JPH03136865A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an ink jet recording device capable of preventing deterioration of recorded image quality by providing a notification control device which notifies as specified based on quantities relative to the frequency of ink tank replacement and the frequency of ink discharge. CONSTITUTION:An ink presence detection sensor is connected to an area between an ink tank and an ink jet recording head, and reads a signal from an ink presence detection part 1206 after a power supply is turned ON to initialize an operation. If the sensor interprets that the ink tank is empty, it increments an ink tank replacement counter in NVRAM 270 and causes a notification device to prompt replacement of an ink tank. Next, the sensor interprets whether or not the value of the ink tank replacement counter has already reached a specified set value. If the specified value is reached, an integration drive circuit of recording element interprets whether or not the specified value is reached. As far as both the value of the ink tank replacement counter and the value of the drive pulse counter of recording element have reached the specified values, an alarm for replacement of the recording element is sounded. Consequently, it is possible to specify an appropriate replacement time for the recording element and prevent deterioration of recorded image quality accordingly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device, and more particularly to an inkjet recording device in which a recording element for ejecting ink droplets by applying ejection energy to ink is replaceably installed. It relates to a recording device.

(Prior Art) An inkjet recording method is a recording method in which ejected droplets of recording liquid are formed using various methods, and the droplets are attached to a recording material such as paper to perform recording.

Among the recording devices to which such a recording method is applied, the device has a structure suitable for increasing the density of the recording head.
Examples include inkjet recording apparatuses that use heat as energy for forming ejected droplets.

The recording head of this type of apparatus, in particular, has come to be manufactured by a manufacturing method similar to that used for semiconductor devices, and the recording head itself including the recording element is being provided at a low price.

For this reason, in the past most recording elements were used semi-permanently, but recently there are configurations that allow the recording element to be replaced with the recording head to prevent a decline in the ejection performance of the recording element. .

Such an inkjet recording device has a mechanism that detects the amount of ink remaining in an ink tank, for example, and replaces the ink tank when the ink in the ink tank becomes empty, and when the number of replacements reaches a specified number of times. At the point when the limit was exceeded, the recording head including the recording element was replaced.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, when replacing the ink tank described above, the remaining amount detection is unstable as the replacement signal may be output even though ink remains in the ink tank due to the difference in the orientation of the ink tank. There was a time.

On the other hand, by limiting the quality of the inkjet recording element to a certain level in order to reduce its cost, the recording quality may deteriorate when the total number of times the recording element is driven or the total number of sheets printed is relatively small.

As described above, there is a problem in that the timing of replacing the recording element does not necessarily correspond to the number of times the ink tank is replaced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is possible to replace an ink tank corresponding to an inkjet recording element more than a specified number of times, and to reduce the number of drive pulses of the inkjet recording element or the number of sheets recorded on a recording medium. An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording device that prevents deterioration of recording quality by prompting the replacement of the recording element when the amount of ink reaches a specified amount or more, thereby allowing the recording element to be replaced at a more suitable time. .

In an inkjet recording device that is detachably provided with an ink tank that stores ink used for ejection,
Remaining amount detection means for detecting the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank; Replacement number storage means for storing the number of times the ink tank has been replaced based on the lack of remaining amount detected by the remaining amount detection means; and the ejection of the recording element. It is characterized by comprising a discharge storage means for storing an amount related to the number of times of exchange, and a notification control means for making a predetermined notification based on the amount related to the number of times of replacement and the number of times of discharge.

More preferably, the notification control means is characterized in that the notification is made only when the amounts related to the number of times of replacement and the number of times of ejection reach their respective specified values.

[Means to solve the problem]

To this end, the present invention provides a recording element comprising at least an ejection opening for forming ink droplets and an ejection energy generating element that generates ejection energy for ejecting the ink droplets from the ejection opening; ] According to the above configuration, the replacement of the recording element is prompted only when both the number of replacements of the ink tank and the amount related to the number of ejections such as the drive pulse and the number of printed sheets reach their respective specified values. , it becomes possible to specify the appropriate time to replace the recording element.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus suitable for carrying out the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of FIG. 1.

