in a nozzle surface 14F, which is the lower surface of the nozzle plate 14. A vibration plate 14V also serves as part of the inner wall of the branch flow path 14B. A pressure element 14Z is provided on the vibration plate 14V. The pressure element 14Z may be a piezoelectric element, an electrostatic actuator, a heater, or the like. A drive circuit 12D that drives the pressure element 14Z is connected to the pressure element 14Z.

[0023] The control unit 2 (see FIG. 1) includes a calculation unit and a storage unit (not shown). The calculation unit is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit includes storage media such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The calculation unit performs various processes by reading and executing control programs stored in the storage unit. Note that the control unit 2 may be realized by an integrated circuit that does not use software.

[0024] A display operation unit 19 is provided on the top of the main body housing 3 (see FIG. 1). The display operation unit 19 includes a display panel, a touch panel stacked on the display panel, and a keypad (not shown). The control unit 2 displays a screen showing the operation menu and status of the inkjet recording device 1 on the display panel, and controls each part of the inkjet recording device 1 in response to operations detected by the touch panel and the keypad.

[0025] The basic image formation operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 is as follows. When an image formation job is input to the inkjet recording apparatus 1 from the display / operation unit 19, an external computer, or the like, the paper feed rollers 5 feed the sheet S from the paper feed cassette 4 to the conveyance path 10, and the registration rollers 18, which have stopped rotating, correct any skew in the sheet S. The registration rollers 18 then feed the sheet S to the conveyance unit 7 at a predetermined timing, and the conveyance unit 7 attracts the sheet S to the conveyance belt 21 and conveys it in the Y direction. The drive circuit 12D supplies an ejection signal corresponding to image data to the pressure element 14Z in synchronization with the conveyance of the sheet S. In this way, ink is ejected from the nozzles 14N, and an image is formed on the sheet S. The ejection rollers 8 eject the sheet S with the image formed on it onto the ejection tray 9.

[0026] The configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 described above is merely an example, and the present invention may be applied to inkjet recording apparatuses 1 with any configuration.

[0027] [Maintenance equipment] Fig. 3 is a right side view showing an overview of the maintenance device 30. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the waste liquid tray 34 and the blade 31. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the waste liquid tray 34 and the blade 31. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the waste liquid tray 34 and the blade 31. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing cross section II of Fig. 6.

[0028] The maintenance device 30 comprises a blade 31 whose tip contacts the nozzle surface 14F of the inkjet head 12, a shaft 32 provided at the base end of the blade 31 along the width direction of the blade 31, a waste liquid tray 34 that supports the blade 31 via the shaft 32, a sliding device 35 that slides the waste liquid tray 34 in a predetermined direction of travel A along the nozzle surface 14F, a rotating device 36 that rotates the blade 31 around the shaft 32, and a wiping member 37 provided inside the waste liquid tray 34 that contacts the rotating blade 31 and wipes away the waste liquid W.

[0029] [Blade, shaft, connecting member] The blade 31 (see FIGS. 3 to 7) is a flexible plate-like member made of resin such as rubber. The blade 31 is rectangular, with one of its four sides being a base end and the other side opposite the base end being a tip end. A shaft 32 (see FIGS. 4 to 6) is provided at the base end of the blade 31 along the width direction of the blade 31. The shaft 32 is connected to the blade 31 via a connecting member 33. The connecting member 33 has a cylindrical portion 33A surrounding the shaft 32 and an opposing portion 33B facing the blade 31. The opposing portion 33B protrudes radially from the cylindrical portion 33A. The blade 31 is sandwiched between the opposing portion 33B and a plate-like auxiliary member 33C, and the blade 31 is fastened to the connecting member 33 using screws or the like.

[0030] [Waste liquid tray] The waste liquid tray 34 is a box-shaped container that opens upward. The waste liquid tray 34 has a rectangular bottom 34A and front, rear, left, and right side walls 34B that extend upright upward from the four sides of the bottom 34A. Both ends of the shaft 32 are rotatably supported by the left and right side walls 34B.

[0031] [Sliding device] The slide device 35 (see FIG. 3) slides the waste liquid tray 34 along the nozzle surface 14F. The slide device 35 is, for example, a feed screw, a belt drive device, or a rack and pinion. An elevation device (not shown) that raises and lowers the transport unit 7 or the head unit 11 is provided inside the main body housing 3. Also provided inside the main body housing 3 is a movement device (not shown) that moves the maintenance device 30 into a space formed by the lowering of the transport unit 7 or the lifting of the head unit 11. The maintenance device 30 moves into the space between the head unit 11 and the transport unit 7 to perform a wiping operation. A configuration may be provided that supplies cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface 14F before the wiping operation.

