Ink absorption mechanism of wipe cleaner

Abstract

To provide a stuck ink absorption mechanism for a wiper cleaner, to which an ink absorber can be easily attached and which can easily replace the ink absorber.SOLUTION: This stuck ink absorption mechanism comprises: an ink absorber 32 which brings ink stuck to a wiper 8 into contact with the wiper to absorb the ink; and an ink absorber support 34 that supports the ink absorber 32 at a position above the wiper 8 in the state of releasing an abutment region such that the wiper 8 rises to abut against the ink absorber 32 from below. The ink absorber 32 includes a mounted part formed into a flat plate shape and mounted on the ink absorber support 34 to be supported, and an extension region 32e bent from the edge of the mounted part to extend downward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an adhering ink absorption mechanism of a wiper cleaner, particularly to an adhering ink absorption mechanism of a wiper cleaner that absorbs ink adhering to a wiper that has wiped a print head.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, an inkjet printer includes a print head having ejection ports (nozzles) for ejecting ink provided on its lower surface, and prints by ejecting ink onto the upper surface of a sheet-like medium (printing medium) disposed below the print head. In order to perform high-precision printing, the state of the ink at the ejection ports, so-called nozzle meniscus (ink liquid surface), is important. For example, if unnecessary ink droplets adhere to the ejection ports, the flight deflection, landing deviation of the ejected ink droplets, and poor shape of the ink dots after landing may occur. As a result, there is a risk that the print image quality may deteriorate due to defects in 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] Wiping the ejection surface of the head with a wiper is performed, for example, by installing a wiper in the shape of a blade that is long in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the head (carriage), and causing the ejection surface of the head to contact the upper surface or upper edge of the wiper by the scanning operation of the head or the up-and-down operation of the wiper so that the adhering ink is wiped off. Ink adheres to the upper surface or upper part of the wiped wiper, but if the ejection surface is wiped again as it is, the ink adhering to the wiper will flow back to the ejection surface. Therefore, the upper surface or upper part of the wiper is brought into contact with an ink absorber such as a sponge to absorb the adhering ink and remove the ink remaining on the wiper.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a wiper cleaner for absorbing ink adhering to a wiper with an ink absorber. The ink absorber is held on a plate and mounted in a cleaner holder, and the plate is detachably attached to the cleaner holder. The ink absorber is replaced by pulling the plate out of the cleaner holder and replacing the old ink absorber with a new one. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-116851 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] In the wiper cleaner described in Patent Document 1, the size of the ink absorber that can be used is about the same size as or smaller than that of the cleaner holder due to its configuration. Therefore, the cleaner holder disclosed in Patent Document 1 has difficulty in increasing the volume of the ink absorber and reducing the frequency of ink absorber replacement.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide an ink absorption mechanism for a wiper cleaner that allows for easy attachment of a large-volume ink absorber and easy replacement of the ink absorber. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The ink absorption mechanism of the wiper cleaner according to the present invention is An ink absorber that absorbs ink adhering to a wiper by coming into contact with the wiper, As the wiper moves upward, it comes into contact with the ink absorber from below. In It has an ink absorber support portion that supports the ink absorber at a position above the wiper with the contact area open, The ink absorber is characterized by being formed in a flat plate shape and comprising a mounting portion that is placed on and supported by the ink absorber support portion, and an extended region portion that bends downward from the edge of the mounting portion.

