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JP-2026075477-A - Cleaning device, liquid dispensing device, cleaning method, and program

JP2026075477AJP 2026075477 AJP2026075477 AJP 2026075477AJP-2026075477-A

Abstract

[Problem] To efficiently clean the discharge surface. [Solution] A cleaning device for cleaning the discharge surface of a liquid discharge head, which has a plurality of discharge ports for discharging liquid, comprising: a suction wiper that sucks liquid from the discharge ports and wipes the discharge surface; an execution means that performs cleaning of the discharge surface by scanning the suction wiper along the scanning direction of the discharge surface; a determination means that determines whether at least one discharge port located in each section along the scanning direction has discharged liquid since the last time cleaning was performed in that section; and an adjustment means that makes the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section in which the determination means has determined that at least one discharge port has discharged liquid smaller than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the other sections. [Selection Diagram] Figure 15

Inventors

  • 齋藤 義一

Assignees

  • キヤノン株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20241022

Claims (13)

  1. A cleaning device for cleaning the discharge surface of a liquid discharge head, which has multiple discharge ports for discharging liquid, A suction wiper that sucks liquid from the discharge port and wipes the discharge surface, An execution means for performing cleaning of the discharge surface by scanning the suction wiper along the scanning direction of the discharge surface, For each section along the scanning direction, a determination means for determining whether at least one discharge port located in that section has discharged liquid since the last time the cleaning was performed, An adjustment means that makes the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section in which the determination means determines that at least one discharge port has discharged liquid smaller than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the other sections, A cleaning device equipped with the following features.
  2. The adjustment means makes the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section in which the determination means determines that at least one discharge port has discharged liquid, and the section adjacent to that section, less than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the other sections. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  3. Each of the aforementioned sections further includes means for obtaining the average liquid discharge volume per outlet since the last time the cleaning was performed, The adjusting means makes the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section in which the average liquid discharge amount is a first discharge amount smaller than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section in which the average liquid discharge amount is a second discharge amount that is less than the first discharge amount. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  4. The system further includes means for obtaining the time when liquid was first discharged from any outlet belonging to the section since the previous cleaning was performed in each section. The adjusting means makes the speed at which the suction wiper scans the interval where the time is the first time less than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the interval where the time is the second time, which is later than the first time. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  5. For each of the aforementioned sections, means for obtaining the average liquid discharge volume per outlet since the last cleaning was performed, The system further includes means for obtaining the time when liquid was first discharged from any outlet belonging to the section since the previous cleaning was performed in each section. The aforementioned adjustment means is The speed at which the suction wiper scans the section where the average liquid discharge amount is the first discharge amount is made smaller than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section where the average liquid discharge amount is the second discharge amount, which is less than the first discharge amount. The speed at which the suction wiper scans the interval where the aforementioned time is the first time is made smaller than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the interval where the aforementioned time is the second time, which is later than the first time. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  6. Each of the aforementioned sections further includes means for obtaining the average liquid discharge volume per outlet since the last time the cleaning was performed, The adjusting means controls the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface such that the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface tends to decrease in sections where the average liquid discharge volume is high. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  7. The system further includes means for obtaining the time when liquid was first discharged from any outlet belonging to the section since the previous cleaning was performed in each section. The adjustment means controls the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface such that the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface tends to decrease as the time interval becomes earlier. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  8. For each of the aforementioned sections, means for obtaining the average liquid discharge volume per outlet since the last time the cleaning was performed, For each of the aforementioned sections, means for obtaining the time when liquid was first discharged from any of the discharge ports belonging to the section since the previous cleaning was performed, Furthermore, The adjustment means controls the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface such that the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface tends to decrease as the average liquid discharge volume increases, and the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface tends to decrease as the time is earlier. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  9. The aforementioned suction wiper is A suction nozzle having side walls that surround the non-open portion of a space that is partially open, A suction holder that holds the suction nozzle, It has, During the cleaning process, the end of the side wall on the opening side slides against the discharge surface, and the space is depressurized. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
  10. The elastic modulus of the material of the side wall is in the range of 5 MPa to 0.5 MPa. The thickness of the aforementioned side wall is 2.0 mm or less. The absolute value of the acceleration or deceleration when changing the speed at which the suction wiper scans the discharge surface of the liquid discharge head is 30 mm/s² or less. The cleaning device according to claim 9.
  11. A cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, Means for forming an image on a recording medium using the liquid ejection head, A liquid dispensing device equipped with the following features.
  12. A cleaning method for cleaning the discharge surface of a liquid discharge head, which has multiple discharge ports for discharging liquid, An execution step in which a suction wiper that sucks liquid from the discharge and wipes the discharge surface is scanned along the scanning direction of the discharge surface to perform cleaning of the discharge surface, A determination step for each section along the scanning direction, which determines whether at least one discharge port located in the section has discharged liquid since the last time the cleaning was performed, An adjustment step to make the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section in which it is determined by the determination step that at least one discharge port has discharged liquid smaller than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the other sections, A cleaning method having the following characteristics.
  13. A program for causing a liquid dispensing device to function as a cleaning device for cleaning the dispensing surface of a liquid dispensing head, which has multiple dispensing ports for dispensing liquid, The aforementioned liquid dispensing device, An execution means for performing cleaning of the discharge surface by scanning a suction wiper, which sucks liquid from the discharge port and wipes the discharge surface, along the scanning direction of the discharge surface, For each section along the scanning direction, a determination means for determining whether at least one discharge port located in that section has discharged liquid since the last time the cleaning was performed, An adjustment means that makes the speed at which the suction wiper scans the section in which the determination means determines that at least one discharge port has discharged liquid smaller than the speed at which the suction wiper scans the other sections, A program designed to function as such.

