JP4710572B2 - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, and more particularly, to an ink jet printer capable of suppressing ink consumption while suppressing the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to a user by performing a maintenance operation according to a frequency desired by the user. It is.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet printers that print on recording paper by ejecting ink from a print head having a plurality of ink ejection openings have been put into practical use. In this ink jet printer, bubbles may be generated inside the print head during use, or ink may adhere to the surface of the ink discharge port, causing ink discharge failure. Further, even when the printer is left unused for a long time, ink clogging occurs at the ink ejection port, resulting in ejection failure. If printing is performed in a state where there is a discharge failure, a print failure occurs. In such a case, a purge process is performed to restore a good discharge state. In this purge process, the print head is covered with a suction cap and sealed, and then a negative pressure is generated by a pump to suck the ink inside the print head, or the discharge force is larger than the discharge force during the print process. This is a process for ejecting ink. Therefore, the ink discharge state can be recovered by executing the purge process.

This purge process is automatically executed, for example, every predetermined time (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By executing the purge process automatically every predetermined time set to be short so as not to cause printing defects, it is possible to always maintain a good printing state.
JP 2001-341325 A

  However, some printing defects may be acceptable depending on the user's personality and usage. Nevertheless, in the conventional ink jet printer, the purge process is automatically executed in accordance with the shorter regular purge interval so as to always maintain a good printing state. Since a large amount of ink is ejected or sucked in the purge process, there is a problem in that the ink is consumed quickly by the frequent purge process, which is uneconomical.

  Such a problem is particularly remarkable in an inkjet printer having a facsimile function. In an inkjet printer having a facsimile function, the power is often turned on so that facsimile data can always be received. Therefore, if the purge process is performed automatically every predetermined time, the number of times the purge process is performed is Inevitably increases. As a result, since only the ink is gradually consumed regardless of the user's intention, there is a possibility that the user who emphasizes the economy rather than the print quality may be dissatisfied.

  On the other hand, if the frequency of purge processing is simply decreased to suppress ink consumption, there is a problem that the probability of unacceptable printing defects increases. When an unacceptable printing defect occurs, it may be necessary to reprint depending on the nature of the user. As a result, the recording paper is wasted and uneconomical.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and the maintenance operation is performed according to the frequency desired by the user, thereby suppressing the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to the user and the ink. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer that can suppress the consumption of the ink.

In order to achieve this object, the ink jet printer according to claim 1 includes one or a plurality of ink discharge ports, and a print head that performs printing on a print medium by discharging ink from the ink discharge ports; Maintenance means for recovering the ink discharge state by discharging or sucking ink from the ink discharge port of the print head, and the elapsed time after the maintenance operation by the maintenance means corresponds to the first period. An automatic operation means for causing the maintenance means to perform a maintenance operation based on exceeding the execution interval, an arbitrary operation means for causing the maintenance means to perform a maintenance operation based on a user operation, and the arbitrary operation means within a predetermined time. An optional operation count counter that counts the number of times maintenance operations have been performed Depending on the number of times counted by the operating time counting means, and a distance determination means for determining the first time period, said automatic operating means, before the first period is determined by the distance determining means, As a first period corresponding to an execution interval necessary to keep the ink ejection state recoverable, the maintenance means performs a maintenance operation based on a preset initial value of the first period, and After the first period is determined by the interval determination unit, the maintenance unit is caused to perform a maintenance operation based on the determined first period, and the maintenance operation by the automatic operation unit and the optional operation are performed. of the maintenance operation by the operation means, the elapsed time after the maintenance operation executed in slow, corresponding to the first period the actual Beyond the distance, a shall to the maintenance operation to the maintenance unit, the distance determination unit, when the number of times counted by said arbitrary operation times counting means is larger than a predetermined number, the initial value of the first time period A first period corresponding to a shorter execution interval is determined .

The ink jet printer according to claim 2 is the ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein a current time measuring means for measuring a current time, and a maintenance time storage means for storing a maintenance time when a maintenance operation is performed by the maintenance means. The current time measured by the current time counting means exceeds the time obtained by adding the execution interval corresponding to the first period to the maintenance time stored in the maintenance time storage means, elapsed time after the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit, and a determining means for determining that more than the execution interval, the automatic operation means, by the determining means, the elapsed time is before SL later execution maintenance operation by the maintenance units If it is determined that the interval is exceeded, the maintenance Characterized in that for the maintenance operation means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer according to the first or second aspect, the interval determination unit corresponds to a shorter execution interval as the number of times counted by the arbitrary operation number counting unit increases . One period is determined.

