JP2749931B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium (hereinafter, also referred to as recording paper or simply paper) such as paper or an OHP sheet has been proposed in a form in which recording heads of various recording methods are mounted. The recording head includes a recording head system, a thermal system, a thermal transfer system, and an ink jet system.

In particular, the ink jet recording method, which directly ejects ink onto recording paper, has attracted attention as a quiet recording method with low running cost.

In a recording apparatus using such an ink jet system, a recording head having a generally arranged fine ejection port is used as a recording head. For this reason, when air bubbles and dust are mixed into the ejection port, or when the ink becomes unsuitable for ejection or recording due to viscosity increase due to evaporation of the ink solvent, the ink is to be refreshed. Thus, a process (ejection recovery process) for removing those discharge failure factors is performed.

As one mode of means for performing such an ejection recovery process,
There is a type provided with a cap capable of covering a discharge head forming surface of a recording head and a pump communicating with the cap and acting on a suction force. By driving the ink ejection energy generating element inside the ejection port toward the cap, ink is ejected from all ejection ports (hereinafter, referred to as preliminary ejection), or suction is performed with the ejection port forming surface covered by the cap. The ink is forcibly discharged by applying a force to perform suction from the discharge port, thereby eliminating a discharge failure factor together with the ink (hereinafter referred to as suction recovery).

Also, in order to avoid the influence of dust and the like caused by opening the cap and exposing the recording head to the air, a process of capping the recording head after turning on the power or during standby,
When the cap from the host device is interrupted for a certain period of time while the cap is open during recording, a process of capping the recording head (hereinafter referred to as capping) is performed. At this time, pressure may be applied to the recording head by capping, and the carriage carrying the recording head may be moved. Therefore, when the carriage is opened and the carriage is operated after the capping, it is necessary to recognize the position of the carriage in order to recognize the position of the carriage.

If the position of the carriage is not recognized when the carriage is displaced, the position of the ink outlet of the recording head, i.e., the position of the carriage mounting the recording head and the position of the cap, when the ink ejection port of the recording head is to be capped. Will not match, so no capping is possible. For this reason, ejection failure due to the effect of ink thickening and dust,
At the time of suction recovery, a problem such as the inability to suction ink through the cap occurs.

Therefore, in the ink jet recording apparatus, it is very important to accurately recognize the position of the carriage in order to maintain the capability of the recording head for a long time.

Conventionally, when performing position recognition of a carriage, a detection signal indicating that the carriage has passed a specific position is recognized, and position recognition is performed based on the position where the detection signal is recognized. Also, once the power is turned on, the detection signal is recognized once, the excitation phase of the stepping motor that drives the carriage at that time is stored in advance as reference position information, and the stored carriage position is recognized in the subsequent carriage position recognition. After that, the excitation phase of the stepping motor when recognizing the detection signal output when the carriage passes the specific position is compared with the excitation phase stored as the reference position information, and correction is performed. Position recognition was performed.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the former case, there is an error of one step in the position recognition. Therefore, if there is a capping process during the recording, there is a case where the recording of the upper row and the recording of the lower row are shifted by one step. On the other hand, in the latter case, no error occurs because the correction is made based on the reference position information. However, there is no problem when the carriage is running without hindrance. However, when the carriage is obstructed by an external factor (such as a paper jam) and the gears of the motor drive system have tooth jumps, the memory is not stored. The reference position information becomes meaningless. In this case, the error in the position recognition of the carriage may increase.

Therefore, the present invention suppresses the error of the position recognition of the carriage within one step even if the carriage travel is disturbed by an external factor (paper jam or the like) during the recording and the gear of the motor drive system has a tooth jump or the like. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the recording head capping performed at the end of recording is performed.If there is a capping process during recording, no error is caused in the positioning of the carriage, and the recording of the upper row and the lower row are performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which does not shift when printing a row.

[Means for solving the problem]

Therefore, the present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that discharges ink from a discharge port on a recording medium, wherein a cap formed so as to cover a discharge port forming surface of the recording head; A stepping motor for driving a carriage on which a head is mounted in accordance with a supplied excitation phase; detecting means for detecting that the carriage driven by the stepping motor has reached a predetermined position; and for each start of a recording period, Storage means for storing the excitation phase of the stepping motor when the detection signal is output from the detection means as a reference excitation phase; and when the detection signal is output, the excitation phase of the stepping motor is stored in the storage means. A first method for recognizing the position of the carriage by comparing with a reference excitation phase.
A position recognition mode having a second position recognition mode for recognizing the position of the carriage without depending on the stored reference excitation phase; and a first position recognition mode for outputting the detection signal during a recording period.
Control means for recognizing the position of the carriage in the second position recognition mode when the detection signal is output when the recording head is covered with the cap at the end of a recording period in the position recognition mode. Features.

[Action]

According to the above configuration, when performing the position recognition of the carriage during recording, a means for comparing the excitation phase of the stepping motor with the reference excitation phase stored in the storage means at the time of outputting the detection signal. In order to eliminate errors in the positioning of the carriage by using the recording head at the end of printing, the carriage recognition is performed without using the stored reference excitation phase when the detection signal is output. As a result, the error in positioning the carriage can be suppressed within one step, so that capping can be performed reliably.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an example of an external configuration of an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a document processing apparatus.

Here, reference numeral 1 denotes a keyboard unit, in which a key group 2 such as keys for inputting characters such as characters and numerals and a control key are arranged. It can be folded as shown. Reference numeral 4 denotes a paper feed tray for feeding a sheet-shaped recording medium to the printer unit 8 in the apparatus, which is stored so as to cover the printer unit 8 as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 5 denotes a feed knob for manually setting and ejecting the recording medium, 6 a display for displaying input text and the like, and 7 a handle used for transporting the apparatus according to the present embodiment. .

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the printer unit 8 according to the present embodiment.

Here, reference numeral 9 denotes a head cartridge having an ink jet recording head which will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
Is a carriage for mounting the scanner and scanning in the S direction in the figure. Reference numeral 13 denotes a hook for attaching the head cartridge 9 to the carriage 11, and reference numeral 15 denotes a lever for operating the hook 13. The lever 15 is provided with a marker 17 for indicating a scale provided on a cover, which will be described later, so as to be able to read a print position, a set position, and the like of the recording head of the head cartridge. Reference numeral 19 denotes a support plate for supporting an electrical connection to the head cartridge 9. Reference numeral 21 denotes a flexible cable for connecting the electrical connection unit and the main body control unit.

23 is a guide shaft for guiding the carriage 11 in the S direction, and is inserted into a bearing 25 of the carriage 11. 27
Is a timing belt to which the carriage 11 is fixed and which transmits power for moving the carriage 11 in the S direction, and is stretched over pulleys 29A and 29B arranged on both sides of the apparatus. A driving force is transmitted to one pulley 29B from a carriage motor 31 via a transmission mechanism such as a gear.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a platen roller for regulating a recording surface of a recording medium such as paper (hereinafter, also referred to as recording paper) and transporting the recording medium during recording or the like. 37 is a paper pan for guiding the recording medium to the recording position from the paper feed tray 4 side, and 39 is disposed in the middle of the recording medium feeding path, presses the recording medium toward the platen roller 33, and conveys it. For the feed roller. 41 is disposed downstream from the recording position on the recording medium transport direction,
A discharge roller for discharging the recording medium toward a discharge port (not shown). Reference numeral 42 denotes a spur provided corresponding to the paper discharge roller 41, which presses the roller 41 via the recording medium to generate a conveyance force of the recording medium by the paper discharge roller 41. Reference numeral 43 denotes a feed roller 39 and a holding plate 4 for setting a recording medium.
5. Release lever for releasing the bias of each spur 42.

Reference numeral 45 denotes a pressing plate for suppressing the floating of the recording medium in the vicinity of the recording position and ensuring the state of close contact with the platen roller 33. In this embodiment, an ink jet recording head that performs recording by performing ink ejection as a recording head is employed. Therefore, the distance between the ink discharge port forming surface of the recording head and the recording surface of the recording medium is relatively small, and the distance must be strictly controlled to avoid contact between the recording medium and the discharge port forming surface. The arrangement of the holding plate 45 is effective. Reference numeral 47 denotes a scale provided on the holding plate 45, and reference numeral 49 denotes a marker provided on the carriage 11 in correspondence with the scale, and the print position and the set position of the recording head can also be read by these.

Reference numeral 51 denotes a cap formed of an elastic material such as rubber which faces the ink ejection port forming surface of the recording head in the home position, and is supported so as to be able to contact / separate from the recording head. The cap 51 is used for protection of a recording head at the time of non-recording or the like and for recovery processing of the recording head ejection. The ejection recovery process is a process in which ink is ejected from all ejection ports by driving an energy generating element provided inside the ink ejection ports and used for ink ejection, thereby recording air bubbles, dust, and thickening. Processing to remove the cause of ejection failure such as ink that is no longer suitable for printing (preliminary ejection)
Alternatively, this is a process for removing the cause of the discharge failure by forcibly discharging the ink from the discharge port.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a pump used for applying a suction force for forcibly discharging the ink and for sucking the ink received by the cap 51 at the time of the discharge recovery processing by the forced discharge and the discharge recovery processing by the preliminary discharge. Reference numeral 55 denotes a waste ink tank for storing the waste ink sucked by the pump 53, and reference numeral 57 denotes a tube connecting the pump 53 and the waste ink tank 55.

Reference numeral 59 denotes a blade for wiping the ejection head forming surface of the recording head, which is located at a position for projecting toward the recording head to perform wiping in the process of moving the head and a retreating position not engaging with the ejection port formation surface. It is movably supported. Reference numeral 61 denotes a recovery system motor, and 63 denotes a cam device for receiving the power transmitted from the recovery system motor 61 to drive the pump 53 and move the cap 51 and the blade 59, respectively.

Next, the details of the above-described head cartridge 9 will be described.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a head cartridge 9 in which a discharge unit 9a and an ink tank 9b forming an ink jet recording head main body are integrated. In the figure, 906e is
The hook is hooked by a hook 13 provided on the carriage 11 when the head cartridge 9 is mounted. As can be seen, the pawl 906e is located inside the full extension of the recording head. Further, in the vicinity of the front discharge unit 9a of the head cartridge 9, a positioning abutting portion (not shown) is provided. 906f is Carriage 11
The head opening is provided with a support board for supporting a flexible board (electric connection part) and a rubber pad.

FIGS. 4 (A) and (B) are exploded perspective views of the head cartridge shown in FIG. 3, which is a disposable type in which an ink supply unit as an ink supply source is integrated as described above. is there.

In FIG. 9A, reference numeral 911 denotes a heater board in which an electrothermal conversion element (ejection heater) and a wiring such as Al for supplying electric power are formed on a Si substrate by a film forming technique. Reference numeral 921 denotes a wiring board for the heater board 911, and the corresponding wiring is connected by, for example, wire bonding.

Reference numeral 940 denotes a top plate provided with a partition for defining an ink flow path, a common liquid chamber, and the like. In the present embodiment, the top plate is made of a resin material having an orifice plate unit integrally.

930 is, for example, a metal support, 950 is a holding spring,
The heater board 911 and the top board 940 are sandwiched between them so that they are engaged with each other, so that the heater board 910 and the top board 940 are pressed and fixed by the urging force of the pressing spring 950. Note that the support 930 may be provided with a wiring board 921 attached thereto or the like, and may have a positioning reference to the carriage 11 that scans the head. In addition, the support 930 also functions as a member that radiates and cools the heat of the heater board 911 generated by driving.

Reference numeral 960 denotes a supply tank, which functions as a sub-tank that receives ink supply from the ink storage unit 9b serving as an ink supply source and guides ink to a common liquid chamber formed by joining the heater board 911 and the top plate 940. Reference numeral 970 denotes a filter disposed at a position in the supply tank 960 near the ink supply port to the common liquid chamber, and 980 denotes a cover member of the supply tank 960.

900 is an absorber for impregnating the ink, and is arranged in the ink tank main body 9b. 1200 is the above parts 911-9
A supply port for supplying ink to the recording element 9a composed of 80, and the unit is connected to the ink tank main body.
By injecting ink from the supply port 1200 in a step before the arrangement in the portion 1010 of 9b, the ink impregnation of the absorber 900 can be performed.

Reference numeral 1100 denotes a lid member of the cartridge body, and 1400 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere. Reference numeral 1300 denotes a liquid-repellent material disposed inside the air communication port 1400, thereby preventing ink from leaking from the air communication port 1400.

When the ink filling into the ink tank 9b through the supply port 1200 is completed, the discharge unit 9a including the parts 911 to 980 is positioned and arranged in the portion 1010. The positioning or fixing at this time is performed, for example, by using a projection 10 provided on the ink tank body 9b.
12 and a hole 931 correspondingly provided in the support 930, whereby the head cartridge 9 shown in FIG. 4 (B) is completed.

And the ink is supplied from the inside of the cartridge to the supply port 1200,
The supply tank 960 is provided through a hole 932 provided in the support 930 and an introduction port provided on the back surface side of the supply tank 960 in FIG. 4 (A).
After passing through the inside, the liquid flows from the outlet through an appropriate supply pipe and the ink inlet 942 of the top plate 940 into the common liquid chamber. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is provided at the above-mentioned connection portion for common use of ink, whereby sealing is performed and an ink supply path is secured.

Since the detachable operation mechanism including the operation lever 15 and the hook 13 is provided on the side of the carriage 11, that is, on the movement direction side of the carriage 11, the detachable operation mechanism does not form a large dead space due to the movement of the carriage.

Next, an abutment portion for positioning at the time of mounting the head cartridge will be described.

Reference numeral 601a denotes an abutting portion for positioning in the left-right direction, and is provided at two locations on the side of the abutting member 607. For positioning in the left-right direction, an abutting portion 601f provided on the support plate 606 is used in addition to the abutting portion 601a.

601b is a butting portion for positioning in the front-rear direction,
It is formed on the lower side of the abutting member 607.

601c is a butting portion for vertical positioning,
2 of the lower side of the butting member 607 and the lower side of the support plate
Formed at two places.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the carriage 11 respectively.
3A and 3B are a top view and a left side view showing a state when the head cartridge 9 is mounted on the vehicle.

In these figures, reference numeral 906a denotes an abutting portion provided on the head cartridge 9 so as to be able to abut against the abutting portion of the carriage 11 when the recording head is mounted, and 906b and 906c.
Are contact portions corresponding to the contact portions 601b and 601c, respectively.

Here, with reference to FIG. 5 (A), an outline of the engagement relationship of each part when the recording head is mounted will be outlined.

The contact portion 906a of the head cartridge 9 is in contact with the butting portion 601a of the carrier 6, and the pawl 906 of the head cartridge 9 is likewise connected to the coil spring 610 via the hook 13 sealed thereto. The force is applied to the left in the figure by the urging force. As a result, the head cartridge 9 receives a moment force centered on the contact portion. At this time, the substrate 906d provided on the head comes into contact with the abutting portion 601f, and as a result, the head cartridge 9 is positioned in the left-right direction, and the position is maintained.

At this time, the protrusion 605A of the rubber pad 605 is
Is compressed and deformed by contact with With this deformation,
A force for pressing the terminal pad of the flexible substrate 604 and the terminal of the substrate 906d is generated. In this case, since the substrate 906d is in contact with the abutting portion 601f, the amount of deformation of the protruding portion 605A is constant, and the above-described stable pressing force can be obtained.

It should be noted that FIG. 7 does not show a state in which the protrusion 605A is compressed and deformed.

The positioning of the head cartridge 9 in the front-back and up-down directions is performed during the mounting process.

6 and 7 are a side view and a top view, respectively, showing the mechanism around the head cartridge shown in FIG. 2 and the like.

In these figures, reference numeral 91 denotes a roller rotatably supported at the front end of the carriage 11. The roller 91 is provided so that a part thereof protrudes forward from the discharge port surface of the head cartridge, and comes into contact with the paper holding plate 45 and rotates thereon. Reference numeral 613 denotes a roller spring provided at the rear end of the carriage 11. Roller spring 613, roller 613
A, connecting member 613B that supports roller 613A, and connecting member 6
It is composed of a spring 613C that urges 13B in a predetermined rotation direction. The roller 613A abuts a front end plate 105 erected at the front end of the bottom plate 100 of the apparatus so as to extend in parallel with the above-described guide shaft, and rotates thereon. Connecting member 613B is Carriage 11
Is rotatably supported by a predetermined shaft 113, and the spring 6
13C is a connecting member 613 supported by a predetermined shaft of the carriage 11.
A bias is applied to rotate B counterclockwise around the axis 113. With the configuration of the roller spring 613 described above, the carriage 11 is always urged toward the paper holding plate 45.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a bearing that engages with the guide shaft 23, and is mounted on both side ends of the carriage 11. The bearing 25 has an eccentric bearing portion with respect to a case related to its mounting, and the two bearings 25 are mounted so that their eccentric directions are opposite to each other.
The bearing 25 on the side shown in FIG. 6 is provided so as to be swingable about a boss 112 provided on the carriage 11 as an axis. That is, the portion of the carriage 11 where the bearing 25 is mounted is a long hole, and the two projections 25A of the bearing 25 are restricted by the boss 112 from moving in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 6). You. As a result, the bearing 25 swings relative to the carriage 11 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 11. At this time, in the movement of the bearing 25 in the direction of the guide shaft 23, the projection 25B provided on the bearing 25 is restricted by a part of the carriage 11.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the recovery device including the cap 51, the pump 53, the blade 59, the motor 61, the cam device 63 and the like in FIG.

Here, 501 is an ink absorber arranged inside the cap 51, 503 is a holding member for holding the cap 51, and 505 is a pin.
This is a cap lever that is rotatably mounted around the 507 and that causes the cap 51 to abut / remove the discharge port forming surface of the discharge unit 9a by the force applied to the pin 507. 51
Reference numeral 1 denotes a pin that is engaged with the end portion 509 of the catch lever 505 to regulate the rotation range of the catch lever 505.

Reference numeral 513 denotes a jig having a hole into which the pin 507 of the catch bar 505 is fitted, and is used to attach the catch bar 505 to a support 515 provided on the pump 53. Reference numeral 516 denotes a fastening member for securing the attached state. Reference numeral 517 denotes an action portion which acts on the cap 51 to apply a force for bringing the cap 51 into contact with the discharge port forming surface, and is engaged with substantially the center of the rear side of the cap 51. The action section has a suction port 517A for sucked ink, and ink flow paths are formed in the inside of the jet lever 505, the pins 507, the jig 513, and the support section 515, respectively. Then, when the pump 53 exerts a suction force, ink flows through these flow paths as shown by arrows in the drawing.
Introduced within.

Reference numeral 519 denotes a shaft protruding from the center of the end face of the pump 53. The pump 53 itself can rotate around the shaft 519. This turning force is applied to the cap lever 505 via the support portion 515, and the cap 51 moves forward and backward accordingly. Joint
521 is coupled to a member 523 to which the tube 57 is attached.
An ink flow path is formed inside the shaft 519, the joint 521, and the member 523, and the ink sucked by the pump 53 flows through the flow path 57 through the flow path as indicated by an arrow in the drawing.
Through the waste ink tank 55.

525 is a piston of the pump 53, 527 is its shaft, 529 is a packing, and 531 is a cap of the pump 53. A pin 533 is attached to the piston shaft 527 and receives a force for operating the piston 525.

Reference numeral 535 denotes a blade lever to which the blade 59 is attached. The blade lever 535 is rotatably supported around a shaft protruding from an end face of the pump 53, and causes the blade 59 to protrude or retreat toward the recording head with the rotation. Reference numeral 537 denotes a spring that applies a rotating force to the blade lever 535 in a direction in which the blade 59 projects. Also, 539 is a cap 53 for the pump 53 itself.
Is a spring that gives a rotation behavior in the direction toward the recording head.

A gear train 541 transmits the rotation of the motor 61 to the cam device 63. The cam device 63 includes a cam 547 for engaging and rotating an engaging portion 545 provided on the pump 53, and a pump 53.
A cam 549 for engaging the pin 533 provided on the piston shaft 527 to operate the pump, and a cam 553 for engaging and rotating the engaging portion 551 provided on the blade lever 535.
And a cam 557 that engages with a switch 555 for detecting the home position of the cam device 63. The operation of these cams will be described later.

 FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the structure of the cap 51 and the like.

Here, in the present embodiment, the ink suction port 56 in the cap is used.
1 is opened in the lower part in the vertical direction, and the ink flow path 5 is directed toward the ink introduction port 517A provided in the action section 517 of the pump lever 505.
63 are formed. Further, the suction port 561 is not completely covered by the absorber 501.

According to this configuration, even if the ink ejected in the ejection recovery process or the like flows downward due to gravity, the ink is sucked from the suction port 561 provided below, so that the ink absorber 501
The amount of ink remaining in the ink becomes extremely small. Therefore, the life of the ink absorber or the cap 51 to which the ink absorber is attached can be extended by greatly delaying deterioration due to solidification.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are explanatory views showing the contour curves of the respective cams of the cam device 63 and the operation positions of the respective parts corresponding to the respective cam positions. The numerical values in FIG. 10 are the cam rotation angles.

In these figures, (a) shows the cam position and the state of each part when performing the recording operation. The cap 51 and the blade 59 are separated from the discharge port forming surface of the recording head, and the pump
53 is at top dead center. (B) is a home position switch
55 is the off position, and this position is the home position of the cam device 63.

This is a position set when recording is in a standby state or the like. At this time, the cap 51 covers the discharge port forming surface and the blade 59
Is retracted, and the pump 53 is also at the top dead center.

When the cam is rotated from the position (b), the cap 51
The piston 525 moves toward the bottom dead center while being joined (cap-on) to the discharge port forming surface, and the negative pressure of the suction system reaching the cap increases. Eventually, after the piston 525 reached the ink inlet of the pump and closed it (the period during which the valve was closed), the valve began to open (109.5 ° point),
Fully open (130.5 ° point), after which piston 525 reaches position (c) near bottom dead center. In consideration of the fluid resistance of the ink suction system, sufficient rotation is performed by stopping rotation of the cam at this position for a predetermined time, and then rotating the cam again, the piston 525 reaches the bottom dead center and the cap is closed. Reference numeral 51 starts to separate from the discharge port forming surface. This position (d) is held for a predetermined time.

Then, when the cam is further rotated, the piston 525 starts to move toward the top dead center again. In this process, the valve starts to close (209.
5 ° point), then completely occluded point (230.5 ° point)
On the other hand, at the position (e), the cap 51 is completely separated from the discharge port forming surface. By driving the piston 525 several times in this vicinity, the ink remaining in the ink suction system is sucked (empty suction) toward the pump. The left and right spaces of the piston 525 in the pump are:
The flow path is communicated with a flow path (not shown). The flow path is closed when the piston moves from top dead center to bottom dead center, and is opened when the piston moves from bottom dead center to top dead center. The space on the right side of the piston communicates with a flow path provided on the pump shaft 519. Therefore,
In the process of idle suction, when the piston 525 moves from bottom dead center to top dead center, the ink introduced into the space on the left side of the piston is transferred to the space on the right side, and when the piston 525 moves from top dead center to bottom dead center, the ink suction system , Ink is introduced into the left space, and ink is discharged from the right space to the waste ink tank.

Thereafter, when the cam is further rotated in the forward direction, the blade 59 protrudes to be ready for wiping 8 (position (f)). When the carriage 11 is moved to the recording area side in this state, the blade 59 is engaged with the ejection port forming surface of the head and the surface thereof is wiped, and the ink and the like attached to the ejection port forming surface are wiped. Then, the cam is further rotated to retract the blade 55 and set the cam at the position (a). In this state, the carriage 11 is moved to the cap side, and the discharge port forming surface of the head is opposed to the cap 51, and then the cam is moved to the position (b) to be the cap-on and stopped.

When shifting from the standby state to recording, the cam may be rotated in the positive or negative direction from the position (b) to protrude the blade 59, and wiping may be performed before recording.

Next, a control configuration for controlling each unit of the document processing apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes characters processed from the keyboard 1 and displayed on the display 6 or
Is a control unit that operates the printer unit 8 based on a recording instruction from the printer. The control unit 10 includes an MPU 1000 that executes various control procedures, and a ROM 100 that stores the above control procedures and data.
1, R used for work area etc. in the above control execution
It comprises an AM 1002, a CG 1003 that stores character patterns such as characters input from the keyboard unit 1, and an interface unit 1004 that connects to external devices such as the keyboard unit 1. The control unit 10 and the printer unit 8 are electrically connected by a signal line 1005.

The printer unit 8 has a printer control unit 80 that controls the head 9 and the like in order to reduce the load on the control unit 10. The printer control unit 80 has substantially the same configuration as that of the control unit 10, and includes an MPU 800, a ROM 801, a RAM 802, a timer 803 for measuring time, and an interface unit 804.

The printer control unit 80 of the printer unit 8 controls the head 9, the carriage motor 31, and the transport motor.
35 and a recovery motor 61, which are driven by a head driver 9A and motor drivers 31A, 35A, 61A, respectively. These motors 31, 35 and 61 have a stepping motor configuration, and the rotation direction is controlled according to the excitation phase. Further, based on the detection of the recovery system home sensor 65 and the carriage home sensor 67, the printer control unit 80 can recognize the cap position and the movement position of the carriage 11. Further, based on the detection of the transmission type or reflection type paper sensor 69 including the light emitting element and the light receiving element, it is possible to recognize that the recording medium is set in the paper feed tray 4.

In the above control configuration, when a document creation process is performed and a print start command is issued by pressing a print key (not shown) of the keyboard unit 1, the MPU 1000 of the control unit 10 refers to the CG 1003 for a document such as an input character. And convert it to print data. The MPU 1000 adds a control command to the converted print data, and transfers the control data to the printer control unit 80 via the interface unit 1004 and the signal line 1005. Upon receiving the transfer data, the MPU 800 of the printer control unit 80 controls the head 9 and executes printing while interpreting the control commands added to the print data based on the command table stored in the ROM 801.

FIG. 13 shows a table of the above-described control commands stored in the ROM 801 of the printer control unit 80. In the figure, C1
Is a print start command indicating the start of printing, and C2 is a print end command indicating the end of printing. When data includes a plurality of pages, it means that the printing of the last page is completed. C3 is a data transfer command indicating that print data is transferred by the number indicated by the next data to be transferred.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a data format transferred from the control unit 10 to the printer control unit 80. First, a print start command D1 is transferred, and a data transfer command D2, a transfer data number (N) D3, N pieces of data D4, and a line feed command D5 are transferred.

Next, as to the control procedure in which the printer control unit 80, which has received the transfer data from the control unit 10 as described above, recognizes the position of the carriage, the flowcharts and timings shown in FIGS. 15 to 18 and FIG. This will be described with reference to a chart.

The control procedure of FIG. 15 is started when the power of the printer unit 8 is turned on and a predetermined initialization operation is completed.

First, in step S1, the MPU 800 controls the host unit as a control unit.
Data is received from 10 and it is determined whether or not there is transfer data. If the data has not arrived, it is determined in step S2 whether or not T seconds have elapsed since the data has stopped coming. If not, the process proceeds to step S1, and if it has elapsed, the cap 5 is closed in step S3, and the process proceeds to step S1. Return to

The operation of closing the cap 51 described above is described in FIGS.
In the figure, the recovery system motor is set so that the position of the cam device 63 changes from the recording operation position (a) to the home position position (b).
This is done by driving 61. The operation of opening the cap 51, which will be described later, is performed by driving the recovery motor 61 so that the position of the cam device 63 changes from the home position (b) to the recording operation position (a).

Also, if the data has arrived at step S1, step S4
Analyze the data at step 2.
If it is S5, the recording end data, the process goes to step S7. If it is the recording related data (carriage movement, paper feed, etc.), the process goes to step S9.

In step S5, the cap 51 is opened, and in step S6, the position of the carriage 11 that stores the excitation phase as reference position information, which will be described in detail later, is recognized, and the process returns to step S1.

In step S7, the position of the carriage is recognized without using the excitation phase as reference position information, which will be described in detail later. In step S8, the cap 51 is closed, and the process returns to step S1. Therefore, even if the carriage 11 is disturbed during recording and the stored reference excitation phase becomes meaningless, the recording head capping is not affected.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not the cap 51 is open. If the cap 51 is open, the process proceeds to step S12. If it is not open, the cap is opened in step S10, and then in step S11, the position of the carriage 11 is recognized using the excitation phase as reference position information, which will be described in detail later, and the process proceeds to step S12 to execute recording-related data. Return to step S1. Therefore, the recording position does not shift between the upper and lower rows.

FIG. 16 shows the details of step S6 in FIG.
This is a flowchart for storing the excitation phase when the carriage position is recognized.

First, in step S101, the sensor output from the carriage sensor 67 is detected, and it is checked whether the carriage 11 is on the left or right of the current sensor position. Where the carriage sensor
As shown in Fig. 19, the sensor output from 67
The level changes 10 steps to the right of the position where 51 is performed. If the sensor output is not 1, the carriage is to the right of the sensor position, so the carriage is moved left by one step in step S102, the sensor output is detected in step S103, and steps S102 and S103 are repeated until the sensor output becomes 1. . If the sensor output becomes 1 in step S103, the process proceeds to step S104 and moves leftward by 5 steps.

This is because the operation of steps S102 to S104 is not performed in the same direction as the sensor detection, resulting in displacement of the carriage drive system between the right direction and the left direction in the backlash or the like. In the present embodiment, an example in which the detection is performed when the carriage 11 moves to the right is given, so that the carriage 11 is a carriage sensor.
When it is to the left of 67, it is intended to bring it to the right of the sensor. Also, the five steps in step S104 may be any step amount that eliminates backlash and the like when the moving direction of the carriage 11 changes.

Next, the flow goes to step S105, and since the sensor output is 1, it is known that the carriage 11 is on the left side of the sensor position. Therefore, the carriage 11 is moved right by one step in step S105, and the sensor output is detected in step S106. Steps S105 and S106 are repeated until the output becomes 0.
If the sensor output becomes 0 in step S106, the process goes to step S107, and the excitation phase (Nth phase) that is currently being output is set to RA in FIG.
Store it in M802. Here, the stepping motor is
As shown in the figure, when driving in phase III, N is 1 to 8
Take the value of

Then, the process proceeds to step S108, and the ten-step amount cartridge 11 is moved to the left and brought to the position of the cap 51 as shown in FIG. This step S108 is not particularly necessary in the operation at the start of recording.

FIG. 17 shows the details of step S7 in FIG.
This is a flowchart in which the excitation phase is not stored when the carriage is recognized.

The operations of steps S201 to S206 in FIG. 17 are the same as those of steps S101 to S106 in FIG. If the sensor output becomes 0 in step S206 in FIG. 17, the process proceeds to step S207 without storing the excitation phase, and as shown in FIG.
Bring to position 51.

FIG. 18 shows the details of step S11 in FIG.
This is a flowchart performed when the carriage 11 is moved for recording or the like after the cap is opened. this is,
The position recognition of the carriage 11 using the stored excitation phase is not performed.

Carriage 11 is the 19th since the cap is open.
You are in the cap position shown. Accordingly, the carriage 11 is moved right by one step in step S301, the sensor output is detected in step S302, and step S30 is performed until the sensor output becomes zero.
1. Repeat step S302. If the sensor output becomes 0 in step S302, the process proceeds to step S303. In step S303, the currently output excitation phase (referred to as the n-th phase)
The excitation phase (N-th phase) stored in step S107 is compared. Then, if the Nth phase and the nth phase are the same, no correction is performed, and if the Nth phase and the nth phase are adjacent phases, one step correction is performed. The correction value K is obtained from the correction value conversion table according to (1), and the current position of the carriage 11 is recognized as being (10 + K) steps to the right from the position of the cap.

As described above, in this embodiment, the carriage 11 is based on the excitation phase as the reference position information stored during recording.
(Step S11), the recording does not shift between the upper and lower rows. In addition, the running of the carriage 11 is disturbed by an external factor (a paper jam or the like) generated during recording, and tooth skipping or the like occurs in the gears of the motor drive system, so that the excitation phase as the stored reference position information is meaningless. Even if
Regarding the capping at the end of the recording or at the time of the suction recovery, the position recognition is performed without using the reference excitation phase at the time of outputting the detection signal (step S7), so that the capping of the recording head is not affected.

Therefore, there are no problems such as an ejection failure due to a capping failure or an inability to suck ink through the cap at the time of suction recovery, and the capability of the recording head can be maintained for a long time.

Even if the reference excitation phase becomes insignificant due to gear tooth skipping or the like due to the above-mentioned external factors, the excitation phase of the stepping motor at the time when the detection signal is output at the start of recording is used as the reference position information. As a memory (step
Since S6), the excitation phase as reference position information is valid after the start of the next page or the next recording.

In this embodiment, the excitation phase as the reference position information is stored again at the start of recording.
At the end of recording, at the time of capping at the time of suction recovery, position recognition is performed without using the reference excitation phase stored at the time of output of the detection signal, and at the same time, the excitation phase of the stepping motor when the detection signal is output is used. As reference position information,
It may be stored again.

Also, in the case where the recording head is capped during recording (step S3), if the position of the carriage is recognized without using the reference excitation phase when the detection signal is output, the position of the recording head and the position of the cap 51 do not shift. . However, in this case, time is required since the position recognition control of the carriage 11 (for example, step S7) is performed before the capping is performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 10 transfers the recording data to the printer control unit 80 of the printer unit 8, and the printer control unit
Although the recording is performed by controlling the head 9 and the like, the control unit 10 may directly control the printer 8.

Further, the present invention brings about an excellent effect particularly in a bubble jet type recording apparatus among ink jet recording apparatuses. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

Regarding the typical configuration and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796. This method can be applied to any of a so-called on-demand type and a continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, the electrothermal converter disposed corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the liquid (ink) is provided with a rapid response corresponding to the recorded information and exceeding the boiling point. By applying at least one drive signal that gives rise to a temperature rise, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, causing film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed, which is effective. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. U.S. Pat. No. 44
Those described in 63359 and 43435262 are suitable. Further, when the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As a configuration of the recording head, in addition to a combination configuration of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter (a linear liquid path or a right-angle liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, a heat acting section A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which the is bent, is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a slit common to a plurality of electrothermal transducers is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal transducer, The effect of the present invention is effective even when a recording head configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit.
That is, whatever the form of the recording head is, the recording can be performed reliably and efficiently.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by combining a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as a single recording head that is integrally formed. In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above-described embodiment, a convertible chip-type recording that can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body or supplied with ink from the measure main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided integrally with the head or the recording head itself is used.

Regarding the type or number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one recording head is provided corresponding to a single color ink, and a plurality of recording heads are provided corresponding to a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. May be used.

In addition, the form of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention may be a form used for an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, or a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may be something.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of recording deviation during recording, and to recognize the position of the carriage that can reliably perform the capping at the end of recording.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B are external perspective views of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a document processing apparatus during use and storage, and FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration of a printer applicable to the present invention. 3 is an external perspective view of the head cartridge shown in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are an exploded perspective view and an external perspective view of the head cartridge shown in FIG. 5 (A) and 5 (B) are a top view and a side view showing a state where the head cartridge is mounted on the carriage, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are other carriages shown in FIG. 2 and the like. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the discharge recovery mechanism shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a cap portion of the mechanism, FIG. Fig. 10 is a timing chart showing a series of recovery operations in the above mechanism. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the operation of each part in the ejection recovery operation of the mechanism in time sequence, FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a control configuration in the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 and the like, and FIG. 14 is a data table transferred in the above-described control configuration, FIG. 15 to FIG. 18 are flow charts showing control procedures in the above-described control configuration, and FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an excitation phase used in the above configuration, and FIG. 21 is a correction table used in the above configuration. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Keyboard part 2 ... Key group 6 ... Display unit 8 ... Printer part 9 ... Head cartridge 10 ... Control part 11 ... Carriage 31 ... Carriage motor 35 ... Carrier motor 51 ... Cap 53 … Pump 61… Recovery motor 63… Cam device 67… Carriage sensor 80… Printer control unit 501… Absorber

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording head that discharges ink from a discharge port onto a recording medium, comprising: a cap formed so as to cover a discharge port forming surface of the recording head; A stepping motor for driving a carriage on which the head is mounted in accordance with the supplied excitation phase; detecting means for detecting that the carriage driven by the stepping motor has reached a predetermined position; and a detection signal from the detecting means. Storage means for storing the excitation phase of the stepping motor at the time of output as a reference excitation phase at the start of each recording period; and storing the excitation phase of the stepping motor and the storage means at the time of outputting the detection signal. A first position recognition mode for recognizing the position of the carriage by comparing with a reference excitation phase; Position recognition means having a second position recognition mode for recognizing the position of the carriage without depending on the stored reference excitation phase; and when the detection signal is output during a recording period, the first position recognition mode is used. And a control means for recognizing the position of the carriage in the second position recognition mode when the detection signal is output when the recording head is covered with the cap at the end of a recording period. apparatus. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means recognizes the position of said carriage in said second position recognition mode when said detection signal is output when said recording head is covered with said cap during a recording period. Claim (1)
3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The recording head is provided with a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink, and for each of the corresponding ejection ports, and causes a state change due to heat in the ink to cause the ink to flow from the ejection ports based on the state change. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a thermal energy generating unit configured to discharge and form flying droplets.