JP5560733B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

   The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink toward a recording medium.

   As an example of a printing apparatus that performs printing on a recording medium such as paper, an inkjet printer (printing apparatus) is known. An ink jet printer is a device that records characters, images, and the like on a recording medium, and is configured to eject ink from a nozzle provided on an ejection head (ejection head) toward the recording medium.

   When printing on such a recording medium, so-called “borderless printing” is widely used in which printing is performed without margins on both side edges (edges) of the recording medium. In borderless printing, for example, an image (photograph) taken with a digital camera can be printed with good appearance.

   In a printing apparatus that performs such borderless printing, a platen region located at the outer edge of the side end of the recording medium is used to support the recording medium with a platen during printing and to discharge ink without gaps to the side end of the recording medium. Ink adheres to the surface. If the ink adheres to the platen, the ink remaining on the platen may be transferred to the recording medium when the next printing is performed on the recording medium, and the recording medium may be soiled. For this reason, a technique for attaching an ink absorbing material to a platen has been proposed.

   For example, in Patent Document 1, a hole is formed in a portion corresponding to the side edge of the recording medium, and an absorbing material provided in the hole is varied depending on the power, thereby absorbing according to the size and state of the recording medium. A liquid ejecting apparatus capable of changing the height of the material is described.

JP 2003-285433 A

   However, in the liquid ejecting apparatus shown in Patent Document 1 described above, a mechanism such as a motor or a gear is required as a power mechanism for changing the position of the absorbent material, and the substantial size and weight of the liquid ejecting apparatus (printing apparatus). There has been a problem of incurring a significant increase in manufacturing costs. Even when the motor is also used as another mechanism, for example, a recording medium conveyance motor, a power path switching mechanism is required, and an increase in weight and a significant increase in manufacturing cost are unavoidable due to the complicated structure.

   Moreover, in the liquid ejecting apparatus shown in Patent Document 1 described above, since it is necessary to divide the absorbent material, there is a gap between the divided absorbent materials. When the ink is ejected into such a gap, the ink cannot be adsorbed in the gap, which causes a problem of generating ink mist in which the ink scatters in a mist form.

   Some aspects of the present invention have been made in view of the above circumstances, and can print without margins to the side edges of the recording medium with a simple configuration while reliably preventing the recording medium from being damaged. An object is to provide an apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, some embodiments of the present invention provide the following printing apparatus.
That is, the printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a support member that supports a recording medium, an ejection head that ejects ink droplets toward the recording medium, and the support member that is ejected from the ejection head. An absorbent material that absorbs the ink;
The absorbent material is characterized in that a concave portion is formed corresponding to a region through which both end portions along the conveyance direction of the recording medium pass in the exposed surface facing the ejection head.

The support member is formed with a plurality of ribs extending in the conveyance direction of the recording medium and supporting the recording medium, the ribs projecting from the reference surface of the support member, and the recesses of the absorber are Preferably, it is formed to be equal to or lower than the reference plane.
Moreover, it is preferable that the said rib is formed in the position which faces the said recessed part, and the position with respect to the said reference surface of the recessed part of the said absorber is set according to the height of the top part of the said rib.

It is preferable that a plurality of sets of the concave portions are formed at different positions in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, corresponding to both end portions of the recording medium having a plurality of sizes.
The absorber preferably forms a series of members from a recess corresponding to one side end of the recording medium to a recess corresponding to the other side end.
The absorbent material is preferably composed of a porous member having a moisturizing agent supported on the surface.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the printing apparatus (inkjet printer) which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of an inkjet printer. It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of an ejection head. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of a platen (support member). It is sectional drawing in the AA in FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows an absorber. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part along a main scanning direction X of the platen. FIG. It is a principal part expanded sectional view along the subscanning direction Y of a platen.

   Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is specifically described for better understanding of the gist of the invention, and does not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. In addition, in the drawings used in the following description, in order to make the features of the present invention easier to understand, there is a case where a main part is shown in an enlarged manner for convenience, and the dimensional ratio of each component is the same as the actual one. Not necessarily.

As an example of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment, an ink jet printer that performs recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink from an ejection port of an ejection head to the recording medium will be described.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet printer (printing apparatus) 1 includes a recording unit 2 that performs recording on recording paper with ink, and a recording paper transport mechanism 3 for transporting the recording paper (recording medium). Yes.

   The recording unit 2 includes a discharge head (fluid ejection head) 4 that discharges ink toward a recording sheet, a carriage 5 that can move while supporting the discharge head 4, and a position that faces the discharge head 4 and the carriage 5. And a platen (supporting member) 6 that supports the recording paper on which ink is ejected.

