JPH06155769A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable stable emission by performing the optimum recovery processing when a power supply is closed by providing a drive control means reading a specific head control mode or the related drive mode from a memory means to drive a recording head. CONSTITUTION:An MPU reads the voltage of a port A/D1 to discriminate VA or VB on the basis of the read voltage value. In the case of VA, it is judged that a usual ink cartridge is mounted and the values indicating the drive pulse width 3mus and pulse interval 0.5mus of a head are set to an RAM. Drive voltage is set to 24V and, in order to keep the capacity of the head, the interval of 30sec and the number of outputs of 20 dots in the preliminary emission emitting all of dots before printing or on the way of printing are set to the RAM. In the case of VB, it is judged that a cartridge storing ink amplified in density is mounted and head driving pulse width 7mus and a pulse interval 1mus are set in the same way.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets from a recording head to form an image on a recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Prior Art 1 In recent years, an inkjet recording apparatus has a 360 DPI.
High-density printing (dots / inch), 48 nozzles, etc. has become possible, and users are increasing their use due to high-quality printing and quiet printing.

Conventionally, in an ink jet recording apparatus, not only a printing mode such as character printing or image printing can be selected, but also printing with increased recording density, printing with good fixing property, poor fixing property and recording paper is limited. Even if it is done, there are various demands such as highly accurate image output.

In response to such a demand, the density of the ink is increased while various characteristics such as the fixability of the ink and the splash frequency are taken into consideration, and it is applicable not only to the character (large diameter) but also to the image (small diameter). We have responded to users by providing an ink and head structure for ejecting ink having a specific dot diameter, and by attaching a fixing heater to the platen of the printer.

Prior Art 2 In an ink jet type recording apparatus, if the apparatus is left unattended, the ink is likely to thicken or stick in the discharge port of the recording head or in the liquid path inside thereof, so that when the power is turned on, the ink is initially formed. In the erasing operation, a predetermined amount of recovery processing, such as preliminary ejection processing for forcibly ejecting ink from the ejection opening by suction of the ejection opening or pressurization of the ink supply system, or the same ink ejection as in normal recording It is common to do

[0006]

Problem 1 However, it is impossible to satisfy all of the fixability, recording density, ink drop landing point accuracy, usable paper type, dot diameter, etc. with one type of ink. Is. Further, even if the dot diameter or the like is changed by changing the control mode of the recording head, there are many inconveniences that the fixability, recording density, and landing point accuracy cannot be controlled.

Moreover, even if an attempt is made to meet a user's request, which point the user attaches importance to is different for each individual user, and there is no choice but to take general measures.

Furthermore, when using color inks, the physical properties differ depending on the type of ink, so individual ink selection and head control are required according to the color of each ink and the desires of the user.

Therefore, in view of the above points, a first object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which can meet various recording modes and requirements.

Problem 2 In addition, the state inside the recording head varies depending on the standing time, and the longer the standing time is, the greater the degree of thickening and sticking of the ink becomes. May not be stable. In particular, it often takes a long time until the user arrives at the factory after manufacturing / shipping, and there is a problem that the recovery process is insufficient in the normal initial recovery operation.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, carries out an optimum recovery process when the power is turned on and enables stable ejection.

[0012]

To achieve the first object described above means 1 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus for forming an image by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording material, a plurality Detection means for detecting an ink cartridge to be used among the various types of ink cartridges, storage means for storing in advance a plurality of types of head control modes corresponding to the plurality of ink cartridges, and related drive modes, Drive control means for driving the recording head by reading out a specific head control mode and a related drive mode from the storage means in response to the detection result of the recording means.

In addition, a plurality of recording heads are provided,
The recording head and the ink cartridge can be selected automatically or manually according to the printing form.

When it is detected that the ink cartridge to be used is different from the ink cartridge that has already been used, the ink is sucked from the recording head to use the ink at the required portion. It is preferable to start the recording operation after the ink is converted into the ink of the cartridge. Here, when the ink cartridge to be used is changed after the power supply to the apparatus main body is shut off, the ink can be sucked and converted after the power is turned on.

Means 2 In order to achieve the above-mentioned second object, the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus for forming an image on a recording material by ejecting ink droplets from the recording head, the ink ejection state of the recording head. Recovery processing means for carrying out processing for maintaining good recovery, storage means capable of holding recovery processing control information even when the power is cut off, and recovery upon power-on according to the recovery processing control information stored in the storage means. And a control means for controlling the processing.

Here, it is preferable to automatically store the recovery processing control information to be performed when the power is turned on after the manufacturing process in the storage means.

[0017]

Operation 1 According to the present invention (Means 1), some ink cartridges that can meet the specifications required by the user are prepared, and the above-mentioned first object is achieved by appropriately controlling the recording head. You can That is, in addition to print density, ink cartridges having various characteristics such as fixability, dot diameter, and color are prepared, and these are mounted on an inkjet printer according to the needs of the user. On the printer side, the attached ink cartridge is specified. Since various inks have different viscosities, surface tensions, fixing times, and the like, appropriate head control and the like are performed in consideration of these characteristics to achieve printing according to the user's request.

