JPH07132618A - Ink jet recording apparatus and emitting state restoring method of ink jet head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a necessary amt. or more of the wasteful use of ink by providing a means restoring the emission inferiority of an ink jet recording head to a good emission state and a means detecting that an ink tank is replaced. CONSTITUTION:It is judged whether an ink tank replacing flag TC is 0 (S4) and, when TC is 0, the time (t) of a timer is referred to for the first time after an ink tank is replaced. When the time (t) of the timer is referred to for the first time after the tank is replaced, a step S5 is executed and, when TC is not 0, a step S9 is executed. It is judged whether the time (t) of the timer exceeds 24 hr (S5) and, when the time (t) exceeds 24hr, S6 is executed and suction operation being second restoration operation is performed by a pump to transfer to S7. When the time (t) doese not exceed 24hr, the operation of a suction pump is completed. It is judged whether the time (t) exceeds 72hr (S9) and, when the time (t) exceeds 72hr, S6 is executed and suction operation being third restoration operation is performed to transfer to S7 and, when the time (t) does not exceed 72hr, the operation of the suction pump is completed.

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 and a method for recovering an ejection state of an ink jet recording head, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus having means for effectively preventing ejection failure of the ink jet recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a measure for stabilizing ejection of an ink jet recording head in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus,
Capping the ejection surface of the recording head when the inkjet recording apparatus is powered off to prevent foreign matter such as dust from adhering to the ejection surface and the ejection port when not in use, or When the power of the inkjet recording apparatus is turned on, recovery means such as suction means or pressurizing means is used to forcibly discharge a certain amount of ink from the ejection port of the recording head, and the ink and the viscosity increase when the inkjet recording apparatus is not in use. There is one that removes foreign matter such as the generated ink (hereinafter, a device that discharges the ink is referred to as a “recovery device”).

Further, the ink is supplied to the recording head by
Generally, an ink tank accommodating ink is installed in the apparatus, and the ink is supplied to the recording head from there through a supply tube or the like. Therefore, after the ink in one ink tank has been used up, it will be replaced with a new ink tank and it will continue to be used.However, at this time, ink will be in the supply path from the ink tank to the print head. In order to satisfy, it is necessary to perform the above-mentioned recovery operation. Further, even when the ink in the ink tank is in use, the ink in the supply passage evaporates, and as a result, bubbles are generated and accumulated. If the generation and retention of the air bubbles become violent, ink supply failure will also occur. Therefore, also from this point, the necessity of recovery operation arises. This becomes more remarkable as the length of the supply path becomes longer and the cross-sectional area becomes smaller.

On the other hand, in recent years, with the downsizing of recording apparatuses, a cartridge type ink jet recording head in which a recording head section and an ink tank section are integrated has begun to spread. In such a case, the supply path from the ink tank to the recording head can be short, so that the effect of the accumulation of bubbles in the supply path can be small.

However, also in the cartridge type recording head, as the non-use time becomes longer, the bubble pool in the supply path grows, and the recovery operation becomes necessary accordingly. Therefore, if a certain period of time has passed since the previous recovery operation was performed, the recovery device is automatically activated.
This control (hereinafter referred to as "automatic recovery") has been proposed.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of restrictions relating to the size and weight of the cartridge type recording head itself, the amount of ink in the ink tank cannot be set so large that
Even if the head is still fully functioning when the ink has been used up, there is a situation in which it is necessary to dispose of the ink because of a disadvantage to the user due to an increase in running cost.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems,
An ultra-small ink tank separable exchange type recording head has been devised which is as small as possible and only the ink tank can be exchanged.

[0008]

When using such an ultra-small ink tank separation exchange type recording head,
When the recording head and the ink tank are first combined, it is necessary to form a continuous flow of ink between them, which must be done by some means. At this time, this method is general because it can be achieved by the recovery operation described above.

However, in this case, the following problems occur. That is, since the recording head and the ink tank are separate and exchangeable types, it is common to provide a mesh-shaped filter at their joints to prevent the entry of dust and the like. Since this filter portion is in contact with air over the entire surface, immediately after joining the recording head and the ink tank, the proportion of air remaining in the cross-sectional direction at the joining portion is large. After performing a recovery operation on this to create a continuous flow of ink, once the ink flow path is partially formed in the filter part, even if the recovery operation is further repeated, the ink flow The problem is that the ink flows only in the way and bubbles in other parts of the filter cannot be completely removed. In such a state, the time required to block the ink flow path for the subsequent bubble growth is stopped, and the probability of defective ejection increases.

For this reason, the conventional automatic recovery method alone may lead to a situation in which the set time of the operation timing must be considerably shortened.

On the other hand, in the ultra-small ink tank separation-exchange type recording head, the amount of ink that can be stored in the ink tank is very limited, and therefore the amount of ink used for the recovery operation must be minimized.

[0012]

The object of the present invention was made as a result of repeated research paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and it is necessary not only to always record a clear image but also to perform a recovery operation. The above waste of ink is eliminated.

In other words, according to the research conducted by the present inventors, in the ink tank separation / exchange type recording head, bubbles are strongly accumulated at the joint only in the initial stage, and thereafter the bubbles grow and the passage through which the ink flows is blocked. It was found that, even if the ejection failure occurred, the recovery operation made it difficult for bubbles to accumulate in the filter section. It is considered that even if there are intense air bubbles remaining in the initial stage, the wettability of the filter surface is improved by the ink with the passage of time, and as a result, no air bubbles remain after the next recovery operation. Therefore, after this, the reliability can be maintained by the conventional automatic recovery method.

According to the present invention to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording head having an ink ejection port, and an ink tank for supplying ink to the ink jet recording head, which can be separated and replaced from the ink jet recording head. An ink jet recording apparatus for forming an image by ejecting ink from the ink ejection port to a recording medium by using an ink tank, and ejecting ink from the ink ejection port to eject failure of the ink jet recording head. Recovery means for recovering the state to a good ejection state, ink tank replacement detection means for detecting that the ink tank has been replaced, and ink tank replacement detection means for the ink tank being replaced When it detects that the recovery means performs a first recovery operation,
Causing the recovery means to perform a second recovery operation when a first predetermined time has elapsed since the first recovery operation was performed,
Recovery operation control means for causing the recovery means to perform a third recovery operation when a second predetermined time, which is longer than the first predetermined time, has elapsed since the second recovery operation was performed. Is characterized by.

Further, according to the present invention, an ink jet recording head having an ink ejection port, and an ink tank for supplying ink to the ink jet recording head, the ink tank being separable and replaceable from the ink jet recording head. Is used to perform a recovery operation of ejecting ink from the ink ejection port of the ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink from the ink ejection port onto the recording medium to form an image, and to determine the ejection failure state of the inkjet recording head. A method of recovering a good ejection state, wherein a first recovery operation is performed when it is detected that the ink tank has been replaced, and a first predetermined time has elapsed since the first recovery operation was performed. When the second recovery operation is performed, a second recovery operation is performed, and a second recovery operation that is longer than the first predetermined time after the second recovery operation is performed. Discharge state recovery method for an ink jet recording head and performs a third recovery operation when a predetermined time has passed is provided.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the first recovery operation is performed when it is detected that the ink tank has been replaced, and the first recovery operation is performed.
Second recovery operation is performed when a first predetermined time has elapsed after performing the recovery operation of the second predetermined operation, and a second predetermined time that is longer than the first predetermined time after the second recovery operation is performed. The third recovery operation is performed when has passed.

As a result, not only can a clear image be always recorded, but it is possible to prevent unnecessary waste of ink in the recovery operation.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a carrier 203 is equipped with a cartridge-type recording head 202 in which a recording head 200 constituting a recording unit and an ink tank 201 can be exchangeably connected. One end of the carrier 203 on the recording head 200 side is the chassis 1
Lead screw 208 rotatably attached to
Is slidably fitted in the axial direction of the carrier 203.
A guide is disposed at the other end of the guide rail, and the guide is slidably fitted in the guide rail 2 formed on the chassis 1 in parallel with the axial direction of the lead screw 208. The carrier 203 is configured to be reciprocally movable in the axial direction with the rotation of the lead screw 208.

The recording head 200 is driven in synchronism with the reciprocating motion of the carrier 203 to eject ink in accordance with a recording signal, thereby recording one line on the recording material 3. When one line recording is performed by scanning the carrier 203, the recording material 3 is conveyed by one line by the conveying means and the next line recording is performed. The conveyance of the recording material 3 is performed by the conveyance roller 4 and pressure contact with the conveyance roller 4. The rotation pair of the pinch roller 8 and the discharge roller 7 and the spur 6 that abuts on the discharge roller 7 are used. Further, the conveyance roller 4 and the paper discharge roller (not shown) are driven by the paper feed motor 5, but the driving force thereof is transmitted by the reduction gear train 10.

A paper sensor 9 detects the presence or absence of the recording material 3.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a recovery mechanism of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a cap 101 for capping the ejection port surface of the recording head 200.
A pump unit 108 that draws ink from the ejection port surface through the cap 101 and sends it to the waste ink absorber, and further moves the cap 101 back and forth with respect to the ejection port surface. A control gear 102 of a transmission mechanism portion including a known cam and a gear mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the pump unit 108 and further operating a wiping mechanism for wiping off the ink adhering to the ejection port surface is configured. Then, the rotational driving force of the carrier motor 213 (FIG. 1) is transmitted to the control gear 102 via a clutch gear (not shown). A blade 103 wipes the ink ejection surface of the recording head 200 to clean the ink ejection surface.

Next, the pump unit 108 has the structure of a plunger pump as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, 104 is a cylinder,
A cylindrical cylinder portion 104a and a plunger 1 described later.
It has a portion (not shown) that guides 05, and a part is cut out in the axial direction to form an ink flow path. 104b
Is formed so that a cap lever seal, which will be described later, is fitted in the cap lever receiver. Further, 104c is an ink suction port which opens at a predetermined position. Reference numeral 104d is an integrally formed ink discharge tube, and the front end portion is inserted into the waste ink absorber. Reference numeral 104e denotes a parallel pin for opening and closing the cap, and a cam 102a for opening and closing the cap of the control gear 102.
When the parallel pin 104e is pushed by the cylinder 10,
4 rotates to perform the opening / closing operation in which the cap 101 comes into close contact with and separates from the ejection port surface of the recording head 200.

Further, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 106 denotes a cap lever, and an ink guide (not shown) urges the cap lever seal 107 so that the other rotating shaft 106a is snap-fitted to the hole 104f of the cylinder 104. And is rotatable. The ink guide of the cap lever 106 is press-fitted into the cap lever seal 107, and the cap lever receiver 1 of the cylinder 104 is further inserted.
It is press-fitted into 04b.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a cartridge type recording head portion and a carrier portion of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 200 is a recording head that ejects ink by an electric signal, 201 is an ink tank that stores ink and supplies it to the recording head 200, and 203 is the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201.
A carrier provided in the main body of the recording device for holding and scanning
204 is a head lever for holding and releasing the recording head,
Reference numeral 205 is an ink tank lever for attaching and detaching the ink tank 201, 206 is a head holder spring for fixing the recording head 200 to the carrier 203, and 207 is a tank case for holding the ink tank 201. The cartridge type recording head section and the carrier section of the recording apparatus are constituted by the above.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 209 is an ink supply hole that serves as a passage for supplying ink from the ink tank 201 to the recording head 200, and 210 is a guide for holding the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 when they are integrated. A coupling claw, 211 is a coupling claw guide groove that engages with the coupling claw 210, and 212 is an ink tank guide groove for holding the ink tank 201 when the ink tank 201 and the recording head 200 are attached / detached. The cartridge type recording head 202 is configured.

Next, a configuration and an electric circuit of an information processing apparatus incorporating the recording apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of an information processing apparatus 300 incorporating the recording apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure, 301 is a printer unit, 302 is a keyboard unit having keys for inputting characters, numbers and other characters, keys for giving various commands, and 303 is a display unit having a display. .

FIG. 7 shows an information processing apparatus 3 according to this embodiment.
It is a block diagram showing the electric circuit structure of 00. In the figure, reference numeral 401 is a controller that constitutes recovery operation control means and performs main control, and 402 is, for example, a CPU in the form of a microcomputer, 40 that executes a certain procedure.
Reference numeral 3 is a RAM provided with an area for expanding text data and image data and an area for work, 404 is a ROM storing fixed data such as a program corresponding to the above procedure and other font data, and 405 is execution of the CPU 402. A timer that creates a cycle or a timing required for a recording operation by the printer unit 301,
An interface unit 406 connects a signal from the CPU 402 and peripheral devices. Also, 407 is the printer unit 3.
01 is a controller, and 408 is the recording head 200
Presence / absence, type, output value of a sensor that detects the temperature of the print head 200, output of a sensor that detects the presence / absence of ink in the ink tank 201, and the like. A line buffer for storing 200 print data, and 410 a print head 2
Head driver that sends recording signals and electric power to 00,
Reference numerals 411a, b, and c denote motor drivers 412 that send out signals and electric power necessary for driving the carrier motor 213, the paper feed motor 5, and the automatic paper feed motor 20, respectively.
Is a detection unit that detects outputs of the home position sensor 214, the paper sensor 9, and the like. Although not included in the block diagram of FIG. 7, there is another power supply unit for supplying electric power to the above electric circuit, which includes, for example, a rechargeable battery, a disposable dry battery, or an information processing unit. There is a converter for AC power supply when the apparatus main body is fixed and used.

The operation of the recovery apparatus of the present invention using the recording apparatus described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. First, when replacing the ink tank, after recognizing the replacement of the ink tank in step S1 of FIG. 8, the process proceeds to step S2, and the suction operation as the first recovery operation is performed. After the suction operation, in step S3, 0 is assigned to the ink tank replacement flag TC, and then the process is ended.

Regarding the judgment as to whether or not the ink tank has been replaced, here, a generally conceivable method can be applied as the detection method. For example, a micro switch or the like is arranged at the bottom portion of the carrier on which the ink tank is placed, and the output of this switch is switched every time the ink tank is attached or detached, and the replacement of the ink tank is determined. Another way to detect ink tank replacement is to install a light emitting element and a light receiving element around the home position, with the part where the ink tank of the carrier is installed sandwiched, and the light receiving element depending on whether the light between the two is blocked. Of the output of the recording head and the weight of the recording head and ink tank mounted on the carrier, and the position where the ink should pass at the part where the recording head and the ink tank are connected. Various methods are conceivable, such as a method in which electrodes are installed with a space between them, and the ink tank replacement is judged by the resistance value between the electrodes.

Next, description will be made with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, the first predetermined time (hereinafter, Ta), which is the elapsed time after the recovery operation is performed, is 24 hours, and the second predetermined time (hereinafter, Tb) is 72 hours. First, in step S4, it is determined whether the ink tank replacement flag TC is 0 or not. Here, when TC is 0, it means that the time t of the timer 405, which is the time measuring means, is referred to for the first time after the tank is replaced. The processing of the ink tank replacement flag TC is performed inside the nonvolatile memory 413 in the block diagram of FIG. 7. When TC is 0,
That is, if it is the first time to refer to the time measuring means t after the tank is exchanged, the process proceeds to step S5. If TC is not 0, that is, the time to refer to the time measuring means t is only after the tank is exchanged, the step is performed. Proceed to S9.

The timekeeping means is reset each time the recovery device operates.

In step S5, it is determined whether or not the time t of the timer 405, which is the time measuring means (elapsed time since the previous recovery operation), exceeds 24 hours. Two
If it exceeds 4 hours, the process proceeds to step S6, the suction operation as the second recovery operation is performed by the pump shown in FIG. 3, and the process proceeds to step S7. If t does not exceed 24 hours in step S5, the operation of this suction pump is ended.

On the other hand, in step S9, it is determined whether or not t exceeds 72 hours. If t exceeds 72 hours,
After proceeding to step S6 and performing the suction operation as the third recovery operation, the procedure proceeds to step S7. If t does not exceed 72 hours, the operation of this suction pump is terminated.

In step S7, the value of the ink tank replacement flag TC is increased by 1, and the process proceeds to step S8. Then, in step S8, the above-mentioned time measuring means t is set to 0.
After resetting to, the operation of this suction pump is terminated.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described.

In the microminiature ink tank separation exchange type recording head of the present invention, recording may be performed while exchanging ink tanks of a plurality of colors (for example, four colors of black, yellow, magenta and cyan) at appropriate times. Since the viscosity, volatility, etc. of these inks are not all equal, the amount of ink that can be discharged in one recovery operation differs for each ink tank.

In this case, when the first embodiment is adopted as the control for operating the automatic recovery device at the time of exchanging the ink tank, depending on the viscosity or volatility of the ink, the bubbles accumulated in the ink flow path may be completely removed. There are some that cannot be removed and the probability of causing ejection failure increases.
Alternatively, even if the timing of the automatic recovery operation is set longer than that in the first embodiment, some bubbles can be completely removed. That is, it is necessary to change the operation timing of the automatic recovery device depending on the viscosity and volatility of the ink, specifically, the color of the ink. In this embodiment, when the color of the ink is black, the recovery is performed in a shorter cycle than in the case of the other colors.

As a method of detecting the ink color, a generally considered method can be applied. For example, a method in which an electrode is installed in a part of the ink tank and the carrier part and the resistance value of the electrode on the ink tank side is changed by the color of the ink to judge, or a part of the part where the ink tank and the carrier are connected Various methods are conceivable, such as a method of determining the shape of the ink by changing the color of the ink.

Next, the operation of the recovery apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 10. First, when replacing the ink tank, after recognizing the replacement of the ink tank in step S1 of FIG. 8, the process proceeds to step S2 and a suction operation is performed. After the suction operation, in step S3, 0 is assigned to the ink tank replacement flag TC, and then the process is ended.

Next, description will be made with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, Ta is 24 hours, Tb is 72 hours, and 96.
It's time. In step S10 of FIG. 10, it is determined whether the ink tank replacement flag TC is 0 or not.
If TC is 0, the process proceeds to step S11, and if it is not 0, the process proceeds to step S15.

In step S11, it is determined whether or not the time t of the timer 405, which is a time measuring means, exceeds 24 hours. If it exceeds 24 hours, the process proceeds to step S12, the suction operation is performed, and the process proceeds to step S13. Step S
If t does not exceed 24 hours in 11, the operation of the suction pump is terminated.

In step S15, it is determined whether the ink color is black. If the ink color is black, the process proceeds to step S16, and if not black, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step 16, it is judged whether or not t exceeds 72 hours, and if it exceeds 72 hours, the process proceeds to step S12 and the suction operation is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S13. If t does not exceed 72 hours in step S16, the operation of the suction pump is ended.

On the other hand, in step S17, it is determined whether or not t exceeds 96 hours, and if t exceeds 96 hours, the process proceeds to step S12 and the suction operation is performed, and then step S
Proceed to 13. If 96 hours has not been exceeded in step S17, the operation of this suction pump is terminated.

In step S13, the value of the ink tank replacement flag TC is increased by 1, and the process proceeds to step S14. Then, in step S14, the above-mentioned time measuring means t
After resetting to 0, the operation of this suction pump is ended.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described.

The ink jet recording apparatus in which the microminiature ink tank separation / exchange type recording head according to the present invention is mounted may be used after being left in a low temperature environment such as an air temperature of 5 ° C. In this case, the bubble pool in the ink supply path is unlikely to grow. Therefore, as a control for operating the automatic recovery device when the ink tank is replaced,
When and 2 are adopted, the bubble pool in the ink supply path does not easily grow, and the automatic recovery operation is performed more than the required number of times, resulting in waste of ink.

On the other hand, in the ink jet recording apparatus, after being left in a high temperature environment such as an air temperature of 30 ° C.,
It may be used. In this case, the speed at which the bubble pool grows in the ink supply path becomes very fast, and when the above-described first and second embodiments are adopted as the control for operating the automatic recovery device when the ink tank is replaced, Cannot be completely removed, which increases the probability of causing ejection failure.

Therefore, it is necessary to change the timing of the automatic recovery operation of the ink jet recording apparatus depending on the ambient temperature left before it is used.

As a method of detecting the ambient temperature, a generally considered method can be applied, and it is sufficient to install a thermistor in the ink jet recording apparatus.

Next, the operation of the recovery apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 11 and 12.
First, when replacing the ink tank, after recognizing the replacement of the ink tank in step S1 of FIG. 8, the process proceeds to step S2 and a suction operation is performed. After the suction operation, in step S3, 0 is assigned to the ink tank replacement flag TC, and then the process is ended.

Next, description will be made with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. 11 and 12 are Ta and Tb, respectively, and FIG. 12 shows the temperature T detected by the thermistor.
12 is a table for determining A and B of FIG. First, referring to the table in step S18,
A and B are determined by the temperature T detected by the thermistor.

Next, in step S19, it is determined whether the ink tank replacement flag TC is 0 or not. If TC is 0, the process proceeds to step S20. If not, the process proceeds to step S24.

In step S20, it is determined whether or not t exceeds A time (for example, the value of A is 24 hours when the value of the temperature T detected by the thermistor is 23 ° C.). If it exceeds the time A, the process proceeds to step S21, the suction operation is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S22. If t does not exceed A time in step S20, the operation of this suction pump is ended.

On the other hand, in step S24, it is determined whether or not t exceeds B time, and if t exceeds B time, the process proceeds to step S21, suction operation is performed, and the process proceeds to step S22. If t does not exceed B time in step S24, the operation of this suction pump is ended.

In step S22, the value of the ink tank replacement flag TC is increased by 1, and the process proceeds to step S23. Then, in step S23, the above-mentioned time measuring means t
After resetting to 0, the operation of this suction pump is ended.

The present invention brings excellent effects particularly in an ink jet type recording head and a recording apparatus for recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the ink jet recording systems.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, a rapid temperature rise corresponding to the recorded information and exceeding nucleate boiling is applied. , It is effective because it generates heat energy in the electrothermal converter, causes film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, and as a result, can form bubbles in the liquid (ink) that correspond one-to-one to this drive signal. Is. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be immediately and appropriately grown and contracted, so that liquid (ink) ejection 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. A configuration using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 or US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which the heat acting portion is arranged in the bending region, may be used.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure wave of thermal energy is absorbed. It is also possible to adopt a configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which the opening corresponds to the ejection portion.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum recording medium width that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification provides the length. Either of the structure satisfying the requirement or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be used.

Further, as the recording mode of the recording device,
An apparatus having at least one of a multi-color of different colors or a full-color of a mixed color, though the recording head may be integrally configured or a combination of a plurality of recording heads may be used instead of the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black. Can also be

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or below and that softens at room temperature, or is a liquid, or the above-mentioned. In the inkjet method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It may be in a liquid form.

In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink is solidified in a standing state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink. Whether or not ink is used, the ink is liquefied by applying heat energy in any case according to the recording signal, such as those ejected as liquid ink or those which have already started to solidify when reaching the recording medium, The use of an ink having a property of being liquefied only by heat energy is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-56847.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-71260 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 60-71260, it is held in the recess or through hole of the porous sheet as a liquid or a solid material and faces the electrothermal converter. Good. 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 a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, the recording apparatus according to the present invention is provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a word processor or a computer, or in combination with a reader or the like. It may be in the form of a copying machine or a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present description, the time until the recovery device is operated after the ink tank is replaced is set in multiple stages, so that not only a clear image is always recorded. Moreover, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary waste of ink in the recovery operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recovery device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the pump unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a cartridge type recording head unit and a carrier unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a cartridge type recording head unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing an information processing device incorporating the recording device of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of an information processing apparatus incorporating the recording apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the overall control procedure at the time of tank replacement in Examples 1, 2 and 3.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the operation of the recovery device at the time of tank replacement of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the operation of the recovery device at the time of tank replacement of the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the operation of the recovery device at the time of tank replacement of the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a table showing the relationship between the control timing of the operation of the recovery device at the time of tank replacement of the third embodiment and the temperature T of the thermistor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 chassis 2 guide rail 3 recording material 4 transport roller 5 paper feed motor 6 spur 7 discharge roller 8 pinch roller 9 paper sensor 10 deceleration gear train 101 cap 102 control gear 102a cap opening / closing cam 103 blade 104 cylinder 104a cylinder part 104b cap Lever receiver 104c Ink suction port 104d Ink discharge pipe 104e Parallel pin 104f Cylinder hole 105 Plunger 106 Cap lever 106a Rotating shaft 107 Cap lever seal 108 Pump unit 200 Recording head 201 Ink tank 202 Cartridge type recording head 203 Carrier 204 Head lever 205 Ink Tank lever 206 Head holder spring 207 Tank case 208 Lead screw 209 in Supply target hole 210 Coupling claw 211 Coupling claw guide groove 212 Ink tank guide groove 213 Carrier motor 214 Home position sensor 300 Information processing device 301 Printer section 302 Keyboard section 303 Display section 401 Controller 402 CPU 403 RAM 404 ROM 405 Timer 406 Interface section 407 Controller 408 Head detection unit 409 Line buffer 410 Head driver 411 Motor driver 412 Sensor detection unit 413 Non-volatile memory

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording head having an ink ejection port, and an ink tank for supplying ink to the ink jet recording head, the ink tank being separable from the ink jet recording head and replaceable, An ink jet recording apparatus for forming an image by ejecting ink from the ink ejection port to a recording medium, wherein ink is ejected from the ink ejection port and a defective ejection state of the inkjet recording head is changed to a good ejection state. Recovery means for recovering, ink tank replacement detecting means for detecting that the ink tank has been replaced, and recovery when the ink tank replacement detecting means detects that the ink tank has been replaced Means for performing a first recovery operation, and a first predetermined operation after the first recovery operation is performed. When the time has elapsed, the recovery means is caused to perform the second recovery operation, and when the second predetermined time longer than the first predetermined time has elapsed since the second recovery operation was performed, An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a recovery operation control unit that causes the recovery unit to perform a third recovery operation. 2. The ink jet recording head is a recording head which ejects ink by utilizing thermal energy, and is provided with a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. Inkjet recording device. 3. The ink jet recording head causes a state change in ink due to thermal energy applied by the thermal energy converter, and causes ink to be ejected from an ejection port based on the state change. The inkjet recording device described. 4. An ink jet recording head having an ink ejection port, and an ink tank for supplying ink to the ink jet recording head, the ink tank being separable from the ink jet recording head and replaceable, A recovery operation of ejecting ink from the ink ejection port of an inkjet recording apparatus that ejects ink from the ink ejection port onto a recording medium to form an image is performed, and a defective ejection state of the inkjet recording head is in a good ejection state. A method for recovering the ink tank, wherein a first recovery operation is performed when it is detected that the ink tank has been replaced, and a first recovery operation is performed when a first predetermined time has elapsed since the first recovery operation was performed. The second recovery operation is performed, and the second predetermined time longer than the first predetermined time elapses after the second recovery operation is performed. A method for recovering an ejection state of an inkjet recording head, which comprises performing a third recovery operation when