Inkjet printer equipped with a wiper for wiping the head ejection surface

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an inkjet printer capable of minimizing wear of an absorber or a wiper due to removal of wiper ink, and preventing harmful effects caused by resultant wear debris. [Solution] As a wiper 8 in a standby position is lifted by a lifting / lowering mechanism 6, an upper surface of the wiper 8 is brought into contact with an absorber 32 disposed over the standby position, and wiper ink attached to the upper surface of the wiper 8 is absorbed by the absorber 32. As a result, the wiper ink is removed. During this time, the wiper 8 and the absorber 32 do not rub against each other, thus minimizing wear of the wiper 8 and the absorber 32. [Selected drawing] FIG. 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inkjet printer provided with a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface, and more particularly to an inkjet printer provided with a wiper for wiping ink on the ejection surface on the lower surface of the head.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, in an inkjet printer, a head having ejection ports (nozzles) for ejecting ink is provided on the lower surface, and printing is performed by ejecting ink onto the upper surface of a sheet-like medium (printing medium) disposed below the head. In order to perform high-precision printing, the state of the ink at the ejection ports, so-called nozzle meniscus (ink liquid level), is important. For example, if unnecessary ink droplets adhere to the ejection ports, the flight deflection, landing deviation of the ejected ink droplets, and the shape defect of the ink dots after landing may occur. As a result, there is a risk that the print image quality deteriorates due to the defect of the nozzle meniscus. Therefore, in an inkjet printer, in addition to adjusting the nozzle meniscus, the ejection surface of the head is wiped with a wiper for the purpose of cleaning the ejection surface of the head.

[0003] The wiping of the head ejection surface by the wiper is performed, for example, by fixing a wiper having a blade shape that is long in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the head (carriage), and scanning the head while bringing the upper surface or upper edge of the wiper into contact with the ejection surface. Ink adheres to the upper surface or upper part of the wiper that has wiped the ejection surface of the head. If the ejection surface is wiped again as it is, the ink adhering to the wiper will adhere to the ejection surface again. Therefore, the upper surface or upper part of the wiper is brought into contact with an absorber such as a sponge, and the adhering ink is absorbed by the absorber to remove the wiper ink. For example, in Patent Document 1 below, the wiper ink is removed by moving the wiper in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction while bringing the upper surface or upper edge of the wiper into contact with the absorber.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004] Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-149159 Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the wiper ink removal method described in Patent Document 1, since the wiper is rubbed against the absorber, the absorber and the wiper are worn, and the wear powder adheres to the head ejection surface via the wiper when wiping the head ejection surface, which may have an adverse effect on the ejection of ink droplets, that is, printing.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an inkjet printer equipped with a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface that can reduce wear of an absorber and a wiper associated with removal of wiper ink as much as possible and prevent adverse effects caused by the wear powder. Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To achieve the above object, an inkjet printer equipped with a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface of the present invention is an inkjet printer including a head capable of ejecting ink from ejection ports provided on a lower surface thereof, and a wiper for wiping an ejection surface of the head, a wiper moving mechanism capable of moving the wiper to a wiping position of the ejection surface and a standby position separated from a lower surface of the head, a lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the wiper at both the wiping position and the standby position, and an absorber that is held by an absorber holder disposed at or near the standby position so as to be located at least above the standby position, and absorbs and removes wiper ink adhering to an upper surface of the wiper when the upper surface of the wiper is brought into contact with the upper surface of the wiper in a state where the wiper is moved to the standby position by the wiper moving mechanism and the wiper is lifted by the lifting mechanism. The wiper wipes the ejection surface by scanning the head in the main scanning direction while being in contact with the head at the wiping position.

[0008] According to this configuration, when the wiper at the standby position is lifted by the lifting mechanism, the upper surface of the wiper comes into contact with the absorber held by the absorber holder and disposed above the standby position, and the wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper is absorbed by the absorber, and the wiper ink is removed. At this time, the wiper and the absorber come into contact with and separate from each other only by the lifting operation of the wiper, that is, they do not rub against each other, so the wear of the wiper and the absorber is reduced as much as possible. As a result, the adverse effects caused by the wear powder of the wiper and the absorber are also prevented.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] As described above, according to the present invention, the wear of the wiper and the absorber during wiping of the wiper ink is reduced as much as possible, and the adverse effects caused by the wear powder of the wiper and the absorber are also prevented. Therefore, the operation rate of the inkjet printer is improved, and furthermore, the print image quality is also improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an inkjet printer equipped with a wiper for wiping the head ejection surface of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the layout of the main part of a large inkjet printer to which the inkjet printer of this embodiment is applied. Since this large inkjet printer has the same configuration as that described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-131609, the overall configuration diagram is omitted. That is, this inkjet printer is configured to include an operation panel for a user to perform operations related to printing and a cover for covering the main body on the upper surface of the main body supported by legs. Further, a discharge port for discharging a medium (printing medium) is provided on the front surface of the main body, and a guide for guiding the medium is provided in front of and below this discharge port.