[0032] The wiping operation is an operation in which the blade 31 removes waste liquid W containing ink from the nozzle surface 14F. When performing the wiping operation, the sliding device 35 slides the waste liquid tray 34 in a predetermined traveling direction A. The traveling direction A is one of the two longitudinal directions of the nozzle surface 14F, going from the rear to the front.

[0033] [Rotating device] The rotation device 36 rotates the blade 31 around the shaft 32. The rotation device 36 includes, for example, a motor 36M, a drive gear 36D provided on the motor 36M, a driven gear 36N provided on the shaft 32, and an idler gear 36A that transmits driving force from the drive gear 36D to the driven gear 36N.

[0034] [Wiping material] The wiping member 37 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) is provided inside the waste liquid tray 34, on the front side in the traveling direction A of the blade 31. The wiping member 37 is attached to the front side wall portion 34B. The wiping member 37 is made of a resin with high slidability (e.g., polyacetal resin). When the blade 31 rotates, the blade 31 comes into contact with the upper surface of the wiping member 37. The wiping member 37 is formed in a plate shape using a resin or the like, and is disposed with its thickness direction extending vertically and inclined relative to the direction of the shaft 32 (see FIG. 7). In this example, the wiping member 37 is inclined so that the right end is lower than the left end, but it may be inclined in the opposite direction. The wiping member 37 is disposed at a position lower than the center 32C of the shaft 32 (see FIG. 6). The rigidity of the wiping member 37 is higher than the rigidity of the blade 31.

[0035] [Liquid-absorbing material] The liquid-absorbing member 38 is made of a liquid-absorbing material (for example, a sponge, a porous material, etc.). The liquid-absorbing member 38 is attached to the rear side wall portion 34B. The blade 31 comes into contact with the liquid-absorbing member 38 when the blade 31 rotates.

[0036] [Blade wiping operation] 8 to 11 are perspective views showing the blade wiping operation. The wiping operation (see FIG. 3) is performed with the blade 31 in an upright position or tilted slightly rearward from the upright position. The blade wiping operation is performed after the wiping operation is completed. During the wiping operation, the waste liquid W mainly adheres to the front surface of the blade 31 in the traveling direction A. Therefore, the rotation device 36 rotates the blade 31 counterclockwise in FIG. 8, in other words, in a direction that moves the front surface of the blade 31 in the traveling direction A during the wiping operation closer to the wiping member 37 (see FIGS. 8 and 9).

[0037] 6 and 7 show the state when the blade 31 comes into contact with the wiping member 37. Because the wiping member 37 is inclined with respect to the direction of the shaft 32, the blade 31 first comes into contact with the higher end (in this example, the left end) of the wiping member 37. The space between the blade 31 and the wiping member 37 becomes wider as it goes to the right.

[0038] When the wiping member 37 is parallel to the axis 32, the blade 31 and the wiping member 37 come into surface contact. In this case, there is a risk that the waste liquid W will enter tiny recesses in the blade 31, causing the blade 31 to climb over the wiping member 37 with the waste liquid W still attached. In contrast, in this embodiment, as the blade 31 rotates, the contact area between the blade 31 and the wiping member 37 expands to the right, so that the waste liquid W attached to the underside of the blade 31 is pushed out to the right. Therefore, the waste liquid W is less likely to remain on the blade 31.

[0039] Because the rigidity of the wiping member 37 is greater than the rigidity of the blade 31, the deflection of the blade 31 increases as the blade 31 rotates. Then, the tip of the blade 31 climbs over the wiping member 37 (see FIG. 10). At this time, the deflection of the blade 31 is suddenly released, so the waste liquid W is splashed downward and accumulates at the bottom 34A of the waste liquid tray 34 (see FIG. 11). Thereafter, the blade 31 continues to rotate while rubbing against the surface of the liquid absorbing member 38 (see FIG. 11), and returns to an upright state. The waste liquid W remaining on the blade 31 after wiping by the wiping member 37 is absorbed by the liquid absorbing member 38.

