JP2003182052A - Ink-jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink-jet recorder which can suppress ink consumption in ink cartridges. <P>SOLUTION: Check boxes 'ON' and 'OFF' which enable selecting whether or not an automatic cleaning operation is to be carried out are displayed on a display connected to, for example, a host computer for sending control signals for the recorder. When the check box 'ON' is selected, a preliminarily programmed, for instance, regular cleaning operation is carried out. When the check box 'OFF' is selected, the programmed regular cleaning operation is not executed. The 'OFF' can thus be selected in accordance with a set environment of the recorder, so that the ink consumption associated with the automatic cleaning operation can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet type recording apparatus for printing on a recording sheet by ejecting ink droplets toward the recording sheet based on print data, and in particular, ejection of ink droplets from a recording head. The present invention relates to a control technique of ink discharge processing performed in a maintenance operation for recovering a function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an ink jet recording apparatus of a serial printing system has a recording head mounted on a carriage and reciprocating in a width direction (main scanning direction) of a recording sheet, and a recording sheet with respect to a moving direction of the recording head. A paper feed unit that conveys the paper in the orthogonal direction (sub-scanning direction) is provided, and printing is performed on the recording paper by ejecting ink droplets from the recording head based on the print data.

The above-mentioned ink jet recording head is
Since the ink pressurized in the pressure generating chamber is ejected from the nozzle openings as ink droplets onto the recording paper to perform printing, the ink viscosity increases due to the evaporation of the ink solvent (for example, water) from the nozzle openings, and the ink There is a problem that normal ink ejection is impaired due to solidification, adhesion of dust, mixing of bubbles, and the like, which causes printing failure.

For this reason, in this type of recording apparatus, capping means for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head during non-printing, and if necessary, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is wiped and cleaned. Equipped with wiping means. The capping means not only functions as a lid for preventing the ink in the nozzle openings of the recording head from drying while the recording apparatus is at rest, but when the nozzle openings are clogged, the capping means forms the nozzles. It also serves as a maintenance function of sealing the surface and sucking and discharging ink from the nozzle opening by negative pressure from the suction pump to eliminate clogging of the nozzle opening.

The forcible ink suction and discharge process for eliminating the clogging of the recording head is called a cleaning operation, and is automatically executed, for example, when printing is restarted after a long pause of the recording apparatus. To be done. This is called regular cleaning. In addition to the regular cleaning described above, it is also executed when the user recognizes a print defect and operates the cleaning switch, and this is called manual cleaning.

Further, even when the ink cartridge is replaced, the ink is automatically sucked and discharged from the recording head, whereby the ink meniscus destroyed at the nozzle opening of the recording head due to a shock or the like accompanying the cartridge replacement. It is made to recover. This is called exchange cleaning.

Further, the recording head is also provided with a maintenance means for applying a drive signal unrelated to printing to discharge ink droplets idly, which is called a flushing operation.
For example, it is executed at regular intervals for the purpose of preventing clogging due to thickening of ink in the nozzle openings where ink droplets are rarely ejected during the printing operation. The flushing operation is also performed as a means for recovering an uneven meniscus near the nozzle opening of the recording head due to a wiping operation accompanying the cleaning operation.

[0008]

By the way, the sequence of the periodic cleaning or replacement cleaning operation which is automatically executed as described above has a considerable margin in consideration of the arrangement environment of the recording apparatus, the dispersion of the recording apparatus, and the like. It is designed to have. Therefore, for example, for a user who is used in a high humidity area or place, it is possible to considerably lengthen the execution interval of the regular cleaning for preventing the nozzle from being clogged due to water evaporation.

Further, in the case of a user who handles the ink cartridge carefully without being rough, the meniscus of the ink formed in the nozzle opening of the recording head is destroyed by an impact or the like, and the ejection failure of the ink droplet is caused. The degree to wake it up is very small.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides an ink jet type recording apparatus configured so that an appropriate maintenance operation can be selected according to a use environment of the recording apparatus or a user's handling. The purpose is to do.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, ejects ink droplets by a drive signal based on print data and prints on a recording sheet. Ink is ejected from the recording head by applying a negative pressure to the ink jet recording head for performing the above, the capping means capable of sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, and the internal space of the capping means. An inkjet recording apparatus including a suction pump, wherein a first mode in which a maintenance operation of a recording head for sucking and discharging ink from the recording head is automatically executed, and the maintenance operation is automatically executed. It is characterized in that it is configured so that the second mode for prohibiting the above can be selected.

In this case, one of the maintenance operations is preferably a periodical cleaning operation which is executed at least according to the elapsed time from the previous execution of the maintenance operation, and when the first mode is selected. This is done automatically so that the second
This execution is prohibited when the mode is selected. Further, another one of the maintenance operations is an exchange cleaning operation, which is preferably performed at the time of exchanging the ink cartridge, and this is automatically executed when the first mode is selected. When the second mode is selected, this execution is prohibited.

Further, in a preferred embodiment,
The maintenance operation is at least a periodic cleaning operation executed according to the elapsed time from the previous maintenance operation and an exchange cleaning operation performed when the ink cartridge is replaced, and when the first mode is selected. Both of them are automatically executed, and when the second mode is selected, both of them are prohibited from being executed.

Then, the selection operation of the first mode and the second mode is preferably executed on the utility of the printer driver installed in the host computer.

On the other hand, a cleaning number counter for counting the number of executions of the maintenance operation executed by the user's manual instruction, and a cumulative print counter for counting the cumulative value of printing are further provided. When the ratio of the cumulative value of the cleaning number counter is less than a predetermined value, it is desirable to provide a notification unit for urging the user to select the first mode.

In this case, preferably, the notification means is constructed on a utility of a printer driver installed in the host computer, and a message prompting the user to select the first mode is displayed on the display connected to the host computer. Configured to be done.

According to the recording apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, for example, when the first mode is selected on the utility of the printer driver installed in the host computer, the regular cleaning operation or the replacement cleaning operation is predetermined. It is automatically executed according to the program. In addition, when the second mode is selected, the periodical cleaning operation and the replacement cleaning operation are not automatically executed.

Therefore, when the first mode is selected, the cleaning operation according to the programming is executed without the user's awareness, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defective printing. Further, when the user selects the second mode, it is possible to prohibit the cleaning operation from being automatically executed, and prevent waste of ink in the ink cartridge.

Even in this case, the cleaning operation is executed by the user recognizing the defective printing and instructing the manual cleaning. Therefore, when the user selects the second mode, it is possible to minimize the ink consumption associated with the cleaning operation, which contributes to a reduction in running cost.

Further, when the user selects the second mode, the ratio of the cumulative value of the number of times of manual cleaning to the cumulative value of the cumulative print counter is monitored, and this ratio is less than the predetermined value. In some cases, manual cleaning is executed relatively frequently. In this case, it can be estimated that the recording apparatus is exposed to a low humidity environment to a large extent.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned case, by issuing a message prompting the user to select the above-mentioned first mode, it is possible to surely prevent the occurrence of the print defect without depending on the user's manual cleaning instruction. be able to.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a basic structure of a recording apparatus main body to which the present invention is applied. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 is a carriage, and the carriage 1 is configured to be guided by a guide member 4 via a timing belt 3 driven by a carriage motor 2 and reciprocally driven along the longitudinal direction of the paper feeding member 5. Has been done.

The carriage 1 facing the paper feed member 5
An ink cartridge capable of supplying black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks to the recording head 7 is mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 1, and the upper surface of the carriage 1 is mounted on the lower surface. 8B, 8C, 8M and 8Y are detachably attached.
As a result, the recording head 7 that receives the print command
Ink droplets are ejected onto the recording paper 6 conveyed on the paper feed member 5, and printing is executed.

In the non-printing area (right side in FIG. 1) of the recording apparatus, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 7 mounted on the carriage 1 can be sealed by moving up when the carriage 1 moves to the location. Possible capping means 9 are arranged. In the flushing operation, the capping means 9 faces the recording head 7 with a constant gap and receives the ink droplets due to the idle discharge, and the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 7 during the idle period of the apparatus. Is designed to function as a lid for sealing the. Further, the capping means 9 is configured to be capable of receiving a negative pressure from the suction pump 10 and forcibly sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head 7 during the cleaning operation.

A wiping member 11 formed of a strip of an elastic material such as rubber is arranged on the side of the printing area adjacent to the capping means 9, and when the carriage 1 reciprocates toward the capping means 9 side. The wiping operation is performed so as to enter the movement locus of the recording head and wipe and clean the nozzle forming surface of the recording head as necessary.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit mounted on the recording apparatus.
In FIG. 2, parts corresponding to the parts shown in FIG. 1 which have already been described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 2, the capping means 9 has a tube 1 in a suction pump (tube pump) 10 for sucking a negative pressure in its internal space.
0a is connected to one end, and the discharge side of the suction pump 10 is connected to the waste liquid tank 12. The ink waste liquid discharged into the capping means 9 by the cleaning operation or the like is absorbed and held by the waste liquid absorbing material 13 stored in the waste liquid tank 12.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 30 represents a host computer, which is equipped with a printer driver 31 and which is capable of performing known paper size and monochrome / color printing in response to a command from the input device 32. Selection, recording mode selection, font data and print commands can be input.

Further, the host computer 30 includes
A display 33 is connected, and as is well known by the display 33, the input status of the input device 32 can be confirmed, and information such as the state of the recording device, for example, the ink remaining amount of each ink cartridge mounted can also be viewed. It is configured to be able to be displayed. Also,
In the display 33, as will be described later, a first mode in which the maintenance operation of the recording head for sucking and discharging ink from the recording head is automatically executed, and the maintenance operation is prohibited from being automatically executed. The selection operation of the second mode is executed on the utility of the printer driver.

Further, the display 33 also functions as a notification means for displaying a message prompting the user to select the first mode on the utility of the printer driver as described later.

On the other hand, the print control means 34 shown in FIG. 2 generates bitmap data based on the print data sent from the host computer 30 side, and the head drive means 35 generates a drive signal based on this data. Ink droplets can be ejected from the recording head 7. In addition to the ink droplet ejecting action based on the print data, the head driving unit 35 also receives the command from the flushing control unit 36 and ejects the ink droplet idly to perform maintenance of the recording head. .

Reference numeral 37 is a cleaning control means,
The cleaning control unit 37 is configured to receive a control signal from the cleaning command detection unit 40 that has operated the command switch 39 when the user recognizes, for example, a defective printing state and operates the cleaning command switch 39. . As a result, the cleaning control means 37 is configured to execute the manual cleaning operation. The cleaning control means 37 is also configured to receive a control signal from a central control means 41, which will be described later, and to execute each of the above-described regular cleaning or replacement cleaning operations.

An information signal from the ink cartridge attachment / detachment detection means 42 is supplied to the central control means 41, and a signal indicating that the ink cartridge has been exchanged by the ink cartridge attachment / detachment detection means 42. Is supplied, the central control means 41 sends a control signal to the cleaning control means 37 to execute replacement cleaning.

A cleaning timer 43 and a cumulative print timer 44 are connected to the central control means 41. The cleaning timer 43 resets the accumulated time to zero when the replacement cleaning operation or the regular cleaning operation described later is executed, and immediately starts to count up the elapsed time. That is, the cleaning timer 43 functions to measure the elapsed time (T1) since the last cleaning operation was performed.

The cumulative print timer 44 resets the cumulative time to zero by executing the cleaning operation, and acts to count up the cumulative time with the start of the printing operation. That is, the cumulative print timer 44
Has a function of measuring a cumulative printing time (T2) in which the recording head 7 is printing without being capped by the capping means 9.

The respective cumulative timed outputs from the cleaning timer 43 and the cumulative print timer 44 are read by the central control means 41, and the central control means 41 is read.
By referring to a maintenance operation selection table, which will be described later, which is built in the maintenance operation selection table, either the flushing operation or the regular cleaning operation is selected.

The central control means 41 has a print page counter 45 and a cleaning number counter 46.
Are configured to be supplied with respective integrated values. The printed page counter 45 in this embodiment is for cumulatively counting the number of printed pages,
This can be replaced with a cumulative print counter that counts a cumulative print value. The print page counter 45 is reset to zero when the recording device is set to the second mode, as will be described later, and counts the number of print pages (cumulative print value) thereafter.

Further, the cleaning number counter 46
Receives the signal from the cleaning command detecting means 40 and counts the number of times the manual cleaning operation has been executed.
When the mode is set, it is reset to zero, and the number of times of subsequent manual cleaning operations is cumulatively counted. Then, the cleaning number counter 46 for the cumulative value of the print page counter 45
The central control means 41 calculates and monitors the ratio of the cumulative values of the above, and when the calculation result is less than a predetermined value, the message prompting the user to select the first mode, which will be described later, is given. It acts so as to be displayed on the display 33.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a screen configuration in which the user can set the recording apparatus having the above-described configuration to the first mode or the second mode.
That is, this screen configuration is displayed on the display 33 connected to the above-mentioned host computer 30, and is constructed on the utility of the printer driver 31 installed in the host computer 30. In the screen configuration shown in FIG. 3, whether or not to perform the automatic cleaning displayed in the lower column can be selected by a check box displaying "ON" or "OFF".

When the automatic cleaning "ON" is selected as in the state shown in FIG. 3, the recording apparatus is set to the above-mentioned first mode. When the automatic cleaning “OFF” is selected, the recording device is set to the above-mentioned second mode. Here, in the first mode that is set when the automatic cleaning “ON” is selected, the regular cleaning operation shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 described below is executed, and the automatic cleaning “OFF” is performed. In the second mode set when "" is selected, execution of the periodic cleaning shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is prohibited.

In this embodiment, when the automatic cleaning "ON" is selected, the replacement cleaning described above is automatically executed, and when the automatic cleaning "OFF" is selected. In the above, the automatic cleaning described above is prohibited.

FIGS. 4 to 6 explain the operation routine performed when the automatic cleaning "ON" is selected and the recording apparatus is set to the first mode. First, FIG. 4 shows a maintenance process selecting operation which is performed when the operating power supply of the recording apparatus is turned on. When operating power is applied to the recording device,
In step S11, the initialization operation of the recording apparatus is executed. In this initialization operation, for example, it is determined whether the ink supply path is initially filled with ink and whether each of the ink cartridges 8B to 8Y is loaded.

Then, in step S12, the power is turned on.
The maintenance process to be executed from time to time is selected. This is performed by the central control means 41 shown in FIG. 2 taking in the time measurement data in the cleaning timer 43 and the cumulative print timer 44 and referring to the maintenance operation selection table built in the central control means 41. FIG. 5 shows an example of the maintenance operation selection table used at this time. That is, the horizontal axis in FIG. 5 indicates the time measured by the cleaning timer (T1), and the vertical axis indicates the time measured by the cumulative print timer (T2). The maintenance to be executed corresponding to the two time measured is shown. The operation and its processing mode are described in a matrix format.

When performing the maintenance process in the recording head, either the flushing operation or the cleaning operation can be adopted as shown in FIG. The maintenance process by the flushing operation is adopted when the viscosity increase of the ink in the vicinity of the nozzle opening in the recording head is relatively small. Further, the maintenance process by the cleaning operation is adopted when the viscosity increase of the ink in the vicinity of the nozzle opening in the recording head is relatively advanced. In other words, when the viscosity increase of the ink at the nozzle opening is relatively small, the flushing operation can sufficiently restore the ink ejection function, and the running cost can be reduced because ink is not consumed. Have

On the other hand, the degree of increase in the viscosity of the ink at the nozzle openings of the recording head depends on the elapsed time after the suction operation for sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head by the capping means (the time measured by the cleaning timer T1) and the recording head capping. Cumulative printing time (cumulative printing timer T2
It is known that the thickening ratio of the ink increases with the elapsed time of either or both of them.

Therefore, as can be understood from the selection table shown in FIG. 5, when the cumulative print timer T2 does not measure for one hour, the cleaning timer T1 measures less than 160 hours. In this case, the flushing operation is performed to maintain the ink ejection function. Further, even when the time measured by the cumulative print timer T2 is less than 2 hours and the time measured by the cleaning timer T1 is less than 82 hours, the ink ejection function is similarly restored by the flushing operation. Has been done.

When the above conditions are not satisfied, the increase in viscosity of the ink in the nozzle openings of the recording head is relatively advanced, and in this case, the flushing operation described above is insufficient, and therefore the recording is performed. The maintenance process is performed by a cleaning operation of sucking and discharging ink from the nozzle openings of the head.

At step S13 in FIG.
Based on the result of referring to the maintenance operation selection table, it is determined whether to select the flushing operation or the periodical cleaning operation. As a result, if it is determined that the cleaning operation is necessary (Yes), the process proceeds to step S14, and the regular cleaning operation shown in FIG. 6 is executed.

After the execution of the regular cleaning operation in step S14, the process proceeds to step S15,
The cleaning timer (T1) is reset to zero and is started to operate so as to count up the elapsed time. Further, the cumulative print timer (T2) is reset to zero. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that the cleaning operation is not necessary (No), the process proceeds to step S16, and the flushing operation for a predetermined number of shots is executed.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a processing routine performed in the regular cleaning operation in step S14 of FIG.
Shown in. That is, when the cleaning process is started,
As shown in step S21, any operation unnecessary for the cleaning processing such as the paper feeding operation is prohibited, and in this state, the wiping means 11 is moved in the horizontal direction and advances to the movement locus of the recording head to set the state. Done Then, as shown as step S22, the wiping operation of wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head by the wiping means 11 by the movement of the carriage 1 is executed. This removes dust, paper dust, and the like attached to the nozzle forming surface of the recording head.

Then, as shown in step S23, the suction pump is driven to retract the wiping means 11 from the movement locus of the recording head to the wiper reset state. That is, in this embodiment, the paper feed motor drives the suction pump, and also moves the wiping means 11 back and forth along the movement locus of the recording head. The wiping in steps S22 and S23 described above is performed. The member setting and resetting operations are performed by the paper feed motor.

Then, as shown in step S24, by moving the carriage to the capping position,
The nozzle forming surface of the recording head is sealed by the capping means 9. By further driving the suction pump in this state, the operation of sucking ink from the nozzle openings of the recording head is executed as shown in step S25. As a result, a negative pressure is accumulated in the capping means 9, and in this state, the negative pressure release waiting process is started as shown in step S26, and the negative pressure accumulated during the waiting time causes the ink to be stored in the capping means 9. Is discharged.

In this way, when the atmospheric pressure in the capping means is close to the atmospheric pressure, the process proceeds to step S27, the carriage is slightly moved to the print area side to release the capping state, and then the suction pump is driven. By doing so, the operation of discharging the ink sucked and discharged into the capping means to the waste liquid tank 12 is performed. Then, as shown in step S28, the wiping member 11 is set to the set state, and the wiping operation is executed. In this case, as described above, the paper feed motor as the drive source of the suction pump also uses the wiping means as the drive source for moving the print head back and forth along the movement path of the recording head. By slightly driving in the direction, the wiping means can be brought into the set state in which the wiping means has advanced to the movement trajectory of the recording head.

When the carriage is driven to the print area side, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head is wiped by the wiping means, and the ink adhering to the nozzle forming surface is scraped off by the wiping member 11.
In step S29 following this wiping operation,
The suction pump is slightly driven, whereby the wiping means retracts from the movement trajectory of the recording head and is reset.

Then, by driving the carriage 1 toward the capping means, the recording head is put into the capping state as shown in step S30. Then, as shown in step S31, operations other than the prohibited cleaning process are enabled, and step S32 is performed.
As shown in (4), the flushing for cleaning is executed to adjust the meniscus of the ink in the nozzle openings, and the series of cleaning operations is completed.

The above-described sequence shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is executed on the screen shown in FIG.
This is executed when N "is selected and the recording apparatus is set to the first mode. However, when automatic cleaning" OFF "is selected on the screen shown in FIG. 3 and the recording apparatus is set to the second mode. In FIG. 4 to FIG.
The sequence shown in is not executed.

Here, when automatic cleaning "OFF" is selected on the screen shown in FIG. 3 and the recording apparatus is set to the second mode, the central control means 41 described above is used.
The central control means 41 calculates the ratio of the cumulative value of the cleaning number counter 46 to the cumulative value of the print page counter 45 as described above with reference to the cumulative values of the printing page counter 45 and the cleaning number counter 46. When the calculation result is less than the predetermined value, the display 33 is operated to display a message prompting the user to select the first mode, which will be described later.

That is, the case where the calculation result performed by the central control means 41 does not reach the predetermined value means that the manual cleaning operation is executed relatively frequently. In this case, it can be estimated that the recording apparatus is exposed to a low humidity environment to a large extent. Therefore, in the above case, a message prompting the user to select the first mode is issued.

The above-mentioned message is constructed so as to be displayed on the display 33 on the utility of the printer driver 31 installed in the host computer. Therefore, the user confirms the message, opens the screen shown in FIG. 3 and executes the operation of selecting the automatic cleaning “ON”, whereby the automatic maintenance operation shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is executed. Like When the automatic cleaning “ON” is selected as described above, the maintenance operation of the recording head is automatically executed without depending on the manual cleaning instruction from the user, which causes the occurrence of printing failure. It can be surely prevented.

In the screen structure shown in FIG.
By selecting "ON" or "OFF" of the automatic cleaning, the first mode in which both the regular cleaning and the replacement cleaning are automatically executed and the second mode in which both of them are not executed are selected. However, for example, it is also effective to separately configure the periodic cleaning and the replacement cleaning on the screen so that they can be individually set.
With this configuration, the operation mode of the periodic cleaning can be set according to the installation environment of the recording apparatus, and the operation mode of the replacement cleaning can be individually set according to how the user handles the ink cartridge during replacement. Can be set to.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a message prompting the user to select the first mode and automatic cleaning "ON" are displayed.
The selection operation of “OFF” and “OFF” is configured to be performed based on the display of the display connected to the host computer, and this display uses a display not shown arranged in the recording device. It can also be configured.

[0061]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the first mode in which the maintenance operation of the recording head for sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head is automatically executed, Since the second mode in which the maintenance operation is prohibited from being automatically executed is selectable, the printing can be performed depending on the installation environment of the printing apparatus or the user's handling when replacing the ink cartridge. The operation mode of the head maintenance process can be changed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the ink consumption associated with the maintenance process and to reduce the running cost, as compared with the conventional recording apparatus in which the maintenance process is automatically executed.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a screen configuration diagram showing an example of a mode selection screen displayed on the display connected to the host computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a selection operation of maintenance processing of a print head performed when an operation power supply is turned on to the printing apparatus.

5 is a table configuration diagram showing an example of a maintenance operation selection table used in the control routine shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a cleaning sequence showing a periodic cleaning operation of the recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 carriage 6 recording paper 7 recording head 8B-8Y ink cartridge 9 Capping means 10 Suction pump 11 Wiping member 30 host computer 31 Printer driver 32 input device 33 display 34 Printing control means 35 head drive means 36 Flushing control means 37 Cleaning control means 38 Pump drive means 39 Cleaning command switch 40 Cleaning command detection means 41 Central control unit 42 Ink cartridge attachment / detachment detection means 43 Cleaning timer 44 Cumulative print timer 45 Print page counter (cumulative print counter) 46 Cleaning counter

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets by a drive signal based on print data to print on a recording sheet, and a capping means capable of sealing a nozzle forming surface of the recording head. And a suction pump that sucks and discharges ink from the recording head by applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the capping unit, wherein recording is performed by sucking and discharging ink from the recording head. An inkjet recording apparatus configured so that a first mode in which a maintenance operation of a head is automatically executed and a second mode in which the maintenance operation is prohibited from being automatically executed can be selected. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance operation is a periodical cleaning operation that is executed at least according to an elapsed time from the execution of the last maintenance operation. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance operation is a replacement cleaning operation performed when the ink cartridge is replaced. 4. The inkjet according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance operation is a periodical cleaning operation performed at least according to an elapsed time from the execution of the previous maintenance operation and a replacement cleaning operation performed when the ink cartridge is replaced. Recording device. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selection operation of the first mode and the second mode is configured to be executed on a utility of a printer driver installed in a host computer. Inkjet recording device. 6. A cleaning number counter for counting the number of executions of a maintenance operation executed by a user's manual command, and a cumulative print counter for counting a cumulative value of printing are further provided. The ratio of the cumulative value of the cleaning counter is
The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an informing unit that prompts a user to select the first mode when the value is less than a predetermined value. 7. The notification means is constructed on a utility of a printer driver installed in a host computer, and a message prompting a user to select the first mode is issued on a display connected to the host computer. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, which is configured as described above.