JP4509261B2 - Ink jet printer, initialization control method thereof, and information recording medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, an initialization control method thereof, and a computer-readable information recording medium on which a computer program for realizing the method is recorded. In particular, power supply is interrupted during a print head cleaning operation. The present invention relates to a technique for improving initialization processing of a printing apparatus in a case.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Ink jet printers use a non-contact printing method in which ink in an ink chamber is pressurized at a minute time interval, ink droplets are ejected from nozzles at this pressure, and are deposited on a recording medium. By moving the print head along the carriage and feeding the recording medium, ink droplets are two-dimensionally arranged on the recording medium, and characters, images, and other printed images are formed by this dot matrix. Compared with impact type printers, inkjet printers are generally quiet, high speed, low running costs, and easy to color.
[0003]
On the other hand, since the ink jet printer uses liquid ink, its maintenance and management are complicated. In particular, foreign matter such as ink and paper dust adhering to the periphery of the nozzle not only clogs the nozzle and affects the flight trajectory of the ink droplets, but also directly contaminates the recording medium by adhering to the recording medium. cause. Nozzle contamination is directly linked to a decrease in print quality, so it is important to keep the nozzle as clean as possible. For this reason, the conventional ink jet printer is provided with a cleaning mechanism, and the print quality is kept constant by periodically cleaning the nozzles.
[0004]
In a certain type of conventional ink jet printer, cleaning including ink suction processing and two types of wiping processing at different levels can be performed. In the ink suction process, a cap connected to a suction pump is placed on the nozzle surface of the print head, and a predetermined amount of ink that has accumulated and thickened in the ink chamber or ink supply path of the head is sucked from the nozzle. In this process, ink with increased viscosity and bubbles that have entered from the nozzle are sucked and removed from the nozzle.
[0005]
In the wiping process, as the wiping member, an elastic blade formed by bonding different materials, for example, a felt material and a rubber material, is used. At the time of cleaning, this elastic blade is projected into the movement path of the print head, and the movement of the print head wipes off foreign matters such as ink and paper dust on the nozzle surface at the tip of the blade. Since the surface of the elastic blade that contacts the nozzle surface varies depending on the moving direction of the print head, the cleaning effect of the head varies depending on the material. The blade surface made of felt material has higher contact resistance to the nozzle surface and ink absorption than the blade surface made of rubber material, so it acts to scrape foreign matter on the nozzle surface, resulting in high cleaning. An effect is obtained. Hereinafter, wiping with a felt material is referred to as rubbing, and wiping with a rubber material is referred to as wiping according to the difference in effect.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
On the other hand, in an ink jet printer or the like, when the power is turned on / off, an initialization process necessary for ensuring a normal operation later is performed. In one step of the initialization process, the print head is conveyed by the carriage on which it is mounted and set at the home position. In addition, the cleaning process is performed before and after this. However, if the power cord is accidentally pulled out due to a power failure, the power supply to the printer mechanism is interrupted, and the initialization process is interrupted. If the cleaning process has been executed when the power supply to the printer is cut off, the operation of each mechanism unit is stopped in that state.
[0007]
In the conventional ink jet printer, when the power is turned on next time, the printer executes a predetermined initialization operation regardless of the power-off state. Therefore, as described above, when the printer is performing the cleaning process when the power is shut off, the following problems occur when the power is turned on.
[0008]
That is, during the ink suction process, that is, while the ink is being sucked from the nozzle, the ink sucked from the nozzle is accumulated in the cap, and when the power supply is cut off, the process is performed in that state. It has stopped. When the supply is started later, if the print head is moved in the initialization process, the engagement between the nozzle surface and the cap is released, and the ink accumulated in the cap is spilled and the inside of the apparatus becomes dirty. In addition, if the ink is conductive, it may cause malfunction of the electric circuit. Also, at this time, immediately after the end of the suction operation, if the pressure inside the cap is lower than the pressure outside the cap, bubbles invade from the nozzle into the head due to a sudden change in atmospheric pressure when the cap is removed, In some cases, a meniscus of ink at the ink discharge port is not normally formed. This causes a problem that ink is not ejected well.
[0009]
In addition, when the power supply is interrupted during the wiping process, that is, when the nozzle surface is in contact with the elastic blade, the elastic blade is bent in the direction opposite to the direction of relative movement with the head. The head stops. When power supply is resumed later, the initialization process is performed regardless of the stopped state in the conventional ink jet printer, so the print head may move in the direction opposite to the moving direction before the stop. . In this case, the elastic blade moves relative to the head in the same direction as the bending direction, and an undesirable external force may act on the elastic blade itself or its holding mechanism to promote deterioration. Moreover, the pressure which acts on a nozzle surface from an elastic blade becomes abnormally high, and the problem of damaging the water generating film formed in the nozzle surface also arises. Furthermore, since the frictional force between the elastic blade and the nozzle surface increases, there arises a problem that the running of the print head is hindered.
