JP2003072159A - Ink jet recorder and control method for the apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the speed of printing operation from decreasing in order to execute a paper return operation during a printing operation and initialize a printing buffer. SOLUTION: A timing of initializing the printing buffer is matched to a timing of the paper return operation, so that two processes are carried out concurrently.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to initialization control of a print buffer of an inkjet recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of personal computers, the image quality and printing speed of inkjet recording apparatuses (hereinafter referred to as printers) have improved. For example, the printing speed is about 2 to 3 pages per minute for a predetermined image, but is currently 2 to 3 times the conventional printing speed.
Has doubled.

This printer has a plurality of recording modes, and when the recording mode is a high image quality mode, a carriage having a recording head is mounted on a predetermined area of a sheet (recording medium) such as recording paper a plurality of times. Scan repeatedly to form an image. At this time, the nozzle group of the recording head is divided into a plurality of groups, and the conveyance is performed according to the divided nozzle width.

As a paper feeding device of such a printer, a paper feeding roller is pressed against a sheet to give a carrying force, and a carrying load is given by a separating means composed of a separating pad, a separating claw, a separating bank and the like. As a result, only one sheet is separated, leaving the sheets on and after the next page.

By the way, the sheet feeding device is provided with a sheet returning mechanism for returning the sheets of the next page and the following sheets fed out after separating the sheets to the sheet stacking section while aligning the leading ends of the sheets with the return claws. Further, as such a sheet returning mechanism, a sheet returning is performed periodically (selectively) in order to achieve both separation performance and sheet feeding speed, in other words, after a predetermined number of sheets have been fed. , There are those that are designed to return paper.

[0006] In such a printer, the format of print data is prepared for recording by the recording head and is stored in the print buffer. This print buffer has an area capable of storing print data for a predetermined number of pages, and converts the print data received from the host computer into a format that can be transferred to the recording head and stores it.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the memory map of the print buffer. In order to simplify the description, the total memory space of the print buffer is 139 bytes, and the number of nozzles of the recording head is 64. The numbers inside are address numbers. 1 byte (8 bits) of print data can be stored in each address of the print buffer. This array of 8-bit data corresponds to the nozzle row direction. Further, 20 bytes are secured as the height of this print buffer.

The buffer that sends the data in the print buffer to the recording head is the transfer buffer. 9 and 10 are explanatory diagrams showing how the data stored in the print buffer is transferred to the print head via the transfer buffer during the printing operation.

In FIG. 9, ~ are transfer buffer numbers. The nozzle group of the recording head is divided into eight groups and corresponds to any of the transfer buffers. FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram in the case where the first scan of the first page (the first main scanning operation performed by the carriage) is performed.

Taking the transfer buffer in this figure as an example,
Data at five addresses of addresses 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 are transferred to the nozzles of the print head. 8-bit data at address 0 transferred in the transfer buffer of
For example, the least significant bit is assigned to the first nozzle and the most significant bit is assigned to the eighth nozzle. Other addresses are similarly assigned. Data in the remaining transfer buffers are also assigned to other nozzles, and the data is sent to the print head by the eight transfer buffers.

The vertical direction corresponds to the sheet conveying direction,
The horizontal direction corresponds to the main scanning direction of the carriage. Since the number of addresses in the horizontal direction (here, 5) corresponds to the number of print dots, the print width in the main scanning direction is 5 dots. The amount of sheet conveyance performed after one main scan is 64 nozzles.

The control of the print buffer when the printer recording mode is the normal mode (1-pass recording mode) will be described with reference to FIG. The manner in which the page 1 is used for printing is shown in (a) to (d). Here, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the operation for one pass is performed twice to complete the image for one page.

Here, (d) paying attention to the address of the print buffer of the second scan on the fourth page, the final address of the print buffer is 139.
Is assigned a 5-byte address where print data is stored, but the transfer buffer is assigned only 4 bytes, and the print data is insufficient by 1 byte (data is discontinuous).

In order to prevent such a situation, the print data is saved while checking the address of the print buffer,
Data that cannot be saved in the print buffer is saved from the beginning of the print buffer after printing is completed. Then, as shown in (e), the data at each address is assigned to the transfer buffer. As a result, 5 byte addresses are assigned to the transfer buffers, and the continuity of the print data can be maintained.

