JP4320541B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus that can stably discharge ink by changing the ink suction force in a purge device in accordance with the remaining amount of ink.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium by reciprocating in a main scanning direction a carriage equipped with an ink tank that stores ink and an ink jet head that discharges ink in the ink tank onto the recording medium. A color ink jet printer is known. In this color ink jet printer, a purge process for recovering the ink discharge state by sucking high viscosity ink, air, or the like from nozzles formed on the ink discharge surface is performed.
[0003]
In this purge process, a purge cap formed in a substantially box shape is brought into contact with the ink discharge surface in which the nozzles of the ink jet head are formed to form a sealed space with the ink discharge surface. The sealed space is depressurized by a suction pump connected to a purge cap, and ink, air, or the like having increased viscosity is sucked from the nozzle. The ink having a high viscosity is stored in the purge cap together with the ink, and is discharged from a discharge port formed in the purge cap. Thus, the ink ejection state is recovered.
[0004]
However, the suction pump in this purge process is controlled so as to suck ink or air having a high viscosity from the nozzle with a relatively high suction force, assuming that non-ejection in a considerably bad situation is recovered. . Therefore, when the amount of ink stored in the ink tank becomes small, that is, when a large amount of air exists in the ink tank, the air is sucked to the ink jet head side by the high suction force of the suction pump. There is a problem that the discharge of ink in the subsequent printing process is unstable due to the air.
[0005]
On the other hand, Japanese Patent No. 2564833 includes detection means for detecting a state immediately before the end of ink in the ink tank, and after a signal is output from the detection means, purge to the control means for executing the purge processing is performed. A technique for disabling the output of the command signal is disclosed. Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, it may be considered that the purge process is stopped immediately before the ink in the ink tank is finished.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No. 2564833
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the execution of the purge process is stopped immediately before the ink in the ink tank ends as described above, the ink tank is prevented from sucking the air above the ink tank even with a relatively high suction force of the suction pump. The state where a predetermined amount of ink is left must be set immediately before the end. Even if ink remains in this way, the inkjet head wants to insert a purge process in order to avoid ink viscosity increase and non-ejection due to air, but the purge process sucks air as described above. In order to avoid doing that, the ink tank must eventually be replaced.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and pays attention to the fact that non-ejection can be recovered even with a relatively weak suction force, and the ink suction force in the purge device is changed according to the remaining amount of ink. Change to enable the purging process to be performed without sucking the air in the ink tank to the ink jet head side even when the remaining amount of ink is low, and continue printing using the ink remaining in the ink tank effectively An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing the above.
[0009]
  In order to achieve this object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 includes an ink tank for storing ink, an ink jet head for recording on a recording medium by discharging the ink stored in the ink tank, and A purge device that sucks ink from the nozzles formed in the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head and restores the ink ejection state, and has a display unit that displays information about the ink tank, and is used An operation panel that can be operated by a person to cause the purge device to suck ink from the nozzle, and an operation for causing the purge device to suck ink from the nozzle from the operation panel are predetermined. Operation determination means for determining whether or not it has been performed twice or more in time, and ink for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank And the amount detection means,When the operation is performed from the operation panel and when it is determined that the ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means is equal to or greater than a predetermined remaining amount, the suction force of the purge device is used as the first suction. When the operation is performed from the operation panel, and it is determined that the ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means is less than a predetermined remaining amount, the suction force of the purge device is reduced. The purge device is changed to a second suction force that is smaller than the first suction force, and causes the purge device to suck ink from the nozzles.The ink remaining amount is less than a predetermined remaining amount by the suction force changing means and the ink remaining amount detecting means, and the operation determining means performs the operation of sucking ink from the nozzles twice or more within a predetermined time. If it is determined that the ink tank has been replaced, the display unit includes information display means for displaying information indicating that the ink tank is to be replaced.
[0010]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, the ink is sucked from the nozzles formed in the ink discharge surface of the ink jet head for recording on the recording medium by the purge device to recover the ink discharge state. When the purge process is executed, the ink suction force in the purge device is changed according to the ink remaining amount remaining in the ink tank detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not the remaining amount of ink detected by the remaining ink amount detecting unit is less than a predetermined remaining amount. The suction force changing means determines the suction force of the purge device when the ink remaining amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount when the determining means determines that the ink remaining amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount. The first suction force is changed to a second suction force that is smaller than the first suction force.
[0012]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, the operation is the same as that of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, and the purge is performed when the determination means determines that the remaining ink amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount. The suction force of the apparatus is changed from the first suction force when the ink remaining amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined remaining amount to the second suction force that is smaller than the first suction force.
[0013]
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the less than the predetermined remaining amount determined by the determining means means that air from the ink tank is used when the first suction force is used. The second suction force sucks air from the ink tank even when the ink remaining amount in the ink tank is substantially the predetermined remaining amount. It is a suction force that does not do.
[0014]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect, in addition to acting in the same manner as the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second aspect, there is a possibility that air is sucked from the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank by the first suction force. When a certain state is reached, the second suction force that does not suck air is changed.
[0015]
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4,3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the purge device is in contact with an ink discharge surface of an ink jet head having the nozzle formed therein, and forms a sealed space with the ink discharge surface. A suction pump for depressurizing a sealed space formed by the cap and the ink discharge surface and sucking ink from a nozzle formed on the ink discharge surface; and a drive source for driving the suction pump; The force changing means determines the rotation speed of the drive source for driving the suction pump when the ink remaining amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount, and the first rotation when the ink remaining amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined remaining amount. By changing the number to a second rotational speed that is less than the first rotational speed, the suction force of the purge device is changed from the first suction force to a second suction force that is smaller than the first suction force. To change to the force.
[0016]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the fourth aspect,The ink ejecting state is the same as that of the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, and the ink is sucked from the nozzles formed in the ink ejection surface of the ink jet head for recording on the recording medium by the purge device. When the purge process for recovering the ink is performed, the purge cap is moved in the direction in contact with the ink discharge surface to form a sealed space with the ink discharge surface. Then, the sealed space is decompressed by a suction pump connected to the purge cap, and ink is sucked from the nozzle formed on the ink discharge surface. Here, when the ink remaining amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount, the rotation speed of the drive source for driving the suction pump is the first rotation number from the first rotation number when the ink remaining amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined remaining amount. The rotation speed is changed to a second rotation speed less than the rotation speed. Therefore, the suction force of the suction pump that operates according to the rotational speed of the drive source is changed from the first suction force when the remaining amount of ink is equal to or greater than the predetermined remaining amount to the second suction force that is smaller than the first suction force. Be changed.
[0017]
An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5From 14One ofIn the ink jet recording apparatus, the ink remaining amount detecting unit includes a counting unit that counts an ink consumption amount of consumed ink, and the ink remaining amount detection unit is configured to remain in the ink tank based on the ink consumption amount counted by the counting unit. Detect the remaining ink level.
[0018]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 5,From 14One ofThe ink remaining amount is detected based on the ink consumption counted by the counting means.
[0019]
[0020]
[0021]
[0022]
[0023]
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a color ink jet printer 1 as an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the color inkjet printer 1 includes an ink cartridge (ink tank) 61 filled with, for example, four color inks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and an inkjet head 6 for printing on a sheet 62. A head unit 63, a carriage 64 on which the ink cartridge 61 and the head unit 63 are mounted, a drive unit 65 that reciprocates the carriage 64 in a linear direction, and an ink jet head 6 that extends in the reciprocating direction of the carriage 64. A platen roller 66 and a purge device 67 disposed to face each other are provided.
[0025]
The drive unit 65 includes a carriage shaft 71 disposed at the lower end portion of the carriage 64 and extending in parallel with the platen roller 66, a guide plate 72 disposed at the upper end portion of the carriage 64 and extending in parallel with the carriage shaft 71, and the carriage shaft. 71 and a guide plate 72, and two pulleys 73 and 74 disposed at both ends of the carriage shaft 71, and an endless belt 75 spanned between the pulleys 73 and 74.
[0026]
When one pulley 73 is rotated forward and backward by driving the motor 101 (see FIG. 2), the carriage 64 joined to the endless belt 75 is moved along the carriage shaft along with the forward and reverse rotation of the pulley 73. 71 and the guide plate 72 are reciprocated in a linear direction.
[0027]
The inkjet head 6 is formed in a substantially box shape below the head unit 63, and an ink ejection surface 6 a having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink is provided on the bottom surface of the inkjet head 6. The plurality of nozzles provided on the ink discharge surface 6a are perforated in parallel in four rows corresponding to the four color inks, and the ink discharged from the nozzles is defined by 1 for each color. It is discharged from the nozzle row of the row. The ink discharge surface 6 a is formed toward the platen roller 66 side vertically below, and is formed substantially parallel to the moving direction of the carriage 64 that moves with the inkjet head 6 mounted thereon.
[0028]
The paper 62 is fed from a paper feed cassette (not shown) provided on the side of the color ink jet printer 1 by driving the LF motor 103 (see FIG. 2), and the ink discharge surface 6a of the ink jet head 6 and the platen. It is introduced between the rollers 66. The paper 62 is printed with ink ejected from a plurality of nozzles formed in the ink ejection surface 6a, and then ejected. In FIG. 1, the paper feed mechanism and paper discharge mechanism for the paper 62 are not shown.
[0029]
On the side of the platen roller 66 along the moving direction of the carriage 64, there is a purge device 67 that discharges highly viscous ink or air that closes the nozzles and performs a purge process to restore a good discharge state. Is provided. The purge device 67 is disposed so as to face the inkjet head 6 when the head unit 63 is at the purge execution position, and includes a purge cap 81, a suction pump 82 and a cam 83, and an ink reservoir 84. ing.
[0030]
The purge cap 81 is configured to be movable up and down in the direction of arrow A and in the direction opposite to the arrow A by rotation of the cam 83, and abuts on the ink discharge surface 6a of the inkjet head 6 to form a sealed space with the ink discharge surface 6a. Therefore, it is formed in a substantially box shape opened toward the ink discharge surface 6a. Further, a discharge port is formed in the bottom surface of the purge cap 81, and a suction pump 82 is provided in communication with the discharge port. The suction pump 82 is operated by selectively rotating a cam 83 via a coupling mechanism (not shown) by driving an LF motor 103 (see FIG. 3), and reciprocatingly moving a piston in the suction pump 82 by the rotation of the cam 83. Is done. Then, during one rotation of the cam 83, the suction pump 82 depressurizes the sealed space formed by the purge cap 17 and the ink discharge surface 6a, and increases the viscosity from the nozzles drilled in the ink discharge surface 6a. Drain the ink and air. An ink reservoir 84 is disposed adjacent to the suction pump 82. The ink storage portion 84 is formed in a substantially box shape, and ink or the like is stored in the ink storage portion 84 from the purge cap 81 by the suction pump 82.
[0031]
A wiper member 86 that is movable relative to the inkjet head 6 is disposed on the platen roller 66 side with the purge cap 81 interposed therebetween, and a cap 85 is disposed above the ink storage portion 84 on the opposite side. Has been.
[0032]
The wiper member 86 is a member for wiping off ink adhering to the ink ejection surface 6a by the purge process described above. An elastic material such as ethylene propylene rubber is used as a material and is formed into a plate shape, and one end thereof is supported by the wiper holder 90. And when wiping the ink discharge surface 6a, it is comprised so that it may protrude in the arrow A direction by rotation of the cam 83. FIG. The ink discharge surface 6a is subjected to ink repellent treatment so as to facilitate the wiping of ink.
[0033]
The cap 85 comes into contact with and covers the ink discharge surface 6a of the inkjet head 6 mounted on the carriage 64 that has been printed and returned to the reset position. The cap 85 is provided with four protruding portions in a rectangular shape facing the four nozzle rows provided on the ink discharge surface 6a, and the protruding portions cover the nozzles provided on the ink discharge surface 6a. This prevents ink from evaporating.
[0034]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of an electric circuit configuration of the color inkjet printer 1. The control device for controlling the color ink jet printer 1 includes a main body side control board 100 and a carriage board 120. The main body side control board 100 includes a one-chip microcomputer (CPU) 91 and a ROM 92. A RAM 94, an image memory 95, a gate array (G / A) 96, and the like are mounted.
[0035]
The CPU 91, which is an arithmetic unit, executes control of each process such as a printing process, a purge process, and a wipe process in accordance with a control program stored in advance in the ROM 92. Further, a print timing signal and a reset signal are generated, and each signal is transferred to a gate array 96 described later. The CPU 91 is used to drive a carriage motor (CR motor) 101 for operating a carriage 64 and an operation panel 107 for displaying a printer status when a user gives a print instruction, a purge instruction, and the like. A motor driving circuit 102, a motor driving circuit 104 for operating a conveyance motor (LF motor) 103 for conveying the paper 62, a paper sensor 105 for detecting the leading edge of the paper 62, an origin sensor 106 for detecting the origin position of the carriage 64, and the like. It is connected. The operation of each connected device is controlled by the CPU 91. Here, the LF motor 103 is composed of a stepping motor, and is configured such that the number of rotations thereof can be controlled by the number of pulses of the input pulse signal.
[0036]
The ROM 92 stores a control program for executing each process such as a purge process (see FIG. 3) for the inkjet head 6 executed by the CPU 91. In the rewritable nonvolatile memory 93, a cyan remaining amount counter (C) for storing the remaining amount of ink remaining in each ink cartridge 61 corresponding to each ink cartridge 61 of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. A remaining amount counter) 93a, a magenta remaining amount counter (M remaining amount counter) 93b, a yellow remaining amount counter (Y remaining amount counter) 93c, and a black remaining amount counter (Bk remaining amount counter) 93d are provided. The suction force of the suction pump 82 in the purge process is changed according to the ink remaining amount stored in the remaining amount counters 93a to 93d.
[0037]
The gate array 96, based on the print timing signal transferred from the CPU 91 and the image data stored in the image memory 95, print data (drive signal) for printing the image data on a recording medium, Outputs a transfer clock that synchronizes with print data, a latch signal, a parameter signal for generating a basic print waveform signal, and an ejection timing signal that is output at a fixed period, and each of these signals is mounted by the head driver. Transfer to the carriage substrate 120 side.
[0038]
The gate array 96 stores image data transferred from an external device such as a computer via the Centro interface 97 in the image memory 95. Then, a centro data reception interrupt signal is generated based on the centro data transferred from the host computer or the like via the centro interface (I / F) 97, and the signal is transferred to the CPU 91.
[0039]
The gate array 96 includes a cyan counter (C counter) 96a for counting the consumption of each ink corresponding to cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink, and a magenta counter (M counter). 96b, a yellow counter (Y counter) 96c, and a black counter (Bk counter) 96d.
[0040]
Each counting unit 96a to 96d counts the number of consumed dots of each color based on the print data transferred from the gate array 96 to the head driver mounted on the carriage substrate 120, and counts the amount of ink consumed by the purge process. To do. Then, the CPU 91 calculates the remaining ink amount of each ink cartridge from the difference between the consumed amount of each ink and the amount of ink filled in the new ink cartridge 61 stored in advance in the ROM 92, and each remaining amount counter 93a. ~ 93d. When the remaining amount counters 93a to 93d receive the clear signal output from the CPU 91 when the ink cartridge 61 is replaced, the remaining amount counters 93a to 93d initialize the data of the remaining amount counters 93a to 93d.
[0041]
The carriage substrate 120 is a substrate for driving the inkjet head 6 by a mounted head driver (drive circuit). The inkjet head 6 and the head driver are connected by a flexible wiring board in which a copper foil wiring pattern is formed on a polyimide film having a thickness of 50 to 150 μm. This head driver is controlled via a gate array 96 mounted on the main body side control board 100, and applies a drive pulse having a waveform suitable for the recording mode to each drive element. Thereby, a predetermined amount of ink is ejected.
[0042]
The CPU 91, the ROM 92, the RAM 93, and the gate array 96 are connected via a bus line 99. Each signal communicated between the carriage substrate 120 and the gate array 96 is transferred via a harness cable connecting the two.
[0043]
Next, purge processing in the color inkjet printer 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the purge process, it is determined whether or not a purge command is given to a specific nozzle instructed by the user from the operation panel 107 or automatically at a predetermined cycle (S1). When a purge command is issued (S1: Yes), the carriage motor 102 is driven to move the carriage 64 on which the inkjet head 6 is mounted to the purge execution position, and the coupling mechanism is operated to cam the LF motor 103. The purge cap 81 is moved to the purge execution position by the rotation of the LF motor 103 (S1). In this state, the purge cap 81 abuts on the ink ejection surface 6a of the inkjet head 6 and forms a sealed space with the ink ejection surface 6a.
[0044]
Next, the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge corresponding to the specific nozzle that executes the purge process is read from the remaining amount counters 93a to 93d of the RAM 93 (S3), and the read remaining ink amount is the predetermined remaining amount. It is determined whether it is less than the amount (S4). The term “less than the predetermined remaining amount determined by the process of S4” refers to an ink that may suck air from the ink cartridge 61 when the purge process is performed with a relatively high suction force by a first pulse signal described later. It is defined by the remaining ink amount in the cartridge 61. As a result, if it is equal to or greater than the predetermined remaining amount (S4: No), the first pulse signal is output to the LF motor 103 (S5).
[0045]
Here, the first pulse signal outputs a larger number of pulses than the second pulse signal described later. Therefore, the LF motor 103 configured by a stepping motor is driven at a larger number of rotations than when the second pulse signal is output to the LF motor 103. For example, when the suction pump 82 has a piston structure, the amount of movement of the piston is large, so that the sealed space formed by the purge cap 81 and the ink discharge surface 6a is decompressed with a relatively high suction force, and the ink discharge surface 6a. A relatively large amount of high-viscosity ink, air, or the like is discharged from the nozzle formed in the nozzle. Then, the ink discharged together with the increased viscosity ink or the like is stored in the ink storage section 84, and the purge process ends.
[0046]
On the other hand, when the ink remaining amount read from each of the remaining amount counters 93a to 93d of the RAM 93 is less than the predetermined remaining amount (S4: Yes), the second pulse signal is output to the LF motor 103 (S6). The suction force for purging generated by the second pulse signal is defined as a suction force that does not suck air from the ink cartridge 61 even when the ink remaining amount in the ink cartridge 61 is almost a predetermined remaining amount. Yes. As described above, the second pulse signal outputs a smaller number of pulses than the first pulse signal. Therefore, the LF motor 103 operates the suction pump 82 at a smaller number of rotations than when the first pulse signal is output to the LF motor 103. That is, the suction force of the suction pump operated by the LF motor 103 driven based on the second pulse signal is weaker than the suction force of the suction pump operated by the LF motor 103 driven based on the first pulse signal. In addition, the amount of ink to be sucked is small. Thereafter, in the same manner as described above, the ink having a high viscosity is discharged from the nozzle by the suction pump 82, and the purge process is completed. If the purge command is not issued (S1: No), the purge process is terminated.
[0047]
As described above, according to the color inkjet printer 1 of the present invention, when the purge process is executed, when the remaining amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge 61 is less than the predetermined remaining amount, (S4: Yse) By outputting the second pulse signal having a smaller number of pulses than the first pulse signal to the LF motor 103, the suction pump 82 is weaker than the suction force of the suction pump 82 when there is a predetermined remaining amount or more. By the suction force, the ink having increased viscosity is sucked from the nozzle.
[0048]
Therefore, even when the remaining amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge 61 is less than the predetermined remaining amount, that is, when a large amount of air exists in the ink cartridge 61, the air is absorbed by the suction force of the suction pump 82. Can be purged without being sucked toward the inkjet head 6 side, and ink can be stably ejected in subsequent printing processes.
[0049]
Further, as compared with the conventional configuration in which the execution of the subsequent purge process is stopped, in the present embodiment, the purge process described above is performed even when the remaining ink amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount. Thereafter, the printing process is continued, and the ink in the ink cartridge can be used effectively.
[0050]
Preferably, the remaining amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge 61 is further reduced from the predetermined remaining amount using the weak suction force, and air is sucked from the ink cartridge 61 even when the weak suction force is used. When the remaining amount is small, the execution can be stopped even if there is a purge processing command, or the printing operation can be stopped by displaying “no ink” on the operation panel 107.
[0051]
Note that, since the suction force is weak, there is a case where the ejection does not recover in one purge process. In this case, the user may instruct the purge process again from the operation panel 107. When the remaining amount of ink is less than a predetermined amount and the operation panel 107 instructs the purge process to be performed twice or more within a predetermined time, the CPU 91 displays on the display unit of the operation panel 107 that the ink cartridge 61 is to be replaced. It is preferable to do. This is because if the new ink cartridge 61 is installed, the purge process is executed with a strong suction force, and the ejection state is recovered.
[0052]
The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be easily made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Can be inferred.
[0053]
For example, in this embodiment, the suction force is changed according to the movement amount of the piston of the piston type suction pump, but the suction force can be controlled by the number of rotations of the tube type pump.
[0054]
Further, in this embodiment, in the process of S4 in FIG. 3, the number of revolutions of the LF motor 103 is changed depending on whether or not the ink remaining amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount, that is, the ink remaining amount is divided into two stages. Explained when to do. However, instead of this, the remaining amount of ink may be divided into multiple stages, and the number of revolutions of the LF motor 103 may be changed according to the stages. In such a case, when the remaining amount of ink is large, the suction force of the suction pump 82 can be made stronger and the purge processing time can be shortened.
[0055]
In this embodiment, as means for detecting the remaining amount of ink, the amount of ink consumed counted by the counting units 96a to 96d of the gate array 96 and the amount of ink filled in the new ink cartridge 61 are used. The case where the ink remaining amount of each ink cartridge 61 is sequentially detected has been described. However, in the gist of the present invention, it is only necessary to detect the remaining amount of ink in two stages whether or not it is necessary to change the suction force of the pump. A method for measuring the electrical resistance of ink with an electrode in contact with ink as disclosed in JP-A-9-262990, etc. instead of a counting unit or a remaining amount counter, and optical as shown in JP-A-10-24604 It is also possible to use a configuration in which the remaining amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge 61 is detected by a sensor such as an automatic means.
[0056]
Further, in the present embodiment, the case has been described in which the counting units 96a to 96d add the number of dots of each color consumed based on the print data, and detect the ink remaining amount from the added data. However, instead of this, the number of dots of each consumed color may be sequentially subtracted from the number of dots that can be ejected determined from the amount of ink filled in a new ink cartridge.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, when the purge process is executed by the purge device, the ink suction force in the purge device is the ink remaining amount remaining in the ink tank detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means. Will be changed according to Therefore, even in a state where the remaining amount of ink is low, by reducing the suction force of the purge device, the air in the ink tank is prevented from being sucked to the inkjet head side by the suction force of the purge device, and the discharge state is recovered. There is an effect that can be done. Therefore, in the subsequent printing process, the ink can be ejected stably, and the ink in the ink tank can be effectively used until the amount is further reduced.
[0058]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, the suction force of the purge device is determined by the determining means that the remaining amount of ink is less than the predetermined remaining amount. In this case, the first suction force when the ink remaining amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined remaining amount is changed to a second suction force smaller than the first suction force. Therefore, the same effect as that produced by the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 can be obtained.
[0059]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, there is a possibility that air may be sucked from the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank due to the first suction force. Then, it is changed to the second suction force that does not suck air, and in the subsequent printing process, it is possible to prevent air from being sucked to the ink jet head side and to stably eject ink. . Further, the ink in the ink tank can be used effectively until the amount is further reduced.
[0060]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 4, claim 2 is provided.InIn addition to the effects of the inkjet recording apparatus described,When the ink remaining amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount, the rotation speed of the drive source that drives the suction pump is less than the first rotation number from the first rotation number when the ink remaining amount is equal to or more than the predetermined remaining amount. It is changed to the second rotational speed. Therefore, there is an effect that the suction force of the purge device can be easily changed from the first suction force to the second suction force smaller than the first suction force.
[0061]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 5,From 14One ofIn addition to the effects of the ink jet recording apparatus described in 1.The ink remaining amount is detected based on the ink consumption counted by the counting means. Therefore, the remaining amount of ink remaining in the ink tank can be easily detected without installing an expensive sensor or the like.
[0062]
[0063]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a color inkjet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of an electric circuit configuration of a color inkjet printer.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a purge process.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Color inkjet printer (inkjet recording device)
6 Inkjet head
6a Ink ejection surface
61 Ink cartridge (ink tank)
67 Purge device
81 Purge cap
82 Suction pump
103 LF motor (drive source)
93a to 93d remaining amount counter
96a to 96d Counting unit (ink remaining amount detecting means)

Claims (5)

Ink is sucked from an ink tank that stores ink, an ink jet head that discharges ink stored in the ink tank and records on a recording medium, and a nozzle that is formed in the ink discharge surface of the ink jet head In an inkjet recording apparatus including a purge device that recovers the ink ejection state,
An operation panel having a display unit for displaying information about the ink tank, and capable of being operated by a user to cause the purge device to suck ink from the nozzle;
Operation determining means for determining from the operation panel whether or not the operation for causing the purge device to suck ink from the nozzle has been performed twice or more within a predetermined time;
Ink remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank;
When the operation is performed from the operation panel and when it is determined that the ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means is equal to or greater than a predetermined remaining amount, the suction force of the purge device is used as the first suction. When the operation is performed from the operation panel, and it is determined that the ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means is less than a predetermined remaining amount, the suction force of the purge device is reduced. A suction force changing means for changing the second suction force to be smaller than the first suction force and causing the purge device to suck ink from the nozzle ;
When the remaining ink amount is less than the predetermined remaining amount by the ink remaining amount detecting unit, and the operation determining unit determines that the operation for sucking ink from the nozzle has been performed twice or more within a predetermined time. Includes an information display means for displaying information indicating that the ink tank is to be replaced on the display section. Determining means for determining whether or not the ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means is less than a predetermined remaining amount;
The suction force changing means is
When the determination means determines that the remaining amount of ink is less than the predetermined remaining amount, the first pulling force when the remaining amount of ink is greater than or equal to the predetermined remaining amount is used as the first suction force of the purge device. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus is changed to a second suction force smaller than the suction force. The less than the predetermined remaining amount determined by the determining means is a remaining amount of ink in the ink tank that may suck air from the ink tank when the first suction force is used.
3. The suction force according to claim 2, wherein the second suction force is a suction force that does not suck air from the ink tank even when the ink remaining amount in the ink tank is substantially the predetermined remaining amount. Inkjet recording apparatus. The purge device is in contact with the ink discharge surface of the ink jet head in which the nozzles are formed, and forms a sealed space with the ink discharge surface. The purge cap is formed by the purge cap and the ink discharge surface. A suction pump for sucking ink from a nozzle formed on the ink ejection surface by decompressing the space, and a drive source for driving the suction pump, wherein the suction force changing means has a predetermined amount of ink remaining When the remaining amount is less than the remaining amount, the rotation speed of the drive source for driving the suction pump is changed from the first rotation number when the remaining ink amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined remaining amount to the first rotation number smaller than the first rotation number. by changing the 2 rpm, wherein the suction force of the purge apparatus, from the first suction force, to claim 2, characterized in that to change the first suction force smaller than the first suction force An ink jet recording apparatus. The ink remaining amount detecting means includes counting means for counting the ink consumption of consumed ink, and detects the remaining amount of ink remaining in the ink tank based on the ink consumption counted by the counting means. the ink-jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in.

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