JPH03295664A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the wasteful time by absorbing ink discharged from a discharge port of a recording head to an idle discharge exclusive use sheet 3while conveying the sheet by material-to-be-recorded conveying means in the case of idle discharge. CONSTITUTION:When fixture timer means is not operated and a record starting signal is input, an idle discharge exclusive use sheet contained in a cassette 50 is conveyed, and idle discharge is performed when the sheet is passed directly under a recording head 1. An ink absorber in which idly discharged ink is absorbed, is discharged to a tray 308. After the idle discharging, a normal image recording is executed. If a one-shot timer is monitored, and the time is operated during recording, idle discharging is again performed, and then recording is further continued. Moreover, when the presence or absence of the operation the one-shot timer is monitored, image recording of set number of sheets is finished, and a pressure residue timer is operated, a head down state is held for predetermined time within the set time of the residue timer, and then an input signal of recording start is waited. Thus, idle discharge can be performed with a simple structure without delaying the recording time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an inkjet type image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording material by ejecting ink from an ejection port of a recording head.

[Prior Art] Image recording devices such as printers, copiers, and facsimiles are
The apparatus is configured to record an image consisting of a dot pattern on a recording material such as paper or a thin plastic plate based on image information.

The image recording apparatus can be divided into inkjet type, wire dot type, thermal type, laser beam type, etc. according to the recording method, among which the inkjet type is:
It is configured to perform recording by ejecting ink onto a recording material.

Inkjet image recording devices have the advantage of being non-impact and generate negligible noise during recording, are capable of high-speed recording, and require special treatment for so-called plain paper. It has very advantageous features, such as being able to record images without the need for color images and making it easy to record color images using multi-colored inks.

The recording head used in this inkjet image recording device (usually also called an inkjet recording device) generally has fine ink ejection orifices formed on the ejection orifice surface facing the recording material, and each ejection orifice. The apparatus includes an ink (recording liquid) liquid path that communicates with the ink (recording liquid), an energy application section provided in a part of the liquid path, and an energy generation means that applies droplet ejection energy to the ink via the energy application section.

Energy generating means for generating such energy include those that use electromechanical transducers such as piezo elements, and those that irradiate electromagnetic waves such as lasers, which are absorbed by the ink, and the heat generated at that time causes droplets to form. There are methods that use energy generating means for ejecting and flying the ink, and methods that use energy generating means that heats the ink with an electrothermal converter and ejects the ink.

Among them, recording heads used in inkjet image recording devices that eject ink using thermal energy can have ejection ports arranged in high density for ejecting recording ink and forming flying droplets. It is possible to record with high resolution.

In addition, a recording head that uses this electrothermal converter as an energy generating means can be easily made compact overall, and it is also compatible with IC technology and microelectronic technology, which has undergone remarkable technological progress and improved reliability in the semiconductor field in recent years. The advantages of processing technology can be fully utilized, and lengthening and planarization (two-dimensionalization) are easy.

Therefore, it is possible to provide an inkjet recording head that allows for easy multiplication of ejection ports and high-density packaging, is excellent in mass productivity, and is inexpensive to manufacture.

In this way, an inkjet recording head that uses an electrothermal converter as an energy generating means and is manufactured through a semiconductor manufacturing process generally has a plurality of liquid paths corresponding to each ejection port. For each liquid path, an electrothermal converter is provided as a means for ejecting ink from a corresponding ejection port to form flying droplets by applying thermal energy to the ink filling the inside. A structure is adopted in which ink is supplied from a common liquid chamber communicating with each liquid path.

In such a print head, when not printing, ink remains inside the ejection ports such as the liquid path.

Further, even during recording, ink remains in the interior of the ejection port where the heat is not used for ink ejection.

At this time, the ink (recording liquid) within the ejection port dries or increases in viscosity, resulting in defective ejection from the ejection port during recording.

In response to this ejection failure, an ejection recovery process is required in which all ejection ports of the print head are driven to eject ink in the same way as when recording an image on a recording material (recording paper, thin plastic plate, etc.).

Ink ejection in this case is called idle ejection because it is not for recording an image.

During idle ejection, ink is ejected from the ejection ports, so it is desirable to provide a member that absorbs and stores this ejected ink (hereinafter referred to as waste ink).

Specifically, a porous material made of polymer is used as an absorbing member that instantly absorbs the waste ink that flows out from the ejection port, and a porous material made of polymer is used as a storage member to absorb waste ink that is temporarily captured by the absorbing member. Generally, a storage container or waste tank is used to store the waste liquid.

From the viewpoint of its function, the absorbing member is disposed at a position where it can face the discharge port, and is communicated with a waste liquid tank provided at a predetermined position via a flexible tube or the like.

[Technical Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in an inkjet image recording device, a recording material conveying means for regulating a recording surface is provided close to and facing an ink discharge port (discharge port surface). When performing the above-mentioned idle ejection, it is necessary to replace the conveying means with the ink absorbing member.

Therefore, the idle ejection is performed with the ink absorbing member facing the recording head while the recording head or the conveying means is moved.

However, in order to prevent ejection failure from ejection ports that are not used for ejecting ink, taking into consideration the case where ejection is not performed from all ejection ports even during recording, the idle ejection is
This must also be done while recording.

In this case, since printing cannot be performed during the movement time of the print head unit or conveyance means, the printing operation is temporarily interrupted and a dry discharge is performed, especially when continuously printing multiple sheets at a time. However, there was a problem that the recording time became longer and the throughput decreased.

Furthermore, while the recording head section or the conveyance means is moving, not only recording but also recovery operations cannot be performed.

Therefore, the idle ejection operation in conventional inkjet image recording apparatuses interrupts all other operations and requires movement of members before and after the idle ejection operation, which requires a considerable amount of substantially wasted time. Ta.

In particular, in order to maintain the mutual positional relationship of two members,
Since a complicated configuration is required and the time required for stabilization increases, the wasted time is increasingly increased.

The present invention has been made in view of these technical problems, and enables dry discharge operation to be performed without wasting time and with a simple configuration, and to quickly and reliably control the discharge port. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet type image recording device that can perform recovery processing.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides an image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording material by ejecting ink from a recording head, and includes a storage means that stores a sheet-like ink absorber, and a storage means that stores an ink absorber in the form of a sheet, and By having a configuration including a recovery processing means for discharging ink from the recording head and performing an ejection recovery process, it is possible to perform a dummy ejection operation without causing a delay in printing time and with a simple configuration, An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet type image recording device that can perform quick and reliable recovery processing of ejection ports.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, during dry ejection, instead of the recording material for recording a normal image, a sheet (ink absorber) exclusively for dry ejection is conveyed using the recording material conveying means,
Since the ink ejected (discharged) from the ejection ports of the recording head is absorbed into the sheet, wasted time can be significantly reduced and a reliable recovery operation can be performed.

In other words, there is no need to take the time to move the recording head section or conveyance means in connection with dry ejection, and furthermore, when dry ejection is performed during recording, a sheet exclusively for dry ejection is conveyed between the recording materials, so the recording time is reduced. without any delay,
These parts hardly become larger or more complicated.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of an inkjet type image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

First, the outline of the image recording apparatus of this embodiment will be explained using FIG.

In FIG. 1, 301 is a part of a scanner that reads a document and converts it into an electric signal.

The converted signal is given to the recording head section 305 of the recording device section 302 as a drive signal.

A sheet-shaped recording material for image recording is stored in the paper feed section 303, and the recording material is fed sheet by sheet toward the belt conveyance section 304 when necessary.

When the recording material (recording paper, plastic thin plate, etc.) passes through the belt conveyance section 304, it is transferred to the recording head section 3.
05, and after passing through a fixing paper discharge section 307, it is sent to a tray 308.

Note that 306 is a recovery cap section, which has a function of keeping the recording head section 305 in a recordable state at all times.

Here, the recording head unit 305 has a plurality of (for example, four) line-type recording heads 1 that have multiple ejection ports in a line shape and are elongated to the extent that they cover the paper width of the recording material.
This enables high-speed, full-color recording.

The recording heads IC, IM, IY, and IBk are inkjet recording heads that eject ink using thermal energy, and are equipped with electrothermal transducers for generating thermal energy.

Further, the inkjet recording head IC1IM, IY
, IBk perform recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port by the growth of bubbles due to film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter.

Each of the print heads IC, LM, IY, and IBk is left alone with ink remaining inside its ejection ports when not printing.

Therefore, the capping means (recovery cap portion 3
06), and by joining (or pressing) the capping means when not recording, the recording head is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere with the lid covered, and the air layer inside the joint is filled with ink vapor. A method is adopted in which drying of the ink inside the ejection port and increase in viscosity are prevented by setting the ink to a saturated vapor pressure.

Furthermore, if such a capping method is used alone, in a low-humidity environment or when recording is stopped for a long period of time, the viscosity of the ink will inevitably increase even if attempts are made to prevent it from drying. It is difficult to prevent ink failure.

To solve this problem of whether or not ink is ejected during the first printing after a printing pause, an ink system that drives a recovery pump to circulate the ink under pressure and ejects the ink from all ejection ports of the print head is used. Pressurized circulation recovery methods are also used.

In addition, for cases where the above-mentioned ejection failure is slight, there is a method of driving ejection energy generators corresponding to all ejection ports of the print head and ejecting ink in the same way as printing on a recording material. is taken.

Such ink ejection is not ejection for recording an image, and is therefore usually called idle ejection.

Next, an image recording sequence after power is turned on will be described with reference to the image recording apparatus shown in FIG.

First, when the power of the image recording apparatus is turned on, the above-described ink pressurization and circulation recovery operation is performed.

This series of operations prevents recording from being stopped for a long time before the power is turned on, and prevents ink from sticking due to ink thickening (increasing viscosity due to drying, etc.) or from ink failure due to bubbles forming within the ink. Can be done.

This pressurized ink circulation operation is not limited to immediately after the power is turned on.

For example, when the ink is used in a high temperature and high humidity environment where it is likely to thicken, or when the ink is left unused for a long time after being turned on, the above-mentioned ink may also be used in such cases. In view of the problems such as sticking and bubble generation, there is a method of performing the pressurized ink circulation operation at fixed time intervals (within an allowable time period in which the above problems do not occur, hereinafter referred to as cycle time) using a timer means or the like.

Furthermore, a humidity sensor is provided near the recording head section 305, and the signals from the humidity sensor are used to control, for example, how often the ink pressurization and circulation operation is performed, or how many seconds the ink pressurization time is to be performed.

That is, when used in a low humidity state, control is performed to shorten the cycle time or lengthen the ink pressurization time.

It has also been confirmed that simultaneous control of both cycle time and pressurization time is more effective.

When a recording start signal is input, a predetermined number of ejection pulses are applied to all ejection ports of all print heads to perform idle ejection to eject ink, thereby preventing ejection failure immediately before printing.

The number of pulses for this idle ejection is also controlled by the signal from the front rudder humidity sensor, as in the case of the ink pressurization circulation operation described above.

That is, in a state of low humidity, the number of idle ejection pulses is increased.

The difference in the effect of preventing ejection failure between the ink pressurization circulation operation and the dry ejection operation is that the former is larger (therefore, even when the dry ejection operation is performed, the time required to prevent ejection failure due to ink thickening and sticking is usually longer). , which is a determining factor in the cycle time of the ink pressurization circulation operation.

Therefore, when not in use, the capping means isolates the ejection port surface of the print head from the outside air to prevent ink from drying and sticking to some extent, so that all ejection ports of the print head can eject with only idle ejection operations. It is also being controlled.

In FIG. 1, in order to start recording an image on a recording material, the recording material stored in a cassette 411 is fed by a pickup roller 412,
13.414 and the guide portion 419, and is fed into the nip portion of the stopped register roller pair 415.416.

Here, the recording material is a pair of register rollers 415 and 416.
After its tip abuts on the nip portion of
A loop of the recording material is formed within the guide portion 419 by this amount.

This operation is registration alignment that is normally performed in electrophotographic copying machines and the like, and by this operation, the leading edge registration and correction of the skew of the recording material are performed using a loop force.

Next, the pair of register rollers 415 and 416 start rotating, and the recording material is sent onto the conveyor belt 101 via the guide 417 and 41B.

At this time, a signal to start scanning the original 401 and a recording start signal for each of the recording heads IC1IM, IY, and IBk are issued based on a signal to start rotating the pair of register rollers 415 and 416.

The recording material sent onto the conveyor belt 101 is brought into close contact with the surface of the conveyor belt 101 sequentially from its tip by electrostatic adsorption force, and the recording heads IC1IM, IY, IB
Recording is performed when passing directly under k.

Thereafter, the recording material is fixed on the conveyor belt 101 and conveyed to the paper discharge section 307;
A curvature separation method is adopted in which the diameter of the drive roller 102 disposed at the tip of the recording material is set to be relatively small, and natural separation is caused by the stiffness of the recording material.

That is, the recording material is transferred from the conveyor belt 101 onto the guide 213 by the curvature separation method described above.

The diameter of the driving roller 102 is such that, for example, the moving distance of the surface of the conveyor belt 101 that is frictionally driven by one rotation of the driving roller 102 is such that the distance between the ejection opening of the first recording head IC and the fourth (last) recording head IBk is determined by the diameter of the driving roller 102. It is set to be equal to the distance from the discharge port.

This is to prevent an eccentric component from appearing as a registration shift on the image if there is an eccentric component in the diameter of the drive roller 102.

Ideally, the surface of the conveyor belt 101 would move by the distance between the ejection ports of adjacent recording heads with one rotation of the drive roller 102, but if the diameter of the drive roller 102 is made that small, the mechanical strength will be reduced. is a problem, so it is preferable to take this into consideration and set the value to as small as possible.

The recording material on which the image has been recorded in this manner is conveyed from the fixing and paper ejection section 307 by paper ejection rollers 215 and 216, and further kicked out and stacked on a tray 308.

Next, the sequence for preventing non-discharge described above will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart of the image recording operation and ejection recovery operation, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the image recording operation and ejection recovery operation.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, as described above, when the printing apparatus is powered on, an ink circulation recovery operation is performed in step S1 in consideration of the case where it has been left in a non-printing state for a long time. It will be done.

Thereafter, the camera waits in the camping state until a signal to start recording is input, but during this time, when the fixation timer means is activated in step S2, the process returns to step S1 again and a circulation recovery operation is performed.

This fixation timer means and its set time are intended to prevent ejection failure due to increased ink viscosity when the non-recording state is read for a long time even after the power is turned on. For example, the number of hours varies.

Next, when the fixation timer means does not operate and a recording start signal is input in step S3, the blank ejection-only sheet (for example, an ink absorbing material such as paper) stored in the cassette 50 is activated to record the image as described above. The sheet is conveyed in the same manner as in the case of 1, and when the sheet exclusively for dummy ejection passes directly under the rad 1 for each recording, dummy ejection is performed (step S4).

The ink absorber (sheet exclusively for dummy ejection) that has absorbed the dummy ejected ink is conveyed by a belt in the same way as the recording material on which an image has been recorded, and then is discharged onto the tray 308 .

At this time, a notification means such as a buzzer notifies that empty ejection has been performed, and the empty ejected sheet is discarded by the user.

As another example, a conveying path similar to that used in double-sided copying in a normal copying machine is provided, and only the recording material on which a normal image is recorded is discharged to the tray 308, and the ink absorber that has been ejected is (Dry discharge only sheet) is tray 30
Instead of being ejected into the recording device 8, it may be configured to be stored in another storage means within the main body of the recording apparatus.

After performing the above-mentioned idle ejection, normal image recording is performed in step s5.

In step S6, the operation of the firing timer is monitored, and if the firing timer is activated during recording, dry ejection is performed again in the manner described above, and then recording is continued (steps S4 and S5).

Normally, the recording materials are conveyed with an interval of about 50 to 1,501 mm, but the blank ejection-only sheet (ink absorber) has a dimension (length) shorter than the interval between the recording materials. In the dry ejection, the sheet exclusively for dry ejection is conveyed between the recording materials, and the sheet is directed toward the sheet exclusively for dry ejection.

Therefore, there is no need to interrupt image recording during the idle ejection operation.

Further, when performing idle ejection during recording, it can be performed during the normal image recording sequence without time-consuming operations such as head-up or capping, and there is no delay in recording time.

The above-mentioned ejection timer uses a timer means to set the ejection time for a certain period of time from the previous empty ejection in order to prevent the ejection ports that are not used for recording from failing to eject, taking into consideration the case where ejection is not made from all ejection ports during recording. It is controlled to perform idle ejection later.

In this case, the dry ejection is for recovering from a relatively minor non-ejection, and the time interval is relatively short, on the order of several minutes.

Furthermore, in step S7, whether or not the firing/remaining timer is activated is monitored, and when the image recording of the set number of frames is completed and the firing/remaining timer is activated, the head It remains in the down state and waits for the next input signal to start recording.

Here, if the signal to start recording is not input within the set time of the output/remaining timer, in step s8, the device is hand-absorbed and placed in a capping state.

Further, if a recording start signal is input within the set time, recording is started directly and the image recording sequence as described above is entered.

Here, the remaining firing timer is the time from the previous empty ejection to the end of image recording, which is subtracted from the firing timer time. It's time.

Therefore, this ejection remaining timer is set to be slightly shorter than the total subtraction time, taking into account that ink tends to dry.

According to the embodiment described above, during the dry ejection, instead of the recording material on which normal image recording is performed, a sheet (ink absorber) exclusively for the dry ejection is conveyed between the recording materials, so that the dry ejection is performed while conveying the sheet (ink absorber) between the recording materials. An image recording apparatus has been obtained that can perform idle ejection during a recording operation without interrupting the recording operation, and can prevent and recover from ink failure in the recording head without causing a delay in the recording operation.

Furthermore, an image recording apparatus was obtained in which the structure of the portion related to the ejection recovery device can be simplified and miniaturized.

Note that in the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to an inkjet type image recording apparatus C (hereinafter referred to as an inkjet recording apparatus) having a plurality of line type recording heads. When using a single print head or in the case of a serial scan type inkjet printing device in which the print head is mounted on a carriage, there are problems related to the number of print heads or differences in the scanning method during printing. can be implemented and achieve similar effects.

The present invention provides excellent effects particularly in an image recording apparatus (inkjet recording apparatus) using an inkjet recording head of a bubble jet type using film boiling among inkjet recording types.

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. 4,740,796.

This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to place the liquid (ink) on the sheet or liquid path where it is held. By applying at least one drive signal that corresponds to recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the electrothermal transducer, the electrothermal transducer generates thermal energy, and the recording head This is effective because it causes film boiling on the heat acting surface of the liquid (ink), resulting in the formation of bubbles in the liquid (ink) in one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal.

Due to the growth and contraction of the second bubble, the liquid (
ink) to form at least one droplet.

If this drive signal is in the form of a pulse, bubble growth and contraction will occur immediately and appropriately, so liquids with particularly excellent responsiveness (
As a more preferable pulse-shaped drive signal that can achieve ejection of ink, those described in US Pat. No. 4,463,359 and US Pat. No. 4,345,262 are suitable.

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

The configuration of the recording head includes, in addition to the combined 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. US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600 disclose a configuration in which the
The present invention also includes a configuration using the specification of the above specification.

In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 123670 of 1982 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a hole that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy is disclosed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461 of 1981, which discloses a configuration in which a discharge portion corresponds to a discharge portion.

Furthermore, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be increased by combining multiple recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either a configuration that satisfies the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that is attached to the device body enables electrical connection to the device body and ink supply 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, preliminary auxiliary means, etc. for the recording head, which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized.

Specifically, these include capping means, cleaning means, pressure or suction means, preheating means for the recording head using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element, or a combination thereof. It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

Furthermore, the recording mode of the recording device is not limited to a recording mode in which only the mainstream color such as black is used; the recording head may be configured integrally or in combination with a plurality of recording heads; The present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one full color 7.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is explained as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower, and is softened or liquid at room temperature, or in the above-mentioned inkjet, the ink itself is heated at a temperature of 30°C or higher and 70°C. It is common to adjust the temperature in a range of 0.degree. C. or less so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range, so it is sufficient if the ink is in a liquid state when the recording signal is applied.

In addition, the temperature increase caused by thermal energy can be actively prevented by using it as energy to transform the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or ink that solidifies when left for the purpose of preventing ink evaporation. By using
In any case, the ink may be liquefied by applying heat energy in accordance with the recording signal and ejected as liquid ink, or it may already begin to solidify when it reaches the recording material. The use of ink that is liquefied is also applicable to the present invention.

In such a case, as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 54-56847, the ink is held as a liquid or solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet and is placed facing the electrothermal transducer. It may be in any form.

In the present invention, the most effective method for the above-mentioned ink is one that executes the above-mentioned film boiling method, and an electrothermal conversion in which a heating signal in a range that does not eject without being given the above-mentioned recording signal is supplied. The heating signal to the body should be within a range that does not cause film boiling, preferably within a range that does not cause nucleate boiling.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in an image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording material by ejecting ink from a recording head, a storage means that stores a sheet-like ink absorber, and Since the structure includes a recovery processing means for discharging ink from the recording head and performing ejection recovery processing when the absorber faces the recording head, there is no delay in recording time, and the structure is simple. An inkjet image recording apparatus is provided that can perform a dry ejection operation and perform quick and reliable recovery processing of ejection ports.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a timing chart of the recording operation and discharge recovery operation of the image recording apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the image recording apparatus of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart of a recording operation and an ejection recovery operation of the image recording apparatus. Below, symbols representing main components in the drawings are listed. 1 (IClIM, IY, IBk) --- Recording head, 50 --- Storage means for ink absorber (sheet exclusively for blank ejection), 101 --- Conveyor belt, 102
----Drive roller, 213---Guide, 215
．． 216 --- Paper discharge roller, 302 --- Both image recording device section, 303 --- Paper feeding section, 304 --- Belt transport section, 305 --- Recording head section, 306-
・-・Recovery cap section, 307------1 ejected paper fixing section, 308--・----Tray, 411-----
・・Paper feed cassette, 415.416・・・・・・・Register roller.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In an image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording material by ejecting ink from a recording head, a storage means that stores a sheet-like ink absorber, and when the ink absorber faces the recording head, the recording material is An image recording apparatus comprising a recovery processing means for discharging ink from a head and performing ejection recovery processing. (2) The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second storage means for storing the ink absorber that has absorbed the ink discharged by the ejection recovery process. (3) A claim characterized in that the recording head is an inkjet recording head that ejects ink using thermal energy and is equipped with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Item 1. Image recording device according to item 1. (4) The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ink is ejected from the ejection port by the growth of bubbles due to film boiling caused by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter.