JP2003145729A - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid ejector in which anti-thickening operation for sustaining good ejection characteristics of liquid drop can be performed sufficiently even if the thickened state of liquid meniscus is uneven. SOLUTION: The liquid ejector comprises a head member 4 having a nozzle opening 17. Liquid in the nozzle opening 17 is ejected by a liquid ejection means. Thickness of the liquid in the nozzle opening 17 is recovered by a recovering means, i.e., a flushing means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening 17 continuously in the form of a micro droplet. The micro droplet of the liquid being ejected continuously by flushing operation is controlled to have an ejection velocity of 8 m/s or above and a mass of 10 ng or less.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus provided with a head member for ejecting liquid droplets from a nozzle opening, and more particularly to an apparatus for preventing thickening of the liquid in the nozzle opening.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an inkjet recording apparatus (a type of liquid ejecting apparatus) such as an inkjet printer or a plotter, a recording head (head member) is moved along the main scanning direction and recording paper (a type of print recording medium) is used. Is moved along the sub-scanning direction, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings of the recording head in conjunction with this movement to record an image (character) on the recording paper. The ejection of the ink droplet (liquid droplet) is performed by changing the ink pressure in the pressure generating chamber that communicates with the nozzle opening, for example.

The change in ink pressure is carried out by using a pressure generating element, for example, a piezoelectric vibrator (piezoelectric member). In this case, the piezoelectric vibrator is deformed in response to the supplied drive pulse, which changes the volume of the pressure chamber, which causes a pressure fluctuation in the ink in the pressure chamber, and an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle opening. To do.

By the way, since the ink is exposed to the air at the nozzle opening portion of the recording head, the ink solvent (for example, water) is gradually evaporated. The evaporation of the ink solvent increases the viscosity of the ink at the nozzle openings, deteriorating the quality of the recorded image. That is, when the ink viscosity of the portion increases, the ejected ink droplet may fly in a direction deviated from the normal direction.

For this reason, in the ink jet recording apparatus, measures are taken to prevent thickening of the ink in the nozzle openings. As measures against this thickening, there are a flushing operation for forcibly ejecting the thickened ink outside the recording area and an ink stirring operation due to a slight vibration of the meniscus. Here, the meniscus is a free surface of the ink exposed at the nozzle opening.

In the conventional flushing operation, the ejection waveform for ejecting ink droplets during the recording operation is diverted. An example of such a discharge waveform is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the ejection waveform for ejecting ink droplets generally has a first voltage rising portion c1 for supplying a voltage to the piezoelectric member so as to expand the pressure chamber and decompress the inside. A first voltage maintaining unit c2 that supplies a voltage that maintains the reduced pressure state to the piezoelectric member, and a first voltage drop unit c3 that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member that contracts the pressure chamber to pressurize the interior. A second voltage maintaining unit c4 that supplies the piezoelectric member with a voltage that maintains the pressurized state and a second voltage that supplies the piezoelectric member with a voltage that returns the pressure chamber to the original state.
And a voltage rising portion c5.

The ejection speed of the ink droplets (including the ink droplets during the flushing operation) in this case is generally 7
It is about m / s, and its mass is, for example, 13 ng.

[0009]

By the way, when a series of printing processes is completed, the nozzle opening portion of the recording head is generally capped.

The inventor of the present invention has found that in the case of ink having a high pigment concentration, line thickening or dot omission may occur in reprinting after capping. Line thickening and dot omission are caused by bubbles entering the nozzle openings. The inventor of the present invention has analyzed how air bubbles enter the nozzle openings as follows.

In the capped nozzle openings, the ink forming the meniscus is thickened by evaporation of a solvent such as water.

This thickening action proceeds from the peripheral portion of the nozzle opening. The thickening of the ink in the peripheral portion of the meniscus is confirmed about 2 minutes after the start of capping, but the thickening of the ink in the central portion of the meniscus is not confirmed until about 5 minutes after the start of capping. That is, about 2 after starting capping
From the minute to about 5 minutes, the thickened state of the meniscus is not uniform.

In the normal flushing control, FIG.
Ink is ejected so as to push out the entire meniscus formed in the nozzle. Therefore, if the thickened state of the meniscus is non-uniform in the peripheral portion of the nozzle opening and the central portion of the nozzle opening, the meniscus during the flushing operation becomes non-uniform and easily broken. If the flushing operation is continuously performed in a state where the meniscus is fragile, ink is likely to accumulate around the nozzles, the meniscus is destroyed, and it is considered highly likely that air bubbles will eventually enter.

Actually, print inconveniences such as line thickening and missing dots occur only in 2 to 5 minutes after the start of capping.

Therefore, when it is considered that the thickened state of the meniscus is non-uniform, kinetic energy that is not defeated by the thickened ink film is applied to the ink in the central portion of the nozzle opening to form an ink droplet. It is necessary to perform the flushing operation in such a manner that the thickened ink around the nozzle opening is gradually discharged by ejecting and continuing the flushing operation.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a thickening preventing operation for maintaining good ink droplet ejection characteristics is performed when the thickening state of the ink meniscus is not uniform. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus, which can be sufficiently performed, and a liquid ejecting apparatus in general.

[0017]

The present invention comprises a head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the thickening of the liquid in the nozzle opening. The recovery means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as a microdroplet, and the microdroplet of the liquid ejected in the flushing process has an ejection speed of 8 m /
and a mass of 10 ng or less.

According to the present invention, for a minute droplet of liquid to be ejected, the ejection speed is 8 m / s or more and the mass is 10
It is controlled to be ng or less. When the microdroplets are ejected under such control conditions, the retreat amount of the meniscus after ejection is sufficiently suppressed, and the meniscus is not broken even if the viscosity of the meniscus is uneven. This is
It was actually confirmed by various experiments by the present inventors.

For example, when the nozzle diameter is 25 μm, the preferable liquid droplet weight is 8 to 10 ng.

If the present invention is operatively expressed,
A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting unit that ejects the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery unit that recovers the viscosity increase of the liquid in the nozzle opening, the recovery unit is configured to remove the liquid in the nozzle opening. The meniscus of the liquid formed in the nozzle opening is flushed by the flushing means immediately before each minute droplet of the liquid is ejected. The liquid ejecting apparatus is controlled so that minute droplets are ejected from a central portion.

