JP2005161629A - Discharge face protecting device, liquid discharging cartridge, liquid discharging apparatus and liquid discharge face cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately clean a discharge face. <P>SOLUTION: The protecting device is configured to have an anionic surface active agent contained in a moisture absorbing body 72 of a cleaning roller 64 which cleans the discharge face 41. Since the hydrophilicity to an ink (i) of the moisture absorbing body 72 is enhanced, the extra ink (i) adhered to the discharge face 41 can be appropriately wiped or absorbed by the moisture absorbing body 72, and the cleaning capability of the cleaning roller 64 to the discharge face 41 can be improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge surface protection device for protecting a discharge surface provided with a discharge port for discharging a liquid pressed by a pressure generated by a pressure generating element to a target, and a liquid including the discharge surface protection device. The present invention relates to a discharge cartridge, a liquid discharge device, and a discharge surface cleaning method for cleaning a discharge surface using the discharge surface protection device.

  As an apparatus for ejecting liquid, there is an ink jet printer apparatus that records images and characters by ejecting ink from an ink ejection head onto a recording paper P that is an object. A printer device using this ink jet system has advantages such as low running cost, small device size, and easy colorization of printed images. In a printer apparatus using an inkjet system, for example, ink is supplied from an ink tank filled with a plurality of colors of ink such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black to an ink chamber of an ink ejection head.

  In this printer apparatus, the ink supplied to the ink liquid chamber or the like is provided on the ink discharge head by pressing the ink in the ink with a pressure generating element such as a heating resistor or a piezoelectric element disposed in the ink liquid chamber. The ejected ink droplets are ejected in the form of droplets from so-called nozzles, and the ejected ink droplets are landed on a recording paper or the like as an object to print images and characters (for example, see Patent Document 1). reference.).

  In such an ink jet printer, when ink droplets other than ink droplets ejected from nozzles, so-called ink satellites, adhere to the ejection surface provided with nozzles facing the recording paper of the ink ejection head, There is a possibility that it becomes difficult to eject ink droplets, or the ejection direction of ink droplets ejected from nozzles may be disturbed. Further, in this printer apparatus, for example, when printing is not performed for a long time, that is, when ink droplets are not ejected from the nozzle for a long time, the water content of the ink exposed from the nozzle evaporates and the ink thickens, and the ink liquid is discharged from the nozzle. It becomes difficult to properly eject the droplets. In some cases, the nozzle may be clogged with thickened ink. In such a printer apparatus, there is a possibility that a portion where ink is not landed, that is, white spots, white stripes in which white spots appear continuously, and the like are deteriorated during printing, and print quality is deteriorated.

  In order to solve such a problem, for example, it has been proposed to wipe and clean the ejection surface with a cleaning blade or an absorber. Specifically, Patent Document 2 proposes wiping with an absorber, and Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 propose using Japanese paper or cloth.

  However, when cleaning is performed by scraping off excess ink adhering to the ejection surface with a rubber cleaning blade made of urethane or silicon, for example, the position where the extra ink adhering to the ejection surface is adhered is moved. Therefore, it is difficult to remove excess ink from the ejection surface. When the ejection surface is excessively soiled by excess ink, the nozzles may be blocked by ink scraped by the cleaning blade, making it difficult to eject ink droplets.

  Also, for example, when the ink is disposed on the outer peripheral side surface of a substantially cylindrical rod-shaped rotating shaft and an absorbent roller made of sponge or the like is placed on the outer surface of the nozzle, the ink jet roller rolls around the axis to wipe off excess ink adhering to the nozzle surface. It is difficult to remove even the ink thickened by the above, and the ink droplets are not ejected or the ejection direction is deviated.

  Furthermore, when the absorption roller provided with a plurality of grooves is used in the absorber shown in Patent Document 5, the cleaning ability to wipe off and remove excess ink adhering to the discharge surface can be improved. When the ink is wiped off, there is a large friction and there is a possibility that the protective layer for protecting the electrode provided on the ejection surface is worn and the ink ejection head is deteriorated. In this case, there is also a problem that the corners of the grooves provided in the absorber of the absorbing roller are easily worn and the cleaning ability is likely to deteriorate.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-61985 JP-A-57-61574 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-80064 JP 57-116655 A JP-A-6-255117

  The present invention can easily absorb and remove excess liquid adhering to the ejection surface and the thickened liquid facing the ejection port to properly clean the ejection surface and suppress deterioration in print quality. An ejection surface protection device, a liquid ejection cartridge, a liquid ejection device, and an ejection surface cleaning method are provided.

  The discharge surface protection device according to the present invention that achieves the above-described object is formed with a discharge port that discharges droplets of a liquid discharge head unit that records by discharging liquid in the form of droplets and landing on an object. A discharge surface protection device that is held on the discharged discharge surface, and when droplets are discharged from the discharge port of the liquid discharge head unit, the droplet moves in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface, The cover cap portion that is retracted from the discharge port area where the discharge port of the discharge surface is formed so that the discharge port faces the surface, and the cover cap portion are in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head unit. And a cap holding portion that holds the movable portion and a surface of the cover cap portion that opposes the discharge port, and a moisture absorber that is larger than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface has a width of the discharge port region on the discharge surface. Cover cover with no gap in the direction. And a cleaning part that moves together with the cover cap part to clean the discharge surface by moving the part in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface, and the hygroscopic body of the cleaning part contains an anionic surfactant doing.

  A liquid discharge cartridge according to the present invention is a liquid discharge cartridge that is detachably attached to a liquid discharge apparatus that performs recording by discharging liquid in the form of droplets and landing on an object, and the liquid is in the state of droplets A liquid discharge head portion having a discharge surface formed with a discharge port for discharging toward the object, and a surface substantially parallel to the discharge surface when droplets are discharged from the discharge port of the liquid discharge head portion The cover cap portion that retreats from the discharge port area in which the discharge port of the discharge surface is formed so that the discharge port faces the target and the cover cap portion is connected to the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head unit. A cap holding portion that holds the surface substantially parallel to the surface, and a moisture absorbing body that is provided on a surface facing the discharge port of the cover cap portion and is larger than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface, Discharge port area on discharge surface A cleaning portion that moves together with the cover cap portion to clean the discharge surface by moving the cover cap portion in a plane that is substantially parallel to the discharge surface while being in contact with no gap in the width direction. And a discharge surface protective cover, and the hygroscopic body of the cleaning unit contains an anionic surfactant.

  A liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention is a liquid ejection apparatus that performs recording by ejecting a liquid in a droplet state and landing on the object, and ejects the liquid toward the object in a droplet state. When liquid droplets are ejected from the liquid ejection head portion having the ejection surface where the ejection ports are formed, and the ejection port of the liquid ejection head portion, the liquid ejection head portion moves in a plane substantially parallel to the ejection surface to The cover cap portion that is retracted from the discharge port area where the discharge port of the discharge surface is formed so that the discharge port faces the surface, and the cover cap portion are in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head unit. And a cap holding portion that holds the movable portion and a surface of the cover cap portion that opposes the discharge port, and a moisture absorber that is larger than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface has a width of the discharge port region on the discharge surface. Cover cover with no gap in the direction. A discharge surface protective cover having a cleaning portion that moves together with the cover cap portion by moving the nozzle portion in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface and cleans the discharge surface, and the liquid discharge head portion has the discharge port And a discharge control unit that controls the discharge operation when discharging more droplets, and the hygroscopic body of the cleaning unit contains an anionic surfactant.

  In the discharge surface cleaning method according to the present invention, a discharge port for discharging liquid droplets is formed in a liquid discharge head unit provided in a liquid discharge apparatus that discharges liquid in the form of liquid droplets and lands on an object. A discharge surface cleaning method for cleaning a discharged surface, wherein a moisture absorber that is larger than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface and contains an anionic surfactant is disposed on the discharge surface in the width direction of the discharge port region. The ejection surface is cleaned by moving in a plane substantially parallel to the ejection surface in a contact state without any gap.

  According to the present invention, the hygroscopic material that wipes and cleans the ejection surface by moving in a plane substantially parallel to the ejection surface in contact with the ejection surface contains an anionic surfactant. Therefore, the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body with respect to the liquid is increased, and the excess liquid adhering to the discharge surface can be appropriately wiped or absorbed by the hygroscopic body.

  According to the present invention, the hygroscopic body for cleaning the discharge surface contains an anionic surfactant, and the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body with respect to the liquid is increased, so that the ability to wipe or absorb the liquid of the hygroscopic body is improved. For this reason, the excess liquid adhering to the ejection surface by the hygroscopic body and the liquid that has evaporated from the ejection port and increased in viscosity are appropriately removed by wiping or absorbing. That is, it is possible to improve the cleaning ability of the hygroscopic body when cleaning the discharge surface with the hygroscopic body.

  As a result, according to the present invention, the excess liquid adhered to the ejection surface can be removed by appropriately wiping or absorbing excess liquid adhering to the ejection surface and the thickened liquid facing the ejection port. In addition, non-ejection and displacement in the ejection direction due to the liquid thickened in the ejection port can be suppressed, and printing with excellent image quality without white spots or white stripes can be performed.

  Hereinafter, a discharge surface protection device, a liquid discharge cartridge, a liquid discharge device, and a discharge surface cleaning method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid ejecting apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a printer apparatus) 1 to which the present invention is applied ejects ink i or the like onto a recording paper P traveling in a predetermined direction to produce images and characters. Is to be printed. In addition, the printer device 1 is a so-called line in which ink discharge ports (nozzles) are arranged in a substantially line shape in the width direction of the recording paper P, that is, in the direction of the arrow W in FIG. Type printer device. An ink jet printer apparatus 1 to which the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is applied is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, for example, by ejecting and landing ink i that is a liquid on a recording paper P that is an object. An image or character composed of ink dots corresponding to the input character data or image data is recorded.

  The printer apparatus 1 includes a printer head cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a head cartridge) 2 that is a liquid discharge head, and a printer body 3 that is an apparatus body to which the head cartridge 2 is mounted.

  In the printer apparatus 1, the head cartridge 2 is handled as a consumable item, and the head cartridge 2 can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 3, so that the replacement can be easily performed.

  First, the head cartridge 2 that can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 3 will be described. The head cartridge 2 is a so-called line-type printer head in which a plurality of nozzles, which are ejection openings for ejecting ink i, are arranged in a substantially straight line with a length corresponding to the width of the recording paper P.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the head cartridge 2 includes a cartridge main body 12 in which an ink tank 11 for containing ink is mounted. The cartridge main body 12 has yellow, cyan, and color printing corresponding to color printing. Ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k composed of four colors of magenta and black are detachable.

  These four ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k are containers formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by, for example, injection molding of a resin material or the like, and contain ink i corresponding to each color inside. Yes. In addition, these four ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k have an inner surface that is in contact with ink with a surface roughness that is smaller than the outer surface so that minute foreign matters such as dust can be easily removed when the inside is cleaned. It is getting smaller. The four ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k have a long shape corresponding to the long side direction of the cartridge body 12 in order to store as much ink i as possible. The ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k are arranged side by side in the short side direction of the cartridge body 12. The four ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k have a larger capacity than the other ink tanks 11y, 11m, and 11c, and the thickness of the black ink tank 11k that consumes the largest amount of ink. It has the same structure except having. Therefore, the configuration of these ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k will be collectively described as the ink tank 11 below.

  Here, the ink i stored in the ink tank 11 will be described. The ink i becomes a recording liquid when printing, and contains, for example, a colorant such as a water-soluble dye that becomes a pigment or various pigments, a solvent in which the colorant is dispersed, and a surfactant.

  Examples of the colorant include water-soluble dyes such as direct dyes, acid dyes, basic dyes, and reactive dyes described below. Specifically, examples of the yellow direct dye include C.I. I. Direct Yellow 1, 8, 11, 12, 24, 26, 27, 28, 33, 39, 44, 50, 58, 85, 86, 87, the same 88, 89, 98, 100, 110, etc., and one or more of these may be used in combination. Examples of magenta direct dyes include C.I. I. Direct Red 1, 2, 2, 4, 9, 13, 17, 20, 23, 24, 28, 31, 31, 33, 37, 39, 44, the same 46, 62, 63, 75, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 89, 95, 99, 113, 197, 201, 218, 220, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 321 and the like can be mentioned, and one or more of these are used in combination. Examples of cyan direct dyes include C.I. I. Direct Blue 1, 2, 6, 8, 15, 22, 25, 41, 71, 76, 77, 78, 80, 86, 90, 98, the same 106, 108, 120, 158, 160, 163, 165, 168, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 199, 199, 200, 201, 202, The same 203, 207, 225, 226, 236, 237, 246, 248, 249, etc. can be mentioned, and one or more of these are used in combination. Examples of black direct dyes include C.I. I. Direct Black 17, 19, 22, 32, 38, 51, 56, 62, 71, 74, 75, 77, 94, 105, 106, 107, 108, 112, 113, 117, 118, 132, 133, 146, etc., and one or more of them are used.

  Examples of yellow acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Yellow 1, 3, 7, 7, 19, 19, 23, 25, 29, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 49, 59, 61, 70, 72, 75, 76, 78, 79, 98, 99, 110, 111, 112, 114, 116, 118, 119, 127, 128, 131, 135, 141, 142, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, and the like, and one or more of these are used in combination. Examples of magenta acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Red 1, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 26, 27, 32, 35, 37, 42, 51, 52, 57, 75, 77, 80, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 92, 94, 97, 106, 111, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 138, 143, 145, 154, 155, 158, 168, 180, 183, 184 186, 194, 198, 199, 209, 209, 211, 215, 216, 217, 219, 249, 252, 254, 256, 257, 262, 262 265, 266, 274, 276, 282, 283 The 303, the 317, the 318, the 320, the 321, there may be mentioned the same 322, etc., using a mixture of one or more of these. Examples of cyan acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Blue 1, 7, 9, 15, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 40, 41, 43, 45, 54, 59, 60, 62, 72, 74, 78, 80, 82, 83, 90, 92, 93, 100, 102, 103, 104, 112, 113, 117, 120, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 138, 140, 142, 143, 151, 154, 158, 161, 166, 167, 168 170, 171, 175, 182, 183, 183, 184, 187, 192, 199, 203, 204, 205, 229, 234, 236, etc. One or more of these are used in combination. Examples of black acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Black 1, 2, 2, 7, 26, 29, 31, 31, 44, 48, 50, 51, 52, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 67, 72, 76, 77, 94, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 115, 118, 119, 121, 122, 131, 132, 139, 140, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 191 and the like. Among these, one or a plurality of these may be used in combination.

  As the solvent for dispersing the dyes and the like mentioned above, for example, water satisfying characteristics such as low viscosity, easy handling, low cost, and odorlessness is used. Further, as a solvent for the ink i, for example, ion-exchanged water or the like can be used in order to prevent unnecessary ions from being mixed into the ink i.

  In addition, the ink i contains a water-soluble organic solvent such as an aliphatic monohydric alcohol, an aliphatic polyhydric alcohol, an aliphatic polyhydric alcohol derivative, or the like as a solvent in addition to a solvent such as water or ion exchange water. .

  Specifically, examples of the aliphatic monohydric alcohol include lower alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, i-propyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, s-butyl alcohol, and t-butyl alcohol. These may be used alone or in combination. When the above-described aliphatic monohydric alcohol is used as a solvent, the ink i can have an appropriate surface tension, and has excellent penetrability with respect to the recording paper P and the like, dot formation, and printed image drying. Is obtained. In this case, among the aliphatic monohydric alcohols, by using ethyl alcohol, i-propyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, or the like as a solvent for the ink i, the ink i having excellent characteristics described above can be obtained.

  Examples of the aliphatic polyhydric alcohol include alkylene glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol and glycerol, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, and thiodiglycol. These may be used alone or in combination. Examples of the aliphatic polyhydric alcohol derivatives include lower alkyl ethers of the above-described aliphatic polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and lower carboxylic acid esters of the above-mentioned aliphatic polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol diacetate. Can be mentioned. When the aliphatic polyhydric alcohols and derivatives thereof listed above are used as the solvent for the ink i, the ink i is difficult to dry and the freezing point of the ink i can be lowered. In addition, the nozzle 52a can be prevented from being clogged with the dry ink i.

  Therefore, as a solvent for dispersing the dye or the like, in addition to water, etc., one or more of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, aliphatic polyhydric alcohols, aliphatic polyhydric alcohol derivatives, etc. each having unique properties By mixing and using, the ink i suitable for the purpose and application can be obtained.

  Ink i includes aliphatic monohydric alcohols, aliphatic polyhydric alcohols and derivatives thereof, amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide, ketones such as acetone and diacetone alcohol, and keto alcohols. , Tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, γ-butyllactone, glycerin, 1.2.6-hexanetriol and other trihydric alcohols, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, sulfolane, 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1.3 -You may mix and add 1 type or multiple types among nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, such as a dimethyl-2- imidazolidinone. Thereby, the ink i can improve the above-described characteristics.

  Examples of the surfactant contained in the ink i include ethers such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ether and polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ether, esters such as polyoxyethylene fatty acid ester, polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene copolymer, Examples include surfactants obtained by mixing nitrogen-containing compounds such as polyoxyethylene alkylamine ether and fatty acid diethanolamide with polyoxyethylene acetylene glycols, and one or more of these are used.

  In addition to the above-mentioned dye, solvent, surfactant, etc., for example, a viscosity modifier, a surface tension modifier, a pH adjuster, an antiseptic, a rust inhibitor, an antifungal agent, etc. are added to the ink i. Is also possible. Specific examples of viscosity modifiers, surface tension modifiers, pH adjusters and the like include proteins such as gelatin and casein, natural rubbers such as gum arabic, cellulose derivatives such as methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, and hydroxymethylcellulose, and lignin sulfonic acid. Examples thereof include natural polymers such as salts and shellac, polyacrylates, styrene-acrylic acid copolymer salts, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyvinylpyrrolidone. One or more of these can be added. Examples of antiseptics, rust inhibitors, fungicides and the like include benzoic acid, dichlorophene, hexachlorophene, sorbic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid ester, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and the like. It is also possible to add one or more of these.

  As for the ink i described above, the yellow ink is contained in the ink tank 11y, the magenta ink is contained in the ink tank 11m, and the cyan ink is contained in the ink tank 11c, and exhibits black. Is stored in the ink tank 11k.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink tank 11 that stores the ink i includes an ink storage portion 21 that is a liquid storage portion that stores the ink i, and the ink i in the ink storage portion 21 to the cartridge body 12. An ink delivery part 22 that is a liquid delivery part to be delivered, an external communication hole 23 that allows the ink storage part 21 to communicate with the outside, and an air introduction tube 24 that introduces external air into the ink storage part 21 from the external communication hole 23. And have.

  The ink storage portion 21 forms a storage space for storing the ink i, and has an inner shape substantially corresponding to the outer shape of the ink tank 11 in order to store as much ink i as possible. Further, the ink containing portion 21 is formed so that the bottom surface portion of the ink containing portion 21 is the deepest at the ink sending portion 22 located at the substantially center, and the ink i contained therein flows into the ink sending portion 22 in a concentrated manner. It is made like that.

  The ink delivery unit 22 is a nozzle that supplies ink i from the ink tank 11 communicated with the ink storage unit 21 to the cartridge body 12, and is provided so as to protrude downward from the lower surface central portion of the ink storage unit 21. Yes. The ink delivery part 22 has a tapered shape whose inner diameter is increased toward the tip so that the ink delivery part 22 can be smoothly fitted to a connecting part 35 of the cartridge body 12 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the external communication hole 23 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the ink containing portion 21. Further, the external communication hole 23 is closed by a sealing member (not shown) having air permeability. Thereby, in the ink tank 11, the ink i is prevented from leaking outside from the external communication hole 23, and dust or the like is generated in the ink storage portion 21 when external air is taken in from the external communication hole 23. Preventing intrusion.

  The air introduction tube 24 extends downward from the external communication hole 23 to the inside of the ink containing portion 21. As a result, in the ink tank 11, when the ink i in the ink containing portion 21 is sent from the ink sending portion 22 to the cartridge body 12, the air corresponding to the decrease in the ink i in the ink containing portion 21. Is taken into the ink containing portion 21 from the external communication hole 23 through the air introduction tube 24.

  In addition, in the middle of the air introduction tube 24, a liquid storage unit that temporarily stores the ink i so that the ink i that has flowed back from the ink storage unit 21 does not suddenly flow out of the external communication hole 23. An ink reservoir 25 is provided. The ink storage portion 25 forms a substantially rhombus-shaped internal space in which the longer diagonal line when viewed from the front is aligned with the long side direction of the ink storage portion 21, and the upper corner portion is the air introduction tube 24. Are communicated with the external communication hole 23, and the lower corner portion is communicated with the ink containing portion 21 via the air introduction tube 24. As a result, in the ink tank 11, the ink storage unit 25 temporarily stores the ink i that has flowed back from the ink storage unit 21 through the air introduction tube 24, so that the ink i does not leak to the outside from the external communication hole 23. The ink i can be returned again to the ink container 21 side.

  Further, the ink tank 11 has an engaging step portion 26 and a locking projection 27 which are fixing means for fixing to a tank mounting portion 31 of the cartridge main body 12 described later.

  The engagement step portion 26 is a step portion formed on one end side in the long side direction of the ink tank 11, a horizontal surface portion 26 a that is parallel to the upper surface portion from the side surface portion on the one end side and one step lower than the upper surface portion, It has the inclined surface part 26b which inclines toward the upper surface part from this horizontal surface part 26a.

  The locking protrusion 27 is a protrusion formed to protrude from the side surface portion on the other end side in the long side direction of the ink tank 11, and is positioned below the horizontal surface portion 27a and a horizontal surface portion 27a parallel to the upper surface portion. And an inclined surface portion 27b inclined toward the side surface portion.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the cartridge main body 12 has a tank mounting portion 31 in which the ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k corresponding to the above-described colors are mounted.

  The tank mounting portion 31 has a depth sufficient to accommodate the ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k from the upper surface portion of the cartridge main body 12 that is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape corresponding to the width of the recording paper P. The bottom surface of the recess is formed by a partition wall 31a so that the ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k are arranged in the short side direction of the cartridge body 12. ing.

  The black ink tank 11k is thicker than the other ink tanks 11y, 11m, and 11c. Therefore, the tank mounting portion 31 also has a partition wall 31a that partitions the mounting position of the black ink tank 11k. The interval is formed by a predetermined width wider than the interval of the partition walls 31a that partition the mounting positions of the other ink tanks 11y, 11m, and 11c.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tank mounting portion 31 is provided with an engaged portion 32, a latch lever 33, and a leaf spring 34 that are fixing means for fixing the ink tank 11 described above.

  The engaged portion 32 is a portion that is engaged with the horizontal surface portion 26 a of the engagement step portion 26 formed in the ink tank 11 described above, and is an open end that is located on one end side in the long side direction of the tank mounting portion 31. Projecting by a predetermined width in the long side direction.

  The latch lever 33 is an elastic displacement piece that protrudes upward from a bottom corner portion located on the other end side in the long side direction of the tank mounting portion 31, and a tip portion of the latch lever 33 with respect to a side surface portion of the tank mounting portion 31. Thus, it can be elastically displaced in the direction of approaching and separating. Further, a locking hole 33 a for locking the locking protrusion 27 of the ink tank 11 described above is formed in the leading end side of the latch lever 33. A latch lever 33 corresponding to each of the ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k is provided along the short side direction of the cartridge main body 12 in the tank mounting portion 31 partitioned by the partition wall 31a.

  The leaf spring 34 is a pressing member that is provided on the bottom surface of the tank mounting portion 31 and presses the ink tank 11 mounted on the tank mounting portion 31 upward. The leaf spring 34 is disposed along the long side direction of the tank mounting portion 31, has one end fixed to the bottom surface portion of the tank mounting portion 31, and an intermediate portion thereof bent upward. ing. A plate spring 34 corresponding to each of the ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k is provided along the short side direction of the cartridge main body 12 on the bottom surface of the tank mounting portion 31 partitioned by the partition wall 31a. Yes.

  When the ink tank 11 is mounted on the tank mounting portion 31, one end side of the ink tank 11 where the engagement step portion 26 is provided is inserted obliquely into the tank mounting portion 31, and the engagement step portion 26 is inserted. While the horizontal surface portion 26a of the ink tank 11 is brought into contact with the engaged portion 32 of the tank mounting portion 31, the other end side of the ink tank 11 provided with the locking projection 27 is rotated around the contact position. It is inserted into the tank mounting part 31 while being moved. At this time, the locking protrusion 27 of the ink tank 11 elastically displaces the latch lever 33 in a direction close to the side surface of the tank mounting portion 31 by the inclined surface portion 27 b coming into contact with the latch lever 33.

  At the same time that the ink tank 11 is mounted on the tank mounting portion 31, the locking protrusion 27 is locked in the locking hole 33 a of the latch lever 33. At this time, the front end portion of the latch lever 33 presses the side surface portion of the ink tank 11 mounted on the tank mounting portion 31, and the leaf spring 34 provided on the bottom surface portion of the tank mounting portion 31 is the bottom surface portion of the ink tank 11. The horizontal surface portion 26a of the engaging step portion 26 is locked to the engaged portion 32 of the tank mounting portion 31, and the horizontal surface portion 27a of the locking protrusion 27 is latched to the latch lever 33. The locking hole 33a is locked. Thereby, the ink tank 11 can be appropriately fixed to the tank mounting portion 31 of the cartridge body 12.

  On the other hand, when removing the ink tank 11 mounted on the tank mounting portion 31, the tip end portion of the latch lever 33 is elastically displaced in a direction away from the side surface portion of the ink tank 11. Thereby, the latching state of the horizontal surface part 27a of the latching protrusion 27 mentioned above and the latching hole 33a of the latch lever 33 is cancelled | released. At this time, since the leaf spring 34 presses the bottom surface portion of the ink tank 11 upward, the ink tank 11 can be easily detached from the tank mounting portion 31.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cartridge main body 12 to which the ink tank 11 as described above is attached includes a connecting portion 35 connected to the ink delivery portion 22 of the ink tank 11 described above, and the connecting portion. The ink supply unit 36 is a liquid supply unit that supplies the ink i from the ink tank 11 connected to the ink tank 11, and the head unit 37 discharges the ink i supplied by the ink supply unit 36. .

  The connecting portion 35 is a nozzle provided at the center of the bottom surface of the tank mounting portion 31, and the tip of the connecting portion 35 is connected to the ink sending portion 22 described above, thereby being connected to the ink sending portion 22 of the ink tank 11. . Further, when the ink delivery part 22 of the ink tank 11 is connected to the connection part 35, an opening / closing pin (not shown) provided at the tip of the connection part 35 opens the ink delivery part 22. The connecting portion 35 is provided with a seal member 38 such as an O-ring to prevent the ink i from leaking from the connected ink delivery portion 22. In addition, you may make it the front-end | tip part serve as an opening-and-closing pin. That is, a configuration in which the distal end portion of the connecting portion 35 is fitted to the ink delivery portion 22 and the ink delivery portion 22 is opened may be employed. Further, the distal end portion of the connecting portion 35 has a tapered shape whose outer diameter is reduced toward the distal end so as to be smoothly fitted to the ink delivery portion 22 described above.

  At the center of the bottom surface of the tank mounting portion 31 partitioned by the partition wall 31a, connecting portions 35 corresponding to the respective ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k are provided side by side in the short side direction of the cartridge main body 12. ing.

  When ink i is ejected from a nozzle 52a of the head unit 37, which will be described later, the ink supply unit 36 opens a valve (not shown) due to the negative pressure generated on the head unit 37 side, and from the ink storage unit 21 of the ink tank 11. When the ink i is supplied to the head portion 37 and the ink i is supplied from the ink containing portion 21 of the ink tank 11 to the head portion 37 and the pressure on the head portion 37 side returns to the steady state, the valve is closed to close the ink. This is a valve mechanism that stops the supply of the ink i from the ink storage portion 21 of the tank 11 to the head portion 37.

  And the ink supply part 36 repeats the supply operation | movement of the ink i, whenever the ink i is discharged from the nozzle 52a of the head part 37 mentioned later. On the other hand, in the ink tank 11, when the ink i in the ink storage unit 21 is supplied to the ink supply unit 36 side in conjunction with the supply operation of the ink i by the ink supply unit 36 described above, As the ink i decreases, air corresponding to the decreased ink i is introduced into the ink containing portion 21 from the external communication hole 23 through the air introduction tube 24. Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately supply the ink i to the ink supply unit 36 side while keeping the pressure in the ink storage unit 21 in an equilibrium state.

  In addition, an ink supply unit 36 is provided below the connecting unit 35 corresponding to each color described above.

  The head portion 37 is located above the ejection surface 41 on which a nozzle 52a (described later) for ejecting ink i in the form of droplets is formed, and the ink to which the ink i is supplied from the ink supply portion 36. A supply port 42 and an ink flow path 43 that guides ink i supplied from the ink supply port 42 to each nozzle are provided.

  On the ejection surface 41, a plurality of nozzles 52a are arranged side by side in a substantially line shape over a length corresponding to the width of the recording paper P.

  The ink supply port 42 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the ink flow path 43 and communicates with the ink supply unit 36.

  The ink flow path 43 is provided in a substantially line shape over a length corresponding to the width of the recording paper P so that the ink i is supplied to each nozzle 52a.

  In the head portion 37, ink discharge heads 44 each having a predetermined number of nozzles 52a are arranged in a staggered manner. That is, the ink discharge heads 44 are arranged so as to be alternately arranged in the width direction of the recording paper P with the ink flow path 43 interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ink discharge head 44 is divided into a circuit board 51 as a base, a nozzle sheet 52 formed with a plurality of nozzles 52a, and a space between the circuit board 51 and the nozzle sheet 52 for each nozzle 52a. And an ink liquid chamber 54 that pressurizes the ink i supplied through the ink flow path 43, and a heating resistor 55 that heats the ink i supplied to the ink liquid chamber 54.

  The circuit board 51 forms a control circuit including a logic IC (Integrated Circuit), a driver transistor, and the like on a semiconductor wafer made of silicon or the like, and forms an upper surface portion of the ink liquid chamber 54.

  The nozzle sheet 52 is reduced in diameter toward the discharge surface 41, and a nozzle 52 a having a diameter of about 20 μm on the discharge surface 41 side is provided, and the nozzle sheet 52 is disposed to face the circuit board 51 and the film 53. The lower surface of the ink liquid chamber 54 is formed.

  The film 53 is made of, for example, an exposure curable dry film resist, and is formed so as to surround each nozzle 52a except for the portion communicating with the ink flow path 43 described above. Further, the film 53 is interposed between the circuit board 51 and the nozzle sheet 52, thereby forming a side surface portion of the ink liquid chamber 54.

  The ink liquid chamber 54 is surrounded by the circuit board 51, the nozzle sheet 52, and the film 53 described above, thereby forming a pressurizing space that pressurizes the ink i supplied from the ink flow path 43 for each nozzle 52a.

  The heating resistor 55 is disposed on the circuit board 51 facing the ink liquid chamber 54 and is electrically connected to a control circuit or the like provided on the circuit board 51. The heating resistor 55 generates heat by being controlled by a control circuit or the like, and heats the ink i in the ink liquid chamber 54.

  In the ink ejection head 44, the control circuit of the circuit board 51 drives and controls the heating resistor 55, and supplies a pulse current to the selected heating resistor 55 for about 1 to 3 microseconds, for example. To do. Thereby, in the ink discharge head 44, the heating resistor 55 is rapidly heated. Then, in the ink ejection head 44, as shown in FIG. 6A, bubbles b are generated in the ink i in the ink liquid chamber 54 in contact with the heating resistor 55. In the ink ejection head 44, as shown in FIG. 6B, the ink i is pressurized while the bubble b expands in the ink liquid chamber 54, and the pushed ink i becomes a droplet. And discharged from the nozzle 52a. In the ink discharge head 44, after the ink i droplet is discharged, the ink i is supplied to the ink liquid chamber 54 through the ink flow path 43, thereby returning to the state before discharge again.

  In the ink discharge head 44 described above, the film 53 is formed over the entire main surface of the circuit board 51, and the film 53 is formed into a shape corresponding to the ink liquid chamber 54 using a photolithography technique. It is formed by laminating a nozzle sheet 52 thereon.

  The ink ejection head 44 described above employs an electrothermal conversion system in which the ink i is ejected while being heated by the heating resistor 55. However, the present invention is not limited to this system. For example, an electrical machine such as a piezoelectric element is used. An electromechanical conversion system in which droplets of ink i are electromechanically ejected by a conversion element may be employed.

  Further, a head portion 37 is provided below the ink supply portion 36 corresponding to each color described above. The bottom surface of the cartridge main body 12 is provided with discharge surfaces 41 of the head portions 37 corresponding to the ink tanks 11y, 11m, 11c, and 11k, respectively, along the short side direction of the cartridge main body 12. These form a continuous discharge surface 41.

  In addition to the configuration described above, the head cartridge 2 configured as described above includes a guide groove 39 described later, a remaining amount detection unit (not shown) that detects the remaining amount of ink i in the ink storage unit 12, and an ink tank 11y. , 11m, 11c, and 11k, an ink tank identification unit (not shown) is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bottom surface of the cartridge body 12 protects the ejection surface 41 described above, prevents the ink i exposed from the nozzles 52 a of the ejection surface 41 from being dried, and ejects the ejection surface. A discharge surface protective cover 61 is provided for cleaning the ink i attached to the area other than the nozzle 52a of the 41 nozzle.

  The discharge surface protective cover 61 includes a substantially rectangular cover cap portion 62 corresponding to the bottom surface portion of the cartridge body 12, a cap holding piece 63 that is detachably held with respect to the cartridge body 12, and a cartridge of the cover cap portion 62. A cleaning roller 64 provided on a surface facing the main body 12 and cleaning the ink i attached to the ejection surface 41 is provided.

  In the discharge surface protective cover 61, the cover cap portion 62 moves in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface 41 when ink i is discharged from the discharge surface 41 of the cartridge body 12, and at least the recording paper. Retreat from the area of the ejection surface 41 where the nozzle 52a is formed so that the nozzle 52a faces the P. The cover cap portion 62 serves as a tray that prevents the ink i from dripping from the head portion 37 in a state where the cover cap portion 62 is held by the cartridge main body 12 and closes the ejection surface 41, and is a bottom portion that is continuous with the cartridge main body 12. Thus, when the cartridge main body 12 is removed from the printer main body 3, the ink i on the ejection surface 41 is prevented from adhering to the other.

  The cap holding pieces 63 are a pair of protrusions that protrude upward on both sides in the long side direction of the cover cap portion 62 and whose front ends are bent substantially at right angles toward the outside, and are attached to and detached from the cartridge body 12. It protrudes over the direction, that is, the short side direction of the cover cap portion 62. The cap holding piece 63 is engaged with a pair of guide grooves 39 provided on the discharge surface 41 of the cartridge body 12, thereby holding the cover cap portion 62 so as to be substantially parallel to the discharge surface 41. .

  The cleaning roller 64 has a substantially cylindrical rod-shaped rotating shaft 71 and a moisture absorbing body 72 provided with a predetermined thickness over the entire outer peripheral side surface of the rotating shaft 71. When ink i is ejected in the form of droplets from 52a, fine ink drops adhering to the ejection surface 41 as extra ink i, such as so-called ink satellites, are removed by wiping, blotting, etc. from the ejection surface 41. This is a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the discharge surface 41.

  The rotation shaft 71 has a length in the axial direction that is at least longer than a region where the nozzle 52a is provided in the width direction of the recording paper P indicated by the arrow W in FIG. The rotating shaft 71 has opposite ends facing the discharge surface 41 of the cover cap 62 by a holding portion (not shown) so that the shaft is along the end portion of the cover cap portion 62 on the side where the cartridge body 12 is mounted. It is held and is rotatable in the circumferential direction around the axis.

  The hygroscopic body 72 is made of an organic resin porous body having pores having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the nozzle 52a provided on the ejection surface 41 on the ejection surface 41 side, and has a predetermined thickness on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 71. It is attached to a region facing all the nozzles 52a arranged in the width direction of P. As shown in FIG. 7, the hygroscopic body 72 is made larger than the width of the discharge surface 41 in the same direction as the width direction W of the recording paper P in the region where the nozzle 52a is formed, that is, the so-called discharge port region 41a. When cleaning 41, it is abutted against and pressed against the discharge surface 41 in the width direction W of the discharge port region 41 a.

  The hygroscopic body 72 is a so-called open-cell organic resin porous body in which one or more adjacent pores are connected. Specifically, for example, various foam resins made of polyurethane, polyolefin, melamine, polyvinyl alcohol, or the like can be used. In order to form pores having a smaller pore diameter than the diameter of the nozzle 52a on the discharge surface 41 side, specifically, the average pore diameter is made smaller than the diameter of the nozzle 52a on the discharge surface 41 side. For example, it is heated and compressed.

  The hygroscopic body 72 can also be manufactured by the following method. When the moisture absorbent 72 is manufactured, the thermoplastic resin used as the raw material of the foam resin described above, the pore-forming material having a predetermined particle diameter, and triphenylforme (hereinafter referred to as TPP) in which the pore-forming material is uniformly dispersed. By mixing and kneading at a predetermined ratio with a lubricant made of, etc., to obtain a porous precursor molded into a predetermined shape, and removing the pore-forming material and the lubricant from the porous precursor A hygroscopic body 72 made of an organic resin porous body having a structure in which fine pores communicate three-dimensionally and having a low density of thermoplastic resin is manufactured. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include thermoplastic elastomers (polyester, polyether, polyether polyester, styrene, polyamide, etc.), olefin thermoplastic elastomers (LD-polyethylene, HD-polyethylene, LL-polyethylene, α Olefinated polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.), urethane thermoplastic elastomers, polyamides, polyimides, polyacetals, etc., and any organic resin that melts when heated can be used. As the pore forming material, a water-soluble material such as trimethylolethane or trimethylolpropane is used.

  Since this pore forming material is a water-soluble material, it is dissolved and extracted by immersing the porous precursor described above in water, and is easily removed from the porous precursor. Further, the lubricant made of TPP is dissolved and extracted by immersing the porous precursor in alcohol or the like, for example, and is easily removed from the porous precursor. And as for the organic resin porous body manufactured by the method mentioned above, the hole diameter of the pore is determined by the particle diameter of the pore forming material.

  The mixing ratio of the thermoplastic resin and the pore-forming material is preferably 10% to 40% of the total volume of the thermoplastic resin in terms of volume. That is, it is preferable that the moisture absorber 72 has a porosity of 60% or more and 90% or less. Although it is possible to produce the hygroscopic body 72 having a porosity exceeding 90%, in this case, the mechanical strength as the organic resin porous body is significantly lowered. In addition, when the porosity is smaller than 60%, the space for holding the ink i on the ejection surface 41 that has been wiped off or absorbed becomes too small, and the cleaning ability is deteriorated. Therefore, in the hygroscopic body 72, when the porosity is in the range of 60% or more and 90% or less, the mechanical strength is excellent and the deterioration of the cleaning ability can be suppressed.

  And the hygroscopic body 72 demonstrated above is made to contain the anionic surfactant which can improve hydrophilic property. Examples of the anionic surfactant contained in the hygroscopic body 72 include polyoxyethylene alkyl ether phosphates / phosphates, acylamine salts, alkyl ether carboxylates, acyl taurine salts, alkyl sulfates, alkyl sulfosuccinates. , Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate, etc., and any one or a combination of these may be used. These anionic surfactants also have the advantage of being highly permeable to the hygroscopic body 72 and being easy to adapt. Among the anionic surfactants listed above, inexpensive and various types of alkyl sulfates, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfates, alkyl sulfosuccinates having very high permeability to the hygroscopic body 72, and the like are preferably used.

  In this method, the hygroscopic body 72 contains an anionic surfactant. For example, the hygroscopic body 72 is immersed in an aqueous surfactant solution in which the non-ionic surfactant described above is dissolved in water, and the aqueous surfactant solution is hygroscopically absorbed. The hygroscopic body 72 contains only the anionic surfactant by absorbing the body 72 and drying the water after absorption. It is to be noted that an anionic surfactant is dispersed in a highly volatile solvent other than water to obtain a surfactant solution, and this surfactant solution is absorbed by the moisture absorbent 72, and the volatile solvent is removed by drying. Thus, it is possible to contain only the anionic surfactant in the hygroscopic body 72. As the volatile solvent, aliphatic monohydric alcohol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, or the like is used because it is easily available and inexpensive.

  As another content method, for example, when an organic resin porous body is produced, an anionic surfactant is also mixed together with a thermoplastic resin, a pore-forming material, and a lubricant, kneaded, and molded to form a hygroscopic body 72. There is also a method of containing an anionic surfactant. However, when the pore forming material is removed, the contained anionic surfactant is also extracted, so it is necessary to control the amount of the anionic surfactant added.

  The content of the anionic surfactant with respect to the hygroscopic body 72 varies depending on the type of the organic resin porous body and the type of the anionic surfactant, but is preferably 0.5 wt% or more with respect to the total weight of the hygroscopic body 72, More preferably, it is 1 wt% or more with respect to the total weight of the moisture absorption body 72, and an upper limit in particular is not restrict | limited.

  In the cleaning roller 64 configured as described above, when the cover cap portion 62 moves in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface 41, that is, when the discharge surface protection cover 61 is opened and closed, the moisture absorber 72 is discharged from the discharge surface 41. The rotating shaft 71 rotates around the center of the recording paper P in the width direction W of the recording paper P with no gap, and the hygroscopic body 72 rolls on the discharge surface 41 so as to roll on the discharge surface 41. The ejection surface 41 is cleaned by wiping or absorbing the ink i. At this time, the cleaning roller 64 contains the anionic surfactant in the hygroscopic body 72 to increase the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body 72 with respect to the ink i, and appropriately wipes off the excess ink i adhering to the ejection surface 41. Alternatively, since it absorbs, the cleaning ability of the moisture absorbent 72 that cleans the ejection surface 41 with the moisture absorbent 72 is improved.

  Further, since the pores of the hygroscopic body 72 are smaller than the diameter of the nozzle 52a on the ejection surface 41 side, the cleaning roller 64 is slid on the ejection surface 41 as the hygroscopic body 72 rolls. The ink i in the nozzle 52a is also absorbed by the capillary phenomenon.

  That is, in the cleaning roller 64, due to the capillary phenomenon due to the pores of the organic resin porous body, for example, there is no opportunity to eject the ink i from the nozzle 52a for a long time, and the water of the ink i facing the nozzle 52a evaporates to increase the ink i. Even in the viscous state, the hygroscopic body 72 absorbs the thickened ink i by sucking it out from the nozzle 52a, so that clogging of the nozzle 52a due to the thickened ink i can be suppressed. In particular, the cleaning roller 64 contains an anionic surfactant to increase the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body 72 with respect to the ink i. Therefore, the ink i sucked from the nozzle 52 a by the capillary phenomenon is absorbed by the hygroscopic body 72. Can absorb properly.

  In the cleaning roller 64, the rotation shaft 71 can be attached and detached from the surface of the cover cap 62 facing the discharge surface 41, and the amount of ink i wiped or absorbed by the moisture absorber 72 increases and the moisture absorber 72. The hygroscopic body 72 can be exchanged together with the rotating shaft 71 when the cleaning ability of the rotary shaft 71 is reduced.

  Further, in the printer apparatus 1, when clogging or bubble mixing occurs in the nozzle 52 a of the discharge surface 41, the ink i is forcibly discharged from the ink discharge head 44 to eliminate clogging or bubble mixing. At this time, the discharge surface protective cover 61 functions as a tray for receiving the ink i forcibly discharged from the nozzle 52a by the cover cap portion 62. In the cover cap portion 62, an ink absorber 65 such as a sponge for absorbing the ink i is provided on the bottom surface of the cover cap portion 62 to prevent the ink i accumulated on the bottom surface from leaking to the outside. By doing so, the capacity for storing the ink i can be increased.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of cap holding pieces 63 provided on the cover cap portion 62 are provided in the short side direction on the bottom surface portion of the cartridge body 12 to which the discharge surface protection cover 61 is attached, that is, the discharge surface 41. A pair of guide grooves 39 that are engaged from one end side are formed. The pair of guide grooves 39 correspond to the pair of cap holding pieces 63 and form recesses that are cut from the bottom surface of the cartridge main body 12 at a predetermined depth and cut outward at substantially right angles. ing. The pair of guide grooves 39 are located on both sides in the long side direction of the cartridge body 12 and are formed in parallel over the short side direction of the cartridge body 12.

  Therefore, the discharge surface protection cover 61 is configured to move the discharge surface 41 of the cartridge body 12 while sliding in the short side direction of the cartridge body 12 by engaging the pair of cap holding pieces 63 with the pair of guide grooves 39. The cover cap portion 62 is guided to the closing position where it closes. Further, the discharge surface protective cover 61 slides the cover cap portion 62 that closes the discharge surface 41 of the cartridge main body 12 toward the outside along the pair of guide grooves 39 in the short side direction of the cartridge main body 12. Thus, the cartridge body 12 can be removed from one end side in the short side direction. That is, the discharge surface protective cover 61 is a replacement part that can be easily attached to and detached from the cartridge body 12.

  Further, when the discharge surface 41 is closed by the discharge surface protective cover 61, a portion facing at least the cleaning roller 64 at a position facing the cleaning roller 64 is recessed toward the ink tank 11, specifically, Is provided with an escape portion 45 for preventing the moisture absorber 72 from coming into contact with the ejection surface 41 when the cleaning roller 64 does not perform the cleaning operation of the ejection surface 41. As a result, the cleaning roller 64 is brought into contact with the discharge surface 41 only when the hygroscopic body 72 performs the cleaning operation, and the deterioration of the elastic force that presses the discharge surface 41 of the hygroscopic body 72 is suppressed. it can.

  In the head cartridge 2 configured as described above, the discharge surface protection cover 61 can be easily attached to and detached from the cartridge body 12, so that the cleaning roller 64 having a reduced cleaning ability can be easily replaced with a new cleaning roller 64. . That is, the cleaning roller 64 can be easily replaced.

  Next, the printer main body 3 to which the head cartridge 2 configured as described above is mounted will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer main body 3 has a structure assembled inside an outer casing 81 composed of an upper casing 81a and a lower casing 81b in order to prevent dust and the like from entering the inside. doing.

  Further, in the printer main body 3, the front side of the outer casing 81 has a pair of supports provided on both side surfaces of the upper casing 81a on a frame (not shown) in the lower casing 81b as shown in FIGS. By supporting the shaft 82, the upper housing 81a can be opened and closed with respect to the lower housing 81b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a paper supply / discharge port 83 through which the recording paper P is supplied / discharged is provided on the front surface of the outer casing 81. The storage tray 84 that stores the recording paper P is attached to the paper supply / discharge port 83 to enable paper feeding. The recording paper P passes through the paper supply / discharge port 83 and is out of the open end of the storage tray 84. The paper is discharged onto a lid tray 85 that closes the front side.

  The upper housing 81a is provided with a head mounting portion 86 to which the above-described head cartridge 2 is mounted. The head mounting portion 86 has an opening 87 corresponding to the head cartridge 2 and a holding frame 88 that holds the outer periphery of the head cartridge 2 so as to surround the opening 87. When the head cartridge 2 is mounted on the head mounting portion 86, the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 faces a printing position in the lower housing 81b described later. As shown in FIG. 2, a handle portion 89 is attached to the head cartridge 2. Thereby, the head cartridge 2 can be easily attached to and detached from the head mounting portion 86 at the time of replacement or the like.

  A lid 81c that closes the opening 87 of the head mounting portion 86 is attached to the upper casing 81a so as to be openable and closable. The lid 81c forms an upper surface portion continuous with the upper housing 81a when the opening 87 of the head mounting portion 86 is closed. Further, the lid 81 c closes the opening 87 even when the head cartridge 2 is mounted on the head mounting portion 86.

  The upper casing 81a has an operation button 90 for performing various operations, a printing state, and the like, which is positioned on the front surface side where the recording paper P, which will be described later, is supplied and discharged. A display panel 91 and the like are provided.

  Furthermore, a head cartridge holding mechanism 92 that detachably holds the head cartridge 2 with respect to the head mounting portion 86 when the head cartridge 2 is mounted on the head mounting portion 86 is provided on the upper surface portion of the upper casing 81a. ing. Specifically, the head cartridge holding mechanism 92 locks the knob 92a provided on the head cartridge 2 to a biasing member such as a spring (not shown) provided in the locking hole 92b of the holding frame 88 of the upper casing 81a. By doing so, the reference surface 3a provided at the upper end of the holding frame 88 in the printer main body 3 and the outer peripheral surface 2a opposite to the reference surface 3a of the head cartridge 2 are pressure-bonded to the upper housing 81a. The head cartridge 2 can be positioned, held and fixed. Thereby, the ejection surface 41 of the cartridge main body 12 and the main surface of the recording paper P conveyed to the printing position by the conveyance belt 134 described later can be arranged opposite to each other at a predetermined interval.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the upper casing 81a opens and closes the discharge surface protective cover 61 attached to the discharge surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 when the head cartridge 2 is mounted on the head mounting portion 86. A cover opening / closing mechanism 93 to be operated is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 has a discharge surface protective cover at a closed position where the discharge surface 41 is closed and an open position where the discharge surface 41 is opened and located above the discharge surface 41. And a drive mechanism 95 for driving the discharge surface protection cover 61 guided by the guide mechanism 94 between the closed position and the open position.

  The guide mechanism 94 includes a slider 101 that holds the discharge surface protective cover 61 and a pair of guide portions 102 that guide the slider 101 so as to be slidable between an open position and a closed position of the discharge surface protective cover 61. ing.

  The slider 101 is formed of a substantially rectangular frame corresponding to the discharge surface protection cover 61 so as to hold the outer peripheral portion of the discharge surface protection cover 61. Further, the slider 101 is provided with a pair of front and rear guide pins 103a and 103b projecting outward from both frame portions in the long side direction. Of these guide pins 103a and 103b, the length of the front-side guide pin 103a is longer than the length of the back-side guide pin 103b.

  The slider 101 has a pair of front and rear engaging projections 104a and 104b that project inward from both long side frame portions. On the other hand, a pair of front and rear engaging recesses 105a and 105b to which the pair of front and rear engaging protrusions 104a and 104b are engaged are formed on the bottom surface of the discharge surface protective cover 61. Further, between the pair of front and rear engaging projections 104a and 104b, a pair of support pieces 106 that support the bottom surface portion of the discharge surface protection cover 61 are formed to project inward from both long side frame portions. Has been.

  In the slider 101, when the head cartridge 2 is mounted on the head mounting portion 86, the pair of front and rear engaging protrusions 104 a and 104 b are engaged with the pair of front and rear engaging recesses 105 a and 105 b of the discharge surface protection cover 61. At the same time, the pair of support pieces 106 support the bottom surface portion of the discharge surface protection cover 61, thereby holding the outer peripheral portion of the discharge surface protection cover 61.

  The pair of guide portions 102 is formed of a frame formed integrally with the holding frame 88 of the head mounting portion 86 described above, and is located outside the slider 101 and forms side plate portions parallel to each other. The pair of guide portions 102 are respectively provided with a pair of front and rear guide holes 107a and 107b with which the pair of front and rear guide pins 103a and 103b of the slider 101 are engaged.

  Specifically, the pair of front and rear guide holes 107a and 107b are formed so that the discharge surface protection cover 61 is directed from the closed position where the discharge surface protection cover 61 closes the discharge surface 41 of the cartridge body 12 toward the front surface side of the upper casing 81a. The horizontal portion 108a that slides the pair of front and rear guide pins 103a and 103b in the horizontal direction to the attachment / detachment position at which the cartridge body 12 is attached to and detached from the cartridge body 12, and the cartridge from the attachment / detachment position further toward the front side of the upper housing 81a. The main body 12 has an inclined portion 108b that opens the discharge surface 41a and slides the pair of front and rear guide pins 103a and 103b obliquely upward to an open position positioned above the discharge surface 41.

  Therefore, the pair of guide portions 102 engages the slider 101 with the opening position and the closing position of the discharge surface protection cover 61 by engaging the pair of front and rear guide pins 103a and 103b with the pair of front and rear guide holes 107a and 107b. It is slidably supported in the front-rear direction.

  As described above, in this guide mechanism 94, the discharge surface protective cover 61 detachably attached to the cartridge body 12 is held by the slider 101, and the closed position for closing the discharge surface 41 of the cartridge body 12 is provided. In addition, it is possible to guide between the discharge surface 41 of the cartridge main body 12 and the open position located above the discharge surface 41.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the drive mechanism 95 includes, on the lower housing 81b side, a drive motor 111, a worm gear 112 attached to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 111, and a pinion gear 113 meshed with the worm gear 112. The upper casing 81a has a rack plate 114 that is engaged with the pinion gear 113 and slid in the front-rear direction.

  Of these, the rack plate 114 is formed of a substantially rectangular flat plate member disposed outside the guide portion 102 described above, and a rack gear 115 that meshes with the pinion gear 113 is formed at the lower end portion thereof in the front-rear direction. Has been.

  A pair of front and rear guide pins 116a and 116b are formed on the upper side of the rack plate 114 so as to protrude toward the guide portion. On the other hand, the pair of guide portions 102 is formed with a horizontal slit 117 linearly extending in the front-rear direction so that the pair of front and rear guide pins 116a and 116b are engaged. Therefore, the rack plate 114 is slidable in the front-rear direction by sliding the pair of front and rear guide pins 116 a and 116 b in the horizontal slit 117.

  Further, on the front side of the rack plate 114, a vertical slit 118 that is engaged with the front-side guide pin 103a penetrating the above-described front-side guide hole 107a is formed linearly in the vertical direction. .

  In this drive mechanism 95, when the drive motor 111 is rotated, the worm gear 112 and the pinion gear 113 that are meshed with each other rotate, and the rack plate 114 is displaced in the front-rear direction by the meshing of the pinion gear 113 and the rack gear 115. Is done. Accordingly, the pair of front and rear guide pins 103 a and 103 b of the slider 101 are paired with the front and rear guide pins 103 a and 103 b while the guide pins 103 a on the front side of the slider 101 slide up and down in the vertical slit 118 of the rack plate 114. The guide holes 107a and 107b slide in the front-rear direction. Thereby, the slider 101 can be driven to be displaced between the open position and the closed position.

  On the other hand, inside the lower housing 81b, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 13, the recording paper P is supplied to the head cartridge 2, and the recording paper P printed by the head cartridge 2 is discharged to the outside. A paper discharge mechanism 121 is provided. Specifically, the paper feed / discharge mechanism 121 includes a paper feed unit 122 that feeds the recording paper P from the storage tray 84 and a transport unit that transports the recording paper P fed by the paper feed unit 122 to the printing position. 123 and a paper discharge unit 124 that discharges the recording paper P conveyed by the conveyance unit 123, and these parts are assembled to a frame or the like (not shown) in the lower housing 81b.

  The paper feed unit 122 is a paper feed roller 131 that feeds the recording paper P in the storage tray 84 to the transport unit 123 as a paper feed unit for feeding the recording paper P from the storage tray 84 to the transport unit 123. A pair of separation rollers 132a and 132b for feeding the recording paper P delivered by the paper feed roller 131 to the transport unit 123 one by one are provided, and these are driving units provided in the lower casing 81b. It is rotationally driven in the directions of arrows A1, A2, and A3 in FIG. 13 while interlocking with each other by a mechanism (not shown).

  The paper feed roller 131 is disposed above the recording paper P facing the opening end on the back side of the storage tray 84, and the outer peripheral surface thereof is a paper push-up mechanism (not shown) provided in the storage tray 84. ) Can be brought into contact with the recording paper P pushed up.

  The pair of separation rollers 132a and 132b are positioned in the vicinity of the back side of the paper feed roller 131, and are rotationally driven in the same direction while sandwiching the recording paper P fed by the paper feed roller 131 therebetween. As a result, even if the paper feed roller 131 mistakenly feeds two sheets of recording paper P at the same time, one separation roller 132a feeds one sheet of recording paper P in contact with the outer peripheral surface to the back side, and the other side When the separation roller 132b sends back another sheet of recording paper P in contact with the outer peripheral surface thereof to the storage tray 84 on the front side, only one sheet can be sent to the back side.

  The transport unit 123 serves as a transport unit for transporting the recording paper P from the paper feeding unit 122 to the paper discharge unit 124. The reversing roller 133 reverses the feeding direction of the recording paper P, and is reversed by the reversing roller 133. A conveyance belt 134 that conveys the recording paper P to the printing position is provided.

  The reverse roller 133 is disposed on the back side in the outer casing 81, and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 13 by a driving mechanism (not shown) provided in the lower casing 81b. Further, on the back side of the reversing roller 133, a plurality of pressing rollers 135 a, 135 b, 135 c that press the recording paper P reversed along the outer peripheral surface of the reversing roller 133 and the outer peripheral surface of the reversing roller 133 are opposed. A curved first regulating plate 136 that regulates the movement of the recording paper P is provided.

  A first guide plate 137 for guiding the recording paper P is provided between the reversing roller 133 and the pair of separation rollers 132a and 132b on the lower housing 81b side. Further, between the reversing roller 133 and the conveying belt 134, a second guide plate 138 that guides the recording paper P, and a plane that faces the second guide plate 138 and restricts the movement of the recording paper P. A second restriction plate 139 is provided on the upper housing 81a side.

  The conveyor belt 134 is composed of an endless driving belt wound between the driving pulley 140a and the driven pulley 140b, and the driving pulley 140a is rotationally driven by a driving mechanism (not shown) provided in the lower housing 81b. As a result, it is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow C in FIG. Thereby, the recording paper P can be conveyed to the front side of the printer apparatus 1.

  The transport belt 134 is provided with a platen plate 141 that allows the recording paper P transported to the printing position to face the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2. Further, the transport belt 134 is pushed down by a pair of pinch rollers 142a and 142b corresponding to the thickness of the platen plate 141 in front and rear of the platen plate 141. Further, the platen plate 141 is arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined distance from the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 described above at the printing position shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 13, the paper discharge unit 124 is disposed to face the driven pulley 140 b via a conveyance belt 134 as a paper discharge unit for discharging the recording paper P conveyed by the conveyance unit 123. The recording paper P is sent out from between the spur 143 and the conveyor belt 134 toward the paper supply / discharge port 83 side.