[0010]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described conventional problems, and when the cleaning process is being performed, even if the power is shut off due to a power failure or accidentally pulling out the power cord, the cleaning process when the power is turned on later The initialization process such as the above is performed satisfactorily.
[0011]
That is, the present invention provides an ink jet printer configured to perform an appropriate initialization process when the power is turned on later and an initialization control method thereof according to the state of the head cleaning process when the power is turned off. It is aimed.
[0012]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises an inkjet head mounted on a carriage and provided with a nozzle for ejecting ink, and a first and second materials made of different materials, and a nozzle surface (hereinafter referred to as a nozzle surface) of the inkjet head. , A wiping member for wiping the nozzle surface and a wiping member driving means for moving the wiping member forward or backward toward the nozzle surface, and the wiping member driving means Wiping member The first material in contact with the nozzle surface and the carriage in the first direction, or the second material in contact with the nozzle surface and the first direction opposite to the first direction. Move in direction 2 A cleaning means for cleaning the ink jet head, an initialization control means for performing an initialization process of the ink jet printer in response to the start of power supply, a power shutoff detecting means for detecting power supply shutoff, and the power shutoff detection The operation state storage means for storing the operation state of the cleaning means when the power supply interruption is detected by the means, and the initialization according to the operation state of the cleaning means stored by the operation state storage means An ink jet printer having operation selecting means for selecting operation of the control means,
The operation state storage means stores, as an operation state of the cleaning means, whether the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means is a wiping process by the first or second material of the wiping member. The operation selecting means, when the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means stored in the operation state storage means is a wiping process by the first material of the wiping member, When the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means stored in the operation state storage means is the wiping process by the second material of the wiping member in the first direction as the first moving direction Is characterized in that the first movement direction of the carriage is selected as the second direction, respectively.
[0015]
In the case where the cleaning unit includes a suction unit that sucks ink from the nozzle, it is preferable that the operation state storage unit stores a state of whether or not the suction unit is operating. In this case, the suction means covers the nozzle of the inkjet head and forms a space that is blocked from outside air, and moves the cap member relative to the nozzle to cover the nozzle. A cap moving means positioned at a position 1 and an uncovered second position; a vent means provided so as to be openable and closable; and communicated with the outside air in the open state; and connected to the cap member. And the pump for sucking air and ink existing in the cap through the cap member, the operation state storage means is closed when the suction means is operating. In the first state where the first suction process is started to operate the pump in the closed state, or in the state where the venting means is open, the pump The second suction process for operating the stores at least one of the second state is not completed is desirable.
[0016]
Further, in this case, when the state of the suction unit stored in the operation state storage unit is the first state or the second state, the operation selection unit performs the cap movement by the cap moving unit. It is desirable to select an operation to end the second suction process before moving the member from the first position to the second position.
[0017]
The present invention is not limited to an ink jet printer apparatus, and is also effective as an initialization control method for an ink jet printer. The present invention is particularly suitable for an inkjet printer using a computer and when initialization control is performed using a computer, and is also effective as a computer-readable information recording medium storing a computer program therefor. It is.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an ink jet printer according to the present invention with its upper cover removed. An inkjet printer 1 shown in the figure is a POS printer that is remotely controlled by a host computer and performs printing on a cut sheet such as a check and a roll paper such as a receipt (hereinafter referred to as a sheet P). However, it will be apparent from the following description that the present invention can be applied to various ink jet printers having a print head cleaning mechanism, which will be described later.
[0019]
In the figure, the inkjet printer 1 enables the carriage 3 on which the print head 2 is mounted to be moved in the direction intersecting the feeding direction of the paper P by the moving mechanism 4 as in other general printer devices. With respect to the moving direction of the carriage 3, the print head 2 is freely moved between an area for printing on the paper P, that is, a print area A, and a standby area B on the right side thereof. In the print area A, the platen 5 is disposed so as to face the moving area of the print head. The paper P is fed into the gap between the platen 5 and the print head 2 by a paper P feed mechanism (not shown), and ink droplets are ejected onto the paper P as the carriage 3 is controlled. Characters and other printed images composed of dot matrices are gradually formed on the surface of the paper P by the coordinated movement of the carriage 3, the feeding of the paper P, and the ejection of ink droplets. The standby area B is a pause area of the print head 2 when printing is not performed. The ink jet printer 1 includes a maintenance unit 10 that performs maintenance and cleaning of the print head 2 in the standby area B.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an essential part of the inkjet printer 1 in the vicinity of the standby area B. FIG. In the figure, it should be noted that the main part is drawn from the opposite side to FIG. Below, with reference to this figure further, the structure and operation | movement of the maintenance unit 10 are demonstrated. The maintenance unit 10 includes a cap member 11 that prevents the nozzles of the print head 2 from drying, an ink suction pump 12 that sucks ink from the nozzles, and an elastic blade 13 that wipes dirt on the nozzle surface.
