JP7312647B2 - Ink jet recording device and ink stirring control method in damper used in ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer/plotter and an ink agitation control method in a damper used in the ink jet recording apparatus.

When the ink used in an inkjet printer is not used for a long period of time, the ink may separate, settle, or form a film in the ink supply path. Especially, the ink tends to separate or settle in the damper provided near the print head, and if the ink is supplied to the print head as it is, the printing result is adversely affected.
In this case, the ink can be discharged and recovered by suctioning or flushing the print head, but the amount of discharged ink increases, which is not economical.
In addition, there is also a problem that it is difficult to solve the problem that the ink stays in a portion far from the path that connects the ink supply port and the ink discharge port provided in the damper and separation of the ink occurs. In such a portion, even if the operation of forcibly discharging the ink is performed, a large amount of ink flows in the shortest route, so the ink in the stagnant portion that is desired to be discharged positively cannot be discharged efficiently.
Therefore, conventionally, a damper and an ink circulation method capable of suppressing the sedimentation of the coloring material of the ink have been proposed (see Patent Document 1, for example).
Further, there is known an inkjet printer that controls a pump capable of discharging ink in both directions and agitates ink inside a damper and an ink flow path (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Further, a liquid injection device has been proposed in which a partition wall is provided in a self-sealing valve (damper) to form a first flow path and a second flow path, and the sedimented components of the liquid in the damper can be agitated (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
In addition, an inkjet printer (liquid ejecting device) has been proposed in which a ratchet mechanism is provided to convert the displacement motion of the diaphragm portion into the rotational motion of the rotor to agitate the sediment component of the liquid in the damper (see, for example, Patent Document 4).
In addition, a liquid injection device has been proposed in which a partition wall is provided to enable switching between the first flow path and the second flow path, and to stir sedimented components of the liquid in the damper (see, for example, Patent Document 5).
Further, there is conventionally known a recovery device for an inkjet printer that performs suction by a suction pump a plurality of times for recovery of the print head (see, for example, Patent Document 6).

International publication WO2015/174535 JP 2012-61779 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-158002 JP 2012-158130 A JP 2012-144744 A JP-A-2004-025897

When solving problems such as ink separation, sedimentation, and filming in the ink supply path, the conventional technology involves additional changes in the mechanical structure of the inkjet printer, so there is a problem that it cannot be easily dealt with.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method for an inkjet recording apparatus and an inkjet recording apparatus using the control method, which can solve problems such as sedimentation and separation of ink in a damper without adding or changing the mechanical structure of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus comprising a damper 8 having an ink containing chamber 52 with a flexible film 58 stretched in the ink flow path connecting the ink supply section 22 on the body side and the print head 6, a head cap 32 provided in a non-printing area of the body covering the ink discharge surface of the print head 6, and a suction pump 40 sucking the ink in the flow path into the head cap 32 to clean the inside of the print head 6. Head cap 3 2, the suction pump 40 is continuously driven on and off, the flexible film 58 of the damper 8 is continuously displaced in the direction opposite to the recessing direction, and the suction pump 40 is repeatedly turned on and off until a specified number of times is reached, so that the ink in the damper 8 can be agitated.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the elapsed time of the stop mode of the ink jet recording apparatus is measured by a timer, and one of the operation mode for stirring the ink in the damper and the operation mode for maintaining and recovering the head state is selected according to the elapsed time of the stop mode.
Further, the present invention is an inkjet recording apparatus having a head cleaning mechanism that cleans the inside of the print head 6 by providing a damper 8 having an ink storage chamber 52 with a flexible film 58 in the ink flow path connecting the ink supply section 22 on the body side and the print head 6, blocking the ink discharge surface of the print head 6 with a head cap 32 provided in a non-printing area of the body, and sucking the ink in the flow path into the head cap 32 by the suction force of the suction pump 40 to clean the inside of the print head 6. The lapsed time of the stop mode of the ink jet recording apparatus that blocks the ink discharge surface is measured, and when the stop mode has passed for a predetermined time, the suction pump 40 is continuously driven on and off, the flexible film 58 of the damper 8 is continuously displaced in the direction opposite to the concave direction, and the on-off driving operation of the suction pump 40 is repeated until it reaches a specified number of times to agitate the ink in the damper 8.
A damper 8 having an ink storage chamber 52 with a flexible film 58 stretched in an ink flow path connecting an ink supply section 22 on the body side and a print head 6 is provided, an ink discharge section of the print head 6 is closed with a head cap 32 provided in a non-printing area of the body, and ink in the ink flow path is sucked into the head cap 32 by a suction force of a suction pump 40 to clean the inside of the print head 6. Continuously driving the suction pump 40 on and off from the stop mode state of the ink jet recording apparatus in which the ink ejection portion of the print head 6 is blocked by the cap 32 to continuously displace the flexible film 58 of the damper 8 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the damper 8 is recessed; Pausing the on/off driving of the suction pump 40; is repeated until the ink in the damper 8 is stirred.
The present invention also provides a damper 8 having an ink storage chamber 52 with a flexible film 58 in the ink flow path connecting the ink supply unit 22 on the machine side and the print head 6, and a head cap 32 provided in a non-printing area of the machine body that closes the ink ejection section of the print head 6. A suction pump 40 sucks the ink in the ink flow path into the head cap 32 to clean the inside of the print head 6, and a head cleaning mechanism is provided. measuring the elapsed time of the stop mode of the ink jet recording apparatus in which the ink ejection portion of the print head 6 is closed by the head cap 32; when the stop mode has passed for a predetermined time, continuously driving the suction pump 40 on and off to continuously displace the flexible film 58 of the damper 8 in the direction opposite to the recessing direction; stopping the on/off driving of the suction pump 40; and a returning step, and the on/off drive operation of the suction pump 40 is repeatedly performed until a specified number of times is reached, thereby stirring the ink in the damper 8. FIG.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the stop mode is set to 24 hours or more, and the suction pump 40 is started to be driven when the set time has passed.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the pause time of the suction pump 40 is set to be longer than the time required for the flexible membrane displaced in a concave direction by the suction of the suction pump 40 to return to its original bulging state after the suction pump 40 is turned off.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the on-time of the on-off driving of the suction pump is set to a time shorter than the maximum time setting of the suction operation time.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the on-time of the on-off driving of the suction pump is set to 15.0 seconds or less.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the specified number of ON/OFF drive operations of the suction pump 40 is two or more.

