JP2935264B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with suction recovery means for sucking ink from a discharge port of a recording head. [Prior Art] An ink jet recording apparatus supplies ink into a recording head, drives driving elements corresponding to a plurality of ejection ports formed on the front surface of the recording head based on a data signal, and performs recording from each ejection port. This is to form a flying ink droplet toward the medium and record while attaching the ink droplet. In this type of ink jet recording device, the ink supply system is filled with ink without interruption when unpacking, replacing the ink, replacing the recording head, etc., to maintain good ink ejection, or when dust or thickened ink adheres. Alternatively, for the purpose of maintaining the image quality by eliminating the clogging of the discharge port caused by air bubbles and the like, the discharge port is sealed by a cap and a negative pressure source generates a negative pressure suction force in the cap to discharge the image. A suction recovery operation of sucking ink through the outlet is performed. This suction recovery operation is performed by a method of sucking ink from the ejection openings through a cap. In performing this recovery operation, various recovery operations from normal recovery to strong recovery are performed depending on the state of the print head or the use conditions. An operation is selected and a necessary degree of recovery operation is performed to eliminate waste of ink consumption. For example, in general, a strong recovery operation is required at the time of unpacking or filling of the initial ink supply system, a medium recovery operation (slightly stronger than usual) is required at the time of resuming recording, and a normal recovery operation is performed when necessary. Is performed. By the way, in the conventional inkjet recording apparatus, various operation switches are provided according to various recovery operations, and a user obtains a predetermined recovery operation command by selecting one of the plurality of switches. However, in such a conventional suction recovery operation, it is necessary to select an appropriate switch from a plurality of switches, and the operation is complicated for the user, and the possibility of erroneous operation is high. Further, since a plurality of switches are provided for the recovery operation, there are inconveniences such as a complicated structure and an extra space. When the recovery operation is performed in a single operation, the switch is pressed each time one recovery operation is completed, which is inconvenient for strong recovery. [Purpose] The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional technique. An object of the present invention is to enable a desired recovery operation to be selected from a plurality of recovery operations with a single switch, thereby facilitating the recovery operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can reduce the number of switches and prevent erroneous operations. [Means for Achieving the Object] In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is a suction recovery unit that performs a suction recovery operation of sucking ink from the discharge port to recover ink discharge of the print head. A single switch for selecting a suction recovery operation to be performed by the suction recovery unit from a plurality of types of suction recovery operations, a detection unit for detecting the number of times the switch is pressed, It is set in advance to an extent suitable for recovering ink ejection in accordance with the state or use condition, and a plurality of types of suction recovery operation times or suction recovery operation times corresponding to the number of times the switch is pressed. From among them, based on the number of times detected by the detection means, any one of the suction recovery operation time or the number of suction recovery operations is selected, and the selected operation is performed. A suction recovery operation selection control unit for causing the suction recovery operation unit to perform a suction recovery operation during or during the number of operations; and a display for performing a display corresponding to the suction recovery operation time or the number of suction recovery operations selected by the suction recovery operation selection control unit. Means. EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus suitable for applying the present invention. In FIG. 1, a sheet (recording medium) 3 which is fed in the direction of arrow A through sheet feed rollers 1 and 2 installed at predetermined intervals above and below is moved along a guide shaft 4 and 4 along a guide shaft. A carriage 5 is provided, and a recording head (inkjet head) 6 is mounted on the carriage. The recording head 6 faces the sheet 3 with an interval of, for example, about 0.8 mm. A plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink droplets for image formation are formed on the front surface of the recording head 6. The carriage 5 is reciprocated in the direction of the double arrow by a carriage drive motor 8 via a belt transmission mechanism 9. At the time of recording, in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 5 in the width direction of the sheet 3, the driving elements of the respective ejection ports of the recording head 6 are driven to form flying ink droplets from the respective ejection ports toward the sheet 3. Record. After the recording is completed, the recording head 6 is stopped at the home position H outside the recording range, and a pump suction type suction recovery device 10 is provided at the home position. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the suction recovery device 10. In FIG. 2, a motor 12 as a driving source and a suction pump 13 for a suction recovery operation are mounted on a frame 11, and a print head 6 is provided at a front portion (the print head 6 side).
The cap 14, which is pressed (closely contacted) in an airtight state, is guided and supported so as to be able to move forward and backward (in the direction of arrow F). A porous ink absorber 15 is provided on the front surface (close contact surface) of the cap 14. The inside of the cap 14 and the suction pump 13 are connected by a suction tube 16, and a waste ink tube 17 for discharging the sucked ink is connected to the discharge side of the suction pump. Therefore, on the frame 11, a cap driving gear 19 having an inner cam 18 for driving the cap 14 back and forth.
And a pump drive gear 21 having an end face cam 20 for driving the suction pump 13 are pivotally supported.
The motor 21 is driven by the motor 12 via a gear train. A lever is provided between the pump drive gear 21 and the suction pump 13.
When the pump drive gear rotates, the end face cam 20 swings the lever 22, and the movement of the lever 22 drives the suction pump 13. Further, the entire suction recovery device 10 described above can also be driven in a direction approaching or moving away from the recording head 6. The suction recovery operation is performed by bringing the cap 14 into close contact with the recording head 6 at the home position HP and driving the pump 13 to suck out ink through the discharge ports by the suction force. However, in the embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, when the user performs a recovery operation,
When the ink recovery operation switch is pressed, the number of times the switch is pressed is detected by a counter, and the recovery operation is operated for a preset time based on the number of detections, or the recovery operation is repeated a predetermined number of times. Is controlled. For example, after unpacking or refilling ink, if the ink is not distributed to the ink supply system and a particularly strong suction recovery operation is required, the user can detect this and manually operate the recovery operation switch. When the button is pressed the number of times described in the above, the number of operations is detected by a sensor such as a counter, and a strong suction recovery operation corresponding to the number of operations, that is, a sufficiently long recovery operation time (time for holding the suction pump 13 in a suction state) Alternatively, control is performed so that a sufficient number of repetitions of the recovery operation (for example, the number of suction operations of the suction pump 13 is increased by rotating the pump drive gear 21 forward and backward). On the other hand, when the recovery operation button is pressed once, the control is performed so as to perform a normal recovery operation in which the suction operation is short or the number of suction operations is small. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system suitable for executing the above-described recovery operation. In FIG. 3, a counter 31 is provided alongside a control unit (MPU) 30 of the recording apparatus, and various control switches 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D, 33E provided on an operation panel 32 are pressed to control the control unit 30. A command signal is provided, and the control unit 30 controls each operation unit of the recording apparatus such as a sheet supply system and a carriage drive system based on these command signals. Some of the operation switches 33A to 33E include an LF switch and an FF switch.
A recovery operation switch 33A is also provided together with the switch. A display 34 is provided next to the recovery operation switch 33A to display information on the strength of the recovery operation such as the mode of the recovery operation or the number of times the switch is pressed. Further, a buzzer 40 that emits the number of times the recovery operation switch 33A is pressed is provided. A control signal is transmitted from the control unit 30 to the drive source 35 of the recovery device 36, and the recovery device 36 is driven by operating the drive source 35. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 6 denotes a recording head, and reference numeral 38 denotes an ink supply source. When the recording head 6 is at the home position HP (first
2), and when the motor 12 (FIG. 2) is driven, the cap 14 (FIG. 2) first advances and is pressed against the recording head 6 to cap the discharge port. When the motor 12 is further driven, the suction pump 13 (FIG. 2) is driven via the lever 22 (FIG. 2), and the suction pump 13 (FIG. 2) and the suction negative pressure generated in the cap 14 pass through the discharge port. Ink is sucked (sucked out). This suction recovery operation is activated by pressing the recovery operation switch 33A. In addition, a suction recovery operation having different strengths is performed in several stages depending on the number of times the switch 33A is pressed. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure when performing a suction recovery operation in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 4, when the recovery operation is started in step 100, first, in step 101, the recovery operation switch (purge S
W) Detects whether 33A is on or not.
Proceeding to 2, it is determined whether or not the number of times the switch 33A is pressed is smaller than N1. This N1 is set, for example, once. If the number of times the switch 33A is pressed is N1 or less, step 1
Proceeding to 03, a normal recovery operation, for example, a recovery operation of performing a normal time suction operation once is performed. If the number of presses of the switch 33A is not N1 or less, the process proceeds to step 104, and it is determined whether or not the number of presses is N2 (N2> N1) or less. For example, three times can be set as N2. If N2 or less, the routine proceeds to step 105, where a recovery operation is performed to a strength suitable for recovering ink empty (out of ink), that is, a recovery operation stronger than the normal recovery operation. As the ink empty recovery operation, for example, an operation is performed in which the recovery operation time is set to 3 to 5 times the normal time or the number of recovery operations is set to 3 to 5 times. If the number of presses of the switch 33A is equal to or more than N2 in step 104, the process proceeds to step 106, and it is determined whether or not the number of times is equal to or more than N3 (N3> N2). As N3, for example, five times can be set. If N3 or less, the process proceeds to step 107, where a sufficiently strong suction recovery operation required at the time of initial ink filling or filling of a plurality of color inks is performed. As the strong recovery operation in this case, for example, the operation time is set to 5 to 10 times the recovery operation of the normal recovery operation, or the number of recovery operations is set to 5 to 10 times (5 to 10 times) the normal recovery operation. ) Set the operation to be performed. If the number of times the switch is pressed is N3 or more in step 106,
Proceeding to step 108, the strongest suction recovery operation suitable for, for example, loading (unpacking) the printer is performed. The recovery operation in this case is set to, for example, an operation in which the operation time is 10 times or more as usual, or an operation in which the number of operations is 10 times or more (10 times or more) as usual. The recovery operation is completed by performing any one of the recovery operations set in accordance with the number of times the switch is pressed in the above procedure. In the above-described recovery operation, the number of times N of pressing the operation switch 33A is set to the operation panel 32 so that the user can confirm what kind of recovery operation is being performed.
Is displayed on the display 34 (FIG. 3) in a segment display or the like. In addition to or instead of displaying the number of presses N, the type of recovery operation such as the normal recovery operation described above, the strong recovery operation at the time of initial ink supply or ink filling, and the cap 14 (FIG. 12) An operation or a mode relating to various recovery systems such as a sealing operation can be displayed or a lamp can be displayed. Further, the buzzer 40 (FIG. 3) can notify (display) the recovery mode by various oscillation sounds as shown in FIG. According to the embodiment described above, conventionally, a plurality of switches are provided corresponding to various recovery operations, and it is necessary to perform a selection operation or a combination operation with other switches,
Various suction recovery operations can be properly used with only one recovery operation switch and a simple operation of pressing several times, so that the structure can be simplified and downsized and the operation can be facilitated. Also, a display that indicates the type of suction recovery operation to be used
34 and the buzzer 40 are additionally provided to prevent erroneous operation by the user when performing the recovery operation, and the user can easily and reliably select and execute a desired operation from various suction recovery operations. . [Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording using a recording head having an ejection port for ejecting ink to a recording medium, wherein the ink of the recording head is A suction recovery means for performing a suction recovery operation for sucking ink from the discharge port in order to recover the ejection, and a single operation for selecting a suction recovery operation to be performed by the suction recovery means from a plurality of types of suction recovery operations. And a detecting means for detecting the number of times the switch has been pressed, and the switch is set in advance to an extent suitable for restoring ink ejection in accordance with the state of the recording head or use conditions. From a plurality of types of suction recovery operation times or suction recovery operation times corresponding to the number of times of pressing, based on the number of times detected by the detection means, Suction recovery operation selection control means for selecting any one of the suction recovery operation time and the number of suction recovery operations, and causing the suction recovery means to perform the suction recovery operation in the selected operation time or number of operations; and Display means for performing a display corresponding to the suction recovery operation time or the number of suction recovery operations selected by the control means, and
Since a preset recovery operation can be selected from a plurality of types of recovery operations according to the number of times a single switch is pressed, a desired recovery operation can be selected from a plurality of recovery operations with a single switch. Since the selected recovery operation can be confirmed on the display means, the recovery operation is easy, the number of switches can be reduced, and an erroneous operation can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus suitable for applying the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a recovery device in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of an ink jet recording apparatus suitable for applying the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a suction recovery operation in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing intervals of various oscillation sounds when the type of suction recovery operation is displayed by the buzzer in FIG. 3 ... recording medium (recording sheet), 5 ... carriage, 6
Recording head, 10 Recovery device, 12 Recovery motor, 13 Suction pump, 14 Cap, 30 Control unit, 31 Counter, 32 Operation panel, 33A Recovery operation switch, 34 …… Display unit, 36 …… Recovery device, 40…
… Buzzer, HP …… Home position.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording using a recording head having an ejection port for ejecting ink to a recording medium, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus performs a suction recovery operation of sucking ink from the ejection port to recover ink ejection of the recording head. A suction recovery unit, a single switch for selecting a suction recovery operation to be performed by the suction recovery unit from a plurality of types of suction recovery operations, a detection unit for detecting the number of times the switch is pressed, A plurality of suction recovery operation times or suction recovery times corresponding to the number of times the switch has been pressed are set in advance to an extent suitable for recovering ink ejection in accordance with the state of the recording head or use conditions. From the number of operations, one of the suction recovery operation times or the number of suction recovery operations is selected based on the number of times detected by the detection means. A suction recovery operation selection control means for causing the suction recovery operation to perform a suction recovery operation at the selected operation time or number of operations, and a suction recovery operation time or a number of suction recovery operations selected by the suction recovery operation selection control means. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: display means for performing a corresponding display.