JPH07156420A - Restoration control of recording head of ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the emission defficiency caused by the drying of ink by completing restoration operation upon the reception of a stop signal during restoration operation to cap the emitting orifice surface of a recording head to set the recording head to a standby state. CONSTITUTION:A blade slider 105 has a through-hole 105c so as to be movable along the slide shaft 106 parallel to the emitting orifice surface of a recording head. Since the blade slider 105 reciprocally moves along the slide shaft 106, the pentration quantity of a blade 104 to the emitting orifice surface of the recording head is always constant at any position of the emitting orifice surface and the blade 104 wipes the emitting orifice surface uniformly. The reciprocating motion of the blade slider 105 is performed by a blade link 107 and the projection 107a of the blade link 107 pushes the wall 105d of the blade slider 105 to reciprocally move the blade slider 105. The blade link 107 is controlled in its movement by the wiping operation cam provided to a control gear 102.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording head recovery control method for an ink jet recording apparatus which ejects ink from an ejection port of a recording head and adheres it to a recording medium for recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, recording is performed by ejecting ink from a fine ejection opening onto a recording material. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, clogging of the ejection opening ( It is necessary to prevent (improper ejection) and to eliminate the defective ejection to recover the stable ejection state. Therefore, a recovery mechanism is generally provided for that purpose. The recovery mechanism includes, for example, a cap that caps the ejection port surface of the recording head to prevent the ink near the ejection port of the recording head from drying, and a pump unit that sucks ink from the ejection port in the capped state. A wiping unit for wiping off foreign matter such as ink and paper powder attached to the ejection port surface is provided. Then, if necessary, the ink in the ejection port is absorbed, the ejection port surface is wiped, preliminary ejection different from recording is performed, and the ejection port surface is capped when not in operation, thereby The ejection characteristics were kept good.

[0003]

However, in the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the power switch is turned off while the recovery operation such as suction, wiping or preliminary ejection for recovering the recording head is being performed, or When receiving the stop signal, the recovery operation that is currently in progress is stopped and the operation is in a standby state. For this reason, the ejection port surface of the recording head is left uncapped, and if such a state continues for a long time, the ink in the ejection port dries, causing ejection failure at the next recording. There was a problem that it would end up.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording head recovery control method for an ink jet recording apparatus, which prevents ejection failure due to ink drying even when a power switch is turned off or a stop signal is received during a recovery operation. And

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a method of controlling recording head recovery of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention improves ink ejection characteristics of a recording head for recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port. In order to maintain the recording head recovery control method for an inkjet recording apparatus that performs the recovery operation of the recording head, if the power switch is turned off or a stop signal is received during the recovery operation, the recovery operation is performed. When the recording is finished, the ejection port surface of the recording head is capped, and the ink jet recording apparatus is put in a standby state.

Further, in order to maintain good ink ejection characteristics of a recording head for recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port, a recording head recovery control method of an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recovery operation of the recording head, If the power switch is turned off or a stop signal is received during the recovery operation, the recovery operation is interrupted at a good point to turn off, the ejection port surface of the recording head is capped, and the ink jet recording apparatus waits. It may be in a state.

In this case, when the power switch is turned on again or an operation signal is received after the recovery operation is interrupted, the previously interrupted recovery operation may be executed.

Further, the recovery operation is a suction operation for sucking ink from the ejection port of the recording head, a wiping operation for wiping off foreign matter adhering to the ejection port surface of the recording head, or a recording head of the recording head. The preliminary ejection operation may be performed to prevent the ejection port from drying.

[0009]

According to the present invention configured as described above, when the power switch is turned off or the stop signal is received during the recovery operation, the ejection port surface of the recording head is capped after the recovery operation is completed. Is set to the standby state, the ejection port surface of the recording head is always sealed by the cap in the standby state. As a result, since the ejection port surface of the recording head is not left uncapped, the ink in the ejection port does not dry, and ejection failure due to ink drying is prevented.

[0010]

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus used for implementing a recording head recovery control method for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a carrier 203 includes a recording head 200 and an ink tank 201 which constitute a recording means.
A head cartridge 202 connected to and is mounted. One end of the carrier 203 on the recording head 200 side is fitted to a lead screw 213 rotatably attached to the chassis 1 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and the other end of the carrier 203 has a guide. Is installed,
The guide is slidably fitted in a guide rail 2 formed on the chassis 1 in parallel with the axial direction of the lead screw 213. The carrier 203 is configured to be capable of reciprocating in its axial direction as the lead screw 213 rotates while keeping its posture always constant.

That is, the lead screw 213
As shown in the figure, the lead screw gear 257 fixed to the left end of the screw meshes with the pinion gear 256 fixed to the output shaft of the carrier motor 255, and the lead screw 213 is spirally formed at a predetermined pitch. The lead pin 209 (see FIG. 5) attached to the carrier 203 is fitted into the formed guide strip 268 (see FIG. 4). Therefore, when the lead screw 213 rotates with the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255, the carrier 203 reciprocates. Details of scanning the carrier 203 will be described later.

The flexible cable 211 transmits a print signal from the electric circuit described later to the recording head 200, and is positioned and held on the pinch roller frame 11 by the flexible cable holder 16.

The recording head 200 is driven in synchronism with the reciprocating movement of the carrier 203 to eject ink in accordance with a recording signal, thereby performing one-line recording on the recording material 3. That is, the recording head 200 has a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage, and an energy acting portion provided in a part of the liquid passage, and acts on the liquid in the energy acting portion to discharge the liquid. It is provided with an energy generating means for generating energy to be used.

A recording method using a piezo element or the like as an energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method of irradiating electromagnetic waves such as a laser to generate heat, and ejecting a liquid by the action of the heat generation, or a heating resistor. There is a recording method using an energy generating unit that heats the liquid by an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having the above to eject the liquid.

Among them, the recording head used in the ink jet recording method for ejecting the liquid by thermal energy can arrange the liquid ejection ports for ejecting the recording liquid to form droplets at a high density. It is possible to record at high resolution. In particular, a recording head using an electrothermal converter as an energy generating means can easily be made compact and has the advantages of IC technology and microfabrication technology, which have been remarkably improved in technology and reliability in the recent semiconductor field. This is advantageous because it can be used in two parts, high-density mounting is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low.

When one line is recorded by scanning the carrier 203, the recording material 3 is conveyed by one line by the conveying means and the next line is recorded. The conveyance of the recording material 3 is performed by the conveying roller 4. And a pair of rotations of the pinch roller 8 that presses against it and a pair of rotations of the discharge roller 7 and the spur 6 that contacts the discharge roller 7.

More specifically, the recording material 3 whose recording surface faces the ejection opening surface of the recording head 200 will be described.
The pinch roller 8 makes pressure contact with the conveying roller 4, and the conveying roller 4 is appropriately rotated by the paper feed motor 5 to convey the recording roller 4 to the recording position as needed. After recording, the recording material 3 is pressed against the discharge roller 7 by the spur 6 and is discharged and conveyed outside the apparatus by the rotation of the discharge roller 7. The conveyance roller 4 and the discharge roller 7 are driven by the paper feed motor 5, and the driving force is transmitted by the reduction gear train 15.

The position of the rotary shaft of the spur 6 that contacts the recording surface of the recording material 3 is fixed, and the contact position between the spur 6 and the recording material 3 changes regardless of the thickness of the recording material 3. On the other hand, the discharge roller 7 that contacts the recording surface of the recording material 3 is deformed by the thickness of the recording material 3 to correspond to the change in the thickness of the recording material 3. It is like this. Specifically, the discharge roller 7 is made of thin rubber having a conical shape, and deforms with a restoring force in the radial direction.
Therefore, deformation is performed according to the pressure contact force to the spur 6 and the thickness of the recording material 3.

The same effect can be obtained by forming the discharge roller 7 from a material having a large elastic deformation, such as a porous sponge or a resin or rubber having a very low hardness. Further, the entire discharge roller 7 is spured by a spring or the like 6
It may be pressed against. Therefore, the distance between the recording head 200 and the recording material 3 can be maintained at a predetermined amount regardless of the thickness of the recording material 3, and stable conveyance can be performed. 1
A paper sensor 4 detects the presence or absence of the recording material 3.

Next, the pressing structure of the pinch roller 8 which is a driven rotating body for pressing the recording material 3 against the conveying roller 4 which is a driving rotating body will be described.

In FIG. 2, the pinch roller 8 is fitted with mold bearings at both ends thereof, and is supported by bending and inserting the end portion of the pinch roller spring 9 which is a flat spring member. The pinch roller spring 9
Is the pinch roller frame 11 and the pinch roller holder 10
Is supported so as to be freely rotatable around the illustrated shaft portion 9a. Also, the shaft portion 9 of the pinch roller spring 9
The center of a is bent in a U shape, and forms a lever portion 9b.

The operating means for changing the pressing force of the pinch roller 8 by the pinch roller spring 9 has a release angle 1 slidable on the pinch roller frame 11.
By stacking the two and operating the release angle 12 to push up the pinch roller spring 9, a twist is generated in the shaft portion 9a, and the repulsive force pushes the pinch roller 8 against the conveying roller 4. Further, the pressing force is released by eliminating the twist.

That is, in the state of FIG. 3, the lever portion 9 is provided by the cam portion 12a provided on the release angle 12.
b is pressed and the shaft portion is twisted (elastically deformed), and the pinch roller 8 is pressed against the transport roller 4.
On the other hand, when the release angle 12 is slid in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, the state shown in FIG. 2 is reached, and the lever of the pinch roller 8 is lowered due to the lowering of the cam portion 12a, and the shaft portion 9a is restored to eliminate the twist in the previous period. The pressing force of the pinch roller 8 against the transport roller 4 becomes small.

As a result, the jammed recording material 3 can be easily pulled out even if the pinch roller 8 is not completely separated from the conveying roller 4. Release angle 1
The slide lever 2 is slid to the left and right by rotating the release lever 13. The release lever 13 is axially supported by the pinch roller frame 11 and has an elongated hole on the side opposite to the lever with respect to the rotary shaft, and the handle portion of the release angle 12 is inserted therein. Then, by rotating the release lever 13, the release angle 12 moves in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a lead screw mechanism for feeding the carrier 203 to the recording material 3.
Only the functionally necessary members are shown.

In the lead screw 213 slidably engaged with the two carrier bearings 228 and 229 provided on the carrier 203, the right end of the lead screw 213 is rotatably coupled to the chassis 1 via the adjusting spring 250. To be done. The left end is rotatably connected to the recovery system plate 271 via a bearing 251. Carrier 20
3 is a guide rail (not shown) 2 (see FIG. 1)
Slidably engages with to prevent and guide rotation of the carrier 203. The lead screw 213 has a plurality of guide lines 2
68 is formed, and one of them has the lead pin 20.
9 (see FIG. 5) is slidably fitted to drive the carrier 203 in the A and B directions parallel to the axial direction of the lead screw 213.

FIG. 5 shows the carrier bearing 228 shown in FIG.
It is an expanded sectional view of a part. The lead pin 209 is a pin whose one end is formed into a spherical shape. The lead pin 209 is slidably fitted between the carrier bearings 228 and 29 in a hole formed in the carrier 203 perpendicularly to the axial direction of the lead screw 213. The guide 20 is slidably engaged with the carrier 20 from the other end.
A lead pin spring 210 that is detachably attached to the No. 3 biases the lead screw 213 in the direction. A stopper 269 is formed above the lead pin spring 210 in the sliding direction of the lead pin 209 in order to prevent the lead pin 209 from coming off from the guide strip 268.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the mounting structure of the right end portion of the lead screw shown in FIG. 4 to the chassis. The distance between the recording head 200 on the carrier 203 and the recording material 3 is set to the lead screw 213 supporting the carrier 203.
Of the lead screw 213, the left end of the lead screw 213 is determined by the recovery system plate 271 and the right end of the lead screw 213 is based on the left end.
A first elongated hole 252 perpendicular to the recording material 3 is formed in the chassis 1 so that 13 can be adjusted to be parallel to the recording material 3. The adjustment spring 250 is a second parallel to the recording material 3 in a state where the adjustment spring 250 is attached to the chassis 1 and restricts the operation of the right end of the lead screw 213 in the vertical direction with respect to the recording material 3. An elongated hole 253 is formed.

