JP2000326525A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder exhibiting excellent operability in both the replacing work of ink cartridge by a user and in the maintenance work by a service man. SOLUTION: When ink end of an ink cartridge is detected and opening of a printer cover 58 is detected, a carriage is moved to an opening 60 for replacement made in the housing 51. Similarly, when a power switch 54 is turned on under a state where an ink maintenance switch 55 is turned on, the carriage is moved to the opening 60 for replacement made in the housing 51. The former function is principally utilized when a user replacing the ink cartridge and the latter function is principally utilized when a service man replaces the ink cartridge forcibly and performs maintenance work, or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet type recording head and an ink cartridge mounted on a carriage which moves in the width direction of a recording sheet, and a recording apparatus main body including the recording head and the ink cartridge. In particular, the present invention relates to a control technique for moving a carriage to a replacement opening formed in a housing.

[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 forming surface as required. This capping means not only functions as a lid for preventing drying of the ink at the nozzle openings when printing is stopped, but also seals the nozzle forming surface with a cap member when the nozzle openings are clogged. , Due to the negative pressure from the suction pump
It also has a function of sucking ink from the nozzle openings 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 processing of ink for eliminating clogging of the recording head and mixing of air bubbles into the ink flow path is called a cleaning operation, and printing is resumed after a long period of suspension of the apparatus. Is performed when the user operates the cleaning switch in order to eliminate the deterioration of the quality of the recorded image, and after the ink droplets are discharged by the negative pressure, the cleaning member is made of an elastic plate such as rubber. Is a process involving a wiping operation on the head surface.

In this type of recording apparatus, the capping means and the cleaning member are arranged at the end of the carriage in the moving direction, and the carriage is moved to the end (home position) of the moving direction. The nozzle forming surface of the recording head is configured to be sealed by the capping unit.

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. In this type of recording apparatus, each cartridge is configured to be detachably mounted on a carriage on which each recording head is mounted.

[0009]

By the way, in the above-mentioned recording apparatus, for example, when the ink cartridge becomes ink-in, and when it is to be replaced, the control means for moving the carriage to a position other than the home position. Has been adopted. This is because if you try to replace the ink cartridge while the recording head is sealed by the capping means, you may easily remove and insert the ink cartridge even if it is not the end of the ink. Is applied to the capping means to prevent the problem that the ink meniscus of the nozzle is broken due to an increase in the pressure in the sealed cap, resulting in poor printing.

For this purpose, a housing for accommodating the main body of the recording apparatus is provided with a replacement opening at a position avoiding the home position where the capping means is disposed. Means are controlled to move the carriage to the replacement opening.

For example, JP-A-9-70962 discloses that
A configuration of a recording apparatus in which a replacement opening is formed in a housing is disclosed. According to this recording apparatus, when a cover (hereinafter, also referred to as a printer cover) that covers the upper part of the housing is opened, this is detected and the carriage is moved to the replacement opening.

However, according to the recording apparatus described above, for example, when the cover for covering the upper part of the housing is opened without the user's awareness during the printing operation, the printing is interrupted each time and the carriage is opened. In this case, the moving to the stop is performed, so that the throughput is reduced.

In order to avoid such a problem, for example, when the ink end of the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage is detected and the cover covering the upper part of the housing is detected to be open, the carriage is moved A recording device configured to move to the replacement opening has also been proposed. According to this, it is possible to improve the operability at the time of replacement of the cartridge that has reached the ink end, and to prevent user's erroneous operation such as the carriage moving to the replacement opening and stopping during the printing operation as described above. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of adverse effects.

However, according to such a configuration,
For example, when printing on large paper such as A3 size paper, even if the user recognizes that the cartridge is close to the ink end and intends to replace the ink cartridge in advance, the carriage is placed in the replacement opening. Since it is impossible to move the cartridge, there is a problem that the cartridge cannot be actively replaced.

