Claims
- 1. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:
- head holding means for holding an ink jet head having a discharge opening at a lower portion thereof for discharging ink onto a recording surface of a recording medium opposed to said ink jet head;
- conveying means for conveying the recording medium in a substantially horizontal direction beneath said ink jet head;
- head shifting means for shifting said head holding means in a substantially vertical direction in a substantially linear movement to move said ink jet head toward and away from the recording medium;
- head recovery means for recovering said ink jet head, said head recovery means being horizontally displaceable to an area between the recording medium and said head holding means when said head holding means is shifted vertically upwardly to move said ink jet head away from the recording medium, said head recovery means being provided with a waste ink opening for exhausting waste ink discharged from said ink let head to said head recovery means in a recovery operation; displacing means for horizontally displacing said recovery means in a substantially linear movement; and
- incline means for inclining said head recovery means so that a side thereof having the waste ink opening is located lower than an opposite side of said head recovery means when said head recovery means is retracted from said ink jet head by said displacing means.
- 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said displacing means shifts said head recovery means to a retracted position situated at an upstream side of a recording medium feeding direction in which the recording medium is conveyed by said conveying means.
- 3. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said displacing shifting means shifts said head recovery means to a retracted position situated at a downstream side relative to a recording medium feeding direction in which the recording medium is conveyed by said conveying means.
- 4. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said head shifting means and said displacing means are driven by a common driving motor.
- 5. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said head recovery means comprises:
- an absorber member for absorbing waste ink exhausted from said ink jet head in the condition that said head recovery means is in confronting relation to said ink jet heads;
- a container within which said absorber member is arranged and which has an upper end open to the atmosphere;
- squeezing means for squeezing said absorber member substantially in a horizontal direction; and
- tilting means for tilting said container to collect and exhaust the waste ink squeezed from said absorber member by said squeezing means and gathered in said container.
- 6. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said head holding means further comprises:
- head seal means for sealing between a plurality of ink jet heads, and
- a ink jet head holding means seal member for sealing between said plurality of ink jet heads and said head holding means,
- and wherein an engagement portion of said seal member for forming a sealed space with respect to discharge openings of said plurality of ink jet heads, by sealing an engagement portion between said head holding means and the container is provided on at least one of said head holding means and said container.
- 7. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the engagement between said head holding means and said container is effected by the cooperation of a projection formed on one of said head holding means and said engagement portion of said seal member and a corresponding recess formed in the other of said head holding means and said engagement portion seal member.
- 8. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink jet head further comprises;
- ink discharge openings; and
- electrical/thermal converter elements for generating thermal energy which is utilized to cause film boiling in the ink and to thereby discharge the ink from said ink discharge openings.
- 9. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink jet head comprises a full-line head having a plurality of discharge openings arranged along a whole width of a recording area where the recording is effected on the recording medium.
- 10. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of ink jet heads discharges different color inks, respectively.
- 11. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:
- an additional ink jet head for discharging one color ink among said different color inks; and
- selection means for causing said ink jet recording apparatus to perform monochromatic or color recording by selectively using either said additional ink jet head or said plurality of ink jet heads, respectively.
- 12. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said plurality of ink jet heads discharge yellow color ink, magneta color ink, cyan color ink and black color ink, respectively, and said additional ink jet head discharges black color ink.
- 13. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein, when the recording medium is a coated paper, the recording is effected by using said plurality of ink jet heads, otherwise the recording is effected by using said additional ink jet head.
- 14. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said plurality of ink jet heads are disposed at an upstream side of said additional ink jet head relative to a recording medium feeding direction in which the recording medium is conveyed by said conveying means.
- 15. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a first ink supply path having a first inside diameter and a second ink supply path having a second inside diameter, each said ink supply path being provided for supplying the ink to said ink jet head, and wherein a friction loss water head of said first ink supply path differs from a friction loss water head of said second ink supply path.
- 16. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 15, wherein a direction of an ink flow in said first ink supply path during the recording operation is opposite to a direction of ink flow during the recovery operation.
- 17. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said first ink supply path is shorter than said second ink supply path and the friction loss water head of said first ink supply path is smaller than the friction loss water head of said second ink supply path.
- 18. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said first inner diameter is larger than said second diameter and the friction loss water head of said first ink supply path is smaller than the friction loss water head of said second ink supply path.
- 19. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:
- a head holding member for holding an ink jet head having a discharge opening at a lower portion thereof for discharging ink onto a recording surface of a recording medium opposed to said ink jet head;
- a conveying mechanism for conveying the recording medium in a substantially horizontal direction beneath said ink jet head;
- a head shifting mechanism for shifting said head holding member in a substantially vertical direction in a substantially linear movement to move said ink jet head toward and away from the recording medium;
- a head recovery member for recovering said ink jet head, said head recovery member being horizontally displaceable to an area between the recording medium and said head holding member when said head holding member is shifted vertically upwardly to move said ink jet head away from the recording medium, said head recovery member being provided with a waste ink opening for exhausting waste ink discharged from said ink jet head to said head recovery mechanism in a recovery operation;
- a displacing mechanism for horizontally displacing said head recovery member in a substantially linear movement; and
- an incline mechanism for inclining said head recovery member so that a side thereof having the waste ink opening is located below an opposite side of said head recovery member when said head recovery member is retracted from said ink jet head by said displacing mechanism.
- 20. A recovery method for an ink jet apparatus, comprising the steps of:
- moving an ink jet head upwardly in a normal direction;
- inserting a recovery member into a gap formed between a recording medium moving horizontally and the ink jet head, by moving the recovering member horizontally;
- recovering the ink jet head by moving the ink jet head downward in the normal direction and performing a recovery operation toward the recovery member;
- moving the ink jet head upward in the normal direction;
- retracting the recovery member from the gap to an initial position, by moving the recovery member horizontally; and
- discharging waste ink collected in the recovery member.
Priority Claims (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2-22195 |
Feb 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-22197 |
Feb 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-22200 |
Feb 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-29498 |
Feb 1990 |
JPX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/026,092 filed Mar. 4, 1993 now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/649,011 filed Jan. 31, 1991 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0376309 |
Jul 1990 |
EPX |
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
26092 |
Mar 1993 |
|
Parent |
649011 |
Jan 1991 |
|