JP2002192750A - Cleaning and generation of drive signal depending on content of memory in ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform cleaning and generation of a drive signal depending on the kind of ink in a printer ejecting different kinds of ink from one nozzle by replacing an ink cartridge. SOLUTION: Cartridges 71 and 72 are provided, respectively, with ink memories 71m and 72m storing ink parameter data IP. When these cartridges are fixed to the cartridge fixing section of a printer 20, the ink parameter data IP is read out from the ink memories 71m and 72m. Based on parameters PD, Tc1, Tc2, Cs, Cp, Cw, Ts1, and the like, the system controller of the printer 20 determines a suitable cleaning sequence for each kind of ink.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a nozzle cleaning technique and a drive signal generation technique in a printing apparatus that prints an image on the surface of a print medium by ejecting ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles. In particular,
The present invention relates to a cleaning technique and a driving signal generation technique in a printing apparatus capable of ejecting different types of ink from each nozzle by replacing an ink cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been an ink jet printer which is provided with an ink cartridge and discharges ink from a plurality of nozzles to print an image. Some of such inkjet printers generate a drive signal to drive an ink droplet ejection unit such as a piezo element to eject ink droplets. If the cartridge of such an ink jet printer can be replaced with another ink cartridge containing different types of ink, printing can be performed using various different inks.

[0003]

However, when the type of the ink is different, the characteristics of the ink such as the viscosity of the ink may be different. Even if the viscosity is initially equal, the way the viscosity changes with time may be different. Therefore,
In some cases, the amount of ink droplets ejected at the time of printing is different, and the likelihood of nozzle clogging is different. For this reason, conventionally, it has been difficult to replace and use a plurality of types of ink cartridges containing inks having different characteristics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and there is provided a technique for performing appropriate cleaning or ink discharging operation according to the type of ink when an ink cartridge is replaced. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

In order to solve at least a part of the above problems, the present invention is directed to a printing apparatus that performs printing by discharging ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles. Perform predetermined processing.
The printing apparatus includes a print head having a plurality of nozzles,
A head driving unit for driving a plurality of nozzles to record dots, a cartridge mounting unit capable of mounting an ink cartridge having a memory storing ink parameter data, and a memory of the ink cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting unit. The apparatus includes a memory reading unit that reads ink parameter data, a cleaning mechanism that cleans a plurality of nozzles, and a control unit that controls each unit.

[0006] The ink parameter data includes at least ink parameters determined according to the type of ink contained in the ink cartridge. Then, a nozzle cleaning sequence is determined according to the ink parameters. With such an embodiment, an appropriate cleaning sequence can be determined according to the type of ink stored in the ink cartridge.

The ink parameters include an ink type parameter for distinguishing between dye ink and pigment ink.
Is preferred. According to such an embodiment, it is possible to perform appropriate cleaning by changing the cleaning sequence between the pigment ink that easily causes clogging and the dye ink that does not easily generate clogging.

Preferably, the ink parameters include a drive waveform parameter for defining a shape of a drive signal generated by a head drive unit for discharging ink droplets.
Preferably, the drive signal is generated according to a drive waveform parameter. According to this aspect, it is possible to generate a drive signal having an appropriate waveform in accordance with the ink stored in the ink cartridge and perform an appropriate ejection operation.

It is preferable that the drive waveform parameter includes a drive voltage parameter representing a drive voltage for generating a drive signal. With such an embodiment, an appropriate drive voltage can be set according to the ink contained in the ink cartridge.

It is preferable that the drive waveform parameter includes a time interval parameter that substantially defines the length of a time interval until the drive signal changes from a specific potential to another specific potential. According to this aspect, the waveform of the drive signal can be adjusted in the time axis direction according to the ink stored in the ink cartridge.

The printing apparatus is provided with a timer for measuring time, and further, as a cleaning mechanism, an ink suction mechanism for suctioning ink from a plurality of nozzles to the outside is provided. It is preferable to include a suction time parameter that defines the time for performing. Then, it is preferable to perform the suction of the ink from the plurality of nozzles according to the suction time parameter. By adopting such an aspect, in cleaning the nozzle according to the ink stored in the ink cartridge,
The ink can be sucked for an appropriate time.

The suction time parameter defines a suction time for performing the first suction after changing the ink used from the dye ink to the pigment ink or from the pigment ink to the dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge. A second suction time parameter for defining the first suction time parameter and the suction time for performing the second and subsequent suctions after changing the ink used from the dye ink to the pigment ink or from the pigment ink to the dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge; And a suction time parameter.

According to this aspect, after changing the ink used from the dye ink to the pigment ink or from the pigment ink to the dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge,
The suction time for performing the first suction and the suction time for the second and subsequent times can be set separately. It is more preferable to set the suction time for performing the first suction longer than the suction time for the second and subsequent suctions.

Preferably, the printing apparatus is provided with a timer for measuring time, and the ink parameters include a cleaning time parameter for defining a time from when a predetermined event occurs to when cleaning is automatically performed. .
Then, it is preferable to execute the cleaning of the plurality of nozzles according to the timer and the cleaning time parameter. With such an embodiment, the time until automatic cleaning can be set according to the ink stored in the ink cartridge.

The cleaning time parameter is a first cleaning time which defines the time from the change of the ink used from the dye ink to the pigment ink or from the pigment ink to the dye ink due to the replacement of the ink cartridge until the automatic cleaning is performed. It is preferable to include a time parameter and a second cleaning time parameter that defines a time from the execution of the automatic cleaning performed after the change of the used ink to the next automatic cleaning.
According to such an embodiment, the time until the first automatic cleaning after the change of the used ink and the interval of the second and subsequent automatic cleanings can be set separately.

It is preferable that the ink parameters include a cleaning type parameter for instructing the cleaning to be performed among a plurality of types of cleaning that can be performed. With such an embodiment, it is possible to select and execute an appropriate cleaning in accordance with the type of ink contained in the ink cartridge.

The present invention can be realized in various modes as described below. (1) Printing device, printing control device, ink cartridge. (2) Nozzle cleaning method and printing method. (3) Computer programs for realizing the above devices and methods. (4) A recording medium on which a computer program for realizing the above apparatus and method is recorded. (5) A data signal embodied in a carrier wave including a computer program for realizing the above apparatus and method.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in the following order. A. Overview of Embodiment: Configuration of device: Contents of parameter data stored in ink memory: D. Configuration of head drive driver: Configuration and operation of cleaning mechanism: First embodiment: F-1. Generation of Original Drive Signal: F-2. Cleaning: G. Second embodiment: Third Embodiment I. Fourth embodiment: Other:

A. Outline of Embodiment: FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a printer and an ink cartridge according to one embodiment of the present invention. Ink cartridges 71 and 72 according to one embodiment of the embodiment are provided with ink memories 71m and 72m respectively storing ink parameter data IP. When these cartridges are attached to the cartridge mounting portion of the printer 20, the ink memory 7
The ink parameter data IP is read from 1 m and 72 m. The drive waveform generation control circuit of the printer 20 controls the applied voltage parameters Vh1 and Vh2 and the time interval parameters St1 to St5 in the ink parameter data IP.
, A drive signal suitable for each type of ink is generated.