In addition, for example, when a service engineer attempts to perform maintenance on a recording apparatus, a case may occur in which a new ink cartridge is to be replaced even though ink is sufficiently accumulated in the cartridge. Even in such a case, there is a problem that maintenance is hindered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. For example, when a cartridge is in an ink end state, the carriage is moved to an exchange opening mainly by a user who intends to exchange the cartridge. Providing the operating means (first means) and the moving means (second means) for moving the carriage to the replacement opening mainly performed by a serviceman in, for example, maintenance work or the like enables both the user and the serviceman to perform the operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus excellent in operability.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is mounted on a carriage which moves in the width direction of a recording sheet, and drops ink from a nozzle opening. An ink jet type recording head for discharging, an ink cartridge mounted on the carriage for supplying ink to the recording head, and a recording apparatus main body including the recording head and the ink cartridge are stored, and a lid is opened. And a housing configured such that a replacement opening formed in a part of the movement path of the carriage is exposed when the operation switch is disposed. A carriage when at least one of an output based on an operation or a sensor output indicating a state of the recording apparatus is received; First moving to the replacement opening
Means and at least one of an output based on an operation of an operation switch related to a maintenance operation other than the operation switch disposed on the recording device and a sensor output related to a maintenance operation other than the sensor indicating a state of the recording device. A second movement of the carriage to the replacement opening when
Means.

[0018] In this case, when a logical product of at least two conditions among the output based on the operation of the operation switch disposed on the recording device and the sensor output indicating the state of the recording device is established by the first means, In some cases, the carriage is configured to be moved to the replacement opening.

Also, in the second means, when a logical product of at least two conditions among an output based on the operation of an operation switch disposed on the recording device and a sensor output indicating the state of the recording device is satisfied, In some cases, the carriage is configured to be moved to the replacement opening.

The first means preferably detects the ink end of the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage, and moves the carriage to the replacement opening when detecting the opening of the lid. It is composed of

In addition, the first means detects the opening of the lid and detects the continuous operation of any one of the operation switches disposed in the recording apparatus for a predetermined time or more, and replaces the carriage with the replacement switch. It is configured to be moved to the use opening. In this case, a recording paper supply / discharge switch is preferably used as the operation switch.

On the other hand, the second means is preferably configured to move the carriage to the replacement opening when the power switch is turned on with the ink maintenance switch being operated.

The second means may be configured to move the carriage to the replacement opening when the power supply switch is turned on while the paper supply / discharge switch is operated.

Further, the second means moves the carriage to the replacement opening when receiving an output of a carriage forced movement switch disposed inside a blind hole formed in a part of the recording apparatus. It may be configured as follows.

The replacement opening seals a nozzle forming surface of the recording head, and capping means for receiving a negative pressure from the negative pressure generating means and sucking ink from the nozzle opening of the recording head is arranged. It is desirable to be formed at a position avoiding the home position.

Preferably, the ink cartridge includes an ink cartridge detecting means for detecting that the ink cartridge has been mounted on the carriage, and an ink cartridge mounted by the ink cartridge detecting means. And resetting when detecting that the recording head has counted up the amount of ink ejected from the recording head, and when the measuring unit reaches a predetermined count, it is determined that the ink is in the ink end state. It is composed of

Another preferable means for detecting the ink end of the ink cartridge is to detect the electric conductivity in the ink cartridge through an electrode embedded in the ink cartridge, and to detect the ink end state in accordance with the electric conductivity. It is configured to determine that there is.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus constructed as described above, the first means for moving the carriage to the replacement opening formed in the housing, and the replacement means for moving the carriage also to the replacement opening formed in the housing. For example, when the cartridge is in the ink-end state, the operation of moving the carriage to the replacement opening mainly performed by the user who intends to replace the cartridge, and for example, the maintenance work, etc. In this case, the operation of moving the carriage to the replacement opening mainly performed by the service person can be executed, and an ink jet recording apparatus excellent in operability can be provided for both the user and the service person.

When the cover (lid) of the housing accommodating the recording apparatus main body is opened while the ink end detecting means detects the ink end of the ink cartridge, the carriage is automatically moved to the housing. It is controlled to move to the formed replacement opening. Thus, the user can perform an operation of replacing the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage located at the replacement opening.

In this case, since the replacement opening is arranged at a position avoiding the home position where the capping means is arranged, no stress is applied to the capping means when the ink cartridge is replaced. An increase in pressure in the sealed cap can prevent problems such as breaking the ink meniscus of the nozzle and leading to poor printing.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a recording apparatus main body to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage. The carriage 1 receives the power of a carriage motor 3 via a timing belt 2, is guided by a guide member 4, and is reciprocated in the axial direction of a platen 5. I have.

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 drawing, reference numeral 11 denotes capping means arranged outside the non-printing area (home position). The capping means 11 includes a cap unit 12 for a black head and a cap unit 1 for a color head.
3 are arranged. Below the capping means 11, a suction pump 16 for applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the capping units 12 and 13 constituting the capping means 11 is arranged.

The cap units 12 and 13 function as lids for preventing 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 16 functions as an ink receiver during a flushing operation.
The recording heads 7 and 8 are acted upon by the negative pressure from the head to suck ink.

A cleaning member 17 made of an elastic plate such as rubber is disposed in the vicinity of the printing area of the capping unit 11. When the carriage 1 reciprocates to the capping unit 11, the recording head 7 is moved. , 8 are configured to perform a wiping operation for wiping the nozzle forming surfaces.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of one of the cap units 12 and 13 mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, for example, a cap unit 13 for color ink and a suction pump 16 connected thereto. This is schematically shown. The other black ink cap unit 12 has the same configuration as that described below.

The cap unit 13 includes a square cap case 13a having an open upper surface and a cap case 1
And a cap member 13b made of a flexible substance such as a rubber material stored in the inside of the cap member 13a.
Is formed so that its upper edge slightly protrudes from the cap case 13a. An ink absorber 1 made of a porous material is provided on the inner bottom of the cap member 13b.
The ink absorbing material 13c is held by a holding body 13d formed integrally with the cap member 13b.

Further, at the lower bottom of the cap case 13a,
A suction port 13e and an atmosphere opening port 13f are formed to pass through the cap case 13a and the cap member 13b, respectively.

Then, the suction port 1 of the cap case 13a
A suction pump 16 is connected to 3e via a tube T1, and a discharge ink tank 15 is disposed on the discharge side of the suction pump 16. Furthermore, cap case 1
A tube T3 is connected to the atmosphere opening port 13f formed in the tube 3a.
The atmosphere release valve 19 is connected via the.

On the other hand, reference numeral 8 in FIG. 2 denotes a recording head for color ink. When the cap unit 13 moves upward, the recording head 8 moves to the nozzle forming surface 8.
a is configured to be capped by the cap unit 13. Nozzle openings 8b are formed in the nozzle forming surface 8a, and the respective inks such as yellow, cyan, and magenta can be ejected by the action of the piezoelectric vibrator 8c arranged corresponding to each nozzle opening 8b. It is configured.

In the above arrangement, the cap member 13b is moved to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 8 as shown in FIG. 8a, and is performed in a state where the atmosphere release valve 19 is closed.

That is, by operating the suction pump 16 in this state, a negative pressure is applied to the internal space of the cap member 13b, and the ink is discharged from the nozzle opening 8b.
When the negative pressure inside the cap member decreases to some extent due to the discharge of the ink, when the atmosphere release valve 19 is opened, the atmosphere is introduced into the cap member and the negative pressure inside is released.

Then, by operating the suction pump 16 again with the atmosphere release valve 19 opened, an operation of sending the ink discharged into the cap member to the discharged ink tank 15 via the tube T1 is performed. .

Next, FIG. 3 shows the configuration of an ink cartridge mounted on the upper part of the recording head mounted on the carriage 1. The ink cartridge shown in FIG. 3 is an example of a color ink cartridge 10 filled with yellow, magenta, and cyan inks. In a black ink cartridge 9 filled with black ink, the ink cartridge shown in FIG. The difference is that the dimension in the width direction is reduced and there is only one ink reservoir, and the other configuration is almost the same as that of the color ink cartridge 10 described later.

The color ink cartridge 10 includes an ink tank 31 basically formed in a box shape, and foams 32Y, 32M, and 32C formed of a porous member housed in the ink tank 31 and impregnated with ink. The lid 33 covers the upper surface of the ink tank 31.

The ink tanks 31 include 31Y, 31
The chambers are divided into three chambers indicated by M and 31C, and each of the chambers has a foam 32Y, 32M, 32 made of a porous member such as a polyurethane foam molded into a rectangular parallelepiped.
C is stored. Each chamber is filled with yellow, magenta, and cyan color inks, respectively.

The lid 33 that covers the upper portion of the ink tank 31 is provided with three communication holes 34 for communicating with the outside of each chamber. An openable band-shaped sealing member 35 is attached to at least one communication hole 34a for each chamber of the communication holes 34, and is sealed by the member 35 immediately before use, and is opened immediately before use. Vent 3
4a.

In particular, the band-shaped sealing member 3 as shown in FIG.
By adopting No. 5, by peeling off the end portion, each communication hole 34a of each chamber can be opened at a time. When the sealing member 35 is opened in this way and loaded into the recording apparatus, air corresponding to ink consumption is replenished into the cartridge from the opened vent hole 34a. Note that the other ventilation holes 34
Are also sealed by a single sealing member 36, respectively.

A cylindrical ink chamber (not shown) is formed at the lower bottom of each of the chambers 31Y, 31M and 31C. A blind plug 37 made of an elastic member such as rubber is formed at the end of the ink chamber. Is fitted and sealed.

In the ink cartridge 10 thus configured, the blind plug 37 is pierced by a hollow needle (not shown) communicating with the recording head 8 in a state where the ink cartridge 10 is loaded in the recording apparatus.
It is configured so that ink can be introduced from the cartridge 10 to the recording head 8.

Further, on the side surface of the ink tank 31, the front end is formed with the foam 32 in each of the chambers 31Y, 31M and 31C.
Electrodes 38 for ink end detection are embedded so as to be in contact with Y, 32M, and 32C, respectively, and are respectively sealed by O-rings 39 for preventing leakage of ink. Then, by measuring the electric resistance (conductivity) between these electrodes 38 and the hollow needles described above, it is possible to determine that the ink is out.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the carriage, the paper supply / discharge unit and the reflector type paper detection unit in the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when viewed from the home position side. Note that, in FIG. 4, the components already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and therefore, description thereof will be omitted.

At the lower end of a paper feed tray 52 disposed on the back side of the recording apparatus, a paper feed roller 41 and a separation pad 4 are provided.
The paper feed rollers 41 and the separation pad 42 are arranged so that the recording paper stocked in the paper feed tray 52 can be supplied one by one to a paper feed roller described later. ing.

A pair of upper and lower paper feed rollers 43 and 44 send out the recording paper 6 fed by the paper feed roller 41 along the upper surface of the platen 5 and feed the recording paper 6 sent out along the upper surface of the platen 5. A pair of upper and lower paper discharge rollers 45 and 46 is configured to feed the paper to a paper discharge tray 53, which will be described later, disposed on the front side of the apparatus.

The paper feed roller 41 and the paper feed roller 4
A paper detection unit 4 is provided in the paper feed path between
7 are arranged. The paper detection unit 47 is disposed near the home position side in order to set recording paper of each size with reference to the right end of the print area, and has a window hole formed in the lower part of the paper feed path. A light emitting diode 47b and a PNP type light receiving element 47c are arranged so as to face 47a.

Therefore, the window hole 47a of the paper feed path is provided.
When the recording paper 6 exists in the portion, the projection light from the light emitting diode 47b is reflected by the recording paper 6 and received by the light receiving element 47c, and the voltage level of the collector electrode of the light receiving element 47c is reduced. , So that the presence of the recording paper can be recognized.

The recording apparatus main body configured as described above is
For example, it is housed in a housing of the form shown in FIG. In the housing 51, a paper feed tray 52 is disposed on the back side thereof,
Further, a paper discharge tray 53 is arranged on the near side.
A toggle-type power switch 54 is disposed behind the left side surface of the housing 51, and an operation panel 57 on which an ink maintenance switch 55, a paper supply / discharge switch 56, and the like are provided is provided on an upper surface of a right corner of the housing 51. Are located.

A cover (printer cover) 58 that covers the upper part of the housing 51 is mounted so that it can be opened and closed on the front side by a hinge (not shown).
A window hole 59 is formed so that the ink maintenance switch 55 and the paper supply / discharge switch 56 disposed on the panel 57 can be exposed when the cover 58 is closed.

When the printer cover 58 is opened, the replacement opening 60 for an ink cartridge or the like is configured to be exposed. The replacement opening 60 is provided with the capping means. It is formed at a position that avoids the set home position.

A switch (not shown) that is turned on and off in conjunction with opening and closing of the printer cover 58 is provided in the housing 5.
The on / off state of the switch is transmitted to a host computer of a recording apparatus described later.

Next, FIG. 6 shows an example of a control circuit mounted on the recording apparatus having the above-described configuration. In FIG. 6, the recording heads 7, 8, ink cartridges 9, 10, cap units 12, 13, suction pump 16, and valve unit 19, which have already been described, are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 6, two suction pumps are connected to 16A and 16B.
And the two valve units are designated 19A, 19
B.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 70 denotes print control means, which generates bitmap data based on print data from a host computer of the printing apparatus, and generates a drive signal by a head drive means 71 based on the data. Thus, ink is ejected from the recording heads 7 and 8. The head driving unit 71 is configured to receive a flushing command signal from the flushing control unit 72 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 73 denotes cleaning control means.
The pump driving means 74 operates according to a command from the cleaning control means 73, and the suction pumps 16A, 16B
Is configured to be driven and controlled. The cleaning control means 73 includes a print control means 70, a cleaning command detection means 75, and a cleaning operation starting means 7.
A cleaning command signal is supplied from the control unit 6.

A command switch 77 is connected to the cleaning command detecting means 75.
When the user performs a push-on operation, the command detecting means 75 is operated to perform a manual cleaning operation.

Reference numeral 78 denotes an ink cartridge detecting means. A switch for detecting whether or not the ink cartridge is mounted is provided in the cartridge holder of the carriage 1, and this signal is supplied to the host computer. Have been.

The print control means 70 supplies data corresponding to the amount of ink ejected from the recording head to the ink end detecting means 79, and the ink end detecting means 79 is supplied from a host computer. , And status data. The ink end detecting means 79 recognizes that the ink cartridge has been attached / detached (replaced) based on status data from the host computer.
Acts to reset the counter in 9.

Thereafter, a measuring means for counting up the ink discharge amount of the cartridge based on data corresponding to the ink discharge amount supplied from the print control means 70 is configured. Therefore, when the count-up value reaches a predetermined value, it can be determined that the ink cartridge is in the ink-out state. In this case, the ink-end flag is set to the carriage driving unit 80.
Is transmitted.

The operation of detecting the ink end by the ink end detecting means 79 may employ hardware means other than the above-described software means. For example, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the conductivity between the ink end detection electrode 38 embedded in the ink cartridge 10 and the hollow needle that supplies ink from the ink cartridge to the recording head 8 is measured. It can be determined that the ink is in an end state according to the conductivity.

On the other hand, the host computer supplies status data to the lid opening detecting means 81. The lid opening detection means 81 reads from the status data whether the lid 58 shown in FIG. 5 is open or closed, and sets a lid opening flag based on the reading to the lid opening detection means 81 and the cleaning operation start. It is configured to supply to the means 76.

The operation output from the ink maintenance switch 55 and the paper supply / discharge switch 56 shown in FIG. 5 is supplied to the verification circuit 82.
The output from the verification circuit 82 is
0 is supplied. Further, when the power switch 54 is turned on, a low-voltage DC voltage (+ Vcc) as a driving power source for the recording apparatus is generated in the power circuit 85. It is configured to be supplied to each block, a drive motor, and the like that require a drive voltage.

In the above configuration, the carriage driving means 80 sets the ink end flag from the ink end detecting means 79 in the set state (ink end state) and sets the lid opening flag from the lid opening detecting means 81. In a state where the printer cover 58 is open, a command signal to the control system including the carriage motor 3 is sent, and the carriage 1 moves to the position of the replacement opening 60 formed in the housing 51. To control.

As a result, the user can pull out the cartridge in the ink end state through the replacement opening 60 formed in the housing 51 and mount a new cartridge. In this way, when the cartridge is replaced, the ink end detecting means 79 resets the internal counter to zero based on the signal from the cartridge detecting means 78, and returns to the ink ejection amount supplied from the printing control means 70 again. The ink discharge amount of the cartridge is counted up based on the corresponding data.

In this case, when the printer cover 58 is closed again without replacing the ink cartridge, the lid opening flag given from the lid opening detecting means 81 to the carriage driving means 80 is reset. Therefore, the carriage driving means 80 sends a command signal to a control system including the carriage motor 3 and controls the carriage 1 to move to the home position. As a result, the recording heads 7 and 8 are sealed by the cap units 12 and 13.

On the other hand, when the printer cover 58 is closed after replacing the ink cartridge as described above,
The lid opening flag provided from the lid opening detecting means 81 to the carriage driving means 80 is reset. Therefore, similarly to the above, the carriage driving means 80 sends a command signal to the control system including the carriage motor 3 to move the carriage 1 to the home position, and the recording heads 7, 8 are sealed by the cap units 12, 13. It will be in a stopped state.

Then, a signal indicating that the lid opening flag indicates the reset state is also sent to the cleaning operation starting means 76, and the cleaning operation starting means 76 mounts the ink cartridge on the carriage based on the status data from the host computer. Detect that it has been done. As a result, a command signal is sent from the cleaning operation starting means 76 to the cleaning control means 73, and the cleaning operation is performed.

This cleaning operation allows the suction pump 1
6A and 16B are driven, and ink is sucked from the nozzle openings of the recording head. Therefore, it is possible to automatically execute a cleaning operation for eliminating air bubbles that have entered the ink flow path from the cartridge to the recording head, thereby ensuring normal print quality.

In the above, the carriage movement operation (first means) performed when the cartridge is in the ink end state and the user opens the printer cover 58 has been described. For example, a serviceman will perform maintenance of the recording apparatus. An example of the operation of moving the carriage (second means) performed in the case described above will be described.

As described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. 6, the ink maintenance switch 55 is connected to the verification circuit 82 and the driving power source (+ Vc
c) is provided. Therefore, if the power switch 54 is turned on while the serviceman turns on the ink maintenance switch 55, the charging characteristics of, for example, a capacitor (not shown) built in the verification circuit 82 are different from those in the normal state. Change. By capturing this change, it is possible to verify that the logical product of the two is established.

As a result, a command signal is supplied from the verification circuit 82 to the carriage driving means 80, and a command signal is sent from the carriage driving means 80 to the control system including the carriage motor 3, and the carriage 1 is moved to the housing 51. It is controlled to move to the position of the formed replacement opening 60. Therefore, the serviceman can replace the ink cartridge and perform maintenance work and the like.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the recording apparatus. In this recording apparatus, a power switch 54 and a paper supply / discharge switch are provided on an operation panel 57 as partially enlarged. 56 are arranged. The ink maintenance switch is disposed on the side wall of the replacement opening 60. With this configuration, in a state where the serviceman has turned on the ink maintenance switch 55,
When the power switch 54 is turned on, the carriage 1 is replaced with the replacement opening 60 formed in the housing 51 as described above.
Is controlled to move to the position. Therefore, the serviceman can replace the ink cartridge and perform maintenance work and the like.

As shown in FIG. 6, the verification circuit 82 is configured to fetch status data indicating whether the printer cover 58 is open or closed from the host computer. Circuit 8
A paper feed / discharge switch 56 is connected to 2. Therefore, for example, when the user opens the printer cover 58 and pushes the paper supply / discharge switch 56 continuously for about 3 to 5 seconds, the logical product of the open state of the cover 58 and the operation state of the paper supply / discharge switch 56 is obtained. Holds.

As a result, a command signal is supplied from the verification circuit 82 to the carriage driving means 80, and a command signal is sent from the carriage driving means 80 to the control system including the carriage motor 3, and the carriage 1 is moved to the housing 51. It is controlled to move to the position of the formed replacement opening 60. Therefore, in this state, the user can perform the replacement work of the ink cartridge.

As described above, the paper supply / discharge switch 56
By performing the push operation continuously for about 5 seconds, the carriage can be forcibly moved, so that the erroneous operation by the user can be prevented.

On the other hand, for example, when the service man turns on the power supply switch 54 while the paper supply / discharge switch 56 is turned on, the charging characteristic of, for example, a capacitor (not shown) built in the verification circuit 82 is determined. Changes with respect to the normal state. By capturing this change, it is possible to verify that the logical product of the two is established.

As a result, a command signal is supplied from the verification circuit 82 to the carriage driving means 80, and a command signal is sent from the carriage driving means 80 to the control system including the carriage motor 3, and the carriage 1 is moved to the housing 51. It is controlled to move to the position of the formed replacement opening 60. Therefore, the serviceman can replace the ink cartridge and perform maintenance work and the like.

Next, FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the recording apparatus. As shown in FIG.
For example, a blind hole 51a is formed in a part of the rear surface of the housing 51. Inside the blind hole 51a, a carriage forced movement switch 62 is disposed on a substrate 63 so as to face the blind hole 51a. Therefore, a serviceman who knows the presence of the forced carriage movement switch 62 in the blind hole 51a can insert the tip of the driver or the like into the blind hole 51a and push-on the carriage forced movement switch 62.

As shown in FIG. 6, the operation of the carriage forcible movement switch 62 is performed by the operation detecting means 84 by its ON operation.
, A driving power supply (+ Vcc) is applied to the power supply. A command signal is sent from the operation detecting means 73 to the carriage driving means 80.

Thus, the carriage driving means 80 sends a command signal to the control system including the carriage motor 3 and controls the carriage 1 to move to the position of the replacement opening 60 formed in the housing 51. Therefore, in this state, the serviceman can perform maintenance work of the apparatus, which involves replacing the ink cartridge.

[0089]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the output based on the operation of the operation switch disposed on the recording apparatus or the sensor output indicating the state of the recording apparatus is included. First means for giving a command to carriage driving means for moving the carriage to the replacement opening when receiving at least one output;
When receiving at least one of an output based on the operation of an operation switch other than the operation switch disposed on the recording device or a sensor output other than the sensor indicating the state of the recording device, the carriage is replaced with the carriage. The second means for giving a command to the carriage driving means for moving the carriage to the opening is provided, so that the operation of moving the carriage to the replacement opening mainly performed by the user and the maintenance work or the like are mainly performed by a serviceman. The operation for moving the carriage to the replacement opening can be separately provided. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus excellent in operability for both the user and the service person.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a cap unit mounted on the recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 and peripheral devices thereof.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of an ink cartridge mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an arrangement configuration of a carriage, a paper supply / discharge unit, and a paper detection unit in the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a first view of a housing accommodating the recording apparatus main body shown in FIG. 1;
It is an external appearance perspective view which shows embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit provided in the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a second example of a housing housing the recording apparatus main body shown in FIG.
It is an external appearance perspective view which shows embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a carriage forced movement switch disposed in a part of a housing of the recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 carriage 6 recording paper 7 black recording head 8 color recording head 9 black ink cartridge 10 color ink cartridge 11 capping means 12 cap unit (for black head) 13 cap unit (for color head) 16 suction pump 47 paper detection Unit 51 Housing 51a Blind hole 54 Power switch 55 Ink maintenance switch 56 Paper supply / discharge switch 58 Printer cover (lid) 60 Replacement opening 62 Carriage forced movement switch 70 Printing control means 71 Head driving means 72 Flushing control means 73 Cleaning Control means 74 Pump driving means 75 Cleaning command detecting means 76 Cleaning operation starting means 78 Ink cartridge detecting means 79 Ink end detecting means 80 Tsu di driving means 81 lid opening detection means 82 verify circuit 84 operation detector 85 power supply circuit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yukihiro Uchiyama 3-5-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano Seiko Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Yoshinori Hamada 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano Seiko-Epson Incorporated F term (reference) 2C056 EA22 EB02 EB06 EB20 EB29 EB38 EB44 EB51 EB56 EC11 EC24 EC35 EC62 FA10 JA13 KC01

Claims (12)

[Claims] An ink jet recording head mounted on a carriage that moves in the width direction of a recording sheet and ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings; and an ink jet recording head mounted on the carriage to supply ink to the recording head. And a recording apparatus main body including the recording head and the ink cartridge, and a replacement opening formed in a part of a movement path of the carriage is exposed when the lid is opened. An ink-jet recording apparatus comprising: a housing provided with at least one of an output based on an operation of an operation switch disposed on the recording apparatus or a sensor output indicating a state of the recording apparatus. First means for moving a carriage to the replacement opening at a time, and maintenance operations other than the operation switches disposed on the recording apparatus. When at least one of an output based on the operation of the operation switch and a sensor output related to a maintenance operation other than the sensor indicating the state of the recording apparatus is received, a carriage is moved to the replacement opening. Two means,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first unit is configured to determine whether a logical product of at least two conditions among an output based on an operation of an operation switch disposed on the recording device and a sensor output indicating a state of the recording device is satisfied. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage is moved to the replacement opening. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second unit is configured to determine whether a logical product of at least two conditions is satisfied among an output based on an operation of an operation switch disposed on the recording device and a sensor output indicating a state of the recording device. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage is moved to the replacement opening. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first means detects an ink end of the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage and moves the carriage to the replacement opening when the opening of the lid is detected. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is constituted. 5. The exchange of the carriage when the first means detects the opening of the lid and detects a continuous operation of any one of operation switches arranged in the recording apparatus for a predetermined time or more. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is configured to be moved to the opening. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the operation switch is a recording paper supply / discharge switch. 7. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second means is configured to move a carriage to the replacement opening when the power switch is turned on while the ink maintenance switch is operated. The ink-jet recording apparatus as described in the above. 8. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second means moves the carriage to the replacement opening when the power supply switch is turned on while the paper supply / discharge switch is operated. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. 9. When the second means receives an output of a carriage forced movement switch disposed inside a blind hole formed in a part of the recording apparatus, the second means moves the carriage to the replacement opening. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is configured as described above. 10. The replacement opening portion is provided with a capping means for sealing a nozzle forming surface of the recording head and sucking ink from the nozzle opening of the recording head upon receiving a negative pressure from the negative pressure generating means. 10. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is formed at a position avoiding the home position. 11. An ink cartridge detecting means for detecting the ink end of the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge detecting means detecting that the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, and the ink cartridge being mounted by the ink cartridge detecting means. And resetting when detecting, and including a measuring means for counting up the ejection amount of the ink from the recording head, so that when the measuring means reaches a predetermined count number, it is determined to be in the ink end state. Claims 1 to 10 which are configured
An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the above. 12. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the ink end of the ink cartridge detects conductivity in the ink cartridge through an electrode embedded in the ink cartridge,
The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is configured to determine an ink end state according to the conductivity.