JP3287484B2 - Ink jet 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 recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by scanning a recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet recording apparatus, ink sticks to the surface of an ink jet head depending on a storage state before printing, or bubbles are generated in nozzles during printing, so that printing is impossible. May be.
For this reason, it is necessary to make the inkjet head printable by performing preliminary ejection before printing.

Conventionally, the preliminary ejection is performed before printing, or during the printing, the timing of the preliminary ejection is received from a timer, and the preliminary ejection is performed at a constant period.

[0004]

However, the conventional example has the following problems.

(1) When it is time to perform preliminary ejection during a printing operation, the paper feeding operation must be interrupted to perform preliminary ejection.

(2) When the preliminary ejection time comes when the carriage is on the opposite side of the position where the preliminary ejection is performed, one scan is performed without printing.

[0007] The present invention solves the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which performs preliminary ejection efficiently while minimizing a decrease in throughput, and has a high throughput.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with (1) to (4).
The configuration is as shown in (3). (1) In an ink jet recording apparatus having a preliminary ejection means for preliminary ejection of ink in addition to recording using a recording head, a transport means for transporting a recording medium on which recording is performed, and a cycle of preliminary ejection are stored. Storage means and the last
Means for measuring the time elapsed from the preliminary discharge, and the time required for the preliminary discharge by the preliminary discharge means to end ,
The cycle of the preliminary discharge and the elapsed time from the previous preliminary discharge,
First calculating means for calculating from the execution time of the preliminary ejection, second calculating means for calculating a time required until printing is started, and second calculating based on the time calculated by the first calculating means. If the time calculated by the means is longer, control is performed such that the preliminary ejection is performed by the preliminary ejection means during conveyance of the recording medium by the conveyance means, and the second calculation is performed based on the time calculated by the first calculation means. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the preliminary ejection unit to perform preliminary ejection in a state where the conveyance of the recording medium by the conveyance unit is stopped when the time calculated by the calculation unit is shorter. (2) pre-SL control means, when the elapsed time from the preliminary discharge of the last time exceeds the cycle stored in said storage means by said first calculating means and the second calculating means The ink jet recording apparatus according to the above (1), which controls so as to perform preliminary ejection without performing calculation. (3) The recording head is provided for each of a plurality of ejection units for ejecting ink and a corresponding ejection unit, and causes a state change due to heat in the ink to cause the ink to be ejected from the ejection unit based on the state change. (1) or (2), further comprising thermal energy generating means for forming flying droplets.

[0009]

[0010]

[0011]

In the ink jet recording apparatus described in the above (1), the recording is started from the time required until the end of the preliminary ejection.
If it takes longer to transport the recording medium,
Control to perform pre-discharge during feeding and until pre-discharge ends
Of the time required to start recording
If it is shorter, make a backup with the conveyance of the recording medium stopped.
Discharge is performed.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the above (2) , the time elapsed since the previous preliminary ejection is the time required for the preliminary ejection.
If the period for performing
Pre-discharge is performed immediately without performing control.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect,
The thermal energy generating means causes a state change of the ink due to heat, and the ink is ejected from the ejection unit based on the state change to form flying droplets.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a basic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a CPU for controlling an operation to be described later; 102, a ROM in which a control procedure as described later is stored;
M and 104 are timers for giving timing for performing preliminary discharge, and 105 is preliminary discharge means for performing preliminary discharge.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 205 denotes a cartridge, which integrates a recording head H and an ink tank as an ink supply source. The head cartridge 205 includes the pressing member 20.
2 are fixed on the carriage 206, and these can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction along the shaft 211. The ink ejected from the recording head H reaches the recording medium 209 whose recording surface is regulated by the platen 210 at a minute interval from the recording head H, and forms an image.

An ejection signal corresponding to image data is supplied to the recording head H from an appropriate data supply source via a cable 207 and a terminal connected thereto. One or more (two in the illustrated example) head cartridges 205 can be provided according to the ink color or the like to be used. Reference numeral 208 denotes a pulse motor for scanning the carriage 206 along the shaft 211, and reference numeral 203 denotes a wire for transmitting the driving force of the motor 208 to the carriage 206. Reference numeral 201 denotes a feed motor coupled to the platen roller 210 to convey the recording medium 209, and reference numeral 204 denotes an HP (position) sensor for detecting the position of the carriage 206.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the operation in the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, when a print command is received (step 301), the elapsed time P from the previous preliminary ejection is calculated.
H_timer is compared with a preset preliminary ejection interval set_time (step 302). Here PH_timer
If> = set_time, that is, if it is time to perform preliminary ejection before printing, after performing preliminary ejection (step 311), clear PH_timer (step 312), and feed the paper to the printing position (step 312). Step 313, Step 3
10) Print one line (step 314). If PH_timer> = set_time is not satisfied in step 302, that is, if the time for performing the preliminary ejection has not come, the time from that point to the time when the preliminary ejection is completed and the time until the printing is started is obtained. The time PHT from the end of the preliminary ejection to the end is obtained by subtracting the PH_timer from the set_time and adding the execution time do_time of the preliminary ejection (step 303). The time required to start printing is calculated by dividing the value obtained by subtracting the number of pulses required for ramping up and down from the number of driving pulses of the LF motor required to feed the paper to the printing start position by the pulse rate, and further preliminarily determining each time. It is obtained by adding the time UDT required for ramp-up and down determined from the table (step 30).
4).

Next, paper feeding to the printing position is started (step 305). Here, PST and PHT are compared (step 306). If PST> = PHT, it can be determined that the preliminary ejection can be completed during the paper feeding operation to the print start position, so PH_timer = set during the paper feeding operation
_time (step 307), preliminary ejection is performed (step 308), and PH_timer is cleared (step 309). By performing such control, the time for performing the preliminary ejection can be reduced. If PST> = PHT is not satisfied in step 306, the time until the preliminary ejection is exceeded, so that the paper feeding is stopped and the preliminary ejection is performed after PH_timer = set_time, and the paper feeding is started again (step 317, Step 320). When the print start position is reached, the paper feed is stopped (step 31).
0) One line is printed (step 314). When the ejection command is received (step 315), the ejection is performed (step 316), and the process returns to step 301. If the eject command is not received, the operation returns to step 301 and the above operations are repeated.

By performing the above operation, the preliminary ejection can be completed at the start of printing and during the paper feeding operation on the same paper, and the through-top of the recording apparatus can be improved by reducing the time of the preliminary ejection. Can be done.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the above-described first embodiment, the paper feed time from when the print command is received until the printing is actually started, or the sum of the paper feed time during printing and the time required for the carriage to move to the printing position is calculated. When the time until the preliminary ejection is performed and the time for performing the preliminary ejection are longer than the sum, the preliminary ejection is performed during the paper feeding operation. Therefore, if this condition is not satisfied, the printing operation must be interrupted and the preliminary ejection must be performed after the set preliminary ejection period has elapsed.

In the second embodiment, in order to alleviate this problem, the timing for performing the preliminary ejection is set to a timing when the carriage is on the opposite side (hereinafter simply referred to as a sub-position) than when the carriage is on the home position. By setting the carriage longer than the time required for the carriage to move from the home position to the sub-position side, the operation of moving the carriage at the sub-position side to the home position side without performing printing and performing preliminary ejection is eliminated. .

FIG. 4 shows a control procedure according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 4, if the power is turned on (step 40)
1) Write the preliminary ejection interval HP_settime when the carriage is at the home position side into the storage area HPST (step 402), and store the preliminary ejection interval SP_settime when the carriage is at the sub position side into the storage area SPS.
Write to T (step 403). At this time, SP_set
The time is set longer than the HP_settime by the time required for the carriage to move from the home position to the sub-position. Thereby, for example, even if printing starts immediately before the timing of the preliminary ejection on the home position side and moves to the sub position side, the timing immediately before the preliminary ejection also on the sub position side, and after returning to the home position side,
That is, the preliminary ejection is performed after printing one line. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the operation of moving the carriage at the sub-position side to the home position side without performing printing and performing the preliminary ejection.

When a print command is received (step 40)
4), the current position is determined (step 405). When at the home position, PH_tim of the first embodiment is used.
er and HPST are compared (step 406), and if they are on the sub-position side, PH_timer is compared with SPST (step 408). PH_timer> = HPST (step 406) or PH_timer> = SPST (step 40)
In the case of 8), preliminary ejection is performed (step 409), and PH
_timer is cleared (step 410) and one line is printed (step 407). If the eject command is received (step 411), the operation returns to step 404 after performing the sheet discharging operation, and if not received, the operation returns to step 404 and the above operations are repeated.

By performing the above control, it is possible to eliminate the operation of moving the carriage at the sub-position side to the home position side without performing printing and performing the preliminary ejection, and the movement time for performing the preliminary ejection can be eliminated. Can be reduced.

According to the present invention, particularly, an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a means for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, and a recording method of generating a state change of the ink by the thermal energy. In a head and a recording apparatus, an excellent effect is provided. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to an electrothermal converter that is arranged corresponding to a sheet holding a liquid (ink) or a flow path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the film is heated on the heat-acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with the drive signal, which is effective. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble,
Form at least one drop. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubbles are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. Examples of the drive signal in the form of a pulse include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345.
No. 262 are suitable. If the conditions described in the specification of US Pat. No. 4,313,244 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface described above are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region, is also effective for the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on JP-A-59-138461 which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head and preliminary auxiliary means provided as components of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. To be more specific, capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and recording and It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode for performing another ejection in order to perform stable printing.

The type and number of recording heads and inks to be mounted are also, for example, monochromatic inks and inks.
In addition to the head provided with a plurality of recording heads, a head provided with a plurality of inks corresponding to a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities may be provided, and is effective in any combination. The present invention is effective not only in a printing mode of black or the like as a printing mode of the printing apparatus, but also in each printing mode of a multi-color of different colors or a full color by mixing colors.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or below and which softens or melts at room temperature, or the ink described above. In general, in the ink jet, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled in 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. Anything can be used. In addition, to prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy, positively use the phase change energy of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or use ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink. In any case, thermal energy such as one in which ink is liquefied and ejected as an ink liquid by application in accordance with a recording signal of thermal energy, or one which already starts to solidify when reaching a recording medium, etc. The use of an ink that liquefies for the first time is also applicable to the present invention. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

The present invention also relates to an ink jet system such as a piezo jet system in which electricity is converted into a force to eject ink, and a recording system in which a recording bed is disposed in non-contact with a recording medium and ink is ejected for recording. It is effective in.

In addition to the above, the recording apparatus of the present invention may be provided as an output terminal of an information processing device such as a word processor or a computer as described above, as an integral or separate unit, as well as a copying apparatus combined with a scanner or the like. Further, it may take the form of a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which performs preliminary ejection efficiently while minimizing a decrease in throughput, and has a high throughput.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the operation of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Timer 105 Pre-discharge means 204 HP sensor 205 Cartridge 206 Carriage H Recording head

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Akira Shimoda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tomoaki Masaki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-3-234649 (JP, A) JP-A-2-92548 (JP, A) JP-A-4-234668 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink jet printing apparatus having a preliminary ejection means for preliminary ejection of ink in addition to recording using a recording head, wherein a transport means for transporting a recording medium on which recording is performed, and a cycle for performing preliminary ejection. A storage unit for storing, a unit for measuring an elapsed time from a previous preliminary discharge, and a time required for the preliminary discharge by the preliminary discharge unit to be completed, based on the period of the preliminary discharge and the time from the previous preliminary discharge.
A first calculating means for calculating the elapsed time and the execution time of the preliminary ejection; a second calculating means for calculating a time required until printing is started; and a second calculating means for calculating the time required by the first calculating means. If the time calculated by the second calculating means is longer, control is performed such that the preliminary discharge is performed by the preliminary discharging means while the recording medium is being conveyed by the conveying means, and the time calculated by the first calculating means is longer than the time calculated by the first calculating means. Control means for controlling the preliminary ejection means to perform preliminary ejection in a state where the conveyance of the recording medium by the conveyance means is stopped when the time calculated by the second calculation means is shorter. Inkjet recording apparatus. 2. A pre-SL control means or preliminary discharge of the last
If the elapsed time of al exceeds the period stored in said storage means to control so as to perform preliminary discharge without performing calculation by the first calculating means and the second calculating means The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The recording head is provided for each of a plurality of ejection units for ejecting ink and a corresponding ejection unit, and causes a state change of the ink due to heat, and causes the ink to be discharged from the ejection unit based on the state change. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a thermal energy generating unit configured to discharge and form flying droplets.