JP2015189097A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording device that inhibits occurrence of conveyance error resulting from a change in transmission of drive force to a maintenance part during a recording process.SOLUTION: The ink jet recorder comprises: an idle emission process (S16) in which a recording process is performed containing a plurality of unit operations (12) for causing a conveyance part to convey a sheet by a predetermined line feed width in a conveyance direction and for causing a recording head to emit ink to the sheet, a carriage is brought into contact with the switching part of a second area during unit operations, and the recording head is caused to idly emit ink; and a lever return process (S15) in which the carriage is moved up to the position where the switching part reaches a third area.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which a transport unit and a maintenance unit are driven by a single motor.

  Conventionally, a conveyance unit that conveys a sheet, a recording unit that records an image on a sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit, a maintenance unit that maintains the recording unit, a motor that drives the conveyance unit and the maintenance unit, and driving of the motor 2. Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus is known that includes a switching unit that switches whether to transmit force to a maintenance unit. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an ink jet recording apparatus configured to transmit the driving force of a motor to a maintenance unit by moving the recording unit to a position facing the maintenance unit. On the other hand, the driving force of the motor is always transmitted to the transport unit.

JP 2014-015024 A

  According to the ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a sheet can be conveyed to the conveyance unit regardless of whether or not the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the maintenance unit. Further, the load torque applied to the motor tends to increase as the number of motors to be driven increases. That is, the load torque applied to the motor varies depending on whether or not the driving force is transmitted to the maintenance unit. Therefore, if the transmission state of the driving force to the maintenance unit is switched during the recording process, the load torque may fluctuate, and a transport error may occur in the subsequent transport process.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that suppresses the occurrence of a transport error due to a change in the transmission state of the driving force to the maintenance unit during the recording process. Is to provide.

  (1) An inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention is mounted on a conveyance unit that conveys a sheet in a conveyance direction, a carriage that moves in a main scanning direction that intersects the conveyance direction, and ink from a nozzle. A recording head that discharges; a cap that faces the recording head in an outer region that is distant from one end side in the main scanning direction from a sheet passing region; a maintenance unit that maintains the nozzle; A motor that drives the maintenance unit; a switching unit that switches whether to transmit the driving force of the motor to the maintenance unit; and a control unit. The switching unit that is in contact with the carriage that moves in the outer region includes a first region where the driving force of the motor is not transmitted to the maintenance unit, and a region closer to the one end than the first region, A second region in which the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the maintenance unit, and a third region which is located on the one end side of the second region and can return to the first region by reaching the region. And can be moved. The cap faces the recording head in a state where the switching portion in the second region and the carriage are in contact with each other. The control unit executes a recording process including a plurality of unit operations for causing the sheet to be conveyed to the conveyance unit by a predetermined line feed width in the conveyance direction and ejecting ink to the recording head with respect to the sheet. Between a plurality of the unit operations, an idle ejection process in which the carriage is brought into contact with the switching unit in the second region and ink is ejected to the recording head, and the switching unit reaches the third region. And a return process for moving the carriage to the position to be performed.

  According to the above configuration, by performing the idle ejection process and the return process as a set, the subsequent recording process is performed with the switching unit positioned in the first area. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a conveyance error due to switching of the transmission state of the driving force to the maintenance unit during the recording process. In addition, by performing the idle ejection process during the recording process, it is possible to suppress a decrease in image recording quality.

  (2) Preferably, the maintenance unit includes a moving mechanism that moves the cap in a direction closer to the recording head as the carriage moves away from the passage region toward the one end side. And the said control part performs the said idle discharge process after execution of the said return process.

  According to the above configuration, the recording head and the cap are closest to each other in the return process. On the other hand, the amount of ink in the cap increases as the number of executions of the idle ejection process increases. Therefore, there is a possibility that the ink in the cap adheres to the recording head in the return process. Therefore, by performing the idle ejection process after the return process as described above, the ink attached to the recording head in the return process is removed.

  (3) Preferably, the control unit moves the carriage at a first speed in the passage area, and moves the carriage at a second speed slower than the first speed in the outer area.

  As described above, the meniscus formed on the nozzles of the recording head can be prevented from being destroyed by moving the carriage at a low speed on one end side in the main scanning direction that can come into contact with the maintenance unit.

  (4) Preferably, during the recording process, the control unit executes the idle ejection process and the return process in response to the elapse of a threshold time and completion of one of the plurality of unit operations.

  (5) Preferably, the ink jet recording apparatus includes a tray capable of supporting a plurality of stacked sheets, and a feeding unit that feeds the sheet supported by the tray to the transport unit. The switching unit transmits the driving force of the motor to the feeding unit and the transport unit and does not transmit to the maintenance unit when the switching unit is located in the first region. By being located in the second region, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the transport unit and the maintenance unit and is not transmitted to the feeding unit. The control unit executes a feeding process for feeding the sheet to the feeding unit prior to the recording process.

  (6) Preferably, the inkjet recording apparatus includes a first tray and a second tray that can support a plurality of stacked sheets, and a first sheet that feeds the sheet supported by the first tray to the transport unit. A feeding unit; and a second feeding unit that feeds the sheet supported by the second tray to the transport unit. The switching unit is configured to transmit the driving force of the motor to the first feeding unit and the transport unit and to the second feeding unit and the maintenance unit by positioning the switching unit in the first region. Without the transmission, the switching unit is located in the fourth region between the first region and the second region, so that the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the second feeding unit and the transport unit, and Since the switching unit is positioned in the second region without being transmitted to the first feeding unit and the maintenance unit, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the transport unit and the maintenance unit, and the first feeding is performed. Part and the second feeding part. The control unit supplies the first sheet to the second feeding unit in response to obtaining the first sheet supported by the second tray and a recording instruction for recording an image on the second sheet. The switching unit executes the feeding process for feeding and the recording process for recording an image on the first sheet, and the return unit is executed in the course of the recording process for the first sheet. A movement process for moving the carriage from the first area to the fourth area is executed prior to the feeding process for the second sheet.

  According to the present invention, by performing the idle ejection process and the return process as a set, inkjet recording that can suppress the occurrence of a transport error due to switching of the transmission state of the driving force to the maintenance unit during the recording process. A device can be obtained.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11. 3A is a plan view of the carriage 23 and the guide rails 43 and 44, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the printer unit 11. FIG. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views of the maintenance mechanism 70, where FIG. 4A shows a state where the cap 71 is located at the uncapped position, and FIG. 4B shows a state where the cap 71 is located at the cap position. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the maintenance mechanism 70. 6A and 6B are schematic views of the port switching mechanism 90 as viewed from the bottom, where FIG. 6A shows a Bk suction state, FIG. 6B shows a Co suction state, and FIG. 6C shows an unlock state. 7A and 7B are perspective views of the switching mechanism 170, in which FIG. 7A shows a state where the switching lever 176 is located at the first position, FIG. 7B shows a state where the switching lever 176 is located at the fourth position, and FIG. The state in which the switching lever 176 is located at the second position, (D) shows the state in which the switching lever 176 is located at the third position. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the printer unit 11. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the image recording process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. Further, in the following description, the advance from the starting point of the arrow to the ending point is expressed as the direction, and the traffic on the line connecting the starting point and the ending point of the arrow is expressed as the direction. Further, the vertical direction 7 is defined with reference to the state where the multifunction machine 10 is installed (the state shown in FIG. 1), and the front / rear direction 8 is defined with the side where the opening 13 is provided as the front side (front). A left-right direction 9 is defined when the multifunction machine 10 is viewed from the front side (front side).

[Overall configuration of MFP 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The multifunction machine 10 includes a printer unit 11 that records an image on a sheet 12 (an example of a sheet, see FIG. 2) and an operation unit 17 in the lower part using an inkjet recording method. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 11 includes a first feeding unit 15, a second feeding unit 34, a feeding tray 20 (an example of the first tray), and a multipurpose tray 31 (second tray). 1), a discharge tray 21, a transport roller unit 54, a recording unit 24, a discharge roller unit 55, and a platen 42. The multifunction machine 10 has various functions such as a facsimile function and a print function. The multifunction machine 10 is an example of an ink jet recording apparatus. Further, the transport roller unit 54 and the discharge roller unit 55 constitute an example of a transport unit.

[Feeding tray 20, discharge tray 21, multipurpose tray 31]
As shown in FIG. 1, the feeding tray 20 is inserted and removed by the user in the front-rear direction 8 through an opening 13 formed in the front surface of the printer unit 11. The feeding tray 20 can support a plurality of stacked sheets 12. The discharge tray 21 is disposed on the upper side of the feeding tray 20. The discharge tray 21 supports the paper 12 discharged by the discharge roller unit 55 through the opening 13 formed on the front surface. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the multipurpose tray 31 is configured to be inclined obliquely upward from the back of the printer unit 11 toward the rear. The multipurpose tray 31 supports a plurality of stacked sheets 12.

[First feeding unit 15 and second feeding unit 34]
As shown in FIG. 2, the first feeding unit 15 includes a first feeding roller 25, a feeding arm 26, and a shaft 27. The first feeding roller 25 is rotatably supported on the leading end side of the feeding arm 26. The first feed roller 25 is rotated in a direction (that is, forward rotation) in which the paper 12 supported by the feed tray 20 is transported in the transport direction 16 by the reverse rotation of the transport motor 102 (an example of a motor, see FIG. 8). To do. The feeding arm 26 is rotatably supported on a shaft 27 supported by the frame of the printer unit 11. The feeding arm 26 is urged to rotate toward the feeding tray 20 by its own weight or an elastic force by a spring or the like. The second feeding unit 34 causes the uppermost sheet 12 stacked on the multipurpose tray 31 to reach the transport roller unit 54 through the transport path 65. Note that the second feeding roller 35, the feeding arm 36, and the shaft 37 constituting the second feeding unit 34 are substantially the same as the respective components of the first feeding unit 15, and thus the description thereof is omitted. .

[Conveyance path 65]
As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance path 65 indicates a space formed by an outer guide member 18 and an inner guide member 19 that are partially opposed to each other at a predetermined interval inside the printer unit 11. The conveyance path 65 is a path extending from the rear end portion of the feeding tray 20 to the rear side of the printer unit 11. The conveyance path 65 is a path that makes a U-turn while extending upward from below on the rear side of the printer unit 11 and reaches the discharge tray 21 through the recording unit 24. Note that the conveyance direction 16 of the paper 12 in the conveyance path 65 is indicated by a one-dot chain line arrow in FIG.

[Conveying roller unit 54]
As shown in FIG. 2, the transport roller unit 54 is disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction 16 from the recording unit 24. The conveyance roller unit 54 includes a conveyance roller 60 and a pinch roller 61 that face each other. The conveyance roller 60 is driven by the conveyance motor 102. The pinch roller 61 is rotated along with the rotation of the conveyance roller 60. The paper 12 is sandwiched between a transport roller 60 and a pinch roller 61 that are rotated forward by the forward rotation of the transport motor 102 and is transported in the transport direction 16.

[Discharge roller section 55]
As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge roller portion 55 is disposed downstream of the recording portion 24 in the transport direction 16. The discharge roller unit 55 includes a discharge roller 62 and a spur 63 that face each other. The discharge roller 62 is driven by the transport motor 102. The spur 63 is rotated along with the rotation of the discharge roller 62. The sheet 12 is nipped between the discharge roller 62 and the spur 63 that are rotated forward by the normal rotation of the conveyance motor 102, and is conveyed in the conveyance direction 16.

[Platen 42]
The platen 42 is disposed between the transport roller portion 54 and the discharge roller portion 55 in the transport direction 16 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A. The platen 42 is disposed so as to face the recording unit 24 in the vertical direction 7 and supports the paper 12 conveyed by the conveyance roller unit 54 from below.

[Recording unit 24]
As shown in FIG. 2, the recording unit 24 is disposed between the conveyance roller unit 54 and the discharge roller unit 55 in the conveyance direction 16. The recording unit 24 is disposed so as to face the platen 42 in the vertical direction 7. The recording unit 24 includes a carriage 23, a recording head 39, and an encoder sensor 38A. Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, an ink tube 32 and a flexible flat cable 33 are extended from the carriage 23. The ink tube 32 supplies ink of the ink cartridge mounted on the cartridge mounting portion to the recording head 39. The flexible flat cable 33 connects the control board on which the control unit 130 is mounted and the recording head 39.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the carriage 23 is supported by guide rails 43 and 44 that extend in the left-right direction 9 at positions separated in the front-rear direction 8. The guide rails 43 and 44 are supported by the frame of the printer unit 11 as shown in FIG. The carriage 23 is connected to a known belt mechanism provided on the guide rail 44. This belt mechanism is driven by a carriage motor 103 (see FIG. 8). That is, the carriage 23 connected to the belt mechanism that moves circumferentially by driving the carriage motor 103 can reciprocate in the main scanning direction along the left-right direction 9.

  The recording head 39 is mounted on the carriage 23 as shown in FIG. A plurality of nozzles 40 are formed on the lower surface of the recording head 39. The recording head 39 ejects ink from the nozzle 40 as fine ink droplets. In the process of moving the carriage 23, the recording head 39 ejects ink droplets toward the paper 12 supported by the platen 42. As a result, an image is recorded on the paper 12.

  The guide rail 44 is provided with a strip-like encoder strip 38B extending in the left-right direction 9 as shown in FIG. The encoder sensor 38A is mounted on the carriage 23. The encoder sensor 38 </ b> A and the encoder strip 38 </ b> B are provided at positions facing each other in the vertical direction 7. In the process of moving the carriage 23, the encoder sensor 38 </ b> A reads the encoder strip 38 </ b> B to generate a pulse signal, and outputs the generated pulse signal to the control unit 130. The encoder sensor 38A and the encoder strip 38B constitute the carriage sensor 38 shown in FIG.

[Operation unit 17]
The operation unit 17 is an input interface that receives an instruction input to the multifunction machine 10 from a user. The operation unit 17 may include a plurality of push buttons, for example. The operation unit 17 may be a so-called touch panel having a display screen and a touch sensor superimposed on the display screen, for example, as shown in FIG.

[Maintenance mechanism 70]
The multifunction machine 10 further includes a maintenance mechanism 70 (an example of a maintenance unit) shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 3A, the maintenance mechanism 70 is located on the right side (hereinafter referred to as “passing area”) through which the paper 12 conveyed by the conveying roller unit 54 and the discharge roller unit 55 passes. It is arrange | positioned in the outer area | region which remove | deviated from the example of the one end side. The passing area is an area where the recording head 39 and the paper 12 on the platen 42 can face each other.

  The maintenance mechanism 70 includes a cap 71, a lift-up mechanism 73 (an example of a moving mechanism), a contact lever 76, a pump 77 (see FIGS. 5 and 8), and a port switching mechanism 90. The maintenance mechanism 70 performs a purge operation for sucking ink and air in the nozzles 40 and foreign matters adhering to the nozzle surface (hereinafter collectively referred to as “ink etc.”). The ink and the like removed by suction by the maintenance mechanism 70 is stored in the drainage tank 110 (see FIGS. 3B and 5).

  The cap 71 is made of rubber. The cap 71 is provided so as to face the carriage 23 located in the outer region. The cap 71 faces the recording head 39 of the carriage 23 that is in contact with the switching lever 176 (described later) at the second position and the third position shown in FIG. The cap 71 is configured to be movable between a cap position that covers the nozzle surface (“the surface on which the nozzle 40 of the recording head 39 is formed”) and an uncap position that is separated from the nozzle surface.

  The inside of the cap 71 is partitioned into a Bk cap and a Co cap. The Bk cap covers a region where the nozzle for discharging the black ink is formed and forms a sealed space between the region. The Co cap covers an area where nozzles for discharging color ink are formed and forms a sealed space between the area. The Bk cap is connected to a Bk port 95 described later, and the Co cap is connected to a Co port 96 described later.

  The pump 77 is, for example, a rotary tube pump. The pump 77 forms a flow of fluid (such as ink or air) from the suction port 77A to the discharge port 77B shown in FIG. On the other hand, the forward driving force of the transport motor 102 is not transmitted to the pump 77. A port switching mechanism 90 is connected to the distal end of the tube 91A extending from the suction port 77A. A cap 71 is connected to the distal end of the tube 91 </ b> B extended from the port switching mechanism 90. That is, the cap 71 and the suction port 77A communicate with each other through the tubes 91A and 91B and the port switching mechanism 90. On the other hand, the drainage tank 110 is attached to the tip of the tube 91C extended from the discharge port 77B.

  The lift-up mechanism 73 includes a link 74 as shown in FIG. By rotating the link 74 in conjunction with the movement of the carriage 23, the holder 75 is moved between the position shown in FIG. 4A and the position shown in FIG. The holder 75 holds a cap 71 and a contact lever 76 protruding vertically upward. The contact lever 76 extends to the movement range of the carriage 23.

  The carriage 23 that moves to the right presses the contact lever 76 and moves it to the right. The holder 75 that holds the contact lever 76 rises in conjunction with the rightward movement of the contact lever 76 and moves the cap 71 to the cap position. On the other hand, the carriage 23 moved to the left moves away from the contact lever 76. The contact lever 76 separated from the carriage 23 moves to the left. Then, the holder 75 descends in conjunction with the leftward movement of the contact lever 76, and moves the cap 71 to the uncapped position. That is, the lift-up mechanism 73 moves the cap 71 closer to the recording head 39 as the carriage 23 moves to the right from the passage region.

[Port switching mechanism 90]
The port switching mechanism 90 switches the communication state between the cap 71 and the pump 77. As shown in FIG. 6, the port switching mechanism 90 includes a cylinder 99 having a bottomed cylindrical body and a columnar rotating body 92 disposed inside the cylinder 99. An intake port 93, a Bk port 95, a Co port 96, and atmospheric ports 97 and 98 are formed in the cylinder 99. Specifically, the port switching mechanism 90 is in a Bk suction state shown in FIG. 6 (A), a Co suction state shown in FIG. 6 (B), and an unlocked state shown in FIG. 6 (C). Switching is possible.

  The intake port 93 is formed on the bottom wall of the cylinder 99. The other four ports 95 to 98 are formed on the side wall of the cylinder 99 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. The Bk port 95 communicates with the internal space of the Bk cap via the tube 91B. The Co port 96 communicates with the internal space of the Co cap via the tube 91B. Atmospheric ports 97 and 98 are open to the atmosphere. One end of the tube 91 </ b> A is connected to the intake port 93, and the other end is connected to the suction port 77 </ b> A of the pump 77.

  The rotating body 92 rotates inside the cylinder 99 by the forward rotation of the transport motor 102 (in this embodiment, rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 6). As the rotating body 92 rotates inside the cylinder 99, the communication states of the ports 93 and 95 to 98 formed in the cylinder 99 are alternately changed. On the other hand, the reverse driving force of the conveyance motor 102 is not transmitted to the rotating body 92. The Bk suction state shown in FIG. 6A is a state where the intake port 93 communicates with the Bk port 95. The Co suction state shown in FIG. 6B is a state where the intake port 93 communicates with the Co port 96. The unlocked state shown in FIG. 6C is a state where the intake port 93 is not in communication with any of the Bk port 95, the Co port 96, and the atmospheric ports 97 and 98.

  Further, the maintenance mechanism 70 includes a lock portion that fixes the carriage 23 at a position facing the cap 71. The lock portion has a lock pin that can move in the vertical direction 7 as the rotating body 92 rotates. The lock pin is configured to be movable between a lock position and an unlock position. The lock pin raised from the unlock position to the lock position enters a recess provided in the carriage 23 and restricts the movement of the carriage 23 in the left-right direction 9. On the other hand, the lock pin lowered from the lock position to the unlock position is separated from the carriage 23 and allows the carriage 23 to move in the left-right direction 9.

  When the pump 77 is driven in the Bk suction state shown in FIG. 6A, the ink or the like in the Bk cap is discharged to the drainage tank 110 through the tubes 91 </ b> A to 91 </ b> C, the port switching mechanism 90, and the pump 77. Further, when the pump 77 is driven in the Co suction state shown in FIG. 6B, the ink and the like in the Co cap are discharged to the drainage tank 110 through the tubes 91 </ b> A to 91 </ b> C, the port switching mechanism 90, and the pump 77. Furthermore, the unlocked state shown in FIG. 6C is a state in which the above-described lock pin is disposed at the unlocked position.

[Driving force transmission mechanism 104]
The driving force transmission mechanism 104 shown in FIG. 8 transmits the driving force of the conveyance motor 102 to the first feeding roller 25, the second feeding roller 35, the conveying roller 60, the discharge roller 62, and the maintenance mechanism 70. The driving force transmission mechanism 104 is configured by combining all or part of a gear, a pulley, an endless annular belt, a planetary gear mechanism (pendulum gear mechanism), a one-way clutch, and the like. Further, the driving force transmission mechanism 104 includes a switching mechanism 170 (an example of a switching unit) that switches a transmission destination of the driving force of the transport motor 102.

[Switching mechanism 170]
The switching mechanism 170 switches whether to transmit the driving force of the transport motor 102 transmitted through the transport roller 60 to the first feed roller 25, the second feed roller 35, and the maintenance mechanism 70, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3A, the switching mechanism 170 is provided on the right side of the platen 42 (that is, on the outer side position deviated to the right from the passage region). As shown in FIG. 7, the switching mechanism 170 includes a switching gear 171, three receiving gears 172 </ b> A, 172 </ b> B, 172 </ b> D, a holding portion 173, a pressing member 175, a switching lever 176, and a guide portion 177. .

  The switching gear 171 can rotate about the support shaft 174 and can move along the axial direction of the support shaft 174 (that is, the left-right direction 9). The support shaft 174 is held by the maintenance mechanism 70. The driving force of the conveyance motor 102 is transmitted to the switching gear 171 through the conveyance roller 60. The receiving gears 172A, 172B, and 172D can rotate coaxially along the left-right direction 9 on the lower side of the support shaft 174, and can be engaged with the switching gear 171. That is, the switching gear 171 meshes with one of the receiving gears 172A, 172B, and 172D by moving in the left-right direction 9. The receiving gear 172 </ b> A is a gear that transmits the driving force of the transport motor 102 to the first feeding roller 25. The receiving gear 172 </ b> B is a gear that transmits the driving force of the transport motor 102 to the second feeding roller 35. The receiving gear 172 </ b> D is a gear that transmits the driving force of the transport motor 102 to the maintenance mechanism 70.

  The pressing member 175 is disposed on the right side of the switching gear 171 and is inserted through the support shaft 174 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction 9. The switching lever 176 protrudes upward from the pressing member 175 and extends to the movement path of the carriage 23 through the holding portion 173. The switching gear 171 is urged to the right by the first spring, and the pressing member 175 is urged to the left by the second spring. Further, the biasing force of the second spring is larger than the biasing force of the first spring. As a result, the switching gear 171 and the pressing member 175 shown in FIG. 7 are urged to the left.

  When the switching lever 176 is held by the holding portion 173 at the first position shown in FIG. 7A, the switching gear 171 meshes with the receiving gear 172A. The switching lever 176 in contact with the carriage 23 that moves to the right moves the pressing member 175 to the right. At this time, the switching gear 171 moves to the right along with the movement of the pressing member 175 by the biasing force of the first spring. When the switching lever 176 is held by the holding portion 173 at the fourth position shown in FIG. 7B, the switching gear 171 meshes with the receiving gear 172B.

  When the switching lever 176 is located at the second position shown in FIG. 7C, the switching gear 171 meshes with the receiving gear 172D. Further, the switching lever 176 moved to the third position shown in FIG. 7D by the carriage 23 and separated from the carriage 23 is moved to the first position shown in FIG. 7A by the urging force of the second spring. Return. In addition, since the switching lever 176 that moves from the third position to the first position is guided by the guide portion 177, the holding portion 173 does not prevent the return to the first position.

  Further, when the switching gear 171 is engaged with the receiving gear 172D, the first spring has a natural length. Therefore, the switching gear 171 does not move to the right from the meshing position with the receiving gear 172D shown in FIG. That is, when the switching lever 176 is disposed at the second position and the third position, the switching gear 171 and the pressing member 175 are separated from each other. Further, the switching gear 171 is pressed by the pressing member 175 returning from the third position to the first position together with the switching lever 176, and moves to the meshing position with the receiving gear 172A shown in FIG.

  In a state where the switching gear 171 is engaged with the receiving gear 172A, the driving force transmission mechanism 104 transmits the driving force of the conveyance motor 102 to the first feeding roller 25 and to the second feeding roller 35 and the maintenance mechanism 70. Do not communicate. In a state where the switching gear 171 is engaged with the receiving gear 172B, the driving force transmission mechanism 104 transmits the driving force of the conveyance motor 102 to the second feeding roller 35 and to the first feeding roller 25 and the maintenance mechanism 70. Do not communicate. In a state where the switching gear 171 is engaged with the receiving gear 172D, the driving force transmission mechanism 104 transmits the driving force of the conveyance motor 102 to the maintenance mechanism 70 and to the first feeding roller 25 and the second feeding roller 35. Do not communicate.

  In addition, the driving force transmission mechanism 104 does not transmit the forward driving force of the transport motor 102 to the first feed roller 25 and the second feed roller 35, and the first feed roller 25 and the first feed roller 102 are rotated by the reverse rotation of the transport motor 102. 2 The feed roller 35 is rotated forward. Further, the driving force transmission mechanism 104 rotates the rotating body 92 by the forward rotation of the transport motor 102 and drives the pump 77 by the reverse rotation of the transport motor 102. These are a one-way clutch, a pendulum gear mechanism provided in a transmission path of a driving force between the conveyance motor 102, the first feeding roller 25, the second feeding roller 35, the rotating body 92, and the pump 77, or This can be realized by an electromagnetic clutch mechanism or the like. Further, the discharge roller 62 is connected to the transport roller 60 via a belt or the like. That is, the transport roller 60 and the discharge roller 62 in the present embodiment rotate forward by the forward rotation of the transport motor 102 regardless of the state of the switching mechanism 170.

  The first position, the second position, the third position, and the fourth position described above are the first area, the second area, the third area, and the fourth area, respectively, having a predetermined width in the left-right direction 9 in the outer area. included. The first area is the area closest to the passing area, the fourth area is farther from the passing area than the first area, the second area is farther from the passing area than the first area and the fourth area, The three regions are regions farther from the passing region than the first region, the fourth region, and the second region. Then, the transmission state of the driving force when the switching lever 176 is disposed at an arbitrary position in the first region is the same as when the switching lever 176 is positioned at the first position. The same applies to the relationship between the second to fourth positions and the second to fourth regions.

  Both the contact lever 76 of the maintenance mechanism 70 and the switching lever 176 of the switching mechanism 170 are moved by being pressed by the carriage 23 located to the right of the passage region. When the switching lever 176 is located at the first position shown in FIG. 7A (in other words, when the carriage 23 is separated from the switching lever 176 and the contact lever 76), the contact lever 76 is 4 (A). At this time, the cap 71 is located at the uncapping position. Further, the carriage 23 that contacts the switching lever 176 at the third position shown in FIG. 7D moves the contact lever 76 to the position shown in FIG. 4B. The cap 71 at this time is located at the cap position. Furthermore, the carriage 23 that contacts the switching lever 176 in the second position shown in FIG. 7C moves the contact lever 76 to a position between FIG. 4A and FIG. At this time, the cap 71 is located at the uncapping position.

[Control unit 130]
As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 130 includes a CPU 131, a ROM 132, a RAM 133, an EEPROM 134, and an ASIC 135, which are connected by an internal bus 137. The ROM 132 stores a program for the CPU 131 to control various operations. The RAM 133 is used as a storage area for temporarily recording data and signals used when the CPU 131 executes the program, or as a work area for data processing. The EEPROM 134 stores settings, flags, and the like that should be retained even after the power is turned off.

  A transport motor 102 and a carriage motor 103 are connected to the ASIC 135. The ASIC 135 generates a drive signal for rotating each motor, and controls each motor based on this drive signal. Each motor rotates normally or reversely according to a drive signal from the ASIC 135. For example, the control unit 130 controls the driving of the conveyance motor 102 to drive each roller or the maintenance mechanism 70. The control unit 130 controls the recording head 39 to eject ink from the nozzles 40.

  In addition, a carriage sensor 38 is connected to the ASIC 135. The control unit 130 detects the position of the carriage 23 based on the pulse signal output from the carriage sensor 38. In addition, the control unit 130 acquires various instructions from the user through the operation unit 17.

  Further, the control unit 130 controls the drive of the carriage motor 103 to reciprocate the carriage 23. Specifically, the control unit 130 moves the carriage 23 at the first speed in the passage area. On the other hand, the control unit 130 moves the carriage 23 at a second speed that is lower than the first speed in the outer area (more specifically, the area that contacts the contact lever 76 or the switching lever 176) that deviates to the right from the passage area. Move. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the meniscus of the ink droplet formed on the nozzle 40 of the recording head 39 from being destroyed.

[Image recording processing]
With reference to FIG. 9, the image recording process in the present embodiment will be described. This image recording process is executed by the CPU 131 of the control unit 130. The following processes may be executed by the CPU 131 reading out and executing a program stored in the ROM 132, or may be realized by a hardware circuit mounted on the control unit 130. Note that the image recording process will be described focusing on the rotation of the first feeding roller 25, the second feeding roller 35, the transport roller 60, and the discharge roller 62, the movement of the carriage 23, or the driving of the maintenance mechanism 70. These operations are realized by driving the transport motor 102 and the carriage motor 103 as described above.

  The control unit 130 executes the image recording process shown in FIG. 9 in response to obtaining a recording instruction from the user. The acquisition destination of the recording instruction is not particularly limited. For example, the recording instruction may be acquired through the operation unit 17 provided in the multifunction machine 10 or may be acquired from an external device through a communication network. The control unit 130 controls the operation of each roller and the recording unit 24 according to the acquired recording instruction, and executes image recording on the paper 12. Note that the recording instruction includes image data indicating an image to be recorded on the paper 12, and feeding source information indicating the feeding source of the paper 12 (in the present embodiment, the feeding tray 20 or the multipurpose tray 31). . In the present embodiment, the recording head 39 is covered with the cap 71 while waiting for acquisition of the recording instruction. That is, the carriage 23 is disposed at a position where it abuts on the switching lever 176 at the third position. Further, the port switching mechanism 90 at this time is in an unlocked state shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 130 moves the carriage 23 away from the switching lever 176. As a result, the switching lever 176 returns to the first position. When the paper supply source information indicates the feed tray 20, the control unit 130 rotates the first feed roller 25 forward (S11). On the other hand, when the paper supply source information indicates the multipurpose tray 31, the control unit 130 moves the carriage 23 to the right until the switching lever 176 reaches the fourth position. Then, the control unit 130 rotates the second feeding roller 35 forward. The paper 12 supported by the trays 20 and 31 reaches the transport roller unit 54 by the feed rollers 25 and 35 that rotate forward. The process in step S11 is an example of a feeding process.

  Next, the control unit 130 causes the transport roller 60 and the discharge roller 62 (hereinafter referred to as “transport unit”) to transport the paper 12 by a predetermined line feed width in the transport direction 16 and is transported by a predetermined line feed width. A recording process for recording an image on the recording sheet 24 is executed on the sheet 12 (S12). Step S12 is an example of a unit operation, and is repeatedly executed until image recording on the paper 12 is completed (S13: Yes).

  Further, the control unit 130 performs the lever operation in response to the completion of one unit operation (S12) (S13: No) and the threshold time elapses from the idle discharge process executed immediately before (S14: Yes). A return process is executed (S15). The lever return process (an example of the return process) is a process of moving the carriage 23 to a position where the switching lever 176 reaches the third position. The control unit 130 measures an elapsed time from the point in time when the idle ejection process is completed each time an idle ejection process described later is executed. The idle ejection process can also be executed during the execution of step S11 after the control unit 130 acquires the recording instruction.

  Next, the control unit 130 performs an idle ejection process for idly ejecting ink to the recording head 39 toward the cap 71 (S16). Note that at the time of execution of step S16, the switching lever 176 is in contact with the carriage 23 and disposed at the third position. Therefore, the control unit 130 moves the carriage 23 to the left until the switching lever 176 reaches the second position. At this time, the cap 71 descends in conjunction with the contact lever 76 that moves to the left as the carriage 23 moves to the left, and is positioned at the uncapped position. Then, the control unit 130 causes the recording head 39 to eject ink idly toward the cap 71. As a result, the ink is discharged from the recording head 39 to the cap 71.

  Next, the control unit 130 executes the recording process again (S12). At this time, the switching lever 176 returns to the first position when the carriage 23 moves to the passage region (that is, the carriage 23 moves away from the switching lever 176). On the other hand, the control unit 130 performs the process of step S12 without executing the processes of steps S15 and S16 according to the fact that the threshold time has not elapsed since the immediately preceding idle discharge process (S14: No). Transition. As long as the image recording on the paper 12 is not completed (S13: No), the control unit 130 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S12 to S16.

  Then, in response to the end of image recording on the sheet 12 (S13: Yes), the control unit 130 executes a discharge process for discharging the sheet 12 to the discharge tray 21 (S17). Specifically, the control unit 130 rotates the transport unit in the forward direction until the rear end of the sheet 12 (refers to the “upstream end of the transport direction 16”) passes the discharge roller unit 55. And the control part 130 repeatedly performs the process of step S11-S20, unless all the image recording contained in a recording instruction is complete | finished (S18: No).

  When a recording instruction for recording an image on a plurality of pages is acquired, after the discharge process of the first page of the paper 12 (an example of the first sheet) is executed, the second page of the paper 12 (second Before the example of the sheet is executed, the processes of steps S19 and S20 may be executed. Specifically, in response to the lever return process (S15) being executed in the process of recording the image on the first sheet of paper 12, the control unit 130 indicates the multipurpose tray 31 as the paper source information. (S19: Yes), a lever movement process is executed (S20).

  The lever movement process (an example of the movement process) is a process of moving the switching lever 176 from the first position to the fourth position. That is, the control unit 130 moves the carriage 23 to the right until the switching lever 176 reaches the fourth position. On the other hand, the control unit 130 indicates that the paper source information indicates the feeding tray 20 or the lever return process is not executed in the process of recording an image on the first page of paper 12 (S19: No). The process proceeds to step S11 without executing the process in step S20.

  Then, in response to the completion of recording of all the images included in the recording instruction (S18: No), the control unit 130 executes the idle suction process (S21). The idle suction process is a process for discharging the ink stored in the cap 71 to the drainage tank 110 by driving the pump 77. First, the control unit 130 moves the carriage 23 to the right until the switching lever 176 reaches the second position or the third position.

  Next, the control unit 130 switches the unlocking state switching mechanism 170 to the Bk suction state and drives the pump 77. Next, the control unit 130 switches the Bk suction state switching mechanism 170 to the Co suction state, and drives the pump 77. By driving the pump 77, the ink and the like in the Bk cap and the Co cap are discharged to the drainage tank 110 through the tubes 91 </ b> A to 91 </ b> C, the port switching mechanism 90, and the pump 77. Then, the control unit 130 switches the switching mechanism 170 to the unlocked state, and ends the idle suction process.

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
As in the above-described embodiment, by performing the idle discharge process and the lever return process as a set, the subsequent recording process is performed in a state where the switching gear 171 is engaged with the gear 172A. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a conveyance error due to switching of the driving force transmission state to the maintenance mechanism 70 during the recording process. Further, by periodically executing the idle ejection process during the recording process, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the image recording quality.

  In the lever return process, the recording head 39 and the cap 71 are closest to each other. On the other hand, the amount of ink in the cap 71 increases as the number of executions of the idle ejection process increases. Therefore, ink in the cap 71 may adhere to the recording head 39 in the lever return process. Therefore, it is preferable to execute the lever return process prior to the idle discharge process. However, the execution order of the idle ejection process and the lever return process is not limited to the above example. That is, the execution order of steps S15 and S16 may be reversed.

  In addition, by executing the idle discharge process and the lever return process as a set, it is not necessary to execute the lever return process when the feeding process is executed. The position of the carriage 23 in the idle ejection process (that is, the second position) is compared with the position of the carriage 23 in the lever return process (that is, an arbitrary position in the passage region) (that is, the arbitrary position in the passage area). 3rd position). Therefore, for example, it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput when images are recorded on a plurality of sheets 12.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, when images are recorded on the plurality of sheets 12 supported by the multipurpose tray 31, the lever moving process is executed in the process of recording the images on the first sheet of sheets 12. Accordingly, the lever moving process is executed prior to the feeding process of the sheet 12 of the second page. As a result, the sheet 12 of the second page can be reliably fed from the multipurpose tray 31. When the paper source information indicates the multipurpose tray 31, the control unit 130 may execute a lever movement process prior to the next recording process after the idle ejection process and the lever return process.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the idle suction process is executed after all image recording is completed. This empty suction process may be executed after the discharge process for the Nth (N is a natural number) page of the paper 12 and before the feeding process for the (N + 1) th page of the paper 12.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... MFP 15 ... 1st feeding part 20 ... Feeding tray 23 ... Carriage 31 ... Multipurpose tray 34 ... 2nd feeding part 39 ... Recording head 40 ... Nozzle 54 ... Conveying roller part 55 ... Discharge roller part 70 ... Maintenance mechanism 71 ... Cap 73 ... Lift-up mechanism 102 ... Conveying motor 130 ... Control part 170 ..Switching mechanism

Claims (6)

A transport unit that transports the sheet in the transport direction;
A carriage that moves in the main scanning direction intersecting the transport direction;
A recording head mounted on the carriage and ejecting ink from nozzles;
A maintenance unit for maintaining the nozzles, having a cap that faces the recording head in an outer region deviated from one end side in the main scanning direction from a sheet passing region;
A motor for driving the transport unit and the maintenance unit;
A switching unit for switching whether to transmit the driving force of the motor to the maintenance unit;
A control unit, and
The switching unit in contact with the carriage that moves in the outer region is
A first region in which the driving force of the motor is not transmitted to the maintenance unit;
A second region where the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the maintenance unit, on the one end side of the first region;
It is possible to move to the third region that is one end side of the second region and can return to the first region by reaching the region.
The cap faces the recording head in a state where the switching portion of the second region and the carriage are in contact with each other,
The control unit
Performing a recording process including a plurality of unit operations for causing the sheet to be conveyed to the conveying unit by a predetermined line feed width in the conveying direction and ejecting ink to the recording head with respect to the sheet;
Among the above unit operations,
An idle ejection process in which the carriage is brought into contact with the switching portion in the second area and the recording head is idly ejected with ink;
An inkjet recording apparatus that executes a return process for moving the carriage to a position where the switching unit reaches the third region. The maintenance unit has a moving mechanism that moves the cap in a direction closer to the recording head as the carriage moves away from the passage region toward the one end side.
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the idle ejection process after the return process. The control unit
Within the passage area, the carriage is moved at a first speed,
3. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage is moved at a second speed slower than the first speed in the outer region.   4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the idle ejection process and the return process in response to a threshold time elapses and one of the plurality of unit operations is completed during the recording process. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. The ink jet recording apparatus
A tray capable of supporting a plurality of stacked sheets;
A feeding unit that feeds the sheet supported by the tray to the conveying unit, and
The switching unit is
When the switching unit is located in the first region, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the feeding unit and the conveying unit and is not transmitted to the maintenance unit.
When the switching unit is located in the second region, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the transport unit and the maintenance unit and is not transmitted to the feeding unit.
5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes a feeding process for feeding a sheet to the feeding unit prior to the recording process. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus
A first tray and a second tray capable of supporting a plurality of stacked sheets;
A first feeding unit that feeds the sheet supported by the first tray to the conveying unit;
A second feeding unit that feeds the sheet supported by the second tray to the transport unit, and
The switching unit is
When the switching unit is located in the first region, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the first feeding unit and the transport unit and not transmitted to the second feeding unit and the maintenance unit.
Since the switching unit is located in a fourth region between the first region and the second region, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the second feeding unit and the transport unit, and the first feeding is performed. Not transmitted to the maintenance section and the maintenance section,
When the switching unit is located in the second region, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the transport unit and the maintenance unit, and is not transmitted to the first feeding unit and the second feeding unit.
In response to obtaining a recording instruction for recording an image on the first sheet and the second sheet supported by the second tray,
A feeding process for feeding the first sheet to the second feeding unit;
Performing the recording process for recording an image on the first sheet,
In response to the return process being executed in the course of the recording process for the first sheet, a movement process for moving the switching unit from the first area to the fourth area to the carriage is performed on the second sheet. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is executed prior to the feeding process.

Images