[0012] In this inkjet printer, for example, a series of sheet-like media wound around a roll is fed above a platen. After ink is ejected onto the upper surface of the media on this platen for printing, the media is discharged onto a guide from a discharge port. The head 1 disposed above the platen for ejecting ink is mounted on a carriage 2 as will be described later. The carriage 2 reciprocates in a direction intersecting the media feeding direction, and ink is ejected from the head 1 while intersecting the media. The reciprocating movement (scanning) direction of this head 1 is the main scanning direction, and the media feeding direction (including the reverse direction thereof) is the sub-scanning direction. Note that the media only needs to be sheet-like, and its material may be, in addition to recording paper, a resin sheet or the like. Also, the sheet-like media does not necessarily have to be continuously fed, and for example, it may be a sheet material disposed alone on the platen.

[0013] FIG. 1(a) is a plan view showing a schematic layout of the main part of this inkjet printer, and FIG. 1(b) is a left side view thereof. In this example, since the right side of the figure is defined as the front of the inkjet printer and the left side as the rear, FIG. 1(b) is taken as the left side view. Hereinafter, these directions will be referred to for explanation (therefore, they may be different from the directions shown in the drawings). The inkjet printer of this embodiment includes two heads 1 on the lower surface of the carriage 2. As described above, the media is moved in the sub-scanning direction from the rear to the front of the printer, and during this time, the carriage 2 together with the head 1 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction, that is, in the left-right direction of the printer. When the head 1 reciprocates in the main scanning direction, a very small amount of ink droplets are ejected from each of a plurality (a large number) of ejection ports provided on the lower surface of the head 1, and these ink droplets are landed on the upper surface of the media for printing. The portion of the lower surface of the head 1 where the ejection ports are provided is also referred to as the ejection surface 1a. Note that the position of the head 1 shown in FIG. 1(a) is the home position in the printer standby state as will be described later, and is different from the position during printing.

[0014] As described above, below each of the heads 1 at the original position in the printer standby state shown in FIG. 1(a), a cap 3 (see FIG. 5) joined so as to cover the ejection surface 1a of the head 1 is provided. These caps 3 are for moisturizing (preventing drying) the ejection ports or forcibly sucking ink from the ejection ports in a state where the ejection surface 1a of the head 1 is covered. The two caps 3 covering the ejection surfaces 1a of the two heads 1 are mounted on a common support plate member 5 (see FIG. 5), and when the carriage 2 on which the head 1 is mounted moves to the position in FIG. 1(a), it is separated downward from the ejection surface 1a of the head 1. From that state, the two caps 3 together with the support plate member 5 are lifted by the lifting mechanism 6 shown in FIG. 1(a) and brought into contact with each of the ejection surfaces 1a of the two heads 1 to cover each ejection surface 1a. When the printer is started, the two caps 3 are lowered together with the support plate member 5 and separated from the ejection surface 1a of the head 1, and in that state, the two heads 1 are moved to the printing position together with the carriage 2. In this embodiment, since the configurations and functions of the head 1, the carriage 2, the cap 3, etc. are not considered important, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted, but the lifting mechanism 6 for lifting and lowering the cap 3 also serves as the lifting mechanism 6 for lifting and lowering the wiper 8 (structurally together with the movable ink receiving container 14, etc.) described later. Therefore, this lifting mechanism 6 and the wiper moving mechanism 13 described later constitute the wiper driving mechanism 12. Details of this lifting mechanism 6 will be described later. Note that the lifting mechanism 6 is rotationally driven by a lifting motor 7.

