JP2000006436A - Ink jet recording apparatus and control method for sucking ink from recording head therein - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing the generation of the ink emission failure of a recording head generated and accompanied by the replacement of an ink cartridge. SOLUTION: In a suction sequence control means 66, an ink cartridge detection means 69 detects the replacement of either one of the ink cartridges 9, 10 mounted on a carriage to issue a command to a carriage motor control means 68 and the nozzle orifices of respective recording heads are respectively sealed by respective capping means. A pump drive means is controlled through a cleaning control means 63 and the suction pumps 12A, 12B corresponding to the recording heads 7, 8 are driven to execute the suction of ink. Especially, since suction operation is applied to the recording heads on the non-replacement side of the ink cartridges, the meniscus of each recording head on the cartridge non-replacement side destructed by the impact by the replacement of the cartridges is restored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head mounted on a carriage which moves in the width direction of a recording sheet, and a plurality of nozzles formed in each of a plurality of recording heads or one recording head. For the group,
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which a plurality of independent ink cartridges for supplying ink are mounted on the carriage, and more particularly, to ink from a nozzle opening of a recording head which is performed with replacement of an ink cartridge. The present invention relates to a technique for controlling a suction process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of personal computers, graphic processing has become relatively easy to execute. Therefore, there is a demand for a recording apparatus capable of outputting a hard copy of, for example, a color image displayed on a display with high quality. In order to meet such a demand, a recording apparatus equipped with an ink jet recording head has been provided. This ink jet recording apparatus has relatively low noise at the time of printing and can form small dots at a high density. Therefore, these ink jet recording apparatuses are used in many printings including color printing in recent years.

[0003] Such an ink jet recording apparatus is
An ink jet recording head that receives supply of ink from an ink cartridge, and a paper feeding unit that relatively moves the recording paper with respect to the recording head, and performs recording while moving the recording head on the carriage in the width direction of the recording paper. Recording is performed by discharging ink droplets onto the paper. On a common carriage, for example, a black recording head that ejects black ink, and a color recording head that can eject yellow, cyan, and magenta inks are mounted. By changing the ink ejection ratio, full-color printing is possible.

In the ink jet type recording head, the ink pressurized in the pressure generating chamber is ejected from a nozzle as ink droplets onto a recording sheet to perform printing, so that the ink viscosity increases due to the evaporation of the solvent from the nozzle opening. In addition, there is a problem that printing failure occurs due to solidification of ink, adhesion of dust, and mixing of air bubbles.

[0005] For this purpose, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a capping means for sealing the nozzle openings of the recording head during non-printing and a cleaning device for cleaning the nozzle plate as required. This capping means not only functions as a lid for preventing drying of the ink in the nozzle openings when printing is stopped, but also when the nozzle openings are clogged, the nozzle plate is sealed with a cap member, It also has a function of sucking ink from the nozzle openings by negative pressure from the suction pump to eliminate clogging due to solidification of the ink in the nozzle openings and ink ejection failure due to air bubbles entering the ink flow path.

[0006] Forcible suction and discharge of ink to eliminate clogging of the recording head and mixing of air bubbles into the ink flow path is usually called a cleaning operation. This is executed when restarting or when the user presses the cleaning switch to eliminate the deterioration of the quality of the recorded image. After the ink droplets are ejected by negative pressure, the cleaning made of an elastic plate such as rubber is performed. This is a process involving a wiping operation of the head surface by a member.

On the other hand, in this type of recording apparatus, a black ink cartridge and a color ink cartridge for supplying ink to the black recording head and the color recording head are prepared independently. In this kind of consumer recording device,
Each of the cartridges is configured to be directly mounted on an upper portion of each recording head.

A nozzle plate array for black ink for discharging ink from a black ink cartridge and a plurality of nozzle arrays for color for discharging each ink from a color ink cartridge are provided on a nozzle plate of one recording head. Are also provided.

In any of the above-described recording apparatuses, when the ink in the cartridge is insufficient, the cartridge is pulled out from a cartridge holder formed above the recording head, and a new cartridge is mounted. The ink is continuously supplied to the recording head.

The ink cartridge used for this is
Generally, a film member is stuck to the ink supply port, and a rubber seal member is fitted inside the ink supply port so that the evaporation of the ink solvent during storage can be prevented.

When a new cartridge is mounted, the ink supply needle of the cartridge is directed upward with the ink supply needle established upward from the back surface of the recording head. It is configured so that it can be mounted.
By this operation, the ink supply needle penetrates the film of the ink supply port and the rubber seal member and is inserted and joined, whereby ink is supplied from the cartridge to the recording head.

