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

Abstract

To provide an ink jet printer which can secure an amount of a cleaning liquid adequately dropped downward in a vertical direction from an opening formed on a lower surface part of a cleaning liquid nozzle, and prevents the cleaning liquid from running down to an unnecessary portion.SOLUTION: A cleaning liquid is dropped from an opening 26 arranged on a lower surface part of a cleaning liquid nozzle 52 above a wiper 8 in a state that the wiper 8 is moved to a separation area from a wiping position by a wiper moving mechanism 13. A peripheral protrusion part 30, a flat surface part 27, and a side surface part 28 are arranged around the opening 26 from which the cleaning liquid is dropped. These structures remove a route by which the cleaning liquid dropped from the opening part 26 runs down to an inadequate area, and secures an amount of the cleaning liquid adequately running downward in a vertical direction from the opening 26.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Inkjet printers generally have a head with ink-ejecting orifices (nozzles) on the underside, and print by ejecting ink onto the upper surface of a sheet-like medium (printing medium) placed below the head. To achieve high-precision printing, the condition of the ink at the orifices, known as the nozzle meniscus (ink liquid surface), is important. For example, if unwanted ink droplets adhere to the orifices, the ejected ink droplets may traverse their flight path, land misaligned, or result in poorly shaped ink dots after landing. As a result, a defective nozzle meniscus can degrade print quality. Therefore, in inkjet printers, in addition to adjusting the nozzle meniscus, the head's ejection surface is wiped with a wiper to clean it.

[0003] The wiper wipes the head ejection surface, for example, by fixing a blade-shaped wiper that is elongated in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the head (carriage), and scanning the head while the upper surface or upper edge of the wiper is in contact with the ejection surface. To improve the wiping (cleaning) effect of the wiper on the head ejection surface, for example, Patent Document 1 below discloses that a cleaning liquid is dripped onto the upper surface of the wiper to clean the wiper and also adhere the cleaning liquid to the upper surface of the wiper. If the cleaning liquid is adhered to the upper surface of the wiper, the head ejection surface can be wiped more cleanly. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-87991 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The cleaning liquid nozzle that drips cleaning liquid onto the top surface of the wiper must be located above the wiper. A tube (pipe) is connected to the cleaning liquid nozzle as a cleaning liquid supply path for supplying the cleaning liquid. Thus, the tube is connected to the cleaning liquid nozzle, and the cleaning liquid drips downward from the cleaning liquid nozzle. Furthermore, the height of the cleaning liquid nozzle located above the wiper is limited by the height restrictions of inkjet printers, so the tube is connected to the cleaning liquid nozzle horizontally. In other words, the opening that faces downward to drip the cleaning liquid and the tube connection portion into which the tube is inserted horizontally are positioned approximately perpendicular to each other. This means that the extension direction of the connected tube and the direction of the cleaning liquid dripping from the opening are perpendicular to each other.

[0006] When the tube connection portion and the opening are arranged perpendicular to each other, the cleaning liquid nozzle is shaped like an elbow, which is a hose joint. In this case, due to height limitations, the elbow shape of the cleaning liquid nozzle requires the opening from which the cleaning liquid drips to be close to the tube connection portion in the vertical direction. However, with such an elbow-shaped cleaning liquid nozzle, the cleaning liquid dripping from the opening tends to flow toward the tube connection portion, which is the cleaning liquid supply path. This reduces the amount of cleaning liquid that drips vertically downward from the opening, and the cleaning liquid that drips toward the tube connection portion drips from unnecessary locations. In other words, since it is difficult to create a height difference between the opening and the tube connection portion, the cleaning liquid dripping from the opening tends to flow toward the tube connection portion. If the amount of cleaning liquid that drips vertically downward from the opening of the cleaning liquid nozzle, i.e., the amount of cleaning liquid that drips onto the top surface of the wiper, decreases, the cleaning effect on the ejection surface of the head also decreases.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an inkjet printer that can accurately ensure the amount of cleaning liquid that drips vertically downward from the opening of the cleaning liquid nozzle that faces downward. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet printer equipped with a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface of the present invention comprises: An inkjet printer comprising a head capable of ejecting ink from ejection ports provided on a bottom surface thereof, and a wiper for wiping the ejection surface of the head, the head includes a wiper moving mechanism that can move the wiper to a wiping position on the discharge surface and a standby position away from the underside of the head; a cleaning liquid nozzle that drips cleaning liquid from above the wiper in an area away from the wiping position; and a cleaning liquid supply path connected to the cleaning liquid nozzle and supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid nozzle, wherein the cleaning liquid nozzle has a peripheral protrusion that is formed on the periphery of an opening for dripping the cleaning liquid provided on the underside when installed and protrudes a predetermined distance from the underside, a flat portion that is formed around the peripheral protrusion and extends approximately perpendicular to the opening direction of the opening, and a side portion of a predetermined height that extends upward from the flat portion, and the cleaning liquid supply path is connected to the side portion approximately perpendicular to the side portion.