[0009] In this configuration, the flat ink absorber has an extended region that bends downward from the edge of the mounting portion supported by the ink absorber support. Therefore, the volume of the ink absorber can be increased. In other words, the size of the ink absorber can be set to any size, without being limited by the size of the ink absorber support. This makes it possible to reduce the frequency of replacing the ink absorber. Furthermore, since the ink absorber is mounted and supported on the ink absorber support, it is possible to easily attach the ink absorber and also to easily replace it. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The ink absorption mechanism for the wiper cleaner of the present invention makes it possible to increase the volume of the ink absorber that absorbs the attached ink, thereby reducing the frequency of replacing the ink absorber due to the increased absorption capacity. Furthermore, the ink absorber can be installed simply by positioning the mounting part on the ink absorber support part, and the replacement of the ink absorber is also easy. Therefore, it can contribute to improving the operating rate of an inkjet printer equipped with the ink absorption mechanism for the wiper cleaner of the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the layout of the main components of an inkjet printer equipped with the ink absorption mechanism of the wiper cleaner of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of the wiper and wiper cleaner's ink absorption mechanism in an inkjet printer. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the ink absorption mechanism of a wiper cleaner. [Figure 4] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the ink absorption mechanism of the wiper cleaner, but it shows the state when the ink absorber is not being held. [Figure 5] Figure 2 is a plan view of the ink absorption mechanism of the wiper cleaner. [Figure 6] Figure 2 is a plan view of the ink absorber in the ink absorption mechanism of the wiper cleaner. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Below, one embodiment of the ink absorption mechanism for the wiper cleaner of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the layout of the main parts of an inkjet printer equipped with the ink absorption mechanism for the wiper cleaner of one embodiment. This inkjet printer has a configuration equivalent to, for example, that described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-131609, so the overall configuration diagram is omitted. That is, this inkjet printer is configured with an operation panel for the user to perform printing operations and a cover that covers the main body on the upper surface of the main body supported by legs. In addition, an outlet for ejecting media (printing medium) 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 the platen, ink is ejected onto the top surface of the media on the platen to print, and then the media is discharged onto a guide from the discharge port. The print head 1, which is positioned above the platen and ejects ink, is mounted on a carriage 2, as will be described later. The carriage 2 moves back and forth in a direction intersecting the media feeding direction, and ink is ejected from the print head 1 while it is intersecting the media. The direction of this back and forth movement (scanning) of the print head 1 is the primary scanning direction, and the media feeding direction (including the reverse direction) is the secondary scanning direction. The media can be any sheet-like material, and its material may be recording paper or a resin sheet. Furthermore, the sheet-like media does not necessarily need to be fed continuously; for example, it may be a sheet material placed individually on the platen.

[0014] Figure 1(a) is a plan view showing the schematic layout of the main parts of this inkjet printer, and Figure 1(b) is a left side view thereof. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of the wiper 8 and the ink absorption mechanism 33 of the wiper cleaner.

[0015] In Figure 1(a), the right side of the diagram is defined as the front of the inkjet printer and the left side as the rear; therefore, Figure 1(b) is a left side view. These directions will be used as references in the following explanation.

[0016] The inkjet printer of this embodiment is equipped with two heads 1 on the underside 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, along with the heads 1, is moved back and forth in the main scanning direction, i.e., in the left-right direction of the printer. When the heads 1 move back and forth in the main scanning direction, very small droplets of ink are ejected from each of the multiple (numerous) ejection ports provided on the underside of the heads 1, and these ink droplets land on the upper surface of the media to perform printing. The part of the underside of the heads 1 where the ejection ports are provided is called the ejection surface 1a. Note that the position of the heads 1 shown in Figure 1(a) is the original position in the printer standby state and differs from the position during printing.

[0017] A wiper 8 for wiping the discharge 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 discharge 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 abutting against the discharge surface 1a of the head 1, and the ink or the like adhering to the discharge surface 1a is wiped (wiped).

[0018] In the present embodiment, the wiper 8 is formed in a blade shape 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 discharge 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.

[0019] The movable ink receiving container 14 is longitudinally long in the front-rear direction, and specifically, it communicates from the wiping position where the wiper 8 wipes the discharge surface 1a of the head 1, that is, the position shown in FIG. 1(a), to the position where the ink absorber 32 is disposed, that is, the standby position. In the present 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, and the movable ink receiving container 14 is made to communicate from the wiping position to the standby position in order to accommodate the wiper holder 9 during the movement.

[0020] Furthermore, the movable ink receiving container 14 has an open top to allow the upper parts of the wiper 8 and wiper holder 9 to reciprocate with their upper parts protruding upward, so that the cleaning fluid dripped from the cleaning fluid nozzle 52 (described later) falls onto the upper surface of the wiper 8. The movable ink receiving container 14 has a guide member 16 (see Figure 2) made of a series of round rods extending in the front-to-back direction integrally provided on the upper left side when viewed from the front. This guide member 16 is slidably inserted into the arm base end 11 of the wiper holder 9, and the recess 17 at the lower end of the arm base end 11 engages with the upper left edge of the movable ink receiving container 14. This restricts the vertical and horizontal positions of the wiper holder 9 and wiper 8 relative to the movable ink receiving container 14, allowing the wiper 8 (wiper holder 9) to reciprocate in the front-to-back direction.

[0021] Below the movable ink receiving container 14 in the standby position, individual fixed ink receiving containers 15 are provided.