  According to the ink jet printer of the first aspect, the number of maintenance operations based on the user's operation is counted within a predetermined time by the arbitrary operation frequency counting means. Here, the number of maintenance operations performed based on a user operation within a predetermined time reflects the frequency of execution of the maintenance operation desired by the user. This is because, in the case of a user who desires frequent maintenance operations, it is expected that the number of maintenance operations based on user operations will increase compared to users who do not desire frequent maintenance operations. Accordingly, by determining the maintenance operation execution interval according to the number of times counted by the arbitrary operation frequency counting means, it is possible to determine the maintenance operation execution interval according to the maintenance operation execution frequency desired by the user. . Then, after the execution of the maintenance operation for discharging or sucking ink from the ink discharge port of the print head, when the determined execution interval elapses, the maintenance operation is executed again, and the ink discharge state is recovered. Therefore, when the execution interval according to the frequency of the maintenance operation desired by the user elapses, the recovery operation of the ink ejection state is automatically performed, so that the maintenance operation is performed according to the frequency desired by the user and the user is allowed. While suppressing the occurrence of printing defects to the extent that it cannot be performed, the number of maintenance operations can be reduced as much as possible to reduce ink consumption.

According to the ink jet printer according to claim 2, example pressurized to the effects of the ink jet printer of claim 1, wherein the execution interval corresponding to the frequency of the maintenance operation execution Yoo over The desires has passed, recovering the ink discharge state Since the operation is performed automatically, the maintenance operation is performed according to the frequency desired by the user, the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to the user is suppressed, the number of maintenance operations is reduced as much as possible, and the ink consumption is reduced. There is an effect that can be suppressed.

  According to the ink jet printer of the third aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the ink jet printer according to the first or second aspect, the shorter the number of times counted by the arbitrary operation number counting means, the shorter the maintenance operation is performed. Therefore, for a user who has a large number of times counted by the arbitrary operation frequency counting means, that is, a user who desires frequent maintenance operation because of the character that does not allow printing defects, the maintenance operation execution interval is short. Since the interval is determined, when the user does not allow printing defects, the maintenance operation is frequently performed, and the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to the user can be suppressed. As a result, there is an effect that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to the user. On the other hand, a long interval is determined as the maintenance operation execution interval for a user whose number of times counted by the arbitrary operation frequency counting means is small, that is, a user who does not desire frequent maintenance operations because of the nature of allowing printing defects. Therefore, the number of maintenance operations can be reduced as much as possible. As a result, there is an effect that consumption of ink is suppressed.

  In addition, the interval determination unit determines an interval that is the same as or shorter than the initial interval as the maintenance operation execution interval. That is, the initial interval corresponds to the longest interval for performing the maintenance operation. Therefore, until the execution interval of the maintenance operation is determined by the interval determination unit, the maintenance operation is performed with the minimum frequency according to the longest execution interval (initial interval). As described above, when the maintenance operation is performed based on the user's operation while the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit is performed with the minimum frequency by the automatic operation unit, the user performs the maintenance with the frequency more than the minimum. It is expected that an action is desired. Therefore, the maintenance operation according to the frequency of the maintenance operation desired by the user is determined by determining the execution interval of the maintenance operation that is the same as the initial interval or shorter than the initial interval according to the number of times counted by the arbitrary operation frequency counting means. The execution interval of the operation can be determined. Therefore, the maintenance operation is performed according to the frequency desired by the user, and the number of maintenance operations can be reduced as much as possible while suppressing the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to the user, thereby suppressing ink consumption. There is an effect.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multifunction peripheral device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multi-function peripheral device 1 has various functions such as a facsimile function, a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a video printer function, and full color printing is performed for printing performed when these functions are executed. Inkjet printer 26 capable of performing the above is mounted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the device main body 2 of the multi-function peripheral device 1 is formed in a box-like body, and an operation panel 3 is disposed on the front part of the upper surface thereof. The operation panel 3 is provided with various buttons such as “0” to “9” numeric buttons 3a, a start button 3b, and a purge button 3c, and various operations can be performed by pressing these buttons. Done. The user presses the purge button 3c to suck ink from the nozzles of a print head 65 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, and to perform a purge process (corresponding to the maintenance operation in the claims) for recovering the ink ejection state. Execution can be instructed.

  A liquid crystal (LCD) display 6 is provided at the rear of the operation panel 3, and a setting state of the multi-function peripheral device 1 and various operation messages are displayed as necessary. When the multifunction peripheral device 1 is in a standby state, the current time set via the operation panel 3 is displayed on the LCD display 6.

  At the rear of the LCD display 6, there is provided a document placing section 4 on which a facsimile document transmitted to the facsimile machine 51 during the facsimile function and a copy document copied during the copy function can be stacked. Various documents placed on the document placement unit 4 are conveyed into the apparatus main body 2, and an image drawn on the surface of the document is read by the scanner 19. The document on which the image has been read is further conveyed and discharged to the document discharge unit 9 provided below the operation panel 3 in a stackable manner.

  A cassette insertion portion 5 is provided at the rear portion of the document placing portion 4. A paper cassette capable of stacking and storing a plurality of recording papers P is detachably attached to the cassette insertion portion 5 (not shown). The recording paper P is supplied from a paper cassette mounted on the cassette insertion portion 5 and used for printing by an ink jet printer 26 described later, and then discharged from a recording paper discharge portion 10 provided below the document discharge portion 9. Is done. A video signal input terminal 7 is provided adjacent to the lower right portion of the recording paper discharge unit 10. A video signal (image data) output from a video camera or the like connected to the video signal input terminal 7 is taken into the multi-function peripheral device 1 and printed in full color by an inkjet printer 26 capable of full color printing.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer 26 housed in the apparatus main body 2 of the multifunction peripheral device 1. The ink jet printer 26 is a serial printer that performs printing by moving the print head 65 in the directions of arrow A and counter arrow A.

  A platen roller 61 for conveying the recording paper P is rotatably attached to the frame 63 of the inkjet printer 26, and a guide rod 62 is fixed to the frame 63 in parallel with the platen roller 61. A carriage 66 on which the print head 65 is mounted is supported on the guide rod 62 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording paper P. The carriage 66 is connected to the platen roller 61 along the guide rod 62 via a belt 70 that is stretched between a driving pulley 68 and a driven pulley 69 that are rotated by a carriage motor 67 provided on one side of the frame 63. Moved in parallel.

  The print head 65 mounted on the carriage 66 includes four color ink tanks 65a to 65d. Each of the ink tanks 65a to 65d has four colors of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow in order from the left in FIG. Is filled with ink. These four colors of ink are ejected from a plurality of nozzles (ink ejection ports) provided in the print head 65, and full color printing is performed on the recording paper P. Each of the ink tanks 65a to 65d is individually detachable, and is configured so that only the ink tanks 65a to 65d lacking ink can be individually replaced.

  On the other side of the frame 63 (left side in FIG. 2), a recovery mechanism 71 that recovers the ink ejection state is provided. The recovery mechanism 71 includes a suction cap 72 that seals all the nozzles of the print head 65 at a time, and a protruding member 73 that protrudes the suction cap 72 toward the print head 65 is attached to the back surface of the suction cap 72. Has been. One end of the projecting member 73 is brought into contact with the surface of the projecting lever 74 formed in an arc shape, and when the projecting lever 74 is moved in the arrow B direction from the state of FIG. It protrudes in the direction of the print head 65. Therefore, after the carriage 66 is moved to the position of the one-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the suction lever 72 can be moved in the direction of arrow B, so that the suction cap 72 can be covered over the nozzle portion of the print head 65 and sealed.

  The movement of the protruding lever 74 in the directions of the arrow B and the opposite arrow B is performed by a cam body 76 that is rotated by a purge motor 75. The rotation of the cam body 76 also drives a suction pump (not shown). The suction pump is for executing a purging process for performing a suction operation via a suction tube 77 connected to the non-suction surface of the suction cap 72, and suction is performed with the suction cap 72 placed on the print head 65. When the pump is operated, ink is sucked from the nozzles of the print head 65, and the ink ejection state is recovered. This purge process is executed when the user presses the purge button 3c (see FIG. 1) or when the elapsed time from the previous purge process exceeds the purge interval described later.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the multifunction peripheral device 1. The multifunction peripheral device 1 is formed by connecting two units of a facsimile unit FU and a printer unit PU to each other through an interface 30. The facsimile unit FU includes a CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, EEPROM 14, network control unit (hereinafter referred to as “NCU”) 15, modem 16, encoder 17, decoder 18, scanner 19, operation panel 3, LCD display 6. , A video signal input terminal 7, a document sensor 8, and a timer circuit 28, which are connected to each other via a facsimile control circuit 20.

  The CPU 11 controls each unit connected to the facsimile control circuit 20 based on various signals transmitted / received via the NCU 15 and executes a facsimile operation and the like. Moreover, various programs, such as a program which performs the process shown with the flowchart of FIGS. 4-7, are performed. The ROM 12 is a non-rewritable memory for storing various control programs executed by the multi-function peripheral device 1 including a program for executing the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.

  The RAM 13 is a rewritable memory for storing various data, and includes a manual purge number counter 13a and an interval counter 13b. The manual purge number counter 13a is a counter for counting the number of times purge processing (manual purge processing) based on user operation is performed within a predetermined time T4. In a first startup process (see FIG. 5) described later, when a purge process based on a user operation is executed, “1” is added to the value of the manual purge number counter 13a. The value of the manual purge number counter 13a is cleared to “0” every predetermined time T4.

  The interval counter 13b is a counter for measuring a predetermined time T4 in an initial activation process (see FIG. 5) described later. The value of the interval counter 13b is cleared to “0” at the start of an initial activation process (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, and is updated by adding an elapsed time from the previous update at every predetermined timing. That is, the value of the interval counter 13b indicates the elapsed time from the previous clear. The interval counter 13b is cleared when the value exceeds the predetermined time T4, and the addition of the elapsed time is started again.

  The EEPROM 14 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and the data stored in the EEPROM 14 is retained even after the multifunction peripheral device 1 is turned off. The EEPROM 14 is provided with a purge time memory 14a and a purge interval memory 14b. The purge time memory 14a stores the time (including date) of the purge process performed last time. The purge interval memory 14b stores a purge interval (purge processing execution interval). When the elapsed time stored in the purge time memory 14a from the previous purge process exceeds the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14b, the purge process is automatically executed.

  The NCU 15 performs operations such as sending a dial signal to the telephone network (telephone line 52) and responding to a calling signal from the telephone network (telephone line 52). The modem 16 modulates and demodulates image data via the NCU 15 and transmits it to the counterpart facsimile machine 51, and transmits and receives various procedure signals for transmission control. The encoder 17 encodes the original image data read by the scanner 19 for compression, and the decoder 18 decodes the encoded data such as received facsimile data. It is. The scanner 19 is for reading an image of a document inserted from the document placement unit 4 into the apparatus. The document sensor 8 is a sensor that detects whether or not a document is placed on the document placement unit 4, that is, the presence or absence of a document.

  The clock circuit 28 is a circuit that clocks the current time (including the date), and includes a driving battery 28a in order to continue clocking the current time even after the multifunction peripheral device 1 is powered off. The initial setting of the current time in the timer circuit 28 is performed via the operation panel 3. The current time measured by the clock circuit 28 is output to the LCD display 6 and displayed as a clock when the multifunction peripheral device 1 is on standby, that is, when each operation function is stopped. Further, the current time of the time measuring circuit 28 is read after the purge process is executed and written in the purge time memory 14 a of the EEPROM 14.

  The facsimile unit FU is connected to the counterpart facsimile machine 51 via the NCU 15 and the telephone line 52.