[0015] The wiper 8 for wiping the ejection surface 1a of the head 1 is held by a wiper holder 9, and the wiper holder 9 is accommodated in a movable ink receiving container 14 that is longitudinally long in the front-rear direction (see Fig. 2). When wiping the ejection surface 1a of the head 1, the wiper 8 is fixed at the position shown in Fig. 1(a), and the head 1 is scanned (moved) in the main scanning (left-right) direction with the upper surface (upper edge) of the wiper 8 in contact with the ejection surface 1a of the head 1, and the ink or the like adhering to the ejection surface 1a is wiped (wipered). The wiper 8 of this embodiment is in the shape of a blade that is longitudinally long in the front-rear direction and thin in the left-right direction and is made of a material having both flexibility and strength, and is arranged such that the upper surface (upper edge) is parallel to the ejection surface 1a of the head 1. The wiper holder 9 that holds the wiper 8 is also longitudinally long in the front-rear direction, and holds the wiper 8 such that the wiper 8 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the holder. When viewed from the front, an arm base end portion 11 is integrally provided on the left side surface of the wiper holder 9, and an arm portion 10 that protrudes leftward from the arm base end portion 11 and extends downward therefrom is integrally provided.

[0016] On the other hand, the movable ink receiving container 14 is also longitudinally long in the front-rear direction. Specifically, it communicates from the wiping position where the wiper 8 wipes the ejection surface 1a of the head 1, that is, the position shown in Fig. 1(a), to the position where the absorber 32 described later is disposed, that is, the standby position. That is, the wiping position and the standby position are separated from each other in the front-rear direction of the printer. In this embodiment, the wiper 8 and the wiper holder 9 are reciprocally moved from the wiping position to the standby position by a wiper moving mechanism 13 described later, and the movable ink receiving container 14 is communicated from the wiping position to the standby position in order to accommodate the wiper holder 9 during the movement. Further, the upper part of the movable ink receiving container 14 is opened so that the cleaning liquid dropped from the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 described later can drip onto the upper surface of the wiper 8, and the movable ink receiving container 14 can reciprocally move in a state where the upper part protrudes upward. The movable ink receiving container 14 is integrally provided with a guide member 16 (see Fig. 2) composed of a series of round bars extending in the front-rear direction on the upper left side when viewed from the front. The guide member 16 is slidably inserted into the arm base end portion 11 of the wiper holder 9, and the concave portion 17 at the lower end portion of the arm base end portion 11 engages with the upper left edge portion of the movable ink receiving container 14, whereby the wiper 8 (wiper holder 9) reciprocally moves in the front-rear direction while restricting the vertical and horizontal positions of the wiper holder 9 and the wiper 8 with respect to the movable ink receiving container 14. In the movable ink receiving container 14 shown in Fig. 2, the lower surface of the plate-shaped edge portion that projects downward from the surface on the side opposite to the arm base end portion 11 side of the wiper holder 9, that is, the right side surface when viewed from the front and is longitudinally long in the front-rear direction, constitutes the cam contact surface 29 of the wiper cam 30 of the lifting mechanism 6 described later, that is, the cam follower. Further, below the movable ink receiving container 14 at the standby position, an individual fixed-type ink receiving container 15 is disposed, and the details thereof will be described later.

[0017] As described above, the wiper 8 and the wiper holder 9 are moved from the wiping position to the standby position by the wiper movement mechanism 13. As briefly shown in Fig. 1(b), this wiper movement mechanism 13 is composed of a pulley 18 and a belt 19. As shown in the figure, a pair of two pulleys 18 are provided respectively behind the wiping position and in front of the standby position of the wiper 8, and the belt 19 wound around these two pulleys 18 is composed of, for example, a timing belt as shown in Fig. 7. As shown in Fig. 2, this belt 19 is inserted between the arm portion 10 and the arm base end portion 11 of the wiper holder 9, and the upper portion of the wound belt 19 is engaged with a belt engaging portion 20 provided on the arm base end portion 11 side of the arm portion 10. Fig. 7 is a drawing of the belt 19 and the belt engaging portion 20 as viewed from the arm base end portion 11 side (i.e., the right side). This belt engaging portion 20 is composed of a belt receiving portion 21 having a tooth portion formed on the upper surface that meshes with the teeth of the timing belt 19, and a pair of two belt pressing portions 22 provided slightly above the belt receiving portion 21 on both sides in the front-rear direction of the belt receiving portion 21.

