Ink jet recording apparatus provided with an improved cleaning mechanism

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6532025
  • Patent Number
    6,532,025
  • Date Filed
    Friday, November 13, 1998
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 11, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
An ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from a recording head to a recording material to thereby effect recording has a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording head. The contacting member is rotatable until immediately before it contacts with the discharging surface, and the rotation of the contacting member is fixed when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Field of the Invention and Related Art




This invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the ink discharging surface of an ink jet recording head for discharging ink to a recording material to thereby effect recording, and particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a cleaning mechanism of a roller type which makes improved cleaning possible.




A recording apparatus having the function of a printer, a copying apparatus, a facsimile apparatus or the like, or a recording apparatus used as the output instrument of a compound type electronic apparatus including a computer, a word processor or the like or of a work station is designed to record images (including characters, symbols, etc.) on a recording material such as recording paper or a plastic sheet on the basis of recording information. Such recording apparatus can be grouped into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type, etc. depending on the recording system thereof.




Among these, a recording apparatus of the ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus) discharges ink from recording means (recording head) to a recording material to thereby effect recording, and has the advantages that it is easy to make the recording means compact, highly accurate images can be recorded at a high speed, recording can be done without requiring any special treatment of plain paper, the running cost is low and due to its being a non-impact system, noise is little and moreover, it is easy to use many kinds of inks (e.g., color inks) to second color images.




Also, there are various requirements for the quality of the recording material and in recent years, development for these requirements has been advanced, and recording apparatuses using, besides paper (including paper sheets and worked paper) which is an ordinary recording material and resin sheets (OHP or the like), cloth, leather, unwoven fabrics and metals or the like as recording materials have come to be used.




In the above-described ink jet recording apparatus, ink is discharged from minute discharge ports formed in the discharging surface of a recording head to recording paper, and the recording paper and the recording head are moved relative to each other to thereby effect recording. Therefore, there may result a situation in which ink droplets, dust or paper powder adheres to the discharging surface and the adhering materials are solidified, and this has affected the discharged state of the ink and in some cases, has resulted in non-discharge.




With a view to improve such a situation, generally a cleaning mechanism is provided in the apparatus and a cleaning operation is executed for the discharging surface of the recording head periodically or at predetermined timing so as to remove the foreign substances such as ink droplets, dust, paper powder and solidified materials, and this is an important technical element in ink jet recording.




There have been proposed various examples of the construction for cleaning adopted in the ink jet recording apparatus. They include, for example, a construction in which a plate-like elastic member is brought into frictional contact with the discharging surface (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 6-340082 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 7-9674), a construction in which an absorbent member is brought into frictional contact with the discharging surface (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 7-52396), and a construction in which a rotatable member is rotated and the discharging surface is brought into frictional contact therewith (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 57-63267, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 57-193369, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 62-288047, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 6-255117 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 7-96604).





FIGS. 11 through 14A

,


14


B and


14


C of the accompanying drawings schematically shows some examples of the cleaning mechanism.





FIG. 11

shows an example of the construction which uses a plate-like elastic member (a wiping blade) to effect cleaning and in which on one end portion off the recording area of a recording apparatus


101


, a wiping blade


104


is disposed as one of recovery mechanisms


102


adjacent to a capping mechanism


103


. The wiping blade


104


utilizes the movement of a recording head


106


carried on a carriage


105


to the recovery mechanisms


102


to frictionally contact with the discharging surface and effect cleaning.





FIG. 12

shows an example of the cleaning mechanism in which an absorbent member


110


is disposed, and with a view to well remove a solidified material which cannot be removed by a wiping blade


104


, the absorbent member


110


is disposed at a location adjacent to the wiping blade


104


and utilizes the movement of a recording head to the recovery mechanisms


102


to frictionally contact with the discharging surface and effect cleaning.





FIGS. 13A and 13B

show examples of the cleaning construction utilizing a rotatable member


111


, and without utilizing the movement of a carriage, the rotatable member


111


itself rotates while being in contact with the discharging surface


106




a


of a recording head


106


to thereby execute cleaning. The examples shown in

FIGS. 13A and 13B

are a construction in which the rotatable member is disposed in a cap mechanism, and after the recording head has been capped by a capping member, as shown in

FIG. 13A

, the rotatable member


111


is moved so as to contact with the discharging surface


106




a,


and in response to the rotatable force of another rotatable member


112


connected to a drive source in the direction of arrow a, the rotatable member


111


is rotated in the direction of arrow b and cleans the discharging surface


106




a.


At a point of time whereat the cleaning has been completed, as shown in

FIG. 13B

, the rotatable member


111


is moved to its initial position separate in the direction of arrow e from the discharging surface


106




a.







FIGS. 14A

to


14


C show another examples of the cleaning construction utilizing a rotatable member. In these examples, the rotatable member


111


is moved on the discharging surface


106




a


while being rotated to thereby make it possible to clean the entire discharging surface. In the construction shown in

FIGS. 14A

to


14


C, the rotatable member


111


executes its rotating operation by having a rotating operation from another rotatable member


112


transmitted thereto, and by the movement of said another rotatable member


112


with an arm


113


extending from the center of rotation thereof to the rotatable member as the radius, the rotatable member is moved from one side to the other side of the discharging surface


106




a


to thereby clean the entire discharging surface. At this time, the direction of rotation of the rotatable member is the same direction (arrow f in FIG.


14


A and arrow p in

FIG. 14B

) as the direction of movement (arrow m in

FIG. 14B

) of the rotatable member, whereby firm cleaning is made possible.




For example, in the construction of a cleaning member using an absorbent member, however, an adhering substance comes to remain with an increase in the frequency of frictional contact and in some cases, sufficient cleaning performance cannot be expected. Also, the surface of the absorbent member becomes roughened by an increase in the frequency of the frictional contact with the discharging surface, and the cleaning performance may be gradually deteriorated.




Also, in the construction wherein the movement of the rotatable member and the rotation of the rotatable member are in the same direction and cleaning is effected, the load to the discharging surface is great, thus helping the deterioration of the characteristic of the rotatable member or scraping off the water repellent finish provided on the discharging surface, or these become complex and injure the discharging surface, and this has led to the possibility that ink discharging performance cannot be recovered in spite of the recovering process being carried out.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention intends to improve the situation as noted above and an object thereof is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which is provided with cleaning means capable of maintaining stable cleaning performance for a long period when cleaning the discharging surface of a recording head and which can achieve stable ink discharge for a long period.




It is also an object of the present invention to provide a construction which reduces a load to a cleaning member in cleaning and yet can sufficiently obtain the cleaning effect, and to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which secures sufficient cleaning performance and also maintains ink discharging performance.




It is also an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording, characterized by a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means, the contacting member being rotatable until immediately before it contacts with the discharging surface, and the rotation being fixed when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface.




It is also an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording, characterized by a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means, the contacting member being moved relative to the discharging surface while being in contact with the discharging surface during paper feeding reverse rotation, the contacting member being rotated and in contact with a re-transfer member during further paper feeding reverse rotation, the contacting member being returned to its initial position during paper feeding forward rotation.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording, characterized by a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means, and a cap member for protecting the discharging surface, the contacting member and the cap member being disposed on opposite sides with a recording area therebetween.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a typical perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.





FIG. 2

is a fragmentary perspective view typically showing the structure of the ink discharging portion of recording means.





FIG. 3

is a typical plan view, partly in cross-section, showing contacting members in FIG.


1


and the construction of the vicinity thereof.





FIG. 4

is a typical front view taken along the line


4





4


of FIG.


3


.





FIG. 5

is a typical side cross-sectional view taken along the line


5





5


of FIG.


3


.





FIG. 6

is a flow chart showing the series of operations of the cleaning process for recording means in an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.





FIG. 7

is a typical side cross-sectional view corresponding to

FIG. 5

but showing the state in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention immediately before a contacting member contacts with the recording means.





FIG. 8

is a typical side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a wiping arm is rotated from the state of FIG.


7


and the contacting member is in contact with the recording means.





FIG. 9

is a typical side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the wiping arm is further rotated from the state of FIG.


8


and the contacting member is in contact with a re-transfer member.





FIG. 10

is a typical view for illustrating an operation performed at a step S


3


in FIG.


6


.





FIG. 11

is a typical perspective view schematically showing the construction of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a recording system according to the prior art.





FIG. 12

is a typical perspective view showing an example of the recovery system of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the prior art.





FIGS. 13A and 13B

are typical views showing another example of the recovery system according to the prior art,

FIG. 13A

showing a head cleaning state, and

FIG. 13B

showing a retracted state.





FIGS. 14A

,


14


B and


14


C are typical views showing still another example of the recovery system according to the prior art,

FIG. 14A

being a side view schematically showing the whole of a cleaning mechanism, and

FIGS. 14B and 14C

being typical views showing a cleaning state in succession.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Some embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, like or corresponding portions are designated by like reference numerals.

FIG. 1

is a typical perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In

FIG. 1

, a carriage


2


carrying two kinds of recording heads (recording means)


1


A and


1


B is supported for reciprocal movement along a guide shaft


3


. A recording material such as recording paper (not shown) fed from an auto sheet feeder (ASF) or a cassette


5


or a cassette


6


is supplied to a recording portion by a line feed roller (LF roller)


7


, and the recording material on which recording has been effected by the recording heads


1


is discharged onto a stacker


9


by a paper discharging roller


8


.




A recovery system (recovery device)


10


having caps


11


, etc. is disposed on the right side in FIG.


1


. The recovery system


10


is provided with six caps


11


, which correspond to the three series of discharging surfaces of the recording head


1


A and the three series of discharging surfaces of the recording head


1


B, six series of discharging surfaces in total. On the other hand, on the left side in

FIG. 1

, there are disposed three contacting members (wiping members, i.e., wipers)


12


capable of frictionally contacting with the discharging surfaces of the recording heads


1


, and a re-transfer member


13


capable of contacting with these contacting members


12


. In the present embodiment, the re-transfer member


13


is mounted around the left shaft portion of the line feed roller


7


.




The recording heads


1


(


1


A and


1


B) are ink jet recording heads for selectively discharging ink from a plurality of discharge ports to thereby effect recording by applying energy thereto in conformity with a recording signal. Also, these recording heads are ink jet recording means utilizing heat energy to discharge ink, and provided with electrothermal converting means for generating heat energy. Further, the recording heads


1


utilize a pressure change caused by the growth and contraction of an air bubble by film boiling caused by heat energy applied by the electrothermal converting means to discharge the ink from the discharge ports and effect recording. The electrothermal converting means are provided correspondingly to respective ones of the discharge ports, and by applying a pulse voltage to a corresponding electrothermal converting means in conformity with a recording signal, the ink is discharged from a corresponding discharge port.





FIG. 2

is a fragmentary perspective view typically showing the structure of the ink discharging portion (a row of discharge ports) of the recording means (recording heads)


1


. In

FIG. 2

, a discharging surface


51


facing the recording material (such as recording paper) with a predetermined gap (e.g. about 0.3 to 2.0 mm) therebetween is formed with a plurality of discharge ports


52


at a predetermined pitch, and electrothermal converting means (such as heat generating resistance members)


55


for generating ink discharging energy are disposed along the wall surfaces of respective liquid paths


54


communicating the discharge ports


52


with a common liquid chamber


53


. The recording heads


1


are guided and supported in such positional relationship that the discharge ports


52


are arranged in a direction intersecting with the direction of main scanning movement (in the present embodiment wherein the recording heads are carried on the carriage


2


, the direction of movement of the carriage


2


). Thus, the recording means (recording heads)


1


is constructed in which a corresponding electrothermal converting means


55


is driven (a pulse voltage is applied) on the basis of an image signal or a discharge signal to thereby film-boil the ink in the liquid path


54


and an ink droplet is discharged from the discharge port


52


by pressure created at that time.





FIG. 3

is a typical plan view, partly in cross-section, showing the contacting members


12


in FIG.


1


and the construction of the vicinity thereof,

FIG. 4

is a typical front view taken along the line


4





4


of

FIG. 3

, and

FIG. 5

is a typical side cross-sectional view taken along the line


5





5


of FIG.


3


. In

FIGS. 3

to


5


, the contacting members


12


are disposed between the line feed roller


7


and the paper discharging roller


8


, and the re-transfer member


13


is mounted around the shaft portion


7




a


of the line feed roller


7


. This re-transfer member


13


is formed by an ink absorbent member. The reference numeral


14


designates a wiping base for supporting the contacting members


12


and a driving system which will be described later.




Each of the contacting members


12


is formed into a cylindrical shape, and is formed with a through-hole in the central portion thereof. Each of the three contacting members


12


corresponding to the three series of discharging surfaces


51


of the ink jet recording head


1


A is fixed to a wiping shaft


15


by the aforementioned through-hole. This wiping shaft


15


is supported by a wiping holder


16


so as to be rotatable at the left and right end portions thereof. Thereby, the cylindrical contacting member (wiping member)


12


is rotatable with the center of the cylinder thereof as the axis.




The wiping holder


16


is held for sliding in a vertical direction (the direction of arrow Z) relative to a wiping arm


17


, which is mounted on the wiping base


14


so as to be rotatable about the center of rotation


17




d


thereof. A wiping control member


18


, like the wiping holder


16


, is also held for sliding in the vertical direction (the direction of arrow Z) relative to the wiping arm


17


. A wiping spring


19


is mounted between the wiping control member


18


and the wiping arm


17


, and the wiping control member


18


is biased upwardly as viewed in

FIG. 5

by the wiping spring


19


(the resilient force thereof). A wiping control portion


18




a


is provided on the upper portion of the wiping control member


18


so that the wiping member (contacting member)


12


may be upwardly biased through the wiping control portion


18




a.


Also, a stopper portion


18




b


is provided on the lower portion of the wiping control member


18


so that the wiping control member


18


may not move beyond a predetermined amount. That is, design is made such that the biasing force of the wiping spring imparted to the contacting member


12


through the wiping control portion


18




a


of the wiping control member


18


dies away at a point of time whereat the wiping control member


18


has been upwardly moved by a predetermined amount.




In

FIGS. 3

to


5


, together with the wiping members (contacting members)


12


, the wiping holder


16


and the wiping shaft


15


supporting the wiping members


12


receive the upward biasing force (spring resilient force) by the wiping spring


19


at a time. The wiping holder


16


, like the wiping control member


18


, is also provided with a stopper portion


16




a


for the wiping arm


17


so that the wiping holder


16


may be prevented from moving upwardly as viewed in

FIG. 4

beyond a predetermined amount. That is, the stopper portion


16




a


provides the anti-slippage means of the wiping holder


16


relative to the wiping arm


17


. Here, design is made such that the biasing force of the wiping spring


19


is nullified by the stopper portion


18




b


of the wiping control member


18


before the stopper portion


16




a


of the wiping holder


16


works. Therefore, the biasing force of the wiping spring


19


does not act on the contacting members


12


at least when the contacting members (wiping members)


12


are not in contact with the discharging surfaces


51


of the ink jet recording head


1


A.




A one-way clutch


20


is provided on the shaft portion


8




a


of the paper discharging roller


8


. This one-way clutch


20


is designed to transmit a driving force during reverse rotation and idly rotate during forward rotation, and transmits a driving force for the wiping arm


17


to rotate about a shaft portion (the center of rotation)


17




d


during reverse rotation. The gear portion


20




a


of the one-way clutch


20


is in meshing engagement with the large-diametered gear portion


21




a


of an idle gear


21


which is a two-stage gear. It is possible to rotatively drive the wiping arm


17


by the driving force from the one-way clutch


20


through the large-diametered gear portion


21




a


and small-diametered gear portion


21




b


of the idle gear


21


which is a two-stage gear and the gear portion


17




a


of the wiping arm


17


.




The gear portion


17




a


of the wiping arm


17


, when rotated by a predetermined amount or greater, has its gear transmission (the drive transmission by the gear) released by the untoothed portion


17




b


(

FIG. 5

) thereof. Also, an idle rubber ring


22


is mounted on the idle gear


21


, and immediately before the releasing of the aforementioned gear transmission (the releasing of the drive transmission by the gear), the frictional transmitting portion


17




c


of the wiping arm


17


comes into frictional engagement with the idle rubber ring


22


. Thereby, still after the releasing of the drive transmission by the gear, the wiping arm


17


is rotatively driven in the direction of arrow B in FIG.


5


through the idle rubber ring


22


.




When the paper discharging roller


8


is further rotated reversely, the wiping members (contacting members)


12


is brought into contact with the re-transfer member


13


by the further rotation of the wiping arm


17


in the direction of arrow B, whereupon the rotation of the wiping arm


17


is blocked. At this time, idle rotation takes place between the idle rubber ring


22


and the frictional transmitting portion


17




c


of the wiping arm


17


. Also, at this time, the small-diametered gear portion


21




b


of the idle gear


21


is located on the untoothed portion


17




b


of the wiping arm


17


and is sufficiently separate from the gear portion


17




a


of the wiping arm


17


and therefore, the rubbing noise or the like of the gear does not occur.





FIG. 6

is a flow chart showing a series of operations when cleaning a recording head in an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied,

FIG. 7

is a typical side cross-sectional view corresponding to

FIG. 5

but showing the state immediately before the contacting member in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention contacts with the recording head,

FIG. 8

is a typical side cross-sectional view corresponding to

FIG. 5

but showing a state in which the contacting member in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is in contact with the recording head, and

FIG. 9

is a typical side cross-sectional view corresponding to

FIG. 5

but showing a state in which the contacting member in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is in contact with the re-transfer member. A series of operations by the cleaning device described in connection with

FIGS. 3

to


5


will hereinafter be described with reference to

FIGS. 6

to


9


.




When the ordinary paper feeding forward rotation is being effected, the shaft portion


8




a


of the paper discharging roller


8


is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG.


7


and the one-way clutch


20


is idly rotating with predetermined torque. This predetermined torque acts on the idle gear


21


in the direction of arrow A and further acts on the wiping arm


17


also in the direction of arrow A. Accordingly, in the state of

FIG. 7

, the wiping arm


17


is held in a position in which it is stopped by a stopper, not shown, i.e., a position as shown in

FIG. 7

wherein the contacting member (wiping member)


12


is in contact with neither of the recording head


1


(IA or


1


B) and the paper discharging roller shaft portion


8




a.






When at the step S


1


of

FIG. 6

, it is judged that the wiping operation is to be executed, at a step S


2


, the recording heads


1


carried on the carriage


2


is first positioned right above the wiping base


14


on which the wiping member


12


is mounted. For which recording head


1


or for which discharging surface


51


the wiping operation is to be executed is determined by the position of the carriage


2


. In the present embodiment, the recording head


1


A is provided with three series of discharging surfaces


51


, and there are disposed discharging surfaces for black ink and a discharging surface for liquid for making the dye undissolvable is disposed in the middle therebetween. On the other hand, the recording head


1


B is also provided with three series of discharging surfaces


51


for yellow, magenta and cyan inks, respectively. In the recording head


1


A, there is present the discharging surface for the liquid for making the dye undissolvable and therefore, ink increased in viscosity which is difficult to wipe off by a wiper or the like formed of an elastic material such as rubber is liable to adhere. So, in the present embodiment, three contacting member (wiping members)


12


are disposed at positions which correspond only to the three series of discharging surfaces of the recording head


1


A and do not correspond to the recording head


1


B.




At the step S


3


of

FIG. 6

, a paper feed motor (LF motor) is rotated reversely by a predetermined amount v at a predetermined speed V. The operation at this time will hereinafter be described with reference to FIG.


8


. The paper discharging roller


8


is rotated in the direction of arrow B as shown in

FIG. 8

, and the one-way clutch


20


is also rotated in the direction of arrow B. As previously described, the gear portion


20




a


of the one-way clutch


20


is in engagement with the idle gear


21


and therefore, the idle gear


21


is also rotated in the direction of arrow B. Further, by the engagement between the small-diametered gear portion


21




b


of this idle gear


21


and the gear portion


17




a


of the wiping arm


17


, the wiping arm


17


is also rotatively driven in the direction of arrow B about an axis


17




d.






With this rotating operation of the wiping arm


17


, the wiping holder


16


and wiping shaft


15


slidably mounted on the wiping arm


17


perform a pivotally (swingingly) moving operation and further, the wiping member (contacting member)


12


supported on the wiping shaft


15


also performs a pivotaly moving operation. On the other hand, the discharging surface


51


of the recording head


1


A is right above the wiping member


12


, and the upward movement of the wiping member


12


is blocked (regulated). That is, in the state of

FIG. 8

, the wiping spring


19


becomes charged, and the stopper portion


18




b


of the wiping control member


18


is free relative to the wiping arm


17


, and the wiping control portion


18




a


of the wiping control member


18


is engaged with and biases the wiping member


12


(the wiping holder


16


).




Accordingly, with the pivotally (swingingly) moving operation of the wiping arm


17


in the direction of arrow B, the wiping member (contacting member)


12


rectilinearly moves along the discharging surface


51


of the recording head


1


A. Also, when the contacting member


12


is in contact with the discharging surface


51


of the recording head


1


A, the contacting member


12


is urged against the discharging surface


51


with predetermined pressure by the wiping spring


19


, and slides under a predetermined pressure contact force. Also, the rotatably supported contacting member


12


is usually rotated when it rectilinearly moves while contacting with the discharging surface


51


of the recording head


1


A, but since as previously described, the wiping control portion


18




a


of the wiping control member


18


is in engagement with the contacting member


12


from the opposite side of the recording head


1


A, the rotation of the contacting member (wiping member)


12


can also be stopped by the utilization of the wiping control portion


18




a.


The wiping member


12


thus bears against the discharging surface


51


with predetermined pressure, whereby a stable and reliable wiping operation (cleaning operation) becomes possible. Also, by the rotation of the wiping member


12


being stopped, not only simply contacting but also a reliable rubbing-off operation becomes possible.




The predetermined speed V at the step S


3


in

FIG. 6

is selected to a speed optimum for the wiping operation. Also, the predetermined amount of reverse rotation v at the step S


3


in

FIG. 6

means the amount of rotation from the start to the end of the wiping operation, that is, until the wiping member


12


comes from the state of

FIG. 7

via the state of

FIG. 8

to the state of

FIG. 9

(a position in which it contacts with the re-transfer member


13


).





FIG. 10

is a typical view showing the operation executed at the step S


3


in FIG.


6


. Dots-and-dash line X is a locus described by the uppermost end of the contacting member


12


when the head


51


is absent, and when for example, the contacting member


12


is at a position indicated by m, pressing-in by a distance Y is effected by the head


51


. When the contacting member


12


is at k, it is rotatable and the contact thereof with the head


51


is started from the vicinity of a position


1


, and it passes the position


1


and comes close to the position m, whereby the fixing of the rotation thereof is gradually done. By the contacting member


12


beginning to contact with the head


51


in its rotatable state, the contacting member


12


can smoothly start its contact with the head


51


and does not require any excess pivotally driving force. Thereafter, as the contacting member


12


begins to leave the head


51


from the vicinity of a position n through the position m and comes close to a position o, the rotation thereof becomes possible, and when it comes to the position o, the contacting member


12


becomes rotatable.




Next, as shown at a step S


4


in

FIG. 6

, the reverse rotating operation is further executed and the operation of cleaning the wiping member (contacting member)


12


by the re-transfer member


13


is performed. This cleaning step will hereinafter be described with reference to FIG.


9


. By the reverse rotating operation (the rotation in the direction of arrow C in

FIG. 9

) of the paper discharging roller


8


, as in the case of

FIG. 8

, the wiping arm


17


performs a pivotally (swingingly) moving operation in the same direction, and the contacting member (wiping member)


12


assumes a position in which it contacts with the re-transfer member


13


as shown in FIG.


9


.




In that case, the small-diametered gear portion


21




b


of the idle gear


21


changes over from its meshing state with the gear portion


17




a


of the wiping arm


17


to its state opposed to the untoothed portion


17




b


(non-engaged state) immediately before the contacting member (wiping member)


12


contacts with the re-transfer member


13


. In the further reverse rotation subsequent thereto, drive transmission is effected by the frictional force between the idle rubber ring


22


mounted on the idle gear


21


and the frictional transmitting portion


17




c


of the wiping arm


17


. Thus, when the contacting member


12


is in contact with the re-transfer member


13


, the driving force of the paper discharging roller


8


idly rotates on the frictional transmitting portion


17




c.


Also, the idle rotational force generated at this time becomes the contact pressure (pressure contact force) between the contacting member


12


and the re-transfer member


13


.




On the other hand, as shown in

FIG. 9

, during the reverse rotation of the paper discharging roller


8


, the paper feed roller


7


also performs a reverse rotating operation and is rotating in the direction of arrow C, and the re-transfer member


13


mounted on the shaft portion


7




a


of the paper feed roller


7


is also rotated in the direction of arrow C. This re-transfer member


13


is formed by an ink absorbent member. Further, by the rotation of this re-transfer member


13


in the direction of arrow C, the wiping member (contacting member)


12


which is in contact therewith is also rotatively driven in the direction of arrow C and at the same time, the cleaning of the wiping member


12


is effected. Also, at this time, the wiping control member


18


described with reference to

FIG. 8

is held at a constant position by the stopper portion


18




b


thereof, and the rotation of the wiping member


12


is effected freely.




The predetermined speed W of the paper feed motor at the step S


4


in

FIG. 6

is selected to a speed optimum for cleaning, and the predetermined amount of reverse rotation w is determined from the following three points of view. Firstly, for at least the wiping member


12


to effect one full or more rotation and for the whole of the wiping member


12


to be cleaned. Secondly, for the wiping member


12


to be rotated by a predetermined amount so that during the next contact thereof with the recording head


1


A, the position of the contacting portion of the wiping member


12


may shaft (change) sequentially. Thirdly, during the next forward rotation drive transmission, for a predetermined amount of reverse rotation to be effected so that the interference between the gear portions may not occur when return is made from the frictional transmitting state on the untoothed portion


17




b


to the meshing state between the gear portions.




Next, at a step S


5


in

FIG. 6

, the carriage


2


is retracted (moved away) from the position of the wiping member


12


, whereafter at a step S


6


, the returning operation of the wiping member


12


is performed by the reverse rotation of the paper feed motor. The operation at this time is performed in the manner described in connection with FIG.


7


. That is, the rotation of each member shown in

FIG. 7

in the direction of arrow A is effected by the idle rotation torque of the one-way clutch by the forward rotating operation of the paper discharging roller


8


. The idle rotation torque generated by the one-way clutch


20


is considerably smaller than the torque generated during the reverse rotation shown in

FIG. 8

, but since the recording head


1


A has been retracted (moved) to other position, the idle rotation torque can be easily set to sufficient torque to return the wiping member


12


, and is so set. After sufficient forward rotation has been effected, the wiping member is held in its state shown in FIG.


7


. By the series of operations described above, a foreign substance such as viscosity-increased ink adhering to the discharging surfaces


51


of the recording head


1


can be reliably wiped off and removed in a stable state.




According to the above-described construction, at a position for starting frictional contact with the recording head, the rotatable member is in a rotatable state in accordance with the direction of movement thereof and therefore, the rotatable member can well move into the discharging surfaces of the recording head and any great load is generated neither to the rotatable member nor to the recording head. Also, the rotatable member is fixed when it passes the vicinity of the discharge ports and therefore, not only the ink and dust but also solidified materials can be reliably removed. Also, in an area wherein the rotatable member on the discharging surfaces starts to contact, sufficient cleaning is effected by the contact with the rotatable member. Particularly, for the cleaning mechanism designed to be rotated against the direction of movement of the rotatable member, the load is mitigated both to the cleaning member and to the recording head and therefore, the long-period stability of the cleaning mechanism and the long-period stable discharge of the recording head can be achieved.




Thus, only the necessary portions can be firmly and effectively cleaned and therefore, it is difficult for the discharging surfaces of the recording head and the cleaning member to be deteriorated and a stable cleaning characteristic for a long period can be maintained and it is difficult for the head to be injured and therefore, stable ink discharge can be achieved and good recording can be maintained for a long period.




While the above embodiment has been described with respect to an ink jet recording apparatus of the serial recording type in which recording is effected while the recording means is moved relative to the recording material, the present invention can also be equally applied to an ink jet recording apparatus of the line recording type in which recording is effected only by sub-scanning by the use of recording means of the line type having a length covering the full width or a part of a recording material, and a similar effect can be achieved.




Further, the present invention can also be likewise applied to a recording apparatus using a single recording means, a color recording apparatus using a plurality of recording means for recording with inks of different colors, or a gradation recording apparatus using a plurality of recording means for recording in the same color at different densities, or further a recording apparatus in which these are combined together, and a similar effect can be achieved.




Further, the present invention can also be likewise applied to any construction of a recording head and an ink tank such as a construction using an interchangeable ink cartridge comprising a recording head and an ink tank made into a unit, or a construction in which a recording head and an ink tank are discrete from each other and are connected together by an ink supplying tube or the like, and a similar effect can be obtained.




As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to the present invention, an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording has a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means and the position of the portion of contact of the contacting member with the discharging surface is made variable and therefore, the position of the portion of contact of the contacting member with the discharging surface is not fixed to a predetermined location but can be sequentially shifted, whereby it becomes possible to prevent or mitigate the contamination or surface deterioration of the contacting member and also, the cleaning performance for the discharging surface can be maintained for a long period and thus, it becomes possible to effect stable ink discharge for a long period.




Also, the present invention adopts a construction in which the contacting member is rotatable, a construction in which the rotation of the contacting member is fixed when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface, a construction in which the contacting member contacts with the rotation control member thereof when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface, a construction in which the rotation control member is biased by a resilient force, a construction in which the contacting member is biased by a necessary resilient force through the rotation control member when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface, and the contacting member is not biased when the contacting member does not contact with the discharging surface, a construction in which the contacting member is formed by an absorbent member, a construction in which a unit supporting the contacting member is rotatively driven, a construction in which the contacting member is substantially rectilinearly moved when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface, a construction in which a unit supporting the contacting member is driven by a paper feed motor, a construction in which the cleaning operation for the discharging surface is performed when the unit is rotatively driven in a predetermined direction by the paper feed motor, and the returning operation for the contacting member is performed when the unit is rotatively driven in the opposite direction, a construction in which the cleaning operation for the discharging surface is performed during paper feed reverse rotation, a construction in which the driving force for the unit is transmitted from a paper discharging roller, a construction in which the driving force for the unit is transmitted through a clutch, a construction in which the driving force for the unit is transmitted through a one-way clutch and the untoothed portion of a gear, or a construction in which transmitting means for the driving force for the unit has the untoothed portion and frictional driving portion of a gear, and therefore the effect can be achieved more efficiently by the ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording, characterized by a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means, said contacting member being rotatable until immediately before it contacts with said discharging surface, the rotation of said contacting member being fixed when said contacting member contacts with said discharging surface.




Further, an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording has a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means, and the contacting member is rotatable until immediately before it contacts with the discharging surface, and the rotation of the contacting member is fixed when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface and therefore, without any excess driving force being required, the cleaning performance for the discharging surface can be maintained for a long period, and it becomes possible to effect stable ink discharge for a long period.




Also, an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording has a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means and a re-transfer member for contacting with the contacting member and therefore, the portion of contact of the contacting member with the discharging surface is cleaned by the re-transfer member, whereby the contamination of the contacting member can be prevented and as the result, the cleaning performance for the discharging surface can be maintained for a long period, and it becomes possible to effect stable ink discharge for a long period.




Further, the present invention adopts a construction in which the contacting member and the re-transfer member are spaced apart from each other when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface, and the contacting member and the re-transfer member come into contact with each other when the contacting member does not contact with the discharging surface, a construction in which the contacting member and the re-transfer member are rotatable, a construction in which the contacting member is rotated by the rotative driving of the re-transfer member when the contacting member contacts with the re-transfer member, a construction in which at least the contacting member effects one full rotation when the contacting member contacts with the re-transfer member, a construction in which the portion of contact of the contacting member with the discharging surface is moved by the rotation of the contacting member when the contacting member contacts with the re-transfer member, a construction in which the re-transfer member is provided around a paper feed roller, or a construction in which the contacting member contacts with the re-transfer member during paper feeding reverse rotation and therefore, the effect can be achieved more efficiently by the ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording, characterized by a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means, said contacting member being rotatable until immediately before it contacts with said discharging surface, the rotation of said contacting member being fixed when said contacting member contacts with said discharging surface, characterized in that a unit supporting said contacting member is driven by a paper feed motor, and characterized in that the cleaning operation for the discharging surface is performed during paper feeding reverse rotation.




Also, in an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording has a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means, and adopts a construction in which during paper feeding reverse rotation, the discharging surface and the contacting member are moved relative to each other while contacting with each other, and during further paper feeding reverse rotation, the contacting member and a re-transfer member rotatably contact with each other, and during paper feeding forward rotation, the contacting member is returned to its initial position and therefore, the portion of contact of the contacting member with the discharging surface can be cleaned by the re-transfer member during paper feeding reverse rotation and thus, it becomes possible to prevent the contamination of the contacting member by simple control and as the result, the cleaning performance for the discharging surface can be maintained for a long period, and it becomes possible to effect stable ink discharge for a long period.




Further, an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from recording means to a recording material to thereby effect recording has a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording means and a cap member for protecting the discharging surface, and adopts a construction in which the contacting member and the cap member are disposed on opposite sides with a recording area therebetween and therefore, it becomes possible to secure a space sufficient to sequentially shift (change) the position of the portion of contact of the contacting member with the discharging surface or to clean the contacting member by a re-transfer member and as the result, it becomes possible to prevent or mitigate the contamination or surface deterioration of the contacting member and maintain the cleaning performance for the discharging surface for a long period, and it becomes possible to effect stable ink discharge for a long period.



Claims
  • 1. An ink jet recording apparatus for executing recording by discharging ink from recording means to a recording material, comprising:a cleaning member for cleaning a discharge face of said recording means, wherein the cleaning member is provided with a rotating-type cleaner portion, a rotationally-movable support member for supporting and moving the cleaner portion to a cleaning position and a non-cleaning position, and a stopper which maintains said cleaner portion in a non-rotatable state with respect to said support member when said cleaner portion is moved to the cleaning position by the support member in which said cleaner portion abuts to said discharge face, and the stopper places said cleaner portion in a rotatable state with respect to said support member when said cleaner portion is moved to the non-cleaning position by the support member in which said cleaner portion is not abutted to said discharge face.
  • 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by a re-transfer member for contacting with said cleaner portion.
  • 3. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said cleaner portion and said re-transfer member are spaced apart from each other when said cleaner portion contacts with said discharging surface, and said cleaner portion and said re-transfer member contact with each other when said cleaner portion does not contact with said discharging surface.
  • 4. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said cleaner portion and said re-transfer member are rotatable.
  • 5. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that said cleaner portion is rotated by the rotative driving of said re-transfer member when said cleaner portion contacts with said re-transfer member.
  • 6. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that at least said cleaner portion effects one full rotation when said cleaner portion contacts with said re-transfer member.
  • 7. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the portion of contact of said cleaner portion with said discharging surface is moved by the rotation of said cleaner portion when said cleaner portion contacts with said re-transfer member.
  • 8. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said re-transfer member is provided around a paper feed roller.
  • 9. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that during paper feeding reverse rotation, said cleaner portion contacts with said re-transfer member.
  • 10. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said cleaner portion contacts with the rotation control member thereof when said cleaner portion contacts with said discharging surface.
  • 11. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that said rotation control member is biased by a resilient force.
  • 12. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that said cleaner portion is biased by a necessary resilient force through said rotation control member when said cleaner portion contacts with said discharging surface, and said cleaner portion is not biased when said cleaner portion does not contact with said discharging surface.
  • 13. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said cleaner portion is formed by an absorbent member.
  • 14. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a unit supporting said cleaner portion is rotatively driven.
  • 15. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said cleaner portion is substantially rectilinearly moved when said cleaner portion contacts with said discharging surface.
  • 16. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a unit supporting said cleaner portion is driven by a paper feed motor.
  • 17. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the cleaning operation is performed when said unit is rotatively driven in a predetermined direction by said paper feed motor, and the returning operation for the cleaner portion is performed when said unit is rotatively driven in the opposite direction.
  • 18. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the cleaning operation for the discharging surface is performed during paper feeding reverse rotation.
  • 19. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the driving force for said unit is transmitted from a paper discharging roller.
  • 20. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the driving force for said unit is transmitted through a clutch.
  • 21. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the driving force for said unit is transmitted through a one-way clutch and the untoothed portion of a gear.
  • 22. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that transmitting means for the driving force for said unit has the untoothed portion and frictional driving portion of a gear.
  • 23. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:a feeding mechanism for feeding a recording material to which recording is executed by an adhesion of ink discharged from recording means; a cleaning mechanism having a rotating-type cleaner portion for cleaning a discharge face of said recording means; and a rotating-type re-transfer mechanism for cleaning said cleaner portion of said cleaning mechanism, wherein, by rotating said feeding mechanism in a direction opposite to a rotational direction for the recording material during recording, said cleaning mechanism is moved to a cleaning position for cleaning said discharge face in which said cleaner portion abuts said discharge face and is maintained in a non-rotatable state with respect to said support member by being engaged with a stopper, wherein, by executing further rotation in the same direction, said cleaning mechanism is moved to a re-transfer position where said cleaner portion of said cleaning mechanism is moved away from said discharge face and is contacted with said re-transfer mechanism to cause said cleaner portion to rotate so as to clean said cleaner portion, and where said cleaner portion is disengaged from the stopper so as to be in a rotatable state with respect to said support member, and wherein said cleaning mechanism is returned to an initial position by rotating said feeding mechanism in a forward direction.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
9-331146 Nov 1997 JP
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Number Name Date Kind
4819012 Kiyohara et al. Apr 1989 A
5051758 Markham Sep 1991 A
5097276 Midorikawa Mar 1992 A
5155497 Martin et al. Oct 1992 A
5581282 Okamura Dec 1996 A
5587729 Lee et al. Dec 1996 A
5663751 Holbrook Sep 1997 A
5815176 Rotering Sep 1998 A
5907335 Johnson et al. May 1999 A
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