JP3335050B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus suitable for a textile printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a typical method of recording on a cloth, wallpaper, or the like, screen printing, which directly prints on a cloth or the like using a silk screen plate, is known. In this printing method, first, a silk-screen plate is prepared for an original image to be printed for each color used in the original image, and these silk-screen plates are attached to a screen printing device, and the screen of the silk-screen plate is meshed. The recording is performed by directly transferring the ink to a cloth or the like through the ink.

[0003] In such a screen printing apparatus, it takes a lot of man-hours and days to prepare a silk-screen plate in advance. In addition, operations such as preparation of ink of each color and alignment of the silk-screen plate for each color are performed. It also takes. In addition, the size of the apparatus is large, the size is increased in proportion to the number of colors used, and an installation space is required. In addition, a storage space for a silk-screen version is required.

[0004] Therefore, an ink jet recording system for directly recording an image on a recording material such as cloth or wallpaper has been proposed. Such an ink jet recording apparatus records an image by causing fine ink droplets to fly from a discharge port provided in an ink jet recording means toward a recording material such as a cloth and landing on the recording material. According to the simple ink jet recording method, the process and the number of days required to form an image on a cloth or the like can be significantly reduced without using a screen plate required by a conventional screen printing apparatus, and the apparatus can be downsized. Benefits are obtained.

Further, image information for printing can be stored in a small storage medium such as a tape, a flexible disk, or an optical disk. Therefore, the storability and storability of the image information are excellent. There is also an advantage that processing such as layout change, enlargement, and reduction can be easily performed.

[0006]

However, when performing ink-jet printing on a cloth or the like by such a conventional method, the cloth to be dyed includes natural fibers such as cotton, silk and wool, nylon, rayon, polyester and the like. Synthetic fibers or blends of these fibers.

Accordingly, there are a wide variety of dyes for dyeing these fibers, such as reactive dyes for cotton and silk, acid dyes for nylon, disperse dyes for polyester fibers, metal complex dyes for wool, and cotton. Requires the use of various colorants, such as vat dyes or pigments.

On the other hand, among these dyes, reactive or acidic dyes are water-soluble, while dispersion, metal complex salts, vat dyes or pigments are hardly soluble or insoluble in water. The characteristics are different, and the physical properties and characteristics of the ink itself are also different.

Therefore, when recording is performed on, for example, a cloth or the like using these plural types of inks using a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, use conditions suitable for each ink are individually set using a dedicated apparatus for each ink. We had no choice but to operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus suitable for textile printing in which a single apparatus can appropriately use various kinds of inks properly.

[0011]

An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention uses a recording head that discharges ink by heating with a heater, and supplies ink supplied from an ink tank for storing ink to the cloth from the recording head. An ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging, wherein an ink stirring unit that stirs ink in the ink tank and a preliminary discharge operation that discharges ink from the recording head every time a predetermined amount of recording is performed are performed. Recovery means for recovering the recording head; inputting and / or identifying whether the recording ink ejected from the recording head is a disperse dye ink containing a disperse dye or a reactive dye ink containing a reactive dye; Possible ink type recognition means, depending on whether the ink type is the disperse dye ink or the reactive dye ink, Control means for controlling the condition for driving the recording head and the preliminary ejection operation by the recovery means and the stirring by the ink stirring means, wherein the control means determines whether the ink type is the dispersed dye ink or the reactive dye ink. Depending on whether the ink is a dye ink, the number of times of ink ejection in the preliminary ejection operation performed every time the predetermined amount of recording is performed is made different, and only when the ink type is the dispersed dye ink, the ink stirring means Is controlled such that the preliminary ejection operation is further performed each time the ink is stirred and recording is performed with an amount larger than the predetermined amount.

According to the present invention, whether the type of recording ink ejected from the recording head is a disperse dye ink containing a disperse dye or a reactive dye ink containing a reactive dye is input and / or input by the ink type recognition means. Alternatively, when the ink type is recognized, the condition for driving the recording head in accordance with the input and / or identification by the ink type recognition means, the preliminary ejection operation by the recovery means, and the stirring by the ink stirring means are controlled by the control means. Specifically, depending on whether the ink type is a disperse dye ink or a reactive dye ink, the number of ink ejections in the preliminary ejection operation performed every time a predetermined amount of recording is performed is changed, and the ink type is changed. Only in the case of the disperse dye ink, the preliminary ejection operation is further performed every time the ink is stirred by the ink stirring means and the recording is performed in an amount larger than a predetermined amount. This eliminates the need for separately using ink jet recording apparatuses when recording is performed using inks having different characteristics, and one ink jet recording apparatus can be used freely according to the purpose of the user. In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, an output gamma table for correcting an output image signal may be set for each ink type. The recording head may have an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy as an element that generates energy for discharging ink, and has a plurality of discharge elements that can discharge ink of different colors for each color. Alternatively, color recording may be performed using inks of different colors depending on the type of ink.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described in detail and concretely with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of the configuration of a serial type ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. Where 1
Denotes a carriage, and 2 denotes an ink jet recording head mounted on the carriage 1. In this example, inks of four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (Bk) are individually applied. Ejectable color ink jet recording heads 2C, 2M, 2Y and 2B
k are mounted on the carriage 1 in parallel. Reference numeral 3 denotes a guide shaft for guiding the moving scan of the carriage 1, reference numeral 4 denotes a timing belt connected to the carriage 1, and reference numeral 5 denotes a belt driving pulse motor driven by a motor driver 5A. . 6 is cloth or O
Reference numeral 7 denotes a recording material (hereinafter, referred to as a recording sheet) on which color recording is performed, including an HP film, and 7 denotes a conveyance roller for conveying and feeding the recording sheet 6;
A and 8B are guide rollers for holding the recording sheet 6 at the recording position, and 9 is a transport motor.

Each of the recording heads 2C, 2M, 2Y and 2Bk has a discharge port for discharging ink toward the recording sheet 6, a liquid path communicating with the discharge port, and a discharge energy provided in each liquid path. It has a generating element, for example, an electrothermal converter (both not shown). 11C, 11
M, 11Y and 11Bk are recording heads 2C, 2M, 2
Ink tanks for supplying color inks to Y and 2Bk, 12C, 12M, 12Y and 12Bk are ink supply tubes, 13C, 13M, 13Y and 1
3Bk is a flexible cable for sending ink ejection signals to the recording heads 2C, 2M, 2Y and 2Bk via the respective head drivers 14C, 14M, 14Y and 14Bk, and 15 has a CPU function and various memories. This is a control circuit for controlling the entire apparatus.

Each of the recording heads 2C to 2Bk is provided with a temperature detecting means 16 and a head heater 17, and when each detection signal from the temperature detecting means 16 is inputted to the control circuit 15, these are detected. Each head heater 17 is heated by a power supply 19 via a driver 18 based on the detection signal, and the temperatures of the recording heads 2C to 2Bk are controlled. 20 is a capping means, 21 is a cap member thereof.
The capping means 20 is driven forward via the cap driver 22 by an instruction from the control circuit 15 so as to bring the cap member 21 into close contact with the ink discharge port surface (not shown here) of ~ 2Bk. This means that each recording head 2C-
If the ink ejection port surface of 2Bk is left in the air for a long time, the ink in the liquid path evaporates and the ink becomes thick, and the ejection becomes unstable. The high humidity is maintained by a liquid absorbing material (not shown) provided in the member 21.

Although 30 will be described in detail later, the recording heads 2C to 2C
Cleaning means including a porous elastic body wiping member 31 for wiping the 2Bk ink discharge port surface, 32 is a driver for driving the suction pump or the like (not shown), 50 is clogging prevention means, 52 Is a cleaning solenoid valve of the clogging prevention means 50. Reference numeral 60 denotes a drive source (stirring motor) of a stirring member that stirs the main tank of each ink as described later, and drives the stirring member at a predetermined timing in accordance with a signal from the control circuit 15. Reference numeral 70 denotes an input / display unit capable of inputting and displaying recording commands and the like, and reference numeral 80 denotes an image transfer unit capable of externally transferring recorded image data and receiving image data from outside.

Subsequently, according to FIG. 3, an ink stirring member is provided,
An ink supply system capable of forcibly supplying and circulating ink to the recording head 2 during a recovery operation will be described. The ink supply system stores each color ink for each tank and supplies the corresponding ink to the recording heads 2C, 2M, 2Y, and 2Bk from the main tank via the sub-tanks, respectively, and is provided for each color ink. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 101 denotes a main tank capable of storing a large amount of each color ink, and reference numeral 61 agitates a large amount of ink stored in the main tank 101. For example, ink dyes which are hardly soluble or insoluble in water are aggregated or settled. This is an ink agitating unit that prevents the ink from being stirred, and is driven by a drive source 60 at a predetermined timing described later. Thus, each ink is supplied to each ink tank (sub-tank) 11 by the pump 103 via the supply tube 102 while preventing the ink dye from settling.

A pressure pump 104 is provided in the sub-tank 11 and forcibly circulates or discharges the ink in the recording head 2 when the recording head 2 recovers.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a circulation tube. For example, if the recording head 2 is left in a capping state for a long time, the viscosity of the recording head 2 may increase due to evaporation of water or a solvent in the head 2. In addition, bubbles may remain in the liquid path leading to the ink discharge port. Therefore, immediately after turning on the power to the printing apparatus, at the start of printing, or during printing, the pressurizing pump 104 is driven to pressurize the ink to discharge the thickened ink and the residual air bubbles out of the head. It is possible to wash refuse and the like adhering to the surface. 106 and 107 are main tanks 1
01 and a water level detection sensor for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the sub tank 11.
The supply of ink is performed based on the detection signals from 6,107. In each sub-tank 11, it is necessary to stabilize the discharge by always keeping the head difference between the recording head 2 and the recording head 2 constant. 108 is an ink return tube for keeping the water level in the sub-tank 11 constant, Reference numeral 109 denotes an ink supply container having a supply inlet 110.

The clogging prevention means 50 includes the recording heads 2C to 2C.
Obtained by to receive the respective inks to be ejected when to perform the preliminary ejection operation to bk, the recording start point P ₀ where the cleaning means 30 and the recording head 2C~2Bk starts recording as shown in FIG. 4 It is located between them. Reference numeral 51 denotes a liquid receiving unit that receives the waste ink discharged by the preliminary discharge. The liquid receiving unit 51 stores an ink absorbing member (not shown) that absorbs the waste ink.

In FIG. 4, the recording heads 2C, 2
M, 2Y, carriage 1 mounted with 2Bk in recording regions P from the starting point P ₀ to the recording end point P _1, the ink discharge ports of the recording head (column) 23C, 23M, 23Y, 2
The recording is performed by ejecting ink of each color from 3Bk, and the ink ejection ports (rows) 23C to 23Bk
The capping operation is performed at the point when is guided to the position facing the cap member 21. Reference numeral 24 denotes a capping position detection sensor for detecting that the carriage 1 has been guided to the capping position during reciprocating scanning in the directions indicated by arrows E and D.
A preliminary ejection position detection sensor for detecting when 2Bk is guided to the position opposite to the clogging prevention means 50 for preventing clogging, and a recording start sensor 26 for detecting that it is also guided to the recording start position. It is a position detection sensor.

Next, the structure of the cleaning means 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The wiping member 31 of the cleaning means 30 includes:
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the recording head 2 is provided so as to protrude from the ink discharge port surface 23A toward the head 2 by an amount L, and is made of a flexible elastic porous body. I have. As a material thereof, for example, a foam-formol resin-based material that does not change its volume significantly due to absorption of the ink mist and does not change its volume even when absorbed, such as a polymer foam, can be mentioned. . 33 is a holder for supporting the wiping member 31 between the wiping member 31 and the fixing plate 34, and 35 is a fixing screw for the fixing plate 34. The holder 33 guides the cleaning liquid containing the ink wiped by the wiping member 31 to the holder 33. A guide opening 33A formed in the longitudinal direction along the holder 33 and a conduction path 33B for further guiding the ink to the suction tube 36 from the guide opening 33A are provided.

In the cleaning operation by the cleaning means 30 having such a configuration, the carriage 1 in the direction shown by the arrow D is moved from the capping position (see FIG. 4) of the carriage 1 for fixing and holding each recording head 2 (2C to 2Bk) to the holder. As shown in FIG. 7, the distal end portion 31A of the wiping member 31 is bent while being brought into contact with the head holder surface 23A and the discharge port surfaces 23Bk to 23C, and the surfaces are cleaned with a cleaning liquid to thereby remove the suction pump 3.
2 allows suction and discharge. However, instead of the suction pump, a porous member or a fiber member may be connected to the wiping member 31 and may be discharged by this. Thus, by appropriately reducing the amount of the cleaning liquid remaining on the wiping member 31, its suction ability can be restored.

As shown in FIG. 6, above the wiping member 31, a cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 37, a cleaning liquid tank 38, and a cleaning liquid supply tube 40 for guiding the cleaning liquid 39 from the cleaning liquid tank 38 to the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 37 in the direction of arrow B. Further, an electromagnetic valve 41 that is opened at the time of wiping by a signal from the control circuit 15 shown in FIG. 2 is provided. Reference numeral 42 denotes the cleaning liquid 39 and the wiping member 31 which have not been completely absorbed by the wiping member 31 when the cleaning liquid 39 is supplied to the wiping member 31 and when the head ink ejection surface 23 is wiped by the wiping member 31. A receiving tray for receiving a liquid (referred to as waste liquid) that has not been completely collected by the suction pump 32 among the adhered ink and cleaning liquid mixed with dust, and a reference numeral 43 is for guiding the above-described waste liquid from the receiving tray 42 to a waste liquid tank (not shown). It is a discharge tube.

The procedure of each operation in the ink jet recording apparatus will be described below. As described above, in FIG. 4, the recording start position detection sensor 26 and the capping position detection sensor 24
It is detected that C, 2M, 2Y, and 2Bk are at predetermined recording start positions and capping positions. The preliminary ejection position detection sensor 25 includes the heads 2C, 2M, 2Y, 2B
k detects the reference position of the preliminary ejection operation performed while moving in the scanning direction.

FIG. 8 shows a sequence of the recording and the function maintaining operation of the recording head 2 according to the present invention with the above-described configuration. First, during standby before recording, the recording heads 2C,
Each of the discharge port surfaces 23C, 23M, 23 of 2M, 2Y, 2Bk
Y and 23Bk are capped by capping means 20. When a recording start signal is input to the control circuit 15 in such a standby state, the ink pressurization circulation is started by the pump 104 shown in FIG. 3 in step S1, and when the ink pressure circulation is completed, the cap member 21 is closed in step S2. It is driven in the opening direction by the driver 22.

In step S3, the cleaning member 31 is simultaneously cleaned with the cleaning liquid 39 in parallel with the above-described ink pressurizing and circulating operation, and this cleaning removes the thickened ink and foreign matters adhering to the cleaning member 31. It is washed away along with 39 (see FIG. 6).

Next, in step S4, the cleaning liquid 39 is sucked by the pump 32, so that the amount of the cleaning liquid 39 remaining on the cleaning member 31 is reduced appropriately, and the ability to repair ink and foreign matters is improved, and the cleaning is performed. The effect can be enhanced. Further, the suction of the cleaning liquid 39 can generate a negative pressure due to the capillary phenomenon inside the porous body as the cleaning member 31, and this negative pressure is made larger than the negative pressure applied to the discharge port of the head 2. By doing so, the cleaning liquid 39 is prevented from entering the liquid chamber because the ink is easily sucked from the ink discharge port and the liquid path during cleaning. Furthermore, the effect of generating the ink suction capability inside the liquid path and simultaneously contributing to the removal of the thickened ink in the liquid path can be obtained.

Next, when a drive signal is supplied via the motor driver 5A, the drive of the drive motor 5 is transmitted to the carriage 1 via the belt 4, the carriage 1 is driven, and the head 2 starts reciprocating. I do. Thus, in step S5, as shown in FIG. 7, when the carriage 1 passes through the position of the cleaning means 30, the discharge port surface 23 is sequentially wiped by the cleaning member 31 to perform cleaning. The wiping described above refers to wiping and cleaning the cleaning liquid 39, ink, foreign matter, and the like on the discharge port surface 23.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the discharge member 23 is wiped by the cleaning member 31, since the cleaning member 31 is flexible, the cleaning member 31 falls down in the same direction as the carriage 1 moves in the direction D, and is weak. The discharge port surface 23 is formed by the repelling force by the wiping surface 31A.
Is cleaned, and cleaning is performed. For this reason, even when there is a step between the surface 23A of the head holder and the discharge port surface 23, the cleaning effect is not affected.

In particular, at this time, the edge 31B of the cleaning member 31 enters the concave portion of the holder surface 23A.
It is possible to clean up to the step between the nozzle and the discharge port surface 23.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6, where the recording start detection position P ₀ detected by the recording start position detection sensor 26 is detected.
Then, while traveling in the direction of arrow D, ink droplets are ejected, and an image is recorded on the recording area P of the recording sheet 6.

At the same time, the cleaning member 31 is cleaned in step S7, and the cleaning liquid 39 is sucked in step S8 to recover the cleaning function of the cleaning member 31. Thereafter, the carriage 1 is inverted and driven in the direction of arrow E, and the preliminary discharge operation is performed while passing through the preliminary discharge position (the position of the clogging prevention means 50) in step S9.
Note that the preliminary ejection here is performed to the liquid receiving unit 51, and thereafter, the recording sheet 6 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow F by the width of the recording area P.

Next, in step S10, it is determined whether or not the image recording has been completed.
The process proceeds to 1 to determine whether or not the 100-line recording has been completed. If the determination is negative, step S
Returning to step 5, the operation from step S6 is repeated. At this time, since the wiping surface 31A of the cleaning member 31 is wiped in the forward movement, only the wiping surface 31A that is once soiled only wipes the discharge port surface 23 and does not adversely affect the cleaning effect. Instead, the cleaning effect is doubled.

On the other hand, step S10 or step S1
If the result in step 1 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S12, where the discharge port surface 23 of the head 2 is capped by the capping means 20 and hermetically closed.

[0036]

The composition of the reactive dye ink and the disperse dye ink applied to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention will be described below.

1. Reactive dye ink: Reactive dye (below) 4 to 20 parts Thiodiglycol 24 parts Diethylene glycol 11 parts Potassium chloride 0.004 parts Sodium sulfate 0.002 parts Sodium metasilicate 0.001 parts Iron chloride 0.0005 parts Water 45 61 parts The dyes used are as follows.

Yellow ink C.I. I. Reactive Yellow 95 Red ink C.I. I. Reactive Red 218 Blue ink C.I. I. Reactive Blue 49 Green ink C.I. I. Reactive Green 8 Black ink C.I. I. Reactive Black 39 Each of the above components was mixed (to make the total amount of the reactive dye and water 65 parts), the mixture was adjusted to pH 8.4 with sodium hydroxide, and stirred for 2 hours, followed by addition of fluorocarbon. The mixture was filtered through a pore filter FP-100 (trade name, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.) to obtain a reactive dye ink.

[0039] 2. Disperse dye ink: (a) Disperse dye liquid: β-naphthalenesulfonic acid formaldehyde condensate 20 parts Ion-exchanged water 55 parts Diethylene glycol 10 parts The above components were mixed, and 15 parts of each of the following disperse dyes were newly added to the solution. (That is, three kinds of solutions were prepared), and after premixing for 30 minutes, a dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions. All parts and percentages shown below are by weight unless otherwise specified.

(B) Disperse dye: C.I. I. Disperse Yellow 198 C.I. I. Disperse Red 88 C.I. I. Disperse Blue 60 Dispersing machine: Sand grinder (Igarashi Kikai) Pulverizing media: Zirconium beads 1 mm diameter Filling rate of pulverizing media: 50% (by volume) Pulverizing time: 3 hours Further, Fluoropore filter FP-250 (trade name,
(Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.) to remove coarse particles to obtain a disperse dye solution.

(C) Preparation of ink 40 parts of the above disperse dye liquid 24 parts thiodiglycol 11 parts diethylene glycol 0.0005 parts sodium metasilicate 0.001 part iron sulfate 0.0003 part nickel chloride sulfuric acid 0.0003 parts of zinc-0.002 parts of calcium chloride-25 parts of ion-exchanged water All of the above components are mixed, and the mixture is mixed with sodium hydroxide.
After adjusting to H7 to 9 and stirring for 2 hours, the mixture was filtered with a Fluoropore Filter FP-100 (trade name, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.) to obtain a disperse dye ink.

Next, a description will be given of the printhead driving conditions and various operation parameters related to recovery which are set based on conditions suitable for the characteristics of the ink used, for the ink types 1 and 2.

3. Recording head drive conditions: Head drive pulse; voltage 24 V, pulse width 3 to 2
0 μs Head temperature control temperature: 20 to 60 ° C. Driving frequency: 0.5 to 8 kHz (Recording density: 200 to 1200 dpi) Conditions for large rotation (recovery including ink circulation operation performed in the capping state) operation: number of times of large recovery operation insertion; once for every n lines Ink pressurization time: 0 to 60 seconds Wiping speed at large recovery: 20 to 400 mm / s 5. 5. Conditions for medium recovery operation: Number of insertions of medium recovery operation; once for every m lines Predischarge; 0 to 50,000 shots Wiping speed during medium recovery: 20 to 400 mm / s 6. Wiping operation conditions: Insertion of wiping operation; once per line Wiping speed; 20 to 400 mm / s 7. Pre-discharge operation condition Pre-discharge operation insertion frequency: once on Y line Pre-discharge number: 0 to 2000 shots 8. Bubble removal operation conditions: Ink pressurization time: 0 to 60 seconds Ink pressurization motor rotation speed: 0 to 400 pp Number of times of bubble removal operation insertion: once for every X line Ink stirring operation conditions: Main tank stirring motor rotation speed: 0 to 400p
ps main tank stirring motor operation time; 0 to 600 seconds main tank stirring motor operation timing; T 1 once every ₁ hour 10. Output γ Table The above-described printing head drive conditions and various operation parameters related to recovery are set in advance for each ink type according to the characteristics of the ink type, and are input by ink type recognition means described later or manually input by an operator. It is automatically selected according to the recognized ink type.

The medium recovery operation 5 is a recovery operation mainly performed when the ink type is a disperse dye ink, and is intended to discharge the dispersed destruction generated when the disperse dye is heated from the ink discharge port. This is a more effective means for discharging dispersed debris than discharging ink by pressurizing the ink.

The operation is a preliminary discharge operation having a larger number of firings than the normal preliminary discharge operation. However, the normal preliminary discharge operation whose main purpose is to prevent ink thickening by periodically discharging the ink. The purpose is different from the operation.

For the purpose, the normal preliminary discharge operation is required at a frequency of about once every several lines.
It is appropriate to perform the process once every several tens to several hundred lines as long as the dispersion destruction can be removed from the ink discharge port.

The wiping operation in the middle recovery operation is to prevent a part of a large amount of ink ejected during the middle recovery operation from adhering to the ink ejection surface of the head and adversely affecting printing. The wiping operation is performed in the same manner as in the case of the large recovery operation to bring the ink ejection port surface into a normal state.

Next, when the ink type is a disperse dye ink,
Device is performed as soon as power is supplied to the main body, thereafter keep describes the procedure of the ink stirring operation to be performed for each recording in a predetermined set time T ₁ in accordance with the flow of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 9, in this flow started by turning on the power supply of the apparatus, first, in step S21, initialization is performed for all functional members related to recording such as electric system and temperature control of the recording head, and recording standby is performed in step S22. And recording is started in step S23. In addition, simultaneously with the above-described initialization, step S2
4, the main tank (FIG. 3) was obtained under the conditions shown in item 8 above.
When the stirring operation of 101) is performed and the stirring is completed, time measurement for the next stirring operation is started in step S25, and the process proceeds to step S26. And wherein, whether exceeds a predetermined limit time T ₁ that the counted time T is previously set is determined, in the case of affirmative main tank 1 again step S27
After performing the stirring of No. 01, the process returns to step S25. Also, completion negative, that is, when the measured time T is less than the predetermined limit time T ₁ is determined is whether further or willing recording has ended step S28, the flow if the end of the determination in step S26 I do. If not completed, step S2
Returning to step 6, the following steps are repeated.

FIG. 1 shows a procedure for setting the respective operating conditions shown in 3 to 9 according to the ink types 1 and 2 according to the present invention. Such setting also starts the recording operation. Is performed in advance. The operating conditions corresponding to the ink type are appropriately set within the range indicated by 3 to 9 depending on the type of the ink. The procedure of each control operation according to the present invention is also stored in the storage means ROM of the control circuit 15. Furthermore, the designation or determination of the ink type
This may be performed by an input by the user from the input unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 or by reading from an ink tank or the like.

In FIG. 1, when the power of the apparatus main body is turned on, the ink type is determined in step S100 as described above. In the present embodiment, since two types of reactive dye ink and disperse dye ink are used, the following flow is performed in accordance therewith. Note that FIG. 1 shows that each step within the range outlined is related to the present invention.

In step S200, the type of ink is determined, that is, whether the ink to be used is a reactive dye ink or a disperse dye ink. If it is determined that the ink is a reactive dye ink, the process proceeds to step S300. If it is determined that the ink is a disperse dye ink, the process proceeds to step S400, and the conditions described in the respective frames are set. The operating conditions described above are set in the ranges indicated by 3 to 9 above, and among these operations, the ink stirring operation is performed in the case of a dispersed dye ink in which the ink dye is likely to aggregate or settle. Limited. Thus, step S30
Step S after the condition is set in 0 or S400
At 500, parameter selection processing for each operation is performed, and the process proceeds to step S600 to move to a recording operation.

The ink type judging means changes the shape of the ink inlet 109 of the ink supply container 110 for supplying ink to the main tank 101 according to the ink type as shown in FIG. It may be of a type that can be mechanically detected by the fitting state of the ink inlet 109 and the ink receiving port of the main tank 101, or the type of the ink in the main tank can be determined by optics, electrical conductivity, wettability, viscosity, surface tension, pH, etc. May be provided.

In the embodiment described above, two kinds of inks, that is, the reactive dye ink and the disperse dye ink are selected. However, the present invention is applied to such a case.
It is not limited to the type of ink, but may be a selection between other types, and it goes without saying that the number of types is not limited to two.

The present invention is widely applied not only to printing but also to general recording.

[0056]

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, whether the type of recording ink ejected from the recording head is a disperse dye ink containing a disperse dye or a reactive dye ink containing a reactive dye is input and set. And / or conditions for driving the recording head, preliminary discharge operation by the recovery means, and stirring by the ink stirring means, depending on whether the ink type is a disperse dye ink or a reactive dye ink. Control means for controlling, depending on whether the ink type is a disperse dye ink or a reactive dye ink, the number of ejections of ink in a preliminary ejection operation performed every time a predetermined amount of recording is performed, and Only when the ink type is a disperse dye ink, the preliminary ejection operation is performed every time the ink is stirred by the ink stirring means and the recording of an amount larger than a predetermined amount is performed. Since it is performed further, the conditions of the printing operation and the operation of maintaining and recovering the function of the print head are automatically set under the conditions that match the characteristics of the ink used, according to the type of ink used, and the setting is performed. By performing the recording and the recovery operation on the recording head under the set conditions, different types of inks can be efficiently used under the optimum use condition, and an ink jet recording apparatus particularly suitable for textile printing is provided. It became possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a basic control operation for parameter selection according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a configuration according to the present invention, together with a perspective view of a recording unit.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a recording head ink supply system, a forced circulation and an ink stirring device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement of a recording head function maintenance and recovery device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing in cross section a configuration of a cleaning procedure applied to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the entire configuration of the cleaning unit shown in FIG. 5 in a cross section in a direction orthogonal to the carriage scanning direction.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of a wiping operation by the cleaning means shown in FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a wiping operation by the cleaning means shown in FIGS. 5 to 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a main tank stirring operation applied to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 2, 2C, 2M, 2Y, 2Bk Recording head 5 (Belt drive) Pulse motor 6 Recording material (recording sheet) 9 Conveyance motor 11C, 11M, 11Y, 11Bk Ink tank (sub tank) 15 Control circuit 16 Temperature detection Means 17 Head heater 19 Power supply 20 Capping means 21 Cap member 22 Cap driver 23, 23C, 23M, 23Y, 23Bk Ink ejection port 24 Capping position detection sensor 25 Pre-discharge position detection sensor 26 Recording start position detection sensor 30 Cleaning means 31 Cleaning Member 32 Suction pump 33 Holder 37 Cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 38 Cleaning liquid tank 39 Cleaning liquid 41 Solenoid valve 42 Receiving tray 50 Clogging prevention means 51 Liquid receiving unit 60 Stirring member driving source (stirring motor) 61 Ink stirring means 101 Main tank C 103 (for supply) pump 104 Pressure pump

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page Examiner Yoshinobu Nakamura (56) References JP-A-3-67657 (JP, A) JP-A-6-155758 (JP, A) JP-A 5-229140 (JP, A) JP-A-3-146356 (JP, A) JP-A-7-117223 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/01 B41J 2/175 B41K 2/21

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An ink is ejected by heating with a heater.
Tank that stores ink using a recording head
From the recording head to the fabric
To an ink jet recording apparatus for recording, an ink stirring means for stirring the ink in the ink tank
Discharges ink from the recording head every time a predetermined amount of recording is performed.
The recording head is recovered by performing a preliminary ejection operation for ejecting the recording head.
And recovery means for, ink type for recording to be discharged from the recording head is dispersed
Disperse dye ink containing dye or reaction containing reactive dye
An input and / or identifiable ink type recognition means whether the sex dye ink, the reactive or the ink kind is the disperse dye ink
Driving the recording head according to whether it is a dye ink
Conditions and the preliminary ejection operation by the recovery means and the
Control means for controlling stirring by the ink stirring means.
The control means controls whether the ink type is the disperse dye ink.
Depending on whether the ink is a reactive dye ink.
The ink in the preliminary ejection operation performed every time a predetermined amount of recording is performed
The number of ink ejections and the ink type
Only in the case of disperse dye ink, the ink stirring means
Agitation of ink and recording of an amount larger than the predetermined amount.
An ink jet recording apparatus , wherein the control is performed such that the preliminary ejection operation is further performed each time the operation is performed . Wherein output ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 in which the output gamma table for correcting the image signal, characterized in that it is set to the ink type. Wherein the recording head is also claim 1 and having an electrothermal transducer for generating thermal energy as an element for generating energy for ejecting ink
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2 . Wherein said recording head, wherein the different has a plurality of ejecting elements the color inks to be ejected for each color, by the different colors of ink in response to the ink kind is capable of color recording What is claimed in claims 1 to 3
An ink jet recording apparatus according to any of the preceding claims.