JP2011079216A - Recording device, method for controlling recording device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an amount of waste ink to be discarded, in a recording device that forms pixels on a recording medium by ejecting ink from a recording head. <P>SOLUTION: A printer 1 stores ejection ink of different colors and forms pixels on a recording medium by selectively ejecting the stored ink from the recording head 16, and the printer 1 includes a recycling waste ink tank storing waste ink. Using the ejection ink and a waste ink stored in the recycling waste ink tank, the printer 1 forms a black pixel on the recording medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that ejects ink from a recording head to form pixels on a recording medium, a control method for the recording apparatus, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an ink jet recording apparatus that includes a recording head that scans a recording medium in a main scanning direction and that discharges ink from the recording head to the recording medium to record an image on the recording medium. In this type of recording apparatus, in order to prevent an increase in the viscosity of the ink in the recording head, cleaning is performed by discharging the ink having an increased viscosity from the recording head by sucking the ink from the nozzles formed in the recording head. There are some (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, there is a type of performing flushing in which ink is ejected from a recording head in a state where no image is formed on the recording medium, and ink having increased viscosity is discharged from nozzles formed in the recording head.

JP 2009-101629 A

In the recording apparatus described above, ink used for cleaning or flushing the recording head is discarded as waste ink after being stored in a predetermined location of the recording apparatus, but is discarded from the viewpoint of environmental problems. There is a need to reduce the amount of waste ink as much as possible.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the amount of waste ink discarded in a recording apparatus that forms pixels on a recording medium by ejecting ink from a recording head. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a recording apparatus for storing discharge inks of different colors and selectively discharging the stored discharge ink from a recording head to form pixels on a recording medium, Waste ink storing means for storing waste ink, discharge ink, and black forming means for forming black pixels on a recording medium using the waste ink stored by the waste ink storing means. Features.
Here, waste ink discharged by cleaning or flushing the recording head is a mixture of different color inks, and pixels of a predetermined color mixture such as black are formed on the recording medium by subtractive color mixing using the waste ink. Is possible. Based on this, according to the above configuration, the waste ink can be reused by forming pixels of a predetermined mixed color such as black on the recording medium using the waste ink, and the amount of waste ink to be discarded can be reduced. Can be reduced.
Here, black does not mean only black, but black, achromatic color based on black, and a color similar to black (color with low brightness and saturation), and waste ink is removed. It means all the colors that can be realized using it.

In the recording apparatus of the invention, the recording head is configured to be able to discharge the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit, and the black color forming unit is configured to discharge the discharge ink and the waste ink from the recording head. Alternatively, black pixels may be formed by selectively discharging.
According to this configuration, the waste ink and the ejection ink are ejected from the recording head to form black pixels, whereby the reuse of the waste ink can be realized and the amount of the waste ink to be discarded can be reduced.

Also, in the recording apparatus of the above invention, an ejection amount acquisition means for acquiring the ejection amount of each color ejection ink to be ejected from the recording head and the ejection amount of waste ink when forming black pixels on the recording medium You may make it provide.
According to this configuration, black pixels can be reliably formed by ejecting the ejection amount, the ejection ink, and the waste ink obtained by the ejection amount obtaining unit.

In the recording apparatus according to the invention, the ejection amount acquisition unit may eject ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit based on the ejection amount of each color of ink ejected from the recording head. The ratio of the amount of ink is detected, and based on the detected ratio, the ejection amount of the ejection ink to be ejected from the recording head and the ejection amount of the waste ink when the black pixels are formed on the recording medium are acquired. You may do it.
Here, the color of the waste ink is defined in accordance with the ratio of the amount of ejection ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means. Then, according to the color of waste ink, the ejection amount of ejection ink to be ejected when forming black pixels and the ejection amount of waste ink are defined. Based on this, according to the above configuration, the discharge is performed from the recording head when the black pixels are formed on the recording medium based on the ratio of the discharge ink amount of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit. By acquiring the discharge amount of the ejection ink to be discharged and the discharge amount of the waste ink, the discharge amount of each ink can be appropriately acquired.

The recording apparatus according to the invention further includes waste ink color detection means for optically detecting the color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means, and the ejection amount acquisition means is controlled by the waste ink color detection means. Based on the detected color of the waste ink, the ejection amount of the ejection ink to be ejected from the recording head and the ejection amount of the waste ink when the black pixels are formed on the recording medium may be acquired. Good.
According to this configuration, the ejection amount of the ejection ink to be ejected from the recording head and the ejection of the waste ink when forming black pixels on the recording medium based on the color of the waste ink detected optically By acquiring the amount, it is possible to appropriately acquire the discharge amount of each ink.

In the recording apparatus of the invention, the recording head is configured to be able to discharge the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit, and the discharge ink is mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit. A black ink generating unit configured to generate black ink, wherein the black forming unit discharges the black ink generated by the black ink generating unit from the recording head to form black pixels on the recording medium. It may be.
According to this configuration, the black ink generated by the black ink generating unit using the waste ink and the ejection ink is ejected from the recording head to form pixels such as black, so that the waste ink can be reused. This can be realized and the amount of waste ink discarded can be reduced.

In the recording apparatus of the invention, the black ink generating means may include a mixing amount acquisition means for acquiring the amount of ejection ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means. Also good.
According to this configuration, black ink can be reliably generated by mixing the ejection ink with the waste ink by the amount acquired by the mixing amount acquisition unit.

In the recording apparatus according to the invention, the mixing amount acquisition unit may discharge each color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit based on the discharge amount of each color of ink discharged from the recording head. The amount of ink discharged for each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit may be acquired based on the detected amount of ink for discharge.
Here, according to the amount of discharge ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means, the amount of discharge ink of each color to be mixed to make the waste ink black is defined. Based on this, according to the above configuration, the discharge ink for each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means based on the amount of the discharge ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means. By acquiring the amount of ink, it is possible to appropriately acquire the amount of ink for ejection of each color to be mixed.

The recording apparatus according to the invention further includes waste ink color detection means for optically detecting the color of waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means, and the mixing amount acquisition means is provided by the waste ink color detection means. Based on the detected color of waste ink, the amount of ink for ejection of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means may be acquired.
According to this configuration, based on the color of the waste ink detected optically, by acquiring the amount of ejection ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means, The amount of ink for each color to be mixed can be acquired.

In the recording apparatus of the invention, the operation mode includes a mode for forming dots on the recording medium using waste ink and a mode for forming dots on the recording medium without using waste ink. You may make it prepare.
Here, there is a case where dots are formed without using the waste ink and an image is recorded on the recording medium due to the deterioration of the waste ink itself, and a case where the dot is formed using the waste ink and the image is formed on the recording medium. Is recorded, the quality of the image is lower when waste ink is used. Based on this, according to the above configuration, the operation mode includes a mode for forming dots on the recording medium using waste ink, and a mode for forming dots on the recording medium without using waste ink. By providing, it becomes possible to select one of the modes according to the user's request for image quality, and the convenience for the user is improved.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention controls a recording apparatus that stores ejection inks of different colors and selectively ejects the accumulated ejection ink from a recording head to form dots on a recording medium. A method is characterized in that waste ink is stored, and black pixels are formed on a recording medium using the stored waste ink and ejection ink.
Here, the waste ink is a mixture of inks of different colors, and it is possible to form pixels such as black on the recording medium using the waste ink by subtractive color mixture. Based on this, according to the above control method, the waste ink is used to form pixels such as black on the recording medium, whereby the reuse of the waste ink can be realized and the amount of the waste ink discarded can be reduced.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes waste ink storage means for storing waste ink, stores discharge inks of different colors, and selectively discharges the stored discharge inks from the recording head. Is a program executed by a control unit that controls a recording apparatus that forms dots on a recording medium, the control unit using ejection ink and waste ink stored by the waste ink storage unit, It is characterized by functioning as black forming means for forming black dots on a recording medium.
Here, the waste ink is a mixture of inks of different colors, and it is possible to form black pixels on the recording medium using the waste ink by subtractive color mixture. Based on this, if the above program is executed by the control unit, the waste ink can be used to recycle the waste ink by forming black pixels on the recording medium, thereby reducing the amount of waste ink discarded. it can.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste ink that is discarded in a recording apparatus that forms pixels on a recording medium by ejecting ink from a recording head.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printer and a host computer. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a host computer. It is a figure which shows LUT for waste ink utilization modes. The block diagram which shows typically the function of the host side control part 60 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the printer which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printer and a host computer. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating functions of a host-side control unit 60. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a host computer according to the fourth embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the printer which concerns on 6th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the printer which concerns on 7th Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a printer 1 according to the present embodiment. The printer 1 is a printer that records images such as characters, figures, and patterns on a recording medium. In particular, according to an image to be recorded on the recording medium, dots (pixels) of a predetermined color are recorded on the recording medium in a predetermined manner. It is an ink jet printer that records an image on a recording medium by forming.
The printer 1 is connected to a host computer 2 and records an image on a recording medium based on control data input from the host computer 2. In this embodiment, the printer 1 and the host computer 2 operate in cooperation to function as a recording device.
Examples of the recording medium include roll paper wound in a roll shape, a cut sheet cut into a predetermined length, and a continuous sheet in which a plurality of sheets are connected. These recording media are sheets such as plain paper, copy paper, cardboard, and the like, and sheets made of synthetic resin, and those obtained by applying coating or infiltration to these sheets can also be used. Moreover, as a form of the cut sheet, for example, in addition to a standard size cut paper such as PPC paper or a postcard, a booklet form in which a plurality of sheets such as a passbook are bound, or a bag shape such as an envelope Is mentioned. Moreover, as a form of a continuous sheet, for example, continuous paper in which sprocket holes are formed at both ends in the width direction and folded at a predetermined length can be cited.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a carriage 9 capable of reciprocating scanning in the main scanning direction. The carriage 9 includes a cyan cartridge 10 storing cyan (C) ink, a black cartridge 11 storing black (K) ink, a yellow cartridge 12 storing yellow (Y) ink, and a magenta (M) cartridge. Five ink cartridges, a magenta cartridge 13 that stores ink and a waste ink cartridge 14 that stores waste ink, are mounted. Each of the four inks, cyan ink, black ink, yellow ink, and magenta ink, is ejection ink stored in an ink cartridge for ejection to a recording medium. The waste ink cartridge 14 and the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 will be described later.
A recording head 16 that discharges ink toward the recording medium is mounted on the carriage 9. A large number of nozzle holes for discharging ink as fine ink particles are formed in the front end surface of the recording head 16. The recording head 16 selectively ejects fine ink particles from the nozzle holes by pushing out ink supplied from each ink cartridge toward the recording medium by an actuator configured using a piezoelectric element. As is well known, in a piezo ink jet printer using a piezo element, unlike a thermal ink jet printer, ink is not heated during ink ejection, and thermal deterioration of the ink during ink ejection is suppressed. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the waste ink is reused as will be described later, it is possible to use the waste ink composed of the ink in which the thermal deterioration of the ink is suppressed.
The nozzle holes are arranged in five nozzle rows on the nozzle forming surface 17 constituting the lower surface of the recording head 16. These five nozzle arrays are configured such that ink is supplied from different ink cartridges and discharges ink of different colors. In this embodiment, the cyan nozzle row 10a is from the cyan cartridge 10, the black nozzle row 11a is from the black cartridge 11, the yellow nozzle row 12a is from the yellow cartridge 12, the magenta nozzle row 13a is from the magenta cartridge 13, and the waste ink nozzle row 14a. Is configured to eject ink supplied from the waste ink cartridge 14. The waste ink nozzle row 14a may be configured as a dedicated recording head instead of the recording head 16.

The printer 1 feeds the recording medium 16 in the conveyance direction by a conveyance mechanism (not shown), and discharges ink from the recording head 16 to the recording medium, while moving the recording head 16 mounted on the carriage 9 in the conveyance direction. The image is recorded on the recording medium by alternately repeating the recording operation of scanning in the main scanning direction and recording the image on the recording medium. During the recording operation, the printer 1 scans the recording head 16 in the main scanning direction and ejects a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle holes of the respective colors of the recording head 16 to form dots that constitute an image to be recorded on the recording medium. Form.
Thus, the recording head 16 reciprocates in the main scanning direction during a recording operation for recording an image on a recording medium, but is positioned at the home position HP in a standby state. A capping device 18 is provided immediately below the recording head 16 at the home position HP.
The capping device 18 includes a box-shaped cap body 19 having an open upper surface. The cap body 19 includes a frame body 20 formed using an elastic member such as rubber, and a space surrounded by the frame body 20. A recording head accommodating portion 21 is formed. The cap body 19 is configured to be able to be raised and lowered under the drive of a cap drive motor 22 described later. When the cap body 19 is raised, the nozzle forming surface 17 of the recording head 16 positioned at the home position HP is placed on the recording head storage portion. 21. Specifically, the inner periphery of the frame body 20 of the cap body 19 is substantially the same shape as the outer periphery of the recording head 16, and when the cap body 19 rises to a predetermined position, the recording head 16 is placed on the inner periphery of the frame body 20. The nozzle forming surface 17 is stored in the recording head storage portion 21 in a state where the outer periphery is in contact.
A waste ink discharge hole 24 penetrating the lower surface 23 is formed in the lower surface 23 of the cap body 19, and one end of a waste ink outflow tube 25 through which the waste ink flows is connected to the waste ink discharge hole 24. Has been. The waste ink outflow tube 25 branches into two tubes, a reuse waste ink outflow tube 25a and a waste waste ink outflow tube 25b, at the branch point 26, and one of the reused waste ink outflow tubes 25a is recycled. A waste waste ink tank 28 (waste ink storage means) for temporarily storing waste ink to be used is connected, and a waste waste ink tank for temporarily storing waste ink to be discarded is connected to the other waste waste ink outflow tube 25b. 29 is connected. The reuse waste ink outflow tube 25a is provided with a reuse side solenoid valve 30 for controlling the distribution of waste ink in the tube, and the waste waste ink outflow tube 25b controls the distribution of waste ink in the tube. A disposal-side solenoid valve 31 is provided. The waste ink outflow tube 25 upstream of the branch point 26 is provided with a waste ink outflow pump 32 that sucks and discharges air through the waste ink discharge hole 24.
The printer 1 according to the present embodiment uses the capping device 18 to perform a cleaning operation and a flushing operation.

The cleaning operation is to prevent the ink remaining in the nozzle (not shown) of the recording head 16 from increasing in viscosity over time and causing ejection failure due to this. This is an operation for forcibly sucking ink remaining in the ink.
During the cleaning operation, the recording head 16 is moved to the home position HP, and the cap main body 19 of the capping device 18 is raised to a predetermined position, whereby the nozzle forming surface 17 of the recording head 16 is moved to the recording head storage portion of the cap main body 19. 21. Next, the waste ink outflow pump 32 is driven, and with this drive, air is sucked out from the waste ink discharge hole 24, and a negative pressure is applied to the nozzle forming surface 17. It is forcibly sucked out from the nozzle. At the time of the cleaning operation, the reuse side solenoid valve 30 is closed and the waste side solenoid valve 31 is opened, and the sucked waste ink is discharged through the waste ink discharge hole 24 into a waste ink outflow tube. Then, the waste ink flows into the waste waste ink outflow tube 25b through the branch point 26, flows into the waste waste ink tank 29 through the waste waste ink outflow tube 25b, and is stored in the waste waste ink tank 29. The The waste ink stored in the waste waste ink tank 29 is discarded at an arbitrary timing.

The flushing operation is an operation of ejecting ink from the nozzle holes formed in the nozzle forming surface 17 in a state where the nozzle forming surface 17 is not stored in the recording head storage portion 21.
Of the many nozzle holes formed on the nozzle forming surface 17, in the nozzle holes that are not used in the recording operation or the nozzle holes that are not used frequently, the ink may thicken due to drying or the like, resulting in an ejection failure. is there. The flushing operation is performed to prevent this ejection failure, and a predetermined amount of ink is ejected from each nozzle hole of each nozzle row formed on the nozzle forming surface 17 and remains in each nozzle. Is replaced with new ink. The flushing operation is performed by moving the recording head 16 to the home position HP every time a predetermined time elapses during execution of the recording operation.
Ink discharged from the recording head 16 by the flushing operation is temporarily stored in the cap body 19 as waste ink. In this embodiment, each time the flushing operation is performed, the waste ink outflow pump 32 is driven, and the waste ink stored in the cap body 19 is either the reuse waste ink tank 28 or the waste waste ink tank 29. It is discharged.

In the present embodiment, the flushing operation includes two types of flushing operations, a first flushing operation and a second flushing operation.
In the first flushing operation, ink is ejected from nozzle rows other than the waste ink nozzle row 14a, that is, the nozzle holes constituting the cyan nozzle row 10a, the black nozzle row 11a, the yellow nozzle row 12a, and the magenta nozzle row 13a. Is discharged. In this embodiment, the amount of ink ejected from each nozzle hole in one first flushing operation is determined in advance, and cyan, black, yellow, and the like ejected from the recording head 16 in each first flushing operation. The ink amount of each magenta ink is constant. Data indicating the ink amount of each ink ejected from the recording head 16 by one first flushing operation is stored in the storage unit 33 (FIG. 2) described later.
In addition, after the first flushing operation, the waste side solenoid valve 31 is closed, the reuse side solenoid valve 30 is opened, and the waste ink outflow pump 32 is driven and stored in the cap body 19. The waste ink is recycled into the reused waste ink tank 28. Accordingly, the waste ink stored in the cap main body 19 by the first flushing operation flows into the reuse waste ink tank 28 and is stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28.
On the other hand, in the second flushing operation, ink is ejected from the nozzle holes constituting the waste ink nozzle row 14a. After the second flushing operation, the waste side solenoid valve 31 is opened, the reuse side solenoid valve 30 is closed, and the waste ink outflow pump 32 is driven and stored in the cap body 19. Inflow of the waste ink into the waste waste ink tank 29 is performed. Therefore, the waste ink stored in the cap body 19 by the second flushing operation flows into the waste waste ink tank 29 and is stored in the waste waste ink tank 29.

One end of a return tube 34 is connected to the reused waste ink tank 28, and the waste ink cartridge 14 is connected to the other end of the return tube 34. Connected to the return tube 34 is a return pump 35 that sucks waste ink from the reuse waste ink tank 28 side and discharges it to the waste ink cartridge 14 side. The waste ink cartridge 14 is provided with a waste ink remaining amount sensor 36 for detecting that the remaining amount of waste ink in the waste ink cartridge 14 falls below a predetermined threshold, and the remaining amount of waste ink in the waste ink cartridge 14. Is below a predetermined threshold value, the return pump 35 is driven, and the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 flows into the return tube 34 as the return pump 35 is driven. It flows into the waste ink cartridge 14 through the return tube 34 and is stored in the waste ink cartridge 14. That is, the waste ink cartridge 14 stores the waste ink temporarily stored in the reused waste ink tank 28.
Here, in the present embodiment, only the ink ejected from the recording head 16 by the first flushing operation described above is stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28. As described above, since the amount of each ink ejected from the recording head 16 in one first flushing operation is predetermined, all of the ink ejected in one first flushing operation is mixed. The color of the generated ink is constant. Accordingly, in the reuse waste ink tank 28 in which each ink ejected from the recording head 16 by the first flushing operation is stored, the color of the ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is constant, and accordingly, The color of the ink supplied from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14 and stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 is also constant.

  Further, the printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a waste ink viscosity adjusting unit 37. The waste ink viscosity adjusting unit 37 adjusts the viscosity of the ink in the reused waste ink tank 28, and has a diluent tank 38 for storing the diluent and one end connected to the diluent tank 38 and the other end reused. A diluent tube 39 connected to the used waste ink tank 28 and a diluent pump 40 connected to the diluent tube 39 for sucking the diluent stored in the diluent tank 38 and discharging it to the reused waste ink tank 28. And. The reused waste ink tank 28 is provided with a viscosity sensor 41 for detecting the viscosity of the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28, and the viscosity sensor 41 sets the viscosity of the waste ink to a predetermined threshold value. Is detected, the diluent pump 40 is driven, the diluent is supplied from the diluent tank 38 to the reused waste ink tank 28, and the viscosity of the waste ink is adjusted. As described above, in this embodiment, the waste ink viscosity adjusting unit 37 maintains the viscosity of the waste ink in the reused waste ink tank 28 so as not to exceed a predetermined threshold value. Waste ink can be used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printer 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 controls a printer-side control unit 45 that controls each unit of the printer 1 and drives various motors according to the control of the printer-side control unit 45, while controlling the detection state of various sensors on the printer side. And a driver circuit unit 46 for outputting to the unit 45.
The printer-side control unit 45 centrally controls each unit of the printer 1, and stores a CPU as a calculation execution unit, a basic control program that can be executed by the computer, data related to the basic control program, and the like in a nonvolatile manner. A ROM for storing information, a program executed by the CPU, a RAM for temporarily storing data related to the program, and other peripheral circuits.
The driver circuit unit 46 includes a recording head driver 48, a carriage drive driver 49, a paper feed driver 51, a pump driver 53, a cap drive driver 54, a valve driver 55, and a detection circuit 56.

The recording head driver 48 is connected to the recording head 16 and drives an actuator included in the recording head 16 under the control of the printer-side control unit 45 to eject a necessary amount of ink from the nozzle forming surface 17.
The carriage drive driver 49 is connected to the carriage drive motor 50, outputs a drive signal to the carriage drive motor 50, and operates the carriage drive motor 50 by an amount instructed by the printer-side control unit 45. In accordance with the operation of the carriage drive motor 50, the carriage 9 and the recording head 16 mounted on the carriage 9 are scanned.
The paper feed driver 51 is connected to the paper feed motor 52, outputs a drive signal to the paper feed motor 52, and operates the paper feed motor 52 by an amount instructed by the printer-side control unit 45. In accordance with the operation of the paper feed motor 52, the recording medium is transported by a predetermined amount in the transport direction.
The pump driver 53 is connected to the waste ink outflow pump 32, the return pump 35, and the diluent pump 40, and according to the control of the printer-side control unit 45, the waste ink outflow pump 32, the return pump 35, and The diluent pump 40 is driven. The waste ink outflow pump 32, the return pump 35, and the diluent pump 40 are configured as, for example, tube pumps.
The cap drive driver 54 is connected to the cap drive motor 22 and drives the cap drive motor 22 according to the control of the printer-side control unit 45 to raise or lower the cap body 19 by a necessary amount.
The valve driver 55 is connected to the reuse side solenoid valve 30 and the disposal side solenoid valve 31 and opens and closes the reuse side solenoid valve 30 and the disposal side solenoid valve 31 according to the control of the printer side control unit 45.
The detection circuit 56 is connected to the waste ink remaining amount sensor 36 and the viscosity sensor 41, acquires the remaining amount of waste ink in the waste ink cartridge 14 detected by the waste ink remaining amount sensor 36, and controls the printer side control unit. Output to 45. Further, the detection circuit 56 acquires the viscosity of the waste ink in the reused waste ink tank 28 detected by the viscosity sensor 41 and outputs it to the printer-side control unit 45.

A display unit 57 is connected to the printer-side control unit 45, and the lighting state of a plurality of LEDs provided in the display unit 57 can be controlled by the printer-side control unit 45. An input unit 58 is connected to the printer-side control unit 45, and an operation signal is input from the input unit 58 to the printer-side control unit 45 by an operator's operation on a switch provided in the input unit 58.
The communication interface 59 includes a connector connected to the host computer 2 and an interface circuit that executes a predetermined communication protocol via the connector. The communication interface 59 and the host computer 2 are connected in a format conforming to standards such as IEEE1284, USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE1394, and the like. Note that the communication interface 59 may be connected to the host computer 2 via a LAN (Local Area Network) configured by a wired or wireless communication line. In this case, a plurality of host computers 2 may be connected to the printer 1.

On the other hand, the host computer 2 includes a host-side control unit 60, a display unit 61, an input unit 62, a storage unit 33, and a communication interface 63.
The host control unit 60 centrally controls each unit of the host computer 2 and includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, peripheral circuits, and the like, similar to the printer control unit 45.
The display unit 61 includes a display panel such as a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, and displays various types of information on the display panel under the control of the host-side control unit 60.
The input unit 62 is connected to input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, and outputs output signals from these input devices to the host-side control unit 60.
The storage unit 33 includes a hard disk, an EEPROM, and the like, and stores various data in a rewritable manner.
Similar to the communication interface 59 described above, the communication interface 63 transmits and receives various signals to and from the printer 1 under the control of the host-side control unit 60.

The printer-side control unit 45 controls each unit of the driver circuit unit 46 based on an operation signal input from the input unit 58 or control data input from the host computer 2 via the communication interface 59, and an image is recorded on the recording medium. Execute the operation to record.
The host computer 2 stores a printer control program for controlling the printer 1 such as a printer driver, and the host-side control unit 60 of the host computer 2 reads and executes the printer control program. The printer 1 is controlled.

In the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, there are two operation modes, that is, a normal mode and a waste ink utilization mode, as operation modes related to image recording.
In the normal mode, when recording an image on a recording medium, one of ink other than waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14, that is, cyan ink, black ink, yellow ink, and magenta ink is selected. This is an operation mode that uses only ink, and a mode in which dots are formed by selectively ejecting a predetermined amount of each of the above four inks for each dot constituting an image to be recorded on a recording medium, and an image is recorded on the recording medium. It is.
On the other hand, the waste ink utilization mode is a mode in which waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 is used in addition to the above four inks when an image is recorded on a recording medium. If the image recording on the recording medium is executed in the waste ink use mode, the waste ink is used for image recording. Therefore, the reuse of the waste ink can be realized, and the waste ink discarded can be reduced.
Hereinafter, the operation of the printer 1 in the waste ink utilization mode will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing operations of the host computer 2 and the printer 1 in the waste ink utilization mode.
As a premise of the operation in FIG. 3, it is assumed that a predetermined application program is operating in the host computer 2. This application program has a function of displaying an image that can be recorded on a recording medium on the liquid crystal display panel of the display unit 61, and the user operates an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard while referring to the image to record the image. When an instruction to start recording an image on a medium is given, data relating to the image (hereinafter, data relating to an image generated by executing a predetermined application is referred to as “original image data”) is transferred to a printer control program. It has the function to output to. This original image data is bitmap format data, and for each dot arranged in a dot matrix on the data, a red (R), G (green), and B (blue) color component is provided for each dot. It is held as a gradation value (in this embodiment, a gradation value of 0 to 256 levels).
In the following operation, the host-side control unit 60 uses the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 and each color ink to form black dots on the recording medium, and the recording It functions as a discharge amount acquisition unit that acquires the discharge amount of each color ink to be discharged from the recording head 16 and the discharge amount of waste ink when forming black dots on the medium.

  When the start of image recording is instructed by the user, the host-side control unit 60 of the host computer 2 acquires the original image data (step SA1). Next, the host-side control unit 60 performs image processing such as resolution conversion processing and color correction processing on the acquired original image data (step SA2). Next, the host-side control unit 60 refers to the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70 (FIG. 4). Here, the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70. This waste ink use mode LUT 70 uses the data representing the gradation values of red, green, and blue when the color components are expressed in the RGB color system for the dots constituting the original image data. This is a LUT (Look Up Table) that stores in correspondence the ink discharge amount for each ink when forming dots to be expressed by discharging ink from the recording head 16. By referring to the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70, the host-side control unit 60 can acquire the ink discharge amount for each ink for each dot of the original image data.
As shown in FIG. 4, the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70 includes an RGB field 71 and an ink discharge amount field 72. The RGB field 71 is a field for storing data indicating the gradation values of each color of red, green, and blue when a color component is expressed in the RGB color system for one dot, and indicates the gradation value of red. A red field 73 for storing data, a green field 74 for storing data indicating a green gradation value, and a blue field 75 for storing data indicating a blue gradation value are provided. The ink discharge amount field 72 is a field for storing data indicating the gradation value of the ink discharge amount of each ink when the dot is formed on the recording medium for the corresponding dot, and the ink discharge amount of the cyan ink is stored. A cyan field 76 for storing data, a magenta field 77 for storing data indicating the ink discharge amount of magenta ink, a yellow field 78 for storing data indicating the ink discharge amount of yellow ink, and a black ink A black field 79 for storing data indicating the ink discharge amount and a waste ink field 80 for storing data indicating the ink discharge amount of the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 are provided.

  In the present embodiment, for dots constituting an image to be recorded on a recording medium, when the dots are black that can be formed using waste ink, the dots are ejected with ink containing waste ink onto the recording medium. Formed by. In the waste ink use mode LUT 70, when the dot color indicated by the data in the RGB field 71 is black that can be formed using the waste ink, the waste ink use field 72 has a waste ink field. Data indicating the ink ejection amount of each ink (including waste ink) when ink is ejected to form the dots is stored. For example, referring to the top record in FIG. 4, the dot color indicated by each data ((red, blue, green) = (0, 0, 0)) of the RGB field 71 of the record uses waste ink. In the ink discharge amount field 72 of the record, data indicating the ink discharge amount of each ink when forming the dot by discharging the waste ink ((cyan, magenta, yellow, Black, waste ink) = (2, 2, 2, 0, 250)) is stored. Therefore, the dots relating to the top record in FIG. 4 can be formed by ejecting ink corresponding to the ink ejection amount indicated by each data stored in the ink ejection amount field 72 of the record. Here, “black that can be formed using waste ink” does not mean only complete black, but is black, an achromatic color based on black, and a color similar to black. It means all the colors that can be realized using ink. Since the waste ink is formed by mixing cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks, black dots as described above can be formed by subtractively mixing other ink with the waste ink. In addition, as described above, the waste ink has a certain color, and the ink discharge amount of each ink in the case of forming black dots using the waste ink having the certain color is determined in advance by an experiment. Or by simulation.

Returning to FIG. 3, the host-side control unit 60 that refers to the waste ink usage mode LUT 70 in step SA3 generates image data from the original image data based on the waste ink usage mode LUT 70 (step SA4). ). The image data indicates, for each dot arranged in a dot matrix, the discharge amount of each ink of cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and waste ink for each dot as gradation data. Next, the host-side control unit 60 generates control data that causes the printer 1 to execute the operation of recording the image data generated in step SA4 on the image, and outputs the generated control data to the printer-side control unit 45 (step SA5). .
The printer-side control unit 45 to which the control data is input from the host-side control unit 60 controls each unit of the printer 1 based on the input control data, and records the image related to the image data on the recording medium. To do. In recording this image, as described above, black dots that can use waste ink are formed by ejecting ink containing waste ink.

As described above, the printer 1 according to the present embodiment stores different colors of ink (ejection ink) in each of the plurality of ink cartridges, and selectively ejects the ejection ink from the recording head 16 for recording. Dots are formed on the medium. The printer 1 includes a reuse waste ink tank 28 that stores waste ink, and uses the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 and the ink stored in each ink cartridge to perform recording. Black dots are formed on the medium.
According to this, by forming the black dots on the recording medium using the waste ink, the reuse of the waste ink can be realized, and the amount of the waste ink discarded can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 can be ejected from the recording head 16, and the waste ink and each ink are selectively ejected from the recording head 16 to form black dots. Form.
According to this, by ejecting the waste ink and the ejection ink from the recording head 16 to form black dots, the waste ink can be reused, and the amount of waste ink discarded can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the waste ink usage mode LUT 70 is used to eject the ink of each color to be ejected from the recording head 16 and the ejection amount of the waste ink when black dots are formed on the recording medium. To get.
According to this, black dots can be reliably formed by ejecting ejection ink and waste ink.

In the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, there are two operation modes, that is, a normal mode and a waste ink use mode, as operation modes related to image recording. In the normal mode, when an image is recorded on the recording medium, any ink other than the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14, that is, any of cyan ink, black ink, yellow ink, and magenta ink is selected. On the other hand, the waste ink use mode uses waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 in addition to the above four inks when recording an image on a recording medium.
Here, when the waste ink stored in the waste waste ink tank 29 is affected by deterioration of the waste ink itself, dots are formed without using the waste ink and an image is recorded on the recording medium, and the waste ink is used. When dots are formed and an image is recorded on the recording medium, the quality of the image is lower when waste ink is used. Based on this, according to the above, as the operation mode, the waste ink use mode in which the dots are formed on the recording medium using the waste ink, and the dots are formed on the recording medium without using the waste ink. By providing the normal mode, any mode can be selected according to the user's request for image quality, and the convenience for the user is improved. For example, when printing for self-testing, trial printing with text, etc., when printing strikethrough, etc., specify the waste ink usage mode, and when printing images etc., specify the normal mode, etc. Can do.

  In the first embodiment described above, the reuse waste ink tank 28 is configured to store only the ink ejected by the first flushing operation. This is to keep the color of the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 constant. Therefore, if the color of the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is kept constant, the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is changed to the ink ejected by the first flushing operation. Not exclusively. For example, by making the ratio of the amount of each ink discharged from the recording head 16 by the cleaning operation the same as that of the first flushing operation, the ink discharged from the recording head by the cleaning operation is reused in the reuse waste ink tank 28. Can be stored.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
In the following description, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
Since the configurations of the printer 1b and the host computer 2b according to the present embodiment are the same as the configurations of the printer 1 and the host computer 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the description thereof will be omitted with the aid of FIGS. .
In the first embodiment, the discharge amount of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink in one first flushing operation is constant, and therefore, only the ink ejected by the first flushing operation flows into the reuse waste. The color of the waste ink stored in the ink tank 28 was constant. However, in the present embodiment, the discharge amount of each ink discharged in one first flushing operation is not constant, and therefore the color of waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is not constant, and The color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 is not constant. Based on this, in the present embodiment, the black ink is formed on the recording medium by appropriately supplementing the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 with other ink.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating functions of the host-side control unit 60 that executes the printer control program. The functions shown in FIG. 5 are realized by cooperation between software and hardware, such as a CPU executing a program.
Each time the first flushing operation is performed, the ejection amount acquisition unit 82 acquires the amount of ink ejected in the first flushing operation for each ink. As described above, in the first flushing operation, ink is ejected from the nozzle holes formed in the nozzle forming surface 17, but in the present embodiment, the nozzle holes in which ink is ejected for each first flushing operation are provided. A selected amount of ink is ejected from the selected nozzle hole. Therefore, although the ink amount of each ink is different for each first flushing operation, it is possible to detect which amount of ink is ejected for each first flushing operation. The discharge amount acquisition unit 82 acquires the discharge amount of each ink in the first flushing operation every time the first flushing operation is performed. The discharge amount of each ink acquired by the discharge amount acquisition unit 82 is stored in the storage unit 33 as data.
The return amount acquisition unit 83 acquires the amount of supplied waste ink every time the return pump 35 is driven and supplied from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14. In the present embodiment, the amount of waste ink supplied from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14 by driving the return pump 35 once is constant, and the return amount acquisition unit 83 Each time the waste ink is supplied to 14, the amount of waste ink to be supplied is acquired. The amount of waste ink acquired by the return amount acquisition unit 83 is stored in the storage unit 33 as data.
In this embodiment, when waste ink is supplied from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14, an operation similar to the second flushing operation is executed, and all the waste ink is temporarily removed from the waste ink cartridge 14. After being discharged and the waste ink cartridge 14 is emptied, waste ink is supplied from the reuse waste ink tank 28. Therefore, the color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 and the color of the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 are always the same.
The ink ratio acquisition unit 84 is based on the ink amount of each ink discharged by the first flushing operation acquired by the discharge amount acquisition unit 82 and the supply amount of waste ink acquired by the return amount acquisition unit 83. A ratio of the ink amounts of the respective inks in the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is obtained. Note that the color of the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is uniquely determined by the ratio of the amount of ink of each color in the waste ink.
The correction LUT generation unit 85 corrects the waste ink use mode LUT 70 based on the ink amount ratio of each ink in the reuse waste ink tank 28 acquired by the ink ratio acquisition unit 84 to generate a correction LUT 86. Here, the correction LUT 86 will be described.

The correction LUT 86 corrects each data in the ink discharge amount field 72 of the waste ink use mode LUT 70 to data indicating the discharge amount to be discharged when the waste ink currently stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 is used. LUT. For example, with respect to a dot whose RGB color system gradation value is (red, blue, green) = (0, 0, 0), the dot is set using the waste ink currently stored in the waste ink cartridge 14. When the gradation value of the ink ejection amount of each ink when forming is (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, waste ink) = (3, 1, 4, 0, 240), the correction LUT generation unit 85 Each data in the ink discharge amount field 72 of the corresponding record of the ink use mode LUT 70 is corrected to become the data indicating the gradation value described above. The printer control program has an algorithm for correcting each data in the ink discharge amount field 72 of the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70 based on the ratio of the ink amounts of the respective inks in the reuse waste ink tank 28. Thus, the function of the correction LUT generation unit 85 is realized by this algorithm.
In this embodiment, the correction LUT generation unit 85 corrects the correction LUT 86 according to the color of waste ink currently stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 (= color of waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14). Is appropriately generated.

Next, the operation of the host computer 2b according to the present embodiment, particularly the operation from the acquisition of the original image data to the generation of the control data for recording the image related to the original image data on the recording medium, is described with reference to FIG. This is explained with the aid of. During operation, the host-side control unit 60 uses the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 and each color ink to form black dots on the recording medium, and the recording medium. It functions as a discharge amount acquisition unit that acquires the discharge amount of each color ink to be discharged from the recording head 16 and the discharge amount of waste ink when forming black dots.
The operation of the host computer 2b according to this embodiment is different from the operation of the host computer 2 according to the first embodiment shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 only in the operation according to step SA3 of the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, in the first embodiment, in step SA3, the host-side control unit 60 refers to the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70, but in this embodiment, the host-side control unit 60 refers to the correction LUT 86. As described above, since the correction LUT 86 is an LUT corresponding to the color of waste ink currently stored in the waste ink cartridge 14, image data is generated with reference to the correction LUT 86 (step SA4). Thus, appropriate image data reflecting the current waste ink color can be generated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the ink ratio acquisition unit 84 acquires the discharge amount and return amount of the ink of each color discharged from the recording head 16 by the first flushing operation acquired by the discharge amount acquisition unit 82. Based on the amount of waste ink supplied to the waste ink cartridge 14 from the reused waste ink tank 28 acquired by the unit 83, the ratio of the amount of ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 (= The ratio of the amount of ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 is detected, and a correction LUT 86 is generated based on the detected ratio. The host-side control unit 60 generates image data with reference to the correction LUT 86, and the printer 1 records an image on a recording medium based on the image data.
According to this, based on the ratio of the amount of ejection ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the current waste ink cartridge 14, correction that appropriately reflects the color of the waste ink in the current reuse waste ink tank 28. The LUT 86 can be generated, and by acquiring the ink discharge amount of each ink (including waste ink) for each dot of the image based on the correction LUT 86, the discharge amount of each ink can be appropriately acquired.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described.
In the following description, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the printer 1c according to the present embodiment.
The printer 1c differs from the printer 1 shown in the first embodiment in the following points. That is, a photographing device 88 for optically detecting the color of waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is provided in the reuse waste ink tank 28. The photographing device 88 is a device for photographing the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28, and includes a photographing unit 89 (FIG. 7) having an imaging element such as a CCD image sensor and a CMOS image sensor, a photographing lens, and the like. ing.
Further, in the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the amount of each ink ejected by the first flushing operation is different for each first flushing operation. Further, unlike the second embodiment, the ink ejection amount in the first flushing operation is not managed, and therefore the ink amount of each ink ejected from the recording head 16 is not detected by one first flushing operation. Unlike the first embodiment, the waste ink discharged from the recording head 16 by the cleaning operation also flows into the reuse waste ink tank 28 and is stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28. Therefore, in this embodiment, compared with the first embodiment, although it is possible to reduce the waste ink flowing into the waste waste ink tank 29 and reduce the waste ink discarded, the reuse waste ink tank 28 The color of the stored waste ink is not constant, and the ratio of the ink amount of each ink in the waste ink stored in the waste waste ink tank 29 cannot be detected.
Further, in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when it is detected that the remaining amount of waste ink in the waste ink cartridge 14 is below a predetermined threshold based on the detection value of the waste ink remaining amount sensor 36. In addition, the return pump 35 is driven, and the waste ink is supplied from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14 as the return pump 35 is driven. At this time, in this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, an operation similar to the second flushing operation is executed, and all the waste ink is once discharged from the waste ink cartridge 14 and the waste ink cartridge 14 is emptied. Above, waste ink is supplied from the reuse waste ink tank 28. Therefore, the color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 and the color of the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 are always the same.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printer 1c.
The printer-side control unit 45 is connected to the imaging unit 89, converts data input from an image sensor provided in the imaging unit 89 into data of a predetermined format, and outputs the data as captured image data to the host-side control unit 60.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram schematically illustrating functions of the host-side control unit 60 that executes the printer control program. The functions shown in FIG. 8 are realized by cooperation of software and hardware, such as a CPU executing a program.
The image acquisition unit 90 acquires the above-described captured image data.
The color detection unit 91 (waste ink color detection means) analyzes the captured image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 90 and detects the color of the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28. For example, the color detection unit 91 detects the color of the waste ink by obtaining the RGB value for a specific area in the data area indicating the waste ink image in the captured image data.
The correction LUT generation unit 92 generates a correction LUT 86 in which the waste ink use mode LUT 70 is corrected based on the color of the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 acquired by the color detection unit 91. As described above, the correction LUT 86 uses the waste ink currently stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 for each data in the ink ejection amount field 72 of the waste ink utilization mode LUT 70 to determine the ink to be ejected. The LUT is corrected to data indicating the discharge amount. The printer control program has an algorithm for correcting each data in the ink discharge amount field 72 of the waste ink use mode LUT 70 based on the color of waste ink in the reuse waste ink tank 28. The function of the correction LUT generation unit 85 is realized.
In the present embodiment, the correction LUT generation unit 85 appropriately generates a correction LUT 86 corresponding to the color of the waste ink currently stored in the waste ink cartridge 14.

  The host computer 2c according to the present embodiment performs substantially the same operation as the host computer 2b according to the second embodiment. That is, the host-side control unit 60 refers to the correction LUT 86 and generates image data based on the original image data. As described above, the correction LUT 86 is currently an LUT corresponding to the color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14, and by generating image data with reference to the correction LUT 86, Appropriate image data reflecting the color of the waste ink can be generated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the color detection unit 91 optically detects the color of the waste ink stored in the waste waste ink tank 29, and the correction LUT 86 is based on the detected color of the waste ink. Is generated. Then, the host-side control unit 60 acquires the ejection amount of the ejection ink to be ejected from the recording head 16 and the ejection amount of the waste ink when forming black dots on the recording medium based on the correction LUT 86.
According to this, based on the color of the waste ink detected optically, the ejection amount of the ejection ink to be ejected from the recording head 16 when forming black dots on the recording medium, and the ejection of the waste ink By acquiring the amount, it is possible to appropriately acquire the discharge amount of each ink.

  In the present embodiment, the color of the waste ink stored in the waste waste ink tank 29 is detected using the photographing device 88. For example, the red wavelength, the blue wavelength, and the green wavelength are detected. A color sensor including a photodiode having sensitivity may be provided, and the color of the waste ink may be detected using the color sensor. A light emitting element, a light receiving element, and a color filter may be used.

<Fourth embodiment>
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.
In the following description, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
Since the configurations of the printer 1d and the host computer 2d according to the present embodiment are the same as the configurations of the printer 1 and the host computer 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the description thereof will be omitted with reference to FIGS. .
The printer 1d and the host computer 2d according to the present embodiment are characterized by mixing appropriate amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow inks with the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28. This is in that black ink is generated in the ink tank 28.

Next, the operation of the printer 1d and the host computer 2d, particularly the operation when the cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are mixed with the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 to generate black ink. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the reused waste ink tank 28 stores only the ink ejected by the first flushing operation. It is assumed that the ink ejection amount of each ink ejected in one first flushing operation is determined in advance. Furthermore, information on the timing and number of times the first flushing operation is performed is stored in the storage unit 33 as data.
In the following operation, the host side control unit 60 mixes cyan, magenta, and yellow ink with waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 to generate black ink. And, in order to change the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 to black ink, it functions as a mixing amount acquisition means for acquiring the amount of ink for each color to be mixed with the waste ink.

Referring to FIG. 9, the host-side control unit 60 determines whether or not it is necessary to supply waste ink from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14 (step SB1). When the host-side control unit 60 detects that the remaining amount of waste ink in the waste ink cartridge 14 falls below a predetermined threshold based on the output value of the waste ink remaining amount sensor 36, the host-side control unit 60 converts the waste ink from the waste ink to the waste ink cartridge. 14, it is determined that it is necessary to supply waste ink to 14. The output value of the waste ink remaining amount sensor 36 is output from the printer-side control unit 45 to the host-side control unit 60.
When it becomes necessary to supply waste ink from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14 (step SB1: YES), the host-side control unit 60 controls the printer-side control unit 45 to control the recording head 16. Move to home position HP (step SB2). At this time, the cap body 19 is not raised, and the recording head 16 is not stored in the recording head storage portion 21 of the cap body 19.
Next, the host-side control unit 60 calculates the ink amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow to be mixed with the waste ink in order to make the waste ink currently stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 black. Step SB3). The operation in step SB3 will be described in detail. If cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are mixed at a predetermined ratio, black ink can be generated by subtractive color mixing (in this embodiment, cyan, magenta, and (It is assumed that black ink can be generated by setting the yellow ink to the same ratio.) Based on this, in step SB3, the host-side control unit 60 determines the cyan in the waste ink currently stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 based on the timing and the number of times the first flushing operation is performed. , Magenta, and yellow ink amounts, and the cyan, magenta, and yellow ink amounts required to make the ratios of cyan, magenta, and yellow inks the same. Calculate the minimum value.

Next, the host-side control unit 60 controls the printer-side control unit 45 to discharge each ink of cyan, magenta, and yellow from the recording head 16 by the ink amount calculated in step SB3 (step SB4). The ink ejected from the recording head 16 in step SB4 is stored in the cap body 19.
Next, the host-side control unit 60 controls the printer-side control unit 45 to drive the waste ink outflow pump 32 after closing the disposal-side solenoid valve 31 and opening the reuse-side solenoid valve 30. Then, the ink stored in the cap body 19 flows into the reuse waste ink tank 28 (step SB5). Along with this inflow, the ink discharged from the recording head 16 in step SB4 is mixed with the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28, and black ink is generated. In the following description, ink generated by mixing ink in the reused waste ink tank 28 is referred to as “composite black ink”, and the black color of this composite black ink is referred to as “composite black”. And
Next, the host-side control unit 60 drives the return pump 35 to supply the composite black ink from the reused waste ink tank 28 to the waste ink cartridge 14. As a result, the composite black ink is stored in the waste ink cartridge 14.

Next, an operation at the time of recording an image on a recording medium in the waste ink utilization mode of the printer 1d and the host computer 2d according to the present embodiment will be described.
In the waste ink use mode, the composite black ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 is used as a substitute for the black ink stored in the black cartridge 11 when forming black dots on the recording medium. For example, when forming a black dot represented by a gradation value of (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) = (0, 0, 0, 240) in the normal mode (cyan, magenta, yellow, composite black) = The composite black ink is ejected onto the recording medium by the ejection amount indicated by the gradation value of (0, 0, 0, 240) to form dots. As described above, in the waste ink use mode, the composite black ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 is ejected to the recording medium to form black dots. Thereby, the reuse of the waste ink can be realized, and the amount of the waste ink to be discarded can be reduced. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the black dots can be formed by discharging the composite black ink stored in the waste ink cartridge 14, the above-described waste ink use mode LUT 70 and the correction LUT 86 are used. Compared with the first to third embodiments, black dots can be formed efficiently.

As described above, in this embodiment, the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is mixed with cyan, magenta, and yellow inks to generate composite black ink that is black ink. The generated composite black ink is supplied to and stored in the waste ink cartridge 14 and is ejected from the recording head 16 when forming black dots on the recording medium to form black dots.
According to this, by discharging the composite black ink generated using the waste liquid from the recording head 16 to form black dots, the waste ink can be reused and the amount of waste ink discarded is reduced. it can.

In this embodiment, the host-side control unit 60 mixes the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 with the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 in order to make the black ink. The amount of ink of each color to be calculated is calculated and acquired. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a mixing amount acquisition unit.
According to this, black ink can be reliably generated by mixing the ejection ink with the waste ink by the amount acquired by the mixing amount acquisition means.

In this embodiment, the amount of ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is acquired based on the amount of ink of each color ejected from the recording head 16 by the first flushing operation. Based on the acquired amount of ink of each color, the amount of ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is calculated and acquired.
According to this, on the basis of the amount of ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28, each necessary for making the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 black ink. The amount of ink can be acquired appropriately.

  In the present embodiment, the amount of each ink ejected by the first flushing operation is constant, and the amount of each ink in the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is acquired using this. It was. However, even if the amount of each ink ejected by the first flushing operation is not constant, if the ink ejection amount for each first flushing operation can be obtained as in the second embodiment, the reuse waste ink tank 28 The amount of each ink in the stored waste ink can be acquired, and the amount of each ink necessary for generating the composite black ink can be acquired based on the amount of each ink. That is, the means for acquiring the amount of each ink in the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is arbitrary, and as long as the amount of each ink in the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 can be acquired, The present invention is applicable.

<Fifth Embodiment>
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described.
In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.
Since the configurations of the printer 1e and the host computer 2e according to the present embodiment are the same as those of the printer 1 and the host computer 2 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the descriptions thereof will be omitted with the aid of FIGS.
A feature of the printer 1e and the host computer 2e according to the present embodiment is that the color of the waste ink stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is detected using the imaging device 88, and the reuse waste is based on the detected color. An appropriate amount of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink is supplied into the ink tank 28, and composite black ink is generated in the reused waste ink tank 28.
In the present embodiment, as in the third embodiment, the amount of each ink ejected by the first flushing operation differs for each first flushing operation. Further, the ink discharge amount in the first flushing operation is not managed, and therefore the ink amount of each ink discharged from the recording head 16 is not detected by one first flushing operation. Further, the waste ink discharged from the recording head 16 by the cleaning operation also flows into the reuse waste ink tank 28 and is stored in the reuse waste ink tank 28. Accordingly, the color of the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is not constant, and the ink amount of each ink in the waste ink stored in the waste waste ink tank 29 cannot be detected.

Next, the operation of the host computer 2e, particularly the operation when supplying appropriate amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink to the reuse waste ink tank 28 and generating composite black ink in the reuse waste ink tank 28 is shown. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following operation, the host computer 2e obtains the amount of ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 based on the optically detected waste ink color. It functions as a quantity acquisition means.
The operation of the host computer 2e differs from the operation of the host computer 2d according to the fourth embodiment shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 only in the operation of step SB3.
Specifically, when acquiring the amount of each ink to be mixed in the reused waste ink tank 28 in order to generate the composite black ink in Step SB3, the host computer 2e performs the following operation to perform the mixing. Get the amount of ink for each ink to power.
That is, the host-side control unit 60 of the host computer 2e analyzes the captured image data generated based on the output data of the imaging device 88, and uses the reused waste ink tank 28 by the same method as in the third embodiment described above. The color of the waste ink stored in is acquired. Next, the host-side control unit 60 acquires the amount of each ink to be mixed in the reused waste ink tank 28 in order to generate the composite black ink based on the acquired waste ink color. For example, a sensor that detects the remaining amount of waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is provided in advance in the printer 2e. Furthermore, the storage unit 33 of the host computer 2e has the color of waste ink, the remaining amount of waste ink, and the color, and each ink of cyan, magenta, and black is added to the remaining amount of waste ink. A table for storing the amount of mixing of each ink in a case where the composite black ink is supplied to generate the black ink is stored. Then, the host-side control unit 60 refers to the table based on the remaining amount of waste ink stored in the current reused waste ink tank 28 and the color, and acquires the mixing amount of each ink.
Further, for example, the printer control program includes a program related to an algorithm for calculating the amount of each ink based on the color of the waste ink and the remaining amount of the waste ink, and each program is executed by executing the program. Get the ink mix.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the color of the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is optically detected using the photographing device 88, and based on the detected color of the waste ink, The amount of ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 is acquired.
According to this, the amount of ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the reused waste ink tank 28 to generate the composite black ink is obtained based on the color of the waste ink detected optically. By doing so, it is possible to appropriately acquire the amount of ink of each color to be mixed.

<Sixth Embodiment>
Next, a sixth embodiment will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a printer 1f according to the sixth embodiment. In the following description, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The printer 1 f is characterized in that each ink is directly supplied from the cyan cartridge 10, the black cartridge 11, the yellow cartridge 12, and the magenta cartridge 13 to the reused waste ink tank 28 via the tube. In this, composite black ink is generated.
The printer 1f is different from the printer 1 according to the first embodiment in the following configuration.
That is, one end of a cyan outflow tube 94 is connected to the cyan cartridge 10 storing cyan ink, and a reuse waste ink tank 28 is connected to the other end of the cyan outflow tube 94. Connected to the cyan outflow tube 94 is a cyan outflow pump 95 that sucks cyan ink stored in the cyan cartridge 10 and discharges it to the reused waste ink tank 28. Similarly, one end of a yellow outflow tube 96 and a magenta outflow tube 97 is connected to the yellow cartridge 12 and the magenta cartridge 13, and in addition to the yellow outflow tube 96 and the magenta outflow tube 97. A reuse waste ink tank 28 is connected to the end. The yellow ink and the magenta ink stored in the yellow cartridge 12 and the magenta cartridge 13 are sucked into the yellow outflow tube 96 and the magenta outflow tube 97 and discharged to the reused waste ink tank 28. A yellow outflow pump 98 and a magenta outflow pump 99 are connected.

Next, operations of the printer 1 f and the host computer 2 f according to the present embodiment, particularly operations when supplying each ink to the reuse waste ink tank 28 and generating composite black ink in the reuse waste ink tank 28. Will be described.
In the present embodiment, the host-side control unit 60 of the host computer 2f uses the same method as in the fourth embodiment described above to generate the composite black ink in the reuse waste ink tank 28. 28, the ink amount of each ink to be supplied is acquired. Next, the host-side control unit 60 drives the cyan outflow pump 95, the yellow outflow pump 98, and the magenta outflow pump 99 based on the acquired ink amount of each ink, and acquires the ink amount acquired from each cartridge. The remaining amount of ink is supplied to the reused waste ink tank 28. As a result, composite black ink is generated in the reused waste ink tank 28.
Even in the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments can be obtained. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to supply each ink to the reuse waste ink tank 28, the recording head 16 is moved to the home position HP, a predetermined amount of ink is ejected, the waste-side solenoid valve 30, It is not necessary to control each solenoid valve of the use side solenoid valve 31, and composite black ink can be generated in the reuse waste ink tank 28 quickly and easily.

<Seventh embodiment>
Next, a seventh embodiment will be described.
FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a printer 1g according to the seventh embodiment together with a host computer 2g. In the following description, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The feature of the printer 1g is that each time the first flushing operation is performed, according to the ratio of the ink of each color ejected by the first flushing operation, each ejected ink is distributed to different tanks, and the allocated ink is appropriately The composite black ink is generated in the reused waste ink tank 28 by supplying it to the reused waste ink tank 28.
The printer 1g is different from the printer 1 according to the first embodiment in the following configuration.
That is, the waste ink outflow tube 25 is branched into six tubes at the branch point 100. The first tank 101 is connected to the first inflow tube 101a that is one of the branched tubes. Similarly, the second to sixth tanks 102 to 106 are connected to the second to sixth inflow tubes 102a to 106a. Further, the first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 are connected to the first to sixth outflow tubes 101 b to 106 b, and the first to sixth outflow tubes 101 b to 106 b are coupled at the coupling point 108. One end of the black generation tube 110 is connected from the coupling point 108, and the other end of the black generation tube 110 is connected to the reuse waste ink tank 28.
Each of the first to sixth inflow tubes 101a to 106a is connected to first to sixth inflow side on-off valves 101c to 106c for passing or blocking ink flowing into each tank. The opening and closing of the first to sixth inflow side on-off valves 101c to 106c is controlled based on the control of the printer-side control unit 45.
The first to sixth outflow tubes 101b to 106b are connected to first to sixth outflow side opening / closing valves 101d to 106d for passing or blocking ink flowing into the reused waste ink tank 28, respectively. Yes. The opening and closing of the first to sixth outflow side opening / closing valves 101d to 106d are controlled based on the control of the printer side control unit 45.
A black generation pump 111 for sucking ink stored in the first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 and discharging it to the reused waste ink tank 28 is connected to the downstream side of the coupling point 108.
The first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 are provided with first to sixth detection sensors 101e to 106e that detect the remaining amount of ink stored in each tank. The detection values of these sensors are input to the printer-side control unit 45 and also input to the host-side control unit 60 by the printer-side control unit 45.

Ink is distributed to each of the first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 as follows. That is, in the present embodiment, the ratio of the ink discharge amounts of the cyan, magenta, and yellow inks in the first flushing operation is different for each first flushing operation. For example, there are cases where cyan>magenta> yellow, and there are cases where magenta>cyan> yellow.
The first tank 101 stores the ink ejected by the first flushing operation when the ratio of the amount of each ink ejected by the first flushing is cyan>magenta> yellow. Ink flow from the cap body 19 into the first tank 101 is performed after the first inflow side on-off valve 101c is opened and the second to sixth inflow side on-off valves 102c to 106c are closed. This is executed by driving the waste ink outflow pump 32.
Similarly, ink for cyan>yellow> magenta is provided in the second tank 102, ink in the case of magenta>cyan> yellow is provided in the third tank 103, and magenta>yellow> is provided in the fourth tank 104. In the case of cyan, the fifth tank 105 stores ink when yellow>magenta> cyan, and the sixth tank 106 stores ink when yellow>cyan> magenta.

Next, the operation of the printer 1g according to the present embodiment, in particular, the ink distributed to the first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 is appropriately supplied to the reuse waste ink tank 28, and the composite is performed in the reuse waste ink tank 28. The operation when generating black ink will be described.
In the present embodiment, the ratio of the combination of the ink stored in the first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 for generating the composite black in the reuse waste ink tank 28 and the amount in the case of the combination is a preliminary experiment. Or obtained in advance by simulation or the like. For example, by combining each ink at a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 1 ink stored in the first tank 101: ink stored in the third tank 103: ink stored in the fifth tank 105 = 1: 1: 1 Can be generated, and so on. In the present embodiment, it is not assumed that a clear black color is realized as the composite black, and the composite black includes a color close to black.
Then, the host-side control unit 60 detects the remaining amount of ink stored in the first to sixth tanks 101 to 106 based on the detection values of the first to sixth detection sensors 101e to 106e, and outputs the composite black. When a combination of inks necessary for generation is established, generation of composite black is started. Specifically, with the outflow side on / off valve corresponding to the tank corresponding to the combination opened, and the other outflow side on / off valves closed, the black generation pump 111 is driven, The ink is caused to flow into the reused waste ink tank 28. The adjustment of the amount of ink flowing into the reused waste ink tank 28 is performed by adjusting the time during which the outflow side on-off valve is open and the drive time of the black generation pump 111. As a result, the ink necessary for generating the composite black ink flows into the reuse waste ink tank 28 and is mixed in the reuse waste ink tank 28 to generate the composite black ink.
Here, the generated composite black ink is supplied to the waste ink cartridge 14 and, as in the fourth embodiment described above, is ejected to the recording medium instead of the black ink in the waste ink utilization mode to form black dots. Used.
Even in the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve the same effects as in the above-described embodiments, for example, reduction of waste ink to be discarded.

The above-described embodiment is merely an aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the host computer 2 controls the printer 1 to execute the waste ink utilization mode, generate composite black in the reuse waste ink tank 28, etc. These operations may be executed. In this case, the printer 1 functions as a recording device, and the printer-side control unit 45 functions as a black forming unit, a discharge amount acquisition unit, a black ink generation unit, and a mixture amount acquisition unit.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g ... Printer, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g ... Host computer, 16 ... Recording head, 28 ... Reused waste ink tank (waste ink storage means , 45... Printer side control unit (black forming means, discharge amount acquisition means, black ink generation means, mixture amount acquisition means), 60... Host side control section (black formation means, discharge amount acquisition means, black ink generation means, Mixing amount acquisition unit), 91... Color detection unit (waste ink color detection unit).

Claims (12)

A recording apparatus that stores discharge inks of different colors and selectively discharges the stored discharge ink from a recording head to form pixels on a recording medium,
Waste ink storage means for storing waste ink;
A recording apparatus, comprising: black forming means for forming black pixels on a recording medium using discharge ink and waste ink stored by the waste ink storage means. The recording head is configured to be able to discharge waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means,
The black forming means includes
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein black ink is formed by selectively ejecting ejection ink and waste ink from the recording head.   The discharge amount acquisition means for acquiring the discharge amount of the discharge ink of each color to be discharged from the recording head and the discharge amount of waste ink when forming black pixels on the recording medium. 2. The recording apparatus according to 2. The discharge amount acquisition means includes
Based on the ejection amount of each color ink ejected from the recording head, the ratio of the ejection ink amount of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means is detected, and based on the detected ratio, the recording is performed. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a discharge amount of discharge ink and a discharge amount of waste ink to be discharged from the recording head when black pixels are formed on a medium are acquired. A waste ink color detecting means for optically detecting the color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink storing means;
The discharge amount acquisition means includes
Based on the color of the waste ink detected by the waste ink color detection means, the ejection amount of the ejection ink to be ejected from the recording head when forming black pixels on the recording medium, and the ejection amount of the waste ink The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: The recording head is configured to be able to discharge waste ink stored in the waste ink storage means,
A black ink generating means for generating black ink by mixing the ejection ink with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storing means;
The black forming means includes
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the black ink generated by the black ink generating unit is ejected from the recording head to form black pixels on the recording medium.   The recording according to claim 6, wherein the black ink generation unit includes a mixing amount acquisition unit that acquires an amount of ejection ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit. apparatus. The mixing amount acquisition means includes
Based on the discharge amount of the ink of each color discharged from the recording head, the amount of discharge ink of each color in the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit is detected, and based on the detected amount of discharge ink The recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the amount of ejection ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit is acquired. A waste ink color detecting means for optically detecting the color of the waste ink stored in the waste ink storing means;
The mixing amount acquisition means includes
The amount of discharge ink of each color to be mixed with the waste ink stored in the waste ink storage unit is acquired based on the color of the waste ink detected by the waste ink color detection unit. 8. The recording device according to 7.   The operation mode includes a mode for forming pixels on a recording medium using waste ink and a mode for forming pixels on a recording medium without using waste ink. The recording apparatus according to any one of Items 9 to 9. A control method for a recording apparatus that stores discharge inks of different colors and selectively discharges the stored discharge ink from a recording head to form pixels on a recording medium,
A control method for a recording apparatus, comprising: storing waste ink; and forming black pixels on a recording medium using the stored waste ink and ejection ink. Control for controlling a recording apparatus that includes waste ink storage means for storing waste ink, stores discharge inks of different colors, and selectively discharges the stored discharge ink from a recording head to form pixels on a recording medium A program to be executed by a department,
The control unit
A program that functions as color mixture forming means for forming black pixels on a recording medium, using ejection ink and waste ink stored by the waste ink storage means.

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