[0021]
As apparent from FIG. 1, the cap member 11 has an opening on the side facing the nozzle surface 2 a of the print head 2, and a felt or other ink absorbing material 11 a is housed therein. By bringing the nozzle surface 2a of the print head 2 into contact with the cap member 11, that is, by capping, a suitable state of the nozzle surface 2a is maintained. That is, the capping seals the nozzle and prevents adverse effects such as an increase in viscosity due to the evaporation of ink near the nozzle and a retreat of the ink meniscus. The ink suction pump 12 is connected to the cap member 11 and sucks ink from the print head 2 that is in contact with the cap member 11, that is, the print head 2 that is in contact with the cap member 11. Execute the process of sucking the ink. By the ink suction process, ink with increased viscosity near the nozzles and internal bubbles are removed. The elastic blade 13 functions by allowing the print head 2 to pass through when the blade moves forward and backward on the path of the print head 2. That is, when the print head 2 moves while the elastic blade 13 is advanced, the tip of the elastic blade 13 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 2a. The elastic blade 13 is curved by its elastic force, and wipes off foreign matters such as thickened ink and paper dust adhered to the nozzle surface 2a at its tip.
[0022]
The elastic blade 13 is formed by sticking the rubber member 13a and the felt member 13b, and different cleaning effects are obtained depending on the moving direction of the print head 2. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the print head 2 is moved from the right to the left, that is, toward the print area A with respect to the elastic blade 13, the rubber member 13a contacts the nozzle surface 2a. . As a result, a relatively light nozzle surface is cleaned so as to wipe the surface. This process is called a wiping process. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the print head 2 is moved with respect to the elastic blade 13 from left to right, that is, toward the side wall of the printer, the felt member 13b contacts the nozzle surface 2a. . As a result, a relatively strong cleaning of the nozzle surface is performed so as to scrape off foreign matter on the surface. This process is called a rubbing process. In this specification, the wiping process and the rubbing process are collectively referred to as a wiping process.
[0023]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing stop positions of the carriage 3 to the print head 2. As shown in the figure, the print head 2 is controlled so that it can be stopped at a plurality of stop positions in the standby area B, that is, at the carriage return position R, flushing position F, home position HP, and idle suction position K. At the predetermined position, the print head 2 undergoes maintenance and cleaning by the maintenance unit 10. The idle suction means that the ink collected in the cap member by opening a part (vent hole) of the cap member and operating the ink suction pump 12 with the cap member in close contact with the nozzle surface. This is a process of sucking and removing. The idle suction position will be described later.
[0024]
The carriage turn-back position R is a position that becomes the movement start point and end point of the carriage 3 in the wiping and rubbing processing of the print head 2. That is, in the wiping process, the carriage 3 is first set at the idle suction position K, moved from there to the print area A, and stopped at the carriage return position R. In the rubbing process, the carriage 3 is first set at the carriage return position R, moved from the carriage toward the side wall of the printer, and stopped at the idle suction position K.
[0025]
The flushing position F is a position for preliminarily discharging ink from the nozzles of the print head 2 and discharging ink having increased viscosity. At this position, the cap member 11 is spaced apart from the print head 2 and the ejected ink is collected by the ink absorbing material 11a. The elastic blade 13 for performing the wiping and rubbing process is moved out of the path of the print head 2 in the vicinity of the flushing position F, and passes to the nozzle surface of the print head 2 passing through the flushing position F. Perform cleaning.
[0026]
The home position HP is an initial position of the carriage 3. At the time of power-on and other initialization processing, the carriage 3 is transferred to the home position HP, and in this state, the inkjet printer 1 waits for a print command. At this position, the nozzle surface of the print head 2 is capped by the cap member 11. In the present embodiment, the home position HP also functions as an ink suction position. That is, at this position, the ink suction pump 12 is activated and the ink suction process is executed.