[0012]

By the way, in the above-mentioned recording apparatus, at the time of replacement of the ink cartridge, recording is performed by the capping means in order to eliminate air bubbles that enter when the cartridge and the ink supply needle are joined. A suction operation is performed in which the nozzle plate of the head is sealed and ink is suctioned from the nozzle openings by negative pressure from the suction pump. By this suction operation, the bubbles that have entered inside when the cartridge is replaced are discharged to the outside together with the suction of the ink.

However, when the ink cartridge is mounted, a considerable impact is generated in the process of breaking the film attached to the ink supply port of the cartridge by the ink supply needle as described above. This occurs at the moment when the film is stretched and broken by the ink supply needle when the cartridge is pushed in, and this impact is transmitted to the entire carriage.

In addition to the shock caused by the above-described operation when the ink cartridge is mounted, when the ink cartridge is roughly handled due to replacement of the ink cartridge or the like, an accompanying shock is generated. It propagates throughout the carriage.

[0015] Therefore, the impact is transmitted to the adjacent recording head which does not replace the cartridge, and the meniscus formed in the nozzle opening of the head is destroyed. When the meniscus is destroyed in this way, ink ejection failure from the nozzle opening is caused, and naturally the print quality is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned technical problem, and it is an object of the present invention to effectively suppress the occurrence of a printing failure due to a nozzle opening corresponding to a non-replaceable cartridge when the ink cartridge is replaced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly-reliable recording device that can perform the above-described operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling ink suction from a recording head, which realizes an appropriate suction processing sequence of ink from nozzle openings based on replacement of any one of the ink cartridges. It is.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a preferred embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises a nozzle mounted on a carriage which moves in the width direction of recording paper. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: an ink jet recording head that ejects ink droplets from an opening; and a plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted on the carriage to supply ink to the recording head, respectively. A capping unit that seals the nozzle opening row of the recording head and suctions ink droplets from the nozzle opening of the recording head, a pump driving unit that drives a suction pump for applying a negative pressure to the capping unit, One or more of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage have been replaced An ink cartridge detecting means for detecting the bets, when it is detected that the ink cartridge is replaced by the ink cartridge detector,
An ink suction control means for sealing the nozzle opening of the recording head by the capping means and driving the pump driving means to suction ink droplets supplied from each ink cartridge from the nozzle opening, respectively.

Another preferred embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, is mounted on a carriage which moves in the width direction of recording paper, and is provided with a nozzle opening. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a plurality of ink jet recording heads for discharging ink droplets; and a plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted on the carriage to supply ink to each of the recording heads. A plurality of capping means for sealing the nozzle openings of the recording heads and sucking ink droplets from the nozzle openings of the recording heads, and a suction pump for applying a negative pressure to the capping means. Pump driving means to
An ink cartridge detection unit that detects that one or more of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage has been replaced, and an ink cartridge detection unit that detects that the ink cartridge has been replaced, While sealing the nozzle openings of each recording head by the respective capping means,
Ink suction control means for driving the pump driving means to suction ink droplets supplied from each ink cartridge from the nozzle opening is provided.

In this case, preferably, when the ink cartridge detection means detects that the ink cartridge has been replaced, the ink suction control means operates the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge side. After that, the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge is performed.

When the ink cartridge detection means detects that the ink cartridge has been replaced, the ink suction control means performs the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge side and performs the replacement. In some cases, the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the ink cartridge side is simultaneously performed.

In any case, when the ink cartridge detecting means detects that the ink cartridge has been replaced, the ink suction control means sets the nozzle corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge side. It is desirable to control the amount of ink suction at the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replacement ink cartridge side to be smaller than the amount of ink suction at the opening.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a film member for preventing the evaporation of the ink solvent is disposed in the ink supply port of the ink cartridge, and is disposed on the recording head side by mounting the ink cartridge. The ink supply needle penetrates the film member to guide ink toward the nozzle opening.

A preferred embodiment of the method for controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is an ink jet apparatus which is mounted on a carriage moving in the width direction of a recording sheet and ejects ink droplets from nozzle openings. A method of controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus including a type recording head and a plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted on the carriage to supply ink to the recording head, respectively. A capping step of detecting that one or more of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage has been replaced, and sealing the nozzle opening of the recording head with capping means; Negative pressure is generated by driving the suction pump. And it is adapted to perform an ink sucking step of sucking ink droplets supplied from the nozzle openings of the recording head from the ink cartridge, respectively.