[0040] The maintenance device 30 according to the present embodiment described above includes the blade 31, the tip of which contacts the nozzle surface 14F of the inkjet head 12; the shaft 32, which is provided at the base end of the blade 31 along the width direction of the blade 31; the waste liquid tray 34, which supports the blade 31 via the shaft 32; the sliding device 35, which slides the waste liquid tray 34 in a predetermined direction A along the nozzle surface 14F; the rotating device 36, which rotates the blade 31 around the shaft 32; and the wiping member 37, which is provided inside the waste liquid tray 34 and comes into contact with the rotating blade 31 to wipe away the waste liquid W. According to the present embodiment, the wiping member 37 is provided inside the waste liquid tray 34, and the waste liquid W is wiped from the blade 31 inside the waste liquid tray 34. The wiped waste liquid W accumulates in the waste liquid tray 34. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the blade 31 can be cleaned with a compact configuration and scattering of the waste liquid W can be suppressed.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the maintenance device 30 of this embodiment, the wiping member 37 is provided on the front side of the blade 31 in the traveling direction A, and the rotation device 36 rotates the blade 31 in a direction that brings the front surface of the blade 31 on the front side in the traveling direction A closer to the wiping member 37. According to this embodiment, when the tip of the blade 31 passes over the wiping member 37, the waste liquid W falls into the waste liquid tray 34, thereby preventing the waste liquid W from scattering.

[0042] Furthermore, in the maintenance device 30 according to this embodiment, the wiping member 37 is formed in a plate shape, is disposed with its thickness in the vertical direction, and is inclined with respect to the direction of the shaft 32. According to this embodiment, as the blade 31 rotates, the waste liquid W is pushed out to the lower side of the wiping member 37, so that the waste liquid W is less likely to remain on the blade 31.

[0043] Furthermore, in the maintenance device 30 according to this embodiment, the wiping member 37 is disposed at a position lower than the center 32C of the shaft 32. If the wiping member 37 were disposed at a position higher than the center 32C of the shaft 32, there is a risk that the waste liquid W will fly forward when the blade 31 passes over the wiping member 37, be bounced off the side wall 34B of the waste liquid tray 34, and be scattered outside the waste liquid tray 34. In contrast, in this embodiment, the wiping member 37 is disposed at a position lower than the center 32C of the shaft 32, and therefore the waste liquid W will fly downward when the blade 31 passes over the wiping member 37, and scattering of the waste liquid W can be suppressed.

[0044] Furthermore, according to the maintenance device 30 of this embodiment, the rigidity of the wiping member 37 is higher than the rigidity of the blade 31. If the rigidity of the wiping member 37 were lower than the rigidity of the blade 31, the wiping member 37 would bend downward, and when the blade 31 passes over the wiping member 37, the wiping member 37 would bounce upward, which could cause the waste liquid W to splash upward. In contrast, in this embodiment, the wiping member 37 is less likely to bend, so it is possible to prevent the waste liquid W from splashing upward.

[0045] Furthermore, the maintenance device 30 according to this embodiment is provided with a liquid absorbing member 38 that has liquid absorbing properties and comes into contact with the blade 31 after wiping by the wiping member 37. According to this embodiment, the waste liquid W remaining on the blade 31 after wiping by the wiping member 37 can be absorbed.

[0046] Furthermore, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes the maintenance device 30 and the inkjet head 12. This configuration can prevent clogging of the inkjet head 12. Furthermore, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 can be configured compactly. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1. Inkjet recording device 12 Inkjet head 14F nozzle surface 31 Blade 32 axes 34 Waste Tray 35 Slide device 36 Rotating Device 37 Wiping member 38 Liquid absorbing member

Claims

1. a blade whose tip contacts the nozzle surface of the inkjet head; a shaft provided at a base end of the blade along the width direction of the blade; a waste tray that supports the blade via the shaft; a slide device that slides the waste liquid tray along the nozzle surface in a predetermined direction; a rotating device that rotates the blade around the axis; a wiping member provided inside the waste liquid tray, the wiping member contacting the rotating blade to wipe away the waste liquid.

2. the wiping member is provided on the front side of the blade in the traveling direction, The maintenance device according to claim 1 , wherein the rotation device rotates the blade in a direction that brings the front surface of the blade in the traveling direction closer to the wiping member.

3. 3. The maintenance device according to claim 2, wherein the wiping member is formed in a plate shape, is disposed with its thickness extending vertically, and is inclined relative to its axial direction.

4. 4. The maintenance device according to claim 2, wherein the wiping member is disposed at a position lower than the center of the shaft.

5. 2. The maintenance device according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity of the wiping member is higher than the rigidity of the blade.

6. 2. The maintenance device according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid-absorbing member that has liquid-absorbing properties and comes into contact with the blade after wiping by the wiping member.

7. The maintenance device according to claim 1; An inkjet recording apparatus comprising the inkjet head.

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