[0027]
The idle suction position K is a position for executing the idle suction process of ink. The idle suction process is a process for discharging the ink accumulated in the ink absorbing material 11 a of the cap member 11 without sucking ink from the print head 2. By moving the carriage 3 to the idle suction position K, a valve for allowing air to flow into the cap member 11 in which the ink absorbing material 11a is housed is opened. Even at the idle suction position K, the print head 2 is in a capped state as in the home position HP. However, by opening this valve, air can flow into the cap member 11. Further, the ink accumulated in the space formed by the cap member 11 and the nozzle surface is sucked and discharged through the ink absorbing material 11a without sucking ink from the nozzles of the print head.
[0028]
Next, a cleaning process that can be executed by the inkjet printer 1 will be described. In the inkjet printer 1, there are two types of cleaning processes, a low level cleaning (hereinafter, cleaning level 1) that is executed relatively frequently and a high level cleaning (hereinafter, cleaning level 2) that is executed as necessary. It is feasible. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the cleaning level 1 process, and FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the cleaning level 2 process.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning level 1 is a cleaning in which wiping processing and suction processing are combined. At the cleaning level 1, wiping processing is first executed (501), then suction processing (502), wiping processing (503) is executed again, the carriage is returned to the home position (504), and the processing is completed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning level 2 is cleaning in which a rubbing process is further added to the wiping process and the suction process. Even at the cleaning level 2, the wiping process is first executed (601), and then the suction process (602) is executed. Here, the suction process in step 602 can suck ink for a longer suction time than the suction process in the cleaning level 1. At the cleaning level 2, the rubbing process is executed (603) prior to the wiping process (604). By the wiping process in step 603, the cleaning of the print head 2 is executed more strongly at the cleaning level 2 than at the cleaning level 1. After step 603, a wiping process is performed (604), the carriage is returned to the home position (605), and the process ends. Whether to perform the cleaning level 1 or the cleaning level 2 can be determined in consideration of the elapsed time from the previous cleaning and the printing amount. As will be described later, the ink jet printer 1 includes an EEPROM that stores an elapsed time from the previous cleaning and a printing amount. Before the cleaning is executed, the content is read and a cleaning level corresponding to the content is executed.
[0030]
7 to 9 show specific processing procedures of the wiping process, the suction process, and the rubbing process executed in the cleaning process. It should be noted that in the present invention, when the printer is executing any of the above processes, a flag indicating the process is set.
[0031]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the wiping process executed in steps 501 and 503 in FIG. 5 and steps 601 and 604 in FIG. In the cleaning process, when the printer enters the wiping process stage, the carriage 3 is moved to the idle suction position K shown in FIG. 4 (701), and a flag indicating that the wiping process is being performed is set (assigned for the wiping process). The data bit is set to “1”) (702). Next, the elastic blade 13 is advanced on the path of the print head 2 (703), and the carriage 3 is moved to the carriage return position R in this state. In the middle of this movement, the print head 2 comes into contact with the advanced elastic blade 13, thereby cleaning the nozzle surface 2a. In the next step, the elastic blade 13 is retracted (705), and it is determined whether the carriage movement, that is, the cleaning of the nozzle surface 2a has reached a predetermined number of times (706). If the processing has not reached the predetermined number of times, the carriage 3 is returned to the idle suction position K (707), and steps 703 to 705 are repeated until the predetermined number of times is reached. When the processing reaches a predetermined number of times, a flag indicating that the wiping processing is being performed is reset (data bit is set to “0”) (708), the carriage 3 is moved to the home position HP (709), and the wiping processing is performed. finish.
[0032]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the steps of the suction process executed in step 502 in FIG. 5 and step 602 in FIG. In the last step (step 709 in FIG. 7) of the wiping process executed before the suction process, the carriage 3 is moved to the home position HP, and the print head 2 is capped at this position. The suction process shown is executed. In the cleaning process, when the printer enters the suction process stage, a flag indicating that the suction process is in progress is set (the data bit assigned for the suction process is set to “1”) (801). Then, the ink suction pump 12 is started for a predetermined time and then stopped (802 to 804).
[0033]
Thereafter, a predetermined time is waited until the pressure in the cap becomes substantially equal to the external pressure. This is to avoid the problem that when the pressure inside the cap is lower than the outside air pressure, the pressure inside the cap suddenly rises by opening the cap and bubbles enter the head through the nozzle.
[0034]
Next, the carriage 3 is moved to the idle suction position K shown in FIG. 4 (805), and similarly to the above, the ink suction pump 12 is started for a predetermined time and then stopped (806 to 808). As described above, when the carriage 3 is moved to the idle suction position K, the valve of the cap member 11 is opened, and the idle suction, that is, the ink is discharged from the ink absorbing material 11a. Thereafter, the flag indicating that the suction process is in progress is reset (809), the carriage 3 is returned to the home position HP (810), and the suction process ends.