The meniscus is largely pulled in immediately before the liquid droplet is ejected, and the central portion of the nozzle opening (the central portion of the meniscus).
By controlling the discharge so that the kinetic energy can be concentrated in the liquid, sufficient kinetic energy can be given to the liquid droplet, and the collapsing of the meniscus is prevented by breaking the thickened liquid film and discharging the liquid droplet. be able to.

FIG. 9 shows the movement of the meniscus when the liquid droplets are discharged in the case of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, when the meniscus is largely drawn in immediately before the ejection of the liquid droplet, the liquid droplet is ejected not from the entire meniscus (see FIG. 8B) but from the central portion of the meniscus ( Figure 9
(See (b)). This prevents the relatively high viscosity liquid around the nozzle opening from directly affecting the ejection of liquid droplets, thereby realizing a more suitable flushing operation.

Preferably, the head member communicates with the nozzle opening and has a pressure generating chamber capable of containing a liquid,
Pressure generating means for changing the pressure of the liquid in the pressure generating chamber to eject liquid droplets from the nozzle opening, and the flushing means includes flushing driving means for driving the pressure generating means. There is.

More preferably, the pressure generating means has a piezoelectric member for deforming the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening, and the flushing driving means supplies a driving signal to the piezoelectric member. It has become.

More preferably, the drive signal supplied to the piezoelectric member by the flushing drive means is a first voltage increasing portion for supplying to the piezoelectric member a voltage that expands the pressure generating chamber and reduces the pressure inside the piezoelectric member, and the pressure reduction. A first voltage maintaining unit that supplies a voltage that maintains the state to the piezoelectric member, a first voltage drop unit that supplies the piezoelectric member with a voltage that returns the pressure generating chamber to a slightly decompressed state, and the mild decompression It has a 2nd voltage maintenance part which supplies a voltage which maintains a state to a piezoelectric member, and a 2nd voltage drop part which supplies a voltage which returns a pressure generating chamber to an original state to a piezoelectric member. .

More preferably, the first voltage raising section is an auxiliary voltage maintaining section for temporarily maintaining a light or medium decompressed state while expanding the pressure generating chamber to decompress the inside. have.

Further, preferably, the flushing means has two flushing modes capable of switching operation, and in the first flushing mode, minute droplets of the liquid ejected in the flushing process are ejected at a ejection speed. Is 8
m / s or more, and mass is 10 ng or less,
In the second flushing mode, the mass of the liquid microdroplets discharged in the flushing process is 12 ng or more.

In this case, preferably, a head scanning mechanism for moving the head member in the main scanning direction, and a capping mechanism provided in a movable region of the head member and capable of sealing the nozzle openings, It further comprises a measurement timer for measuring the time during which the nozzle opening is sealed by the capping mechanism, and control means for switching the flushing mode of the flushing means based on the time measured by the measurement timer.

For example, in the flushing means, the time measured by the measurement timer is a predetermined first elapsed time and a predetermined second time.
Only when it is between the elapsed time, the first flushing mode is operated, and in the other cases, the second flushing mode is operated.

Specifically, for example, the predetermined first elapsed time is 2 minutes, and the predetermined second elapsed time is 5 minutes.

Alternatively, the flushing means is operated in the first flushing mode at the start of the flushing process, and is operated in the second flushing mode after a lapse of a predetermined time after the start of the flushing process. ing.

Further, preferably, the head member is in communication with the nozzle opening and is capable of accommodating a liquid, and the pressure of the liquid in the pressure generating chamber is changed to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening. Pressure generating means, the flushing means has a flushing drive means for driving the pressure generating means, and the pressure generating means deforms the pressure generating chamber to eject liquid droplets from the nozzle opening. The flushing driving means has a piezoelectric member for discharging, and supplies the first drive signal to the piezoelectric member in the first flushing mode, and the flushing driving unit supplies the first drive signal to the piezoelectric member in the second flushing mode. A drive signal is supplied, and the first drive signal and the second drive signal are formed by selectively using partial waveforms of the common drive signal. That.

In this case, for example, the first drive signal includes a first voltage rising portion that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member to expand the pressure generating chamber and decompress the inside, and a voltage that maintains the depressurized state. A first voltage maintaining unit for supplying the piezoelectric member to the piezoelectric member,
A first voltage drop unit that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member so as to return the pressure generating chamber to a lightly depressurized state; and a second voltage maintaining unit that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member so as to maintain the lightly depressurized state, A second voltage drop unit for supplying the piezoelectric member with a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to the original state, and the second drive signal expands the pressure generating chamber to reduce the pressure inside. A first voltage increasing portion for supplying a voltage to the piezoelectric member, and a first voltage supplying portion for supplying a voltage for maintaining the reduced pressure state to the piezoelectric member
A voltage maintaining unit, a first voltage lowering unit that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member to contract the pressure generating chamber to pressurize the inside, and a second voltage supplying unit to supply a voltage to the piezoelectric member to maintain the pressurized state. It has a voltage maintaining unit and a second voltage raising unit that supplies the piezoelectric member with a voltage that returns the pressure generating chamber to its original state.

Further, the present invention comprises a head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the thickening of the liquid in the nozzle opening. The means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as minute droplets, and the head member communicates with the nozzle opening and is capable of accommodating the liquid, and a pressure generating chamber Pressure generating means for changing the pressure of the liquid and ejecting a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening, wherein the liquid ejecting means drives the pressure generating means based on a liquid ejecting signal. The flushing means drives the pressure generating means based on a flushing drive signal, and the flushing drive signal is It is liquid-jet apparatus characterized that the serial liquid ejection signals are generated separately and independently.

According to the present invention, since the flushing drive signal is generated separately and independently of the liquid ejection signal, the degree of freedom in designing the flushing drive signal is remarkably improved and an optimum flushing operation can be realized. it can.

In this case, for example, the pressure generating means has a piezoelectric member that deforms the pressure generating chamber to eject liquid droplets from the nozzle openings.

Also in this case, it is preferable that the minute droplets of the liquid ejected in the flushing process have an ejection speed of 8 m / s or more and a mass of 10 ng or less.

Alternatively, the meniscus of the liquid formed in the nozzle opening is largely drawn by the flushing means immediately before each minute droplet of the liquid is ejected, and the minute droplet is ejected from the central portion of the meniscus. Is preferably controlled to

Further, the present invention comprises a head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the viscosity increase of the liquid in the nozzle opening. The means is a device for controlling a liquid ejecting apparatus, characterized in that it is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as minute droplets. The control device is characterized in that the flushing means is controlled so that the droplet has a discharge speed of 8 m / s or more and a mass of 10 ng or less.

Alternatively, the present invention comprises a head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the thickening of the liquid in the nozzle opening. A means is a device for controlling a liquid ejecting apparatus, which is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as minute droplets, wherein a meniscus of the liquid formed in the nozzle opening is The control device is characterized in that the flushing means is controlled so that each microdroplet of the liquid is largely drawn immediately before the microdroplet is ejected, and the microdroplet is ejected from the central portion of the meniscus.

Alternatively, the present invention comprises a head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the thickening of the liquid in the nozzle opening. The means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as minute droplets, and the head member communicates with the nozzle opening and is capable of accommodating the liquid, and a pressure generating chamber Pressure generating means for changing the pressure of the liquid and ejecting a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening, wherein the liquid ejecting means drives the pressure generating means based on a liquid ejecting signal. The liquid ejecting apparatus is characterized in that the flushing means drives the pressure generating means based on a flushing drive signal. An apparatus for controlling the flushing drive signal and with said liquid injection signal, a control device, characterized in that is adapted to generate a separate and independent.

Each of the above control devices can be realized by a computer system.

The program for realizing each control device in the computer system and the computer-readable recording medium in which the program is recorded are also the objects of protection in this case.

Here, the recording medium includes a network which propagates various signals in addition to a medium which can be recognized as a single body such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk.

[0045]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment is an ink jet printer 1, which has a cartridge holder portion 3 capable of holding an ink cartridge 2 and a recording head 4 (head member). A carriage 5 is provided. The carriage 5 is reciprocally moved in the main scanning direction by a head scanning mechanism.

The head scanning mechanism includes a guide member 6 which is installed in the left and right direction of the housing, a pulse motor 7 provided on one side of the housing, and a drive pulley which is connected to the rotary shaft of the pulse motor 7 and is rotationally driven. 8, a free-running pulley 9 mounted on the other side of the housing, a timing belt 10 hung between the drive pulley 8 and the free-running pulley 9 and connected to the carriage 5, and the rotation of the pulse motor 7 is controlled. Control unit 11 (see FIG. 5)
It consists of and. As a result, the pulse motor 7
Is operated, the carriage 5, that is, the recording head 4 can be reciprocated in the main scanning direction, which is the width direction of the recording paper 12.

Further, the printer 1 has a paper feeding mechanism for feeding the recording medium such as the recording paper 12 in the paper feeding direction (sub scanning direction). This paper feed mechanism is composed of a paper feed motor 13, a paper feed roller 14, and the like. The recording medium such as the recording paper 12 is sequentially sent out in association with the recording operation.

The head scanning mechanism and the paper feeding mechanism of the present embodiment are constructed so as to be compatible with a large recording paper 12 of B0 size. Further, the printer 1 of the present embodiment is
The recording operation is performed (the unidirectional recording is performed) when the recording head 4 moves forward.

A home position and a standby position of the recording head 4 (carriage 5) are set in an end region outside the recording region within the movement range of the carriage 5. As shown in FIG. 2A, the home position is set at one end (right side in the drawing) of the head movement range in which the recording head 4 can move. The standby position is set to be adjacent to the home position on the recording area side.

The present invention can also be applied to a printer configured to execute a recording operation (perform bidirectional recording) both when the recording head 4 moves forward and when it moves backward. In such a printer, as shown in FIG. 2B, in addition to the first standby position WP1 substantially adjacent to the home position, a second standby position WP2 is provided at the end opposite to the home position. Can be done.

The home position is a place where the recording head 4 moves and stays when the power is off or the recording is not performed for a long time. When the recording head 4 is located at the home position, the cap member 15 of the capping mechanism is moved to the nozzle plate 16 as shown in FIG.
(See FIG. 4) to seal the nozzle opening 17 (see FIG. 4). The cap member 15 is a member formed by molding an elastic member such as rubber into a substantially rectangular tray shape with an open top surface.
Moisturizing material such as felt is attached inside. Since the recording head 4 is sealed by the cap member 15, the inside of the cap is kept at high humidity and the nozzle opening 17
The evaporation of the ink solvent from the ink is alleviated.

The standby position is a starting point when the recording head 4 is scanned. That is, the recording head 4
Normally, the printer waits at this standby position, is scanned from the standby position to the recording area side during the recording operation, and returns to the standby position when the recording operation is completed.

In the case of a printer for bidirectional recording, FIG.
Referring to (b), the recording head 4 scans from the state of standing by at the first standby position WP1 to the side of the second standby position WP2 and performs the recording operation at the time of forward movement. When this recording operation is completed, it waits at the second waiting position WP2. Next, the recording head 4 scans from the state of waiting at the second standby position WP2 to the first standby position WP1 side and performs the recording operation at the time of the backward movement. When this recording operation is completed, it waits at the first waiting position WP1. After that, the recording operation for the forward movement and the recording operation for the backward movement are alternately repeated.

At the standby position, an ink receiving member for collecting the ink discharged from the recording head 4 by the flushing operation (a kind of maintenance operation) is provided. In the present embodiment, the cap member 15 is
Also serves as an ink receiving member. That is, the cap member 15
As shown in FIG. 3 (a), it is usually arranged at a position below the standby position of the recording head 4 (a position slightly below the nozzle plate 16). Then, as the recording head 4 moves to the home position, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), the nozzle opening 17 is moved to an obliquely upper side (home position side and nozzle plate 16 side).
Is sealed.

In the case of a printer for bidirectional recording, as shown in FIG. 2B, the ink receiving member 18 is also arranged at the second standby position WP2. The ink receiving member 18 may be configured by, for example, a box-shaped flushing box having an open surface facing the recording head 4.

Further, in this embodiment, an acceleration area is set between the standby position and the recording area. The acceleration area is an area for accelerating the scanning speed of the recording head 4 to a predetermined speed.

Next, the recording head 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, in the recording head 4, the comb-teeth-shaped piezoelectric vibrator 21 is inserted from one opening into a housing chamber 72 of a box-shaped case 71 made of, for example, plastic, and the comb-teeth-shaped tip portion is formed. 21a faces the other opening. The flow path unit 74 is joined to the surface (lower surface) of the case 71 on the other opening side, and the comb-teeth-shaped distal end portions 21a are fixed in contact with predetermined portions of the flow path unit 74, respectively.

In the piezoelectric vibrator 21, a plate-shaped vibrator plate in which the common internal electrodes 21c and the individual internal electrodes 21d are alternately laminated with the piezoelectric body 21b interposed therebetween is cut into a comb shape corresponding to the dot formation density. Is configured. Then, by applying a potential difference between the common internal electrode 21c and the individual internal electrode 21d, each piezoelectric vibrator 21 expands and contracts in the vibrator longitudinal direction orthogonal to the stacking direction.

The flow channel unit 74 is constructed by laminating the nozzle plate 16 and the elastic plate 77 on both sides with the flow channel forming plate 75 interposed therebetween.

The flow path forming plate 75 communicates with a plurality of nozzle openings 17 formed in the nozzle plate 16, and a plurality of pressure generating chambers 22 are arranged in a row with the pressure generating chamber partition walls in between.
It is a plate material in which a plurality of ink supply portions 82 that communicate with at least one end of each pressure generation chamber 22 and an elongated common ink chamber 83 that communicates with all the ink supply portions 82 are formed. For example, an elongated common ink chamber 83 is formed by etching a silicon wafer, and the pressure generating chamber 22 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the common ink chamber 83 so that the nozzle opening 1 is formed.
The groove-shaped ink supply portion 82 may be formed between the pressure generating chambers 22 and the common ink chamber 83 in accordance with the pitch of 7. In this case, the ink supply unit 82 is connected to one end of the pressure generating chamber 22, and the nozzle opening 17 is arranged near the end opposite to the ink supply unit 82. Further, the common ink chamber 83 is a chamber for supplying the ink stored in the ink cartridge to the pressure generating chamber 22, and the ink supply pipe 84 communicates with substantially the center in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The elastic plate 77 is laminated on the surface of the flow path forming plate 75 on the side opposite to the nozzle plate 16, and the stainless plate 8
A polymer film such as PPS is provided on the lower surface side of the elastic film 8
8 is a laminated double structure. And
The stainless plate 87 in a portion corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 22 is etched to form an island portion 89 for abutting and fixing the piezoelectric vibrator 21.

In the recording head 4 having the above structure, the island portion 89 is pressed toward the nozzle plate 16 by extending the piezoelectric oscillator 21 in the oscillator longitudinal direction, and the elastic film 88 around the island portion 89 is formed. It deforms and the pressure generation chamber 22 contracts. When the piezoelectric vibrator 21 is contracted in the longitudinal direction from the contracted state of the pressure generating chamber 22, the elasticity of the elastic film 88 expands the pressure generating chamber 22. By temporarily expanding and then contracting the pressure generating chamber 22, the ink pressure in the pressure generating chamber 22 increases, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings 17.

That is, in the recording head 4, the capacity of the corresponding pressure chamber 22 changes as the piezoelectric vibrator 21 is charged and discharged. By utilizing such pressure fluctuation of the pressure chamber 22, it is possible to eject an ink droplet from the nozzle opening 17 or to slightly vibrate the meniscus (the free surface of the ink exposed at the nozzle opening 17).

It is also possible to use a so-called flexural vibration mode piezoelectric vibrator in place of the longitudinal vibration vibration mode piezoelectric vibrator 21 described above. The flexural vibration mode piezoelectric vibrator is a piezoelectric vibrator that contracts the pressure chamber by deformation due to charging and expands the pressure chamber by deformation due to discharging.

The recording head 4 is preferably a multicolor recording head capable of recording a plurality of different colors. The multi-color recording head includes a plurality of head units, and the type of ink used is set for each head unit.

For example, in a recording head having four head units, a black head unit capable of ejecting black ink, a cyan head unit capable of ejecting cyan ink, and a magenta head unit capable of ejecting magenta ink. , And a yellow head unit capable of ejecting yellow ink.

Next, the electrical configuration of the printer 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the inkjet printer 1 includes a printer controller 30 and a print engine 31.

The printer controller 30 includes an external interface (external I / F) 32, a RAM 33 for temporarily storing various data, a ROM 34 for storing control programs and the like, and a control unit 11 including a CPU and the like.
An oscillation circuit 35 that generates a clock signal, a drive signal generation circuit 36 that generates a drive signal for supplying to the recording head 4, and dot pattern data (bits) developed based on the drive signal and print data. An internal interface (internal I / F) 37 for transmitting map data) and the like to the print engine 31 and a measurement timer 38 are provided.

The external I / F 32 receives, for example, print data including a character code, a graphic function, image data, etc. from a host computer (not shown) or the like. In addition, the busy signal (BUSY) and the acknowledge signal (ACK) are transmitted through the external I / F 32.
It is output to the host computer or the like.

The RAM 33 has a reception buffer, an intermediate buffer, an output buffer and a work memory (not shown). The receiving buffer temporarily stores the print data received via the external I / F 32, the intermediate buffer stores the intermediate code data converted by the control unit 11, and the output buffer stores the dot pattern data. Memorize Here, the dot pattern data is print data obtained by decoding (translating) intermediate code data (for example, gradation data).

The ROM 34 stores font data, graphic functions, etc. in addition to a control program (control routine) for performing various data processing. Further, the ROM 34 serves as maintenance information holding means.
It also stores setting data for maintenance operations.

The control section 11 performs various controls according to the control program stored in the ROM 34. For example, the print data in the reception buffer is read, the print data is converted into intermediate code data, and the intermediate code data is stored in the intermediate buffer. In addition, the control unit 11
Analyzes the intermediate code data read from the intermediate buffer, and develops (decodes) the dot pattern data by referring to the font data and the graphic function stored in the ROM 34. Then, the control unit 11 stores the dot pattern data in the output buffer after performing the necessary decoration processing.

If dot pattern data for one line that can be printed is obtained by one main scan of the print head 4,
The dot pattern data for one line is sequentially output from the output buffer to the electric drive system 39 of the recording head 4 through the internal I / F 37, and the carriage 5 is scanned to print one line. When one line of dot pattern data is output from the output buffer, the expanded intermediate code data is erased from the intermediate buffer, and expansion processing is performed on the next intermediate code data.

Further, the controller 11 controls the maintenance operation (recovery operation) performed prior to the recording operation by the recording head 4.

The measuring timer 38 measures the time during which the nozzle openings 17 of the recording head 4 are sealed (capped) by the cap member 15.

The print engine 31 includes a paper feed motor 13 as a paper feed mechanism, a pulse motor 7 as a head scanning mechanism, and an electric drive system 39 for the recording head 4.

Next, the electric drive system 39 of the recording head 4 will be described. The electric drive system 39, as shown in FIG.
A shift register circuit 40, a latch circuit 41, a level shifter circuit 42, and a switch circuit 43 which are electrically connected in order.
And a piezoelectric vibrator 21. These shift register circuit 40, latch circuit 41, level shifter circuit 4
2, the switch circuit 43, and the piezoelectric vibrator 21 are provided for each nozzle opening 17 of the recording head 4.

In this electric drive system 39, the switch circuit 4
When the print data added to 3 is "1", the switch circuit 4
In the state of 3, the drive signal is directly applied to the piezoelectric vibrators 21, and each piezoelectric vibrator 21 is deformed according to the signal waveform of the drive signal. On the other hand, when the print data applied to the switch circuit 43 is “0”, the switch circuit 43 is disconnected and the supply of the drive signal to the piezoelectric vibrator 21 is cut off.

As described above, the drive signal can be selectively supplied to each piezoelectric vibrator 21 based on the print data.
Therefore, depending on the print data given, the nozzle opening 1
Ink droplets can be ejected from 7, and the meniscus can be vibrated slightly.

In this embodiment, the two-mode flushing operation is realized. For normal flushing operation, the drive signal FA shown in FIG. 6 is supplied to each piezoelectric vibrator 21. On the other hand, the drive signal FB shown in FIG. 7 is supplied to each piezoelectric vibrator 21 for the flushing operation when the viscosity of the meniscus is not uniform. The drive signal FA and the drive signal FB are generated in the drive signal generation circuit 36.

Here, the drive signal FA and the drive signal FB
Can be generated in the drive signal generation circuit 36 in the same manner as in the conventional case, by diverting the ejection waveform for ejecting ink droplets during the recording operation.

Of course, as shown in FIG. 12, the drive signal generating circuit 36 is provided separately from the main signal generating section 36a which generates an ejection waveform for ejecting ink droplets during the recording operation.
A flushing signal generation unit 36b for generating the drive signal FA and the drive signal FB may be provided independently of the ejection waveform for ejecting ink droplets during the recording operation. Here, the selection unit 36c functions as a signal selection unit. In this case, the form (waveform) of the drive signal FA and the drive signal FB
The degree of freedom in selection (design) of is significantly increased.

In the flushing operation, the selection of the drive signal (drive signal FA or drive signal FB) to be supplied to each piezoelectric vibrator 21 (flushing means) is
It is designed to be performed by the control unit 11. In this case, the control unit 11 selects the drive signal based on the time measured by the measurement timer 38, that is, switches the flushing mode.

Specifically, the drive signal FB is applied to each piezoelectric vibrator 21 only when the time measured by the measurement timer 38 is between the predetermined first elapsed time and the predetermined second elapsed time.
Is supplied (operated in the first flushing mode),
In other cases, the drive signal FA is supplied (operated in the second flushing mode).

Here, the predetermined first elapsed time is set to 2 minutes, and the predetermined second elapsed time is set to 5 minutes. However, the predetermined first elapsed time and the predetermined second elapsed time can be changed appropriately.

The drive signal FA (second drive signal) is, as shown in FIG. 6, a first voltage raising section s for supplying to the piezoelectric vibrator 21 a voltage that expands the pressure chamber 22 and depressurizes the inside.
a1, a first voltage maintaining unit sa2 that supplies a voltage that maintains the reduced pressure state to the piezoelectric vibrator 21, and a pressure chamber 22.
The piezoelectric vibrator 2 applies a voltage that contracts the internal pressure to pressurize the inside.
1 for the first voltage drop portion sa3, a second voltage maintaining portion sa4 for supplying the piezoelectric vibrator 21 with a voltage for maintaining the pressurization state, and a voltage for returning the pressure chamber 22 to the original state. Second voltage raising portion sa5 that supplies the voltage to the piezoelectric vibrator 21.
And have.

On the other hand, the drive signal FB is, as shown in FIG. 7, a first voltage rising portion sb1 for supplying the piezoelectric vibrator 21 with a voltage for expanding the pressure chamber 22 and depressurizing the inside.
A first voltage maintaining unit sb2 that supplies a voltage that maintains the reduced pressure state to the piezoelectric vibrator 21, and a first voltage drop that supplies a voltage that returns the pressure chamber 22 to a slight reduced pressure state to the piezoelectric vibrator 21. The portion sb3, the second voltage maintaining portion sb4 that supplies the piezoelectric vibrator 21 with a voltage that maintains the slight depressurized state, and the piezoelectric vibrator 21 that supplies a voltage that returns the pressure chamber 22 to the original state. And a second voltage drop unit sb5 that operates.

In this case, the first voltage raising section sb1 has an auxiliary voltage maintaining section sb12 for temporarily maintaining a moderate depressurized state while expanding the pressure chamber 22 to depressurize the inside. This auxiliary voltage maintaining unit sb12
The voltage increasing portion sb11 is provided for the purpose of increasing the drive potential to the voltage value of and connecting the drive waveforms. However,
The auxiliary voltage maintaining unit sb12 is not an essential feature of the present invention.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the power is turned on, the necessary initialization operation is first performed. After that, the recording head 4 stands by at the standby position (state of FIG. 3A). When the print data for one line is output from the output buffer of the RAM 33, the recording head 4 performs the maintenance operation (recovery operation) before the recording operation.

This maintenance operation is carried out in order to maintain the ink droplet ejection capability of the recording head 4.
For example, there are a flushing operation and a micro-vibration operation, which are appropriately selected and implemented.

Specifically, the flushing operation is an operation for forcibly discharging the ink from the recording head 4 toward the ink receiving member (cap member 15) outside the recording area. The flushing operation is performed while stopped at the standby position. When the flushing operation is performed, the thickened ink near the nozzle openings 17 is discharged to the outside of the recording head 4 and replaced with the ink in a good state.

As described above, the micro-vibration operation is the operation of vibrating the meniscus by vibrating the pressure chamber 22 to the extent that ink droplets are not ejected. In the present embodiment,
This is performed while the recording head 4 is stopped at the standby position and moving in the acceleration region.

The flushing operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail. The time measured by the measurement timer 38 is a predetermined first elapsed time (in this case, 2 minutes) and a predetermined second elapsed time (in this case, 5 minutes). Minutes), the flushing operation using the drive signal FA (see FIG. 6) is performed.

Ink droplets continuously ejected in the flushing operation in the second mode have an ejection speed of about 7 m.
/ S and the mass is 13 ng. At this time, the state of the meniscus changes as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the time measured by the measurement timer 38 is between the predetermined first elapsed time (in this case, 2 minutes) and the predetermined second elapsed time (in this case, 5 minutes), the drive signal F
The flushing operation using B (see FIG. 7) is performed.

The ink droplets continuously ejected in the flushing operation in the first mode have an ejection speed of about 10
m / s and mass is 9 ng. At this time, the state of the meniscus changes as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, since the meniscus is largely drawn in immediately before the ink droplet is ejected,
The ink droplets are ejected not from the entire meniscus (see FIG. 8B) but from the center of the meniscus (see FIG. 9B). This prevents the ink in the highly viscous state around the nozzle opening from directly affecting the ejection of ink droplets, realizes a more suitable flushing operation, and makes the viscous state of the meniscus uneven. However, the meniscus does not break.

In the present embodiment, when the time measured by the measurement timer 38 is between the predetermined first elapsed time (in this case, 2 minutes) and the predetermined second elapsed time (in this case, 5 minutes). Only, the flushing operation in the first mode is performed.
This is because the second mode allows more ink to be ejected in a shorter time, and the general flushing effect is greater. Therefore, except for the case where the flushing operation in the second mode causes inconvenience, This is because the flushing operation is preferable.

As a modified example of this embodiment, the control unit 11
The flushing mode may be selected such that the flushing operation is performed by the drive signal FB at the start of the flushing processing and the flushing operation by the drive signal FA is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed after the start of the flushing processing.

The drive signal FA and the drive signal FB are
It is preferably extracted and generated from a common signal as shown in FIG. 10 by using a selective LAT pulse. The common signal referred to here is a common signal that is also used as an ejection waveform for ejecting ink droplets during a recording operation. For example, in the waveform of the drive signal FB, a waveform in which the value of the voltage for maintaining the depressurized state of the pressure chamber 22 is reduced by about 3V can be used as the ejection waveform of the minute ink droplet. According to such an ejection waveform, a minute ink droplet having a mass of 7 ng can be ejected at an ejection speed of 8 m / s.

Alternatively, the common signal as shown in FIG. 10 is a drive signal FA and a drive signal FB for only the flushing operation, which is different from the ejection waveform for ejecting ink droplets during the recording operation, as described above. May be a common signal for. In this case, the drive signal FA and the drive signal FB
The degree of freedom in selecting (designing) the form (waveform) is remarkably improved.

Alternatively, the drive signal FA and the drive signal FB may be independently generated.

Further, particularly preferable ranges of the mass and the ejection speed of the ink droplets ejected in the first flushing mode are as follows.
8 to 10 ng and 9 to 15 when the nozzle diameter is 25 μm
m / s.

Further, with respect to the above embodiment, various additions and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described above.

For example, the pressure generating element that changes the volume of the pressure chamber 22 is not limited to the piezoelectric vibrator 21. For example, a magnetostrictive element may be used as a pressure generating element, and the pressure chamber 22 may be expanded / contracted by the magnetostrictive element to generate a pressure fluctuation. Alternatively, a heating element may be used as a pressure generating element and The pressure may be changed in the pressure chamber 22 by the bubbles that expand and contract due to heat.

As described above, the printer controller 30 may be constituted by a computer system. However, the program for causing the computer system to realize each of the above elements and the computer-readable recording medium 201 recording the program are also included in the present invention. Subject to protection.

Further, when each of the above-described elements is realized by a program such as an OS operating on a computer system, a program including various instructions for controlling the program such as the OS and the recording medium 202 recording the program are also included. , Is the subject of this case.

Here, the recording media 201 and 202 can be recognized as a single unit such as a floppy disk,
It also includes a network for propagating various signals.

Although the above description has been made with respect to the ink jet recording apparatus, the present invention is broadly applied to all liquid ejecting apparatuses. Examples of liquids include
Besides ink, glue, nail polish, etc. may be used.

[0112]

As described above, in the flushing operation according to the present invention, since the ejection is performed so as not to lose the thickened liquid film, the meniscus is broken even if the thickened state of the meniscus is nonuniform. Never. Therefore, it is possible to prevent bubbles from entering the nozzle openings, and it is possible to maintain good ejection characteristics of the liquid droplets.

Further, according to the present invention, since the flushing drive signal is generated separately and independently of the liquid ejection signal, the degree of freedom in designing the flushing drive signal is remarkably improved, and the optimum flushing operation is realized. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scanning range of a recording head, in which (a) is a scanning range of a printer that performs unidirectional recording
(B) shows the scanning range of the printer for bidirectional recording.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the recording head,
(A) shows the state of being in the standby position, (b)
Is the state of moving from the standby position to the recording area side,
(C) shows the state when returning from the recording area side to the standby position, and (d) shows the state where it is located at the home position.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording head.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a drive signal for a second flushing mode.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a drive signal for a first flushing mode.

8 is a diagram showing a change in meniscus during ink droplet ejection control by the drive signal shown in FIG.

9 is a diagram showing changes in meniscus during ink droplet ejection control by the drive signal shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a common drive signal having a partial waveform corresponding to the drive signal for the first flushing mode and a partial waveform corresponding to the drive signal for the second flushing mode.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a drive signal for ejecting a small ink droplet.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Inkjet printer 2 ink cartridge 3 Cartridge holder 4 recording head 5 carriage 6 Guide member 7 pulse motor 8 drive pulley 9 Idler pulley 10 Timing belt 11 Control unit 12 Recording paper 13 Paper feed motor 14 Paper feed roller 15 Cap member 16 nozzle plate 17 nozzle opening 18 Ink receiving member 21 Piezoelectric vibrator 21a Comb-shaped tip 22 Pressure generation chamber 30 Printer controller 31 print engine 32 external interface 33 RAM 34 ROM 35 oscillator circuit 36 Drive signal generation circuit 36a Main signal generator 36b Flushing signal generator 36c selector 37 Internal interface 38 Measurement timer 39 Electric drive system for recording head 40 shift register circuit 41 Latch circuit 42 level shifter circuit 43 switch circuit 71 cases 72 storage room 74 Channel unit 75 Flow path forming plate 77 Elastic plate 80 nozzle openings 82 Ink supply section 83 Common ink chamber 84 ink supply pipe 87 stainless steel plate 88 Elastic membrane 89 Island section

Claims (33)

[Claims] 1. A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the increased viscosity of the liquid in the nozzle opening,
The recovery means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as a microdroplet, and the microdroplet of the liquid ejected in the flushing process is
A liquid ejecting apparatus having a discharge speed of 8 m / s or more and a mass of 10 ng or less. 2. A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovering means for recovering the increased viscosity of the liquid in the nozzle opening.
The recovery means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle openings as minute droplets, and the meniscus of the liquid formed in the nozzle openings is A liquid ejecting apparatus, characterized in that the liquid is ejected greatly immediately before the droplet is ejected, and is controlled so that a minute droplet is ejected from the central portion of the meniscus. 3. The head member includes: a pressure generating chamber that communicates with the nozzle opening and can contain a liquid; and a pressure generating unit that changes the pressure of the liquid in the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening. 3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a flushing driving unit that drives the pressure generating unit. 4. The pressure generating means has a piezoelectric member for deforming the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from a nozzle opening, and the flushing drive means is adapted to supply a drive signal to the piezoelectric member. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: 5. A drive signal supplied to the piezoelectric member by the flushing drive means is a first voltage raising section for supplying to the piezoelectric member a voltage for expanding the pressure generating chamber to decompress the inside, and maintaining the depressurized state. Voltage maintaining unit for supplying a voltage to the piezoelectric member, a first voltage lowering unit for supplying a voltage to the piezoelectric member so as to return the pressure generating chamber to a lightly decompressed state, and maintaining the lightly decompressed state. And a second voltage drop unit for supplying to the piezoelectric member a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to its original state. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4. 6. The first voltage increasing section has an auxiliary voltage maintaining section for temporarily maintaining a mild or moderate decompressed state while expanding the pressure generating chamber and decompressing the inside. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: 7. The flushing means has two flushing modes that can be switched, and in the first flushing mode, a minute droplet of the liquid ejected in the flushing process has an ejection speed of 8 m / s. The above is and the mass is 10 ng or less, and in the second flushing mode, the fine droplets of the liquid ejected in the flushing process have a mass of 12 ng or more. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims. 8. A head scanning mechanism for moving the head member in a main scanning direction, a capping mechanism provided in a movable region of the head member and capable of sealing a nozzle opening, and a nozzle by the capping mechanism. A measurement timer for measuring the time during which the opening is sealed, and a control means for switching the flushing mode of the flushing means based on the time measured by the measurement timer,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: 9. The flushing means is operated in the first flushing mode only when the time measured by the measurement timer is between the predetermined first elapsed time and the predetermined second elapsed time, and the other flushing mode is set. In this case, the operation is performed in the second flushing mode.
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to item 1. 10. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined first elapsed time is 2 minutes, and the predetermined second elapsed time is 5 minutes. 11. The flushing means is operated in a first flushing mode at the start of the flushing process, and is operated in a second flushing mode after a lapse of a predetermined time after the start of the flushing process. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: 12. The head member includes a pressure generating chamber communicating with the nozzle opening and capable of containing a liquid, and pressure generating means for changing the pressure of the liquid in the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening. The flushing means has a flushing driving means for driving the pressure generating means, and the pressure generating means deforms the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening. The flushing driving means supplies the first driving signal to the piezoelectric member in the first flushing mode, and supplies the second driving signal to the piezoelectric member in the second flushing mode. It is characterized in that the first drive signal and the second drive signal are formed by selectively using the partial waveform of the common drive signal. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11, which is a characteristic. 13. The first drive signal comprises: a first voltage raising section for supplying a voltage to the piezoelectric member to expand the pressure generating chamber to decompress the interior, and a voltage to maintain the depressurized state. To the piezoelectric member, a first voltage maintaining unit for supplying to the piezoelectric member, a first voltage lowering unit for supplying to the piezoelectric member a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to a lightly decompressed state, and a voltage for maintaining the lightly decompressed state. A second voltage maintaining unit for supplying the piezoelectric member with a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to the original state, and the second drive signal is A first voltage raising unit that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member to expand the pressure to decompress the interior, a first voltage maintaining unit that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member to maintain the reduced pressure state, and a pressure generation chamber. Supply the piezoelectric member with a voltage that contracts and pressurizes the inside. A first voltage drop section for supplying the piezoelectric member with a voltage for maintaining the pressurized state, and a second voltage maintaining section for supplying the piezoelectric member with a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to the original state. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: two voltage increasing units. 14. A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the increased viscosity of the liquid in the nozzle opening,
The recovery means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as minute droplets, and the head member communicates with the nozzle opening and a pressure generating chamber capable of containing the liquid. And a pressure generating unit that changes the pressure of the liquid in the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening, the liquid ejecting unit driving the pressure generating unit based on a liquid ejecting signal. The flushing means drives the pressure generating means based on a flushing drive signal, and the flushing drive signal is generated independently of the liquid ejection signal. A liquid ejecting apparatus characterized by the above. 15. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the pressure generating means has a piezoelectric member that deforms the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening. 16. The liquid jet according to claim 14, wherein the droplets of the liquid ejected in the flushing process have an ejection speed of 8 m / s or more and a mass of 10 ng or less. apparatus. 17. The meniscus of the liquid formed in the nozzle opening is largely drawn by the flushing means immediately before each minute droplet of the liquid is ejected, and the minute droplet is ejected from the central portion of the meniscus. 16. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 14, which is controlled by the following. 18. A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the increased viscosity of the liquid in the nozzle opening.
The recovery unit is a device for controlling a liquid ejecting apparatus, which is a flushing unit for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as a microdroplet, and the ejecting is performed in the flushing process. Droplets of liquid
A control device which controls the flushing means so that the discharge speed is 8 m / s or more and the mass is 10 ng or less. 19. A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the increased viscosity of the liquid in the nozzle opening,
The recovery means is a device for controlling a liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the recovery means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle openings as minute droplets, and the recovery means is formed in the nozzle openings. A control device characterized in that a flushing means is controlled so that a meniscus of a liquid to be drawn is largely drawn in immediately before each minute droplet of the liquid is discharged, and the minute droplet is discharged from a central portion of the meniscus. 20. The flushing means has two flushing modes that can be switched, and in the first flushing mode, the controller ejects minute droplets of the liquid ejected in the flushing process. The speed is 8 m / s or more and the mass is 10 ng or less. In the second flushing mode, the flushing means is controlled so that the fine droplets of the liquid ejected in the flushing process have the mass of 12 ng or more. The control device according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that: 21. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a head scanning mechanism for moving the head member in a main scanning direction; and a capping mechanism provided in a movable region of the head member and capable of sealing a nozzle opening. And a measurement timer for measuring the time during which the nozzle opening is sealed by the capping mechanism, and the controller switches the flushing mode of the flushing means based on the time measured by the measurement timer. 21. The control device according to claim 20, wherein: 22. The control device sets the flushing means in the first flushing mode only when the time measured by the measurement timer is between a predetermined first elapsed time and a predetermined second elapsed time. 22. The control device according to claim 21, wherein the control device is adapted to be operated, and in other cases to be operated in a second flushing mode. 23. The control device according to claim 22, wherein the predetermined first elapsed time is 2 minutes, and the predetermined second elapsed time is 5 minutes. 24. The control device operates the flushing means in a first flushing mode at the start of the flushing process, and operates in a second flushing mode after a lapse of a predetermined time after the start of the flushing process. 22. The control device according to claim 21, wherein the control device is adapted to operate. 25. The head member includes a pressure generating chamber communicating with the nozzle opening and capable of containing a liquid, and pressure generating means for changing the pressure of the liquid in the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening. The flushing means has a flushing driving means for driving the pressure generating means, and the pressure generating means deforms the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening. The control device causes the flushing driving unit to supply the first driving signal to the piezoelectric member in the first flushing mode, and the piezoelectric member in the second flushing mode. Is supplied with the second drive signal, and the first drive signal and the second drive signal are formed by selectively using partial waveforms of the common drive signal. The control device according to any one of claims 21 to 24, wherein: 26. The first drive signal comprises: a first voltage increasing portion for supplying a voltage to the piezoelectric member to expand the pressure generating chamber to decompress the interior, and a voltage to maintain the depressurized state. To the piezoelectric member, a first voltage maintaining unit for supplying to the piezoelectric member, a first voltage lowering unit for supplying to the piezoelectric member a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to a slightly reduced pressure state, and a voltage for maintaining the slightly reduced pressure state. A second voltage maintaining unit for supplying the piezoelectric member with a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to the original state, and the second drive signal is A first voltage raising unit that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member to expand the pressure to decompress the interior, a first voltage maintaining unit that supplies a voltage to the piezoelectric member to maintain the reduced pressure state, and a pressure generation chamber. Supply the piezoelectric member with a voltage that contracts and pressurizes the inside. A first voltage drop section for supplying the piezoelectric member with a voltage for maintaining the pressurized state, and a second voltage maintaining section for supplying the piezoelectric member with a voltage for returning the pressure generating chamber to the original state. The control device according to claim 25, further comprising: a two-voltage increasing unit. 27. A head member having a nozzle opening, a liquid ejecting means for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening, and a recovery means for recovering the increased viscosity of the liquid in the nozzle opening.
The recovery means is a flushing means for performing a flushing process for ejecting the liquid in the nozzle opening as minute droplets, and the head member communicates with the nozzle opening and a pressure generating chamber capable of containing the liquid. And a pressure generating unit that changes the pressure of the liquid in the pressure generating chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle opening, the liquid ejecting unit driving the pressure generating unit based on a liquid ejecting signal. The flushing means is configured to drive the pressure generating means based on a flushing drive signal. And a liquid ejecting signal, which are separately and independently generated. 28. The control device according to claim 27, wherein the droplets of the liquid ejected in the flushing process have an ejection speed of 8 m / s or more and a mass of 10 ng or less. 29. The meniscus of the liquid formed in the nozzle opening is largely drawn by the flushing means immediately before each minute droplet of the liquid is ejected, and the minute droplet is ejected from the central portion of the meniscus. 28. The control device according to claim 27, wherein the control device is controlled by. 30. A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon which is executed by a computer system including at least one computer to cause the computer system to implement the control device according to any one of claims 18 to 29. 31. Instructions are included for controlling a second program operating on a computer system including at least one computer, the instructions being executed by the computer system to control the second program, A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing the computer system to implement the control device according to claim 18. 32. A program executed by a computer system including at least one computer to cause the computer system to realize the control device according to any one of claims 18 to 29. 33. Instructions are included for controlling a second program operating on a computer system including at least one computer, the instructions being executed by the computer system to control the second program, A program for causing the computer system to realize the control device according to any one of claims 18 to 29.