[0009] According to this configuration, when the wiper is moved by the wiper movement mechanism to a position away from the wiping position, the washer fluid drips downward from an opening provided in the underside of the washer fluid nozzle located above the wiper. The peripheral protrusions are provided around the periphery of the opening from which the washer fluid drips, allowing the washer fluid to drip downward almost precisely. Furthermore, the underside has a flat surface of a predetermined width that is approximately perpendicular to the opening direction of the opening and surrounds the peripheral protrusions. Even if any washer fluid climbs over the peripheral protrusion and trickles down onto the flat surface, the flat surface can retain it to some extent. Furthermore, the flat surface has side surfaces extending at a predetermined height, creating a step with respect to the flat surface, preventing the washer fluid from spreading beyond the step. Furthermore, the washer fluid supply path formed by a tube or the like is connected approximately perpendicular to the side surfaces, thereby substantially preventing the washer fluid from trickling down to the washer fluid supply path. This eliminates the conventional route in which the cleaning liquid overflowing from the opening of the cleaning liquid nozzle flows in a direction other than the proper direction, ensuring an appropriate amount of cleaning liquid dripping vertically downward from the opening. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] As described above, according to the present invention, by eliminating the flow of cleaning liquid from the opening of the cleaning liquid nozzle into unnecessary areas, it is possible to ensure an appropriate amount of cleaning liquid dripping vertically downward, so that a sufficient amount of cleaning liquid can drip onto the top surface of the wiper, thereby ensuring effective cleaning of the ejection surface of the head. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the layout of the main parts of a large-format inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 3A to 3C are explanatory diagrams of a method for wiping off wiper ink in the inkjet printer of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cleaning liquid nozzle of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a left side view of the cleaning liquid nozzle of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional cleaning liquid nozzle. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an absorber holder in the inkjet printer of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view of the absorber holder of FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] 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 below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the layout of the main components of a large-format inkjet printer to which this embodiment of the inkjet printer is applied. This large-format inkjet printer has a configuration similar to that described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-131609, and therefore an overall configuration diagram will be omitted. That is, this inkjet printer is configured with an operation panel on the top surface of the main body supported by legs, which allows the user to perform printing-related operations, a cover that covers the main body, and the like. In addition, an outlet for discharging media (printing media) is provided on the front of the main body, and a guide for guiding the media is provided in front of and below this outlet.

[0013] In this inkjet printer, for example, a series of sheet-like media wound on a roll is fed above a platen, and after printing by ejecting ink onto the upper surface of the media on the platen, the media is ejected onto a guide from an ejection port. A head 1, which is disposed above the platen and ejects ink, is mounted on a carriage 2, as described below. The carriage 2 moves back and forth in a direction intersecting the media feed direction, and ink is ejected from the head 1 while it intersects with the media. The direction of reciprocating movement (scanning) of the head 1 is the main scanning direction, and the media feed direction (including the opposite direction) is the sub-scanning direction. Note that the media need only be sheet-like, and its material may be recording paper or a resin sheet, for example. Furthermore, the sheet-like media does not necessarily need to be fed continuously; for example, it may be a sheet material placed alone on the platen.

[0014] Figure 1(a) is a plan view showing the schematic layout of the main components of this inkjet printer, and Figure 1(b) is its left side view. In this example, the right side of the figure is defined as the front of the inkjet printer, and the left side is defined as the rear, so Figure 1(b) is the left side view. The following explanation will refer to these directions (thus, the directions may differ from those shown in the figure). The inkjet printer of this embodiment has two heads 1 on the underside of the carriage 2. As described above, the medium is moved in the sub-scanning direction from the rear to the front of the printer, while the carriage 2 with the heads 1 moves back and forth in the main scanning direction, i.e., from left to right of the printer. As the heads 1 move back and forth in the main scanning direction, tiny ink droplets are ejected from each of the multiple (numerous) ejection ports on the underside of the head 1, and these ink droplets land on the upper surface of the medium to perform printing. The portion of the underside of the head 1 where the ejection ports are located is also referred to as the ejection surface 1a. Note that the position of the head 1 shown in Figure 1(a) is the original position when the printer is in standby mode, as described below, and is different from the position during printing.