[0035]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the rubbing process performed in step 603 in FIG. In the rubbing process, basically, a process of reversing the feeding direction of the carriage 3 in the wiping process is executed. In the cleaning process, when the printer enters the rubbing process stage, the carriage 3 is moved to the carriage return position R shown in FIG. 4 (901), and a flag indicating that the rubbing process is in progress is set (assigned for the rubbing process). The data bit is set to “1”) (902). Next, the elastic blade 13 is advanced on the path of the print head 2 (903), and the carriage 3 is moved toward the idle suction position K in this state. In the middle of this movement, the print head 2 comes into contact with the advanced elastic blade 13, thereby cleaning the nozzle surface 2a. In the next step, the elastic blade 13 is retracted (905), and it is determined whether or not the carriage movement, that is, the cleaning of the nozzle surface 2a has reached a predetermined number of times (906). If the processing has not reached the predetermined number of times, the carriage 3 is returned to the carriage return position R (907), and steps 903 to 905 are repeated until the predetermined number of times is reached. When the processing reaches a predetermined number of times, the flag indicating that the rubbing processing is in progress is reset (the data bit is set to “0”) (908), the carriage 3 is moved to the home position HP (909), and the rubbing processing is performed. finish.
[0036]
Next, operation control of the inkjet printer 1, particularly control when the power is shut off and when the power is turned on, will be described. FIG. 10 is a block diagram relating to the control of the ink jet printer according to the present invention. In the figure, a CPU 100 is a controller that controls the entire inkjet printer 1, and controls communication with a host computer via an interface unit 101, operation control of a printer mechanism unit 102 including a cleaning mechanism, various switches on the printer, Performs sensor monitoring and other controls. The storage unit 103 includes a ROM that stores various control programs executed by the CPU 100, a RAM as a main memory that temporarily stores programs and data read from the ROM and can be processed by the CPU 100, and various printers. It is composed of an EEPROM for storing status information such as ink cartridge status, cover status, various counter values, cleaning status, printer operating time, etc. at a predetermined timing.
[0037]
In this example, the control program to be executed by the CPU 100 is stored in the ROM of the storage unit 103, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the control program can be loaded from a host device connected via the interface 101, stored in the RAM, and executed. In this case, the control program can use various external storage devices such as HDD, FDD, and ODD connected to the host device, and a network such as the Internet as the supply medium.
[0038]
In connection with the present invention, when the external power supply 104 supplied to the printer is shut off, the EEPROM stores the cleaning execution state of the print head 2 at that time. Specifically, a different flag is written in the EEPROM depending on whether the cleaning being executed at that time is an ink suction process, a wiping process, a rubbing process, or a cleaning is not being executed. For example, in order to store the execution state of cleaning, 3 bits are assigned corresponding to each of the above processes, and any bit is set to “1” (when not in the cleaning process, all bits are set to “0”). The state can be recorded.
[0039]
The power supply abnormality detection unit 105 detects the current value or voltage value of the external power supply 104 supplied via the power supply unit 106, and notifies the CPU 100 when this is about to support the operation of the printer. Is. When the external power supply 104 is shut off due to a power failure or an accidental removal of the power outlet, the power supply abnormality detection unit 105 detects this and notifies the CPU 100 of it. In the present invention, when the CPU 100 receives the detection signal from the power supply abnormality detection unit 105, the CPU 100 stores the cleaning execution state in the EEPROM of the storage unit 103 for about 100 ms until the power supply to the CPU 100 is completely cut off. Remember. On the other hand, when the external power source 104 is shut off, the supply of power to the printer mechanism unit 102 is interrupted, and when the printer mechanism unit 102 is operating, the processing is stopped. If the supply of power is stopped when the inkjet printer 1 is performing a cleaning process, that is, any of the wiping process, the suction process, or the rubbing process, those processes are stopped halfway. The inkjet printer 1 further includes a switch 107 that cuts off the power supply from the power supply unit 106 based on a control signal from the CPU 100, a power on / off switch that can be operated by the user, a cleaning execution switch, a paper feed switch, and the like. The manual switch 108 is provided.
[0040]
FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of processing in the case where the external power supply 104 to the ink jet printer is shut off due to a power failure or an accidental removal of the power outlet. In FIG. 10, when the external power source 104 is shut off, this is detected by the power source abnormality detection unit 105 (1101). Upon receiving this detection signal, the CPU 100 reads the status flag relating to cleaning in the main memory (1102) and stores it in a predetermined area of the EEPROM (1103).
