JP3165802B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus using a replaceable recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, OA devices such as personal computers and word processors have become widespread. As one of methods for outputting information input by these devices, there is an ink jet recording method for obtaining a desired recording by ejecting ink and attaching the ink to a recording material. In this method, an ink jet head having a plurality of ejection ports is used, and ink is ejected from the ejection ports using mechanical or thermal energy to adhere to a recording material and perform recording.

There is an increasing demand for such a recording method to be applied to a recording apparatus connected to a color image reading apparatus, a color video apparatus, and the like for reproducing color photographs and color originals. In response to this demand, color ink jet recording apparatuses using a plurality of inks have been actively developed. In such color recording, recording of a halftone image (halftone) is required, and high-definition color image recording is also required.

In order to satisfy these demands, it is necessary to make all the plurality of discharge ports have the same diameter, to make the formed discharge ports have the same directionality, and to make the discharge pressure completely constant. Required.

[0005] However, at present, ink jet recording heads have a slight difference in resistance between the discharge ports inherent in the head due to the structure or manufacturing characteristics, or the resistance value of the resistor in a head utilizing thermal energy. Will occur.

When ink is ejected from such a head, these factors have a synergistic effect, causing variations in the amount of ink ejected between the ejection openings of the head and between the heads, and uneven ejection. In such a discharge state, density unevenness is conspicuous particularly in a halftone recorded image, and it has not been possible to sufficiently cope with a demand for high-definition image recording.

[0007] In order to satisfy this requirement, data relating to uneven density of each head is measured at the time of manufacturing the ink jet head. Based on this measurement, correction data for correcting head driving conditions and various characteristics when performing image processing is written in advance to a storage device such as a semiconductor memory (for example, ROM) and is mounted on a product to perform ejection control. A method has been proposed for improving the above-mentioned problem.

On the other hand, there has been proposed a recording head cartridge of a type in which a recording head section and an ink tank section are integrated so as to be replaceable with respect to the apparatus in order to achieve low cost and high recording quality of the apparatus. With this type of head,
Matching between the apparatus main body and the cartridge cannot be performed in advance. Therefore, it has been proposed to adopt a configuration in which a cartridge is provided with a semiconductor memory storing the above-described head characteristics.

Further, since the above-mentioned replaceable recording head is a cartridge integrated with the ink tank, the characteristics of the recording head may be deteriorated due to a shock during transportation, a change in environment, or the like. Therefore, when the recording head is replaced with a new recording head, the recording apparatus needs to perform a recovery operation in order to reproduce the recording head.

Furthermore, a color recording apparatus generally requires recording heads of a plurality of colors, such as cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. Therefore, when a replaceable recording head is used, erroneous mounting of the recording head is prevented. There is a need to.

[0011]

In a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, when a recording head is replaced, a user manually performs a recording head recovery operation before using the recording head. For this reason, the user must perform a recovery operation in addition to replacing the recording head, and an improvement in operability is desired. In addition, if the user forgets the recovery operation when replacing the recording head, optimal recording cannot be performed. Similarly, when the recording head having the storage device storing the correction data is replaced, the user needs to perform an operation of reading the correction data into the apparatus main body so that the apparatus main body performs optimal driving of the recording head. is there.

As described above, when a replaceable recording head is replaced, an operation by a user is indispensable for performing optimum printing, and improvement in operability is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of easily optimizing recording after replacing a recording head.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is a replaceable ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording using a recording head having head characteristic information. Detecting means for detecting the head characteristic information read from the recording head; driving means for outputting a driving signal based on the head characteristic information stored in the storage means to the recording head; Reading means for storing head characteristic information read from the recording head in the storage means when the means detects that the recording head has been replaced with a new recording head, wherein the detecting means comprises a main body hardware. It is characterized by detecting that the recording head has been replaced immediately after the check. Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording using a recording head having exchangeable head characteristic information, wherein a detecting unit for detecting that the recording head has been replaced, and a readout from the recording head. Storage means for storing head characteristic information, driving means for outputting a drive signal based on the head characteristic information stored in the storage means to the recording head,
When the detecting unit detects that the recording head has been replaced with a new recording head, the storage unit includes a read control unit that stores head characteristic information read from the recording head, and the read control unit includes: When the detecting means detects that the recording head has been replaced with a new recording head, the use start time of the recording head is stored in the recording head.

[0015]

(Operation) According to the above configuration, when the detecting unit detects that the recording head has been replaced with a new recording head, the read control unit stores the head characteristic information read from the recording head in the storage unit. Further, it is possible to easily optimize the recording after the replacement of the recording head without requiring any operation by the user.

[0017]

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are flowcharts showing the main control of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. The outline of the main control will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the power is turned on, the apparatus performs an initial check of the apparatus in step S1. This check is to check the ROM and RAM of the apparatus, that is, check programs and data to confirm whether the apparatus can operate normally. In step S2, a correction value of the temperature sensor circuit is read. In step S3, an initial jam check is performed. In this embodiment, even when the front door is closed, an initial jam check is performed in step S3. Step S4
Then, in the next step, a check on the device side necessary for reading the information of the recording head is performed. Step S5
Reads data from a ROM incorporated in the recording head. Next, initial data is set in step S6.

In step S7, the initial temperature control at 20 ° C. is started, and in step S8, a recovery operation determination [1] (determination of whether or not to perform a suction recovery operation when the power is turned on) is performed. The above is the description of the sequence flow up to the wait state.

Next, a sequence flow in the standby state will be described. In step S9, the temperature is controlled at 20 ° C., and in step S10, standby idle discharge is performed. In step S11, it is checked whether there is no paper feed. If there is no paper feed, the process proceeds to step S21. It is checked in step S12 whether the cleaning button has been pressed, and if so, the cleaning operation is performed in step S13. If the RHS button has been pressed in step S14, the RHS mode flag is set in step S15. Here, RHS refers to a head shading process for correcting the density unevenness of the recording head. The density unevenness of the printed pattern is read by a reading unit (reader) to correct the density unevenness.

If the paper is fed manually in step S16, a manual feed flag is set in step S17, and the flow advances to step S22, which is a copy start sequence. If the OHP button is turned on in step S18, step S1
In step 9, the OHP mode flag is set, and if not turned on, the OHP mode flag is reset in step S20. If the copy button is pressed in step S21, the process proceeds to step S22, which is a copy start sequence. On the other hand, if it has not been pressed, the process returns to step S9. When the cleaning operation is completed in step S13, the process returns to step S9.

Next, the copy sequence will be described. In step S22, the fan for suppressing the temperature rise in the apparatus is rotated, and in step S23, the temperature control at 25 ° C. is started. Step S
At 24, it is checked whether or not the paper is fed.
To perform idle discharge [1] (N = 100), and step S29
Proceed to. Here, N indicates the number of times of idle discharge. Step S
At 26, a recovery operation is determined [2] (whether to perform a suction recovery operation before paper feeding), and paper is fed at the next step S27. In step S28, a paper width and paper type detection operation is performed. In step S29, it is checked whether to move the image. If the image is to be moved, the sub-scanning movement (paper movement) is performed in step S30. If the image is not to be moved, the flow proceeds to step S31. In step S31, it is checked whether the temperature of the write head has reached 25 ° C. or higher. If the temperature is equal to or higher than 25 ° C., a recovery operation determination [3] (a determination as to whether or not to perform a recovery operation based on the amount of ink evaporation in the non-capping state) is made in step S32, and a one-line portion is determined in step S33. Perform the recording operation. Thereafter, in step S34, the recovery operation is determined [6].
(Determining whether to perform a recovery operation based on the wiping timing) is performed, and the sheet is conveyed in step S35.

In step S36, it is checked whether the recording operation has been completed. If completed, data such as the number of prints is written into the ROM of the head, and then the process proceeds to step S37. If not, the process returns to step S31. In step S37, it is checked whether or not to shift to the standby state.

Step S38 and subsequent steps are a routine for performing a paper discharging operation and a recovery operation after printing one sheet [4] (removal of print bubbles, removal of bubbles in the liquid chamber, cooling and recovery at abnormally high temperatures). In step S38, it is checked whether or not there is a sheet discharging operation. If there is no sheet discharging operation, the process waits for the temperature to drop to 45 ° C. or less in steps S39, S40, and S41. If the temperature does not fall within two minutes, the abnormality is stopped in step S42. If the temperature falls below 45 ° C., a wiping operation is performed in step S50, and
The idle ejection operation (N = 50) is performed in 43, and the next step S4
8. Capping is performed. If there is a paper ejection operation, step S
At 44, a paper discharging operation is performed. In step S45, it is checked whether continuous printing is performed. If continuous printing is performed, the recovery operation is determined in step S47 [4].
After that, the process returns to step S24. If it is not continuous printing,
A recovery operation determination [4] is performed in step S46, and after the determination, capping is performed in step S48 as in the case where there is no paper ejection. Then, in step S49, the fan is stopped, the process returns to step S9, and the copy operation ends.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the initial jam check routine in step S3. This routine is a jam detection immediately after the power is turned on. Step S
In steps S201 to S204, a paper feed sensor, a paper discharge sensor, a paper float detection sensor, and a paper width sensor are used to check whether a recording sheet or the like is in the transport path or near the carriage. If so, it is determined to be a jam and a warning is issued; otherwise, the process returns to the main flow.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the head information reading routine in step S5. At step S301, a serial number unique to the write head is read, and the value of the serial number is set to FFF.
Check whether it is FH (step S302). Serial No. is F
If FFFH, it is determined that there is no head in step S304, and an error occurs. If the serial number is not FFFFH, the color information of the head is read in step S303. In step S305, it is checked from the color information whether the head is mounted at a regular position designated for each color. If the head is mounted correctly, the process proceeds to step S306, and if the head is erroneously mounted, the process proceeds to step S307.

In step S306, the remaining head information (print pulse width, temperature sensor correction value, number of prints, wiping count, etc.) is read and stored. Step S308
Then, it is checked whether the attached write head is new by comparing the serial number of the head.
The serial number of the head is always stored in the backup RAM and can be compared with the data read from the head. If both values are different, a new head will be installed,
If the values are equal, it can be determined that the head has not been replaced. In this embodiment, each of the colors Bk, C, M, and Y is performed. If the head is not a new head, the head information reading routine ends. If the head is a new head, the new head information is stored in the memory of the apparatus in step S309, and a flag (or data) indicating that the new head is mounted is set in the memory. Next, in step S310, the HS data (shading information) of the write head is read, and in step S311, the time at which the new head starts to be used is written from the clock in the apparatus to the non-volatile memory in the head, and the head information read routine ends.

Next, the recovery operation (suction, idle discharge, wiping) in the printing process will be described.

(Recovery Operation Judgment [1]) FIG.
9 is a flowchart showing details of a recovery operation determination [1] routine of FIG. In step S501, it is checked whether a new recording head is mounted on the recording apparatus. If a new head is mounted, the process proceeds to the recovery operation [6] (new cartridge suction recovery) in step S502. After that, step S514
Proceeds to the remaining ink amount detection, and ends the recovery operation determination [1].

If a new head has not been mounted, it is checked in step S503 whether the recording head has been capped. If the capping is performed, the process proceeds to step S505. If the capping is not performed, it is determined in step S504 whether the capping is performed for one hour or more. If left for one hour without capping, the nozzles of the head thicken, and a recovery operation is required. If the non-capping state is within one hour, the process proceeds to step S505. Step S5
At 05, the apparatus is operated, and it is checked that three days have passed since the last suction operation, and a recovery operation is required if three days have passed. In step S506, the apparatus is operated, and it is checked whether 10 days have passed since the last idling operation. If 10 days have passed, a recovery operation is required. If any of the above conditions are satisfied, the process proceeds to the recovery operation [3] (timer suction recovery) in step S507.

In step S508, when the head temperature is 45 ° C.
If it is above (abnormal high temperature), the fan is rotated in step S509, and the process proceeds to abnormal high temperature check in step S510.
After the abnormal high temperature check, the fan is stopped in step S511 and the process proceeds to step S512. If it is equal to or lower than 45 ° C., the process proceeds directly to step S512. Step S512 is a non-discharge detection operation for detecting non-discharge of ink. afterwards,
In step S513, capping is performed. Step S
At 514, the remaining amount of ink is detected, and the routine of the recovery operation determination [1] ends.

(Non-discharge Detection Operation) FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the non-discharge detection operation routine in S512. In step S601, the temperature control / PWM control is stopped.
In step S602, a stabilization wait for the head temperature is performed. In step S603, the head temperature before the operation is measured, and short pulse heating is performed in step S604. The short-pulse heating refers to heating with a small driving pulse width that does not cause ejection. This is the idle discharge [5] in step S605.
(N = 2000, PWM control is not performed, and a double pulse with a fixed pulse width is used). In step S606, the head temperature after the operation is measured, and in step S607, the head temperature increase value before and after the operation is determined. If the head temperature rise value exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that the recording head is not discharging, and the recovery operation [7] (non-discharge detection suction recovery) in step S608 is performed. Step S6
In step 09, 2,000 empty discharges [4] are emitted.

Here, a non-discharge detection method will be described. This method is a method for detecting whether or not the ejection state of the head is normally performed. In the present apparatus, this method is particularly performed when the power is turned on.

First, the principle of the present method will be described. In this recording, ink is ejected by thermal energy. Most of the heat generated at that time goes out of the head together with the ejected ink droplets. As a result, the temperature of the head does not rise so much even though a considerable amount of heat energy is generated during driving. However, when there is a state in which some of the nozzles do not discharge (non-discharge), the generated energy does not go out together with the ink droplets, so that the head temperature increases more than in a normal case. Therefore,
The temperature of the head is detected by a temperature sensor before and after a certain number of ejections, and if the temperature rise exceeds a reference value, it is considered that non-ejection has occurred.

Specifically, first, the temperature control of the head by the sub-heater is stopped, and the head temperature is measured and stored. Next, short pulse heating is performed. This is to reduce the viscosity of the thickened ink in the nozzle portion by applying a drive pulse width as small as not to discharge to the heater in the nozzle. The driving method is a double pulse, and the pre-pulse and the main pulse are continuously driven as fixed pulses of 1 μsec. Next, 2,000 empty discharges of 4 KHz are performed.
The driving method here is a double pulse with a fixed value without performing PWM control. This is to make the thermal energy given to the head at the time of non-ejection detection constant. Finally,
The temperature of the head is measured, the temperature rise is calculated, and if this value is larger than the reference value, it is detected that the head has a discharge failure.

(Abnormal High Temperature Check) FIG. 8 shows step S5.
10 is a flowchart showing details of an abnormal high temperature check routine of No. 10; After setting the suction operation counter three times in step S701 and setting the timer for 2 minutes in step S702, it is checked in step S703 whether the temperature of the recording head is 45 ° C. or higher. If the temperature is 45 ° C. or higher, step S7
Go to step S05, if the temperature is lower than 45 ° C.
Recovery action with 4

Perform [9].

In step S705, it is checked whether the temperature of the recording head is 60 ° C. or higher. If the temperature is 60 ° C. or higher, it is checked in step S706 whether the apparatus has performed suction operation three times or more. If the suction operation is less than three times, in step S707, the apparatus performs a recovery operation [8] (high-temperature print suction recovery). Do. Thereafter, the suction operation counter is subtracted three times in step S708, and a wait is performed for about 20 seconds in step S709. Waiting until the temperature of the high-temperature head decreases by performing this weighting. In a case where the apparatus has performed the suction operation three times or more in Step S706, and in a case where the temperature does not decrease from 45 degrees for more than 2 minutes (Step S710), the apparatus is abnormally stopped in Step S711.

(Recovery Operation Judgment [2]) FIG.
26 is a flowchart showing details of a recovery operation determination [2] routine of No. 26. In step S801, it is checked whether printing has been performed for three days or more after the recovery operation of the apparatus. If printing has been performed for three days or more, a manual feed check in step S802 is performed. If not, a recovery operation [3] is performed in step S806. Thereafter, the remaining amount of ink is detected in step S807, and the recovery operation determination [2] routine is terminated.
If it is a manual feed, the manual feed is canceled in step S804 and a recovery operation [3] (step S805) is performed, and the process returns to the temperature control of 20 degrees in step S9 of the main routine.

If it is less than three days after the suction in step S801, the idle discharge [1] (N = 10) is performed in step S803.
0) to perform the recovery operation determination [2] routine.

(Recovery Operation Determination [3]) FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of the recovery operation determination [3] routine in step S32. In step S901, it is determined whether the sheet has just been fed or not.
This is performed by changing the number of idle discharges. That is, the number of idle ejections [1] is 10 for the cassette and 15 for manual feeding (steps S902, S903, and S904). Thereafter, the idling counter and the wiping counter are reset (steps S905 and S906).

If it is not immediately after the sheet is fed, it is checked in step S907 whether the idle ejection counter is N times (N = 2 in this embodiment). If it is N times, 5 empty ejections are made in step S908,
The counter is reset (step S909), and the recovery operation determination [3] routine ends. If the counter is not N, the counter is added in step S910 and the processing ends.

(Recovery Operation Determination [6]) FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of the recovery operation determination [6] routine in step S34. In step S1001, it is checked whether wiping has been performed M times (M = 10 in this embodiment). If M times, the wiping operation is performed in step S1002, and after issuing 100 idle discharges [1], the counter is reset (steps S1003, 1004, 1005), and the recovery operation determination [6] routine is ended. If the counter is not M, add the counter and end.

(Recovery Operation Determination [4]) FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing details of the recovery operation determination [4] routine in step S47.

In step S1101, the temperature during printing is 50
Depending on whether the temperature is higher than ° C or exceeds 45 ° C after printing (step S1102), the process proceeds to the abnormally high temperature CHECK in step S1103. In step S1104, it is checked whether the number of sheets is 10 or not, and if so, a recovery operation [4] (suction recovery after printing) is performed (step S110).
5). If it is not 10 sheets, wiping is performed in step S1106, idle discharge [2] (N = 50) is performed (step S1107), and the recovery operation determination [4] ends.

(Timer Suction Recovery) FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the details of the timer suction recovery (recovery operation [3]) routine. The purpose of this recovery mode is that if the suction recovery operation is not performed for a long time, the ink in the liquid chamber of the head thickens, and bubbles are generated and increased in the liquid chamber of the head, so that normal ejection is performed. In some cases, it is impossible to do so, so it is necessary to prevent it. Therefore, the recovery operation is performed by determining that a certain time has elapsed after the last suction, a certain time after the idle discharge, and a certain time has elapsed in the uncapped state.

By suctioning with a pump, bubbles in the liquid chamber are removed, and the thickened ink is eliminated. Further, discharge is performed simultaneously with suction. This facilitates the removal of air bubbles in the liquid chamber because a momentary negative pressure is applied at the time of discharge to a negative pressure generated only by suction. Further, since the electrothermal transducer is driven as a means for generating bubbles at the time of ejection, the ink temperature in each liquid path increases, the viscosity decreases, and the surface tension decreases. The road resistance becomes small, and the removal of air bubbles becomes easier.

More specifically, a tube pump generates a certain amount of negative pressure in the liquid chamber of the head, and simultaneously discharges each nozzle at the maximum driving frequency when the maximum negative pressure is generated. However, on the end side of the nozzle row, the flow of ink in the liquid chamber is poor, so that the density of the ink is high.
By increasing the number of ejections as compared with the center, the density of each nozzle is made constant in printing after recovery to prevent density unevenness due to ink thickening. The suction pressure was set to the maximum pressure of the pump.
The suction holding time is 2.5 seconds and the suction amount at that time is 0.17 g
It is about. The number of ejections is 1000 at the center and 30 at the end.
00 shots. After the suction, the orifice surface of the head is wiped with a rubber blade, and then the idle discharge is performed.

(Suction Recovery After Printing) FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the details of the suction recovery after printing (recovery operation [4]) routine. The purpose of the recovery mode is to prevent a normal printing operation from being performed if the printing operation state lasts for a long time, because air bubbles may be generated and increased in the liquid chamber of the head due to the discharging. . Therefore, the recovery operation is performed after printing a certain number of sheets after the last suction.

By performing suction with a pump, bubbles in the liquid chamber are removed. Further, discharge is performed simultaneously with suction. This facilitates removal of air bubbles in the liquid chamber, because a momentary negative pressure is applied at the time of discharge to a negative pressure generated only by suction. In particular, since the ink temperature in each liquid path is increased and the viscosity is reduced because printing is performed immediately after printing, and the surface tension is also reduced, the flow path resistance in the liquid path is small and the removal of bubbles is easier. It will be.

More specifically, a tube pump generates a certain amount of negative pressure in the liquid chamber of the head, and simultaneously discharges each nozzle at the maximum drive frequency when the maximum negative pressure is generated. The suction pressure was set lower than the maximum pressure of the pump. This is because the viscosity of the ink is low immediately after printing, so that bubbles can be sufficiently removed without increasing the pressure of the pump, and the amount of ink consumption is not increased more than necessary. The suction holding time is 2.5 seconds, and the suction amount at that time is about 0.12 g. The number of ejections was 100 for each nozzle. After the suction, the orifice surface of the head is wiped with a rubber blade, and then the idle discharge is performed.

(New Cartridge Suction Recovery) FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the details of the new cartridge suction recovery (recovery operation [6]) routine. The purpose of this recovery mode is that when a new cartridge removed from the package is installed in the main body, the ink in the liquid chamber of the head thickens due to various distribution environments, etc., and air bubbles are generated in the liquid chamber of the head and increased. By doing so, it is assumed that normal ejection cannot be performed.
Therefore, the recovery operation is performed when it is recognized that the new cartridge is mounted on the main body.

By suctioning with a pump, bubbles in the liquid chamber are removed, and the thickened ink is eliminated. Further, discharge is performed simultaneously with suction. This facilitates removal of air bubbles in the liquid chamber because a momentary negative pressure is applied at the time of discharge to a negative pressure generated only by suction. Further, since the electrothermal transducer is driven as a means for generating bubbles at the time of ejection, the ink temperature in each liquid path increases to lower the viscosity, and to lower the surface tension, the liquid in the liquid path further increases. The flow path resistance becomes small, and the removal of air bubbles becomes easier. In the worst case, since the viscosity of the nozzle and the liquid chamber becomes significantly thicker than in the normal recovery mode, the discharge performed simultaneously with the suction is set to be larger than in the normal recovery mode.

More specifically, the tube pump shown in FIG. 59 starts rotating the pressure roller from the (K) position in the head capping state, and pressurizes the tube to the (L) position, so that the negative pressure of a certain size is obtained. A pressure is generated in the liquid chamber of the head, and each nozzle is discharged at the maximum driving frequency at the same time when the maximum negative pressure is generated. However, at the end of the nozzle row, the flow of ink in the liquid chamber is poor and the density of ink is high.Therefore, by increasing the number of ejections compared to the center, the density of each nozzle is kept constant during printing after recovery. Density unevenness due to thickening of the ink. The suction pressure was set to the maximum pressure of the pump. The suction holding time is 2.5 seconds, and the suction amount at that time is 0.
It is about 17 g. The number of ejections was 2,000 at the center and 6,000 at the end. After the suction, the orifice surface of the head is wiped with a rubber blade, and then the idle discharge is performed.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the details of the non-discharge detection suction recovery (recovery operation [7]) routine.

(Suction recovery after high-temperature printing) FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of the suction recovery after high-temperature printing (recovery operation [8]). The purpose of this recovery mode is to
In a case where a tying print state continues for a long time or the like, normal ejection cannot be performed due to an increase in the temperature of the ink in the head. Therefore, the recovery operation is performed when the temperature in the head reaches a certain value or more.

The high-temperature ink in the liquid chamber is discharged by performing suction with a pump. At this time, in the recovery operation other than this mode, the ejection is performed simultaneously with the suction, but in the present mode, it is not intentionally performed in order to prevent the ink temperature from rising due to the ejection. Since the ink temperature in each liquid path increases, the viscosity decreases, and the surface tension also decreases, the flow path resistance in the liquid path is small, and high-temperature ink can be replaced with low-temperature ink with a small pressure. The suction pressure was set lower than the maximum pressure of the pump. This is because the viscosity of the ink is low immediately after printing, so that the pressure of the pump does not need to be increased sufficiently and the ink consumption does not need to be increased more than necessary.

Specifically, the tube pump shown in FIG. 59 starts rotating the pressure roller from the (K) position in the head capping state, and pressurizes the tube to the (M) position to reduce a slight negative pressure of the head. It is generated in the liquid chamber, the suction holding time is 2.5 seconds, and the suction amount at that time is about 0.12 g. After the suction, the orifice surface of the head is wiped with a rubber blade.

(Recovery after high-temperature printing) FIG. 18 shows recovery after high-temperature printing (recovery operation).

[9]) It is a flowchart showing details of a routine. This recovery operation is a routine for returning from the abnormally high temperature operation routine. Increasing the temperature of the ink in the nozzles has an adverse effect on the next printing, so the idle discharge after wiping is referred to as idle discharge [2]. Discharge is performed at 500 Hz to suppress the temperature rise more than in normal idle discharge, and the temperature of the head is not increased at all.

(Recovery Switch) FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing details of the recovery switch routine (recovery operation [10]). The purpose of this recovery mode is that the recovery switch is pressed by the user's judgment in the event that the ejection of the head is not performed normally in spite of the fact that the recovery mode in the sequence in this apparatus is being performed. Sometimes, the ejection of the head is restored to a normal state. It is not normally used, but if used, it is more powerful than other recovery modes to ensure recovery.

By suctioning with a pump, bubbles in the liquid chamber are removed, and the thickened ink is eliminated. Further, discharge is performed simultaneously with suction. As a result, an instantaneous negative pressure is applied at the time of discharge with respect to a negative pressure generated only by suction, thereby facilitating the removal of bubbles in the liquid chamber. Furthermore, since the electrothermal transducer is driven as a means for generating bubbles at the time of ejection, the ink temperature of each liquid path increases and the viscosity decreases,
In addition, since the surface tension is reduced, the flow path resistance in the liquid path is further reduced, and the removal of air bubbles is further facilitated. Also, in order to ensure the recovery performance, in this mode, once the switch is pressed, the suction operation is repeated twice.

Specifically, the tube pump shown in FIG. 59 is started to rotate from the (K) position by pressurizing the tube to the (L) position in the head capping state, whereby the tube is pressurized.
Generating a certain amount of negative pressure in the liquid chamber of the head,
Each nozzle is discharged at the maximum driving frequency at the same time when the maximum negative pressure is generated. However, at the end of the nozzle row, the flow of ink in the liquid chamber is poor and the density of ink is high.Therefore, by increasing the number of ejections compared to the center, the density of each nozzle is kept constant during printing after recovery. Thus, uneven density due to thickening of the ink is prevented. The suction pressure was set to the maximum pressure of the pump. The suction holding time is 2.5 seconds, and the suction amount at that time is 0.
It is about 17 g. The number of ejections was 2,000 at the center and 6,000 at the end.

After the suction, the orifice surface of the head is wiped with a rubber blade, and the sucked ink rotates the pressure roller of the tube pump two times from the (L) position and stops at the (K) position, thereby discharging the ink. Sent to. Thereafter, idle discharge is performed. Thereafter, the above operation is repeated.

FIG. 20 shows idle discharge [1] to idle discharge [5],
It is a flowchart which shows the detail of standby idle discharge.

(Idle discharge [1]) This idle discharge [1] is performed by discharging all nozzles during printing, during standby, and after wiping. The reason why the ejection frequency is set to 1 KHz with respect to the maximum driving frequency of 4 KHz is that the ejection state is stable without the temperature rise of the nozzle portion.

(Non-discharge [2]) The purpose of this non-discharge [2] (pattern non-discharge) is to remove minute bubbles generated in the nozzle. This is because if bubbles are present in the nozzle, normal foaming cannot be performed.Furthermore, if minute bubbles are left unattended, the bubbles coalesce to form large bubbles, blocking the nozzle and causing non-discharge. Because.

By the way, suction can be considered as a method of removing minute air bubbles in the nozzle, but there is a problem that the suction consumes a larger amount of ink than the discharge amount, and the operation time is long. Thus, the empty discharge method is effective. That is, since bubbles are generated during printing, it is desirable to remove them immediately after printing. However, since the suction operation is relatively long, the recording time becomes longer, and the running cost becomes larger.

Here, the main empty discharge method will be described. Normally, if there is an air bubble in the nozzle, the air bubble cannot be easily removed even if the air is ejected from the nozzle. However, if the nozzle adjacent to the nozzle for removing bubbles is intermittently discharged, the bubbles are discharged from the nozzle.

Specifically, first, only the odd nozzles are set to 1
50 shots are ejected at KHz, and then 50 shots are ejected from the even nozzle at 1 KHz. This is defined as one cycle, and two cycles are performed to reliably remove bubbles.

(Idle discharge [3]) This idle discharge [3] is performed simultaneously with suction or by discharging all nozzles when non-discharge is detected. The reason why the maximum drive frequency is set to 4 KHz is that the temperature of the nozzle portion becomes high at the same time as the suction, the viscosity of the thickened ink is reduced, and the suction speed is increased by maximizing the flow velocity in the liquid chamber. In the case of non-ejection detection, this is to increase the detection accuracy.

(Empty ejection [4]) Unless ejection or suction recovery is performed for a relatively long time, ink thickens from the liquid chamber wall side of the head toward the inside. Since the nozzle at the end of the head is close to the wall of the liquid chamber, if printing is performed without recovery after being left, the end of the head becomes dark. Therefore, the purpose of this idle ejection [4] is to eliminate unevenness in the ink density of all the nozzles by ejecting only the end nozzles.

More specifically, since the driving of the head is divided and driven for a plurality of nozzles for each BLOCK, 1 BLOCK and 16 BLOCK, which are the ends of the head, are set to 4 kHz.
To discharge.

(Idle discharge [5]) This idle discharge [5] is performed by discharging all nozzles after wiping after the abnormal high temperature suction recovery operation. The discharge frequency after normal wiping is 1 KHz
However, the driving frequency is set to 500 Hz so as not to further increase the temperature of the nozzle portion, and stable ejection is performed.

(Standby idle discharge) This idle discharge is performed during standby, and is performed every hour. The purpose is to prevent the viscosity of the ink in the nozzle and the liquid chamber during standby from increasing, and to enable stable printing without density unevenness immediately after the copy switch is pressed. Specifically, idle discharge [1] (N = 50) is performed.

After the above-described suction operations, the 10-day timer, the 3-day timer, and the copy number counter are reset. After each idle discharge operation, the 10-day timer is reset.

(Wiping Operation) FIG. 57 is a flowchart of a wiping operation routine. In step S5401, the carriage is moved to the start position. Step S54
At 02, raise the wiping blade. Step S540
At 3, the carriage is moved to the wiping position. During this movement, the nozzle portion of the recording head mounted on the carriage is wiped by the wiping blade. After the carriage stops at the wiping position, the wiping blade is lowered in step S5404.

FIG. 58 is an explanatory diagram of the wiping operation.
FIG. 58A shows a state in which the carriage raises the wiping blade at the start position. FIG. 58B shows a state where the carriage is moving from the start position to the wiping position. FIG. 58 (C) shows a state in which the carriage remains above the wiping blade at the wiping position. FIG.
FIG. 8 (D) shows a state where the carriage lowers the wiping blade at the wiping position.

Here, the method of using the head ROM will be described in detail.

(Drive Setting) The apparatus used in this embodiment uses a replaceable head (cartridge type), and has an advantage that the user can replace the head at any time. For this reason, fine adjustment of the device by a service person or the like cannot be expected. In addition, since the replaceable heads are supplied by mass production, individual heads have different characteristics due to variations in the manufacturing process such as the area of the heater board (HB), the resistance value, and the film structure. have. Therefore, in order to more stably obtain high image quality, it is necessary to correct variations in the above characteristics.

As a method of correcting such a difference in the setting of the driving conditions for each head, correction by reading ROM information and density unevenness due to variation in the discharge amount within one head due to the distribution of the discharge hole diameter of the head are corrected. The method (reading of HS data) is performed.

When such correction is not performed for each head, the ejection speed, direction (landing accuracy), ejection amount (density), ejection stability (refill frequency,
(Unevenness) is not optimized. For this reason, not only is a stable image not obtained, but also a significant image disturbance occurs due to non-ejection or distortion during printing.

In particular, a full-color image is formed by four heads of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Therefore, even if one color is printed by a head having a discharge amount and a control characteristic different from the standard state, an image is formed. Cause trouble. Above all, the variation in the discharge amount is caused by a change in color and a decrease in color reproducibility (increase in color difference) due to a collapse of the overall color balance,
Image quality is degraded. Black, red, blue,
In a monochromatic image such as green, a density fluctuation occurs. In addition, the variation in the control characteristics changes the halftone reproducibility. Therefore, in this embodiment, these variations in the ejection characteristics are corrected.

First, the printing method in this embodiment will be described in detail.

(Printing Method) In this embodiment, the head driving method and the printing method are characterized. For the head driving, a divided pulse width modulation (PWM) driving method is used. Vop
As shown in FIG. 60, is an electric energy for giving electric energy necessary for generating heat energy on H.B. The area, resistance value, film structure and head of H.B Is determined by the nozzle structure. P1 indicates a preheat pulse width, P2 indicates an interval time, and P3 indicates a main heat pulse width. T1, T2, and T3 are times from the rise of the preheat pulse, and indicate the times for determining P1, P2, and P3, respectively.

The divided pulse width modulation driving method includes P1, P2,
A pulse is given in the order of P3. P1 is a pulse width for mainly controlling the ink temperature in the nozzle by a preheat pulse, and the pulse width of P1 is controlled by temperature detection using a temperature sensor of the head. At this time, pre-foaming phenomenon is prevented from occurring by applying too much heat energy to H and B.

P2 has an interval time so as to provide an interval of a predetermined time so that the preheat pulse P1 and the main heat pulse P2 do not interfere with each other, and also has a function of making the temperature distribution of the ink in the nozzle uniform. P3 is a main heat pulse which causes a bubbling phenomenon on H.B to eject ink droplets from the nozzle holes. These pulse widths are determined by the area of H and B, the resistance value, the film structure, the nozzle structure of the head, and the physical properties of the ink.

In this embodiment, a head having a head structure as shown in FIG. 61 is used. Head temperature TH = 2
In an environment of 5.0 (° C.), when Vop = 18.0 (V),
P1 = 1.867 (μsec) and P3 = 4.114 (μsec)
When the pulse of (sec) is given, the optimum driving condition is obtained, and a stable ink ejection state is obtained. The ejection characteristics at this time are as follows:
The ink discharge amount Vd was 30.0 ng / dot, and the discharge speed V was 12.0 m / sec. Incidentally, the maximum driving frequency of the head is fr = 4.0 KHz, and 400 d
With a resolution of pi, 128 nozzles are divided into 16 blocks and driven sequentially from 1 block. The head according to the present embodiment has a ROM in which characteristics of each head are recorded, and by reading this information into a main body, variations in characteristics of individual heads are corrected.

A method for correcting the variation in the ejection characteristics of each head and forming an optimum image will be described below. When the power is turned on to the main unit equipped with the head, the R
Information (ROM information) stored in the OM at the time of manufacturing the head
Into the main unit. At this time, head ID number, color information, TA1 (header driving condition table pointer corresponding to print pulse width), TA3 (PWM table pointer),
It reads information such as the temperature sensor correction value, the number of prints, and the number of times of wiping. The table pointer TA1 read here
Accordingly, the main body determines the value of the main heat pulse width: P3 in the divided pulse width modulation drive control method described later.

FIG. 62 shows the relationship between the table pointer: TA1 and the main heat pulse width: P3 obtained from TA1.

(1) Determination of TA1: When manufacturing the head,
The ejection characteristics of each head were measured in advance under standard driving conditions (head temperature: TH = 25.0 (° C.), driving voltage: Vop = 1).
At 8.0 (V), P1 = 1.87 (μsec) and P3 =
4.114 (μsec) pulse), the optimum driving conditions for each head are determined, and the information is stored in the ROM of the head as information.

(2) Driving condition setting: On the main body side, each pulse width during divided pulse width driving Preheat pulse width: P 1,
Interval time width: P2, main heat pulse width:
To set P3, the times from the rise of the preheat pulse are set to T1, T2, and T3 as shown in FIG. 60, and the value of T3 (T3 = 8.602 .mu.sec) is fixed from the beginning on the main body. Pulse width condition T2 given by the pointer read from the head: TA1 (for example, TA1 =
4.488 μsec), the value of P3 (P3 = T3−T2 =
4.114 μsec).

As described above, the head driving condition setting table pointer TA1 stored in the ROM of the head is read as information, and the setting conditions (driving conditions) on the main body side are changed, so that the ejection characteristics of each head vary. Can be corrected, and color image quality can be easily stabilized even when a replaceable head is used.

(Correction Method by PWM) Here, in order to more effectively use the PWM control method which is a method for correcting an ejection amount variation for each head and performing an optimum image formation, which is used in the present embodiment. The method will be described.

The control conditions of the PWM are as follows. When the power is turned on, the main unit on which the head is mounted is stored in the ROM of the head.
The information is read together with the ID number, color, driving condition, and HS data. In this embodiment, a table pointer: TA3 is read as a PWM control condition. As described below,
The number TA3 is assigned a number corresponding to the head discharge amount (VDM), and the main body determines the upper limit value of the PWM preheat pulse width: P1 according to the read TA3.

Next, the correction method using PWM will be described in order.

(1) Determination of the table pointer TA3: The discharge amount of each head is measured in advance during the manufacturing process of the head in the standard driving condition (head temperature: TH = 25.0 (° C.). Voltage: P1 = 1 when Vop = 18.0 (V)
At 87 (μsec), a pulse of P3 = 4.114 (μsec) is applied. next,
The difference from the standard discharge amount: VD0 = 30.0 (ng / dot) is obtained as ΔV = VD0−VDM.

As shown in FIG. 63, the relationship between the value of ΔV and the table pointer: TA3 was determined from this ΔV. In this manner, the ranks are classified according to the amount of the discharge amount, and TA3 for each head is stored as information in each ROM.

When a table is created from .DELTA.V, it is necessary to make the same as .DELTA.VP for one table change of the preheat pulse width P1 which can be controlled by the divided pulse width modulation driving method described later. is there. That is, as described later, the ejection amount of the head is corrected by the preheat pulse width P1.

(2) Reading of the table pointer: A head having information stored in the ROM of the head is mounted on the main body of the ink jet recording apparatus as shown in (1) above, and is read when the power is turned on. The information stored in the head ROM is transferred to the SRA of the main unit in accordance with the sequence shown in FIG.
Store it in M.

(3) Determination of table for PWM control: In a head having a large discharge amount, the value of the preheat pulse width P1 at 25.0 DEG C. is set to the standard driving condition (P1 = 1.86).
7 .mu.sec) to reduce the ejection amount and approach the standard ejection amount VD0. 2. For a head having a small ejection amount, the value of the preheat pulse width P1 at 25.0 DEG C. is adjusted to the standard driving condition (P1 = 1.8).
67 [mu] sec) to increase the ejection amount to approach the standard ejection amount VD0. 3. In the above operation, as shown in FIG. 63, the relationship between the table pointer TA3 and the preheat pulse width P1 is determined according to the ejection amount of each head, so that the standard ejection amount VD0 is always obtained. It has been set. 4. By such a method, the standard discharge amount VD0 (30.
0 ng / dot), it is possible to correct the variation in the discharge amount of ± 0.6 (ng / dot).

As described above, by reading the PWM control table pointer TA3 as the ROM information of the head and changing the set conditions (drive conditions) on the main body side, it is possible to absorb the variation in the discharge amount of each head. As a result, color image quality can be easily stabilized even with a main body using a replaceable head. Further, since the yield of the head can be improved, the cost of the cartridge head can be reduced.

Next, the discharge amount control method using the preheat pulse: P1 will be described in detail. Head temperature (TH
) Under certain conditions, preheat pulse width: P1 and discharge amount:
FIG. 64 shows the relationship with Vd. As shown in the figure, as the preheat pulse width P1 increases, it increases linearly up to P1LMT, after which the foaming of the main heat pulse P3 is disturbed by the prefoaming phenomenon. It shows a tendency to decrease.

Under a constant condition of the preheat pulse width: P1, the relationship between the head temperature TH (environmental temperature) and the discharge amount VD increases linearly with the increase of the head temperature TH as shown in FIG. Show a tendency to. The coefficients of the regions exhibiting each linearity are the preheat pulse dependence coefficient of the ejection amount: KP = △ VDP / △ P1 (ng / μs · dot) The head temperature dependence coefficient of the ejection amount: KTH = △ VDT / △ TH ( ng / ° C. · dot).

In the head structure shown in FIG. 61, K P =
3.21 (ng / μsec · dot), KTH = 0.3 (n
g / μsec · dot). If these two relationships are effectively used as described below, the ink discharge amount of the head is always constant even if the head temperature changes due to various factors such as a change in environmental temperature or a change due to self-heating caused by printing. And a discharge amount control method that can maintain the discharge amount. FIG. 66 shows a state of the discharge amount control with respect to the head temperature in a relationship between the head temperature and the discharge amount. In FIG. 66, T
0 indicates a standard temperature, TL indicates a limit temperature of discharge amount control, and TC indicates a foaming limit temperature.

The ejection amount control is performed under the following three conditions. (1) TH.ltoreq.T0 The ejection amount compensation at low temperature is performed by controlling the temperature of the head. (2) T0 <TH≤TL Performed by controlling the discharge amount by the divided pulse width modulation method (PWM). (3) TL <TH (<TC) P1 = constant and non-controlled.

The state (1) is for securing a discharge amount mainly in a low temperature environment in the temperature control region of FIG. When the head temperature TH is 25.0 ° C. or less, the head temperature TH is kept constant at the controlled temperature T0 = 25.0 (° C.), so that T
The discharge amount VD0 when H = T0 = 30.0 (ng / dot)
Have gained. The reason for setting T0 to 25.0 ° C. is to minimize adverse effects due to ink viscosity increase due to temperature control, ink fixation, and temperature control ripple. The pulse width of P1 at this time is P1 = 1.867 .mu.sec.

The state (2) is a PWM area shown in FIG. 66, and the head temperature TH is set between 26.0 ° C. and 44.0 ° C. The sensor detects the temperature rise of the self-heating and the change of the environmental temperature by printing. Preheat pulse width P1
Is to change the value of P1 for each appropriate range of the head temperature TH as shown in FIG.
Just follow Kens.

FIG. 67A shows a case where the reference value of P1 is P1 = 0A, and the preheat pulse width P1 is changed by one step (1H) every 2.0 ° C. FIGS. 3B and 3C show that the reference value of P1 is P1 =
The case where 0B or P1 = 09 is shown.

In the case of following the sequence shown in FIG. 21, the operation is performed as follows. In this sequence, in order to prevent erroneous detection of the head temperature and perform more accurate temperature detection, the temperature (Tn-3, Tn-2, Tn-1) in the past three times and the newly detected temperature T
The average head temperature Tm with respect to n is determined as Tm = (Tn-3 + Tn-2 + Tn-1 + Tn) / 4, and the average value of the left and right sensors is determined.

In the next step, this value Tm is compared with the previously obtained head temperature Tm-1 by the following equation, and correction is performed as follows. (1) | Tm−Tm−1 | ≦ ΔT (ΔT =
In the case of 1 ° C.) The temperature change is within ± 1 ° C., and the pulse width of P1 is not changed since it is within the temperature range shown in Table 1 of FIG. (2) In the case of Tm-Tm-1> ΔT Since the temperature change is shifted to the high temperature side, the preheat pulse width P1 is reduced by 1H to narrow the pulse width. (3) In the case of Tm-Tm-1 <-ΔT Since the temperature change is shifted to the lower temperature side, the preheat pulse width P1 is increased by 1H to increase the pulse width.

FIG. 21 shows a flowchart of the above-described sequence. This flowchart is a part of the timer interrupt and enters this routine once every 20 ms. In step S401, the temperature of the head is read from the two left and right temperature sensors on the four-color head, and the average of the temperature data from the past three times is read by each sensor in step S401.
The calculation is performed at 402. Next, the average of left and right temperature data is obtained for each head. Then, at step S403, Tm and T
According to the relationship between m-1 and ΔT, in the above condition (3), P1 is increased by 1H in step S404, in the case of condition (1), P1 is kept in step S405, and in the case of condition (2), P1 is increased in step S406. By 1H.

In the case of using the table as shown in FIG. 67 and the case of using the sequence as shown in FIG. 21, even if the amount of change of P1 is increased by one correction, the density unevenness is reduced. Therefore, even if the temperature change is larger than the correction range of one pointer, the change amount of P1 is changed by one pointer (1H in this embodiment) at one time.
) Is controlled.

In the case of using the sequence, the time required for changing one pointer during printing (feedback time) is TF = 20 msec. Therefore, it is possible to change the pointer about 40 times in one line (about 800 msec). Therefore, at most △ Tup =
It is possible to cope with a temperature rise of 19.0 ° C., and the occurrence of shading change is reduced in a wide temperature range. The four-time averaging is used for temperature detection to prevent erroneous detection due to sensor noise, etc., perform smooth feedback, minimize density fluctuations by control and minimize density fluctuations by serial printing. This is to make the (connection streaks) blind.

By using this discharge amount control method, control can be performed within a range of ± 0.3 (ng / dot) from the target discharge amount VD0 = 30.0 (ng / dot) in the above temperature range. Become. By suppressing the discharge amount fluctuation within such a range, the density fluctuation occurring during printing of one sheet is about ±
This is suppressed to about 0.2, so that the occurrence of remarkable density unevenness and connecting streaks in the serial printing method does not cause a problem.

Note that when the average number of temperature detections is increased, noise and the like become stronger, resulting in a smoother change. However, in real-time control, detection accuracy is impaired and accurate control cannot be performed. In addition, when the average number of temperature detections is reduced, the temperature is weakened to noise and the like, and a rapid change occurs. However, in real-time control, the detection accuracy is increased and accurate control is possible.

The state (3) is a non-control region and assumes a case where the head temperature TH is 44.0 ° C. or higher. In the printing state, for example, when printing is continuously performed at 100% duty (printing at the highest ejection frequency), the head temperature may instantaneously reach this region. And the head drive conditions are set. In the event that this state occurs continuously, it is determined that a high temperature abnormal state has occurred and a recovery operation is performed to cope with the situation. Also, the pulse width of P1 is P1
= 0.187 μsec, the heating by the preheat pulse is suppressed, and the self-heating by printing is reduced as much as possible.

(Temperature Control) Next, the temperature control sequence will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, control is performed on the main body side using left and right sub-heaters located on the head side and left and right temperature sensors located near the ejection heater.
FIG. 72 shows the H.O. of the head used in this embodiment. 2 shows a schematic diagram of FIG. Temperature sensor 8e, sub heater 8
d, a discharge section row 8g in which discharge (main) heaters 8c are arranged, and drive elements 8h are formed on the same substrate in a positional relationship as shown in FIG. By arranging each element on the same substrate in this manner, the head temperature can be detected and controlled efficiently, and the head can be made compact and the manufacturing process can be simplified. FIG. The positional relationship of the outer peripheral wall section 8f of the top plate that separates B into a region filled with ink and a region not filled with ink is shown. As shown in the figure, the temperature sensor 8e is located closer to the ejection port than the outer peripheral wall 8f of the top plate, that is, a region filled with ink, and is located at a position close to the ejection port. This makes it possible to efficiently detect the head temperature near the ejection port.

The temperature is detected in the same manner as in the discharge amount control method.
The average value of the times is used. At this time, the head temperature TH is an average value of the temperature TR detected from the right sensor and the temperature TL detected from the left sensor (TH = (TR + T
L) / 2) is used. The temperature is controlled by supplying a current to the sub-heater on the head side based on the detected temperature. The temperature control method is basically an ON / OFF method. That is, the maximum power (1.2 W each on the left and right sides) is applied until the target temperature T0 = 25.0 ° C. is reached, the current is cut off when the target temperature is reached, and the current is passed when the temperature falls.
The ON / OFF timing is performed every 40 msec.

When this timing is made longer, the width of the ripple becomes larger and the period is extended. Further, when this timing is shortened, the width of the ripple is reduced and the cycle is shortened. With this method, the temperature control ripple width at the target temperature is about 2 ° C.
However, since temperature detection by averaging four times is used, there is almost no effect on the discharge amount control due to the temperature control ripple. If necessary, an expensive control method such as PID control may be used.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of the initial 20 ° C. temperature control routine. In step S2001, set the timer counter to 3
After setting for 0 seconds, if the temperature is higher than 20 ° C., the routine ends (step S2002). If the temperature is lower than 20 ° C., the heater of the head is turned on in step S2003. In step S2004, it is checked whether the timer has expired for 30 seconds. If 30 seconds have elapsed, the operation is abnormally stopped in step S2005. If not, the process returns to step S2002.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart of the 20 ° C. temperature control and the 25 ° C. temperature control routine. In step S2101, it is checked whether the head temperature is higher or lower than 20 ° C. If the temperature is higher than 20 ° C., the heater of the head is turned on in step S2102.
If the temperature is lower than 20 ° C., the heater of the head is turned on in step S2103, and the 20 ° C. temperature control routine ends.

Steps S2104 to S2106 in the 25 ° C. temperature control routine are the same as steps S2101 to S2103 in the 20 ° C. temperature control routine, and a description thereof will be omitted.

(HS Table) Here, a method for effectively utilizing the HS control method used in this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, since a replaceable head (cartridge type) is used, the user can replace the head at any time, so that fine adjustment by a service person or the like cannot be expected. In addition, since the cartridge head is manufactured by mass production, it has characteristics peculiar to each head, and ejection within one head due to variations in the manufacturing process such as the H / B area, resistance value, film structure and nozzle formation. Since a characteristic distribution and a distribution of the discharge hole diameter occur, a method for correcting the density unevenness due to the discharge amount variation is required.

A method for correcting the variation in the discharge amount in one head and performing the optimum image formation without unevenness will be described below. When the power is turned on, the R
The table THS is read as HS data together with the ID number, color, and driving conditions as OM information. This table THS
Is copied on the main unit side.

The determination of THS is performed as follows. The HS data is calculated in advance by measuring the diameter distribution of each head under standard driving conditions in the head manufacturing process, and a table of the calculation results is stored as ROM information of the head.

As described above, the HS data table THS
Is read as the ROM information of the heads, so that the unevenness of each head can be corrected on the main body side, thereby making it possible to absorb the density unevenness due to the variation in the discharge amount of each head. Therefore, it is possible to easily stabilize color image quality even in a main body using a replaceable head.

(Sheet Feeding Operation) FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a sheet feeding operation routine in step S27.

In step S2201, the carriage moves to the start position. In step S2202, it is determined whether the manual feed flag is set. If the flag is set, the process proceeds to step S2203. If the flag is not set, the process checks in step S2204 whether the mode is the RHS mode. If the RHS mode is selected in step S2203, the process proceeds to sheet feeding [1].
If the mode is not the RHS mode, the process proceeds to sheet feeding [2]. Step S
In 2204, if the mode is the RHS mode, the process proceeds to sheet feeding [3]. If the mode is not the RHS mode, the process proceeds to sheet feeding [4].

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing details of the carriage start position moving routine in step S2201 in FIG. In step S2301, it is checked whether the carriage is at the home position. If the carriage is not at the home position, step S2302
To move the carriage to the home position. If the carriage is at the home position, the carriage moves to the start position in step S2303. Next, step S2
In step 304, 100 idle ejections [1] are issued at the start position, and the carriage start position moving routine ends.

(Paper Width and Paper Type Detection Operation) FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing details of the paper width and paper type detection operation routine in step S28. After the detection initial setting, the carriage moves from the start position to the paper width detection position. During this movement, the paper width and paper type are detected. After moving to the paper width detection, the carriage moves to the start position.

(One-Line Printing Operation) FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing details of the one-line printing routine in step S24. First, print control is performed in step S2501. In step S2502, the moving amount of the carriage is set. The carriage is advanced in step S2503, and a timer is set in step S2504. Step S
A paper floating check is performed in 2505, and if paper floating is detected, a jam occurs in step S2506.

In step S2509, it is checked whether the motor has stopped. If the motor is stopped, step S251
If the motor is running, the timer is checked in step S2511. If the time has elapsed, an error occurs in step S2512. If the time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S2505.

In step S2513, a timer is set, and in step S2514, the start position movement of the carriage is started. In step S2515, one line is printed and a counter is added. In step S2516, it is checked whether the motor has stopped. If the motor has stopped, the one-line printing routine ends. If the motor is running, the timer is checked in step S2517.
If the time has elapsed, an error occurs in step S2518. If the time has not elapsed, step S2516 occurs.
Return to

FIG. 28 shows the flow of the print control routine in step S2501 in FIG. In step S2601, it is checked whether the mode is the RHS mode. If the mode is the RHS mode, the process proceeds to the print control [1] in step S2602. If the mode is not the RHS mode, the process proceeds to step S2605. Step S2605
To check if it is in OHP mode. If the mode is the OHP mode, the process proceeds to step S2607; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S2608.

In step S2607, it is checked whether the mode is the reduction mode. If the mode is the reduction mode, the process proceeds to print control [4] in step S2609; otherwise, the process proceeds to print control [5] in step S2610. In step S2608, it is checked whether the mode is the reduction mode. If the mode is the reduction mode, the process proceeds to print control [6] in step S2611, and if not, the process proceeds to print control [7] in step S2612. FIG. 29 shows the flow of print control [6] in the reduced print mode. As print control, head digit control, ink ejection force control, and head timing control are performed. Here, the head digit control will be described in detail.

The recording head has 128 nozzles. The head digit control controls ON / OFF of the nozzles of the head in units of eight nozzles. These eight nozzle units are digitized. FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram thereof. For example, digit 1 is composed of nozzles 1 to 8, and digit 16 is composed of nozzles 121 to 128. There are 16 digits to be controlled by one head.

FIG. 30 shows the flow of the head digit control [6] routine, and FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram. In this routine, when the carriage performs A4 size recording at the time of reduced printing, 65 lines of one-line printing are performed, and therefore, each digit is controlled 65 times. At the time of odd-numbered one-line printing (steps S2801 and S2802),
In step S2805, ink is ejected from the nozzle 1 to the nozzle 64, and ink is not ejected from the nozzle 65 to the nozzle 128.

In the even-numbered one-line printing (step S2801), in step S2803, the nozzle 6
No. 5 to the nozzle 128 are ejected, and no ink is ejected from the nozzle 1 to the nozzle 64. In the 65th one-line printing of the final printing, the ink from the nozzles 81 to 128 is ejected in step S2804.

FIG. 32 shows the flow of the print control [1] routine in the RHS print mode. As print control, head digit control, ink ejection force control, and head timing control are performed. Here, head digit control and head timing control will be described. The description of the ink ejection force control is omitted.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of a head digit control [1] routine in the RHS print mode, and FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram thereof. In this routine, the carriage performs 12-line 1-line printing at the time of RHS printing, and therefore controls each digit. 3n + 1 times (n = 0, 1, 2,
3) In the case of one-line printing (step S3101),
In step S3102, digits 13 to 16 (nozzle 9
7 to the nozzle 128).

In the 3n + 2nd one-line printing (step S3103), digit 1 to digit 16 (nozzle 1 to nozzle 128) are set in step S3104.
Up to discharge. For other (3n + 3rd) one-line printing, digit 1 to digit 4 (nozzle 1 to nozzle 39) are ejected in step S3105.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of the head timing control [1] routine in the RHS print mode.

The printing pattern of Bk, C, M, Y is
It is set so that printing is performed in an area as shown in FIG.
Although a specific description of the timing control is omitted, FIG. 36 shows a comparison diagram with the normal print timing. FIG.
(A) shows the print timing in a print mode other than the RHS print mode, and FIG. 36 (B) shows the RHS print timing.

The printing control at the time of OHP printing is the printing control [5].
It is. The flow of this print control [5] routine is shown in FIG.
It is. FIG. 39 shows the head digit control [5] and FIG. 40 shows the head nozzle control [5]. The head digit control [5] and the head nozzle control [5] will be described. In this routine, the carriage scans the same area twice to thin out and prints out the same area for recording on OHP paper. For this reason, since the carriage performs one-line printing 66 times when printing on the A4 size, the digit control is performed 66 times.

In FIGS. 39 and 40, at the time of odd-numbered one-line printing, only the odd-numbered nozzles from nozzle 1 to nozzle 128 (step S3703) are driven (step S3802) to eject ink. In the case of even-numbered one-line printing, only the even-numbered nozzles from nozzle 1 to nozzle 128 (step S3703) are driven (step S3803) to eject ink. In the 65th one-line printing, only the odd nozzles from the nozzle 81 to the nozzle 128 (step S3702) are driven (step S3802) to discharge ink. In the 66th one-line printing, only the even-numbered nozzles from the nozzle 81 to the nozzle 128 (step S3702) are driven (step S3803) to eject ink. FIG. 41, FIG.
FIG.

The printing control at the time of OHP reduced printing is printing control [4]. FIG. 43 shows the flow of this print control [4] routine. FIG. 44 shows the head digit control [4].
FIG. 45 shows the head nozzle control [4], and the head digit control [4] and the head nozzle control [4] will be described. In this routine, the carriage scans the same area four times to record on an OHP sheet and thins out and prints. For this reason, when the A4 size recording is performed, the carriage performs one-line printing 130 times, so that each digit control is performed 130 times.

4n + 1 times (n = 0, 1,...) 1
At the time of line printing, nozzles 1 to 64, that is, from digit 1 to digit 8 (step S42)
05) Only the odd-numbered nozzles are driven (step S4302)
Then, the ink is ejected. 4n + 2nd time (n = 0, 1,
..), Only the even-numbered nozzles from nozzle 1 to nozzle 64 are driven (step S430).
3) Then, the ink is ejected. 4n + 3rd time (n = 0,
1, 1), the nozzles 65 to 128, that is, from the digit 9 to the digit 16 are printed.
Only the odd nozzles up to (Step S4202) are driven (Step S4302) to eject ink. 4n
In the + 4th (n = 0, 1,...) One-line printing, only the even-numbered nozzles from the nozzle 65 to the nozzle 128 are driven (step S4303) to eject ink. 46 and 47 are explanatory diagrams thereof.

In the 129th one-line printing, only the odd nozzles from nozzle 81 to nozzle 128, that is, from digit 11 to digit 16 (step S4204) are driven (step S4302) to eject ink. In the 130th one-line printing, only the even-numbered nozzles from nozzle 81 to nozzle 128 are driven (step S
4303) and eject ink. FIG. 48 is an explanatory diagram thereof.

(Paper Conveyance) FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing details of the paper conveyance routine in step S35.
In step S4601, it is checked whether the mode is the RHS mode. R
If the mode is the HS mode, the sheet is transported in step S4602 [1].
If not, the process advances to step S4603. In step S4603, it is checked whether the mode is the OHP mode. OH
If the mode is the P mode, the process proceeds to step S4604; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S4605. In step S4604, it is determined whether the mode is the reduction mode. If in the reduction mode, step S4606
To the paper transport [4], otherwise, step S460
Then, the process proceeds to sheet transport [5]. Step S4605
To check if it is in reduction mode. If in the reduction mode, step S4
608: paper conveyance [6], otherwise, step S
The process advances to sheet conveyance [7] of 4609.

The paper transport during RHS printing is paper transport [1].
It is. FIG. 50 shows the flow of the sheet transport [1] routine. At the time of RHS printing, one line printing is performed 12 times, and the paper is fed once each time one line printing is performed. The paper transport during OHP printing is paper transport [5]. Paper transport [5]
FIG. 51 shows the flow of the routine. A4 for OHP printing
When recording on paper of the size, one line printing is performed 66 times, and the paper feed is performed once every time one line printing is performed twice. The sheet is conveyed 33 times in the case of A4 recording. Paper feeding is performed after one-line printing is performed an even number of times.
The flow is step S4804. The paper feed amount corresponds to the print width of 128 nozzles of the recording head. Also, A
In the case of 4, the paper feed amount after the 64th one-line printing is 48
This corresponds to the print width of the nozzle. Step S4 in the flow
803. After the odd-numbered one-line printing, the paper is not fed.

The paper transport during OHP reduced printing is paper transport [4]. The flow of the sheet transport [4] routine is shown in FIG.
2. When recording on A4 size paper at the time of OHP printing, one line printing is performed 130 times, and paper feeding is performed once every four times of one line printing. Paper transport is A4
In the case of the recording, the paper is fed 32 times. Paper feeding is performed after one-line printing is performed an even number of times. The flow is step S4904. The paper feed amount corresponds to the print width of 128 nozzles of the recording head. In the case of A4, the paper feed amount after the 64th one-line printing is equivalent to the printing width of 48 nozzles. The flow is step S4903. Paper is not fed after the odd-numbered one-line printing.

The paper transport at the time of reduced printing is paper transport [6]. FIG. 53 shows the flow of the sheet transport [6] routine. In the case of recording on A4 size paper at the time of reduction printing, 65 one-line printing is performed, and one paper feed is performed every time one-line printing is performed twice.

In the case of A4 recording, the paper is fed 33 times. Paper feeding is performed after one-line printing is performed an even number of times. The flow is step S5004. The paper feed amount corresponds to the print width of 128 nozzles of the recording head. In the case of A4, the paper feed amount after the 64th one-line printing is equivalent to the print width of 48 nozzles. The flow is step S5003. After the odd-numbered one-line printing, the paper is not fed.

(Sheet Discharge Operation) FIG. 54 is a flowchart of a sheet discharge operation routine. It is determined whether the mode is the OHP mode. If the mode is the OHP mode, the process proceeds to discharge [1]. FIG. 55 is a flowchart of the paper discharge [1] routine.

In step S5201, the paper feed roller is rotated to discharge the recording paper. At this time, the rotation amount is set according to the size of the recording paper. The amount to set is
The trailing edge of the paper is a value that passes the jam check position.
If a predetermined paper cannot be fed due to a defective discharge roller or the like, a jam occurs. In step S5202, a first paper ejection jam check is performed. In the present embodiment, detection is performed by a paper feed sensor on the paper transport path. If the paper is not jammed, reset the amount of paper completely discharged to the outside of the apparatus and continue to rotate the roller. The set amount is a value at which the paper is completely discharged.

If the paper cannot be completely discharged due to a defective discharge roller or the like, a jam occurs. Step S5203 is 2
Checking the jam of the second paper ejection. In the present embodiment, detection is performed by a paper discharge sensor on the paper transport path. In steps S5204, S5205, and S5206, the suction pump is moved to a predetermined position, the carriage is moved to a home position, and the suction pump is moved to a start position.

FIG. 56 is a flow chart of the paper discharge routine. In step S5301, the paper feed roller is rotated by step feed to discharge the recording paper. This feed amount is the print width of the recording head, and is 128 nozzles in this embodiment. This paper feed amount is set according to the size of the recording paper. The set amount is a value at which the rear end of the paper passes the jam check position.

When a predetermined paper cannot be fed due to a defective discharge roller or the like, a jam occurs. Step S5302 is 1
Checking the jam of the second paper ejection. In the present embodiment, detection is performed by a paper feed sensor on the paper transport path. If the paper is not jammed, reset the amount of paper completely discharged to the outside of the apparatus and continue to rotate the roller. The set amount is a value at which the paper is completely discharged.

If the paper cannot be completely discharged due to a defective discharge roller or the like, a jam occurs. Step S5303 is 2
Checking the jam of the second paper ejection. In the present embodiment, detection is performed by a paper discharge sensor on the paper transport path. In steps S5304, S5, and S6, the suction pump is moved to a predetermined position, the carriage is moved to a home position, and the suction pump is moved to a start position.

(Control Configuration) Next, a control configuration for executing the above-described recording control flow will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 60 is a CPU, 61 is a CP.
A program ROM for storing a control program to be executed by the U60, and a backup RAM 62 for storing various data. 63 is a main scanning motor for transporting the recording head, and 64 is a sub-scanning motor for transporting the recording paper, which is also used for a suction operation by a pump. 65 is a wiping solenoid, 66 is a paper feed solenoid used for paper feed control, 67 is a cooling fan, and 68 is a paper width detection LED that is turned on during the paper width detection operation. 69 is a paper width sensor, 70 is a paper floating sensor, 71 is a paper feed sensor, 72 is a paper discharge sensor, and 73 is a suction pump position sensor for detecting the position of the suction pump. 74 is a carriage HP sensor that detects the home position of the carriage, 75 is a door open sensor that detects opening and closing of a door, 76 is a manual feed button sensor that detects pressing of a manual feed button, and 77 is an OHP button sensor that detects pressing of an OHP button It is.

Reference numeral 78 denotes a gate array for controlling the supply of print data to four color heads, 79 denotes a head driver for driving the head, 8a denotes an ink cartridge for four colors,
Reference numeral 8b denotes a recording head for four colors, and here, 8a and 8b
As a representative of black (Bk). The ink cartridge 8a has an ink remaining amount sensor 8f for detecting the remaining amount of ink. The head 8b includes a main heater 8c for discharging ink, a sub-heater 8d for controlling the temperature of the head, and a head temperature sensor 8 for detecting the head temperature.
e, a ROM 854 for storing head characteristic information.

FIG. 69A is a diagram showing the appearance of the ink cartridge of this embodiment. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing details of the printed board 85 of FIG. 1A. In FIG. 69B, reference numeral 851 denotes a printed circuit board;
Reference numeral 852 denotes an aluminum heat radiating plate, 853 denotes a heater board including a heating element and a diode matrix, 854 denotes an EEPROM (non-volatile memory) storing density unevenness information and the like in advance, and 855 denotes a contact electrode serving as a joint portion with the main body. is there. Here, the line-shaped discharge port group is not shown.

As described above, the ink jet recording head 8
An EEPROM 854 for storing density unevenness information and the like unique to each recording head is mounted on a printed circuit board 851 including a heating element b and a drive control unit b. In this way, when the recording head 8b is mounted on the main unit, the main unit reads information on recording head characteristics such as density unevenness from the recording head 8b, and performs predetermined control for improving recording characteristics based on this information. I do. This makes it possible to ensure high quality image quality.

FIGS. 70A and 70B are diagrams showing the main circuit configuration on the printed board 851 of FIG. 69. here,
The circuit configuration inside the heater board 853 is indicated by a dashed-dotted frame, and the heater board 853 includes an N-series circuit of a heating element 857 and a diode 856 for preventing current from flowing around.
It has a matrix structure of × M (here, 16 × 8). That is, these heating elements 857 are driven in a time-division manner for each block as shown in FIG. 71, and the control of the supply amount of the driving energy is performed by changing the pulse width (T) applied to the segment (seg) side. This is achieved by controlling

FIG. 70 (B) shows the EEPRO of FIG. 69 (B).
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of M854, in which information on density unevenness and the like according to the present embodiment is stored. These pieces of information are output to the main unit by serial communication in response to a request signal (address signal) D1 from the main unit.

[0167] An overall description of an apparatus to which the present invention can be applied will be given. FIG. 73 is an explanatory perspective view of the configuration of the present embodiment, and FIG. 74 is an explanatory sectional view of the same.

First, the overall configuration will be described. This apparatus comprises a reading device R and a recording device P. The configuration of the reader R is as follows.
A reading means 1 is provided on a reading carriage 2, and the carriage 2 is configured to be able to reciprocate in a main scanning direction (direction of arrow a). The carriage 2 has a reading unit 3
The unit 3 is configured to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of arrow b).

Accordingly, when the original 5 is placed on the original platen glass 4 attached to the upper surface of the apparatus, with the original side down, the original 5 is fixed and set with the cover 6 and the copy switch (not shown) is pressed. Moves in the main scanning direction, reads one line of the original, and transmits the information to a control system (not shown) via the signal cable 7. When reading of one line is completed as described above, the carriage 2 is returned to the home position, and the reading unit 3 is moved by one line in the sub-scanning direction, and reads the next line and below in the same manner as described above. .

The configuration of the recording apparatus P is such that the recording means 8 is mounted on the recording carriage 9, and the recording sheet 11 is conveyed to the position of the recording means 8 by the sheet conveying means 10.

Accordingly, when the read signal from the reading device R is transmitted via the signal cable 7, the recording sheet 11
Is conveyed in the direction of arrow c by the conveying means 10, and the sheet 11
Is transported to the recording position, the recording carriage 9
3, the recording means 8 is driven in accordance with the image signal in synchronism with the movement, and the recording sheet 1 is moved.
1 to record an image. When the recording for one line is completed, the recording sheet 11 is conveyed by one line in the direction of arrow c to perform the recording similarly, and the recorded sheet 11 is discharged to the discharge tray 12.

Here, the bottom of a part of the reading unit 3 is configured to project so as to be lower than the highest part of the recording device P,
One end of the signal cable 7 is connected and fixed to this portion.

Next, the configuration of each part of the above embodiment will be sequentially and specifically described.

(Reading Means) The reading means 1 optically reads the information written on the original 5 and converts it into an electric signal. As shown in FIG. 74, the light source 1a irradiates the original surface with light. The reflected light reaches a photoelectric conversion element 1c such as a CCD via a lens 1b, is converted into an electric signal by the element 1c, and is sent to the recording device P as an image signal.

The photoelectric conversion element 1c is mounted on a board 1d, and one end of a signal cable 7 is connected to the board 1d.

(Reading Carriage) The reading carriage 2 moves the reading means 1 in the main scanning direction. The reading means 1 is attached to the reading carriage 2 and is slidably attached to the main scanning rail 2a. And the rail 2
A drive pulley 2b and a driven pulley 2c are attached near both ends of a, and a timing belt 2d stretched between the pulleys 2b and 2c is connected to the reading carriage 2. Further, a reading carriage motor 2e is connected to the driving pulley 2b.

Therefore, when the carriage motor 2e is rotated forward and backward, the carriage 2 is guided by the rail 2a and reciprocates in the main scanning direction.

(Reading Unit) The reading unit 3 moves the carriage 2 in the sub-scanning direction. The main scanning rail 2a, pulleys 2b and 2c, and the carriage motor 2e are attached to the reading unit 3. One end of the reading unit 3 is slidably mounted on the sub-scanning rail 3a, and the other end is mounted with a guide roller 3b.
It is configured to be movable along a guide portion 13a formed at the bottom. A drive pulley 3c and a driven pulley (not shown) are attached near both ends of the sub-scanning rail 3a, and a timing belt 3d is stretched between both pulleys. The belt 3d is connected to the reading unit 3, and a unit motor 3e is connected to the driving pulley 3c.

Therefore, when the unit motor 3e rotates forward and backward, the reading unit 3 reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction (the direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, which is the moving direction of the carriage 2), along the sub-scanning rail 3a. It is.

(Recording Means) The recording means records an ink image on the recording sheet 11, and in this embodiment, an ink jet recording method is used.

In the ink jet recording system, a liquid ejection port for ejecting and ejecting a recording ink liquid as flying droplets, a liquid flow path communicating with the ejection port, and a part of the liquid flow path are provided. Discharge energy generating means for applying discharge energy for causing the ink liquid in the road to fly. Then, the ejection energy generating means is driven in accordance with the image signal to eject ink droplets and record an image.

Examples of the ejection energy generating means include a method using a pressure energy generating means such as an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, and an electromagnetic energy generating a flying droplet by irradiating an ink liquid with an electromagnetic wave such as a laser and absorbing it. There is a method using a generating means, a method using a thermal energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter, and the like. Among these, a method using a thermal energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter is preferable because the ejection ports can be arranged at a high density and the recording head can be made compact.

At the lower end of the ink cartridge 8a, a recording head 8b is mounted. Ink cartridge 8
When the recording head 8b is driven while containing the liquid ink in the area a, the electrothermal transducer generates heat in response to the image signal from the reading device R, and the ink flies downward from the discharge port in response to the heat generation.

When the recording carriage 9 is scanned in the main scanning direction (the direction of the arrow d in FIG. 73) in synchronization with the driving of the recording head 8b, recording with a width of 8.128 mm is performed on the recording sheet 11 in one scan. It is something to be done.

(Recording Carriage) The recording carriage 9 is for reciprocating the recording means 8 in the main scanning direction, and is slidably mounted on the main scanning rail 9a as shown in FIG. The recording means 8 is mounted on a carriage 9.

A drive pulley 9b and a driven pulley (not shown) are attached near both ends of the main scanning rail 9a. A timing belt 9c stretched between both pulleys is connected to the recording carriage 9. I have. Further, a recording carriage motor 9d is connected to the driving pulley 9b.

Therefore, when the carriage motor 9d is rotated forward and backward, the recording carriage 9 is guided by the rail 9a and reciprocates in the main scanning direction. An electric signal to the recording head 8b is transmitted via a signal cable 14, and one end of the cable 14 is a part of the recording carriage 9 as shown in FIG. 73 and has substantially the same height as the ink cartridge 8a. The other end is connected and fixed to the recording unit 15 at the other end.

(Sheet Conveying Means) The sheet conveying means 10 is for conveying the recording sheet 11. As shown in FIG. 74, the cassette 10a is detachably attached to the lower portion of the apparatus, and a plurality of recording sheets 11 are stacked and stored in the cassette 10a. The recording sheet 11 is separated and fed one by one in the direction of arrow c by a pick-up roller 10b and a separating claw 10a1 provided at the tip of the cassette 10a, and is disposed on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction with respect to the recording head 8b. Transport roller pair 1
It is configured to be conveyed by 0c and 10d.

In this conveyance operation, since the recording by the recording means 8 is performed at a width of 8.128 mm, during recording, the recording sheet 8 is intermittently conveyed at a pitch of 8.128 mm in synchronization with the recording operation, and the recorded sheet 11 is discharged to the discharge tray. It is discharged to 12.

When performing manual paper feed such as OHP, a sheet 11 before recording is inserted from a discharge tray 12 along a guide (not shown), and the conveying roller pair 10c, 10d moves the sheet 11 to a recording start position. The sheet is fed in the direction opposite to the arrow c. Thereafter, the recording operation is intermittently carried in the direction of arrow c in synchronization with the recording operation.

(Signal Cable) Next, the connection state of the signal cable 7 will be described. Prior to this, the positional relationship between the reading device R and the recording device P will be described.

As shown in FIG. 74, the reading device R is disposed above the apparatus main body, and the recording device P is disposed below the reading device R. And the recording device P is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the recording means 8 is disposed on the left side, and on the right side thereof, an electrical unit 16 for supplying a signal or the like to each section is disposed.

The upper end of the electrical unit 16 is located at the highest point of the recording apparatus P (in this embodiment, the ink cartridge 8a).
And the upper end of the arm 9e). The reading unit 3 is configured so that a part of the reading unit 3 projects downward from the lowered portion. That is, the bottom of the reading unit 3 is formed such that the low bottom 3g projects downward with respect to the high / low section 3f, the high / low section 3f is located above the recording means 8, and the above-mentioned electric section 16 is located above the electrical unit 16. The low bottom 3g is configured to be located, and the low bottom 3g is provided in the ink cartridge 8 in the recording apparatus P.
It is configured to protrude downward from the arm 9a and the arm 9e. Even with such a configuration, the reading unit 3 can move in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of the arrow b) without hindrance.

In the above configuration, one end of the signal cable 7 is connected to the substrate 1d of the reading means 1 and the reading carriage 2
, And the other end is connected and fixed to the low bottom portion 3g of the reading unit 3.

In this embodiment, the height H1 from the height 3f of the reading unit 3 to the platen glass 4 shown in FIG. 74 is 55 mm, and the height H2 between the height 3f and the bottom 3g is 19 mm. You have set. Then, the reading carriage stroke is about 25
When a cable 7 having a diameter of 0 mm and a diameter of 1.5 mm is used, the reading carriage 2 is connected to the right end A as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
The loop diameter D1 of the signal cable 7 when moving to
The maximum loop diameter D2 when the carriage 2 moves to the stroke position B is set to be 65 mm.

As described above, the maximum loop diameter D2 is equal to the height H1 from the reading unit height portion 3f to the platen glass 4.
Even if it becomes larger, one end of the signal cable 7 is connected to the lower bottom 3
g, the signal cable 7 does not come into contact with the original platen glass 4. Thereby, the recording device P
This eliminates the need to unnecessarily increase the height of the reading device R located above. The signal cable 7 is connected to an electrical unit 16 via a cable 17.

The recording signal cable 14, which forms a loop with the movement of the recording carriage 9, has a sufficient distance between the bottom of the recording unit 15 and the arm 9e.
The cable 14 does not come into contact with the high / low portion 3f of the reading unit 3 located at the upper part.

(Recovery System Unit) Next, the recovery system unit according to this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 75 is a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement portion and schematic configuration of the recovery system unit. In this example, the recovery system unit is disposed on the home position side corresponding to the HP in FIG.

In the recovery system unit, the cap unit 300 is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of ink cartridges 8a having the recording heads 8b.
As the recording carriage 9 moves, it can slide in the left and right directions in the figure and can move up and down in the vertical direction. When the recording carriage 9 is at the home position, the recording carriage 9 is joined to the recording head 8b and capped. The detailed configuration of the cap unit 300 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 78, 79, and 80.

In the recovery system unit shown in FIG. 75, reference numerals 401 and 402 denote first and second blades as wiping members, respectively, and 403 a blade cleaner made of, for example, an absorber for cleaning the first blade 401. It is. In this embodiment, the first blade 401 is held by a blade elevating mechanism driven by the movement of the recording carriage 9, whereby the first blade 401 is exposed to the surface of the orifice plate 103 which is exposed among the ejection port forming surfaces of the recording head 8 b. Can be set to a protruding (upward) position for wiping and a retracted (downward) position so as not to interfere therewith. In this example, it is assumed that the recording head 8b is mounted such that the portion having the width l2 in FIG. 76 is located on the left side in FIG. 78, and the first blade is moved when the recording carriage 9 moves to the right side from the left side in FIG. The wiping by 401 is performed. As a result, the exposed surface of the orifice plate 103 extends from the narrow portion (width l1) to the wide portion (width l2) defined by the discharge port arrangement position shown in FIG. Only wiping is done. Note that the second blade 402 is fixed at a position where the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 8b that is not wiped by the first blade 401, that is, the surface of the pressing member 109 on both sides of the exposed orifice plate surface in FIG. 76 is wiped. I have.

Furthermore, in the recovery unit, 500
A pump unit communicates with the cap unit 300, and is used to generate a negative pressure for a suction process or the like performed by connecting the cap unit 300 to the recording head 8b.

FIG. 77 is a front view of the head / recovery system. The recording carriage 9 having the recording head 8b is movable in the directions of arrows X and Y for recording while being supported by the main scanning rail 9a. Further, a cap 3 formed of an elastic material on the side of the main body bottom plate 55 and covering the front end of the recording head 8b in order to prevent the ejection openings of the recording head 8b from being clogged.
02 is disposed.
The cap holder 330 is provided with positioning pins 332 and 33 of the holder on a recovery system base 350 fixed to the bottom plate 55.
4 so as to be slidable. Further, the cap holder 330 is configured to be constantly pressed in the arrow Z direction by the spring 360. Further, HP is a non-printing position, and capping for preventing clogging of the print head 8b and operation for recovering clogged ejection openings, for example, recovery of ink circulation in the head due to suction recovery and pressure recovery. The normal standby position called the home position of the recording carriage 9 to be performed, and SP is a position called the start position at which the recording carriage 9 starts an operation for recording. Home position H in this case
P and the start position SP are based on the positioning portion 52 of the recording carriage 9.

(Cap Unit) FIGS. 78, 79 and 80 are a front view, a plan view and a side view, respectively, showing a detailed configuration example of the recovery system unit.

First, the cap unit 300 is provided with a cap 302 which is in close contact with the discharge port of the recording head 8b,
A holder 303 for supporting the ink, an absorber 306 for receiving ink during the idle discharge process and the suction process, and a suction tube 304 for sucking the received ink.
And a connection tube 305 and the like that communicate with the pump unit 500. This cap unit 300
The same number (four in this example) is provided at a position corresponding to each of the ink cartridges 8a, and is supported by the cap holder 330.

332 and 334 are cap holders 33
The pin is protruded from 0, and the fixed recovery base 350
The cam grooves 352 and 35 for guiding the cap holder 330 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in FIG.
4 respectively. One pin 334 of the cap holder 330 and the rising portion 36 of the recovery system base 350
A spring 360 is stretched between the cap holder 330 and the cap holder 330, thereby applying an urging force to the cap holder 330 so that the cap holder 330 is held at the position shown in the figure, that is, the right end position and the lowered position. It should be noted that the recording carriage 9 is placed on the cap holder 330 or the cap unit 300 at this position.
Recording head 8 of ink cartridge 8a mounted thereon
The position where “b” faces is the start position (SP) of the recording carriage 9 during the recording process of one scan.

Reference numeral 342 denotes an engaging portion which is raised from the cap holder 330 and engages with the recording carriage 9 at a position on the left side of the start position. When the recording carriage 9 moves further leftward in FIG. 78 from the start position, the cap holder 330 moves against the urging force of the spring 360 by the engaging portion 342. At this time, the cap holder 330 includes the pins 332 and 334.
Are guided along the cam grooves 352 and 354 through
Displaces left and upward. Therefore, the cap 302 comes into close contact with the periphery of the ejection port of the recording head 8b, and capping is performed. The position of the recording carriage 9 when the capping is performed is defined as a home position.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the head information is read out and stored in the memory in the apparatus at the time of head replacement, so that it is possible to optimally drive the head after replacement. Further, since the head recovery operation is automatically performed at the time of head replacement, it is possible to prevent the user from being bothered by the recovery operation. Further, since the recovery operation has a dedicated mode at the time of head replacement, reliable recovery processing can be performed.

Further, since the head replacement is detected immediately after the initial check (hardware check) and the data of the head is read after that, the data of the head can be read reliably and promptly. Since the head replacement detection is performed by comparing the data of the read heads, there is an advantage that the presence or absence of the replaced head can be quickly recognized.

In the above embodiment, even if the front door is opened, the power is not turned off and the door is temporarily opened without returning to the normal state when the door is closed. A configuration in which power ON / OFF is linked may be employed. In this case, when the front door is closed, the initial check in step S1 in FIG. 1 is performed. According to this configuration, although a lot of recovery processing of the device is required, a reliable check of the device can be performed.

In the above embodiment, the data in the ROM of the head is used to detect the replacement of the head.
For example, whether or not the head is a new head may be determined with a simple configuration such as a pin. By using a method of making a mechanical determination without using a ROM for the head, there is an effect that the cost required for detecting the replacement of the head is reduced and the degree of freedom in the configuration of the head is increased.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, in an apparatus having a plurality of heads, by changing the number of idle discharges of the replaced head and that of the unreplaced head, the ink of the unreplaced head is wastefully consumed by unnecessary idle discharge. It is something that has not been done. Except for this point, the configuration is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and the description is omitted.

FIG. 81 is a flowchart showing details of the new cartridge suction recovery routine of this embodiment. In the new and old head idle ejection number set shown in the figure, the number of idle ejections of the new head is set to 2,000 at the central portion, to 6,000 at the end portion, and to that of the unreplaced head to 100 and 300, respectively. Thereafter, idle ejection [3] and idle ejection [4] are performed a number of times corresponding to the set number.

The new and old head idle ejection number set will be described with reference to FIG. Step S8201, Step S8204, Step S8207, Step S821
At 0, it is checked whether the heads of Bk, C, M and Y are new. For example, if a new head is mounted in the case of Bk, 2,000 shots at the center and 6000 shots at the end in step S8202, and 100 shots at the center and 100 shots at the end in step S8203 unless the head is replaced. It is set so that 300 empty ejections are performed. Steps S8205 and S8 are similarly performed for the colors C, M, and Y, respectively.
206, Steps S8208 and S8209, and Steps S8211 and S8212.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, in an apparatus having a plurality of color heads, it is possible to set two types of idle discharge numbers of a new head and a non-replaced head. Since the number of idle discharges of the new head is set to be large, it is possible to prevent the ink of the head that has not been replaced from being wasted by unnecessary idle discharge.

In the above embodiment, the number of idle discharges of the new head is the same regardless of the ink color. However, the number of idle discharges may be set according to the color or the type of ink. By setting the number of idle ejections in accordance with the color and type of ink, better head recovery processing can be performed. Further, in the above embodiment, the number of idle discharges of the replaced head and the head not replaced is changed, but the same effect can be obtained by changing the drive frequency for performing the idle discharge.

<Third Embodiment> A third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is characterized by data stored in the ROM of the head and its storage format. FIG. 83 shows the data format stored in the ROM, and FIG. 84 shows the data contents. here,
An EEPROM was used as the ROM.

In the EEPROM, a serial number, density unevenness correction data, ink color data, characteristics of a temperature sensor, that is, a diode sensor (rank classification), and the like are written. In this embodiment, 1 Kbit (128 bytes) is used. Since the number of nozzles is 128, there is 128 density unevenness correction data corresponding to each nozzle.
Bit, that is, one of 64 types of correction tables from 0 to 63 can be selected. EEPR
The address of the OM corresponds to the nozzle number, and the lower 6 bits of each address are the density correction table number of the nozzle. In this embodiment, the serial number is 20.
bit was prepared. As is clear from FIG. 83, for data other than the density correction data, the upper two
t is used. The production number includes a production date, a serial number, and the like. The main unit can read the replacement number of the head by reading the serial number.

Two bits are used for the ink color data, 00 for black, 01 for cyan, 10 for magenta,
Yellow is distinguished from 11. Thus, the main unit is
Even when a plurality of heads that are completely identical in shape are mounted, it is possible to electrically determine the color of the head, and it is possible to detect when a head having an inappropriate ink color is set. The characteristics of the diode sensor were classified into 4 bits, that is, 16 ranks. As shown in FIG. 85, if the temperature characteristics of the diode are formed by the same process as shown in FIG. 85, the amount of voltage change with temperature becomes uniform. However, the absolute values of the voltage drops individually vary within a certain range. Therefore, in order to accurately detect the temperature, it is necessary to inform the device body of the characteristics of each diode. However, since it has been confirmed that the variation can be ignored within the same wafer, it is not necessary to prepare data for each of the right and left. Drive current pulse width TA1 (T2: P3),
For TA3 (T1: P1), 4 bits are used.

<Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG.
Is a replaceable head (recording means), which is replaced by the user when the ink runs out or is damaged. Reference numeral 854 denotes a ROM mounted on the head, which stores various head information similar to that of the previous embodiment. The CPU 60a uses R
The contents of the OM 854 are read and the backup RAM 62
And control is performed according to the contents. The backup RAM 62 is backed up by a battery, and its contents are not erased even when the power is turned off. The same effect can be obtained with a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM.

A door open sensor 75 determines whether or not the user has opened the door. When the user opens the door, the user usually removes the paper staying in the apparatus or replaces the head. Reference numeral 80 denotes a power reset IC, which is a CPU when a predetermined voltage is reached at power-on.
The system including 60 is released from the reset state. The control board 81b and the control board 81c are
The system is connected to the control board 81a. For example, the control board 81b manages an image reader, communicates with the control board 81a as a printer management controller, and constructs a copier system. The control board 81c is an optional device such as an image editing device, and can communicate with the control board 81b and exchange image data, for example, and can have a configuration capable of constructing a more improved copier system. If necessary here, CPU
Both 61b and CPU 61c perform predetermined control based on the contents of ROM 854. The details of the control are not directly related to the present embodiment, and thus the description is omitted.

The operation of the present embodiment thus configured will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 60a detects power-on by the power reset IC 80 (Step S
8701) or door open is detected by the door open sensor 75 (step S8705). At this time,
By reading the head identification number from the ROM 854 of the head 8 (step S8702), it is determined whether or not the replaceable head 8 has been replaced by comparison with the head identification number stored in the backup RAM 62 (step S8703). Here, only when the head 8 is replaced, the predetermined head characteristic data including the head identification number is transferred to the battery backup RAM 62 or a nonvolatile memory (step S8704).

As described above, the replaceable head 8 is given a head identification number, and after power is turned on or the door is opened, the head is compared with the head identification number in the backup RAM 62 to determine whether or not the head has been replaced. By transferring the predetermined head characteristic data including the head identification number to the battery backup RAM 62 only when the head is replaced, it is possible to save time as compared with the case of transferring the data every time, and to increase the copy time or the print time. Can be prevented.

<Fifth Embodiment> Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In an ink jet recording apparatus, the recording head may be temporarily replaced. In other words, there is a case where recording is first performed by a certain recording head, but is replaced with another head for some reason, and then recording is performed by the original head. These things are rarely performed in so-called permanent heads where the head is attached to the main body from the beginning and the ink tank and ink bottle are replaced, but cartridge-type recording in which the head and ink tank are integrated May occur frequently at the head. In particular, when printing is performed using a plurality of colors of ink in a printing apparatus that performs printing by mounting a printing head on one head carriage, the printing must be temporarily stored outside the main apparatus.

When the recording head or the like is exchanged for the main body device in this manner, it may be impossible or difficult to control the normal recording and to stably eject the ink from the head. Therefore, in this embodiment, the recording head has a storage member (memory) for storing the characteristic data of the head, and the data of the storage member of the head is read into the main body of the recording apparatus at a predetermined timing. In this embodiment, a case of a cartridge type recording head in which a head and an ink tank are integrated will be described.

(ID Number of Head) The ID number of the head is provided for independently recognizing each cartridge. When the main unit is powered on, if the ID number is different from the cartridge installed during the previous operation, it can be determined that a new cartridge has been replaced.
Perform various initialization operations.

The fact that the ID number has changed means that the ink in the previous cartridge has run out and a new cartridge has been taken out of the package and mounted. May not be possible. Therefore, a recovery operation optimal for a new cartridge is performed.

Further, the information of the cartridge which has been previously inserted is initialized. The information is not only data read from the ROM of the cartridge when the power is turned on, but also data necessary for controlling only the previous cartridge.

The ID number is read when the power is turned on, and if the ID number is the same as that of the previous operation, there is no need to read data from the ROM of the cartridge. However, in the case of an apparatus configuration in which the ROM of the cartridge is rewritten during operation of the main body, various operations are performed by reading data from the ROM of the cartridge when the power is turned on or at an appropriate time.

(Color of Ink) If a cartridge of a predetermined color is not inserted in a predetermined carriage position, an output image will have a strange color.

Therefore, erroneous mounting of the cartridge can be prevented by storing color data in the cartridge.

(Residual Characteristics) A constant current is applied to the residual pins placed in the absorber in the ink tank, and the voltage value after a predetermined time is measured. The value at this time is a residual detection value. When this value is larger than a predetermined threshold voltage value, a lamp is turned on to notify the user that the ink amount is low.

Since the residual detection value depends on the electric resistance of the ink, the value increases as the temperature decreases. Therefore, the remaining ink level is detected by changing the threshold voltage value of the residual detection according to the temperature of the ink. The characteristics also vary depending on the type of ink and the lot of the absorber in the ink tank (see FIG. 88).

Therefore, the remaining amount of ink can be detected with high accuracy by inputting the detection voltage at each temperature as data for each cartridge. Specifically, any of the following methods may be used. [1] A table is stored for each temperature. Considering the capacity of the memory and the accuracy of the temperature sensor, 0-30 at intervals of 3-5 ° C.
Enter data in the range of ° C. At this time, a value of 0 ° C. is used below 0 ° C., and a value of 30 ° C. is used above 30 ° C. (FIG. 89A)
reference). [2] However, the detected voltage with respect to the temperature can be expressed by a simple function without having to store such data in the memory. For example, a linear approximation can be made so that the value is constant above 25 ° C. and linearly increases below that, so two numerical data are sufficient (see FIG. 89 (B)).

(HS Data) Head Shading (H
S) is performed to correct the density unevenness in the head and improve the image quality. Initially, it is performed at the time of head shipment inspection.
The data is written in the OM. If the unevenness changes while the user is using the OM, the user is required to perform the RHS appropriately. At that time, HS data is newly written in the SRAM in the main body.

(Manufacturing date) If it is known when the cartridge is manufactured, it is possible to know how long the cartridge has been mounted in the main body. Depending on the elapsed time, the recovery operation of the new cartridge can be made appropriate.

That is, as the elapsed time becomes longer, the ink density in the nozzle becomes higher. Unless the suction amount or the number of idle ejections is increased, it is impossible to discharge a stable and appropriate density of ink. Specifically, the recovery operation is changed on a monthly basis from the date of manufacture to the date of attachment.

(Effective period) If a long time elapses after the cartridge is manufactured, the composition and physical properties of the ink change, so that the ejection stability and the ink density change. This is particularly noticeable after opening the package. That is, the ink evaporates from the cartridge, and among the components of the ink, there are some which evaporate easily, such as water, and some which are non-volatile. Therefore, the ejection ratio changes because the component ratio in the ink changes. In addition, since the dye in the ink does not evaporate, the density of the ink becomes high, and the output image becomes different in color from what is desired. Therefore, when a certain period of time has elapsed after opening the package and mounting the cartridge, a warning is issued by the main body, or the operation is automatically stopped and the cartridge is replaced.

Further, even if the package is not opened, that is, even if the ink does not evaporate from the cartridge, the ink and the absorber in the ink tank react and the components of the ink are denatured. Because it may be bad, warn the main body or automatically stop the operation and have the cartridge replaced.

These are specifically orders of several years and have no problem for those who normally use them. However, even if they are not used for a long period of time, they can always be recognized by the user with a warning so that high quality can be obtained. Image quality can be obtained.

(Rank of Temperature Sensor) In the present ink jet recording apparatus, high-precision temperature detection is required because the ejection control is changed depending on the head temperature. The temperature of the head is detected by a temperature sensor provided on the same substrate as the discharge heater of the head. This sensor is composed of semiconductor resistive elements, but has different characteristics due to manufacturing variations.
Therefore, this resistance is measured at the time of manufacture, and a rank of the sensor is provided so that each head can accurately detect the temperature.

When the power is turned on, this data is read out, and the head temperature is calculated and accurately detected according to the rank, so that there is no variation among heads and high quality without uneven density within one image. Images can be obtained.

(Registration Correction Data in X Direction (Scanning Direction)) This ink jet recording apparatus forms a full-color image by mounting four head cartridges on a carriage and performing printing while serially scanning. Specifically, heads are arranged at regular intervals in the scanning direction,
By discharging the ink at regular time intervals, the ink is printed at the same location to form a desired color pixel. However, there are cases where the printing position, that is, the registration does not match, due to the mechanical accuracy of the head cartridge, the ejection of ink from the head, and the like. In this case, since the color and fine lines of the image cannot be delicately expressed, a high-quality image cannot be obtained.

Therefore, when the head cartridge is manufactured, registration data in the scanning direction is entered, and when the new cartridge is mounted, this data is read out, and accurate registration is corrected by controlling the timing of ink ejection.

The following is a specific description. A head having a plurality of discharge ports is positioned such that the discharge ports are arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction. To be precise, they are arranged at a certain angle. In other words, if you have multiple outlets, if you eject ink from the outlets at the same time, printing will be perpendicular to the scanning direction even if you arrange vertically, but if you try to eject from multiple outlets at the same time, Then, a considerably large power required for discharging at that moment is required. In addition, when the number of simultaneous ejections is large and small, the voltage drop varies depending on the difference in the current flowing through the ejection heater, so that the voltage of the power supply fluctuates, making it difficult to perform stable ejection under optimal driving conditions. Therefore, actually, the ejection is not performed at exactly the same time, but is divided and performed after a certain time. Then, since the carriage scans for the time from the first ejection to the last ejection, if the head of N nozzles ejects in order from 1 to N, for example, printing will be performed diagonally. Therefore,
The head itself is arranged obliquely in consideration of the bending.

However, as described above, the resist is shifted due to the mechanical accuracy of the head and the deviation of the ejection. Therefore, it is necessary to measure in advance how much the head is displaced during the inspection of the head, and write the time as data in the head so as to advance or delay the ejection timing by a time corresponding to the deviation amount. Is read and the timing of ejection is controlled. This data may be data indicating how much the entire head is displaced, or may be controlled for each nozzle (see FIG. 90).
By controlling the ejection timing for each head or each nozzle in this manner, the registration in the scanning direction can be corrected and a high-quality image can be output.

As described above, by writing data in the head cartridge, reading the data when the power of the main body is turned on, and performing appropriate various controls, a high-quality image can be printed with high reliability. Becomes

It should be noted that all of these data need not be present, but the more data there is, the higher the quality of the image obtained by the more precise control.

<Sixth Embodiment> This embodiment is directed to a case where a head and an ink tank are separable cartridges. By separating the head and the ink tank, if the ink runs out, the tank is replaced, and by using the ink tank many times with one head, the head can be used until the end of its life. Therefore, the running cost is reduced. In the case of such a head cartridge, it is preferable that the memory is provided on both the head side and the ink tank side, but it is sufficient that the memory is provided at least on the head side.

First, the case where both have storage memories will be described. In this case, the data related to the ink tank described in the fifth embodiment may be read separately from the ink tank side, and the data related to the head may be read separately from the head side. In addition, about the part similar to 5th Example,
Description is omitted.

(ID number of head) The fact that the ID number has changed means that the life of the head is over and a new head cartridge is taken out of the package and mounted. Ink cannot be ejected. Particularly, in a cartridge in which the ink tank and the head are separated from each other, it is possible to assume that the ink is not contained in the liquid quality of the head, so that the recovery operation optimal for the new head is performed.

(HS Data) Head Shading (H
S) is performed to correct the density unevenness in the head and improve the image quality. Initially, it is performed at the time of head shipment inspection.
The data is written in the OM. If the unevenness changes while the user is using the OM, the user is required to perform the RHS appropriately. At that time, HS data is newly written in the SRAM in the main body.

(Manufacturing Date) By knowing when the head cartridge was manufactured, it is possible to know how long the cartridge has been mounted in the main body. Depending on the elapsed time, the recovery operation of the new cartridge can be made appropriate.

That is, if the elapsed time becomes longer, the heater in the head undergoes some change. Unless the number of idle ejections is increased, stable ejection cannot be performed. Specifically, the recovery operation is changed on a monthly basis from the date of manufacture to the date of attachment, and the number of idle ejections is increased.

(Effective period) If a long time has elapsed since the head cartridge was manufactured, the durability of the head deteriorates. This is particularly noticeable after printing is started. That is, since the ink and the discharge heater come into contact with each other and a voltage is applied to the heater, the durability of the discharge heater is lost. Therefore, when a certain period of time has elapsed after opening the package and mounting the cartridge, the main body issues a warning or automatically stops the operation and asks the head cartridge to be replaced.

These are concretely the number of ejections or the number of ejections, and it is possible to replace the ink tank several times. However, if the number exceeds a predetermined value, the user is warned and the head is replaced. As a result, high quality image quality can always be obtained.

(Rank of temperature sensor) The resistance of the semiconductor element is measured at the time of manufacture, and a rank of the sensor is provided so that each head can accurately detect the temperature.

(Registration Correction Data in X Direction (Scan Direction)) Registering data in the scan direction when a head cartridge is manufactured, reading this data when a new cartridge is mounted, and controlling the timing of ink ejection. Corrects the correct resist with.

(ID Number of Ink Tank) The ID number of the ink tank is provided for independently identifying each ink tank cartridge. When the main unit is powered on, if the ID number is different from the ink tank cartridge that was mounted during the previous operation, it can be determined that a new ink tank cartridge has been replaced, and various initialization operations are performed.

The fact that the ID number has changed means that the ink has run out and a new ink tank cartridge has been removed from the package and mounted, and it is not possible to stably eject the ink by simply mounting the cartridge. In addition, the fact that the ink has run out can be assumed that there is no ink in the liquid of the head,
Performs an optimal recovery operation for a new ink tank.

Further, the information of the ink tank cartridge which has been stored before is initialized. The information is not only data read from the ROM of the cartridge when the power is turned on, but also data necessary for controlling only the previous cartridge.

The ID number is read when the power is turned on, and if it is the same as the previous one during operation, there is no need to read data from the ROM of the cartridge. However, in the case of an apparatus configuration in which the ROM of the cartridge is rewritten during the operation of the main body, various operations are performed by reading data from the ROM of the cartridge when the power is turned on or at an appropriate time.

(Color of Ink) If a cartridge of a predetermined color is not inserted in a predetermined carriage position, an output image will have a strange color.

Therefore, erroneous mounting of the cartridge can be prevented by storing the color data in the cartridge.

(Residual Detection Characteristics) By inputting the detection voltage at each temperature as data for each cartridge, the remaining amount of ink can be accurately detected.

(Manufacturing date) If it is known when the ink tank cartridge was manufactured, it is possible to know how long the cartridge has been mounted in the main body. Depending on the elapsed time, the recovery operation of the new cartridge can be made appropriate.

That is, as the elapsed time becomes longer, the ink density at the portion connected to the head cartridge becomes higher. Therefore, unless the amount of suction is increased, it is impossible to discharge a stable and appropriate density of ink. Specifically, the recovery operation is changed on a monthly basis from the date of manufacture to the date of attachment.

(Effective period) When a long time has passed since the ink tank cartridge was manufactured, the composition and physical properties of the ink change, so that the ejection stability and the ink density change.
This is particularly noticeable after opening the package. That is, the ink evaporates from the cartridge, and among the components of the ink, there are some which evaporate easily, such as water, and some which are non-volatile. Therefore, the ejection ratio changes because the component ratio in the ink changes. In addition, since the dye in the ink does not evaporate, the density of the ink becomes high, and the color of the output image is different from that desired. Therefore, when a certain period of time has elapsed after opening the package and mounting the cartridge, a warning is issued by the main body or the operation is automatically stopped and the cartridge is replaced.

Even if the package is not opened, that is, even if the ink does not evaporate from the cartridge, the ink and the absorber in the ink tank react and the components of the ink are denatured. Because it may be bad, warn the main body or automatically stop the operation and have the cartridge replaced.

As described above, in the cartridge in which the head and the ink tank are separable and function integrally, the storage memory is provided on each of the head side and the ink tank side, and the recording apparatus main body is independently provided at a predetermined timing. Read the data. This makes it possible to control the main body and the head appropriately in accordance with the respective heads and ink tanks, and to print a stable high-quality image.

Further, even if the ink tank is not made too large, the ink tank, which is relatively inexpensive compared with the head, can be replaced and used many times within one head life, so that the running cost can be reduced. In addition, by reducing the size of the ink tank, the weight of the head cartridge can be reduced, so that the head carriage can also be made lighter, the torque of the motor that moves the carriage can be reduced, and the size of the motor and power supply can be reduced. Becomes possible.

<Seventh Embodiment> This embodiment is different from the sixth embodiment in that the memory is provided only on the head side and not on the ink tank side.

Even if a storage memory is not provided on the ink tank side, control can be performed only by the memory on the head side, so that the cost of the ink tank can be reduced. However, since the memory capacity on the head side is larger than when the ink tank has independent memory, the head and the ink tank have independent memory for more reliable control. Better.

<Eighth Embodiment> In the present embodiment, 1
A case where only the head is mounted will be described. In the case where the ink tank is configured to be separable from the head unit, there is a case where ink tanks of a plurality of colors or ink tanks of different types are exchanged and used.

At this time, if the color of the ink before the replacement is different from the color of the new ink, it is necessary to perform suction and idling more than in the case of the same color in order to prevent color mixing of the ink. Therefore, by writing the color of the ink before replacement to the memory on the main unit side and comparing the data with the color and type of the ink tank when the power is turned on, it is possible to perform appropriate recovery processing, thereby consuming extra ink and mixing ink. Can be prevented.

In this case, it is necessary to provide color data on the ink tank side, but if there is no need other than the color data, if the recognition can be made on the main body side by a mechanical configuration such as attaching a protrusion to the tank. good.

Even when the ink tank and the head are an integral cartridge, if the (ink type) is different, the data is written in the cartridge as data, and the recoverability varies depending on the ink type, so the number of idle ejections and necessary suction By changing the pressure, an optimal recovery operation can be performed.

<Others> It should be noted that the present invention is particularly provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink even in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

[0279] The typical structure and principle thereof are described in, for example, US Patent Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, to the electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is held, This is effective because heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the film is boiled on the heat-acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with the drive signal. 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 liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. Examples of the drive signal in the form of a pulse include those described in U.S. Pat.
Suitable are those described in US Pat. No. 45,262. If the conditions described in U.S. 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 the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on JP-A-59-138461 which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification is used. Either a configuration that satisfies the length or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exert the above-described effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body, or integrated with the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided in a fixed manner is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as components of the printing apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. To be more specific, a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit, a preheating unit using an electrothermal converter, another heating element, or a combination thereof, for the recording head. ,
Performing a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing is also effective for performing stable printing.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a single recording head or a combination of plural recording heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the description is made using the liquid ink. However, in the present invention, the ink which is solid at room temperature or the ink which becomes soft at room temperature is used. Can be used. In the above-described ink jet apparatus, the temperature of the ink itself is generally controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less so that the viscosity of the ink is controlled to be in a stable ejection range. It is sufficient if the ink is in a liquid state.
In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or an ink that solidifies in a standing state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink is used. In any case, heat energy is applied by heat energy, such as one in which ink is liquefied and ejected as an ink liquid by application of heat energy according to a recording signal, or one which already starts to solidify when reaching a recording medium. The use of an ink that liquefies for the first time is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, the ink is held in a liquid or solid state in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet, It is good also as a form which opposes an electrothermal transducer. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0286]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the printhead is replaced with a new printhead, the head characteristic information automatically read from the printhead is stored, so that printing after replacement of the printhead can be optimized without the need for user operation. It can be easily achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating main control of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing main control of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing main control of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of an initial jam check routine of step S3.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of a head information reading routine in step S5.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of a recovery operation determination [1] routine in step S8.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of a non-discharge detection operation routine in S512.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of an abnormal high temperature check routine.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing details of a recovery operation determination [2] routine in step S20.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of a recovery operation determination [3] routine.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of a recovery operation determination [6] routine.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing details of a recovery operation determination [4] routine.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing details of a timer suction recovery (recovery operation [3]) routine.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing details of a suction recovery after printing (recovery operation [4]) routine.

FIG. 15 shows a new cartridge suction recovery (recovery operation [6]).
It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a routine.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing details of a non-discharge detection suction recovery (recovery operation [7]) routine.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of a suction recovery (recovery operation [8]) routine after high-temperature printing.

FIG. 18 shows recovery after high-temperature printing (recovery operation)

[9]) It is a flowchart showing details of a routine.

FIG. 19: Recovery switch suction recovery (recovery operation [10])
It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a routine.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of idle discharge [1] to idle discharge [5] and standby idle discharge.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a sequence for setting a preheat pulse width P1.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of an initial 20 ° C. temperature control routine.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of a 20-degree temperature control routine and a 25-degree temperature control routine.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a sheet feeding operation routine in step S21.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing details of a carriage start position moving routine in step S2201 of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing details of a paper width and paper type detection operation routine in step S22.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing details of a one-line printing routine in step S24.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a print control routine of step S2501 in FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of a print control [6] routine in a reduced print mode.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of a head digit control [6] routine.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram of head digit control [6].

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a print control [1] routine in the RHS print mode.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of a head digit control [1] routine in the RHS print mode.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram of head digit control [1] in the RHS print mode.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of a head timing control [1] routine in an RHS print mode.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating print timing.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an area where a print pattern of Bk, C, M, and Y is printed.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of a print control [5] routine during OHP printing.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of a head digit control [5] routine.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of a head nozzle control [5] routine.

41 is an explanatory diagram of nozzle driving performed by head digit control [5] of FIG. 39 and head nozzle control [5] of FIG. 40.

42 is an explanatory diagram of nozzle driving performed by head digit control [5] of FIG. 39 and head nozzle control [5] of FIG. 40.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart of a print control [4] routine during OHP reduced printing.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart of a head digit control [4] routine.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart of a head nozzle control [4] routine.

46 is an explanatory diagram of nozzle driving performed by head digit control [4] in FIG. 44 and head nozzle control [4] in FIG. 45.

47 is an explanatory diagram of nozzle driving performed by head digit control [4] of FIG. 44 and head nozzle control [4] of FIG. 45.

48 is an explanatory diagram of nozzle driving performed by head digit control [4] of FIG. 44 and head nozzle control [4] of FIG. 45.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing details of a sheet transport routine of step S25.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart of a sheet conveyance [1] routine.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart of a sheet transport [5] routine.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart of a sheet transport [4] routine.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart of a sheet conveyance [6] routine.

FIG. 54 is a flowchart of a sheet discharging operation routine.

FIG. 55 is a flowchart of a paper discharge [1] routine.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart of a paper discharge [2] routine.

FIG. 57 is a flowchart of a wiping operation routine.

FIG. 58 is an explanatory diagram of a wiping operation.

FIG. 59 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the tube pump.

FIG. 60 is an explanatory diagram of a divided pulse width modulation driving method.

FIG. 61 is an explanatory diagram of a head structure used in this embodiment.

FIG. 62 is a diagram showing a relationship between table pointers TA1 and a main heat pulse width P3 obtained from TA1.

FIG. 63 is a diagram showing a relationship between a table pointer TA3 and a preheat pulse width P1.

FIG. 64 is a diagram showing a relationship between a preheat pulse width P1 and a discharge amount VD.

FIG. 65 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a head temperature TH and a discharge amount VD.

FIG. 66 is a diagram illustrating a state of discharge amount control with respect to a head temperature in a relationship between a head temperature and a discharge amount.

FIG. 67 is a diagram showing a relationship between a head temperature TH and a preheat pulse width P1.

FIG. 68 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration for executing a recording control flow.

FIG. 69 is a diagram illustrating an ink jet cartridge according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 70 is a diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of a main part on a printed board 851.

FIG. 71 is a timing chart for driving the heating element 857 in a time-division manner for each block.

FIG. 72 is a diagram showing a positional relationship among a temperature sensor, a sub heater, and a discharge (main) heater of a head used in this embodiment.

FIG. 73 is an explanatory perspective view of the configuration of the present embodiment.

FIG. 74 is an explanatory sectional view of the present embodiment.

FIG. 75 is a schematic perspective view of a recovery system unit.

FIG. 76 is a front view of the head.

FIG. 77 is a front view of a head recovery system.

FIG. 78 is a front view of the recovery system unit.

FIG. 79 is a plan view of the recovery system unit.

FIG. 80 is a side view of the recovery system unit.

FIG. 81 is a flowchart illustrating details of a new cartridge suction recovery routine according to the second embodiment of this invention.

82 is a flowchart showing details of a new and old head idle ejection number set of FIG. 81.

FIG. 83 is a diagram showing a storage format of data in a ROM 854 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 84 shows the contents of data in a ROM 854.

FIG. 85 is a diagram showing temperature-voltage characteristics of a diode sensor.

FIG. 86 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a fourth example of the present invention.

FIG. 87 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG. 86;

FIG. 88 is a diagram showing the relationship between the remaining ink amount and the ink resistance value.

FIG. 89 is a diagram showing a relationship between a temperature and a detection voltage.

FIG. 90 is a diagram illustrating a registration correction amount of a head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P recording device R reading device A right end B stroke position HP home position SP start position 1 reading means 1a light source 1b lens 1c photoelectric conversion element 1d substrate 2 reading carriage 2a main scanning rail 2b drive pulley 2c driven pulley 2d timing belt 2e carriage motor 2f balance unit 3 reading unit 3a sub-scanning rail 3b guide roller 3f high bottom 3g low bottom 4 platen glass 5 document 6 cover 7 signal cable Reference Signs List 8 recording means 8a ink cartridge 8b recording head 8c ejection (main) heater 8d sub-heater 8e temperature sensor 9 recording carriage 9a main scanning rail 9b drive pulley 9c timing belt 9d recording carriage motor Term 9e Arm 10 Sheet conveying means 10a Cassette 10a1 Separation claw 1 0b Pickup Roller 10c Transport Roller Pair 10e Transport Roller Pair 11 Recording Sheet 12 Ejection Tray 13 Device Body Frame 13a Guide 14 Signal Cable 15 Recording Unit 16 Transmission Unit 17 Signal Cable 52 Positioning part 55 Body bottom plate 60 CPU 103 Orifice plate 108 Discharge port 109 Pressing member 300 Cap unit 302 Cap 303 Holder 304 Suction tube 305 Connection tube 306 Absorber 330 Cap holder 332 Positioning pin 334 Positioning pin 342 Joint 350 Recovery system base 352 Cam groove 354 Cam groove 360 Spring 364 Start-up part 401 First blade 402 Second blade 403 Blade cleaner 500 Pump unit 853 Heater board 854 EEPRO

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Sohei Tanaka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Taka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Kazuyoshi Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hitoshi Sugimoto 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Miyuki Matsubara 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-2-279344 (JP, A) JP-A-63-257648 (JP, A) JP-A-62-108057 (JP, A) JP-A-63-224960 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175 B41J 2/125 B41J 2/165 B41J 2/18 B41J 2/185

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording using a recording head having exchangeable head characteristic information, comprising: detecting means for detecting that the recording head has been replaced; and a head read from the recording head. Storage means for storing the characteristic information; driving means for outputting a drive signal based on the head characteristic information stored in the storage means to the printhead; and the detection means having replaced the printhead with a new printhead. Read-out control means for storing the head characteristic information read from the recording head in the storage means when the detection is detected , wherein the detection means performs recording immediately after the main body hardware check.
An ink jet recording apparatus for detecting that a head has been replaced . 2. A recording medium having exchangeable head characteristic information.
With an inkjet recording device that performs recording using a recording head
So, Detecting means for detecting that the recording head has been replaced; The head characteristic information read from the recording head is stored.
Storage means; A drive signal based on the head characteristic information stored in the storage means.
Driving means for outputting a signal to the recording head, The detecting means replaces the recording head with a new recording head.
When the recording head is detected, the recording head is stored in the storage means.
Read system that stores the head characteristic information read from the
Means, With The read control unit is configured such that the detection unit determines that the recording head is
When it detects that a new recording head has been replaced,
The start time of use of the recording head is stored in the recording head.
An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that: 3. The recording head is provided for each of a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink and a corresponding ejection port, and causes a state change due to heat in the ink to cause the ink to flow from the ejection port 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.