The system controller of the printer 20 includes an ink type parameter PD, a first cleaning time parameter Tc1, a second cleaning time parameter Tc2, cleaning type parameters Cs, Cp,
Based on Cw and the suction time parameter Ts1, a cleaning sequence suitable for each type of ink is determined.

In the printer 20 and the ink cartridges 71 and 72, the ink parameter data IP that defines the waveform of the drive signal and the cleaning sequence is used.
On the cartridge side. For this reason, even when a new ink is developed, it is possible to cause the printing apparatus to generate an appropriate drive waveform and perform appropriate cleaning.

B. Configuration of Apparatus: FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a main configuration of a color inkjet printer 20 as one embodiment of the present invention. The printer 20 includes a paper stacker 22, a paper feed roller 24 driven by a step motor (not shown), a platen plate 26, a carriage 28, a step motor 30, and a step motor 30.
Belt 32 driven by the
And a guide rail 34 for A print head 36 having a number of nozzles is mounted on the carriage 28.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a nozzle array provided on the lower surface of the print head 36. The lower surface print head 36, the black nozzle row K _D, dark cyan nozzle row C _D, light cyan nozzle row C _L, dark magenta nozzle row M _D, light magenta nozzle row M _L, is yellow nozzle row Y _D is provided .
Each nozzle row includes 48 nozzles arranged in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the guide rail 34. These nozzle rows are arranged in the direction of the guide rail 34.

The printing paper P is taken up from the paper stacker 22 by the paper feed roller 24 and is fed on the surface of the platen plate 26 in the sub-scanning direction (see FIG. 2). The carriage 28 is pulled by a pulling belt 32 driven by a step motor 30 and moves along a guide rail 34 in the main scanning direction. The main scanning direction is perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the ink cartridge 71 and the cartridge mounting portion 29 on the carriage 28. As shown in FIG. 4A, an ink memory 71m and a connection terminal 71c for accessing the ink memory 71m are provided at a lower portion of the side surface of the ink cartridge 71.

On the other hand, on the carriage 28, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a cartridge mounting portion 29 for mounting the ink cartridge 71 is provided. The cartridge mounting portion 29 is provided with a cartridge guide 29g serving as a side wall for fixing the mounting position of the ink cartridge 71. A memory reading section 29r is provided below the one side wall. When the ink cartridge 71 is attached to the cartridge mounting section 29, the memory reading section 29r is connected to the connection terminal 71c of the ink cartridge 71, and the printer 20 operates the ink memory 71m of the ink cartridge 71.
Can be read out.

In addition, on the bottom of the cartridge mounting portion 29,
A needle 29n, which is a tip portion of an ink passage reaching a nozzle on the print head 36, is provided upward. When the ink cartridge 71 is attached to the cartridge mounting portion 29, the needle 29n is inserted into the ink tank 71t containing the ink in the ink cartridge 71, and the ink in the ink tank 71t can be sent out to the nozzle. . In the ink cartridge 71, only the ink tank 71t is used, but in the ink cartridge 72, five ink tanks 72t1 to 72t5 corresponding to each color ink are used.
(See FIG. 1). These ink tanks 71t, 72t1 to 72t5 are "ink storage units" in the claims.

Incidentally, another cartridge mounting portion for mounting the ink cartridge 72 is provided on the carriage 28. Since the configurations of the cartridge mounting portion and the ink cartridge 72 are substantially the same as the configurations of the cartridge mounting portion 29 and the ink cartridge 71, the description is omitted. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, a cartridge mounting portion for mounting the ink cartridge 71 and a cartridge mounting portion for mounting the ink cartridge 72 are collectively referred to as a cartridge mounting portion 29, and the memory reading portions of both of them are referred to as the memory reading portion 29.
Described as r.

At the standby position of the carriage 28 at the right end of FIG. 2, a dot missing inspection section 40 for inspecting whether or not ink droplets are ejected from each nozzle (hereinafter, referred to as "dot missing inspection"). Is provided. The dot missing inspection section 40 includes a light emitting element 40a and a light receiving element 40b. In the dot missing inspection, first, the light emitting element 4
The laser light L is emitted from 0a toward the light receiving element 40b. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the print head 36 is arranged so that the laser light L intersects the trajectory of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle to be inspected. Then, an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle. If the laser light L is blocked, it is determined that ink droplets are being ejected.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the printer 20. The printer 20 includes a reception buffer memory 50 for receiving a signal supplied from the host computer 100, an image buffer 52 for storing print data, a system controller 54 for controlling the overall operation of the printer 20, a main memory 56, a PROM 51
And a timer 58.

The system controller 54 includes a main scanning driver 61 for driving the carriage motor 30, a sub-scanning driver 62 for driving the paper feed motor 31 (omitted in FIG. 2), and a head for driving the print head 36. The drive driver 66, the inspection unit driver 63 for driving the dot missing inspection unit 40, and the memory read driver 67 for driving the memory read unit 29r are connected. The paper feed motor 31 is also used as a motor for operating a cleaning mechanism 200a described later.

When the ink cartridges 71 and 72 are attached to the cartridge mounting section, the system controller 54 reads out the ink parameter data IP from the ink memories 71m and 72m through the memory reading driver 67 and the memory reading section 29r. Then, the ink parameter data IP is stored in the main memory 56, and the head drive driver 66 generates a drive signal according to the ink parameter. Similarly, cleaning is performed by determining a cleaning sequence according to the ink parameters.

A printer driver (not shown) of the host computer 100 determines various parameter values that define a printing operation based on a print mode (high-speed print mode, high-quality print mode, etc.) specified by the user. The printer driver further generates print data for printing in the print mode based on these parameter values, and transfers the print data to the printer 20. The transferred print data is temporarily stored in the reception buffer memory 50. In the printer 20, the system controller 54
Reads necessary information from the print data from the reception buffer memory 50, and sends a control signal to each driver based on the read information.

The image buffer 52 stores print data of a plurality of color components obtained by decomposing the print data received by the reception buffer memory 50 for each color component. The head drive driver 66 reads the print data of each color component from the image buffer 52 in accordance with a control signal from the system controller 54, and responds to the read data.
The nozzle array of each color provided in 6 is driven.

C. Contents of Parameter Data Stored in Ink Memory: The contents of parameter data stored in the ink memory will be described with reference to FIG. Ink memory 7
Ink parameter data IP stored in 1m and 72m
Stores ink parameters set according to the ink stored in the cartridge. The ink parameters include applied voltage parameters Vh1, Vh2,.
Time interval parameters St1, St2,.
The applied voltage parameters Vh1, Vh2, etc. are parameters representing the potential of a predetermined portion of the waveform of the original drive signal ODRV supplied to the piezo element of the printing apparatus. The applied voltage parameters Vh1, Vh2, etc. are the "drive voltage parameters" in the claims.

The time section parameters St1, St2
Are the original drive signals ODR as shown in FIG.
At V, a time section such as a time St1 for applying a negative voltage, a time St2 for maintaining a negative potential, a time St3 for applying a positive voltage, a time St4 for maintaining a positive potential, and a time St5 for applying a negative voltage thereafter. Is a parameter representing The drive waveform generation control circuit of the printer 20 can generate a drive signal suitable for each type of ink based on these parameters. These applied voltage parameters Vh1, Vh2, etc., and time section parameters St1, St2, etc.
This is the “drive waveform parameter” described in the claims.
The generation of the driving waveform will be described later.

The ink parameter data IP includes an ink type parameter PD. The ink type parameter PD is 1 when the ink contained in the cartridge is a pigment ink, and is 0 when the ink is a dye ink. Here, the ink type parameter PD
Is a binary value representing a pigment and a dye, but the information amount of the ink type parameter PD can be increased to represent a plurality of ink types. For example, a plurality of types of ink classified according to a plurality of attributes, such as whether the ink is a weather resistant ink or a metallic ink, may be displayed.

The ink parameter data IP specifies how long after the cartridge has been installed, cleaning is automatically performed when the ink cartridge is replaced and the type of ink is changed from dye to pigment. The first cleaning time parameter Tc
Including 1. After that, a second rule that defines how long after which the cleaning is automatically repeated.
Cleaning parameter Tc2. The printer 20 can execute a plurality of types of cleaning such as suction of ink, suction of ink with pinching, and suction of ink with wiping. The ink parameter data IP also includes parameters Cs, Cp, and Cw that define which of these cleanings is to be performed. These parameters are "0: do not execute" or "1: execute"
Is determined by

The ink parameter data IP includes a suction time parameter Ts1. Suction time parameter T
s1 is a parameter that defines the time for sucking ink from the nozzle in cleaning the nozzle. The ink suction will be described later.

D. Configuration of head drive driver: FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a drive signal generation unit provided in a head drive driver 66. The drive signal generator includes a plurality of mask circuits 204 and the original drive signal generator 20.
6 is provided. The mask circuit 204 includes the print head 3
It is provided corresponding to a plurality of piezo elements PE for driving the six nozzles n1 to n48, respectively. In FIG. 6, the number in parentheses added to the end of each signal name indicates the number of the nozzle to which the signal is supplied.
The original drive signal generator 206 generates an original drive signal ODRV commonly used for the nozzles n1 to n48. The original drive signal ODRV is a signal including a plurality of pulses in the main scanning period for one pixel. Here, the small dot pulse W
It is assumed that the signal includes two pulses of 1 and the medium dot pulse W2.

As shown in FIG. 6, the serial print signal PRT (i) input together with the original drive signal ODRV output from the original drive signal
Is input to This serial print signal PRT (i)
Each pixel is a 2-bit serial signal, and each bit corresponds to the small dot pulse W1 and the medium dot pulse W2, respectively. Then, the mask circuit 204
This is a gate for masking the original drive signal ODRV according to the level of the serial print signal PRT (i). That is, the mask circuit 204 outputs the serial print signal PRT.
When (i) is at one level, the corresponding pulse of the original drive signal ODRV is passed as it is and supplied to the piezo element as the drive signal DRV, while the serial print signal PR
When T (i) is at the 0 level, the original drive signal ODRV
Block the corresponding pulse of. In this way, the respective pulses W1 and W2 in the drive signal are passed as they are,
It is masked.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of generating the original drive signal. The original drive signal generation unit 206 includes applied voltage parameters Vh1 and Vh1 representing transition of a predetermined applied voltage of the drive signal.
A drive waveform is generated based on h2,..., and time section parameters St1, St2,... which define the length of a time section until the drive signal changes from a specific potential to another specific potential. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the drive signal has a potential Vh higher by (Vh1 + Vh2) over St3 = 8 steps from a state where the potential is −Vh2.
The potential of the drive signal is shifted to 1. Then, the potential Vh1 is held by St4 = 3 steps, and thereafter, the potential Vh1 is held.
From 1 to St5 = 5 steps, the potential shifts to the potential 0. Note that the potential difference for each step in each time section such as ΔV1, ΔV2, ΔV3 is obtained by dividing the potential difference in the entire time section by the number of steps.

As described above, the waveform of the original drive signal is defined by the applied voltage parameters Vh1, Vh2,... And the time interval parameters St1, St2,. Although a part of the original drive signal is extracted and a method of generating the original drive signal is described here, the drive waveform shown in FIG. 7 does not represent an actual drive waveform.

E. Configuration and operation of cleaning mechanism: FIG.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a cleaning mechanism 200a. The cleaning mechanism 200a includes the head cap 21
0a, hoses 220a, 220b, 220c, and pump rollers 230a, 230b, 230c. In FIG. 8, the hoses 220a and 220c
Is shown only halfway, and the pump roller 230a
And 230c are not shown. The cleaning mechanism 200a is an “ink suction mechanism” described in the claims.

As shown in FIG. 8, the internal space of the head cap 210a is divided into three suction chambers Va, Vb and Vc. When the head cap 210a rises and comes into close contact with the lower surface of the print head 36, the suction chamber Va forms a closed space that covers the nozzle rows K _D and C _D (see FIG. 3), and the suction chamber Vb forms the nozzle row C _L. and forming a closed space covering the M _D, suction chambers Vc to form a closed space covering the nozzle array M _L and Y _D. Then, the suction chamber V of the head cap 210a
a, Vb, and Vc are hoses 220a, 220, respectively.
b, 220c are connected.

The pump roller 230b has two small rollers 232b and 234b near the periphery thereof.
A hose 220b is wound around these two small rollers 232b and 234b. Paper feed motor 3
1 (FIG. 5) and the pump roller 230b
When rotated in the direction, the air in the hose 220b is pushed by the small rollers 232b and 234b, whereby the closed space Vb in the head cap 210a is exhausted. As a result, the nozzle rows C _L of the print head 36, ink is sucked from the nozzles of the M _D, and is discharged to a waste ink discharging unit (not shown) through a hose 220b. When the ink existing at the nozzle tip is discharged, new ink is supplied to the nozzle from the ink cartridge side.

The construction and operation of the pump roller 230b and the hose 220b (not shown) and the pump roller 230c and the hose 220c (not shown)
a and the configuration and operation of the hose 220a. With these configurations, a nozzle set including the nozzle rows K _D and C _D , a nozzle set including the nozzle rows C _L and M _D ,
The nozzle set of the nozzle rows M _L and Y _D, three parties are sucking ink independently. Also, the hose 220
Before and after a, 220b, and 220c, pinches 241, 242 are provided.
42 are provided. The pinches 241 and 242 are shown in FIG.
Are provided so as to be openable and closable as shown by a two-way arrow.
The pinches 241 and 242 are connected to the hoses 220a and 220a, respectively.
By sandwiching 20b and 220c from the front and rear, the suction force by the pump rollers 230a, 230b and 230c can be prevented from reaching the suction chambers Va, Vb and Vc of the head cap 210a.

The cleaning mechanism 20 at the right end in FIG.
A nozzle wiper mechanism 600 is provided at a position between Oa and the inspection unit 40. Nozzle wiper mechanism 600
Includes a wiper head section 601 having a wiper blade 603 and a wiper holding section 604, and a link mechanism 602 (not shown) for moving the wiper head section 601 in the sub-scanning direction. In a steady state, the wiper head unit 601 is retracted from a position directly below the guide rail 34 to a position downstream in the paper feeding direction, and is sent to a position directly below the guide rail 34 when wiping the print head. The retraction and advance of the wiper head 601 are both performed by the link mechanism 602.

The wiper head section 601 includes a wiper blade 603 and a wiper holding section 604 for supporting the wiper blade 603. Wiper blade 603
Is a plate-like elastic body in which a felt layer and a rubber layer are bonded. As shown in FIG. 2, the wiper head 601 is disposed such that the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade 603 is parallel to the sub-scanning direction. The wiper head 601 is arranged in such a manner that the felt layer side of the wiper blade 603 faces the platen plate 26 side. The wiper head 601 is connected to a link mechanism 602.
When the print head 36 is sent out just below the guide rail 34 and the print head 36 is located above the wiper head unit 601, the tip of the wiper blade 603 is
The user touches the nozzle unit provided on the lower surface.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the print head 36 when the nozzle surface of the print head 36 is wiped with the wiper blade 603. When an instruction for head cleaning is issued from the host computer 100, the system controller 54 issues an instruction to the main scanning drive driver 61 to move the stepping motor 30, and the nozzle wiper mechanism 600
The carriage 28 is arranged at a predetermined upper position. At that time, the wiper head 601 is in the retracted position (see FIG. 2). After that, the system controller 54 sends the wiper head 601 from the retracted position to a position directly below the guide rail 34 via the cleaning link driver 69 and the link mechanism 602. As a result, the relationship between each nozzle unit and the wiper blade 603 is as shown in FIG.

Then, the system controller 54 issues an instruction to the main scanning driving driver 61 to
0, the print head 36 is moved so that the print head 36 reciprocates in the main scanning direction with the wiper blade 603 interposed therebetween as shown in FIGS. 9 (a), 9 (b) and 9 (c). When the print head 36 passes over the wiper head 601, the tip of the wiper blade 603 contacts the nozzle surface of the print head 36 as shown in FIG. Wiper blade 6
03 is wiped to remove dust and the like. After these operations are completed, the system controller 54 stops the print head 36, and then retracts the wiper head 601 to the retract position from directly below the guide rail 34 (see FIG. 2).

F. First Embodiment: FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a print processing procedure in the first embodiment. When the ink cartridges 71 and 72 are attached to the cartridge mounting section 29 in step S1 (see FIG. 4), in step S2, the system controller 54 reads parameter data from the ink memories 71m and 72m through the memory reading section 29r and reads the main memory 56. To be stored. Then, in step S3, the system controller 5
4 performs a printing operation according to the parameter data. The “printing operation” here includes a cleaning operation.

When a new ink cartridge is installed, the parameters of the ink cartridge installed immediately before are stored in the main memory 56.
Not everything is erased from within. That is, the ink type parameter PD (see FIG. 1) is still stored in the main memory as information indicating the type of ink of the immediately preceding ink cartridge.

F-1. Generation of Original Drive Signal: FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing that the shape of the drive waveform changes when the applied voltage parameter and the time section parameter change. In the printing operation in step S3 (see FIG. 10), original drive signals are generated according to the applied voltage parameters and the time section parameters stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m. For example, using the example of FIG. 7, when the ink cartridges 71 and 72 are replaced, the applied voltage parameter Vh1 changes to Vh1a,
When the applied voltage parameter Vh2 changes to Vh2a and the time interval parameter St5 changes from 6 to 7, the generated drive waveform changes from the ODRV shape shown in FIG.
It changes to the form of ODRVa shown in (a).

FIG. 11B shows the ODRV of FIG. 7 and FIG.
It is a figure which shows in comparison with ODRVa of (a). FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11B, the original drive signal ODR shown in FIG.
Va corresponds to the arrow R1 with respect to the original drive signal ODRV in FIG.
The applied voltage on the plus side increases by the amount of, and the applied voltage on the minus side also increases by the amount of the arrow R2. The point where the applied voltage becomes 0 is also delayed by the arrow R3, that is, one step. In this way, by appropriately setting the applied voltage parameter and the time section parameter according to the properties of the ink, it is possible to generate the original drive signal according to the properties of the ink.

The ink cartridge is mounted with an ink cartridge 71 containing black ink and a cartridge 72 containing a plurality of color inks. Therefore, two types of applied voltage parameters and time section parameters are read from the ink memories 71m and 72m. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the original drive signal ODRV generated by the original drive signal generator 206 is commonly used by the piezo elements PE of all nozzles (see FIG. 6). Therefore, when the applied voltage parameter and the time interval parameter stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m do not match, the printer 20 determines that an error has occurred and does not perform printing.

A plurality of original drive signal generators 206 corresponding to a plurality of ink cartridges which can be simultaneously attached to the printer are provided, and the original drive signal generators 206 corresponding to the piezo elements for discharging ink of each ink cartridge are provided. It is also possible to provide a printer which can supply the original drive signal from the unit. According to such a mode, it is more preferable that ink cartridges of inks having different preferable original drive signals can be simultaneously mounted and used.

In this embodiment, the drive waveform parameters include an applied voltage parameter representing the potential of a predetermined portion of the waveform of the original drive signal and the drive waveform parameter until the drive signal changes from a specific potential to another specific potential. And a time interval parameter that substantially defines the length of the time interval. However, the drive waveform parameter is not limited to this, and the drive waveform is defined in a stepwise manner (see FIG. 7), and may be a potential parameter that defines each potential itself. That is, if the ink memory includes a drive waveform parameter that defines the shape of the drive signal generated by the head drive unit for ejecting ink droplets, a drive signal having a waveform corresponding to the type of ink is generated. be able to.

F-2. Cleaning: FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a timer cleaning procedure automatically performed with the passage of time. First, step S3
In step 2, the ink type parameter PD of the ink cartridge installed immediately before is compared with the ink type parameter PD of the currently installed ink cartridge. When the type of ink (or pigment or dye) were different from, the threshold T _CL for cleaning at step S34, and substitutes a value determined based on the first cleaning time parameter Tc1. On the other hand, when the type of the ink are the same, the threshold T _CL for cleaning at step S36, and substitutes a value determined based on the second cleaning time parameters Tc2. Note that the threshold value determined by the first cleaning time parameter Tc1 is the second cleaning time parameter Tc1.
It is smaller than the threshold value determined by c2.

The ink cartridge is provided with an ink cartridge 71 containing black ink and a cartridge 72 containing a plurality of color inks. Therefore, the ink types of the ink cartridge 71 and the ink cartridge 72 may be different. However, in the present embodiment, when the ink cartridge 71 and the ink cartridge 72 are different, it is determined that an error has occurred, and printing is not performed. Therefore, in the comparison of the ink types in step S32, the common ink type of the currently installed ink cartridges 71 and 72 is compared with the common ink type of the ink cartridges 71 and 72 installed immediately before. It will be.

In step S38, measurement of the elapsed time by the timer 58 is started. Then, step S4
0, if there is no print instruction, subsequently, in step S42, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time measured by the timer 58 has exceeded a predetermined threshold _TCL. It returns to S40. That is, in the steady state, the printer 20 performs step S4
Waiting for a print instruction in the flow between 0 and S42. If there is a print instruction in step S40, step S5
0, printing is performed, the elapsed time measured by the timer 58 is cleared in step S52, and the
38, the time measurement by the timer 58 is started again.

In step S52, the timer 58
After clearing the elapsed time measured by step S38, step S38
The timing at which the timer is started may be the timing at which the printer 20 finishes printing and the head cap 210a comes into close contact with the print head 36 to prevent drying.

If it is determined in step S42 that the elapsed time measured by the timer 58 has exceeded the predetermined threshold TCL as a result of continuing to wait for a print instruction in the flow between steps S40 and S42, the process _proceeds to step S44. The selection and execution of the cleaning sequence are performed in. The selection and execution of the cleaning sequence will be described later. Each cleaning method is as described in "E. Configuration and operation of cleaning mechanism". Then, step S
Elapsed time timer 58 is measured in 46 is cleared, at step S48, the threshold T _CL, assigns a value determined based on the second cleaning time parameters Tc2. Thereafter, the process returns to step S38, and the timer is started again.

When the ink type is changed by replacing the ink cartridge, there is a greater possibility that nozzle clogging will occur than when the ink type does not change. However, in this embodiment, when the type of ink to be used is different, the time until the first cleaning is set to be short, so that the possibility of clogging before the cleaning is performed is small. .

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure for selecting and executing the cleaning sequence in step S44. In step S102, the system controller 54 determines a cleaning sequence based on the cleaning type parameter. Then, step S
At 104, the system controller executes a cleaning sequence. Note that the cleaning not selected in step S102 is not executed in the cleaning sequence in step S104. On the other hand, the cleaning selected in step S102 is not all actually performed in step S104. That is, there is a cleaning that is also not performed according to the number of inoperative nozzles.

FIG. 14 is a table showing the contents of the cleaning type parameter. In FIG. 14, for example, the ink B, which is a pigment ink, has a cleaning type parameter C
s is 0 and Cp and Cw are 1. in this case,
“Suction by the pump rollers 230a to 230c” (hereinafter, referred to as “ink suction”) is not performed in the cleaning sequence, and “suction with the pinches 241 and 242 of the hoses 220a to 220c” (hereinafter “pinching cleaning”) ) And "wiping with a pinch and wiping by the wiper blade 603" (hereinafter referred to as "wiping cleaning").

In the case of the ink A, which is a dye ink, the cleaning type parameters Cs, Cp, and Cw are all one. In this case, execution of any of “ink suction”, “pinching cleaning”, and “wiping cleaning” is considered. Further, in the case of the ink C which is a pigment ink, the cleaning type parameter Cw
Only one is 1. In this case, "ink suction" and "pinching cleaning" are not performed, and only "wiping cleaning" is performed. Hereinafter, a cleaning sequence for ink B and a cleaning sequence for ink A will be described as examples.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a cleaning sequence for ink A. In the cleaning sequence for the ink A (hereinafter, referred to as “first cleaning sequence”), first, in step S201, suction of the ink by the cleaning mechanism 200a is performed. Here, the pump rollers 230a, 2
The nozzles 30b and 230c are driven to suction all the nozzles. Thereafter, in step S202, the dot missing inspection unit 4
Using 0, it is determined whether or not there is a non-operation nozzle. If there is no inoperative nozzle, that is, if clogging of the nozzle has been eliminated, step S4 in FIG.
Go to step 6 to clear the timer. If there is a non-operation nozzle, the process proceeds to step S203.

In step S203, the system controller 54 sets the pump rollers 230a, 230 for a predetermined time with the pinches 241, 242 (see FIG. 8) closed.
b, 230c. At this stage, the suction force has not been transmitted to the suction chambers Va, Vb, and Vc of the head cap 210a. After that, release the pinches 241, 242,
The suction force by the pump rollers 230a, 230b, 230c is transmitted to the suction chambers Va, Vb, Vc. Pinch 241,
Since the suction force is suddenly transmitted to the suction chambers Va, Vb, and Vc of the head cap 210a by the release of the nozzle 242, the suction of ink (pinching cleaning) in step S203 is more effective than the suction of ink in step S201. High ability to clear clogging.

Thereafter, in step S204 shown in FIG. 15, the presence or absence of a non-operation nozzle is determined in the same manner as in step S202. If there is no non-operation nozzle, that is, if clogging has been eliminated, the process proceeds to step S46 in FIG. Move to clear the timer. If there is a non-operation nozzle, the process proceeds to step S205. In step S205, pinching cleaning and nozzle wiping are performed. The contents of the pinching cleaning in step S205 are the same as the contents of the pinching cleaning in step S203. The nozzle wiping is performed by using the nozzle wiper mechanism 600. In the cleaning operation in step S205, wiping is performed in addition to the rapid suction of ink by the pinches 241 and 242.
3 has a higher ability to eliminate nozzle clogging than ink suction. Thereafter, in step S206, the presence or absence of a non-operation nozzle is determined in the same manner as in steps S202 and S204. Clear the timer. If there is a non-operation nozzle, the process proceeds to step S209.
In step S209, a defect is displayed on the liquid crystal window of the printer 20, and the process ends.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a cleaning sequence for ink B (see FIG. 14). The cleaning sequence for the ink B (hereinafter, referred to as “second cleaning sequence”)
Steps S201 and S in the first cleaning sequence
202 (see FIG. 15). Then, the cleaning operation of step S203 is performed from the beginning. Step S2 of the second cleaning sequence
The contents of each procedure after 03 are the same as those after step S203 of the first cleaning sequence. Therefore, if it is determined in step S102 in FIG. 13 that the ink is a pigment ink, the process proceeds to steps S201 and S201.
Step S2 by skipping the procedure of 202 (see FIG. 15)
Each procedure of the cleaning sequence such as 03 and S205 is performed.

In the first embodiment, nozzle cleaning is realized by a sequence including a plurality of cleaning operations. Then, without performing a predetermined cleaning operation according to the cleaning type parameter, a cleaning operation having a higher ability to eliminate nozzle clogging is performed. Therefore, there is no consumption of ink by performing cleaning that is unlikely to eliminate all clogging.

In the first embodiment, the cleaning sequence is defined, a large number of ink parameters defining the waveform of the drive signal are stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m, and these parameters are read into the printer 20 to perform the printing operation. I decided to do. However, a mode may be employed in which the waveform of the drive signal is defined, or information defining the cleaning sequence is stored in the printing apparatus in advance. Then, in accordance with the ink type parameter stored in the ink cartridge, the printing apparatus selects information defining the waveform of the drive signal stored in advance and information defining the cleaning sequence, and selects an appropriate drive signal. May be generated to determine an appropriate cleaning sequence. With such an embodiment, the capacity of the ink memory provided in the ink cartridge can be reduced.

On the other hand, storing the parameters defining the waveform of the drive signal and the parameters defining the cleaning sequence in the ink memory provided in the ink cartridge has the following advantages. That is, even when a new ink is developed after the printing device is sold, if the appropriate parameters are set according to the new ink, the printing device can perform an appropriate printing operation.

That is, regardless of the mode, an ink cartridge having a memory that stores ink parameter data including ink parameters that are determined according to the type of ink contained and that define a nozzle cleaning sequence. Prepared, attached to the printing device,
If cleaning is performed according to the ink parameters, appropriate cleaning can be performed according to the type of ink. In addition, if a drive waveform parameter that defines a drive signal waveform is stored in the memory of the ink cartridge and cleaning is performed according to the drive waveform parameter, an appropriate drive waveform corresponding to the type of ink can be generated. it can.

G. Second Embodiment: In the first embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (3), when the type of ink is changed, the time until the first cleaning after replacing the ink cartridge is set shorter (steps S34, S36, S36).
48). In the second embodiment, the ink suction time in step S201 (see FIG. 15) of the first cleaning sequence is also changed according to the ink used before and after the ink cartridge replacement. Other points are the same as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing suction time parameters stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m in the second embodiment. The ink cartridges 71 and 72 shown in FIG. 17A both contain dye ink.
The ink memories 71m and 72m store two types of suction time parameters Ts1 and Ts2. The parameters stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m other than these parameters are those in the case of the first embodiment (see FIG. 1).
Is the same as The suction time parameter Ts1 is a parameter that defines the ink suction time in step S201 (see FIG. 15) when the ink in the ink cartridge attached before the ink cartridges 71 and 72 is dye ink. . Further, the suction time parameter Ts2 is a parameter that defines the ink suction time in step S201 when the ink in the previously attached ink cartridge is pigment ink. The suction time parameter Ts1 is a "first suction time parameter" in the claims, and the suction time parameter Ts2 is a "second suction time parameter" in the claims.

When the ink contained in the ink cartridges 71 and 72 is pigment ink, the ink cartridges 71 and 72 shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), suction time parameters Ts3 and Ts4 are stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m. The suction time parameter Ts3 is a parameter that defines the ink suction time in step S201 (see FIG. 15) when the ink in the previously attached ink cartridge is pigment ink. Further, the suction time parameter Ts4 is a value obtained when the ink of the ink cartridge attached before is dye ink.
This is a parameter that defines the ink suction time in step S201. In this pigment ink, the cleaning type parameter Cs is 1, and ink suction is also performed during cleaning (see FIGS. 1 and 15).

[0079] Figure 18 is a flowchart showing a procedure of setting the ink suction time Ts and the threshold T _CL in the second embodiment. The procedure of the timer cleaning in the second embodiment is unique from the start to before step S38, but is the same as the procedure of the first embodiment (FIG. 12) after step S38. In the second embodiment, after replacing the ink cartridge, in step S302, the system controller 54 compares the types of ink before and after replacing the ink cartridge. This comparison is performed based on the ink type parameter PD before and after the ink cartridge replacement stored in the main memory. If the ink type before and after replacing the cartridge is both dye ink,
In step S304, the ink suction time Ts is set to Ts
Let it be 1. Note that the suction time parameters Ts1, Ts2
Are stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m of the ink cartridges 71 and 72 containing the dye ink as described above (see FIG. 17A). Further, since the ink kind is not changed, and substitutes a value determined based on the second cleaning time parameter Tc2 threshold T _CL at step S306.

On the other hand, if the ink type before the cartridge replacement is a pigment and the ink type after the cartridge replacement is a dye, the ink suction time Ts is set to Ts2 in step S308. Further, since the ink type has been changed from pigment to dye, the threshold value T _{CL is determined in} step S310.
To the value determined based on the first cleaning time parameter Tc1.

Similarly, if the ink type before and after the cartridge replacement is both pigment, the ink suction time Ts is set to Ts3 in step S312. The suction time parameters Ts3 and Ts4 are stored in the ink memory of the ink cartridge containing the pigment ink (FIG. 1).
7 (b)). Then, substituting the value determined on the basis of the second cleaning time parameter Tc2 threshold T _CL at step S314. If the ink type before the cartridge replacement is a dye and the ink type after the cartridge replacement is a pigment, the ink suction time Ts is set to Ts4 in step S316. And step S
318 substitutes the value determined on the basis of the first cleaning time parameter Tc1 threshold T _CL.

With such an embodiment, step S201 (FIG. 15) is performed according to the ink type before and after the cartridge replacement.
Ink can be sucked only for an appropriate time. In addition to the dyes and pigments, various types of ink can be used depending on whether or not the ink is weather-resistant ink, whether or not it is metallic ink. And
A plurality of suction time parameters can be set in accordance with these types of ink. That is, if a suction time parameter that defines the time for performing ink suction determined according to the type of ink is stored in the memory of the ink cartridge, and ink suction is performed according to the suction time parameter, the type of ink Can be suctioned for an appropriate time according to the time.

H. Third Embodiment: In the third embodiment, the suction time in the first suction after the type of ink is changed is longer than that in the second and subsequent suctions. Other points are the same as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing suction time parameters stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m in the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, in the ink memories 71m and 72m, a cleaning time parameter Ts5 for defining the suction time in the first cleaning after the ink type is changed, and a cleaning time for defining the suction time in the second and subsequent cleanings. The time parameter Ts6 is stored.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a timer cleaning procedure automatically performed as time passes in the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, FIG.
Step S54 is executed instead of Step S34 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and Step S is executed instead of Step S36.
56 is executed. Then, step S4 of the first embodiment is performed.
Step S58 is performed instead of the step S8. Other procedures are the same as those shown in FIG.

[0086] If it is determined that "the type of ink is changed" in step S32, in step S54, the threshold T _CL for cleaning was determined on the basis of the first cleaning time parameter Tc1 Value, and the suction time Ts is replaced with the cleaning time parameter Ts5.
Substitute the value determined based on. On the other hand, if the ink type has not been changed, a value determined based on the second cleaning time parameter Tc2 is substituted for the threshold value T _CL in step S56, and the cleaning time is substituted for the suction time Ts. A value determined based on the parameter Ts6 is substituted. Note that the suction time determined based on the cleaning time parameter Ts5 is longer than the suction time determined based on the cleaning time parameter Ts6.

After that, when the timer is cleared in step S46, the value determined based on the second cleaning time parameter Tc2 is substituted in step S58, and the value determined based on the cleaning time parameter Ts6 is used as the suction time Ts. Is assigned.

According to the above-described embodiment, the first suction after the ink type is changed can be performed longer than the second and subsequent suctions. Therefore, nozzles that are likely to be clogged due to the change in the type of ink can be effectively cleaned.

Here, the suction time of the first suction and the suction time of the second and subsequent suctions are set regardless of the type of ink.
It is also possible to adopt a mode in which these times are separately set according to the type of ink. With such an embodiment, the suction time can be finely set according to the type of ink. That is, in any case, after the change of the used ink, the first suction time parameter that defines the suction time when performing the first suction, and the second suction time parameter that defines the suction time of the second and subsequent suctions. If the suction time parameter 2 is stored in the memory of the ink cartridge and suction is performed in accordance therewith, clogging due to ink change can be effectively prevented or prevented.

I. Fourth Embodiment In the first embodiment, the elapsed time after the replacement of the cartridge or after the cleaning is compared with the threshold value T _CL, and when the elapsed time is longer than T _CL , the cleaning is always performed. However, in the fourth embodiment, the cleaning is performed in consideration of both the elapsed time T1 after the replacement of the cartridge or after the cleaning and the accumulated printing time T2. Then, in a predetermined case, only flushing is performed without performing cleaning. Other points are the same as in the first embodiment. Note that “flushing” is a method of continuously ejecting ink droplets from each nozzle to eliminate nozzle clogging. This flushing is performed on the dot missing inspection unit 40. However, a place for performing flushing may be separately provided, and flushing may be performed at that place.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a cleaning table stored in the PROM 51 of the printer 20. In the fourth embodiment, whether the cleaning or the flushing is performed is determined based on the cleaning table CT when the elapsed time T1 after the replacement of the cartridge or after the cleaning is longer than T _CL . In the cleaning table CT, each column is set based on the elapsed time after cleaning. Each line is set based on the cumulative print time [time] of the head.
And "F" means to perform flushing,
“C” means that the cleaning sequence as shown in FIGS. 13, 15 and 16 is performed. For example, when the elapsed time T1 is equal to or longer than the threshold T11 and the threshold T1
Less than 2, when the accumulated printing time T2 is less than 0.5 hours, the cleaning sequence is not carried out even elapsed time T1 is greater than T _CL, performing flushing. On the other hand, when the elapsed time T1 is equal to or longer than the threshold T12 and the threshold T1
If it is less than 3 and the cumulative printing time T2 is 2.0 hours or more, a cleaning sequence is performed.

Further, the elapsed time T1 is equal to or longer than the threshold value T12 and shorter than the threshold value T13, and the accumulated printing time T2 is set to 0.
If the time is less than 5 hours, the processing differs depending on whether the threshold value _TCL has been exceeded for the first time after the cartridge replacement or the second time or later. That is, when the threshold value _TCL is exceeded for the first time after the cartridge replacement, the cleaning sequence is performed. On the other hand, if it is the second time or later, flushing is performed. In the table, such processing is referred to as “C / F”.
It is expressed by notation.

FIG. 22 shows the state of the 71 stored in the ink memory.
m, 72m, threshold values T11, T12, T1
FIG. The threshold values T11, T12, T13 for the elapsed time T1 of the cleaning table CT are
As shown in FIG. 22, the ink memories 71m and 72m store
Stored as flushing / cleaning parameters. Other parameters stored in the ink memories 71m and 72m are the same as in the first embodiment (FIG. 1). For this reason, in the fourth embodiment, it is possible to appropriately determine whether to perform the cleaning sequence or the flushing according to the type of the ink to be used. In the fourth embodiment, the cleaning table is stored in the printing apparatus, but the cleaning table may be stored in the ink cartridge. However, if the cleaning table is stored in the printing apparatus, the capacity of the memory provided in the ink cartridge can be reduced.

J. Others: The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the invention, and for example, the following modifications are possible. .

(1) In the above embodiment, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software is replaced by hardware. You may do so.

(2) The present invention is generally applicable to a printing apparatus of a type that ejects ink droplets, and is applicable to various printing apparatuses other than a color inkjet printer. For example, the present invention can be applied to an ink-jet type facsimile machine and a copying machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printer and an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a main configuration of a color inkjet printer 20 as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing nozzle arrays provided on a lower surface of a print head.

FIG. 4 shows an ink cartridge 71 and a carriage 28.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the upper cartridge mounting section 29.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer 20.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a drive signal generation unit provided in a head drive driver 66.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for generating a drive signal.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a cleaning mechanism 200a.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the print head when wiping the nozzle surface of the print head with a wiper blade.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a print processing procedure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing that the shape of a drive waveform changes when an applied voltage parameter and a time interval parameter change.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of timer cleaning automatically performed as time passes.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for selecting and executing a cleaning sequence in step S44.

FIG. 14 is a table showing contents of cleaning type parameters.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning sequence for ink A.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning sequence for ink B.

FIG. 17 shows a second embodiment in which ink memories 71m, 71m,
The figure which shows the suction time parameter stored in 72m.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a procedure of setting the ink suction time Ts and the threshold T _CL in the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 shows a third embodiment in which ink memories 71m,
The figure which shows the suction time parameter stored in 72m.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a timer cleaning procedure automatically performed as time passes in the third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a view showing a cleaning table stored in a PROM 51 of the printer 20.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating threshold values T11, T12, and T13 stored in 71m and 72m stored in the ink memory.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Color inkjet printer 22 ... Paper stacker 24 ... Paper feed roller 26 ... Platen plate 28 ... Carriage 29 ... Cartridge mounting part 29g ... Cartridge guide 29n ... Needle 29r ... Memory reading part 30 ... Carriage motor 31 ... Paper feed motor 32 ... Towing Belt 34 Guide rail 36 Print head 40 Inspection unit 40a Light emitting element 40b Light receiving element 50 Receive buffer memory 51 PROM 52 Image buffer 54 System controller 56 Main memory 58 Timer 61 Main scanning drive driver 62 ... Sub-scanning drive driver 63 ... Inspection unit driver 66 ... Head drive driver 67 ... Driver 69 ... Cleaning link driver 71 ... Ink cartridge 71c ... Connection terminal 71m ... Ink memory 71t ... A Ink tanks 72t1 to 72t5 ink tanks 100 host computer 200a cleaning mechanism 204 mask circuit 206 original drive signal generator 210a head caps 220a, 220b, 220c hoses 230a, 230b, 230c pump rollers 232b , 234b ... small rollers 241, 242 ... pinch 600 ... nozzle wiper mechanism 601 ... wiper head 602 ... link mechanism 603 ... wiper blade 604 ... wiper holder C _D ... dark cyan nozzle row C _L ... light cyan nozzle row CT ... cleaning table Cs ... cleaning type parameter Cv ... cleaning type parameter Cw ... cleaning type parameter DRV ... drive signal IP ... ink parameter data K _D ... black Nozzle row L ... laser light M _D ... dark magenta nozzle row M _L ... light magenta nozzle row ODRV ... original drive signal ODRVa ... original drive signal P ... printing paper PD ... ink type parameter PE ... piezoelectric element PRT ... serial print signal St1~ 5: Time section parameter T1: Elapsed time after ink replacement T2: Cumulative printing time Tc1: First cleaning time parameter Tc2: Second cleaning time parameter Ts: Ink suction time Ts1-6: Suction time parameters Va, Vb, vc ... suction chamber Vh1 ... applied voltage parameters (potential of the drive signal) Vh2 ... applied voltage parameters (potential of the drive signal) W1 ... small dot pulse W2 ... middle dot pulse Y _D ... yellow nozzle row N1～n48 ... nozzle

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for performing printing by discharging ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles, comprising: a print head having the plurality of nozzles; and a head for driving the plurality of nozzles to perform dot recording. A drive unit, a cartridge mounting unit capable of mounting an ink cartridge having a memory storing ink parameter data, a memory reading unit that reads ink parameter data from the memory of the ink cartridge mounted on the cartridge mounting unit, A cleaning mechanism for cleaning a plurality of nozzles, and a control unit for controlling the respective units, wherein the ink parameter data is an ink parameter determined according to a type of ink contained in the ink cartridge. At least, the control unit includes: Determining the cleaning sequence of the nozzle according to the parameter, the printing apparatus. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink parameter includes an ink type parameter for distinguishing a dye ink from a pigment ink. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink parameters include a drive waveform parameter that defines a shape of a drive signal generated by the head drive unit to eject ink droplets. The printing device, wherein the driving unit generates the driving signal according to the driving waveform parameter. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the drive waveform parameter includes a drive voltage parameter representing a drive voltage for generating the drive signal. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the drive waveform parameter substantially defines a length of a time interval until the drive signal changes from a specific potential to another specific potential. A printing device including a time interval parameter to perform. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a timer for measuring time, wherein the cleaning mechanism includes an ink suction mechanism for suctioning ink from the plurality of nozzles to the outside, The printing apparatus, wherein the parameter includes a suction time parameter that defines a time for performing suction of the ink, and the cleaning mechanism performs suction of the ink from the plurality of nozzles according to the suction time parameter. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the suction time parameter is: after changing the ink used from dye ink to pigment ink or from pigment ink to dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge. A first suction time parameter defining a suction time for performing the first suction, and after changing the ink used from dye ink to pigment ink or from pigment ink to dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge, 2 A second suction time parameter that defines a suction time for performing the suction after the first time. 8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a timer for measuring time, wherein the ink parameter is a time from when a predetermined event occurs to when the cleaning is automatically performed. A printing apparatus comprising: a prescribed cleaning time parameter; wherein the cleaning mechanism executes cleaning of the plurality of nozzles according to the timer and the cleaning time parameter. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning time parameter is set based on a change in ink used from dye ink to pigment ink or from pigment ink to dye ink due to replacement of the ink cartridge. A first cleaning time parameter that specifies a time until the automatic cleaning is performed; and a second cleaning time parameter that specifies a time from the execution of the automatic cleaning performed after the change of the used ink until the next automatic cleaning is performed. And including
Printing device. 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink parameter includes a cleaning type parameter for instructing the cleaning to be performed among a plurality of types of cleaning that can be performed. 11. An ink cartridge attached to a printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles, wherein: an ink storage unit that stores ink; and a type of ink that is stored in the ink storage unit. And a memory storing ink parameter data including at least ink parameters defining a cleaning sequence of the nozzles. 12. The ink cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the ink parameter includes an ink type parameter for distinguishing between dye ink and pigment ink. 13. The ink cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the ink parameter includes a drive waveform parameter that defines a shape of a drive signal generated by a head drive unit of the printing apparatus for ejecting ink droplets. ,ink cartridge. 14. The ink cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the drive waveform parameter includes a drive voltage parameter representing a drive voltage for the head drive unit to generate the drive signal. 15. The ink cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the drive waveform parameter substantially defines a length of a time interval until the drive signal changes from a specific potential to another specific potential. An ink cartridge that includes a time interval parameter. 16. The ink cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the printing device includes an ink suction mechanism that suctions ink from the plurality of nozzles to the outside, and the ink parameter is determined by the printing device. Including a suction time parameter defining the time for performing suction,
ink cartridge. 17. The ink cartridge according to claim 16, wherein the suction time parameter is: after changing the ink used from dye ink to pigment ink or from pigment ink to dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge. A first suction time parameter defining a suction time for performing the first suction, and after changing the ink used from dye ink to pigment ink or from pigment ink to dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge, 2 An ink cartridge including a second suction time parameter that defines a suction time for performing the suction after the first time. 18. The ink cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the ink parameter is a cleaning time parameter that defines a time from when a predetermined event occurs to when the printing apparatus automatically performs the cleaning. Including, ink cartridge. 19. The ink cartridge according to claim 18, wherein the cleaning time parameter is used to change the ink used in the printing apparatus from dye ink to pigment ink or from pigment ink to dye ink by replacing the ink cartridge. A first cleaning time parameter that defines a time from the change until the printing apparatus performs the automatic cleaning, and a time from the execution of the automatic cleaning performed after the change of the used ink until the next automatic cleaning is performed. And defining a second cleaning time parameter.
ink cartridge. 20. The ink cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the ink parameter includes a cleaning type parameter for instructing the cleaning performed by the printing device among a plurality of types of cleaning that can be performed by the printing device. ,ink cartridge. 21. A printing method by a printing apparatus in which an ink cartridge is attached and ink droplets are ejected from a plurality of nozzles, wherein (a) the printing method is determined in accordance with the type of ink to be stored, and at least the nozzle cleaning sequence And (b) determining a nozzle cleaning sequence according to the ink parameter data. 22. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for causing a computer equipped with a printing device for ejecting ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles to perform printing, according to the type of ink contained. A function of reading, from a memory provided in the ink cartridge, ink parameter data including at least an ink parameter defining a cleaning sequence of the nozzle, and determining a nozzle cleaning sequence according to the ink parameter data. A computer-readable recording medium recording a computer program for causing the computer to implement the following functions: