JPH08252910A - Ink jet printing recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform flashing operation even to a material to be printed having the max. size enabling the supply from a manual paper feed part by moving a printing head to either one of first and second operation positions by a printing head moving means before operating an ink emitting means. CONSTITUTION: The driving of a carriage 9 and a printing head 10 is controlled according to the command signal from a personal computer while the material 2 to be printed supplied from a paper feed cassette or a manual paper feed part is fed by a platen roller 6 to print a character or mark on the material 22 to be printed. At this time, the material 22 to be printed fed by the platen roller 6 is stopped at a position where the printing line thereof is opposed to the printing head 10. After the printing head 10 is moved to either one of a first operation position where all of nozzles eject ink 25 times and a second operation position where all of nozzles eject ink 500 times by the carriage 9, an ink emitting means is operated to execute printing. Therefore, the lowering of the processing capacity of flashing operation can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet type printing recording apparatus having a flushing operation and a purging device for performing cleaning for maintaining and recovering a good ejection opening state of a print head, and more particularly to the size of a material to be printed and The present invention relates to an inkjet print recording apparatus capable of selecting a flushing execution position according to a flushing mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing recording apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a printer for a personal computer, which records a dot pattern image on a printing medium such as paper or a plastic sheet based on the transferred printing information. in use. As one type of print heads mounted in the printing portion of these print recording devices, there is an ink jet print head that prints by ejecting a small droplet of ink from an ejection port and adhering it to a printing paper or the like that is a printing medium. is there.

In such an ink jet print head, air bubbles may be generated in the ink inside the print head during use, resulting in defective ink ejection. Further, ink droplets, dry ink, foreign matter such as paper powder, etc. may adhere to the ejection port to cause clogging, resulting in defective ink ejection. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically perform cleaning for removing these causes of defects and maintaining / recovering a good discharge port state.
For this reason, a purging operation for sucking out defective ink from the ejection surface of the print head, a flushing operation for ejecting ink to prevent the ink from drying when a nozzle of the print head that has not been used for a predetermined time during printing is detected, etc. Therefore, the print head is regularly cleaned.

On the other hand, this type of print recording apparatus is provided with a guide shaft parallel to the roller shaft of a platen roller that conveys a material to be printed and a carriage movable on the guide shaft, and a print head is mounted on the carriage. It is installed in. This is because it is necessary to move the print head because there are a plurality of characters or the like to be printed in one line. Therefore, a purging device for performing the purging operation, an ink absorber for absorbing the ink ejected by the flushing operation, and the like are provided facing the movement path of the print head. That is, in a recording device equipped with an inkjet print head, a purge device is provided outside the print range from the print start position to the print end position, and the print head is periodically moved to the purge device to purge the print head. The action is being done.
Further, in order to prevent the throughput from being reduced due to the flushing operation and to limit the lateral width mechanically, an ink absorber required for the flushing operation is provided at the end-of-line printing position in the printing range, and the print head is periodically moved onto the ink absorber. As a result, the flushing operation of the print head is performed.

[0005]

Such a print recording apparatus is provided with an automatic paper feed mechanism and a manual paper feed mechanism as a mechanism for feeding a material to be printed. The automatic paper feed mechanism feeds printing paper from a paper feed cassette that stores a plurality of printing papers, which is one of the printing media. However, only printing paper of a size suitable for the paper feed cassette can be supplied. On the other hand, the manual paper feed mechanism feeds the print media one by one from the manual paper feed unit, and there is no limitation on the size of the paper feed cassette of the automatic paper feed mechanism. Therefore, if the printing medium is within a size that can be supplied from the manual paper feeding unit, it is possible to supply a printing medium that is slightly wider than the maximum printing paper that can be supplied by the automatic feeding mechanism.

However, since the ink absorber required for the flushing operation is provided at the end-of-line printing position within the printing range due to the mechanical lateral width limitation, as described above, the maximum size of the paper that can be supplied by the manual paper feeding mechanism is received. When the print medium is supplied, the print medium is interposed between the print head and the ink absorber. Therefore, the flushing operation performed at the time of printing causes ink to be ejected onto the printing paper, and in such a case, the flushing operation cannot be performed.