[0018] That is, the upper portion of the timing belt 19 to be wound has teeth on the inner peripheral surface side meshing with the teeth of the belt receiver portion 21, and is pressed against the belt receiver portion 21 side by the belt presser portion 22 on both sides of the meshing portion. As described above, in this embodiment, the movable ink receiving container 14 is also moved up and down by the elevating mechanism 6 together with the wiper holder 9 and the wiper 8. In particular, when the wiper 8 and the movable ink receiving container 14 are lifted, the belt 19 engaged with the arm portion 10 of the wiper holder 9 has its engagement portion lifted as the wiper holder 9 is lifted. However, since the belt 19 is made of rubber and is highly stretchable, there is no risk of cutting or deterioration. Also, even during this upward movement, the upper portion of the belt 19 is pressed against the belt receiver portion 21 side by the belt presser portion 22, and the teeth on the inner peripheral surface of the belt 19 mesh with the teeth of the belt receiver portion 21 of the arm portion 10, so the engagement between the arm portion 10 and the belt 19 does not become disengaged. Further, since the wiper holder 9 and the upper portion of the belt 19 engaged therewith are lifted from, for example, the state shown in FIG. 2, the lower portion of the belt 19 is relatively lowered. At this time, the surface on the side of the arm base end portion 11 (right side) of the arm portion 10 of the wiper holder 9 serves as a guide, preventing damage to the belt 19 caused by, for example, the corner portion at the lower end of the arm portion 10 repeatedly hitting the belt 19. In this embodiment, the pulley 18 on the left side in the illustration of FIG. 1(b) is rotationally driven by the reciprocating motor 23. Also, the arm portion 10 of the wiper holder 9 is configured to block the optical path of the photointerrupter 58 (see FIG. 1(b)) provided at the standby position of the wiper 8, and it is determined that the wiper 8 is at the standby position when the optical path of the photointerrupter 58 is blocked.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a lifting mechanism 6 that raises and lowers the cap 3 and the wiper 8 in the inkjet printer of this embodiment. The rotational driving force of the lifting motor 7 is transmitted to a first camshaft 25a that extends in the left-right direction via a reduction gear mechanism 24. A second camshaft 25b is disposed in parallel with the first camshaft 25a in the front-rear direction. Pulleys 26 are attached to the first camshaft 25a and the second camshaft 25b, respectively, and a belt 27 is wound around these pulleys 26, so that the first camshaft 25a and the second camshaft 25b are rotated synchronously. A tensioner 28 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the wound belt 27 to apply a predetermined tension to the belt 27. One wiper cam 30 that abuts against a cam contact surface 29 of the movable ink receiving container 14 is attached to each left end portion of the two camshafts 25a and 25b, and one cap cam 31 is attached to each of the right portions and the left portions near the center of each camshaft 25a and 25b, that is, two cap cams 31 are attached per each camshaft 25a and 25b. The cap cam 31 is in contact with the lower surface of the support plate member 5 on which the cap 3 is mounted.

[0020] Figure 4 shows the arrangement of the cap cams 31 and the wiper cams 30 attached to the respective cam shafts 25a and 25b at the original positions of the cam shafts. In the cap cam 31, a cam peak 31a is formed on the front side, and in the wiper cam 30, a cam peak 30a is formed on the rear side. Therefore, if the cam shafts 25a and 25b are rotated in the clockwise direction as shown in the figure, as shown in Figure 5, the cap 3 is lifted together with the support plate member 5 by the cam peak 31a of the cap cam 31. If the cam shafts 25a and 25b are rotated in the counterclockwise direction as shown in the figure, as shown in Figure 6, the movable ink receiving container 14 is lifted by the cam peak 30a of the wiper cam 30. As described above, if the cap 3 is lifted with the head 1 in the standby position, the discharge surface 1a of the head 1 is covered with the cap 3. Further, if the wiper 8 in the wiping position is lifted with the head 1 in the printing position, the upper surface or the upper edge of the wiper 8 abuts against the discharge surface 1a of the head 1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as will be described later, even when the wiper 8 is in the standby position, the lifting mechanism 6 is configured to lift the wiper 8, and the upper surface of the wiper 8 is brought into contact with the absorber 32 to remove the wiper ink. By making it possible to use the lifting mechanism 6 for both the cap 3 and the wiper 8 in this way, only one lifting motor 7 is required, and the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced accordingly.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a cross section in a state where the wiper 8 and the wiper holder 9 are in the standby position. As described above and as will be detailed later, a fixed ink receiving container 15 is disposed below this standby position, and when the movable ink receiving container 14 descends, the lower part of the movable ink receiving container 14 is configured to enter the fixed ink receiving container 15. On the other hand, above the standby position, an absorber 32 for absorbing and removing the wiper ink adhering to the wiper 8 is disposed. This absorber 32 is configured by forming a sponge made of a polyolefin resin into a sheet shape, and is disposed so as to expand in the horizontal direction above the wiper 8 at the standby position while being held by the absorber holder 33. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the absorber holder 33 holding the absorber 32, and FIG. 9 is a plan view thereof. This absorber holder 33 mainly includes a receiving member 34 that supports the lower surface of the sheet-shaped absorber 32 that expands in the horizontal direction above the wiper 8, and a lid member 35 that is attached to the receiving member 34 so as to be openable and closable and covers the upper surface of the sheet-shaped absorber 32 that expands in the horizontal direction in its closed state. That is, the sheet-shaped absorber 32 that expands in the horizontal direction above the wiper 8 is sandwiched between the receiving member 34 and the lid member 35.