The right end of the lead screw 213 is supported by the first oblong hole 252 and the second oblong hole 253, and the adjustment spring 250 in which the second oblong hole 253 is formed is moved vertically to the recording material 3 (see FIG. The lead screw 213 is adjusted parallel to the recording material 3 in the direction of the middle arrow). Adjustment spring 250
A spring 250a for urging the right end of the lead screw 213 toward the left end is integrally formed therewith. The adjustment spring 250 is fixed to the chassis 1 with screws 254.

FIG. 7 shows the lead screw 2 shown in FIG.
The structure of the left end part of 13 is shown. At the left end of the lead screw 213, a clutch mechanism that transmits the driving force of the carrier motor 255 to the recovery member is configured. Recovery system plate 27
A carrier motor 255 is coupled to the unit 1. The pinion gear 256 (see FIG. 1) is attached to the output shaft of the carrier motor 255.
Is fixed, and meshes with the lead screw gear 257 fixed to the lead screw 213,
The lead screw 213 is rotated forward and backward by the forward and reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255, and the lead pin 20 slidably abutting on the guide strip 268 of the lead screw 213.
9 moves the carrier 203 along the Yanai 268. The recovery system plate 271 includes the control gear 10
2 is incorporated.

At the left end of the lead screw 213, an initial lock 258, a clutch plate 260, a clutch gear 259, and a return spring 261 are arranged. The initial lock 258 is fixed to the lead screw 213. The clutch gear 259 is the lead screw 21.
3 is fitted in the sliding direction in the axial direction, and a part thereof enters the inside of the initial lock 258. That is, the clutch gear 259 is formed with projections 262 at two asymmetrical positions on the circumference, and these projections 262 are fitted to the recesses 263 formed in the initial lock 258 in the same phase as the projections 262 so as to be axially movable. ing.

A flange 267 is provided on the end surface of the clutch gear 259 on the lead screw gear 257 side.
Trigger teeth 259 a for giving a rotation trigger to the control gear 102 are formed on 67. The control gear 102 has a gear formed on the outer periphery thereof, and is in a position where it meshes with the clutch gear 259 on the lead screw 213 when the lead screw 213 is incorporated into the recovery system blade 271. However, during the recording operation, the control gear 102 does not mesh with the clutch gear 259 because a part of the outer peripheral gear, which is partly cut away, faces the clutch gear 259.

A side gear 102h having several teeth is formed on the side surface of the notched portion of the gear. The side gear 102h is operated by the clutch gear 259 by an operation described later.
Meshes with the trigger tooth 259a of the control gear 10
2 is given a rotation trigger. A clutch plate 260 is provided between the initial lock 258 and the clutch gear 259.
Has been inserted. Furthermore, the lead screw gear 257
Are fixed to the lead screw 213. The return spring 261 includes the clutch gear 259 and the lead screw gear 2
57, and the clutch gear 259 is always pushed to the initial lock 258 side.

On the circumference of the initial lock 258, an idle groove 264 having the same shape as the strip of the lead screw 213 is formed, and is connected to only the strip for guiding the lead pin 209 by the connecting groove 265. When the carrier motor 255 is rotated forward, the carrier 203 advances in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
When it is rotated in the reverse direction, it proceeds in the direction of arrow B. Recovery system plate 2
A home position sensor 270 (see FIG. 1) is attached to 71, the carrier 203 is scanned by the rotation of the carrier motor 255, and the shield plate 230 (see FIG. 1) formed on the carrier 203 is used as the home position sensor 27.
By detecting a point that passes 0, it can be used as a reference point for a recording operation and a recovery operation described later.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the clutch mechanism shown in FIG. When the carrier motor 255 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in FIG.
The lead pin 209 moving 03 is entered from the guide groove 268 of the lead screw 213 into the idle groove 264 of the initial lock 258 via the connecting groove 265. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8B, one end of the carrier bearing 288 pushes the clutch plate 260, and the clutch plate 260 pushes the clutch gear 259 and is pushed to a position where it meshes with the control gear 102. At this time, the control gear 1 corresponding to the gear portion of the clutch gear 259
The gear teeth on the 02 side are notched, and the control gear 102 does not rotate.

When the carrier motor 255 is further rotated in the reverse direction, the trigger teeth 2 of the clutch gear 259 are changed as shown in FIG.
59a meshes with the side gear 102h of the control gear 102, rotates the control gear 102, and the teeth of the control gear 102 mesh with the clutch gear 259. A flange 267 (see FIG. 7) is formed on the clutch gear 259, and when the clutch gear 259 and the control gear 102 mesh with each other, the clutch gear 259 is formed.
The flange 267 of the above is hung on the side surface of the control gear 102 and continues to be meshed with the control gear 102. When the carrier motor 255 is further rotated in the reverse direction, the recovery operation is started.

After the recovery operation is completed, the carrier motor 255 is rotated in the forward direction to control the control gear 102 and the clutch gear 2.
Upon returning to the meshing start position of 59, the control gear 102 and the flange 267 of the clutch gear 259 are disengaged, and the clutch gear 259 tries to return to the original position by the urging of the return spring 261. Clutch gear 25
The clutch plate 260 fitted to the carrier 9 is also pushed in the same manner, and the carrier 2 in contact with the clutch plate 260
The carrier bearing 288 of No. 03 is similarly pushed.
Further forward rotation causes the lead pin 209 that guides the carrier 203 to rotate in the idle groove 26 of the initial lock 258.
4 through the connecting groove 265, the lead screw 2
It is pushed out to the guide strip 268 side of 13. That is, the carrier 203 becomes in a scannable state by the rotation of the carrier motor 255.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a recovery mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. In the figure, a cap 101 that caps the ejection port surface of the recording head 200 (see FIG. 1) and a negative pressure inside the cap 101 sucks ink from the ejection port surface through the cap 101, and an exhausted ink absorber 160 (described later). (See FIG. 48), the pump unit 150 is further moved forward and backward with respect to the discharge port surface, and the pump unit 1
A control gear 1 of a transmission mechanism section including a known cam and gear mechanism for transmitting a driving force to 50 and further operating a wiping mechanism for wiping ink adhering to the ejection port surface.
02 is configured. And the control gear 1
The rotational driving force of the carrier motor 255 is transmitted to the motor 02 via the clutch gear 259 described above.

Next, the structure in which the recovery mechanism is driven by the rotation of the control gear 102 will be described. The control gear 102 includes a cap opening / closing cam 102a and a wiping operation cam (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the control gear 102 meshes with a stroke gear 103 that reciprocates a plunger 115, which will be described later, and the control gear 102 rotates to cause the stroke gear 103 to rotate.
Rotates, and the plunger 115 reciprocates.

Further, in FIG. 10, the blade 104 is
The ejection port surface of the recording head 200 is wiped to clean the ejection port surface. The blade 104 is made of rubber such as HNBR or urethane, and is attached by inserting one end of the blade 104 into the blade mounting groove 105a of the blade slider 105 so as to slide. As shown in FIG. 12, the blade mounting groove 105a is
A protrusion 105b having a sharp tip for preventing the blade from coming off is provided in a part of the protruding direction of the blade. Therefore, even when a force to pull out the blade 104 is applied during wiping, the blade 104 is not disturbed and pulled out by the protrusion 105b.

The blade slider 105 is used for the recording head 2
The through hole 105c is provided so as to be movable along the slide shaft 106 parallel to the discharge port surface of 00, and reciprocates along the slide shaft 106.
In 04, the amount of penetration of the recording head 200 to the ejection port surface is always constant at any position on the ejection port surface, and the ejection port surface is wiped uniformly.

The reciprocating movement of the blade slider 105 is performed by the blade link 107, and the projection 107a of the blade link 107 pushes the wall 105d of the blade slider 105 to reciprocate. The blade link 107 is the control gear 102
The movement is controlled by a wiping operation cam (not shown) formed on the.

When the ejection port surface of the recording head 200 is wiped by the movement of the blade slider 105, the ink adhered to the blade 104 is removed by the blade cleaner 10.
8 and the blade 104 is always kept clean. That is, the blade 104, which has moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 10 by the wiping operation, also wipes the entire discharge port surface, and then touches the blade cleaner 108 as well. At that time, the ink on the blade 104 is absorbed by the blade cleaner 108.

The blade cleaner 108 is the cleaner spring 6
01 is connected to the ink sheet 602 to form a blade cleaner unit. This blade cleaner unit is designed so that when the blade 104 moves the maximum amount in the direction of arrow A in the figure, the blade cleaner 10
8 recovery system unit 271 so that it comes into contact with 8
Is attached to. Further, the ink transfer portion 602a of the ink sheet 602 comes into contact with a waste ink absorber 160 described later (see FIG. 50). By connecting in this manner, the ink transferred from the blade 104 to the blade cleaner 108 is not transferred to the ink sheet 6 thereafter.
Via 02, to the waste ink absorber 160,
Since the blade cleaner 108 and the ink sheet 602 are not saturated with ink, the blade 10 is always
It is possible to absorb the ink adhering to 4 and keep it clean.

The blade 104 is the blade cleaner 1.
If 08 is always touched, the blade 104 will be deformed due to the creep phenomenon of rubber, and the original performance cannot be exhibited. Therefore, after the blade 104 contacts the blade cleaner 108 by the wiping operation cam of the control gear 102, the blade 104 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction in the drawing to move the blade 104 to the blade cleaner 10.
It is separated from 8 to prevent external force from being applied to the blade 104 (see FIG. 45).

Furthermore, when the blade link 107 is controlled while always following both the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255 while following the cam for wiping operation of the control gear 102, the blade link 107 is controlled by the rotation angle of the control gear 102. The movement of is uniquely determined. That is, the position of the blade 104 is controlled only by the angle of the control gear 102. In this case, if the wiping operation is performed when the carrier motor 255 rotates in the reverse direction and enters the recovery mechanism, then the normal rotation of the carrier motor 255 also performs the wiping operation when the carrier motor 255 exits the recovery mechanism. . Therefore, the ejection port surface is wiped by both surfaces of the blade 104. However, since the blade 104 can be turned upside down when cutting its tip, essentially only one side can be wiped, and if wiping is performed on the side opposite to the side that can be used for wiping, printing failure will occur. I will end up.

Therefore, in this embodiment, this problem is solved as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 1, a part of the shield plate 230 is provided with an inclination, and when the carrier 203 enters the recovery mechanism, the shield plate 230 rotates the blade stopper 109 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. A series of operations thereafter will be described with reference to FIG.

When the lead pin 209 of the carrier 203 completely enters the idle groove 264, the blade stopper 10
9 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 13 (a) and stops. Next, the control gear 102 starts rotating, and as described above, the blade link 107 starts rotating in the direction of arrow C in the figure as shown in FIG. 13B. Figure 1
When the blade link 107 rotates to the position shown in (c) of FIG. 3, and further continues the rotation, the spring hooking portion 107b of the blade link 107 starts rotating the blade stopper 109 in the arrow D direction. When the blade link 107 further rotates to the position shown in FIG. 13D, the blade stopper 109 is disengaged from the spring hooking portion 107b of the blade link 107 and rotates in the arrow E direction in the figure. But the shield 2
Since the rotation is stopped by 30, the blade stopper 10 is rotated to the position shown in FIG.
9 stops.

After that, even if the carrier motor 255 rotates in the forward direction so that the blade link 107 is disengaged from the wiping operation cam of the control gear 102 and the blade spring 110 is rotated in the direction of the arrow F in the figure by the pulling force of the blade spring 110, FIG. The rotation is stopped by the blade stopper 109 as shown in FIG. Finally, when the carrier 203 is completely removed from the recovery mechanism, the blade link 109 rotates as shown in (f) of FIG.
In the opposite direction of arrow A, the robot reaches the highest point and waits.

In this way, the wiping locus of the blade 104 is changed depending on whether the carrier 203 enters or leaves the recovery mechanism, so that wiping is not performed on the opposite surface of the blade 104. In addition, the carrier stopper 111
Are provided to prevent the carrier 203 from slipping out to the recording position due to dropping and vibration. The carrier stopper 111 is constantly given a rotational force in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 10 by the carrier hook spring 112, and is retracted from the carrier hook 231 (see FIG. 1) by the protrusion 102c of the control gear 102 during recording.

Here, the operation will be described. When the lead pin 209 of the carrier 203 enters the idle groove 264 and the control gear 102 starts to rotate, the projection 102c of the control gear 102 separates from the carrier stopper 111 and the carrier stopper 111 rotates in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 10 and is caught by the carrier hook 231. Therefore, in the standby state where recording is not performed, the carrier stopper 111 is caught by the carrier hook 231 and prevents the carrier 203 from slipping out to the recording position. Further, the carrier stopper 111 also functions to prevent the carrier gear 111 from coming off the shaft like the E ring.

The pump unit 150 has the structure of a plunger pump as shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, the cylinder 113 has a cylindrical cylinder portion 113a.
And a portion (not shown) that guides a plunger 115 described later, and a portion is cut away in the axial direction to form an ink flow path. The cap lever receiver 113b is formed so that a cap lever seal 119, which will be described later, is fitted therein. Further, an ink suction port 113c is opened at a predetermined position of the cap lever receiver 113b. 113
Reference numeral d designates an ink discharge tube integrally formed with the tip inserted into the ink discharge absorber. Further, when the cap opening / closing cam 102a of the control gear 102 pushes the cap opening / closing parallel pin 113e, the cylinder 113 rotates to perform the opening / closing operation in which the cap 101 is brought into close contact with or separated from the ejection port surface of the recording head 200.

As shown in FIG. 49 (a), the cylinder 1
A stainless steel ball 162 is press-fitted into one opening 113f of the 13 ink suction port 113c. This part is the cap lever seal 1 as shown in FIG.
It was hermetically sealed with 19 single parts. But in this case,
Not only the shape of the cap lever seal becomes complicated, but also
The airtightness is deteriorated at the opening 113f of the cylinder described above,
There was a leaking problem. In order to solve this problem, conventionally, the cap lever seal 119 is made large,
The pressure force with the cylinder 113 is strengthened to prevent leakage. However, if such a measure is taken, the cap lever 118 inserted in the cap lever seal 119 is inserted.
(See FIG. 11), the turning force is increased, and as a result, the cap pressing force is reduced.

Therefore, as in the present embodiment, this problem is eliminated by sealing the opening 113f of the cylinder 113 with the stainless steel ball 162. Also,
Since it is possible to use an O-ring as the cap lever seal 119, both problems of moldability and assemblability can be reduced at the same time.

The relationship between the cap opening / closing cam 102a of the control gear 102 and the cap opening / closing operation is shown in FIG.
0, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 14.

A switching sheet 102d is attached to the cap opening / closing cam 102a, whereby the cap opening / closing operation can be changed by the forward and reverse rotations of the carrier motor 255. In this embodiment, pre-ejection is performed in the cap 101 as described later, and therefore, the ink accumulated in the cap 101 during recording is temporarily discharged before the carrier 203 enters the recovery mechanism and caps. It is necessary to suck the ink in the cap 101 into the cylinder 113.

When the control gear 102 starts rotating due to the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255, the parallel pin 113e inserted in the cylinder 113 first passes through the surface of the cap opening cam 102e. In the figure, control gear 10
The closer the cam is to the center of 2, the more the cap 101 is opened. Therefore, in this case, suction can be performed with the cap 101 open (this suction is referred to as empty suction).

Next, when the control gear 102 has finished rotating, the suction operation has been completed, and normal rotation has started, this time the parallel pin 113e passes through the surface of the cap closing cam 102f, and the control gear 102 begins to rotate for the first time.
Will be closed. Normally, it is on standby with this cap closed. When recording is then started, the carrier motor 255 rotates in the forward direction and the control gear 102 rotates in the direction of arrow H in the figure.

However, when suction is started, the carrier motor 255 rotates in the reverse direction and the control gear 102 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow H. In this case, since the parallel pin 113e passes through the surface of the cap closing cam 102f, the original cap 10
Suction can be performed with 1 closed. By thus providing the switching seat 102d, the control gear 1
With 02 alone, two suction operations, the original suction and the empty suction, are realized.

During recording, the parallel pin 113e is inserted into the notch 102g provided on the cam surface, and the control gear 10 is rubbed by the force of the cap spring 114.
I'm trying to prevent 2 from rotating. If the control gear 102 rotates during recording, the recovery operation will start in the case of improper recording, and normal recording will be impossible.

The plunger 115 is formed with an operating shaft 115a, a piston receiver 115b, a piston retainer 115c, and a pump seal retainer 115d, and a groove 115e serving as an ink flow passage is formed continuously with the operating shaft 115a. This groove is the guide portion 1 of the cylinder 113 described above.
13g (see FIG. 51) is partially inserted to stop the rotation of the plunger 115. A lead groove 115f for controlling the reciprocating motion of the plunger 115 is formed on the operating shaft 115a, and as shown in FIG.
The projection 103a formed on the inner surface of 03 is fitted in the lead groove 115f. Therefore, when the stroke gear 103 is rotated in one direction by the reverse rotation drive of the carrier motor 255, the plunger 115 strokes in the direction of arrow I shown in FIG. 11, and the stroke gear 103 is rotated in the other direction by the forward rotation drive of the carrier motor 255. When rotated to, the plunger 115 strokes in the direction of arrow J shown in FIG.

As described above, by controlling the stroke of the plunger 115 by the lead groove 115f and the stroke gear 103, the cam, the link mechanism and the like, which have been conventionally required, are unnecessary, and the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

FIG. 46 is a view for schematically explaining the movement of the cap lever 118 when the cap 101 is opened and closed.
As shown in (a) of FIG. 46, when the cap 101 is retracted from the ejection port surface 200a of the recording head 200, the cap lever 118 is connected to the ejection port surface 200a by the cap regulation plate 271a of the recovery system plate 271. It is supposed to be parallel. Therefore, the cap 101
Since there is a gap α on the discharge port surface 200a, this gap α
The blade slider 105 can pass through, and the blade 104 can wipe the ejection port surface 200a.

Next, when the cap 101 seals the discharge port surface 200a, the cap lever 118 moves the cylinder 1
While keeping the angle with 13 constant, the cylinder 113 is rotated by the cap opening / closing cam 102a of the control gear 102 in the direction A in the figure, and the cap lever 118 approaches the discharge port surface 200a accordingly. After that, as shown in FIG. 46B, one end of the cap 101 abuts on the ejection port surface 200a. Then, a moment in the direction of B in the figure is generated in the cap lever 118 from the contacted gap, and the cap lever 118 moves the rotation shaft 118a.
46, and finally, as shown in FIG. 46 (c), the discharge port surface 200a is balanced in such a state that the discharge port surface 200a is entirely sealed.

In this way, the same position of the cap 101 is always brought into contact with the ejection port surface 200a first, so that the error in the angle and position of the ejection port surface 200a due to variations in the manufacturing process is absorbed, Surely cap 101
Thus, the discharge port surface 200a can be sealed. This technique is an effective means especially for an inkjet recording apparatus using a head exchange type inkjet cartridge. Furthermore, due to the miniaturization, the discharge port surface 2 of the cap 101
Even when the pressure contact force with respect to 00a cannot be increased, the discharge port surface 200a can be reliably sealed with the cap 101, which is a very effective means.

After that, the cap 101 is put on the discharge port surface 200.
When retracting away from a, a part of the cap lever 118 is moved to the recovery system plate 271 as shown in FIG.
Contacting the cap regulating plate 271a of FIG.
It rotates about a and finally becomes a state as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, conventionally, as shown in FIG.
The angle formed by the cap lever 118 and the cylinder 113 is constant, and the discharge port surface 200a of the cap 101 is formed.
The amount of evacuation from is increasing.

The technique using the rotation of the cap lever 118 described above is an essential technique for downsizing the ink jet recording apparatus.

Referring again to FIG. 11, the plunger 1
15 is a piston 116 made of a rubber material such as NBR
Is attached. The outer diameter of the piston 116 is configured to be larger than the inner diameter of the cylinder 113 by a predetermined amount, and is properly compressed when inserted into the cylinder 113. In this embodiment, the cylinder 113
Has an inner diameter of φ4.9H10, and the outer diameter of the piston 116 is φ
The compression amount is 5.05 ± 0.05, and for such a size, the compression amount of this amount is optimal. The hardness of rubber is 4
0 to 60 ° is good. As a result, when the plunger 115 strokes in the direction of arrow I, a negative pressure is generated and the recording head 2
When the waste ink in 00 is sucked and stroked in the direction of arrow J, the sucked waste ink is discharged from the waste ink pipe 113d to the waste ink absorber 160.

A pump seal 1 is attached to the plunger 115.
17 is attached. The pump seal 117 is made of a rubber material such as silicon or NBR, and its inner diameter is set to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the plunger 115 so that a predetermined pressure contact force with the plunger 115 can be obtained. Can be reciprocated by being pushed by the pump seal retainer 115d and the piston receiver 115b of the plunger 115. In this embodiment,
The outer diameter of the plunger 115 is φ2.8f10, and the inner diameter of the pump seal 117 is φ2.65 ± 0.05. With this size, a pressure contact amount of this amount is optimal.
The hardness of the rubber is preferably 40 to 60 °. Further, the surface of the cylinder 113 and the plunger 11 is coated with a lubricating coating.
The sliding force with 5 may be reduced. Further, rubber having self-lubricating property may be used for the purpose of eliminating the grease in the cylinder 113.

Further, the cap lever 118 has an ink guide (not shown) at one end which is a cap lever seal 119.
The rotary shaft 118a at the other end is attached to the hole 113f of the cylinder 113 by a snap fit and is rotatable. The cap lever seal 119 is press-fitted with the ink guide of the cap lever 118 and further press-fitted with the cap lever receiver 113b of the cylinder 113.

The cap 101 is an elastic member such as an annular chlorinated butyl rubber having a rice ball-shaped cross section, and is attached to the cap attaching portion 118b of the cap lever 118. As shown in FIG. 15, this attachment method effectively utilizes the elasticity of rubber, and the ring is expanded and attached to the attachment portion 118b of the cap lever having a shape that follows the inclination of the diaper of the cap 101. . The cap 101 once attached cannot be removed by normal use.

Further, similarly to the blade cleaner 108, a pre-ejection pad 120 made of a polymer absorber is mounted on the cap lever 118. The preliminary ejection pad 120 is for absorbing the preliminary ejection ink for ejecting the ink separately from the normal recording operation during recording in order to prevent the ink on the ejection port surface from drying. The pump absorber 121 is a polymer absorber that serves to reliably transfer the waste ink in the cylinder 113 to the waste ink absorber.

The waste ink absorber is mounted in the form described below. As shown in FIG. 48, the waste ink absorber 160 is sandwiched between the chassis 1 and the platen 161, screwed from the mounting hole 161 a of the platen 161, and fixed by fixing the chassis 1 and the platen 161. . The waste ink absorber 160 does not need to use an expensive polymer absorber, and an inexpensive absorber such as laminated paper can sufficiently exhibit its function. Further, the ink transfer portion 160a of the waste ink absorber 160 is in pressure contact with the pump absorber 121, and the ink discharged from the pump unit 150 is transferred to the waste ink absorber 160 via the pump absorber 121. It is designed to be done.

FIG. 16 shows a timing chart of the recovery mechanism by the rotational driving force of the carrier motor 255. In this figure, the carrier 203 enters the recovery mechanism, and the trigger gear 259a of the clutch gear 259 has the control gear 1
The time when the control gear 102 starts rotating after meshing with 02 is set as a 0 (zero) pulse of the carrier motor 255, and the state at this time is set as the recovery system home position.

In this embodiment, the carrier motor 255 has 24
By rotating 0 steps (5 rotations) forward and backward,
All recovery operations are performed, and the clutch gear 259, the control gear 102, and the stroke gear 103 start to rotate simultaneously with the rotation of the carrier motor 255. The plunger 115 is the stroke gear 10.
Since the reciprocating motion is controlled by 3, the carrier motor 255 starts to move at the same time as the rotating, and the reciprocating motion has a one-to-one correspondence with the rotation of the carrier motor 255. As described above, the movement of the blade 104 is partially changed by the forward and reverse rotations of the carrier motor 255. In addition, as described above, the cap 101 is configured so that the suction suction can be performed by the switching sheet 102d.
When the recovery operation is started by the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255 from 0 pulse, the plunger 115 moves while the cap 101 remains open.

The recovery operation will be specifically described below.

First, the preliminary ejection, which is performed to prevent the nozzles that are not used during printing from drying, will be described. (1) The carrier 20 is rotated by the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255.
3 moves from the print area to the recovery system area (recovery system home position). (2) Further, it is reversed by the amount a in the figure to reach the preliminary ejection position. (3) Perform preliminary ejection into the cap 101. (4) Return to the recovery home position by rotating in the direction a in the figure. (5) Continue printing.

Wiping performed to remove the wetting of the ejection port surface of the recording head 200 by ink during printing and the attachment of dust such as paper dust will be described below. (1) The carrier 20 is rotated by the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255.
3 moves from the print area to the recovery system area (recovery system home position). (2) Further, the figure is reversed by a + b + c + d + e in the figure to reach the wiping end position, during which the wiping operation is performed. (3) In the figure, e + d + c + b + a is normally rotated to return to the recovery system home position. (4) Continue printing.

Further, capping for preventing the discharge port surface from drying after printing is finished will be described. (1) The carrier 20 is rotated by the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255.
3 moves from the print area to the recovery system area (recovery system home position). (2) Further, the rotation is reversed by a + b + c + d + e + f in the figure. During this time, the wiping operation described above and the plunger 1
A suction operation is carried out by moving 15. In this suction operation, as shown in the timing chart of the cap 101 in the figure, since the cap 101 is in the open state, only the ink accumulated in the cap 101 by the preliminary ejection is sucked, and the suction of 200 from the recording head is performed. Absent. (3) In the figure, rotate forward by f + e + d to reach the cap position,
End the capping operation and wait.

Next, the suction operation from the recording head 200 when left for a long period of time or when there is a sudden ejection failure will be described. This operation is normally performed from the capping state. (1) It rotates forward from the cap position by j minutes in the figure to reach the suction start position. This is performed in order to reduce the initial volume of the pump unit 150 and increase the negative pressure generated in the suction operation. (2) Reverse by c + d in the figure and stop for a predetermined time. Ink is sucked from the recording head 200 during this stop time.
The suction amount at this time is equal to the volume increased in the pump unit when the carrier motor 255 reverses by c + d. Also, during this time, the blade 104 does not wipe the ejection port surface of the recording head 200. (3) After that, the rotation is reversed by e + f in the figure. During this time, the cap 101 changes from the closed state to the open state, and the pump unit 1
The ink remaining in the 50 ink flow paths is sucked (empty suction). (4) Further, it rotates forward by f + e + d in the figure to reach the cap position. Here, the operation of discharging the ink sucked into the pump unit 150 to the discharged ink absorber 160 is performed.

Here, if the power switch is turned off during the recovery operation described above, it becomes impossible to stop at the cap position in the standby state. Therefore, the present invention solves this problem as follows. Has been resolved. If the power switch is turned off during the above recovery operation, all the operations currently in progress are processed, then the capping operation is performed, and the inkjet recording apparatus is put in the standby state and then the power is turned off. In this case, it is also possible to shorten the process by changing parameters such as the number of preliminary ejections and the suction stop time.

By doing so, since the recording head 200 is always left in a state of being hermetically sealed by the cap 101, non-ejection due to ink drying can be prevented.

In addition to the above, when the power switch is turned off, the operation in progress is stopped at a sharp point,
The control may shift to the capping operation. Specifically, in the case of the above-mentioned suction operation, it is as follows.

(A) When the power is turned off during the normal rotation for c minutes After the normal rotation for c minutes, the capping operation is performed after the normal rotation for b + a reaches the recovery system home position.

(B) When the power is turned off during the reverse rotation for c + d minutes. Immediately after the reverse rotation for c + d minutes (without stopping suction) e +
After the reverse rotation of f, the normal rotation of f + e + d reaches the cap position.

(C) When the power is turned off in the suction stopped state The suction stop is stopped at that point, the rotation is reversed by e + f, then the normal rotation is performed by f + e + d, and the cap position is reached.

(D) When the power is turned off during the normal rotation of f + e + d after the end of the idle suction The processing is continued until the cap position is reached.

For recovery operations other than this suction operation,
Processing can be performed in the same way as this.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned control of stopping the operation in progress at the time when the power switch is turned off and shifting to the capping operation, when the power is turned on next time, The interrupted recovery operation may be executed from the beginning.

In addition, control for capping after all the operations at the time when the power switch is turned off are completed,
Of the controls that stop in a clear place and shift to the capping operation, the one with shorter processing time may be selected and controlled, and this control and the recovery interrupted midway when the power is turned on next time Controls that perform an action from the beginning may be combined.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the head cartridge portion and the carrier portion of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the head cartridge portion and the carrier portion have a recording head 200 that ejects ink by an electric signal and a recording head 2 that stores ink.
Ink tank 201 supplied to the recording head 20 and the recording head 20.
0 and a carrier 203 provided in a recording apparatus main body for holding and scanning the ink tank 201, and a recording head 200.
A head lever 204 for holding and releasing the ink tank 201, an ink tank lever 205 for attaching and detaching the ink tank 201, a head holder spring 207 for fixing the recording head 200 to the carrier 203, and an ink tank 201 for holding. And a tank case 208 that is installed.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the head cartridge 202 of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the head cartridge 202 includes a recording head 200 and an ink tank 201. The recording head 200 includes the ink tank 201 to the recording head 200.
Ink supply hole 220 that serves as a passage for supplying ink to the ink
And a coupling claw 22 for guiding and holding the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 when they are integrated.
2 are provided. On the other hand, in the ink tank 201, an ink supply hole 221 for supplying ink from the ink tank 201 to the recording head 200, a coupling claw guide groove 223 that engages with the coupling claw 222, and the ink tank 201 and the recording head 200 are attached and detached. In this case, an ink tank guide groove 224 for holding the ink tank 201 is provided.

The recording head 200 includes a substrate on which a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements that generate thermal energy used for ejecting ink and a drive circuit for driving the electrothermal conversion elements are formed, and the plurality of substrates on the substrate. The discharge port and the liquid passage corresponding to each of the electrothermal conversion elements of, further, the top plate for constituting a common liquid chamber communicating with each liquid passage is laminated,
Further, an electrical contact for giving a signal from the main body of the inkjet recording device is provided to the drive circuit. Further, a sensor for detecting the state of the recording head 200 from the main body of the ink jet recording apparatus may be arranged inside the recording head 200, and specifically, a temperature detection for detecting the temperature in the vicinity of the electrothermal conversion element. Sensor, Ink remaining amount detection sensor that detects when ink is exhausted from the common liquid chamber as described above, or
A head type discrimination sensor or the like for identifying the type of the head cartridge 202 when the head cartridge 202 is used while exchanging ink types or head types different from each other. The ink jet recording apparatus main body can judge the signals from these sensors and control the signals applied to the electrothermal converting elements to optimize the printing state. Then, the recording head 200 configured as described above is mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus so that the ejection port surface on which the ejection ports are arranged faces the recording medium.

The ink tank 201 is a tank for appropriately supplying ink to the recording head 200 in order to supplement ink consumed by recording while holding ink.
When the ink tank 201 alone exists, it is sealed by a sealing unit (not shown) so that the ink does not leak from the ink supply hole 221. The sealing means is automatically or manually opened when integrated with the recording head 200 to form an ink flow path. The sealing means can be realized by, for example, a mechanism in which a metal ball is pressed against a rubber stopper by a spring. In addition, a mechanism may be provided to introduce atmospheric air from the outside according to the ink volume that decreases due to ink consumption. Furthermore, by having a mechanism inside which keeps the pressure of the ink supplied to the recording head 200 slightly negative, it is possible to improve the printing quality and prevent ink leakage.

In this embodiment, the ink tank 201
A flexible bag (not shown) is provided inside, and ink is contained in the bag and is connected to the ink supply hole 221. The remaining space in the ink tank 201 is filled with air, but the air pressure is adjusted by a pressure control valve (not shown) in the recording operation state, and more specifically, a negative pressure state within a predetermined range occurs.・ It is designed to be retained.

The recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are used in the recording apparatus in the recording operation in the state of the integrated head cartridge 202. Next, a method of integrating the both will be described.

Since the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are basically integrated by connecting the ink supply hole 220 and the ink supply hole 221, this portion leaks ink or gas in the ink flow path. It is designed to prevent intrusion. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21, a system using a rigid pipe and an elastic stopper is adopted. That is, the ink supply hole 220 is formed in a cylindrical shape by a molding member, and the ink supply hole 221 facing the ink supply hole 220 is a member formed of a rubber material and having a cylindrical hole. The outer diameter of the ink supply hole 220 is made slightly larger than the inner diameter of the ink supply hole 221.
Then, when the ink supply hole 220 is press-fitted into the ink supply hole 221, the ink supply hole 221 is brought into close contact with and integrated with the ink supply hole 220 while slightly deforming in the radial direction.

The connecting portion is not limited to a combination of a rigid body and an elastic body and may be any one having a sealing function. For example, a combination of a pipe of a mold and a hole of a mold may cause a slight deformation of the mold. It may be sealed by utilizing the elasticity of the above, or may be composed of a rubber seal member having no holes and a needle-like pipe.

In order to integrate the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201, it is sufficient to connect the ink supply hole 220 and the ink supply hole 221 as described above, but an unexpected external force is applied when the head cartridge 202 is handled. In this embodiment, the coupling claw 222 and the coupling claw guide groove 223 make the coupling stronger so that the coupling claw 222 and the coupling claw guide groove 223 will not come off easily in case of being integrated or become a guide that can be easily integrated. I am trying. That is, the coupling claw 222, which is integrally molded with the ink supply hole 220 and can be elastically deformed,
A protrusion is provided at the tip, and while engaging with the coupling claw guide groove 223 while elastically deforming by the height of this protrusion, the groove provided at the back of the coupling claw guide groove 223 becomes deeper. The engagement is completed when the projection of the coupling claw 222 reaches the open portion.

Further, the coupling claw 222 is formed so that the ink supply hole 220 and the ink supply hole 221 can be easily aligned when the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are connected.
It also has a role as a guide. That is, the coupling claw 22
2 is longer than the ink supply hole 220, and the connecting claw 222 comes into contact with the ink tank 201 before the ink supply hole 220 comes into contact with the ink supply hole 221. Here, the tip of the coupling claw 222 is cut out obliquely, and the oblique portion can be easily engaged with the coupling claw guide groove as a guide in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. Further, the projection provided at the tip of the coupling claw 222 is also cut out obliquely, and serves as a guide in the direction of the arrow b shown in FIG. 18 to facilitate easy engagement. Although the coupling claw 222 is provided on the recording head 200 in the present embodiment, it is not limited to this and can be provided on the ink tank 201 side or both the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201.

Next, the recording head 200 is attached to the carrier 203.
The method of connecting mechanically and electrically to the. FIG. 19
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a connecting portion of the recording head 200 to the carrier 203 as seen from the direction of arrow a shown in FIG.
FIG. 20 shows the head cartridge 20 for the carrier 203.
It is a perspective view which shows the coupling structure of 2.

In FIG. 20, the carrier 203 is engaged with a hole provided in the recording head 200, and is indicated by an arrow a in FIG.
Pin 2 for positioning in the direction of arrow and in the direction of arrow b
55 and a stopper 226 that receives the recording head 200 pressed in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 19 are fixed. The flexible cable 211 for electrically connecting the recording apparatus main body and the recording head 200 is provided with positioning holes 211a and 211b. The flexible cable pad 212, which is sandwiched between the flexible cable 211 and the carrier 203 and elastically supports the flexible cable 211, has positioning holes 212a,
An ink barrier 212c is provided to prevent ink from entering the 212b and the contact portion. On the other hand, the head contact portion 227 electrically connected to the heater portion in the recording head 200 has positioning holes 227a and 227b.
Is provided, and the end surface of the stopper 226 abuts at the stopper abutting place 227c.

The recording head 200 has a head holder spring 20.
7 (see FIG. 17) via a lever (not shown).
The position is uniquely determined by the engagement of the hole provided in the recording head 200 with the positioning pin 225 and the interference with the stopper 226. In this way, the recording head 200 and the carrier 20
3 is mechanically connected.

Further, the head contact portion 227 provided on the recording head 200 and the end surface of the flexible cable 211 are provided with a plurality of electrical contacts at opposite positions, and these should be pressed with a predetermined pressure. Thus, the recording apparatus main body and the recording head 200 are electrically connected. At this time, since it is necessary to press-contact a plurality of electrical contacts at one time, a flexible cable pad 212 made of an elastic material is put in the pressing part in order to press-contact them uniformly. The material of the flexible cable pad 212 is, for example, silicon rubber, and has a plurality of protrusions at positions corresponding to the above-described electrical contacts so that the stress of pressing is concentrated on the contacts. Further, the above-mentioned electrical contacts provided on the flexible cable 211 are
The protrusions may be formed to further concentrate the stress when pressed to ensure the connection.

The reaction force generated when the head is pressed is the head holder spring 207 holding the recording head 200.
Since it is configured to be much smaller than the force of
The position of the recording head 200 is not displaced by the reaction force from the flexible cable pad 212.

Further, the carrier 203, the flexible cable pad 212, the flexible cable 211, the head contact portion 227 and the head cartridge 203.
Are required to be accurately positioned with respect to each other in order to obtain a reliable electrical connection and good recording quality. For that reason, they are configured as follows.

That is, with reference to the two positioning pins 225 of the carrier 203, one positioning pin 225 is used.
Are commonly fitted to one positioning hole 212a of the flexible cable pad 212, one positioning hole 211a of the flexible cable 211 and one positioning hole 227a of the head contact portion 227, and the other positioning pin 225 is a flexible cable. Pad 21
The other two positioning holes 212b, the other positioning hole 211b of the flexible cable 211, and the other positioning hole 227b of the head contact portion 227 are commonly fitted to determine the positions in the directions a and b in FIG. There is. Furthermore, by pressing the end surface of the stopper 226 from the direction of arrow a in FIG.
The position of the recording head 200 in the direction of arrow c can also be accurately determined.

Further, if ink enters between the electrical contact surface, that is, between the flexible cable 211 and the head contact portion 227 for some reason, an electrical short circuit may occur, so that it is necessary to prevent this. is there. Therefore, in this embodiment, a part of the flexible cable pad 212 is formed into a protrusion to form an ink barrier 212c, which is pressed against the end surface of the recording head 200 to prevent the invasion of ink from the ejection port of the head 200. .

In this embodiment, the electrical or mechanical coupling portion is provided on the recording head 200 side, but it is not restricted to this, and the ink tank 201 side or the recording head 200 side and the ink tank 201 side is provided. Or both may be provided, or the electrical coupling part and the mechanical coupling part may be separately provided in either one.

Next, a method of handling the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201, that is, a case of replacing the ink tank 201 that has run out of ink with a new ink tank 201, or a case of replacing the recording head 200 that has become unusable for some reason The method will be described.

As a first form, the fixing of the recording head 200 and the carrier 203 is released, and the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are taken out from the carrier 203 in an integrated state, and then removed from the carrier 203. , Off-carrier state), the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are separated or integrated.

FIG. 22 shows the carrier 203 to the recording head 2
00 and the ink tank 201 are shown as a single unit in a perspective view. In this case, by rotating the head lever 204 from the state of FIG. 17 in the direction of arrow a in FIG.
A cam provided in No. 4 releases the pressing force of the head holder spring 207 on the recording head 200 by moving the shaft provided on the lever pressing the recording head 200.

At this time, the tank case 208 in the carrier 203 moves with its projection engaged with the ink tank guide groove 224, so that the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are moved in the direction of arrow b while being integrated. To do.
This disengages the positioning pin 225 (see FIG. 20) from the hole of the recording head 200.
0 and the ink tank 201 can be taken out from the carrier 203 by moving in the arrow c direction as they are, and can be in an off-carrier state. After the off-carrier state, it is possible to separate the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 by applying a force in a direction opposite to the coupling direction at the time of integration. Then, the one to be replaced is replaced with a new one, and the two are integrated by the above-described integration method and housed in the carrier 203 in the reverse order, whereby the replacement work is completed.

The head lever 2 is used in this embodiment.
Although the pressing force of the recording head 200 is released by using 04, the lever for pressing the recording head 200 may be directly moved without being restricted by this. Further, the recording head 200 is pressed by using the head holder spring 207 as a fixing method, but the recording head 200 is not limited to this and may be fixed by using a latch hook having a spring property.

When the first mode is adopted, there are the following effects. That is, when either the recording head 200 or the ink tank 201 needs to be replaced, only the one that needs replacement needs to be replaced, so that the economical efficiency is improved.

In the second embodiment, the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are fixed on the carrier 203 while the recording head 200 and the carrier 203 are fixed, and only the ink tank 201 is separated. There is a way to remove it.

FIG. 23 shows the recording head 2 on the carrier 203.
00 is a perspective view showing a state where the ink tank 201 is separated from 00. In this case, by rotating the tank lever 205 from the state of FIG. 17 in the direction of arrow a of FIG. 23 and raising it to such a position, the cam (not shown) provided on the tank lever 205 causes the tank case 208 to move in the direction of arrow b. Move to. The protrusion provided on the tank case 208 engages with the ink tank guide groove 224 provided on the side surface of the ink tank 201 to move the ink tank 201 in the arrow b direction. At this time, the recording head 200 is fixed in the same manner as in the state of FIG. 17, and since it does not move together with the ink tank 201, the engaging portion between the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 can be disengaged and separated. Furthermore, the ink tank 201 can be removed from the carrier 203 by moving it in the direction of arrow c.

At this time, when the recording head 200 is elastically pressed by the head holder spring 207 as in this embodiment, the recording head 200 is unfixed due to the force applied during the separation. Since there is a possibility, it is recommended to configure as follows. In FIG. 24, the recording head 2
00 is a schematic plan view showing a force applied to the ink tank 201 and the ink tank 201 when they are separated. In the figure, the recording head 200 is pressed against the carrier 203 by a head holder spring 207 with a force of f1. In addition, the recording head 20
0 and the ink tank 201 are separated from each other, so that the coupling claw 222
With the coupling claw guide groove 223 and the ink supply hole 2
It is assumed that the force of f2 is required to disengage the ink supply hole 221 from the ink supply hole 221. At this time, by setting the magnitude of the force to be f1> f2, it is possible to prevent the recording head 200 from being unfixed during the separation operation.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the tank lever 2
No. 05 is used to generate a force equivalent to f2 for separation, but it is not restricted by this and the ink tank 201 is directly held and pulled in the direction of arrow b in FIG.
The ink tank 201 and the ink tank 201 may be separated.

When the second mode is adopted, the following effects are obtained in addition to the case of the first mode. That is, by appropriately designing the cam shape of the tank lever 205, the drawing speed at the time of separation can be controlled, and ink can be prevented from scattering from the ink supply hole 220 or the ink supply hole 221. Further, since it is not necessary to directly hold the recording head 200 by hand, the recording head 2
No need to touch the vicinity of the discharge port of 00 with hand, and it is possible to prevent unnecessary contamination that adversely affects printing. Further, since the portion of the ink tank 201 to which the force is applied is specified, only the portion is required to have a structure that can withstand the force, and the other portions can be made thin and lightweight, and the internal volume can be increased.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 including an automatic paper feeding section. Here, reference numeral 300 denotes an automatic paper feeding unit, which is fixed to the inkjet recording apparatus in the positional relationship shown in FIG.

26, 27 and 28 are an enlarged perspective view, a plan view and a sectional view of the automatic sheet feeder shown in FIG. 25, respectively. Here, 301 is a main holder, which supports all the components of the automatic paper feed unit, and further fixes the automatic paper feed unit to the inkjet recording apparatus.

By the rotation, the recording materials 3 (see FIG. 25) stacked and held on the paper holder 317 are separated one by one,
A separation gear 303 and a separation ratchet 3 are provided in the separation roller 302 for feeding the paper to the paper feed unit of the inkjet recording apparatus.
04 is fixed, and is supported rotatably around the separation shaft 305. The separation shaft 305 is the separation holder 30.
6, the separation holder 306 is rotatably held by the main holder shaft 307 with respect to the main holder 301. Convex portion 306 of separation holder 306
A separation spring 308 is provided between a and the main holder 301.
28, the separation holder 306 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 28 to separate the separation roller 302 from the separation pad 3.
Pressing to 16. The pressing force of the separation spring 308 is set within the range of 10 to 50 gf in this embodiment. In the following description, it is assumed to be 10 gf.

The auxiliary roller 309 for feeding the loaded recording material to the separation roller 302 is an auxiliary roller shaft 311.
Fixed to the auxiliary roller shaft 311 together with the auxiliary roller gear 311 a fixed to the auxiliary roller shaft 311.
It is rotatably supported by. Spare roller holder 310
Is attached to the main holder 3 by the main holder shaft 307.
01 is rotatably held. Spare roller 3
09 is driven by the idler gear 312 at the same peripheral speed as the separation roller 302.

The spare roller spring 313 is similar to the separation holder 306 in that the spare roller holder 310 is shown in FIG.
8, the auxiliary roller 309 is rotated in the clockwise direction to press the auxiliary roller 309 toward the paper holder 317. The pressing force of the spare roller spring 313 is equal to that of the spare roller 309.
However, since the recording material 3 needs to be reliably sent, the upper limit is not so limited, but in this embodiment, a good result is obtained at 20 fg or more. In the following description, it is assumed to be 50 fg.

The separation pressure arm 314 is separated from the main holder shaft 307 by a separation pressure arm spring 315.
Thus, the separation holder 306 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 28 via the convex portion 306 a of the separation holder 306, and the separation roller 302 is pressed against the separation pad 316. The pressing force of the separation roller 302 by the separation pressure arm spring 315 affects the separation performance, so it must be carefully determined. In this embodiment, a good result was obtained at 20 fg or more. In the following description, it is assumed to be 100 gf.

The cam shaft 318 is rotationally driven by the automatic paper feed motor 323 via the speed reducer 324 and the gear 318a. The cam shaft 318 is provided with the gear 318a through a switch arm 319 and the paper feed initial sensor 32.
Switch cam 318b for turning on / off 0a,
A gear 318c for transmitting the rotation of the cam shaft 318 to the separation roller 302, a preliminary roller holder cam 318d for moving the preliminary roller holder 310 up and down in relation to a claw portion 310a provided on the preliminary roller holder 310, a separation pressure arm 31.
A separating pressure cam 318e for moving up and down 4 is integrally provided.

Drive gear 321 and clutch disc 322
Are integrally formed, and are rotatably and slidably held with respect to the separation shaft 305.
It is pressed toward the separation ratchet 304 side by 26.
Further, trapezoidal cams 321a and 306b are integrally formed in the drive gear 321 and the separation holder 306, respectively, and the rotation of the drive gear 321 causes the drive gear 321 and the clutch disc 322 to move in the axial direction of the separation shaft 305, and the clutch The engagement between the disc 322 and the separation ratchet 304 is controlled, and the transmission of the drive from the automatic paper feeding motor 323 to the separation roller 302 is controlled. Further, the gear ratio of the gear 318c provided on the cam shaft 318 and the drive gear 321 is 1: 1, and the cam shaft 318 and the drive gear 321 are provided.
The rotation phases of are in agreement.

The release lever 325 is the main holder 30.
1, the release lever 325 has a cam shape at one end, and the separation holder 306 can be moved up and down by engaging with one end of the separation shaft 305. The paper switching sensor 320b can be turned on / off.

Returning to FIG. 25, the center line 3 perpendicular to the separating shaft 305 of the separating roller 302 and the auxiliary roller 309 is formed.
Reference numeral 28 corresponds to the traveling direction of the recording material 3. The left guide 317a is provided on the paper holder 317, and guides the left end surface of the recording material 3 at a fixed position with respect to the recording position. The distance L between the center line 328 and the left guide 317a is set and fixed to 1/2 or less of the minimum width of the recording material 3 used in this inkjet recording apparatus. In this embodiment, the minimum width of the recording material 3 used is the vertical direction of the postcard, and is set to 45 mm with respect to this width of 100 mm.

A detailed description relating to the operation of the mechanical section of the automatic sheet feeder 300 having the above-mentioned configuration will be given below.

FIG. 29 shows the automatic paper feeder 30 shown in FIG.
FIG. 30 is a diagram continuously showing the operation of each unit of 0, and FIG.
It is the sequence diagram. The points (1) to (5) shown in the lower part of FIG. 30 are (1) of FIG. 29, respectively.
It corresponds to the states (5) to (5).

29 and 30, (1) shows a state before the recording material 3 is loaded. (A) Clutch disc 322 and separation ratchet 304
Are separated by a trapezoidal cam 321a and a trapezoidal cam 306b, and the separation roller 302 is cut off from the drive source. (B) The separation pressure arm 314 and the separation pressure cam 318e are not in contact with each other, and the separation roller 302 is separated from the separation roller 302 via the separation pressure arm 314, the protrusion 306a, and the separation holder 306 by the pressing force of the separation pressure arm spring 315. 31
It is pushed to 6. Since the separation spring 308 is also similar, the separation roller 302 has a sum of pressing forces of the separation pressure arm spring 315 and the separation spring 308 (10+).
100 = 110 gf) is added. (C) The spare roller holder cam 318d and the claw portion 310a of the spare roller holder 310 are in contact with each other, and the spare roller 3
Reference numeral 09 indicates a state in which the spare roller holder 310 is separated from the paper holder 317 against the pressing force of the spare roller spring 313. (D) Since the switch arm 319 is in the recess of the switch cam 318b, the paper feed initial sensor 320a
Is off.

(2) is a state in which the recording material 3 is loaded. The automatic sheet feeder is not operating between (1) and (2). (B) The recording material 3 is loaded from the right side in the figure, but the separation roller 302 is separated by the separation pressure arm spring 315 and the separation spring 308 (11 gf).
Since the recording material 3 is pressed by the separation roller 302,
And stops at the contact point of the separating pad 316.

(3) is a state in which the automatic paper feed motor 323 starts to rotate and the cam shaft 318 rotates counterclockwise by 20 degrees. (A) Since each of the trapezoidal cams 306b and 321a is disengaged by rotation and the clutch spring 326 presses the clutch disc 322 against the separation ratchet 304, the separation roller 302 starts rotating by the rotation of the automatic paper feeding motor 323. (B) Since the separation pressure cam 318e and the separation pressure arm 314 are not in contact with each other, the separation roller 302 is separated by the separation pressure arm spring 315 and the separation spring 308.
6 is pressed (110 gf) and starts rotating clockwise. Therefore, the recording material 3 is separated by the action of the separating pad 316 and the separating roller 302, and only the uppermost one is separated and fed in the leftward direction. (C) Since the spare roller holder cam 318d and the claw portion 310a of the spare roller holder 310 are disengaged, the spare roller 309 is pressed (50 gf) to the recording material 3 by the spare roller spring 313 via the spare roller holder 310, Further, the recording medium 3 is rotated clockwise by the separation gear 303, the idler gear 312, and the auxiliary roller gear 311a, and the recording material 3 is conveyed leftward so that the recording material 3 surely reaches the contact point of the separation roller 302 and the separation pad 316. . (D) The paper feed initial sensor 320a is turned on by the switch arm 319 and the switch cam 318b.

(4) is a state in which the cam shaft 318 is further rotated counterclockwise. The difference is that in (C), the auxiliary roller holder cam 318d and the claw portion 310a are in contact with each other, and the auxiliary roller 309 is the recording target. The recording material 3 is conveyed in a state of being separated from the material 3. At this time, the recording material 3 reaches the contact point between the conveying roller 4 and the pinch roller 8 and the conveyance is prevented, but the conveying force by the auxiliary roller 309 is reduced, so the recording material 3 is bent. No
The waist of the recording material 3 allows the separation roller 302 and the recording material 3 to slide.

(5) is a state in which the cam shaft 318 is further rotated counterclockwise, and in this state, the automatic paper feeding section is temporarily stopped and the ink jet recording apparatus is in a recording state. (A) Clutch disc 322 and separation ratchet 304
Since they are separated from each other, the separation roller 302 is completely cut off from the driving side and is rotatably held with respect to the separation shaft 305. (B) Since the separation pressure cam 318e and the separation pressure arm 314 are in contact with each other, the separation pressure arm 314 and the convex portion 306a are separated from each other. Therefore, the separation pressure arm spring 315 does not press the separation roller 302, and the separation roller 302 presses the separation pad 316 only by the separation spring 308 (1
0 gf). (C) The spare roller 309 is separated from the recording material 3. In this state, the pressing force of the separation roller 302 is small (10 g
f) Since the auxiliary roller 309 is also separated from the recording material 3, the recording material 3 can be drawn into the ink jet recording apparatus side with a small force.

When the recording further progresses from the state of (5) and the recording is completed and the recording material 3 comes out of the automatic sheet feeding section, the automatic sheet feeding motor 323 is driven to advance to the state of (2) and 1 The operation of the second time is ended, and the next sheet is prepared.

Returning to FIG. 25, the center line 328 is the recording material 3
Since the recording material 3 is set to be always on the left side of the center in the width direction, when the recording material 3 is conveyed by the separation roller 302 and the auxiliary roller 309, the recording material 3 always has a clockwise moment M. It is being transported while receiving it. Therefore, the trailing edge of the recording material 3 is conveyed while being pressed against the left guide 317a, and the recording material 3 is guided to the recording portion along the left guide 317a without being bent.

FIG. 31 is a sectional view for explaining the release mechanism of the automatic paper feed section shown in FIG. FIG. 31 (A) shows the usage state of the automatic sheet feeding unit. One end of the release lever 325 keeps the sheet feeding switching sensor 320b in the ON state, and since the separation shaft 305 is not in contact with the separation roller 302, the separation roller 302 is separated. The pad 316 is pressed.
That is, when the paper feed switching sensor 320b is on,
Indicates that the automatic paper feeder is ready for use.

FIG. 31B shows a state in which a recording material such as an envelope which is not suitable for automatic paper feeding is used, and the user rotates the release lever 325 counterclockwise to automatically feed the paper. You can create a state that does not use. In that state, the separation shaft 305 is pulled up by a cam portion provided on the release lever 325, and the separation roller 302 is fixed away from the separation pad 316. Therefore, the recording material inserted from the right side of the drawing directly reaches the conveying roller 4 and the pinch roller 8. Further, in this state, since the paper feed switching sensor 320b is in the off state, it can be detected that the automatic paper feed unit is not in use.

Below, an example of control of the automatic sheet feeder will be described. FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing an example of initial sequence control of the automatic paper feeding section shown in FIG.

In the figure, the time when the power is turned on is START. First, in step S1, the paper feed initial sensor 320
It is determined whether a is on or off. If it is off, it means the initial state, that is, the state of (1) in FIG. 29, so the sequence is ended and the next sheet feeding command is prepared. If the paper feed initial sensor 320a is turned on in step S1, step S
2, the automatic paper feed motor 323 is rotated in the reverse direction, and when the paper feed initial sensor 320a is turned off in step S1, the initial state is entered, and the sequence is ended.

Next, an example of control for executing automatic paper feeding will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the paper feed command time is START. First, if the paper feed switching sensor 320b is turned off in step S3, the process proceeds to step S9, and the control unit determines that the automatic paper feed unit is in the unused state, and the manual mode is set. If the paper feed switching sensor 320b is turned on in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4, where the automatic paper feed motor 323 is rotated forward and the cam shaft 318 is rotated by 320 degrees, and then the automatic paper feed motor 323 is stopped.
That is, the state is (5) in FIG.

Next, in step S5, the state of the paper sensor 14 (see FIG. 1) on the ink jet recording apparatus side is detected. If the paper sensor 14 is off here,
Since the paper feeding operation is not performed correctly, step S10
The control unit determines that there is an error (feeding failure or no paper). If it is on, the process proceeds to step S6 to start the recording operation.

After that, the process proceeds to step S7 to search for a state in which the paper sensor 14 is turned off. If it is turned off, the process proceeds to step S8 to rotate the automatic paper feeding motor 323 forward and rotate the cam shaft 31.
8 is rotated 40 degrees and stopped to prepare for the next sheet feeding instruction.
That is, it is the state of (2) in FIG.

Next, the configuration and the electric circuit of the information processing apparatus incorporating the ink jet recording apparatus used in this embodiment will be described. 34 is a perspective view of an information processing device 400 incorporating the inkjet recording device shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 34, this information processing device 40
Reference numeral 0 includes a printer unit 401 including the above-described inkjet recording device, a keyboard unit 402 including keys for inputting characters, numbers and other characters and keys for giving various commands, and a display. A display portion 403.

FIG. 35 shows the information processing apparatus 4 shown in FIG.
It is a block diagram which shows the electric circuit structure of 00. As shown in FIG. 34, this electric circuit is roughly divided into a controller 501 that performs main control and a printer unit controller 507 that controls the printer unit 401.

The controller 501 includes, for example, a CPU 502 in the form of a microcomputer for executing a certain procedure,
A RAM 503 provided with an area for expanding text data and image data, an area for work, etc., a ROM 504 storing fixed data such as a program corresponding to the above procedure and other font data, and creating an execution cycle of the CPU 502 A timer 505 that creates a timing necessary for a recording operation by the printer unit 401
And an interface unit 506 connecting signals from the CPU 502 and peripheral devices.

On the other hand, the printer controller 507 displays information about the recording head 200, such as the output value of the sensor that detects the presence, type, and temperature of the recording head 200 and the output of the sensor that detects the presence or absence of ink in the ink tank 201. A head detection unit 508 for detecting, a line buffer 509 for storing print data of the print head 200, a head driver 510 for sending print signals and power to the print head 200, a carrier motor 255, a paper feed motor 5, respectively. Motor drivers 511a and 511 that send out signals and electric power necessary for driving the automatic paper feed motor 323
b, 511c, and a sensor detection unit 512 that detects outputs from sensors such as the home position sensor 270, the paper sensor 14, the paper feed initial sensor 320a, and the paper feed switching sensor 320b.

Furthermore, for example, an external storage device 404 such as an FDD, HDD, or RAM card, or an external device for communicating with another information processing device or for directly connecting to an internal bus to control peripheral devices. Interface 4
05 is equipped.

Although not included in the block diagram of FIG. 35, there is a power supply unit for supplying electric power to the other electric circuits described above, which includes, for example, a rechargeable battery or a disposable dry battery. Alternatively, there is a converter for AC power supply when the information processing apparatus main body is fixed and used.

The printer section 40 having the above-mentioned electric circuit configuration is provided.
Recording is performed on the recording material (paper) 3 with No. 1, but the outline of the recording operation control sequence will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIG.

FIG. 36 shows the information processing apparatus 4 shown in FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of the power supply ON / OFF of 00. S1 is in the power-off state, and the timer 50
Other than the operation of 5, the function is in a stopped state. The operation is started from the power-off state by a power-on signal, that is, the power switch is turned on, and the printer unit 401 first executes the power-on process of S2. When S2 ends, the process next proceeds to S3 and the power is turned on. The recording operation and the like are performed in the power-on state. When a power-off signal is detected in the power-on state, the process proceeds to S4 and power-off processing is executed. When S4 ends, the process proceeds to S1 and the power is turned off. Therefore, when the power is turned on and off, a predetermined process is performed to turn the power on and off. When the pause signal is detected in the state of S3, the process proceeds to S5 and the pause process is executed.

The pause signal means, for example, when the display unit 403 shown in FIG.
02, when it is folded, or when the battery is replaced, etc., the means for detecting this when the user performs an action that is performed while the device is in operation but not during operation, For example, it is a signal output by a sensor that detects opening / closing of the display unit 403, a sensor that detects attachment / detachment of a battery, or the like. Further, the temporary stop process is a process performed to prevent damage or failure of the device when the device is used differently from the basic use, and will be described in detail later. When the temporary stop process ends in S5, the process proceeds to S6, and the temporary stop state is set. In the suspended state, the functions other than the necessary parts are stopped or the power is turned off.
When the temporary stop release signal is detected in the temporary stop state, the process proceeds to S7 and the temporary stop release processing is performed.

The temporary stop release signal is a signal paired with the temporary stop signal. For example, when the display unit 403 changes from the closed state to the open state, or when the battery is removed from the attached state. This is a signal indicating that the device has returned to the operable state when it has changed. Further, the temporary stop release process is a process for returning to the state before the temporary stop, and the details will be described later. As a result, even when the user carelessly opens and closes the display unit 403 during operation of the device or attaches or detaches the battery, it is possible to return to the original state. When the suspension canceling process ends in S7, the process proceeds to S3 and returns to the power-on state. For the temporary stop signal, it may be possible to select whether or not to perform the temporary stop processing when the signal is detected. For example, when it is better to close the display unit 403 because the recording device handles paper during operation, the device setting should be selected so that the pause process is prohibited when the display unit 403 is opened and closed. can do.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart showing the power-on process shown in FIG. First, in S11, home position initialization, that is, the carrier 203.
Confirm the position of. Specifically, the carrier motor 255
Is driven to set the position where the output of the home position sensor 270 is switched to the reference position of the carrier 203, and then the carrier motor 255 is driven to bring the ejection port of the recording head 200 into the capping state in which the cap 101 blocks the ejection port. Next, in S12, the paper feed and the automatic paper feed are initialized. Specifically, in order to absorb the play between the gears of the paper feed drive mechanism, the paper feed motor 5 is driven in the reverse direction and the forward direction by a predetermined amount, respectively, and is automatically fed until the paper feed initial sensor 320a detects the initial position. The paper motor 323 is driven. Next, the process proceeds to S13, and the time from the time when the recording head 200 is finally ejected or sucked by the timer 505 to the present is measured. , N or less, the process proceeds to S15.

In S14, as the recovery processing of the recording head 200, the ejection of the recording head 200 into the cap 101, the cleaning of the ejection port of the recording head 200 by the blade 104, and the recording head 20 by the pump unit 150 are performed.
Ink suction from 0 is performed. By the recovery process,
As a result of the recording head 200 being left unused for a long time, it is possible to prevent inadequate ink ejection due to an increase in viscosity due to evaporation of ink at the ejection port of the recording head 200.
After S14, the process proceeds to S15 to check whether the paper sensor 14 detects the presence of paper. If the paper is present, the process proceeds to S16. If the paper is not present, the process proceeds to S17. In S16,
Eject the detected paper. That is, the paper sensor 14
After detecting that there is no paper, the paper feed motor 5 is driven in the forward direction up to a predetermined amount. Next, the process proceeds to S17 to end the power-on process.

FIG. 38 is a flow chart showing the power-off process shown in FIG. First, in S21, it is checked whether the recording head 200 is in the capping state,
If it is not in the capping state, the process proceeds to S22, and if it is the capping state, the process proceeds to S23. In S22, the carrier motor 255 is driven to bring the recording head 200 into the capping state. Next, in S23, the power of the recording apparatus is turned off and the function is stopped. In this process, the recording head 200
Is not in the capping state, that is, even when the power switch is turned off during the execution of recording or the like, the recording head 200 is surely put in the capping state and then the power is turned off. This prevents the ejection failure due to the increase in viscosity due to the evaporation of the ink.

FIG. 39 is a flow chart showing the temporary stop processing shown in FIG. First, in S31, it is checked whether or not there is a process currently being executed. If there is a process being executed, the process proceeds to S32, and if not, the process proceeds to S33. In S32, the process currently being executed is executed by a predetermined amount. Specifically, the process is executed until the recording of the line being executed is completed if the recording is being executed, or until the operation is completed if the paper feeding or the automatic paper feeding operation is being executed. If the paper discharge process is in progress, the process is immediately stopped. Next, in S33, the current state is stored. That is, if there is any interrupted processing, the interrupted status, the status of the display unit 403 or the operation panel (not shown), the online status, the offline status, or the power saving mode for battery power supply, if any, is stored in the memory. .

Next, in S34, the recording head 200 is put in the capping state. If you are already capped, do nothing. Next, the process proceeds to S35, and power is turned off for unnecessary parts in the temporary stop state. Next, the process proceeds to S36 and the suspension process is ended. In this process, even if the pause signal is detected during printing, the recording head 200 is surely capped, and it is prevented that the recording head 200 is left without capping and ejection failure occurs.

FIG. 40 is a flow chart showing the temporary stop release processing shown in FIG. First, in S41, a predetermined portion is initialized. Specifically, S11, S
The position of the carrier 203 shown in FIG. 12, the forward and reverse rotations of the paper feed motor 5 for absorbing the play of the paper feed drive mechanism, and the initial position setting of the automatic paper feed mechanism are performed.
Next, the process proceeds to S42, and the pre-pause state stored in S33 is checked. Next, in S43, a process of returning to the state before the temporary stop is performed. Specifically, if there is any interrupted process, the process is completed and the states of the display unit 403 and the operation panel are restored. Next, the process proceeds to S44, and the temporary stop canceling process ends. Therefore, even if the recording apparatus is temporarily suspended during processing, it is possible to continue the processing after the restoration and before the temporary stop.

FIG. 41 is a flow chart showing the processing in the power-on state shown in FIG. First S5
In step 1, various errors are checked and error processing is performed. Specifically, for example, when there is no paper in the recording device, when the recording head 200 or the ink tank 201 is not mounted, when there is no ink in the ink tank 201, when a paper jam is detected during the recording process, Head 200
When the temperature rises abnormally or when a scanning error of various motors is detected, the error is displayed on the display unit 403 or the operation panel or a buzzer sounds to warn. Next, in S52, key operation and command reception from the keyboard section 402, the operation panel, the external interface section 405, etc. are checked, and the corresponding processing is performed. Specifically, when the paper feed key is pressed, inserting paper,
Ejecting, feeding a specified amount of paper, etc. are performed depending on the situation. Also,
When the online key is pressed, or when an online or offline command is received, the error status is checked and the online status and offline status are processed.

When a command relating to recording or the like is received, the corresponding process is performed. Further, when a key input for replacing the recording head 200 or the ink tank 201 or the absence of ink in the ink tank 201 is detected, the carrier motor 255 is driven to move the carrier 203 to a position where replacement is easy. After the replacement, the carrier motor 255 is driven to move the recording head 201 to the cap 101, and the pump unit 15
When 0, ink is sucked from the ejection port of the recording head 200. When replacing the ink tank 201, the recording head 200
Even if air is mixed in the middle of the ink flow path between the ink tanks 201, the mixed air can be sucked out of the recording head 200 by sucking the ink, and the occurrence of ejection failure due to the mixing of air in the recording head 200 occurs. Can be prevented. Next, in S53, recording processing is performed. Details will be described later. Next, in S54, the power-off signal is checked, and when the power-off signal is detected, the process proceeds to the above-described power-off process in S4.
Return to 1.

FIG. 42 is a flow chart for explaining the recording process shown in FIG. First, in S61, it is checked whether or not a command for executing recording, for example, a paper feed command or data to be recorded is received. If there is a recording command, the process proceeds to step S62, and if not, the process proceeds to step S69 to end this processing. In S62, the online state is checked. If it is in the online state, the process proceeds to S63, and if it is in the offline state, the process proceeds to S69 and the present process is terminated. S63
In step 1, processing for starting recording is performed. Specifically, the recording head 2 by the heater in the recording head 200
00 temperature adjustment, and ejection adjustment by ejecting the recording head 200 to the outside of the recording area. The deviation amount during forward / reverse scanning of the carrier motor 255 is measured by the home position sensor to determine the deviation during bidirectional recording. Make corrections. Next, in S64, the paper feeding is checked. When the paper is not inserted at the recording position in the automatic paper feed state, the automatic paper feed motor 323 is driven to feed the paper.

Next, in S65, recording is performed in units of one line. Specifically, the carrier motor 255 is driven and ink is ejected by the recording head 200 to perform recording, and 1
When the recording of the line is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed and the process proceeds to S66.
In S66, an error check is performed. If there is an error, the process proceeds to S68, and if no error occurs, the process proceeds to S67. The error check is, for example, the detection of the lower end of the paper, the detection of the paper jam, the detection of the presence or absence of ink, the scanning error of various motors, etc. The detected error is processed in S51 described above. In S67, reception of a command indicating the end of recording, for example, a paper discharge command is checked. If the recording is completed, the process proceeds to S68, and if the recording is not completed, the process returns to S65 to continue the recording. In S68, a recording end process is performed. Specifically, the paper is discharged, the recording head 200 is capped, and the like. Next, the process proceeds to S69 and the S53 recording process ends.

Here, an example of a flexible cable for transmitting a print signal from the electric circuit to the recording head 200 will be specifically described.

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing an example of a flexible cable used in the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 43A is a plan view thereof. In FIG. 43 (a), the flexible cable 1000 has
The conductor pattern required for the device is printed. The thickness and width of the conductor pattern are determined by the current capacity required for each conductor pattern, the allowable voltage drop value, etc. In order to improve the folding endurance characteristics of the flexible cable 1000, the thinner conductor pattern is advantageous. However, it is necessary to increase the width of the conductor pattern accordingly, which increases the width of the flexible cable.

The flexible cable 1000 has one end on the moving side 1001a and the other end on the fixed side 1001b.
Has become. A contact portion 1001c connected to the electric circuit is provided on the fixed side 1001b. The width W between the moving side 1001a and the fixed side 1001b is W.
It is divided into two division parts 1001d and 1001e of d. The flexible cable 1000 is bent and overlapped by the bent portion 1001f of the moving side 1001a and the bent portion 1001g of the fixed side 1001b, and the width of the flexible cable 1000 becomes the width Wd at the divided portion, which is smaller than the width Wo of the moving side 1001a. You can Although the figure shows an example in which the width is divided into two, a smaller width can be obtained by further dividing. In addition, positioning holes 1001h, 1001h ′, and 1001 are provided in the divided portions 1001d and 1001e, respectively.
i, 1001i ′ are provided, and the positioning hole 100
1h, 1001h 'and positioning holes 1001i, 1001
i'is arranged at a predetermined distance d.

FIG. 43 (b) is a view showing a state in which the flexible cable 1000 shown in FIG. 43 (a) is incorporated in the apparatus. In FIG. 43B, the moving unit 1
002 is arranged so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The moving unit 1002 is equipped with a recording head in the case of a recording apparatus, and is equipped with a sensor or the like in the case of a scanner. The flexible cable 1000 includes the bent portions 1001f,
Used in a folded and stacked state at 1001g,
The moving side 1001a is connected to the moving unit 1002.
In addition, each positioning hole 1001h, 1001h ′, 100
1i and 1001i ′ are inserted into positioning pins 1003a provided in the fixed portion 1003, and are fixed to the fixed portion 1003 by a fixing member 1004.

As described above, the positioning holes 1001h, 10
Since 01h ′, 1001i, and 1001i ′ are separated by the distance d, the bending positions of the divided portions 1001d and 1001e are displaced by the distance l. When the thickness of the flexible cable 1000 is sufficiently smaller than the bending height h, this distance l becomes substantially equal to d / 2. Therefore, since the bending portions 1001d and 1001e have different bending positions, the bending portions do not receive the force from the other dividing portion, and the bending durability performance is similar to that without bending.

However, making the distance l at the bending position larger than necessary leads to an increase in size of the apparatus. It is desirable that the distance 1 at the bending position is not more than the bending height h, that is, the positioning hole interval d is not more than twice the bending height h.

As described above, the flexible cable 1000 is divided into a plurality of pieces, and they are used in a stacked manner and are arranged so that the respective bending positions are different, whereby the current capacity and voltage drop of the conductor pattern of the flexible cable 1000 are reduced. The width and the bending height of the flexible cable 1000 can be reduced appropriately without lowering the bending durability, and the device can be downsized.

In FIG. 43, the flexible cable 1000 is shown.
Although an example in which the flexible cable 1000 is divided into two is shown, three or more may be provided, and the positioning holes are provided in the longitudinal direction of the flexible cable 1000 by a predetermined number at a predetermined interval.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing another example of the flexible cable used in the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 44 (a) is a plan view thereof. Figure 44
In (a), the flexible cable 1010 has one end on the moving side 1010a and the other end on the fixed side 101.
It is 0b. A contact portion 1010c connected to an electric circuit is provided on the fixed side 1010b.
The moving side 1010a and the fixed side 1010b are divided into two dividing portions 1010d and 1010e having a width Wd '. By bending and stacking the flexible cable 1010 at the bent portion 1010f on the moving side 1010a and the bent portion 1010g on the fixed side 1010b, the width of the flexible cable 1000 is Wd at the divided portion.
Therefore, the width Wo 'of the moving side 1010a can be made smaller. Although the figure shows an example in which the width is divided into two, a smaller width can be obtained by further dividing. Further, the dividing portions 1010d and 1010e have positioning notches 1010h and 1010, respectively.
h ′, 1010i, 1010i ′ are provided, and the positioning notches 1010h, 1010h ′ and the positioning notches 1010i, 1010i ′ are arranged at the same position in the width direction of the flexible cable 1010.

FIG. 44 (b) is a view showing a state in which the flexible cable 1010 shown in FIG. 44 (a) is incorporated in the apparatus. In FIG. 44 (b), the moving unit 1
020 is arranged so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The moving unit 1020 is equipped with a recording head in the case of a recording apparatus, and is equipped with a sensor or the like in the case of a scanner. The fixing portion 1030 has positioning pins 1030a, 130
030b are arranged at a distance d '. The flexible cable 1000 has bent portions 1001f, 1
The moving side 1001a is connected to the moving unit 1002, and is used in a state of being folded and stacked at 001g. Further, the positioning notches 1010h and 1010h ′ are provided on the positioning pin 1030a, the positioning notches 1010i,
1010i ′ are inserted into the positioning pins 1030b, and are fixed to the fixing portion 1030 by the fixing member 1040.

As described above, the positioning pins 1030a, 1
Since 030b is separated by the distance d ', the dividing unit 1010
The bending positions of d and 1010e are displaced by the distance l '. When the thickness of the flexible cable 1010 is sufficiently smaller than the bending height h ', l'is d' / 2.
Is almost equal to. Therefore, the division parts 1010d and 10
Since 10e has a different bending position, the bending portion does not receive a force from the other divided portion, and the bending durability performance is similar to that without bending.

In FIG. 44, the case where the flexible cable 1010 is divided into two has been described. However, the flexible cable 1010 may be divided into three or more, and the fixed side positioning pins are provided at predetermined intervals by the number of divisions of the flexible cable 1010. It is provided in the longitudinal direction of the flexible cable 1010.

In this embodiment, the flexible cable for electrically connecting the moving portion and the fixed portion has been described.
The same applies to a flexible cable that electrically connects members that move relative to each other.

As described above, the flexible cables are divided into a plurality of layers, and the layers are arranged so that the bending positions of the divided flexible cables are different from each other. In particular, it is possible to reduce the width and bending height of the flexible cable without deteriorating the bending durability, and it is possible to reduce the size of the device.

The present invention brings excellent effects particularly in an ink jet type recording head and a recording device which form 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 the driving signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be ejected.

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 of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the structure of the recording head, in addition to the combination structure of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the straight liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670, which discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as the discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and pressure waves of thermal energy are absorbed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which an opening corresponds to a discharge portion.

Further, a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus is a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either the structure that satisfies the length or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-described effects.

In addition, by being attached to 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. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided with an ink tank is used.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for a device provided with at least one of full colors by color mixing.

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 lower and that softens at room temperature, or is a liquid, or the above-mentioned liquid. 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. Any material that is in liquid form may be used.

In addition, the temperature rise due to the 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. In some cases, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to a recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or one that has already started to solidify when it reaches a 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-54-5684.
No. 7 or JP-A-60-71260, a mode in which the porous sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in the state of being held as a liquid or solid in the recess or through hole of the porous sheet. Also 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, in addition to a recording apparatus integrally or separately provided as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a word processor or a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader, It may take the form of a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

[0196]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the power switch is turned off or a stop signal is received during the recovery operation, the ejection port surface of the recording head is capped after the recovery operation is completed. By setting the apparatus in the standby state, the ejection port surface of the recording head is not left uncapped, and ejection failure due to drying of ink in the ejection port can be prevented. The same effect can be obtained even if the recovery operation is stopped when the power switch is turned off or the stop signal is received and the operation in progress is stopped and the ejection port surface of the recording head is capped. To be

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus used for implementing a recording head recovery control method for an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the pinch roller of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is released from pressure contact with a conveying roller.

3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pinch roller of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is pressed against a conveyance roller.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a lead screw mechanism for moving a carrier of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the carrier bearing portion shown in FIG.

6A and 6B are views for explaining a mounting structure of the right end portion of the lead screw shown in FIG. 4 to the chassis, FIG. 6A is an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view thereof. is there.

7 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a clutch mechanism configured at the left end of the lead screw shown in FIG.

8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the clutch mechanism shown in FIG.

9 is a diagram showing a meshed state of a clutch gear and a control gear shown in FIG.

10 is a perspective view showing a recovery mechanism of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

11 is a perspective view of the pump unit shown in FIG.

12 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of the blade shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram continuously showing operations of the blade stopper and the blade link shown in FIG.

14 is an enlarged perspective view of the control gear shown in FIG.

15 is a sectional view showing a mounting structure of the cap shown in FIG.

16 is a timing chart of the recovery mechanism shown in FIG.

17 is a perspective view of a head cartridge unit and a carrier unit of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

18 is a perspective view of a head cartridge of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of a connecting portion between a carrier and a recording head as seen from the direction of arrow a shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a structure for connecting the head cartridge to the carrier.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing the structures of the ink supply port and the ink supply port shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a case where the recording head and the ink tank are taken out together from the carrier.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a state where the ink tank is separated from the recording head on the carrier.

FIG. 24 is a schematic plan view showing a force applied to a recording head and an ink tank when the recording head and the ink tank are separated.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 including an automatic paper feeding unit.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged perspective view of the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a plan view of the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 29 is a diagram continuously showing the operation of each unit of the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 30 is an operation sequence diagram of each unit of the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the release mechanism of the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing an example of initial sequence control of the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing an example of control for executing automatic paper feeding by the automatic paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 25.

34 is a perspective view of an information processing device incorporating the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

35 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 34.

36 is a diagram illustrating a case where the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 34 is powered on,
It is a flow chart which shows processing at the time of OFF.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing a power-on process shown in FIG. 36.

38 is a flowchart showing the power-off process shown in FIG.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing the temporary stop processing shown in FIG. 36.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing a temporary stop cancellation process shown in FIG. 36.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing processing in the power-on state shown in FIG. 36.

42 is a flowchart showing the recording process shown in FIG. 40.

43 is a diagram showing an example of a flexible cable used in the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 43 (a) is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 43 (b) is FIG. 43.
It is a figure which shows the state which integrated the flexible cable shown to (a) of this to the apparatus.

44 is a diagram showing another example of a flexible cable used in the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.
44A is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 44B is a plan view thereof.
It is a figure which shows the state which incorporated the flexible cable shown to (a) of 4 into the apparatus.

45 is a view showing a retracted state of the blade of the recovery mechanism shown in FIG.

46 is a diagram continuously showing the operation of the cap of the recovery mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 47 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a meshing structure between the plunger and the stroke gear shown in FIG. 11.

48 is a perspective view showing an attachment structure of the waste ink absorber of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

49 is a sectional view showing the structure of a cap lever receiving portion of the pump unit shown in FIG. 11.

50 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the ink transfer portion and the waste ink absorber of the recovery mechanism shown in FIG.

51 is a cross-sectional view showing the coupling structure of the cylinder and the plunger of the pump unit shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 52 is a view showing a conventional cap lever.

[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 pinch roller spring 10 pinch roller holder 11 pinch roller frame 12 release angle 13 release lever 14 paper sensor 15 deceleration gear train 101 cap 102 control gear 102a cap opening / closing cam 102b wiping operation cam 102c, 105b, 107a, 262 protrusion 102d switching sheet 102e cap opening cam 102f cap closing cam 102g notch 102h side gear 103 stroke gear 103a protrusion 104 blade 105 blade Slider 105a Blade mounting groove 105c Through hole 105d Wall 106 Slide shaft 107 Blade link 107b Spring hook 108 Blade Cleaner 109 Blade Stopper 110 Blade Spring 111 Carrier Stopper 112 Carrier Hook Spring 113 Cylinder 113a Cylinder 113b Cap Lever Holder 113c Ink Suction Port 113d Ink Discharge Tube 113e Parallel Pin 113f Opening 113g Guide 114 Cap Spring 115 Plunger 115a Operation Axis 115b Piston receiver 115c Piston retainer 115d Pump seal retainer 115e Groove 115f Lead groove 116 Piston 117 Pump seal 118 Cap lever 119 Cap lever seal 120 Pre-ejection pad 121 Pump absorber 122 Bearing 150 Pump unit 160 Waste ink absorber 161 Platen 200 Recording head 200a Discharge port surface 201 Ink tank Reference numeral 202 Head cartridge 203 Carrier 204 Head lever 205 Tank lever 206 Head holder 207 Head holder spring 208 Tank case 209 Lead pin 210 Lead pin spring 211 Flexible cable 211a, 211b, 212a, 212b, 213a,
213b, 227a, 227b Positioning hole 212 Flexible cable pad 212c Ink barrier 213 Lead screw 220 Ink supply hole 221 Ink supply hole 222 Coupling claw 223 Coupling claw guide groove 224 Ink tank guide groove 225 Positioning pin 226 Stopper 227 Head contact part 227c Stopper Contact location 228, 229 Carrier bearing 230 Shielding plate 231 Carrier hook 250 Adjustment spring 251 Bearing 252 First elongated hole 253 Second elongated hole 254 Screw 255 Carrier motor 256 Pinion gear 257 Lead screw gear 258 Initial lock 259 Clutch gear 260 Clutch plate 261 Return spring 263 Recessed portion 264 Idling groove 265 Connecting groove 267 Flange 268 Guide strip 269 Stroke Home 270 Home position sensor 271 Recovery system plate 271a Cap regulation plate 301 Main holder 302 Separation roller 303 Separation gear 304 Separation ratchet 305 Separation shaft 306 Separation holder 307 Main holder shaft 308 Separation spring 309 Spare roller 310 Spare roller holder 311 Spare roller shaft 312 Idler Gear 313 Spare Roller Spring 314 Separation Pressure Arm 315 Separation Pressure Arm Spring 316 Separation Pad 317 Paper Holder 318 Cam Shaft 319 Switch Arm 320a Paper Feed Initial Sensor 320b Paper Feed Switch Sensor 321 Drive Gear 322 Clutch Disc 323 Deceleration Motor 324 Deceleration Device 325 Release lever 326 Clutch spring 400 Information processing device 401 Pudding Input unit 402 Keyboard unit 403 Display unit 404 External storage device 405 External interface 501 Controller 502 CPU 503 RAM 504 ROM 505 Timer 506 Interface unit 507 Printer unit controller 508 Head detection unit 509 Line buffer 510 Head driver 511 Motor driver 512 Sensor detection unit 601 Cleaner spring 602 Ink sheet 602a Ink transfer section

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 8, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Fig. 43

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 43 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 8, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Fig. 31

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Figure 31 is a sectional view der for explaining the operation of the release mechanism of the automatic sheet feeder shown in FIG. 25 is, FIG. (A) Automatic
The state of use of the paper feed unit, in the figure (B) the automatic paper feed unit is not used
Ru Figure der showing gastric state.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 31

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 31

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A recording head recovery control method for an inkjet recording apparatus that performs a recovery operation of the recording head to maintain good ink ejection characteristics of a recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port, When the power switch is turned off or a stop signal is received during the recovery operation, the recovery operation is terminated, the ejection port surface of the recording head is capped, and the inkjet recording apparatus is put in a standby state. A recording head recovery control method for an inkjet recording apparatus, which is characterized. 2. A recording head recovery control method for an ink jet recording apparatus, which performs a recovery operation of the recording head in order to maintain good ink ejection characteristics of the recording head for recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port. If the power switch is turned off or a stop signal is received during the recovery operation, the recovery operation is interrupted at a good point to turn off, the ejection port surface of the recording head is capped, and the ink jet recording apparatus waits. A recording head recovery control method for an ink jet recording apparatus, which is characterized in that 3. The recording head recovery control of the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the power switch is turned on again or an operation signal is received after the recovery operation is interrupted, the recovery operation interrupted last time is executed. Method. 4. The recording head recovery control method for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recovery operation is a suction operation for sucking ink from an ejection port of the recording head. 5. The recording head recovery control method for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the recovery operation is a wiping operation for wiping off foreign matter adhering to the ejection port surface of the recording head. 6. The recording head recovery control method for an inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the recovery operation is a preliminary ejection operation performed to prevent the ejection ports of the recording head from being dried.