[0015] As described above, caps (not shown) are attached below each head 1 in its original position when the printer is in standby mode as shown in FIG. 1A. These caps are intended to cover the ejection surfaces 1a of the heads 1 and to keep the ejection ports moist (prevent them from drying out) and to forcibly suck ink from the ejection ports while covering the ejection surfaces 1a of the heads 1. The two caps covering the ejection surfaces 1a of the two heads 1 are mounted on a common support plate member. When the carriage 2 carrying the heads 1 moves to the position shown in FIG. 1A, the caps are spaced downward from the ejection surfaces 1a of the heads 1. From this state, the two caps are raised together with the support plate member by the lifting mechanism 6 shown in FIG. 1A and come into contact with the ejection surfaces 1a of the two heads 1, covering each of the ejection surfaces 1a. When the printer is started, the two caps are lowered together with the support plate member and spaced apart from the ejection surfaces 1a of the heads 1. In this state, the two heads 1 are moved together with the carriage 2 to the printing position. In this embodiment, the configurations and functions of the head 1, carriage 2, cap, etc. are not important, so detailed explanations thereof will be omitted, but the lifting mechanism 6 for raising and lowering the cap also serves as the lifting mechanism 6 for raising and lowering the wiper 8 (structurally, together with the movable ink receiving container 14, etc.) described below. The lifting mechanism 6 is rotationally driven by the lifting motor 7.

[0016] The wiper 8 for wiping the ejection surface 1a of the head 1 is held by a wiper holder 9, which is housed in a movable ink receiver 14 that is elongated in the front-to-rear direction (see FIG. 2). When wiping the ejection surface 1a of the head 1, the wiper 8 is fixed in the position shown in FIG. 1(a). The head 1 is scanned (moved) in the main scanning (left-to-right) direction with the top surface (upper edge) of the wiper 8 in contact with the ejection surface 1a of the head 1, thereby wiping away ink and other particles adhering to the ejection surface 1a. In this embodiment, the wiper 8 is made of a flexible and strong material and has a blade shape that is elongated in the front-to-rear direction and thin in the left-to-right direction. The wiper holder 9 that holds the wiper 8 is also elongated in the front-to-rear direction and holds the wiper 8 so that the wiper 8 protrudes upward from the holder's top surface. When viewed from the front, an arm base end 11 is integrally formed on the left side of the wiper holder 9, and an arm portion 10 is integrally formed so as to protrude leftward from this arm base end 11 and extend downward therefrom.

[0017] Meanwhile, the movable ink receiver 14 is also elongated in the front-to-rear direction and communicates with the wiper 8 from the wiping position where the wiper 8 wipes the ejection surface 1a of the head 1 (i.e., the position shown in FIG. 1A) to the standby position where the absorber 32 (described later) is disposed. That is, the wiping position and the standby position are spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction of the printer. In this embodiment, the wiper 8 and the wiper holder 9 are reciprocated from the wiping position to the standby position by a wiper movement mechanism 13 (described later). The movable ink receiver 14 is connected from the wiping position to the standby position to accommodate the wiper holder 9 during this movement. Furthermore, the movable ink receiver 14 has an open top so that the wiper 8 and the wiper holder 9 can reciprocate with their tops protruding upward, allowing cleaning liquid dispensed from a cleaning liquid nozzle 52 (described later) to drip onto the upper surface of the wiper 8. A guide member 16 (see FIG. 2) consisting of a series of round bars extending in the front-to-rear direction is integrally provided on the upper left side of the movable ink receiver 14 when viewed from the front, and this guide member 16 is slidably inserted into the arm base end 11 of the wiper holder 9, and a recess 17 at the lower end of the arm base end 11 engages with the upper left edge of the movable ink receiver 14, thereby regulating the up-down and left-to-right positions of the wiper holder 9 and wiper 8 relative to the movable ink receiver 14 while allowing the wiper 8 (wiper holder 9) to move back and forth in the front-to-rear direction. Note that a separate fixed ink receiver 15 is provided below the movable ink receiver 14 in the standby position.