Since the present invention can positively agitate the ink in the damper, it is possible to eliminate the sedimentation, separation, etc. of the ink in the damper and prevent the printing result from being affected.
In addition, since the cleaning mechanism used in the conventional apparatus is used as it is, it can be dealt with only by changing the control, and the mechanical structure of the ink jet recording apparatus does not need to be changed, so it can be easily applied to the conventional ink jet recording apparatus. In addition, compared with the suction recovery operation for the purpose of controlling the discharge of ink in the damper, the consumption of the discharged ink can be reduced.

It is a flow chart which shows the operation of the present invention. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer; FIG. It is an explanatory view of the present invention. It is an explanatory view of the present invention. It is an explanatory view of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block explanatory diagram of a printer; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a damper; It is an explanatory view of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the entire inkjet recording apparatus used in the present invention. A carriage 10 on which a plurality of printheads 6 and a plurality of dampers 8 are mounted is movably attached to a guide rail 4 installed on the body of the inkjet recording apparatus 2 .
A print head 6 is arranged on a carriage 10 and a damper 8 is arranged on the carriage 10 above the print head 6 . Each print head 6 communicates with a corresponding damper 8 via a conduit.

The carriage 10 is linked to an X-motor 12 (see FIG. 6) provided on the body side, and is guided by the guide rail 4 and reciprocates on the platen 18 in the horizontal direction (main scanning direction) under the control of the main scanning driving section 16 of the controller 14 of the inkjet recording apparatus 2.
The ink ejection nozzles of the print head 6 are open on the ink ejection surface of the ink ejection portion 6a of the print head 6. As shown in FIG. An ink tank 22 (ink supply section) composed of a plurality of ink cartridges 20 is provided on the body side of the recording apparatus 2 .

Each ink cartridge 20 in the ink tank 22 is connected to the corresponding ink supply port 8a of the damper 8 via an ink flow path 24 consisting of an ink tube (see FIG. 7).
A platen 18 on which a recording medium such as paper is placed has a slit, and a media driving roller (not shown) is arranged in the slit. A medium placed on the platen 18 is sandwiched between the drive roller and a pressing roller (not shown) provided on the guide rail 4 side.

The driving roller and the pressing roller constitute a media transport mechanism. The media transport mechanism is linked to a Y motor 26 (see FIG. 6) provided on the body side, and is configured to transport media in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the guide rails 4 under the control of a sub-scanning drive unit 28 of the controller 14 of the recording apparatus 2.
The controller 14 of the inkjet recording apparatus 2 moves the carriage 10 with respect to the medium in the main scanning direction under the control of the main scanning driving section 16, and the ink is discharged from the ink discharging section 6a of the print head 6 under the control of the print head driving section 30 to print on a predetermined area of the medium.

When the print head 6 completes the main scan for the print width, the sub-scan drive unit 28 drives the Y motor 26 to move the medium in the sub-scan direction by a predetermined amount, and repeats these operations to print all desired areas.
On the other hand, in a non-printing area (home position) on the movement path of the carriage 10, a capping mechanism is provided for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the ink ejection portion 6a of the print head 6. As shown in FIG.

The capping mechanism consists of a head cap 32 and a head cap lifting mechanism 34 for holding the head cap lifting mechanism 34 (see FIG. 6). 2, the head cap lifting mechanism 34 is omitted. The head cap 32 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and is constructed such that the openings are in close contact with the nozzle forming surface of the ink discharge section 6a of the print head 6 to seal the nozzle forming surface.

The head cap 32 functions as a cover that seals the nozzle formation surface of the print head 6 and prevents the nozzle openings from drying out while the inkjet recording apparatus 2 is not operating (when waiting for the next print, when the power of the printer is turned off, etc.). The bottom of head cap 32 is connected to suction pump 40 via tube 38 (see FIG. 3). The suction pump 40 is driven by a suction pump driving section 42 . The head cap 32 has a function of applying the suction force of the suction pump 40 to the print head 6 to perform a cleaning operation of sucking and discharging ink from the print head 6 . Ink sucked by the suction pump 40 is collected in a waste liquid tank 44 .

On a carriage 10 on which the print head 6 is mounted, a plurality of dampers 8 are mounted above the print head 6 as liquid storage mechanisms for buffering pressure fluctuations generated in ink in an ink supply path between the ink tank 22 and the print head 6. - 特許庁During the printing operation, the inertial force generated by the movement of the carriage 8 along the guide rail 4 causes the ink in the ink supply path to move. Due to this movement, pressure fluctuations are applied to the ink in the nozzles of the ink ejection portion 6a of the print head 6. FIG. The damper 8 mitigates this pressure fluctuation to prevent ejection failure of the ink ejected from the print head 6 and breakage of the meniscus at the opening of the ink ejection nozzle.

Due to the head difference between the liquid surface of the ink tank 22 provided on the body side of the ink jet recording apparatus 2 and the ink ejection portion 6a of the print head 6, the ink in the ink passage 24 and the damper 8 and in the print head 6 is kept at a negative pressure.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the damper 8. Ink containing chambers 50 and 52 are formed on both sides of the wall body 48, and a communication hole 54 is formed between the ink containing chambers 50 and 52. As shown in FIG. An ink supply port 8 a is provided in the upper portion of the main body 48 and communicates with the ink storage chamber 50 . An ink discharge port 8 b is provided in the lower portion of the main body 48 and communicates with the ink storage chamber 52 . The ink supply port 8a is connected to a tube forming the ink supply path 24 via a connection pipe (not shown).

The ink discharge port 8b is connected to an ink supply pipe 56 connected to the print head 6 via a connection pipe (not shown). One side of the ink storage chamber 52 is covered with a flexible film 58 made of resin and film, and the ink storage chamber 52 forms a pressure chamber defined by the flexible film 58 . The flexible membrane 58 is attached to the main body 48 with enough leeway to allow sufficient outward and inward deflection. In the ink storage chamber 50, a valve body 60 for opening and closing the communication hole 54 is arranged so as to be movable in the horizontal direction in the figure, and is pressed against the wall surface around the communication hole 54 by the elasticity of the opening/closing pressure adjusting spring 62.

One side of a valve shaft 64 is fixed to the flexible membrane 58 , and the other side of the valve shaft 64 faces the valve body 60 . The valve body 60 and the valve shaft 64 constitute an on-off valve.
As shown in FIG. 7A, when the print head 6 moves along the guide rail 4 during printing by the ink jet recording apparatus 2, and a negative pressure of a certain value or more is applied to the ink tube 24, the ink tube 24 is displaced in the direction of decreasing the volume (recessing direction).

As shown in FIG. 7A, the communicating hole 54 of the damper 8 is opened when the valve shaft 64 pushes the valve body 60 against the elastic force of the spring 62 when the flexible membrane 58 is recessed.
The ink storage chambers 50 and 52 in the damper 8 are filled with ink by sealing the ink discharge surface of the print head 6 with the head cap 32 and then sucking the ink from the nozzle openings of the ink discharge section 6a with the suction pump 40.

Due to this suction, the ink storage chamber 52 in the damper 8 becomes negative pressure, the flexible film 58 is displaced in a concave direction, and the valve body 60 retreats from the communication hole 54 against the elastic force of the spring 62, thereby opening the communication hole 54.
Further, by the suction force of the suction pump 40, the ink stored in the ink tank 22 passes through the ink flow path 24, enters the ink storage chambers 50 and 52 of the damper 8 via the ink supply port 8a, and enters the print head 6 via the ink supply pipe 56. The filling of the ink is performed by sucking the ink from the ink ejection portion 6a of the print head 6 to the extent that some ink is drawn out. When the suction is finished, the communication hole 54 of the damper 8 is closed, and the ink in the ink flow path 24 is maintained at a positive pressure due to the difference between the head values of the ink tank 22 and the print head 6, and the ink can be discharged from the ink discharge portion 6a.

In this embodiment, the print head 6 is moved to the home position, the print head 6 is sealed with the head cap 32, and the printer monitors the time after the ink jet recording device 2 enters the standby state. Here, flushing is an operation of discharging ink from the print head 6 without driving the suction pump 40 .

Also, the print head 6 is flushed even after an intermediate period of time, for example, 50 minutes, to prepare the head. Further, after a long period of time, for example, 12 hours, cleaning is performed and flushing is also performed. In this way, in the state in which the separation of the ink has not yet occurred, the state of the head is adjusted by the cleaning operation and the flushing operation. Note that the time is counted when the power is turned off or in the standby mode where printing is not performed, and the time is automatically executed at the timing of the next use.
During cleaning of the print head 6, the suction force of the suction pump 40 reduces the pressure in the ink storage chamber 52 in the damper 8 to a predetermined value or less, causing the flexible film 58 to dent as shown in FIG.

The ink that has flowed into the ink containing chamber 52 is discharged to the head cap 32 through the ink discharge port 8b through the print head 6. As shown in FIG. When the drive of the suction pump 40 stops, the flexible membrane 58 returns to its original position, the valve body 60 of the on-off valve returns to its original position, and the communication hole 54 is closed. In this way, in normal use, it is not necessary to consider the effects of ink sedimentation, separation, etc., and the state of the head is maintained by combining the flushing operation and the cleaning operation.

The controller 14 of the inkjet recording apparatus 2 has an interface 68 for connecting with an external computer, and an ink stirring sequence control program 70 and a head state maintenance/recovery sequence control program 71 are installed in the inkjet recording apparatus 2 . Each drive section of the controller 14 , the ink stirring sequence control program 70 and the head state maintenance/restoration sequence control program 71 are configured to be controlled by the main control section 72 of the controller 14 . The controller 14 also includes a time measuring section 78 and a time comparing section 80 . A time measuring part 78 measures the time from the previous printing by the device to the next use regardless of whether the power is turned on or off, and the time comparing part 80 compares the measured time with the set time, and selects what the device needs to do when printing. The controller 14 performs a flushing, cleaning, or ink suction/discharge operation when the time has elapsed without ink separation, and performs an operation according to the agitation sequence in the damper when the time has elapsed with the possibility of ink separation.

In this embodiment, the apparatus is provided with an ink agitation sequence control program 70 for the purpose of agitating the ink remaining in the damper in addition to the flushing operation, cleaning operation, and ink discharge operation. Cleaning operation and suction operation are performed to maintain the head. If one day or more (three days or more and 72 hours in this embodiment) has passed, an ink stirring operation different from the normal operation is performed. Since the setting of this elapsed time differs depending on the ink used, it is necessary to set an appropriate value for each. This ink stirring operation is controlled for the purpose of arbitrarily operating the flexible membrane of the damper, and uses the ink suction operation. For the ink suction operation, multiple driving times are prepared for recovering the head, and the suction operation is used from a relatively short time (used mainly for recovery from missing nozzles, etc.) to a long time depending on the purpose. When the purpose is to suck and discharge the ink in the damper as in this case, the time is often set relatively long and the amount of ink discharged is large. However, in this ink stirring operation, the number of times is increased while suppressing the amount of ink consumption, and the ink in the damper is forcibly stirred by performing the ink stirring operation a plurality of times during the suction time to the extent that the flexible film of the damper moves to the maximum.

Table 1 compares the experimental results of the suction discharge control and the present embodiment. As shown in Table 1, in the suction discharge control, if the pump is driven for 16.0 seconds (once) for the purpose of sucking and discharging the ink in the damper, the maximum color difference is improved by 5.11 ΔEmax. As a result, although the product of the total driving time is the same at 16.0 seconds, the maximum color difference is improved by the ink stirring control in the damper, which is performed multiple times. It can be seen that the stirring and discharging of the ink in the damper are effectively performed even if the amount of consumed ink is the same. When setting the driving time of the pump short, for example, it may be set to 15.0 seconds or less, which is shorter than the longest set time for the purpose of sucking and discharging the ink in the damper, and may be set so as to operate efficiently according to the apparatus. In addition, in the suction and discharge control, a flushing operation is also performed, and when repeated, a pause time of 60 seconds is provided. In the device used in this experiment, a rest time of 60 seconds is sufficient for the flexible film to return to its original position, ink is supplied, and the convection of the ink in the damper is stopped. Also, the driving time and the number of repetitions may be set in consideration of the working efficiency of the device.

2, reference numeral 74 denotes a wiping member for wiping the ink ejection surface of the print head 6. As shown in FIG.
A circulation pump 66 may be provided in the ink channel 24 between the ink tank 22 and the damper 8 as shown in FIG.

Next, the ink stirring sequence control operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The controller 14 of the ink jet recording apparatus 2 measures the time from the time of the previous use until the instruction of the next printing is received based on the signal from the timer 76, and changes the sequence for starting when the printer returns to the printing state according to the measured time. The measurement is performed with the power of the ink jet recording apparatus 2 turned on, and even when the power is turned off, the elapsed time is automatically calculated by referring to the time, and how much time has passed since the last time the apparatus was used is monitored. In this state, the following control is performed in the ink agitation sequence after a long period of time, for example, about 80 hours, which is expected to cause separation of the ink.

First, the controller 14 of the ink jet recording apparatus 2 moves the print head 6 to the home position, raises the head cap 32, brings the print head 6 and the head cap 32 into close contact, and seals the nozzle opening surface of the print head 6 (step 1).

Next, the driving of the suction pump 40 is turned on (step 2), and the suction pump 40 is caused to generate a liquid suction force. As a result, the pressure inside the ink path becomes negative, the pressure in the ink containing chamber 52 of the damper 8 is reduced, the flexible film 58 of the damper 8 is recessed as shown in FIG.

When the flexible membrane 58 is recessed, the controller turns off the suction pump 40 (step 3). As a result, the outflow of ink from the print head 6 is stopped, the pressure in the ink storage chambers 50 and 52 of the damper 8 is restored, the ink is supplied to the ink storage chambers 50 and 52 from the ink cartridge 20 due to the difference in water head value, and the flexible film 58 is displaced in the expanding direction. As the suction pump 40 is turned on and off, the flexible film 58 is displaced in the concave and convex directions. After the suction pump 40 is turned off, when the pause time for returning the concave flexible film 58 of the damper 8 to expand (step 4), the controller 14 determines whether or not the suction pump 40 has been turned on and off a specified number of times (step 5), and if the determination is affirmative, the ink stirring sequence control operation is terminated.

If the suction force of the suction pump 40 is simply applied to the print head 6 to prevent the ink from separating, settling, or forming a film in the ink supply path, and the ink flow is generated in the damper 8, the ink will remain at the portions P1 and P2 that are farther from the paths L1 and L2 connecting the ink supply port 8a and the discharge port 8b provided in the damper 8, as shown in FIG. 8, causing ink separation.

However, by continuously repeating the amplitude displacement of the flexible film 58 and agitating the inside of the damper 8, the ink stagnating portions P1 and P2 can be eliminated.
Further, in the present embodiment, the damper 8 is provided with an on-off valve, but the damper 8 may be configured without an on-off valve.
In the present embodiment, the suction operation with a short driving time is performed a plurality of times or a large number of times at intervals of time for the damper 8 to be filled with ink, i.e., the time for the flexible film 58 to return to a convex shape, and the flexible film 58 is repeatedly displaced in a convex, concave, and convex shape. Alternatively, the pump 40 may be turned on so that the flexible film changes from a convex shape to a flat shape, the suction pump 40 may be turned off when the flexible film is flat, and the flexible film 58 may be continuously repeatedly displaced from a convex shape to a flat shape and then to a convex shape.

The above-mentioned ink stirring control operation may be performed by designating the print result of the ink jet recording apparatus if there is a problem, or by performing test printing or the like, automatically inspecting with a sensor or the like, and judging when the ink stirring control operation is necessary, and automatically performing the operation.
Further, the same setting may be performed for all the inks used in the apparatus, or in the case of using a variety of inks of a plurality of colors, the time required for each ink may be set. If such a change is made, it can be performed at the required timing for each ink, so wasteful discharge of ink can be suppressed.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the ink flow path 24 may be provided with a sub-tank 82 positioned between the ink supply portion 22 and the damper 8 on the machine body side, the sub-tank 82 may store ink, and the ink may be supplied from here to the damper 8 side.

2 Inkjet recording device 4 Guide rail 6 Print head 6a Ink discharge unit 8 Damper 8a Ink supply port 10 Carriage 12 X motor 14 Controller 16 Main scanning drive unit 18 Platen 20 Ink cartridge 22 Ink tank (ink supply unit)
24 ink flow path 26 Y motor 28 sub-scanning drive unit 30 print head drive unit 32 head cap 34 head cap lifting mechanism 36 head cap lifting drive unit 38 tube 40 suction pump 42 suction pump drive unit 44 waste liquid tank 48 wall unit body 50 ink storage chamber 52 ink storage chamber 54 communication hole 56 ink supply pipe 58 flexible film 60 valve body 62 pressure adjustment spring 64 valve shaft 66 Circulation pump 68 Interface 70 Suction pump sequence control program 71 Head state maintenance/recovery sequence control program 72 Main control unit 74 Wiping member 76 Timer 78 Time measurement unit 80 Time comparison unit 82 Sub tank

Claims (3)

A damper 8 having an ink storage chamber 52 covered with a flexible film 58 is provided in an ink flow path connecting an ink supply unit 22 on the body side and a print head 6. An ink ejection surface of the print head 6 is closed with a head cap 32 provided in a non-printing area of the body.The elapsed time of the stop mode of the inkjet recording device is measured, and when the stop mode has passed for a predetermined time,With the head cap 32 blocking the ink discharge surface of the print head 6, the suction pump 40 is continuously driven on and off to move the flexible film 58 of the damper 8 in the opposite direction.and, and the suction pump 40 is repeatedly turned on and off until it reaches a specified number of times to agitate the ink in the damper 8,A timer is used to measure the elapsed time of the stop mode of the ink jet recording apparatus, and one of the operation modes for stirring the ink in the damper and the operation mode for maintaining and recovering the head state is selected according to the elapsed time of the stop mode.An inkjet recording apparatus characterized by: A damper 8 having an ink storage chamber 52 with a flexible film 58 stretched in an ink flow path connecting an ink supply section 22 on the machine body side and a print head 6 is provided, an ink discharge section of the print head 6 is closed with a head cap 32 provided in a non-printing area of the machine body, and ink in the ink flow path is sucked into the head cap 32 by a suction force of a suction pump 40 to clean the inside of the print head 6.
ヘッドキャップ３２でプリントヘッド６のインク吐出部を塞いだインクジェット記録装置の停止モードの経過時間を計測するステップと、前記停止モードが所定時間経過したとき、前記吸引ポンプ４０をオンとオフに連続的に駆動し、前記ダンパー８の可撓膜５８を凹む方向と反対の方向とに連続的に変位させるステップと、前記吸引ポンプ４０のオンオフ駆動を休止させるステップと、該吸引ポンプ４０の休止時間が経過した後、前記吸引ポンプ４０をオンオフ駆動するステップに戻るステップとを備え、前記吸引ポンプ４０のオンオフ駆動動作を規定回数に達するまで繰り返し行い、前記ダンパー８内のインクを攪拌するようにし、前記停止モードを２４時間以上に設定し、その設定時間が経過したとき、前記吸引ポンプ４０の駆動を開始するようにし、前記吸引ポンプ４０の休止時間を、前記吸引ポンプ４０の駆動をオフとした後、前記吸引ポンプ４０の吸引により凹む方向に変位した可撓膜が元の膨らんだ状態に戻るまでの時間以上に設定し、前記吸引ポンプ４０のオンオフの駆動のオンの時間を吸引動作時間の最長の時間設定より短い時間とし、前記吸引ポンプ４０のオンオフ駆動動作の規定回数を２回以上としたことを特徴とするインクジェット記録装置に用いられるダンパー内のインクの攪拌制御方法。 3. A method of controlling ink agitation in a damper used in an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the time during which the suction pump 40 is turned on and off is set to 15.0 seconds or less. ,

Images