JP2006168177A - Liquid jet device and method for cleaning liquid jet device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid jet device capable of reducing jet performing time and a method for cleaning the liquid jet device. <P>SOLUTION: The accumulation-proof flushing operation is performed by discharging ink while moving a nozzle array N7 to each accumulated ink deposited on an absorber 45. In this case, the ink discharge begins from the left end part D1a of the accumulated ink D1 and terminates at the right end part D1c, and further, it is arranged so that the ink discharge amount increases from the left end part D1a of the accumulated ink D1 to the apex D1b and decreases from the apex D1b to the right end part D1c. In addition, the same flushing operation is applied to the other accumulated ink. Thus it is possible to efficiently dissolve the accumulated ink D1 by discharging a large amount of the ink near the apex D1b where the amount of the ink to be deposited on each accumulated ink is most significant. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus and a cleaning method for the liquid ejecting apparatus.

  Conventionally, as one of liquid ejecting apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink from nozzles of a recording head mounted on a carriage is widely known. In this ink jet recording apparatus, recording is performed by forming dots on a recording medium by ejecting ink from nozzles while moving a carriage.

  Usually, in such an ink jet recording apparatus, in order to keep the state of the nozzle in a suitable state, the ink thickened in the nozzle is forcibly discharged by discharging the ink from the nozzle during or after printing. A so-called flushing operation was performed. The ink discharged by this flushing operation is absorbed by an absorber provided in the ink jet recording apparatus. Incidentally, in recent years, pigment ink has attracted attention as an ink having high expressive power. This pigment ink was formed by dispersing the pigment in a highly volatile ink solvent. However, in the case of the pigment ink, when the ink solvent evaporates, there is a possibility that the ink thickens or solidifies and accumulates on the absorber and contacts the nozzles of the recording head. Therefore, a flushing operation that solves such a problem has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

In the flushing operation described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228867, ink that tends to increase in viscosity from the nozzle of the recording head by positioning the carriage at the first position with respect to the guide member that receives the ejected ink and guides it to the absorber. To discharge. Next, the carriage is positioned at the second position, and ink that is low in viscosity and difficult to increase is ejected from the nozzle of the recording head to the location where ink was ejected at the first position of the guide member. Even when the ink ejected at the first position is thickened or solidified, the ink ejected at the second position is made to dissolve and be easily absorbed by the absorber. Yes.
JP 2000-280488 A

  By the way, normally, the ink deposited on the absorber forms a mountain shape due to its own viscosity and surface tension. Accordingly, the amount of ink deposited increases near the apex, and decreases near the end. However, in the flushing operation described in Patent Document 1, when the ink ejected at the second position lands near the top of the accumulated ink, the accumulated ink can be dissolved. When landing in the vicinity of the part, it was difficult to dissolve the entire deposited ink. For this reason, there was a possibility that the ink could not be used efficiently and the consumption of the ink was increased.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus and a liquid ejecting apparatus that can reduce the amount of liquid consumption and efficiently dissolve deposited components. It is in providing a cleaning method.

According to the cleaning method of the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention, a first preliminary ejection in which a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from a plurality of nozzles to a target is ejected outside the target either during or before and after the main ejecting. And a second pre-injection step of injecting the liquid onto the deposit made of the liquid ejected in the first pre-injection step and depositing the deposit outside the target to dissolve the deposit In the apparatus cleaning method, the second preliminary ejection step reduces the ejection amount of the liquid to be ejected when the liquid is ejected to a portion of the deposit having a small accumulation amount.

  According to this, since the ejection of the liquid to the location with a small amount of deposition is reduced, the liquid ejected to the location with a small effect of dissolving the deposit can be reduced. As a result, the liquid ejecting apparatus cleaning method of the present invention can reduce the amount of liquid consumed, and thus the liquid ejecting apparatus employing this cleaning method can realize cost reduction.

  In the second preliminary ejection step in the cleaning method of the liquid ejecting apparatus, when the liquid is ejected to a portion having a large accumulation amount in the deposit, the ejection amount of the liquid to be ejected is increased.

  According to this, the deposit can be more efficiently dissolved by increasing the ejection of the liquid to the portion where the accumulation amount is large. In other words, the liquid consumption can be reduced by increasing the ejection amount of the liquid only to the portion where the accumulation amount is large as compared with the case where the same amount of the liquid is ejected to the entire deposit. . As a result, the liquid ejecting apparatus employing the cleaning method of the present invention can realize cost reduction.

In the second preliminary ejection step in the cleaning method of the liquid ejecting apparatus, the liquid is ejected while the liquid ejecting head is moved by a moving unit.
According to this, the liquid ejecting head can eject the liquid while moving with respect to the deposit accumulated outside the target. Accordingly, when the liquid ejecting head is moved in one direction with respect to the deposit deposited on the absorber and the liquid is ejected, the ejection amount of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head is directed from the end of the deposit toward the apex. It increases with increasing and decreases with increasing distance from the apex to the end. In other words, since a large amount of liquid can be ejected near the apex where the amount deposited on the liquid ejecting head is the largest, the deposit can be efficiently dissolved.

In the second preliminary ejection step in the cleaning method of the liquid ejecting apparatus, liquid is ejected from a selected nozzle array among the nozzle arrays composed of the plurality of nozzles.
According to this, for example, when the liquid ejected from the nozzle row selected in the second preliminary ejection step is a liquid that has a low viscosity and is difficult to solidify, the deposits deposited outside the target are efficiently collected. Can be dissolved. Thereby, the absorption capacity of the absorber can be ensured.

  According to the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention, the first preliminary ejection in which the liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the target is ejected to the outside of the target either halfway or before and after the main ejection. And a liquid comprising control means for performing a second preliminary injection for injecting the liquid onto the deposit deposited outside the target and dissolving the deposit, which is made of the liquid ejected by the first preliminary injection. In the ejection device, the control unit reduces the ejection amount of the liquid that is ejected when the liquid is ejected to a portion where the accumulation amount is small in the deposit by the second preliminary ejection.

  According to this, it is possible to reduce the amount of liquid ejected at a location where the effect of dissolving the deposit is small by reducing the ejection of the liquid to the location where the accumulation amount is small. As a result, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention can reduce the amount of liquid consumption and realize cost reduction.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the printer of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 11 as a liquid ejecting apparatus includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped frame 13 as a main body frame. A platen 15 is disposed in the frame 13 in the longitudinal direction. The platen 15 is a support base for supporting the recording paper 17, and the recording paper 17 is fed onto the platen 15 by driving a paper feeding mechanism by a paper feeding motor 19. A waste ink tank 21 for storing used ink is connected below the platen 15.

  A guide member 23 is installed in the frame 13 so as to be parallel to the platen 15. A carriage 25 that is movable along the guide member 23 is inserted into and supported by the guide member 23. The frame 13 is provided with a drive pulley 27a and a driven pulley 27b, and a carriage motor 29 capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions is connected to the drive pulley 27a. A timing belt 30 is hung on the driving pulley 27 a and the driven pulley 27 b, and the carriage 25 is drivingly connected to the carriage motor 29 via the timing belt 30. The carriage 25 is driven by the carriage motor 29 via the timing belt 30 and is guided by the guide member 23 so as to reciprocate parallel to the platen 15 (main scanning direction).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording head 33 has a nozzle forming surface 33a facing the platen 15, and eight nozzle rows N1 to N8 made up of a plurality of nozzles are located at a distance X1 on the nozzle forming surface 33a. Each is provided at intervals. The carriage 25 is detachably loaded with first to eighth ink cartridges I1 to I8. In the first to seventh ink cartridges I1 to I7, yellow YL, magenta M, cyan CY, matte black MB, photo black PB, red R, and blue B, which are liquid color inks, are respectively stored in storage chambers (not shown). Reserved. Each ink of the first to seventh ink cartridges I1 to I7 is a pigment ink, and is formed by dissolving a pigment in an ink solvent. In the eighth ink cartridge I8, clear CR of reactive ink as a liquid is stored in a storage chamber (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, color coefficients H1 to H8 corresponding to the viscosity and easiness of solidification of the inks are assigned to the inks of the first to eighth ink cartridges I1 to I8, respectively. Specifically, the color coefficient H1 corresponding to yellow YL is “1”, the color coefficient H2 corresponding to magenta M is “1”, the color coefficient H3 corresponding to cyan CY is “0.9”, and corresponds to matte black MB. The color coefficient H4 is “0.9”. The color coefficient H5 corresponding to the photo black PB is “0.7”, the color coefficient H6 corresponding to the red R is “0.8”, the color coefficient H7 corresponding to the blue B is “0.5”, and the clear CR The color coefficient H8 corresponding to is 0.8. The color coefficients H1 to H8 have a higher viscosity as the value is larger, and are more easily solidified. Accordingly, yellow YL and magenta M to which color coefficients H1 and H2 are applied have the highest viscosity and are easy to solidify, and blue B to which color coefficient H7 is applied have the lowest viscosity and are difficult to solidify.

  The inks configured as described above and stored in the first to eighth ink cartridges I1 to I8 are supplied to the recording head 33, respectively. Each ink is pressurized by a piezoelectric element (not shown) provided in the recording head 33 and ejected from the corresponding nozzle rows N1 to N8. That is, yellow YL is ejected from the nozzle array N1, and magenta M is ejected from the nozzle array N2. Cyan CY is discharged from the nozzle row N3, and mat black MB is discharged from the nozzle row N4. Photo black PB is discharged from the nozzle row N5, and red R is discharged from the nozzle row N6. Further, blue B is discharged from the nozzle row N7, and clear CR is discharged from the nozzle row N8.

  In the printer 11 configured as described above, the printing paper 17 is moved by reciprocating the carriage 25 along the guide member 23 and ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 of the recording head 33 during printing. Dots are formed on the image to print an image or the like. The clear CR of the eighth ink cartridge I8 is ejected from the nozzle row N8 before or after ejection of each color ink, and is mixed with each color ink on the recording paper 17, Reactions such as aggregation and solidification are caused to improve the color development of each color ink and to protect the printed image and the like.

  In the printer 11, during the above-described printing, a first spare that moves the carriage 25 to the non-printing area on the left back side shown in FIG. 1 and simultaneously ejects ink droplets from the nozzle rows N <b> 1 to N <b> 8 of the recording head 33. Periodic flushing operation as ejection and accumulation prevention flushing as second preliminary ejection for ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle row N7 are performed. In the printer 11, a non-printing area for performing each flushing operation is a flushing area.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the printer 11, the position where the regular flushing operation is started is a first position P1, and the position where the deposition prevention flushing is started is a second position P2. In the first position P1, the nozzle row N1 faces the absorber 45 of the platen 15 described later, and is positioned at a distance X0 from the left end portion of the absorber 45. The second position P2 is a position where the nozzle row N7 is on the left side (see FIG. 3) of the position of the nozzle row N1 in the first position P1, and is opposed to the left end portion of the absorber 45 of the platen 15 described later. is there. In the printer 11 of this embodiment, when performing a regular flushing operation, ink is ejected from each of the N1 to N8 with the carriage 25 positioned at the first position. Further, when performing the accumulation preventing flushing operation, the printer 11 discharges ink from the nozzle array N7 while moving the carriage 25 in the right direction shown in FIG. 3 after positioning the carriage 25 to the second position. .

  Further, in the printer 11, an area in which ink droplets are ejected and printed on the recording paper 17 fed to the platen 15 while moving the carriage 25 is set as a printing area. Further, in the printer 11, the right non-printing area shown in FIG. 1 is a maintenance area for retracting the carriage 25 and maintaining the recording head 33 during non-printing. The maintenance area includes a wiping member 39 that wipes the nozzle forming surface 33a of the recording head 33 of the carriage 25 that moves from the maintenance area to the printing area, and a cap that seals the nozzle rows N1 to N8 of the recording head 33 when not printing. A member 40 is provided.

Next, the configuration of the platen 15 described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6.
As shown in FIG. 5, the platen 15 includes a main body case 41 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the main body case 41, a first accommodating portion 43 is recessed at the left end portion shown in FIG. 2, which is located in the flushing region of the carriage 25 when disposed in the frame 13. The first accommodating portion 43 is open on the upper surface 41 a side of the main body case 41. In the 1st accommodating part 43, the absorber 45 comprised from porous bodies, such as sponge, is accommodated. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first storage portion 43 communicates with the outlet flow path 47 a of the outlet port 47 provided on the lower surface 41 b of the main body case 41, and the waste ink tank is connected via the outlet port 47. 21 is connected. The absorber 45 receives each ink of the first to eighth ink cartridges I1 to I8 ejected from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 by the regular flushing operation and the ink ejected from the nozzle row N7 by the accumulation prevention flushing operation. It is designed to absorb. In other words, ink is ejected from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 of the recording head 33 outside the target to the absorber 45. Then, each ink absorbed by the absorber 45 in this manner is discharged to the waste ink tank 21 through the outlet channel 47 a of the outlet port 47.

  The ink ejected from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 by the regular flushing operation is respectively applied to the first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h on the absorber 45 located immediately below the nozzle rows N1 to N8 in the first position P1. It has come to land. Here, as described above, since the nozzle rows N1 to N8 are provided at the distance X1, the first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h are at the distance X1. Further, since the position of the nozzle row N1 at the first position P1 is located at a distance X0 from the left end of the absorber 45 (see FIGS. 3 and 6), the first landing position 45a is from the left end of the absorber 45. It becomes the position of the distance X0. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, when each ink ejected by the regular flushing operation is thickened or solidified and accumulated, the accumulated ink (hereinafter referred to as accumulated inks D <b> 1 to D <b> 8) starts from the left end portion of the absorber 45. The first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h are deposited at an interval of distance X1, respectively. In the accumulation prevention flushing operation, as described above, ink is ejected from the nozzle row N7 while the carriage 25 positioned at the second position P2 is moved rightward (see FIG. 6). For this reason, the ink droplet 46 of the ejected ink lands on the left end D1a, the vertex D1b, and the right end D1c of the deposited ink D1 in this order, and then lands on the left end D2a, the vertex D2b, and the right end D2c of the deposited ink D2 in order. To do. Then, the deposited inks D3 to D8 are similarly landed. As a result, the accumulated inks D1 to D8 are dissolved and discharged to the waste ink tank 21 through the outlet channel 47a of the outlet port 47. In the present embodiment, the deposited inks D1 to D8 are deposited by a regular flushing operation that is performed during printing on one sheet of recording paper 17, and form a substantially spherical shape with a diameter Y. Yes. In this embodiment, the diameter Y is 0.7 millimeter.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the main body case 41 is provided with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped second storage portion 51 adjacent to the first storage portion 43 along the longitudinal direction of the main body case 41. The second accommodating portion 51 is positioned in the printing area when the main body case 41 is disposed in the frame 13. In the second accommodating part 51, a central absorbent body 53 made of a porous material such as sponge is accommodated. A plurality of first guide members 55 erected in the second housing part 51 penetrate the central absorber 53 and are positioned in the second housing part 51. A plurality of second guide members 57 facing the first guide members 55 are arranged in parallel on the upper surface 41 a of the main body case 41. The first and second guide members 55 and 57 are configured to support the recording paper 17 fed onto the platen 15 during printing. Further, the second storage portion 51 communicates with a lead-out flow path of a lead-out port (not shown) provided on the lower surface 41b of the main body case 41, and is connected to the waste ink tank 21 through the lead-out port. When so-called borderless printing without margins is performed by the printer 11 (recording head 33), the ink is ejected from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 slightly outside the edge of the recording paper 17 (front side shown in FIG. 2). The ink is received by the central absorber 53 and then discharged to the waste ink tank 21.

Next, the electrical configuration of the printer 11 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, the printer 11 includes a printer control unit 61. The printer control unit 61 includes a CPU 63 (central processing unit) that controls the printer 11, a memory 65, and an input / output circuit 67. The printer control unit 61 is electrically connected to the carriage motor 29 and a piezoelectric element (not shown) of the recording head 33 via an input / output circuit 67. The CPU 63 operates according to a control program stored in advance in the memory 65, and performs various arithmetic processes based on print data supplied from print data generation means (not shown). The printer control unit 61 controls the carriage motor 29 by causing the input / output circuit 67 to output the first drive current Ia to the carriage motor 29. The printer controller 61 controls the drive of the paper feed motor 19 by causing the input / output circuit 67 to output the second drive current Ib to the paper feed motor 19. Further, the printer control unit 61 outputs a drive voltage V to the input / output circuit 67 to drive and control the piezoelectric element of the recording head 33.

  The printer control unit 61 controls the movement of the carriage 25 by driving and controlling the carriage motor 29 in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 65, and performs a flushing area (first position P1 or second position P2), printing area, or maintenance. It is designed to move to one of the areas. Then, the printer control unit 61 drives the piezoelectric elements of the recording head 33 while moving the carriage 25, thereby ejecting each ink of the first to eighth ink cartridges I1 to I8 from the nozzle rows N1 to N8, respectively. Printing, periodic and anti-deposition flushing operations are designed. Further, the printer control unit 61 is based on the first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h that are obtained and stored in advance in the memory 65 through experiments or the like and the output result of the first drive current Ia to the carriage motor 29. The relative distance between the nozzle row N7 and the first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h due to the movement of the carriage 25 is detected.

  When causing the printer 11 to execute a printing operation, the printer control unit 61 applies the second drive current Ib, drives the paper feed motor 19, and feeds the recording paper 17 onto the platen 15. Then, the first driving current Ia is applied, and the carriage 25 is reciprocated with respect to the recording paper 17. The printer control unit 61 applies a drive voltage V to drive the piezoelectric elements to eject ink from the nozzle arrays N1 to N8, and the recording paper 17 is moved to the front side shown in FIG. Etc. are formed and printing is executed. At this time, the printer control unit 61 periodically moves the carriage 25 to the first position P1 during the printing operation to execute a periodic flushing operation. The printer control unit 61 applies the first driving current Ia to the carriage motor 29 to move the carriage 25 in the printing area to the first position P1 when performing the periodic flushing operation, and then the piezoelectric element of the recording head 33. A drive voltage V is applied to each of the nozzles N1 to N8 and ink is ejected from the nozzle arrays N1 to N8 to the absorber 45 of the platen 15, respectively. Further, when the printing is completed, the printer control unit 61 moves the recording paper 17 from the platen 15 by the drive of the paper feed motor 19 and discharges it. Then, the printer control unit 61 executes an accumulation preventing flushing operation between the end of printing on the recording paper 17 and the start of printing on the next recording paper 17.

  When the printer control unit 61 causes the printer 11 to execute the accumulation preventing flushing operation, the first drive current Ia is applied to the carriage motor 29 in parallel with the discharge of the recording paper 17 after the printing on the recording paper 17 is completed. Then, the carriage 25 is moved to the second position P2 (see FIG. 3). When the carriage 25 is positioned at the second position P2, the printer controller 61 applies the drive voltage V to the piezoelectric element of the recording head 33 while driving the carriage motor 29 and moving the carriage 25 in the right direction shown in FIG. Then, ink is ejected from the nozzle row N7. Thereby, as described above, the ink is sequentially ejected from the nozzle row N7 of the recording head 33 to the first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h on the absorber 45. That is, when the deposited inks D1 to D8 are deposited on the absorber 45, the inks are sequentially ejected to the deposited inks D1 to D8. Further, the printer control unit 61 discharges the ink discharged from the moving nozzle row N7 based on the relative distance between the nozzle row N7 and the first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h that change as the carriage 25 moves. Is to control.

  Details will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the relative distance between the nozzle array N7 and the first landing position 45a and the amount of ink discharged from the nozzle array N7. In this embodiment, since the ejection amounts of the ink ejected from the nozzle row N7 to the first to eighth landing positions 45a to 45h are set to be the same, the second to eighth landing positions 45b to 45b are set. Description of 45h will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the relative distance L between the nozzle row N7 and the first landing position 45a becomes the relative distance L1 due to the movement of the carriage 25, the printer control unit 61 ejects ink to the nozzle row N7. Let it begin. Next, the printer control unit 61 gradually increases the discharge amount Q as the carriage 25 moves, and sets the discharge amount Q1 when the relative distance L becomes the relative distance L2. Then, after the nozzle row N7 passes immediately above the first landing position 45a by the movement of the carriage 25, the printer control unit 61 until the relative distance L between the nozzle row N7 and the first landing position 45a becomes the relative distance L3. The discharge amount Q1 is maintained, and when the relative distance L3 is exceeded, the discharge amount Q is gradually decreased. Then, the printer control unit 61 ends the ejection of ink to the nozzle row N7 when the relative distance L becomes the relative distance L4. In the present embodiment, the sum of the relative distance L1 and the relative distance L4 is set to be equal to the diameter Y, and is set to 0.7 millimeters. Furthermore, the sum of the relative distance L2 and the relative distance L3 is set to 0.3 millimeters. In this embodiment, the ink discharge amount Q at the start of discharge is set to 10 picoliters with respect to the movement of the carriage 25 (nozzle row N7) per 0.1 millimeter, and the discharge amount Q1 is set to 0.1 millimeter. 100 picoliters for each movement. That is, when the accumulated ink D1 is accumulated on the absorber 45, the ejection of the ink for the accumulation flushing operation is started from the left end portion D1a of the accumulated ink D1, and the ejection amount Q is changed from the left end portion D1a to the vertex D1b. As it goes, it gradually increases from 10 picoliters, and reaches the discharge amount Q1 (100 picoliters) near the vertex D1 (position of 0.3 millimeters on the left and right). The discharge amount Q gradually decreases from the discharge amount Q1 as it goes from the apex to the right end portion D1c, and disappears after reaching 10 picoliters at the right end portion D1c.

Next, the processing procedure of the printer control unit 61 described above will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, when a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the printer control unit 61 of the printer 11 responds to the first drive current Ia and the drive to the piezoelectric elements of the carriage motor 29 and the recording head 33. The voltage V is applied to each via the input / output circuit 67 to start the printing operation (start). Next, the printer control unit 61 feeds the recording paper 17 onto the platen 15 (step S11). Then, the printer control unit 61 starts printing (step S13). A periodic flushing operation is executed as a first preliminary ejection step during printing (step S15). Next, the printer control unit 61 determines whether printing on the recording paper 17 is completed based on the print data (step S17). If printing has not ended (NO in step S17), printing is continued (step S13). When printing is completed (YES in step S17), the printer control unit 61 discharges the recording paper 17 (step S19), while executing a deposition preventing flushing operation as a second preliminary ejection step (step S21).

  When the execution of the accumulation prevention flushing operation (step S21) is completed after paper discharge (step S19), the printer control unit 61 determines whether printing on all the recording papers 17 is completed based on the print data. (Step S23). Then, when there is printing on the next recording paper 17 (NO in step S23), paper is fed again (step S11), printing is continued (step S13), and a series of operations is performed. When printing on all the recording papers 17 is completed (YES in step S23), the output of the drive voltage V is stopped and the ejection of ink from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 is stopped, and then the carriage 25 is set in the maintenance area. Evacuate and finish printing (end).

As mentioned above, according to this embodiment mentioned above, there exist the following effects.
(1) In this embodiment, the ink ejection amount Q by the accumulation prevention flushing operation increases from the left end D1a toward the vertex D1b with respect to the accumulated ink D1, and decreases as it proceeds from the vertex D1b toward the right end D1c. I made it. Further, the ink is similarly ejected to the deposited inks D2 to D8. That is, a large amount of ink is ejected near the apex where the amount of ink deposited with respect to the accumulated inks D1 to D8 is the largest. Thereby, the deposited inks D1 to D8 can be efficiently dissolved. Furthermore, the amount of ink consumed can be reduced as compared with the case where each of the accumulated inks D1 to D8 is ejected with the ejection amount Q1 as a whole (right and left end portions and apexes). Further, by reducing the discharge amount Q to the right and left end portions where the accumulated ink is small, it is possible to reduce the ink consumption at a place where the effect of dissolution is small. As a result, the printer 11 can realize cost reduction.
(2) In the present embodiment, the ejection of ink by the accumulation preventing flushing operation is started from the left end portion D1a for the accumulated ink D1 and terminated at the right end portion D1c. Further, the ink is similarly ejected to the deposited inks D2 to D8. In this way, by depositing the ink concentrated on the deposited inks D1 to D8, the deposited inks D1 to D8 can be efficiently dissolved. Furthermore, by discharging ink toward the deposited inks D1 to D8, it is possible to reduce ink that cannot be landed on the accumulated inks D1 to D8 and is absorbed by the absorber 45. As a result, the printer 11 can reduce the amount of ink consumed, and can realize cost reduction.
(3) In this embodiment, the ink (blue B) is ejected and landed on the deposited inks D1 to D8 from the nozzle row N7 by the accumulation prevention flushing operation. Blue B has a small color coefficient H7, has the lowest viscosity, and is hard to solidify. For this reason, since the deposited inks D1 to D8 can be efficiently dissolved, the absorption capacity of the absorber 45 can be ensured. Further, by discharging ink only from the nozzle row N7, it is possible to reduce the amount of ink consumption compared to the case where ink is discharged from all the nozzle rows N1 to N8. As a result, the printer 11 can realize cost reduction.
(4) The accumulation prevention flushing operation in the present embodiment is performed between the time when printing on the recording paper 17 is finished and the time when printing on the next recording paper 17 is started. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the printing execution time as compared with the case where the accumulation prevention flushing is performed in the middle of printing on one recording sheet 17.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The present embodiment is characterized in that a guide member is provided instead of the absorber 45 as compared with the first embodiment. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the guide member 70 outside the target is obliquely provided on the left side of the platen 15 and faces the recording head 33 when the carriage 25 is positioned at the first position P1. The guide member 70 has a left end portion 70 a approaching the recording head 33 and a right end portion 70 b being separated from the recording head 33. A right end portion 70 b of the guide member 70 is disposed in the waste ink tank 21. The guide member 70 receives the ink ejected from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 of the recording head 33 at the first and second positions P1 and P2, and guides the ink into the waste ink tank 21. . In the present embodiment, like the absorber 45 of the first embodiment, first to eighth landing positions 71a to 71h are set on the guide member 70 and stored in the memory 65 by experiments or the like. When the thickened or solidified ink discharged from the nozzle rows N1 to N8 by the regular flushing operation at the first to eighth landing positions 71a to 71h on the guide member 70, the ink deposits as the accumulated inks D11 to D18. ing. As shown in FIG. 12, the deposited ink D <b> 11 is deposited on the guide member 70 along the inclination of the guide member 70. In the present embodiment, the deposited ink D11 is formed in a mountain shape having a width Z when deposited by a regular flushing operation that is performed during printing on a single recording sheet 17. Since the deposited inks D12 to D18 are similarly deposited on the guide member 70, description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, the width Z of the deposited inks D11 to D18 is 0.7 millimeters. Then, a deposition preventing flushing operation is performed on the deposited inks D11 to D18 deposited in this manner, as in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when the relative distance L between the nozzle row N7 and the first landing position 71a becomes the relative distance L11, the printer control unit 61 that controls the accumulation preventing flushing operation discharges ink to the nozzle row N7. To start. At this time, the printer control unit 61 sets the ink discharge amount Q to the discharge amount Q10. Next, the printer control unit 61 maintains the discharge amount Q10 until the nozzle row N7 passes immediately above the first landing position 45a by the movement of the carriage 25, and when it passes, the discharge amount Q is gradually reduced. Then, the printer control unit 61 ends ink ejection to the nozzle row N7 when the relative distance L becomes the relative distance L12. In the present embodiment, the sum of the relative distance L11 and the relative distance L12 is set to be equal to the width Z of the deposited inks D11 to D18, and is set to 0.7 millimeters. In addition, the ink discharge amount Q10 at the start of discharge is set to 100 picoliters with respect to the movement of the carriage 25 (nozzle row N7) per 0.1 millimeter, and the discharge amount Q at the end of discharge is about 0.1 millimeter. 10 picoliters for the movement of. That is, when the accumulated ink D11 is accumulated on the guide member 70, the ejection of the ink for the accumulation flushing operation is started from the left end portion D11a of the accumulated ink D11, and the ejection amount Q is the ejected amount from the left end portion D11a to the vertex D11b. Q10 (100 picoliters). The discharge amount Q gradually decreases from the discharge amount Q10 toward the right end D11c from the vertex D11b, and disappears after reaching 0.1 picoliter at the right end D11c. The printer control unit 61 executes the processing procedure shown in FIG. 9 in the printing operation on the recording paper 17 as in the first embodiment.

As mentioned above, according to this embodiment mentioned above, there exist the following effects.
(5) In the present embodiment, the ink is ejected from the nozzle row N7 by the deposition preventing flushing operation on the deposited ink D11 deposited along the inclination of the guide member 70. The discharge amount Q is increased from the left end D11a of the deposited ink D11 toward the vertex D11b, and is decreased from the vertex D11b toward the right end D11c. Further, the ink is similarly ejected to the deposited inks D12 to D18. That is, a large amount of ink is ejected to a portion where the amount of ink deposited with respect to the deposited inks D11 to D18 is the largest. Thereby, the deposited inks D11 to D18 can be efficiently dissolved. Further, the ink consumption can be reduced by reducing the discharge amount Q to the right end portion where the accumulated ink is small.

In addition, embodiment of invention is not limited to the said embodiment, You may change as follows.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the accumulation preventing flushing operation is performed between the end of printing on the recording sheet 17 and the start of printing on the next recording sheet 17, but in the middle of printing on the recording sheet 17 You may do it. Alternatively, it may be executed when printing on all the recording sheets 17 is completed. In addition, a management computer that manages the printer 11 may be provided separately, and may be executed based on user-specified conditions via the management computer. Further, the printer 11 may be provided with an operation unit, and the printer control unit 61 may be caused to execute based on a user-specified condition via the operation unit.
In each of the above embodiments, ink is ejected only from the nozzle array N7 by the accumulation prevention flushing operation. However, the nozzle array that ejects ink may be changed as appropriate. Therefore, for example, the ink may be ejected from the nozzle array N5 in addition to the nozzle array N7, and the inks having the color coefficients H5 and H7 may be ejected from the nozzle arrays N5 and N7, respectively. Thus, the deposited inks D1 to D8 and D11 to D18 can be efficiently dissolved by ejecting ink having a small color coefficient value.
In each of the above embodiments, the ink is ejected from the nozzle row N7 by the deposition preventing flushing operation on the deposited inks D1 to D8 deposited on the absorber 45 or the deposited inks D11 to D18 deposited on the guide member 70. However, you may change suitably so that it may discharge also to the other member in which ink accumulates by regular flushing operation.
In the above embodiment, the accumulation prevention flushing operation is set so that ink is ejected from the nozzle row N7 to all of the accumulation inks D1 to D8 or the accumulation inks D11 to D18. Ink may be ejected by selecting from the accumulated inks D11 to D18. Further, the discharge amount Q at this time may be set in accordance with the degree of thickening or solidification of each of the accumulated inks D1 to D8 and D11 to D18. Therefore, for example, the ink ejection amount Q may be set based on the color coefficients H1 to H8 of each ink.
In the above embodiment, the diameter Y of the deposited inks D1 to D8 and the width Z of the deposited inks D11 to D18 are fixed to 0.7 millimeters, but may be variable. In this case, for example, a detection sensor that detects the diameter Y of the accumulated inks D1 to D8 or the width Z of the accumulated inks D11 to D18 is provided on the carriage 25, and the diameter Y or the width Z detected by the detection sensor is determined. Thus, the discharge amount Q of the accumulation preventing flushing operation may be changed.
The ink stored in each of the ink cartridges I1 to I8 of the above embodiment may be changed as appropriate.
In the above-described embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied in the printer 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the liquid ejecting apparatus may be embodied in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects another liquid. For example, as a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting liquids such as electrode materials and color materials used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, EL displays, and surface-emitting displays, as a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting bioorganic materials used in biochip manufacturing, and as precision pipettes The sample injection device may be used.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a carriage and a platen of the printer. The fragmentary sectional view explaining the structure of the carriage and platen. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining color coefficients of each ink in the ink cartridge. The perspective view explaining the structure of the same platen. Sectional drawing explaining the deposition ink deposited on an absorber. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer. Explanatory drawing explaining the discharge amount of the ink from a nozzle row. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of a printer control unit. The fragmentary sectional view explaining the composition of the carriage and guide member of a 2nd embodiment. The fragmentary sectional view explaining the structure of the carriage and guide member. Sectional drawing explaining the deposition ink deposited on a guide member. Explanatory drawing explaining the discharge amount of the ink from a nozzle row.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 17 ... Recording paper as a target, 25 ... Carriage constituting moving means, 29 ... Carriage motor constituting moving means, 30 ... Timing belt constituting moving means, 33 ... Liquid ejecting Recording head as head, 45 ... Absorber outside target, 61 ... Printer control unit as control means, 70 ... Guide member outside target, D1-D8, D11-D18 ... Deposited ink as deposit, N1 N8 ... Nozzle row, N7 ... Selected nozzle row, Q ... Discharge amount as injection amount.

Claims (5)

A first pre-injection step of injecting liquid to the outside of the target either during or before and after the main injection to a liquid jet head for main jet of liquid from a plurality of nozzles to the target;
Cleaning a liquid ejecting apparatus that performs a second pre-injecting step of injecting a liquid onto the deposit made of the liquid ejected in the first pre-injecting step and depositing the deposit outside the target to dissolve the deposit. In the method
The second pre-injection step reduces the injection amount of the same liquid to be ejected when the liquid is ejected to a portion of the deposit having a small accumulation amount. . The method for cleaning a liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,
The second pre-injection step increases the injection amount of the same liquid to be ejected when the liquid is ejected to a portion of the deposit having a large accumulation amount. . The method for cleaning a liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2,
In the second preliminary ejecting step, the liquid is ejected while the liquid ejecting head is moved by a moving unit. In the cleaning method of the liquid ejecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In the second preliminary ejection step, a liquid ejection apparatus cleaning method, wherein liquid is ejected from a nozzle array selected from among the nozzle arrays including the plurality of nozzles. A first preliminary ejection in which liquid is ejected from the target to a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from a plurality of nozzles to the target either during or before and after the main ejection;
Liquid injection comprising control means for performing a second preliminary injection for injecting liquid onto the deposit made of the liquid injected by the first preliminary injection and depositing outside the target and dissolving the deposit In the device
The control means reduces the ejection amount of the same liquid that is ejected when the liquid is ejected to a portion of the deposit with a small accumulation amount by the second preliminary ejection. Injection device.

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