The ink jet printer 1 includes a carriage driving device 7 including a motor that moves the carriage 5 and a carriage guide member that guides the movement of the carriage 5.
The carriage 5 is moved in the main scanning direction X by the carriage driving device 7 while being guided by the carriage guide member. The recording paper moves along the sub-scanning direction Y intersecting the main scanning direction X with respect to the recording unit 2 by the recording paper transport mechanism 3.

   The paper feed cassette 9 is detachably provided on the back side of the main body of the inkjet printer 1. The paper feed cassette 9 is provided so as to accommodate a plurality of stacked recording papers.

   The recording paper transport mechanism 3 includes a paper feeding roller for carrying out the recording paper in the paper feeding cassette 9, a paper feeding roller driving device 10 including a motor for driving the paper feeding roller, and recording for guiding the movement of the recording paper. A paper guide member 11, a transport roller disposed downstream in the transport direction with respect to the paper feed roller, a transport roller driving device that drives the transport roller, and a downstream of the recording unit 2 in the transport direction And a discharge roller.

   The paper feed roller is configured to pick up the recording paper arranged on the uppermost side among the plurality of recording papers stacked in the paper feed cassette 9 and to carry it out of the paper feed cassette 9. The recording paper in the paper feeding cassette 9 is fed to the conveying roller by the paper feeding roller driven by the paper feeding roller driving device 10 while being guided by the recording paper guide member 11. The recording paper sent to the transport roller is transported to the recording unit 2 arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction by the transport roller driven by the transport roller driving device.

A platen (support member) 6 constituting the recording unit 2 is disposed at a position facing the ejection head 4 and the carriage 5 and supports the lower surface (back surface) side of the recording paper. The detailed structure of the platen (support member) 6 will be described in detail later.
The discharge head 4 and the carriage 5 are disposed above the platen 6. The recording paper transport mechanism 3 transports the recording paper along the sub-scanning direction Y in conjunction with the recording operation by the recording unit 2. The recording paper recorded by the recording unit 2 is discharged from the front side of the ink jet printer 1 by a recording paper transport mechanism 3 including a discharge roller.

The inkjet printer 1 also includes an ink supply tube 12 that supplies ink from the ink cartridge to the ejection head 4 of the carriage 5. The ink in the ink cartridge is supplied to the ink supply path via the ink supply needle, and is supplied from the ink supply path to the ejection head 4 of the carriage 5 via the ink supply tube 12.
The inkjet printer 1 also includes a maintenance device 13 that can maintain the ejection head 4.

The maintenance device 13 includes a capping device 14 and a wiping device 15.
The wiping device 15 includes a wipe member 44 that can face the discharge head 4. The wipe member 44 can be used to wipe off or wipe off foreign matter adhering to the nozzle surface of the discharge head 4, such as residual ink. Can be.

The maintenance device 13 is disposed at the home position of the carriage 5 and the ejection head 4. The home position is set in an end area outside the recording area in which the recording operation by the recording unit 2 is executed, within the movement area of the carriage 5.
The carriage 5 and the ejection head 4 are placed at the home position while the power is turned off or when the recording operation is not performed for a long time.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the inkjet printer 1.
The ink jet printer 1 in this embodiment includes a control device 58 that controls the overall operation. Connected to the control device 58 are an input device 59 for inputting various information relating to the operation of the ink jet printer 1 and a storage device 60 storing various information relating to the operation of the ink jet printer 1.

   The control device 58 is connected to the recording paper transport mechanism 3, the carriage driving device 7, the capping device 14, the maintenance device 13 including the wiping device 15, and the like. The inkjet printer 1 also includes a drive signal generator 62 that generates a drive signal to be input to a drive unit including the piezoelectric element 25. The drive signal generator 62 is connected to the control device 58.

   The drive signal generator 62 receives data indicating the amount of change in the voltage value of the ejection pulse input to the piezoelectric element 25 of the ejection head 4 and a timing signal that defines the timing for changing the voltage of the ejection pulse. The drive signal generator 62 generates a drive signal such as an ejection pulse based on the input data and timing signal.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the ejection head.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ejection head 4 includes a nozzle substrate 21 on which a plurality of nozzles 16 are formed. The nozzle substrate 21 is a plate-like member formed of a metal such as stainless steel, for example, and the lower surface thereof is an ejection surface 21a on which a plurality of nozzles 16 are formed.

