JP3530635B2 - Recording method and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording method and an apparatus therefor, and more particularly to a recording method and apparatus for ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle of an ink jet recording head onto a recording medium according to image information for recording. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet apparatus, a recording head is used to form an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from the tips (orifices) of a plurality of nozzles provided in the recording head according to image information. Are doing.
Here, the “image” referred to in the present application includes characters and symbols in addition to ordinary images. This inkjet recording head is typically composed of a plurality of nozzles that communicate with a plurality of orifices, a common liquid chamber that communicates with the plurality of nozzles in common, and an ink tank that supplies ink to the common liquid chamber. Has been done. Further, a heating resistor is formed in each of the plurality of nozzles as a heat energy generating means for generating heat energy used for heating the ink and ejecting it as a droplet from the orifice.

In the recording head having the above-mentioned structure, dissolved air in the ink may be generated as bubbles when bubbles are formed on the heating resistor. For example, when a recording operation is continuously performed for a long time, dissolved air bubbles may stay in a common liquid chamber in the recording head and hinder the ink supply to the nozzles. Dissolved air bubbles are more likely to be generated as the temperature inside the recording head is higher, and if they occur, they cause ejection failure of ink droplets during recording operation.

Therefore, in order to prevent such defective ejection of ink droplets from occurring, the following three conventional methods are typically used.
As in the two cases, the suction pump was operated to suck the dissolved air bubbles in the nozzle and forcibly discharge them outside the nozzle.
That is, (1) a suction operation that is automatically performed when the recording head is attached to the printer, and (2) JP-A-60-2368.
As disclosed in JP-A-63-193846, in order to prevent thickening and sticking of the ink in the orifice portion during a recording operation suspension for a long period of time, it is periodically performed according to the suspension time. An automatic suction operation, and (3) a manual suction operation that is operated at the user's discretion when good image quality cannot be obtained due to defective ink ejection or the like.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when continuous recording operation is performed for a long time, it is possible to prevent defective ejection of liquid droplets caused by staying of dissolved air bubbles in the recording head. There was a problem that it was difficult. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and provides a recording method and a recording apparatus that can obtain good image quality without causing defective ejection of droplets even during continuous recording operation for a long time. With the goal.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the recording method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, based on the input image signal, ink is ejected from the inkjet recording head by utilizing thermal energy, image recording is performed on the recording medium, preliminary ink ejection irrelevant to the image recording is performed, and the recording head This is a recording method that recovers the suction of nozzles. Automatic suction that is automatically performed according to the rest time when the print head is attached to the printer or when the recording operation is stopped, or manual suction that is operated by the user's judgment is executed. Suction step, a reset step of resetting a cumulative value of the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head after the suction step is performed, a temperature measuring step of measuring a temperature in the recording head, the image In recording and preliminary ink ejection, a counting step of counting the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head, and a temperature measuring step A correction step of correcting the number of ink droplets counted in the counting step based on the determined temperature; and a reset step of resetting the number of ink droplets counted in the counting step and corrected in the correction step. The suction recovery is performed in accordance with an accumulation step of accumulating from the point of time, a comparison step of comparing the number of ink droplets accumulated in the accumulation step with a predetermined threshold, and a comparison result in the comparison step. And a control step of controlling the recording method.

According to another aspect of the invention, based on an input image signal, thermal energy is used to eject ink from an ink jet recording head to record an image on a recording medium.
Preliminary ink ejection irrelevant to the image recording is performed, and suction recovery of the nozzles of the recording head is automatically performed according to the pause time when the recording head is attached or when the recording operation is stopped, or manually at the user's discretion. A recording apparatus for performing, after resetting suction automatically or manually, resetting means for resetting a cumulative value of the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head, and a temperature in the recording head. Temperature measuring means, counting means for counting the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head by the image recording and preliminary ink ejection, and the counting means based on the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means. Correction means for correcting the number of ink droplets counted by the counting means, and counting by the counting means and corrected by the correcting means. Accumulating means for accumulating the number of ink droplets from the time when the resetting means is performed, comparing means for comparing the number of ink droplets accumulated by the accumulating means with a predetermined threshold value, and the comparing means. And a control unit for controlling the suction recovery according to the comparison result.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, the present invention operates by automatically sucking the ink jet recording head using thermal energy in accordance with the rest time when the ink jet recording head is attached to the printer or when the recording operation is stopped, or by the user's judgment. Manual suction is performed, and after that suction is performed, the cumulative value of the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head is reset,
The number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head is counted, the counted number of ink droplets is corrected based on the measured temperature of the recording head, and the corrected number of ink droplets is reset. Is accumulated from the point of time when is performed, the accumulated value is compared with a predetermined threshold value, and suction recovery of the nozzles of the recording head is controlled according to the comparison result.