[0041]
Next, initialization control when the power of the inkjet printer 1 is turned on by the user will be described. FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the initialization process when the power is turned on. When the user operates the manual switch 108 shown in FIG. 10 to turn on the power of the inkjet printer 1 (1201), initialization of the printer mechanism 102 that does not include the movement of the carriage 3 is performed (1202). That is, initialization of a roll paper or cut paper conveyance mechanism, an auto cutter, a feed roller, and the like is executed. Next, a flag indicating the state of the cleaning process is read from the EEPROM of the storage unit 103, and the content is determined (1203). If none of the flags indicating the cleaning process is set, the previous power-off was performed normally (that is, the power was cut off by a user's manual operation or a cut-off signal from the CPU 100), or a power failure or removal of an outlet However, it is determined that the cleaning process has not been executed at the time of the shutdown (1204), and the normal initialization process is executed regarding the carriage movement (1205). The operation of once moving the carriage 3 to the predetermined step printing area A side and returning it to the home position HP can be executed as a normal initialization process.
[0042]
On the other hand, if any of the flags indicating the cleaning process is set, if the previous power shutdown is not properly performed due to a power failure or the outlet being pulled out, and the cleaning process is performed at the time of the shutdown, the contents of the flag One of the corresponding initialization processes (1207, 1208 or 1209) is executed accordingly. That is, in step 1206, if the flag indicating that the wiping process was executed at the time of the previous power shutdown was set, the initialization process at the time of wiping was executed (1207), and the suction process was executed. When the flag shown is set, the suction initialization process is executed (1208). If the flag indicating that the rubbing process has been executed is set, the rubbing process is executed (1209).
[0043]
13 to 15 are flowcharts showing the contents of specific processes in the wiping initialization process, the suction initialization process, and the rubbing process, respectively. By these processes, problems that may occur when the cleaning process is being performed when the power is shut off are avoided. As shown in FIG. 13, in the first step of the initialization process at the time of wiping, the carriage 3 is moved toward the carriage return position R (1301). Next, the elastic blade 13 is retracted (if the elastic blade is already retracted, the state is maintained), and finally the carriage 3 is moved to the home position HP and the processing is terminated (1302, 1303). .
[0044]
If the power is interrupted while the elastic blade 13 wipes the nozzle surface 2a of the print head 2 (step 704 in FIG. 7), the elastic blade 13 stops while being curved on the nozzle surface 2a. Become. If proper initialization processing is not performed when the power is turned on, in some cases, the carriage 3 immediately moves toward the home position HP (this is opposite to the carriage feed direction during wiping), and as a result, the elastic blade 13 may be improperly loaded. In the initialization process during wiping, the above problem is avoided by first moving the carriage 3 in the same direction as the carriage feed direction during wiping.
[0045]
When the cleaning process flag stored in the EEPROM indicates the suction process, the suction initialization process shown in FIG. 14 is executed. In the suction initialization process, as shown in the figure, the carriage 3 is first moved to the idle suction position K (1401). Therefore, the ink suction pump 12 is started for a predetermined time and stopped to execute the idle suction processing (1402 to 1404). Then, the carriage 3 is moved to the home position HP and the process is terminated (1405).
[0046]
If the power is shut off after the suction at the home position HP is finished and before the idle suction process at the idle suction position K is started (steps 804 to 805 in FIG. 8), The process is interrupted while the ink is accumulated. If proper initialization processing is not performed when the power is turned on, ink may drip from the cap member 11, and a meniscus at the ink discharge port may not be generated, and ink may not be discharged satisfactorily. In the above-described initialization process at the time of suction, regardless of the stage of the suction process when the power is shut off, the ink collected inside the cap member 11 is discharged by avoiding the above problem by performing the idle suction.
[0047]
If the idle suction position K and the home position HP cannot be identified, it is desirable to provide a flag indicating that the suction process is in progress and the idle suction process is in progress. Thereby, the position of the carriage can be specified, so that more reliable processing can be performed. In this case, it is desirable to set each flag after the movement of the carriage to each position is completed. That is, the flag indicating that the suction process is in progress indicates that the suction process is started to operate the pump while the valve as the ventilation means is closed, and the flag indicating that the suction process is being performed is to operate the pump while the valve is open. Each indicates that the idle suction processing has not been completed, and the state is stored in the form of a flag.
