JP2006167929A - Inkjet recorder, its control method, and its control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately control to realize the intention of a user as much as possible who selects a recording mode, correspondingly to the recording mode wherein a predetermined ink ejection recovery action is selected in an inkjet recorder which can alternatively carry out a plurality of kinds of recording modes and performs the ink ejection recovery action such as an ink suction action for a recording head by a predetermined timing. <P>SOLUTION: Immediately before recording starts, the selected recording mode is judged (steps S2 and S3). In accordance with the result, a threshold of a lapse time from the ink suction action performed last time is set to any of different values I, II and III (S4, S10 and S11). Whether or not the ink suction action is necessary is judged by whether or not the lapse time exceeds the set threshold (S5 and S12). Only when it is judged to be necessary, the ink suction action is performed (S6 and S13). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus that records (prints) an image with a recording head that ejects ink, and a control method and control program related to an ink ejection recovery operation of the recording head.

  An ink jet recording apparatus records, that is, prints an image such as a character on a sheet such as paper (hereinafter referred to as a recording sheet) as a recording medium by ejecting ink from the recording head. The ink is dried on the recording head. If the ink discharge port of the nozzle is clogged or ink is accumulated near the discharge port, ink droplets cannot be accurately discharged, resulting in an image defect. As a countermeasure, in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, in order to restore the ink ejection state of the recording head to a normal state, ink is sucked from the ink ejection port of the recording head by driving the pump immediately before starting the image recording. Ink suction operation, preliminary discharge operation that discharges ink in advance, and wiping operation that wipes off dust such as paper dust, dust, and ink residue attached to the surface (discharge port surface) of the recording head with a wiper at the end of recording or during recording Such a configuration is adopted that automatically performs an ink discharge recovery operation (see Patent Document 1). In order to prevent the ink of the nozzles of the recording head from drying, a configuration in which capping is performed by putting a cap on the surface of the recording head is also employed.

On the other hand, in the conventional inkjet recording device, "Economy mode" with low ink consumption, "High speed mode" with fast printing speed, "High quality mode" with moderate speed + moderate image quality, "High quality image with high image quality" A configuration is known in which a plurality of types of recording modes such as “mode” can be selectively executed according to the user's selection (see Patent Document 2).
JP-A-63-141754 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-127049

  In the conventional configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus as described above, an ink suction operation or a preliminary discharge operation is performed immediately before the start of recording, regardless of the selected recording mode. For this reason, for example, since the remaining capacity of ink has decreased, the user selects “Economy Mode”, which consumes a small amount of ink, and draws ink just before the start of printing even when he wants to perform draft printing with low ink consumption. Ink suction operation or pre-discharge operation is executed even when the operation or pre-discharge operation is executed and ink is consumed, or when the user selects the “high speed mode” with high printing speed and wants the printed matter quickly. In some cases, it takes a long time, and there is a problem that the printed material cannot be obtained immediately.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the problem is that, as described above, the ink discharge recovery operation such as the ink suction operation and the preliminary discharge operation is performed at a predetermined timing such as immediately before the start of recording. In addition, in an ink jet recording apparatus that can selectively execute a plurality of types of recording modes in accordance with a user's selection, the ink discharge recovery operation is performed in accordance with the recording mode selected at that time. The purpose is to appropriately control the intention of the selected user so that it is realized as much as possible.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention,
In an inkjet recording apparatus that can selectively execute a plurality of types of recording modes in accordance with a user's selection and that performs a predetermined ink discharge recovery operation for recovering ink discharge from a recording head at a predetermined timing ,
Elapsed time acquisition means for acquiring information on the elapsed time from the previous ink discharge recovery operation;
Threshold storage means for storing a plurality of thresholds set to different values corresponding to each of the plurality of types of recording modes as the threshold of the elapsed time;
A threshold value corresponding to the recording mode currently selected from the plurality of threshold values stored in the threshold value storage means at the predetermined timing is obtained by the elapsed time acquired by the elapsed time acquisition means. Control means for controlling to perform the ink discharge recovery operation only when it exceeds the upper limit is provided.

  In addition, the control method and the control program for the ink jet recording apparatus are configured to correspond to the apparatus of the present invention.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the rate at which the predetermined ink discharge recovery operation is performed at a predetermined timing can be varied according to the recording mode selected by the user. The intention can be realized. For example, when the ink discharge recovery operation is an operation that consumes ink, such as an ink suction operation from the recording head, the rate at which the ink discharge recovery operation is performed is reduced in the economy mode in which the user selects to suppress ink consumption. As a result, the ink consumption can be suppressed. In addition, if the timing for performing the ink ejection recovery operation is immediately before the start of recording, in the high speed mode in which the user selects to obtain the printed matter quickly, the ink ejection recovery operation is further performed at a lower rate so that printing can be performed immediately. There is an advantage such that the user can obtain the printed matter quickly.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, as the recording mode, the normal mode, the above-described economy mode, and the high speed mode can be selectively executed according to the user's selection, and immediately before the start of recording according to the conditions described later. An embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus that performs the above-described ink suction operation as an ink discharge recovery operation after the end of recording will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU (central processing unit) composed of a programmable microprocessor or the like, which executes a control program stored in a ROM 2 connected to the CPU 1 via a CPU bus 7 and controls the entire system of the recording apparatus. A ROM 2, the thermistor 3, a switch 4, an LED 5, and an ASIC 8 are connected to the CPU 1 via a CPU bus 7.

  The ROM 2 stores various control tables and data such as font data along with a control program executed by the CPU 1. The control program includes a control program for controlling an ink discharge recovery operation whose control procedure is shown in FIG. In addition, the control table includes a threshold value table 2a of elapsed time from the time point when the previous (most recent in the past) ink suction operation is used for controlling the ink discharge recovery operation. Details of the table 2a will be described later.

  The thermistor 3 measures the temperature around the recording heads 11 and 12 in the recording apparatus. The switch 4 is a switch for user operation, such as a power switch 4a for turning on / off a power supply circuit 24 that supplies driving power for the entire recording apparatus, a resume switch 4b, and a cover switch 4c for detecting opening / closing of the cover of the apparatus. is there. The LED 5 is a variety of LEDs such as an LED 5a that is a light emitting element for detecting the ink remaining amount of the recording head and a display LED that notifies the user of the state of the recording apparatus.

  The ASIC 8 is a control logic circuit that performs various controls in accordance with commands from the CPU 1, controls the print head driver 10 to output drive signals for the nozzles of the black print head 11 and the color print head 12, and an interface. 20, a control logic circuit that controls data transfer between the CPU 1, the RAM 22, and the DC motor driver 13 and the pulse motor driver 16 is provided.

  The RAM 22 is used as a work area for the CPU 1 and also as a print buffer. While the CPU 1 executes a control program stored in the ROM 2, print output by the black recording head 11 and the color recording head 12 is performed. Therefore, the print data sent from the host computer 21 via the interface 20 is stored in the print buffer area in the RAM 22. The interface 20 mediates between the recording apparatus and the host computer 21 and has a signal path capable of bidirectional transmission / reception, performs bidirectional communication with the host computer 21 and receives recording data and commands. The command includes a command for designating the recording device to the recording mode selected by the user on the screen by the printer driver of the host computer 21.

  The DC motor driver 13 controls the line feed motor 14 and the carriage motor 15. The line feed motor 14 drives a conveyance roller 41 (see FIG. 2) to control conveyance and feeding / discharging of the recording sheet. The carriage motor 15 drives the carriage 31 (see FIG. 2) to control the movement of the recording heads 11 and 12 to the recording position on the scanning row.

  The pulse motor driver 16 controls the paper feed motor 17 and the recovery motor 18. The paper feed motor 17 controls the pickup in feeding the recording sheet. The recovery motor 18 controls the ink suction operation from the recording heads 11 and 12, the ink discharge recovery operation such as wiping, and capping as a drive source of the recovery unit 40 (see FIG. 2).

  The black recording head 11 and the color recording head 12 controlled by the recording head driver 10 are detachable units that are mounted on a carriage and moved, and a plurality of these heads are used for forming a recording image on a recording sheet. And a head diode 9 for feeding back information on the presence and characteristics of the removable recording head to the CPU 1.

  Based on the drive signal sent from the recording head driver 10, the electrothermal conversion elements of the nozzles of the recording heads 11 and 12 are driven to generate thermal energy, thereby causing film boiling in the ink in each nozzle. Ink is discharged from the discharge port of each nozzle. Since the ink ejection amount changes depending on the temperature of the recording heads 11 and 12, the temperature output from the thermistor 3 for measuring the temperature around the recording head in the recording apparatus and the head diode 9 of the recording heads 11 and 12 is monitored.

  The ASIC 8 is connected to a nonvolatile memory 19, various sensors 6, and a timer 23.

  The nonvolatile memory 19 performs the ink state 19a in the ink tanks of the recording heads 11 and 12, the ink consumption history 19b, the waste ink counter 19c, and the previous (recently recent) ink suction operation from the recording head. This is a non-volatile memory for storing various information of the recording device such as 19d (date and time, hereinafter also referred to as the previous suction point).

  The various sensors 6 include the following sensors 6a to 6f. The PE (paper end) sensor 6a detects the end of the recording sheet passing through the recording apparatus. The ASF (automatic sheet feeding) sensor 6b detects the rotational position of the cam of the feeding unit that feeds the recording sheet. The PG (purge) sensor 6c detects the position of the cam of the recovery unit 40 (see FIG. 2) that performs the ink discharge recovery operation of the recording head. The ink residual detection sensor 6d is an optical sensor, and the ink tank of the recording head mounted on the carriage 31 passes through the sensor along with the movement of the carriage 31, and the light transmittance of the ink in the ink tank. Detect the presence or absence. The carriage encoder 6e is a sensor for reading position information of the carriage 31. The LF (line feed) sensor 6f is a sensor for reading position information of line (line) feed of the recording sheet. In addition, a cover sensor (not shown) linked to the cover switch 4c is provided.

  The timer 23 measures the time for obtaining the current time information (year / month / day and time) and measures the time related to the control of each motor 14, 15, 17, 18. By this timer 23, information on the previous suction time point 19d stored and saved in the above-described nonvolatile memory 19 is obtained.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from the left side showing the mechanical configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus of the embodiment.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a recording head corresponding to the combination of the black recording head 11 and the color recording head 12 in FIG. 1, and the ink tanks 52 to 55 storing inks of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow are sequentially attached and detached. It can be freely mounted to perform monochrome recording using only black ink and color recording using the above inks of each color.

  Reference numeral 31 denotes a carriage for mounting the recording head 30 to move and scan. The carriage 31 is guided and supported so as to be movable in both directions of the arrow A by a guide shaft 33 and a guide rail 34 which are positioned and fixed to the left and right side plates 38 and 39 at both left and right ends, respectively.

  A part of the timing belt 35 is fixed to the carriage 31, and the timing belt 35 travels by driving the carriage 15 in FIG. It can be moved by scanning in the direction of arrow A.

  Reference numeral 36 denotes a scale indicating the absolute position of the carriage 31 in the scanning direction (A direction), which constitutes the carriage encoder 6e in FIG. It is provided in parallel with the guide shaft 33. A carriage encoder 6e constituted by the scale 36 detects the position of the carriage 31 in the scanning direction, that is, the position of the recording head 30 in the scanning direction.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes a recovery unit that performs an ink discharge recovery operation of the recording head 30. The discharge port surface (lower surface in FIG. 2) on which ink discharge ports of a plurality of nozzles (not shown) of the recording head 30 are arranged is a wiper. A wiping mechanism that wipes and cleans, a capping mechanism (not shown) that covers and seals the ejection port surface of the recording head 30, and each ink of the recording head 30 that is driven by a pump (not shown) while the recording head 30 is capped. It comprises an ink suction mechanism for sucking ink from the ejection port. The recovery unit 40 is positioned and fixed on the base chassis 37 so as to oppose at the right end position in the drawing of the movement range in which the carriage 31 moves in the direction of arrow A, that is, the so-called home position.

  Reference numeral 44 denotes an automatic feeding device that stacks a plurality of recording sheets (not shown) and feeds them separately. The recording sheet fed from the automatic feeding device 44 is guided by a pinch roller holder 43 and a first sheet guide member 48 positioned and fixed on the base chassis 37, and a conveying roller 41 as a recording sheet conveying unit; It is conveyed to the contact part of the pinch roller 42.

  The pinch roller 42 rotatably supported by the pinch roller holder 43 is in pressure contact with the conveying roller 41 by a biasing force of a spring (not shown). 1 is driven by the line feed motor 14 in FIG. 1, the recording sheet fed from the automatic paper feeder 44 is sandwiched between the transport roller 41 and the pinch roller 42, and the base chassis 37 2 is conveyed in a direction toward the front side in FIG. 2 in a direction orthogonal to the arrow A direction.

  A line feed encoder 46, which is a scale constituting the LF sensor 6 f in FIG. 1 that detects the rotation amount of the conveyance roller 41, is attached to one end of the conveyance roller 41 and is positioned and fixed to the left side plate 38. The detection unit 51 detects the rotation amount of the conveyance roller 41, that is, the conveyance amount of the recording sheet, via the line feed encoder 46, and the line feed of the recording sheet, that is, conveyance for each line is controlled based on this.

  The carriage 31 travels once in one direction of the arrow A by driving the carriage motor 15, and the recording head 30 is driven during that time so that each color ink in each of the ink tanks 52 to 55 is moved onto the second sheet guide member 47. By discharging onto the recording sheet, one line of the image is recorded on the recording sheet. When the recording is completed, the recording sheet is conveyed by the conveyance amount for one line by driving the conveyance roller 41. By repeating such an operation, images are sequentially recorded on the recording sheet line by line. The recording sheet that has received the recording is conveyed by a discharge roller 49 that rotates by driving of the line feed motor 14 and is discharged out of the recording apparatus.

  When recording is not performed, the carriage 31 is moved to the home position, and a cap (not shown) is put on the ejection port surface of the recording head 30 by the recovery unit 40. The capping operation for covering the cap is performed after the carriage 31 is moved to the home position after the recording is completed and then the recovery unit 40 is driven to wipe the discharge port surface of the recording head 30 with a wiper (not shown). .

  Also, depending on the elapsed time from the previous suction time when the ink suction operation from the ink discharge port of the previous recording head 30 was performed immediately before the start of recording and after the end of recording, and the recording mode selected at that time, Ink suction operation is performed. In the following, as a printer for which the apparatus of the embodiment exclusively performs printing, that is, character image recording (printing), ink suction operation immediately before the start of recording is abbreviated as pre-print suction, and ink suction operation after the end of recording is omitted. This is called suction after printing.

  In order to control the pre-printing suction and the post-printing suction, the threshold value table 2a in the ROM 2 in FIG. 1 is used. This threshold value table 2a is a table for determining whether to perform suction before printing or suction after printing based on the elapsed time from the previous suction time and the recording mode selected at that time. .

The threshold value table 2a has the contents as shown in FIG. 4, and is associated with each of the normal mode, economy mode, and high speed mode of the recording mode that can be executed by the apparatus of this embodiment. Different threshold values I, II, and III are set as thresholds for the elapsed time from the previous suction time for determining whether or not to perform suction before printing. Further, in the high speed mode, suction after printing is performed. This is a data table in which a threshold I of elapsed time for determining whether or not to perform is set. The magnitude relationship between the thresholds I, II and III is
Threshold I <threshold II <threshold III
And In this way, suction in pre-printing is more effective in the economy mode than in the normal mode, and in the high speed mode, compared to the economy mode, if the elapsed time from the previous suction time is not longer. This is not performed, and the rate at which suction before printing is performed is reduced.

  Each of the threshold values I, II, and III may be variably set by an input from the host computer 21 within an appropriate range that does not change the magnitude relationship of I <II <III. In this case, the set threshold value table is stored in the nonvolatile memory 19.

  Next, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of suction before printing and suction after printing when printing is performed in the ink jet recording apparatus of the embodiment. A control program corresponding to this control procedure is stored in the ROM 2 and the CPU 1 It is executed by.

  In step S1 of FIG. 3, the control process starts in response to a print command from the host computer 21. The print command includes a command for designating the recording mode selected by the user.

  In step S2, it is determined whether or not the recording mode designated by the instruction is the high speed mode. If the high speed mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S11. If not, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, it is determined whether the designated recording mode is the economy mode (normal mode). If the recording mode is the normal mode, the process proceeds to step S4. If the economy mode is the economy mode, the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S4, a threshold value I for the elapsed time from the previous suction point for the pre-print suction corresponding to the normal mode is retrieved from the threshold table 2a in the ROM 2, and this is used for the pre-print suction control. The threshold value is set, and then the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S10, the threshold value II of the elapsed time for the pre-printing suction corresponding to the economy mode is searched from the threshold value table 2a, and this is set as the threshold value used for the pre-printing suction control. Proceed to step S5.

  In step S5, an elapsed time from the previous suction time to the current time is obtained based on the current time information obtained from the timer 23 and the time information of the previous suction time 19d in the nonvolatile memory 19, and the elapsed time is determined in step S4. (In the normal mode) or whether the pre-print suction is necessary or not is determined by whether or not the elapsed time threshold value (I or II) set in step S10 (in the economy mode) is exceeded (exceeded). .

  If the elapsed time does not exceed the threshold and it is determined that suction before printing is not necessary, step S6 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S7, but it is determined that suction before printing is necessary because the threshold is exceeded. In this case, the recovery unit 40 is driven in step S6 to perform an ink suction operation from the ink discharge port of the recording head 30, and then the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, printing is performed in the normal mode (in the case of via step S4) or the economy mode (in the case of via step S10). Needless to say, a cap (not shown) is removed from the ejection port surface of the recording head 30 by driving the recovery unit 40 before printing.

  When printing is completed, in step S8, it is checked whether the elapsed time from the printing end time has reached a predetermined capping time to be capped, and waits for the capping time. After wiping by driving 40, capping is performed, and then the process ends in step S20.

  On the other hand, if the high speed mode is selected in step S2, the threshold value III of the elapsed time for the pre-printing suction corresponding to the high speed mode is searched from the threshold value table 2a in step S11. Is set as a threshold value used for control of suction before printing, and the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, it is determined whether or not suction before printing is necessary depending on whether or not the elapsed time from the previous suction time to the current time exceeds the threshold value III set in step S11. If it is determined that it is not necessary, step S13 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S14. If it is determined that it is necessary, the recovery unit 40 is driven to perform an ink suction operation in step S13, and then the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, printing is performed in the high speed mode, and when printing is completed, the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, it is checked whether or not the elapsed time from the end of printing has reached the above-mentioned capping time, waits until the capping time is reached, and when the capping time is reached, the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the threshold value I of the elapsed time for the post-print suction corresponding to the high speed mode is retrieved from the threshold table 2a, and this is set as the threshold value used for the post-print suction control. Proceed to S17.

  In step S17, it is determined whether or not suction before printing is necessary depending on whether or not the elapsed time from the previous suction time to the current time exceeds the threshold value I set in step S16. If it is determined that it is not necessary, step S18 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S19. If it is determined that it is necessary, the recovery unit 40 is driven to perform an ink suction operation in step S18, and then the process proceeds to step S19.

  In step S19, the recovery unit 40 is driven to perform wiping, and then capping is performed. Thereafter, the process ends in step S20.

  When the ink suction operation is performed in step S6, S13, or S18, the time information at the time when the suction operation is completed is acquired from the timer 23, and the data is overwritten on the data of the previous suction time 19d in the nonvolatile memory 19. Then, the data of the previous suction time point 19d is updated.

  According to the control as described above, when the economy mode is selected by setting the thresholds I, II, and III of the elapsed time from the previous suction point, the normal mode is selected. However, if the elapsed time from the previous suction time is not long, suction before printing is not performed, and the ratio of suction before printing is reduced. Therefore, the ink consumption can be suppressed in accordance with the intention of the user who has selected the economy mode.

  Further, when the high speed mode is selected, if the elapsed time is not longer than when the economy mode is selected, suction before printing is not performed, and the rate at which printing starts immediately increases. Therefore, according to the intention of the user who has selected the high speed mode, it is possible to give priority to printing over pre-printing suction so that the user can obtain a printed matter quickly.

  In addition, after the printing in the high speed mode is finished, the suction after the printing is performed according to the elapsed time from the previous suction time, so that the discharge recovery performance is not impaired.

  The apparatus of the embodiment described above performs the ink suction operation as the ink discharge recovery operation. However, the apparatus that performs another ink discharge recovery operation such as the preliminary discharge operation also performs the ink discharge recovery operation. Of course, the technique of the present invention can be applied to the control, and can also be applied to an apparatus that performs a combination of a plurality of types of ink discharge recovery operations such as an ink suction operation and a preliminary discharge operation. Further, the timing of performing the ink ejection recovery operation to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to immediately before the start of recording or after the end of recording, but may be performed in the middle of recording.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the mechanical structure of the inkjet recording device. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of an ink ejection recovery operation of a recording head in the inkjet recording apparatus. It is a table | surface figure which shows the content of the threshold value table of the elapsed time from the last ink suction operation used for control of ink discharge recovery operation.

Explanation of symbols

1 CPU
2 ROM
2a threshold table 8 ASIC
11, 12, 30 Recording head 19 Non-volatile memory 19d Previous suction point 21 Host computer 22 RAM
23 Timer 31 Carriage 40 Recovery Unit 41 Conveying Roller 44 Automatic Feeder

Claims (12)

In an inkjet recording apparatus that can selectively execute a plurality of types of recording modes in accordance with a user's selection and that performs a predetermined ink discharge recovery operation for recovering ink discharge from a recording head at a predetermined timing ,
An elapsed time acquisition means for acquiring information of an elapsed time from the ink discharge recovery operation performed last time;
Threshold storage means for storing a plurality of thresholds set to different values corresponding to each of the plurality of types of recording modes as the threshold of the elapsed time;
A threshold value corresponding to the recording mode currently selected from the plurality of threshold values stored in the threshold value storage means at the predetermined timing is obtained by the elapsed time acquired by the elapsed time acquisition means. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: control means for performing control so that the ink discharge recovery operation is performed only when the ink exceeds the limit. For specific recording modes among the plurality of types of recording modes, different first and second threshold values are set as the threshold values, and stored in the threshold value storage means,
The control means is configured to select the ink when the specific recording mode is selected at the predetermined timing, and when the elapsed time acquired by the elapsed time acquisition means exceeds the first threshold value. When the ejection recovery operation is performed and not exceeded, control is performed to perform the ink ejection recovery operation when the acquired elapsed time exceeds the second threshold value at a specific timing thereafter. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is an ink jet recording apparatus.   Immediately before the start of recording as the predetermined timing, as the predetermined ink discharge recovery operation, at least an operation of sucking ink from the ink discharge port of the recording head and / or an operation of discharging ink from the recording head in advance are performed. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is an ink jet recording apparatus.   3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least the operation of sucking ink from an ink discharge port of a recording head is performed as the predetermined ink discharge recovery operation after the end of recording as the specific timing. An ink jet recording apparatus capable of selectively executing a plurality of types of recording modes according to a user's selection and executing a predetermined ink discharge recovery operation for recovering ink discharge from a recording head at a predetermined timing. A control method,
A plurality of different threshold values corresponding to each of the plurality of types of recording modes are set and stored as threshold values of the elapsed time from the previous ink discharge recovery operation,
The ink ejection recovery operation is performed only when the elapsed time exceeds a threshold value corresponding to the currently selected recording mode among the stored threshold values at the predetermined timing. A method of controlling an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: controlling the ink jet recording apparatus. For a specific recording mode among the plurality of types of recording modes, different first and second threshold values are set and stored as the threshold value, and stored.
When the specific recording mode is selected at the predetermined timing, the ink ejection recovery operation is performed if the elapsed time exceeds the first threshold value, and if not, 6. The method of controlling an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ink discharge recovery operation is controlled when the elapsed time exceeds the second threshold at a specific timing.   Immediately before the start of recording as the predetermined timing, as the predetermined ink discharge recovery operation, at least an operation of sucking ink from the ink discharge port of the recording head and / or an operation of discharging ink from the recording head in advance are performed. The method of controlling an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein control is performed.   The inkjet according to claim 6, wherein after the recording is finished as the specific timing, the predetermined ink discharge recovery operation is controlled to perform at least an operation of sucking ink from an ink discharge port of a recording head. Control method of recording apparatus. An ink jet recording apparatus capable of selectively executing a plurality of types of recording modes according to a user's selection and executing a predetermined ink discharge recovery operation for recovering ink discharge from a recording head at a predetermined timing. A control program,
Threshold storage means for storing a plurality of threshold values set to different values corresponding to each of the plurality of types of recording modes as a threshold value of the elapsed time from the previous ink discharge recovery operation is used. ,
The ink is used only when the elapsed time exceeds a threshold value corresponding to the currently selected recording mode among the plurality of threshold values stored in the threshold value storage means at the predetermined timing. A control program for an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a control procedure for controlling to perform a discharge recovery operation. As for the specific recording mode among the plurality of types of recording modes, different first and second threshold values are set as the threshold value, and are stored in the threshold value storage means.
When the specific recording mode is selected at the predetermined timing, the ink ejection recovery operation is performed if the elapsed time exceeds the first threshold value, and if not, The inkjet method according to claim 9, further comprising: a control procedure for performing control so that the ink discharge recovery operation is performed when the elapsed time exceeds the second threshold at a specific timing. Recording device control program.   Immediately before the start of recording as the predetermined timing, as the predetermined ink discharge recovery operation, at least an operation of sucking ink from the ink discharge port of the recording head and / or an operation of discharging ink from the recording head in advance are performed. 11. The control program for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a control procedure for controlling.   The control procedure for controlling to perform at least an operation of sucking ink from an ink discharge port of a recording head as the predetermined ink discharge recovery operation after the end of recording as the specific timing is provided. Item 11. A control program for an ink jet recording apparatus according to Item 10.