  The printer unit PU includes a CPU 21 that is an arithmetic device, a ROM 22 that stores a control program executed by the CPU 21, various work memories that are referred to and updated when the CPU 21 is executed, a print memory that stores printing data, and the like. A personal computer interface 24 to which a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 53 is connected, a character generator (hereinafter referred to as “CG”) 25 for storing vector fonts such as characters for printing, and the like. The above-described ink jet printer 26 is provided. These are connected to each other via a printer control circuit 27. In FIG. 3, only the print head 65, the carriage motor 67, and the purge motor 75 are illustrated as the configuration of the inkjet printer 26, and other configurations are not illustrated. The personal computer interface 24 is, for example, a parallel interface conforming to the Centronics standard, and the multi-functional peripheral device 1 can transmit and receive data to and from the PC 53 via a cable 54 connected to the interface 24.

  With reference to FIG. 4, the initial activation process executed by the facsimile unit FU of the multi-function peripheral device 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the initial activation process executed by the facsimile unit FU of the multifunction peripheral device 1. This initial activation process is a process executed when the user turns on the power for the first time after the multifunction peripheral device 1 is shipped from the factory.

  First, the purge interval T3 (corresponding to the initial interval described in the claims) is written in the purge interval memory 14b (S2). This purge interval T3 is the longest value predetermined as the purge interval written in the purge interval memory 14b. As will be described in later-described processes of S14 and S18, when the elapsed time from the purge process executed last time exceeds the purge interval written in the purge interval memory 14b, the purge process is automatically executed. Therefore, at the start of the first activation process, the longest purge interval T3 is written in the purge interval memory 14b in advance, and the longest purge interval until the purge interval is determined by the manual purge process (S12) described later. Purging is automatically performed according to T3.

  Next, an initial introduction purge is executed (S4). In the process of S4, the CPU 11 of the facsimile unit FU (see FIG. 3) transmits a purge process execution command to the CPU 21 of the printer unit PU. The CPU 21 of the printer unit PU that has received the purge process execution command causes the purge process to be executed according to the control program stored in the ROM 22. Thereby, ink is filled from the ink tanks 65a to 65d to the nozzles of the print head 65, and the print head 65 can eject ink.

  Next, the current time counted by the timing circuit 28 (see FIG. 3) is read and written in the purge time memory 14a (S6). Thereby, the time when the purge process is performed is stored in the purge time memory 14a.

  Next, the value of the interval counter 13b is cleared to “0” (S8). Then, it is determined whether or not the execution of the manual purge process is instructed (S10). This is determined based on whether or not the user has pressed the purge button 3c (see FIG. 1).

  When the execution of the purge process (manual purge process) based on the user operation is instructed (S10: Yes), the manual purge execution process (see FIG. 6) described later is executed (S12).

  On the other hand, when the execution of the purge process based on the user operation is not instructed (S10: No), it is determined whether or not the elapsed time after the previous purge process exceeds the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14b (S14). ). Specifically, the current time counted by the time counting circuit 28 is obtained by adding the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14a to the time when the previous purge process stored in the purge time memory 14a is executed. It is determined whether or not a given time has been exceeded. When the elapsed time after the previous purge process has not yet exceeded the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14b (S14: No), the count control process (see FIG. 5) is executed (S16), and the process of S10 is performed. Return.

  The count control process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the count control process. The count control process is a process for clearing the number of manual purge processes executed by the manual purge counter 13a every predetermined time T4 (for example, T4 = 50 days).

  First, the elapsed time from the previous update of the interval counter 13b is acquired by referring to the time counting circuit 28 (see FIG. 3), and the acquired elapsed time is added to the value of the interval counter 13b. Is updated (S161). When the process of S161 is first performed after the value of the interval counter 13b is cleared to “0”, the elapsed time after the value of the interval counter 13b is cleared to “0” is the interval counter 13b. Is added to the value of. That is, the value of the interval counter 13b is a value indicating the elapsed time since the previous clear.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the value of the interval counter 13b exceeds a predetermined time T4 (S162). If the value of the interval counter 13b does not exceed the predetermined time T4 (S162: No), the count control process (S16) is terminated, and the process returns to S10 (see FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, when the value of the interval counter 13b exceeds the predetermined time T4 (S162), the number of manual purge processing executions counted by the manual purge number counter 13a is cleared (S164). Then, the value of the interval counter 13b is cleared (S166), and the process returns to S10 (see FIG. 4).

  According to the count control process (S16), the values of the manual purge number counter 13a and the interval counter 13b can be cleared every predetermined time T4.

  Returning to FIG. While the processes of S10 to S16 are repeated in this manner, the current time counted by the time counting circuit 28 is stored in the purge interval memory 14a at the time when the previous purge process stored in the purge time memory 14a is executed. If it is determined that the elapsed time after the purge process exceeds the purge interval based on exceeding the time obtained by adding the purge intervals (S14: Yes), the purge process is executed (S18). In the process of S18, the CPU 11 (see FIG. 3) of the facsimile unit FU transmits a purge process execution command to the CPU 21 of the printer unit PU. The CPU 21 of the printer unit PU that has received the purge process execution command executes the purge process according to the control program stored in the ROM 22. The purge process in S18 is an automatic purge process that is automatically executed based on the elapsed time after the purge process.

  After the automatic purge process is executed, the current time counted by the timing circuit 28 (see FIG. 3) is read and written in the purge time memory 14a (S20). Thereby, the time when the purge process is performed is stored.

  As will be described later in the manual purge execution process (S12, see FIG. 6), when the purge process is instructed based on a user operation, the purge interval corresponding to the number of manual purge executions is determined. The purge process is automatically executed according to the determined purge interval. On the other hand, until the purge interval corresponding to the number of executions of the manual purge is determined by the manual purge execution process (S12), the purge is performed according to the longest purge interval T3 stored in advance in the purge interval memory 14b in the process of S2. Processing is performed automatically. Here, although the ink discharge port of the print head 65 may dry, the purge interval T3 is experimentally determined in advance as an interval that can recover the ink discharge state if the purge process is executed within the interval. Value (for example, T3 = 50 days). In other words, if the purge process is not executed and the purge process is not executed even if the elapsed time since the previous purge process exceeds the longest purge interval T3, the drying of the ink at the ink discharge port proceeds. In the purge process, the ink discharge state may be unrecoverable. According to this embodiment, until the purge interval corresponding to the number of manual purge executions is determined by the manual purge execution process (S12), according to the longest purge interval T3 stored in the purge interval memory 14b. Since the minimum necessary purge process is automatically executed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an ink ejection failure that cannot be recovered by the purge process.

  When the automatic purge process is executed and the time when the purge process is performed is written in the purge time memory 14a (S20), the process returns to S10 and the process is repeated. If the execution of the manual purge process is instructed based on the user operation while the process is repeated in this manner (S10: Yes), the process proceeds to the manual purge execution process (S12).

  The manual purge execution process (S12) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing manual purge execution processing. The manual purge execution process is a process that is executed when an instruction to execute a purge process based on a user operation is issued. The purge process is executed and a purge interval is determined according to the number of times the manual purge process is executed. It is.

  As described above, until the purge interval corresponding to the number of executions of the manual purge process is determined, the minimum automatic purge process is executed according to the longest purge interval T3. Here, with the minimum automatic purge process, the occurrence of an unrecoverable ink discharge failure is prevented, but a slight print failure may occur. Even if a printing failure occurs, it is expected that if the user has a character that allows the printing failure, the execution of the manual purge process is not instructed from the viewpoint of saving ink. On the other hand, a user with a meticulous character who cannot tolerate the print defect by looking at the print result is not sufficient with the minimum automatic purge process, and instructs the execution of the manual purge process by pressing the purge button 3c. It is expected that. Therefore, in the manual purge execution process (S12) of the present embodiment, when the number of times the manual purge process is executed exceeds a predetermined number, the purge interval T3 set first is set according to the number of times. It was decided to determine a short purge interval. Thereby, the purge interval according to the frequency of purge processing execution desired by the user can be determined.

  In the manual purge execution process, first, a purge process is executed (S122). In the process of S122, the CPU 11 of the facsimile unit FU (see FIG. 3) transmits a purge process execution command to the CPU 21 of the printer unit PU. The CPU 21 of the printer unit PU that has received the purge process execution command executes the purge process according to the control program stored in the ROM 22. The purge process in S122 is a manual purge process that is executed based on an instruction to execute the purge process by a user operation. Next, the current time counted by the timing circuit 28 (see FIG. 3) is read and written in the purge time memory 14a (S124).

  Next, “1” is added to the value of the manual purge number counter 13a (see FIG. 3) (S126). Next, it is determined whether or not the value of the manual purge number counter 13a is larger than “6” (S128). When the value of the manual purge number counter 13a is larger than “6” (S128: Yes), that is, when the number of purge processes based on the user operation within the predetermined time T4 is 7 times or more, It can be determined that the desired frequency of execution of the purge process is very high. Therefore, the shortest purge interval T1 (for example, T1 = 30 days) shorter than the initially set purge interval T3 is written in the purge interval memory 14b (S134).

  When the value of the manual purge number counter 13a is “6” or less (S128: No), it is determined whether or not the value of the manual purge number counter 13a is larger than “3” (S130). When the value of the manual purge number counter 13a is larger than “3” (S130: Yes), that is, when the number of times purge processing based on the user operation is performed within a predetermined time T4 is not less than 4 times and not more than 6 times It can be determined that the frequency of execution of the purge process desired by the user is relatively high. Therefore, a purge interval T2 (for example, T2 = 40 days) shorter than the initially set purge interval T3 and longer than the shortest purge interval T1 is written in the purge interval memory 14b (S136).

  When the value of the manual purge number counter 13a is “3” or less (S130: No), that is, when the number of purge processes based on the user operation within the predetermined time T4 is three times or less, It can be determined that the desired frequency of purge processing is low. Therefore, the longest purge interval T3 which is the same as the purge interval T3 set first is written in the purge interval memory 14b (S132).

  Thus, when the purge interval is determined according to the number of times the manual purge process is performed within the predetermined time T4, the manual purge execution process (S12) is terminated, and the process returns to the process of S10 (see FIG. 4). Thereafter, purging is automatically executed according to the determined purge interval.

  According to the manual purge execution process (S12), the shorter the number of manual purge processes executed, the shorter the purge interval is determined. Thus, for users who desire frequent purge processing, a short purge interval is determined. After the purge interval is determined by the manual purge execution process, the purge process is automatically executed according to the determined purge interval. Therefore, if the user does not allow printing defects, the short purge interval is performed. Accordingly, the purge process is frequently performed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to the user and to suppress the re-execution of printing, which is economical. On the other hand, a long purge interval is determined for a user with a small number of manual purge processing executions, that is, a user who does not want frequent purge processing because of the nature of allowing printing defects, so the number of purge processings is possible. As a result, ink consumption is suppressed and economical.

  Note that the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14b of the EEPROM 14 is maintained even after the multifunction peripheral device 1 is powered off. Therefore, when the multifunction peripheral device 1 is turned on for the first time, the purge interval determined in the initial activation process (see FIG. 4) and stored in the purge interval memory 14b is the second and subsequent times when the multifunction peripheral device 1 is turned on. Is also used.

  With reference to FIG. 7, the periodic purge process executed in the multifunction peripheral device 1 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the periodic purge process. The periodic purge process shown in FIG. 7 is a process that is started on the basis of the second or subsequent power-on in the multi-function peripheral device 1, and the elapsed time from the previous purge process has exceeded the purge interval. The purge process is automatically executed based on the above.

  First, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time after the previous purge process has exceeded the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14b (S22). Specifically, the current time counted by the time counting circuit 28 is obtained by adding the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14a to the time when the previous purge process stored in the purge time memory 14a is executed. It is determined whether or not a given time has been exceeded. If the elapsed time after the previous purge process has not yet exceeded the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14b (S22: No), the process waits.

  The time obtained by adding the purge interval stored in the purge interval memory 14a to the time when the previous purge process stored in the purge time memory 14a is performed is the current time counted by the timing circuit 28. If it is determined that the elapsed time after the purge process exceeds the purge interval based on exceeding (S22: Yes), the purge process is executed (S24). The purge process in S24 is an automatic purge process that is automatically executed based on the elapsed time after the purge process.

  After the automatic purge process is executed, the current time measured by the timer circuit 28 (see FIG. 3) is read and written in the purge time memory 14a (S26). Thereby, the time when the purge process is performed is stored. After the time is written in the purge time memory 14a, the process returns to S22 and the process is repeated.

  According to the multi-function peripheral device 1 of the present embodiment, the purge interval is determined according to the number of times the purge process is executed based on the user operation, so that the purge according to the frequency of the purge process desired by the user is determined. The interval can be determined. When the determined purge interval has elapsed after the previous purge process, the purge process is automatically executed and the ink ejection state is recovered. Accordingly, the purge process is performed according to the frequency desired by the user, and the number of purge process executions can be reduced as much as possible while suppressing the occurrence of printing defects that are unacceptable to the user. As a result, re-execution of printing is suppressed and ink consumption is suppressed, which is economical.

  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 improvements and modifications can be easily made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Can be inferred.

  For example, in this embodiment, the predetermined time T4 for counting the number of times the manual purge process is executed is 50 days equal to the longest purge interval T3. However, the specific value of the predetermined time T4 is not necessarily the longest. The value may not be equal to the purge interval T3.

  In this embodiment, the first activation process (see FIG. 5) has been described as a process that is executed when the user turns on the power for the first time after the multifunction peripheral device 1 is shipped from the factory. Processing may be performed periodically.

1 is a perspective view of a multifunction peripheral device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer housed inside the apparatus main body of the multifunction peripheral device of FIG. 1. It is the block diagram which showed the electrical structure of the multifunction peripheral device. It is a flowchart of the first starting process performed by the facsimile unit FU of the multifunction peripheral device. It is a flowchart of the count control process performed in the facsimile unit FU of the multifunction peripheral device. It is a flowchart of the manual purge execution process performed in the facsimile unit FU of the multifunction peripheral device. It is a flowchart of the regular purge process performed in the facsimile unit FU of the multifunction peripheral device.

Explanation of symbols

1 Multifunctional peripheral device (inkjet printer)
14a Purge time memory (maintenance time storage means)
28 Timekeeping circuit (current timekeeping means)
65 Print head 71 Recovery mechanism (maintenance means)
S14 determination means S18 automatic operation means S22 determination means S24 automatic operation means S126 arbitrary operation frequency counting means S128, S130 part of interval determination means S132, S134, S136 part of interval determination means

Claims (3)

One or a plurality of ink discharge ports, a print head that discharges ink from the ink discharge ports and performs printing on a print medium, and discharges or sucks ink from the ink discharge ports of the print head. In an inkjet printer provided with maintenance means for recovering the discharge state,
An automatic operation means for causing the maintenance means to perform a maintenance operation based on an elapsed time after a maintenance operation by the maintenance means exceeding an execution interval corresponding to a first period;
Optional operation means for causing the maintenance means to perform a maintenance operation based on a user operation;
Arbitrary operation number counting means for counting the number of times the maintenance operation has been performed within a predetermined time by the arbitrary operation means,
An interval determining means for determining the first period according to the number of times counted by the arbitrary operation number counting means ,
The automatic operation means includes
Before the first period is determined by the interval determining means, a first period set in advance is set as a first period corresponding to an execution interval necessary to keep the ink ejection state recoverable. Based on the value, the maintenance unit performs a maintenance operation, and after the first period is determined by the interval determination unit, the maintenance unit performs a maintenance operation based on the determined first period. That
Of the maintenance operation by the automatic operation means and the maintenance operation by the arbitrary operation means, when the elapsed time after the maintenance operation executed late exceeds the execution interval corresponding to the first period, the maintenance means performs maintenance. is shall to the operation,
The interval determining means counted number if greater than the predetermined number, determining a first period corresponding to a short execution interval than the initial value of the first period by the arbitrary number of operations counting means, i inkjet Printer. A current time measuring means for measuring the current time, a maintenance time storage means for storing a maintenance time at which a maintenance operation is performed by the maintenance means,
Based on the fact that the current time measured by the current time counting means exceeds the time obtained by adding the execution interval corresponding to the first period to the maintenance time stored in the maintenance time storage means. elapsed time after the maintenance operation by means comprises determining means for determining that more than the execution interval,
The automatic operation means, by the determining means, when the elapsed time after the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit is determined as being greater than before SL execution interval, claim 1, characterized in that for the maintenance operation to said maintenance units The inkjet printer as described. 3. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the interval determination unit determines the first period corresponding to a shorter execution interval as the number of times counted by the arbitrary operation count unit increases.

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