  Further, the lower casing 81b includes a transport position where the transport operation is performed at the time of printing shown in FIG. 13, and a retract position which is located below the transport position and is retracted when not driven as shown in FIGS. A belt elevating mechanism 144 that elevates and lowers the above-described conveyance belt 134 is provided. A detailed description of the belt lifting mechanism 144 will be omitted.

  Next, the control circuit 151 shown in FIG. 14 for controlling the printer apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The control circuit 151 supplies the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 of the printer main body 3, the paper supply / discharge mechanism 121, the printer driving unit 152 that controls the driving of the belt lifting / lowering mechanism 144, and the ink discharge head 44 corresponding to the ink i of each color. A discharge control unit 153 that controls the current to be output, a warning unit 154 that warns the remaining amount of ink i of each color, an input / output terminal 155 that inputs and outputs signals to and from an external device, and a control program are recorded. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 156, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 157 that temporarily stores the read control program and the like and is read out as necessary, and a control unit 158 that controls each unit. .

  Based on the control signal from the control unit 158, the printer driving unit 152 controls the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 to drive the driving mechanism 95 constituting the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 to open / close the discharge surface protection cover 61. The printer driving unit 152 drives a driving mechanism (not shown) constituting the paper supply / discharge mechanism 121 based on a control signal from the control unit 158 to feed the recording paper P from the storage tray 84 of the printer main body 3. The paper supply / discharge mechanism 121 is controlled to send the recording paper P to the paper supply / discharge port 83 side after printing. The printer driving unit 152 drives a driving mechanism (not shown) that constitutes the belt lifting mechanism 144 based on a control signal from the control unit 158 so that the conveying belt provided in the sheet feeding / discharging mechanism 121 performs a conveying operation during printing. The belt elevating mechanism 144 is controlled so as to be raised and lowered between the position and the retracted position retracted when not driven.

  The ejection control unit 153 includes a switching element that turns on / off an electrical connection with an external power source that supplies a pulse current to the heating resistor 55 provided in the ink ejection head 44, and a pulse current value that is supplied to the heating resistor 55. It is an electric circuit having a control circuit unit for controlling switching of ON / OFF of a resistor, a switching element, and the like. The discharge control unit 153 adjusts a pulse current supplied to the heating resistor 55 provided in the ink discharge head 44 based on a control signal from the control unit 158, and discharges ink i from the nozzle 52a. 44 is controlled.

  The warning unit 154 is a display unit such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), for example, and displays information such as a printing condition, a printing state, and an ink remaining amount. The warning unit 154 may be a voice output unit such as a speaker. In this case, the warning unit 154 outputs information such as a printing condition, a printing state, and an ink remaining amount by voice. Note that the warning unit 154 may be configured to include both display means and sound output means. Further, this warning may be given by a monitor or a speaker of the information processing device 159.

  The input / output terminal 155 transmits information such as the above-described printing conditions, printing state, ink remaining amount, and the like to an external information processing device 159 or the like via an interface. The input / output terminal 155 receives a control signal for outputting information such as the above-described printing condition, printing state, ink remaining amount, print data, and the like from an external information processing device 159 or the like. Here, the information processing apparatus 159 described above is an electronic device such as a personal computer or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

  The input / output terminal 155 connected to the information processing device 159 or the like can use, for example, a serial interface or a parallel interface as an interface, and specifically, USB (Universal Serial Bus), RS (Recommended Standard) 232C, IEEE (Institute). of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394. Further, the input / output terminal 155 may perform data communication with the information processing apparatus 159 in any form of wired communication or wireless communication. Note that the wireless communication standards include IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and the like.

  A network such as the Internet may be interposed between the input / output terminal 155 and the information processing apparatus 159. In this case, the input / output terminal 155 may be, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital). Network, xDSL (Digital Subscriber Line), FTHP (Fiber To The Home), CATV (Community Antenna TeleVision), BS (Broadcasting Satellite), etc. It is performed by various protocols such as Internet Protocol.

  The ROM 156 is a memory such as an EP-ROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), for example, and stores a program for each process performed by the control unit 158. The stored program is loaded into the RAM 157 by the control unit 158. The RAM 157 stores programs read from the ROM 156 by the control unit 158 and various states of the printer device 1.

  The control unit 158 controls each unit based on the print data input from the input / output terminal 155, the remaining amount data of the ink i input from the head cartridge 2, and the like. The control unit 158 reads out a processing program for controlling each unit from the ROM 156 based on the input control signal and the like, stores it in the RAM 157, and controls and processes each unit based on this processing program.

  That is, the control unit 158 controls the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 to open and close the ejection surface protection cover 61 based on the processing program stored in the ROM 156, or feeds the recording paper P from the storage tray 84, and after printing. The belt feeding / discharging mechanism 121 is controlled so as to feed the recording paper P toward the paper feeding / discharging port 83 side, and the belt is raised and lowered so that the conveying belt provided in the sheet feeding / discharging mechanism 121 is raised and lowered between the conveying position and the retracted position. The mechanism 144 is controlled.

  In the control circuit 151 configured as described above, the processing program is stored in the ROM 156. However, the medium for storing the processing program is not limited to the ROM 156. For example, the processing program is recorded. Various recording media such as an optical disc, a magnetic disc, a magneto-optical disc, and an IC card can be used. In this case, the control circuit 151 is configured to be connected to a drive for driving various recording media directly or via the information processing device 159 so as to read the processing program from these recording media.

  Here, the printing operation of the printer apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This operation is executed by arithmetic processing of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) in the control unit 158 based on a processing program stored in a storage unit such as the ROM 156.

  First, the user operates the operation button 90 provided on the printer main body 3 to instruct the printer device 1 to execute the printing operation. Next, in step S <b> 1, the control unit 158 determines whether the ink tank 11 of a predetermined color is mounted on each tank mounting unit 31 and whether the head cartridge 2 is mounted on the head mounting unit 86 of the printer main body 3. Judging. Then, the control unit 158 proceeds to step S2 when the ink tank 11 of a predetermined color is properly mounted on all the tank mounting units 31 and the head cartridge 2 is mounted on the head mounting unit 86 of the printer main body 3. When the ink tank 11 is not properly mounted on the tank mounting portion 31 or when the head cartridge 2 is not mounted on the head mounting portion 86 of the printer body 3, the process proceeds to step S4, and the printing operation is prohibited.

  In step S2, the control unit 158 determines whether or not the ink i in the ink tank 11 is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, that is, is in a state of no ink, and when it is determined that there is no ink, a warning unit 154 A warning to that effect is issued, and the printing operation is prohibited in step S4. On the other hand, when the ink i in the ink tank 11 is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount, that is, when the ink i is filled, the control unit 158 permits the printing operation in step S3.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the printer device 1 that is permitted to perform the printing operation, the outer peripheral portion of the discharge surface protective cover 61 held by the discharge surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 is held by the slider 101 of the guide mechanism 94. It becomes a state. In addition, the printer apparatus 1 before the printing operation has a belt lift mechanism 144 that prevents the conveyance belt 134 on the lower housing 81b side from colliding with the discharge surface protection cover 61 in the closed position. Evacuated to position.

  When performing the printing operation, first, the control unit 158 drives and controls the mechanisms 83, 121, 144, and the like by the printer driving unit 152, and moves the recording paper P to a printable position. Specifically, when the printing operation is started, the control unit 158 drives and controls the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 to open the discharge surface protective cover 61 together with the slider 101 on the front side of the printer apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. Move to position. Thereby, the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 is opened. As a result, the ejection surface protection cover 61 is positioned above the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 by moving to the open position on the front side.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the discharge surface protective cover 61 prevents the recording paper P from being soiled by the excess ink i attached to the discharge surface 41 before the printing by the cleaning roller 64 provided in the cover cap portion 62. As described above, the area where the nozzle 52a is formed while the hygroscopic body 72 rotates around the axis of the shaft portion 71 slides in the front side of the printer apparatus 1, that is, in the X1 direction in FIG. The discharge surface 41 is cleaned. At this time, in the cleaning roller 64, since the hygroscopic body 72 contains an anionic surfactant and the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body 72 with respect to the ink i is increased, the excess ink i adhering to the ejection surface 41 is absorbed by the hygroscopic body. It is possible to suppress excess ink i from being appropriately absorbed by the body 72 and remaining on the ejection surface 41, and to properly clean the ejection surface 41.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the controller 158 drives and controls the belt lifting mechanism 144 to raise the transport belt 134 from the retracted position to the transport position. As a result, in the printer apparatus 1, the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 and the platen plate 141 are arranged in parallel and facing each other with a predetermined interval, and the printing position is determined.

  Next, the control unit 158 drives and controls the paper feed / discharge mechanism 121 to feed the recording paper P pushed up by the paper push-up mechanism (not shown) from the storage tray 84 in the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. The paper is fed so as to press against the outer peripheral surface of the paper. Then, the fed recording paper P is sent to the back side indicated by the arrow Y1 in FIG. 13 while passing between the pair of separation rollers 132a and 132b rotating in the directions of arrows A2 and A3 in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 158 reverses the recording sheet P sent to the back side along the outer peripheral surface of the reversing roller 133 while moving on the first guide plate 137, and this time the arrow Y2 in FIG. The sheet feeding / discharging mechanism 121 is driven and controlled so as to be fed to the front side shown in FIG. The control unit 158 then conveys the recording belt P fed to the front side and rotates in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 13 while passing between the second guide plate 138 and the second regulating plate 139. The sheet feeding / discharging mechanism 121 is driven and controlled so as to be conveyed to the printing position by 134. Then, the recording paper P is pushed up by the platen plate 141 at the printing position and faces the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2.

  Next, the control unit 158 controls the head cartridge 2 by the ejection control unit 158, and ejects and deposits the ink i from the nozzle 52a on the recording paper P conveyed to the printing position, thereby causing an image including ink dots or the like. Record characters.

  Next, the control unit 158 drives and controls the paper supply / discharge mechanism, and the recording paper P that has been printed is driven between the conveyance belt 134 and the spur 143 in the direction indicated by an arrow Y2 in FIG. The sheet is fed to the rear side, and is discharged from the paper supply / discharge port 83 onto the lid tray 85.

  When the printing on the recording paper P is finished, the control unit 158 controls the belt lifting mechanism 144 to lower the transport belt 134 from the transport position to the retracted position.

  Next, the control unit 158 drives and controls the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 to move the discharge surface protection cover 61 together with the slider 101 to the closed position on the back side of the printer apparatus 1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 17, the discharge surface protective cover 61 is formed with a nozzle 52 a while the cleaning roller 64 provided in the cover cap portion 62 rotates around the axis of the shaft portion 71 and the hygroscopic body 72 rotates. The area is slid in the back side of the printer 1, that is, in the X2 direction in FIG. 17, and the ejection surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 is cleaned with the moisture absorbent 72 having enhanced hydrophilicity. As described above, the discharge surface protection cover 61 closes the discharge surface 41 of the head cartridge 2 while cleaning the discharge surface 41 with the cleaning roller 64.

  As a result, the head cartridge 2 returns to the state before printing shown in FIG. Therefore, in the printer apparatus 1, the head cartridge 2 can be detached from the head mounting portion 86 of the printer main body 3 with the discharge surface protective cover 61 closing the discharge surface 41 of the head cartridge 2. The controller 158 controls the cover opening / closing mechanism 93 to perform the cleaning operation by the discharge surface protection cover 61 described above for each recording sheet P when printing on a plurality of recording sheets P. As described above, the printing operation ends.

