JP2014024259A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing recording with a high recording quality.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus compares an amount of waste ink stored therein with an amount of waste ink actually discharged to a waste ink tank, gives a warning to a user when the amounts of the waste inks differ from each other, and then performs processing at the time of abnormality.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink, and more particularly, to an image recording apparatus that performs startup processing by determining whether the apparatus is tilted when power is turned off.

  In a serial-type image recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink while reciprocating the recording head, the condition of the recording head may gradually deteriorate when the recording process is continuously performed. In order to prevent this problem, a process called cleaning is generally used. In this process, ink is forcibly discharged by suction from the discharge port of the recording head (hereinafter referred to as recovery process). There is also a process for keeping the state of the recording head good by discharging a certain amount of ink that does not contribute to recording (hereinafter also referred to as preliminary discharge). Although these processes make it possible to keep the state of the recording head in good condition, it is necessary to provide a waste ink tank in the apparatus for collecting and storing the waste ink discharged during the process.

  Usually, an image recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink is provided with a detachable waste ink tank so that the waste ink does not overflow from the waste ink tank. However, when the image recording apparatus main body is tilted or laid down, waste ink may overflow from the waste ink tank.

  In the image recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, an ink detection member is disposed in an ink jet recording apparatus having a waste ink storage portion, and a change in state caused by leaked ink is detected by detection means in the recording apparatus. Thus, the ink leakage is reported. As a result, even if ink leaks into the apparatus, the ink does not leak out of the electrical unit or the recording apparatus, and the user is notified of the ink leak.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-340089

  However, when the image recording apparatus main body is tilted or laid down, there is a problem that bubbles enter the recording head. If air bubbles enter the recording head, the air bubbles may hinder ink ejection, and high-quality recording may not be possible. Further, when the image recording apparatus main body is tilted, the carriage mounted for scanning the recording head may also be displaced. If recording is performed with the position shifted, ink cannot be ejected to a desired position on the recording medium, and there is a concern that the recording quality will deteriorate.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of recording with high recording quality.

  Therefore, an image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording unit that performs recording based on recording data by a recording head mounted on a carriage to eject ink onto a recording medium, and an ejection from the recording unit. Waste ink receiving means for receiving waste ink, which is ink that does not contribute to recording, the amount of waste ink in the waste ink receiving means, and the amount of waste ink ejected by the recording means in the recording data; In an image recording apparatus, comprising: a comparison means for comparing the image data; a recovery means for performing a recovery process for recovering the ejection state of the recording head; and an adjustment means for adjusting the position of the carriage. When the amount of waste ink in the ink receiving means is compared with the amount of waste ink ejected by the recording means in the recording data, The recovery means performs the recovery process longer than when the comparison means determines that they match, and the adjustment means adjusts the position of the carriage at a slower speed than when the comparison means determines that they match. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, the image recording apparatus compares the amount of waste ink in the waste ink receiving means with the amount of waste ink ejected by the recording means in the recording data by the comparison means. As a result, when it is determined that they do not match, the recovery means performs recovery processing longer than when the comparison means determines that they match, and the adjustment means adjusts the carriage position at a slower speed than when the comparison means determines that they match. To do. As a result, an image forming apparatus capable of recording with high recording quality can be realized.

It is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the image recording apparatus which can apply this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration when the image recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is viewed from the side. It is a schematic diagram showing the structure at the time of inclining the image recording apparatus in FIG. It is the schematic diagram showing the state which returned the inclined image processing apparatus to the horizontal. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the image recording device which implemented this invention. It is a flowchart showing the movement detection process of an image recording device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be further combined with them, or can be modified or modified within the concept of the present invention described in the claims. Naturally, it can be applied to other applicable technologies.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording apparatus to which the present embodiment can be applied. The recording head 2 records an image on the recording medium 1 conveyed in the direction of arrow A by ejecting ink while reciprocating in the direction of arrow B in the figure. A carriage 3 for mounting the recording head 2 is held by a guide 4 and is configured to be movable along the guide 4 by a drive belt 5. The drive belt 5 is driven in the left-right direction by a drive motor (not shown) in the drawing, and the carriage 3 moves in the left-right direction by being pulled by the drive belt 5. The encoder film 6 is used to specify the position of the carriage 3, and can be specified by reading the encoder sensor 7 mounted on the carriage 3. A platen 8 that supports the recording medium 1 during recording. Waste ink receptacles 9 to 13 are provided on the platen 8, and the waste ink receptacles 9 to 13 are holes that penetrate to the bottom of the platen 8. Waste ink ejected from the recording head 2 is ejected toward one of the waste ink receiving ports 9 to 13, guided to a waste ink tank 14 provided under the platen 8, and entered into the waste ink tank 14. Waste ink is stored.

  When the recording process is continuously performed, the condition of the recording head gradually deteriorates, and there is a possibility that the image recording is not performed normally. Therefore, the state (discharge state) of the recording head is good by continuously discharging a certain amount of ink (not contributing to recording) toward any of the waste ink receiving ports 9 to 13 without aiming at image recording. It is necessary to periodically perform a process called so-called preliminary discharge. Waste ink discharged during the preliminary discharge is collected and stored in the waste ink tank 14.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration when the image recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is viewed from the side. The waste ink weight sensor 16 can measure the amount of waste ink 15 stored in the waste ink tank 14. The method by which the waste ink weight sensor 16 detects the amount of the waste ink 15 is mechanical (water surface height measurement, weight measurement, etc.), electrical (electric resistance measurement, capacitance measurement, etc.), optical, etc. Any method such as a photo sensor or a water surface reflection measurement method may be used. This patent employs gravimetric capacitive sensing. The weight of the waste ink 15 detected by the waste ink weight sensor 16 is converted into an electric signal, and the amount of waste ink is calculated by detecting a change in the electric signal.

  The waste ink tank 17 is a waste ink tank for receiving waste ink that has passed through the waste ink receiving ports 12 to 13, and stores waste ink 18. The waste ink weight sensor 19 can measure the amount of waste ink 18 stored in the waste ink tank 17. The waste ink receiver 20 is provided to receive waste ink for preventing the waste ink overflowing from the waste ink tank from leaking into the image recording apparatus. When the waste inks 15 and 18 overflow from the waste ink tanks 14 and 17, the waste ink is stored in the waste ink receiver 20, and the waste ink does not leak into the image recording apparatus. Ink discharged from the ink discharge ports 21 to 23 provided in the recording head 2 is discharged toward one of the waste ink receiving ports 9 to 13 and stored in one of the waste ink tanks 14 and 17.

  The amount of waste ink stored in the waste ink tanks 14 and 17 is detected by waste ink weight sensors 16 and 19 that measure the amount of waste ink, and the waste inks 15 and 18 are detected as waste ink tanks 14 and 17. It is managed not to overflow. When the amount of the waste inks 15 and 18 stored in the waste ink tanks 14 and 17 exceeds a certain value, a waste ink full error is generated and the operation of the image recording apparatus is stopped. The waste ink tanks 14 and 17 are configured to be removable, and the waste ink tanks 14 and 17 that are full of waste ink are removed, and the waste ink in the interior is discarded, thereby returning to an operable state again. To do.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration when the image recording apparatus in FIG. 2 is tilted. The waste ink 15 stored in the waste ink tank 14 is managed so as to be within a level that does not overflow in the normal state by detecting the amount of waste ink stored in the waste ink weight sensor 16. However, when the apparatus main body is greatly inclined as shown in FIG. 3, the waste ink 15 may overflow from the waste ink tank 14. If the image recording apparatus is tilted while the power is on, an abnormality can be detected by some sensor and a warning or error can be displayed. However, if the main body of the image recording device is moved while the power is off, or if the device itself is greatly tilted during the movement or if the device is turned over, the abnormality cannot be detected, and the waste ink is recorded on the image. There is a possibility of leakage inside the device.

  Therefore, in the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the waste ink receiver 20 is provided under the waste ink tanks 14 and 17, and the waste ink receiver 20 receives waste ink even if the waste ink tanks 15 and 18 overflow. And waste ink does not leak into the image recording apparatus.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the image processing apparatus tilted in FIG. 3 is returned to the horizontal position. The waste ink 15 stored in the waste ink tank 14 overflows due to the tilt of the apparatus main body, and the amount of the waste ink 15 in the waste ink tank 14 decreases when the apparatus is returned to the horizontal position. Waste ink 15 overflowing from the waste ink tank 14 is received by the waste ink receiver 20 and stored in the waste ink receiver 20 as waste ink 24. When the power is turned on in this state and the image recording apparatus is activated, the amount of waste ink 15 stored in the waste ink tank 14 is detected by the waste ink weight sensor 16, thereby reducing the amount of waste ink. Can be detected. When the image recording apparatus is turned off and then turned on again, there is no situation where the waste ink decreases in the normal state. Therefore, when the amount of waste ink is reduced, the image recording apparatus It can be determined that there is a possibility that the waste ink overflowed due to the tilt.

  In such a configuration, if it is determined that the image recording device may have been tilted, the device may be tilted before the startup process is executed when the power is turned on. It is possible to warn. As a result, air bubbles that enter the recording head when the apparatus is tilted can be prevented from being ejected due to blocking the flow of ink in the recording head, and the recording quality can be prevented from being adversely affected.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image recording apparatus embodying the present invention. The CPU 100 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire image recording apparatus. The bus 101 of the control circuit has a function of connecting the CPU 100 and other devices. A RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY) 102 is a memory that can hold information only while power is supplied, and the stored information disappears when power supply is cut off. A ROM (READ ONLY MEMORY) 103 is a memory that can only be read, and stores a control program of the image recording apparatus. The CPU 100 refers to this control program and performs a control operation. The operation panel 104 is a panel used when a user operates the image recording apparatus, and operation keys are arranged on the operation panel 104. The operation panel control unit 105 monitors the state of the keys on the operation panel 104 and issues an appropriate control command to the control circuit of the image recording apparatus including the CPU 100 using the pressed key. Further, a character string to be displayed on the operation panel 104 is created, and the operation panel 104 is controlled. In addition, the user can input a key using a key arranged on the operation panel 104, and an operation for the image recording apparatus such as a start of a recovery process from an error occurrence state by using the operation key. Can be entered. The interface 106 connects the image recording apparatus and the host computer 107, has functions of receiving data from the host computer 107 and transmitting status, and operates as a data transmission / reception communication port with the host computer 107. The motor driver 108 includes a carriage motor (operating the recording head) for performing the recording operation of the image recording apparatus, a paper feed motor (moving the recording medium, feeding and discharging), and a recovery motor (recovering the recording head). A control circuit for controlling the motors.

  The recording head 2 is mounted on the carriage 3 and has a function of forming an image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium while scanning. The carriage control unit 109 is a circuit that controls the operation of the carriage 3 in FIG. 1, and moves the carriage 3 to a desired position by reading the encoder sensor 7. The non-volatile memory 110 records the amount of waste ink read by the waste ink weight sensors 16 and 19 in FIG. 1, and retains the amount of waste ink before the power is turned off even when restarted after the power is turned off. The waste ink amount control unit 111 controls the amount of waste ink stored in the waste ink tanks 14 and 17 based on the waste ink amount read by the waste ink weight sensors 16 and 19 in FIG. The read waste ink amount is recorded in the non-volatile memory 110 when the power is turned off, and the waste ink amount recorded when the power is turned on is read to determine whether the waste ink amount increases or decreases.

  The circuit operation status will be described below. The CPU 100 reads out a control program from the ROM 103, and executes control of each control device according to the control program. The interface 106 receives recording data from the host computer 107 and writes it in the RAM 102. The CPU 100 controls the motor driver 108 and the recording head 109 based on the written data, and ejects ink onto the recording medium based on the recording data to form an image. Assume that waste inks 15 and 18 are stored in the waste ink tanks 14 and 17, respectively. In this state, the user operates the power key on the operation panel 104 to change the image recording apparatus main body to the power off state. When the power key on the operation panel 104 is operated, the operation panel control unit 105 detects this, and notifies the CPU 100 that the power key has been operated. When the CPU 100 determines that the operation content is a power-off operation, the CPU 100 executes a power-off process. At that time, the CPU 100 issues a command for executing end processing to the waste ink amount control unit 111. Upon receiving the command, the waste ink amount control unit 111 acquires the waste ink amount with reference to the state of the waste ink weight sensors 16 and 19 and records the value in the nonvolatile memory 110.

  Thereafter, when the image recording apparatus is turned off, the main body of the image recording apparatus is tilted to the state shown in FIG. 3, and a part of the waste ink 15 overflows from the waste ink tank 14, and then the image recording apparatus is in a horizontal state. It is assumed that the state is returned to the state shown in FIG. In this state, when the user operates the power key on the operation panel 104 to shift the image recording apparatus main body to the power-on state, the power key on the operation panel 104 is operated, and the operation panel control unit 105 detects this. Then, the CPU 100 is notified that the power key has been operated. When the CPU 100 determines that the operation content is a power-on operation, it executes a startup process. At that time, the CPU 100 issues a command for executing the startup process to the waste ink amount control unit 111. Upon receipt of the command, the waste ink amount control unit 111 acquires the waste ink amount with reference to the waste ink weight sensors 16 and 19, and refers to the waste ink amount recorded on the non-volatile memory 110, from the sensor. The obtained waste ink amount is compared with the recorded waste ink amount. If the comparison results are the same, a reply of normal termination is returned to the CPU 100, and the CPU 100 normally terminates the startup process. If the comparison results do not match, an abnormal termination reply is returned to the CPU 100, and the CPU 100 generates an error state and transmits the error state status to the operation panel control unit 105. Upon receiving the status, the operation panel control unit 105 displays on the operation panel 104 that the image recording apparatus main body may be tilted and warns the user. Then, the process at the time of abnormality is performed by a user's key input.

  With this process, if there is a possibility that the main body of the image recording device is tilted while the power is turned off, it is possible to avoid a situation where the recording quality deteriorates by performing the process at the time of abnormality. become.

  The contents of the startup process when the image recording apparatus is turned on are divided into an initialization operation of the mechanical part, a recovery process of the recording head, and a carriage position adjustment process. At startup, the CPU 100 first issues a command to the motor driver 108 to initialize the mechanical parts of the motor and sensor. At that time, if there is a possibility that the image processing device is tilted while the power is off, there is a possibility that air bubbles have entered the recording head. It is necessary to perform the recovery operation carefully. For this reason, in the process at the time of abnormality, the recovery process at the time of abnormality is performed by increasing the number of executions (longer time) than the normal recovery operation.

  In normal startup, the CPU 100 transmits a command for performing position adjustment processing to the carriage control unit 109, and the carriage control unit 109 that receives the command executes position adjustment processing. However, if there is a possibility that the image processing device is tilted while the power is off, the position of the carriage may be misaligned, so the contents of the adjustment process must be performed more carefully than during normal startup. is there. Therefore, in the process at the time of abnormality, a process (adjustment process at the time of abnormality) that performs the position confirmation operation more slowly (at a slower speed) than the normal adjustment process is executed.

  After the adjustment process is completed, the carriage control unit 109 notifies the CPU 100 that the adjustment process has been completed. Receiving the notification, the CPU 100 completes the startup process. Thus, depending on whether or not the image recording apparatus is tilted while the image recording apparatus is powered off, the startup process is divided into a normal startup process and an abnormal startup process. As a result, even when the image recording apparatus main body is tilted while the power is turned off, it is possible to prevent the recording quality from being deteriorated.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing movement detection processing of the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the movement detection process of the image recording apparatus will be described with reference to this flowchart. First, in step S201, the total amount of waste ink in the waste ink tanks 14 and 17 is acquired with reference to the state of the waste ink weight sensors 16 and 19 in FIG. In step S202, the amount of waste ink recorded on the nonvolatile memory 110 in FIG. 5 is referred to. In step S203, the amount of waste ink acquired in step S201 is compared with the amount of waste ink referenced in step S202. Thereafter, in step S204, it is determined whether or not the comparison result in step S203 matches. If they match, it is determined that the image recording apparatus is not tilted while the power is off, and the process proceeds to step S209 to perform a normal startup process. If they do not coincide with each other, it is determined that the image recording apparatus may be tilted while the power is off, and the process proceeds to step S205. In step S205, a warning is displayed on the operation panel 104 that the image recording apparatus may be tilted. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S206 and waits for the user to input by operating the switch on the operation panel 104. If the user who has viewed the warning displayed on the operation panel 104 operates the switch on the operation panel 104 after checking the waste ink, the process proceeds to step S207. In step S207, an abnormality recovery process is performed when the image recording apparatus is tilted. In step S208, a carriage position adjustment process when the image recording apparatus is tilted is executed.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to detect that the image recording apparatus is tilted while the power is off, and to perform start-up processing (start-up processing in the event of an abnormality) according to the state, and the reliability of the apparatus As well as the deterioration of the recording quality.

  In this way, comparing the amount of waste ink stored in the device with the amount of waste ink actually discharged to the waste ink tank, if the amount of waste ink is different, the user is warned and then Execute the process at the time of abnormality. As a result, an image forming apparatus capable of recording with high recording quality could be realized.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Waste ink tank 15 Waste ink 16 Waste ink weight sensor 17 Waste ink tank 18 Waste ink 19 Waste ink weight sensor 20 Waste ink receptacle 104 Operation panel 105 Operation panel control part

Claims (2)

A recording head mounted on a carriage and performing recording by discharging ink to a recording medium based on recording data; waste ink receiving means for receiving waste ink discharged from the recording head and not contributing to recording; and the waste Comparison means for comparing the amount of waste ink in the ink receiving means with the amount of waste ink ejected by the recording head in the recording data, and recovery for performing recovery processing for recovering the ejection state of the recording head An image recording apparatus comprising: means for adjusting the position of the carriage;
When the comparison unit determines that the amount of waste ink in the waste ink receiving unit and the amount of waste ink ejected by the recording unit in the recording data do not match,
The recovery means performs the recovery process longer than when the comparison means determines that they match,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit performs the adjustment process at a slower speed than when the comparison unit determines that they match.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the comparison unit determines that they do not match, the recovery process and the adjustment process are performed after a warning is given to the user.

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