Patent Description:
Conventionally, there is an inkjet recording apparatus in which ink is ejected from a nozzle of an inkjet head, the ink is landed in the desired position of the recording medium, and the image is recorded. When the ink is attached to a nozzle surface where an ejecting opening of the nozzle of the inkjet head is open, the attached ink thickens in a state covering a part of the ejecting opening of the nozzle, and then becomes solid. With this, failure in ejecting the ink may occur.

In order to wipe ink remaining on the nozzle surface, a cloth wiping method in which a woven cloth and the nozzle surface slide relatively to each other so that the cloth wipes the nozzle surface and a cleaning apparatus are known and used (<CIT> and <CIT>).

<CIT> discloses an inkjet recording device comprising a wiping device which supports a woven wiping web that wipes a liquid discharge head of the inkjet device having a nozzle opening. <CIT> discloses an inkjet printer <NUM> comprising a liquid injection head and a wiper device including a wiper cassette. A wiper member absorbs ink adhering to the nozzle.

However, the above conventional technique cannot solve the following problems.

<FIG> show a configuration of the structure of a plain woven cloth. As shown in <FIG>, when a surface of the fabric is observed, a mountain portion m is formed on a surface by a warp a passing over a weft b. A mountain portion m is formed on a surface by the weft b passing over the warp a. Between the aligned weft b and weft b, a valley portion va and a space are continuously formed aligned with the weft b, and there is a position in which the mountain portion m is not provided. Between the aligned warp a and warp a, a valley portion vb and a space are continuously formed aligned with the warp a, and there is a position in which the mountain portion m is not provided.

Therefore, even if the nozzle discharging opening n rubs a position where the valley and the space continues and the mountain portion is not provided, the thickened ink around the ejecting opening n cannot be sufficiently scraped off.

The present invention is made in view of the above problems of the conventional technique, and the purpose of the present invention is to decrease unwiped portions when the ink attached to the nozzle surface of the inkjet head is wiped by a woven cloth and to enhance cleanability.

To achieve at least one of the abovementioned objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, an inkjet recording apparatus reflecting one aspect of the present invention includes an inkjet head that ejects ink from a nozzle; and a cloth wipe unit that includes a woven cloth that wipes a nozzle surface in which an ejecting opening of the nozzle of the inkjet head is open, wherein, the ink attached to the nozzle surface is wiped by a relative sliding movement between the woven cloth and the nozzle surface, and a mountain portion formed on a surface by a thread passing above a crossed thread of the woven cloth rubs against all of the ejecting openings during the sliding. The mountain portion runs over at least two threads and an intersection angle between a direction of the sliding and the mountain portion is within a range of <NUM> degrees ± <NUM> degrees.

The advantages and features provided by one or more embodiments of the invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinafter and the appended drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention, and wherein:.

An embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the drawings. An embodiment of the present invention is described and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the description below.

Hereinafter, one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments.

As shown in <FIG>, the inkjet recording apparatus <NUM> includes an inkjet head <NUM> and a cloth wipe unit <NUM>.

The inkjet head <NUM> ejects ink from a nozzle. The ejecting opening of the nozzle of the inkjet head <NUM> is open in a nozzle surface 11a of a nozzle plate <NUM> and a plurality of ejecting openings are aligned in the X-direction.

The cloth wipe unit <NUM> includes a woven cloth <NUM> which wipes the nozzle surface 11a. The cloth wipe unit <NUM> includes a wiping surface 21a of the woven cloth <NUM> on a XY surface parallel to the nozzle surface 11a. According to the present embodiment, the woven cloth <NUM> is a long cloth rolled in a roll. The woven cloth <NUM> is rolled out from a rolling out roller <NUM> and placed between supporting rollers <NUM> and <NUM> so as to form a wiping surface 21a at a predetermined position. After wiping, the woven cloth <NUM> is rolled in by a rolling in roller <NUM>. On the back surface of the wiping surface 21a, a backup member <NUM> is positioned to oppose to pressing force from the nozzle surface 11a to the wiping surface 21a.

<FIG> shows a block diagram showing the main operation elements in the inkjet recording apparatus <NUM>.

A controller <NUM> is a processor (hardware processor) which centrally controls the entire operation of the inkjet recording apparatus <NUM>. The controller <NUM> includes, for example, a CPU <NUM> (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM <NUM> (Random Access Memory). The CPU <NUM> performs a calculating operation and performs various control processes. The RAM <NUM> provides a memory space for work to the CPU <NUM> and stores temporary data.

The inkjet head <NUM> is provided in a carriage and is able to move in an X-direction. The controller <NUM> controls an inkjet head driver <NUM>, a carriage driver <NUM>, and a recording medium conveyor <NUM> in order to perform a recording operation.

The controller <NUM> pauses the recording operation and controls the carriage driver <NUM> and a cloth wipe unit driver <NUM> in order to clean the nozzle surface 11a by wiping, and positions the inkjet head <NUM> as shown in <FIG> in a cloth wipe position. Although not illustrated in the diagram, the nozzle surface 11a is pressed against the wiping surface 21a at the cloth wipe position shown in <FIG>. The pressing is performed by a lifting function of the carriage by the carriage driver <NUM> or the lifting function of the cloth wipe unit <NUM> by the cloth wipe unit driver <NUM>.

In a state in which the nozzle surface 11a is pressed against the wiping surface 21a, the controller <NUM> controls the carriage driver <NUM> to execute the wiping operation to move the inkjet head <NUM> back and forth in the X-direction. This causes relative sliding between the woven cloth <NUM> and the nozzle surface 11a, and the ink attached to the nozzle surface 11a is wiped by the sliding.

In the sliding direction X, a dimension W2 of a woven cloth <NUM> exceeds a dimension adding a sliding distance T1 to a dimension W1 of a nozzle plate <NUM> including the nozzle surface 11a. According to the above conditions, the entire surface of the nozzle surface 11a is constantly in contact with the woven cloth <NUM> during the wiping operation, and the cleanability is enhanced.

Next, applying fabrics with various structures is described.

<FIG> show a woven cloth 21A woven by plain weaving (referred to as plain woven cloth 21A). <FIG> shows a diagram showing a structure of the plain woven cloth 21A. A plain woven cloth is a woven cloth not according to the invention. Warp is shown by a and weft is shown by b. A separate number is applied to each of the above. The pitch of the warp is shown by pa and the pitch of the weft is shown by pb. The same applies below.

A mountain portion m is formed on a surface by a thread passing above a crossed thread of the woven cloth 21A. The mountain portion m is at a center of a square in the structure diagram of <FIG>.

In the woven cloth 21A, a valley portion v is formed on the surface by a thread passing from below to above or from above to below the crossed thread. Here, the crossed thread is the weft b in relation to the warp a and the crossed thread is the warp a in relation to the weft b. Therefore, the valley portion va is formed on the surface by the warp a passing from below to above or from above to below the weft b. The valley portion vb is formed on the surface by the weft b passing from below to above or from above to below the warp a. <FIG> shows the valley portion va formed on the surface by the warp a passing from below to above or from above to below the weft b marked with a white circle. It is possible to confirm that the valley portion va continues in the X-direction which is the sliding direction.

In the plain woven cloth 21A, the valley portion va (vb) is formed on the surface by the thread a (b) passing from below to above or from above to below the crossed thread b (a). The mountain portion m is not positioned in the position parallel to the crossed thread b (a), and the plain woven cloth 21A includes a structure in which the valley portion va (vb) continues.

As shown in <FIG>, if the ejecting opening n of the nozzle slides at the position of such valley portion, the ink in the ejecting opening n and the portion surrounding the ejecting opening n cannot be sufficiently scraped.

In the inkjet recording apparatus <NUM>, the mountain portion m rubs against all of the ejecting openings n when the wiping operation is performed. That is, after the wiping operation is performed, there is to be no ejecting opening n which is not rubbed by the mountain portion m.

When the plain woven cloth 21A is applied, during the wiping operation in which the nozzle surface 11a and the wiping surface 21a slide, the woven cloth 21A is sent a half pitch (<NUM>/<NUM> × pb) or more in the Y-direction. With this, it is possible to rub the mountain portion m against all of the ejecting openings n.

The controller <NUM> controls the carriage driver <NUM> and a cloth sender of the cloth wipe unit driver <NUM>, and performs the wiping operation which executes the sliding in the X-direction and the cloth sending in the Y-direction.

<FIG> shows a woven cloth 21B woven by twill weaving (referred to as twill woven cloth 21B). <FIG> shows a diagram showing a structure of the twill woven cloth 21B.

The twill woven cloth 21B shown in <FIG> and <FIG> includes a structure in which a valley portion va is formed on the surface by the thread a passing from below to above or from above to below the crossed thread b and a mountain portion m is positioned in a position parallel to the crossed thread b (this is to be structure condition <NUM>).

Therefore, if the ejecting opening n of the nozzle as shown in <FIG> slides at the position of the valley portion va, the ejecting opening n also rubs the mountain portion m, and the ink in the ejecting opening n and the portion surrounding the ejecting opening n can be sufficiently scraped.

The inkjet recording apparatus <NUM> applies such twill woven cloth 21B and performs the wiping operation of the nozzle surface 11a by control of the controller <NUM> setting the weft direction X as the sliding direction.

In the sliding performed here, the sliding direction X is the direction intersecting with the warp a, and the sliding distance T1 is <NUM> pitches or more (<NUM> × pa) of the warp a, and the condition of the woven cloth 21B is that there is at least one mountain portion m by the warp a within the sliding distance T1.

<FIG> show <NUM>/<NUM> twill weaving, and <FIG> shows <NUM>/<NUM> twill weaving.

Since there is tension on the warp a due to supporting of the woven cloth <NUM> by the cloth wiping unit <NUM>, the ink is scraped by the mountain portion of the warp a.

<FIG> shows a woven cloth 21C woven by satin weaving (referred to as satin woven cloth 21C).

The structure of the satin woven cloth 21C satisfies the structure condition <NUM>.

Therefore, as shown in <FIG>, if the ejecting opening n of the nozzle slides at the position of the valley portion va, the ejecting opening n also rubs the mountain portion m, and the ink in the ejecting opening n and the portion surrounding the ejecting opening n can be sufficiently scraped.

The inkjet recording apparatus <NUM> applies such satin woven cloth 21C and performs the wiping operation of the nozzle surface 11a by control of the controller <NUM> setting the weft direction X as the sliding direction.

In the sliding performed here, the sliding direction X is the direction intersecting with the warp a, and the sliding distance T1 is <NUM> pitches or more (<NUM> × pa) of the warp a, and the condition of the woven cloth 21C is that there is at least one mountain portion m by the warp a within the sliding distance T1.

The woven cloth 21D is a fabric which is highly irregular including an irregular structure in a range exceeding warp <NUM> threads × weft <NUM> threads. Such fabric which is highly irregular can also be applied.

The structure of the woven cloth 21D satisfies the structure condition <NUM>.

The inkjet recording apparatus <NUM> applies such woven cloth 21D which is highly irregular and performs the wiping operation of the nozzle surface 11a by control of the controller <NUM> setting the weft direction X as the sliding direction.

In the sliding performed here, the sliding direction X is the direction intersecting with the warp a, and the sliding distance T1 is <NUM> pitches or more (<NUM> × pa) of the warp a, and the condition of the woven cloth 21D is that there is at least one mountain portion m by the warp a within the sliding distance T1. The sliding distance T1 is made suitably long according to the structure of the fabric so that the mountain portion m of the warp a rubs against all of the ejecting openings n.

As the woven cloth <NUM> of the cloth wipe unit <NUM> of the inkjet recording apparatus <NUM>, the above woven cloths 21B to 21D are employed. In this case, there is no need to send cloth in the Y direction in the wiping operation, and even if the sliding is performed in any position, by setting the necessary sliding distance, the mountain portion of the warp a is always against the ejecting opening n of the nozzle, and the ink can be sufficiently scraped.

As described above, it is possible to reduce the remaining ink attached to the nozzle surface 11a of the inkjet head <NUM> when wiped by the woven cloth <NUM>, and the cleanability is enhanced.

As shown in the table in <FIG>, an evaluation is made regarding the intersecting angle between the sliding direction X and the warp a, and the scraping properties of the ink from the nozzle surface a.

According to the invention, the intersecting angle between the sliding direction X and the warp A is within the range of <NUM> degrees ± <NUM> degrees.

As described above, the scraping properties are high if rubbed in the direction which is <NUM> degrees with relation to the warp a which forms a mountain portion in the wiping surface 21a. Since the scraping is performed with the warp a, the scraping properties decrease if shifted <NUM> degrees or more.

As shown in the table in <FIG>, an evaluation is made regarding the pressing force to the woven cloth <NUM> of the nozzle surface 11a during sliding, the scraping properties of the ink from the nozzle surface 11a, and the wearing of the nozzle surface 11a.

Preferably, the pressing force to the woven cloth <NUM> of the nozzle surface 11a is <NUM> to <NUM> [gf/cm<NUM>].

If the pressing force is less than <NUM> [gf/cm<NUM>], the fiber of the woven cloth <NUM> is not pressed against the nozzle surface 11a with the sufficient pressing force and the scraping properties decrease. If the pressing force is more than <NUM> [gf/cm<NUM>], the wearing of the water-repellent film of the nozzle surface 11a is accelerated.

As shown in the table in <FIG>, an evaluation is made regarding the density of the weft b of the woven cloth <NUM>, the scraping properties of the ink from the nozzle surface 11a, and the absorption properties of the woven cloth <NUM>.

Preferably, the density of the weft b of the woven cloth <NUM> is within the range of <NUM> to <NUM> [number of threads/inch].

If the density of the weft b is less than <NUM> [number of threads/inch], the number of fibers against the nozzle surface 11a becomes less and the scraping properties decrease. If the density of the weft b is more than <NUM> [number of threads/inch], the space between the fibers decreases and capillarity decreases. This results in decrease of absorption properties.

As shown in the table in <FIG>, an evaluation is made regarding the thickness of the woven cloth <NUM> and stain on the backup member <NUM>.

Preferably, the thickness of the woven cloth <NUM> is <NUM> [mm] or more.

If the thickness of the woven cloth <NUM> is less than <NUM> [mm], the ink cannot be absorbed and the backup member is stained.

As shown in the table in <FIG>, an evaluation is made regarding the relative speed of the nozzle surface 11a and the woven cloth <NUM> during sliding, the scraping properties of the ink from the nozzle surface 11a, and the stain on the backup member <NUM>.

Preferably, the range of the relative speed of the nozzle surface 11a and the woven cloth <NUM> during sliding is within <NUM> to <NUM> [mm/s].

If the relative speed (sliding speed) is less than <NUM> [mm/s], too much ink is pulled out from the nozzle of the head <NUM> due to the capillarity of the woven cloth <NUM>, and the backup member <NUM> is stained. If the relative speed is more than <NUM> [mm/s], the speed is too fast and the scraped ink cannot be absorbed by the woven cloth <NUM>. Therefore, the scraping properties decrease.

The method of evaluation is described below.

The scraping properties are evaluated by attaching a predetermined amount of ink on a PET film (dried at room temperature for five minutes), and then evaluating the appearance after wiping with the cloth once. The sliding speed is <NUM> [mm/s]. The pressing force is <NUM> [gf/cm<NUM>] if not specified.

The meaning of the marks showing the evaluation is as follows. AA: ink is completely wiped, BB: ink is slightly remaining, CC: ink is clearly remaining.

The wearing is evaluated by how much the nozzle plate <NUM> around the ejecting opening of the nozzle is shaved after sliding the woven cloth <NUM>, in which a weight is mounted, <NUM> times against the nozzle surface 11a of the nozzle plate <NUM> used in the head <NUM>. The sliding speed is to be <NUM> [mm/s].

The meaning of the marks showing the evaluation is as follows. AA: the portion around the nozzle ejecting opening is not shaved, BB: some portions around the nozzle ejecting opening are shaved, CC: it is clear that the portions around the nozzle ejecting opening are shaved.

The absorption properties are evaluated as follows. A predetermined amount of ink is attached on the PET film and the woven cloth <NUM> comes into contact with the PET film with a predetermined pressing force and for a predetermined amount of time. The amount of change of the ink weight before and after the above process is evaluated as the absorption rate.

The meaning of the marks showing the evaluation is as follows. AA: the absorption rate is <NUM>% or more, BB: the absorption rate is <NUM> to <NUM>%, CC: the absorption rate is <NUM>% or less.

The stain on the backup member is evaluated as follows. After attaching a predetermined amount of ink to the nozzle surface 11a of the nozzle plate <NUM>, and pressing the backup member <NUM> against the nozzle surface 11a with the woven cloth <NUM> in between, the woven cloth <NUM> is removed and the surface of the backup member <NUM> is observed for evaluation.

The meaning of the marks showing the evaluation is as follows. AA: there is no ink stain, BB: there is a slight ink stain, CC: there is a clear ink stain.

As the thread using the woven cloth <NUM>, polyester fiber thread or nylon fiber thread can be applied.

A split fiber thread including a cross section as shown in <FIG> can be applied as the thread used in the woven cloth <NUM>. The split fiber thread as shown in <FIG> is a combination of two fibers S1 and S2. The nylon fiber is applied as the fiber S1, and the polyester fiber is applied as the fiber S2.

The split fiber thread includes two different materials which are the fibers S1 and S2. By performing a process to open the fiber, the fibers are split, and become fibers with a thin and distorted shape. Therefore, the absorption properties are enhanced by the thin fiber structure and the scraping properties are enhanced by the distorted shape fibers coming into contact with the nozzle surface 11a.

Claim 1:
An inkjet recording apparatus (<NUM>) comprising:
an inkjet head (<NUM>) that ejects ink from a nozzle; and
a cloth wipe unit (<NUM>) that includes a woven cloth that wipes a nozzle surface in which an ejecting opening of the nozzle of the inkjet head is open, wherein,
the ink attached to the nozzle surface is wiped by a relative sliding movement between the woven cloth and the nozzle surface, and
wherein the inkjet recording apparatus is configured such that a mountain portion formed on a surface by a thread passing above a crossed thread of the woven cloth rubs against all of the ejecting openings during the sliding,
characterized in that the inkjet recording apparatus is configured such that the mountain portion runs over at least two threads and an intersection angle between a direction of the sliding and the mountain portion is within a range of <NUM> degrees ± <NUM> degrees.