JPH0994981A - Recorder and facsimile apparatus using the recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately detect the presence or absence of ink even if the type of a recording head is changed by selecting one from a plurality of threshold values in consideration with recording characteristics corresponding to the respective heads, comparing it with the detected result of the discharged ink droplet, and discriminating the ink residue based on the compared result. SOLUTION: When any one of a plurality of types of replaceable recording heads 5 is mounted, ink is discharged and recorded on a recording medium, the type of the mounted head 5 is discriminated, and one is selected from a plurality of threshold values in consideration with the recording characteristics corresponding to a plurality of types of the heads 5 according to the discriminated result. A ROM 26 stores the various data to be executed by a CPU and the several threshold values used to process to detect the ink residues. Ink is testingly discharged from the mounted head, the discharged ink droplet is detected, the detected result is compared with the selected threshold value, and the ink residue is discriminated based on the compared result.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a facsimile apparatus using the recording apparatus, and more particularly to a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium according to an inkjet method and a facsimile apparatus using the recording apparatus. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an ink jet printer which records an image by using a recording head having a plurality of nozzles and ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles onto a recording medium. In recent years, there has been a printer using such an inkjet printer as a recording unit of a facsimile machine.

Further, as a recording head of such an apparatus, in addition to a monochrome head which records a monochrome image using only black ink, yellow, magenta, cyan, and
There is also provided a color head that supplies four colors of black ink and ejects the ink from nozzles assigned to the respective colors to perform color recording. Now, in the facsimile apparatus having such a configuration, there is a possibility that the ink may be used up during the image recording using the received image facsimile data and the image recording may be lost. In order to solve this, conventionally, the presence or absence of ink is determined after the recording of image data for one page is completed, and if it is determined that there is ink, the data corresponding to the recorded image is erased from the image memory. Are controlled. For this reason, the recording unit is provided with a photo interrupter (also referred to as a photo sensor) including a light emitting unit such as an LED and a light receiving unit such as a photo transistor, and ink is ejected so as to block the light from the light emitting unit. By monitoring the change in the light received by the light receiving unit,
The presence or absence of ink is determined.

[0004]

However, when a color head is attached to the above-mentioned apparatus of the prior art to perform image recording, the black ink is ejected by using the nozzle assigned to eject the black ink of the head, Since the received image is recorded on the recording medium, the number of nozzles is usually smaller than the number of nozzles of a recording head (monochrome head) dedicated to monochrome recording. Therefore, even when the black ink is ejected using all the usable nozzles, the two heads have different ink ejection amounts and different degrees of blocking the light from the light emitting portion of the photo interrupter. The output signal from the phototransistor used for the presence / absence detection changes according to the type of the recording head attached.

Therefore, if the output signal from the phototransistor is used to determine the presence / absence of ink by using one threshold value, there is a problem that an accurate determination cannot be made.
The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and a recording apparatus capable of accurately detecting the presence / absence of ink even if the type of the recording head mounted changes, and a facsimile apparatus using the recording apparatus. Is intended to provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, a recording apparatus that mounts any one of a plurality of replaceable recording heads, discharges ink, and records on a recording medium, the ink tank storing the ink, and the mounted recording head. A first determining means for determining the type of
According to the discrimination result by the first discriminating means, a selecting means for selecting one from a plurality of threshold values corresponding to each of the plural kinds of recording heads in consideration of recording characteristics, and an ink test from the mounted recording heads. The test ejection means for ejecting the ink, the detection means for detecting the ink droplets ejected by the test ejection means, the detection result of the detection means is compared with the threshold value selected by the selection means, and based on the comparison result. And a second discriminating means for discriminating the remaining ink.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus using the recording apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, the receiving means receiving image information sent through a communication line, and the image received by the receiving means. Storage means for storing information, and control means for controlling the test ejection means to drive test ink ejection every time the image recording for one page of the recording medium is completed based on the received image information. A facsimile machine is provided.

[0008]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, any one of a plurality of exchangeable recording heads is mounted, and when the recording is carried out on the recording medium by ejecting ink, the recording is carried out. The type of head is discriminated, and according to the discrimination result, one is selected from a plurality of thresholds in consideration of the recording characteristics corresponding to each of plural types of recording heads, and ink is experimentally tested from the mounted recording heads. The operation is such that the ink is ejected, the ejected ink droplet is detected, the detection result is compared with the selected threshold value, and the ink remaining is determined based on the comparison result.

Here, according to the determination result of ink remaining,
A message prompting replacement of the ink tank may be displayed. Now, in detecting ink droplets during test ink ejection, a light emitting unit that emits light to a position where ink ejected from the ink ejection port of the recording head passes, and the light is received. The light receiving means and the measuring means for measuring the time during which the light is blocked between the light emitting means and the light receiving means are used.

The light emitting means includes an infrared LED,
On the other hand, the light receiving means includes a phototransistor that generates an electric signal based on the received light. The above-mentioned recording head may be an inkjet recording head that ejects ink to perform recording, or is a recording head that ejects ink by using thermal energy and generates thermal energy to be given to the ink. The heat energy converter may be included.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in receiving facsimile image information of a facsimile apparatus using the recording apparatus having the above-described structure, a trial operation is performed every time image recording for one page of a recording medium is completed based on the received image information. Ink ejection is performed to detect the remaining amount of ink. Then, according to the ink remaining result, the received image information stored in the storage means is controlled to be saved or erased.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus including a recording unit that performs recording by a recording head according to an inkjet method that is a typical embodiment of the present invention. In this recording unit, a cartridge type monochrome recording head dedicated for monochrome recording, or
It is equipped with either a color recording head for cartridge type color recording. The monochrome recording head and the color recording head are replaceable. Further, both recording heads are integrated ink cartridges having an ink tank built-in.

With reference to FIG. 1, a schematic structure of the facsimile apparatus will be described. In FIG. 1, A is a reading unit that optically reads a document, B is a recording unit that performs recording according to an inkjet method, and C is a recording medium such as recording paper P stacked in a paper feed cassette, which is separated and recorded one by one. This is a paper feeding unit that supplies the paper to the unit B. First, the flow of the recording paper P will be described. The conveyance path of the recording paper P is as shown by an arrow G.
That is, the recording sheets P stacked in the sheet feeding cassette 1 of the sheet feeding section C
Are picked up by the paper feed roller 2 and the retard roller 3, and fed to the recording section B by the paper feed roller 2. In the recording unit B, the recording head 5 ejects ink onto the recording paper P to perform recording, and the recording paper P is conveyed in accordance with the recording. When the recording is completed, the recording paper P is discharged and stacked on the discharge stacker 7 by the discharge roller 6.

Next, a specific structure of the paper feed section C will be described. In FIG. 1, a paper feed cassette 1 for stacking and storing a plurality of recording papers P is provided with an intermediate plate 4 for stacking the recording papers P. The middle plate 4 is urged upward from the back surface by a middle plate spring 10 arranged to face the feeding roller 2. Also,
The intermediate plate 4 is structured so that it can be easily replenished when the recording paper P is reduced or lost by being pressed downward by a cam or the like in the standby state of paper feeding.

On the other hand, when the recording signal is detected and the paper feeding operation is started, the downward pressing of the intermediate plate 4 by the cam or the like is released,
The recording paper P is picked up by the paper feed roller 2.
The retard roller 3 is at a position facing the paper feed roller 2 and changes the position of the recording paper P in conjunction with the intermediate plate 4. When the paper feeding operation is performed, the recording sheet P, which is urged by the middle plate 4 and picked up by the paper feeding roller 2, is separated and fed by the J section in cooperation with the paper feeding roller 2. To send. The recording paper P that has been separated and fed is conveyed to the recording unit B while being pinched so as to be sufficiently wrapped around the feeding roller 2.

Further, the discharging mechanism for the recording paper P recorded in the recording section B will be described. The recording paper P ejected by the paper ejection roller 6 is ejected and stacked on the paper ejection stacker 7. The paper ejection stacker 7 is provided with a paper ejection auxiliary tray 9 having a hinge K as a center of rotation, and is rotated when the recording paper P to be used is long so that the paper ejection stacker is ejected in the recording paper ejection direction. It can be made longer. Further, the paper discharge stacker 7 has a structure that also serves as a cover of the paper feed cassette 1. A plurality of ribs (not shown) are provided on the paper discharge stacker 7 and the paper discharge auxiliary tray 9, and the recording paper P on which recording is performed slides on the plurality of ribs and is sequentially stacked.

Further, the flow of the image original S will be described. The document transport path is as shown by arrow F in FIG. FIG.
In, the image document S is stacked on the document stacking tray 41 with its image side facing down. The image document S stacked on the document stacking tray 41 has a slider 4 movable in the width direction thereof.
Positioning is performed by 2. When the image original S is stacked on the original stacking tray 41, the original is pressed by the preliminary conveying pressing piece 43 from above by the preliminary conveying spring 44, and is separated and preliminarily conveyed in cooperation with the separation roller 46.

Next, the pre-conveyed image original S is separated and conveyed one by one from the lower side by the cooperation of the separating piece 45 and the separating roller 46 pressed from above by the ADF spring 47. Further, the separation roller 46 also serves to convey the separated image original S to the reading position.
The image drawn on the image original S separated and conveyed to the reading position by the separation roller 46 in this manner is read by the photoelectric conversion sensor 48. The CS roller 49 is urged from above by the CS pressing spring 50 along the reading line of the photoelectric conversion sensor 48, and the separated and conveyed image original S is brought into close contact with the reading line. Further, the CS roller 49 not only determines the reading speed of the image original S in the sub-scanning direction (conveyance direction of the image original) but also serves to discharge the image original S that has been read. Finally, the discharged image original S is stored in the original discharge tray 5
1 is discharged and stacked. The document discharge tray 51 has a structure that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional perspective view showing the detailed structure of the recording section B. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 5 is a cartridge type recording head which has an ink tank built therein and can be replaced with a new one when the ink is exhausted. There are two types of recording heads, a cartridge having a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording and a cartridge having a recording head for color recording, both of which can be appropriately replaced.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the nozzle structure of the recording head used in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. In this facsimile apparatus, a monochrome recording head dedicated to black ink having 128 nozzles arranged in one row as shown in FIG. 3B and capable of recording at a resolution of 360 dpi, and as shown in FIG. It is now possible to use two types of color recording heads, each of which has 64 nozzles for ejecting black ink and 24 nozzles for ejecting yellow, magenta, and cyan color inks and which can record at a resolution of 360 dpi. There is. In this color recording head, these nozzles are arranged in one row. Further, since the color of the ink corresponding to the nozzle is fixed, the color of the ink to be ejected can be selected by selecting the nozzle that gives the heat pulse. By selectively using these two types of recording heads, it is possible to perform high-speed monochrome recording and high-definition full-color recording. Further, when a facsimile image is received while the color recording head is attached, the recording operation is performed by using 64 nozzles used for ejecting black ink for recording the received image.

Although the principle of ink ejection will be described below, the same applies to a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording and a recording head for color recording. Further, the recording head for color recording has two ink tanks for black ink and color ink, and has a structure in which the ink tanks can be independently replaced. Here, the principle of ink ejection from the recording head will be described. The recording head portion generally has a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage and an energy acting portion provided in a part of this liquid passage, and energy for generating droplet forming energy for acting on the liquid in the acting portion. And a generator.

The energy generating section uses an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, irradiates an electromagnetic wave such as a laser, absorbs it in a liquid there to generate heat, and the generated heat causes droplets to be generated. There are those that are made to eject and fly, or those that are made to heat the liquid by an electrothermal converter and eject the liquid. Among them, in a recording head using a method of ejecting a liquid by thermal energy, liquid ejection ports (orifices) for ejecting recording liquid droplets to form flying liquid droplets can be arranged at high density. Therefore, it is possible to record at high resolution.

Further, the recording head using the electrothermal converter as the energy generating portion can be easily miniaturized as a whole, and the IC technology and the micro technology which have been remarkably improved in the technological progress and reliability in the recent semiconductor field. Since the advantages of processing technology can be fully utilized and it is easy to make it long and flat (two-dimensional), it is easy to make multiple nozzles and high-density mounting, and mass production is possible. It is also possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

A recording head manufactured through a semiconductor manufacturing process using an electrothermal converter in the energy generating section as described above is generally provided with a liquid passage corresponding to each ink ejection port, and each liquid passage has a liquid passage. An electrothermal converter is provided as a means for applying thermal energy to the liquid that fills the liquid and ejecting the liquid from the corresponding ink ejection port to form droplets for flight. The liquid is supplied from a common liquid chamber that is in communication with each other.

Next, the structure of the recording section B will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the carriage 15 reciprocates in the direction (main scanning direction, arrow H direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction (sub scanning direction, arrow G direction) of the recording paper P while holding the recording head 5 with high precision. . The carriage 15 is slidably held by the guide rod 16 and the abutting portion 15a. The reciprocating movement of the carriage 15 is
Performed by a pulley 17 and a timing belt 18 driven by a carriage motor 30 (not shown),
At this time, the recording signal and power supplied to the recording head 5 are
It is supplied from the electric circuit of the apparatus main body by a flexible cable 19. The recording head 5 and the flexible cable 19 are connected by press-contacting each other. The recording head 5 and the flexible cable 19 are connected to each other by press-contacting each other, and a cartridge dedicated for monochrome recording is attached by detecting the opening / connection between the specific contacts of the recording head 5 or the color. The CPU 25, which will be described later, can recognize whether the recording cartridge is mounted.

A cap 20 is provided at the home position of the carriage 15 of the recording section B and functions as an ink receiving means. The cap 20 moves up and down as needed,
At the time of ascending, it adheres closely to the recording head 5 to cover its nozzle portion and prevent evaporation of ink and adhesion of dust. Now, in this apparatus, in order to position the recording head 5 and the cap 20 so as to be relatively opposed to each other, the carriage home sensor 21 provided in the apparatus main body and the light shielding plate 15b provided in the carriage 15 are provided. It is used. A transmission type photo interrupter is used for the carriage home sensor 21, and when the carriage 15 moves to the standby position, the light emitted from a part of the carriage home sensor 21 is blocked by the light shielding plate 15b. Is used to detect that the recording head 5 and the cap 20 are relatively opposed to each other.

The recording paper P is fed upward from the lower side in the drawing,
The sheet is bent in the horizontal direction by the feeding roller 2 and the paper guide 22 and is conveyed in the arrow G direction (sub-scanning direction). The feed roller 2 and the paper discharge roller 6 are driven by a recording motor (not shown), and the carriage 15 is driven as necessary.
The recording paper P is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction with high accuracy in conjunction with the reciprocating movement of the recording paper P. Further, in the sub-scanning direction, there is provided a spur 23 which is made of a material having high water repellency and which comes into contact with the recording paper P only at its blade-shaped circumferential portion. The spurs 23 are arranged at a plurality of positions facing the paper discharge roller 6 and are separated by a predetermined length in the main scanning direction by the bearing member 23a. The recording paper P is guided and conveyed without affecting the above.

As shown in FIG. 4, the photo sensor 8 is arranged between the cap 20 and the edge of the recording paper P so as to face the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5, and is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 5. It is a transmissive photointerrupter that directly optically detects the formed ink droplets, and can determine the ink-free state of the recording head 5 from its output. The photo sensor 8 used here uses an infrared LED as a light emitting element,
A lens is integrally formed on the light emitting surface of the LED, and light can be projected substantially parallel to the light receiving element. A phototransistor is used for the light receiving element, and a 0.7 mm × 0.7 mm hole is formed on the optical axis by a molding member on the light receiving surface of the light receiving element, and a detection range is provided over the entire area between the light receiving element and the light emitting element. The height is 0.7 mm and the width is 0.7 mm. Further, the optical axis connecting the light emitting element and the light receiving element is arranged in parallel with the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5, and the distance between the light receiving element and the light receiving element is wider than that of the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5, and the optical axis and the recording head. When the positions of the nozzle rows 5c of No. 5 match, all the ink droplets ejected from each nozzle of the recording head 5 can pass through the detection range between the light emitting element and the light receiving element. When the ink droplet passes through the detection range, the ink droplet blocks the light from the light emitting side,
The amount of light to the light receiving side is reduced, and the output of the phototransistor, which is a light receiving element, can be changed.

The nozzle array of the recording head 5 and the photo sensor 8
Similarly to the positioning with the cap 20, the carriage home sensor 21 provided in the main body of the apparatus is used to position the and so as to be relatively opposed to each other. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the home position (H
A control program for converting the distance (L) moving from the position of the nozzle row 5c of the recording head 5 to the optical axis of the photo sensor 8 in P) into the number of steps of the motor for driving the carriage 15 and executing the recording operation in advance. Is set as a constant. In this way, by moving the carriage by a fixed amount after detecting the home position, it is possible to accurately position the ink column of the recording head 5 and the optical axis of the photo sensor 8 relatively opposite to each other. The recording head 5 is moved to the vicinity of the photo sensor 8 before or after the recording operation for one page is started, and the recording head is moved by several mm so as to cross the optical axis from the infrared LED 81 which is a light emitting element as shown in FIG. While ejecting the ink, the ink ejection operation is performed to detect the remaining amount of the ink. As described above, the ink remaining amount can be detected more reliably by discharging the ink while slightly moving the recording head 5 in consideration of the displacement of the mounting position of the photo sensor 8 with respect to the recording unit main body. Here, if the ejected ink crosses the optical axis and blocks the light reaching the phototransistor 82 which is the light receiving element of the photosensor 8, it is determined that the ink is ejected normally.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, 24 is a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus, and the control unit 24 is C
The PU 25, the ROM 26 which stores the control program executed by the CPU 25, various data, and some threshold values used in the remaining ink amount detection process described later, and the CPU 25 which is used as a work area for executing various processes, It has a RAM 27 and the like for temporarily storing various data.

As shown in FIG. 6, the recording head 5 is connected to the control section 24 via a flexible cable 19, and the flexible cable 19 is connected from the control section 24 to the recording head 5.
Control signal line, image signal line, and a signal line for outputting a signal for identifying whether the recording head 5 is a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording or a recording head for color recording. The output of the photo sensor 8 is A / D.
The conversion circuit 28 digitizes and the CPU 25 can analyze. The carriage motor 30 is a motor that can rotate according to the number of pulse steps by the motor drive circuit 32. Further, the control unit 24 controls the carriage motor 30 via the motor drive circuit 33 so that
2 controls the conveyance motor 31 via the motor drive circuit 53, and controls the reading motor 52 via the motor drive circuit 53.
The output from is input.

Furthermore, the control unit 24 controls the reading sensor 4
8. A printer interface 54 for receiving recording commands and recording data from an external computer 56, an image data input device such as a line control circuit 55 for receiving received data from a public telephone line 57 are connected, and facsimile transmission / reception and copying are performed. , Can be operated as a printer of an external computer. Furthermore, the control unit 24 includes an operation panel 58 for the device user to perform various operations and instructions.
Are connected. The operation panel 58 is provided with an LCD 59 for displaying a message.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the photo sensor 8. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 81 is an infrared LED which is a light emitting element, 82 is a phototransistor which is a light receiving element for receiving the infrared light, and 83 is an input of the output of the phototransistor 82, which is compared with a predetermined reference voltage (Vref). A comparator, 84 is a pulse width counting unit that counts the duration (pulse width) of the pulse output from the comparator 83. The pulse width counting unit 84 uses the pulse width of the input clock (reference clock) as the reference pulse width, counts how many cycles of the reference clock the pulse output from the comparator 83 is, and counts the count. The value is output to the internal register of the pulse width counting section 33.

Now, when ink is not ejected from the recording head 5, there is nothing that blocks the infrared light from the infrared LED 81, which is a light emitting element.
A high level signal is input to the phototransistor 82, which is a light receiving element. On the other hand, when ink is ejected from the recording head 5, the ejected ink blocks the infrared light from the infrared LED 81.
The output level from the phototransistor 82 gradually drops. The output level of the comparator 83
When the voltage falls below the reference voltage (Vref) input to, the output from the comparator 83 to the pulse width counting unit 33 is inverted. After that, when the ejection of the ink from the recording head 5 is completed, the output from the phototransistor 8 becomes the high (H) level again, and when it exceeds the reference voltage (Vref) input to the comparator 83, the comparator 8
The output from 3 to the pulse width counter 33 is inverted again.

In this way, the pulse width counting unit 33 is supplied with a pulse having a pulse width of the time during which the photo sensor 8 detects the ejected ink. As described above, this pulse width is measured using the reference clock and stored in the internal register of the pulse width counting unit 33. This count value is obtained by the CPU 2 of the control unit 24 after the end of ink ejection.
5 is used to determine the presence or absence of ink.

As can be seen from the nozzle configuration of each recording head as shown in FIG. 3, the number of black ink nozzles (64) of the color recording head is half that of the monochrome recording head (128). In addition, when only the black ink is ejected using the color recording head, the output level from the phototransistor 82 does not drop so much as compared with the ink ejection by the monochrome recording head. Therefore, the pulse width counted by the pulse width counting section 84 is also short when the color recording head ejects.

Next, the remaining ink amount detecting process using the apparatus having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the facsimile apparatus receives the facsimile image data through the public telephone line 57 and executes the following processing each time an image for one page of recording paper is recorded based on the received data. First, in step S1, the recording head 5 is moved to the photo sensor 8
Is moved to near the position where the black ink is provided, the infrared LED 81, which is a light emitting element, is caused to emit light, and black ink is ejected while the recording head 5 is moved by several mm as described above. When it is determined in step S2 that the ejection has ended, the process proceeds to step S3, and the recording head currently mounted in the apparatus is a recording head for color recording, or a recording dedicated for monochrome recording. Check if it is the head. Here, if the mounted recording head is a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording, the process proceeds to step S4, and if it is a recording head for color recording, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S4, the pulse width (PW) counted by the pulse width counting section 84 is compared with a threshold value in step S4. In this comparison, considering that the mounted recording head is a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording as shown in FIG. 3A and the pulse width obtained by the pulse width counting unit 84 becomes long, “2 ms” is set as the threshold value. To use. Where PW ≦
If it is 2 ms, it is determined that there is no ink remaining or nozzle clogging, and the process proceeds to step S5, and a message indicating no ink or nozzle abnormality is displayed on the LCD.
Displayed at 59, the apparatus user is prompted to replace the ink cartridge or check the recording head. Further, since the received facsimile image data is recorded, the user may be prompted to attach a recording head dedicated to monochrome recording. Then, it is considered that the recording operation of this page was not performed normally, and the corresponding image data is stored in the image memory. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, PW>
If it is 2 ms, it is determined that the ink remains, and the process proceeds to step S6 to erase the recorded received image data from the image memory. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S9.

On the other hand, in step S7, the process compares the pulse width (PW) counted by the pulse width counting section 84 with another threshold value. In this comparison, the mounted recording head is a recording head capable of color recording as shown in FIG. 3B, and considering that the pulse width obtained by the pulse width counting unit 84 becomes short, the threshold value is “1 ms”. To use. If PW ≦ 1 ms, it is determined that there is no ink remaining or nozzle clogging, and the process advances to step S8 to display a message indicating no ink or nozzle abnormality on the LCD 59, and the device Encourage users to replace ink cartridges and check printheads. Then, it is considered that the recording operation of this page was not performed normally, and the corresponding image data is stored in the image memory. afterwards,
The process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, PW> 1m
If s, it is determined that the ink remains, and the process proceeds to step S6. After the process is completed, the process proceeds to step S9.
Proceed to.

Finally, in step S9, the emission of the infrared LED 81, which is a light emitting element, is stopped, and the pulse width counting unit 84
The internal counter of is cleared and the process ends. Therefore,
According to the embodiment described above, the threshold value used for detecting the remaining ink amount is changed according to the type of the mounted recording head, and the pulse width (P
Since W) is compared, it is possible to more accurately detect the remaining ink amount in consideration of the ink ejection characteristics of the type of the mounted recording head.

In the above embodiment, the criterion for remaining amount detection is changed in consideration of the ink ejection characteristics caused by the number of nozzles of the recording head used for recording, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not something. For example, if recording control that changes the ejection frequency depending on the type of ejected ink is possible, the determination standard may be changed according to the ejection frequency. In this case, the lower the discharge frequency,
The ink ejection amount is small, and as a result, the phototransistor
The output drop of 2 becomes a shorter period, and the pulse width counting unit 8
Since the pulse width output by 4 is short, the threshold value to be compared with the pulse width is set to be short when the ejection frequency is low.

Further, when there is a difference in the output of the phototransistor depending on the type (color) of ejected ink, the threshold value to be compared with the pulse width may be changed according to the type of ejected ink. Also in this case, the threshold value to be compared with the pulse width is set to be shorter as the type (color) of ink is such that the output drop of the phototransistor 82 is shorter.

In the above embodiment, particularly in the ink jet recording system, a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink is provided, and High density and high definition recording can be achieved by using a method of causing a change in ink state by energy. For a representative configuration and principle, see, for example, US Pat.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in 723129 and 4740796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). Electrothermal transducers
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the film boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, thereby causing film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed, which is effective. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed. As a configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the ejection port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, a heat acting surface A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a is bent, is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 5 discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-123670 discloses a structure in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge portion.
A configuration based on JP-A-9-138461 may be adopted.

Further, as 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, the length can be increased by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either of the structure satisfying the requirement or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used. In addition, not only the recording head of the cartridge type in which the ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself described in the above-described embodiment, but also the electrical connection with the main body of the apparatus by being attached to the main body of the apparatus. A replaceable chip-type recording head that can supply ink from the apparatus body may be used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary means, etc. to the structure of the recording apparatus described above because the recording operation can be made more stable. If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressure or suction means,
There is an electrothermal converter, a heating element other than this, or a preheating means by a combination thereof. It is also effective to provide a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection that is different from printing, in order to perform stable printing.

In the above-described embodiments, the description has been made on the assumption that the ink is a liquid, but even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or below, one that softens or liquefies at room temperature is used. Or, in the inkjet method, it is general that the temperature of the ink itself is 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 in a stable ejection range.
It is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to the thermal energy from being used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state,
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, an ink which solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, by applying thermal energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In such a case, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, the ink is held in a liquid state or a solid state in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It is good also as a form which opposes an electrothermal transducer. 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, the form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention may be provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, or may be in the form of a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like. It may be one. Further, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including one device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is implemented by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, the storage medium storing the program according to the present invention constitutes the present invention. Then, by reading the program from the storage medium to the system or device, the system or device operates in a predetermined manner.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention, any one of a plurality of exchangeable recording heads is mounted,
When performing recording by ejecting ink, the type of attached print head is determined, and one is selected from a plurality of thresholds in consideration of print characteristics corresponding to each of a plurality of types of print heads according to the determination result. Then, ink is ejected on a trial basis from the mounted recording head, the ejected ink droplets are detected, the detection result is compared with the selected threshold value, and the ink remaining amount is determined based on the comparison result. Since the determination is made, there is an effect that the presence / absence of ink can be accurately detected even if the type of the mounted recording head changes.

According to another aspect of the invention, when receiving the facsimile image information, a test ink is ejected every time the image recording for one page of the recording medium is completed based on the received image information to detect the remaining ink amount. Since it is performed, there is an effect that it can be confirmed whether or not an image is normally recorded on each page.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus including a recording unit that performs recording by a recording head according to an inkjet system that is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a three-dimensional perspective view showing a detailed configuration of a recording unit B of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing nozzle configurations of a color recording head and a monochrome recording head.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration around a photo sensor 8 of a recording unit B.

FIG. 5: Infrared LED which is a light emitting element of the photo sensor 8
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which ink blocks the optical axis of 81.

6 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a photo sensor 8.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a remaining ink amount detection process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A reading section B recording section C sheet feeding section 1 sheet feeding cassette 5 recording head 8 photo sensor 15 carriage 20 cap 21 carriage home sensor 24 control section 25 CPU 26 ROM 27 RAM 58 operation panel 59 LCD 81 light emitting element (infrared LED) 82 Light receiving element (phototransistor) 83 Comparator 84 Pulse width counting unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Shigeyuki Sugiyama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Atsushi Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Ken Kenno 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus, wherein any one of a plurality of exchangeable recording heads is mounted to eject ink to perform recording on a recording medium, the ink tank storing ink, and A first discriminating means for discriminating the type of the recording head, and a selection for selecting one from a plurality of threshold values corresponding to each of the plural types of recording heads in consideration of the recording characteristics according to the discrimination result by the first discriminating means Means, test ejection means for ejecting ink from the mounted recording head on a trial basis, detection means for detecting ink droplets ejected by the test ejection means, and the detection result of the detection means by the selection means And a second discriminating unit that discriminates the remaining ink based on the comparison result. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays a message prompting replacement of the ink tank according to the determination result of the second determination unit. 3. The detecting means includes a light emitting means for emitting light to a position where ink ejected from an ink ejection port of the recording head passes, a light receiving means for receiving the light, and the light emitting means. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring unit that measures a time period during which the light is blocked from the light receiving unit. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the light emitting means includes an infrared LED. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the light receiving unit includes a phototransistor that generates an electric signal based on the received light. 6. The recording head comprises a first recording head dedicated to monochrome recording for discharging black ink to perform monochrome recording, and a first recording head capable of color recording to discharge ink of a plurality of colors to perform color recording. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising two recording heads. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is an inkjet recording head that performs recording by discharging ink. 8. The printing head according to claim 1, wherein the printing head uses thermal energy to eject ink, and includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. Item 2. The recording device according to Item 1. 9. A facsimile device using the recording device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving device receives image information sent via a communication line, and stores the image information received by the receiving device. And a control means for controlling the test ejection means to drive the test ejection means each time the image recording for one page of the recording medium is completed based on the received image information. A facsimile machine characterized by. 10. A storage control unit is further provided for controlling to save or erase the image information stored in the storage unit according to an ink residual result obtained by the test discharge of the ink by the test discharge unit. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 8.