Further, since the flushing operation is executed during printing, even if a nozzle of the print head that has not been used for a predetermined time is detected, the flushing operation is not executed immediately. That is, the time interval for executing the flushing operation changes depending on the print content. Therefore, some nozzles of the print head that have not been used for a predetermined time may significantly exceed the predetermined time. In such a case, in order to maintain a good ejection opening state, it is necessary to eject a large amount of ink, unlike the normal flushing operation. However, the ink absorber does not have the ability to absorb a large amount of ink due to the flushing operation in such a case, and the absorption ability of the ink absorber cannot be increased due to mechanical limitations and the like. Therefore, the flushing operation involving ejection of a large amount of ink cannot be executed.

On the other hand, since the purging device sucks a large amount of ink from the print head by the purging operation, it has an ink absorber for the purging operation which can absorb a large amount of ink. Further, since the purging device is provided outside the printing range, the printing medium does not intervene on the purging device even when the printing medium having the maximum size that can be supplied by the manual paper feeding mechanism is supplied. Therefore, if the flushing operation can be executed on the purging device, it is effective in the case described above.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention makes it possible to select the flushing execution position by performing the flushing operation not only on the ink absorber but also on the purging device. The flushing operation can be executed even for the largest size printable substrate that can be fed from the manual feed section by controlling the flushing execution position so that it can be selected according to the size of the print medium or the status of the nozzles of the print head. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet print recording apparatus that is capable of performing a flushing operation involving a large amount of ejected ink.

[0010]

In order to achieve this object, an ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present application is an ink jet print head for printing by ejecting ink from a discharge port onto a printing medium. And a discharge means for discharging the ink from the discharge port of the print head to the ink absorber during printing to maintain the state of the print head, and a suction means for sucking the ink from the discharge port of the print head to restore the state of the print head. A print head moving means for moving the print head in a direction parallel to the roller for conveying the print medium, and a print range in which the print head can print on the print medium in the moving direction of the print head by the print head moving means. A first operating position where the ink absorber is located within the printing range and the ejecting means is executed, and a suction means is located outside the printing range. In an ink jet type printing recording apparatus having a second operation position to be executed, the ejection means is executed after the print head moving means moves the print head to either the first operation position or the second operation position. It is assumed that the control means for controlling so as to configure is configured.

Further, the ink jet type print recording apparatus according to claim 2 of the present application is provided with a detecting means for generating a signal when the discharging means cannot execute at the first operating position. When a signal is generated by the means, the control means controls the discharge means after the print head moving means moves the print head to the second operation position.

An ink jet print recording apparatus according to a third aspect of the present application is the ink jet print recording apparatus according to the first aspect, in which printing is performed to obtain a current position of the print head moved by the print head moving means. Based on the results of the head position calculation means, the first distance calculation means for obtaining the distance between the current position of the print head and the first operation position based on the result of the print head position calculation means, and the result of the print head position calculation means. Second distance calculation means for obtaining a distance between the current position of the print head and the second movement position, and the first movement position and the second movement based on the results of the first distance calculation means and the second distance calculation means. A first selecting means for selecting an operation position close to the current position of the print head among the positions, and the control means controls the print head moving means by the print head moving means. Is intended to control to execute the discharging means de after moving from the current position to the selected operating position by said first selecting means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet print recording apparatus, wherein the print head position calculating means for obtaining the current position of the print head moved by the print head moving means and the result of the print head position calculating means. A first time calculating means for obtaining a time for moving the print head from the current position to the first operating position by the print head moving means, and the print head moving means based on the result of the print head position calculating means. Second time calculating means for obtaining a time for moving the print head from the current position to the second operating position, the first operating position and the second operating time based on the results of the first time calculating means and the second time calculating means. Second control means for selecting an operating position in the operating positions in which the print head moves from the current position for a short time, and the control means controls the printing position. Is intended to control to execute the discharging means the print head by the head moving means after moving from the current position to the selected operating position by said second selection means.

Further, an ink jet type print recording apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present application is the ink jet type print recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, in which the ejecting means ejects a large amount of ink in a first ejection mode. A second ejection mode in which a small amount of ink is ejected in the ejection unit, an ejection mode selection unit that selects the first ejection mode or the second ejection mode when the ejection unit is executed, and an ejection mode selection unit. A third selecting unit that selects the first operating position or the second operating position based on the result, and the control unit selects the print head by the print head moving unit by the third selecting unit. The discharge means is controlled to be executed after moving to the position.

[0015]

In the ink jet type print recording apparatus according to claim 1 having the above structure, the print head moving means allows
Printing is performed by moving an inkjet print head in a direction parallel to a roller that conveys the print medium, and ejecting ink from the discharge ports of the print head to the print medium within a printing range in that direction. At this time, in order to prevent the ejection of ink from the print head to be in a defective state, a suction unit that sucks ink from the ejection port of the print head and an ejection unit that ejects ink from the ejection port of the print head during printing are executed. It The suction means is executed after the print head moving means moves the print head to the second operation position where the suction means is located outside the printing range. On the other hand, the control means controls the ejection means to be executed after the print head moving means moves the print head to the first operation position or the second operation position where the ink absorber is located within the printing range. To be done.

In the ink jet print recording apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the detection means generates a signal when the ejection means cannot be executed at the first operating position, and the control means prints based on the signal. The ejection unit is executed after the print head is moved to the second operation position by the head moving unit.

In order to execute the discharging means in the ink jet type printing recording apparatus according to the third aspect, first, the current position of the print head is obtained by the print head position calculating means. Next, the first distance calculating means determines the distance between the current position of the print head and the first operating position, and similarly the second distance calculating means determines the distance between the current position of the print head and the second operating position. . Furthermore, the first selecting means causes the first
By comparing the distances obtained by the calculation means and the second calculation means, a position closer to the current position of the print head is selected from the first movement position and the second movement position. Finally, the control means
After the print head moving means moves the print head to the selected position, the discharging means is executed.

In order to execute the ejection means in the ink jet type print recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, first, the present position of the print head is obtained by the print head position calculation means. Next, the time required to move the print head from the current position to the first operating position is obtained by the first time calculating means,
Similarly, the time required to move the print head from the current position to the second operating position is obtained by the second time calculating means. Further, the time required for moving the print head from the current position of the first operating position and the second operating position is short by comparing the times obtained by the first time means and the second time means by the second selecting means. Select a position. Finally, the control means executes the ejection means after moving the print head to the selected position by the print head moving means.

In the ink jet type printing recording apparatus according to a fifth aspect, the ejection mode selecting means ejects a large amount of ink in a first ejection mode or a second ejection mode in which a small amount of ink is ejected depending on the state of the ink head. Select one of the discharge modes. Next, the third selecting means selects either the first operating position or the second operating position based on the selection result of the ejection mode selecting means. Finally, the control means executes the ejection means after the print head moving means moves the print head to the position selected by the third selecting means.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An ink jet print recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings based on an embodiment embodying the present invention as an ink jet printer which is used by connecting to a personal computer. First, the configuration of the inkjet printer according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer.
In FIG. 1, a manual paper feed unit 3 is provided in the front part of the main body frame 2 of the inkjet printer 1. A sub-frame 4 including a carriage 9, a CR motor 12, a purging device 18, and the like is mounted on the upper portion of the main body frame 2 behind the manual paper feeding unit 3. A paper feed cassette 5 for storing a plurality of printing papers is detachably attached to the upper rear part of the sub-frame 4. In addition, the flushing operation ink absorber 1 is provided on the right side of the main body frame 2.
7 are provided.

In FIG. 2, a carriage 9 having an ink jet type print head 10 mounted thereon is a platen roller 6
It is moved by the CR motor 12 via the belt 13 while being guided by the carriage shaft 11 provided in parallel with. Therefore, the print head 10 can move along the platen roller 6. The CR motor 12 drives the carriage 9 and uses a step motor or a DC motor. The platen roller 6 conveys the print medium 22 such as the print paper supplied from the paper feed cassette 5 or the manual paper feed unit 3 while facing the print head 10. A tape-shaped position gauge 14 is provided along the belt 13 and has a role of detecting the position of the carriage 9.

On the lower right side of the platen roller 6, an ink absorber 17 for flushing operation is arranged. The flushing operation is performed to maintain the print head 10 in a good ejection state, and is an operation in which all nozzles of the print head 10 eject ink during printing. Flushing operation is printing (or flushing operation)
It is executed after waiting 13 seconds from the start. In the present embodiment, in the flushing operation, the first mode in which all nozzles are jetted 25 times when the unused time of the nozzle is 13 seconds or more and less than 30 seconds, and 5 when the unused time is 30 seconds or more
There is a second mode in which all nozzles are jetted 100 times.

The ink absorber 17 for flushing operation is made of a porous material having an excellent ink absorbing ability, and the ink is ejected by the flushing operation in the first mode on the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation. However, due to the mechanical limitation, the capacity is not compatible with the flushing operation in the second mode, so the flushing operation in the second mode is not executed on the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation,
This is performed on the purging device 18 by the program of the flushing operation A shown in FIG.

A purging device 18 is arranged on the left side of the platen roller 6. The ink jet type print head 10 is apt to cause ejection failure because bubbles are generated inside the ink jet print head 10 during use or ink droplets adhere to the ejection surface. Therefore, the purging device 18 restores this to a good ejection state. The recovery operation by the purging device 18 (hereinafter referred to as “purge operation”) is performed by the cap portion 18
After the print head 10 is covered with A, the defective ink inside the print head 10 is sucked by the negative pressure of the purge pump 20. The defective ink sucked by the purge pump 20 is ejected to the ink absorber 21 for the purging device. The ink absorber 21 for the purging device is made of a porous material having an excellent ink absorbing ability, like the ink absorber 17 for the flushing operation, and can be removed by a large number of purging operations.
It has a capacity that can correspond to the amount discharged from the purge pump 20. Therefore, the flushing operation in the second mode can also be executed on the purging device 18. Note that FIG. 2 shows a situation in which the purging operation by the purging device 18 is being performed.

Next, the ink absorber 1 for flushing operation
7 and the installation position of the purging device 18, and the ink head 10.
The relationship between the range of movement of the sheet and the range in which the material to be printed 22 supplied by the manual sheet feeder 3 and the sheet cassette 5 passes over the platen roller 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, the position of the ink head 10 is plotted on the horizontal axis. The right side of the drawing corresponds to the right side of FIG. 2 (the side where the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation is located), and the left side of FIG.
Corresponds to the left side (the side with the purging device 18). The moving range m of the ink head 10 is a range having the installation position FP of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation and the installation position CP of the purging device 18 at both ends. The flushing operation in the first mode is performed at the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17, and the installation position CP of the purging device 18 is performed.
Then, the purging operation and the second mode flushing operation are performed. The printing range p from the line head print position O to the line end print position Z is from the position on the right side of the installation position CP of the purging device 18 to the installation position F of the flushing operation ink absorber 17.
The range is up to P and is within the width w of the platen roller 6.

The printed material 2 supplied from the manual paper feeding section 3
The range u of 2 is within the width w of the platen roller 6 and is a range from a position outside the line head printing position O to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17. Therefore, when supplied from the manual paper feed unit 3, the printing medium 22 may pass over the flushing operation ink absorber 17, and the first mode (the second mode for the above-mentioned reason) at such a position. Since it may interfere with the execution of the flushing operation (which is not executed), in such a case, it is performed on the purging device 18 by the program of the flushing operation A of FIG. 5 described later. Further, the range v of the printing medium 22 supplied from the paper feeding cassette 5 is within the width w of the platen roller 6 and is outside the line head printing position O (the manual paper feeding unit 3
(The same as in the above case) to the position on the left side of the installation position FP of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation. Therefore, when supplied from the paper feed cassette 5, the printing medium 22 does not pass over the flushing operation ink absorber 17 and the execution of the flushing operation in the first mode at this position is hindered. There is no.

Next, the control system of the ink jet printer 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The control system C is mainly composed of a CPU 30 which is a known arithmetic processing unit. The CPU 30 is connected to the host 32 via the interface 31. The host 32 is a personal computer. That is, the inkjet printer 1 receives a print command from the host 32 and executes various printing in accordance with the command. Further, the CPU 30 is provided with a counter group such as a CR position counter 51 and a paper detection counter 52.

A switch panel 33, a ROM 34, a RAM 35, a CR sensor 36, a paper detection sensor 37, a head drive circuit 39, a CR drive circuit 40, and an LF drive circuit 41 are connected to the interface 31. The switch panel 33 is for setting and displaying various parameters such as paper size. The ROM 34 stores various programs necessary for controlling the flushing operation, the printing operation, the purging operation, and the like, which will be described later, in the inkjet printer 1. The RAM 35 is for temporarily recording various numerical values necessary for controlling the inkjet printer 1, and has a first distance memory 61 and a second distance memory 62 used in a flushing operation program (see FIGS. 5 and 6) described later. , A first time memory 63, a second time memory 64, and the like.

The CR sensor 36 reads the scale of the position gauge 14 to detect the position of the print head 10 and informs the CR position counter 51 of it. This position information is one of the criteria for selecting the execution position of the flushing operation in the flushing operation program described later. Further, the paper detection sensor 37 is turned on when printing paper is supplied from the paper feed cassette 5, and notifies the paper detection counter 52 of that fact. This ON signal serves as one of the criteria for selecting the execution position of the flushing operation in the program of the flushing operation A of FIG. 5 described later. Head drive circuit 3
9. The CR drive circuit 40 and the LF drive circuit 41 drive and control the print head 10, the CR motor 12, and the LF motor 38, respectively. The LF motor 38 drives the purge pump 20 and the paper feed mechanism (comprising the platen roller 6 and the like).

The basic operation of the ink jet printer 1 having the above-described structure is such that the object to be printed supplied from the paper feed cassette 5 or the manual paper feed section 3 is conveyed by the platen roller 6 and the carriage is operated in accordance with a command signal from the host 32. By driving and controlling the print head 9 and the print head 10, characters, symbols, figures, etc. are printed on the printing medium 22. When performing printing, the platen roller 6 sends the line to be printed on the printing medium 22 to a position facing the print head 10 and stops there. Then, the carriage 9 is driven at a predetermined printing speed by the CR motor 12,
In the meantime, the print head 10 ejects ink according to the command signal to perform printing.

Next, the actual flushing operation when the flushing operation is instructed during the printing operation of the ink jet printer 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 5 is a control program for the flushing operation A, which controls the flushing operations in the first mode and the second mode.

When a flushing operation command is issued during the printing operation of the ink jet printer 1, it is determined in step (hereinafter referred to as "S") 1 whether or not the flushing operation is the first mode. When in the first mode (S
1: Yes), the process proceeds to S2. On the other hand, when it is not the first mode but the second mode (S1: No), the process proceeds to S5, and the print head 10 is moved to the installation position CP of the purging device 18. This is because the flushing operation in the second mode can be executed only on the purging device 18.

In S2, it is determined whether or not the printing medium 22 is supplied by the manual feed section 3. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the paper detection sensor 37 notifies the paper detection counter 52 that the paper feed cassette 5 is supplying the print paper. When the printing medium 22 is supplied by the manual paper feeding unit 3 (S2: Yes), the process proceeds to S3. on the other hand,
When the printing medium 22 is not supplied by the manual paper feeding unit 3 but is supplied by the paper feeding cassette 5 (S2: No),
Proceeding to S4, the print head 10 is moved to the installation position FP of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation. This is the normal first mode flushing operation (S1: Yes).
The print medium 22 is the ink absorber 1 for the flushing operation.
This is because the flushing operation is performed on the ink absorber 17 as long as it does not pass over the ink.

In S3, it is determined whether or not the print medium 22 of 5 inches or more is supplied in the supply direction (direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the print head 10). In the case of 5 inches or more (S3: Yes), the process proceeds to S4, and the print head 10 is moved to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17. On the other hand, if it is less than 5 inches (S3:
In No, the process proceeds to S5 to move the print head 10 to the installation position CP of the purging device 18. In the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the print medium 22 that can pass over the flushing operation ink absorber 17 is
This is because the paper is fed by the manual paper feeding unit 3 and is limited to a length of less than 5 inches in the feeding direction.

As described above, the print head 10 is moved to either the installation position FP of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation (implemented in S4) or the installation position CP of the purge device 18 (implemented in S5). When the print head 10 is moved in S4, the flushing operation is the first
Since it is only the mode, the process proceeds to S7, the flushing operation of the first mode is executed, and the control program of the flushing operation A ends. On the other hand, the print head 10
When is moved, the process proceeds to S6, and it is determined whether the flushing operation is in the second mode. This is the case where the flushing operation is the second mode (S1: No) and the first mode (S
3: No) is also included. In the case of the second mode (S6: Yes), the process proceeds to S8, the flushing operation of the second mode is executed, and the control program of the flushing operation A ends. On the other hand, when it is not the second mode but the first mode (S6: No), the process proceeds to S7, the flushing operation of the first mode is executed, and the control program of the flushing operation A ends.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a control program for the flushing operation B, which is a first program for preventing a decrease in throughput.
It controls the flushing operation of the mode. still,
Since the flushing operation in the second mode can be executed only on the purging device 18, it is not possible to perform control for preventing a decrease in throughput.

When a flushing operation command is issued during the printing operation of the ink jet printer 1, the current position of the print head 10 is calculated in S10, and the process proceeds to S11. Specifically, the CR position sensor 36 detects the position by the drive pulse of the CR motor 12 which is the drive source of the print head 10,
This is performed by notifying the CR position counter 51.

In S11, the first distance FP to the installation position FP of the ink absorber 17 for flushing operation is based on the current position of the print head 10 obtained in S10.
After obtaining L and recording it in the first distance memory 61, S12
Proceed to. In S12, the second distance CPL to the installation position CP of the purging device 18 is obtained based on the current position of the print head 10 obtained in S10, recorded in the second distance memory 62, and then the process proceeds to S13. The first distance FPL of S11 and the second distance CPL of S12 are the CR motor 12
It can be easily calculated by the number of driving pulses.

In S13, the first distance FP obtained in S11
L is compared with the second distance CPL obtained in S12. First
When the distance FPL is the second distance CPL or less (S13:
If Yes, the process proceeds to S14 to move the print head 10 to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17. On the other hand, when the first distance FPL is equal to or greater than the second distance CPL (S13: No), the process proceeds to S15, and the print head 10 is moved to the installation position CP of the purging device 18.
As a result, the moving time of the print head 10 can be minimized, and the reduction in throughput can be prevented. Finally, in S16, the flushing operation in the first mode is executed, and the control program for the flushing operation B ends.

In the control program of the flushing operation B of FIG. 6, the moving distances FPL and CPL are obtained in S11 and S12 in order to minimize the moving time of the print head 10. However, the moving time of the print head 10 is directly calculated. Seeking
It is also possible to control the moving time of the print head 10 to the shortest. The moving time of the print head 10 can be easily calculated by the number of drive pulses of the CR motor 12 as described above.

That is, in S11, the first time FPT required to move from the current position of the print head 10 to the installation position FP of the flushing operation ink absorber 17 is obtained,
It records in the first time memory 63. Further, in S12, the second time CPT required to move from the current position of the print head 10 to the installation position CP of the purging device 18 is obtained,
Record in the second time memory 62. After S13, the first distance FPL, the first time FPT, and the second distance CPL.
If the second time CPT and the second time CPT correspond to each other, the moving time of the print head 10 can be minimized and the throughput can be prevented from lowering.

As described in detail above, in the ink jet printer 1 according to this embodiment, the control program for the flushing operation A shown in FIG. 5 and the flushing operation B shown in FIG.
Control program, the print head 10 is installed at the installation position FP (S4, S1
4) or the installation position CP (S
5, it is possible to move to step S15), and the execution position of the flushing operation can be selected.

In particular, in the control program of the flushing operation A of FIG. 5, when the flushing operation of the second mode involving a large amount of ejected ink by all nozzle ejection of 500 times is executed (determined in S1), or by manual feeding When the print medium 22 of the maximum size that can be supplied from the unit 3 is supplied (determined in S5), the print head 10 is moved to the installation position CP of the purging device 18 and then the flushing operation is performed. Since it is possible to select the flushing execution position according to the unused state of the nozzles of the print head and the size of the printing medium, the maximum size of the printing medium 22 that can be supplied from the manual paper feeding unit 3 It is possible to execute the flushing operation even for the flushing operation in the second mode with the ejected ink.

In the control program for the flushing operation B shown in FIG. 6, the moving distance or the moving time from the current position of the print head 10 to the execution position of the flushing operation is calculated based on the driving pulse number of the CR motor 12. (Implemented in S11 and S12), it becomes possible to select the execution position of the flushing operation that is a short travel distance or travel time (implemented in S13), and minimizes the travel time of the print head 10 before the execution of the flushing operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in throughput due to the flushing operation.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it goes without saying that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, control of the flushing operation in the first mode and the second mode (control program for flushing operation A: FIG.
Control) and the control of the flushing operation of the first mode for preventing the decrease of the throughput (control program of flushing operation B: see FIG. 6) are described separately, but in S7 of the control program of flushing operation A, By executing the control program, it is possible to prevent the throughput from being lowered when the flushing operation in the first mode and the flushing operation in the second mode are simultaneously performed.

Although the position is detected by the drive signal of the CR motor 12, the position of the carriage 9 may be detected by reading the scale of the position gauge 14.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to select the flushing execution position by performing the flushing operation not only on the ink absorber but also on the purging device. By performing control so that the flushing execution position can be selected according to the situation of the nozzles of the print head or the print head, the flushing operation can be performed even on the largest size print medium that can be fed from the manual paper feed unit. It is possible to provide an inkjet print recording apparatus that can be executed even for a flushing operation involving a large amount of ejected ink, and its industrial effect is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between an installation position of an ink absorber for flushing operation and the like and a range through which an object to be printed passes.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a control program for flushing operation A in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control program for flushing operation B in this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Inkjet Printer Main Body 3 Manual Paper Feeding Section 5 Paper Feeding Cassette 6 Platen Roller 10 Printing Head 12 CR Motor 17 Ink Absorber for Flushing Operation 18 Purge Device 21 Ink Absorber for Purge Device 30 CPU 34 ROM 35 RAM 36 CR Position Sensor 37 Paper detection sensor FP Installation position of ink absorber for flushing operation CP Installation position of purge device

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet type print head for printing by ejecting ink from a discharge port onto an object to be printed, and ink is discharged from a discharge port of the print head to an ink absorber during printing to maintain the state of the print head. Discharging means, suction means for sucking ink from the discharge port of the print head to restore the state of the print head, and print head moving means for moving the print head in a direction parallel to the roller that conveys the printing medium,
A print range in which the print head can print on the printing medium in the direction in which the print head moves by the print head moving means,
In an inkjet print recording apparatus having a first operation position in which an ink absorber is located and a discharge unit is executed within a print range, and a second operation position in which a suction unit is located outside a print range and executed An ink jet system characterized by comprising control means for controlling the ejection means after the print head moving means moves the print head to either the first operation position or the second operation position. Print recording device. 2. The ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a detection unit that generates a signal when the ejection unit cannot execute at the first operation position. When a signal is generated, the control means controls the print head moving means to move the print head to the second operation position and then to execute the ejection means. apparatus. 3. The ink jet type print recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print head position calculating means obtains a current position of the print head moved by the print head moving means, and based on a result of the print head position calculating means. The distance between the current position of the print head and the first operating position
A second distance calculating means, and a distance calculating means for calculating the distance between the current position of the print head and the second operating position based on the result of the print head position calculating means.
A first distance selecting means, and a first distance selecting means that selects an operation position that is closer to the current position of the print head from the first operation position and the second operation position based on the results of the first distance calculation means and the second distance calculation means. Selecting means, wherein the control means controls the print head moving means to execute the discharging means after moving the print head from the current position to the operating position selected by the first selecting means. Characteristic inkjet printing and recording device. 4. The ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a print head position calculating means for obtaining a current position of the print head moved by the print head moving means, and a result of the print head position calculating means First time calculating means for obtaining a time for moving the print head from the current position to the first operating position by the print head moving means, and the printing by the print head moving means based on the result of the print head position calculating means. Second time calculating means for obtaining a time for moving the head from the current position to the second operating position, and the first operating position and the second operating position based on the results of the first time calculating means and the second time calculating means. Second selecting means for selecting an operating position in which the print head moves from the current position in a short time, and the control means includes the second selecting means. Ink jet print recording apparatus and controls to execute the discharging means the print head by the head moving means after moving from the current position to the selected operating position by said second selection means. 5. The ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection unit ejects a large amount of ink in a first ejection mode, and the ejection unit ejects a small amount of ink in a second ejection mode. An ejection mode, an ejection mode selection means for selecting the first ejection mode or the second ejection mode when executing the ejection means, and the first operation position or the second operation position based on the result of the ejection mode selection means And a third selecting means for selecting the discharging means, and the control means controls to execute the discharging means after the print head moving means moves the print head to the operation position selected by the third selecting means. An ink jet type print recording device characterized by the above.