[0022] As can be understood from FIG. 2, the lower surface of the sheet-like absorber 32 that is expanded in the horizontal direction is open above the wiper 8 in the standby position. That is, above the wiper 8, the lower surface of the absorber 32 is not supported by the receiving member 34. Therefore, when the wiper 8 is raised by the lifting mechanism 6 in the standby position, the upper surface (including the upper edge) of the wiper 8 comes into contact with the lower surface of the absorber 32 over the entire longitudinal direction, and the adhering wiper ink is absorbed and removed by the absorber 32. As a result of various experiments, when the pressing force of the lifting mechanism 6 on the wiper 8 against the absorber 32 is 3.5 N or more, the wiper ink can be surely absorbed and removed by the absorber 32 made of a sponge of a polyolefin-based resin. In order to receive this pressing force, the upper surface of the sheet-like absorber 32 that is expanded in the horizontal direction is covered with a metal lid member 35 in the region where the wiper 8 is pressed from below. As will be described later, the lid member 35 is engaged with the claw portion 37 of the engaging portion 36 provided on the receiving member 34, and is configured not to be easily detached (moved) even when the wiper 8 is pressed against the absorber 32 from below.

[0023] The receiving member 34 is integrally formed of a resin material having a predetermined elasticity, and includes a plate-like support portion 38 that supports the lower surface of the sheet-like absorber 32 that is expanded in the horizontal direction, a plate-like guide portion 39 that extends downward from the right end portion of the support portion 38, a plate-like back plate portion 40 that is spaced apart to the right from the guide portion 39 with a predetermined gap and extends downward in parallel with the guide portion 39 from the support portion 38, and mainly includes wall portions 41 that project upward from both front and rear ends of the support portion 38 in the longitudinal direction. On the upper surface of the support portion 38, cylindrical portions 43 that are inserted into circular holes 42 provided in the sheet-like absorber 32 project at both front and rear ends in the longitudinal direction. Further, a plate-like engaging portion 36 that is longitudinally long in the front-rear direction and projects upward is provided on a rib 44 that projects from the left side of the guide portion 39. The engaging portion 36 extends upward through a slit-like through hole 45 that is elongated in the front-rear direction and provided in the support portion 38, and a claw portion 37 that engages with the upper surface of the lid member 35 in the closed state projects from the right side surface of the upper end portion thereof.

[0024] The lid member 35 is integrally formed of a metal material having a predetermined rigidity, and mainly includes a plate-shaped lid portion 46 that covers and presses the upper surface of the sheet-shaped absorber 32 that is deployed in the horizontal direction, a plate-shaped handle portion 47 that extends downward from the left end portion of the lid portion 46, and connecting portions 48 that project rightward from both front and rear end portions of the lid portion 46. The connecting portion 48 of the lid member 35 is located inside the wall portion 41 of the receiving member 34 in the front-rear direction, and a rotating shaft 49 is inserted through the connecting portion 48 and the wall portion 41 of the receiving member 34. Therefore, the lid member 35 is rotatable from the absorber clamping position (closed position) shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to the open position shown by the two-dot chain line in the same figure, and thereby the lid member 35 is attached to the receiving member 34 so as to be openable and closable. Further, a slit 50 that is elongated in the front-rear direction and through which the claw portion 37 of the engaging portion 36 can be inserted is formed in the lid member 35 at a position facing the engaging portion 36 of the receiving member 34 in the closed state. Therefore, when the open lid member 35 is rotated to the closed position and closed with the absorber 32 mounted on the support portion 38 of the receiving member 34, the claw portion 37 formed at the upper end portion of the engaging portion 36 passes through the slit 50 of the lid member 35 while the engaging portion 36 is elastically deformed, and further, the claw portion 37 is covered by the upper surface of the lid portion 46 of the lid member 35 by the elastic restoring force of the engaging portion 36, and the engagement of the claw portion 37 with the upper surface of the lid member 35 prevents the lid member 35 from opening when the wiper is pressed. When opening the lid member 35, the engaging portion 36 is pushed in the direction opposite to the protruding direction of the claw portion 37 to release the engagement of the claw portion 37 with the lid member 35, and in this state, the lid member 35 is opened by hanging a finger on the handle portion 47.