[0022] When the wiper 8 and wiper holder 9 are in the standby position, an ink absorber 32 is provided above the standby position to absorb and remove ink adhering to the wiper 8 (see Figure 2). This ink absorber 32 is made of a flat plate-shaped sponge made of polyolefin resin and is held by the ink absorption mechanism 33 of the wiper cleaner. When the wiper 8 is in the standby position, it is positioned to unfold horizontally above it.

[0023] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the ink absorption mechanism 33 of the wiper cleaner while it is holding the ink absorber 32, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the ink absorption mechanism 33 of the wiper cleaner while it is not holding the ink absorber 32. Figure 5 is a plan view of Figure 3. Figure 6 is a plan view of the ink absorber 32 held by the ink absorption mechanism 33 of the wiper cleaner.

[0024] The ink absorption mechanism 33 of this wiper cleaner mainly consists of an ink absorber support part 34 that supports the lower surface (mounted portion 32d) of one end 32a of a flat ink absorber 32 that is deployed horizontally above the wiper 8, and a lid member 35 that is attached to the ink absorber support part 34 so as to be openable and closable, and which covers the upper surface of the flat ink absorber 32 that is deployed horizontally when closed. In other words, one end 32a (mounted portion 32d) of the flat ink absorber 32 that is deployed horizontally above the wiper 8 is held between the ink absorber support part 34 and the lid member 35.

[0025] The ink absorber 32 is flat, as shown in Figure 6, and is made of a polyolefin resin sponge, for example. Details are shown in the descriptions of each component below, but the ink absorber 32 has a mounting portion 32d, an extension region portion 32e, a wiper contact region 32c, and end portions 32a and 32b, and the boundary between the mounting portion 32d and the extension region portion 32e is called the edge portion 32f. The mounting portion has a hole portion 42 and a slit-shaped insertion hole portion 51.

[0026] As can be seen from Figure 2, the lower surface of the horizontally unfolded, flat ink absorber 32 is open above the wiper 8 in the standby position. That is, above the wiper 8, the lower surface of the ink absorber 32 is not supported by the ink absorber support 34. Therefore, when the wiper 8 is raised from 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 ink absorber 32 over its entire longitudinal direction, and any adhering wiper ink is absorbed and removed by the ink absorber 32.

[0027] The wiper contact area 32c, to which the wiper 8 makes contact, can be set by making the horizontal width of the lid member 35, perpendicular to the opening / closing rotation axis 49, larger than the horizontal width of the ink absorber support part 34, perpendicular to the opening / closing rotation axis 49. Therefore, the wiper contact area 32c can be easily set without affecting the attachment of the ink absorber 32 to the wiper cleaner's ink absorption mechanism 33.

[0028] Based on various experiments, it has been found that when the pressing force of the wiper 8 against the ink absorber 32 by the lifting mechanism 6 is 3.5N or more, the wiper ink can be reliably absorbed and removed by the ink absorber 32, which is made of a polyolefin resin sponge. To withstand this pressing force, the upper surface of the flat ink absorber 32, which unfolds horizontally in the area where the wiper 8 is pressed from below, is covered with a metal lid member 35. As will be described later, the lid member 35 is engaged with the claw portion 37 of the engaging portion 36 provided on the ink absorber support portion 34, and is configured so that it does not easily come off (move) even when the wiper 8 is pressed against the ink absorber 32 from below.

[0029] The ink absorber support portion 34 is integrally formed from a resin material having a predetermined elasticity and mainly comprises a plate-shaped support portion 38 that supports the lower surface of the flat ink absorber 32 which is unfolded 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 of the guide portion 39 with a predetermined gap and extends downward from the support portion 38 parallel to the guide portion 39, and wall portions 41 that project upward from both front-rear ends of the support portion 38. On the upper surface of the support portion 38, projections 43 are provided at both front-rear ends, which are inserted into holes 42 provided in the flat ink absorber 32.

[0030] Furthermore, a plate-shaped engaging portion 36 is provided on the rib 44 that protrudes to the left from the guide portion 39, and is longitudinal in the front-rear direction and protrudes upward. This engaging portion 36 extends upward through a slender, slit-shaped through hole 45 provided in the support portion 38, and a claw portion 37 that engages with the upper surface of the lid member 35 when it is closed is provided on the right side of its upper end.

[0031] The lid member 35 is made of a metal material having a predetermined rigidity and is integrally formed. It mainly comprises a plate-shaped lid portion 46 that covers and presses down on the upper surface of the horizontally unfolded flat ink absorber 32, a plate-shaped handle portion 47 extending downward from the left end of the lid portion 46, and connecting portions 48 projecting to the right from both ends of the lid portion 46 in the front-rear direction. The connecting portion 48 of the lid member 35 is located inward in the front-rear direction relative to the wall portion 41 of the ink absorber support portion 34, and a rotating shaft 49 is inserted through this connecting portion 48 and the wall portion 41 of the ink absorber support portion 34. Therefore, the lid member 35 is rotatable from the ink absorber clamping position (closed position) shown by the solid line in Figure 2 to the open position shown by the dashed line in the same figure, thereby allowing the lid member 35 to be attached to the ink absorber support portion 34 in an openable and closable manner.

[0032] Furthermore, the lid member 35 has an elongated opening 50 in the front-to-back direction, located opposite the engaging portion 36 of the ink absorber support portion 34 when it is closed, through which the claw portion 37 of the engaging portion 36 can be inserted. Therefore, when the open lid member 35 is rotated to the closed position with the ink absorber 32 mounted on the support portion 38 of the ink absorber support portion 34, the claw portion 37 formed at the upper end of the engaging portion 36 passes through the opening 50 of the lid member 35, accompanied by the elastic deformation of the engaging portion 36. The elastic restoring force of the engaging portion 36 causes the claw portion 37 to cover the upper surface of the lid portion 46 of the lid member 35, and this claw portion 37 engages with the upper surface of the lid member 35, preventing the lid member 35 from opening when the wiper is pressed. To open the lid 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 lid member 35, and then the fingers are placed on the handle portion 47 to open the lid member 35.

[0033] Between the guide portion 39 and the back plate portion 40 of the ink absorber support portion 34, a slit-shaped insertion hole portion 51 is provided that is longitudinal in the front-rear direction, and the other end 32b of the wiper contact region 32c of the flat plate-shaped ink absorber 32, opposite to one end 32a, is inserted into the insertion hole portion 51. This end 32b of the ink absorber 32 opposite to the wiper side passes along the back plate portion 40 of the ink absorber support portion 34 through the gap between it and the movable ink receiving container 14, and further hangs down into the interior of the fixed ink receiving container 15. That is, the extended region portion 32e of the ink absorber 32 bends from the edge portion 32f of the mounting portion 32d, maintaining a vertical state. Therefore, the wiper ink absorbed by the ink absorber 32 in the contact region of the wiper 8, i.e., the upper left of Figure 2, gradually permeates and diffuses inside the ink absorber 32 toward the opposite end 32a, and finally reaches the opposite end 32a. Therefore, if the end 32a of the ink absorber 32 on the opposite side of the contact area of ​​the wiper 8 hangs down into the fixed ink receiving container 15, even if absorbed wiper ink drips from the opposite end 32a, it can be caught in the fixed ink receiving container 15, preventing it from leaking into or outside the printer.

[0034] Furthermore, a cleaning liquid nozzle 52, as shown in Figure 1, is attached to the upper part of the ink absorber support section 34 of the wiper cleaner's ink absorption mechanism 33. This cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is provided to protrude diagonally to the left rear from the ink absorber support section 34, and its protruding tip is positioned to face the upper surface of the wiper 8, which moves in the front-rear direction within the movable ink receiving container 14. Cleaning liquid is supplied to this cleaning liquid nozzle 52 via a tube (not shown), and the cleaning liquid is configured to drip 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 when wiping the discharge surface 1a of the head 1. During this movement, the cleaning solution is dripped from above by the cleaning solution nozzle 52 while the wiper 8 is moved in the forward and backward direction (especially backward) along its path. This makes it possible to wash away wiper ink from parts of the wiper 8 other than the upper surface (upper edge) that were not absorbed by the ink absorber 32, and by adhering the cleaning solution to the upper surface (upper edge) of the wiper 8, the subsequent wiping of the discharge surface 1a of the head 1 can be made more reliable. Furthermore, the wiper ink washed away by the cleaning solution drips and flows into the movable ink receiving container 14, preventing the wiper ink from leaking into or outside the printer.

[0035] In this embodiment, the ink absorption mechanism 33 of the wiper cleaner holds one end 32a region (placement portion 32d) of the flat ink absorber 32 between the ink absorber support portion 34 and the lid member 35, and allows the other end region 32b to hang down into the ink receiving container 14. This increases the volume of the ink absorber 32, thereby reducing the frequency of replacing the ink absorber 32. Furthermore, since the lid member 35 is attached to the ink absorber support portion 34 so as to be openable and closable, the ink absorber 32 can be easily replaced.

[0036] Furthermore, since the extended portion 32e extends to the ink receiving container 15 located below, if the ink absorber 32 exceeds its ink absorption limit, the excess ink that cannot be absorbed can be collected in the ink receiving container 15, thus preventing the printer body from being soiled with excess ink.

[0037] Furthermore, a lid member 35 having a predetermined rigidity is provided at the upper position of the ink absorber support portion 34 to cover the upper region of the supported ink absorber 32. When the wiper 8 comes into contact with the ink absorber 32 from below, the lid member 35 can prevent the ink absorber 35 from being lifted upward. In other words, the ink absorber 32 is always held well between the ink absorber support portion 34 and the lid member 35, and good ink absorption performance can be maintained.

[0038] The ink absorber support portion 34 is provided with an engaging portion 36 having a claw portion 37, and the lid member 35 is provided with an opening 50 into which the claw portion 37 can engage. The ink absorber 32 is held and fixed between the ink absorber support portion 34 and the lid member 35 by engagement. As a result, the ink absorber 32 is fixed in a state of being held between the ink absorber support portion 34 and the lid member 35, enabling it to perform its ink absorption function well. Furthermore, the ink absorber 32 can be easily replaced by disengaging the claw portion 37 from the opening 50.

[0039] Furthermore, the ink absorber support portion 34 is provided with a projection 43 that protrudes toward the lid portion 35. The mounting portion 32d of the ink absorber 32 is provided with a hole 42 through which a projection 43 passes, and a slit-shaped insertion hole 51 through which a claw portion 37 provided on the ink absorber support portion 34 passes. As a result, when replacing the ink absorber 32, the projection 43 and claw portion 37 of the ink absorber support portion 34 pass through the hole 42 and slit-shaped insertion hole 51 of the ink absorber 32, respectively, making it easy and accurate to position the ink absorber 32 on the ink absorber support portion 34 and speeding up the replacement work.

[0040] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, although the present invention shows a configuration in which the cleaning liquid nozzle 52 is attached to the upper part of the ink absorber support part 34 of the ink absorption mechanism 33 of the wiper cleaner, the invention is not limited to this configuration. Also, although the ink absorber 32 is not a perfect rectangle but has protrusions at the corners and tip, the invention is not limited to this configuration. Furthermore, the layout of the main components of the inkjet printer in the above embodiment is just an example, and can be appropriately changed and set according to the application and specifications. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1 head 1a Discharge surface 8 wipers 9. Wiper holder 13. Wiper movement mechanism 14. Movable ink receptacle 15. Ink receptacle 32 Ink absorber 33. Ink absorption mechanism of wiper cleaner 34 Ink absorber support section 35 Lid member

Claims

1. An ink absorber that absorbs ink adhering to a wiper by coming into contact with the wiper, The system includes an ink absorber support portion that supports the ink absorber at a position above the wiper, with the contact area open so that the wiper moves upward and contacts the ink absorber from below, The ink absorber mechanism for a wiper cleaner is characterized in that the ink absorber is formed in a flat plate shape and comprises a mounting portion that is placed on and supported by the ink absorber support portion, and an extended region portion that bends downward from the edge of the mounting portion.

2. The ink absorption mechanism for a wiper cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that the extended region extends to an ink receiving container located at a lower position at its lower end.

3. The ink absorption mechanism for a wiper cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a lid member having a predetermined rigidity is provided at the upper position of the ink absorber support portion to cover the upper region of the supported ink absorber.

4. The ink absorber support portion is provided with an engaging portion having a claw, and the lid member is provided with an opening into which the claw can engage. The ink absorption mechanism for a wiper cleaner according to claim 3, characterized in that the ink absorber is clamped and fixed between the ink absorber support and the lid member by engagement.

5. The ink absorber support portion is provided with a projection that protrudes toward the lid member side. The ink absorption mechanism for a wiper cleaner according to claim 4, characterized in that the mounting portion of the ink absorber is provided with a hole through which the projection passes, and a slit-shaped insertion hole through which the engaging portion and the claw portion provided on the ink absorber support portion pass.

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