Another preferred embodiment of the method of controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is a method in which ink droplets are ejected from a nozzle opening by being loaded on a carriage moving in the width direction of recording paper. A plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted on the carriage to supply ink to each of the plurality of ink jet recording heads, and to suck ink from the recording heads in the ink jet recording apparatus. A capping step of detecting that one or more of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage have been replaced, and sealing the nozzle openings of the recording heads by capping means. And suction for each of the capping means. Applying a negative pressure by driving the pump, it is adapted to perform an ink sucking step of sucking each ink droplet supplied from the ink cartridge from the nozzle openings of the recording head.

In this case, in the ink suction step, after the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge is performed, the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge is performed. It is preferable that the operation order of the ink suction be determined.

In the ink suction step, the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge side and the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge side are controlled simultaneously. In some cases.

In any of the control methods described above, the amount of ink suctioned from the nozzle openings in the ink suction step is the same as the amount of ink suctioned from the nozzle openings corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge. It is desirable that the amount of ink suction from the nozzle opening corresponding to the ink cartridge be controlled to be small.

In this case, it is preferable that, in the ink suction step, the amount of ink suctioned from the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge be a volume from the connection portion of the recording head with the cartridge to the nozzle opening of the recording head. , And the amount of ink suction from the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaceable ink cartridge is controlled to be equal to or less than the volume from the ink supply port to the nozzle opening in the recording head. .

According to the ink jet recording apparatus and the method of controlling ink suction from the recording head in the apparatus as described above, when any one of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage is replaced,
Each of the nozzle opening on the cartridge replacement side and the nozzle opening on the cartridge non-replacement side is sealed by capping means. Subsequently, the suction pump is driven by the pump driving means, and ink is suctioned from each of the nozzle opening on the cartridge replacement side and the nozzle opening on the cartridge non-replacement side.

Therefore, by exchanging the ink cartridge, it is possible not only to eliminate air bubbles that have entered the head when the cartridge and the ink supply needle are joined, but also
Due to the shock generated when replacing the ink cartridge,
The destruction of the meniscus of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replacement side cartridge can be recovered by the ink suction operation.

In this case, the inside of the replaced new ink cartridge is evacuated at the time of shipment, and therefore, the influence of foaming due to the ink suction operation is small. Even if microbubbles are generated by the ink suction operation, since the microbubbles are promoted to dissolve in the degassed ink, there is little need for a waiting time for the microbubbles to disappear naturally. Have.

Therefore, for example, in the case of an ink jet recording apparatus in which the suction operation of two recording heads is alternately performed in the rotation direction of one suction apparatus, the non-replaceable cartridge side recording head is first rotated by one-way rotation of the suction apparatus. It is possible to reduce the time required for the suction operation by adopting a sequence in which the suction operation is performed first, and thereafter, the suction operation of the replaced cartridge-side recording head is performed by rotating the suction device in the other direction. Become.

On the other hand, the nozzle opening on the side of the non-replaceable cartridge which receives an impact and causes an ink ejection failure is a bubble which breaks down and penetrates the meniscus of the nozzle opening. Cheap. Therefore, the amount of ink sucked from the nozzle opening of the non-replaceable cartridge is smaller than the amount of ink sucked by the recording head of the replaceable cartridge.

Therefore, by controlling so as to suck a small amount from the nozzle opening on the non-replaceable cartridge side, it is possible to reduce the waste of the ink to be discharged and further shorten the time of the suction operation.

[0036]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An ink jet recording apparatus employing an ink discharge control method according to the present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the whole of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage, which is guided by a timing belt 2 which reciprocates by driving a carriage motor 3. It is configured to be guided by the member 4 and reciprocated in the axial direction of the platen 5.

A black recording head 7 and a color recording head 8 are mounted on the side of the carriage 1 facing the recording paper 6, and a black ink cartridge for supplying ink to each recording head is provided above the black recording head 7 and the color recording head 8. 9 and a color ink cartridge 10 are detachably mounted.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes capping means arranged outside the non-printing area, in which a cap unit 37 for a black head and a cap unit 38 for a color head are arranged. Below the capping means 11, a suction pump 12 for applying a negative pressure to the capping means 11 is arranged.

The cap units 37 and 38 function as lids for preventing the drying of the nozzle openings during the idle period of the printing apparatus, and also apply a drive signal unrelated to printing to the printing head to eject ink droplets. The suction pump 12 functions as an ink receiver during a flushing operation to be performed.
The recording heads 7 and 8 are acted upon by applying a negative pressure from the ink jet head to suck ink.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of one flow path of the recording heads 7 and 8. It should be noted that a plurality of flow paths shown in this drawing are arranged, and an actual multi-nozzle recording head is configured. Further, the color recording head 8 described above is used.
With respect to the nozzles, the nozzle rows having the same configuration as in FIG. 2 are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other in parallel in order to discharge the respective color inks.