1 and 2, a chassis 1 has a sheet feed roller 2 rotatably supported by a sheet feed motor (not shown), and in front of it is a guide shaft 3 and a rail in parallel. 4 are installed and these guiding means 3.4
The carriage 5 is supported so as to be movable six times.

A recording head 6 having a plurality of recording elements is removably mounted on the carriage 5. The illustrated example shows the case of an inkjet recording apparatus, and therefore, the recording element includes an ink ejection opening, an ejection energy generating element for ejecting ink droplets from the ejection opening, and an ejection energy generating element for applying ejection energy to the ink. It is configured with a liquid chamber.

In the case of this example, the ejection energy generating element is an electric heat exchange element that ejects ink droplets using the heat generated by the ejection energy generating element, and the recording element can be replaced by replacing the recording head 6 as a whole. It is done.

A pinch roller 8 for applying a frictional conveying force to the recording sheet 7 is press-contacted to the sheet feed roller 2 so as to be separable. Further, a fixing device 9 is installed on the downstream side (above the device) of the sheet feeding roller 2 to promote fixation of the recording ink on the recording sheet 7, and further downstream of the sheet feeding roller 2 and the fixing device 9 are installed. A paper discharge roller 10 and a plotter roller 11 are provided which rotate synchronously.

Furthermore, a cut sheet feeder 12 is provided upstream of the sheet feed roller 2 (below the apparatus) for automatically feeding the recording sheets 7 one by one toward the conveyance path of the sheet feed roller 2. This cut sheet feeder 12
is configured to feed a plurality of sheets 7 one by one, which are pressed against each other by a spring 15, between a pressure plate 13 and a paper feed roller 14, starting from the top layer. 7 are separated one by one by a separation pad 17 which is pressed against the paper feed roller 14 by a spring 16.

A sheet end sensor 18 is installed near the recording sheet conveyance path by the paper feed roller 14 to detect the first passage of the recording sheet 7 and the trailing edge thereof.

Further, a sheet width sensor 20 is mounted on the carriage 5 via a stay 19. Seat end sensor 1
8 and the sheet width sensor 20 can be constituted by, for example, a photosensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element. A recording head 6 and a sheet width sensor 20 on the carriage 5 are connected to a control circuit by a flexible cable 21.

Reference numeral 22 denotes an ink tank for storing ink used for recording. This tank 22 and the inkjet recording head are connected by a tube 23 for supplying ink, and an ink presence/absence detection sensor is installed between them to detect the capacity in the ink tank. (not shown, for example, a pressure sensor) is connected.

Further, the ink tank 22 is detachably provided in the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the recording apparatus in the above embodiment.

In the figure, 100 is a host computer or data transfer device (hereinafter collectively referred to as host-side device) that sends print image data line by line in the horizontal direction (print direction), and from the host-side device 100 to the printer. Image data for each line is transferred at a clock rate of a predetermined frequency by a trigger signal 140 from the control unit 200.

Reference numeral 200 denotes a control unit that controls the entire printer, and the control unit 200 includes, for example, an MP in the form of a microprocessor.
t1210, a ROM that stores the control program, control procedures shown in the flowcharts described later, data, etc.
220, RAM 230, which is used as a work area and includes an area for storing the sheet width, a count value calculated by calculating the number of data according to the sheet width, and a total value obtained by calculating the total number of receiving lines according to the count value, etc. , a counter 24 that counts the number of sheet feeds and the number of carriage feed pulses.
0% Timing is performed in response to the instructions from the MPII 210, and when the instructed time is counted, an interrupt is made to the MPu 210 (a timer 250 that outputs No. 2, an I10 boat 260 that inputs and outputs various data and control signals, and It has a nonvolatile RAM 270 (NVRAM) that stores the number of ink tank replacements, the number of drive pulses for the inkjet recording element, and the number of recording sheets to be printed.

By storing the number of recorded recording sheets and the number of driving pulses in the non-volatile RAM 270, these values are saved even when the power is turned off when not in use, and the total number corresponding to the currently installed recording element is stored. The number of sheets and the number of pulses can be counted.

Reference numeral 300 denotes an image buffer memory that stores image data sent from the host device 100 at least for the number of recording elements of the recording head 6. It is stored in memory 300. 400
is a receiving circuit that includes a counter 410 that can set the number of image data to be received for one line, and outputs a detection signal 150 to the control unit 200 when the number of data set by the control unit 200 is received. Further, this receiving circuit 400 includes:
A discrimination circuit is provided that counts the presence or absence of black dots, that is, image data related to ink ejection, and the number of these dots. Non-volatile R
It is accumulated in the counter of AM270.

Reference numeral 500 denotes a data converter that reads data for lines corresponding to the number of recording elements of the recording head 6 from the image buffer memory 300 one by one in the vertical direction, and outputs this data corresponding to the ejection position by the recording head 6.

The recording head 6 has recording elements arranged in a row in the sub-scanning direction, and performs recording by scanning in the main-scanning direction.

A driver 6A drives the recording elements of the recording head 6 based on print data from the data converter 500. 50 is a carriage motor for scanning the carriage 5 on which the recording head 6 is mounted in the main scanning direction; 5A is a carriage motor 5 for scanning in the main scanning direction;
This is a carriage motor driver that performs zero drive.
Reference numeral 2B is a sheet feed motor that can feed a sheet in units of the array pitch of recording elements in the recording head 6 by rotationally driving a sheet feed roller, and 2^ is a driver that drives the sheet feed motor 2B.

1200 is an information input unit for inputting various information to the control unit 200, and this information is supplied to the control unit 200 as a detection signal 160. In the information input unit 1200, 1201 is a key panel that can, for example, specify the size of a sheet, and 18 is a key panel that can be used to position the leading edge of recording paper during paper feeding, detect the trailing edge, and even determine the number of recording sheets. This is the aforementioned sheet END sensor used for detection. Similarly, 20 is the sheet width sensor described above and is mounted on the carriage 5. Reference numeral 1206 denotes an ink presence/absence detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of ink in the ink tank 21 that supplies printing ink to the print head 6, and is, for example, a pressure sensor or a capacitance sensor using an electrode. 1204 is an ink tank presence/absence detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of the ink tank 22 itself, and 1205 is a sheet feeder sheet presence/absence detection unit for detecting whether there is a recording sheet in the sheet feeder. 1207
1208 is a horn home position detection unit for determining the position for capping and ink suction by a pump mechanism specific to inkjet recording devices, and 1208 is a carriage home position detection unit for determining the reference position of the carriage 5 on which the recording head 6 is mounted. Department. moreover,
Reference numeral 1209 is a door opening/closing detection unit that detects opening and closing of a door covering the inside of the apparatus, and reference numeral 121O is a printhead information detection unit that can detect information such as whether or not a printhead is attached. This is referenced when detecting head replacement and initializing the NVRAM.

Reference numeral 130 is a command signal instructed by the host device 100, and commands can be issued not only from the information input unit 1200 but also from the host device 100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a control procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the printing apparatus is powered on, the hardware and software are initialized as initial processing (step 5401), and then a signal from the ink presence/absence detection unit 1206 for detecting the presence or absence of ink in the ink tank is sent to signal 160. It is determined whether the ink tank is empty or not (step 5402).
), when the ink tank is not empty, host device 1
(Step 5509)
, if there is recording start information, each driver 6^, 5^, 2
A records head 6, carriage motor 50. The sheet feed motor 2B is driven to perform recording on the recording sheet (step 5410), and the process returns to the remaining ink amount detection process (step 5402).

On the other hand, when it is determined that the ink tank is empty in step 5402, the ink tank replacement counter provided in the NVRAM 270 is incremented by 1 (step 5403).
). The ink tank is replaced manually by the user by prompting the user to replace the ink tank using a notification means such as an indicator light, and this replacement is detected by the ink tank presence/absence detection unit 1204. The value of the ink tank replacement counter is set in advance and it is determined whether it has reached a certain specified value (step 5504), and if it has reached the specified value, this is also set as NV.
It is determined whether the value of the drive pulse counter for the recording element provided in the RAM 270, that is, the total number of times the recording element is driven, has reached a specified value (step 540).
5).

The prescribed values for the number of times of ink tank replacement and the number of driving pulses for the recording element may be set in advance by considering the durability of the recording element, etc., and stored in the ROM 220.

In this example, the number of driving pulses for the recording element is the total number of driving pulses for each of the recording elements that make up the recording head, and it is determined whether this number has reached a specified value. By providing a drive pulse counter corresponding to each recording element and monitoring the drive pulses of each recording element, more detailed replacement processing can be performed.

Only when the value of the ink tank replacement counter and the value of the recording element drive pulse counter both reach the specified value, a warning for replacing the recording element is issued, for example by lighting an indicator light (step 5407), and either If either of them has not been reached, it is assumed that recording is still possible, and no replacement warning is issued, and the process waits until recording start information is received (step 5409).

Next, the print head information detection unit 1210 detects whether the print element has been replaced (step 5407).
If the ink tank has been replaced, the ink tank replacement counter and the recording element drive pulse counter are cleared to start counting anew (step 5408); if the ink tank has not been replaced, a replacement warning is issued continuously.

In this embodiment, the inkjet recording element replacement warning can be issued using the above-described procedure based on the AND condition of the number of ink tank replacements and the number of driving pulses for the recording element, thereby prompting the replacement of the inkjet recording element at a more suitable time. becomes possible.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a control procedure regarding another embodiment of the present invention. The process shown in FIG. 4 is step 55.
05 and 5508 are the same. first,
In step 5504, the value of the ink tank replacement counter is preset and it is determined whether it has reached a certain specified value. If the value has reached the specified value, unlike the process shown in FIG. It is determined whether the value of the number of recording sheets counter for a certain recording sheet has reached a specified value (step 5505).The number of times of ink tank replacement and the specified value of the number of recording sheets counter for a recording sheet are recorded in advance as in the above embodiment. It is set after considering the durability of the element, etc., and stored in the ROM 202.

Then, only when the value of the ink tank replacement counter and the value of the print sheet number counter both reach the specified value, a print element replacement warning is issued (step 5507).
, if either one has not been reached, the process waits until recording start information is available (step 5509).

Next, the print head information detection unit 121O detects whether the print element has been replaced (step 5507).
If the ink tank has been replaced, the values of the ink tank replacement counter and the recording sheet number counter are cleared to start counting anew (step 5soa); if the ink tank has not been replaced, a replacement warning is continued.

In this embodiment, the inkjet recording element replacement warning can be issued using the above-described procedure based on the AND condition of the number of ink tank replacements and the total number of recording sheets.

In addition, by notifying you when either the number of ink tank replacements, the number of drive pulses, or the number of recorded sheets reaches the respective specified number, the warning for replacement can be divided into several stages and more detailed replacement processing can be performed. You can also do this.

(Others) The present invention brings about excellent effects particularly in a bubble jet type recording head and recording apparatus among inkjet recording types.

This is because such a system can achieve higher recording density and higher definition.

As for typical configurations and principles thereof, it is preferable to use the basic principles disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740,796i. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to arrange the liquid (ink) in accordance with the sheet and liquid path that hold it. generating thermal energy in the electrothermal transducer by applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and causing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the electrothermal transducer, which is This is effective because it causes film boiling on the heat-active surface of the recording head, resulting in the formation of bubbles in the liquid (ink) that correspond one-to-one to this drive signal. The growth and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to use this drive signal in a pulse form, since the growth and contraction of bubbles can be carried out immediately and appropriately, making it possible to eject liquid (ink) with particularly excellent responsiveness. This pulse-shaped drive signal is:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,359, U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,26
Those described in Specification No. 2 are suitable.

Furthermore, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 concerning the invention regarding the temperature increase rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, even more excellent recording can be performed.

The configuration of the recording head includes, in addition to the combination configuration of ejection ports, liquid paths, and electrothermal converters (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting section. The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which the wafer is placed in a bending region. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1989-5 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part of a plurality of electrothermal converters.
No. 9-123670 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59/1989 which discloses a configuration in which a discharge portion is made to correspond to an opening that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy.
The effects of the present invention are also effective even if the structure is based on the publication No.-138461. In other words, regardless of the form of the recording head, recording can be performed reliably and efficiently.

Furthermore, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium that can be recorded by a recording apparatus.

Such a recording head may be configured to satisfy the length by combining multiple recording heads, or configured as a single recording head formed integrally.In addition, a serial type as shown above may be used. A replaceable chip-type recording head that can be attached to the device body to enable electrical connection to the device body and supply of ink from the device body, or a chip-type recording head that is installed integrally with the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus, to the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include preheating of the recording head by capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, electrothermal transducers or other heating elements, or a combination thereof. It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from recording.

In addition, regarding the type and number of recording heads installed, for example, in addition to one type that corresponds to single-color ink, there is also a plurality of recording heads that correspond to multiple inks with different recording colors and densities. It may be something that can be done.

In addition, the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention may take the form of an image output terminal for information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader, etc., or a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting/receiving function. It may be something.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the recording element is replaced only when both the number of ink tank replacements and the amount related to the number of ejections, such as drive pulses and number of sheets to be printed, reach their respective specified values. By prompting, it becomes possible to specify the appropriate time to replace the recording element.

As a result, the recording element can be replaced at a more suitable time.
For example, there is no possibility of recording defects caused by deteriorated recording elements, thereby preventing deterioration of recording quality.

On the other hand, it is also possible to prevent waste from replacing the recording element even though the recording element has not deteriorated that much.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
A block diagram showing the control configuration of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a control procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a control procedure according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Chassis, 2... Sheet feed roller, 2^... Drive driver, 2B... Sheet feed motor, 3... Guide shaft, 4... Rail, 5... Carriage, 5A ... Drive driver, 6... Inkjet recording head, 6^... Drive driver, 7... Recording sheet, 8... Pinch roller, 9... Fixing device, lO... Paper ejection roller , 11... Plotter roller, 12... Cut sheet feeder, 13... Pressure plate, 14... Paper feed roller, Is, 16... Spring, 17... Separation pad, 18... Sheet End sensor, 19... Stay 20... Sheet width sensor, 21... Flexible cable, 22... Ink tank, 23... Ink tube, 50... Carriage motor, 10G... Host computer , 200...control unit, 210-MPII. 220...ROM. 230...RAM. 240...Counter, 250...Timer, 260...Ilo boat, 270-...Non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), 300
. . . Image buffer memory, 400 . . . Receiving circuit, 410 . Department, 1205...
- Sheet feeder sheet detection section, 1206... Ink presence/absence detection section, 1207... Pump home position detection section, 120
8... Carriage home position detection unit, 1209
...Door opening/closing detection section, 1210... Recording head information detection section. Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A recording element comprising at least an ejection opening for forming ink droplets and an ejection energy generating element that generates ejection energy for ejecting the ink droplets from the ejection opening; An inkjet recording device that is provided with a removably attached ink tank that stores ink used for ejection, comprising: a remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank; a replacement number storage means for storing the number of times the ink tank has been replaced based on the number of times the ink tank has been replaced based on the number of times the ink tank has been replaced based on the number of times the ink tank has been replaced based on the number of times the ink tank has been replaced based on the number of times the ink tank has been replaced; An inkjet recording device comprising: a notification means; 2) The inkjet recording device according to claim 1, wherein the notification control means performs the notification only when the amounts related to the number of times of replacement and the number of times of ejection reach respective specified values. Device. 3) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount related to the number of times of ejection is the number of driving pulses for driving the recording element to generate the ejection energy. 4) The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the amount related to the number of times of ejection is the number of recorded recording sheets.