[0009]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First Embodiment <Schematic Description of Apparatus Main Body> FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the outline of the configuration of an inkjet printer IJRA that is a typical embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the driving force transmission gear 500 is interlocked with the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013.
Lead screw 500 rotating through 9-5011
The carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of No. 5 has pins (not shown), and guide rails 5 in the directions of arrows a and b.
It is guided by 003 and moves back and forth. The carriage HC is equipped with an integrated ink jet cartridge IJC having an ink tank IT and a recording head IJC built therein. A paper pressing plate 5002 presses the recording paper P against the platen 5000 in the moving direction of the carriage. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote photocouplers, which are home position detection sensors for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this area and switching the rotation direction of the drive motor 5013.

Reference numeral 5016 is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head IJH.
Reference numeral 15 denotes a suction device that sucks and discharges dissolved air bubbles and residual ink accumulated in the nozzles of the recording head IJC by suctioning the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through the opening 5023 in the cap. Reference numeral 5017 is a cleaning blade, and 5019 is a member that allows this blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these are supported by a main body support plate 5018. Needless to say, a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this example instead of this form.

Reference numeral 5021 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, which is a cam 5020 engaging with the carriage.
And the driving force from the drive motor 5013 is controlled by a known transmission mechanism such as clutch switching. The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured such that desired processing can be performed at their corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage HC comes to the area on the home position side, but at known timing. Any one can be applied to this example as long as a desired operation is performed.

Next, a control configuration for executing the recording control of the above-mentioned apparatus will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit of the inkjet printer IJRA. In the figure showing a control circuit, 1700 is an interface for inputting a recording signal, 1701 is an MPU, 1
Reference numeral 702 is a ROM that stores a control program executed by the MPU 1701, and 1703 is a DR that stores various types of data (the above-described recording signals and recording data supplied to the head).
AM. A gate array 1704 controls the supply of print data to the print head IJH, and also controls data transfer between the interface 1700, the MPU 1701, and the RAM 1703. Reference numeral 1710 is a carrier motor for carrying the ink cartridge IJC containing the recording head IJH by the carriage HC, and 1709 is a carrying motor for carrying the recording paper. 1705 is a recording head I
Head drivers for driving the JH, 1706 and 1707 are a transport motor 1709 and a carrier motor 1710, respectively.
Is a motor driver for driving the. Also, 171
Reference numeral 1 denotes an EEPROM for holding information necessary for controlling suction operation, which will be described later, even when the printer is powered off.

The operation of the above control structure will be described. When a recording signal is input to the interface 1700, the gate array 17
The print signal is converted between the print signal 04 and the MPU 1701 to print data for printing. Then, the motor driver 17
06 and 1707 are driven, and the head driver 1
The print head IJH according to the print data sent to 705.
Is driven and recording is performed.

Further, the control circuit controls the timing at which the suction recovery operation by the suction device 5015 is performed.
Now, the recording head IJH of this embodiment is provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink, which are arranged in the transport direction of the recording paper P. Each ink droplet ejected from each nozzle corresponds to one pixel (dot) in image formation.

Next, the suction recovery control process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. It is assumed that the EEPROM 1711 stores the total number of ink droplets (total recording dot number: B) ejected from the recording head IJH by the recording operation after the suction recovery operation. In the present embodiment, when bubbles are formed on the heating resistor in the recording head, the dissolved air in the ink becomes bubbles, and when the recording operation is continuously performed for a long time, the dissolved air bubbles are generated in the recording head. Of the ink droplets during the recording operation, which is caused by staying in the common liquid chamber of the
Paying attention to the fact that it depends on the total number of bubble formations on the heating resistor, that is, the total number B of recording dots, the suction recovery operation is controlled according to the value of the total number B of recording dots.

First, in step S10, suction recovery is performed by the suction device 5015. Even in this step, first, the suction conditions listed in the prior art as the operation conditions of the suction device (1) the suction operation that is automatically performed when the recording head is attached to the printer, (2) JP-A-60-2368, and JP-A-60-2368 63-
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 193846, in order to prevent thickening and sticking of ink in the orifice portion during a recording operation suspension for a long period of time, an automatic suction operation periodically performed according to the suspension time, (3) When good image quality cannot be obtained due to defective ink ejection or the like, suction recovery is performed at the timing of the manual suction operation operated by the user's judgment. Next, in step S20, since the suction recovery is performed, EE
The value of the total recording dot number B stored in the PROM 1711 is reset to "0".