[0025] A longitudinally long slit-shaped insertion hole portion 51 is provided between the guide portion 39 of the receiving member 34 and the back plate portion 40, and an end portion 32a on the side opposite to the wiper side (contact region of the wiper 8) of the sheet-shaped absorber 32 is inserted into the insertion hole portion 51. The end portion 32a on the side opposite to the wiper side of the absorber 32 passes through the gap between the movable ink receiving container 14 along the back plate portion 40 of the receiving member 34 and further hangs down into the fixed ink receiving container 15. Therefore, the wiper ink absorbed by the absorber 32 in the contact region of the wiper 8, that is, the upper left portion of FIG. 2, gradually infiltrates and diffuses toward the end portion 32a on the opposite side inside the absorber 32 and finally reaches the end portion 32a on the opposite side. Therefore, if the end portion 32a of the absorber 32 on the side opposite to the contact region of the wiper 8 hangs down into the fixed ink receiving container 15, even if the absorbed wiper ink drips from the end portion 32a on the opposite side, it can be received by the fixed ink receiving container 15, and it can be prevented from leaking inside or outside the printer.

[0026] Note that a cleaning liquid nozzle 52 shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the upper part of the receiving member 34 of the absorber holder 33. The cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is provided so as to protrude obliquely left rearward from the receiving member 34, and the protruding tip thereof is arranged to face the upper surface of the wiper 8 that moves in the front-rear direction within the movable ink receiving container 14. The cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is configured such that the cleaning liquid is supplied thereto via a tube (not shown) and the cleaning liquid drips from the lower surface of the protruding tip of the cleaning liquid nozzle 52. In this embodiment, the wiper 8 is normally in the standby position and is moved to the wiping position side when wiping the ejection surface 1a of the head 1. During this movement, in the middle of the path of the wiper 8, by dripping the cleaning liquid from above by the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 while moving the wiper 8 in the front-rear direction (particularly rearward), for example, it becomes possible to wash away the wiper ink on parts other than the upper surface (upper edge) of the wiper 8 that was not absorbed by the absorber 32, and by attaching the cleaning liquid to the upper surface (upper edge) of the wiper 8, the wiping of the ejection surface 1a of the head 1 to be performed next can be made more reliable. Further, since the wiper ink washed away by the cleaning liquid drips and flows down directly into the movable ink receiving container 14, it is possible to prevent the wiper ink from leaking inside or outside the printer.

[0027] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a state where the fixed ink receiving container 15 and the movable ink receiving container 14 are vertically separated, and FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the arrangement with the ink receiving container 15 when the movable ink receiving container 14 descends. The movable ink receiving container 14, which is longitudinally long in the front-rear direction, is narrow in width in the left-right direction in FIG. 1(b). On the other hand, the fixed ink receiving container 15, which is arranged only at the wiper standby position, is relatively short in the front-rear direction but wide in the left-right direction. In this embodiment, as described above, when the movable ink receiving container 14 descends, a part of it is configured to enter the upper part of the fixed ink receiving container 15. Therefore, a recess 53 into which the movable ink receiving container 14 enters is formed in the front-rear wall portion 57 of the fixed ink receiving container 15. An ink discharge port 54 is formed on the bottom surface of the part of the movable ink receiving container 14 that enters the fixed ink receiving container 15, and the bottom surface of the movable ink receiving container 14 is inclined so as to gradually become lower from the front and rear toward the part where the ink discharge port 54 is located to form a water gradient.

