Inkjet recording apparatus

• US 20060238596A1
• Filed: 04/20/2006
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Mitsuhashi, Taku, Suzuki, Keiichiro, Kato, Takayuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,731,348 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/104
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/007 Conveyor belts or like feeding devices
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/17 Cleaning arrangements

Abstract

An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a conveyance belt for conveying a recording medium; a cleaning roller kept in contact with the conveyance belt to clean the conveyance belt; and a controller for controlling the cleaning roller so as to be able to select between two modes for its driving, wherein the two modes are the mode in which the cleaning roller is driven by the movement of the conveyance belt and the mode in which the cleaning roller is driven independently of the movement of the conveyance belt.

Claims

1. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising:

a conveyance belt for conveying a recording medium;

a cleaning roller kept in contact with the conveyance belt to clean the conveyance belt; and

a controller for controlling the cleaning roller so as to be able to select between two modes for its driving,

wherein the two modes are the mode in which the cleaning roller is driven by the movement of the conveyance belt and the mode in which the cleaning roller is driven independently of the movement of the conveyance belt.

2. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein controller is a computer which conduct the controlling by the instruction from the computer.

3. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a speed detector for detecting the traveling speed V0 of the conveyance belt, wherein, when the computer determines based on the result of detection by the speed detector that the traveling speed V0 of the conveyance belt is V0<

6 mm/second, the cleaning roller is driven by the movement of the conveyance belt.

4. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

a speed detector for detecting the traveling speed V0 of the conveyance belt, wherein, when the computer determines based on the result of detection by the speed detector that the traveling speed V0 of the conveyance belt is V0≧

6 mm/second, the cleaning roller is driven independently of the movement of the conveyance belt.

5. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

a width detector for detecting the width W0 of the recording medium, wherein, when the computer has determined based on the result of detection by the width detector that the width W0 of the recording medium relative to recording width W1 is W0>

W1, the cleaning roller is driven by the movement of the conveyance belt.

6. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

a width detector for detecting the width W0 of the recording medium, wherein, when the computer has determined based on the result of detection by the width detector that the width W0 of the recording medium relative to recording width W1 is W0≦

W1, the cleaning roller is driven independently of the movement of the conveyance belt.

7. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer has a data table corresponding to the amount of penetrating ink T0 that passes through the recording medium, for each type of the recording medium, specifies the amount of penetrating ink T0 of the recording medium on which the image is recorded based on the data table and conducts a controlling the cleaning roller to be driven by the movement of the conveyance belt when the computer determines the amount of penetrating ink T0 is not more than 12 mg/m².

8. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer has a data table corresponding to the amount of penetrating ink T0 that passes through the recording medium, for each type of the recording medium, specifies the amount of penetrating ink T0 of the recording medium on which the image is recorded based on the data table and conducts a controlling the cleaning roller to be driven independently of the movement of the conveyance belt when the computer determines the amount of penetrating ink T0 is more than 12 mg/m².

9. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer acquires the resolution and record size from the image data of the image to be recorded on the recording medium, calculates the amount of ink Q0 required to record an image on the recording medium and conducts a controlling the cleaning roller to be driven by the movement of the conveyance belt when the amount of ink Q0 calculated by the computer is not more than 12 g/m².

10. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer acquires the resolution and record size from the image data of the image to be recorded on the recording medium, calculates the amount of ink Q0 required to record an image on the recording medium and conducts a controlling the cleaning roller to be driven independently of the movement of the conveyance belt when the amount of ink Q0 calculated by the computer is more than 12 g/m².

11. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer calculates the amount of deposited ink H0 deposited on the conveyance belt, from the image data of the image to be recorded on the recording medium and conducts a controlling the cleaning roller to be driven by the movement of the conveyance belt when the amount of deposited ink H0 calculated by the computer is not more than 30%.

12. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer calculates the amount of deposited ink H0 deposited on the conveyance belt, from the image data of the image to be recorded on the recording medium and conducts a controlling the cleaning roller to be driven independently of the movement of the conveyance belt when the amount of deposited ink H0 calculated by the computer is more than 30%.

13. The inkjet recording apparatus of claims 1, wherein the cleaning roller is an elastic member made of a porous material.

14. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 13, wherein the specific gravity of the cleaning roller is 0.32 to 0.34 g/cm³.

15. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 13, wherein porosity of the cleaning roller is 75 to 90%.

16. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 13, wherein the cleaning roller is impregnated with water.

17. The inkjet recording apparatus of claims 1, wherein the outer peripheral linear speed R0 can be changed as desired within the range from 20 through 120 mm/second when the cleaning roller is being drive.

18. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cross sectional length of contact L0 of the cleaning roller with respect to the conveyance belt is within the range from 10 through 20 mm.

19. The inkjet recording apparatus of claims 1, wherein a surface of the conveyance belt in contact with the recording medium is coated with agglutinant made up of a silicon based material, and the amount of the agglutinant applied is within the range from 50 through 60 g/m².

20. The inkjet recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning roller is pressed against and is kept in contact with the conveyance belt, and the conveyance belt directly withstands the pressure of the cleaning roller.