JPH10181045A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To estimate a quantity of ink in an ink cartridge without damaging a recording head. SOLUTION: A residual ink determining means 35 that manages ink quantities of ink cartridges 9, 10 by multiplying quantities of ink discharged from recording heads 7, 8 is provided. At least two kinds of levels of an ink-out determination level at the printing and an ink-out determination level at a time right before a suction operation are set to the residual ink determining means 35. In the case where a large quantity of the ink is consumed for maintenance, the level for determining the ink-out which is greater than the other is used. When the residual ink quantity is less than the level, the suction operation is canceled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus having a recording head which moves in the width direction of a recording sheet and ejecting ink droplets onto the recording sheet in accordance with print data to form an image. The present invention relates to a device, and more particularly to a technique for managing ink in an ink cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet printer is provided with an ink jet recording head which receives supply of ink from an ink storage means, and a paper feeding means for moving a recording sheet relatively to the recording head. This is an apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink droplets on recording paper while moving the recording head.

As described above, since a liquid called ink is used, the recording head is filled with the ink, and the ink is forcibly sucked and discharged from the recording head in order to prevent clogging due to evaporation of the ink solvent. Requires various secondary operations not found in other recording heads, such as management of the amount of ink remaining in the ink storage means.

With respect to the management of the amount of ink, a method has been put to practical use in which a liquid level detecting means such as an electrode is attached to an ink cartridge constituting the ink storing means to perform detection in a hardware manner. There is an inconvenience that it becomes complicated and causes an increase in cost. For this reason, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-19467, Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-2649,
No. 52, as seen in JP-A-7-205419, etc.,
The amount of consumption is calculated based on the product of the number of dots during printing and the number of ink droplets per droplet, and the product of the amount of one suction and the number of times of suction during forced suction for preventing nozzle opening clogging. It is performed by software using a microcomputer mounted on the recording device, for example, by integrating with a counter and storing this in a storage means to display the remaining amount of ink, or by being configured to be reset by an external operation. Some have been proposed.

In the case where the remaining ink amount is managed by software as described above, since at least the consumption amount form can be accurately grasped irrespective of the ink end detection accuracy, this is displayed. Thereby, there is an advantage that the user can be notified of the ink consumption state.

However, attention has been paid to the ease of color printing by an ink jet recording head, and an ink jet color printer has been put to practical use. In order to obtain high print quality, a dark and light ink is used, and an ink droplet constituting one dot is used. Adjust the ink amount of the printer based on the print data,
Furthermore, various technologies are incorporated, such as changing the printing resolution according to the image or text.

Further, in maintenance such as prevention of clogging of the recording head, the amount of ink at the time of forced ejection or flushing is finely set in accordance with the operation state of the recording head. For this reason, the amount of ink consumption becomes complicated, and a large error occurs in the conventional technology, which has a problem that it cannot be put to practical use. Due to the inability to accurately grasp the remaining amount of ink, there is a problem that the ink in the recording head is discharged and partitioned by maintenance ink suction, causing serious damage to the recording head. ing.

Further, at the stage when the ink cartridge has been replaced, the counter is reset by the user operating the reset button to clear the remaining amount of ink. Printing is not possible.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and adjusts an ink suction amount for maintenance of a recording head based on a grasped ink remaining amount.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing damage to a recording head.

When the ink cartridge is replaced when it becomes extremely low, it is possible to automatically reset the ink consumption and determine the ink remaining in accordance with the new ink cartridge. It is to provide an ink jet recording head which can be used.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets corresponding to print data, and an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head. Capping means for sealing the recording head and receiving a negative pressure from a suction pump, suction control means for controlling a suction process for discharging ink by suction of the recording head by the suction pump, and the recording head Remaining ink determining means for managing the amount of ink in the ink cartridge by integrating the amount of ink discharged from the ink cartridge, wherein the remaining ink determining means determines at least an ink end determination level in a printing state and the suction process. There are two types, the ink end determination level immediately before.