Description

This disclosure relates to a cleaning device and cleaning method for cleaning the discharge surface of a liquid dispensing device, a liquid dispensing device equipped with the cleaning device, and a program. Liquid ejection devices are known that form images on recording media by ejecting liquids such as ink from ejection ports on a liquid ejection head. Generally, such liquid ejection devices are equipped with a mechanism for cleaning foreign matter, such as solidified substances originating from the liquid, that adheres to the ejection surface, in order to maintain good liquid ejection conditions from the ejection port of the liquid ejection head. The ejection surface is then cleaned periodically using this mechanism. Patent Document 1 discloses a cleaning method that uses a suction nozzle that moves along a row of discharge ports opposite the discharge surface of a liquid discharge head, thereby sucking liquid from the discharge ports at opposing positions as the suction nozzle moves. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-011061 This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the general configuration of a liquid dispensing device.This is a block diagram illustrating the overall control system for a liquid dispensing device.This is a block diagram showing the printer control unit in detail.This is a schematic diagram of the recording unit showing the state when the liquid discharge head is in the standby position.This diagram illustrates the discharge surfaces of the first and second liquid discharge heads.These are side and top views showing the liquid dispensing head and suction wiper, etc.These are side and top views showing the arrangement of the liquid discharge head and suction wiper during cleaning.These are perspective and plan views illustrating the cleaning mechanism according to the embodiment.This is a diagram illustrating a cleaning method according to an embodiment.This is a diagram illustrating a cleaning method according to an embodiment.This is a diagram illustrating a conventional cleaning method.This table shows examples of travel speeds when the third and fourth cleaning methods are combined.This flowchart shows the reset methods included in the first and second cleaning methods.This is a flowchart showing the history recording methods included in the first and second cleaning methods.This is a flowchart showing the method for determining the movement speed included in the first cleaning method.This flowchart shows the speed control methods included in the first to fourth cleaning methods.This is a flowchart showing the method for determining the movement speed included in the second cleaning method.This is a flowchart showing the reset method included in the third cleaning method.This is a flowchart showing the history recording method included in the third cleaning method.This is a flowchart showing the method for determining the movement speed included in the third cleaning method.This is a flowchart showing the reset method included in the fourth cleaning method.This is a flowchart showing the history recording method included in the fourth cleaning method.This is a flowchart showing the method for determining the movement speed included in the fourth cleaning method. The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the components described in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the configuration and various conditions of the apparatus to which this disclosure applies can be modified or changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of this disclosure, and this disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. For example, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the following embodiments can be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration and various conditions of the apparatus to which this disclosure applies, and unless otherwise specified, this disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. This embodiment relates to a liquid dispensing device. <Configuration of the liquid dispensing device> Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the general configuration of the liquid ejection device 100. The liquid ejection device 100 is a sheet-fed liquid ejection device that produces a recorded material by forming an ink image on a recording medium 101 using two types of liquids: a processing liquid and ink. In this embodiment, the X, Y, and Z directions correspond to the width direction (overall length direction), depth direction, and height direction (gravity direction) of the liquid ejection device 100, respectively. In this embodiment, since an example in which the recording medium 101 is transported in the X direction is described, the X direction also corresponds to the transport direction of the recording medium. The Y direction also corresponds to the width direction of the paper (recording medium 101). As