JP3178590B2 - Recording apparatus and facsimile apparatus using the apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a facsimile apparatus using the apparatus, and more particularly, to replenishing ink by using a recording head for performing recording in accordance with an ink jet system and exchanging ink cartridges and ink tanks. The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a facsimile apparatus using the recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a facsimile apparatus equipped with a recording device having a recording head for performing recording in accordance with an ink jet system as a recording section, an ink tank for supplying ink to the recording head or a replacement unit integrated with the recording head. An optical sensor such as a photo interrupter has been used to detect the remaining amount of ink in a possible ink cartridge.

In the case of such an optical sensor, in order to prevent the incident external light from affecting the output of the sensor, for example, a sensor for detecting the open / close state of the device is provided, and the cover is closed. Only when it is detected that the facsimile image data is received, the received facsimile image data is recorded.

[0004]

However, in the above conventional example, when the apparatus cover is open, the received facsimile image data is not recorded, and the received image is stored in the image memory inside the apparatus. There was such a problem. For example, in the case of an apparatus using a replaceable ink cartridge integrated with a recording head, a user of the apparatus replaces the ink cartridge. Therefore, an openable / closable device cover is indispensable in its configuration. for that reason,
If the user forgets to close the cover after exchanging the ink cartridge and leaves the facsimile machine, if the capacity of the received facsimile image data exceeds the storage capacity of the image memory, the receiving operation itself will not be performed and the received information will be lost. Not available.

If the apparatus cover is accidentally opened during the recording operation, the sensor detects the state and stops the recording operation even though the recording operation is in progress. The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and can perform a recording operation regardless of the open / closed state of the apparatus cover, and the open / closed state of the cover has an effect on the optical ink remaining amount detection. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of accurately detecting the remaining amount of ink without giving it, and a facsimile apparatus using the apparatus.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, a recording apparatus that has a scanning unit that scans a recording head that discharges ink supplied from an ink tank and that performs recording on a recording medium by discharging ink from the recording head. And a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element for detecting an interruption of an optical axis formed between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element. An optical sensor, a light-blocking member provided between the recording head and the optical sensor scanned to a position detected by the optical sensor, and having an opening at a position corresponding to the optical axis; The recording head is moved to a position corresponding to the optical axis of the optical sensor, and the recording head ejects ink on a trial basis. Judging means for judging whether or not ink has been normally ejected from the recording head based on a detection result by a sensor, wherein an area of a surface of the recording head facing the light blocking member is an area of the opening. Larger,
A recording apparatus is provided, wherein the scanning unit moves the recording head to a position corresponding to the optical axis, whereby external light to the opening is blocked.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus using the recording apparatus having the above configuration.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is directed to a recording apparatus capable of replacing an ink tank for storing ink by opening an openable cover and discharging ink from a recording head on a trial basis. When detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank using the optical sensor, the optical sensor operates to cover the optical sensor so that external light does not enter the optical sensor.

After the optical sensor is covered, control is performed to detect the remaining amount of ink. Further, the apparatus is configured such that the openable cover is provided above the ink tank and the printhead, and the optical sensor is provided below the ink ejection port of the printhead. Now, a part of the light shielding means covering the optical sensor is an ink ejection port of the recording head,
The light-shielding means is located between the optical sensor and the ink detector, and the light-shielding means is provided with an opening so that the ink ejected downward from the recording head reaches the ink detector of the optical sensor. Is done.

Here, a recording head may be used as a part of the light shielding means. When detecting the remaining amount of ink, the recording head is moved to an upper part of the opening of the light shielding means so that the opening is covered from the upper part. May be. Here, the lower area of the recording head is at least larger than the area of the opening.
Alternatively, a carriage that carries a recording head and reciprocates may be used as a part of the light shielding unit. When detecting the remaining amount of ink, the carriage is moved to the upper part of the opening of the light shielding unit, and the opening is moved from the upper part. You may cover it. Here, the lower area of the carriage is at least larger than the area of the opening. Further, as a part of the light shielding means, an exterior of the device is used.

The optical sensor includes a light emitting means such as an infrared LED which emits light at a position where the ink ejected from the ink ejection port of the recording head passes, and a photo transistor which receives the light. Light receiving means. Further, the above-mentioned recording head may be an ink-jet recording head that performs recording by discharging ink, or a recording head that discharges ink using thermal energy, and generates thermal energy to be applied to the ink. May be provided.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus having a recording unit for performing recording by a recording head according to an ink jet system, which is a typical embodiment of the present invention. A schematic configuration of the facsimile machine will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, A is a reading unit that optically reads a document, B is a recording unit that performs recording in accordance with an ink jet system, and C is a recording unit that separates recording media such as recording paper P loaded in a paper feed cassette one by one. This is a paper feeding unit to be supplied to the unit B.

First, the flow of the recording paper P will be described.
The transport path of the recording paper P is as shown by the arrow G. That is,
The recording paper P stacked in the paper feeding cassette 1 of the paper feeding unit C is picked up by the paper feeding roller 2 and the retard roller 3 and sent to the recording unit B by the paper feeding roller 2.
The recording unit B conveys the recording paper P in accordance with the recording while performing recording by discharging ink onto the recording paper P by the recording head 5. When the recording is completed, the recording paper P is discharged and stacked on the discharge stacker 7 by the discharge roller 6.

Next, a specific configuration of the sheet feeding section C will be described. In FIG. 1, a sheet cassette 1 for stacking and storing a plurality of recording sheets P includes an intermediate plate 4 for stacking recording sheets P. The middle plate 4 is urged upward from the back surface by a middle plate spring 10 arranged to face the feed roller 2. Also,
The middle plate 4 has a structure that can be easily replenished when the recording paper P decreases or runs out by being pressed downward by a cam or the like at the time of paper feed standby.

On the other hand, when the recording signal is detected and the paper feeding operation is started, the downward pressing of the middle plate 4 by the cam or the like is released.
The recording paper P is picked up by the paper feed roller 2.
The retard roller 3 is located at a position facing the paper feed roller 2 and changes the position of the recording paper P in conjunction with the middle plate 4. When the paper feeding operation is performed, the recording sheet P urged by the middle plate 4 and picked up by the paper feeding roller 2 is separated and fed only at the uppermost sheet by the cooperation of the paper feeding roller 2 in the J section. Send. The separated and fed recording paper P is conveyed to the recording section B while being nipped so as to be sufficiently wound around the feeding roller 2.

Next, a mechanism for discharging the recording paper P recorded by the recording section B will be described. The recording paper P discharged by the discharge rollers 6 is discharged and stacked on a discharge stacker 7. The discharge stacker 7 is provided with a discharge auxiliary tray 9 having a hinge K as a rotation center. When the recording paper P to be used is long, the discharge stacker 7 is rotated to move the discharge stacker in the recording paper discharge direction. Can be lengthened. Further, the paper discharge stacker 7 has a structure also serving as a cover of the paper feed cassette 1. The discharge stacker 7 and the discharge auxiliary tray 9 are provided with a plurality of ribs (not shown), and the recording paper P on which recording has been performed slides on the plurality of ribs and is sequentially stacked.

Next, the flow of the image document S will be described. The document transport path is as shown by arrow F in FIG. FIG.
, The image original S is stacked on the original stacking tray 41 with its image side facing down. The image document S loaded on the document loading tray 41 is moved by a slider 4 movable in the width direction.
2 performs positioning. When the image document S is stacked on the document stacking tray 41, the document is pressed from above by a pre-conveyance spring 43 by a pre-conveyance pressing piece 43, and separated and preliminarily conveyed by cooperation with the separation roller 46.

Next, the preliminarily conveyed image originals S are separated and conveyed one by one from below by the cooperation of the separating piece 45 and the separating roller 46 pressed by the ADF spring 47 from above. Further, the separation roller 46 also has a role of conveying the separated image document S to the reading position.
The image drawn on the image document S separated and conveyed to the reading position by the separation roller 46 in this manner is read by the photoelectric conversion sensor 48. The CS roller 49 is urged from above by the CS pressing spring 50 along the reading line of the photoelectric conversion sensor 48, and the separated and conveyed image document S is brought into close contact with the reading line. Further, the CS roller 49 determines the reading speed of the image document S in the sub-scanning direction (the direction in which the image document is transported), and also serves to discharge the image document S that has been read. Finally, the discharged image document S is placed on the document discharge tray 5.
1 is stacked. The document discharge tray 51 has a structure detachable from the apparatus main body.

Reference numeral 60 denotes an opening / closing cover for replacing the cartridge, which has a structure that can be opened / closed up and down. The apparatus user can easily exchange the cartridge with the cartridge exchange opening / closing cover 60 opened upward. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional perspective view showing a detailed configuration of the recording unit B. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 5 is a cartridge-type recording head that has a built-in ink tank and can replace the ink tank with a new one when the ink runs out.

In this embodiment, as the recording head 5,
Either a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording or a recording head capable of color recording can be appropriately replaced and used. A print head dedicated to monochrome printing has a resolution of 3
60 DPI, having a nozzle row in which 128 nozzles are arranged in one row, and the heat generated by the electrothermal conversion elements provided in these nozzles causes film boiling in the ink. The ink is discharged from the discharge port. On the other hand, a recording head capable of performing color recording has a nozzle group that ejects black ink and three color inks (cyan,
Magenta and yellow) are divided into nozzle groups. The nozzle group that discharges black ink has 64 nozzles, while the nozzle group that discharges color ink has 24 nozzles for each color ink. It has a nozzle. These nozzle groups are arranged in one row. Ink ejection is performed according to the same principle as a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording. In addition, a recording head capable of performing color recording has two inks for black ink and color ink.
It has two ink tanks, and the ink tanks can be replaced independently.

Here, the principle of ink ejection from the recording head will be described. The recording head generally includes a fine liquid ejection port (orifice), a liquid path, an energy action section provided in a part of the liquid path, and energy generation for generating droplet forming energy to act on the liquid in the action section. Section. This energy generator uses an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, irradiates electromagnetic waves such as a laser, absorbs the liquid in it, generates heat, and discharges and flies droplets by the action of the heat And a method in which the liquid is discharged by heating the liquid with an electrothermal converter. Among them, a recording head using a method of discharging liquid by thermal energy can arrange liquid discharge ports (orifices) for discharging recording liquid droplets to form flying liquid droplets at high density. Therefore, recording can be performed at a high resolution.

Further, a recording head using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating portion can be easily miniaturized as a whole, and has recently achieved a remarkable advance in technology in the field of semiconductors and a remarkable improvement in reliability. The advantages of processing technology can be fully utilized, and it is easy to increase the length and form the surface (two-dimensional). In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

A recording head manufactured through a semiconductor manufacturing process using an electrothermal converter for the energy generating section as described above generally has a liquid path corresponding to each ink ejection port, and a liquid path for each liquid path. An electrothermal converter is provided as a means for applying thermal energy to the liquid satisfying the above, and discharging the liquid from the corresponding ink discharge port to form a flying liquid droplet. The structure is such that the liquid is supplied from the communicating common liquid chamber.

The method of manufacturing the ink discharge section is as follows.
As disclosed in JP-A-62-253457, a solid layer for forming at least a liquid path on a first substrate and an active energy ray-curable material used for forming at least a wall of the liquid path After sequentially laminating the layer and the second substrate, a mask is laminated on the second substrate, and an active energy ray is irradiated from above the mask to form at least a liquid path of the active energy ray-curable forestry layer. There is a method in which the wall is cured as a constituent part, and the uncured part of the solid layer and the active energy ray-curable material layer is removed from between the two substrates to form at least a liquid path.

Next, the configuration of the recording section B will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, a carriage 15 reciprocates in a direction (main scanning direction, arrow H direction) perpendicular to the recording paper P transport direction (sub scanning direction, arrow G direction) while holding the recording head 5 with high precision. . The carriage 15 is slidably held by a guide rod 16 and an abutting portion 15a. The reciprocating movement of the carriage 15
This is performed by a pulley 17 and a timing belt 18 driven by a carriage motor 30 (not shown),
At this time, the recording signal and electric power given to the recording head 5 are as follows.
It is supplied from an electric circuit of the apparatus main body by a flexible cable 19. The recording head 5 and the flexible cable 19 are connected by press-contacting their respective contacts. The CPU (to be described later) can recognize which of the monochrome cartridge and the color cartridge is mounted by detecting whether the specific contact between the recording head 5 and the flexible cable 19 is open or connected.

A cap 20 is provided at the home position of the carriage 15 of the recording section B, and functions as ink receiving means. The cap 20 moves up and down as needed,
When ascending, it is in close contact with the recording head 5 and covers its nozzle to prevent evaporation of ink and adhesion of dust. In this apparatus, in order to position the recording head 5 and the cap 20 so as to be relatively opposed to each other, a carriage home sensor 21 provided on the apparatus main body and a light shielding plate 15b provided on the carriage 15 are provided. Used. As the carriage home sensor 21, a transmission type photo interrupter is used. When the carriage 15 moves to the standby position, light emitted from a part of the carriage home sensor 21 is blocked by the light shielding plate 15b. Is used to detect that the recording head 5 and the cap 20 are relatively opposed to each other.

The recording paper P is fed upward from the lower side in FIG.
It is bent in the horizontal direction by the feed roller 2 and the paper guide 22 and is conveyed in the direction of arrow G (sub-scanning direction). Further, the recording paper bent and conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the paper guide 22 passes between the nozzle of the recording head 5 and the recording paper guide 61 and is conveyed in the direction of arrow G. The recording paper guide 61 is positioned to face the nozzles of the recording head 5, and is configured such that the transported recording paper has a positional relationship parallel to the nozzle surface that discharges ink during recording. The recording paper guide 61 has an opening. The area of this opening is smaller than the area of the lower part of the recording head 5, and when the recording head 5 is located at the upper part, the opening is completely covered. And FIG.
As shown in the figure, a photosensor 8 of a transmission type photointerrupter type is located below the photosensor 8.
Is positioned below the opening of the recording paper guide 61. The ink ejected at the time of the ink remaining amount detection operation described later crosses the detection range of the photo sensor through this opening.

The feed roller 2 and the paper discharge roller 6 are respectively
The recording paper P is driven by a recording motor (not shown) and, as necessary, interlocked with the reciprocating movement of the carriage 15 so as to be highly accurate.
Is transported in the sub-scanning direction. Further, a spur 23 which is made of a material having high water repellency in the sub-scanning direction and comes into contact with the recording paper P only at its blade-shaped circumferential portion is provided. The spurs 23 are arranged at a plurality of locations facing the paper discharge roller 6 at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction by a bearing member 23a. The recording paper P is guided and conveyed without affecting the recording paper P.

As shown in FIG. 3, the photo sensor 8 is disposed between the cap 20 and the end of the recording paper P so as to face the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5, and discharges from the nozzles of the recording head 5. This is a transmission type photo-interrupter that directly and optically detects an ink droplet to be ejected, and detects a state of ink discharge of the recording head 5 from an output thereof by detecting an ink ejection state.

The photo sensor 8 used here uses an infrared LED as a light emitting element, a lens is integrally formed on the LED light emitting surface, and light can be projected substantially parallel to the light receiving element. A phototransistor is used for the light receiving element, and the light receiving surface of the light receiving element is 0.7 mm ×
A hole of 0.7 mm is formed on the optical axis, and the detection range is 0.7 m in the height direction in the entire region between the light receiving element and the light emitting element.
m, the width direction is reduced to 0.7 mm. The optical axis connecting the light emitting element and the light receiving element is arranged in parallel with the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5, the interval between the light receiving element and the light receiving element is wider than the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5, and the optical axis and the recording head When the positions of the nozzle rows 5c of the nozzles 5 match, the recording head 5
All of the ink droplets ejected from each of the nozzles can pass through the detection range between the light emitting element and the light receiving element.
When the ink droplet passes through the detection range, the ink droplet blocks the light from the light emitting side, reduces the amount of light to the light receiving side, and changes in the output of the phototransistor as the light receiving element can be obtained.

The nozzle array of the recording head 5 and the photo sensor 8
The carriage home sensor 21 provided on the apparatus main body is used in the same manner as the positioning with the cap 20 in order to position them so as to be relatively opposed to each other. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the home position (H
A control program that converts the distance (R) from the position of the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5 in the position P) to the optical axis of the photo sensor 8 into the number of steps of a motor for driving the carriage 15, and executes a recording operation in advance. Is set as a constant. In this manner, by moving the carriage by a certain amount after detecting the home position, the position of the ink row of the recording head 5 and the optical axis of the photo sensor 8 can be accurately positioned at a position relatively opposed to each other. Then, before or after the end of the printing operation of one page, the printing head 5 is moved to the vicinity of the photosensor 8, and as shown in FIG. Then, the remaining amount of ink is detected.
Here, the ejected ink traverses the optical axis, and the photo sensor 8
If the light reaching the phototransistor 82 as the light receiving element is blocked, it is determined that the ink is normally ejected. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 83 denotes a slit provided in the light emitting section of the light emitting element 81 and the light receiving section of the light receiving element 82 in order to narrow the detection range of the remaining amount of ink.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 24 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus.
It has a PU 25, a ROM 26 storing a control program executed by the CPU 25 and various data, a RAM 27 used as a work area when the CPU 25 executes various processes, and a RAM 27 for temporarily storing various data. are doing.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recording head 5 is connected to a control unit 24 via a flexible cable 19, and the flexible cable 19 is connected to the control unit 24 by the recording head 5.
, A control signal line and an image signal line. The output of the photosensor 8 is converted into a numerical value by an A / D conversion circuit 28 and can be analyzed by the CPU 25. The carriage motor 30 is a motor that can rotate according to the number of pulse steps by the motor drive circuit 32. Further, the control unit 24 controls the carriage motor 30 via the motor drive circuit 33, the transport motor 31 via the motor drive circuit 32, the read motor 52 via the motor drive circuit 53, and outputs the output from the carriage home sensor 21. You are typing.

Further, the control unit 24 controls the reading sensor 4
8. Image data input devices such as a printer interface 54 for receiving recording commands and recording data from an external computer 56 and a line control circuit 55 for receiving data received from a public telephone line 57 are connected to perform facsimile transmission / reception and copying. It can operate as a printer of an external computer. That is, this apparatus can be operated as a facsimile apparatus (facsimile mode), as a copier (copy mode), or as a printer (printer mode).

Further, the control section 24 is connected to an operation panel 58 on which the apparatus user performs various operations and instructions. The operation panel 58 is provided with an LCD 59 for displaying a message. Next, recording control when the apparatus having the above configuration operates in the facsimile mode will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the recording control in the printer mode is omitted here for the sake of simplicity.

First, in the recording operation waiting state in step S1, when the CPU 25 detects the occurrence of the recording operation, the processing proceeds to step S2, and whether the factor of the recording operation is due to the copying operation of the apparatus user, or Checks whether it is due to reception of facsimile image data. Here, if it is determined that the operation factor is a copy operation, the process proceeds to step S7. If it is determined that the operation factor is reception of facsimile image data, the process proceeds to step S3.

Next, in step S3, the CPU 25 checks whether the mounted recording head is a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording or a recording head capable of color recording. Here, if it is determined that the mounted recording head is a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording, the process proceeds to step S4, where the recording paper P is picked up and the 128 nozzles of the recording head are used. Then, the image data for one page of the recording paper is recorded, and then the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mounted print head is a print head capable of color printing, the process proceeds to step S10, and the print head uses 64 nozzles for discharging black ink. The image data for one page of the recording paper is recorded, and then the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, a process for detecting the remaining amount of ink is performed, and the result is checked. This process will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 7 showing a positional relationship among the recording head 5, the photo sensor 8, the carriage 15, and the recording paper guide 61. In FIG. 7, (a) shows the carriage 1
5 (b) shows when the carriage 15 has moved from the home position by the distance R.

In step S4 or step S10, after the received image is recorded for one page of the recording paper,
As shown in (a), the carriage 15 on which the recording head 5 is mounted is moved to a home position. Next, FIG.
When the home position of the carriage 15 is detected by the carriage home sensor 21 in the state shown in (a), the carriage 15 is moved from the home position by a distance R as shown in FIG. As described above, the area of the opening of the recording paper guide 61 is sufficiently smaller than the area of the lower part of the recording head 5, and the carriage 1
7 when the distance 5 is moved from the home position by a distance R.
This opening is completely covered by the recording head 5 as shown in FIG.

At this time, the peripheral portion (side portion and lower portion) of the photosensor 8 is an exterior of the facsimile apparatus, the upper portion is covered with the recording paper guide 61, and the opening of the recording paper guide 61 is covered with the recording head 61. And the external light is
Can be prevented. As described above, in a state where the area around the photo sensor 8 is shielded from external light, the control unit 24 turns on the power to the photo sensor 8 and starts the operation of detecting the remaining amount of ink. In this embodiment, the carriage 15
Stops for a short time after moving a distance R from the home position. This time is the time required after the power is supplied to the photosensor 8 until the output of the photosensor 8 becomes stable. Next, the CPU 25
Is controlled to eject ink from the printer.

When ink remains in the ink tank of the recording head 5, the ink is ejected from the nozzle row.
In the case of a print head dedicated to monochrome printing, ink is ejected from 128 nozzles, and in the case of a print head capable of color printing, ink is ejected from 64 nozzles. The ejected ink passes through the opening of the recording paper guide 61 and passes through the photo sensor 8.
Cross on the optical axis of. At this time, the output of the photo sensor 8 (the output from the light receiving element 82) changes. On the other hand, when no ink remains in the ink tank of the recording head 5, the ink is not ejected, and the photo sensor 8
(The output from the light receiving element 82) does not change.

In the above-described ink discharging operation, in this embodiment, the ink is continuously discharged several times for each nozzle while moving the carriage 15 by a small distance in the direction opposite to the home position. The output of the photo sensor 8 obtained during this time is output through the A / D conversion circuit 28 to C
It is sent to PU25. After the output from the photo sensor 8 is transmitted to the CPU 25 for a predetermined time in this way, the power supply to the photo sensor 8 is stopped.

During a series of operations from turning on the power to the photo sensor 8 to stopping the power supply, the photo sensor 8
Is covered by the recording head 5, so that no external light enters the photosensor 8 from above even if the cartridge replacement opening / closing cover 60 is open. After the power supply to the photo sensor 8 is stopped, the carriage 15 returns to the home position.

After a series of operations as described above, the CPU 25 analyzes the output sent from the photo sensor 8 and determines whether or not ink remains. Here, when it is determined that the ink does not remain, the process proceeds to step S9, and when it is determined that the ink remains, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, it is checked whether or not there is print data corresponding to the next print page from which the printing operation should be continued. If so, the process returns to step S3. If it does not exist, the process returns to step S3. The process returns to step S1. In step S9, a message to the effect that "there is no ink remaining" is displayed on the LCD 59 while the received image data is held in the memory, and the recording operation ends. Then, the image data stored in the memory when the ink tank is replaced is recorded.

Now, in step S7, the recording operation is performed in accordance with the copy operation, and the process proceeds to step S8.
Then, it is checked whether or not the next page to continue the copy operation exists. Here, if such a page exists, the process returns to step S7, but if there is no such page, the process returns to step S1. Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, when the recording head ejects ink from the recording head onto the optical axis of the photosensor 8 and detects the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank, the recording head covers the upper part of the photosensor 8. External light can be prevented from entering the photosensor 8 even when the replacement opening / closing cover 60 is open. This has the advantage that the malfunction of the photosensor 8 is prevented and the recording of the received facsimile image data does not need to be stopped even when the cartridge replacement opening / closing cover remains open as in the conventional example. Further, it is not necessary to provide a sensor for detecting the open / close state of the cartridge replacement cover.

[0046]

[Other Embodiments] Here, an embodiment will be described in which a carriage is used instead of a recording head as means for covering the photosensor from outside light during the ink remaining amount detecting operation. In addition,
The basic configuration of the facsimile apparatus used in this embodiment is the same as that used in the above-described embodiment, and only the features that are characteristic of this embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the shape of the carriage 15 and a state when the recording head 5 is mounted on the carriage 15. As shown in FIG. 8, a hole is formed in a lower portion of the carriage 15 for allowing ink discharged from the recording head 5 to pass therethrough. The lower part of the carriage has a shape that spreads out in all directions, and this area is larger than the opening of the recording paper guide 61.

FIG. 9 shows a recording head 5, a photo sensor 8, a carriage 15, and a recording paper guide 6 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship of FIG. In FIG. 9, (a) shows when the carriage 15 is at the home position, (b)
Indicates the time when the carriage 15 has moved by the distance R from the home position. Hereinafter, the procedure of the ink remaining amount detecting operation according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As in the above-described embodiment, after recording the received facsimile image for one page of the recording paper, FIG.
As shown in (a), the carriage 15 on which the recording head 5 is mounted is moved to a home position, and after detecting the home position of the carriage 15, the carriage 15 is moved by a distance R from the home position. Now, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the area of the opening of the recording paper guide 61 is sufficiently smaller than the area of the lower part of the carriage 15, and the carriage 15 is moved by a distance R from the home position. When opened, the opening is covered by the carriage 15 without any gap. At this time, the peripheral portion (side portion and lower portion) of the photosensor 8 is covered with the exterior of the facsimile apparatus, the upper portion is covered with the recording paper guide 60, and the opening portion is covered with the carriage 15, and external light is transmitted to the photosensor 8. Preventing entry.

As described above, the power supply of the photo sensor 8 is turned on and the remaining amount of ink is detected in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment in a state where the area around the photo sensor 8 is shielded from external light. Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, when the recording head discharges ink onto the optical axis of the photo sensor and detects the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank, the recording head is driven by the photo sensor 8.
, It is possible to prevent external light from entering the photosensor 8 even if the cartridge replacement opening / closing cover 60 is open. Thus, in this embodiment,
The malfunction of the photo sensor 8 due to the invasion of external light is prevented, and the recording of the received facsimile image data does not need to be stopped even in the state where the cartridge replacement opening / closing cover is kept open. There is an advantage that it is not necessary to provide a sensor for detecting the open / close state of the open / close cover.

In this embodiment, the carriage 15
Is used as an example, the lower part of which is a rectangle extending in all directions, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the shape is such that the carriage 15 is at a distance R from the home position.
It may be polygonal or circular as long as it is large enough to cover the opening of the recording paper guide 61 and hide the photosensor when moved. In this example, the carriage 1
5, the recording paper guide 61 is provided so that when the carriage moves a distance R from the home position, the photo sensor 8 is not exposed to external light.
For example, the entire carriage may have a shape larger than the opening so that the opening can be closed.

The above-described embodiment is particularly provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection even in an ink jet recording system. By using a method in which a change in the state of the ink is caused by energy, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording. For a representative configuration and principle, see, for example, US Pat.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in 723129 and 4740796. 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, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). Electrothermal transducers
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the film boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, thereby causing film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed, which is effective. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed. As a configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the ejection port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, a heat acting surface A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a is bent, is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 5 discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-123670 discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge portion.
A configuration based on JP-A-9-138461 may be adopted.

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, the length is determined by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally. In addition, not only the recording head of the cartridge type in which the ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself described in the above-described embodiment, but also the electrical connection with the main body of the apparatus by being attached to the main body of the apparatus. A replaceable chip-type recording head that can supply ink from the apparatus body may be used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the print head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like to the configuration of the printing apparatus described above, since the printing operation can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressure or suction means,
There is a preliminary heating means using an electrothermal converter, another heating element or a combination thereof. It is also effective to provide a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection that is different from printing, in order to perform stable printing.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the ink is a liquid. However, even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or lower, the ink that softens or liquefies at room temperature is used. Or, in the ink jet method, generally, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range.
It is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, the temperature is positively prevented.
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, an ink which solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or by the time the ink reaches the recording medium, the solidification of the ink already begun. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, the ink is held in a liquid state or a 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.

In addition, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, there is a form of a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like in addition to a unit provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer. It may be something. Further, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus including a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is implemented by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, the storage medium storing the program according to the present invention constitutes the present invention. Then, by reading the program from the storage medium to a system or an apparatus, the system or the apparatus operates in a predetermined manner.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a recording apparatus in which an openable cover can be opened and an ink tank for storing ink can be replaced, ink is ejected from a recording head on a trial basis. When detecting ink ejection using an optical sensor and determining whether ink has been ejected normally, the opening of the light shielding member provided between the recording head and the optical sensor is By covering the recording head with the surface facing the optical sensor, even if the opening and closing cover for ink tank replacement is open, the detection of the optical sensor is not affected by external light,
It is possible to more accurately determine the ink ejection state.

Thus, even if the cover is kept open, it is not necessary to stop recording of the received facsimile image as in the conventional case, and a sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the cover is provided. Since there is an advantage that it is not necessary, it is possible to contribute to realization of a more reliable facsimile reception operation and cost reduction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus including a recording unit that performs recording by a recording head according to an ink jet system, which is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional perspective view showing a detailed configuration of a recording unit B of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration around a photo sensor 8 of a recording unit B;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a photo sensor 8.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing recording control when operating in a facsimile mode.

FIG. 7 shows a recording head 5, a photo sensor 8, and a carriage 1.
5 is a diagram showing a positional relationship of a recording paper guide 61. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a shape of a carriage 15 according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a positional relationship among a recording head 5, a photo sensor 8, a carriage 15, and a recording paper guide 61 according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A reading unit B recording unit C paper feeding unit 1 paper feeding cassette 5 recording head 8 photo sensor 15 carriage 20 cap 21 carriage home sensor 24 control unit 25 CPU 26 ROM 27 RAM 58 operation panel 59 LCD 60 cartridge opening / closing cover 61 recording Paper transport guide 81 Light emitting element (infrared LED) 82 Light receiving element (phototransistor) 83 Comparator 84 Pulse width counting unit

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] An ink tank for discharging ink supplied from an ink tank;
Scanning means for scanning a print head for printing,
A recording device that performs recording on a recording medium by discharging ink from a head , wherein a housing of the recording device is used to replace the ink tank.
A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element.
Light for detecting interruption of the optical axis formed between the light receiving element
And a recording sensor scanned to a position detected by the optical sensor.
Between the optical axis and the optical sensor.
A light shielding member having an opening response position, by said scanning means, said optical sensor said recording head
While moving to a position corresponding to the optical axis of
The test head is caused to eject ink on a test basis, and the test is performed.
Detection result by the optical sensor when performing a typical ejection
Ink is normally ejected from the recording head based on
Determining means for determining whether or not the recording head has been touched.
Larger than the area of the opening, and the scanning means
Moving the recording head to a position corresponding to the optical axis
Wherein the external light to the opening is blocked . 2. The print head is moved forward by said scanning means.
By moving to the position corresponding to the optical axis, the opening
Is determined by the surface of the recording head facing the light blocking member.
The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the recording device is covered . 3. The print head is moved forward by the scanning means.
After moving to the position corresponding to the optical axis, the optical sensor
The recording device according to claim 1 , wherein the recording device is operated . Wherein the cover of said openable, the provided above the ink tank and the recording head, the recording head is a recording device to eject ink downwardly
Attached to the main body, the optical sensor, a recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that provided below the recording head. 5. A printing apparatus further comprising a carriage on which the recording head is mounted, wherein the scanning unit moves the recording head by moving the carriage.
The carriage scans the recording head, and the carriage is provided on a surface facing the light shielding member.
A shape having an area larger than the area of the opening,
The recording head is moved to the optical axis by the movement of the carriage.
By moving to the corresponding position, the opening is
The recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the recording apparatus is covered by a cartridge . 6. The light-shielding member, wherein the recording medium
The surface of the print head where the nozzles that eject ink are formed
Recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a guide member for collimating. Wherein said light emitting element, recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein this <br/> and an infrared LED. Wherein said light receiving element, a recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a phototransistor for generating an electrical signal based on the received light. 9. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head ejects ink by using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. Item 2. The recording device according to Item 1. 10. A facsimile apparatus using the recording device according to claim 1.