In the figure, reference numeral 15a denotes a first cover plate, which is made of, for example, a thin plate of zirconia, and has a drive electrode 15 on its surface so as to face a pressure generating chamber 15b described later.
c is formed. PZ is applied to the surface of the drive electrode 15c.
A piezoelectric vibrator 15d made of T or the like is formed.

The pressure generating chamber 15b contracts and expands in response to the flexural vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator 15d to discharge ink droplets from the nozzle opening 17a, and discharges ink in the common ink chamber 17c through the ink supply port 17b. Suction.

The spacer 15e is formed by forming a through hole in a ceramic plate made of, for example, zirconia and having a thickness suitable for forming the pressure generating chamber 15b. The pressure generating chamber 15b is formed by sealing both surfaces with the first lid 15a.

The second lid 15f is also provided on the ceramic plate made of zirconia or the like with the ink supply port 17b and the pressure generating chamber 1b.
5b, and an ink discharge port 15h for discharging the ink in the pressure generating chamber 15b toward the nozzle opening 17a, and is fixed to the other surface of the spacer 15e.

Each of these members 15a, 15e, 15f
The clay-like ceramic material is formed into a predetermined shape, laminated, and fired, so as to be assembled in the actuator unit 15 without using an adhesive.

Reference numeral 17d denotes an ink supply port forming substrate, which also serves as a fixed substrate for the actuator unit 15 and is provided with an ink-resistant stainless steel or the like so that a connecting member to the ink cartridge can be provided. It is made of metal or ceramics.

The ink supply port forming board 17d is provided with an ink supply port 17b for connecting the common ink chamber 17c and the pressure generation chamber 15b at one end on the pressure generation chamber 15b side. Nozzle opening 1 on the other end
7a and the ink discharge port 15h of the actuator unit 15
And a communication hole 17e that connects

Reference numeral 17f denotes a common ink chamber forming substrate, which is formed on a corrosion-resistant plate material such as stainless steel having a thickness suitable for forming the common ink chamber 17c. And a communication hole 17h for connecting the nozzle opening 17a of the nozzle plate 17g and the ink discharge port 15h.

The ink supply port forming substrate 17d, the common ink chamber forming substrate 17f, and the nozzle plate 17
g are gathered in the channel unit 17 by adhesive layers S, S made of a heat-sealing film, an adhesive, or the like. The ink supply port forming substrate 17 of the flow path unit 17
The recording head is constituted by fixing the actuator unit 15 on the surface of the substrate d with a heat welding film or a bonding adhesive.

With such a configuration, the piezoelectric vibrator 15d
Is charged and the piezoelectric vibrator 15d bends, the pressure generating chamber 15b contracts. Thereby, the pressure generating chamber 15
The ink b is pressurized and ejected as ink droplets from the nozzle openings 17a to form dots on recording paper.

When the electric charge of the piezoelectric vibrator 15d is discharged after a lapse of a predetermined time, the piezoelectric vibrator 15d returns to the original state. As a result, the pressure generating chamber 15b expands, the ink in the common ink chamber 17c flows into the pressure generating chamber 15b via the ink supply port 17b, and the ink for the next printing is supplied to the pressure generating chamber 15b. You.

By the repetitive motion of the piezoelectric vibrator 15d, the ink chamber 17c is moved from the pressure generating chamber 15b.
While the ink is supplied, the ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle opening 17a from the pressure generating chamber 15b through the communication hole 17h.

On the other hand, FIGS. 3A and 3B show the entire structure of the capping means 11, and FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the capping means 11 viewed from one direction.
FIG. 3B is a perspective view of FIG.
Reference numeral 22 in the drawing denotes a slider, which is connected to the base 21 by a freely rotating arm 23 and a spring 31. When the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side and comes into contact with the flag piece 25, the carriage 22 1 to move. A valve unit 28 is fixed to the slider 22, and a valve 29 for opening and closing the valve unit 28 is fixed to the base 21 via a compression spring 30.

The flag piece 25 has a convex piece 26 at the lower end, and is configured to abut on the inclined guide surface 24 formed on the base 21 and slide on the surface thereof. Also,
A guide surface 32 is also provided on the side on the printing area side,
A protrusion 33 projecting horizontally from the slider 22 is configured to slide on the surface thereof. By the operation of these two guide surfaces 24 and 32, the slider 22 can move up and down while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture.

That is, when the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side, the slider 22 moves obliquely upward in conjunction with the movement of the carriage 1 so that a cap member described later and the nozzle plate surface of the recording head come into close contact with each other. The capping operation is performed.

Cap unit mounting portion 3 of slider 22
6 is connected to the slider 22 by a spring 34 and a projection 35, and can rotate slightly about the projection 35. The cap units 37 and 38 are fixed to the slider 22 via compression springs 39, respectively.
Therefore, at the time of the capping operation, the adhesion between the cap and the nozzle plate is always kept good.