Next, at step 30, a recording operation is executed. Further subsequently, in step S40, in step S30
The number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head IJH (the number of recording dots: A) is counted during the recording operation. In this embodiment, the MPU 1701 uses the interface 170.
On the basis of the recording signal input via 0, the number of dots that will cause ink ejection is counted. Therefore,
The counted value is regarded as the recording dot number A.
It should be noted that the value of the number of recording dots A is desirable in the sense that the total number of dots ejected from the recording head IJH makes fine recovery, but instead, the number of recording sheets P on which an image is recorded × the number of recording sheets P per recording sheet. It may be a representative value such as the average total number of recorded dots, or some other value that can be easily counted during the recording operation. After that, in step S50, the number of recording dots A counted in step S30 is added to the value of the total number of recording dots B stored in the EEPROM 1711, and the value after the addition is set as a new total number of recording dots B. To do. Then, the new total recording dot number B is written in the EEPROM 1711 to update the old value.

Further, in step S60, the total number of recorded dots B is compared with a predetermined threshold value (C). Here, if B <C, it is determined that it is not time to discharge the recording droplet due to the retention of the dissolved air bubbles due to the continuous recording operation, and the process returns to step S30 to continue the recording operation. On the other hand, in the case of B ≧ C, it is determined that it is time to discharge the recording droplets due to the retention of the dissolved air bubbles due to the continuous recording operation, and the process returns to step S10 to perform the suction recovery operation. By this operation, it is possible to prevent dissolved air bubbles from staying in the common liquid chamber in the recording head and causing defective ejection of recording droplets even during continuous recording operation for a long time.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head is counted and accumulated for each recording operation, and suction recovery is performed when the accumulated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Since the operation is performed, proper suction recovery is performed even when the continuous recording operation is performed for a long time, it is possible to eliminate defective ejection of droplets, and it is possible to maintain high-quality image recording.

In this embodiment, the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head is counted for each recording operation, but the present invention is not limited to this. Compared with the above-mentioned embodiment, the following control is more preferable from the standpoint of performing fine and appropriate recovery. That is, in order to perform the recording operation more stably, for example, when the apparatus power is turned on, other than the actual recording operation,
There is a case where the recording head is moved to the home position and ink is ejected when there is no recording operation for a predetermined time or more even when the power is turned on (this is called preliminary ejection). Since ink droplets are ejected even in such an operation, ink droplets are counted in the preliminary ejection operation, and this count number is accumulated in the count number obtained from the actual recording operation, and the accumulated number is accumulated. It is also possible to control the execution of the suction recovery operation based on this value. Further, the MPU 1701 counts the number of dots for which preliminary ejection is performed based on the dummy print data generated by the MPU 1701.

<Second Embodiment> In this embodiment, attention is paid to the fact that dissolved air bubbles in the recording head nozzle are more likely to be generated at higher temperatures, and a temperature sensor is provided in the recording head, and the temperature is measured according to the temperature sensor. A case where the suction recovery operation is performed will be described. The mechanical configuration of the printer used in this embodiment is the same as that described in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control circuit according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted here. As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the temperature sensor 1712 is built in the recording head, and the measurement result is transferred to the MPU 1701. Next, the suction recovery control process according to the present embodiment executed by the printer having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, process steps common to those described in the first embodiment are designated by the same step reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Here, only the process characteristic of the present embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, steps S10 to S30.
After performing the process of step S40,
At the same time, in step S45, the internal temperature of the printhead IJH is measured by the temperature sensor 1712, and this measured value is set to D. On the other hand, EEPROM1711 or ROM1
A weight table (Table 1) representing the relationship between the temperature (D) and the weight coefficient (W (D)) for the number A of recorded dots is stored in 702.

[0024]

[Table 1] Note that, in Table 1, if it is considered that the dissolved air bubbles in the recording head nozzles are more likely to be generated at higher temperatures, D
If 1 <D2 <... <Dn, the relationship of W1 <W2 <... <Wn is established.

Next, in step S46, the most appropriate weighting coefficient (W) for the measured temperature (D) is retrieved and acquired from the weighting table shown in Table 1, and in step S47, the recording dots counted in step S40 are recorded. The number A is multiplied by the obtained weighting coefficient (W) to obtain the number of effective recording dots (AE). Then, in step S55, the EEPROM 17
The effective recording dot number AE obtained in step S47 is added to the value of the total recording dot number B stored in 11,
The value after the addition is set as the new total number B of recorded dots. And
The old value is updated by writing the new total recording dot number B in the EEPROM 1711.

[0026]

Finally, in the process of step S60, it is determined whether the recording operation is continuously continued or the suction recovery operation is executed as in the first embodiment. It goes without saying that the values stored in the weight table and the temperature estimation table used in the above processing are values that take into consideration variations due to product quality among devices.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, appropriate suction recovery control depending on the temperature in the recording head is performed, defective ejection of droplets can be eliminated, and higher quality image recording can be maintained. it can. <Third Embodiment> In the above two embodiments, the type of print head (for example, a color print head, a monochrome print head, etc.) was not taken into consideration, but in the present embodiment, suction recovery in consideration of the type. The control will be described.

For example, when the printer can use a plurality of types of recording heads, the tendency of dissolved air bubbles to stay in each recording head depends on the design of the common liquid chamber, the nozzle, the heater, etc. Since it is different, the printer is provided with a sensor capable of distinguishing the type of the recording head or the ink cartridge, while the EEPROM or the ROM is provided with a correction coefficient, a correction term, a threshold value, or the like according to the type of the recording head or the ink cartridge. A numerical value is stored, and a predetermined threshold value corrected by a correction coefficient or a correction term is used for actual comparison with the total number of print dots according to the type of print head or ink cartridge installed in the printer. Or, by using a threshold value according to the type, depending on the type of print head or ink cartridge The become characteristic performs suction recovery control in consideration.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control circuit according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same components as those described in the above two embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the recording head has a built-in resistor 1713 having a specific resistance value (Ri) according to the type, as a sensor for distinguishing the type of the recording head. When the ink cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC,
The MPU 1701 controls so that a weak current flows through the resistor 1713, and as a result, the MPU 1701 identifies the type of print head based on the voltage value corresponding to the resistance value of the resistor 1713 obtained. In this embodiment, n types of recording heads can be identified.

In this embodiment, the EEPROM 1711 stores n threshold values (Ci; i = 1, n) 1711a as shown in FIG. There is. In the actual suction recovery control process, MP is changed according to the type of ink cartridge (recording head) to be mounted.
The U1701 selects and uses one of the n threshold values stored in the EEPROM 1711.

Next, the suction recovery control process according to the present embodiment executed by the printer having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 8 as well, the same process reference numbers are assigned to the same process steps as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.
Only the processing characteristic of the present embodiment will be described here. First, in step S2, it is checked whether or not the recording head has been replaced. Here, if the print head is not replaced, the process proceeds to step S70 described later. On the other hand, if the print head is replaced, the process proceeds to step S.
4, the voltage value (Vi) based on the resistance value (Ri) of the resistor 1713 built in the mounted recording head is measured, and in step S6, the type of recording head is determined based on the measured voltage value. To determine. Next, step S
In No. 8, according to the discriminated type of recording head, EEP
The threshold value (Ci) is read from the ROM 1711 and set as the threshold value used in the suction recovery control process. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10.

After the processing of steps S10 to S50, the total number of recorded dots B is compared with the selected threshold value (Ci) in step S60a. Here, if B <Ci, it is determined that it is not time to discharge the recording liquid droplets due to the retention of dissolved air bubbles due to the continuous recording operation, and the process proceeds to step S70 to continue the recording operation. Exists, and if a recording signal exists, the process returns to step S30 to continue the recording operation.
On the other hand, if there is no recording signal, the process proceeds to step S2.
Return to.

On the other hand, if B ≧ Ci, the process returns to step S10 and the suction recovery operation is performed as in the first embodiment. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the suction recovery control can be performed by monitoring the timing of replacement of the print head and setting the threshold value according to the type of the replacement print head when the print head is replaced.

Further, by combining the second to third embodiments, the apparatus may be configured to perform suction recovery control depending on the temperature inside the recording head and the type of the recording head to be mounted. The above-described embodiment is provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) that generates thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in the inkjet recording system, and the ink is generated by the thermal energy. It is possible to achieve high density recording and high definition recording by using the method of causing the state change.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
Applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which the liquid crystal is held, which corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise that causes film boiling. Causes heat energy to be generated in the electrothermal converter to cause film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording head, and as a result, bubbles are formed in the liquid (ink) in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. It is effective because it can be done.
The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal in a pulse shape, because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed. As the structure of the recording head, in addition to the combination structure (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) of the ejection port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting surface is also provided. Alternatively, a configuration using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 or US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which the element is arranged in a bending region, may be used. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slot is used as a discharge portion of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is discharged. A configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to each section, may be adopted.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be increased by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either of the structure satisfying the requirement or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used. In addition, the ink is integrated into the replaceable chip-type recording head, or the recording head itself, which can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can supply ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. A cartridge-type recording head provided with a tank may be used.

Further, in order to make the recording operation more stable, a pressurizing means for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a preheating means by a combination thereof is added to the structure of the recording apparatus. Is preferable. Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally configured or a plurality of combinations may be used. It is also possible that the device is provided with at least one of full color.

In the above-described embodiments, the explanation is made on the assumption that the ink is a liquid. However, even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or below, or if it softens or liquefies at room temperature, it may be used. Or, in the ink jet system, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. It is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when a signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy from being used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state,
Alternatively, in order to prevent the ink from evaporating, an ink that solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, by applying heat energy, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink is retained as a liquid or solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. It may be configured to face the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to a recording apparatus provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further transmission / reception It may take the form of a facsimile machine having a function. The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately perform suction recovery of the nozzles of the recording head according to the usage status of the recording head, and thereby to continuously perform the recording operation for a long time. Even when the recording is performed, the recording head is appropriately sucked and recovered, and there is an effect that defective ink ejection is eliminated and high-quality image recording can be maintained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the outline of the configuration of an inkjet printer IJRA according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit of the inkjet printer IJRA.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing suction recovery control processing.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing suction recovery control processing according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an EE storing a plurality of threshold values according to the third embodiment.
It is a figure which shows the internal storage area of PROM.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing suction recovery control processing according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1700 interface 1701 MPU 1702 ROM 1703 DRAM 1704 Gate Array (GA) 1705 head driver 1706, 1707 Motor driver 1709 transport motor 1710 Carrier motor 1711 EEPROM 1712 Temperature sensor 1713 resistance 5015 Aspirator IJC ink cartridge IJH recording head IH ink tank

Continued front page       (56) Reference JP-A-2-141249 (JP, A)                 JP-A-6-358846 (JP, A)                 JP-A-6-122206 (JP, A)                 JP-A-4-141442 (JP, A)                 JP-A-5-92579 (JP, A)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. Thermal energy based on an input image signal
A recording method in which ink is ejected from an ink jet recording head by using the method, image recording is performed on a recording medium, preliminary ink ejection not related to the image recording is performed, and suction recovery of nozzles of the recording head is performed. , Automatic suction that is automatically performed according to the rest time when the print head is attached to the printer or when the print operation is stopped,
Alternatively, a suction step of executing manual suction operated by a user's judgment, a reset step of resetting a cumulative value of the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head after the suction step is performed, and A temperature measuring step of measuring a temperature, a counting step of counting the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head in the image recording and the preliminary ink ejection, and based on the temperature measured in the temperature measuring step,
A correction step of correcting the number of ink droplets counted in the counting step, and a number of ink droplets counted in the counting step and corrected in the correction step is accumulated from the time when the reset step is performed. An accumulation step, a comparison step of comparing the number of ink droplets accumulated in the accumulation step with a predetermined threshold value, and a control step of controlling to perform the suction recovery according to the comparison result in the comparison step. Recording method characterized by. 2. Thermal energy based on an input image signal
Is used to eject ink from an inkjet recording head to record an image on a recording medium, perform preliminary ink ejection unrelated to the image recording, and recover suction of nozzles of the recording head at the time of mounting the recording head. A recording device that is automatically performed according to a pause time during a pause of a recording operation or manually according to a user's judgment, and after the suction recovery performed automatically or manually,
Reset means for resetting the cumulative value of the number of ink droplets ejected from the recording head; temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature inside the recording head; and ejection from the recording head by the image recording and preliminary ink ejection. Counting means for counting the number of ink droplets to be formed, based on the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means,
Correction means for correcting the number of ink droplets counted by the counting means, and the number of ink droplets counted by the counting means and corrected by the correcting means from the time when the reset means resets the number. Accumulating means for accumulating; comparing means for comparing the number of ink droplets accumulated by the accumulating means with a predetermined threshold; and controlling means for controlling the suction recovery according to the comparison result by the comparing means. A recording device characterized by having. Wherein the recording head is interchangeable, identifying means for identifying a type of the recording head, according to the type of the recording head, correct the predetermined threshold value
Storage means for storing the correction information, the correction information stored in the storage means using the Symbol
According to the type of recording head, the first threshold value is corrected.
3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: 2 correction means , wherein the control means controls the suction recovery according to the type of the recording head identified by the identification means. 4. The storage means is a ROM or an EE
The recording device according to claim 3 , which is a PROM.