[0048]
That is, when the flag indicating that the suction process is in progress is set in the initialization process, as described above, after waiting for a predetermined time until the pressure in the cap becomes substantially equal to the external pressure, the carriage is moved to the idle suction position. The idle suction processing is completed, and then normal initialization processing such as home position detection processing is performed. When the flag indicating that the idle suction process is in progress is set, the suction operation for a predetermined time is performed at the position to complete the idle suction process, and then the above-described normal initialization process is performed. If the carriage is located between the suction position and the idle suction position when the power supply is cut off, a flag indicating that suction is in progress is set. Accordingly, during the initialization process, the carriage is further moved to the idle suction position by a distance corresponding to the interval between the suction position and the idle suction position. In this case, the movement of the carriage is limited by a stopper provided further outside the idle suction position, and the carriage remains in the idle suction position.
[0049]
When the cleaning process flag stored in the EEPROM indicates the rubbing process, the rubbing initialization process shown in FIG. 15 is executed. As shown in the drawing, in the first step of the initialization process during rubbing, the carriage 3 is moved toward the idle suction position K (1501). Next, the elastic blade 13 is retracted (if the elastic blade is already retracted, the state is maintained), and finally the carriage 3 is moved to the home position HP and the process is terminated (1502, 1503). .
[0050]
If the power is cut off while the elastic blade 13 rubs the nozzle surface 2a of the print head 2 (step 904 in FIG. 9), the elastic blade 13 stops while being curved on the nozzle surface 2a. Become. If proper initialization processing is not performed when the power is turned on, the carriage 3 may move toward the printing area A in some cases (this is opposite to the carriage feed direction during rubbing), and as a result, the elastic blade 13 Improper load. In the rubbing initialization process, the above problem is avoided by first moving the carriage 3 in the same direction as the carriage feed direction during rubbing.
[0051]
As mentioned above, although one embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the matters shown in the above-described embodiment, the description of the claims and the detailed description of the invention, and the well-known technology. Based on the above, a range in which those skilled in the art can make changes and applications thereof is included. In the above embodiment, the present invention is shown in an ink jet printer capable of executing two types of cleaning levels. However, the number of levels of the cleaning process and the details of the specific process are not limited to those shown in the embodiment. Further, the stop position of the print head in the standby area B shown in FIG. 4 is only one embodiment of a specific ink jet printer, and the ink jet printer according to the present invention may further include another stop position, The order is not limited to this.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even if the cleaning process is performed when the power is shut down due to a power failure or the power cord is accidentally pulled out, the initialization process when the power is turned on later is performed well. Is called. As a result, problems such as damage to the cleaning blade and ink dripping are avoided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an ink jet printer according to the present invention with its upper cover removed.
2 is a perspective view showing an essential part of the ink jet printer shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the operation of the elastic blade 13;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a stop position of a carriage.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a cleaning level 1 process.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a cleaning level 2 process.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of wiping processing.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of a suction process.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of rubbing processing.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram relating to control of an ink jet printer according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of processing when an external power supply to the inkjet printer is shut off.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart of initialization processing at power-on.
13 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of initialization processing at the time of wiping in FIG. 12. FIG.
14 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of suction initialization processing in FIG. 12;
15 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of the rubbing initialization process in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
A Print area
B Waiting area
R Carriage return position
F Flushing position
HP home position
K empty suction position
P paper
1 Inkjet printer
2 Print head
2a Nozzle surface
3 Carriage
4 Movement mechanism
5 Platen
10 Maintenance unit
11 Cap member
11a Ink absorber
12 Ink suction pump
13 Elastic blade
13a Rubber member
13b Felt member
100 CPU
101 Interface section
102 Printer mechanism
103 storage unit
104 External power supply
105 Power failure detector
106 Power supply
107 switch
108 Manual switch

Claims (9)

An inkjet head mounted on a carriage and provided with a nozzle for discharging ink;
A wiping member that contacts the nozzle surface (hereinafter referred to as nozzle surface) of the inkjet head and wipes the nozzle surface, and the wiping member is directed toward the nozzle surface. Wiping means having wiping member driving means for moving forward or backward, and with the first material of the wiping member in contact with the nozzle surface by the wiping member driving means, the carriage is moved in the first direction. Cleaning means for cleaning the inkjet head by moving the second material in a second direction opposite to the first direction in a state where the second material is in contact with the nozzle surface ;
Initialization control means for performing initialization processing of the ink jet printer in response to the start of power supply;
A power shutoff detection means for detecting power supply shutoff;
An operation state storage means for storing an operation state of the cleaning means when the power supply interruption detection means detects the interruption of the power supply;
An operation selection unit that selects an operation of the initialization control unit in accordance with an operation state of the cleaning unit stored by the operation state storage unit;
The operation state storage means stores, as an operation state of the cleaning means, whether the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means is a wiping process by the first or second material of the wiping member. ,
The operation selecting unit is configured to start the carriage when the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping unit stored in the operation state storage unit is the wiping process by the first material of the wiping member. When the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means stored in the operation state storage means in the first direction is the wiping process by the second material of the wiping member An ink jet printer wherein the first movement direction of the carriage is selected as the second direction, respectively.   2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit includes a suction unit that sucks ink from the nozzle, and the operation state storage unit stores a state of whether or not the suction unit is operating. Inkjet printer featuring.   3. The inkjet printer according to claim 2, wherein the suction unit moves the cap member relative to the nozzle, and a cap member that covers the nozzle of the inkjet head and forms a space that is blocked from outside air. A cap moving means that is positioned at a first position that covers the nozzle and a second position that is not covered; a vent means that is openable and closable, and that allows the space formed by the cap member to communicate with outside air in the open state; A pump that is connected to the cap member and sucks air and ink existing in the cap through the cap member, and the operation state storage means is at least when the suction means is operating, A first state in which a first suction process for operating the pump in a state in which the ventilation means is closed, or the Inkjet printer, wherein the second suction process for operating the pump when the gas section is open stores the one of the second state is not completed.   4. The ink jet printer according to claim 3, wherein when the state of the suction unit stored in the operation state storage unit is the first state or the second state, the operation selecting unit is the cap moving unit. The inkjet printer selects an operation for ending the second suction process before moving the cap member from the first position to the second position. An ink jet head mounted on a carriage and provided with a nozzle for ejecting ink and a first material and a second material made of different materials are bonded to each other, and comes into contact with a nozzle surface (hereinafter referred to as a nozzle surface) of the ink jet head. A wiping member having a wiping member for wiping the surface and a wiping member driving unit for moving the wiping member forward or backward toward the nozzle surface ; By moving the carriage in a first direction while being in contact with the nozzle surface, or in a second direction opposite to the first direction in a state where a second material is in contact with the nozzle surface An initialization control method in an inkjet printer having a cleaning means for cleaning the inkjet head,
(A) an initialization step of performing initialization processing of the inkjet printer in response to the start of power supply;
(B) a cleaning step of cleaning the inkjet head, (b1) a step of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means;
(C) a power-off detection step of detecting a power supply interruption;
(D) When power supply interruption is detected in the power interruption detection step (c), as a processing state in the cleaning step (b), a process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means is performed on the wiping member. A processing state storage step for storing whether the first or second material is a wiping process;
(E) When the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means is the wiping process by the first material of the wiping member, the initial movement direction of the carriage in the initialization step (a) When the step of selecting in the first direction and the process of wiping the nozzle surface by the wiping means are the wiping process by the second material of the wiping member, in the initialization step (a) Selecting an initial movement direction of the carriage as the second direction;
An initialization control method characterized by comprising:   6. The initialization control method according to claim 5, wherein the cleaning step (b) includes (b2) a suction step for sucking ink from the nozzle, and the processing state storage step (d) includes (d3) the suction step. An initialization control method comprising a step of storing a state as to whether or not the process of step (b2) is being executed.   7. The initialization control method according to claim 6, wherein in the suction step (b2), (b21) the cap member is moved to the first position relative to the nozzle to cover the nozzle of the ink-jet head and open air. A step of forming a space cut off from the nozzle, and (b22) moving the cap member to a second position relative to the nozzle, and separating the cap member from the nozzle of the inkjet head; (B23) a step of communicating a space formed by the cap member with the cap member in the state where the nozzle is covered with the cap member by opening the ventilation means; and (b24) a pump connected to the cap member. And a step of sucking air and ink present in the cap through the cap member for a predetermined time. In the state storage step (d), (d4) a step of storing the first state in which the processing of the step (b24) is started following the processing of the step (b21) while the processing of the suction step (b2) is being executed. Or (d5) At least one of the steps of storing the second state in which the processing of the step (b24) subsequent to the processing of the step (b23) is not completed while the processing of the suction step (b2) is being executed. An initialization control method characterized by the above.   8. The initialization control method according to claim 7, wherein the processing selection step (e) includes: (e3) the processing state of the suction step (b2) stored in the processing state storage step (d) is the first or the In the second state, prior to the step (b22), the initialization control method includes a step of selecting a process to end the process (b23) and the subsequent process (b24). .   A computer-readable information recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the initialization control method according to claim 5.

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