  As described above, in the printer 1, when the discharge surface protective cover 61 is opened and closed, the excess ink i attached to the discharge surface 41 so that the moisture absorbent 72 of the cleaning roller 64 rolls on the discharge surface 41. The discharge surface 41 is cleaned by wiping or absorbing the water. In the printer apparatus 1, since the hygroscopic body 72 of the cleaning roller 64 that cleans the discharge surface 41 contains an anionic surfactant and the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body 72 with respect to the ink i is increased, the discharge surface Excess ink i adhering to 41 can be appropriately wiped or absorbed by the moisture absorbent 72, and the cleaning ability of the cleaning roller 64 to the ejection surface 41 can be improved.

  Further, in this printer apparatus 1, since the pores of the hygroscopic body 72 in the cleaning roller 64 have a smaller diameter than the diameter of the nozzle 52a on the ejection surface 41 side, the moisture absorption body 72 slides on the ejection surface 41. When moved, the ink i in the nozzle 52a can be absorbed by the capillary phenomenon.

  As a result, in the printer 1, due to the capillary phenomenon of the hygroscopic body 72 made of an organic resin porous body, for example, there is no opportunity to eject the ink i from the nozzle 52 a for a long time, and the ink i in the nozzle 52 a is thickened. Since the ink i whose viscosity is increased by the hygroscopic body 72 is appropriately sucked out and absorbed from the nozzle 52a, it is possible to prevent the nozzle 52a from being clogged with the thickened ink i.

  In this printer apparatus 1, the hygroscopic body 72 of the cleaning roller 64 contains an anionic surfactant, and the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body 72 with respect to the ink i is enhanced. The sucked out ink i can be effectively and appropriately absorbed by the moisture absorbent 72.

  In the above, when cleaning the discharge surface 41, the cleaning roller 64 including the rotation shaft 71 that is rotatable about the shaft rotates the moisture absorber 72 on the discharge surface 41 according to the opening / closing operation of the discharge surface protection cover 61. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a rotation control mechanism (not shown) for controlling the rotation operation of the cleaning roller 64 is provided. It is also possible to control the rotation operation to be slower than when the cleaning roller 64 rotates in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the discharge surface protection cover 61. In this case, the cleaning roller 64 cleans the ejection surface 41 so that the moisture absorbent 72 rubs against the ejection surface 41. For example, the ink i thickened and stuck on the ejection surface 41 is wiped off and removed. it can.

  Further, the cleaning roller 64 can be controlled so as not to rotate about the axis of the rotary shaft 71, for example. In this case, the cleaning roller 64 cleans the discharge surface 41 so that the hygroscopic body 72 simply slides on the discharge surface 41, that is, the discharge surface 41 is rubbed against the discharge surface 41. Since the cleaning is performed, the ink i stuck to the ejection surface 41 can be appropriately removed.

  Further, the rotation operation of the cleaning roller 64 can be controlled so as to be faster than when it rotates according to the opening / closing operation of the discharge surface protection cover 61, for example. Also in this case, in the cleaning roller 64, when the rotation according to the opening / closing operation of the discharge surface protection cover 61 is a forward rotation, the cleaning roller 64 rotates faster toward the forward rotation side. By cleaning the surface 41, the ink i stuck to the ejection surface 41 can be appropriately removed.

  Furthermore, the rotation operation of the cleaning roller 64 can be controlled so as to be reverse to the forward rotation according to the opening / closing operation of the discharge surface protection cover 61, for example. Also in this case, since the cleaning roller 64 rotates in the reverse direction with respect to the forward rotation according to the opening / closing operation of the discharge surface protection cover 61, the friction between the moisture absorber 72 and the discharge surface 41 becomes large and the moisture absorber 72 discharges. Since the ejection surface 41 is cleaned by rubbing the surface 41, the ink i stuck to the ejection surface 41 can be appropriately removed.

  In the above, an organic resin porous body has been described as an example of the hygroscopic body 72 provided in the cleaning roller 64. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a discharge surface 50 such as a woven fabric, a nonwoven fabric, paper, or the like. Any hygroscopic material can be used as long as it can wipe or absorb the ink i attached to the ink and can contain an anionic surfactant.

  In the above-described head cartridge 2, the ink tank 11 can be attached to and detached from the cartridge main body 12, but the configuration is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. That is, since the head cartridge 2 itself is handled as a consumable and can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 3, the ink tank 11 can be integrated with the cartridge main body 12. .

  In the above, an example in which the present invention is applied to a printer device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above example, and can be widely applied to other liquid ejection devices that eject liquid. . For example, a facsimile, a copying machine, a discharge device for a DNA chip in liquid (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-253200), a liquid discharge device that discharges a liquid containing conductive particles for forming a wiring pattern of a printer wiring board, and the like It is also applicable to.

  In the above description, the ink discharge head 44 that heats and discharges the ink i by one heating resistor 55 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a structure, and includes a plurality of pressure generating elements. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejection apparatus including ejection means that can control the ejection direction by supplying different energy to each pressure generating element or energy at different timings.

  In the above description, the electrothermal conversion method is employed in which the ink i is heated from one nozzle 52a while being heated by one heating resistor 55. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. An electromechanical conversion method in which ink is electromechanically ejected from a nozzle by a mechanical conversion element or the like may be used.

  In the above, the line type printer apparatus 1 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a serial type liquid in which the ink head moves in a direction substantially orthogonal to the running direction of the recording paper P is described. The present invention can also be applied to a discharge device.

  Hereinafter, examples and comparative examples in which a cleaning roller is actually created as a cleaning unit provided in a discharge surface protection device to which the present invention is applied will be described.

<Example 1>
In Example 1, first, a moisture absorber having a constant thickness was formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the rotating shaft. When molding the hygroscopic body, 15 parts by volume of a thermoplastic resin made of polyolefin resin, 85 parts by volume of a pore-forming material made of granular trimethylolethane having a diameter of 15 μm, and triphenyl forfade (hereinafter referred to as a lubricant) , TPP.) Was mixed and kneaded with a predetermined amount, and formed into a substantially cylindrical shape on the outer peripheral side surface of the rotating shaft to form a porous precursor. Next, the pore former is dissolved and extracted by immersing the porous precursor in water, and then the TPP is dissolved and extracted by immersing the porous precursor in alcohol. A porous body was formed. Next, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate (trade name: SBL-2N manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.) is used as an anionic surfactant that is a hydrophilic treatment agent that improves the hydrophilicity of the organic resin porous body thus obtained. The organic resin porous body is immersed in a water-soluble organic solvent aqueous solution in which -27) is dispersed in water and dried to contain 0.5 wt% of the anionic surfactant with respect to the whole organic resin porous body. A hygroscopic body having an average pore diameter of 15 μm was prepared. In this way, a cleaning roller for Sample 1 was prepared.

<Example 2>
In Example 2, N-acylamino acid salt (trade name: Sarcosinate LN) manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd. as an anionic surfactant that increases the hydrophilicity of the organic resin porous body is 5 wt% with respect to the whole organic resin porous body. A cleaning roller was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the moisture absorbent contained was prepared.

<Example 3>
In Example 3, 5% by weight of Lion Sulfosuccinate (trade name: Lipard 870P) as an anionic surfactant that enhances the hydrophilicity of the organic resin porous material was contained relative to the entire organic resin porous material. A cleaning roller was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a hygroscopic material was produced.

<Comparative example 1>
In Comparative Example 1, a cleaning roller was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a hygroscopic material that did not contain the hydrophilic treatment agent for enhancing the hydrophilicity of the organic resin porous material in the organic resin porous material was prepared. .

<Comparative example 2>
In Comparative Example 2, except that an absorbent product containing 0.5 wt% of acetylene glycol (trade name: Surfynol 420) manufactured by Air Products Co. as a hydrophilic treatment agent with respect to the entire organic resin porous body was prepared, A cleaning roller was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1.

<Comparative Example 3>
In Comparative Example 3, a cleaning roller was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2, except that a hygroscopic material containing 5 wt% of acetylene glycol as a hydrophilic treatment agent was included in the entire organic resin porous material.

  Then, the cleaning roller of each of the examples and comparative examples prepared as described above is attached to the surface of the cover cap portion facing the discharge surface, and is attached to the cartridge body as a discharge surface protective cover, the nozzle diameter is 20 μm, and heat is generated. Using an inkjet printing apparatus having an ink ejection head having a resistance value of 135Ω and 24 nozzles, the ink ejection head is driven at a driving voltage of 11 V, and PPC paper manufactured by Xerox Co., Ltd. The print quality was evaluated for the prints on which Alphabed characters were printed while cleaning the discharge surface with the cleaning roller of the example.

  For printing here, C.I. I. Ink A in which 3 parts by weight of direct black 154, 81.95 parts by weight of water as a solvent, 5 parts by weight of diethylene glycol, 10 parts by weight of glycerin, and 0.05 parts by weight of acetylene glycol as a surfactant are mixed and dispersed. C. as a dye I. Ink B in which 3 parts by weight of direct black 154, 81.8 parts by weight of water as a solvent, 5 parts by weight of diethylene glycol, 10 parts by weight of glycerin, and 0.2 parts by weight of acetylene glycol as a surfactant are mixed and dispersed. C. as a dye I. Ink C in which 3 parts by weight of direct black 154, 81.5 parts by weight of water as a solvent, 5 parts by weight of diethylene glycol, 10 parts by weight of glycerin, and 0.5 parts by weight of acetylene glycol as a surfactant are mixed and dispersed. Using these three types, printing evaluation was performed for each ink. Inks A, B, and C have different surfactant contents, and the greater the surfactant, the higher the permeability to PPC paper. That is, the permeability to the PPC paper increases in the order of inks A, B, and C.

  Hereinafter, Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the quality evaluation of the prints printed while cleaning the ejection surface with the cleaning rollers of each Example and each Comparative Example.

  The print quality was evaluated by visually observing characters printed on PPC paper. In Table 1, the print quality indicates the landing position deviation caused by the deviation of the ejection direction of the ink ejected from the nozzle by the ink adhering to the periphery of the nozzle, or the ink caused by the ink non-ejection caused by the ink clogging the nozzle. When no landing, so-called white nuisance is confirmed, it is indicated by a circle, when a landing position deviation is observed, it is indicated by a triangle, and when landing position deviation and white nuisance are observed, it is indicated by a cross.

  From the evaluation results shown in Table 1, the print quality printed by the ink ejection heads having the ejection surfaces cleaned in Examples 1 to 3 provided with a hygroscopic material containing an anionic surfactant as the hydrophilic treatment agent was determined to be hydrophilic treatment agent. Compared to the print quality printed by the ink discharge head having the discharge surface cleaned in Comparative Example 1 including the hygroscopic body containing no acetylene, Comparative Example 2 including the hygroscopic body containing acetylene glycol as a hydrophilic treatment agent, and Comparative Example 3, It can be seen that there is no landing position deviation and no white spots.

  In Comparative Example 1, the hygroscopic body does not contain a hydrophilic treatment agent, and the hydrophilicity is not enhanced. Therefore, the hygroscopic body cannot properly wipe or absorb ink when the ejection surface is cleaned. Excessive ink remains on the ejection surface. That is, in Comparative Example 1, the cleaning ability for cleaning the ejection surface is low. For this reason, in the ink ejection head whose ejection surface has been cleaned with the cleaning roller of Comparative Example 1, excess ink remains on the ejection surface. White nuisances occur.

  In Comparative Example 2 and Comparative Example 3, it is difficult to sufficiently increase the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body with acetylene glycol contained as a hydrophilic treatment agent in the hygroscopic body. The ink cannot be wiped off or absorbed, and excess ink remains on the ejection surface. Accordingly, even in the ink ejection heads whose ejection surfaces are cleaned in Comparative Example 2 and Comparative Example 3, as in Comparative Example 1, excess ink remains on the ejection surface, causing deviations in the ink ejection direction and non-ejection. Landing position shifts, white spots, etc. occur.

  In contrast to these comparative examples, in Examples 1 to 3, since the hydrophilic property of the hygroscopic body is sufficiently enhanced by the anionic surfactant contained in the hygroscopic body, the ejection surface is cleaned when the ejection surface is cleaned. The moisture absorbent appropriately cleans the ejection surface so that no excess ink remains. Therefore, in the ink ejection head whose ejection surface has been cleaned with the cleaning roller of the first to third embodiments, residual ink remaining on the ejection surface is suppressed, and deviation in the ejection direction of the ink and non-ejection are suppressed. Misalignment and whitening can be prevented.

  From the above, the hygroscopic bodies of Comparative Example 2 and Comparative Example 3 containing acetylene glycol as a hydrophilic treatment agent for improving the wettability of the hygroscopic body are more hydrophilic than the hygroscopic body of Comparative Example 1 containing no hydrophilic treatment agent. However, the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic material of each example containing an anionic surfactant as a hydrophilic treatment agent is not as high as that of each example. You can see that

  Next, an ejection surface cleaning evaluation was performed to confirm whether or not the cleaning was properly performed by observing the ejection surface of the cleaned cartridge body after ejecting ink with the cleaning roller of each example and each comparative example. Again, for the above-described inks A, B, and C, the state of the ejection surface that was cleaned by the cleaning roller after each of these inks was ejected from the nozzles was confirmed.

  Table 2 below shows the evaluation results of the cleaning state of the ejection surface cleaned with the cleaning roller of each example and each comparative example.

  In Table 2, the ejection surface cleaning is indicated by ◎ when the ejection surface has almost no excess ink, and when the ejection surface is properly cleaned, and when the trace amount of ink remains on the ejection surface. A mark X indicates that a large amount of ink remains over the entire ejection surface.

  From the evaluation results shown in Table 2, the ejection surfaces cleaned with the cleaning rollers of Examples 1 to 3 are removed of excess ink compared to the ejection surfaces cleaned with the cleaning rollers of Comparative Examples 1 to 3. You can see that it was properly cleaned. Therefore, the cleaning rollers of Examples 1 to 3 are superior to the cleaning rollers of Comparative Examples 1 to 3 in terms of wiping ability and absorption ability of ink adhering to the ejection surface, and high cleaning ability. Understand.

  Next, after the discharge surface of the ink discharge head was exposed to the outside air at room temperature for one week to evaporate the moisture of the ink exposed from the nozzles and thicken the ink in the nozzles, the above-described print quality evaluation was performed. Also in this case, the print quality evaluation was performed for each of the inks A, B, and C.

  Table 3 below shows the evaluation of the quality evaluation of the prints that were printed while the discharge surface of the ink discharge head was exposed to the outside air at room temperature for one week and then cleaned with the cleaning roller of each example and each comparative example. Results are shown.

  In Table 3, as in Table 1 above, the print quality is indicated by ◯ when no landing position deviation or white spot is confirmed, and is marked by △ when landing position deviation is observed. When white spots are seen, it is indicated by a cross.

  From the evaluation results shown in Table 3, the print quality printed by the ink ejection heads whose ejection surfaces were cleaned in Examples 1 to 3 was printed by the ink ejection heads whose ejection surfaces were cleaned in Comparative Examples 1 to 3. Compared to the print quality, it can be seen that there is no landing position shift and no white spots.

  In Comparative Example 1 including a hygroscopic body not containing a hydrophilic treatment agent, and Comparative Examples 2 and 3 including a hygroscopic body containing acetylene glycol as a hydrophilic treatment agent, the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic body is sufficiently increased. This makes it difficult for the moisture absorber to properly wipe or absorb ink when the ejection surface is cleaned.

  Specifically, in the cleaning rollers of Comparative Examples 1 to 3, the hygroscopic body made of an organic resin porous body having a pore diameter smaller than the nozzle diameter sucks out the ink thickened from the nozzle by capillary action. However, the hygroscopic body cannot appropriately absorb the ink sucked from the nozzles, and excess ink remains on the ejection surface. Therefore, in the ink ejection head whose ejection surface has been cleaned with the cleaning rollers of Comparative Examples 1 to 3, excess ink remains on the ejection surface, so that the deviation of the ejection direction of the ink and the non-ejection have occurred and landing. Misalignment or white spots occur.

  Compared to these comparative examples, in Examples 1 to 3 provided with a hygroscopic material containing an anionic surfactant as a hydrophilic treatment agent, the hydrophilicity of the hygroscopic material was sufficiently enhanced, and the discharge surface was cleaned. In some cases, the ejection surface can be efficiently and appropriately cleaned by the moisture absorber so that no excess ink remains on the ejection surface. Specifically, the thickened ink sucked out from the nozzles by the capillary action of the hygroscopic body appropriately absorbs the hygroscopic body of each embodiment, and appropriately cleans the ejection surface. Therefore, in the ink ejection head whose ejection surface has been cleaned in each embodiment, residual ink remaining on the ejection surface is suppressed, and deviations in the ink ejection direction and non-ejection are suppressed, thereby preventing landing position deviation and white spots. it can.

  From the above, when the cleaning roller is manufactured, an anionic surfactant is included in the moisture absorbent as a hydrophilic treatment agent in order to manufacture a cleaning roller having excellent cleaning ability for cleaning the discharge surface of the ink discharge head. It turns out to be very important.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the liquid discharge apparatus to which this invention was applied. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a printer head cartridge provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the printer head cartridge. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the printer head cartridge. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an ink discharge head provided in the printer head cartridge. The same ink discharge head is shown. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where bubbles are generated in a heating resistor shape, and FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing a state where ink is discharged from a nozzle. FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a discharge port area on a discharge surface of the printer head cartridge. It is a see-through | perspective side view which shows the structure of the same liquid discharge apparatus. It is a see-through | perspective side view which shows the state by which the upper housing | casing of the liquid discharge apparatus was open | released with respect to the lower housing | casing. It is a side view which shows typically the structure of the cover opening / closing mechanism of the liquid discharge apparatus. It is a top view which shows the structure of the slider with which the cover opening / closing mechanism is equipped. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a part of the configuration of the drive mechanism of the liquid ejection device. FIG. 10 is a perspective side view for explaining a printing operation of the liquid ejection apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows typically the control circuit of the same liquid discharge apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a printing operation of the liquid ejection apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the discharge surface protective cover of the printer head cartridge cleans the discharge surface while moving to the front side. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which cleans a discharge surface, while the discharge surface protection cover moves to the back side.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid ejection apparatus (liquid ejection apparatus) 2 Printer head cartridge 2 Printer main body, 11 Ink tank, 12 Cartridge main body, 37 Head part, 39 Guide groove, 41 Ejection surface, 41a Ejection port area, 44 Ink ejection head, 52a Nozzle , 61 Discharge surface protective cover, 62 Cover cap part, 63 Cap holding piece, 64 Cleaning roller, 71 Rotating shaft, 72 Hygroscopic body, 81 Outer casing, 81a Upper casing, 81b Lower casing, 93 Cover opening / closing mechanism, 94 Guide Mechanism, 95 drive mechanism, 101 slider, 102 guide unit, 121 paper feed / discharge mechanism, 122 paper feed unit, 123 transport unit, 124 paper discharge unit, 151 control circuit, 152 printer drive unit, 153 discharge control unit, 156 ROM, 157 RAM, 158 controller

Claims (12)

In a discharge surface protection device that is held on a discharge surface on which a discharge port for discharging the liquid droplets of a liquid discharge head unit that discharges liquid in the form of droplets and lands on an object is formed.
When the droplets are ejected from the ejection port of the liquid ejection head unit, the ejection moves so as to move in a plane substantially parallel to the ejection surface and face the ejection port with respect to the object. A cover cap portion that retreats from a discharge port region where the discharge port of the surface is formed;
A cap holding portion that holds the cover cap portion so as to be movable in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head portion;
A moisture absorber provided on the surface of the cover cap portion facing the discharge port and having a width greater than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface is in contact with the discharge surface without gaps in the width direction of the discharge port region. A cleaning unit that moves the cover cap portion together with the cover cap portion by moving the cover cap portion in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface in a state where the discharge surface is cleaned,
In the cleaning unit, the hygroscopic body contains an anionic surfactant.   2. The discharge surface protection device according to claim 1, wherein the hygroscopic body is an organic resin porous body having pores having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the discharge port provided at least on the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head portion. .   2. The discharge surface protection device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid discharge head portion has discharge ports formed in the discharge surface arranged in a substantially line shape. In a liquid ejection cartridge that is detachably provided in a liquid ejection device that ejects liquid in the form of droplets and lands on an object for recording,
A liquid discharge head portion having a discharge surface formed with discharge ports for discharging the liquid in the form of droplets toward the object;
When the liquid droplets are ejected from the ejection port of the liquid ejection head unit, the ejection moves so as to move in a plane substantially parallel to the ejection surface so that the ejection port faces the object. A cover cap portion that is retracted from a discharge port region in which the discharge port is formed, and a cap that holds the cover cap portion movably within a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head unit A moisture absorber provided on the surface of the holding portion and the cover cap portion facing the discharge port and made larger than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface is disposed on the discharge surface in the width direction of the discharge port region. A cleaning unit that moves together with the cover cap unit to clean the discharge surface by moving the cover cap unit in a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface while being in contact with no gap. And a discharge surface protective cover that,
In the cleaning unit, the moisture absorbent includes an anionic surfactant.   5. The liquid ejection cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the hygroscopic body is an organic resin porous body having pores having a diameter smaller than a diameter of an ejection port provided at least on an ejection surface of the liquid ejection head portion.   5. The liquid discharge cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the liquid discharge head portion has discharge ports formed in the discharge surface arranged in a substantially line shape. In a liquid ejection apparatus that performs recording by ejecting liquid in the form of droplets and landing on an object,
A liquid discharge head portion having a discharge surface formed with discharge ports for discharging the liquid in the form of droplets toward the object;
When the liquid droplets are ejected from the ejection port of the liquid ejection head unit, the ejection moves so as to move in a plane substantially parallel to the ejection surface so that the ejection port faces the object. A cover cap portion that is retracted from a discharge port region in which the discharge port is formed, and a cap that holds the cover cap portion movably within a plane substantially parallel to the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head unit A moisture absorber provided on a surface of the holding portion and the cover cap portion facing the discharge port and having a width larger than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface is disposed on the discharge surface in the width direction of the discharge port region. A cleaning unit that moves together with the cover cap unit to clean the discharge surface by moving the cover cap unit in a plane that is substantially parallel to the discharge surface while being in contact with no gap. The ejection-surface protective cover that,
A discharge control unit that controls a discharge operation when the liquid discharge head unit discharges the droplet from the discharge port;
In the cleaning unit, the hygroscopic material contains an anionic surfactant.   8. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the hygroscopic body is an organic resin porous body having pores having a diameter smaller than a diameter of an ejection port provided on at least an ejection surface of the liquid ejection head portion.   8. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the liquid discharge head portion has discharge ports formed in the discharge surface arranged in a substantially line shape. Discharge surface cleaning that cleans the discharge surface formed with the discharge ports for discharging the droplets of the liquid discharge head portion of a liquid discharge apparatus that performs recording by discharging liquid in the form of droplets and landing on an object A method,
The discharge surface is in a state in which a moisture absorbent body, which is larger than the width of the discharge port region of the discharge surface and contains an anionic surfactant, is in contact with the discharge surface without gaps in the width direction of the discharge port region. A method for cleaning an ejection surface, wherein the ejection surface is cleaned by moving in a plane substantially parallel to the surface.   111. The discharge surface cleaning method according to claim 110, wherein an organic resin porous body having pores having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the discharge port provided at least on the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head portion is used as the moisture absorbent. .   11. The discharge surface cleaning method according to claim 10, wherein the discharge ports formed on the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head portion are arranged side by side in a substantially line shape.

Images