   A sub tank 26 formed by molding a resin material such as polypropylene is connected to the ejection head 4. The sub tank 26 is formed with a recess that becomes an ink chamber 27, and the ink chamber 27 is partitioned by attaching a transparent elastic sheet to the opening surface of the recess. An ink cartridge 28 is connected to the sub tank 26 via the ink supply tube 12.

   The ink cartridge 28 includes a case member 28A and an ink pack 28B housed in the case member 28A and formed of a plastic material. Ink L supplied to the ejection head 4 is stored in the ink pack 28B.

   The ink L stored in the ink cartridge 28 is supplied to the sub tank 26 via the ink supply tube 12 and flows into the discharge head 4 from the sub tank 26. The ink that has flowed into the ejection head 4 is ejected toward the recording paper (recording medium) M from each nozzle 16.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the platen (supporting member). FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
The platen (support member) 6 is a substantially plate-like member as a whole, and recording is performed by ejecting ink D from the ejection head 4 while the recording paper (recording medium) M is conveyed on one side 6a thereof. . A large number of ribs 31 are formed on the platen 6 from the reference surface S upward, that is, in the direction in which the ejection head 4 is disposed. The ribs 31 are rail-shaped members that extend along the sub-scanning direction Y that is the conveyance direction of the recording paper M, and may be formed integrally with the base material of the platen 6. Since the recording paper M is supported by the top portions 31a of the large number of ribs 31, the recording paper M is smoothly conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y with little friction.

   On the other hand, in the platen 6, an accommodation groove 33 for accommodating the absorbent 32 is formed downward from the reference surface S, that is, in a direction away from the ejection head 4. The receiving groove 33 extends in the main scanning direction X with a width wider than the width of the recording paper M1 having the maximum paper width among the recording papers M of a plurality of sizes usable in the ink jet printer 1. It is the groove of the mold.

   Such an accommodation groove 33 is formed such that a region through which both side end portions of a plurality of sizes of recording paper M that can be used in the inkjet printer 1 pass is deeper from the reference plane S than other regions. ing. Due to the deep region F, a recess 34 is formed in the absorbent 32 accommodated in the accommodation groove 33.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing an absorbent material accommodated in the accommodation groove.
The absorbent 32 is formed in a shape that embodies the accommodation groove 33 formed in the platen 6. Such an absorbent material 32 is preferably formed of a flexible material that can easily absorb the ink D. Examples of the material of the porous member include synthetic fibers such as polyethylene terephthalate, acrylic and rayon, nonwoven fabrics made of pulp, etc., or sponges.

   Further, when the ink D absorbed by the absorbing material 32 is further sucked by a waste ink absorbing device (not shown) or the like, a moisturizing agent is included in the absorbing material 32 so that the ink absorbed by the absorbing material 32 does not solidify. It is also preferable that Such a humectant is for suppressing drying of the ink, and examples thereof include glycerin. In addition to glycerin, a moisturizing component capable of moisturizing the pigment ink may be used. For example, a mixture of a plurality of moisturizing components may be used.

   Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 again, the absorbent 32 is accommodated in the accommodation groove 33 formed in the platen 6. The absorbent 32 accommodated in the accommodation groove 33 is formed with a recess 34 whose surface (exposed surface) is located in a deeper area than the reference plane S in the deep region F of the accommodation groove 33. On the other hand, in the region other than the recesses 34, the surface (exposed surface) may be a position equivalent to the reference surface S.

   A plurality of sets of the concave portions 34 of the absorbent material 32 may be formed at different positions along the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording paper M, that is, the main scanning direction X. In the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, it may be formed in a region through which both side end portions of a plurality of sizes of usable recording paper M pass. For example, in FIG. 4, a concave portion 34a is formed in a region where both end portions M1a and M1b of the first recording paper M1 having the first paper width w1 in the main scanning direction X face the absorbent 32, and A concave portion 34b may be formed in a region where both end portions M2a and M2b of the second recording paper M2 having the second paper width w2 in the scanning direction X face the absorbent 32.

   The absorbent 32 has a concave portion 34 corresponding to the side end portion of the recording paper M having the largest paper width in the main scanning direction X among these concave portions 34, that is, a first paper width w1 in FIG. The recording paper M1 is formed of a series of members (one absorbent material) having a rectangular shape extending from one concave portion 34a to the other concave portion 34a facing both side end portions M1a and M1b. And the opening 32a (refer FIG. 6) which exposes some ribs 31 is formed in the center part of the absorber 32. As shown in FIG. The series (one sheet) of the absorber 32 is bent in the deep region F of the receiving groove 33 (see the folding line G indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 6) so as to cross along the main scanning direction X. The platen 6 is received in the receiving groove 33.

The operation of the ink jet printer (printing apparatus) configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part along the main scanning direction X, showing an area corresponding to one side edge of the recording paper M in the platen (supporting member) shown in FIG.
When performing so-called borderless printing with no margin up to the side edge of the recording paper M using the ink jet printer (printing apparatus) 1 of the present invention, the recording paper M supported by the numerous ribs 31 of the platen 6. Ink D is ejected in a state in which the ejection head 4 is moved to the outside of the side end portion. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the ink D is ejected to the side edge of the recording paper M without a margin, and a part of the ink D is directly ejected to the outside of the side edge, that is, toward the platen 6.

   The ink D ejected from the ejection head 4 to the outside of the side end portion of the recording paper M is absorbed by the absorbent material 32 provided below the side end portion of the recording paper M and directly onto the platen 6. Prevent ink from adhering. Since the concave portion 34 of the absorbent 32 is formed at a portion corresponding to the side end portion of the recording paper M so as to be lower than the reference surface S of the platen 6, the back surface of the side end portion of the recording paper M is formed. The side is not soiled with ink.

   That is, the side end portion of the recording paper M is bent (hangs down) from the height of the top portion 31a of the rib 31 toward the reference plane S by its own weight. For this reason, when the surface of the absorbent 32 is at the same position as or higher than the reference plane S, the side edge of the recording paper M may come into contact with the surface of the absorbent 32. When the side edge of the recording paper M comes into contact with the absorbent material 32, the ink absorbed by the absorbent material 32 adheres (transfers) to the side edge or back side of the recording paper M, and the recording paper M is soiled. .

   However, the concave portion 34 of the absorbent 32 is formed in a portion corresponding to the side edge of the recording paper M so as to be lower than the reference surface S of the platen 6, so that the side edge of the recording paper M is the absorbent 32. Therefore, borderless printing can be performed on the recording paper M in a clear and clean state up to the side edge. Moreover, unlike the prior art, a power mechanism for changing the position of the absorbent material, such as a large-scale device such as a motor or a gear, is unnecessary, and the absorbent material 32 is provided at a portion corresponding to the side edge of the recording paper M. By simply forming the recesses 34, it becomes possible to reliably prevent the recording paper from being damaged during borderless printing at a low cost. Further, it is possible to eliminate the concern that the side edge of the recording paper M contacts the absorbent 32 and causes a paper jam.

   Further, if the absorbent 32 is formed of a series of (single) porous members (sheets), maintenance such as replacement is extremely easy, and the running cost can be kept low. In addition to the method of replacing the absorbent 32 with a new one when absorbing a certain amount of ink, for example, a device that sucks the waste ink absorbed by the absorbent 32 into one end of the receiving groove 33 of the platen 6. May be provided.

   The depth L1 of the absorbent material 32 with respect to the reference surface S of the recess 34 may be set according to the height L2 from the reference surface S of the rib 31A formed at the position facing the recess 34 to the top 31a. . That is, when the side end of the recording paper M is at a position facing the absorbent 32, the distance (height) L3 from the top 31a of the outermost rib 31A that supports this side end to the surface of the recess 34 is The depth L1 of the recess 34 and the height L2 of the rib 31A are added. For this reason, the depth L1 of the recess 34 is set so that the distance (height) L3 is larger than the amount of the recording paper M hanging from the position of the outermost rib 31A that supports the side edge of the recording paper M. That's fine.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part along the sub-scanning direction Y of the region where the absorbent material is formed in the platen (supporting member) shown in FIG.
By accommodating the absorbing material 32 in the receiving groove 33 of the platen 6, it is possible to prevent the leading end portion of the recording paper M in the sub-scanning direction Y from being damaged due to contact with the absorbing material 32. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the leading end of the recording paper M passes between the adjacent ribs 31 during conveyance, the leading end is slightly curved (hangs down) toward the reference plane S due to its own weight. .

   However, by accommodating the absorbent 32 in the accommodation groove 33, the surface of the absorbent 32 does not protrude from the reference plane S. Therefore, even if the leading end of the recording paper M hangs down, the leading end of the recording paper M absorbs it. The adjacent rib 31 is reached without contacting the material 32 (see FIG. 8B). This makes it possible to perform borderless printing on the recording paper M in a clean and clear state up to the leading end. Further, it is possible to eliminate the concern that the leading end of the recording paper M contacts the absorbent 32 and causes paper jam.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet printer (printing apparatus), 4 ... Discharge head, 6 ... Platen (support member), 31 ... Rib, 32 ... Absorber, 34 ... Recessed part, D ... Ink, M ... Recording paper (recording medium), S ... Reference plane.

Claims (6)

A printing apparatus comprising: a support member that supports a recording medium; an ejection head that ejects ink droplets toward the recording medium; and an absorber that absorbs the ink ejected from the ejection head.
The support member supports the recording medium with a plurality of ribs arranged in a direction intersecting a conveyance direction of the recording medium,
Of the exposed surface facing the ejection head, the region where both side end portions along the recording medium conveyance direction pass has a height higher than the top of the outermost rib supporting the side end portion of the recording medium. In the low recess, the absorbent material is disposed,
The distance which is the difference in the height direction between the position of the top of the outermost rib that supports the side end of the recording medium and the position of the surface of the absorbent located in the recess is the side of the recording medium It is set to be larger than the amount that the recording medium hangs down by its own weight from the position of the outermost rib that supports the end ,
The recesses are formed in pairs at different positions in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, corresponding to both end portions of the recording medium having a plurality of sizes.
The printing apparatus is characterized in that the absorbent material forms a series of members from a recess corresponding to one side end of the recording medium to a recess corresponding to the other side end . A printing apparatus comprising: a support member that supports a recording medium; an ejection head that ejects ink droplets toward the recording medium; and an absorber that absorbs the ink ejected from the ejection head.
The support member supports the recording medium with a plurality of protrusions arranged in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium,
Of the exposed surface facing the ejection head, the region where both side ends along the conveyance direction of the recording medium pass has a height higher than the top of the outermost projection that supports the side end of the recording medium. In the low recess, the absorbent material is disposed,
The distance that is the difference in the height direction between the position of the top of the outermost projection that supports the side end of the recording medium and the position of the surface of the absorbent located in the recess is the side of the recording medium It is set to be larger than the amount that the recording medium hangs down by its own weight from the position of the outermost projection that supports the end ,
The recesses are formed in pairs at different positions in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, corresponding to both end portions of the recording medium having a plurality of sizes.
The printing apparatus is characterized in that the absorbent material forms a series of members from a recess corresponding to one side end of the recording medium to a recess corresponding to the other side end . The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent material is a porous member having a moisturizing agent supported on a surface thereof . A printing apparatus comprising: a support member that supports a recording medium; and an ejection head that ejects ink droplets toward the recording medium.
The support member supports the recording medium with a plurality of ribs arranged in a direction intersecting a conveyance direction of the recording medium,
Discharge from the discharge head to a first recess having a height lower than the top of the rib in an area of the exposed surface facing the discharge head that is shifted in the conveyance direction of the recording medium from the plurality of ribs. A first absorbent that absorbs the ink that has been disposed is disposed;
Of the exposed surface facing the ejection head, the region where both side end portions along the recording medium conveyance direction pass has a height higher than the top of the outermost rib supporting the side end portion of the recording medium. A second absorbent material that absorbs the ink ejected from the ejection head is disposed in the lower second recess,
The height position of the surface of the second absorbent material, rather low than the height position of the surface of the first absorber,
A plurality of sets of the second recesses are formed at positions different from each other in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, corresponding to both end portions of the recording medium having a plurality of sizes.
The printing apparatus is characterized in that the absorbent material forms a series of members from a second recess corresponding to one side end of the recording medium to a second recess corresponding to the other side end . A printing apparatus comprising: a support member that supports a recording medium; and an ejection head that ejects ink droplets toward the recording medium.
The support member supports the recording medium with a plurality of protrusions arranged in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium,
Discharge from the discharge head to a first recess having a height lower than the top of the protrusion in an area of the exposed surface facing the discharge head that is shifted from the plurality of protrusions in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. A first absorbent that absorbs the ink that has been disposed is disposed;
Of the exposed surface facing the ejection head, the region where both side ends along the conveyance direction of the recording medium pass has a height higher than the top of the outermost projection that supports the side end of the recording medium. A second absorbent material that absorbs the ink ejected from the ejection head is disposed in the lower second recess,
The height position of the surface of the second absorbent material, rather low than the height position of the surface of the first absorber,
A plurality of sets of the second recesses are formed at positions different from each other in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, corresponding to both end portions of the recording medium having a plurality of sizes.
The printing apparatus is characterized in that the absorbent material forms a series of members from a second recess corresponding to one side end of the recording medium to a second recess corresponding to the other side end . The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent material is a porous member having a moisturizing agent supported on a surface thereof .

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