Each of the cap units 37 and 38 has an ink suction port 18 formed at the lower bottom thereof, and is connected to the suction pump 12 shown in FIG. 1 via a tube (not shown) having excellent ink resistance. ing. At the bottom of each of the cap units 37 and 38, an atmosphere opening port 19 described later is arranged. The other end of the tube 27 having one end connected to the atmosphere opening port 19 is connected to the valve unit 28, respectively. Have been.

With the above arrangement, when the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side, the carriage 1 comes into contact with the flag piece 25 as described above, whereby the slider 22 moves diagonally upward and the cap units 37 and 38 are moved. Is in a capping state in which the nozzle plate surface of the recording head is closed. When the slider 22 is further positioned on the non-printing area side, the valve unit 28 comes into contact with the valve 29, and the air opening 19 is closed. By supplying a negative pressure from the suction pump 12 to the inside of the cap in this state, ink can be sucked from the nozzle openings of the recording head.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cap unit 37 rises from below the recording head 7 with the ink cartridge 9 mounted thereon, and the nozzle opening 17 of the recording head 7 is raised.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which a is sealed (capped). In FIG. 4, the portions corresponding to the components described above are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 4 shows the capping state for the black recording head, but the capping state for the color recording head has substantially the same configuration as that in FIG.

An ink supply needle 51 is set up on the back surface of the recording head 7. The ink supply needle 51 is moved from the cartridge 9 through an ink intake hole 52 formed at the tip of the ink supply needle 51. 7 is configured to be able to supply ink. Reference numeral 53 denotes a filter arranged in a passage of ink from the supply needle to the recording head.

As described above, the film member 9b is attached to the ink supply port 9a of the ink cartridge 9 (FIG. 4).
Is penetrated by the ink supply needle 51 and is indicated by a broken line. ), And a rubber sealing member 9c is fitted inside the ink supply needle 5c.
The cartridge 9 is in a loaded state in a state where 1 penetrates the cartridge.

The recording head is provided with an actuator unit 15 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 2. By driving the actuator unit 15, ink is ejected from a nozzle opening 17a arranged in a nozzle plate 17g. Is made.

On the other hand, the cap unit 37 includes a rectangular cap case 55 having an open upper surface, a flexible substance accommodated in the cap case 55, and having ink resistance.
In particular, it is constituted by a cup-shaped cap member 56 formed of an elastic member such as rubber. The upper edge of the cap member 56 slightly protrudes from the cap case 55, and its end is formed to have a tapered shape so that the adhesion to the nozzle plate 17g is improved.

At the inner bottom of the cap member 56, a bell writer 57 made of a porous material having excellent ink resistance and ink absorption is inserted and arranged. At the lower bottom of the cap case 55, an atmosphere opening port 19 for opening the inside of the cap member 56 to the atmosphere is provided through the cap member 56. The air opening 19 is connected to the valve unit 28 via the tube 27 as described with reference to FIG.

In the lower bottom portion of the cap case 55,
An ink suction port 18 is formed through the cap member 56 so as to be adjacent to the atmosphere opening port 19, and the ink suction port 18 is connected to the suction pump 12 via a tube (not shown).

Therefore, by driving the suction pump 12 with the valve unit 28 connected to the air opening port 19 closed, the pressure in the cap unit 37 becomes negative and the ink can be sucked from the recording head 7. .

Next, FIG. 5 shows an example of a control circuit mounted on the recording apparatus having the above-described configuration. In FIG. 5, the recording heads 7, 8, the ink cartridges 9, 10, the suction pump 12, and the valve unit 28 (the two suction pumps 1 in FIG.
2A and 12B, and two valve units are shown as 28A and 28B) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 60 denotes print control means, which generates bitmap data based on print data from a host computer of the recording apparatus, and generates a drive signal by a head drive means 61 based on the data. Thus, ink is ejected from the recording heads 7 and 8. The head drive unit 61 is configured to receive a flushing command signal from the flushing control unit 62 and output a drive signal for a flushing operation to the recording heads 7 and 8 in addition to the drive signal based on the print data. I have.

Reference numeral 63 denotes cleaning control means.
The pump driving means 64 operates according to a command from the cleaning control means 63, and the suction pumps 12A, 12B
Is driven.

The cleaning controller 63 is configured to be supplied with a cleaning command signal from a printing controller 60, a cleaning command detector 65, and a suction sequence controller (ink suction controller) 66.

A command switch 67 is connected to the cleaning command detecting means 65.
When the user pushes on, the command detecting means 65 is operated to execute a manual cleaning operation.