[0012]

When a large amount of ink is consumed for maintenance, the level for determining the ink end is set to a higher level, and when the level is lower than this level, the ink suction operation is stopped to prevent the ink from being discharged. Prevent ink loss.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage, which is connected to a motor 3 by a timing belt 2 and is guided by a guide member 4 to move in parallel with a platen 5. It is configured to be. Recording paper 6 on carriage 1
A recording head 7 for ejecting black ink to a printing area (left side in the figure) is mounted on a surface opposite to the recording area, and a detachable recording head 8 for color printing is mounted on a non-printing area side. The recording heads 7 and 8 receive ink supplied from the black ink cartridge 9 and the color ink cartridge 10, respectively, and eject ink droplets onto the recording paper 6 to perform printing. A switch 1 that is turned on and off when the ink cartridges 9 and 10 are attached and detached is provided on the carriage 1.
1 and 12 are arranged.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a capping device, in which a cap member 14 for sealing the recording head 7 for black ink and a cap member 15 for sealing the recording head 8 for color ink are mounted on the same slider. It is connected via a tube to a pump unit 18 composed of two drivable pumps 16 and 17 and has a size that can seal the nozzle opening surfaces of the recording heads 7 and 8 in one space. The opening is sealed, and a negative pressure is supplied from the pump unit 18 at the time of the discharge capacity recovery operation so that the recording heads 7 and 8 can forcibly discharge the ink. Also, the capping device 13
Is disposed in the vicinity of the cleaner unit 19.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a control device for controlling the operation of the recording apparatus.
Means that print control means generates bitmap data based on print data from the host, and based on the data, generates a drive signal by the head drive means 21 to cause the recording heads 7 and 8 to eject ink droplets. Things.

Reference numeral 22 denotes an ink cartridge attachment / detachment detecting means.
The detection of the attachment / detachment of the ink cartridges 9 and 10 is detected based on the signal change of No. Reference numeral 23 denotes a mounting timer, which starts a clocking operation after resetting when the ink cartridges 9 and 10 are mounted by a signal from the ink cartridge attachment / detachment detecting means 22.
The timing operation is stopped when 10 is removed.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a pump driving means for executing a suction operation based on a suction intensity, a suction time, and a suction interval specified by a suction control means described later. 25
The power supply detecting means detects the presence or absence of power supply to the apparatus, and outputs a signal when the power supply is turned on and off.
26, the timer starts when the power is turned off by the pause timer 26, and stops the time counting operation when the power is turned on, and the recording heads 7 and 8 are continuously sealed by the cap device 13. This is to detect the time during which it was stopped.

Numeral 27 is a flushing control means. When the printing operation is continued for a predetermined time by the print timer 28, the carriage 1 is evacuated to the flushing position, usually the capping position, by the print control means 20 to prevent clogging. Alternatively, a predetermined number of ink droplets are ejected from all the nozzle openings of each of the recording heads 7 and 8 in order to eliminate clogging.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a suction control means, which receives a signal from a cleaning switch 30 which can be operated from the outside, when ink cartridges 9 and 10 are newly mounted, and when the power is turned on, a pause timer 26 operates for a predetermined time. When the recording heads 7 and 8 are sealed by the capping unit based on a signal from the suction mode setting unit 31 described later, a signal is output to the pump driving unit 24, and the pumps 17 and 18 are measured. Is operated in a predetermined mode. Reference numeral 31 denotes the above-described suction mode setting means for setting any one of the large suction processing, the small suction processing, and the suction suppression according to the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridges 9 and 10.

Reference numeral 32 denotes an ink consumption calculating means which, when the power-on detecting means 25 detects that the power has been turned on, recalls the ink consumption stored in a consumption storing means 33 which will be described later. When a printing operation or a flushing operation is performed, the number of ink droplets is counted, and the number of ink droplets is calculated by multiplying the number of ink droplets by the amount of ink per droplet stored in a coefficient setting unit 37 described later. When the suction command is output to the pump driving unit 24 by the suction control unit 29, an operation of calculating the consumed ink amount by adding the suction amount in advance is performed.

As shown in Table 1, the coefficient setting means 37 corresponds to one of the color ink and the black ink in accordance with the print modes such as high-quality printing, normal printing, and draft printing.
Ink amount per drop, data of ink weight in this embodiment, and also, as shown in Table 2, flushing processing before printing, periodic flushing performed during printing, flushing performed after printing, and periodic flushing. For the print mode,
It stores data on the amount of ink per drop of color ink and black ink.

[0022]

[Table 1]

[0023]

[Table 2]

Preferably, the amount of ink per droplet is calculated by taking into account the temperature based on the temperature data from the temperature detecting means 40. That is, the temperature is 30 ° C. with respect to the room temperature.
1.03 times at 40 ° C, and about 1.05 at 40 ° C.
By increasing the amount of ink per droplet, the amount of ink whose discharge amount increases due to a decrease in viscosity due to a rise in temperature can be reliably added as the consumption amount, and in particular, the running out of ink during printing can be prevented.

On the other hand, when the power supply is detected by the power supply detection means 25, the calculated ink consumption is stored in the consumption storage means 33, and the ink cartridge 9 When the exchange is detected and a signal is output from the reset means 34, the operation result is cleared.

An ink remaining amount determining means 35 calculates a difference between the amount of ink contained in each of the cartridges 9 and 10 and the ink consumption calculated by the ink consumption calculating means 32. Is output to the suction mode setting means 31, a duty setting means 36, and a display means 38, which will be described later, every time the level falls below a plurality of levels defined in the above.

That is, as shown in Table 3, two types of ink end levels are provided: one in which the cartridge is depleted of ink, and the other in which at least ink remains in the cartridge due to ink suction. The amount of remaining ink is about 2 to 20%, the level of large suction prohibition is about 2 to 25%, and the level of prohibition of suction is 2 to 30%. The degree is set.

[0028]

[Table 3]

In the above-described configuration, the ink consumption calculating means 32 which requires particularly high calculation processing ability is provided by printer driver software incorporated in the host device.
It is desirable that it be incorporated as a part of the function of the CPU of the host device.

Next, the operation of the above-configured apparatus will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. (Overall operation) When the power switch SW is turned on (FIG. 3)
Step b), an initialization process described later (FIG. 4) is executed (step b in FIG. 3), and it is detected whether or not the power-on state is continued (step c in FIG. 3). If the power is off at this stage, the consumption calculation means 3
After the power-off process of storing the ink amount of No. 2 in the consumption amount storage means 33 is performed (step n in FIG. 3), the entire operation is ended.

On the other hand, if the power-on state is maintained, it is detected whether or not the ink cartridges 9 and 10 have been replaced based on a signal from the ink cartridge attachment detecting means 22 (step S3 in FIG. 3). D) If the ink cartridge has been replaced, an ink cartridge replacement process (FIG. 6) to be described later is executed (FIG. 3, step E).

If the replacement of the ink cartridges 9 and 10 is not performed, or if the cleaning switch 30 is pressed in a state where the replacement of the ink cartridges 9 and 10 is completed (to the step in FIG. 3), the cleaning described later is performed. The processing (FIG. 7) (FIG. 3 step) is executed.

Waiting for print data input in a state where cleaning processing is no longer necessary (step 3 in FIG. 3), the above steps (c) to (h) are repeated until print data is input. At the stage of the input, the printing process (FIG. 8) to be described later is started (step 3 in FIG. 3).

Finally, when the power switch sW is turned off after the job is completed, the ink consumption calculated by the ink consumption calculating means 32 is stored in the consumption storage means 33 (FIG. 3).
Step nu), and if necessary, the pause timer 26 is operated to stop the operation.

(Initialization Processing) When the power supply detecting means 25 detects that the power is turned on, the consumption calculating means 32 reads the data of the ink consumption stored in the consumption storing means 33 (FIG. 4, step a). ) Also, the position of the carriage 1 for the preparation for printing and the initialization for paper feeding are executed (FIG. 4, step b).

At the stage when the preparation for printing is completed, the presence or absence of the ink cartridges 9 and 10 is detected based on the signal from the ink cartridge detection means 22 (step c in FIG. 4). The display is made (step d in FIG. 4) and the printer waits for the ink cartridges 9 and 10 to be mounted.

At the stage where it is confirmed that the ink cartridges 9 and 10 are properly mounted, a check processing of the ink consumption described later is executed (step in FIG. 4).
E).

(Initial Installation of Ink Cartridge) In the ink jet recording apparatus, since the ink is pressurized in the pressure generating chamber and is ejected from the nozzle opening, the same conditions as during use are maintained in the distribution process. Measures are taken to fill the liquid and prevent drying and intrusion of dust. For this reason, an operation for completely removing the delivery liquid filled in the recording heads 7 and 8 before starting use, that is, an initial filling operation is required.

As described above, in order to reliably remove the liquid to be sent,
The first suction amount to be discharged by the first suction is added to the consumption calculating means 32 in advance (step A in FIG. 5), and at the stage when the addition is completed, suction is performed at the suction speed determined for the first suction ( Figure 5 Step b).

Subsequently, the second suction amount to be discharged by the second suction is added in advance to the consumption calculating means 32 (FIG. 5
C) When the addition is completed, suction is performed at the suction speed determined for the second suction (step d in FIG. 5).

Finally, the third suction amount to be discharged by the third suction is added to the consumption calculating means 32 in advance (step S5 in FIG. 5).
E) When the addition is completed, suction is performed at the suction speed determined for the third suction (step f in FIG. 5).

As described above, before the operation of sucking a large amount of ink from the ink cartridge is performed, the respective suction amounts are added in advance. Therefore, even if the power is turned off during the suction operation, the ink is not affected. The remaining amount of ink in the cartridge can be estimated at a low level.
8 can be avoided.

(Ink Cartridge Replacement Processing) The ink cartridge attachment / detachment detecting means 22 detects that the old ink cartridges 9 and 10 mounted on the carriage 1 have been removed, and that a new ink cartridge has been mounted. When the remaining amount of ink by the remaining amount determining means 35 is the ink near end level or the ink end level, the resetting means 34 determines whether the ink cartridge 9 is the black ink cartridge 9 or the color ink cartridge 10 (step A in FIG. 6) In the case of (1), the ink consumption of the black ink cartridge is reset (step b in FIG. 6), and in the case of the color ink cartridge 10, the ink consumption is similarly reset (step b in FIG. 6).

Thus, the ink consumption is automatically reset only by replacing the ink cartridge, so that the user does not need to reset the ink consumption after replacing the ink cartridge, and it is possible to prevent resetting due to erroneous operation by the user. be able to.

On the other hand, if the determination of the remaining ink amount by the ink remaining amount determining means 35 is larger than the ink near end, it is determined that the user has accidentally inserted or removed the cartridge, and the ink consumption amount calculating means 32 No reset is performed. In this case, even if it is erroneously determined that the original ink cartridge has been removed and inserted despite the fact that the ink cartridge has been replaced with a new ink cartridge, even if a large amount of ink has been sucked in for cleaning processing or the like, the recording head 7 can be used. , 8 can be reliably prevented from becoming empty.

Since the ink consumption has been reset, the remaining ink amount determining means 35 determines that the remaining ink amount is large. The suction mode setting means 31 controls a large amount of suction required for ink cartridge replacement by the suction control means 29.
Output to As a result, the suction control means 29 executes a suction process in a large suction mode, which will be described later, and operates the suction timer 39 (step d in FIG. 6). In this manner, when the suction time reaches the time T1 corresponding to the large suction amount (FIG. 6).
Step e), the suction is stopped and the suction timer 39 is reset (step f in FIG. 6).

The ink remaining amount at the stage when the ink filling is completed is displayed as a relative display, that is, as 100% of the ink remaining amount, and based on this value, the management of the ink remaining amount is executed until the next ink cartridge replacement. . in this way,
By displaying the ink amount after subtracting the suction amount accompanying the ink cartridge replacement as a full state, the user can know the ink remaining amount as accurate as possible.

Prior to the start of use of the printing apparatus, an operation of filling the recording heads 7 and 8 which are not filled with the ink, that is, the so-called initial filling, displays the ink amount obtained by subtracting the suction amount of the initial filling amount. Accordingly, even if there is a difference between the ink consumption amount for the ink filling operation between the replacement of the ink cartridge after the start of use and the installation of the first ink cartridge at the start of use, the actual ink remaining amount after the filling operation Can be displayed, the remaining ink amount can be easily grasped, and the full display serves as a mark of the end of the ink filling operation, so that the user can recognize the end of the ink filling operation without using a special display. it can.

(Cleaning process) When the cleaning switch 30 is pressed and a cleaning process is instructed,
At the stage when the remaining ink amount is confirmed by an ink consumption check process (FIG. 9) described later (FIG. 7 step A), it is determined whether or not printing has been performed after the previous cleaning process (FIG. 7 step B). When the addition has not been performed, the amount of ink to be suctioned by the minute suction is added to the consumption calculating means 32 in advance (step 7 in FIG. 7), and the minute suction is executed when the addition is completed (step e in FIG. 7). ).

On the other hand, if printing has been performed since the previous cleaning process, the amount of printing is determined (step c in FIG. 7). (Step d in FIG. 7), the small suction amount is previously added to the consumption calculating means 32 (Step E in FIG. 7), and the small suction is executed when the addition is completed (FIG. 7).
Step f).

If the amount of printing after cleaning is small (step c in FIG. 7), it is determined whether or not large suction is prohibited (step G in FIG. 7). Releases the large suction prohibition (Fig. 7
Step d), execute the aforementioned small suction processing (FIG. 7)
Step e, f).

On the other hand, if the large suction prohibition is not set and there is sufficient ink in the ink cartridges 9 and 10, the number of times the cleaning switch 30 was operated last time is detected by a cleaning counter or the like, and the cleaning is performed. When the number of times is a predetermined number of times, for example, three times, reset is set to 1, and when the number is less than three, each is incremented (step stitch in FIG. 7), and the amount of ink consumed by the large suction Is added to the consumption calculating means 32 in advance (step 図 in FIG. 7), and suction is performed with the set large suction amount (step ヌ in FIG. 7).

As described above, the fine suction processing, the small suction processing,
Since the suction process is performed after the ink amount to be suctioned is added to the consumption calculating unit 32 before the large suction process is performed, the power supply is not required during the process. Even when the printing is interrupted, the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge can be estimated on the safe side, that is, a small amount, and an accident that air bubbles or the like are drawn into the recording heads 7 and 8 by suction can be prevented.

(Printing process) In addition to determining the types of recording heads 7 and 8 and the type of ink used for printing,
The print mode is confirmed (step (a) in FIG. 8), and the recording heads 7 and 8 used for printing print the amount of ink per drop ejected during printing and during the flushing process in the data stored in the coefficient setting means 37. (Step B in FIG. 8).

After the amount of ink consumed by the flushing process before printing executed prior to printing is added to the ink consumption calculating means 32 in advance (step c in FIG. 8),
Execute the flushing process before printing (step d in FIG. 8).

At the stage where printing preparation is completed and printing becomes possible in this way, the average amount consumed in printing for one pass, for example, the amount of ink corresponding to の of the maximum printing amount, is determined in advance. Add (step e in FIG. 8). Then, when printing is started (figure 8 step), the total number of dots for one pass is counted (step 8 in FIG. 8), and this is multiplied by the amount of ink per drop to be consumed by printing for one pass. The calculated ink amount is calculated and added (step 8 in FIG. 8).
J).

In the printing process, if it is determined that the ink consumption amount is the near end level (step E in FIG. 9), the printing speed is reduced by switching to a mode for printing one line of data in a plurality of passes. In particular, when the ink cartridge is configured to impregnate the ink into the ink absorber, the ink absorber is prevented from tilting to the negative pressure side due to consumption of the ink, and is separated from the recording heads 7 and 8. It is possible to make the ink present at the shifted position surely flow to the recording heads 7 and 8, so that all the remaining ink can be effectively used.

If the print duty is suppressed because it is determined that the suction suppression level has been reached (see FIG.
For data with very high print duty, such as graphic printing, reduce the printing speed,
By switching to a mode in which one line of data is printed in a plurality of passes, the remaining ink in the cartridges 9 and 10 can be reliably supplied to the recording heads 7 and 8.

The printing operation continues for a predetermined time and the printing timer 2
At the time when regular flushing is required after the time 8 has elapsed (step 図 in FIG. 8), the printing operation is interrupted, the carriage 1 is moved to the flushing position, and the amount of ink to be ejected by regular flushing is calculated by the ink consumption calculating means. 32 (step 8 in FIG. 8), and when the addition is completed, a flushing process is executed (step e in FIG. 8).

After the flushing process, if print data exists (step n in FIG. 8), the above steps (g) to (v) are repeated to execute printing.

When printing of all the print data is completed (Step No. in FIG. 8), the ink amount added in advance in Step (E) is subtracted (Step W in FIG. 8), and the amount of ink to be ejected by flushing is reduced by ink consumption. The value is added to the arithmetic means 32 in advance (Step F in FIG. 8), and a flushing process is performed as a printing end process (Step Y in FIG. 8), and the process stands by until the next printing.

As described above, prior to the start of printing, the average amount of ink consumed by one-pass printing is added in advance, and then printing is executed. When the one-pass printing is completed, the expected amount is added in advance. Even if the power is turned off during integrated printing and the addition of the actual ink consumption that cannot be added only at the end of one-pass printing becomes impossible by subtracting the It can be subtracted as the consumption amount, and the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge can be estimated as much as possible to prevent running out of ink during the subsequent printing.

(Ink Consumption Amount Checking Process) The time elapsed since the ink cartridges 9 and 10 were mounted on the carriage, measured by the mounting timer 23, and the time per unit time of the ink solvent from the cartridges 9 and 10 and the ink tubes. The remaining amount of ink in the installed ink cartridges 9 and 10 is calculated in consideration of the product of the evaporation rates of the ink cartridges (FIG. 9).
Step b).

If the cleaning operation has not been instructed before the determination (step b in FIG. 9), the remaining amount of ink is compared with a predetermined ink end determination reference level (step c in FIG. 9). In some cases, the ink end is displayed on the display means 38 (step d in FIG. 9) to prompt the user to replace the ink cartridge.

As a result of the comparison, if it is equal to or more than the ink end and equal to or less than the near-end level (step E in FIG. 9), the display means 38 displays that it is near end (step f in FIG. 9).

When the remaining amount of ink is equal to or greater than the near end and is at the large suction prohibition level (step S in FIG. 9), the large suction prohibition is set (step S FIG. 9), and a large amount of ink is inadvertently consumed by cleaning. It is prevented from being done.

Further, although it is possible to suck ink for cleaning, the remaining amount of ink in the cartridge is somewhat smaller, and there is a possibility that the ink flow path may be interrupted in the ink impregnated member at a normal ink suction speed. When it is determined that there is (step n in FIG. 9), processing for suppressing the suction amount and the number of printing dots per unit time during printing, so-called duty, is performed (step n in FIG. 9).

Then, other than the above, it is determined that the ink cartridges 9 and 10 have sufficient ink necessary for normal operation (step in FIG. 9).

If the cleaning switch 30 has already been pressed before the ink consumption check processing (step b in FIG. 9), in order to prepare for ink consumption due to cleaning, the cleaning end is compared with the ink end determination reference before cleaning. It is determined whether or not the ink is exhausted (FIG. 9
Step e). If the amount is equal to or less than the amount to be judged as ink end by this judgment standard, even if printing is possible, the end of ink is judged and the ink end is displayed on the display means 38 (step d in FIG. 9). Prompts the user to replace the ink cartridges 9 and 10. This allows
It is possible to prevent the recording heads 7 and 8 from becoming empty due to the consumption of the ink cartridges 9 and 10 due to the cleaning. If the remaining amount of ink is larger than the amount to be determined as the ink end, the processing of steps (e) to (l) described above is executed.

In the above-described embodiment, the large suction processing and the small suction processing are performed in one kind of suction mode. However, the form of the suction may be changed according to the remaining amount of ink. .

That is, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the amount of ink to be sucked by the suction process is set in advance in the consumption calculating means 32 (steps in FIGS. 10 and 11).
B) It is determined whether or not the suction suppression mode has been set (step b in FIGS. 10 and 11). If the suppression mode has not been set, the set amount of ink is discharged by a normal suction operation. First large suction (step c in FIG. 10) or first small suction (step in FIG. 11)
C) Execute.

On the other hand, when the ink in the ink cartridges 9 and 10 has decreased and the ink consumption check process (FIG. 9) has determined that the suction suppression level has been set and the suppression mode has been set (steps in FIGS. 10 and 11). B) After releasing the suction suppression mode (steps in FIGS. 10 and 11)
D) The second method of sucking the added amount of ink while suppressing the flow rate by reducing the rotation speed of the pumps 16 and 17 or intermittently driving the pumps 16 and 17.
Large suction (step E in FIG. 10) or second small suction (step E in FIG. 11) may be executed.

As described above, by suppressing the ink flow rate of suction without changing the amount of ink required for large suction and small suction, especially in an ink cartridge in which ink is impregnated in an ink absorber made of a porous elastic material, An amount of ink required for the cleaning process can be discharged while preventing interruption of the ink in the ink absorber, and cleaning can be performed even when the amount of ink is small. When the amount of ink is reduced, the printing speed is reduced, so that the amount of ink required for printing can be supplied to the recording heads 7 and 8 without causing interruption of the ink in the ink absorber, The cartridges 9 and 10 with reduced ink can be used without waste.

In the above-described embodiment, the recording apparatus equipped with two types of ink cartridges of black ink and color ink and capable of monochrome and color printing has been described as an example. Obviously, the same effect is achieved even when applied to a recording apparatus.

In the above-described embodiment, the recording apparatus in which the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage has been described as an example. However, the ink cartridge is housed in a box, and the ink is supplied to the recording head by a flow path forming means such as a tube. Obviously, the same effect can be obtained even if the present invention is applied to a recording apparatus for supplying the same.

[0076]

As described above, in the present invention, the ink remaining amount determining means for managing the ink amount of the ink cartridge by integrating the ink amount discharged from the recording head is provided at least in the ink end state in the printing state. Since there are two types, a judgment level and an ink end judgment level immediately before the suction process, when a large amount of ink is consumed for maintenance, the level of the ink end judgment is set to a higher level and ink is removed from the print head. Can be prevented beforehand.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an overall operation of the above device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation for initialization processing among operations of the above device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation for an initial filling process among the operations of the above device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation for an ink cartridge replacement process in the operation of the above apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation for a cleaning process among operations of the above apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation for a printing process among the operations of the above device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation for an ink consumption check process in the operation of the above apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the large suction process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the small suction process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 7, 8 Ink jet recording head 9, 10 Ink cartridge 11, 12 Cartridge detector 14, 15 Cap member 16, 17 Suction pump 18 Pump unit 30 Cleaning command switch SW Power switch

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shigenori Fukasawa 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Inside Seiko Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Masahiro Isono 3-3-5 Yamato Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Seiko Epson Inside the corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] An ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets in accordance with print data, an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head, and a negative pressure from a suction pump while sealing the recording head. Receiving capping means, suction control means for controlling suction processing for discharging ink by suction of the recording head by the suction pump, and managing the amount of ink in the ink cartridge by integrating the amount of ink discharged from the recording head. And an ink remaining amount determining unit that performs at least two of an ink end determining level in a printing state and an ink end determining level immediately before the suction process. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink remaining amount determining means has a level substantially equal to an ink end determining level immediately before said suction processing as an ink near-end determining level in a printing state. 3. An ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets corresponding to print data, an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the print head, and the print head based on print data for each predetermined print operation of the print head. And an ink cartridge replacement detecting means for detecting replacement of the ink cartridge, wherein the remaining amount is lower than a second ink end level which is slightly larger than the ink end determination level. An ink jet recording apparatus that resets the ink remaining amount determining means at a point of time by a signal from the ink cartridge replacement detecting means. 4. An ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets corresponding to print data, an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head, and sealing the recording head and reducing a negative pressure from a suction pump. Receiving capping means, suction control means for controlling suction processing for discharging ink by suction of the recording head by the suction pump, and managing the amount of ink in the ink cartridge by integrating the amount of ink discharged from the recording head. And
An ink remaining amount determining unit that adds an ink ejection amount from the recording head based on print data for each predetermined printing operation of the recording head, and an ink cartridge replacement detecting unit that detects replacement of the ink cartridge; The ink remaining amount determining unit determines at least three of an ink end determining level in a printing state, an ink end determining level immediately before the suction process, and a second ink end level having a slightly larger remaining amount than the ink end determining level. An ink jet recording apparatus having a determination level and resetting the ink remaining amount determining means in response to a signal from the ink cartridge replacement detecting means at a point in time when the level falls below a second ink end determination level.