[0018] As described above, the wiper 8 and the wiper holder 9 are moved from the wiping position to the standby position by the wiper moving mechanism 13. This wiper moving mechanism 13 is composed of a pulley 18 and a belt 19, as briefly shown in FIG. 1(b). As shown in the figure, two pairs of pulleys 18 are provided behind the wiping position of the wiper 8 and in front of the standby position, respectively. The belt 19 wound around these two pulleys 18 is composed of, for example, a timing belt. As shown in FIG. 2, this belt 19 is inserted between the arm portion 10 and the arm base end 11 of the wiper holder 9, and an upper portion of the wound belt 19 engages with a belt engaging portion 20 provided on the arm base end 11 side of the arm portion 10. This belt engaging portion 20 is composed of a belt receiving portion 21 having teeth formed on its upper surface to engage with the teeth of the timing belt 19, and two pairs of belt holding portions 22 provided on both front-rear sides of the belt receiving portion 21 and slightly above the belt receiving portion 21. The teeth of the timing belt 19 are pressed against the teeth of the belt receiving portion 21 by the belt pressing portion 22. The arm portion 10 of the wiper holder 9 is configured to block the optical path of a photointerrupter 58 (see FIG. 1(b)) that is provided at the standby position of the wiper 8, and when the optical path of the photointerrupter 58 is blocked, it is determined that the wiper 8 is at the standby position.

[0019] FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the wiper 8 and wiper holder 9 in the standby position. As mentioned above, a fixed ink receiver 15 is disposed below the standby position, and when the movable ink receiver 14 descends, the lower part of the movable ink receiver 4 enters the fixed ink receiver 15. Meanwhile, an absorber 32 is disposed above the standby position for absorbing and removing wiper ink adhering to the wiper 8. This absorber 32 is formed from a sheet-like sponge made of polyolefin resin, and is supported by an absorber holder 33 and is disposed so as to spread horizontally above the wiper 8 in the standby position. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the absorber holder 33 in a state in which it supports the absorber 32, and FIG. 7 is a plan view thereof. The absorbent holder 33 is mainly composed of a receiving member 34 that supports the underside of the sheet-like absorbent 32 that is spread horizontally above the wiper 8, and a lid member 35 that is attached to the receiving member 34 so as to be able to open and close freely and that, in the closed state, covers the upper surface of the horizontally spread sheet-like absorbent 32. In other words, the sheet-like absorbent 32 that is spread horizontally above the wiper 8 is sandwiched between the receiving member 34 and the lid member 35.

[0020] As can be seen from FIG. 2 , the lower surface of the horizontally deployed sheet-like absorber 32 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 to the standby position by the lifting mechanism 6, 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, it has been determined that if the pressing force of the lifting mechanism 6 applied by the wiper 8 to the absorber 32 at this time is 3.5 N or more, the wiper ink can be reliably absorbed and removed by the absorber 32 made of a polyolefin resin sponge. To receive this pressing force, the upper surface of the horizontally deployed sheet-like absorber 32 in the area where the wiper 8 presses from below is covered with a metal cover member 35. As will be described later, the cover member 35 is engaged with the claw portion 37 of the engagement portion 36 provided on the receiving member 34, and is configured so that it will not easily come off (move) even if the wiper 8 is pressed against the absorber 32 from below.

[0021] The receiving member 34 is made of a resin material having a predetermined elasticity and is formed as a single unit, and mainly comprises a plate-shaped support portion 38 that supports the underside of the sheet-shaped absorber 32 that is deployed horizontally, a plate-shaped guide portion 39 that extends downward from the right end of the support portion 38, a plate-shaped back plate portion 40 that is spaced to the right from the guide portion 39 with a predetermined gap therebetween and extends downward from the support portion 38 parallel to the guide portion 39, and wall portions 41 that protrude upward from both front-rear ends of the support portion 38. Cylindrical portions 43 that are inserted into circular holes 42 formed in the sheet-shaped absorber 32 protrude from the upper surface of the support portion 38 at both front-rear end portions. In addition, a rib 44 that protrudes leftward from the guide portion 39 is provided with a plate-shaped engagement portion 36 that is elongated in the front-rear direction and protrudes upward. This engaging portion 36 extends upward through a long, narrow slit-shaped through hole 45 in the fore-and-aft direction provided in the support portion 38, and a claw portion 37 protrudes from the right side of the upper end portion thereof to engage with the upper surface of the lid member 35 in the closed state.

[0022] The lid member 35 is formed as a single unit from a metal material having a predetermined rigidity, and mainly comprises a plate-shaped lid portion 46 that covers and presses down the upper surface of the sheet-shaped absorber 32 that is deployed horizontally, a plate-shaped handle portion 47 that extends downward from the left end of the lid portion 46, and a connecting portion 48 that protrudes rightward from both front-to-rear end portions of the lid portion 46. The connecting portion 48 of the lid member 35 is located inside in the front-to-rear direction with respect to the wall portion 41 of the receiving member 34, and a rotation 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 lines in Figure 2 to the open position shown by the two-dot chain line in the same figure, and the lid member 35 is attached so as to be able to open and close with respect to the receiving member 34. Furthermore, the cover member 35 has 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, at a position facing the engaging portion 36 of the receiving member 34 in the closed state. Therefore, when the open cover member 35 is rotated to the closed position with the absorber 32 mounted on the support portion 38 of the receiving member 34, the claw portion 37 formed on the upper end of the engaging portion 36 passes through the slit 50 of the cover member 35 while the engaging portion 36 is elastically deforming. Further, the elastic restoring force of the engaging portion 36 causes the claw portion 37 to cover the upper surface of the cover portion 46 of the cover member 35, and this claw portion 37 engages with the upper surface of the cover member 35, preventing the cover member 35 from opening when the wiper is pressed. To open the cover member 35, the engaging portion 36 is pushed in the opposite direction to the protruding direction of the claw portion 37 to release the engagement of the claw portion 37 with the cover member 35, and in that state, the cover member 35 is opened by placing a finger on the handle portion 47.

[0023] A slit-shaped insertion hole 51 elongated in the front-rear direction is provided between the guide portion 39 and the back plate portion 40 of the receiving member 34, and the end portion 32a of the sheet-like absorber 32 opposite the wiper side (contact area of ​​the wiper 8) is inserted into the insertion hole 51. The end portion 32a of the absorber 32 opposite the wiper side passes along the back plate portion 40 of the receiving member 34 through the gap between the movable ink receiving container 14 and the absorber 32, and further hangs down into the fixed ink receiving container 15. Therefore, the wiper ink absorbed into the absorber 32 at the contact area of ​​the wiper 8, i.e., the upper left part of FIG. 2, gradually infiltrates and diffuses inside the absorber 32 toward the opposite end portion 32a, and finally reaches the opposite end portion 32a. Therefore, if the end 32a of the absorber 32 opposite the contact area of ​​the wiper 8 is suspended inside the fixed ink receiving container 15, even if the absorbed wiper ink drips from the opposite end 32a, it can be received by the fixed ink receiving container 15, preventing it from leaking inside or outside the printer.

[0024] A cleaning liquid nozzle 52, also shown in FIG. 1, is attached to the top of the receiving member 34 of the absorber holder 33 (not shown in FIG. 7). This cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is provided so as to protrude diagonally left rearward from the receiving member 34, and its protruding tip is positioned so as to face the upper surface of the wiper 8, which moves back and forth within the movable ink receiving container 14. Cleaning liquid is supplied to this cleaning liquid nozzle 52 via a tube 25 connected to a tube connecting portion 24, which will be described later, and cleaning liquid is dripped from the underside of the protruding tip of the cleaning liquid nozzle 52. In this embodiment, the wiper 8 is normally in a standby position and is moved to the wiping position when wiping the ejection surface 1a of the head 1. During this movement, by dripping (dripping) cleaning liquid from above using the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 while moving the wiper 8 in the front-to-rear direction (particularly rearward) midway along the path of the wiper 8, it becomes possible to wash away wiper ink other than the top surface (upper edge) of the wiper 8 that has not been absorbed by the absorber 32, and by applying cleaning liquid to the top surface (upper edge) of the wiper 8, it becomes possible to more reliably wipe the ejection surface 1a of the head 1 in the next step. Furthermore, the wiper ink washed away by the cleaning liquid drips and flows directly into the movable ink receiver 14, thereby preventing the wiper ink from leaking into or outside the printer.

[0025] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of cleaning liquid nozzle 52 showing a characteristic component of this embodiment, and Fig. 4 is its left side view. As mentioned above, because the height of cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is limited, the extension direction of tube connection portion 24, which is a main component of the cleaning liquid supply path, and the opening direction of opening 26, which opens downward for dripping cleaning liquid, are arranged orthogonal to each other. In other words, the extension (insertion) direction of tube 25 and the direction in which cleaning liquid drips (drips) from opening 26 are orthogonal to each other. Therefore, cleaning liquid nozzle 52 has a shape in which the inflow and outflow directions are orthogonal to each other, like an elbow hose joint, but due to the height limitation, opening 26 and tube connection portion 24 are shaped close to each other in the height direction. With such a short, elbow-shaped cleaning liquid nozzle 52, it is difficult to create a clear difference in height between the opening 26 and the tube connection part 24, and the cleaning liquid dripping from the downward-facing opening 26 flows down the tube connection part 24 side and drips from places other than the opening 26. As a result, the amount of cleaning liquid dripping vertically downward from the opening 26 is reduced.

[0026] Therefore, in the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 of this embodiment, a flat surface portion (i.e., a lower surface portion) 27 of a predetermined area is provided around the opening 26, which opens downward to allow the cleaning liquid to drip. Specifically, the flat surface portion 27 is a plane whose surface is oriented within a range of approximately ±15° from the horizontal when the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is installed. The peripheral protrusion 30, which protrudes downward from the flat surface portion 27 by a predetermined distance, is formed around the periphery of the opening 26. The peripheral protrusion 30 functions to smoothly guide the cleaning liquid dripping from the opening 26, thereby preventing the cleaning liquid from climbing over the peripheral protrusion 30 and running onto the flat surface portion 27. Even if the cleaning liquid does climb over the peripheral protrusion 30 and run down, the presence of the flat surface portion 27 that extends around the peripheral protrusion 30 allows the climbing over the flat surface portion 27 to remain on the surface of the flat surface portion 27. In order to ensure this function, in this embodiment, the area of ​​the flat surface portion 27 up to the side surface portion 28 on the tube connection portion 24 side is ensured to be as large as possible within the space available.

[0027] Furthermore, the side surface 28 on the tube connection portion 24 side, which extends upward from the flat surface 27, is formed to be approximately perpendicular to the flat surface 27. That is, the side surface 28 extending upward from the flat surface 27 is a substantially vertical surface. Therefore, even if the cleaning liquid flows over the flat surface 27 and onto the side surface 28, the side surface 28 extends upward in a substantially vertical direction relative to the flat surface 27, so the cleaning liquid that flows down the side surface 28 is prevented from further spreading in the direction of spreading from the opening 26. The presence of this side surface 28 creates a height difference between the tube connection portion 24 and the flat surface 27, which are main components of the cleaning liquid supply path. In this embodiment, a curved ridge portion 29 is formed at the intersection of the flat surface 27 and the peripheral surface 28. This curved ridge portion 29 has an angular shape that makes it difficult for the cleaning liquid to flow, thereby also minimizing the cleaning liquid from flowing over the flat surface 27 and onto the side surface 28.

[0028] Furthermore, by separating the end 25a of the tube 25 connected to the tube connecting portion 24 from the flat portion 27 by a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from running from the flat portion 27 from the tube connecting portion 24 to the tube 25, thereby avoiding a situation in which the cleaning liquid drips to an unnecessary location, i.e., from the tube 25. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to ensure an appropriate amount of cleaning liquid drips vertically downward from the downward-facing opening 26 of the cleaning liquid nozzle 52, i.e., onto the upper surface of the wiper 8, thereby improving the cleaning effect of the subsequent ejection surface 1a. Of course, it is also possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from running to an unnecessary location.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional cleaning liquid nozzle 52 before the development of the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 of this embodiment. In FIG. 5, the same components as those in the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 of FIGS. 3 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. This cleaning liquid nozzle 52 also has a narrow flat surface 27 formed around the downward-facing opening 26 from which the cleaning liquid drips, followed by a tapered side surface 28. This configuration does not prevent the cleaning liquid from flowing from the opening 26, over the flat surface 27, to the side surface 28. Furthermore, the tube connection portion 24, which is a main component of the cleaning liquid supply path connected to this cleaning liquid nozzle 52, is formed so as to be continuous with the tapered side surface 28, and therefore does not prevent the cleaning liquid from flowing from the opening 26 toward the cleaning liquid supply path. Furthermore, since the horizontal distance between the end 25a of the tube 25 and the flat surface 27 at the tube connection portion 24 is shorter than the distance shown in Figure 3, there is a high possibility that the cleaning liquid that has trickled from the flat surface 27 to the tube connection portion 24 may trickle down to the tube 25, depending on the amount, and there is also a risk that the cleaning liquid may drip from the tube 25.

[0030] As described above, in the inkjet printer of this embodiment, when the wiper 8 is moved by the wiper movement mechanism 13 to a position away from the wiping position, cleaning liquid drips downward from the opening 26 provided on the underside of the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 positioned above the wiper 8 when the nozzle 52 is in the installed state. At this time, the peripheral projection 30 is provided around the periphery of the opening 26 onto which the cleaning liquid drips, so the cleaning liquid drips downward almost accurately. Furthermore, a flat surface 27 of a predetermined width that is substantially perpendicular to the opening direction of the opening 26 is present around the peripheral projection 30. Therefore, even if cleaning liquid flows over the peripheral projection 30 and onto the flat surface 27, it can be retained to some extent by the flat surface 27. Furthermore, a side surface 28 of a predetermined height extends from the flat surface 27 toward the tube connection portion 24, creating a step with respect to the flat surface 27, preventing the cleaning liquid from spreading beyond the step. The washer liquid supply path formed by the tube 25 or the like is connected to the side surface 28 so as to be approximately perpendicular, thereby substantially preventing the washer liquid from reaching the washer liquid supply path. This eliminates any route for the washer liquid overflowing from the opening 26 of the washer liquid nozzle 52 to flow in any direction other than the proper direction, ensuring that the appropriate amount of washer liquid drips downward in the vertical direction from the opening 26, i.e., onto the wiper 8. In particular, in this embodiment, the washer liquid is dripped from the washer liquid nozzle 52 while the wiper 8 is moved by the wiper movement mechanism 13, thereby allowing a predetermined amount of washer liquid to be applied continuously across the entire upper surface of the wiper 8 in the wiper width direction.

[0031] Furthermore, since the side surface portion 28 extending upward from the flat surface portion 27 of the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is substantially vertical, the amount of cleaning liquid that drips vertically downward from the opening 26 can be ensured.

[0032] In addition, since the end 25a of the tube 25 connected to the tube connection portion 24 of the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 and the flat portion 27 around the opening 26 are separated horizontally by a predetermined distance, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid dripping from the opening 26 from running down to the tube 25.

[0033] Although the inkjet printer according to the embodiment has been described above, 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 cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is provided on the absorber holder 33, but the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 may be provided at a position other than this.

[0034] Furthermore, the layout of the main components of the inkjet printer in the above embodiment is an example, and can be changed or set as appropriate depending on the application and specifications. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1 head 6 Lifting mechanism 8 wipers 9 Wiper holder 13 Wiper movement mechanism 24 Tube connection 25 tubes 25a end 26 Aperture 27 Flat part (bottom part) 28 Side part 29 Bent ridge 30 Peripheral protrusion 32 Absorbent 33 Absorber holder 52 Cleaning liquid nozzle

Claims

1. An inkjet printer comprising a head capable of ejecting ink from ejection ports provided on a bottom surface thereof, and a wiper for wiping the ejection surface of the head, a wiper moving mechanism that can move the wiper to a wiping position on the ejection surface and a standby position away from the lower surface of the head; a cleaning liquid nozzle that drips cleaning liquid from above the wiper in a region away from the wiping position; a cleaning liquid supply path connected to the cleaning liquid nozzle and supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid nozzle; the cleaning liquid nozzle is formed on the periphery of an opening for dropping the cleaning liquid, the opening being provided on the underside of the nozzle when the nozzle is installed, and has a peripheral protruding portion protruding from the underside by a predetermined distance; a flat portion formed around the peripheral protruding portion and extending substantially perpendicular to the opening direction of the opening; and a side portion of a predetermined height extending upward from the flat portion; an ink jet printer provided with a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface, wherein the cleaning liquid supply path is connected to the side surface substantially perpendicular to the side surface;

2. 2. An inkjet printer equipped with a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface according to claim 1, wherein the side surface of the cleaning liquid nozzle is formed to be substantially perpendicular to the flat surface.

3. the cleaning liquid supply path portion includes a tube that supplies the cleaning liquid, and a tube connection portion that is provided in the cleaning liquid nozzle and to which the tube is connected; 3. An ink jet printer equipped with a wiper for wiping a head ejection surface according to claim 1, wherein an end of a tube connected to the tube connecting portion and the flat portion are spaced apart by a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction.

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