[0028] On the other hand, a plate-like splash prevention wall portion 55 that protrudes downward is provided on the bottom surface of the movable ink receiving container 14 at a position outside the recess 53 of the front-rear wall portion 57 of the fixed ink receiving container 15. Therefore, the recess 53 of the front-rear wall portion 57 of the fixed ink receiving container 15 is covered by the splash prevention wall portion 55 of the movable ink receiving container 14. Thereby, as described above, when the ink (including the cleaning liquid) dropped and flowed down into the movable ink receiving container 14 is discharged from the ink discharge port 54 into the fixed ink receiving container 15, the splash of the ink is prevented by the front-rear wall portion 57 of the fixed ink receiving container 15 and the splash prevention wall portion 55 of the movable ink receiving container 14. An ink discharge port 56 is also provided on the bottom surface of the fixed ink receiving container 15, and this ink discharge port 56 is connected to a waste ink tank (not shown).

[0029] As described above, in the inkjet printer of this embodiment, when the wiper 8 at the standby position is lifted by the wiper drive mechanism 12, the upper surface of the wiper 8 comes into contact with the absorber 32 disposed above the standby position, and the wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper 8 is absorbed by the absorber 32, thereby removing the wiper ink. At this time, the wiper 8 and the absorber 32 come into contact with and separate from each other only by the lifting operation of the wiper 3, that is, they do not rub against each other, so that the wear of the wiper 8 and the absorber 32 is reduced as much as possible. As a result, adverse effects caused by wear powder of the wiper 8 and the absorber 32 are also prevented.

[0030] Further, by configuring the absorber 32 with a polyolefin-based resin sponge, the absorption of the wiper ink adhering to the wiper 8 is promptly performed.

[0031] Further, by pressing the wiper 8 against the absorber 32 made of a polyolefin-based resin sponge with a pressing force of 3.5 N or more, the wiper ink adhering to the wiper 8 can be surely absorbed and the wiper 8 can be made clean.

[0032] Further, the lower surface of the sheet-shaped absorber 32 that is horizontally expanded above the standby position is supported by the receiving member 34 outside the contact area of the wiper 8, and the upper surface of the absorber 32 in the contact area of the wiper 8 is covered by the lid member 35 that is openably and closably attached to the receiving member 34, so that the receiving member 34 and the lid member 35 can sandwich the sheet-shaped absorber 32, and the upper surface of the wiper 8 can be firmly pressed against the absorber 32.

[0033] Further, by hanging the end portion of the absorber 32 on the side opposite to the wiper contact area into the fixed ink receiving container 15 disposed below the sheet-shaped absorber 32, the absorbed wiper ink can be received by the ink receiving container 15, and it is possible to prevent the wiper ink from leaking inside or outside the printer.

[0034] Further, a wiper holder 9 that holds the wiper 8 is accommodated in a movable ink receiving container 14 that communicates in the front-rear direction between the wiping position and the standby position and has an open upper portion so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, that is, in the container communication direction. A wiper moving mechanism 13 moves the wiper holder 9 together with the wiper 8 in the front-rear direction, that is, in the container communication direction, and a lifting mechanism 6 lifts and lowers the movable ink receiving container 14 together with the wiper 8. As a result, the wiper 8 can be lifted and lowered at each of the wiping position and the standby position, and the wiper ink that drips and flows down from the wiper 8 can be received by the movable ink receiving container 14 even when the wiper 8 is moved to the wiping position and the standby position, preventing the wiper ink from leaking inside or outside the printer.

[0035] As described above, the inkjet printer according to the embodiment has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the absorber 32 is formed in a sheet shape, but the absorber 32 may have a shape other than a sheet shape. However, as described above, in order for a part of the absorber 32 to hang down into the fixed ink receiving container 15 and the upper surface of the wiper 8 to be in contact with the absorber 32 over the entire area, it is desirable that the absorber 32 be in a long sheet shape.

[0036] Also, the layout of the main components of the inkjet printer according to the above embodiment is an example, and can be appropriately changed and set according to the application and specifications.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0037] 1 Head 1a ejection surface 6 Lifting mechanism 8 Wiper 9 Wiper holder 12 Wiper drive mechanism 13 Wiper moving mechanism 14 Movable ink receiving container 15 Ink receiving container 32 Absorber 33 Absorber holder 34 Receiving member 35 Cover member

Claims

1. An inkjet printer comprising a head capable of discharging ink from a discharge port provided on a lower surface thereof, and a wiper for wiping the discharge surface of the head, wherein: a wiper moving mechanism capable of moving the wiper to a wiping position of the discharge surface and a standby position separated from the lower surface of the head; a lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the wiper at both the wiping position and the standby position; an absorber held by an absorber holder disposed at or near the standby position so as to be located at least above the standby position, and absorbing and removing wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper when the upper surface of the wiper is brought into contact therewith in a state where the wiper is moved to the standby position by the wiper moving mechanism and the wiper is lifted by the lifting mechanism; and the wiper is provided with a wiper for wiping the head discharge surface, characterized in that the head wipes the discharge surface while scanning in the main scanning direction in a state of being in contact with the head at the wiping position.

2. An inkjet printer comprising a head capable of discharging ink from a discharge port provided on a lower surface thereof, and a wiper for wiping the discharge surface of the head, wherein: a wiper moving mechanism capable of moving the wiper to a wiping position of the discharge surface and a standby position separated from the lower surface of the head; a lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the wiper at both the wiping position and the standby position; an absorber held by an absorber holder disposed at or near the standby position so as to be located at least above the standby position, and absorbing and removing wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper when the upper surface of the wiper is brought into contact therewith in a state where the wiper is moved to the standby position by the wiper moving mechanism and the wiper is lifted by the lifting mechanism; and the absorber is in a sheet shape and is held by the absorber holder so as to be developed at least above the standby position, and the absorber holder: a receiving member for supporting the lower surface of the absorber developed in the horizontal direction in a region other than the contact region of the wiper; and a lid member covering the upper surface of the absorber at least in the contact region of the wiper and attached to the receiving member so as to be openable and closable. An inkjet printer provided with a wiper for wiping the head discharge surface, characterized by comprising.

3. An inkjet printer comprising a head capable of discharging ink from a discharge port provided below, and a wiper for wiping the discharge surface of the head. A wiper moving mechanism capable of moving the wiper to a wiping position of the discharge surface and a standby position separated from the lower surface of the head. A lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the wiper at both the wiping position and the standby position. An absorber that is held at least above the standby position by an absorber holder disposed at or near the standby position, and absorbs and removes the wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper when the upper surface of the wiper is brought into contact with the wiper in a state where the wiper is moved to the standby position by the wiper moving mechanism and the wiper is lifted by the lifting mechanism. An ink receiving container with an open upper part is disposed below the absorber. An inkjet printer comprising a wiper for wiping a head discharge surface, wherein the absorber is in a sheet shape, and an end portion on the side opposite to the contact region of the wiper hangs down into the ink receiving container.

4. An inkjet printer comprising a head capable of discharging ink from a discharge port provided below, and a wiper for wiping the discharge surface of the head. A wiper moving mechanism capable of moving the wiper to a wiping position of the discharge surface and a standby position separated from the lower surface of the head. A lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the wiper at both the wiping position and the standby position. An absorber that is held at least above the standby position by an absorber holder disposed at or near the standby position, and absorbs and removes the wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper when the upper surface of the wiper is brought into contact with the wiper in a state where the wiper is moved to the standby position by the wiper moving mechanism and the wiper is lifted by the lifting mechanism. An ink receiving container that communicates the wiping position and the standby position and has an open upper part, and is a movable ink receiving container capable of being lifted and lowered by the lifting mechanism. A wiper holder that is movably accommodated in the movable ink receiving container in the communication direction and holds the wiper. The wiper moving mechanism is configured to be able to move the wiper between the wiping position and the standby position by moving the wiper holder in the communication direction of the movable ink receiving container. An inkjet printer comprising a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface, wherein the elevating mechanism is configured to elevate and lower the movable ink receiving container to enable elevation and lowering of the wiper.

5. In an inkjet printer comprising a head capable of ejecting ink from ejection ports provided on a lower surface thereof and a wiper for wiping an ejection surface of the head, a wiper moving mechanism capable of moving the wiper to a wiping position of the ejection surface and a standby position separated from the lower surface of the head; an elevating mechanism capable of elevating and lowering the wiper at both the wiping position and the standby position; a wiper ink absorber configured to be held by an absorber holder disposed at or near the standby position so as to be positioned at least above the standby position, and to absorb and remove the wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper when the upper surface of the wiper is brought into contact therewith in a state where the wiper is moved to the standby position by the wiper moving mechanism and the wiper is elevated by the elevating mechanism; and a cleaning liquid nozzle capable of dropping a cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the wiper at a position facing the upper surface of the wiper in the middle of a movement path of the wiper between the wiping position and the standby position. An inkjet printer comprising a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface, characterized in that it is provided.

6. The inkjet printer comprising a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface according to claim 5, characterized in that a cleaning liquid is dropped from the cleaning liquid nozzle when the wiper moves from the standby position to the wiping position.

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