Next, the control of the print buffer when the recording mode of the printer is the high image quality mode (2-pass recording mode) will be described with reference to FIG. The manner in which the data in the print buffer is assigned to the transfer buffer for printing the first page is shown in (a) to (e). (F) to (h)
Indicates the data on the fourth page.

In the first scan of (a), since the transfer buffers are not used for printing, the address of the print buffer is not designated. Similarly, in the fifth scan (e), the transfer buffers ~ are not used for printing. Description of page 2 and page 3 is omitted.

In this high image quality mode, the data in the print buffer is read twice for printing. For example, each data at addresses 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 of the print buffer is transferred to the print head by the transfer buffer in the first scan and transferred to the print head in the transfer buffer in the second scan. When transferred to the print head, it is masked with predetermined mask data. This mask data is, for example, a staggered pattern. The amount of sheet conveyance performed after one main scan is 32 nozzles.

Now, focusing on the address of the print buffer of the fifth scan on the fourth page of (h), since the final address of the print buffer is 139, the transfer buffer to
Each is assigned a 5-byte address in which print data is stored, but the transfer buffer is assigned only 4 bytes and is short of 1 byte (data is discontinuous).

In this case, the print data cannot be saved from the beginning of the print buffer in the middle of the page and assigned to the transfer buffer as in the normal mode. The reason for this is that in the high image quality mode, one address (for example, 56) is also used in the fourth scan in order to complete an image by 2-pass printing. Therefore, if the transfer buffer is allocated to the head of the print buffer before printing is completed, the continuity of the print data cannot be ensured. The same thing is not limited to printing with two passes, and is similarly applied to printing with multiple passes such as four passes.

Therefore, in the high image quality mode, up to 3 pages are stored in the print buffer and the recording operation is performed, and after the recording up to 3 pages is completed, the print data for the 4th and subsequent pages is newly stored at the head of the print buffer. As described above, when the print data cannot be assigned to the head of the print buffer, after the print operation is completed, all the print buffer data is cleared, and the print data is saved again from the head address of the print buffer (or, The so-called print buffer is initialized by overwriting the printed data with the image data to be printed next.

[0021]

The time required for the above-described paper returning operation and the initialization of the print buffer are both several tens.
Although it is a relatively short time of about 0 millisecond, if these processes are performed during the recording operation, the recording speed of the printer is temporarily reduced.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart of the recording operation of the printer showing this situation. The horizontal axis is a time axis showing the elapsed time of the recording operation, and the number is the number of pages being printed.
The leftmost page is the first page, and the rightmost eighth page is recorded. Reference numeral 701 indicates the timing of starting the recording operation.

When data is received from the host computer, the print buffer is initialized at the timing 702 before the recording of 7 pages is started. Further, the paper return process by the return claw is performed at the timing of 703. The print buffer process is performed in 7-page units, the paper return process is performed in 8-page units, and is performed in the 14th and 16th pages.

By performing the reset process and the paper return process of the print buffer, the printing speed of the seventh and eighth pages becomes lower than the printing speed of the first to sixth pages. The same speed reduction occurs on the 14th and 16th pages.

As described above, in the conventional case, the printing speed was slow, so that the paper returning operation and the print buffer initialization processing could be performed with a margin between the recording operations.
The printing operation of the printer has become faster, and there is less room to initialize the print buffer.

[0026]

In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus for recording on a sheet conveyed by a conveying means and stores data for operating the apparatus. Memory means, memory control means for changing the data of the memory means, operation control means for executing a predetermined operation for each plurality of pages, and the memory control means for changing the data of the memory means when performing the predetermined operation. And an inkjet recording device.

A method of controlling an apparatus of the present invention is a method of controlling an ink jet recording apparatus for recording on a sheet conveyed by a conveying means, which comprises a memory control step of changing data stored in a memory means and a plurality of pages. An ink jet recording apparatus control method is characterized in that an operation control step of performing a predetermined operation for each time and a memory control step of changing the data when the predetermined operation is performed.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1 is a perspective view of a printer according to the present invention. 1105 is a recording head, and the carriage 11
It is mounted on 04 and can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction along the shaft 1103. The ink ejected from the recording head reaches the recording material 1102, the recording surface of which is regulated by the platen 1101, at a minute distance from the recording head, and an image is formed thereon. An ejection signal is supplied to the recording head via the flexible cable 1119 according to the image data. Incidentally, 1114 is a carriage 1.
A carriage motor for scanning the shaft 104 along the shaft 1103. 1113 is a motor 1114
Is a wire that transmits the driving force of the carriage 1104 to the carriage 1104. Further, reference numeral 1118 is a conveyance motor which is connected to the platen roller 1101 and conveys the recording material 1102. This inkjet recording device is connected to a host computer such as a personal computer via a USB interface, and receives image data sent from the personal computer.

The resolution of the recording head is 600 DPI.
Is. This recording head is an inkjet type, and 320 recording elements for black and 128 recording elements for color are arranged. The recording element is composed of a driving unit and a nozzle, and the driving unit can apply heat to the ink by a heater. This heat causes the film to boil the ink, and the pressure change caused by the growth or contraction of the bubbles due to the film boiling causes the ink to be ejected from the nozzle.

The carriage on which the recording head is mounted reciprocates to form an image on the recording material, and there are a plurality of modes for this operation. That is, there are a normal mode in which an image is formed by one main scanning (one-pass mode) and a high image quality mode in which an image is formed by two main scanning (two-pass mode).

In the case of a color recording head, the feed amount of the recording material is 128 nozzles in the normal mode, and the feed amount of the recording material is 64 nozzles in the high image quality mode.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the outline of the printer, and FIG. 3 is another sectional view showing the outline of the printer.

In FIG. 2, 20 is a printer,
The printer 20 includes a recording head unit 13 which is an image forming unit having a recording head 13a, and a sheet feeding device 2 which feeds a sheet (not shown) to the recording head unit 13.
1 and a main board 1 for controlling the entire printer.

Here, the sheet feeding device 21 is a sheet feeding roller 2 which is a sheet feeding means having a half-moon shape for feeding a sheet stored in a sheet storing means (not shown), and a sheet feeding side end of the sheet storing means. Is provided in the sheet feeding roller 2
A hopper 3 for press-contacting the sheet and a separation pad portion 7 having a separation pad 7a which is a separation unit for separating the sheet sent out by the sheet feeding roller 2.

The sheet feeding roller 2 includes a roller rubber 2a that contacts the surface of the sheet and a roller shaft 2b that is the center of rotation.
As shown in the figure, a sensor flag 2c provided on the main board 1 to shield the transmission type sheet feeding roller sensor 1a which is a position detecting means for detecting the position of the sheet feeding roller 2.
And a cam (not shown) for pushing down the hopper 3, which are integrally rotated about the roller shaft 2b.

Further, the hopper 3 is constructed so as to be capable of coming into contact with and separating from the paper feeding roller 2 in association with the rotation of the paper feeding roller 2, and only when the arc portion of the roller rubber 2a faces the sheet side, the pressure contact spring is formed. The sheet is fed by the elastic force of the sheet feeding roller 2
It is configured to press against. The operation of contacting and separating the hopper 3 with respect to the paper feed roller 2 is performed by the above-mentioned cam on the paper feed roller side and the pressure contact spring 4.

On the other hand, in the figure, reference numeral 5 designates the hopper 3 as the shaft 3
A case rotatably held via a, and a case 5
Is a separation base that is movably held in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction (hereinafter, referred to as a sheet width direction), and the separation pad portion 7 has a rotation shaft 7b on the separation base 8.
It is rotatably attached with the fulcrum as a fulcrum.

Further, 7c is a separation pad spring, and the separation pad spring 7c urges the separation pad portion 7 toward the paper feed roller 2. Here, the figure (and Figure 3)
Indicates a sheet passing state in which the sheet is sent out. In such a sheet passing state, that is, when the flat surface portion of the sheet feeding roller 2 is substantially parallel to the separation pad 7a, the separation pad 7a is fed by a stopper portion (not shown). It is stopped at a position where it is not in contact with the paper roller 2, and it comes into contact only with the vicinity of the circumference of the paper feed roller 2.

Reference numeral 6 is a roller that comes into contact with the separation pad 7a to form a stop position for stopping the sheet. The roller 6 is provided at a position deviated from the sheet feeding roller 2 in the sheet width direction and is not shown. The spring is lightly pressed against the separation pad 7a so as not to hinder the rotation. By lightly pressing the roller 6 against the separation pad 7a in this manner, when the sheet is sent out, the next sheet that moves together with the sheet to be sent out is blocked by the separation pad 7a.

Further, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 9 denotes a return claw which is a return means, and the return claw 9 is provided at a position deviated from the sheet feeding roller 2 and the roller 6 in the sheet width direction, and is attached to the separation base 8. It is rotatably held via a rotary shaft 9a.
Here, when the sheet is fed, the return claw 9 is set to the position shown in FIG.
Although it is in a tilted position as shown in FIG. 5, it is held at a position substantially perpendicular to the separation pad 7a by a spring and a stopper (not shown) when the sheet is stored or before the feeding of the sheet is started. ing.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 2d designates the paper feed roller 2.
Is a return pawl cam portion which is provided on the side of the recessed portion 2e and in which the return pawl 9 is at a position substantially perpendicular to the separation pad 7a, that is, when the sheet is stored or when the sheet is fed. Before the start of, the tip of the return claw 9 is designed to enter the recess 2e.

Further, 11 and 12 are a pair of conveying rollers for conveying the fed sheet, and 1f is a sheet end detecting means provided on the main board for detecting the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet. A transmissive sheet edge detection sensor, 10 is an actuator pressed by a fed sheet, and the sheet edge detection sensor 1f detects the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet by swinging the actuator 10. ing.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the controller of the printer. This control unit controls the recording operation of the printer and the reception of print data from the host computer.

Reference numeral 15 is a paper feed motor (stepping motor) for rotating the paper feed roller 2. Reference numeral 16 is a carriage motor (DC motor) for driving the carriage. Reference numeral 17 is a conveyance motor. A recovery motor 18 moves a recovery unit for recovering the recording head. The motors described above are driven by motor drivers 1c1 to 1c4, respectively.

1b is a CPU and 1g is a RO
M and 1d are RAMs. The CPU controls the entire printer based on the control program stored in the ROM. The RAM has a print buffer and a transfer buffer. 1e is an EEPROM, which is a non-volatile memory. In this EEPROM, the number of recorded pages, the number of recovery operations, the number of dots counted for each recording head, and the like are stored. These stored data are data indicating the operation history of the printer and are used for maintenance of the printer. Reference numeral 14 denotes a host computer provided inside or outside the printer 20, and the host computer 14 sends a print command and print data to the CPU 1b.

Next, a normal paper feeding operation in the printer 20 having such a configuration will be described. When a print command is issued from the host computer 14 to the CPU 1b, C
The PU 1b first determines whether it is a print command for the first sheet. Here, in the case of the print command for the first sheet, since the return claw 9 is in the paper return position where it is held at a position substantially perpendicular to the separation pad 7a described above, the paper feed motor is first passed through. 15 is rotated in the normal direction to rotate the paper feeding roller 2 in the normal direction, and the return claw 9 is moved to the collapsed paper passing position shown in FIG.

Then, after the return claw 9 is moved to the sheet passing position in this way so that the sheet can be sent out, when the sheet feeding motor 15 is further continuously rotated in the forward direction, the sheet is fed by the sheet feeding roller 2. Sending out is started. When the paper feed roller 2 rotates in this manner, the contact between the cam portion (not shown) and the hopper 3 is released in association with the rotation, and the hopper 3 is urged toward the paper feed roller 2 by the pressure contact spring 4. . In this state, the rotation of the paper feed roller 2 conveys several sheets located at the top of the sheet bundle and starts feeding them to the separation pad section 7.

At this time, the leading edge of the stacked sheets is located at a position substantially abutting the rear wall 7d of the separation pad portion 7 shown in FIG. 2, and several sheets are started to be conveyed from there. At this time, the sensor flag 2c also rotates in accordance with the rotation of the paper feed roller 2, and as a result, the paper feed roller sensor 1a.
Output changes from ON to OFF. And CPU1
b uses this sensor output change point as the starting point of the operation amount of the roller rotation.

On the other hand, the conveyed sheet is guided to the nip portion between the conveying roller 2 and the separation pad 7a, and the sheet below the uppermost sheet is regulated at the leading end by the separation pad 7a and gradually becomes like a wedge. Finally, only the uppermost sheet is separated and conveyed in the lower left direction in FIG. At this time, the return pawl 9 is pushed by the front end of the sheet and pivots counterclockwise, and does not hinder the movement of the sheet.

Next, the uppermost sheet thus separated into one sheet reaches the actuator 10 during the transportation and swings the actuator 10. As a result, the end of the actuator 10 comes off the light-shielding portion of the sheet edge detection sensor (PE sensor) 1f, and the sheet edge detection sensor 1f can detect the leading edge of the sheet.

In the present embodiment, the skew of the sheet is corrected by the transport roller 11.
The CPU 1b uses the detection signal from the sheet edge detection sensor 1f as a starting point of the operation amount for conveying the sheet to the conveyance roller 11 and further for conveying the sheet in an amount of forming a loop while being in contact with the conveyance roller 11. I am trying to do it.

As a result, when the paper feed roller 2 further rotates, the leading edge of the sheet fed into the printer abuts on the contact point of the transporting roller pair 11 which is stopped, and is fed by about 3 mm more for skew correction. After the loop is formed, the rotation of the motor temporarily stops. The transport amount up to this time is determined by a fixed amount after the paper edge detection as described above.

Next, the pair of conveying rollers 11 and 12 and the sheet feeding roller 2 start to rotate at the same peripheral speed. Immediately after this, the leading edge of the sheet is conveyed by being sandwiched by the pair of conveying rollers 11, and the sheet feeding roller 2 is further conveyed. The cam (not shown) pushes down the hopper 3, the sheet feeding roller 2 is brought into the state shown in FIG. 1 and stopped, and the sheet feeding operation is completed. At this time, the flag O of the paper feed roller sensor 1a
The feeding roller 2 is stopped starting from N. Note that the rotation may be stopped at the flag OFF starting point.

Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed further downstream by the conveying roller pair 11 and 12 driven by a driving source (not shown) to be indexed, and at the same time, the recording head 13a prints on the sheet. . The printing position at this time is managed by the carry amount of the carry roller after abutting against the carry roller 11 described above, and printing is performed.

By the way, in this operation, the sheets other than the uppermost sheet are fed together by friction with the uppermost sheet, but at the pressure contact portion (stop position) between the roller 6 and the separation pad 7a. The tip is blocked so that further feeding is not possible, thereby preventing double feeding.

However, if a sheet other than the uppermost sheet passes by the pressure contact portion (stop position) between the roller 6 and the separation pad 7a due to some influence (especially two or more sheets),
There is nothing to block this sheet, and double feeding occurs due to the frictional force received from the uppermost sheet being conveyed. Further, once this state is reached, the rollers 6 are pushed up by the sheet, and the number of those passing the rollers 6 tends to increase.

Therefore, when printing two or more sheets in succession, the paper return operation is performed by the return claw 9 in order to prevent such double feeding. When printing on plain paper, for example, the separation is relatively stable and the number of printed sheets is large, so priority is given to the printing speed. In this case, time-consuming paper returning is performed once every seven sheets, for example. There is. For other special papers, the paper is returned every time.

Next, the operation in the case where two or more sheets are continuously printed and the paper is returned will be described below. When the paper is returned, after the rear end of the previous sheet leaves the separation pad portion 7, for example, the paper end sensor 1f detects the rear end, the paper feed roller 2 is rotated in the opposite direction by about 90 degrees. Let At this time, since there is no sheet on the return claw 9,
As shown in FIG. 3, the return pawl 9 is in a tilted state, and is designed to enter the recess 2e of the return pawl cam portion 2d of the paper feed roller 2. Therefore, when the paper feed roller 2 rotates in the opposite direction,
The return claw 9 contacts the left end 2f of the recess 2e and rotates clockwise.

When the return pawl 9 rotates clockwise in this manner, the return pawl 9 is brought into a state of being almost upright with respect to the separation pad 7a, and the sheet blocked by the rollers 6 is accordingly removed. The tip is pushed back to a position where the tip almost abuts the back wall 7d of the separation pad 7a.

As a result, the leading edge of the paper can be reset so that double feeding is unlikely to occur, and then feeding can be started. At this time, the separation pad 7 and the roller 6 are separated with good timing by a cam or the like (not shown) so as not to hinder the pushing back of the sheet.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the initialization control of the print buffer. When the print data is continuously processed, the value of the page counter for performing the paper returning process (paper returning process) is confirmed in step S501. Here, it is checked whether or not it is the 7th page. If it is not the seventh page, the process proceeds to step S504. If it is the seventh page, it is checked in step S502 if the print buffer is released. If it is open, step S503
Initializes the print buffer and returns the paper. This print buffer initialization clears all data in the buffer to zero. After the initialization of the print buffer and the paper return process are completed, the value of the page counter for the paper return process is set to zero. At the time of initialization of this print buffer, the unprocessed print data is saved in the print buffer after clearing the printed data. (Note that depending on the control configuration of the print buffer, clear the printed data. Instead, unprocessed print data may be overwritten and saved in the print buffer as it is).

In step 504, the recording operation for one page is performed. After recording one page, the page counter is incremented by 1 in step S505. Next, step S506.
Check if there is any unprocessed image data in the print buffer.

In this embodiment, the determination in step S501 is made based on the number of pages. This is the timing at which the paper return process should be performed even if the print buffer has room, so the paper return process is performed.

Although the determination in step S501 is made based on the number of pages, it is not limited to this. For example, the number of buffers used for printing may be checked and compared with the total number of print buffers. As a result, page unit data is stored in the print buffer.

This is particularly effective when the data in the print buffer cannot be cleared in scan units (high-quality mode in which a recording operation is performed in multi-pass).

When it is necessary to initialize the print buffer, the paper return process may be performed even if the number of pages for which the paper return process should be performed has not been reached.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing a case where the resetting of the print buffer and the paper returning process by the return pawl performed in this embodiment are performed at the same timing. By setting the paper return processing 601 and the print buffer initialization 602 to the same seventh page, it is possible to perform the two processings in parallel and minimize the wait time during which the recording operation is interrupted.

As described above, even if there is a margin in the print buffer, by performing the processing of the print buffer at the timing when the paper return processing should be performed, the two processings are simultaneously performed (in parallel), so that the conventional processing is performed separately. It is possible to shorten the wait time compared to the case where

In this embodiment, the paper return process and the print buffer initialization are performed in units of 7 pages, but the present invention is not limited to this timing. The number of pages to be initialized does not have to be fixed. For example, if the print mode does not give priority to the printing speed, the print mode may be changed, for example, in units of three pages.

Further, the paper return process has been described as the process (predetermined operation) for initializing the print buffer at the same timing, but the process is not limited to this process. For example,
The recovery operation of the recording head may also be used. As a result, the wait time can be shortened when the recovery operation is performed during the printing operation.

This recovery operation is an operation for keeping the state of the recording head in good condition. If the printer continuously prints, the nozzle surface of the recording head becomes dirty.
Therefore, by performing a process of wiping the nozzle surface (wiping operation) after recording a plurality of pages, the contamination of the nozzle surface can be reduced. Alternatively, by driving the recovery motor, the suction means (not shown) is operated to forcibly discharge the ink from the recording head. By this forced discharge operation, bubbles in the recording head can be discharged, and good recording can be performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the print buffer is initialized only in the paper return process, but the process (operation) is not limited to this, and may be performed at the timing of the recovery operation.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By performing the initialization timing of the print buffer in parallel with the timing of the operation of the printer, it is possible to minimize the decrease in the printing speed when printing is performed continuously.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 Schematic view of printer

[Figure 2] Cross-sectional view of the printer

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the printer.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the printer.

FIG. 5: Print buffer initialization control flow

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing operation timing of the printer of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation timing of a conventional printer.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a print buffer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing control of a print buffer in a 1-pass print mode.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing control of a print buffer in a 2-pass print mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 main board 1b CPU 1d RAM 1e EEPROM 1f sheet detection sensor 2 paper feed rollers 6 roller 7 Separation pad section 7a Separation pad 9 Return claw

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C056 EB58 EB59                 2C087 AB05 AC07 BC04 CA05                 3F343 FA02 FB04 FC01 FC27 GA02                       GB01 GC01 GD01 JD04 JD08                       JD15 JD35 KB05 LC19 LC27                       MA03 MA15 MA23 MB03 MB14                       MC26

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet recording apparatus for recording on a sheet conveyed by a conveying means, comprising: a print buffer means for storing print data; a print buffer control means for initializing the print buffer; An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein an operation control means for executing an operation, and the print buffer control means initializes the print buffer when performing the predetermined operation. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the initialization of the print buffer clears the print buffer. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation is a mechanical operation. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the mechanical operation is a paper returning operation. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the mechanical operation is a recovery operation. 6. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pages have a predetermined value. 7. The inkjet recording apparatus has a recording head, and the recording head has a plurality of recording elements including an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy as energy for ejecting ink. 7. The inkjet recording device according to claim 1. 8. A method of controlling an inkjet recording apparatus for performing recording on a sheet conveyed by a conveying means, comprising: a print buffer control step of initializing print data stored in a print buffer means; An operation control step of performing an operation, and a control method of an inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the print buffer control step initializes the print data when the predetermined operation is executed.