JP3206359B2 - Ink jet printing and recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus having a flushing operation and a purging device for cleaning to maintain and recover a good discharge port state of a print head. The present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus capable of selecting a flushing execution position according to a flushing mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, there has been a printing apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a personal computer printer for recording a dot pattern image on a printing medium such as paper or a plastic sheet based on transferred printing information. It is used. As one type of print head mounted on the printing portion of these print recording apparatuses, an ink jet print head that performs printing by ejecting small droplets of ink from ejection ports and attaching the ink droplets to printing paper or the like as a printing medium is used. is there.

[0003] In such an ink jet print head, bubbles may be generated in the ink inside the print head during use, resulting in defective ink ejection. In addition, foreign matter such as ink droplets, dry ink, and paper powder may adhere to the discharge port and cause clogging, resulting in defective ink discharge. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically perform cleaning for removing these causes of failure and maintaining / recovering a good discharge port state.
For this reason, a purge operation for sucking out defective ink from the discharge surface of the print head, a flushing operation for discharging ink when a nozzle of the print head that has not been used for a predetermined time during printing is detected, and preventing drying of the ink, etc. The print head is periodically cleaned.

On the other hand, this type of print recording apparatus is provided with a guide shaft parallel to a roller shaft of a platen roller for transporting a printing medium, and a carriage movable on the guide shaft, and a print head is mounted on the carriage. It is installed in. This is because the print head needs to be moved because there are a plurality of characters to be printed in one line. Therefore, a purge device for performing a purge operation, an ink absorber for absorbing ink ejected by the flushing operation, and the like are provided facing the movement path of the print head. That is, in a recording apparatus equipped with an ink jet print head, a purge device is provided outside a print range from a head print position to a line end print position, and the print head is periodically moved to the purge device to purge the print head. Action is taken.
In addition, to prevent a decrease in throughput due to the flushing operation and to limit the mechanical width, an ink absorber necessary for the flushing operation is provided at the end printing position of the printing range, and the print head is periodically moved over the ink absorber. Thus, the flushing operation of the print head is performed.

[0005]

Such a print recording apparatus is provided with an automatic paper feed mechanism and a manual paper feed mechanism as mechanisms for supplying a printing medium. The automatic paper feeding mechanism supplies printing paper from a paper feeding cassette that stores a plurality of printing papers, which is one of the printing media. However, only print paper of a size adapted to the paper feed cassette can be supplied. On the other hand, the manual paper feed mechanism supplies the print medium one by one from the manual paper feed unit, and there is no limitation on the size of the paper feed cassette of the automatic paper feed mechanism. Therefore, if the printing medium is within the size that can be supplied from the manual paper feed unit, it is possible to supply a printing medium having a size slightly wider than the largest printing paper that can be supplied by the automatic feeding mechanism.

However, since the ink absorber necessary for the flushing operation is provided at the end printing position of the printing range due to the limitation of the mechanical width as described above, the ink absorber having the largest size that can be supplied by the manual paper feed mechanism is provided. When a print is supplied, a print is interposed between the print head and the ink absorber. Therefore, the flushing operation performed at the time of printing causes ink to be ejected to the printing paper, and in such a case, the flushing operation cannot be performed.

Furthermore, since the flushing operation is performed during printing, even if a nozzle of the print head that has not been used for a predetermined time is detected, the flushing operation is not immediately performed. That is, the time interval at which the flushing operation is performed changes depending on the print content. Therefore, some printhead nozzles that are not used for a predetermined time may significantly exceed the predetermined time. In such a case, it is necessary to eject a large amount of ink unlike a normal flushing operation in order to maintain a good ejection port state. However, the ink absorber has no ability to absorb a large amount of ink due to the flushing operation in such a case, and the absorption ability of the ink absorber cannot be increased due to mechanical limitations or the like. Therefore, a flushing operation involving ejection of a large amount of ink could not be performed.