Reference numeral 69 denotes an ink cartridge detecting means. A switch for detecting whether or not the ink cartridge is mounted is provided on the cartridge holder of the carriage 1, and the signal is detected / determined by this signal.

The suction sequence control means 66 receives a status signal from the host computer. That is, when any one of the ink cartridges is replaced, the suction sequence control means 66 determines which cartridge has been replaced by the ink cartridge detecting means 69, and sends a control signal to the carriage motor control means 68. Thus, capping is performed on each recording head, and a series of ink suction operations from each recording head are executed as described later.

The operation when any one of the ink cartridges is replaced in the ink jet recording apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

Any one of the above-described ink cartridges 9
When the ink cartridge 9 or 10 has been replaced, the leaf contact switch (not shown) arranged on the cartridge holder of the carriage 1 is turned on, thereby detecting that the ink cartridge 9 or 10 has been replaced. it can. This can be determined by reading the status data of the host computer by the suction sequence control means 66 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a first control sequence in this case. Step S11 shown in FIG.
In, the suction sequence control means 66 monitors the status data from the host computer to monitor whether any of the ink cartridges has been replaced. If it is determined that the cartridge has been replaced, the process proceeds to step S12. Then, it is determined which ink cartridge has been replaced. This step S12
Also, the suction sequence control means 66 can read and recognize the status data of the host computer.

When the replaced cartridge is recognized by the suction sequence control means 66, the flow shifts to step S13, where the carriage motor is driven to cap each recording head. In this case, a control signal is transmitted from the suction sequence control means 66 to the carriage motor control means 68 shown in FIG. 5, and based on this, the carriage motor 3 is driven and the carriage 1 is moved to the capping means 11 disposed in the non-printing area. This is done by moving directly above.

Subsequently, in step S14, the suction pump corresponding to the non-replaceable cartridge is driven. Here, for convenience, the description will be made on the assumption that the black ink cartridge 9 has been replaced. That is, in this case, the color ink cartridge 10 is a non-replaceable cartridge. Therefore, in step S14, the suction pump 12A corresponding to the color ink cartridge 10 shown in FIG. 5 is driven.

In FIG. 5, the pump driving means 64
Are drawn so that the suction pumps 12A and 12B are electrically driven and controlled in particular. For example, so-called tube pumps are used as the suction pumps 12A and 12B, and these are arranged coaxially. In a type in which one pump (for example, the pump 12A) is driven by rotation in the first direction and the other pump (for example, the pump 12B) is driven by rotation in the second direction, the following control is performed. You.

That is, the suction sequence control means 66 sends a control signal to the cleaning control means 63, and outputs a command to rotate the common drive shaft in the first direction to the pump driving means 64 from the cleaning control means 63.

As a result, the suction pump 12A is driven to suck ink from the color recording head 8. In this case, a small amount of ink is suctioned. That is, the reason why the color ink cartridge 10, which is the non-replaceable cartridge, causes the ink ejection failure is that, as described above, the impact at the time of mounting another cartridge destroys the meniscus of the nozzle and bubbles enter. At this time, the size of the bubble is small and it is easy to move.

Further, as can be understood from the configuration of the recording head shown in FIG. 2, the air bubbles mainly remain in the pressure generating chamber 15b in the recording head and the ink supply port 17b.
No further intrusion through b. Therefore, the amount of ink suction at this time is sufficient to correspond to the volume from the ink supply port 17b to the nozzle opening 17a.

In other words, the amount of ink suction at this time is
Nozzle opening 17 from ink supply port 17b in the recording head
The volume is controlled to be equal to or less than the volume up to a. This makes it possible to reduce waste of the discharged ink and shorten the time of the suction operation.

Following step S14, in step S15, the suction pump corresponding to the black ink cartridge, that is, the suction pump 12B corresponding to the black recording head 7, is driven. In this case as well, the drive shafts of a pair of tube pumps arranged coaxially are driven in the second direction, thereby forming the pump 12.
B is driven, the ink suction operation from the black recording head 9 is performed, and the ink suction process accompanying the replacement of the cartridge is completed.

In this case, the amount of ink suction is controlled so as to increase the amount of ink compared with the case of step S14 (normal suction). That is, in the replacement side cartridge, the replacement of the cartridge causes bubbles to enter when the cartridge and the ink supply needle 51 are joined. Therefore, in order to eliminate the bubbles, the ink supply needle 51 moves the nozzle opening 17a of the recording head from the ink supply needle 51. It is desired to aspirate an amount of ink corresponding to the volume up to.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the recording apparatus is configured to guide the ink to the nozzle opening side of the recording head via the ink supply needle by mounting the ink cartridge. The amount of ink suction from the nozzle opening in a recording apparatus that does not use an ink supply needle is:
The amount is controlled so as to correspond to the volume from the connection portion of the recording head with the cartridge to the nozzle opening of the recording head.

In an apparatus using a suction pump of the type described above in which the suction operation of the suction pump is alternatively performed by alternate rotation, the suction of the ink corresponding to the exchange side cartridge is performed in step S14. As shown in the figure, by executing the process in a later step, it is possible to reduce the time required for the entire ink suction operation.

That is, as described above, the inside of the replaced new ink cartridge is evacuated at the time of shipment, and therefore, the influence of foaming or the like due to the ink suction operation is small. Even if microbubbles are generated by the ink suction operation, the microbubbles are promoted to dissolve in the degassed ink, so that a standby time for naturally eliminating the microbubbles is hardly required.

Therefore, it is not necessary to set a waiting time for waiting for the spontaneous disappearance of the microbubbles generated at the time of ink suction, and the time corresponding to the waiting time can be reduced.

FIG. 7 shows a second ink suction control sequence. The control sequence shown in FIG. 7 shows an example in which two tube pumps are arranged coaxially and a type in which two pumps are simultaneously operated only by rotation in one direction is used.

Here, step S21 is the same as step S11 described in FIG. When it is recognized in step S21 that any of the cartridges has been replaced, in step S22, the carriage motor is driven to cap each recording head.
That is, step S22 is the same as step S13 described in FIG.

When capping is performed in step S22, the suction pumps 12A and 12B corresponding to the replacement cartridge and the non-replacement cartridge are driven in step S23. That is, as described above, the two suction pumps arranged coaxially are driven simultaneously, and the ink suction operation is performed from the respective recording heads 7 and 8, and the ink suction processing accompanying the replacement of the cartridge is completed.

According to the structure in which the two suction pumps arranged coaxially are driven simultaneously, the suction operation of both inks is performed at once, and compared with the sequence shown in FIG. The ink suction process can be shortened.

In the case where the respective suction pumps 12A and 12B are independent as shown in FIG. 5 and the amount of ink suction can be controlled by the pump driving means 64, the steps in FIG. S2
In 3, as in the case described with reference to FIG. 6, control is performed such that the ink suction amount of the recording head on the non-replaced ink cartridge side is smaller than the ink suction amount of the recording head on the replaced ink cartridge side. It is desirable.

In the above-described embodiment, a recording apparatus having a black recording head and a color recording head, respectively, is taken as an example. However, the present invention relates to, for example, a nozzle plate of one recording head. The present invention is also applicable to a recording apparatus having a configuration in which a black ink nozzle opening array for ejecting ink from a black ink cartridge and a plurality of color nozzle opening arrays for ejecting respective inks from a color ink cartridge are arranged together. Of course, you can do that.

[0096]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus and the method for controlling ink suction from the recording head in the apparatus according to the present invention, one of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage is replaced. In this case, the nozzle openings of each recording head are sealed by the capping unit, and the pump driving unit is driven to suck ink droplets from the nozzle openings of each recording head. Therefore, by exchanging the ink cartridge, not only the air bubbles entering when the cartridge and the ink supply needle are joined can be removed from the inside of the recording head, but also the impact of the exchanging of the ink cartridge causes the recording head corresponding to the non-exchangeable cartridge to be replaced. The destruction of the meniscus can also be recovered by the ink suction operation. Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly reliable ink jet recording apparatus that can effectively suppress the occurrence of printing failure in each recording head that occurs when the ink cartridge is replaced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a recording head mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a capping device mounted on the recording device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a recording head on which an ink cartridge is mounted is capped by a capping device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit provided in the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a first control sequence of an ink suction process performed in the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a second control sequence of an ink suction process performed in the recording apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 2 Timing belt 3 Carriage motor 6 Recording paper 7 Black recording head 8 Color recording head 9 Black ink cartridge 9a Ink supply port 9b Film member 9c Sealing member 10 Color ink cartridge 11 Capping device 12 Suction pump 15 Actuator unit 15b Pressure generating chamber 15c Drive electrode 15d Piezoelectric vibrator 17 Flow path unit 17a Nozzle opening 17b Ink supply port 17c Ink chamber 17g Nozzle plate 37 Black head cap unit 38 Color head cap unit 51 Ink supply needle 52 Ink intake hole 55 Cap case 56 cap member 57 bell eater 60 printing control means 61 head driving means 62 flushing control means 63 cleaning control Stage 64 pump driving means 65 cleaning command detector 66 suction sequence control unit (ink suction control means) 68 carriage motor control means 69 the ink cartridge detecting means

Claims (13)

[Claims] An ink jet recording head mounted on a carriage that moves in the width direction of a recording sheet and ejects ink droplets from nozzle openings; and an ink jet recording head mounted on the carriage to supply ink to the recording head. What is claimed is: 1. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted thereon, wherein the capping unit seals a nozzle opening row of the recording head, and sucks an ink droplet from a nozzle opening of the recording head. Pump driving means for driving a suction pump for applying a negative pressure to the ink cartridge; and ink cartridge detecting means for detecting that one or more of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage have been replaced. The ink cartridge is replaced by the ink cartridge detecting means. When detecting that, the capping means seals the nozzle opening of the recording head and drives the pump driving means to suction ink droplets supplied from each ink cartridge from the nozzle opening, respectively. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: 2. A plurality of ink jet recording heads mounted on a carriage that moves in the width direction of recording paper and ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings, and a plurality of ink jet recording heads for supplying ink to each of the recording heads. An ink jet recording apparatus including a plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted on a carriage, wherein each of the plurality of ink heads seals a nozzle opening of each of the recording heads, and suctions ink droplets from the nozzle openings of each of the recording heads. One or more of a capping unit, a pump driving unit for driving a suction pump for applying a negative pressure to each of the capping units, and an ink cartridge mounted on the carriage. An ink cartridge detecting means for detecting the When it is detected that the ink cartridge has been replaced, the capping means seals the nozzle opening of each recording head, and drives the pump driving means to drive the ink supplied from each ink cartridge through the nozzle opening. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: ink suction control means for sucking each of the droplets. 3. When the ink cartridge detection unit detects that the ink cartridge has been replaced, the ink suction control unit performs the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge. 3. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge is performed. 4. When the ink cartridge detection unit detects that the ink cartridge has been replaced, the ink suction control unit performs an ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge, and a replacement operation. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink suction operation of the nozzle openings corresponding to the ink cartridge side is performed simultaneously. 5. When the ink cartridge detection means detects that the ink cartridge has been replaced, the ink suction control means controls the ink suction amount of the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge side. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ink suction amount of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaceable ink cartridge is controlled to be small. 6. In the ink cartridge, a film member for preventing the evaporation of an ink solvent is disposed at an ink supply port, and the film member is penetrated by an ink supply needle disposed on a recording head side by mounting the ink cartridge. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink is guided to a nozzle opening side. 7. An ink jet recording head mounted on a carriage moving in the width direction of a recording sheet and ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings, and an ink jet recording head on the carriage for supplying ink to the recording head, respectively. A method for controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted thereon, wherein one or more of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage are replaced. Detect that
A capping step of sealing a nozzle opening of the recording head with a capping unit, and applying a negative pressure by driving a suction pump to the capping unit, so that ink droplets supplied from each ink cartridge are supplied from the nozzle opening of the recording head. A method of controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a method of suctioning ink is performed. 8. A plurality of ink jet recording heads mounted on a carriage that moves in the width direction of recording paper and ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings, and a plurality of ink jet recording heads for supplying ink to each of the recording heads. A method for controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus including a plurality of independent ink cartridges mounted on a carriage, wherein any one or more of the ink cartridges mounted on the carriage is provided. Detect that it has been replaced,
A capping step of sealing the nozzle openings of the recording heads by capping means, applying a negative pressure by driving a suction pump to the capping means, and supplying from the ink cartridges from the nozzle openings of the recording heads And a method of controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: 9. In the ink suction step, after performing an ink suction operation of a nozzle opening corresponding to a non-replaced ink cartridge, an ink suction operation of a nozzle opening corresponding to a replaced ink cartridge is performed. 9. The method of controlling ink suction from a print head in an ink jet type printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the order of suction operation is determined. 10. In the ink suction step,
7. The ink supply device according to claim 7, wherein the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge and the ink suction operation of the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge are simultaneously performed. 9. A method for controlling ink suction from a recording head in the ink jet recording apparatus according to 8. 11. The amount of ink suctioned from the nozzle opening in the ink suction step may be more than the amount of ink suctioned from the nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge from the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaced ink cartridge. The method of controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the ink suction amount is controlled to be small. 12. In the ink suction step, an ink suction amount from a nozzle opening corresponding to the replaced ink cartridge is an amount corresponding to a volume from a connection portion of the print head with the cartridge to a nozzle opening of the print head. 12. The control method according to claim 11, wherein
3. A method for controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus according to item 1. 13. In the ink suction step, the amount of ink suction from the nozzle opening corresponding to the non-replaceable ink cartridge is controlled to be equal to or less than the volume from the ink supply port in the recording head to the nozzle opening. The method of controlling ink suction from a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: