JP2001058421A - Ink jet recording apparatus, cleaning control method therein, replacement control method for ink cartridge in ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a capping means used in the cleaning operation of a recording head and a cleaning sequence. SOLUTION: A cap member 7 for sealing the nozzle forming surface of a recording head is provided on the upper surface of the capping means 6 used in the cleaning operation of the recording head and receives negative pressure from a suction pump to perform operation sucking ink from the nozzle orifices of the recording head. After ink is sucked from the nozzle orifices of the recording head, the cap member 7 holds the state sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recoding head and is controlled so as to stand by until a predetermined time required before the inner space of the cap member 7 returns to atmospheric pressue is elapsed.

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 apparatus and a cleaning control method for the apparatus.
In addition, the present invention relates to a method for controlling the replacement of an ink cartridge in the same apparatus, in particular, by removing the air release valve communicating with the capping means for sealing the recording head and simplifying the sequence of the process of discharging ink from the recording head performed by the capping means. The present invention relates to a cleaning control technique and an ink cartridge replacement control technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording apparatuses have been used in many types of printing including color printing in recent years, since noise at the time of printing is relatively small and small dots can be formed at a high density. Such an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with an ink jet recording head that receives supply of ink from an ink cartridge, and a paper feeding unit that transports a recording sheet relatively to the recording head. Recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets on recording paper while moving the recording paper.

A recording head capable of discharging, for example, black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks is mounted on a carriage. Not only text printing using black ink but also the discharge ratio of each ink is changed.
Enables full-color printing.

The above-mentioned ink jet recording head is
Due to the fact that the ink pressurized in the pressure generating chamber is ejected from the nozzles as ink droplets onto recording paper to perform printing, the ink viscosity increases due to evaporation of the solvent from the nozzle openings, the ink solidifies, dust adheres, Further, there is a problem that clogging of the nozzle opening occurs due to the incorporation of bubbles and the like, resulting in poor printing.

For this purpose, a capping means for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head during non-printing, and wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head as necessary are provided in this type of ink jet recording apparatus. Wiping means for cleaning is provided. The capping means not only functions as a lid for preventing ink from being dried at the nozzle openings in the recording head, but also seals the nozzle forming surface by the capping means when the nozzle openings are clogged when the nozzle openings are clogged. It also has a function of recovering the ink discharge capability that sucks ink from the nozzle openings by negative pressure from the pump and eliminates clogging of the nozzle openings.

[0006] Forcible suction and discharge processing of ink for eliminating clogging of the recording head is called a cleaning operation, and is performed when printing is resumed after a long pause of the apparatus.
This operation is performed when the user recognizes a printing failure and operates a cleaning switch. After a negative pressure is applied by a suction pump to discharge ink from the recording head into the capping unit, wiping made of, for example, a rubber material is performed. The member is used to perform a wiping operation on the nozzle forming surface.

[0007] The recording head also has a recovery function of applying a drive signal unrelated to printing to eject ink droplets. This recovery function is called a flushing operation, and is performed by a wiping operation accompanying a cleaning operation. When irregular meniscus is generated near the nozzle opening of the head, this is recovered at regular intervals to prevent clogging due to thickening of the ink at the nozzle opening where ink droplets are not discharged during printing. This is the operation to be executed.

FIG. 14 shows the structure of a conventional capping means used in the above-described cleaning operation, as viewed from above. This capping means 6
It is arranged at an end (home position) outside the arrangement position of the paper guide plate 3 forming the print area. And
Although not shown in FIG. 14, a recording head mounted on the carriage, which will be described later, is configured to be guided by a guide rod so that it can move directly above the paper guide plate 3 and the capping means 6, respectively. .

The capping means 6 is provided with a cap member 7 made of a flexible rubber member or the like capable of sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head located directly above the nozzle. It has a function of sealing the formation surface to prevent drying of the ink in the nozzle openings, and a function of forcibly discharging the ink from the recording head by receiving a negative pressure from a suction pump described later during the cleaning operation.

For this purpose, the cap receiving member 8 on which the cap member 7 is mounted can be raised to the nozzle forming surface side of the recording head by the driving force of the carriage accompanying the movement of the carriage to the home position. It is arranged on the configured lifting mechanism.

In the cap member 7, an ink absorbing seal is provided.
The ink suction port 7a is formed in the inner bottom of the cap member 7. Although not shown in the drawing, the ink suction port 7a has a tube.
One end of the tube is connected, and the other end of the tube is connected to a suction pump as described later. An air opening 7b is formed at the inner bottom of the cap member 7, and one end of a tube 17 is connected to the air opening 7b.
The other end of the valve 17 is connected to an atmosphere release valve 18.

The open-to-atmosphere valve 18 is configured to be opened and closed by a valve body 19a.
9a is a state in which the valve 18 is always closed by the spring 19b. The valve element 19a is formed integrally with the valve rod 19c, and the valve rod 19c is held so as to be slidable in the axial direction, so that the valve is opened and closed. When the end of the valve stem 19c contacts the rising portion 10a formed in the frame 10, the valve 18 is opened while resisting the repulsive force of the spring 19b.

As shown in FIG. 14, a printing area adjacent to the capping means 6 has a nozzle forming surface, which can wipe a nozzle forming surface of a recording head mounted on the carriage with the movement of the carriage. A holding member 20 provided with a wiping member 21 is arranged so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the movement locus of the recording head.

FIG. 15 shows a conventional recording head cleaning sequence performed by the capping means 6 configured as described above. Hereinafter, FIG.
The cleaning operation in the conventional recording apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the cleaning process is started,
As shown in step S11, any operation unnecessary for the cleaning process such as the paper feeding operation is prohibited. In this state, the holding member 20 is moved in the horizontal direction, and the wiping member 21 is moved along the movement locus of the recording head. To advance. Then, a wiping operation of wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by the wiping member 21 by the movement of the carriage is performed (step S12). As a result, dust, paper dust and the like adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head are removed.

Subsequently, the carriage is moved to the capping position and a large amount of ink is sucked from the recording head (step S13). FIG. 16 shows this state. In FIG. 16, reference numeral 5 denotes a recording head, reference numeral 7 denotes a cap member, and reference numeral 18 denotes an atmosphere opening port 7b formed on the inner bottom of the cap member via a tube 17. FIG.
Further, reference numeral 29 denotes a suction pump, which is configured so that ink can be discharged into the waste liquid tank 30 through a tube connected to an ink suction port 7a formed in the inner bottom of the cap member. .

First, FIG. 16A shows a state in which the recording head 5 is sealed by a cap member 7, and subsequently, an atmosphere release valve connected to the cap member 7 as shown in FIG. The valve 18 is closed, and in this state, the suction pump 29 is driven for a predetermined time to accumulate a negative pressure in the cap member 7. In this state, a process of sucking and discharging ink into the cap member 7 by the accumulated negative pressure is performed as shown in step S14 in FIG. Thus, as shown in FIG. 16C, the ink is discharged from the recording head 5, and as shown in FIG. 16D, an amount of ink corresponding to the negative pressure is discharged into the internal space of the cap member 7. You.

At the stage where the pressure in the cap member 7 has increased to a level close to the atmospheric pressure in this way, the process proceeds to step S15 shown in FIG. 15, the atmospheric release valve 18 is opened, and the suction pump 29 is driven. Let it. FIGS. 17A and 17B show the state at this time.

That is, when the atmosphere release valve 18 is opened as shown in FIG. 17A, the valve 18 is actuated by the negative pressure remaining in the cap member 7 as shown in FIG. , A small amount of air flows into the cap member 7, and the inside of the cap member 7 becomes atmospheric pressure.
Then, the cap member 7 is driven by the suction pump 29.
The ink discharged inside is discharged into the waste liquid tank 30.

In this case, the suction pump 29 is rotated at a low speed to discharge the ink in the cap member 7 while suppressing bubbling caused by the flow of air from the valve 18. After such steps are performed, the wiping operation shown in step S16 shown in FIG. 15 is performed.

In this case, the holding member 20 is moved in the horizontal direction, and the wiping member 21 advances to the movement locus of the recording head. Then, the recording head 5 is moved by the movement of the carriage.
The nozzle forming surface is wiped by the wiping member 21, and the ink attached to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is scraped off by the wiping member 21.

Step S17 following this wiping operation
, The suction pump 29 is driven while the cap member 7 is opened from the recording head 5. FIG. 17C shows this state, whereby the ink remaining in the cap member 7 is discharged into the waste liquid tank 30.

Note that steps S13 and S1 described above are performed.
4, when a large amount of ink is suctioned and a process of sucking and discharging ink from the recording head is performed, a large amount of ink is stagnant in the cap member 7. As shown in FIG. 17B, the ink in the cap member 7 is sucked by the suction pump 29 and discharged to the waste liquid tank 30 while generating bubbles.

Therefore, there is a problem that the air bubbles enter the nozzle openings of the recording head 5 and destroy the meniscus formed at the nozzle openings. Therefore, in the conventional cleaning sequence, in order to repair the destruction of the meniscus, the sequence from step S18 shown in FIG. 15 is continuously executed. That is, in step S18, the first small suction operation is performed on the recording head 5.

Although not shown in the drawing, in this case also, the recording head is sealed by the cap member, and the suction pump is driven for a shorter time than in the case of mass suction to apply a weak negative pressure to the inside of the cap member, thereby discharging ink. Let it drain. Then, step S19 is executed.
Same as 14. In this case, since the amount of ink staying in the cap member is small, the degree of bubbling can be reduced. Then, step S21
In step S22, the wiping operation and the driving of the suction pump are performed. This is almost the same as steps S16 and S17 described above.

The above steps S18 to S
By repeating Step 22 multiple times as necessary,
The meniscus of the nozzle opening destroyed by the foam is restored. If it is determined in step S23 that the repetition has been performed a predetermined number of times, the finish wiping operation is performed as shown in step S24, thereby recovering the meniscus to a substantially perfect state.

In step S25, the recording head is moved to a position not facing the cap member, and the suction pump 29 is driven to discharge the ink in the cap member. Next, a slight vibration is applied to the recording head by, for example, rotating the carriage motor forward and backward (step S2).
6) The bubbles taken into the nozzle openings by the cleaning operation or the like are encouraged to dissolve in the ink.

After the vibration is applied, the flushing suspension flag is turned on (step S27), and a flushing suspension timer (not shown) is started (step S28).
As a result, the flushing operation is prohibited for a predetermined time or more when the flushing suspension timer expires, bubbles generated by the cleaning operation are dissolved in the ink, and the occurrence of printing failure is prevented.

Then, the recording head is moved to the capping position, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed with a cap member (step S29), and operations other than the prohibited cleaning process are enabled (step S30). . When the flushing suspension timer has counted a predetermined time, for example, when the time required for bubbles near the nozzle opening to dissolve and disappear in the ink has elapsed, cleaning flushing is executed (step S32), and the flushing suspension flag is set. Turn off (step S33) and wait.

[0030]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An ink jet recording apparatus having a cleaning function is provided with an atmosphere release valve 18 communicating with a cap member constituting a capping unit. After performing an ink suction operation by a negative pressure, the valve is opened to open the ink Is configured to take a sequence for discharging the image. For this purpose, it is necessary to equip the atmosphere release valve 18 adjacent to the cap member 7 as shown in FIG.

As described above with reference to FIG. 14, the valve 19a formed integrally with the slidable valve rod 19c is urged to a closed state by a spring 19b. The valve 18 is configured to open while resisting the repulsive force of the spring 19b by contacting the end with the rising portion 10a formed in the frame 10.

Therefore, there are problems that a large number of man-hours are required for managing and assembling the components constituting the air release valve, and that the defect rate is relatively high. Further, the connection tube from the cap member to the atmosphere release valve has a problem that the degree of water evaporation is large, and it is difficult to sufficiently maintain the moisture in the cap member during non-printing.

Further, as described above, when the ink in the cap member is discharged after performing the suction / discharge processing of the ink from the recording head by executing the operation of suctioning a large amount of ink, the ink is discharged into the cap member. Due to the large amount of stagnation, a phenomenon occurs in which the ink in the cap member 7 is sucked by the suction pump 29 and discharged to the waste liquid tank 30 while generating bubbles, as shown in FIG. .

For this reason, there is a problem that the air bubbles enter the nozzle openings of the recording head and destroy the meniscus formed at the nozzle openings. Therefore, in the conventional cleaning sequence, it is necessary to repair the meniscus. In addition, it is necessary to repeatedly execute the sequence shown in steps S18 to S22 shown in FIG. 15 a plurality of times, and to execute the incidental sequence shown in steps S24 to S28. Therefore, the time required for the cleaning operation is also long, which results in mental trouble such as frustration for the user.

Therefore, by removing the above-mentioned air release valve, it is possible to simplify the sequence of the process of discharging ink from the recording head performed by the capping means. On the other hand, in the configuration in which the air release valve communicating with the capping means is removed, when the ink cartridge is first installed or when the ink cartridge is replaced, if there is an error in the operation procedure, the following is performed. Problems occur.

That is, the ink cartridge used in this type of recording apparatus has a communication hole for introducing air into the inside according to the consumption of ink by the printing operation of the apparatus. In order to prevent the ink solvent stored therein from evaporating during storage of the ink cartridge, a sealing member is attached to the communication hole. When the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage in the recording apparatus, the user removes the sealing member.

In this manner, when the ink cartridge is mounted on the recording apparatus, the recording apparatus applies a negative pressure to the capping means in a state where the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed, and sucks the ink from the recording head. An initial filling operation for discharging or an exchange cleaning operation is performed.

When the ink cartridge is mounted on the recording apparatus without removing the sealing member, air cannot be introduced into the cartridge through the communication hole. motion,
Alternatively, when the exchange cleaning operation is performed, the capping unit is stuck to the recording head by receiving the negative pressure, which causes a carriage error phenomenon in which the carriage cannot move.

In the conventional capping means, as described above, the atmosphere release valve is provided. By opening this valve, the occurrence of the carriage error can be avoided. In the capping unit from which the air release valve is removed, if there is an error in the above-described operation procedure, the carriage error cannot be eliminated, and it is necessary to take measures such as shutting off the operation power supply of the recording apparatus. You.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances. The above-mentioned ink-jet valve which removes the above-mentioned air release valve and simplifies the sequence of the process of discharging ink from the recording head by the capping means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a type recording apparatus and a cleaning control method in the apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing appropriate recovery for the above-described carriage error which may be caused by removing the air release valve, and an ink cartridge replacement control method in the apparatus. It is assumed that.

[0042]

An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, is mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage and ejects ink droplets corresponding to print data. An ink jet type recording head for discharging, a capping means for sealing a nozzle forming surface of the recording head, sucking and discharging ink from the recording head by receiving a negative pressure from a suction pump, and optionally the recording head And a wiping unit for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head. The nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by the capping unit, and a negative pressure from a suction pump is applied to the ink to record the ink from the recording head. After sucking and discharging the cap, the capping means is kept until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping means to return to the atmospheric pressure has elapsed. By ping means, characterized by comprising a control means for holding the capping state with respect to the recording head.

In this case, when the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by the capping unit, and the negative pressure from the suction pump is applied to suction and discharge the ink from the recording head, the wiping unit moves the recording head. It is desirable to be configured to advance on a trajectory.

The control means is configured to release the capping means from the recording head after a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping means to return to the atmospheric pressure. It is desirable that the nozzle forming surface of the recording head and the sealing surface of the capping means be configured to be separated from each other in a non-parallel state when the seal is released.

Preferably, the control means releases the capping means from the recording head and, at the same time, drives the suction pump to discharge the ink discharged into the capping means to a waste liquid tank. You.

Preferably, the control means is configured to perform a wiping operation of wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head with the wiping means after releasing the capping means from the recording head.

In a further preferred embodiment, the capping means moves to the nozzle forming surface side of the recording head and seals the nozzle forming surface by the driving force of the carriage accompanying the movement of the carriage to the home position side. Further, the carriage is moved away from the nozzle forming surface of the recording head as the carriage moves to the printing area side, and the seal is released. The carriage motor driving the carriage is configured to seal the nozzle forming surface by the capping means. The driving speed at the time of passing the position of the wiping unit that has advanced on the movement trajectory of the recording head is higher than the driving speed from the stop state to the release of the sealing.

The control means is configured to wipe the nozzle forming surface of the recording head with a wiping member and then drive the suction pump to discharge the ink in the capping means again.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a cleaning control method for an ink jet type recording apparatus, comprising: an ink jet type recording head mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage for discharging ink droplets corresponding to print data; Capping means for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the head, sucking and discharging ink from the recording head by receiving a negative pressure from the suction pump, and wiping means for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head as necessary. A cleaning control method in an ink jet recording apparatus provided, comprising: a step of sealing a nozzle forming surface of a recording head by the capping unit; and driving the suction pump to suction an internal space of the capping unit to a negative pressure;
A step of sucking and discharging ink from the recording head, maintaining a state in which the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by the capping unit, and waiting until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping unit to return to the atmospheric pressure has elapsed. And the steps are sequentially performed.

In this case, preferably, after the standby step of waiting until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping means to return to the atmospheric pressure elapses, the sealing of the capping means with respect to the recording head is released, and at the same time, the suction pump Is driven to perform an ink discharging step of discharging the ink discharged into the capping means to the waste liquid tank.

Preferably, after the standby step of waiting until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping means to return to atmospheric pressure elapses, the sealing of the capping means with respect to the recording head is released, and the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is removed. A wiping step of wiping with the wiping member is performed.

After the wiping step of wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by the wiping member is performed, an ink discharging step of driving the suction pump again to discharge the ink in the capping means is performed.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus and the cleaning control method in the apparatus described above, after the step of removing the air release valve and sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head, the nozzle of the recording head is formed by the cap member. Keep the surface sealed,
A step of waiting until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the cap member to return to the atmospheric pressure elapses is executed.

Thus, a necessary and sufficient amount of the thickened ink can be discharged from the recording head. Then, by unsealing the cap member from the recording head and driving the suction pump, the ink in the cap member is discharged to the waste liquid tank.

Therefore, as shown in the conventional cleaning sequence, there is no factor to generate bubbles in the ink in the cap member, and therefore, as in a recording apparatus having a conventional air release valve, the air release valve is not used. The adverse effects caused by the bubbling of the ink due to the opening of the valve can be eliminated. Therefore, it is not necessary to execute a small suction operation of the ink for restoring the meniscus, and the cleaning sequence can be simplified.

On the other hand, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage and ejects ink droplets corresponding to print data, and a nozzle formation of the recording head. Capping means for sealing the surface and sucking and discharging ink from the recording head under negative pressure from a suction pump;
Wiping means for wiping a nozzle forming surface of the recording head as necessary, an ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage to supply ink to the recording head, and a moving path of the carriage An ink jet recording apparatus comprising an outer case having an ink cartridge exchange window for exchanging an ink cartridge in a part of the ink jet recording apparatus, wherein an operation of sucking ink from a recording head is performed by the capping means, and capping is performed. If the operation power supply to the apparatus is cut off while the means is stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head due to the negative pressure, the carriage is moved to the ink cartridge at the next application of the operation power supply to the apparatus. Control means for moving to the exchange window is provided.

The control means preferably keeps the carriage in the state of being moved to the ink cartridge replacement window until the ink cartridge is replaced.
A control sequence for causing the carriage to wait in the ink cartridge replacement window is executed.

In this case, the operation of sucking ink from the recording head by the capping means may be an initial filling operation for introducing ink into the recording head for the first time, or a cleaning operation for discharging ink from the recording head.

Preferably, it is determined whether or not the capping means is stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by receiving the negative pressure, based on a load current to a carriage motor for driving the carriage. . More preferably, it is determined whether or not the capping unit has been stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head due to the negative pressure by a load current to a carriage motor for driving the carriage and an encoder output generated by movement of the carriage. It is configured to

Further, the ink cartridge replacement control method in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.
An ink jet recording head mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage for discharging ink droplets corresponding to print data; sealing a nozzle forming surface of the recording head; and receiving a negative pressure from a suction pump. Capping means for sucking and discharging ink from the recording head, and wiping means for wiping a nozzle forming surface of the recording head as necessary. In the ink jet recording apparatus, an ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus, and an ink cartridge replacement window for opening an ink cartridge replacement window for replacing the ink cartridge is provided in a part of the movement path of the carriage. Then, when the operation power to the device was cut off last time, A first verification step of verifying whether or not an operation of sucking ink from the recording head has been performed by the capping unit; and a case where the capping unit receives a negative pressure when the operation power supply to the apparatus was previously interrupted. In a second verification step of verifying whether or not the recording head is stuck to the nozzle forming surface, and in the first verification step, it is verified that an operation of sucking ink from the recording head has been performed,
In the second verification step, when it is verified that the capping unit is stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, a control step of moving the carriage to the ink cartridge replacement window is executed. You.

In this case, preferably, after execution of the control step of moving the carriage to the ink cartridge replacement window, a third verification step of verifying whether or not an ink cartridge replacement operation has been performed on the carriage is executed. When it is verified in the third verification step that the operation of replacing the ink cartridge has been performed on the carriage, an ink suction step of sucking ink from the recording head is executed.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus adopting the ink cartridge exchange control method described above, the ink cartridge is mounted without removing the sealing member for closing the communication hole formed in the ink cartridge, and the capping means is attached to the recording head. Even if a carriage error occurs,
When the next operation power is turned on, the above state is recognized, and an operation for recovering the state is executed.

That is, if a carriage error occurs in which the capping means is stuck to the recording head when the previous operation power supply was cut off, the carriage automatically moves to the ink cartridge replacement window when the next operation power supply is turned on. And an operation sequence for prompting the user to mount the ink cartridge in a normal procedure is executed.

Therefore, as described above, the air release valve communicating with the capping means is removed, and even if a carriage lock phenomenon occurs due to an error in the cartridge mounting procedure, it can be recovered immediately. Thus, the recording apparatus can be shifted to a normal printing operation.

[0065]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus employing a cleaning control method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 3 mainly show the configuration of capping means in an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 shows a state viewed from the top of the apparatus, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show a state viewed from the side.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage, which is configured to be guided by a guide rod 2 and move in parallel with the paper guide plate 3. And
The carriage 1 is connected to a part of a timing belt reciprocated by a carriage motor driven by a pulse to be described later, and is configured to reciprocate along the guide rod 2.

A recording head 5 is mounted on the carriage 1 so as to oppose the recording paper 4 disposed on the upper surface of the paper guide plate 3. The recording paper 4 on the paper guide plate 3 can be printed by ejecting ink droplets corresponding to the data.

The capping means 6 for sealing the recording head 5 is provided in a non-printing area (home position) of the recording apparatus.
And a cap member 7 having a size capable of sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 with a sealed space, and sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 during non-printing to dry the ink at the nozzle openings. The recording head 5 is provided with a function of preventing the recording head 5 from receiving a negative pressure from a suction pump, which will be described later, during a cleaning operation.

As shown in FIG. 1, an ink suction port 7a is formed in the inner bottom of the cap member 7 arranged in the capping means 6, and a tube (not shown) is provided in the ink suction port 7a. One end is connected, and the other end of the tube is connected to a suction pump described later. In this way, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is sealed during non-printing, and when a cleaning command is received, a negative pressure is appropriately applied by the suction pump to forcibly discharge ink from the recording head 5. Can be done. The cap member 7
An ink absorbing sheet 7c is accommodated therein, so that the sucked ink is not scattered.

The cap member 7 is housed in a cap receiving member 8 which is vertically movably mounted via a plurality of compression springs 16. This cap receiving member 8 includes
The engaging portions 8a, 8b are used as locking members 9c, 9 of the slider 9.
By being locked to d, upward movement is restricted.

A long hole 13 is formed in the slider 9, and an arm 11 rotatable with respect to the frame 10 is disposed in the long hole 13. The provided horizontal shaft 12 is movably accommodated in the elongated hole 13. As a result, the slider 9 can be raised with an arc-shaped locus with respect to the frame 10 via the arm 11.

The slider 9 has guide pieces 9a formed on both sides of the end portion on the non-printing area side.
It is configured to be supported by the zero guide surface 14. The guide surface 14 of the frame 10 has a low portion 14
a, a horizontal high portion 14b at the rear end portion, and three regions of an inclined portion 14c connecting them are formed so as to communicate with each other.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, one end of a tension spring 15 having one end fixed to the frame 10 is fixed to one guide piece 9a.
Further, it is urged in a direction away from the recording head 5, that is, downward in this embodiment.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the carriage 1 moves just above the capping means 6, the carriage 1
When the engaging member 1a disposed on the arm 9 abuts against the engaging portion 9b attached to a part of the slider 9, the slider 9 resists the tensile force of the spring 15 as shown in FIG. And the cap member 7 mounted on the cap receiving member 8 can seal the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 arranged on the carriage 1.

When the carriage 1 moves toward the printing area, the engagement of the engaging member 1a arranged on the carriage 1 with the engaging portion 9b attached to the slider 9 is released, and the slider 9 The state shown in FIG. 2 is achieved by the tensile force of
, The sealing of the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is released.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cap member 7
, That is, the upper end surface of the recording head 5 that is in contact with the nozzle forming surface is not parallel to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5. That is, the sealing surface of the cap member 7 is inclined so as to slightly descend toward the printing area with respect to the end of the home position (right side in FIG. 2).

This is because the slot 13 formed in the slider 9
The arm 11 slidably moves within a series of low portions 14a, inclined portions 14c, and high portions 14b formed on the guide surface 14 of the frame 10 and movably accommodated therein. It is constituted by the relationship with the arrangement position of the guide piece 9a.

Then, the cap member 7 is attached to the recording head 5.
In the state where the nozzle forming surface is sealed, first, the nozzle forming surface contacts the nozzle forming surface from the home position side, and the entire surface of the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is sealed by the compression action of the compression spring 16 as the slider 9 rises. Acts to be. In the case where the cap member 7 is to unseal the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5, the cap member 7 is separated from the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 first from the end on the printing region side, and is separated from the nozzle forming surface. It acts to separate in a non-parallel state.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG.
A holding member 20 provided with, for example, a rubber wiping member 21 for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 mounted on the carriage 1 with the movement of the recording head 5 is arranged. This cleaner holding member 20 is moved in the horizontal direction,
The wiping member 21 can be moved in and out of the wiping position on the moving path of the recording head 5.

Therefore, at the time of head cleaning, the wiping member 21 removes dust and paper dust adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 before the ink is sucked. The ink adhering to the forming surface is wiped off.

In this case, the movement of the holding member 20 for holding the wiping member 21 and the suction pump 29 described later
The driving force of a paper feed motor (not shown) that conveys the recording paper 4 on the paper guide plate 3 is used. Then, the wiping member 2 is driven by the driving of the suction pump.
Numeral 1 is configured to advance on the movement locus of the recording head.

In the above configuration, when the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side by driving the carriage motor,
As shown in FIG. 2, the engagement body 1 disposed on the carriage 1
a comes into contact with the engagement portion 9b formed on the slider 9.
Then, as the carriage 1 still moves to the home position, the slider 9 rises via the arm 11 and stands on the cap receiving member 8 while resisting the tensile force of the spring 15 as shown in FIG. The mounted cap member 7 seals the recording head 5 arranged on the carriage 1.

At the stage where the sealing of the nozzle forming surface by the cap member 7 is completed, the communication with the atmosphere is cut off and the cap member 7 becomes airtight, thereby suppressing the evaporation of ink from the nozzle openings. For a long period of time to prevent clogging of the recording head.

When the carriage 1 is moved toward the printing area by driving the carriage motor, the engaging member 1a disposed on the carriage 1 is separated from the engaging portion 9b formed on the slider 9, and thus the tension of the spring 15 is pulled. By force, the slider 9 descends through the arm 11.
Thereby, the sealing state of the recording head 5 by the cap member 7 is released.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a control circuit mounted on the recording apparatus having the above-described configuration. In FIG. 4, parts corresponding to the respective parts described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and thus description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 4, a black ink cartridge 25 and a color ink cartridge 26 are removably mounted on the carriage 1, and each ink is supplied to the recording head 5 from each of the cartridges 25 and 26.

The carriage 1 is configured to be reciprocated while being guided by the guide rod 2 by driving of the carriage motor 28. The suction pump 29 described above is connected to the capping means 6, and the discharge side of the suction pump 29 is connected to the waste liquid tank 30.

Reference numeral 40 shown in FIG. 4 denotes print control means. The print control means 40 generates bitmap data based on print data from a host computer, and a drive signal is generated by a head drive means 41 based on the data. And the recording head 5 mounted on the carriage 1
It has a function to eject ink from the printer. The head driving means 41 receives a flushing command signal from the flushing control means 42 in addition to the drive signal based on the print data, and outputs a drive signal for a flushing operation to the recording head 5.
It is also configured to output to.

Reference numeral 43 denotes cleaning control means.
The cleaning control unit 43 includes a cleaning command detection unit 44 or a cleaning sequence control unit 45.
Receiving the control signal from the controller, the pump driving means 46 is controlled, and the suction pump 29 is driven by the power of the paper feed motor.
Has the function of driving the Further, a control signal is also sent from the cleaning sequence control means 45 to the carriage motor control means 47, whereby the carriage motor 28 is driven.

Reference numeral 48 in FIG. 4 denotes a cleaning command switch disposed on an operation panel or the like of the apparatus. When a user recognizes a print defect state, for example, operates the switch to operate the cleaning command detection means 44. Is operated to perform a cleaning operation.

Next, a description will be given, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, of a cleaning sequence of the ink jet type recording apparatus having the above-described structure, particularly a recording head performed by the capping means 6. In addition,
The cleaning sequence described below is executed by supplying a control signal from the cleaning sequence control unit 45 shown in FIG. 4 to the cleaning control unit 43 and the carriage motor control unit 47.

First, when the cleaning process is started,
As shown in step S11, any operation unnecessary for the cleaning process such as the paper feeding operation is prohibited. In this state, the cleaner holding member 20 moves in the horizontal direction, and the wiping member 21 moves the recording head. Go into the trajectory.

Then, the carriage motor control means 47 receives the control signal generated by the cleaning sequence control means 45 and moves the carriage 1 to the non-printing area. As the carriage 1 moves to the non-printing area side, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is wiped by the wiping member 21, and a wiping operation is performed (step S1).
2). As a result, dust, paper dust and the like adhering to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head are removed.

Subsequently, the carriage is moved to the capping position and a large amount of ink is sucked from the recording head (step S13). This state is shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, parts corresponding to the parts described above are denoted by the same reference numerals. First, FIG. 6A shows a state in which the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is sealed by the cap member 7, and then, as shown in FIG. A negative pressure is accumulated in the member 7. In this state, as shown in FIG. 6C, a process of sucking and discharging the ink into the cap member 7 by the negative pressure accumulated in the internal space of the cap member 7 is executed.

As a result, ink is discharged from the recording head 5, and as shown in FIG. 6D, an amount of ink corresponding to the negative pressure is discharged into the internal space of the cap member 7. Here, as shown as step 41 in FIG. 5, the step of the negative pressure release standby processing is executed. In this step, the state in which the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 is sealed by the cap member 7 is maintained, and the process waits until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the cap member 7 to return to the atmospheric pressure elapses. You. The predetermined time is set to, for example, about 3 seconds, and a predetermined amount of ink is discharged from the recording head as the time elapses, and the negative pressure in the internal space of the cap member 7 becomes substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure.

When the pressure in the cap member 7 becomes the atmospheric pressure in this way, the sealing of the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by the cap member 7 shown in step S42 in FIG. The driving operation (the operation of discharging the ink from the cap member 7) is performed.

When the sealing of the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by the cap member 7 is released, as described above, the cap member 7 is separated from the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5 from the end on the printing area side, and the nozzle forming surface is removed. It acts so as to be separated from the plane in a non-parallel state. Therefore, the recording head 5
The amount of ink remaining on the nozzle forming surface can be reduced as much as possible, and the bubbling of the ink in the cap member 7 can be reduced.

At the same time, the suction pump 29 is driven,
The ink discharged to the cap member 7 is supplied to the waste liquid tank 30.
Is discharged. For example, at the time of replacement cleaning performed after replacement of the cartridge, the amount of ink suctioned is extremely large, and therefore, the problem that ink overflows from the cap member 7 is thereby solved.

Subsequently, the wiping operation shown as step S16 in FIG. 5 is executed. In this case, the cleaner holding member 20 has already been moved in the horizontal direction, and the wiping member 2 has been moved.
Numeral 1 extends on the movement locus of the recording head. That is, it is configured such that a time lag does not occur when shifting from the ink suction operation to the wiping operation. Then, the nozzle formation surface of the recording head 5 is wiped by the wiping member 21 by the movement of the carriage, and the ink attached to the nozzle formation surface of the recording head 5 is scraped off by the wiping member 21.

In this case, the cleaning sequence control means 45 shown in FIG.
And the speed control of the carriage motor 28 is executed. That is, the carriage motor 28
Is the driving speed when passing through the arrangement position of the wiping unit that is advanced on the movement trajectory of the recording head with respect to the driving speed from the sealing state of the nozzle forming surface by the capping unit to the release of the sealing. Is controlled to increase.

The carriage motor 28 is a so-called pulse motor whose speed is controlled by the number of pulses. Then, in a section from the sealing state of the nozzle forming surface by the capping unit to the release of the sealing, the drive pulse of the carriage motor 28 is lengthened to make the driving speed of the motor 28 relatively slow. To control. Further, in a section that passes through the arrangement position of the wiping unit that has advanced on the movement locus of the recording head, the drive speed of the motor 28 is controlled to be high by shortening the cycle of the drive pulse applied to the carriage motor 28.

By performing such control, the operation of releasing the sealing of the nozzle forming surface by the capping means can be slowed down.
This can contribute to further reducing the bubbling of the ink inside. Further, during the wiping operation, the moving speed of the carriage is controlled to be faster, so that the wiping member 2
1 can quickly perform the wiping operation of the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5. As a result, the ink drawing action of the meniscus formed at the nozzle opening of the recording head is reduced, and the frequency of occurrence of dot missing due to ink bubbles can be reduced.

Step S following the wiping operation described above.
At 17, the suction pump 29 is driven again. FIG.
Shows an operation mode of the cap member 6 in a state from the wiping operation to the driving operation of the suction pump.
That is, when shifting to the wiping state, the carriage 1 moves to the printing area side, and accordingly, FIG.
7 (b), the cap member 6 is lowered to release the capping state.

In this state, the remaining ink that has been discharged from the recording head 5 and cannot be completely discharged in step S42 has stayed in the cap member 6. Then, in step S17, the suction pump 29
Is driven, the ink retained in the cap member 6 is sucked by the suction pump 29 and discharged to the waste liquid tank 30 as shown in FIG.

By performing the above steps, it is possible to eliminate the factor of generating bubbles in the ink in the cap member 6 as much as possible. Therefore, as in a recording apparatus having a conventional air release valve, the air release valve is not used. The adverse effects caused by the bubbling of the ink due to the opening of the valve can be eliminated. In other words, it is possible to avoid the problem of destroying the meniscus formed at the nozzle opening of the recording head due to the bubbling of the ink.

Therefore, the operation of restoring the meniscus by repeating steps S18 to S22 shown in FIG. 15 a plurality of times becomes unnecessary. Further, the additional control steps as shown in steps S24 to S28 shown in FIG. 15 can be omitted.

Therefore, it is possible to immediately shift from the step S17 shown in FIG. 5 to the capping operation shown in the step S29. In the step S29, the recording head 5 is moved to the capping position and the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is moved to the cap member. Into a sealed state. Subsequently, an operation other than the prohibited cleaning process is enabled (step S30), and the cleaning flushing operation is executed (step S32), and a standby state is set, and the cleaning operation is completed.

Next, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a main configuration of a recording apparatus main body employing the ink cartridge replacement control method according to the present invention. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 51 denotes a carriage. The carriage 51 is guided by a guide rod 54 via a timing belt 53 driven by a carriage motor 52, and is driven by a platen 5.
5 so as to be reciprocated in the axial direction.

In the scanning area where the carriage 51 scans, a recording sheet 56 as a recording medium is arranged, and the recording sheet 56 is configured to be conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage 51. . Then, on the surface of the carriage 51 facing the recording paper 56,
A recording head 62 to be described later is mounted, and a black ink cartridge 57 and a color ink cartridge 58 for supplying ink to the recording head are removably mounted above the recording head 62.

A capping means 59 is disposed at a home position outside the non-printing area. The capping means 59 has the same configuration as that shown in FIGS. When the carriage 51 moves to the side, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head mounted on the carriage 51 can be sealed with the movement of the carriage 51.

The capping means 59 descends as the carriage 51 moves toward the printing area,
It is configured so that the sealed state of the recording head can be released. A suction pump 60 for applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the capping means 59 is disposed below the capping means 59.

The capping means 59 has the same structure as that shown in FIG. 1 to FIG.
The inner bottom of the capping means 59 is connected to the suction pump 60 via a tube. The capping means 59 functions as a lid that prevents drying of the nozzle openings of the recording head during the idle period of the recording apparatus,
The recording head functions as an ink receiver at the time of a flushing operation of ejecting ink droplets by applying a drive signal unrelated to printing to the recording head. Further, a negative pressure from the suction pump 60 is applied to a recording head described later to perform recording. It also has a function as a cleaning means for sucking and discharging ink from the head.

A wiping member 61 made of an elastic plate such as rubber is disposed adjacent to the printing area side of the capping means 59. When the carriage 51 reciprocates to the capping means 59 side, it is required. The wiping operation for wiping and cleaning the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is performed.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of an ink cartridge which is removably mounted on the carriage 51. The ink cartridge shown in FIG.
This shows an example of a color ink cartridge 58 filled with inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan colors. The black ink cartridge 57 has a reduced width dimension and one ink reservoir. The other configuration is substantially the same as that of the color ink cartridge 58 described later.

The color ink cartridge 58 is basically made of a box-shaped ink tank 71 made of, for example, polypropylene, and a foam 72 made of a porous member housed in the ink tank 71 and impregnated with ink.
Y, 72M, and 72C, and a lid 73 that covers the upper surface of the ink tank 71. The ink tank 71
Is divided into three chambers indicated by 71Y, 71M, and 71C. Each of the chambers contains the above-described foams 72Y, 72M, and 72C formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Each color ink is held in an impregnated state.

The lid 7 covering the upper part of the ink tank 71
3, three communication holes 74 communicating with the outside are provided for each chamber. An openable band-shaped sealing member 75 is attached to at least one communication hole 74a for each chamber of the communication holes 74, and is sealed by the sealing member 75 until immediately before use of the cartridge. Thus, it is configured such that it can be opened just before use to perform the function of the ventilation hole 74a.

When the band-shaped sealing member 75 is opened and loaded into the recording apparatus as described above, the air corresponding to the consumption of the ink is replenished into the cartridge through the opened vent hole 74a. Note that circular sealing members indicated by reference numeral 76 are individually attached to the other ventilation holes. These sealing members 75 and 76 have a water vapor permeability of a predetermined value or less, and at least one sealing member has a gas permeability of a predetermined value or more. Thus, it is possible to prevent the ink from leaking out when the cartridge is transported, and to act so that the ink is degassed again in the packaging member after the reduced pressure packaging.

Although not shown in the drawing, cylindrical ink chambers are formed at the lower bottoms of the chambers 71Y, 71M, and 71C. The lower ends of these ink chambers are made of an elastic material such as rubber. A seal member 77 is fitted and further sealed by a sheet member (not shown).

In the ink cartridge 58 thus configured, the sheet member is penetrated by a hollow needle (not shown) communicating with the recording head in a state of being loaded in the recording apparatus, and is air-tightly joined by a seal member 77. Thus, ink is introduced from the cartridge 58 to the recording head. In addition, an ink end detecting electrode 78 is embedded in the side surface of the ink tank 71 such that the front end thereof comes into contact with the foams 72Y, 72M, 72C in the respective chambers 71Y, 71M, 71C. Are sealed by O-rings 79 for preventing the above. Then, by measuring the electric resistance (conductivity) between these electrodes 78 and the hollow needles described above, it is possible to determine that the ink is out.

The main body of the recording apparatus configured as described above is
For example, it is housed in an outer case of the form shown in FIG. The outer case 81 has a paper feed tray 8 on its rear side.
2 is disposed, and a paper discharge tray 83 is disposed on the front side. In addition, on the upper surface of the right corner of the outer case 81,
An operation panel 84 on which operation buttons including a cleaning command switch 95, an ink maintenance switch 101, and a power switch, which will be described later, are arranged.

A cover (hereinafter, also referred to as a printer cover) 85 covering the upper part of the outer case 81 is mounted so as to be openable and closable on the front side of the apparatus by a hinge (not shown). 85 is the cover 8
A window 86 is formed so that the switches arranged on the panel 84 can be exposed in the closed state of FIG.

When the printer cover 85 is opened, the ink cartridge replacement window 87 is exposed. Note that the ink cartridge replacement window 87 is formed at a position avoiding the home position where the capping means 59 is disposed. Then, for example, when replacing the ink cartridge,
Control is performed so that the carriage is moved to the cartridge exchange window.

The reason is that, for example, when the ink cartridge is to be replaced, a problem caused by the stress due to the insertion / removal of the ink cartridge acting on the capping means and causing an obstacle to the mechanism constituting the elevating mechanism of the capping means is avoided. That's why. In addition, for example, when the operation of replacing the ink cartridge is performed when the ink is not at the ink end, the meniscus of the ink formed at the nozzle opening of the recording head is destroyed due to the fluctuation of the pressure in the sealed capping means, resulting in poor printing. It also includes reasons to avoid the problem of reaching.

Then, the user can pull out the cartridge from the carriage by pulling up the cartridge fixing lever 88 disposed on the carriage moved to the cartridge exchange window. After a new cartridge is installed, the cartridge fixing lever 88 is pulled down and tightened, and an ink maintenance switch arranged on an outer case of the apparatus is operated, so that the carriage is moved from the exchange window portion to the home where the capping means is arranged. The position is moved to the position, and so-called exchange cleaning or the like for sucking and discharging ink from the recording head is performed by the action of the negative pressure applied to the capping unit.

Next, FIG. 11 shows an example of a control circuit mounted on the recording apparatus having the structure shown in FIGS. In FIG. 11, the carriage 51, the carriage motor 52, and the ink cartridge 5 already described
7, 58, the capping means 59, and the suction pump 60 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 11, the black ink cartridge 57 and the color ink cartridge 58 detachably mounted on the carriage 51
Each ink is supplied to a recording head 62 mounted on the recording head 1. The above-mentioned suction pump 60 is connected to the capping means 59,
The discharge side of the suction pump 60 is connected to a waste liquid tank 63.

In this embodiment, the driving force of the motor 64 for driving the suction pump 60 rotates the lever 66 via the friction clutch 65 in either direction. And this lever 66
The holding member 61a holding the wiping member 61 is slid in the horizontal direction by the rotation in either direction, and the wiping member 61 advances to the movement locus of the recording head 62 to form the nozzle of the recording head 62. The wiping operation for wiping and cleaning the surface is performed.

Reference numeral 91 shown in FIG. 11 is print control means. The print control means 91 generates bitmap data based on print data from a host computer, and drives the head drive means 92 based on this data. To discharge ink droplets from the recording head 62 mounted on the carriage 51. The head drive unit 92 is configured to receive a flushing command signal from the flushing control unit 93 and output a drive signal for a flushing operation to the recording head 62 in addition to a drive signal based on print data. .

Reference numeral 94 denotes cleaning control means.
The cleaning control unit 94 has a function of executing a cleaning operation in response to a command signal from a cleaning command detection unit 96 that has received an ON operation of a cleaning command switch 95 disposed on the operation panel 84. Further, the cleaning control unit 94 has a function of similarly executing a cleaning operation even when a cleaning command is received from the host computer via the print control unit 91.

When the cleaning control means 94 receives a cleaning command, the pump driving means 97
And a function of driving the suction pump 60 and the like by driving the motor 64 described above. Then, a negative pressure is applied to the internal space of the capping means 59 by the driving operation of the suction pump 60, and the ink is sucked and discharged from the nozzle openings of the recording head 62. In addition, by driving the suction pump 60 again in a state where the sealing of the nozzle forming surface by the capping means 59 is released,
The waste liquid discharged into the internal space of the capping means 59 can be discarded in the waste liquid tank 63.

A control signal is sent from the print control means 91 to the carriage control means 98. The carriage control means 98 sends a command signal to the carriage motor control means 99, and The drive of the carriage motor 52 can be controlled. The carriage control means 98 is configured to be supplied with a signal from the encoder 100.

The encoder 100 has a function of, for example, optically detecting the movement position of the carriage. The encoder 100 also has a function of detecting a state in which a carriage error state occurs in which the carriage cannot move even though a control signal for driving the carriage is transmitted from the carriage motor control unit 99 as described later. ing. The carriage control means 6
8 is configured to be supplied with an operation signal from the ink maintenance switch 70 described above.

Reference numeral 102 denotes ink cartridge detecting means. The ink cartridge detecting means 102 detects whether or not the ink cartridges 57 and 58 are mounted on the carriage 51, and sends the information to the host. It is configured to be able to communicate to a computer.

In the above configuration, for example, when the ink cartridge is replaced, when the ink maintenance switch 101 is pressed for a predetermined time, a control signal is sent from the carriage control means 98 to the carriage motor control means 99. Is done. As a result, the carriage motor 52 moves the carriage 51 from the home position to the ink cartridge exchange window 87 described above.
The control for moving toward is executed. When the information from the encoder 100 confirms that the ink cartridges 57 and 58 mounted on the carriage have reached the positions facing the ink cartridge replacement window 87, the drive of the carriage motor 52 is stopped.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 10, the ink cartridge can be pulled out of the carriage 51 by pulling up the ink cartridge fixing lever 88. Then, a new ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage 51, the ink cartridge fixing lever 88 is pulled down and fastened, and the ink maintenance switch 101 is operated again, whereby a control signal is sent from the carriage control means 98 to the carriage motor control means 99. Sent out. In response to this, the carriage motor control means 99 supplies a control signal for moving the carriage 51 toward the home position to the carriage motor 52.

When the carriage 51 moves to the home position, as described above, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is capped by the capping means 59, and the cleaning control means 94 operates to drive the suction pump 60. As a result, exchange cleaning for sucking ink from the recording head 62 is performed.

Here, when the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, the band-shaped sealing member 75 shown in FIG. 9 is used.
If the opening of the ventilation hole 74a is neglected without removing
Due to the suction operation by the suction pump 60, the capping means 59 is stuck to the recording head 62, and a carriage error state in which the carriage cannot move is generated. When such a carriage error occurs, an operation for shutting down the operation power supply of the printing apparatus is inevitable.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate the recovery operation of the cartridge replacement executed by the recording apparatus according to the present invention when the operation power is turned on after the carriage error has occurred. Things. First, FIG. 12 shows a recovery operation of cartridge replacement when the above-described carriage error occurs when an initial filling operation for introducing ink into a printing apparatus for the first time is performed.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the operation power supply to the recording apparatus is turned on (ON), in step S51,
Verification is performed as to whether or not the initial filling operation has been completed. This can be determined by referring to the initial filling flag managed in the printer driver constructed in the host computer.

If it is determined in step S51 that the initial filling operation has been completed (Yes), the flow shifts to step S52 to execute a flushing operation or a timer cleaning operation. In this case, the flushing operation and the timer cleaning operation depend on the elapsed time after the operation of sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head by the capping unit, and the accumulated printing time during which the recording head performs the printing operation without being capped by the capping unit. , Which is adopted.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S51 that the initial filling operation has not been completed (No), the flow shifts to step S53 to turn off the recording apparatus at the last power-off (O).
At FF), it is verified whether or not the initial filling is being performed. This state can also be determined by referring to the status data managed by the printer driver built in the host computer. Here, when it is determined that the initial filling was not performed during the previous power-off (No), the process proceeds to step S58, and the initial filling operation is performed.

In this initial filling operation, the suction pump is driven while the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by capping means, and sufficient ink is supplied to the ink flow path from the ink cartridge to the nozzle opening of the recording head. To be filled, a relatively large amount of suction is involved.

If it is determined in step S53 that the initial charging was being performed at the time of the previous power-off (Yes), the process proceeds to step S54, and a carriage error occurred at the previous power-off of the printing apparatus. Verification is performed as to whether or not it has occurred. This carriage error can be determined by detecting that the load current to the carriage motor 52 for driving the carriage 51 has become excessive. Preferably, the carriage error is caused by a carriage motor 52 driving the carriage 51.
The load current to the encoder becomes too large and the encoder 1
Since the signal indicating the movement of the carriage cannot be obtained from 00, the determination can be made.

It is also determined whether or not the above-mentioned carriage error has occurred when the power was last turned off.
The determination can be made by referring to the status data managed by the printer driver constructed in the host computer. If it is determined in step S54 that a carriage error has not occurred (No), the process similarly proceeds to step S58 to execute an initial filling operation.

If it is determined in step S54 that a carriage error has occurred (Yes), an operation of moving the carriage to the ink cartridge replacement position is executed as shown in step S55. This is performed by sending a control signal from the carriage control means 98 to the carriage motor control means 99,
Therefore, the carriage 51 moves toward the ink cartridge replacement window 87. And the encoder 100
When it is recognized from the signal generated by the above that the carriage 51 has reached the cartridge replacement window 87, the movement of the carriage is stopped at that location (the cartridge replacement window).

Then, in this state, it is verified whether or not the ink cartridge has been replaced as shown in step S56. This is because the ink cartridge detecting means 102
Can be determined by referring to the status data managed by the printer driver built in the host computer and transferred to the host computer.

As described above, by adopting the sequence for executing steps S55 and S56, it is possible to prompt the user to replace the ink cartridge in a normal procedure. And
When the user operates the ink maintenance switch 101 after removing the band-shaped sealing member 75 attached to the cartridge and sealing the communication hole 74 a and the like, and operating the ink maintenance switch 101, the carriage motor 98 A control signal is sent to the control means 99. In response to this, the carriage 51 is moved to the home position as shown in step S57, and further proceeds to step S58 to execute the initial filling operation.

Next, FIG. 13 shows that when the ink cartridge is replaced after the above-described initial filling operation is completed, the user forgets to remove the band-shaped sealing member 75 attached to the cartridge and a carriage error occurs. It shows a recovery operation when it occurs. The operation sequence shown in FIG. 13 is substantially the same as the operation sequence shown in FIG. 12, and is expressed in a state where “initial filling” shown in each step in FIG. 12 is replaced with “cleaning”. ing. Therefore, in the sequence shown in FIG. 13, steps different from the steps in FIG. 12 will be described.

That is, as shown in FIG. 13, when the operation power supply to the recording apparatus is turned on (ON), in step S61, it is verified whether or not a cleaning operation is necessary. This is determined by the elapsed time after the operation of sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head by the capping unit, the accumulated printing time during which the recording head performs the printing operation without being capped by the capping unit, and the like. Then, no cleaning operation is required (N
If determined as o), the flow shifts to step S62 to execute a flushing operation.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S61 that the cleaning operation is necessary (Yes),
Proceeding to step S63, it is verified whether cleaning was being performed when the recording apparatus was previously powered off (OFF). Here, when it is determined that the cleaning is not being performed at the time of the previous power-off (No), the process proceeds to step S68 and the cleaning operation is performed.

In step S63, the cleaning operation was being performed when the power was last turned off (Y
If determined to be es), the process moves to step S64 to verify whether or not a carriage error has occurred when the power of the printing apparatus was last turned off. This step S
64, no carriage error has occurred (N
If it is determined to be o), the process similarly proceeds to step S68 to execute the cleaning operation.

If it is determined in step S64 that a carriage error has occurred (Yes),
Thereafter, steps S65, S66, and S67 are executed.
These steps correspond to step S5 shown in FIG.
5, S56, and S57. In particular, step S65
By adopting the sequence of executing step S66, it is possible to prompt the user to replace the ink cartridge in a normal procedure.

When the user mounts the ink cartridge without the band-shaped sealing member 75 attached to the cartridge and seals the communication hole 74a and the like and operates the ink maintenance switch 101, Similarly, the carriage 51 is moved to the home position, and further proceeds to step S68 to execute a cleaning operation.

[0153]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus and the cleaning control method of the apparatus according to the present invention, the air release valve for opening the internal space of the cap member to the atmosphere can be eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to omit the management and the assembling work of the assembled parts constituting the atmosphere release valve. This makes it possible to reduce the cost and further improve the yield.

Further, generation of air bubbles in the cap member due to the use of the atmosphere release valve can be avoided.
The problem of destroying the meniscus formed at the nozzle opening due to the generation of the bubble can also be solved. Therefore, the cleaning step for repairing the meniscus can be omitted, and the time required for the cleaning operation can be reduced.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus employing the ink cartridge replacement control method of the present invention, the operation of sucking ink from the recording head by the capping means is executed, and the capping means receives negative pressure to perform recording. If the operation power supply to the apparatus is cut off while the head remains stuck to the nozzle forming surface, control means for moving the carriage to the ink cartridge replacement window at the next application of the operation power supply to the apparatus is provided. With the provision, it is possible to prompt the user to replace the ink cartridge in a normal procedure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view mainly showing a configuration of capping means in an ink jet recording apparatus to which a cleaning control method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the capping means shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the recording head is capped by a capping unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit mounted on the recording device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of head cleaning performed according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a head cleaning operation performed according to the sequence illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cleaning operation following FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a main body of an ink jet recording apparatus to which an ink cartridge replacement control method according to the present invention is applied.

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

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an outer case housing the recording apparatus main body illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit provided in the recording device shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a cartridge replacement recovery operation when a carriage error occurs during execution of an initial filling operation.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a cartridge replacement recovery operation when a carriage error occurs during execution of the cleaning operation.

FIG. 14 is a plan view mainly showing a configuration of capping means in a conventional recording apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of head cleaning performed by the conventional recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a head cleaning operation performed according to the conventional sequence shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cleaning operation following FIG. 16;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 51 Carriage 2, 54 Guide rod 3 Paper guide plate 4, 56 Recording paper 5, 62 Recording head 6, 59 Capping means 7 Cap member 8 Cap receiving member 9 Slider 10 Frame 11 Arm 21, 61 Wiping member 28,52 Carriage motor 29,60 Suction pump 30,63 Waste liquid tank 40,91 Print control means 41,92 Head drive means 42,93 Flushing control means 43,94 Cleaning control means 44,96 Cleaning command detection means 45 Cleaning sequence control Means 46, 97 Pump driving means 47, 99 Carriage motor control means 57 Black ink cartridge 58 Color ink cartridge 64 Pump driving motor 71 Ink tank 73 Lid 74, 74a Communication hole 75 Sealing part 81 outer case 84 operation panel 87 ink cartridge replacement window 100 encoder 101 ink maintenance switch 102 ink cartridge detecting means

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2C056 EA27 EB01 EB20 EB29 EB39 EB44 EC11 EC22 EC23 EC24 EC31 EC35 EC36 EC57 FA10 HA55 JA06 JA13 JA17 JB04 JC13 JC20 KC01 KC17

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording head mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage for discharging ink droplets corresponding to print data, a nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed, and a suction pump is provided. An ink-jet recording apparatus comprising: a capping unit that sucks and discharges ink from the recording head under negative pressure; and a wiping unit that wipes a nozzle forming surface of the recording head as needed. After the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by applying a negative pressure from the suction pump to suck and discharge the ink from the recording head, the internal space of the capping unit returns to the atmospheric pressure until a predetermined time elapses. And control means for maintaining the capping state of the recording head by the capping means. An ink jet recording apparatus. 2. A trajectory of the recording head when the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by the capping unit and ink is discharged from the recording head by applying a negative pressure from a suction pump. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is configured to advance upward. 3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping unit to return to the atmospheric pressure has elapsed.
The capping unit is configured to release the sealing of the capping unit with respect to the recording head, and the capping unit separates the nozzle forming surface of the recording head and the sealing surface of the capping unit in a non-parallel state when releasing the sealing of the recording head. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is configured to perform the operation. 4. The control means releases the capping means from the recording head and, at the same time, drives the suction pump to discharge the ink discharged into the capping means to a waste liquid tank. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs a wiping operation of wiping a nozzle forming surface of the recording head by the wiping unit after the sealing of the capping unit with respect to the recording head is released. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4. 6. The capping means moves to a nozzle forming surface side of a recording head and seals a nozzle forming surface by a driving force of the carriage accompanying the movement of the carriage to a home position side, and a printing area of the carriage. The carriage motor driving the carriage is configured to remove the sealing from the sealing state of the nozzle forming surface by the capping unit. 6. The driving speed when passing through the arrangement position of the wiping means that has advanced on the movement locus of the recording head is higher than the driving speed until the recording head is released. An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the above. 7. The control means is configured such that after wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head with a wiping member, the suction pump is driven to discharge the ink in the capping means again. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5. 8. An ink jet recording head mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage for discharging ink droplets corresponding to print data, a nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed, and a suction pump is provided. Capping means for sucking and discharging ink from the recording head under the negative pressure of
A cleaning control method in an ink jet type recording apparatus, comprising: a wiping unit for wiping a nozzle forming surface of the recording head as necessary, wherein the capping unit seals a nozzle forming surface of the recording head; Driving the suction pump to suction the internal space of the capping unit to a negative pressure and sucking and discharging ink from the recording head; and holding the nozzle forming surface of the recording head sealed by the capping unit. And a step of waiting until a predetermined time required for the internal space to return to the atmospheric pressure elapses. 9. After the standby step of waiting until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping means to return to the atmospheric pressure elapses, the sealing of the capping means with respect to the recording head is released, and at the same time, the suction pump is driven. 9. The cleaning control method according to claim 8, wherein an ink discharging step of discharging the ink discharged into the capping means to a waste liquid tank is performed. 10. After a standby step of waiting until a predetermined time required for the internal space of the capping means to return to the atmospheric pressure elapses, the sealing of the capping means with respect to the recording head is released, and the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is wiped. The cleaning control method in the ink jet type recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a wiping step of wiping is performed. 11. After a wiping step of wiping a nozzle forming surface of a recording head with a wiping member is performed,
11. The cleaning control method according to claim 10, wherein the suction pump is driven again to execute an ink discharging step of discharging the ink in the capping unit. 12. An ink jet recording head which is mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage and discharges ink droplets corresponding to print data, and a nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed and a suction pump is provided. And a wiping unit for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, if necessary, for supplying ink to the recording head. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: an ink cartridge mounted on the carriage; and an outer case having an ink cartridge exchange window for exchanging the ink cartridge in a part of the movement path of the carriage. An operation of sucking ink from the recording head is performed by the capping unit, and If the operation power supply to the apparatus is cut off while the capping means receives the negative pressure and remains stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, the carriage is inked when the operation power supply to the apparatus is next turned on. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a control unit for moving the cartridge to a cartridge replacement window. 13. The control unit executes a control sequence for causing the carriage to wait in the ink cartridge replacement window until an ink cartridge replacement operation is performed on the carriage moved to the ink cartridge replacement window. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 12, which is configured as described above. 14. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the operation of sucking ink from the recording head by the capping means is an initial filling operation for introducing ink into the recording head for the first time. 15. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the operation of sucking ink from the recording head by the capping means is a cleaning operation for discharging ink from the recording head. 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein whether the capping means is stuck on the nozzle forming surface of the recording head due to the negative pressure is determined by a load current to a carriage motor for driving the carriage. An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15. 17. An encoder output generated by a load current to a carriage motor for driving a carriage and movement of the carriage to determine whether or not the capping unit has been stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head due to the negative pressure. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the recording is performed by the following. 18. An ink jet type recording head mounted on a reciprocally movable carriage for discharging ink droplets corresponding to print data, a nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed, and a suction pump is provided. And a wiping unit for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, if necessary, for supplying ink to the recording head. Ink cartridge in an ink jet recording apparatus having an outer case in which an ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage and an ink cartridge replacement window for replacing the ink cartridge is opened in a part of the movement path of the carriage. Replacement control method, in which the operation power supply to the device in the previous A first verification step of verifying whether or not an operation of sucking ink from the recording head has been performed by the capping unit; and The second verification step for verifying whether or not the recording head is stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, and the first verification step verifies that an operation of sucking ink from the recording head has been performed. And performing a control step of moving the carriage to an ink cartridge replacement window when it is verified in the second verification step that the capping unit is stuck to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head. Ink cartridge for ink jet recording apparatus Exchange control method. 19. After the control step of moving the carriage to the ink cartridge replacement window is performed, a third verification step of verifying whether an ink cartridge replacement operation has been performed on the carriage is performed, and the third verification step is performed. 19. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 18, wherein, in the verification step, when it is verified that an ink cartridge exchange operation has been performed on the carriage, an ink suction step of sucking ink from the print head is performed. An ink cartridge replacement control method in a device.