On the other hand, the purge device has an ink absorber for the purge operation capable of absorbing a large amount of ink to suck a large amount of ink from the print head by the purge operation. Further, since the purging device is provided outside the printing range, even when the printing medium having the maximum size that can be supplied by the manual paper feed mechanism is supplied, the printing material does not intervene on the purging device. Therefore, if the flushing operation can be performed on the purge device, it is effective in the case described above.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention makes it possible to select a flushing execution position by executing a flushing operation not only on the ink absorber but also on the purge device. By performing control so that the flushing execution position can be selected according to the size of the printing medium and the status of the nozzles of the print head, the flushing operation can be performed even on the printing medium of the maximum size that can be supplied from the manual feed unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink-jet type printing apparatus capable of performing a flushing operation involving a large amount of ejected ink and capable of performing a flushing operation.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printing apparatus for printing by discharging ink from a discharge port onto a printing medium. Discharge means for discharging ink from the discharge port of the print head to the ink absorber during printing to maintain the state of the print head, and suction means for sucking ink from the discharge port of the print head to recover the state of the print head A print head moving means for moving the print head in a direction parallel to a roller for transporting the print medium, and a print range in which the print head can print on the print medium in a direction in which the print head moves by the print head move means. A first operating position where the ink absorbing member is located within the printing range and the ejection unit is executed, and a suction unit is located outside the printing range and An ink jet print recording apparatus having a second operation position to be executed, and executing the ejection unit after moving the print head to either the first operation position or the second operation position by the print head moving unit. Control means for controlling the discharge
Ejection mode involving ejection of a large amount of ink by means
And a second method which involves discharging a small amount of ink in the discharging means.
2 discharge mode and 1st discharge when executing the discharge means
Mode selection to select the mode or the second mode
Selecting means based on the result of the discharge mode selecting means.
Third selection for selecting one operation position or the second operation position
Selecting means, wherein the control means controls the print head moving means.
The print head is selected by the third selecting means according to a step.
To execute the ejection means after moving to the set operation position
Is controlled as follows .

Further, the ink jet printing and recording apparatus according to claim 2 of the present application is provided with a detecting means for generating a signal when the discharging means cannot execute at the first operation position, and When a signal is generated by the means, the control means controls the print head moving means to execute the ejection means after moving the print head to the second operation position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet printing / recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the printing of the current position of the print head moved by the print head moving means is performed. Head position calculating means, first distance calculating means for obtaining a distance between the current position of the print head and the first operating position based on the result of the print head position calculating means, and based on the result of the print head position calculating means. Second distance calculating means for calculating the distance between the current position of the print head and the second operating position; and the first operating position and the second operation based on the results of the first distance calculating means and the second distance calculating means. First selecting means for selecting an operation position close to the current position of the print head among the positions, wherein the control means controls the print head by the print head moving means. Is intended to control to execute the discharging means de after moving from the current position to the selected operating position by said first selecting means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet print recording apparatus, comprising: a print head position calculating means for obtaining a current position of the print head moved by the print head moving means; A first time calculating means for calculating a time for moving the print head from the current position to the first operating position by the print head moving means based on the print head moving means; Second time calculating means for calculating a time for moving the print head from the current position to the second operating position, and the first operating position and the second operating time based on the results of the first time calculating means and the second time calculating means. Second selection means for selecting an operation position in which the time for which the print head moves from the current position is short, among the operation positions, and wherein the control means Is intended to control to execute the discharging means the print head by the head moving means after moving from the current position to the selected operating position by said second selection means.

[0014]

[Action] The ink jet according to claim 1 having the above configuration.
In a print-type printing recording device, the print head moving means
Move the ink jet in a direction parallel to the rollers that transport the
While moving the print head,
Prints ink from the print head ejection port within the print range
Printing is performed by discharging the ink onto the body. At this time,
To prevent defective ink ejection
The print head discharge Suction means for sucking ink from the outlet
Ink is ejected from the ejection port of the print head during printing
The discharging means is executed. Execution of the suction means is out of the print range
Move the print head to the second operating position where the suction means is located
This is performed after the print head is moved by the means. one
On the other hand, the execution of the ejection unit is performed when the ink absorber is located
The print head at the first operating position or the second operating position
Performed after the print head is moved by the
Is controlled by the control means.

Further, the ink jet type according to claim 1
In the print recording apparatus, the ejection mode
The first where a large amount of ink is ejected depending on the condition of the head
The ejection mode or the second ejection in which a small amount of ink is ejected
Select one of the modes. Next, the third selecting means
Based on the selection result of the ejection mode selection means.
Select either the working position or the second operation position. Most
Later, the control means determines the position selected by the third selection means.
Then, the print head was moved by the print head moving means.
The ejection means will be executed later.

In the ink jet type printing and recording apparatus according to the second aspect, when it is impossible to execute the ejection means at the first operation position, the detection means generates a signal, and the control means performs printing based on the signal. After the print head is moved to the second operation position by the head moving means, the discharging means is executed.

In order to execute the discharging means in the ink jet type printing apparatus according to the third aspect, first, the current position of the print head is obtained by the print head position calculating means. Next, the distance between the current position of the print head and the first operating position is determined by the first distance calculating means, and the distance between the current position of the print head and the second operating position is similarly determined by the second distance calculating means. . Further, the first selecting means allows the first
The distances calculated by the calculation means and the second calculation means are compared, and a position closer to the current position of the print head is selected from the first operation position and the second operation position. Finally, the control means:
After the print head is moved to the selected position by the print head moving means, the discharging means is executed.

In order to execute the discharging means in the ink-jet print recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, first, the current position of the print head is obtained by the print head position calculating means. Next, the time required to move the print head from the current position to the first operating position is obtained by the first time calculating means,
Similarly, the time required to move the print head from the current position to the second operation position is obtained by the second time calculating means. Further, the time required for moving from the current position of the print head between the first operation position and the second operation position is shorter by comparing the time obtained by the first time means and the time obtained by the second time means by the second selection means. Select a position. Finally, the control unit executes the ejection unit after moving the print head to the selected position by the print head moving unit.

It should be noted that any of claims 2 to 4 is
The ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1 is cited.
Things.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink jet printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied as an ink jet printer connected to a personal computer. First, the configuration of the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer.
In FIG. 1, a manual paper feed unit 3 is provided at a front portion of a main body frame 2 of the ink jet printer 1. A sub-frame 4 containing a carriage 9, a CR motor 12, a purging device 18, and the like is mounted on the upper part of the main body frame 2 behind the manual sheet feeding section 3. A paper feed cassette 5 for storing a plurality of print sheets is detachably attached to the upper rear of the sub-frame 4. Further, on the right side of the main frame 2, an ink absorber 1 for flushing operation is provided.
7 are provided.

In FIG. 2, a carriage 9 having an ink jet type print head 10 is mounted on a platen roller 6.
While being guided by a carriage shaft 11 provided in parallel with the above, the carriage is moved by a CR motor 12 via a belt 13. Therefore, the print head 10 can move along the platen roller 6. The CR motor 12 drives the carriage 9, and uses a step motor or a DC motor. The platen roller 6 conveys a print medium 22 such as print paper supplied from the paper feed cassette 5 or the manual paper feed unit 3 while facing the print head 10. In addition, a tape-shaped position gauge 14 is provided along the belt 13 and has a role for detecting the position of the carriage 9.

At the lower right side of the platen roller 6, an ink absorber 17 for flushing operation is provided. The flushing operation is performed to maintain the print head 10 in a good discharge state, and is an operation in which all nozzles of the print head 10 eject ink during printing. Flushing operation is printing (or flushing operation)
It is executed after elapse of 13 seconds from the start. In this embodiment, the flushing operation includes a first mode in which the nozzles are not used for 13 seconds or more and less than 30 seconds, a first mode in which all 25 nozzles are jetted, and a time in which the nozzles are unused for 30 seconds or more,
There is a second mode in which 00 full nozzle injections are performed.

The flushing operation ink absorber 17 is made of a porous material having an excellent ink absorbing ability, and the first mode flushing operation ejects ink on the flushing operation ink absorber 17. However, because of a mechanical limitation, the capacity is not compatible with the flushing operation in the second mode, so the flushing operation in the second mode is not executed on the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation.
This is performed on the purge device 18 by a program of a flushing operation A in FIG.

On the left side of the platen roller 6, a purge device 18 is provided. The ink jet print head 10 is liable to cause a discharge failure because air bubbles are generated inside the print head during use or ink droplets adhere to the discharge surface. For this reason, the purge device 18 restores this to a good discharge state. The recovery operation (hereinafter referred to as “purge operation”) by the purge device 18 is performed by the cap unit 18.
After the print head 10 is covered with A, the defective ink inside the print head 10 is sucked by the negative pressure of the purge pump 20. The defective ink sucked by the purge pump 20 is discharged to the purge device ink absorber 21. The ink absorber 21 for the purge device is made of a porous material having an excellent ink absorption ability, like the ink absorber 17 for the flushing operation.
It has a capacity that can correspond to the amount discharged from the purge pump 20. Therefore, the flushing operation in the second mode can also be executed on the purge device 18. FIG. 2 shows a situation where the purge operation by the purge device 18 is being performed.

Next, the ink absorber 1 for flushing operation
7 and the installation position of the purge device 18 and the ink head 10
The relationship between the movement range of the print medium and the range in which the printing medium 22 supplied from the manual paper feed unit 3 and the paper feed cassette 5 passes over the platen roller 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis indicates the position of the ink head 10, and the right side in the figure corresponds to the right side (the side with the flushing operation ink absorber 17) in FIG. 2, and the left side in FIG.
(The side with the purge device 18). The moving range m of the ink head 10 is a range having both ends of the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17 and the installation position CP of the purge device 18. The first mode flushing operation is performed at the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17, and the installation position CP of the purge device 18 is set.
Then, a purge operation and a flushing operation in the second mode are performed. The print range p from the head print position O to the end print position Z is from the position on the right side of the installation position CP of the purge device 18 to the installation position F of the flushing operation ink absorber 17.
P and is within the width w of the platen roller 6.

The printing medium 2 supplied from the manual paper feed unit 3
The range u of 2 is within the width w of the platen roller 6 and is a range from a position outside the printing start position O to the installation position FP of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation. Therefore, when the printing medium 22 is supplied from the manual paper feed unit 3, the printing medium 22 may pass over the flushing operation ink absorber 17, and the first mode (the second mode is used for the above-described reason) in such a position. The flushing operation (not performed) may be hindered. In such a case, the flushing operation is performed on the purging device 18 by a program of a flushing operation A in FIG. The range v of the print medium 22 supplied from the paper feed cassette 5 is within the width w of the platen roller 6 and is outside the line head print position O (the manual feed section 3).
) To a position on the left side of the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17. Therefore, when the printing medium 22 is supplied from the paper feed cassette 5, the printing medium 22 does not pass over the flushing operation ink absorber 17, which hinders the execution of the first mode flushing operation at such a position. There is no.

Next, the control system of the ink jet printer 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The control system C is mainly configured by a CPU 30 which is a known arithmetic processing device. The CPU 30 is connected to the host 32 via the interface 31. The host 32 is a personal computer. That is, the inkjet printer 1 receives a print command from the host 32 and executes various printings according to the command. Further, the CPU 30 is provided with a group of counters such as a CR position counter 51 and a paper detection counter 52.

A switch panel 33, a ROM 34, a RAM 35, a CR sensor 36, a paper detection sensor 37, a head drive circuit 39, a CR drive circuit 40, and an LF drive circuit 41 are connected to the interface 31. The switch panel 33 is for setting and displaying various parameters such as a paper size. The ROM 34 stores various programs necessary for controlling the later-described flushing operation, printing operation, purge operation, and the like in the inkjet printer 1. The RAM 35 is for temporarily recording various numerical values necessary for controlling the ink jet printer 1, and includes a first distance memory 61 and a second distance memory 62 used in a flushing operation program (see FIGS. 5 and 6) described later. , A first time memory 63, a second time memory 64, and the like.

The CR sensor 36 reads the scale of the position gauge 14, detects the position of the print head 10, and notifies the CR position counter 51 of the position. This position information is one of the criteria for selecting the execution position of the flushing operation in the flushing operation program described later. The paper detection sensor 37 is turned on when printing paper is supplied from the paper supply cassette 5, and notifies the paper detection counter 52 to that effect. This ON signal is one of the criteria for selecting the execution position of the flushing operation in the program of the flushing operation A in FIG. 5 described later. Head drive circuit 3
9. The CR drive circuit 40 and the LF drive circuit 41 control the drive of the print head 10, the CR motor 12, and the LF motor 38, respectively. The LF motor 38 drives the purge pump 20 and a paper feed mechanism (including the platen roller 6 and the like).

The basic operation of the ink jet printer 1 having such a configuration is as follows. The printing medium supplied from the paper feed cassette 5 or the manual paper feed unit 3 is conveyed by the platen roller 6 while the carriage is driven in accordance with a command signal from the host 32. By driving and controlling the print head 9 and the print head 10, printing of characters, symbols, figures, and the like on the printing medium 22 is performed. When printing is performed, a line to be printed on the printing medium 22 is sent to a position facing the print head 10 by the platen roller 6 and stopped there. Then, the carriage 9 is driven at a predetermined printing speed by the CR motor 12,
In the meantime, the print head 10 ejects ink in accordance with the command signal to perform printing.

Next, the actual flushing operation when the flushing operation is instructed during the printing operation of the ink jet printer 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 5 is a control program of the flushing operation A, which controls the flushing operation in the first mode and the second mode.

When a command for a flushing operation is issued during the printing operation of the ink jet printer 1, it is determined in step (hereinafter referred to as "S") 1 whether or not the flushing operation is in the first mode. In the case of the first mode (S
1: Yes), proceed to S2. On the other hand, if the mode is not the first mode but the second mode (S1: No), the process proceeds to S5, where the print head 10 is moved to the installation position CP of the purge device 18. This is because the flushing operation in the second mode can be performed only on the purge device 18.

In S2, it is determined whether or not the printing medium 22 is supplied by the manual feed unit 3. More specifically, the determination is made based on whether or not the paper detection sensor 37 notifies the paper detection counter 52 that the paper feed cassette 5 is supplying print paper. If the printing medium 22 is being supplied by the manual paper feed unit 3 (S2: Yes), the process proceeds to S3. on the other hand,
If the print medium 22 is not supplied by the manual paper feed unit 3 but is supplied by the paper feed cassette 5 (S2: No),
Proceeding to S4, the print head 10 is moved to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17. This is a normal first mode flushing operation (S1: Yes).
Means that the print medium 22 is the flushing operation ink absorber 1
This is because the operation is performed on the ink absorber 17 for the flushing operation as long as the ink does not pass over the upper surface 7.

In S3, it is determined whether or not the print medium 22 of 5 inches or more is supplied in the supply direction (the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the print head 10). If it is 5 inches or more (S3: Yes), the process proceeds to S4, and the print head 10 is moved to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17. On the other hand, if it is less than 5 inches (S3:
In No), the process proceeds to S5, where the print head 10 is moved to the installation position CP of the purge device 18. This is because, in the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the print medium 22 that can pass over the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation is:
This is because the paper is supplied by the manual paper feed unit 3 and the length is less than 5 inches in the supply direction.

As described above, the print head 10 is moved to either the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17 (implemented in S4) or the installation position CP of the purge device 18 (implemented in S5). When the print head 10 is moved in S4, the flushing operation is performed at the first position.
Since it is only the mode, the process proceeds to S7, where the flushing operation of the first mode is executed, and the control program of the flushing operation A ends. On the other hand, the print head 10
Is moved to S6, it is determined whether or not the flushing operation is in the second mode. This is the case where the process proceeds to S5, where the flushing operation is in the first mode (S1: No) in addition to the case where the flushing operation is in the second mode (S1: No).
3: No). In the case of the second mode (S6: Yes), the process proceeds to S8, where the flushing operation of the second mode is executed, and the control program of the flushing operation A ends. On the other hand, if it is the first mode instead of the second mode (S6: No), the process proceeds to S7, where the flushing operation of the first mode is executed, and the control program of the flushing operation A ends.

FIG. 6 shows a control program for the flushing operation B, which is a first program for preventing a decrease in throughput.
It controls the flashing operation of the mode. still,
Since the flushing operation in the second mode can be executed only on the purge device 18, control for preventing a decrease in throughput cannot be performed.

If a command for a flushing operation is issued during the printing operation of the ink jet printer 1, the current position of the print head 10 is calculated in S10, and the flow advances to S11. Specifically, the CR position sensor 36 detects a position by a drive pulse of the CR motor 12 which is a drive source of the print head 10, and
This is performed by notifying the CR position counter 51.

In S11, the first distance FP to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17 is determined based on the current position of the print head 10 obtained in S10.
After obtaining L and recording it in the first distance memory 61, S12
Proceed to. In S12, based on the current position of the print head 10 obtained in S10, a second distance CPL to the installation position CP of the purge device 18 is obtained and recorded in the second distance memory 62, and then the process proceeds to S13. The first distance FPL in S11 and the second distance CPL in S12 are equal to the CR motor 12
Can be easily calculated from the number of driving pulses.

In S13, the first distance FP obtained in S11 is obtained.
L is compared with the second distance CPL obtained in S12. First
When the distance FPL is equal to or less than the second distance CPL (S13:
In Yes, the process proceeds to S14 to move the print head 10 to the installation position FP of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation. On the other hand, when the first distance FPL is equal to or longer than the second distance CPL (S13: No), the process proceeds to S15, and the print head 10 is moved to the installation position CP of the purge device 18.
Accordingly, the moving time of the print head 10 can be minimized, and a decrease in throughput can be prevented. Finally, in S16, the flushing operation in the first mode is executed, and the control program of the flushing operation B ends.

In the control program of the flushing operation B shown in FIG. 6, the moving distances FPL and CPL are obtained in S11 and S12 in order to minimize the moving time of the print head 10, but the moving time of the print head 10 is directly calculated. In search of
It is also possible to control the moving time of the print head 10 to be the shortest. The travel time of the print head 10 can be easily calculated from the number of drive pulses of the CR motor 12 as described above.

That is, in S11, a first time FPT required for movement from the current position of the print head 10 to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17 is obtained.
The first time is recorded in the memory 63. In S12, a second time CPT required to move the print head 10 from the current position to the installation position CP of the purge device 18 is obtained.
It is recorded in the second time memory 62. After S13, the first distance FPL, the first time FPT, and the second distance CPL
And the second time CPT correspond to each other, it is possible to minimize the moving time of the print head 10 and prevent a decrease in throughput.

As described above in detail, in the ink jet printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the control program of the flushing operation A of FIG. 5 and the flushing operation B of FIG.
According to the control program, the print head 10 is set at the installation position FP (S4, S1) of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation.
4) or the installation position CP (S
5, implemented in S15), and the execution position of the flushing operation can be selected.

In particular, in the control program of the flushing operation A in FIG. 5, when the flushing operation in the second mode involving a large amount of ink ejected by all 500 nozzle ejections is performed (determined in S1), When the printing medium 22 having the maximum size that can be supplied from the unit 3 is supplied (determined in S5), control is performed such that the flushing operation is performed after the print head 10 is moved to the installation position CP of the purge device 18. Therefore, it is possible to select the flushing execution position according to the unused state of the nozzles of the print head and the size of the printing medium. The flushing operation can be executed also in the flushing operation in the second mode involving the discharge ink of the second mode.

In the control program of the flushing operation B shown in FIG. 6, the moving distance or the moving time from the current position of the print head 10 to the execution position of the flushing operation is obtained based on the number of driving pulses of the CR motor 12. (Executed in S11 and S12), it is possible to select the execution position of the flushing operation, which is a short moving distance or moving time (implemented in S13), and to minimize the moving time of the print head 10 before executing the flushing operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in throughput due to the flushing operation.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the control of the flushing operation in the first mode and the second mode (the control program of the flushing operation A: FIG.
(See FIG. 6) and the control of the flushing operation in the first mode for preventing a decrease in throughput (control program for flushing operation B: see FIG. 6). By executing the control program, it is possible to prevent a decrease in throughput when performing the first mode flushing operation simultaneously with the control of the first mode and second mode flushing operations.

Although the position is detected by the drive signal of the CR motor 12, the position of the carriage 9 may be detected by reading the scale of the position gauge 14.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to select a flushing execution position by executing a flushing operation not only on the ink absorber but also on the purge device, and thereby the size of the printing medium can be selected. Control to select the execution position of flushing according to the condition of the nozzles of the print head and the print head. An ink jet printing apparatus capable of performing a flushing operation involving a large amount of ejected ink can be provided, and its industrial effect is great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an installation position of a flushing operation ink absorber and the like and a range through which a printing medium passes.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a control program of a flushing operation A in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control program of a flushing operation B in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet printer main body 3 Manual feed unit 5 Paper feed cassette 6 Platen roller 10 Print head 12 CR motor 17 Ink absorber for flushing operation 18 Purging device 21 Ink absorber for purge device 30 CPU 34 ROM 35 RAM 36 CR position sensor 37 Paper detection sensor FP Installation position of ink absorber for flushing operation CP Installation position of purge device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175 B41J 2/18 B41J 2/185

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An ink jet print head that discharges ink from a discharge port to a printing medium to perform printing, and discharges ink from a discharge port of the print head to an ink absorber during printing to maintain the state of the print head. Discharge means, suction means for sucking ink from the discharge ports of the print head to recover the state of the print head, and print head moving means for moving the print head in a direction parallel to the roller for transporting the printing medium,
A print range in which the print head can print on the printing medium in a direction in which the print head moves by the print head moving means;
In an ink jet printing and recording apparatus having a first operation position where the ink absorbing member is located within the printing range and the ejection unit is executed, and a second operation position where the suction unit is located and executed outside the printing range, and control means for controlling to perform said discharge means after moving the print head in any one of the first operating position or the second operating position by the print head moving means, the large amount of ink in the ejection means First ejection with ejection
Output mode, and the second ejection accompanied by ejection of a small amount of ink by the ejection means.
Delivery mode and the first ejection mode or the first ejection mode when executing the ejection means.
A discharge mode selecting means for selecting two discharge modes; and the first operating position based on a result of the discharge mode selecting means.
Or a third selecting means for selecting the second operation position.
The control means is configured to perform the printing by the print head moving means.
Move the head to the operating position selected by the third selecting means
An ink-jet printing / recording apparatus wherein the ejection means is controlled to be executed after the movement . 2. The ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a detection unit that generates a signal when the ejection unit cannot execute the ejection operation at the first operation position. In the case where a signal is generated, the control unit controls the print head moving unit to execute the ejection unit after moving the print head to the second operation position. apparatus. 3. The ink-jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said print head moving means moves said print head, and said print head position calculating means obtains a current position of said print head. Calculating a distance between a current position of the print head and the first operation position
A distance calculating means for calculating a distance between a current position of the print head and the second operating position based on a result of the print head position calculating means;
A distance calculation unit, and a first operation unit that selects an operation position close to a current position of the print head from the first operation position and the second operation position based on a result of the first distance calculation unit and the second distance calculation unit. Selecting means, wherein the control means controls the print head moving means to execute the ejection means after moving the print head from the current position to the operating position selected by the first selecting means. Characteristic ink jet printing and recording apparatus. 4. The ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a print head position calculating means for obtaining a current position of said print head moved by said print head moving means, and a result of the print head position calculating means. First time calculating means for calculating a time for moving the print head from the current position to the first operating position by the print head moving means, and printing by the print head moving means based on a result of the print head position calculating means. Second time calculating means for calculating a time for moving the head from the current position to the second operating position; and the first operating position and the second operating position based on the results of the first time calculating means and the second time calculating means. And second selecting means for selecting an operation position in which the print head moves from the current position for a short time. Ink jet print recording apparatus and controls to execute the discharging means the print head by the head moving means after moving from the current position to the selected operating position by said second selection means.