Further, different kinds of ink cartridges and corresponding recordings are mounted in the printer, and these are selected according to the printing form of characters, images, etc., and higher quality printing is performed according to the desired printing form. Can be realized.

Furthermore, when a certain ink cartridge is replaced with another different type of ink cartridge,
After exchanging the ink in the sub ink tank provided in the tube or near the head, the recording operation with new ink is started. The ink cartridge power is off
Even when the ink is replaced at any time, this can be automatically detected, the ink can be replaced promptly, and good printing can be realized by optimal control.

Function 2 In the present invention (means 2), the storage means capable of holding the stored contents even when the power is cut off is provided, and the recovery processing is controlled according to the recovery processing control information stored in the storage means when the power is turned on. Therefore, the optimum recovery process can be performed even when the power is turned on after the device is left for a long time, which is expected in advance, and stable ejection can be performed thereafter.

[0021]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the appearance of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a printer main body, 2 is an operation panel of the printer, 3 is a front door, 4 is an ink cartridge which can be mounted when the front door is opened, and 52 is a printing paper.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the ink cartridge 4. R1 is a resistor, C1 and C1 'are contact points of the resistor R1, and 6 is connected to an ink storage bag (not shown) in the ink cartridge. Ink is supplied by inserting a needle on the printer body side, which is a rubber stopper.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the ink cartridge 4 is attached to the printer. As shown in this figure, the contacts C2 and C2 'in the printer and the contact C in the cartridge C
1, C1 'are in contact. The lead wire L1 is connected to the in-printer contact C2, and L2 is connected to C2 '. Further, in the figure, 8 is a needle on the printer main body side, which is connected to the ink bag 7 via the rubber stopper 6 and supplies ink from the tube 9 to the recording head 54 (see FIG. 5). Reference numeral 10 is a partition plate for partitioning the waste ink absorber 11 provided in the ink cartridge 4, and 12 is a pipe for connecting the recovery system (details will be described later) to pass the waste ink.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the printer according to this embodiment. The arithmetic unit MPU is connected to a host computer or the like via an I / O port (I / 01) and receives a print command, print data and the like. The arithmetic unit MPU has a ROM storing a control program, a character generator (CG), a random access memory (RAM), and an I / O port (I / O2) communicating with various operating units via a data bus 41 and an address bus 42. ), A control circuit (HC) of the recording head 54, a timer (TM), and a heater control circuit (H-CONT) for controlling the fixing heater (HT).

The MPU has an input port A / D1 for performing A / D conversion, and detects an analog voltage value via a signal line L input to this port. This signal line L is pulled up to the power supply V _CC via the resistor R,
The other end is connected to C2 which contacts the ink cartridge contact C1 via a signal line L1. Also, the signal line L
2 is connected to C2 'which is in contact with the ink cartridge contact C1' (the other end is grounded). Then, when the ink cartridge is mounted, the resistor R of the cartridge is
The voltage divided by 1 and the resistor R is input to the A / D1 port of the MPU via the signal line L.

The mounting of the ink cartridge 4 itself is detected by the switch SW via the I / O2. Further, it is possible to detect the voltage value by the signal line L.

FIG. 5 shows a recording operation unit of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a sheet 52 (that is, a recording medium including an OHP sheet) is indicated by an arrow on a sheet feeding mechanism including a feeding roller 51 and a pinch roller (not shown) removably pressed against a lower peripheral surface of the feeding roller 51. The recording head 54 is fed from the direction A, and the recording head 54 is driven onto the paper 52 while feeding the paper 52 through the printing section between the platen 53 and the recording head 54 (inkjet head), so that characters, images, images, etc. Make a record. The printed sheet 52 is discharged in the direction of arrow B.

The ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 5 shows a case of a serial type printer, and an ink ejection port (usually,
A plurality of recording heads 54 arranged vertically)
Is mounted on a carriage 56 that reciprocates in the left-right direction (arrow C) along the guide shaft 55. The home position HP of the carriage 56 is set at a position outside the printable range P, which is substantially the same as the length of the platen 53, and the home position HP is closely contacted and separated from the front surface of the recording head 54 (direction of arrow D). A moving recovery device 57 is arranged.

A cap 58 for sealing (capping) the surface of the recording head 54 on which the ink ejection ports are formed is provided on the front surface of the recovery device 57. Further, the recovery device 57 is provided with an air valve 59 that can be driven so that the inside of the cap 58 passes through to the atmosphere while the recording head 54 is capped.

As a problem peculiar to the ink jet recording apparatus, there are problems such as clogging of the ink discharge passage due to a foreign substance (paper dust, dust, etc.), and non-discharge due to the dryness of the head. As means for coping with these problems. A preventive means for capping the recording head and a recovery means for recovering the trouble when the trouble occurs are provided. The recovery device 57 has the functions of both the preventive means and the recovery means.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of a recovery system including the recovery device 57. In this figure, a common liquid chamber or sub tank 61 before advancing to each nozzle is provided in or adjacent to the recording head 54 (in this embodiment, a sub tank is provided for easy separation), and an ink bag 7 (ink cartridge). Four
The ink (provided inside) is once supplied to the sub tank 61, and then is supplied from the sub tank 61 to the recording head 54. An inkless sensor 63 is connected between the ink bag 7 and the sub tank 61.

On the other hand, a suction pump 64 is provided in the recovery device 57.
Is provided, and by operating the pump 64 with the recording head 54 capped, a negative pressure is generated in the cap 58, and the negative pressure draws ink from the recording head 54 (more specifically, an ink ejection port). It is configured. By this suction of ink, it is possible to achieve a recovery function by drawing out thickened ink in the vicinity of the ink ejection port or eliminating clogging.

The above-mentioned air valve 59 is connected to the cap 58, so that the inside of the cap 58 can communicate with the outside air even in the cap, if necessary.

The ink (waste ink) sucked out from the recording head 54 by the recovery operation is sent from the pump 64 to the ink absorber 11 in the ink cartridge 4 via the tube 12 and is adsorbed to the ink absorber 11. . The suction pump 64 is also connected to the sub tank 61,
The pump 64 is operated to supply ink to the sub tank.

Further, this sub-tank is useful for softening the influence of the acceleration of the moving carriage on the ink and for stably supplying the ink to the head. further,
Since the ink condition (viscosity, etc.) changes considerably with temperature and affects the ink ejection performance, the ink ejection performance of the recording head 54 is maintained even when the outside air temperature is low, and the warming-up time is shortened. Posister (registered trademark) 66 is provided. Further, the recording head 54 has an O of the Posister (registered trademark) 66.
A head temperature sensor (thermistor) 67 for controlling N and OFF is also provided.

When the printer 1 is powered on, the MPU
Indicates that the ink cartridge detection switch SW (a micro switch that is turned on when the cartridge is mounted) checks the mounting of the cartridge 4 via the I / O2, and when the mounting of the ink cartridge 4 is confirmed, M
The type of the attached ink cartridge is determined from the voltage value via the input port A / D1 of the PU.

Thus, head control using the ink of the mounted ink cartridge, such as head drive pulse width, drive voltage, and preliminary ejection (for heads at intervals of several seconds due to nozzles not used during printing) Predetermined values such as control temperature of head, control of fixing heater, presence / absence of control, method, etc. are temporarily stored in RAM, and then stored in this RAM. Printing is executed according to the specified value and method.

Now, an ink cartridge for normal printing and a cartridge with increased print density are prepared, and the resistor R1 is set to A ohm (for example, 5 k) for the normal cartridge.
When Ω is attached and a cartridge of increased density is attached with a resistance of B ohm (for example, 20 kΩ), the voltage values appearing on the signal line L1 are V _A and V _B , respectively.
Based on the respective values stored in the RAM, the head control of the printer, the fixing heater control, etc. are changed to carry out the overall print control to realize the print output desired by the user.

The printing operation will be described below with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, when the power is turned on, step S701
In step S702, after initial setting such as setting of various I / O is performed, the state of SW1 with or without ink cartridge is read. If SW = 1 is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S703, and it is determined that there is no ink cartridge, and the error processing routine is performed in step S704. enter.

When the presence of the ink cartridge is confirmed in step S702, the MPU reads the voltage of the port A / D1 in step S705. In step S706, the voltage value, to determine V _A or V _B, as if V _A is normal ink cartridge is mounted, the process proceeds to step S707, the driving pulse width 3 of the head
μs, pulse interval 0.5 μs (The pulse width and pulse interval refer to the drive width of each divided head and the time between them when, for example, 48 nozzles are divided into three and printed.
9) is set in the RAM, the drive voltage is set to 24 V in step S708, and the head is used at intervals of several seconds before or during printing in order to maintain the performance of the head not used for printing in step S709. Preliminary ejection for ejecting all the dots is set for 30 seconds at intervals, 20 dots for output are set in RAM, head temperature control is set to 35 ° C., fixing heater is turned off, and various values related to head control are set. .

If V _B in step S706,
It is determined that the cartridge storing the ink having the increased density is mounted, and since the physical properties of the ink have changed, the head drive pulse width is 7 μs and the pulse interval is 1 μ (step S71).
2), drive voltage 28V (step S713), preliminary ejection 15 seconds, 10 dots (step S714), head temperature management 40 ° C (step S715), fixing heater ON
(Step S716) is set as above.

As a means for managing the head temperature, a thermistor 67 (see FIG. 6) is attached to the head, the temperature is detected by this value, and the posistor 6 attached to the head.
6 (registered trademark: see FIG. 6) is turned on and off. The fixing heater is attached to the back of the platen 53 as a surface heater and controls the temperature to about 80 ° C. to heat and fix the printed paper through the platen.

After setting various values relating to the head control as described above, the process advances to step S717 to output an interface signal for receiving data from the host device. Then, in step S718, the presence / absence of print data is confirmed and received, and in step S719 image data for printing is developed, and in step S720, the head temperature control is set to the value set above (for example, 35 ° C. for V _A). ).

Then, the timer is started in step S721, the carriage motor is driven in step S722, the print start position is detected in step S723, the process proceeds to step S724, and the image expanded data is read from the RAM in step S719. Perform printing.

Then, in step S725, it is determined whether or not the printing is completed. If the printing is not completed yet, steps S724 and S724 are performed.
Repeat 725.

When printing is completed in step S725, the flow advances to step S726 to check whether the timer started in step S721 is set, and if it is set, the flow advances to step S727 to set the R
Preliminary discharge based on the AM content (for example, if V _A , 30
20 dots) is executed at intervals of seconds.

When the timer is not set in step S726, and after the preliminary ejection is completed in step S727, the process proceeds to step S728, the carriage motor is stopped, and the paper feeding is executed. When the end of paper feeding is detected in step S729, the process returns to step S717,
Printing is executed by the data reception and the values of various head controls set in the RAM.

As described above, different ink cartridges are detected, and appropriate head control (fixing heater control, etc.) corresponding to different stored inks is performed,
It is possible to realize high-quality printing or image output desired by the user.

Embodiment 2 Next, two different ink cartridges are mounted, heads corresponding to the respective ink cartridges are mounted, and printing modes such as character printing and image printing are performed, or a switch is switched according to a user's request. An embodiment in which the above two ink cartridges and heads are switched to perform printing will be described.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, there are L1B and L2B as signal lines for detecting the ink cartridge added further, and M is connected via LB.
Input to the other A / D converter terminal A / D2 of the PU to determine the type of cartridge. In addition, the two switches that detect the mounting of the cartridge itself are set to SW1,
SW2. Further, a corresponding head is provided as 54B, and a head control circuit HC2 for controlling this is also provided.
Further, the changeover switch for the cartridge and the head is manually set to HSW. Other parts of the control of the entire circuit system are similar to those shown in the previous embodiment (FIG. 4).

As the mechanical construction of the second embodiment, as shown in the external view of FIG. 11, two ink cartridges 4 and 4'are mounted, and a manual switching key HSW is arranged on the operation panel. There is. Further, the two heads 54 and 54B are mounted on the carriage 56, as shown in FIG.

First, the operation of automatically switching the ink cartridge and the head in accordance with the printing form will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.

13 and 14, those having the same functions as those described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 are designated by the same reference numerals.

First, when the power source is turned on, initial setting such as setting of various I / Os is performed in step S701, and then in step S1100 it is determined whether or not the two ink cartridges 4 and 4'are mounted.
It is determined in the state of 1 and SW2, and if both are not 1, the process proceeds to step S703, and it is determined that there is no ink cartridge, and the error processing routine of step S704 is entered. In this processing routine, the states of the switches SW1 and SW2 are checked,
An error indicating that either or both are not attached is reported.

When the mounting of both ink cartridges 4 and 4'is confirmed in step S1100, the MPU reads the voltage of the port A / D1 in step S1101.
The status of the cartridge 4 is read. As a result, in step S1102, data such as the drive pulse width of the head 54 corresponding to the ink cartridge 4, the pulse interval drive voltage, the preliminary ejection condition, and the head management temperature are stored in the RAM in an address area RAM1 in step S1102. To store.

Next, in step S1103, in order to read the status of the cartridge 4 ', the MPU sets the port A / D2.
Read the voltage of. Then, in step S1104, as in the case of the cartridge 4, the drive pulse width, pulse interval, drive voltage of the head 54B corresponding to the cartridge 4 ',
RA of each data such as preliminary ejection conditions and head management temperature
The data is stored in a certain address area in M (area different from the RAM 1 stored in the cartridge 4) RAM 2 area.

After setting various data relating to the above cartridge and the head control corresponding thereto, the same as above
In step S717, an interface signal for receiving data from the host device is output. And
Whether or not there is print data is confirmed in step S718, and if there is print data, the print data is received in step S1105.
To analyze.

By this analysis, it is determined whether or not the data to be printed is, for example, a character or an image (image), and the printing form is determined (step S1106).

If it is a character, the process proceeds to step S1107, and the ink cartridge 4 previously stored in the RAM 1 is used.
The head 54 and its control information are set to enable optimum character printing. If it is an image, the process advances to step S1107 to set the ink cartridge 4'and the head 54B and the control information thereof stored in the RAM 2 in advance, and based on this, the optimum image (image) printing can be executed. To do.

When the information in RAM1 or RAM2 is set, the data to be printed is developed into an image in the print buffer in step S719, and the same as in step S72.
1, the timer is started, the carriage motor is driven in step S722, and when the print start position is detected in step S723, the process proceeds to step S724, and the image developed data in step S719 is read from the image buffer (in the print buffer RAM). Perform printing.

Then, in step S725, it is determined whether or not the printing is completed. If the printing is not completed, steps S724 and S724
725 is repeated, and when it is finished, it is checked in step S726 whether or not the started timer is set, and if it is set, the preliminary ejection is executed in the same manner as described above (step S727).

Then, in step S728, the carriage motor is stopped and paper feeding is executed. Next, step S
When the end of the paper feed is detected in 729, the process returns to step S717, and the optimum ink and head are used to print the print based on the print mode.

As described above, by equipping a plurality of ink cartridges and heads corresponding to them, and by detecting these and performing optimum control, the highest print quality is automatically obtained according to various printing modes. It becomes possible to obtain.

Next, a case will be described in which, when a plurality of ink cartridges and heads are mounted, the user himself switches these ink cartridges according to his or her preference or usage situation.

The control procedure in this case is shown in FIG. In this figure, elements having the same functions as those in FIGS. 7, 8 and 13 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 15, step S after the power is turned on.
701 to S1104 are the same as the control described in FIG.

The data of the ink cartridges 4, 4'is R
After being stored in AM1 and RAM2, step S1201
Check the status of the ink cartridge and head changeover switch HSW on the operation panel 2
If SW = 1 is not set (when HSW is not input), the user sets various information stored in the RAM 1 because he desires to execute printing with the ink cartridge 4 and the head 54, and if HSW = 1. (HSW
Is input), the information in the RAM 2 for controlling the ink cartridge 4'and the head 54B is set.

Then, similar to the above, steps S717 and S7
The interface signal is output in 18 to receive the data, the image is developed in step S719, the print execution, the preliminary ejection, and the paper feed are executed in steps S721 to S729, and the input of the HSW key on the operation panel is checked again. The user's request is checked every time the mark is printed, and optimum print execution according to the request is continued.

As described above, not only the printing form such as character and image output, in which the ink cartridge and the head should be selected and printed according to the user's request, the density, the fixability and the ink color are included. Optimum printing according to the user's request is possible.

[0072] In the third embodiment described below in Example 3, a case will be described in which different types of ink cartridges and ink cartridge has been mounted is mounted to date. This can occur even when the ink in the ink cartridge is exhausted. In this case, if ink cartridges having different physical properties are mounted, various controls corresponding to the ink cartridges are naturally performed, but as described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is a sub-tank in front of the nozzle of the head, and When the ink cartridge is changed, the ink in the ink tube or the sub-tank temporarily mixes with the existing ink, or the previous ink operates with the changed control, so normal printing may occur. May not be possible.

In this embodiment, means for solving such inconvenience will be described. As described with reference to FIG. 6, the ink from the ink bag 7 in the ink cartridge is supplied to the sub tank 61 via the tube 9, and the ink in the sub tank is supplied from the nozzle of the head to the cap 58. The ink is sucked by the pump 64 and becomes waste ink, and is sucked by the absorber 11 in the ink cartridge via the tube 12. Therefore, if attachment of a different ink cartridge is detected, the ink is sucked from the head, and the tube and the sub-tank. Replace the ink inside.

Since the ink in the sub-tank is replaced by another in the sub-tank, the suction time or the number of times of the suction is longer than that in the recovery operation which is usually used for defective printing or the like. Need to be completely replaced.

The control procedure of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. Similar to the previous case, the same reference numerals have the same meanings.

In FIG. 16, after the power is turned on, step S
In steps 701 to S704, the presence / absence of the initial set and the ink cartridge is detected and error processing is performed as described above, and the process proceeds to step S1301. Here, similar to the above, A / D of MPU
One port is read, and in step S1302, the status of the ink cartridge is determined in the same manner as described above, and various data are stored in a specific area in the RAM. In addition to this, an ID number or a code (I
D data) is stored in another area.

Then, the presence or absence of ink is checked by the ink-less sensor 63 shown in FIG. 6 (step S130).
3) If there is no ink, the process proceeds to step S1304, error processing such as lighting of the ink lamp is performed, and the loop of steps S1303 and S1304 is repeated until ink is supplied after being replaced with a new ink cartridge.

After replacement of a new ink cartridge, etc.,
When the presence of ink is detected in step S1303, the A / D1 port of the MPU is read again in step S1305, and it is determined in step S1306 whether or not the currently installed ink cartridge is the same. This can be done by comparing the ID numbers.

If the ink cartridge is different, the ink is sucked from the head through the cap and the ink of the new ink cartridge including the other parts such as the sub-tank and the tube in step S1307 as described above. To replace. Then, step S13
In step 08, various information of different ink cartridges and new ID data are stored in the same RAM area, and the flow advances to step S1309.

If ink is present from the beginning and the ink cartridge is not replaced, the process proceeds to step S1309,
Various information of the stored RAM is set, and the interface signal is output in step S717 like the above,
The presence / absence of print data is confirmed and received in step S718, the image development of the print data is performed in step S719, the print execution, the preliminary ejection, and the paper feed are executed in steps S721 to S729, and the flow returns to step S1303 to check the presence / absence of ink. Check to see if the ink cartridges are different and continue printing.

As described above, even if different ink cartridges are exchanged during printer operation, the ink of the ink supply system is completely exchanged automatically as described above, so that the desired ink cartridge is always used. Optimal control is performed and high quality printing can be maintained.

As described above, the replacement of the ink cartridge is automatically detected, and at this time, the ink suction is performed for a longer time or more times than the normal recovery operation, and the ink in the sub-tank or other parts is not cleaned. Although the replacement is performed promptly, the recovery operation can be changed manually by changing the recovery operation key provided on the operation panel (method in which the input time differs). It is possible.

That is, as shown in FIG. 17 (the same reference numerals have the same meanings as described above), the power source O
Then, the presence / absence of the initial set and the ink cartridge is detected and error processing is performed in steps S701 to S704, and the A / D of the MPU is detected in steps S1301 to S1302.
One port is read and various information of the ink cartridge is stored in a partial area of RAM.

Then, in step S1301, it is detected whether or not the recovery key PRG on the operation panel 2 has been input, and if it has been input, it is detected in the next step S1502 how long it has been input, and 1 second. If it is less than this, a normal recovery operation is performed in step S1503, and if it is 1 second or more, the process proceeds to step S1504 to perform recovery operation eight times in succession. It is possible. Then, as in the case where the recovery key is not input, the process proceeds to step S1309, the RAM data is set, and then step S71.
Printing is executed in steps 9 to S729, and steps S1301 to S1301
The process returns to 1302, the ink cartridge is checked again, and printing is continued.

Embodiment 4 The above description has been made on the case where the ink cartridge is replaced during the operation of the printer.
A case where the ink cartridge is replaced at the time of F will be described.

In the fourth embodiment described here, RA for storing various information and ID data of the ink cartridge.
This is dealt with by using NVRAM for M and constantly comparing the ID data therein.

The process will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Like the above, the same reference numerals have the same meanings.

In FIG. 18, when the power is turned on, the presence / absence of the initial set and the ink cartridge is detected and error processing is performed in steps S701 to S704, and the flag provided in the NVRAM is checked in step S1401. This flag is set to 1 if any ink cartridge is already installed, and is set to 0 otherwise.

If the flag is 0, it is considered that the ink cartridge has not been installed up to now, and step S1
In step 402, the MPU reads the A / D1 port, and further stores various information and ID number of the mounted ink cartridge in NVRAM in step S1403. Then, the process proceeds to step S1404, and the flag in NVRAM is set to 1.

If the flag is already 1 in step S1401, it is considered that the ink cartridge has been installed, and in step S1303 it is checked whether or not there is ink. If there is no ink, error processing is performed in step S1304 and a new ink is added. The loop of S1303 and S1304 is executed until the cartridge is replaced and ink is supplied.

After the replacement of a new ink cartridge, when the presence of ink is detected in step S1303, the MPU reads the A / D1 port again in step S1305,
In step S1306, the ID data of the mounted ink cartridge and the ID data stored in the NVRAM are compared to determine whether the ink cartridges are the same.

If the ink cartridge is different, the process proceeds to step S1405, ink is sucked from the head, replaced with ink in a new ink cartridge including the sub tank and tube, and the pulse width, voltage, control temperature, etc. Various information and ID data of NVRA
Store in M.

Then, in step S1406, NVRAM
Set various information data stored in, the print data is received from the host device in steps S717 to S729 in the same manner as described above, the image is developed in the print buffer, timer start, print execution, preliminary discharge, and paper feed are performed. The process returns to step S1303 again to continue the printing operation.

As described above, by storing the information of the ink cartridge, the ID data, etc. in the NVRAM,
Even if the ink cartridge is replaced when the power is turned off, the printer automatically determines this and always executes optimum control, so that high print quality can be maintained.

It should be noted that the above-described determination of the presence or absence of the ink cartridge is performed by AD conversion of the resistor, but a reflection type optical sensor is attached and a paper or a sticker having a different reflectance is attached to the ink cartridge side. The means is not limited to the one described in the above embodiment, such as affixing the same (for example, white, gray, black) and performing AD conversion of the reflected light amount to determine the difference.

Embodiment 5 FIG. 19 shows the construction of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the recording medium 101
Is the conveyance rollers 102, 10 arranged above and below the recording area.
3, the sheet is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the conveying roller 102 driven by the sheet feeding motor 104. A guide shaft 105 is provided in front of the conveyance rollers 102 and 103 in parallel with the conveyance rollers 102 and 103.
Is driven to reciprocate through the wire 108.

An ink jet recording head 109 is mounted on the carriage 106.
On the front surface of 9, that is, the surface facing the recording medium 101 at a predetermined interval, a recording unit in which a plurality of ink ejection ports are arranged in a vertical line is provided.

At the end of the guide shaft, the carriage 10
A recovery mechanism 110 is provided at a position facing the front surface of the recording head 109 on the recording medium 6.

FIG. 20 shows a schematic diagram of the recovery mechanism 110. Pump 1 driven by pump drive motor 111
Reference numeral 12 communicates with a cap 113 that faces the front surface of the recording head 109 and is in contact therewith, and a predetermined amount of ejection port suction is performed per one rotation of the pump in response to a signal from the control unit.

Referring again to FIG. 19, the control circuit (CPU) of the recording apparatus and the ROM and RAM provided along with it.
Is formed on the control board 114, receives a signal from the host device 115 such as a computer,
Based on this, drive voltages of various motors and print heads are applied.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the control system of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in this embodiment. The CPU 116 in the form of a microprocessor has an interface 11
The recording operation is controlled on the basis of a recording signal from the host device 115 connected via 7 and programs and data stored in the ROM type program memory 118, the RAM type data memory 119 and the like.

The CPU 116 controls the carriage motor 107 and the sheet feed motor 104 via the motor driver 120.
And also controls the recording head 109 via the head control circuit 121 based on the recording signal stored in the data memory 119.

The non-volatile memory 122 can be freely read and written by the CPU 116 and can retain the stored contents even when the power supply from the power supply circuit 123 is set in the visual field.

The CPU 116 controls the recovery mechanism control circuit 124.
The pump drive motor 111 is driven via. The suction amount of the pump can be freely controlled by a signal from the CPU 116.

FIG. 22 shows a power-on initialization operation processing procedure of the control system in this embodiment. This processing procedure is stored in advance in the program memory 118 in FIG.

In this embodiment, the recovery process control information is stored in the non-volatile memory 122 in the manufacturing process, and the abnormal discharge is different from the normal one only at the next power-on, that is, at the initial recovery operation at the first power-on after the user is loaded. This is a case where the outlet suction control is performed.

With reference to FIG. 22, a processing procedure at the time of control unit initialization operation such as power-on will be described.

First step S101 after system startup
Then, the CPU 116 acquires the recovery processing control flag stored in the non-volatile memory 122. Next step S10
In step 2, the recovery process control flag is inspected. If the recovery process control flag is ON, it is determined that the power is turned on for the first time after loading by the user, and the recovery mechanism control circuit 124 is operated in the next step S103. Through the pump drive motor 11
By controlling 1, the ejection port suction operation of the optimum amount is performed, and then in step S104, the recovery processing control flag in the nonvolatile memory is written as OFF.

If the recovery processing control flag stored in the non-volatile memory 122 is OFF in step S102, it is determined that the power is turned on for the second time after the loading, and the normal initialization operation is performed in step S105. As a result, a predetermined amount of discharge port suction operation is performed.

According to the above processing procedure, when the power is turned on, it is judged whether or not the power is turned on for the first time after loading by the user, and the optimum amount of the suction port is sucked according to the result, which is effective. In addition, a recovery process can be performed without waste, and stable ejection can always be performed.

The recovery process is not limited to the process for forcibly discharging the ink by suction as described above, but the process for forcibly discharging the ink by pressurizing the ink supply system or the process for performing the recovery process by the preliminary ejection is performed. May be

The recovery processing control information written in the non-volatile memory 122 is not limited to the recovery processing control flag indicating whether or not the power is turned on for the first time after the user has arrived, as described above. It is also possible to write the information for identifying the destination such as the destination, or the information about the leaving condition of the apparatus such as the shipping time, and perform the finer control of the recovery process based on the information.

Sixth Embodiment FIG. 23 shows a power-on initialization operation processing procedure of a control system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the recovery process control information written in the non-volatile memory in the fifth embodiment is used in a manufacturing process for realizing a special function required in the manufacturing process, such as a product inspection function or a leveling operation function. This is a case where a process of automatically writing to the nonvolatile memory is performed when the operation mode is executed.

Referring to FIG. 23, a processing procedure at the time of initialization of the control portion at power-on will be described.

First step S110 after system startup
Then, the CPU 116 checks whether or not the conditions for executing the manufacturing process operation mode are satisfied.

The manufacturing process operation mode execution condition is determined by, for example, switching of switches provided on the control board 114, detection of attachment of a jig, or a special operation procedure such as operation panel switches. It may be one that does.

When execution of the manufacturing process operation mode is instructed, the recovery process control flag in the non-volatile memory 122 is written as ON in the next step S111, and then the manufacturing process operation mode is executed.

If execution of the manufacturing process operation mode is not instructed in the first step S110, it is generally judged that the power is turned on by the user, and the recovery processing control in the nonvolatile memory 122 is performed as in the fifth embodiment. An optimal amount of recovery processing is performed based on the content of the flag (step S11).
3 to S117).

By performing such processing, it is not necessary to perform a special operation for writing the recovery processing control information in the non-volatile memory 122, and the recovery processing control information can be set efficiently and surely. .

(Others) The present invention is provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in the ink jet recording system. The present invention brings about excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type in which the state of ink is changed by the heat energy. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any of the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal in a one-to-one correspondence
It is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape, because the bubble growth and contraction are immediately and appropriately performed, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The structure using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in JP-A-59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, 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 which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main body of the apparatus or the electrical connection to the main body of the apparatus or the ink from the main body of the apparatus by being attached to the main body of the apparatus. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc. because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, and a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are also supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but it may be either the recording head is integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet system, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Sometimes, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying thermal energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, other than the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function can be used. It may be a form or the like.

[0130]

By implementing the present invention, the following special effects can be obtained.

(1) In order to deal with various print qualities, recording densities, fixing properties, ink colors, ink droplet landing point accuracy, paper resistance, environment resistance, etc., various ink cartridges are prepared and the printer side Since this can be detected and discriminated and the optimum control according to each cartridge can be executed,
Various printing modes can be obtained according to the user's request.

(2) A plurality of different ink cartridges are installed in advance together with the heads, and the ink cartridges and heads are automatically (or manually) switched and printed according to the printing form such as image output and character printing. Therefore, it is possible to realize high print quality according to the user's request.

(3) Even if the ink cartridge is replaced regardless of whether the power is on or off, this is automatically detected, and the ink used up to now and the new ink are quickly replaced, which is optimal. Since various controls can be performed, it is possible to always realize optimum and good printing that meets the user's request.

(4) According to the present invention, since the optimum recovery process can be performed according to the state of the apparatus left when the power is turned on, it is possible to obtain an ink jet recording apparatus which ejects ink stably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of an ink cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which an ink cartridge and a printer body are connected.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit for controlling the printer.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a recording operation unit of the printer.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a recovery system illustrating ink suction of the printer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for performing control corresponding to each ink cartridge in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for performing control corresponding to each ink cartridge in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a head drive pulse and a pulse output interval thereof.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a circuit when two ink cartridges and heads corresponding thereto are used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an external view of a printer when two ink cartridges are used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a mechanism diagram showing a state in which two heads are mounted in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when two ink cartridges and heads corresponding thereto are used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when two ink cartridges and heads corresponding thereto are used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for manually switching using two ink cartridges and heads corresponding to them in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an ink replacement procedure when a different ink cartridge is mounted while the power is on in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a procedure for manually switching the recovery operation and performing ink replacement in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention in which the power is turned off.
8 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the ink cartridge is replaced at some time.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus that is a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

20 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a recovery mechanism in FIG.

21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

22 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control system in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of a control system of an ink jet recording apparatus which is a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer Main Body 2 Operation Panel 3 Front Door 4 Ink Cartridge 5 Printing Paper 6 Rubber Plug 7 Ink Bag 8 Needle 9 Tube 10 Partition Plate 11 Waste Ink Absorber 51 Feed Roller 52 Recording Paper 53 Platen 54 Recording Head 56 Carriage 57 Recovery Device 58 Cap 59 Air Valve 101 Recording Medium 102 Conveying Roller 103 Conveying Roller 104 Sheet Feeding Motor 105 Guide Shaft 106 Carriage 107 Carriage Motor 108 Wire 109 Recording Head 110 Recovery Mechanism 111 Pump Drive Motor 112 Pump 113 Cap 114 Control Board 115 Host Device 116 CPU 117 Interface 118 Program Memory 119 Data Memory 120 Motor Driver 121 Head Control Circuit 122 Nonvolatile Memory 123 Power Supply Circuit 124 Recovery Mechanism Control Circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location B41J 2/185 3/54 29/38 A 9113-2C 8306-2C B41J 3/04 102 R

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus for forming an image on a recording material by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head, and a detecting means for detecting an ink cartridge to be used among a plurality of kinds of ink cartridges, Storage means in which a plurality of types of head control modes corresponding to the ink cartridges and related drive modes are stored in advance, and a specific head control mode and related drive modes from the storage means in response to a detection result of the detection means. An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a drive control unit that reads the mode and drives the recording head. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of recording heads, which are automatically or manually operated according to a printing form.
An inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the recording head and the ink cartridge are selected. 3. The ink according to claim 1, wherein when it is detected that the ink cartridge to be used is different from the ink cartridge that has already been used, the ink is sucked from the recording head, and the ink at the required portion is sucked. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the recording operation is started after the ink is converted into the ink of an ink cartridge to be used. 4. The ink cartridge according to claim 3, when the ink cartridge to be used is changed after the power supply to the apparatus main body is cut off,
An ink jet recording apparatus, characterized in that the ink is sucked and converted after power is turned on. 5. The electro-thermal conversion element according to claim 1, wherein the recording head has an electrothermal conversion element that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink as energy used for ejecting the ink. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by the above. 6. An ink jet recording apparatus for forming an image on a recording material by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head, a recovery processing means for performing processing for maintaining a good ink ejection state of the recording head, and a power supply. It is characterized by further comprising storage means capable of holding the recovery processing control information even when the power is cut off, and control means for controlling the recovery processing when the power is turned on according to the recovery processing control information stored in the storage means. Inkjet recording device. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein recovery processing control information to be performed when the power is turned on after the manufacturing process is automatically stored in the storage means. 8. The recording head according to claim 6, wherein the recording head has an electrothermal conversion element that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink as energy used for ejecting the ink. Inkjet recording device.