JP2009083294A - Ink characteristics determination device, ink characteristics determination method, program, and image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink characteristics determination device which determines whether ink in a vessel is a prescribed type, an ink characteristics determination method, a program, and an image recording device. <P>SOLUTION: An ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving section 3 is structured by arranging a plurality of transmitting and receiving elements transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in a row, transmits ultrasonic waves to ink in an ink vessel and receives reflected waves arriving, reflecting from an ink interface. A propagation time measuring section 2 measures propagation time of ultrasonic waves in the ink from the transmission of the ultrasonic waves to the reception of the reflected waves, and has a variable phase shifting section giving directionality to ultrasonic wave transmission and receiving characteristics of an ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving section 3 by shifting the phase of the ultrasonic waves transmitted to and received from each of the transmitting and receiving elements. An ink characteristics judgment section 8 judges the characteristics of the ink on the basis of the measured propagation time and the distance from the ultrasonic wave transmission and receiving section 3 to the surface of the ink. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording technique, and more particularly to a technique for determining characteristics of ink used for image recording.

  Examples of the image recording apparatus include a copying machine, a printer apparatus, and a facsimile apparatus. The copying machine is provided with a document reading mechanism, and image recording is performed by fixing ink on a recording medium such as paper or sheet based on recording data (for example, graphic or character information) of the document read by the reading mechanism. I do. The printer apparatus performs image recording by fixing ink on a recording medium based on recording data sent from a PC (personal computer) or the like for each user via a LAN or the like. Further, the facsimile apparatus records an image by fixing ink on a recording medium based on recording data sent via a telephone line or the like.

As such an image recording apparatus, an ink jet type that performs recording processing by ejecting ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles of a recording head onto a recording medium such as paper is known.
In the ink jet type image recording apparatus, if the characteristics of the ink used (for example, viscosity with respect to the ink temperature) are different, there is a possibility that a problem occurs when the ink droplets fly and a good recording process cannot be performed. Further, if the ink jet type image recording apparatus is continuously used without solving such a problem, the recording head or the like may be broken. Therefore, in an ink jet type image recording apparatus, it is necessary to exclude inks having different ink characteristics in advance.

As a technique for solving such a problem, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an ink tank and an ink tank inspection device.
The ink tank disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an ink tank main body that stores ink, a prism provided on one surface in the ink tank main body, and an outer surface of the surface on which the prism is provided. And a two-dimensional code seal disposed opposite to each other. Here, the two-dimensional code seal includes information indicating that the ink tank is a genuine product. The prism transmits or reflects the light transmitted through the two-dimensional code seal.

  On the other hand, the ink tank inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is included in the red LED that irradiates the two-dimensional code seal with red light and the light that passes through the two-dimensional code seal and reflects the prism of the ink tank. It has an optical system that forms an image of a two-dimensional code, and a CCD monochrome area sensor provided on the imaging surface of this optical system.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the light emitted from the red LED of the ink tank inspection device is irradiated onto the two-dimensional code seal provided in the ink tank, and the reflected light at this time is reflected on the CCD. Detection is performed by a monochrome area sensor, and the detection result is analyzed. Thus, Patent Document 1 enables detection of the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank and determination of whether the ink tank is non-genuine ink including determination of whether the ink tank is genuine. Technology.
JP 2003-260804 A

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, since the prism is provided in the ink tank main body (wall member), the structure of the ink tank main body is limited. For this reason, it is difficult to apply the technique of Patent Document 1 to a flexible ink container whose shape changes, for example.

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, the ink tank inspection device has an optical system that forms an image of a two-dimensional code included in light that has passed through the two-dimensional code seal and reflected from the prism of the ink tank. . For this reason, in the technique of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to strictly define the distance (optical path length) between the prism of the ink tank body and the red LED and CCD monochrome area sensor of the ink tank inspection device. On the other hand, it is desirable that the ink tank be configured to be easily detachable from the image recording apparatus. In order to satisfy such requirements, it is considered that the size and cost of the ink tank and the ink tank inspection apparatus as a whole are increased. However, Patent Document 1 does not particularly describe a holding member for defining the positional relationship between the ink tank main body and the ink tank inspection device.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and whether or not the ink in the container is a predetermined one that is assumed in advance without providing a dedicated member for characteristic determination in the ink container. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink characteristic determination device, an ink characteristic determination method, a program, and an image recording apparatus that can make a determination and can make this determination even for ink stored in a flexible container or the like.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an ink characteristic determination device according to one aspect of the present invention is an ink characteristic determination device that determines the characteristics of ink stored in an ink container. An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that transmits a sound wave and receives the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave that arrives after being reflected at the ink interface, and an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that transmits the ultrasonic wave and receives the reflected wave A propagation time measurement unit that measures the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave in the ink, an ink characteristic determination unit that determines the ink characteristic based on the measured propagation time and the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit to the interface; The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit is configured by arranging a plurality of transmission / reception elements that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in a line, and the propagation time measurement unit is transmitted from each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements. The sound wave is phase-shifted for each transmitting / receiving element, and the phase of each of the transmitting / receiving elements is shifted before synthesizing the ultrasonic waves received by each of the plurality of transmitting / receiving elements. It is characterized by comprising at least a variable phase shift section that gives directivity to the reception characteristics.

  An ink characteristic determination method according to another aspect of the present invention is an ink characteristic determination method by an ink characteristic determination device that determines the characteristics of ink stored in an ink container. It includes at least an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit configured by arranging a plurality of transmission / reception elements that transmit and receive sound waves in a line, and phase-shifts the ultrasonic waves transmitted from each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements for each transmission / reception element. A plurality of transmission / reception units constituting the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit by providing directivity to the ultrasonic transmission characteristics of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit and transmitting ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit to the ink in the ink container. The element receives the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave that arrives after being reflected at the ink interface, and the reflected wave received by each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements is phase-shifted for each transmission / reception element to synthesize the ultrasonic wave. Giving directivity to the ultrasonic reception characteristics of the transmitter / receiver, measuring the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave in the ink required from transmitting the ultrasonic wave to receiving the reflected wave, and the measured propagation time and The ink characteristics are determined based on a distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit to the interface.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing an arithmetic processing unit to perform ink characteristic determination by an ink characteristic determination apparatus that determines characteristics of ink stored in an ink container. The ink characteristic determination apparatus includes at least an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit configured by arranging a plurality of transmission / reception elements that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in a line, and the program includes each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements. The ultrasonic transmission characteristics of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit are given directivity by shifting the phase of the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmission / reception element to the ink in the ink container. A process of transmitting a sound wave, a process of receiving a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by an ink interface and received by a plurality of transmitting / receiving elements constituting the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit; After transmitting the ultrasonic wave, a process for providing directivity to the ultrasonic wave reception characteristics of the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit by shifting and synthesizing the reflected wave received by each reception element for each transmission / reception element. The characteristics of the ink are determined based on the processing for measuring the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave in the ink required to receive the reflected wave, and the measured propagation time and the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit to the interface. And processing is performed by an arithmetic processing unit.

  One aspect of the present invention includes an ink characteristic determination device according to the present invention, an ink container that stores ink for which the ink characteristic determination device performs characteristic determination, and ink stored in the ink container. An image recording apparatus including at least an image recording unit that performs recording processing on a recording medium using the recording medium is also included.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the ink in the container is a predetermined one that is assumed in advance without providing a dedicated member for characteristic determination in the ink container. An ink characteristic determination apparatus, an ink characteristic determination method, a program, and an image recording apparatus that can be applied to ink stored in a flexible container or the like can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual block diagram of an ink characteristic determination apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a path of the ink liquid in the image recording apparatus provided with the ink characteristic determination apparatus shown in FIG.

  The ink characteristic determination apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 determines the characteristics of the ink liquid 13 contained in the ink container 12 shown in FIG. 2, and includes a propagation time measurement unit 2, an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3, And a control unit 7 (7A, 7B).

The propagation time measurement unit 2 performs drive control of the transmission / reception unit 4 and measurement of an elapsed time required to detect the ultrasonic signal that has been reflected by the reflection part and returned after the ultrasonic signal is oscillated.
The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 detects ultrasonic reflected waves emitted by itself by transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 includes a transmission / reception unit 4 and a sound absorbing member 5, which are supported by a support member 6.

The transmission / reception unit 4 is a piezoelectric vibrator, for example, and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves under the control of the propagation time measurement unit 2.
The sound absorbing member 5 absorbs the sound that is considered to affect the detection of the sound speed of the ink liquid 13 among the ultrasonic waves emitted from the transmission / reception unit 4 in order to prevent ultrasonic interference.

  The control unit 7 (7A, 7B) is a so-called computer that performs overall control of the operation of the image recording apparatus 11 described later, and details thereof will be described later. The control unit 7 in the embodiment of the ink characteristic determination device 1 is referred to as a control unit 7A, and the control unit 7 in the embodiment of the image recording device 11 having the ink characteristic determination device 1 described later is referred to as a control unit 7B. I will do it.

  The ink characteristic determination unit 8 calculates the speed of sound of ink and determines the characteristic of ink. The ink characteristic determination unit 8 may be configured, for example, by causing the MPU 41 to execute a program stored in the ROM 42 described later, and may be configured as hardware as a signal processing circuit controlled by the MPU 41 described later. You may make it comprise.

  Note that the control unit 7A may be configured by, for example, a PC (personal computer) owned by the user. In this case, the operation processing unit (MPU) of the PC is configured to control the ink characteristic determination unit 8.

Next, an ink liquid path in the image recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
One end of an ink supply pipe 21 is connected to the lower surface of the ink container 12. The other end of the ink supply pipe 21 is immersed in the ink liquid 13 in the reservoir tank 23.

  An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 that is one of the components of the ink characteristic determination device 1 is installed on the inner side surface of the ink supply tube 21 directly below the ink container 12 and is immersed in the ink liquid 13. As described above, the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 controls the ink liquid 13 contained in the ink container 12 under the control of the control unit 7A, which is another component of the ink characteristic determination device 1. Transmission of a sound wave and reception of the ultrasonic wave reflected and returned by a reflection part to be described later are performed.

In addition, an opening / closing valve 22 is provided in the ink supply pipe 21 in the middle from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 to the reservoir tank 23.
On the upper surface of the reservoir tank 23 having a sealed structure, an air release pipe 25-1 having an on-off valve 24-1 is provided. In the reservoir tank 23, the other end of the ink liquid supply tube 26 whose one end is connected to the distributor 27 is immersed in the ink liquid 13.

  An air release pipe 25-2 including an on-off valve 24-2 is provided on the upper surface of the distributor 27 having a sealed structure. In addition, an ink inlet channel 28 is provided on the lower surface of the distributor 27. The ink inlet channel 28 is connected to the ink head 30 via an ink channel sealing mechanism 29. The ink head 30 discharges the ink liquid 13 to the image recording medium 10 conveyed below the ink head 30. Note that the height position of the lower surface of the ink head 30 is arranged at a position higher than the height of the interface (ink liquid surface) of the ink liquid 13 in the reservoir tank 23 by the height H.

  The ink liquid 13 is distributed from the ink container 12 through the reservoir tank 23 when the on-off valve 22 and the air release valve 24-2 are opened with the air release valve 24-1 closed in FIG. 27. The ink liquid 13 in the distributor 27 is then sent to the ink head 30 through the ink inlet flow path 28 and discharged toward the recording medium 10 from the plurality of nozzles of the ink head 30. The ink liquid 13 is sent from the ink container 12 to the reservoir tank 23 when the on-off valve 22 and the air release valve 24-1 are opened while the air release valve 24-2 is closed.

Next, FIG. 3 will be described.
FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration of the ink characteristic determination apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
As described above, the transmission / reception unit 4 is supported by the support member 6 and provided in the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 together with the sound absorbing member 5. The transmission / reception unit 4 includes at least transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-m.

  The propagation time measurement unit 2 includes an oscillation unit 32, a variable phase shift unit 31, a synthesis unit 33, a detection unit 34, and a measurement unit 35. Here, the oscillating unit 32 oscillates an ultrasonic signal, and the variable phase shift unit 31 shifts the phase of the ultrasonic signal. The synthesizing unit 33 synthesizes the received ultrasonic signals, and the detection unit 34 detects the synthesized ultrasonic signals and detects their signal levels. The measurement unit 35 oscillates the ultrasonic signal by the oscillating unit 32 and then detects the ultrasonic signal that has been reflected and returned by the reflection part in the ink container 12 whose distance is known until the detection unit 34 detects the ultrasonic signal. Measure the time required for.

  As described above, the ink characteristic determination unit 8 calculates the sound speed of the ink and determines the characteristic of the ink. In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3, the ink characteristic determination unit 8 is configured by causing the MPU 41 to execute a control program stored in advance in the ROM 42.

When the control program for configuring the ink characteristic determination unit 8 is executed by the MPU 41, the control unit 7A first instructs the oscillation unit 32 included in the propagation time measurement unit 2 to oscillate.
In response to this instruction, the oscillating unit 32 generates an ultrasonic signal, inputs it to a communication line (not shown), and transmits it to the variable phase shift unit 31. In addition, the oscillating unit 32 generates an ultrasonic signal, and simultaneously inputs an ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal notifying that the ultrasonic signal has been generated to a communication line (not shown) and transmits the signal to the measuring unit 35. .

  The variable phase shift unit 31 performs distribution and phase shift of the ultrasonic signals according to the arrangement positions of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n in accordance with instructions from the control unit 7A. Details of the operation of the variable phase shifter 31 will be described later.

The transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n transmit ultrasonic waves to the ink liquid 13 when the phase-shifted signal is sent from the variable phase shift unit 31 via the signal communication line β.
The transmitted ultrasonic wave propagates through the ink liquid 13, is reflected by the reflection portion, and returns to the transmission / reception unit 4. The state of propagation of this ultrasonic wave will be described later.

  When receiving the returned ultrasonic wave, the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n of the transmission / reception unit 4 generate an ultrasonic signal corresponding to the magnitude of the ultrasonic wave, input it to the signal communication line β, and perform variable transfer. It transmits to the phase part 31.

  The variable phase shift unit 31 performs phase shift of the ultrasonic signal according to the arrangement positions of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n according to the instruction from the control unit 7A. Thereafter, the phase-shifted ultrasonic signal is input to a signal line (not shown) and transmitted to the combining unit 33. The synthesizer 33 synthesizes the phase-shifted ultrasonic signal. Details of the operations of the variable phase shifter 31 and the combining unit 33 will be described later.

  The synthesized ultrasonic signal is input to a signal line (not shown) and transmitted to the detection unit 34. The detector 34 detects the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the synthesizer 33 and detects the signal level. Here, when an ultrasonic signal is detected as described later, the detection unit 34 inputs the ultrasonic pulse reception signal to a signal line (not shown) and transmits the signal to the measurement unit 35.

  When receiving the ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal from the oscillating unit 32, the measuring unit 35 starts measuring time, and when receiving the ultrasonic pulse receiving signal from the detecting unit 34, the measuring unit 35 ends the time measuring and acquires time measuring information indicating the time measuring result. . This timing information is input to the measurement result communication line γ and transmitted to the control unit 7A. Note that the measurement unit 35 may be configured, for example, by causing the MPU 41 to execute a program stored in the ROM 42, and may be configured by hardware as a signal processing circuit controlled by the MPU 41 described later. May be.

  In the control unit 7A, an MPU (Micro Processor Unit) 41 having a control function and an arithmetic function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 42 for storing a control program, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used by the MPU as a working memory. ) 44 and the I / F unit 45 are connected to each other via a bus 47, and various data can be exchanged under the management of the MPU 41.

The MPU 41 controls the overall operation of the image recording apparatus 11.
The ROM 42 stores a control program executed by the MPU 41 in advance. By executing this control program, the MPU 41 can function as the ink characteristic determination unit 8 and can control the operation of the entire image recording apparatus 11.

The RAM 44 is a memory used as a work area as necessary when the MPU 41 executes the ink characteristic determination unit 8.
The I / F (interface) unit 45 manages various data exchanges between the units of the image recording apparatus 11 and the control unit 7A. The I / F unit 45 includes an A / D (analog-digital) conversion unit 46, and converts an electrical signal (analog signal) corresponding to the reception level of the ultrasonic wave received by the transmission / reception unit 4 into digital data. And can be sent to the MPU 41.

  The variable phase shifter control communication line α transmits a signal for instructing the variable phase shifter 31 about the amount of phase shift. As described above, the signal communication line β performs transmission of a transmission signal from the variable phase shifter 31 to the transmission / reception unit 4 and transmission of a reception signal from the transmission / reception unit 4 to the variable phase shifter 31. As described above, the measurement result communication line γ transmits timing information indicating the timing result of the measurement unit 35 to the control unit 7A.

Next, the configuration of the peripheral portion of the ink container 12 in the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the configuration of the peripheral portion of the ink container 12 in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The ink supply pipe 21 shown in FIG. 2 provided with the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 is connected to the ink container 12 shown in FIG. The ink container 12 is provided with an ink valve (not shown). The ink valve is configured to be open when the ink container 12 is connected to the ink supply pipe 21 and closed when the ink container 12 is removed from the ink supply pipe 21.

  The ink valve is configured not to block the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 4 in the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 and reflected by the reflection portion 53a in the ink container wall surface 53 in the open state. Needless to say.

Next, the state of transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves with respect to the ink liquid 13 in the ink container 12 shown in FIG. 4 by the ink characteristic determination apparatus 1 will be described.
First, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to generate an ultrasonic signal of a predetermined level to the oscillation unit 32. In response to this instruction, the oscillating unit 32 generates an ultrasonic signal and sends it to the variable phase shift unit 31. Further, the oscillating unit 32 transmits the above-described ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal to the measuring unit 35 to notify that the ultrasonic signal has been generated.

  The variable phase shifter 31 performs the distribution and phase shift of the ultrasonic signals according to the arrangement positions of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n in accordance with instructions from the control unit 7A, as will be described later. When the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n generate and transmit an ultrasonic wave based on the ultrasonic signal, the generated ultrasonic wave is transmitted as a transmission wave 51 toward the reflection part 53a in the ink container wall surface 53. The

Thereafter, the ultrasonic wave transmitted as the transmission wave 51 is reflected by the reflection portion 53a and becomes a reflected wave 52 directed toward the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n.
The transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n receive the ultrasonic waves that are the reflected waves 52 and transmit electric signals (ultrasonic signals) corresponding to the reception levels to the variable phase shifter 31.

  In accordance with an instruction from the control unit 7A, the variable phase shift unit 31 performs the phase shift of the ultrasonic signal according to the arrangement position of each of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n as described later and sends it to the synthesis unit 33. . The synthesizer 33 synthesizes the phase-shifted ultrasonic signals as will be described later, and sends them to the detector 34.

The detection unit 34 detects the synthesized ultrasonic signal, detects the signal level, and sends an ultrasonic pulse reception signal corresponding to the detection result to the measurement unit 35.
The measuring unit 35 measures the time required from receiving the ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal from the oscillating unit 32 to receiving the ultrasonic pulse received signal from the detecting unit 34, and displays time measurement information indicating the measurement result as a control unit. Send to 7A.

  The control unit 7A that has received this timing information functions as the ink characteristic determination unit 8, and the time indicated by the timing information, that is, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted between the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n and the reflection portion 53a. The transmission speed is calculated based on the time required for one reciprocation and the distance between the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n and the reflection portion 53a, which is stored in the control unit 7A in advance. Based on the calculation result, the ink characteristics are determined, that is, whether the ink liquid 13 is a predetermined one that is assumed in advance.

Next, the structure of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 will be described. FIG. 5 schematically shows the structure of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit.
As described above, the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 includes the transmission / reception unit 4 and the sound absorbing member 5, which are supported by the support member 6. The transmission / reception unit 4 includes, for example, piezoelectric vibration. Transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n as children are provided.

Next, the principle of giving desired directivity to the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 4 will be described.
FIG. 6 illustrates the physical action during transmission of ultrasonic waves by the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n.

  In FIG. 6, a reference point 61 is a point on a straight line where the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n are arranged. Further, the angle θ is an angle formed by a straight line in which the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n are arranged and a straight line orthogonal to the direction of the transmission wave 51 showing the desired directivity in FIG.

The separation distances d1 to dn represent the distances from the reference point 61 to the respective transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n, and indicate the arrangement positions of the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n.
The variable phase shifter 31 includes variable phase shifters 62-1 to 62-n. The variable phase shifters 62-1 to 62-n are associated with the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n, respectively.

  The ultrasonic waves phase-shifted by the variable phase shifter 31 in accordance with the arrangement positions of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n are transmitted from the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n. At this time, the variable phase shifter 31 transmits the supersonic wave distributed from the oscillating unit 32 so that the ultrasonic wave transmitted and synthesized from each of the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n is directed in a desired direction. Phase the sound signal. In order to do this, the variable phase shifter 31 is configured so that the wavefront 63 of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from each of the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n is orthogonal to the transmission wave 51 indicating the desired direction. Then, the ultrasonic signal is phase-shifted so as to be formed.

The phase shift amount δ _k of the variable phase shifter 62-k (k = 1, 2,..., N) for obtaining such a wavefront 63 can be obtained by the following [Equation 1].

この［数１］式において、ｄ_k は、基準点６１と送受信素子３６−ｋとの離間距離であり、λは、送受信素子３６−１乃至３６−ｎから送信する超音波のインク液１３中での波長である。なお、超音波のインク液１３中での波長は、インク液１３（溶媒）を、送信する超音波の周波数で除算すると求めることができる。なお、インク液１３の各溶媒による音速の例としては、溶媒がグリセリンの場合で１９２０メートル／秒であり、溶媒が水の場合で１４８０メートル／秒であり、更に溶媒が油の場合で１３９０メートル／秒である。

In this [Expression 1], d _k is a separation distance between the reference point 61 and the transmitting / receiving element 36-k, and λ is in the ultrasonic ink liquid 13 transmitted from the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n. The wavelength at. The wavelength of the ultrasonic wave in the ink liquid 13 can be obtained by dividing the ink liquid 13 (solvent) by the frequency of the ultrasonic wave to be transmitted. In addition, as an example of the sound velocity by each solvent of the ink liquid 13, it is 1920 meters / second when the solvent is glycerin, 1480 meters / second when the solvent is water, and 1390 meters when the solvent is oil. / Sec.

  Note that at least two of the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n may be provided in the transmitting / receiving unit 4. However, it is desirable to increase the number of transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n provided in the transmission / reception unit 4 because the accuracy of transmission directivity in a desired radiation direction is improved. Further, it is desirable to increase this number from the viewpoint of improving the accuracy of the reception directivity described later and from the viewpoint of increasing the intensity of the ultrasonic signal after synthesis by the synthesizing unit 33. It is preferable to do.

In FIG. 6, virtual positions 64-1 to 64-n are for determining the wavefront 63 of the ultrasonic wave.
The virtual position 64-k (k = 2, 3,..., N) is determined from the phase shift amount δ _k for the ultrasonic signal input to the transmitting / receiving element 36-k, which is obtained by the equation [1]. Is done. The virtual position 64-1 is determined from the phase shift [delta] ₁ of the ultrasound signals input to similarly determined, the reception device 36-1 by Expression 1. Here, when the virtual positions 64-1 and 64-k are connected by a straight line, the ultrasonic wavefront 63 is obtained. The radiation direction of the ultrasonic wave is the direction of an arrow (transmission wave) 51 orthogonal to the ultrasonic wavefront 63. This direction is a direction deflected by an angle θ with respect to the direction in which the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n are arranged.

By setting the phase shift amount for the variable phase shifters 62-1 to 62-n in this way, it is possible to give desired directivity to the transmitted ultrasonic waves.
The ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 4 with the desired directivity as described above are reflected by the reflection portion 53 a in the ink container wall surface 53 and returned to the transmission / reception unit 4. Next, the principle of giving desired directivity to the transmission / reception unit 4 that receives this ultrasonic wave will be described.

  The ultrasonic waves reflected by the reflecting portion 53a arrive at the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n of the receiving unit 4. The transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n excite ultrasonic signals when receiving the ultrasonic waves. The excited ultrasonic signal is transmitted to the variable phase shifter 31.

  The variable phase shifter 31 performs a phase shift process on the ultrasonic signals sent from each of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36 -m and transmits the ultrasonic signal to the combining unit 33. The synthesizer 33 synthesizes the ultrasonic signal that has been subjected to the phase shift process. The phase shift process by the variable phase shifter 31 and the synthesis process by the synthesizer 33 give directivity to the reception of ultrasonic waves by the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the physical action during reception of ultrasonic waves by the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n, and desired directivity is given to reception of ultrasonic waves by the phase shift process and the synthesis process. It shows the principle.

  In FIG. 7, the reference point 61 is a point on a straight line where the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n are arranged. Further, the angle θ is an angle formed by a straight line in which the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n are arranged and a straight line orthogonal to the direction of the reception wave 52 indicating a desired arrival direction in FIG.

The separation distances d1 to dn represent the distances from the reference point 61 to the respective transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n, and indicate the arrangement positions of the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n.
The variable phase shifter 31 includes variable phase shifters 62-1 to 62-n. The variable phase shifters 62-1 to 62-n are associated with the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n, respectively.

  In FIG. 7, the virtual positions 64-1 to 64-n have ultrasonic wavefronts 63 that can be best received by the transmitting and receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n by performing the phase shift process and the synthesis process. It is for decision.

The virtual position 64-k (k = 2, 3,..., N) is a phase shift amount δ _{k with} respect to the ultrasonic signal input to the transmission / reception element 36-k, which is obtained by the above-described equation (1). Determined from. The virtual position 64-1 is determined from the phase shift amount δ _{1 with} respect to the ultrasonic signal input to the transmission / reception element 36-1, which is obtained in the same manner by the equation [1]. Here, when the virtual positions 64-1 and 64-k are connected by a straight line, the ultrasonic wavefront 63 is obtained. The arrival direction in which the ultrasonic wave can be received best is the direction of an arrow (reception wave) 52 orthogonal to the wavefront 63 of the ultrasonic wave. This direction is a direction deflected by an angle θ with respect to the direction in which the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n are arranged.

  By setting the phase shift amount for the variable phase shifters 62-1 to 62-n in this way, desired directivity can be given to the reception of ultrasonic waves by the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n.

  The synthesizer 33 synthesizes ultrasonic signals excited in each of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n by receiving the ultrasonic waves. The synthesis process at this time is performed according to the following [Equation 2].

この［数２］式においては、Ｅｓｕｍ（ｔ）が合成部３３からの合成出力であり、Ａ_k が送受信素子３６−ｋ（ｋ＝１、２、…、ｎ）にかけられる重み（送受信素子３６−ｋの能率）であり、ｊが電流密度である。また、Ｅ₀ （ｔ）は、発振部３２により発振される超音波信号の基準振幅に対応する振幅量である。このような合成処理により、合成部３３で合成されて出力される超音波信号は、矢印（受信波）５２の方向から到来する超音波についてのものが最大となる。

In this [Expression 2], Esum (t) is the combined output from the combining unit 33, and A _k is a weight (transmitting / receiving element 36) applied to the transmitting / receiving elements 36-k (k = 1, 2,..., N). -K efficiency), and j is the current density. E ₀ (t) is an amplitude amount corresponding to the reference amplitude of the ultrasonic signal oscillated by the oscillating unit 32. As a result of such synthesis processing, the ultrasonic signal synthesized and output by the synthesis unit 33 is maximized for the ultrasonic wave coming from the direction of the arrow (received wave) 52.

Next, FIG. 8 will be described. FIG. 8 shows a waveform example of an ultrasonic signal output from the synthesizer 33 when receiving an ultrasonic wave.
In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time, and represents the signal level of the ultrasonic signal output from the synthesis unit 33, that is, the reception level (reception amount) of the ultrasonic wave received by the transmission / reception unit 4.

  The waveform example of FIG. 8 will be described over time. The waveform 71 is obtained by directly receiving the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the transmission / reception unit 4 itself. A waveform 72 is obtained when the transmitting / receiving unit 4 receives the ultrasonic wave that is radiated from the transmitting / receiving unit 4 into the ink liquid 13 and then reflected by the reflecting portion 53a.

In the following description, the waveform 71 is referred to as “transmission waveform 71”, and the waveform 72 is referred to as “reflection waveform 72 from the reflection portion 53a”.
In the waveform example illustrated in FIG. 8, the transmission waveform 71 is not necessary for detecting the characteristics of the ink liquid 13, and only the reflection waveform 72 from the reflection portion 53a is necessary. Here, it is clear that the elapsed time from when the transmission / reception unit 4 transmits an ultrasonic wave until the transmission waveform 71 is received is constant, and is received before the reflection waveform 72 from the reflection part 53a. .

  Therefore, in the measurement unit 35 of the propagation time measurement unit 2, the detection start time Tth is set in advance, and the transmission / reception unit 4 receives the ultrasonic wave from the transmission / reception unit 4 until the detection start time Tth elapses. Ignore the waveform for ultrasound.

  Here, the detection start time Tth is set to be longer than the elapsed time when the transmission waveform 71 is obtained and shorter than the elapsed time when the reflected waveform 72 from the reflection portion 53a is obtained earliest. By setting the measurement unit 35 in this way, the transmission waveform 71 is excluded from the signal waveform obtained based on the reception of the ultrasonic wave by the transmission / reception unit 4, so that the reflection waveform 72 from the reflection region 53 a is displayed. Based on this, it is possible to appropriately calculate the speed of sound in the ink liquid 13.

  In addition, a reflection reference value Δth is set in advance in the detection unit 34 so that the waveform of the ultrasonic wave whose reception level of the ultrasonic wave received by the transmission / reception unit 4 is less than the reflection reference value Δth is ignored. . The reflection reference value ATh may be set to a value smaller than the maximum value of the reflection waveform 72 from the reflection portion 53a. By setting in this way, the detection unit 34 performs the detection by excluding the waveform corresponding to the noise component from the signal waveform obtained based on the reception of the ultrasonic wave by the transmission / reception unit 4. The sound speed in the ink liquid 13 can be calculated more appropriately based on the reflected waveform 72 from the portion 53a.

  As described above, the propagation path of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 4 and propagating through the ink liquid 13 and returning after being reflected by the reflection portion 53a is constant. The path length of this propagation path is stored in advance in the control unit 7A, and the control unit 7A is based on this path length and the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave of the propagation path measured by the measurement unit 35. The speed of the ultrasonic wave propagating through the ink liquid 13 is calculated, and based on the calculation result, the ink characteristics are determined, that is, whether the ink liquid 13 is a predetermined one that is assumed in advance.

  Next, processing contents of the ink characteristic determination processing will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of the ink characteristic determination process. The control unit 7A realizes this process by the MPU 41 reading and executing the control program stored in the ROM 42, and functions as the ink characteristic determination unit 8.

  In FIG. 9, the control unit 7 </ b> A first performs a process of controlling the propagation time measuring unit 2 to measure the time during which the ultrasonic wave propagates through the ink liquid 13 in S <b> 1. Details of the measurement control process will be described later.

  Next, in S <b> 2, the control unit 7 </ b> A is a distance stored in the control unit 7 </ b> A in advance in one round-trip distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 to the reflection part 53 a, and the superimposition measured by the propagation time measurement unit 2. Based on the time during which the sound wave propagates through the ink liquid 13, a process for obtaining the speed of sound when the ultrasonic wave propagates through the ink liquid 13 is performed. Details of the sound speed calculation process will be described later.

  Next, in S3, the control unit 7A performs a process of determining ink characteristics based on the sound speed obtained by the process of S2, and thereafter ends the process of FIG. Details of this determination processing will be described later.

The above process is the ink characteristic determination process.
Next, FIG. 10 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of the measurement control process performed by the control unit 7A as the process of S1 in the ink characteristic determination process shown in FIG.

  First, in step S11, the control unit 7A performs processing for giving an instruction to the oscillation unit 32 to oscillate ultrasonic waves. In subsequent step S12, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to the measurement unit 35, and the ultrasonic waves are applied to the ink liquid. The time which propagates through 13 is measured. In response to this instruction, the oscillating unit 32 starts oscillating ultrasonic waves and transmits the above-described ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal to the measuring unit 35. When the measurement unit 35 receives this ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal after receiving the instruction from the control unit 7A, it starts measuring time.

  Next, in step S13, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to the variable phase shift unit 31 so that the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the oscillation unit 32 are placed at the arrangement positions of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n. A process for distributing the ultrasonic signal and shifting the phase is performed.

  Next, in S14, the control unit 7A instructs the variable phase shift unit 31 to apply the phase-shifted ultrasonic signal to the transmitting and receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n and transmit the ultrasonic wave. Process. By this processing, ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n to the ink liquid 13.

  Next, in S15, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n and receives the reflected wave from the reflection part 53a for the ultrasonic wave transmitted to the ink liquid 13, and is generated. A process of transmitting the ultrasonic wave to the variable phase shifter 31 is performed.

  Next, in S16, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to the variable phase shift unit 31 and transmits / receives the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36- to the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n. A process of performing phase shift according to each arrangement position of n and transmitting to the combining unit 33 is performed.

Next, in S <b> 17, the control unit 7 </ b> A instructs the synthesis unit 33 to perform a process of synthesizing the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the variable phase shift unit 31 and transmitting the synthesized signal to the detection unit 34.
In S18, the control unit 7A receives time information indicating the measurement result of the current time from the measurement unit 35, and the time indicated by the time information has passed the detection start time Tth (see FIG. 8). The process which determines whether it is in is performed. Here, when it is determined that the detection time has passed the detection start time Tth (when the determination result is Yes), the control unit 7A advances the process to S19. On the other hand, when the control unit 7A determines that the detection time has not yet passed the detection start time Tth (when the determination result is No), the control unit 7A continues until the detection time Tth has passed the detection start time Tth. Repeat the process.

  Next, in S19, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to the detection unit 34 to detect the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the synthesis unit 33 and detect the signal level, and the ultrasonic signal is reflected. A process of determining whether or not the reflected waveform 72 from the portion 53a can be considered is performed. The detection unit 34 makes this determination based on whether or not the signal level detected by detecting the ultrasonic signal is equal to or higher than the above-described reflection reference value Δth (see FIG. 8). That is, when the detection unit 34 determines that the detection level of the ultrasonic signal is equal to or greater than the reflection reference value Δth (when the determination result is Yes), the control unit 7A determines that the ultrasonic signal is a reflection part. It is assumed that the reflected waveform 72 is from 53a, and the process proceeds to S20. On the other hand, when the detection unit 34 determines that the detection level of the ultrasonic signal is less than the reflection reference value Δth (when the determination result is No), the control unit 7A determines that the ultrasonic signal is a reflection part. The process of S19 is repeated until the reflected waveform 72 from 53a is not considered and the detection level of the ultrasonic signal is equal to or greater than the reflection reference value Δth.

Next, in S20, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to the measurement unit 35, performs a process of stopping the time for which the ultrasonic wave propagates through the ink liquid 13, and thereafter returns the process to FIG.
Next, FIG. 11 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the sound speed calculation process performed by the control unit 7A as the process of S2 in the ink characteristic determination process shown in FIG.

  In S21, the control unit 7A performs a process of calculating the sound speed of the ink. Specifically, the distance of propagation of the ultrasonic wave, that is, the distance of the propagation path in which the ultrasonic wave reciprocates from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 to the reflection part 53a, which is the distance stored in the control unit 7A in advance, is shown in FIG. The control unit 7A performs a calculation process in which the ultrasonic wave measured by the measurement unit 35 by the process up to S20 in the measurement control process shown in FIG. Is calculated. And control part 7A returns processing to Drawing 9 after finishing this processing.

  Next, FIG. 12 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the contents of the determination process performed by the control unit 7A as the process of S3 in the ink characteristic determination process shown in FIG.

  First, in S31, the control unit 7A performs a process of determining whether or not the sound speed of the ink calculated by the process of S21 in the sound speed calculation process shown in FIG. 11 is assumed in advance. Here, when the control unit 7A determines that the sound velocity of the ink is as expected (when the determination result is Yes), the control unit 7A regards the ink in the ink container 12 to be a predetermined one that is assumed in advance. Then, the process proceeds to S32. On the other hand, when the control unit 7A determines that the sound velocity of the ink is different from that assumed (when the determination result is No), the ink in the ink container 12 is regarded as an unexpected one. Then, the process proceeds to S33.

  Next, in S32, the control unit 7A performs a process of storing information indicating that the ink in the ink container 12 is a predetermined one that is assumed in advance in the RAM 44 of the control unit 7A, and thereafter the process shown in FIG. Return processing.

  On the other hand, in step S32, the control unit 7A performs processing for storing information indicating that the ink in the ink container 12 is not expected in the RAM 44 of the control unit 7A, and then returns the processing to FIG.

The control unit 7A performs the processing from FIG. 9 to FIG. 12 described above, whereby the characteristics of the ink liquid 13 in the ink container 12 can be determined.
As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, the variable phase shift unit 31, the oscillation unit 32, the synthesis unit 33, and the detection unit 34 are provided. Since the ink characteristic determination device 1 is provided, it is possible to transmit ultrasonic waves in a desired direction in the ink container 12 and receive reflected waves from the desired direction in the ink container 12. Therefore, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to determine the characteristics of the ink in the ink container 12 without providing a dedicated member for determining the ink characteristics in the ink container 12. It is possible to eliminate poor ink and ink in an inappropriate state.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, differences from the above-described first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing details of the configuration of the peripheral portion of the ink container 12 in the second embodiment. The manner of detecting the characteristics of the ink liquid 13 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  Unlike the one according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, the ink container 12 in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 13 has flexibility. The ink container 12 and the ink supply pipe 21 are connected by an ink container connecting portion (not shown). The ink container 12 is provided with an ink valve (not shown). The ink valve is configured to be open when the ink container 12 is connected to the ink supply pipe 21 and closed when the ink container 12 is removed from the ink supply pipe 21.

  Needless to say, the ink valve is configured not to block the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 4 in the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 and reflected by the reflection portion 53a in the open state.

  In the configuration of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 13, an ink container holding mechanism 81 that holds the flexible ink container 12 and a pressing mechanism 82 that presses the ink container 12 between the ink container holding mechanism 81. Is provided, and the inner wall surface of the ink container 12 is used as a reflection portion 53a.

Next, the state of transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves with respect to the ink liquid 13 in the ink container 12 shown in FIG. 13 by the ink characteristic determination apparatus 1 will be described.
First, the control unit 7A gives an instruction to generate an ultrasonic signal of a predetermined level to the oscillation unit 32. In response to this instruction, the oscillating unit 32 generates an ultrasonic signal and sends it to the variable phase shift unit 31. Further, the oscillating unit 32 transmits the above-described ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal to the measuring unit 35 to notify that the ultrasonic signal has been generated.

  The variable phase shift unit 31 performs the distribution and phase shift of the ultrasonic signals according to the arrangement positions of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n in accordance with the instruction from the control unit 7A as described above. When the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n generate and transmit an ultrasonic wave based on the ultrasonic signal, the generated ultrasonic wave is transmitted as a transmission wave 51 toward the reflection part 53a in the ink container wall surface 53. The

Thereafter, the ultrasonic wave transmitted as the transmission wave 51 is reflected by the reflection portion 53a and becomes a reflected wave 52 directed toward the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n.
The transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n receive the ultrasonic waves that are the reflected waves 52 and transmit electric signals (ultrasonic signals) corresponding to the reception levels to the variable phase shifter 31.

  In accordance with an instruction from the control unit 7A, the variable phase shift unit 31 performs the phase shift of the ultrasonic signal according to the arrangement position of each of the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n as described above and sends it to the synthesis unit 33. . The synthesizer 33 synthesizes the phase-shifted ultrasonic signals as described above and sends them to the detector 34.

The detection unit 34 detects the synthesized ultrasonic signal, detects the signal level, and sends an ultrasonic pulse reception signal corresponding to the detection result to the measurement unit 35.
The measuring unit 35 measures the time required from receiving the ultrasonic pulse oscillation start signal from the oscillating unit 32 to receiving the ultrasonic pulse received signal from the detecting unit 34, and displays time measurement information indicating the measurement result as a control unit. Send to 7A.

  The control unit 7A that has received this timing information functions as the ink characteristic determination unit 8, and the time indicated by the timing information, that is, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted between the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n and the reflection portion 53a. The transmission speed is calculated based on the time required for one reciprocation and the distance between the transmitting / receiving elements 36-1 to 36-n and the reflection portion 53a, which is stored in the control unit 7A in advance. Based on the calculation result, the ink characteristics are determined, that is, whether the ink liquid 13 is a predetermined one that is assumed in advance.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment of the present invention, the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, the variable phase shift unit 31, the oscillation unit 32, the synthesis unit 33, and the detection unit 34 are provided. Since the ink characteristic determination device 1 is provided, it is possible to transmit ultrasonic waves in a desired direction in the ink container 12 and receive reflected waves from the desired direction in the ink container 12. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to determine the characteristics of the ink in the ink container 12 having flexibility without providing a dedicated member for determining the ink characteristics in the ink container 12. Thus, it is possible to eliminate poor ink and ink in an inappropriate state.

Next, as a third embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment of an image recording apparatus having the above-described ink characteristic determination device 1 will be described.
FIG. 14 is a conceptual block diagram of an image recording apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 schematically shows the structure of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG.

  The image recording apparatus 11 may be any apparatus that records an image on a recording material based on image data, such as a printer apparatus, a facsimile apparatus, and a copying apparatus. The image recording apparatus 11 includes the ink characteristic determination apparatus 1 that determines the characteristics of the ink liquid 13 stored in the ink container 12, the ink container 12 that stores ink, and an image recording that records an image on a recording medium. And at least a portion 29.

  The image recording unit 29 includes at least a recording head driving unit 92 and a recording head 93, and a carriage 91 that holds them. The image recording unit 29 is connected to the I / F unit 45 of the control unit 7B, and the operation of the image recording unit 29 is controlled by the control unit 7B.

  The control unit 7B performs overall control of various operations of the image recording apparatus 11 by executing various control programs stored in advance in the ROM 42 by the MPU 41. That is, the control unit 7B provides a function of the control unit 7A that performs overall control of the operation of the ink characteristic determination device 1 by executing a control program for configuring the ink characteristic determination unit 8 by the MPU 41. Further, the control unit 7B provides a function of performing overall control of the image recording operation in the image recording apparatus 11 by executing a control program for configuring the image recording control unit 94 by the MPU 41.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the image recording control unit 94 may be configured by the MPU 41 executing a program stored in the ROM 42, and as a signal processing circuit controlled by the MPU 41. You may make it comprise with hardware.

  The image recording operation in the image recording apparatus 11 is performed as follows. That is, first, a recording medium detection unit (not shown) detects, for example, the leading end of the recording medium 10 (see FIG. 2) conveyed along a conveyance path (not shown). Then, using the detection information as a trigger, a conveyance information generation unit (not shown), which is a rotary encoder, for example, generates a cumulative number of pulses indicating the progress of conveyance of the recording medium 10. The control unit 7B functioning as the image recording control unit 94 has a timing at which the accumulated pulse number coincides with the accumulated pulse number corresponding to each separation distance of the recording head 93 stored in advance in the ROM 42. The drive unit 92 is controlled. Thus, the recording process on the recording medium 10 is realized.

Next, the operation of each component of the image recording apparatus 11 will be described.
First, the control unit 7B causes the ink characteristic determination device 1 to determine the characteristic of the ink liquid 13 in the ink container 12. Note that the operation for ink characteristic determination performed by the ink characteristic determination device 1 at this time is the same as that in the other embodiments described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted here. Here, when the ink characteristic determination device 1 determines that the ink in the ink container 12 is not a predetermined one that is assumed in advance, the control unit 7B notifies the upper device to that effect, and performs the subsequent recording processing. Do not.

  Next, when the start of the recording process is instructed by the job information notified from the external device (not shown), the control unit 7B instructs the feeding mechanism (not shown) to start conveying the recording medium 10. Then, a transport driving unit (not shown) that drives a transport mechanism (not shown) that transports the recording medium 10 on the transport path is operated.

  Next, the control unit 7B causes the feeding mechanism (not shown) to pick up the uppermost one of the recording media 10 loaded on the storage tray (not shown) one by one to the downstream side of the transport path. Let them feed.

  Next, when the control unit 7B receives a notification from the recording medium detection unit that the front end of the fed recording medium 10 has been detected, for example, the control unit 7B accumulates the number of pulses generated by the conveyance information generation unit. Start.

Next, the control unit 7B places the recording medium 10 delivered from the feeding mechanism on a conveying member (not shown) of the conveying mechanism and further conveys the recording medium 10 to the downstream side of the conveying path.
Here, in the control unit 7B, the accumulated pulse number by the rotary encoder in the conveyance information generating unit (not shown) matches the accumulated pulse number corresponding to each separation distance of the recording head 93 stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory. From the timing, the image data stored in the RAM 44 of the control unit 7B is sequentially read. Then, the control unit 7B controls the recording head driving unit 92 in accordance with the sequentially read image data, and performs recording processing on the recording medium 10 by ejecting ink from each nozzle provided in the recording head 93.

  As described above, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the transmission / reception elements 36-1 to 36-n that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, the variable phase shift unit 31, the oscillation unit 32, the synthesis unit 33, and the detection unit 34 are provided. Since the image recording apparatus 11 is configured by including the ink characteristic determination apparatus 1 configured as described above, transmission of ultrasonic waves in a desired direction in the ink container 12 and reflection from a desired direction in the ink container 12 are performed. Wave reception is possible. Therefore, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to determine the characteristics of the ink in the flexible ink container 12 without providing a dedicated member for determining the ink characteristics in the ink container 12. Thus, it is possible to perform good recording processing on the recording medium 10 by removing poor ink and ink in an inappropriate state.

Further, according to the present embodiment, there is no possibility that the image recording apparatus 11 itself is damaged and unusable by using poor ink or ink in an inappropriate state.
In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a conceptual block diagram of an ink characteristic determination device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a path of ink liquid in an image recording apparatus including the ink characteristic determination device illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the ink characteristic determination apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of a configuration of a peripheral portion of the ink container in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the structure of the ultrasonic transmission / reception part typically. It is a figure explaining the physical effect | action at the time of transmission of the ultrasonic wave by a transmission / reception element. It is a figure explaining the physical effect | action at the time of reception of the ultrasonic wave by a transmission / reception element. It is a figure which shows the example of a waveform of the ultrasonic signal output from a synthetic | combination part at the time of the reception of an ultrasonic wave. It is the figure which showed the processing content of the ink characteristic determination processing with the flowchart. It is the figure which showed the processing content of the measurement control process with the flowchart. It is the figure which showed the processing content of the sound speed calculation process with the flowchart. It is the figure which showed the processing content of the determination process with the flowchart. It is the figure which showed the detail of the structure of the peripheral part of the ink container in 2nd embodiment of this invention. 1 is a conceptual block diagram of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is the figure which showed typically the structure of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink characteristic determination apparatus 2 Propagation time measurement part 3 Ultrasonic transmission / reception part 4 Transmission / reception part 5 Sound absorption member 6 Support member 7 (7A, 7B) Control part 8 Ink characteristic determination part 10 Recording medium 11 Image recording apparatus 12 Ink container 13 Ink liquid DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Ink supply pipe 22 On-off valve 23 Reservoir tank 24-1, 24-2 Atmospheric release valve 25-1, 25-2 Atmospheric release pipe 26 Ink liquid supply tube 27 Distributor 28 Ink liquid flow path 29 Ink flow path seal Stop mechanism 30 Ink head 31 Variable phase shifter 32 Oscillator 33 Synthesizing unit 34 Detector 35 Measuring unit 36-1 to 36-n Transmitting / receiving element 41 MPU
42 ROM
44 RAM
45 I / F unit 46 Analog-digital conversion unit 47 Bus 51 Transmitted wave 52 Reflected wave 53 Ink container wall surface 53a Reflected part 54 Ink container connecting part 61 Reference point 62-1 to 62-n Variable phase shifter 63 Wavefront 64-1 To 64-m virtual position 71 transmission waveform 72 reflection waveform from reflection part 81 ink container holding mechanism 82 pressing mechanism 91 carriage 92 recording head driving unit 93 recording head 94 image recording control unit d1 to dn separation distance from reference point Tth detection Start time Δth Reflected wave reference value α Variable phase shifter control communication line β Signal communication line γ Metering result communication line

Claims (11)

In an ink characteristic determination device that determines the characteristics of ink stored in an ink container,
An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that transmits ultrasonic waves to the ink in the ink container and receives reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves that arrive after being reflected at the interface of the ink;
A propagation time measuring unit that measures the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave in the ink required from when the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit transmits the ultrasonic wave to receiving the reflected wave;
An ink characteristic determination unit that determines the characteristic of the ink based on the measured propagation time and the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit to the interface;
The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit is configured by arranging a plurality of transmission / reception elements that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in a line,
The propagation time measuring unit shifts the ultrasonic wave transmitted from each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements for each transmission / reception element, and transmits and receives the ultrasonic wave before synthesizing the ultrasonic waves received by each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements. An ink characteristic determination apparatus comprising at least a variable phase shift unit that shifts a phase for each element and gives directivity to ultrasonic transmission characteristics and reception characteristics of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit.   The ink characteristic determination unit determines the characteristic of the ink based on the speed of sound when the ultrasonic wave propagates through the ink, which is calculated based on the propagation time and the distance. The ink characteristic determination apparatus according to claim 1. The ink ink characteristic determination device further includes a control unit including at least the ink characteristic determination unit,
The control unit includes at least an arithmetic processing unit and a storage unit in which a control program to be executed by the arithmetic processing device is stored in advance, and the control processing unit causes the control program to be executed by executing the control program. Functions as an ink property determination unit;
The ink flying state determination system according to claim 1. The propagation time measuring unit is
A measurement unit for measuring elapsed time;
An oscillation unit that oscillates and transmits the ultrasonic wave to the variable phase shift unit, and notifies the measurement unit of the start of oscillation of the ultrasonic wave,
A detection unit that detects that the reflected wave is received by the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit and notifies the measurement unit;
At least,
The measurement unit measures, as the propagation time, an elapsed time from when the oscillation start is notified from the oscillation unit until reception of the reflected wave is notified from the detection unit. The ink characteristic determination apparatus according to claim 1.   The ink characteristic determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink interface is an inner wall surface of the ink container.   The ink characteristic determination apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ink container has flexibility and is stored in a mechanism that presses the ink container from the periphery. In an ink characteristic determination method by an ink characteristic determination device that determines the characteristics of ink stored in an ink container,
The ink characteristic determination apparatus includes at least an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit configured by arranging a plurality of transmission / reception elements that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in a line,
The ultrasonic wave transmitted from each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements is phase-shifted for each transmission / reception element to give directivity to the ultrasonic transmission characteristics of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, and then from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit Send ultrasonic waves to the ink in the ink container,
The plurality of transmission / reception elements constituting the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit receive reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves that arrive after being reflected at the interface of the ink,
The reflected waves received by each of the plurality of transmitting / receiving elements are phase-shifted and combined for each transmitting / receiving element, thereby giving directivity to the ultrasonic reception characteristics of the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit,
Measured the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave in the ink required from the transmission of the ultrasonic wave to reception of the reflected wave,
An ink characteristic determination method, wherein the ink characteristic is determined based on the measured propagation time and a distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit to the interface.   In determining the ink characteristics, the ink characteristics are determined based on the speed of sound when the ultrasonic wave propagates through the ink, which is calculated based on the propagation time and the distance. The ink characteristic determination method according to claim 7, wherein the ink characteristic is determined. A program for causing an arithmetic processing device to perform determination of ink characteristics by an ink characteristic determination device that determines characteristics of ink stored in an ink container,
The ink characteristic determination apparatus includes at least an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit configured by arranging a plurality of transmission / reception elements that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in a line,
The program is
The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit with the directivity of the ultrasonic transmission characteristics of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit by shifting the phase of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements. A process of transmitting ultrasonic waves from the ink to the ink in the ink container;
A process of causing the plurality of transmitting and receiving elements constituting the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit to receive reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves that arrive after being reflected at the interface of the ink;
A process of giving directivity to the ultrasonic reception characteristics of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit by shifting and synthesizing the reflected wave received by each of the plurality of transmission / reception elements for each transmission / reception element;
A process of measuring the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave in the ink required from the transmission of the ultrasonic wave to the reception of the reflected wave;
A process of determining the characteristics of the ink based on the measured propagation time and the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit to the interface;
A program for causing the arithmetic processing unit to perform the following.   In the process of determining the characteristics of the ink, the characteristics of the ink are determined based on the speed of sound calculated based on the propagation time and the distance and when the ultrasonic wave propagates through the ink. The program according to claim 9. The ink characteristic determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An ink container for storing ink to be subjected to characteristic determination by the ink characteristic determination device;
An image recording apparatus comprising at least an image recording unit that causes a recording process to be performed on a recording medium using the ink stored in the ink container.

Images