Patent Grant
11845282
The present application is based on, and claims priority from JP Application Serial Number 2021-020041, filed Feb. 10, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a liquid accommodating body for accommodating a liquid and a liquid ejecting apparatus.
A liquid ejecting apparatus, which is an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus described in JP-A-2012-61785, includes a recording head (an example of a liquid ejecting portion) having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a recording liquid to be attached to a target for recording, and a cap facing the nozzles in a state of contacting the recording head to be capable of receiving the recording liquid (waste liquid). The cap has a recording liquid receiving portion capable of receiving the recording liquid ejected from the nozzles and a moisturizing liquid receiving portion capable of receiving a moisturizing liquid. The liquid ejecting apparatus includes a waste liquid tank (liquid accommodating body) for storing the waste liquid sucked from the cap by a pump, and a moisturizing cartridge for supplying the moisturizing liquid to the moisturizing liquid receiving portion by the pump. The recording liquid ejected from the nozzle to the cap is stored in the waste liquid tank as a waste liquid.
Even if the moisturizing liquid decreases due to evaporation or the like when the cap is kept in contact with the recording head for a long period of time, the moisturizing liquid is supplied from the moisturizing cartridge, and thus the recording head can be moisturized for a long period of time.
However, in the liquid ejecting apparatus described in JP-A-2012-61785, it is necessary to newly provide a liquid accommodating portion such as the moisturizing cartridge for moisturizing the nozzle. Since the number of cartridges to be replaced increases in addition to the ink cartridges, there is a problem that a user has to spend more time and effort to replace an accommodating body such as the cartridge, and the usability of the liquid ejecting apparatus deteriorates.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a liquid accommodating body that is detachably mounted on a mounting portion having a discharge portion for discharging a waste liquid and a liquid flow-in portion, the liquid accommodating body including a waste liquid flow-in portion that is coupled to the discharge portion when the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion, a waste liquid accommodating portion configured to accommodate the waste liquid discharged from the discharge portion, and a liquid flow-out portion that is coupled to the liquid flow-in portion when the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion, and a liquid accommodating portion configured to accommodate a liquid flowing out to the liquid flow-in portion, in which the liquid is a liquid containing water for humidifying a humidified portion.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting portion that ejects, from a nozzle, a liquid supplied from a liquid supply source, a cap configured, as a humidified portion, to contact the liquid ejecting portion to form a closed space where the nozzle is open, a mounting portion on which the liquid accommodating body is detachably mounted, a supply flow path through which the liquid flow-in portion and the cap communicate with each other, and a first liquid feeding portion that feeds the liquid in the liquid accommodating body to the cap.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus, a capping device used in the liquid ejecting apparatus, and a maintenance method for the capping device used in the liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. The liquid ejecting apparatus is an ink jet printer which ejects ink, which is an example of a liquid, to perform recording (printing) on a medium such as a paper sheet.
In the drawings, it is assumed that the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 is placed on a planar surface, and a width direction and a depth direction are substantially horizontal. The vertical direction is indicated by a Z axis, and the directions along the plane intersecting the Z axis are indicated by an X axis and an Y axis. The X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are preferably orthogonal to one another. In the following description, the X-axis direction is also referred to as the width direction X, the Y-axis direction is also referred to as the depth direction Y, and the Z-axis direction is also referred to as the vertical direction Z.
About Configuration of Liquid Ejecting Apparatus
As shown in
The image reading portion 13 is configured to be able to read images such as characters and photographs recorded on the original document. The automatic feeding portion 14 is configured to be able to feed the original document to the image reading portion 13. Further, the image reading portion 13 has an operation portion 15 operated when an instruction is given to the liquid ejecting apparatus 11. The operation portion 15 includes, for example, a display 15a including a touch panel type screen, buttons for operation, and the like.
The main body 12 has a plurality of medium accommodating portions 16 capable of accommodating a medium such as a paper sheet. The main body 12 in the present embodiment has a total of four medium accommodating portions 16. The medium accommodating portion 16 is configured to be retractable with respect to the main body 12. Further, the main body 12 has a recording portion 20 for making recording on the medium M in the main body 12. The recording portion 20 includes a head unit 24 having a liquid ejecting head 21 capable of ejecting a liquid. Further, the main body 12 has a placement portion 17 on which the medium M on which recording has been made is placed. The placement portion 17 has a placement surface 17a on which the medium M is placed. The number of medium accommodating portions 16 may be only one.
The medium M accommodated in the medium accommodating portion 16 is transported along a transport path 19 from the medium accommodating portion 16 to the placement portion 17 through the recording portion 20. As a feeding roller (not shown) comes into contact with the uppermost medium among the plurality of media M accommodated in the medium accommodating portion 16 and rotates, the uppermost medium M is sent from the medium accommodating portion 16 to the recording portion 20 positioned above the medium accommodating portion 16. When the medium M passes through the recording portion 20, the liquid ejecting head 21 makes recording by ejecting a liquid toward the medium M and attaching the ejected liquid to the medium M. The medium M after recording is discharged toward the placement portion 17 by a discharge roller pair (not shown).
As shown in
The liquid ejecting head 21 is configured to eject liquid to the medium M from a plurality of nozzles 22 constituting a plurality of nozzle groups in a state extending in the width direction X. The direction in which the liquid is ejected when the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid to the medium M is referred to as an ejecting direction Y1. Further, the direction in which the medium M is transported when the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid to the medium M is referred to as a first transport direction Z1.
In the present embodiment, the nozzle surface 23 on which the nozzles 22 are arranged is not horizontal and has the first predetermined angle θ1 with respect to the horizontal. That is, in the present embodiment, the liquid ejecting head 21 is disposed in a state where the nozzle surface 23 has a first predetermined angle θ1 with respect to the horizontal, and the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid to the medium M in that state. The nozzle surface 23 on which the nozzles 22 are arranged may be disposed horizontally. That is, the liquid ejecting head 21 may be disposed in a state where the nozzle surface 23 is horizontal.
The liquid ejecting head 21 of the present embodiment is a line head having a number of nozzles 22 capable of simultaneously ejecting the liquid over the entire width of the medium M in the width direction X intersecting the first transport direction Z1 and the ejecting direction Y1. The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 performs line printing by ejecting the liquid from the plurality of nozzles 22, which are located at positions facing the entire width of the medium M which is transported at a constant speed, toward the medium M.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus 11, maintenance operations such as capping, cleaning, flushing, and wiping are performed in order to prevent or eliminate ejection failure caused by clogging of the nozzles 22 of the liquid ejecting head 21, adhesion of foreign matter, or the like.
Capping refers to an operation in which the cap unit 51 contacts the nozzle surface 23 of the liquid ejecting head 21 to surround the nozzles 22 when the liquid ejecting head 21 does not eject the liquid. Since the thickening of the liquid in the nozzles 22 is suppressed by the capping, the occurrence of ejection failure can be prevented.
Cleaning refers to an operation of forcibly discharging the liquid from the nozzles 22 by applying pressure upstream of the liquid ejecting head 21, or forcibly discharging the liquid from the nozzles 22 by applying a suction force to the nozzles 22 of the liquid ejecting head 21.
Flushing refers to an ejection operation for discharging droplets unrelated to printing from the nozzles 22. Flushing is also called empty ejection. By flushing, a thickened ink, air bubbles, or foreign matter that causes ejection failure is discharged from the nozzles 22, and thus clogging of the nozzles 22 can be prevented. In the liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting head 21, the liquid that is not used for printing is called waste liquid. The liquid discharged by flushing is waste liquid since it is not used for printing. The waste liquid discharged by flushing is received by the cap unit 51. That is, flushing is performed by the liquid ejecting head 21 ejecting droplets from the nozzles 22 toward the inside of the cap unit 51.
Wiping refers to an operation of wiping the nozzle surface 23 with a rubber wiper, a cloth wiper, or the like. By wiping, dirt such as liquid, dust, or the like adhering to the nozzle surface 23 of the liquid ejecting head 21 is removed. The liquid wiped off by wiping is also a waste liquid since it is not used for printing.
The position of the head unit 24 when the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid to the medium M, that is, when the liquid ejecting head 21 makes recording on the medium M is referred to as a recording position. Further, the position of the cap unit 51 when the liquid ejecting head 21 ejects the liquid to the medium M is referred to as a retreat position. Further, the position of the head unit 24 when the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 performs the maintenance operation is referred to as a maintenance position. The position of the cap unit 51 when the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 performs the maintenance operation is also referred to as the maintenance position.
As shown in
The cap unit 51 is moved between the retreat position indicated by the solid line in
As shown in
When the maintenance is completed, the head unit 24 moves from the maintenance position indicated by the two-dot chain line in
About Configuration of Liquid Ejecting Head and Cap Unit
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the cap unit 51 has a plurality of caps 51a and a holding portion 59 for holding the plurality of caps 51a. The cap 51a is an object to be humidified, and corresponds to an example of a humidified portion. A plurality of unit caps 51a are arranged in the width direction X at the first predetermined pitch P1 on the side opposite the head unit 24 with respect to the transport path 19 shown in
For each unit ejecting head 21a, one unit cap 51a is disposed at the opposite position. Therefore, when the head unit 24 is capped by the cap unit 51, the plurality of unit ejecting heads 21a are each covered by a separate unit cap 51a. That is, the plurality of nozzles 22 included in the liquid ejecting head 21 are covered for each unit ejecting head 21a by the same number of unit caps 51a as the unit ejecting heads 21a. In the present embodiment, the plurality of nozzles 22 included in the liquid ejecting head 21 including the five unit ejecting heads 21a are covered for each unit ejecting head 21a by the five unit caps 51a included in the cap unit 51. Thereby, at the time of capping, all the nozzles 22 included in the liquid ejecting head 21 are covered by the cap unit 51. The unit cap 51a includes a case 56 having an opening opened toward the first transport direction Z1. An annular seal portion 56c is fixed to an open end of the case 56. In the case 56, a grid-shaped restriction member 52 is accommodated and, and further, in the back thereof, an absorber 53 is accommodated that is capable of absorbing a waste liquid in a state where the position is restricted by the restriction member 52. Hereinafter, the unit cap 51a is also simply referred to as “cap 51a”.
The head unit 24 shown in
The wiper carriage 41 shown in
When the wiping is completed, the head unit 24 moves from the maintenance position indicated by the two-dot chain line in
About Configuration of Cap
Next, the configuration of the cap 51a will be described with reference to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The restriction member 52 restricts the absorber 53 at a predetermined position in order to widely expose the surface 53a of the absorber 53 and to keep constant the distance between the surface 53a and the nozzle surface 23 shown in
As shown in
The first moisture permeable membrane 54 forms, on a peripheral edge of the recessed portion 57, a communication portion 54a that allows the liquid to pass from the −Y1 direction side to the +Y1 direction and from the +Y1 direction side to the −Y1 direction side, by slightly cutting the center portions of at least three of the four sides of the first moisture permeable membrane 54 inwardly.
As described above, in the present embodiment, the bottom surface of the substantially parallelogram of the cap 51a shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The case 56 has the atmosphere communication hole 56a, a discharge hole 56b which is an example of the hole, and the seal portion 56c. The atmosphere communication hole 56a and the discharge hole 56b allow the +Y1 direction side and the −Y1 direction side of the bottom surface of the substantially parallelogram to communicate with each other.
On the surface of surrounding walls forming the case 56 positioned foremost in the −Y1 direction, the seal portion 56c is formed in a frame shape along the surrounding wall. The material used for the seal portion 56c is, for example, a flexible material such as a rubber material or an elastomer. In order to suppress drip of the liquid in the cap 51a from the seal portion 56c to the outside of the cap 51a, the material of the seal portion 56c may be a water-repellent elastomer material that repels the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head 21.
The case 56 forms a low-height prismatic outer shape having a bottom surface of a substantially parallelogram of the cap 51a to accommodate the restriction member 52, the absorber 53, the first moisture permeable membrane 54, and the humidifying chamber 55.
The humidifying chamber 55 shown in
As will be described later, since the closed space SP inside the cap 51a is humidified by the humidifying fluid flowing through the groove 55d, it is desirable that, in the XZ1 plane, the area occupied by the groove 55d in the cap 51a is large. That is, in order to increase the area occupied by the groove 55d with respect to the bottom surface of the cap 51a, it is desirable to draw the flow path around the entire bottom surface of the cap 51a.
Configuration of Cap Unit
As shown in
When the cap unit 51 moves in the first direction D1 and is positioned at a maintenance position shown in
The cap 51a has the recessed portion 57 that forms the closed space SP. In the present embodiment, as shown in
The restriction member 52 and the absorber 53 have liquid permeability. The first moisture permeable membrane 54 has no liquid permeability. Therefore, at the time of flushing, the liquid discharged from the nozzles 22 passes through the restriction member 52 and the absorber 53 from the −Y1 direction side to the +Y1 direction side, but does not pass through the first moisture permeable membrane 54 from the −Y1 direction to the +Y1 direction.
Even if the absorber 53 approaches a state in which it cannot absorb the liquid any more, the liquid does not flow into the humidifying chamber 55 since the first moisture permeable membrane 54 does not have liquid permeability. Then, the liquid passes through the communication portion 54a by gravity, and is discharged to the outside of the cap 51a through the discharge hole 56b of the case 56.
The humidifying chamber 55 has the inlet 55a through which the humidifying fluid described later for humidifying the closed space SP flows in, and the outlet 55b through which the humidifying fluid flows out. Since the first moisture permeable membrane 54 does not have liquid permeability, the first moisture permeable membrane 54 restricts the passing-through of liquid of the humidifying chamber 55 from the +Y1 direction side to the −Y1 direction side. Thereby, in the humidifying chamber 55, the liquid flowing in through the inlet 55a flows out through the outlet 55b. The humidifying chamber 55 is provided in an inclined attitude with respect to the horizontal. The inlet 55a and the outlet 55b are provided above the center of the humidifying chamber 55 in the vertical direction Z. In the present embodiment, the inlet 55a and the outlet 55b are positioned in the +Z direction with respect to the center of the humidifying chamber 55 in the vertical direction Z. By providing the inlet 55a and the outlet 55b on the side of the humidifying chamber 55 in the +Z direction, it is possible to suppress the liquid in the humidifying chamber 55 from flowing out of the humidifying chamber 55 by the water head pressure from the inlet 55a or the outlet 55b.
As shown in
The recessed portion 57 has the atmosphere communication hole 56a for allowing the closed space SP to communicate with the atmosphere. The atmosphere communication hole 56a is provided above the center of the cap 51a in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, the atmosphere communication hole 56a is provided in the +Z direction with respect to the center of the recessed portion 57 in the vertical direction Z. By providing the atmosphere communication hole 56a above the center of the cap 51a in the vertical direction, the blockage of the atmosphere communication hole 56a by the liquid can be suppressed. Further, the atmosphere communication hole 56a may be provided at a position higher than that of the first moisture permeable membrane 54, that is, in the +Z direction with respect to the first moisture permeable membrane 54.
Liquid Supply Mechanism
As shown in
As shown in
The pump 33 pressurizes the inside of the sub tank 32 to supply the liquid from the sub tank 32 to the liquid ejecting head 21 through the supply flow path 35. The liquid supplied to the liquid ejecting head 21 and not consumed is recovered in the sub tank 32 through the recovery flow path 36. As described above, the liquid supply mechanism 30 is configured such that the liquid circulates in the circulation path passing through the sub tank 32, the supply flow path 35, the liquid ejecting head 21 and the recovery flow path 36 by driving the pump 33.
There may be a configuration in which there is no recovery flow path 36, and the liquid is supplied from the liquid supply source 31 to the liquid ejecting head 21 through the supply flow path 35. In addition, there may be a configuration in which the liquid is supplied from the liquid supply source 31 to the liquid ejecting head 21 through the supply flow path 35 by using water head difference. Further, there may be a configuration in which the liquid supply source 31 is detachably mounted on the mounting portion of the head unit 24. In addition, the liquid supply source 31 may be a cartridge such as an ink cartridge, a tank such as an ink tank, a liquid pack such as an ink pack, or the like.
Configuration of Humidifying Fluid Circulation Mechanism
As shown in
The humidifying fluid circulation mechanism 60 included in the capping device 50 includes a humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 accommodating a humidifying fluid L1a, a supply flow path 62a, and a recovery flow path 62b. The supply flow path 62a allows the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 to communicate with the inlet 55a. That is, the supply flow path 62a allows the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 to communicate with the cap 51a, which is an example of the cap. The recovery flow path 62b allows the outlet 55b to communicate with the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61. That is, the recovery flow path 62b allows the cap 51a, which is an example of the cap, to communicate with the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61. The humidifying fluid circulation mechanism 60 includes the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61, the supply flow path 62a, and a circulation path 62 including a recovery flow path 62b.
The humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 has an inlet portion 61f and an outlet portion 61g. The humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 communicates with the recovery flow path 62b at the inlet portion 61f. The humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 communicates with the supply flow path 62a at the outlet portion 61g.
In the humidifying fluid circulation mechanism 60, the humidifying fluid L1a flowing in the circulation path 62 is a fluid containing water for humidifying the closed space SP shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The humidifying fluid L1a contains a conductive additive. The detecting portion 61a detects the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 with the electric resistance between the first electrode 61b and the second electrode 61c. When the liquid surface height of the humidifying fluid L1a accommodated in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is higher than a first predetermined height H1, conduction occurs between the first electrode 61b and the second electrode 61c. When the liquid surface height of the humidifying fluid L1a accommodated in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is lower than the first predetermined height H1 and higher than a second predetermined height H2, there is no conduction between the first electrode 61b and the second electrode 61c. In this way, the detecting portion 61a can determine whether or not the liquid surface height of the humidifying fluid L1a is higher than the first predetermined height H1 since the output level is changed depending on whether the first electrode 61b is in contact with the liquid surface or not.
The reference “when the liquid surface height of the humidifying fluid L1a exceeding the first predetermined height H1 is detected by the detecting portion 61a” means that the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is fully filled with the humidifying fluid L1a. In the present embodiment, the full state of the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is detected. Not only the full state of the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 may be detected, but also the empty state or the near-empty state of the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 may be detected. Further, the method of detecting the liquid surface is not limited to the electrode method, and may include an optical method or a capacitance method.
The humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 has a second atmosphere communication passage 61d and a second moisture permeable membrane 61e. The second atmosphere communication passage 61d allows the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 to communicate with the atmosphere. The second atmosphere communication passage 61d may have a labyrinthine capillary structure. The labyrinthine capillary structure refers to a tubular structure of conduits having a narrow, complicated, and meandering path to the extent that air can enter and exit but the ingress and egress of liquid is considerably restricted. The labyrinthine capillary structure suppresses evaporation of the liquid in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61.
The second moisture permeable membrane 61e is provided at a coupling portion between the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 and the second atmosphere communication passage 61d. Further, the second moisture permeable membrane 61e allows passing-through of gas from the inside of the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 to the second atmosphere communication passage 61d, and restricts passing-through of liquid from the inside of the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 to the second atmosphere communication passage 61d. In order to increase the efficiency of the passing-through of gas from the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 to the second atmosphere communication passage 61d, it is desirable that the area of the second moisture permeable membrane 61e is large.
As shown in
The first check valve 64 allows the flow of liquid from the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 side to the cap 51a side, and prevents the backflow of the liquid from the cap 51a side to the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 side due to a water head difference. An on-off valve may be provided instead of the first check valve 64. By driving the first pump 63 when the on-off valve is open, the liquid may flow from the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 side to the cap 51a side. Opening the valve of the on-off valve is called opening the valve. Further, closing the valve of the on-off valve is called closing the valve.
When the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 side becomes a predetermined negative pressure, the pressure control valve 65 allows flow of the liquid from the cap 51a side to the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 side and always prevents the liquid from flowing back from the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 side to the cap 51a side. The pressure difference of the water head difference is controlled by the pressure control valve 65 such that the liquid does not flow from the cap 51a to the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 due to the water head pressure.
As shown in
As shown in
The adjusting water accommodating portion 66a has an outlet portion 66f The adjusting water accommodating portion 66a communicates with the adjusting water supply flow path 66b at the outlet portion 61g. The adjusting water supply flow path 66b communicates with the circulation path 62 at a first merging portion 62c of the circulation path 62. That is, the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a and the circulation path 62 communicate with each other. It is desirable that the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is configured to be replaceable.
The adjusting water L1b supplied from the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a into the circulation path 62 is a concentration adjusting replenishing water for replenishing the moisture evaporated from the humidifying fluid L1a. The adjusting water L1b as an example of the liquid is a liquid containing water and a preservative. Specifically, the adjusting water L1b is a liquid containing pure water and a small amount of preservative.
By opening the first on-off valve 66c, the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a and the circulation path 62 communicate with each other by the adjusting water supply flow path 66b. The second check valve 66d allows the flow of the liquid from the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a side to the circulation path 62 side, and prevents the backflow of the liquid from the circulation path 62 side to the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a side due to the water head difference. The second check valve 66d may not be provided. When the second check valve 66d is not provided, by driving the first pump 63 when the first on-off valve 66c is open, the first pump 63 may cause the adjusting water L1b to flow from the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a side to the cap 51a side.
As shown in
In the circulation path 62, the pressurized air supply portion 67 may not be provided downstream of the first pump 63, and an atmosphere supply portion may be provided upstream of the first pump 63 and downstream of the first merging portion 62c. The atmosphere supply portion may have an atmosphere communication passage that communicates with the atmosphere and an on-off valve. Then, the atmosphere may be sent out to the circulation path 62 by the first pump 63 in a state where the circulation path 62 and the atmosphere communicate with each other through the atmosphere communication passage by opening the on-off valve. That is, in the circulation path 62 in which the humidifying fluid L1a flows, the capping device 50 may have an atmosphere supply portion for supplying the atmosphere to the circulation path 62 between the first merging portion 62c where the adjusting water supply portion 66 and the circulation path 62 merge and the inlet 55a of the cap 51a. The capping device 50 may further have a pump for pumping the atmosphere into the circulation path 62.
Configuration of Waste Liquid Recovery Mechanism
As shown in
The waste liquid recovery path 81 includes a first waste liquid flow path 81a and a second waste liquid flow path 81b as an example of the waste liquid flow path. The first waste liquid flow path 81a communicates with the closed space SP formed by the recessed portion 57 in the cap 51a, which is shown in
At the time of flushing or cleaning, the liquid is discharged as the waste liquid L2 from the nozzle 22 of the liquid ejecting head 21. The waste liquid L2 is recovered from inside the cap 51a and flows to the first waste liquid flow path 81a. Further, at the time of wiping, the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 23 of the liquid ejecting head 21 is wiped off and recovered in the wiper carriage 41 as the waste liquid L2. The waste liquid L2 is recovered from the wiper carriage 41 and flows to the second waste liquid flow path 81b. The waste liquid L2 recovered by flushing or cleaning and the waste liquid L2 recovered by wiping are sent to the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 by the third pump 82. Then, the waste liquid L2 is accommodated in the waste liquid accommodating portion 86.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The first atmosphere communication passage 58a allows each atmosphere communication hole 56a of the cap 51a and the atmosphere to communicate with each other in the cap unit 51. The third on-off valve 58b is an on-off valve capable of opening and closing the first atmosphere communication passage 58a. In the present embodiment, the atmospheric side of the first atmosphere communication passage 58a is open. The third on-off valve 58b is configured such that, when the cap unit 51 moves in the fourth direction D4 from the maintenance position indicated by a two-dot chain line in
Configuration of Waste Liquid Box
Next, a specific configuration of a waste liquid box 110 provided with the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a will be described with reference to
As shown in
In
As shown in
Further, the liquid flow-in portion 104 may be a needle-shaped pipe portion protruding from the mounted surface 100A of the mounting portion main body 101. The liquid flow-in portion 104 is coupled to the adjusting water supply flow path 66b. Therefore, the adjusting water L1b flowing in from the liquid flow-in portion 104 is replenished to the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 from the adjusting water supply flow path 66b through the circulation path 62.
Further, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The waste liquid box 110 is provided with the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 (see
As shown in
The positioning hole 114 is provided at a position facing the positioning pin 102. The waste liquid flow-in portion 115 is provided at a position facing the waste liquid flow-out portion 103. The waste liquid flow-in portion 115 is fixed by a plurality of screws 131. The liquid flow-out portion 116 is provided at a position facing the liquid flow-in portion 104. The liquid flow-out portion 116 has a circular tubular mouth portion formed by joining a pair of semi-arc-shaped protrusions formed at the ends on the box main body 111 and the second cover 113 (see
Further, as shown in
Further, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Thereby, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The plurality of absorbing members 120 are press-fitted into the first accommodating recessed portion 111B in a state of being partitioned by partition plates 111F. Further, both ends of the plurality of absorbing members 120 in the mounting direction A are accommodated in a state of being positioned in contact with the plurality of guide plates 111G (only a part of which is shown in
Here, when adjacent absorbing members are in contact with each other in the plurality of absorbing members 120, the waste liquid L2 permeates the adjacent absorbing members 120 through contacting portions. However, at the part partitioned by the partition plate 111F, the two adjacent absorbing members 120 are adjacent to each other with a gap corresponding to the thickness of the partition plate 111F therebetween. For this reason, it is difficult for the waste liquid L2 to permeate from one absorbing member 120 separated by the partition plate 111F to the other absorbing member 120. Therefore, grooves 125 and 126 are formed at the bottom of the waste liquid chamber 86A. In this example, by forming notched recessed portions in the bottoms of the plurality of absorbing members 120, the grooves 125 and 126 made of the notched recessed portions are formed. Then, when the plurality of absorbing members 120 are accommodated in the first accommodating recessed portion 111B, as shown in
Further, as shown in
Further, as shown in
The adjusting water accommodating portion 66a of the present embodiment is formed by the adjusting water pack 68 accommodated in an accommodation chamber 66G partitioned by the second accommodating recessed portion 111D and the second cover 113 covering the second accommodating recessed portion 111D.
The adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is the adjusting water pack 68 as an example of a bag body for accommodating the adjusting water L1b. The adjusting water pack 68 includes a bag portion 68A in which the adjusting water L1b is accommodated, and a flow-out member 68B fixed to one end of the bag portion 68A. The flow-out member 68B has an outlet 116A at its tip that can be coupled to the liquid flow-in portion 104.
The amount of the adjusting water L1b accommodated in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is set to an amount of liquid at which the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2 earlier than when the adjusting water L1b accommodated in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted.
As shown in
As shown in
In the posture in which the waste liquid box 110 is mounted on the mounting portion 100, the upper surfaces of the absorbing members 120 are covered with the first cover 112. As shown in
Electrical Configuration of Liquid Ejecting Apparatus
As shown in
The controller 90 includes an interface portion 94, a CPU 95, a memory 96, a control circuit 97, and a drive circuit 98. The interface portion 94 transmits and receives data between a computer 99, which is an external device, and the liquid ejecting apparatus 11. The drive circuit 98 generates a drive signal for driving an actuator of the liquid ejecting head 21.
The CPU 95 is an arithmetic processing unit. The memory 96 is a storage device that secures an area or a work area for storing a program of the CPU 95, and has a storage element such as a RAM or an EEPROM. The CPU 95 controls the head unit 24, the wiper device 40, the capping device 50, and the like via the control circuit 97 according to the program stored in the memory 96.
The memory 96 stores a plurality of programs including a program shown in a flowchart in
About Circulation Operation of Humidifying Fluid
A circulation operation in a maintenance method for the capping device will be described.
As shown in
The circulation path is constituted by the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 accommodating the humidifying fluid L1a containing water for humidifying the closed space SP shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In order to reduce the frequency of circulation operation, it is desirable that the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 has a large area of the liquid surface as compared with the depth inside the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61. Thereby, the change in the height of the liquid surface can be reduced when the amount of the liquid in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 changes due to the evaporation of the moisture contained in the humidifying fluid L1a. Further, in order to make as gentle as possible the change in the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a due to the evaporation of the moisture contained in the humidifying fluid L1a from the humidifying fluid L1a, it is desirable that the volume of the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is as large as possible within the size of the liquid ejecting apparatus 11.
About Concentration Adjustment Operation of Humidifying Fluid
The concentration adjustment operation in the maintenance method for the capping device will be described.
As shown in
The concentration adjustment operation is executed by the controller 90 when, at the end of the circulation operation procedure described above, it is detected by the detecting portion 61a that the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 when the controller 90 acquires information on the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is lower than the first predetermined height H1. That is, when the concentration adjustment operation is performed when the detecting portion 61a detects that the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is below the predetermined height, the capping device 50 supplies the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a into the circulation path 62 until it is detected that the liquid surface is or is above the predetermined height. Then, thereafter, the humidifying fluid L1a is caused to flow in the circulation path 62.
Moisture evaporates from the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a, and the humidifying fluid L1a circulates in the circulation path 62 by the above-mentioned circulation operation. Thereby, the moisture in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is also reduced, and the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is lowered. As the evaporation progresses further, the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 becomes lower than the first predetermined height H1. The first predetermined height H1 is set such that the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a at this time becomes higher than the predetermined concentration. By the controller 90 executing the concentration adjustment operation, the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is supplied into the circulation path 62 such that the liquid surface thereof becomes higher than the first predetermined height H1. Thereby, substantially the same amount of water as that evaporated in the cap 51a is supplied into the circulation path 62, and the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a becomes smaller than the predetermined concentration. That is, the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a returns to the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a before the moisture evaporates in the cap 51a.
In the concentration adjustment operation, the controller 90 opens the first on-off valve 66c and supplies the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a into the circulation path 62. Then, when the controller 90 determines that the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is higher than the first predetermined height H1, the first on-off valve 66c is closed and the above-mentioned circulation operation is performed to allow the humidifying fluid L1a in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 to flow in the circulation path 62. That is, the concentration adjustment operation in the maintenance method for the capping device 50 includes opening the first on-off valve 66c when the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is supplied into the circulation path 62, and closing the first on-off valve 66c when the humidifying fluid L1a is made to flow in the circulation path 62.
In the first merging portion 62c of the circulation path 62, the humidifying fluid L1a flowing from the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 and the adjusting water L1b flowing from the adjusting water supply portion 66 merge. When the volume of the adjusting water L1b flowing from the adjusting water supply portion 66 is larger than the volume of the humidifying fluid L1a flowing from the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61, the rate of change in the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 becomes faster and the liquid surface detection variation becomes large, which makes it difficult to detect the height of the liquid surface at the right time. Therefore, in the first merging portion 62c, it is desirable that the pressure loss of the flow path close to the adjusting water supply portion 66 is set to be the same as or larger than the pressure loss of the flow path close to the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61.
About Cap Replacement Preparation Operation
Further, when the cap 51a is replaced, a cap replacement preparation operation is performed. The cap replacement preparation operation is an operation performed by the capping device 50 when the cap 51a is replaced. Before the cap 51a is replaced, the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is recovered. In the capping device 50 of the present embodiment, when the cap is replaced, the cap unit 51 shown in
At the time of the cap replacement preparation operation, in a state where the first on-off valve 66c is closed and when the second on-off valve 67b is open, the controller 90 controls the pressurized air supply portion 67 of the humidifying fluid circulation mechanism 60 to cause pressurized air to flow in the pressurized air supply path 67a in the direction of the broken line arrow shown in
Since the moisture in the humidifying fluid L1a evaporates in the cap 51a, the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is high. Thereby, when the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is recovered in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61, the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 becomes high. Further, when the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is recovered in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61, a small amount of the humidifying fluid L1a having a high concentration remains in the cap 51a. As a result, the amount of the humidifying fluid L1a in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is reduced by that amount.
Operation Before Replacing Adjusting Water Accommodating Portion.
When it is determined that the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted, an operation before replacing the adjusting water accommodating portion, which is performed before replacing the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a, will be described.
The operation before replacing the adjusting water accommodating portion is an operation executed by the controller 90 when the amount of the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a reaches an amount at which the determination is to be made that replacement of the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is required. In the present embodiment, the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is accommodated in the same waste liquid box 110 as the waste liquid accommodating portion 86, and thus the controller 90 executes the operation before replacing the adjusting water accommodating portion even at the replacement time when the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2.
In the present embodiment, when the first pump 63 is driven by for the third predetermined time T3 in the above-mentioned concentration adjustment operation, the controller 90 determines that the adjusting water in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted when it is detected by the detecting portion 61a that the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is lower than the first predetermined height H1. That is, when the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a in the circulation path 62 cannot be returned to the concentration before the moisture evaporates in the cap 51a, the controller 90 determines that the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is required to be replaced.
When it is determined that the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is required to be replaced, the controller 90 executes an operation such as the cap replacement preparation operation described above. Then, after the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is recovered, until the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is replaced, a first parameter table for flushing is switched to a second parameter table when the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted.
The parameter table is a table in which the conditions and the number of times flushing is performed are described, and flushing is performed based on this table. When the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is recovered, the closed space SP in the cap 51a is not humidified by the humidifying fluid L1a, and accordingly, the controller 90 executes empty ejection, which is an ejection of a liquid not related to printing, to the closed space SP in the cap 51a to humidify the nozzles 22. Therefore, the conditions and the number of times of flushing are changed to parameters suitable for humidifying the nozzles 22.
Until the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is replaced, the above-mentioned circulation operation that has been performed regularly up until then is not executed. When the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is replaced, the controller 90 starts the above-mentioned concentration adjustment operation after returning the second parameter table to the first parameter table before the parameter table is switched. Then, thereafter, the above-mentioned circulation operation is also regularly executed.
About Liquid Ejected by Liquid Ejecting Head
The ink ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 will be described in detail below.
The ink used in the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 contains a resin in constitution, and does not substantially contain glycerin with a boiling point at one atmosphere of 290° C. If the ink substantially contains glycerin, the drying properties of the ink significantly decrease. As a result, in various media, in particular, in a medium which is non-absorbent or has low absorbency to ink, not only light and dark unevenness in the image is noticeable, but also fixability of the ink is not obtained. It is preferable that the ink does not substantially contain alkyl polyols (except glycerin described above) having a boiling point corresponding to one atmosphere is 280° C. or higher.
Here, the wording “does not substantially contain” in the specification means that an amount or more which sufficiently exhibits the meaning of adding is not contained. To put this quantitatively, it is preferable that glycerin be not included at 1.0% by mass or more with respect to the total mass (100% by mass) of the ink, not including 0.5% by mass or more is more preferable, not including 0.1% by mass or more is further preferable, not including 0.05% by mass or more is even more preferable, and not including 0.01% by mass or more is particularly preferable. It is most preferable that 0.001% by mass or more of glycerin be not included.
Next, additives (components) which are included in or may be included in the ink will be described.
1. Coloring Material
The ink may contain a coloring material. The coloring material is selected from a pigment and a dye.
1-1. Pigment
It is possible to improve light resistance of the ink by using a pigment as the coloring material. Either of an inorganic pigment or an organic pigment may be used as the pigment. Although not particularly limited, examples of the inorganic pigment include carbon black, iron oxide, titanium oxide and silica oxide.
Although not particularly limited, examples of the organic pigment include quinacridone-based pigments, quinacridonequinone-based pigments, dioxazine-based pigments, phthalocyanine-based pigments, anthrapyrimidine-based pigments, anthanthrone-based pigments, indanthrone-based pigments, flavanthrone-based pigments, perylene-based pigments, diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole-based pigments, perinone-based pigments, quinophthalone-based pigments, anthraquinone-based pigments, thioindigo-based pigments, benzimidazolone-based pigments, isoindolinone-based pigments, azomethine-based pigments and azo-based pigments. Specific examples of the organic pigment include substances as follows.
Examples of the pigment used in the cyan ink include C.I. Pigment Blue 1, 2, 3, 15, 15:1, 15:2, 15:3, 15:4, 15:6, 15:34, 16, 18, 22, 60, 65, and 66, and C.I. Vat Blue 4 and 60. Among these substances, either of C.I. Pigment Blue 15:3 and 15:4 is preferable.
Examples of the pigment used in the magenta ink include C.I. Pigment Red 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 30, 31, 32, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48(Ca), 48(Mn), 57(Ca), 57:1, 88, 112, 114, 122, 123, 144, 146, 149, 150, 166, 168, 170, 171, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 184, 185, 187, 202, 209, 219, 224, 245, 254, and 264, and C.I. Pigment Violet 19, 23, 32, 33, 36, 38, 43, and 50. Among these substances, one type or more selected from a group consisting of C.I. Pigment Red 122, C.I. Pigment Red 202, and C.I. Pigment Violet 19 are preferable.
Examples of the pigment used in the yellow ink include C.I. Pigment Yellow 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 24, 34, 35, 37, 53, 55, 65, 73, 74, 75, 81, 83, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 117, 120, 124, 128, 129, 133, 138, 139, 147, 151, 153, 154, 155, 167, 172, 180, 185, and 213. Among these substances, one type or more selected from a group consisting of C.I. Pigment Yellow 74, 155, and 213 are preferable.
Examples of pigments used in other colors of ink, such as green ink and orange ink, include pigments known in the related art.
It is preferable that the average particle diameter of the pigment be equal to or less than 250 nm in order to be able to suppress clogging in the nozzles 22 and to cause the ejection stability to be more favorable. The average particle diameter in the specification is volumetric basis. As a measurement method, for example, it is possible to perform measurement with a particle size distribution analyzer in which a laser diffraction scattering method is the measurement principle. Examples of the particle size distribution analyzer include a particle size distribution meter (for example, Microtrac UPA manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) in which dynamic light scattering is the measurement principle.
1-2. Dye
A dye may be used as the coloring material. Although not particularly limited, acid dyes, direct dyes, reactive dyes, and basic dyes can be used as the dye. The content of the coloring material is preferably 0.4% to 12% by mass with respect to the total mass (100% by mass) of the ink, and is more preferably 2% by mass or more and 5% by mass or less.
2. Resin
The ink contains a resin. The ink contains a resin, and thus a resin coating film is formed on a medium, and as a result, the ink is sufficiently fixed on the medium, and an effect of favorable abrasion resistance of the image is mainly exhibited. Thus, the resin emulsion is preferably a thermoplastic resin. The thermal deformation temperature of the resin is preferably equal to or higher than 40° C. and more preferably equal to or higher than 60° C., in order to obtain advantageous effects in that clogging of the nozzles 22 does not easily occur, and the abrasion resistance of the medium is maintained.
Here, the “thermal deformation temperature” in the present specification is a temperature value represented by a glass transition temperature (Tg) or a minimum film forming temperature (MFT). That is, “a thermal deformation temperature of 40° C. or higher” means that either of the Tg or the MFT may be 40° C. or higher. Since the MFT is superior to the Tg for easily grasping redispersibility of the resin, the thermal deformation temperature is preferably the temperature value represented by the MFT. If the ink is excellent in redispersibility of the resin, the nozzles 22 are not easily clogged because the ink is not fixed.
Although not particularly limited, specific examples of the thermoplastic resin include (meth)acrylic polymers, such as poly(meth)acrylic ester or copolymers thereof, polyacrylonitrile or copolymers thereof, polycyanoacrylate, polyacrylamide, and poly(meth)acrylic acid; polyolefin-based polymers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, polyisobutylene, polystyrene and copolymers thereof, petroleum resins, coumarone-indene resins and terpene resins; vinyl acetate or vinyl alcohol polymers, such as polyvinyl acetate or copolymers thereof, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetal, and polyvinyl ether; halogen-containing polymers, such as polyvinyl chloride or copolymers thereof, polyvinylidene chloride, fluororesins and fluororubbers; nitrogen-containing vinyl polymers, such as polyvinyl carbazole, polyvinylpyrrolidone or copolymers thereof, polyvinylpyridine, or polyvinylimidazole; diene based polymers, such as polybutadiene or copolymers thereof, polychloroprene and polyisoprene (butyl rubber); and other ring-opening polymerization type resins, condensation polymerization-type resins and natural macromolecular resins.
The content of the resin is preferably 1% to 30% by mass with respect to the total mass (100% by mass) of the ink, and 1% to 5% by mass is more preferable. When the content is in the above-described range, it is possible further improve glossiness and abrasion resistance of the coated image to be formed. Examples of the resin which may be included in the ink include a resin dispersant, a resin emulsion, and a wax.
2-1. Resin Emulsion
The ink may contain a resin emulsion. The resin emulsion forms a resin coating film preferably along with a wax (emulsion) when the medium is heated, and thus the ink is sufficiently fixed onto the medium, and the resin emulsion exhibits an effect of improving abrasion resistance of the image, accordingly. In a case of printing the medium with an ink which contains a resin emulsion according to the above effects, the ink has particularly excellent abrasion resistance on a medium which is non-absorbent or has low absorbency to ink.
The resin emulsion which functions as a binder is contained in the ink, in an emulsion state. The resin which functions as the binder is contained in the ink in the emulsion state, and thus it is possible to easily adjust the viscosity of the ink to an appropriate range in an ink jet recording method, and to improve the storage stability and ejection stability of the ink.
Although not limited to the following, examples of the resin emulsion include homopolymers or copolymers of (meth)acrylate, (meth)acrylic ester, acrylonitrile, cyanoacrylate, acrylamide, olefin, styrene, vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, vinyl alcohol, vinyl ether, vinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl pyridine, vinyl carbazole, vinyl imidazole, and vinylidene chloride, fluororesins, and natural resins. Among these substances, either of a methacrylic resin and a styrene-methacrylate copolymer resin is preferable, either of an acrylic resin and a styrene-acrylate copolymer resin is more preferable, and a styrene-acrylate copolymer resin is still more preferable. The above copolymers may have a form of any of random copolymers, block copolymers, alternating copolymers, and graft copolymers.
The average particle diameter of the resin emulsion is preferably in a range of 5 nm to 400 nm, and more preferably in a range 20 nm to 300 nm, in order to further improve the storage stability and ejection stability of the ink. The content of the resin emulsion among the resins is preferably in a range of 0.5% to 7% by mass to the total mass (100% by mass) of the ink. If the content is in the above range, it is possible to reduce the solid content concentration, and to further improve the ejection stability.
2-2. Wax
The ink may contain a wax. The ink contains the wax, and thus fixability of the ink on a medium which is non-absorbent or with low absorbency to ink is more excellent. Among these, it is preferable that the wax be an emulsion type. Although not limited to the following, examples of the wax include a polyethylene wax, a paraffin wax, and a polyolefin wax, and among these, a polyethylene wax, described later, is preferable. In the present specification, the “wax” mainly means a substance in which solid wax particles are dispersed in water using a surfactant which will be described later.
The ink contains a polyethylene wax, and thus it is possible to improve the abrasion resistance of the ink. The average particle diameter of a polyethylene wax is preferably in a range of 5 nm to 400 nm, and more preferably in a range 50 nm to 200 nm, in order to further improve the storage stability and ejection stability of the ink.
The content (solid content conversion) of the polyethylene wax is independently of one another and is preferably in a range of 0.1% to 3% by mass with respect to the total mass (100% by mass) of the ink, a range of 0.3% to 3% by mass is more preferable, and a range of 0.3% to 1.5% by mass is further preferable. If the content is in the above ranges, it is possible to favorably solidify and fix the ink even on a medium that is non-absorbent or with low absorbency to ink, and it is possible to further improve the storage stability and ejection stability of the ink.
3. Surfactant
The ink may contain a surfactant. Although not limited to the following, examples of the surfactant include nonionic surfactants. The nonionic surfactant has an action of evenly spreading the ink on the medium. Therefore, when printing is performed by using an ink including the nonionic surfactant, a high definition image with very little bleeding is obtained. Although not limited to the following, examples of such a nonionic surfactant include silicon-based, polyoxyethylene alkylether-based, polyoxypropylene alkylether-based, polycyclic phenyl ether-based, sorbitan derivative and fluorine-based surfactants, and among these a silicon-based surfactant is preferable.
The content of the surfactant is preferably in a range of 0.1% by mass or more and 3% by mass or less with respect to the total mass (100% by mass) of the ink, in order to further improve the storage stability and ejection stability of the ink.
4. Organic Solvent
The ink may include a known volatile water-soluble organic solvent. As described above, it is preferable that the ink does not substantially contain glycerin (boiling point at one atmosphere of 290° C.) which is one type of an organic solvent, and do not substantially contain alkyl polyols (excluding glycerin described above) having a boiling point corresponding to one atmosphere of 280° C. or higher.
5. Aprotic Polar Solvent
The ink may contain an aprotic polar solvent. The ink contains an aprotic polar solvent, and thus the above-described resin particles included in the ink are dissolved, and thus, it is possible to effectively suppress clogging of the nozzles 22 at a time of printing. Since the aprotic polar solvent has properties of dissolving a medium such as vinyl chloride, adhesiveness of an image is improved.
Although not particularly limited, the aprotic polar solvent preferably includes one type or more selected from pyrrolidones, lactones, sulfoxides, imidazolidinones, sulfolanes, urea derivatives, dialkylamides, cyclic ethers, and amide ethers. Representative examples of the pyrrolidones include 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone, representative examples of the lactones include γ-butyrolactone, γ-valerolactone, and ε-caprolactone, and representative examples of the sulfoxides include dimethyl sulfoxide, and tetramethylene sufloxide.
Representative examples of the imidazolidinones include 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, representative examples of the sulfolanes include sulfolane, and dimethyl sulfolane, and representative examples of the urea derivatives include dimethyl urea and 1,1,3,3-tetramethyl urea. Representative examples of the dialkylamides include dimethyl formamide and dimethylacetamide, and representative examples of the cyclic ethers include 1,4-dioxsane, and tetrahydrofuran.
Among these substances, pyrrolidones, lactones, sulfoxides and amide ethers, are particularly preferable from a viewpoint of the above-described effects, and 2-pyrrolidone is the most preferable. The content of the above-described aprotic polar solvent is preferably in a range of 3% to 30% by mass with respect to the total mass (100% by mass) of the ink, and is more preferably in a range of 8% to 20% by mass.
6. Other Components
The ink may further include a fungicide, an antirust agent, a chelating agent, and the like in addition to the above components.
About Humidifying Fluid
Next, the components of the surfactant mixed into the humidifying fluid L1a will be described.
As the surfactant, cationic surfactants such as alkylamine salts and quaternary ammonium salts; anionic surfactant such as dialkyl sulfosuccinate salts, alkyl naphthalene sulfosuccinate salts and fatty acid salts; amphoteric surfactants, such as alkyl dimethyl amine oxide, and alkylcarboxybetaine; nonionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkyl allyl ethers, acetylene glycols, and polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymers may be used; among these substances, particularly, anionic surfactants or nonionic surfactants are preferable.
The content of the surfactant is preferably 0.1% to 5.0% by mass with respect to the total mass of the humidifying fluid L1a. The content of the surfactant is preferably 0.5% to 1.5% by mass with respect to the total mass of the humidifying fluid L1a, from a viewpoint of foamability and defoaming properties after forming air bubbles. The surfactant may be used singly or in a combination of two or more. It is preferable that the surfactant contained in the humidifying fluid L1a be the same as the surfactant contained in the ink (liquid). For example, when the surfactant contained in the ink (liquid) is a nonionic surfactant, although not limited to the following, examples of nonionic surfactants include silicon-based surfactants, polyoxy ethylene alkylether-based surfactants, polyoxy propylene alkyl ether-based surfactants, polycyclic phenyl ether-based surfactants, sorbitan derivatives, and fluorine-based surfactants; among these substances, silicon-based surfactants are preferable.
In particular, it is preferable that an adduct in which 4 to 30 added mols of ethyleneoxide (EO) are added to acetylene diol be used as the surfactant, in order that the heights of foams directly after foaming and after five minutes elapses from the foaming, which are obtained by using the Ross Miles method are set to be in the above range (foam height directly after foaming is equal to or higher than 50 mm, and foam height after five minutes elapses from the foaming is equal to or lower than 5 mm), and the content of the adduct be 0.1% to 3.0% by weight with respect to the total weight of a cleaning solution. Further, it is preferable that an adduct in which 10 to 20 added mols of ethyleneoxide (EO) are added to acetylene diol, in order that the heights of foams directly after foaming and after five minutes elapses from the foaming, which are obtained by using the Ross Miles method is set to be in the above preferable range (foam height directly after foaming is equal to or higher than 100 mm, and foam height after five minutes elapses from the foaming is equal to or lower than 5 mm), and the content of the adduct be 0.5% to 1.5% by weight with respect to the total weight of the cleaning solution. If the content of the ethyleneoxide adduct of acetylene diol is excessively high, there is a concern of reaching the critical micelle concentration and forming an emulsion.
The surfactant has a function of causing wetting and spreading of the water-based ink on a recording medium to be easily performed. The surfactants able to be used in the present disclosure are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include anionic surfactants such as dialkyl sulfosuccinate salts, alkyl naphthalene sulfosuccinate salts, fatty acid salts; nonionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkyl allyl ethers, acetylene glycols, and polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymers; cationic surfactants such as alkyl amine salts and quaternary ammonium salts; silicon-based surfactants, and fluorine-based surfactants.
The surfactant has an effect of causing aggregations to be divided and dispersed by a surface activity effect between the humidifying fluid L1a and the aggregation. Because of the ability to lower the surface tension of the cleaning solution, there is an effect that the cleaning solution easily performs infiltration between the aggregation and the nozzle surface 23, and the aggregation is easily peeled from the nozzle surface 23.
It is possible to suitably use any surfactant as long as the compound has a hydrophilic portion and a hydrophobic portion in the same molecule. Specific examples thereof preferably include compounds represented by Formulas (I) to (IV). That is, examples include a polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether-based surfactant in Formula (I), an acetylene glycol-based surfactant in Formula (II), a polyoxyehtylenealkyl ether-based surfactants in Formula (III), and a polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylenealkyl ether-based surfactants in Formula (IV).
(R is a hydrocarbon chain which has 6 to 14 carbon atoms and may be branched, and k: 5 to 20)
(R is a hydrocarbon chain which has 6 to 14 carbon atoms and may be branched, and n is 5 to 20)
(R is a hydrocarbon chain having 6 to 14 carbon atoms and m and n are numerals of 20 or lower)
The followings may be used as the surfactant in addition to the compounds in Formulas (I) to (IV): alkyl and aryl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as diethylene glycol monophenyl ether, ethylene glycol monophenyl ether, ethylene glycol monoallyl ether, diethylene glycol monophenyl ether, diethylene glycol mono-butyl ether, propylene glycol mono-butyl ether, and tetraethylene glycol chlorophenyl ether, nonionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene block copolymers and fluorine-based surfactants, and lower alcohols such as ethanol and 2-propanol. In particular, diethylene glycol mono-butyl ether is preferable.
Operation
The operation of the present embodiment will be described.
The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 is assembled and a humidifying fluid filling operation is performed before shipment from the factory, and the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 is shipped from the factory in a state where a predetermined amount of the humidifying fluid L1a is accommodated in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61. At the time of shipment, the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is discharged in advance, and the cap 51a is in a state where there is almost no humidifying fluid L1a.
When the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 shipped from the factory reaches the user, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 is installed by the user. The user mounts the waste liquid box 110 on the mounting portion 100 of the liquid ejecting apparatus 11. As a result, the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is coupled to the first waste liquid flow path 81a, and the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is coupled to the adjusting water supply flow path 66b. Then, the user performs an initial operation using the operation portion 15 before using the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 for printing. The controller 90 executes the circulation operation procedure shown in
Next, a circulation operation procedure executed by the controller 90 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in
In step S101, the controller 90 determines whether or not the first on-off valve 66c is in the closed state. When the first on-off valve 66c is in the closed state, the flow proceeds to step S103. When the first on-off valve 66c is in the open state, the flow proceeds to step S102. Then, in step S102, the controller 90 closes the first on-off valve 66c.
In step S103, the controller 90 drives the first pump 63 for a first predetermined time T1 in a state where the first on-off valve 66c is closed. Thereby, as shown in
In step S104, the controller 90 stops the first pump 63 for a second predetermined time T2 in a state where the first on-off valve 66c is closed. Thereby, the liquid surface state in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is stabilized. In addition, in order to shorten the time until the liquid surface state stabilizes, the area of the liquid surface is made large as compared with the depth inside the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61, and thus it is desirable to reduce the amount of change in the height of the liquid surface when the amount of liquid in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 changes.
In step S105, the controller 90 acquires information on the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 from the detecting portion 61a. Then, in step S106, the controller 90 determines whether or not the height of the liquid surface is higher than the first predetermined height H1. When the height of the liquid surface is higher than the first predetermined height H1, the procedure ends.
When the height of the liquid surface is lower than the first predetermined height H1, the flow proceeds to step S200. Then, in step S200, the controller 90 executes a subroutine of a concentration adjustment operation described later. When the subroutine of the concentration adjustment operation is completed, the controller 90 ends the procedure.
The humidifying fluid L1a can be circulated in the cap 51a by the circulation operation shown in
When the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 performs recording on the medium M, the medium M supplied from the medium accommodating portion 16 shown in
Since the cap 51a is in the open state during recording, evaporation of moisture from the humidifying fluid L1a from the humidifying chamber 55 is promoted more than during capping. Assuming that the environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity are the same, the higher the recording frequency and the longer the recording time, the greater the evaporation of moisture from the humidifying fluid L1a.
On the other hand, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 regularly performs flushing, which is an ejection operation for discharging droplets unrelated to printing from the nozzles 22 to the closed space SP in the cap 51a. As shown in
When flushing or cleaning is performed, the liquid discharged from the nozzles 22 of the liquid ejecting head 21 adheres to the nozzle surface 23. Therefore, after flushing and cleaning, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 performs wiping. As shown in
The waste liquid L2 discharged from the nozzles 22 into the cap 51a by flushing or cleaning is recovered in the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 in the waste liquid box 110. That is, as shown in
During non-recording, the state switches to the capping state shown in
As shown in
When the seal portion 56c of the cap 51a has a reduced sealing property due to deterioration or fatigue due to long-term use, or when it is damaged or malfunctions for some reason, the seal portion 56c is replaced with a new one for each cap unit 51 or for each cap 51a. Prior to the cap replacement, the cap replacement preparation operation is performed. By supplying pressurized air into the cap 51a from the pressurized air supply portion 67, the humidifying fluid L1a in the cap 51a is pushed out and recovered in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61. Therefore, the weight loss of the humidifying fluid L1a due to the cap replacement is kept to a minimum.
After the cap replacement preparation operation is completed, the cap unit 51 or the cap 51a is replaced with a new one. After the replacement, the above-mentioned circulation operation is executed, and the humidifying chamber 55 in the new cap 51a is filled with the humidifying fluid L1a. Thereby, the closed space SP surrounding the openings of the nozzles 22 when the replaced cap 51a comes into contact with the liquid ejecting head 21 is humidified, and thus ejection failures due to thickening of the liquid in the nozzles 22 or the like are prevented.
The volume of the humidifying fluid L1a accommodated in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is reduced by the amount of the evaporated moisture by the capping device 50 humidifying the closed space SP with the moisture contained in the humidifying fluid L1a filled in the humidifying chamber 55, and periodically performing the circulation operation.
In the circulation operation, when it is detected by the detecting portion 61a that the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is lower than the first predetermined height H1, it is determined that the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a in the circulation path 62 is higher than the predetermined concentration, and the concentration adjustment operation procedure shown in
Next, the concentration adjustment operation procedure executed by the controller 90 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in
In step S201, the controller 90 determines whether or not the first on-off valve 66c is in the open state. When the first on-off valve 66c is in the open state, the flow proceeds to step S203. When the first on-off valve 66c is in the closed state, the flow proceeds to step S202, and in step S202, the controller 90 opens the first on-off valve 66c.
In step S203, the controller 90 drives the first pump 63 for a third predetermined time T3 in a state where the first on-off valve 66c is open. Thereby, as shown in
In step S204, the controller 90 acquires information on the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 from the detecting portion 61a. Then, in step S205, the controller 90 determines whether or not the height of the liquid surface is higher than the first predetermined height H1. When the height of the liquid surface is higher than the first predetermined height H1, the flow proceeds to step S206. When the height of the liquid surface is lower than the first predetermined height H1, the procedure proceeds to step S207.
In step S206, the controller 90 closes the first on-off valve 66c and shifts the procedure to a subroutine of the circulation operation shown in
As shown in
When the controller 90 determines in step S207 that the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted, in step S208, the controller 90 executes an operation before replacing the adjusting water accommodating portion. That is, when the amount of the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a reaches the amount at which it is determined that the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is required to be replaced, the capping device 50 executes the operation before replacing the adjusting water accommodating portion. When the controller 90 ends the operation before replacing the adjusting water accommodating portion, the procedure proceeds to step S209.
In steps S203 to S205, the controller 90 may drive the first pump 63 while acquiring information on the height of the liquid surface in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 from the detecting portion 61a in a state where the first on-off valve 66c is open, and may stop the first pump 63 when the height of the liquid surface is higher than the first predetermined height H1. Then, when the third predetermined time T3 elapses after driving the first pump 63, in step S207, the controller 90 may determine that the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted when it is detected by the detecting portion 61a that the height of the liquid surface is lower than the first predetermined height H1.
In step S209, the controller 90 causes the display 15a of the operation portion 15 to display the information indicating that the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a has disappeared, such that an error is reported that the adjusting water L1b in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted. The user receiving the error report replaces the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a.
However, in the present embodiment, the accommodation amount of the adjusting water L1b accommodated in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is set such that the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is first fully filled with the waste liquid L2 before the timing when the adjusting water L1b accommodated in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted (end liquid surface level). Therefore, the above error report does not occur in the normal usage.
In the present embodiment, the setting is made such that the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2 and the replacement of the waste liquid box 110 is promoted before it is determined that the adjusting water in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted. That is, in order to satisfy such a condition, the amount of the adjusting water before use accommodated in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a and the capacity of the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 to be fully filled with the waste liquid L2 are set. The amount of decrease in moisture per unit time (that is, adjusting water decrease rate V1) (milliliter/day) from the humidifying fluid L1a is estimated based on the maximum recording frequency, the longest total recording time expected in normal use, and the like. In addition, the maximum amount of waste liquid generated per unit time (that is, waste liquid generation rate V2) (milliliter/day) that is assumed based on the frequency of flushing, cleaning, and wiping and the amount of liquid consumed per unit time (waste liquid amount) is estimated. Assuming that a waste liquid capacity is F (milliliter), time T (day) until the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2 is calculated by T=F/V2. Further, a remaining amount R of the adjusting water L1b after the lapse of the time T from the start of use of the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is calculated by the formula R=G−V1*T, where G is an initial amount of the adjusting water L1b accommodated.
Therefore, the initial accommodation amount G by the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is set so as to satisfy R=G−V1*F/V2>0. That is, the initial accommodation amount G by the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is set to a larger amount than V1*F/V2. For example, assuming that a margin amount is a, the initial accommodation amount G by the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is set to G=V1*F/V2+α. According to such a setting, the adjusting water L1b remains in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a when the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2, even if the cleaning frequency or the like is slightly higher than the normal frequency.
For example, the above error will be reported only in the case of abnormal use, such as when the cleaning frequency or the like is excessively higher than the normal frequency, or when the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 is emergency stopped and the cap 51a is left open for a long time and a weight loss rate of the adjusting water L1b is excessively high.
The controller 90 ends the concentration adjustment operation procedure when the circulation operation of step S100 (
As described above, in a normal case, the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2 before the adjusting water L1b of the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted. When the controller 90 detects that the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2, the controller 90 causes the display 15a to display information indicating that the waste liquid box 110 is fully filled with waste liquid and a message promoting the replacement of the waste liquid box 110. The user who sees the message replaces the waste liquid box 110 with a new one. That is, the user pulls out the waste liquid box 110 that is fully filled with the waste liquid L2 in a direction opposite to the mounting direction A, and removes the waste liquid box 110 from the mounting portion 100. Next, the user pushes the new waste liquid box 110 into the mounting direction A to mount it on the mounting portion 100.
The controller 90 detects that the new waste liquid box 110 is mounted through the electrical coupling between the board coupling portion 105 and the coupling terminal 117A of the circuit board 117. Then, the controller 90 executes a circulation operation (
As described above, the capping device 50 includes the cap 51a having the humidifying chamber 55 and the first moisture permeable membrane 54, and with one cap 51a, the liquid discharged from the nozzles 22 can be received and the nozzles 22 can be humidified. Then, agitation and concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a can be optimized by circulating the humidifying fluid L1a in the circulation path 62 while replenishing moisture to the humidifying fluid L1a by the evaporated amount. Therefore, the humidifying fluid L1a in the entire circulation path 62 can be maintained in the state suitable for humidifying the nozzles 22 of the liquid ejecting head 21. When the humidifying fluid L1a of the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is insufficient, the adjusting water L1b is replenished from the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a. Then, the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is integrally incorporated in the waste liquid box 110, and is replaced with a new one together with the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 when the waste liquid box 110 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2 and replaced with a new one. The user can only replace the waste liquid box 110 with little awareness of the replaceable adjusting water accommodating portion 66a. Therefore, even if the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a accommodating the adjusting water L1b is configured to be replaceable, the number of boxes and cartridges to be replaced does not increase, and the replacement work hardly increases.
The effect of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The waste liquid box 110 is detachably mounted on the mounting portion 100 having the waste liquid flow-out portion 103, which is an example of a discharge portion for discharging the waste liquid L2, and the liquid flow-in portion 104. The waste liquid box 110 includes the waste liquid flow-in portion 115 that is coupled to the waste liquid flow-out portion 103 when the waste liquid box is mounted on the mounting portion 100, and a waste liquid accommodating portion 86 in which the waste liquid L2 discharged from the waste liquid flow-out portion 103 is accommodatable. Further, the waste liquid box 110 includes the liquid flow-out portion 116 that is coupled to the liquid flow-in portion 104 when the waste liquid box 110 is mounted on the mounting portion 100, and the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a, which is an example of the liquid accommodating portion that accommodates the adjusting water L1b, which is an example of the liquid flowing out to the liquid flow-in portion 104. The adjusting water L1b is a liquid containing water for humidifying the cap 51a as an example of the humidified portion.
With the aforementioned configuration, the waste liquid box 110 including the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is provided with the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a for accommodating the adjusting water L1b containing humidifying water, and thus in addition to the waste liquid box 110 in which the waste liquid L2 is accommodated, it is not necessary to separately provide a liquid accommodating body such as a humidifying box or a cartridge in which the humidifying liquid is accommodated. Further, the user does not have to purchase and spend more time and effort to replace an extra adjusting water box as a consumable item other than the liquid supply source 31 that accommodates the ink required for printing.
(2) The adjusting water L1b is a liquid containing water and a preservative. With the aforementioned configuration, the adjusting water L1b containing humidifying water can be used for a long period of time.
(3) The amount of the adjusting water L1b accommodated in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is set to an amount of liquid at which the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is fully filled with the waste liquid L2 before the adjusting water L1b accommodated in the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is exhausted. With the aforementioned configuration, the first exhaustion of the adjusting water L1b containing the humidifying water can be suppressed.
(4) The first cover 112 that covers the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 is provided. The waste liquid accommodating portion 86 accommodates the absorbing member 120 capable of absorbing the waste liquid L2. In the posture in which the waste liquid box 110 is mounted on the mounting portion 100, the upper surfaces of the absorbing members 120 are covered with the first cover 112. With the aforementioned configuration, leakage of the waste liquid L2 absorbed by the absorbing member 120 to the outside can be suppressed.
(5) The adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is the adjusting water pack 68 which is an example of a bag body for accommodating the adjusting water L1b. With the aforementioned configuration, the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a can be easily provided.
(6) The second cover 113 that covers the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is provided. In the posture in which the waste liquid box 110 is mounted on the mounting portion 100, the lower surface of the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a is covered with the second cover 113. With the aforementioned configuration, the adjusting water L1b does not leak due to the adjusting water pack 68, and thus the configuration in which the lower surface is covered can be achieved. For this reason, the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 and the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a can be easily divided and accommodated in the waste liquid box 110 in a state where the liquid does not easily leak.
(7) The mounting portion 100 has the board coupling portion 105. The waste liquid box 110 includes the circuit board 117 having the coupling terminal 117A that is electrically coupled to the board coupling portion 105 when the waste liquid box 110 is mounted on the mounting portion 100. In the posture in which the waste liquid box 110 is mounted on the mounting portion 100, the coupling terminal 117A of the circuit board 117 is provided at a position higher than the center of the waste liquid flow-in portion 115. With the aforementioned configuration, adhering of the waste liquid L2 to the coupling terminal 117A can be suppressed.
(8) When the direction in which the waste liquid box 110 is mounted on the mounting portion 100 is defined as the mounting direction A, the waste liquid flow-in portion 115 is provided on one side and the circuit board 117 is provided on the other side in the width direction W intersecting the mounting direction A. With the aforementioned configuration, adhering of the waste liquid L2 to the coupling terminal 117A can be suppressed.
(9) The liquid flow-out portion 116 is provided between the waste liquid flow-in portion 115 and the circuit board 117 in the width direction W, and is provided at a position lower than the circuit board 117 in the vertical direction Z. With the aforementioned configuration, adhering of the liquid, such as the waste liquid L2 and the adjusting water L1b, to the coupling terminal 117A can be suppressed.
(10) The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes the liquid ejecting head 21, which is an example of the liquid ejecting portion that ejects, from the nozzles 22, a liquid (for example, ink) supplied from the liquid supply source 31, and the cap 51a capable of contacting the liquid ejecting head 21 to form the closed space SP where the nozzles 22 are open. Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes the mounting portion 100 on which the waste liquid box 110 is detachably mounted, the supply flow path 62a through which the liquid flow-in portion 104 and the cap 51a communicate with each other, and the first pump 63, which is an example of the first liquid feeding portion that feeds the adjusting water L1b in the waste liquid box 110 to the cap 51a. With the aforementioned configuration, the adjusting water L1b containing water can be used for humidifying the nozzles 22.
(11) The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes the first waste liquid flow path 81a through which the cap 51a and the waste liquid flow-out portion 103 communicate with each other, and the third pump 82, which is an example of the second liquid feeding portion that feeds, to the waste liquid flow-out portion 103, the waste liquid L2 discharged from the liquid ejecting head 21 into the cap 51a. With the aforementioned configuration, the humidifying cap 51a can also be used as the cap 51a for receiving the waste liquid L2.
(12) By replenishing the cap 51a with the humidifying fluid L1a, the frequency of cleaning and the frequency of powerful cleaning can be reduced, and thus the capacity of the waste liquid accommodating portion 86 can be reduced. Therefore, the size of the waste liquid box 110 does not increase so much for the integrated accommodation of the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a. That is, a small waste liquid box 110 for integrally accommodating the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a can be provided.
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to
The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes the cap unit 51 shown in
During non-recording, the moisturizing cap 151 is disposed at a maintenance position facing the nozzle surface 23 of a liquid ejecting head 21. Further, during maintenance including cleaning and flushing, the discharge cap 152 is disposed at the maintenance position facing the nozzle surface 23 of the liquid ejecting head 21. In this state, the nozzle surface 23 of the liquid ejecting head 21 is capped by the moisturizing cap 151 or the discharge cap 152 by the liquid ejecting head 21 moving from a recording position indicated by a solid line in
As shown in
Further, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
During non-recording, the moisturizing cap 151 is disposed at the maintenance position shown in
The circulation operation of circulating the humidifying fluid L1a is performed at a predetermined timing, and thus the concentration of the humidifying fluid L1a in the humidifying chamber 55 is optimized. Further, when the humidifying fluid L1a in the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 is insufficient due to the weight loss by the evaporation of moisture, the first pump 63 is driven under the state where the first on-off valve 66c is opened. As a result, the adjusting water L1b is replenished from the adjusting water accommodating portion 66a in the waste liquid box 110 into the humidifying fluid accommodating portion 61 through the adjusting water supply flow path 66b and the circulation path 62. Therefore, the humidifying fluid L1a having an optimized concentration is supplied to the humidifying chamber 55. Accordingly, in the capping state of the moisturizing cap 151, the nozzles 22 that open in the closed space SP are appropriately moisturized.
Further, as shown in
During flushing and cleaning, the discharge cap 152 is disposed at the maintenance position, and the head unit 24 moves from the recording position indicated by the solid line in
According to the second embodiment, the effects (1) to (12) of the first embodiment can be obtained in the same manner, and the following effects can be obtained.
(13) The liquid ejecting apparatus 11 includes a discharge cap 152 capable of contacting the liquid ejecting head 21 to form the closed space SP where the nozzles 22 are open, the first waste liquid flow path 81a communicating the discharge cap 152 and the waste liquid flow-out portion 103, and the third pump 82, which is an example of the second liquid feeding portion, which feeds, to the waste liquid flow-out portion 103, the waste liquid L2 discharged from the liquid ejecting head 21 into the discharge cap 152. With the aforementioned configuration, the moisturizing cap 151 for humidification and the discharge cap 152 for receiving the waste liquid L2 are independently provided, and thus a configuration suitable for each function can be employed.
The present embodiment can be implemented with modifications as follows. The present embodiment and the following modification examples can be implemented in combination with each other unless there is a technical contradiction.
The arrangement of the unit ejecting heads 21a constituting the liquid ejecting head 21 can be changed as appropriate. The configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the unit ejecting heads 21a are arranged diagonally as in the above embodiment; for example, two rows in which the unit ejecting heads 21a are arranged at regular intervals in the width direction X are provided in a staggered arrangement in which the positions are shifted in the width direction by half the distance between the rows.
The capping device 50 may be provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects the liquid from the liquid ejecting head 21 toward the medium M in the vertical direction. At the time of capping in the cap 51a, the seal portion 56c which is in close contact with the nozzle surface 23 of the liquid ejecting head 21, the absorber 53, the first moisture permeable membrane 54, and the humidifying chamber 55 may be provided in a horizontal state. That is, the cap 51a of the present embodiment may be provided in a horizontal state.
Hereinafter, the technical idea and the effect thereof figured out from the above-described embodiment and the modification examples will be described.
(A) A liquid accommodating body is detachably mounted on a mounting portion having a discharge portion for discharging a waste liquid and a liquid flow-in portion, the liquid accommodating body including a waste liquid flow-in portion that is coupled to the discharge portion when the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion, a waste liquid accommodating portion configured to accommodate the waste liquid discharged from the discharge portion, and a liquid flow-out portion that is coupled to the liquid flow-in portion when the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion, and a liquid accommodating portion configured to accommodate a liquid flowing out to the liquid flow-in portion, in which the liquid is a liquid containing water for humidifying a humidified portion.
With the aforementioned configuration, the liquid accommodating body including the waste liquid accommodating portion is provided with the liquid accommodating portion for accommodating the liquid containing the humidifying water, and thus it is not necessary to separately provide a liquid accommodating body for accommodating the humidifying liquid in addition to the liquid accommodating body for accommodating the waste liquid.
(B) In the liquid accommodating body, the liquid may be a liquid containing water and a preservative. With the aforementioned configuration, a liquid containing humidifying water can be used for a long period of time.
(C) In the liquid accommodating body, an amount of the liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodating portion may be set to a liquid amount at which the waste liquid accommodating portion is first fully filled with a waste liquid before the liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodating portion is exhausted.
With the aforementioned configuration, the first exhaustion of the liquid containing the humidifying water can be suppressed.
(D) The liquid accommodating body may further include a first cover that covers the waste liquid accommodating portion, the waste liquid accommodating portion may accommodate an absorbing member configured to absorb the waste liquid, and the absorbing member may be in a state in which an upper surface thereof is covered with the first cover in a posture in which the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion.
With the aforementioned configuration, leakage of the waste liquid absorbed by the absorbing member to the outside can be suppressed.
(E) In the liquid accommodating body, the liquid accommodating portion may be a bag body that accommodates the liquid. With the aforementioned configuration, the liquid accommodating portion can be easily provided.
(F) The liquid accommodating body may further include a second cover that covers the liquid accommodating portion, and the liquid accommodating portion may be in a state in which a lower surface thereof is covered with the second cover in a posture in which the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion.
With the aforementioned configuration, the liquid does not leak due to the bag body, and thus the configuration in which the lower surface is covered can be achieved. Therefore, the waste liquid accommodating portion and the liquid accommodating portion can be easily divided and accommodated in a state in which the liquid is less likely to leak into the liquid accommodating body.
(G) In the liquid accommodating body, the mounting portion may have a board coupling portion, the liquid accommodating body may further include a circuit board having a coupling terminal that is electrically coupled to the board coupling portion when the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion, and the coupling terminal of the circuit board may be provided at a position higher than a center of the waste liquid flow-in portion in a posture in which the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion.
With the aforementioned configuration, adhering of the waste liquid to the coupling terminal can be suppressed.
(H) In the liquid accommodating body, when a direction in which the liquid accommodating body is mounted on the mounting portion is defined as a mounting direction, the waste liquid flow-in portion may be provided on one side and the circuit board is provided on the other side in a width direction intersecting the mounting direction.
With the aforementioned configuration, adhering of the waste liquid to the coupling terminal can be suppressed.
(I) In the liquid accommodating body, the liquid flow-out portion may be provided between the waste liquid flow-in portion and the circuit board in the width direction, and is provided at a position lower than the circuit board in a vertical direction.
With the aforementioned configuration, adhering of the liquid to the coupling terminal can be suppressed.
(J) A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting portion that ejects, from a nozzle, a liquid supplied from a liquid supply source, a cap configured, as a humidified portion, to contact the liquid ejecting portion to form a closed space where the nozzle is open, a mounting portion on which the liquid accommodating body is detachably mounted, a supply flow path through which the liquid flow-in portion and the cap communicate with each other, and a first liquid feeding portion that feeds the liquid in the liquid accommodating body to the cap.
With the aforementioned configuration, the liquid containing water can be used for humidifying nozzles.
(K) The liquid ejecting apparatus may further include a waste liquid flow path through which the cap and the discharge portion communicate with each other, and a second liquid feeding portion that feeds, to the discharge portion, the waste liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting portion into the cap.
With the aforementioned configuration, the humidifying cap can also be used as a cap for receiving the waste liquid.
(L) The liquid ejecting apparatus may further include a discharge cap configured to contact the liquid ejecting portion to form a closed space where the nozzle is open, a waste liquid flow path through which the discharge cap and the discharge portion communicate with each other, and a second liquid feeding portion that feeds, to the discharge portion, the waste liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting portion into the discharge cap.
With the aforementioned configuration, the humidifying cap and the cap for receiving the waste liquid are independently provided, and thus a configuration suitable for each function can be employed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-020041 | Feb 2021 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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| 6264314 | Mochizuki | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 20050190215 | Morikoshi | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20090109257 | Shimazaki | Apr 2009 | A1 |
| 20120194604 | Tamaki | Aug 2012 | A1 |
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| 20190061353 | Shimizu et al. | Feb 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
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| 2004-142282 | May 2004 | JP |
| 2009-101634 | May 2009 | JP |
| 2012-061785 | Mar 2012 | JP |
| 2019-038159 | Mar 2019 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220250385 A1 | Aug 2022 | US |
